02/16/10 General Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multi-national Forces-Iraq, offers his insights into the future of Iraq at an event hosted by the Institute for the Study of War Tuesday morning at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, DC.  He is noted for being one of few Army generals in history to command a division, corps and entire theater in the same conflict.

General Odierno will brief President Obama and Vice President Biden on the situation in Iraq Wednesday at the White House.

[02/15/10 8pm Jefferson Pl. NW DC]

02/16/10 Last night, at Public Bar, hosts Kate Michael, Ebong Eka and Sonya Gavankar celebrated 1 year of The District Dish with a taping before a packed house of well wishers. This fun, DC centric show is the brainchild of Kate who is also the show’s booker. She manages to get some interesting guests to stop by (last night’s included Keith Center, frontman for band, The Dreamscapes Project and Sophie Pyle from Blonde Charity Mafia) and the show is unique in that it tapes not in studio but at a different local dining establishment for each episode.

[The hosts chat with Matt Paxton of Clutter Cleaners, as seen on A & E's "Hoarders." In response to a question about the worst thing he'd ever had to clean up from a  house filled to the brim with junk; he told a story of one person who'd kept a bag of 20 or so dead rats. ]

[Kate retelling the rat story.]

UPDATE 02/24/10 I stand corrected. It was 100 rats.

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UPDATE: Quotes from the Senator’s 2pm press conference . . .

“To put it in words most people can understand: I love working for the people of Indiana, I love helping our citizens make the most of their lives, but I do not love Congress.”

“My decision was not motivated by political concern. Even in the current challenging environment, I am confident in my prospects for re-election.”

“I am constantly reminded that if Washington, D.C., could be more like Indiana, Washington would be a better place.”

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02/15/10 Hot on the heels of the Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts, Democratic control of the Senate now seems much more up for grabs with today’s surprise announcement by Indiana Senator Evan Bayh that he will not run for a third term. The Indianapolis Star reports Bayh cites partisanship as his reason for leaving the US Senate but he faced a campaign challenge from Republican (and former Senator) Dan Coats.

The Senator holds a press conference at 2pm today to discuss his decision.

[Here's a photo I took of Senator Bayh at the Democratic Leadership Council's "2002 National Conversation" in NYC. The DLC was created as a home for the more center/conservative wing of the Democratic party. Note Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) in the background who herself is in a tough spot politically. Recent polling has her trailing to multiple GOP contenders by double digits. Lincoln's job approval rating has sunk to 27%. ]

CLICK HERE: CUPID’S UNDIE RUN VIDEO!

02/13/10 It was only a month ago when I photographed the No Pants Metro Day so it felt like it was just about time for another display of public near nudity. In this case, there was a charity involved. Cupid’s Undie Run raises money for The Children’s Tumor Foundation and was organized by my friend Katherine Kennedy.

[Runners ran 1.75 miles in Valentine-themed underwear starting at the Capitol Hill watering hole The Pour House and making a loop around the US Capitol before ending up at the start point..]

[There was a lot of standing around and talking of how incredibly cold it was before the runners took off.]

[Event organizer Katherine Kennedy heading out.]

[I don't know why she is smiling. I was wearing a sweater and heavy coat and I was cold.]

[Looping around the Capitol.]

[It's so sunny here that it looks like it could be in the 80s and not the low 30s.]

[Moral support on the homestretch.]

02/13/10 By the time I got to the UrbanDaddy launch party on the roof of the W Hotel last night the joint was rocking. My “Uber-Hip Counter” started getting readings off the scale so I had to turn it off for the remainder of the evening. Unanswered went the question: is your Daddy is urban or rural?

[UrbanDaddy DC main man Jeff Dufour with bro Tim]

[She was a great DJ]

[Vicky!]

[Anyone for Dessert?]

[For some reason, there were a few guys dressed in knickers and carrying walking sticks.]

[KK burning up the dance floor.]

[Hotness.]

[Blondies]

[Snowboard trampoline demo.]

02/13/10 Great shindig at the Canadian Embassy last night! The gravy fries and Molson were flowing freely as close to 1000 people came out to watch the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics from Vancouver on a huge jumbotron.

[Ice sculpting.]

[Winter games on the Wii stations inside the embassy.]

[I take credit for getting Cheyenne and her posse to make it to the party. Note the cool bright red Olympic mittens which were handed out as party favors.]

[Pauline and her son Liam - whom I haven't seen since he was a wee little fella. That's the Canadian version of M&M rapping on the jumbotron. He raps mainly about back bacon and Tim Horton's.]

[Bro Tim models insanely hip mittens while holding Super Sized Molson.]

[Ski demo. I could do that. I just don't feel like it is all.]

[The Ambassador poses for pix.]

02/12/10 AP reports that Connecticut businessman Ned Lamont will announce his intention to run for Governor of that state next week in Hartford.

Eight term Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy released a video last night indicating he will not run for office again when his term ends. That point will mark the first time in 60 years a member of Kennedy family has not held public office in Washington.

[Candidate Ned Lamont stumping for votes at the Orange, CT Fire Department's carnival in the summer of 2006. He went on to win the Democratic nomination for Senator (spending $16 million of his own money) but wound up losing in the general election to the man he beat in the primary - Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT).]

[05/05/06 Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) leaves the U.S. Capitol where moments before he announced his intention to enter the Mayo Clinic to seek treatment for drug dependency. The congressman crashed into a police barricade at 2:45 a.m. on 05/04/06 "staggered" out of his car, and told officers in "slurred" speech that he was on his way to a vote in the House.]

02/12/10 Last night, I caught a press preview of the musical “Grease” at the National Theater starring American Idol’s Taylor Hicks.

I guess I’m the only person in America to have never seen American Idol because I had to be told that the male lead Ace Young was also a contestant on the show. [CORRECTION: I posted earlier that Young was a winner on the show. That seems to have upset some fans of Hicks. Whoops. Like I said people, I've gone out of my way to avoid watching that program and I hope to die never having seen it. My bad.]  The kids in the audience clearly knew. It was a very polished high energy production and it was good to break the snow bound cabin fever with some light entertainment.

The funny thing about the musical is that they would never write one like it today. The moral of the story seems to be “succumb to peer pressure!” If you think about it – the happy ending the play provides is that “good girl” Sandy D. embraces her inner hottie so she can roll with the gangs at her new high school. Hah!

Taylor Hicks signed copies of his CD post show.  He also did a solo encore after the final curtain.

Lauren Ashley Zakrin, who plays Sandy D in the show, signs autographs for fans outside the stage door. That’s Laura D’Andre, who plays Rizzo, signing autographs in the background. After the play there was a cast party at the Hard Rock Café a couple blocks away.

[ 06/20/01  Actress Sharon Stone attends the Women in Film & Video awards at the Ritz Carlton.]