This employee of City Desk Operations Inc. has waited and waited for a snarky blog post from LL on the Harold Brazil arrest (holy #$%%@!). DCist expressed shock hours ago!

WTOP’s Mark Segraves had it first. The Post got the story too.

Damn. What a story. Former bubbling councilmember gets into a fight at a tattoo shop! Post has the details:

“Brazil, 59, entered the Jinx Proof Tattoo shop in the 3200 block of M Street NW with two women, one of whom went to the back of the store to receive a tattoo, police said. When Brazil tried to follow the woman, an employee told him only customers were allowed in the work area, which prompted an argument and then a fight.

It took three employees to subdue Brazil before officers were called at about 7:30 p.m., authorities said. He was arrested and charged with simple assault and taken to the 2nd District police station, said Assistant Police Chief Diane Groomes. Authorities released Brazil with a citation and a summons to appear in court at a later date, officials said. Brazil could not be reached for comment.”

Of course, City Desk demands some answers from Brazil about his conduct. But what we really want are some good jokes. Whoever submits the best joke wins a City Paper t-shirt?

(If you are unfamiliar with Brazil’s tenure on the council, go here).

*photo courtesy of the Washington Post.

Yikes. The guy can really blow his top. Meanwhile, First Read has something that should make McCain just explode.

Boy, am I relieved. Turns out there’s a credible explanation for those frequent dark nights of the super-ego:

There have been more than 20 studies that suggest an increased rate of bipolar and depressive illnesses in highly creative people, says Kay Redfield Jamison, professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University and author of the “An Unquiet Mind,” a memoir of living with bipolar disorder.

Experts say mental illness does not necessarily cause creativity, nor does creativity necessarily contribute to mental illness, but a certain ruminating personality type may contribute to both mental health issues and art.

“Unquestionably, I think a major link is to the underlying temperaments of both bipolar illness and depression, of reflectiveness and so forth,” Jamison said.

It’s good to know why–especially after reading Roy Clark’s essay about David Foster Wallace–I can’t get to sleep before 2 a.m. most nights, and why I write best when I’m absolutely miserable.

(Roy: just because you don’t believe in “tortured artist” syndrome doesn’t mean it ain’t real. Put that one in your column and smoke it!)

One of the problems faced by journalists contemplating the dismal future of our occupation is our general lack of qualification. Despite our skill at assessing the job performance of politicians, architects and socialites, we tend to find ourselves lacking in demonstrable job skills. We don’t know supply chain from matrix management. Not that I’ve been perusing the options, but I tend to stumble across openings for careers more frightening than the dark side, aka, PR.  Like this one, from First Class Referrals.

Update: Ok! I guess I’ve been coddled by the alt industry. Potentially NSFW. I guess. But come on. It’s craigslist.

The Washington Post reported today that Maryland State Police had classified 53 non-violent activists—anti-Iraq War and anti-death penalty demonstrators—as terrorists. State police had “entered their names and personal information into state and federal databases that track terrorism suspects, the state police chief acknowledged yesterday.”

The news came out of a legislative hearing in which the state’s top cop had given testimony. The Post notes that the disclosure showed that the cops’ surveillance operations of activists were far more extensive than previously known:

“The surveillance took place over 14 months in 2005 and 2006, under the administration of former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R). The former state police superintendent who authorized the operation, Thomas E. Hutchins, defended the program in testimony yesterday. Hutchins said the program was a bulwark against potential violence and called the activists ‘fringe people.’

[Superintendent Terrence B.] Sheridan said protest groups were also entered as terrorist organizations in the databases, but his staff has not identified which ones.

Stunned senators pressed Sheridan to apologize to the activists for the spying, assailed in an independent review last week as ‘overreaching’ by law enforcement officials who were oblivious to their violation of the activists’ rights of free expression and association. The letter, obtained by The Washington Post, does not apologize but admits that the state police have ‘no evidence whatsoever of any involvement in violent crime’ by those classified as terrorists.”

When are the police going to learn from the mistakes of the past?

Another day. Another reason to be kinda scared about the people who shout things at Palin rallies. This from a Huffington Post story:

“In the latest instance of inflammatory outbursts at McCain-Palin rallies, a crowd member screamed ‘treason!’ during an event on Tuesday after Sarah Palin accused Barack Obama of criticizing U.S. troops.”

Did this kind of cowboy stuff work for our current president?

P. Diddy and the rest of Hollywood swear up and down that voting is a big deal and that everyone who’s eligible to do so should register (or, should have, seeing as we’re past the deadline). If City Paper turns out to be one of those companies that gives its employees a break midday to hit the polls, I’m going to steal around the corner to North Sea for a pack of smokes, then I’m going to find myself a nice park bench and enjoy the cold. In other words, I’m not going to vote.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wow. Dana Milbank reports some scary stuff at a Palin campaign event in Florida:

“Palin’s routine attacks on the media have begun to spill into ugliness. In Clearwater, arriving reporters were greeted with shouts and taunts by the crowd of about 3,000. Palin then went on to blame Katie Couric’s questions for her “less-than-successful interview with kinda mainstream media.” At that, Palin supporters turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse. Others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, ‘Sit down, boy.’”

What worries me is that there is still a month left before the election. This moment will probably not be the low point for either campaign.

And Now, Anacostia discovers a new deli may be opening soon off MLK Ave. This is huge news.

Frozen Tropics highlights the news that Fenty (and, well, DPW) are expanding their recycling program to include a lot more crap. According to the press release:

“Mayor Adrian Fenty announced that starting today Department of Public Works recycling collection crews will accept an expanded list of items for recycling, especially plastics. Now residents can recycle film plastics like grocery, produce, and dry cleaning bags, as well as aerosol cans and a variety of rigid plastic including plastic lawn furniture, toys and flower pots.”

Redskins Bandwagon confesses after the win at Philly:

It’s getting harder and harder to not get excited about the prospects of the bandwagon returning. 4-1, beating Dallas and Philly back-to-back on the road? Are you kidding me? We haven’t had a team this good since Gibbs I. We’re cruising through the toughest division in football by far. When is the last time you ever saw a Redskins head coach run up the middle out of shotgun on 4th and 2 with 2:30 left near midfield up by one score? Zorn is coaching like a banshee and the Skins are playing good old-fashioned smash mouth football, running for hundreds of yards against supposedly dominant defenses, pulling off Randel El trickeration and did I mention goal-line stands and 50 yard field goals to end halves?

I can hardly contain myself. Get excited with me. That’s my job, to make you believe.

New Columbia Heights writes on a shooting at the Boys and Girls Club at 14th and Chapin Streets NW.

Upset the Setup has some fighting words for the green party (I think).

Congress Heights on the Rise has a rundown of the recent ANC 8C meeting.

Must listen.

Must read: The New Yorker endorses.

Must Palin-related read.

Intangible Arts reports that Ruff & Ready Furnishing’s cat is missing.

DC Wire is reporting that Councilmember Marion Barry received a few stitches after falling down in Anacostia Park.

Barry’s staff sent out a release. It reads in part:

“Mr. Barry received a deep gash over his bottom lip that required several stitches. Despite the minor accident Mr. Barry suffered no serious injuries and is in good spirits. According to Mr. Barry, doctors in the emergency room at Greater South East Hospital said he will have a full recovery and be back at work in a day or two.”

If this happened to a lesser man, we’d be reading about things like “hip replacement” and “major surgery.” But this is Barry. And Barry is indestructible. Well, almost.

To all Redskins fans about to call in: “Can we ban the SB word?” — Brian Mitchell on 980 at 3:22 p.m.

Columbia Heights is the midst of a boom. At the Target, a lot of shelves are empty. This can only mean that people are buying stuff. New restaurants have opened up in recent months (a gastropub, a pretty great pizza place, the now ubiquitous Five Guys). Foot traffic has increased, etc. Its main drag may still be ugly as hell but it has more activity.

This is all to say that I expected much more from Columbia Heights Day. This is why I must respectfully disagree with Prince of Petworth’s assessment (”Columbia Heights Day — Good Times“). I hate to go negative on an event that’s just two years old. But C’mon! This did not feel like a celebration. It felt like a wake inside a Peckinpah film.

Full disclosure No. 1: I did not get to see the cupcake eating contest. Full Disclosure No. 2: I half expected rides. If you thought I was not exactly the CHD’s demo, you would be wrong (the cupcakes were vegan). The big disappointment is that the boring i.e. political outnumbered the fun. There was allegedly face painting (didn’t see it). There was a petting zoo (pretty cool, admittedly, but inferior to any county fair). And there was a moon bounce (smaller or same size of moon bounces found at any block party). The rest of the attractions for your CHD: Jim Graham and Patrick Mara (at least when I was there in the afternoon).

Kids of all ages do not find Jim Graham or Patrick Mara (I’m guessing here since he’s a newbie) entertaining. They attend these events because that’s where voters are–they shake hands, look “real” or “casual,” and pass out pamphlets that will promptly get deposited in the nearest trash can (not nearly enough at CHD).

Two things lacking to CHD that would have made CHD endurable: a well-kept field and festival food. By the time we got there, food consisted of dueling snowball makers and small samples of chips and runny guac. All this no food/no fun was held on a dirt field on the grounds of Harriet Tubman Elementary School at 11th and Kenyon Streets NW. The bands–not worth mentioning. I’m sorry but a guy noodling on a guitar like he’s opening for Merzbow doesn’t count.

Next time, organizers should block off some streets, take over a real field, and get some meat on a stick.

*photo courtesy of Prince of Petworth.

A few days ago Mr. T in DC, inspired by this NYT essay, decided to make a list of local buildings that should get the wrecking ball.

Mr. T offers some surprising and controversial choices: The Hirshhorn, the Kennedy Center, the FBI Building, the HUD building, among others.

Well, I’m sorry Mr. T. But I disagree with you about a few of your choices! The HUD building is cool in a Jetson’s kinda way. The Kennedy Center is iconic at this point. I agree that the FBI building is ugly as hell.

I would also add that the relatively new ATF building is the ugliest building in D.C. right now. For another picture, go here. And I’d take some dynamite to any rowhouse built right after the riots on 14th Street.

What are we missing? What else should get the wrecking ball?

Radar Online has news of cuts at Gawker, which include the talented Moe Tkacik. Time to start drinking.

In all the news reports I’ve read, the guy who took over City Paper last year and ran to the bankruptcy court has accepted no blame for Monday’s Chapter 11 filing and framed our troubles as inevitable.

I wasn’t buying any of that.

Until now.