Andrew Woods is the goofy blond guy spotted in D.C. wearing weird blue goggles and a panda hat. Originally from the Denver area, he decided to audition after a little prodding from his younger brother. “He thought I’d have a better chance of getting on the show, because I’m more of a prick,” he says.

According his MTV bio, he came to Washington after his latest girlfriend cheated on him and dumped him, and he “heads to D.C. a single man, looking to get with any girl who will say yes.”

I must admit, the best anecdote I ever heard about Andrew, I picked up in the Washington Post’s recent video of the Real World house. Andrew tells the story himself, standing in front of a basement couch:

Read More “Meet Real World DC Cast Member Andrew” »

If you were selling McMansions in the heat of the ’00s bubble, you probably came across Hammer Communications, a Georgetown real-estate advertising firm. The company had squadrons of creative talent who specialized in designing brochures and advertisements to make sure your overvalued properties fetched every last dollar. Hammer’s people would get good placements in the New Homes Guide, the Washington Times’ Friday Home Guide, the Washington Post’s real-estate section, and other pricey publications.

They worked with top regional builders including Basheer & Edgemoore, Pulte Homes, and Brookfield Homes.

But even those builders didn’t wow Hammer account executives the way K. Hovnanian Homes did. One of the country’s largest homebuilders, with revenues totaling more than $3 billion and 10,577 homes built in the last fiscal year, K. Hovnanian has colonized large patches of dirt all around the Washington region with its sprawling brick four-bedrooms and other attractive models.

Read More “The Fall of Hammer Communications: How a Georgetown Ad Agency Built on McMansions Ended up in a Pile of Debt” »