Incidentally, the Taliban are also disappointed in the Norwegians:

"We have seen no change in his strategy for peace. He has done nothing for peace in Afghanistan," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP....

"When Obama was elected president, we were hopeful he would keep his promise to bring change. But he brought no change, he has continued the same old strategy as (President George W.) Bush.

I don't mean to further offend the sycophants on the prize committee, but I have to say, the Taliban kinda sorta have a stake in this. Granted, they are shitty and stupid and regressive. But they're also getting bombed and shot by USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

In reporting out our story on Sharon Bowen, a woman linked professionally and personally to Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry, it was difficult to figure out what she exactly did for the residents of the District.

Between spring 2007 and spring 2008, Barry had awarded her $50,000 in taxpayer-funded contracts. From our sources, we kept hearing two things: Bowen was a "class act" and Barry's girlfriend. None of our sources could talk with deep knowledge about her actual work. All city records have to show for it are invoices written by Bowen and the Barry-approved personal services contracts.

We are just supposed to know that Bowen worked in the areas of poverty reduction (specifically on organizing a Poverty Summit), working with the Ward 8 Business Council, and to "ensure that the vision of Councilmember Marion Barry is fulfilled."  Does this seem like $50,000 worth of work?

When asked about Bowen's work, Ward 8 Business Council Executive Director James Bunn admitted it wasn't rocket science. He said Bowen essentially went door-to-door to identify Ward 8 businesses. If she made a report on her findings, he didn't see one.

It all feels like work you give an intern. Or something Barry should have delegated to his constituent services office or an elected ANC commissioner or a staffer at the Ward 8 Business Council. This does not feel like $50,000 work you give to a woman who votes in Ohio.

At the time of Bowen's work, poverty in the District was a very real problem, one that hadn't changed since the last recession. According to the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, the gap between high-wage and low-wage workers had reached an all-time high in 2007 and poverty levels were at their highest in more than a decade.

Especially satisfying after so much failed quirkiness this year:

Their particular form of protest comes from poking fun at serious issues such as world trade rules, corporate greed and the human role in global warming. And, they are so good at it that the suits usually don’t know the joke is on them until it’s way beyond face-saving time.

They’ve pinioned officials at the World Trade Organization, FEMA and Halliburton. In my book, I included their 2007 antics at a Canadian oil convention. Impersonating executives from ExxonMobil and the National Petroleum Council, The Men had a roomful of industry types on their feet and solemnly lighting candles made from what they claimed to be the next big renewable energy source: Vivoleum, a “fossil fuel” supposedly made from the human flesh of people killed in hurricanes, floods and other global warming-related disasters.

Given what's on TV this time of year, there are many worse ways to spend a Monday night. But even before seeing it, I have a complaint for the filmmakers: the title. The Yes Men certainly make it more fun to fret about corporate corruption and lack of political will, but change the world? At best, they call attention to its many dysfunctions.

David Adamson: Well I started as a traditional printer, a lithographer, but in the late '70s I started to get interested in computer and computer technology, and I basically looked for a way to bring the two together, the traditional printing and the computers. I bought one of the first digital printing machines that was available--from the Israeli army. Made for satellite pictures. We adapted that to be able to print photography. So that was by about 1993, I opened my first studio, that was all digital. So that's how we got into that.

WCP: You've worked with Lou Reed before?

Adamson: Yes, I've done, oh I think I've done about four different shows for Lou that have been at different venues over the past... I think we've been working together for about five years.

WCP: And what was it like working with him, and how have you seen his work progress?

Adamson: Well, I mean obviously it's been a real honor and treat to be able to work with Lou Reed, because he was one of my heroes growing up. You know, and so to be able to work with him one on one in a totally different vein that had nothing to do with music but was imaging, it's been just a great experience. He's really really passionate about the technology and about the cameras and photography. He's very knowledgeable. We talk all the time about this sort of stuff, you know, and so it's been really great just seeing how we've gone in the past five years from where we started, basically, which was non-digital, we would've been scanning film and making those images to being, now, a totally digital show.

WCP: What other photographers' influences can you see in Reed's work? Has that changed at all from when he first started?

Adamson: You know, he's actually one of the few people that I really don't see that he's affected or influenced by too many people. I mean, he's got a lot of friends that are brilliant, like Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Ralph Gibson, all of these are his friends, which are great photographers. But I think Lou kind of goes his own way, and is quite happy to sort of just go that way, not really try and be or do anything except what makes him happy.

WCP: "Romanticism" is promoted as a response to industrialization and globalization, which are corollaries of technological advancement. It's  interesting then that Reed chose to shoot and print digitally.

Adamson: Well in a way this is the greenest form of printing there is. The inks we use are, they're pure, natural pigment. The paper is rag paper that's been recycled and reconstituted. There's no chemicals used. So it's a very environmentally sound method that we use. Also digital--no film, no silver, no waste. You know, so in that sense, the technology involved in this is really cool.

WCP: As a fan of Reed's music, do you see any parallels with his photography?

Adamson: Yeah. I think "Perfect Day," if you listen to "Perfect Day" you could look at any one of these and hear that song. I mean, you know, as opposed to some of the darker songs or the heavy metal stuff that he does, this is more like "Perfect Day," yeah.

WCP: Are these [photographs] arranged in any specific way?

Adamson: They're arranged in an order that he wanted to see them in. So, in his mind there's a certain sequence and a story that's going on, yeah.

WCP: And how closely did you work with him over the course of preparation for this exhibition?

Adamson: Oh we've been working on this project now for probably two years, editing and looking at stuff. You know, I'd go up in the studio and we'd look at stuff and pick stuff out, and I'd make proofs and it is a to and fro, and then of course it turned into a book [Romanticism]. So we took some of those images from the book. So it's been a continuing process.

WCP: How did you select the images that you were going to show from the book?

Adamson: Well out of the book we pretty much picked everything, except some of the crops and the closer edits. So I tried to put as much in as I could that was in the book.

WCP: And these photographs weren't shot in infrared or in black and white, so what is it, what was used?

Adamson: It's more than that. He had a camera that was particularly customized, that sees in a wavelength that the normal cameras do not see, and I think you can see that in some of the imagery. And Lou is a very... I mean he sees and he hears things in a very different way than most people. And so, you know, when he takes his photograph it's like this is how he really sees it. That's how he feels.

"Romaticism" is on view Tuesdays through Fridays, 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m., through September 4 at Adamson Gallery, 1515 14th St. NW, Suite 202. (202) 232-0707.

According to Brendon Small, the show's creator, Konami and Adult Swim went "above and beyond and found the biggest nerds in the industry to help develop and deliver what will without a doubt be the most successful downloadable cartoon death metal game in recorded history.”

But wait, there's more.

The game's plot:

In Metalocalypse: Dethgame, players will be immersed in the world of Dethklok. As a Klokateer, one of the band’s loyal roadies, players will be unleashed on a heinous rampage against rabid mutant fans in brutal combat. Fight mutants, explore the rooms and dungeons of Mordhaus and protect the METAL faithful. All of this action set to the music of Dethklok, including tracks from the best-selling Dethklok: The Dethalbum. Additionally, the game will feature three all-new songs from Williams Street Records’ Dethklok 2 which will be available later this fall. Complete with mini-games, Metalocalypse provides an optimal gaming experience rarely seen in a downloadable game.

The release is planned for 4th quarter 2009.

We are, of course, withholding our enthusiasm pending reports from experience gamers, while simultaneously marveling at Small's confidence.

Here's what our dear, dear Jule Banville--just gimme a sec to dry my eyes--had to say about tonight's musical offering at the Rock & Roll Hotel:

If Elizabeth and the Catapult hit its debut a touch sooner—and landed an iPod commercial, of course—it’d be Elizabeth Ziman, and not Leslie Fiest, singing with Tweedy on the new Wilco album. Instead, Ziman’s folksy, jazzy chamber-pop trio has built a loyal downtown following in New York, where Ziman grew up, and packed the Red and the Black last month at the start of the Taller Children tour.

JESUS! Did somebody say WILCO? WILCO ALERT! Lizzie and her Cat-o-pole playing music after the jump. Show deets right this way.

On to the day's business.

• Tom Morello has a new album out. The eponymous Street Sweeper Social Club features someone even more politically incoherent than the joker who sang dirges for the UAW while mainlining Sony's green: Boots Riley of the Coup. If you don't know anything about the Coup, then congratulations, you don't listen to shit! Like Morello, Riley is a delusional tool. Unlike Morello, he never found a way to turn his band into a major-label commie megaphone. Morello has come a long way since huffing tear gas at that Miami free trade protest--despite evidence that free trade has lifted millions of people out of poverty and that tear gas is bad for you. His promise that he would do something outrageous during the Republican National Convention was overshadowed by people who actually did outrageous things during the Republican National Convention. If Street Sweeper Social Club is his idea of a revolutionary followup, well, I'm not one to call him out. The album has some funny lyrics thanks to Riley, who could've gone places if he wasn't so caught up in trying, at various times, to start race and class wars. Is the album worth the money? No. But if you're hellbent on listening to their radical leftism--and no, radical isn't over the top: these dudes advocate domestic terrorism against wealthy folks--download that shit for free. (It's revolutionary! Fuck capitalism!)
• In case you missed it, Housing Complex Day occurred/was/happened yesterday. Nothing was good enough for Walter Gagliano. Head honcho Erik Wemple harassed interviewed folks outside of Home Depot. With Darrow Montgomery beside him ("not in front of or behind" him), Jason Cherkis interviewed the kind of salt-of-the-earth people who make people like me feel guilty for bitching about ANYTHING. And that's not even the half of it. Seriously, spend a little time perusing yesterday's coverage at the Housing Complex.

Kudos to Borderstan who appears to have scooped every blogger on the central issue of our time. Borderstan has found the location of the Real World D.C. house---2000 S Street NW. We can only add to their scoop with our own reporting!

According to D.C. government documents, the property is valued at $5.69 million (that's the proposed 2010 assessment). The house was purchased on January 1, 2001 by DLB 20th LP. It appears that MTV or some Real World company is renting the house.

Four building permits have been issued since May, records show. One permit was for interior demolition. Another was for interior construction. The other two were for electrical and plumbing work. No word yet on whether a permit has been issued for hot tub installation.

No doubt this address will be home to some serious vapidness, bland hook-ups, and teary spats set to the gentle sounds of Chickenfoot. So who will benefit from all this crap? Bloggers like us.

Borderstan has the first-person narrative of its discovery:

"We heard sounds of workmen inside and, just by chance, saw a couple of guys outside (not workmen). One had a camera and the other one was taking notes. Without identifying their affiliation, I will say that they confirmed that 2000 S Street NW will be the house for The Real World. Moreover, at least one of the cast members will be a gay man and apparently one of the local venues for the drama-to-come will be Halo Lounge at 1435 P Street NW—across from Whole Foods..."

DCist has photos of the building's interior.

Get the latest on the Real World in DC

June 18 Update: Housing Complex reveals the floorplans of the house, showing game rooms and the confessional booth on the first floor, and "Love Sacks" on Second Floor.

June 30 Update: Twitter goes crazy over Real World cast arrival.

Maureen had us correct the column online as soon as the error was brought to her attention, adding in the sourcing to Marshall's blog. We ran a correction in today's paper,  referring readers to the correct version online.

There is no need to do anything further since there is no allegation, hint or anything else from Marshall that this was anything but an error. It was corrected. Journalists often use feeds from other staff journalists, free-lancers, stringers, a whole range of people. And from friends. Anyone with even the most passing acquaintance with Maureen's work knows that she is happy and eager to give people credit.

This is complete bullshit: Dowd. Fucking. Plagiarized. But she's a Pulitzer winner, a media elite, and a total babe, so the NYT is looking the other way. (I bet Jayson Blair is seething right now! Rick Bragg--not so much.)

Calderone closes his piece with this bit of insight:

If I was e-mailed a 40-plus-word block of text for this blog, and I used it, I'd include some sort of attribution -- whether "a reader writes in," "media insider points out" or whatever the case may be.

But from The Times' response, it seems the paper finds it acceptable for columnists to take entire paragraphs from friends (or sources?), over the phone or e-mail, and reproduce them verbatim in the paper under the columnist's byline.

Awesome, Calderone, you'd do differently. So would I. So would my colleagues and our freelancers and every other journalist who actually had to pay the consequences of handing in illegitimate copy. Now, can somebody suggest a good punishment for Dowd, a well-paid, respected columnist at a world-famous institution, who has demonstrated that she's too lazy to rework a friend's idea into her own words?

Perhaps a 500-word definition essay on integrity? Or maybe the same thing should happen to her that would happen to a first-year NYT reporter who stole from another journalist...

Eric Zorn says what I can't.

Thanks for telling me Pam is pregnant. Dick.

Don't worry--I'm not going to spoil the endings to everyone's favorite shows, even though Reality Blurred founder and personal friend Andy Dehnart says these aren't really spoilers:

Those are not spoilers, because a spoiler ruins something that has not yet been broadcast; it’s like calling the outcome of the presidential election or the ending to The Sixth Sense spoilers; if you don’t already know, the world cannot bend over backwards to protect you from your pop culture procrastination.

To Andy and other critics I say, Some of us work late on Thursdays. Some of us don't feel like turning on the boob tube as soon as we get home. Some of us would like to watch the season finales of our favorite shows at our leisure, just one day later, without knowing how they end. Write about them all you want. But I'm not going to read your shit until I'm good and ready.

But to those of you who twittered season finales or made them your Facebook status updates, thereby violating the safe spaces that were Facebook and Twitter, know this: There is a special place in Hell just for people who do what all of you have done, and it will feature really uncomfortable folding chairs and Leslie Neilson's Mr. Magoo on loop for all of eternity.

Hate crimes and student media, after the jump.

The Supreme Court nomination odds seem more and more to be in Sonia Sotomayer's favor, but Fordham University's Paul Levinson has an objection:

The decision came from Sotomayor's Second Circuit Court last May, regarding Lewis Mills High School student Avery Doninger. While running for Senior Class Secretary, Ms. Doninger found reason to object to the school's cancellation of a "jamfest" event, and characterized those who scotched the event as "douchebags" on her off-campus LiveJournal blog (she also characterized a school official in that same blog posting as getting "pissed off"). The school officials, in turn, took umbrage, prohibited Avery from running for Class Secretary, and disregarded the plurality of votes she received, anyway, as a write-in candidate. Avery sued the school officials, and the Federal District Court supported the school. Avery appealed to Sotomayor's Second Circuit Court.

After acknowledging the Supreme Court's 1969 Tinker decision, which held that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate," Sotomayor's Court proceeded to affirm the District Court's ruling - that is, Sonia Sotomayor and her colleague justices upheld the high school's right to punish Doninger for her off-campus speech. Their reasoning was that schools have an obligation to impart to their students "shared values," which include not only the importance of free expression but a "proper respect for authority".

Chris Moody over at Cato@Liberty posted a video of jazz-man Nat Hentoff's response to recent hate crime legislation barreling its way through Congress. (Short version, via Moody: "laws that punish one time for the crime and another time for the hate violate the First Amendment, the 14th Amendment and protections against Double Jeopardy.")

This morning a very small faction of possible IMF/World Bank Protesters--six jerks--vandalized two banks on P Street. A drive through downtown and in the surrounding area shows that the protesters did not hit any other banks or symbols of crass yuppiedom/corporate greed. The biggest crowds were the ones gathering at a street food cart. The biggest police/fire department scene concerned a man passed out on 16th Street just below Columbia Road.

If the protesters really wanted to do harm to District residents, disrupt their Saturday brunch rituals, they screwed up. Two takeaways from this incident: The protesters don't know anything about D.C, and city residents showed serious courage by not staying indoors on this beautiful day. Here's a rundown of safe activities that residents are currently enjoying.

ACKC: Still a hot spot:

You are free to shop at Pulp and Home Rule:

Miss Pixie's gets the City Desk all-clear sign:

Feel free to drink at Saint Ex:

You can enjoy fast food:

Big Oil is safe:

You can sit outside and drink coffee at 15th and U:

You can even leave your bike unattended for a few seconds on Hobart Street NW: