FamousDC | Beltway talking points

LAST-MINUTE GIFT for anyone who saw “Waiting for ‘Superman’”: Cornerstone School (“Hope and Academic Excellent in the Nation’s Capital”) is an oasis of love and rigor in inner-city D.C., serving 220 students, almost all African-American, in pre-K3 through ninth grade. The executive director and principal is Clay Hanna, a young father of three and former Army captain who was awarded the Bronze Star during 600 combat patrols in Iraq. The ninth grade is new this year, and Clay hopes to add one grade each year as the current class advances. Any amount will be used wisely, and directly on kids. Through Dec. 31, an anonymous donor is matching gifts, dollar for dollar, up to $75,000. Homepage http://bit.ly/ezWEdH Online giving http://bit.ly/gWOrW3

An iPhone App We Could Use in DC

Posted on 23. Dec, 2010 by Redneck Genius.

This app is hitting the market in Hollywood today, but would be very handy in DC. [parking app]

The ‘Parker’ application gives drivers real-time information about which streets have open spots, as well as blocks that are closest to them with the most vacant spaces and other information.

There’s nothing better than an app that only comes in handy while driving.

h/t RS

Man Tries to Landscape Bush’s Lawn With His Car

Posted on 23. Dec, 2010 by nolongerfamous.

If we were to publish a list of things you shouldn’t do in your car, this might make the top 10.

A suspect accused of driving a muscle car erratically onto the lawn at former President George W. Bush’s north Dallas home Wednesday night was detained by the Secret Service. [not bright]

The man had a great excuse though:

…his gas pedal became stuck.

h/t Spark

Famously Quoteworthy: Oprah on Palin

Posted on 23. Dec, 2010 by nolongerfamous.

When asked if Sarah Palin running for President would scare her, Oprah Winfrey said:

“It does not scare me because I believe in the intelligence of the American public.”

Seen here.

Famously Pictured: Holiday Lines

Posted on 22. Dec, 2010 by nolongerfamous.

A tipster sent in the following picture from BWI Airport. Where is she headed this Holiday Season?

A. Palm Springs
B. Mt. Kilimanjaro
C. Detroit

Famously Tweeted: Tempers Rise When You Mess With Christmas Vacation

Posted on 22. Dec, 2010 by nolongerfamous.

Does this train have a caboose, sir?

@RobertBluey Harry Reid on Senate floor: People are trying to get home for Christmas. Hurry up with your speech, Senator Kirk. #START

Even more pissed than Reid, the entire congressional staff.

Famous 5: Free Lobster Buffet

Posted on 22. Dec, 2010 by fdc.

A Capitol Hill rock band inspired by Mariah Carey’s music?

We’re in.

Meet Free Lobster Buffet

Q1) What gave you the idea to name your band Free Lobster Buffet?

The short answer is that “Free Beer” and Bare Naked Ladies” were already taken and we needed some way to get people into a club; having that on a marquee would at least attract interest.

Originally we were going to be “The Amendments,” owing to the fact that we started here on Capitol Hill, but a friend of mine said she had known someone who always wanted to name a band Free Lobster Buffet. When we heard it, we loved it instantly and the whole image of the band – ska music, the blue tuxedoes, the songwriting – all flowed from that. You can’t take yourself too seriously with a name like that.

Amazingly, we still get people coming to shows asking where the food is, which I find hilarious. Who would actually eat a free lobster buffet? Think of all the illnesses you could get from that.

Q2) What are your musical influences?

Mostly Mariah Carey, but just her early work, before “Glitter.” Let’s face it, she totally jumped the shark there and I just can’t really take her seriously after that. Kind of like Van Halen’s “1984.” History has judged you Eddie: you should have stuck with guitar.

Just kidding. We get inspiration from everything. We have songs about IKEA, lost love and the anger that comes with it, on-line gambling addiction, video games, minivans, you name it.

Q3) What do you think about the DC “scene” for local bands?

After six years, we’ve probably played most of the smaller to mid-size live music venues. Sadly, we seem to shut a lot of them down. We’ve played half a dozen bars that have closed. I still feel bad about Staccato. Grog and Tankard, not so much. I guess you could say the scene is better for the bands than it is for the clubs.

Honestly, DC is great for live music. Any night of the week you can find a good show. If you’re in a band, you can find a club that will give you a chance. After that, if you can bring people, you will get gigs. It’s pretty easy scene to break into.

Q4) Favorite place to play?

The 9:30 Club was the coolest because I’ve been going there since it was in the stinky downtown location. We only played there once, but it was amazing.

These days we play a lot on H Street, I guess they call it the Atlas District or something now. Rock’n’Roll Hotel is a very good place with a nice sound system, but I’m really blown away by The Red Palace. They combined the upstairs of the Palace of Wonder and The Red and The Black. They’ve got a big stage, great lights and awesome sound. It’s probably the best small venue I’ve been to, let alone played.

Q5) Where can someone see your next show?

If I had submitted this in time, I would have said The Palace of Wonder on December 17^th, but that was last week. It was a great show, though.

Our next show is up in New York City, but we will be back playing DC on March 26^th at the Wonderland Ballroom (another very cool small venue).

Dates change a lot and we add stuff at the last minute, so it’s best if people just check our website at www.freelobsterbuffet.com

Rock on Lobster Buffet. Rock on.

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Would You Show Up to Work to Pay Yourself?

Posted on 22. Dec, 2010 by nolongerfamous.

There was an important vote yesterday in Congress – the vote to continue funding of the federal government. So important in fact, 75 Members of Congress didn’t bother to show up.

More than 70 House members didn’t bother showing up to vote Tuesday, even as the lower chamber wraps up its final priorities of the lame-duck session — including a bill on funding the federal government through March and a measure on health benefits for 9/11 first responders. [WaPo]

For those playing at home, that’s 1/6 of the House.

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Not the Onion: PBS More Popular Than Washington Wizards

Posted on 22. Dec, 2010 by nolongerfamous.

It doesn’t take a lame duck session of Congress to figure out that nobody in DC likes the Wizards.

The Wizards’ average home attendance of 15,596 ranks 20th out of 30 in the NBA. To give that figure some context, more than 23,000 locals applied for tickets to the taping of D.C.’s Antiques Roadshow episodes in April. [sad]

It also doesn’t help that Obama once attended an Oregon State/Howard game, but has yet to show the Wizards any love.

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Twitter’s Adam Sharp Makes the DC Rounds

Posted on 22. Dec, 2010 by fdc.

POLITICO’s Morning Tech by Tonny Romm, Kim Hart & Jennifer Martinez:

TWITTER’S ADAM SHARP STARTS MAKING THE ROUNDS – If his tweets are any indication, Twitter’s new D.C. hire Adam Sharp (aka @AdamS) was out and about repping the San Francisco-based company around town on Tuesday. According to Sharp’s Twitter feed, he gave a speech Tuesday morning at the Israeli embassy and then headed to the Hill to have lunch in Rayburn with House Republican new media buffs Patrick Bell and Gerrit Lansing. Looks like Sharp is having no troubles easing into his new role.

@AdamS

Awesome lunch w @PatBell and @LansingG of @GOPConference team. (@ Rayburn House Office Building) http://4sq.com/enKFMx

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Closing Bell: This Kid is Entirely Too Honest

Posted on 21. Dec, 2010 by nolongerfamous.

It’s like his parents gave him a copy of the Congressional Record. [smart kid]

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Caption Contest Finalists

Posted on 21. Dec, 2010 by nolongerfamous.

UPDATE: We have a winner. Congrats to Caleb Shoenhard and his caption, “Good enough for government work!”

UPDATE: Polls close Wednesday at 11am.

Yesterday we posted this picture and asked for clever captions. The final four as picked by the FDC contributors are posted below.

Get to voting. Winner gets a FamousDC mug.

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In Honor of the Total Lunar Eclipse

Posted on 21. Dec, 2010 by The Editors.

FamousDC has for the past three years been a quest into online community development and social media engagement (5,688 posts and counting). And thanks to our amazing contributors and readers, in a matter of days we’ll be lucky enough to start our fourth year.

The primary verdict? When you allow your audience to be a big part of the process they emerge empowered and satiated. In short, they are relentless advocates for the brand.

Cheers to tossing spaghetti at the wall – none of which would have ever stuck without all of you.

Washingtonian’s Shane Harris: FamousDC Unmasked