Combining artists of different mediums is a tricky business, as evidenced in the first group of mash-ups at the Source Festival this week.

The point of the mash-ups is to set local artists up on “creative blind dates” for nine months, during which they create a performance, utilizing their preferred mediums, that is presented during the festival. Dancers, playwrights, visual artists, and musicians are among the seven creators performing in Group D and their mashing techniques vary, whether all mediums are involved at once or each element is presented separately. Read More "Ping Pong and Potato Chips at the Source Festival" »

Good Morning, City Desk Readers!  It's the first day of July and the forecast doesn't call for 90 degree temperatures so it's already looking like a good one.  On the news front, the nation's capital is expecting some new residents that are already getting attention before moving in.

• Minnesota has finally come to its senses and decided that Al Franken will be its second senator.  It only took the ballot counters and lawyers eight months to figure that out.  The former Saturday Night Live writer will take his seat following the July 4th recess.  Franken will be the 60th Democrat in the Senate, making it possible for the party to break a Republican filibuster but he wants everyone to know that he's not looking to block legislation on a regular basis.

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: New Neighbors Edition" »

It's no surprise that all Michael Jackson memorabilia is being bought excessively around the world since he died on Thursday.  Time and Newsweek already released commemorative issues showing Jackson at various times through his career, the MJ cover band Who's Bad sold out not one, but two shows at the 9:30 Club on Friday night and three of his albums sold upwards of 100,000 copies each over the past 5 days.

But if the music, creepy cover bands, and glossy magazine covers aren't enough, you can now buy a poster announcing his death.  From The Washington Post.  The newspaper is selling copies of its "commemorative Michael Jackson edition" online for upwards of $50 each.  Normally, these commemorative editions are released for such momentous occasions as presidential elections and inaugurations, wars, invasions, and other momentous events.  Deaths of notable people certainly qualify as momentous events, but it's a depressing thing to commemorate.  And the commemorative edition looks nothing like the actual cover of Friday's Post, where Jackson only covered a third of the front page.

Michael Jackson was iconic and he deserves to be remembered that way.  But a $50 print of a fake newspaper cover might not be the way to remember him.

The Washington Post just posted an article announcing that an elementary school in Upper Marlboro, MD might be named after Barack Obama, if the proposal is accepted at a vote tomorrow night.  The article goes on to mention that schools named after sitting presidents are not uncommon in this country, citing the examples of George W. Bush Elementary, opened in 2003 in California, and Richard Nixon Elementary, which welcomed Iowa students in 1970.  Leaving aside the fact that these other schools were named after possibly the two worst presidents in history, isn't it a little soon for schools to be named after Obama?  He was only inaugurated 155 days ago, while the other presidents had been in office for at least a year before they got a school named after them.

We do need to find more names for public buildings, especially in this city.  It gets confusing when you have to differentiate between which Reagan building to meet someone at, or use first names when figuring out which Kennedy goes with which arena/school/office.  But Obama's legacy is yet to be determined.  He's the first black president, which of course gives him precedence, but maybe the citizens should hold off for a few months.  Just to save the students from any possible embarrassment.

Throughout yesterday, more details about the Metro crash were released, including the names of the nine individuals who died in Monday afternoon's accident. City Desk also reported that the train that hit the stopped train outside Fort Totten was 2 months overdue for its brake maintenance service.  The train that initiated the crash was also made up of 1000-series Metro cars, the oldest in the system.  Now the Washington Post is reporting that the driver of the train, who was killed in the crash, had activated the emergency brake on the train, but it did not stop. 

Other things are happening beyond the Red Line, of course.  Read about them after the jump.

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: One Day At A Time Edition" »

Just when the media was about to give up on President Obama and reported that his approval ratings were dropping off, he held a press conference and turned the sinking ship around.  For the past week, Obama has been criticized for his lack of comments on the Iranian election situation but today, he finally responded with much more force than he previously expressed.  Even the concerns of John McCain, who has been ceaselessly complaining about Obama's hesitance to comment on Iran should be quelled. Read More "Obama Press Conference Wrap-Up: Finally" »

When HBO finally got their act together and agreed to keep funding Screen on the Green with the help of a co-sponsor, movie fans and Facebook petitioners cheered.  But there was little instant gratification when organizers announced that the first screening wouldn't occur until July 20th.  Summer officially starts on Sunday and these mild temperatures are perfect for movie-watching under the stars.  Luckily, three other groups will be showing movies outside this week for those cinema-philes eager to spread a blanket and enjoy a free movie.

Locations and plot descriptions after the jump! Read More "When School’s Out, Outdoor Movie Screenings Are In" »

The big news in Washington this morning was already shared with City Desk readers early yesterday evening: Senator John Ensign (R-Nev.) admitted to having an affair with a campaign staffer.  There's no word on whether Ensign plans on resigning but he wishes he could take it all back.  Obviously.  He was a member of the Promise Keepers, for Pete's sake.  There's a lot to be said about Ensign's contradictory behavior but at least he came public without the help of the fine journalists at the National Enquirer.

Drug recalls, crime bills, and a double dose of foreign policy after the jump. Read More "Our Morning Roundup: Truth Telling Edition" »

When it comes to public transportation, residents of the greater Washington area are relatively fortunate.  Metro trains and buses come with relative frequency, they are clean (for the most part), and they can accommodate the masses of commuters and tourists that congregate in this city.  But since Saturday, four people have died at local transit stations.  Shouldn't this be cause for some concern about the system? Read More "Public Transit Woes: How Safe Are We?" »

Happy Capital Pride Festival, City Desk readers!  It's time to get out your multi-colored clothing and tie bandannas to your belt loops because this weekend will result in much revelry.  The organizers have pulled out all the stops for this year's festivities so come prepared - it might be a little crazy.

The festival's biggest draw happens tonight, when the world's first drag supermodel takes the stage at Town Dance Boutique.  Yes, RuPaul is performing on the main stage at midnight and it's sure to be a memorable show.  Fishnets and heels are not mandatory but with two dance floors, come prepared to groove.

After the jump, Pride events for the rest of the weekend... Read More "God Save the Queens!" »

It seems that all anyone can talk about in Washington this week are the reality shows that are quickly invading the city and how excited/pissed off/ambivalent that makes them feel.  Granted, frothy TV is a much more pleasant topic than the shooting at the Holocaust Museum or what the President is going to do with all the Guantanamo detainees, but it's as if everything else has ceased to exist.  At work last night in Dupont, my co-worker and I spent ten minutes discussing the minutiae of The Real World DC with two customers.  MTV has been canvassing neighborhood businesses with waivers allowing them to film there and now the speculation as to where these new neighbors will hang out has begun in full force.  With at least two more reality shows based in the city are in the works, Washington is quickly taking over basic cable.  But when will we actually see the results? Read More "DC Reality Shows: Worth Waiting For?" »

• Weather Advisories Are Exciting News Events: Massive thunderstorms blew through DC, spewing hail and knocking out power throughout the area.  Those who still had power took to their blogs in order to inform others that it was indeed raining.  The afternoon storm rolled in so quickly that it made for an captivating visual, as captured by Prince of Petworth and The DCist.

• Yesterday's storms put a damper on voter turnout for the Virginia gubernatorial primary.  After clogging every channel with strange campaign ads like this one for the past several weeks, the Post reports that only about 6% of the state's registered voters cast ballots.  Polls closed at 7 p.m. and by 7:45, the pollsters at fivethirtyeight.com called the Democratic primary for state senator R. Creigh Deeds.   Read More "Our Morning Roundup: Rainy Days Edition" »

It's high school graduation season here in the nation's capital which means two things: ridiculous crowds outside Constitution Hall all day, every day; and the publication of Education Week's graduation issue.  It's the latter that is causing greater concern because contained in the June 11 edition are the results of the magazine's ten-year analysis of public high school graduation rates across the country.  And unfortunately, D.C. Public Schools ranked 50th out of 51 states and territories.  According to the poll, 48.8 percent of public school students in the city graduated in 2006.  So what do we do now?

Read More "Are D.C. Public Schools a Lost Cause?" »

• Oink Oink!  Just when we thought that the swine flu H1N1 virus was under control, The Post is reporting that a Chesapeake woman died from complications of the virus on Tuesday.  This is the area's first publicly announced death attributed to the flu and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is urging those with noticeable symptoms to be proactive about treatment.  

• In other deadly virus news, two Virginia sisters are being detained at a health camp in China because an individual on their flight tested positive for H1N1, according to WUSA 9.  They took Tamiflu and hope to leave China tonight so they can continue filming their show on the Home Shopping Network.

• Sad But True: Prince George's County's top prosecutor says that charges are not likely to be filed in the death of Ronnie White, almost a year after he was found dead in his jail cell.  White was charged with murder after running over a police officer with his truck last June.  

• The Washington Times announces that Former First Lady Nancy Reagan and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will join House and Senate leaders when a new statue of Ronald Reagan is unveiled in the Capitol Rotunda this morning.  Jelly beans were not among the materials used.

• And finally, Prince of Petworth reveals that Columbia Heights is getting what it always wanted:  a Chipotle.  Because in these trying times, burritos are the way to go.  Seriously, you can live off of one of those for a week and still not finish.  Too bad all the new DC Chipotle franchises won't be applying for liquor licenses, however.

Obamaphiles, set your DVRs now. Tonight and tomorrow at 9 p.m., Brian Williams is taking viewers inside the White House for a behind-the-scenes look at the Obama Administration, featuring interviews with senior staffers, the First Lady, and POTUS himself. Even the most popular Portuguese Water Dog in the world makes a few cameos. It's sure to be intriguing, especially if any of the cameras got footage of Rahm Emanuel dropping F-bombs, but it's becoming incredibly apparent that Obama's loyalty, at least in TV land, lies with NBC. He must be committed to pulling the network out of their ratings recession, just like he helped out GM yesterday morning.

Read More "‘Inside the Obama White House’: Is Barack Trying to Bail Out NBC, Too?" »