The crew that's trying to bring about a new Washington Blade is ready to hang with you at Hard Rock Cafe. Tonight from 6 to 8!

The paper for guys who like guys
Has shockingly met its demise
Goodbye to the Blade
But don't be dismayed
A similar rag may arise...

We hear that the writers conspire
(They're surely too young to retire)
They're thinking of names
For out of the flames
A phoenix is born from the fire

More on the failed attempt by Falls Church News-Press Owner Nicholas F. Benton's to acquire the Washington Blade prior to yesterday's shutdown. As mentioned in this post, Benton had won a bid to acquire the Blade from its broke parent company, Window Media. Or at least he thought he had.

Here's the way Benton tells it: His people and the Blade's corporate overlords were in the very final stages of completing the ownership transfer. Around Nov. 6, Benton was waiting for some notes from the other side's lawyers on "finalizing the contract for sale." But they got no notes. "We got silence," says Benton. "We weren't in touch."

Next thing Benton knows, the Blade is dead.

Here's a bit more detail on just what the deal would have involved. According to Benton, the idea was to acquire the Blade free and clear of the debt load that was killing it. Benton also wanted to "retain as many of the employees as possible and continue business as usual." Money was also part of the deal, though Benton won't say just yet how much he was offering.

Perhaps it wasn't enough to offset the always-high legal fees involved in transferring ownership of a paper. Or perhaps it was---who knows at this point. More updates to come.

Nicholas F. Benton, the storied owner of the Falls Church News-Press, attempted to acquire the assets of the Washington Blade from the paper's bankrupt parent company, according to a Nov. 17 press release.

Read More "Claim: Benton Made Big Play for Washington Blade" »

Today, the Style section of the Washington Post featured a conservative-liberal duel on the topic of Sarah Palin. From the right wrote Matthew Continetti, a youngish opiner from the Weekly Standard. From the left wrote Ana Marie Cox, quite possibly the greatest blogger ever.

But I must say that it was Continetti who grabbed me this morning, right from the start of his piece. If ever there was a perfect lede, this was it:

Read More "Continetti and I: Devotees of Hans Robert Jauss" »

Tomorrow morning, the staff of the defunct Washington Blade will meet to launch a new publication that does pretty much what the Blade has done/did since 1969---cover gay Washington.

Read More "Blade Staff to Launch New Publication" »

Reports are coming in that the Washington Blade is closing effective this week. The source for the news is our sister paper, Creative Loafing Atlanta. City Desk has made several calls to the Blade but hasn't yet gotten through. More to come.

UPDATE, 11:46 A.M.: Queerty posts a nice wrapup on what went down. Seems that the Blade's publisher, Window Media, posted a note on the front door of its Atlanta offices saying, hey, we're done. It instructs employees to return on Nov. 18 to retrieve belongings and get the lowdown on "separation stipulations."

UPDATE, 12:55 P.M.: Politico's Michael Calderone reports that Blade staffers are already planning a new venture. Editor Kevin Naff tells him, "The Blade staff is united and ready to continue the paper's long-standing mission. The first meeting for our new venture is Tuesday and we welcome the community's input as we move forward."

photo by Darrow Montgomery

Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. has been walking a mighty fine line the past couple of weeks.

When you're representing a ward that contains both quickly gentrifying (and gayifying) areas like Bloomingdale, Eckington, and Brookland, in addition to the generally conservative Bungalow Belt and many of the city's most politically active churches, same-sex marriage would be one of those issues you might wish would go away.

Thomas veered heavily to one side of that line when he voted this month to recognize other states' same-sex marriages here in D.C. He leaned even further when the Washington Blade reported last Friday that Thomas was on the record in support of a full gay marriage bill—-a story LL had highlighted in his Friday news roundup.

Leaned too far, perhaps: That afternoon, Thomas spokesperson Victoria Leonard called LL to say the Blade story, by Lou Chibarro Jr., wasn't true. Her boss, she said, wasn't committed either way.

Read More "Behold Harry Thomas Jr.’s Nuanced Position on Same-Sex Marriage Legislation" »

An American Idol upset last night. Don't care. Don't watch it. But today the Washington Blade is saying it was "smear the queer" time in America. Just like when Brokeback lost! Scandal! Sniff!

My idol? Michael Volpe, the 25-year-old guy standing in front of Metro stations with a bright orange sign advertising himself as an entry level jobseeker. I have a soft spot for SUNY Geneseo grads after spending several weekends there as an undergrad way back in the early '90s. But even if you don't, you gotta read Petula Dvorak's sweet little story about this guy. And she took the photo. Is the Post turning into the Current?

Also local in our paper of record: Tai Shan really is leaving this time. Know the real reason why? He gained weight and ceased to be cute. My mom told me the same thing way back in the early '90s.

Moving on to other people who write blogposts:

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: Who’s Kris Allen, Again? Edition" »

BIGGEST COMEBACK SINCE EMINEM: Erik Wemple is all sound and fury this week, taking down the Post for copy errors and showing some love to the Blade—for its investigative work on gays in the military—and the InTowner for one of its...distinctive headlines.

Don't touch that remote!

The Washington Blade has done some solid reporting on this morning's horrible news. At around 3 a.m., a 35-year-old man was shot in the head and killed walking home from Fox & Hounds. The shooting took place at 11th and Q Streets NW.

The Blade reports:

"The victim was identified as Durval V. Martins of the 200 block of Bates Street, N.W. A police statement said Martins also suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the body.

Acting Lt. Brett Parson, who oversees the police’s Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, said the motive for the killing was unknown but could have been robbery. He noted that officers found the victim’s wallet in his hand.

Martins’ credit cards, cash, cell phone, and jewelry were still in his possession, Parson said."

We will be updating this story soon.

Via DCist.