Live Like DSK: Always wanted to lead the life of a self-important French politician, but never had the right real estate to do it? You're in luck! The Georgetown home former IMF head, former rape defendant, and erstwhile-next-French-prime-minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his wife Anne Sinclair own is on the market, for the low, low price of $5.2 million. Which is good news for all of us, even if we don't have that kind of cash, as it means DSK will probably be leaving D.C. +1

Designated Driver: Taking a shuttle bus around town to hop between Howard University homecoming parties this weekend might have seemed like a good idea—no need to worry about who was doing the driving that way, after all. Unless, that is, you were on the shuttle bus that crashed into a car, a lamppost, and a taxi on Sherman Avenue NW, causing police to arrest the driver. Maybe walking is the better plan. -2

iDistrict: By the time the iPhone 7 comes out, you may be able to camp out all night to buy it without going to Georgetown, Bethesda, or Pentagon City. Apple is reportedly considering opening a store in the CityCenterDC development under construction on the site of the old convention center downtown. For some reason, the stores have become tourist attractions; the one in midtown Manhattan is the most-frequently geotagged location in the city on Flickr. Call it the Apple Museum and enlist the Smithsonian? +1

Beck To The Future: The Washington Redskins had, allegedly, solved all their problems by swapping one journeyman quarterback for another. John Beck would improve on Rex Grossman's performance and the team would get back to winning. Alas, yesterday's game against the Carolina Panthers proved the team would only get back to something that's been too familiar in recent years: losing badly. The Redskins fell, 33-20, bringing their record to 3-3 for the season. Suddenly, those predictions that the team would finish last in the NFC East look prescient again. -2

Friday's Needle rating: 63 Today's score: -2 Today's Needle rating: 61

Witness the hoopla surrounding the opening of Georgetown's newfangled Apple store on Friday afternoon. Special correspondent Kim Chi Ha reports rather appropriately via iPhone: "Lol there's like 30 ppl in line already," she texts at 3:33 p.m. "It's hot as fuck out here."

3:31 p.m.-Let's see how long my fully charged phone lasts until it dies.

3:37 p.m.-"Only an hour and 24 minutes left," one geek in line says to another. One of them is carrying both an iPhone and a Mac. And they're either staring at me, or the Nine West display.

3:53p.m.-Dude has a "Thank you, Steve" shirt. Don't see any picketers from Amanda's story.

3:54p.m.-God, these people in line have to be miserable. It's sweltering.

Inside the store

4:11p.m.-Inside the store. [It pays to be in media; you other suckers are still in line!] Senior store leader Ilene Magee says the company has no plans to open any other locations in D.C. Yet. No special deals but shit is nice yo. Unique feature is the courtyard where the screens are 82 inches.

4:17 p.m.-They gave us free water

4:19 p.m.-Free t-shirt to first 1,000 customers. Hurry!

4:29 p.m.-Richard Lawson, No. 2 in line, says, "I thought I was gonna get a free iPod. I already got a t-shirt."

4:30 p.m.-My phone's got a bit less than half a battery life left. Damn Steve Jobs

4:31 p.m. "It's hot like bacon out here," says the first guy in line, who identifies himself as Zeus Shytbagh. (Probably not his real name.) Turns out, his uncle works here and he didn't even know! "He could've gotten me a job," says Zeus. The second guy in line isn't so bothered by the heat. "I'm in a long sleeve shirt. I'm good. This cool," he says. "I could stand out here in a leather jacket. We been out here since 1:30."  The velvet rope next to him keeps coming loose from its pole.

4:32 p.m.-Line is down to M Street. Make that, wrapping around M Street. Gotta be over 100.

4:36 p.m.-Protesters show up. "Enough" is the name of the organization. Protest to end genocide and crimes against humanity.

4:40 p.m.- [via email] Shit I think too many ppl r texting. It stopped going thru. Also I'm charging my phone in the store

4:53 p.m.-"No life is worth more than a penny," says demonstrator Gregory Rockson (pictured left) Also: I think I'm getting suburned. At least I got a free t-shirt!

4:56 p.m.-300 ppl in line. 300 iPhones. A mugger's dream!

4:59 p.m.-Store opens to the public.

Photos from Kim Chi Ha's iPhone

The store that has long been awaited
'Twas also quite hotly debated
Your laptop is busted?
A genius, if trusted
Will fix up the mess you created

Hizzoner had property stolen
(Two bikes left for rough terrain rollin')
It's now a charade
Because he delayed
And 'cause he's a little controllin'

From slicing and dicing to searing
This Wednesday saw Top Chef premiering
With Padma, soon Nancy
And food that looks fancy
No wonder this show is endearing

McDonnell has issued a threat
That's making WMATA folks sweat
He wants to appoint
Two more from his joint
Or matching funds, Metro won't get

As foodies, reality TV fans and Padma Lakshmi devotees probably already know, Top Chef DC premiered last night. Washingtonian's Best Bites Blog has an episode recap (they had to cook for a Cherry Blossom Festival cocktail party—how touristy!) as well as predictions about the season from local Top Chef alums.

Virginia is adopting a six-year, $7.8 billion plan to improve transportation. It's unclear whether threatening to ruin the federal funding agreement for Metro is part of that plan...

The end of D.C.'s Apple-less days is nigh: The Georgetown Apple store will be opening tomorrow at 5 pm and giving out free shirts to the first 1,000 customers.

Photo by David Shankbone/Creative Commons Attribution License

Attention local urban sophisticates! You will not be able to visit an Apple Store in the District of Columbia anytime soon!

That scoop comes courtesy of the underappreciated, under-Webbed Current newspapers, which explained in last week's editions [PDF, see pp. 1 and 19] that plans for the District's first Apple Store are held up in a thicket of regulatory approvals, from the Georgetown advisory neighborhood commission and the Old Georgetown Board.

Earlier this month, both bodies rejected Apple's design—the third the company had submitted for the property at 1229 Wisconsin Ave. NW, a Georgetown storefront the company has owned for more than a year—because, as the Current's Carol Buckley puts it, it "would not fit into Georgetown."

Nay, not even this testimonial, delivered by an Apple project manager, can cut through the red tape: "Steve saw this design and really loves it."

That's Steve Jobs, people. Steve Jobs!

When will you hoity-toity bureaucrats wake up and realize that when Steve Jobs loves something, that means you must love it, too?

The Current describes said design as such: "a glass first story with a solid stone upper facade punctuated by a large window shaped like Apple's logo." The Old Georgetown Board, charged with preserving historic preservation standards, "felt that the design turned the building into a billboard," according to a spokesperson. The ANC, charged with being parochial nitwits, raised concerns that the latest design was "too modern."

What are you missing out on, obstructionist Georgetowners? Well, as the Washington Business Journal put it in 2007, you're missing the "one retail store that any town, and any developer, covets above all others. A store with such cachet that any retail center blessed enough to land one becomes instantly certified as a platinum-level shopping mecca, with clientele who are urbane, savvy and have loads of disposable income."

Georgetown, though, does not covet thy neighbor's urbane, savvy, income-disposing customers—got plenty of those already.

So suck it, Jobs! Shoulda gone to Chinatown!

Flickr photo by ping ping