Lifestyle: Blogs & Columns - The Washington Post

Mark Krikorian loses volunteer job with Catholic Charities after Washington Post story

The Reliable Source — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:50:09 GMT

Hours after the Washington Post profile of anti-immigration activist Mark Krikorian hit doorsteps Tuesday, he got fired -- from a volunteer job.

Catholic Charities informed Krikorian that he can no longer teach its civics classes for green card-holders seeking to pass the citizenship test after he brought a Post reporter to his classroom last week without prior approval.

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Ask Amy: Sober college student pressured to drink

Amy Dickinson — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:27:56 GMT

DEAR AMY: I am a college student who doesn’t drink. I was raised in a very religious family, and it was instilled in me not to drink until I turn 21. My roommate drinks and pressures me to.

She and my other friends never invite me out because they think I will be no fun. They don’t even give me a chance to show them that I can be fun and not drink! One night I gave in and had a few sips of alcohol.

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Rep. Joaquin Castro engaged to Anna Flores

The Reliable Source — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:23:27 GMT

Engaged: Rep. Joaquin Castro and longtime girlfriend Anna Flores, the freshman congressman's office confirmed Tuesday -- though the news was originally broken by his older-by-a-minute identical twin brother, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, in a Facebook post late Monday. Flores, who has been dating the Texas Democrat for about three years, works for San Antonio tech firm and plans to keep living in their Texas district, rather than move to D.C., we're told -- a typical decision for many congressional spouses these days. In a statement, Castro said they are "grateful for the outpouring of love and well wishes on our recent engagement. We don't have a set date, but we are excited for the many years together to come."

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Before the band goes on stage, can I get a countdown?

Alex Baldinger — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:25:10 GMT

Low's set at Sixth & I Synagogue on Monday night was, in my opinion, fantastic. The band's minimalist arrangements sounded especially haunting in the domed sanctuary, and the new material (particularly "Just Make it Stop" from 2013 s Jeff Tweedy-produced "The Invisible Way") sounded just as vital and spare and unsettling as the old material. ("Monkey," forever and ever.)

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Must-see movies at AFI Docs

Stephanie Merry — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:05:35 GMT

The festival, which runs Wednesday through Sunday, spotlights films that break conventional molds.

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Josh Duggar moving to D.C. for political job with Family Research Council

The Reliable Source — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:46:06 GMT

After three decades of fighting the culture wars from within the Washington establishment, the conservative Family Research Council decided that it needed a fresh, new face to reach outside and cultivate the grassroots.

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Tonight: Drink (and learn about) sherry at Mockingbird Hill

Fritz Hahn — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:10:27 GMT

When Derek Brown opened Mockingbird Hill, his new ham and sherry bar in Shaw, he knew he'd have to teach people about the Spanish wine -- that it's not just something you cook with, or the sweet, creamy stuff your grandmother drank. That's why he decided to offer free public sherry tasting classes every Tuesday at 5 p.m..

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Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen will be skating on the Mall on Saturday

Fritz Hahn — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:52:10 GMT

If you grew up a skateboarder in the '80s and '90s, the names Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen are imbued with a certain magic the kind that comes from watching, rewinding and rewatching Bones Brigade videos to try and figure out Mullen's legendary kick flip and Airwalk, or just to stare at Tony Hawk's 720 aerial tricks.

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Quoted: Katy Perry will only drop hints, for now, about her breakup with Russell Brand

The Reliable Source — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:46:21 GMT

"I felt a lot of responsibility for it ending, but then I found out the real truth, which I can't necessarily disclose because I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day."

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Briefly: Michele Obama and Bono; Lolo Jones; Komen CEO; Kimye baby name

The Reliable Source — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:47:19 GMT

Brief news from here and elsewhere:

In what should be a mandatory stop for all Dublin tourists, Michelle, Sasha and Malia Obama met up with Bono and his wife for lunch. (Irish Times)
Earlier: Michelle Obama on visiting Dublin's Trinity College

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Battle of the ridiculous: 'The Wolf of Wall Street' vs. 'Magna Carta Holy Grail'

Jessica Goldstein, Cara Kelly — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:25:32 GMT

On Monday, like heaven releasing manna down to the Earth, the Internet dropped into our unworthy laps two extraordinary videos dare we say, bite-size cinematic masterpieces that we have only begun to appreciate and can't even attempt to fully comprehend.

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Nigella Lawson husband Charles Saatchi warned by police over fight

The Reliable Source — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:33:10 GMT

Charles Saatchi, the art dealer husband of Nigella Lawson, took an official warning from London police Monday over an incident in which he appeared to attack the celebrity chef, British newspapers are reporting this morning.

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One Teen Story gets one new editor

Ron Charles — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:24:11 GMT

Like any adolescent, the face of One Teen Story is changing fast. Just a year old, the monthly magazine of short fiction for young people is getting a new editor-in-chief: Patrick Ryan, 47, was the associate editor of Granta from 2009 to 2013. He left the London-based literary journal last month in The Great Exodus that included John Freeman and other staffers.

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Nightlife Agenda: Yeezus, bourbon and $2 beers

Fritz Hahn, Rhome Anderson — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:02:41 GMT

Every Tuesday, the Going Out Gurus highlight the week's best DJs, bands, dance nights and parties.

Tuesday, June 18
We're not really surprised that " Yeezus " leaked. The Kanye West album, which everyone is either hailing as a trainwreck or a transcendent, visionary work, is blowing up all digital communication networks and sending critics scrambling to put it in context after a few rushed listens. Let's all take a pause. Hold those "classic" proclamations, and take off the earbuds, step away from the keyboard and get immersed in the album with other real life humans. The record will be played end to end twice in a row on U Street Music Hall's sonic temple of a sound system during a Tuesday-night listening party, and then DJ Baronhawk will spin his way through other highlights from the Kanye catalog.

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CAVNA’S CANVAS: Neil Gaiman’s transporting gift for the magical power of ‘place’ [+ANIMATED VIDEO]

Michael Cavna — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:01:00 GMT

ED. NOTE: Today, Comic Riffs kicks off a new feature in which we take a close look at various aspects of storytelling. And to launch this offering — as well as The Post’s new animated-interview video — we couldn’t think of a better candidate than best-selling and beloved novelist/comics writer Neil Gaiman (whose first adult novel in eight years, “The Ocean at the End of the Lane,” hits bookshelves physical and virtual Tuesday). So today, we pause to appreciate one of Gaiman’s particular gifts: His ability to tap the stirring power of “place.”

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‘MONSTERS UNIVERSITY’: How a mockumentary gave Dan Scanlon a boost up to the director’s chair

Michael Cavna — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:22:36 GMT

DAN SCANLON has more than a bit of Christopher Guest coursing through his comedy veins.

Scanlon is a master of animated story at Pixar, but it was his vision for a live-action mockumentary that has given his career an extra boost.

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Newt Gingrich turns 70 with a surprise birthday party

The Reliable Source — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:23:50 GMT

So a priest, a politician and his wife walk into a bar

Newt and Callista Gingrich thought they were having a casual dinner with a small group of friends -- including a few priests -- Sunday night when the driver gave a vague excuse and diverted the car to Georgetown. As they pulled up to Cafe Milano, the couple found 250 friends waiting outside of the restaurant for Newt's surprise 70th birthday party.

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Ask Amy: Only one drama queen per wedding allowed

Amy Dickinson — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:42:29 GMT

DEAR AMY: My girlfriend of 10 years is getting married. I’m the maid of honor in her wedding, but recent actions are hurtful and confusing.

I was invited to bring a “plus one” to the wedding. I told her I would be bringing a man I’ve been dating for six months whom she hasn’t yet met. She called me and said she was disappointed that during her three-day bachelorette party I had taken a call from this man, gotten emotional and caused drama. She told me I could not bring him to the wedding because she feared I would cause drama.

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Michelle Obama on visiting Dublin's Trinity College

The Reliable Source — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:36:35 GMT

"It's like Hogwarts, as Sasha pointed out."

-- Michelle Obama describing her trip Monday with her daughters to Dublin's Trinity College to a crowd of Irish youth she later addressed at nearby Gaiety Theatre: "It's a huge room with shelf after shelf full of books; a beautiful place, and I hope that all of you aspire to go there, if not study there, but just to go and experience what it's like to be surrounded by so much history and so much power." On day one of the president's official visit to Northern Ireland and Germany, his wife and daughters went to Trinity to see the illuminated ninth-century gospel known as the Book of Kells and and birth registries for President Obama's Irish ancestors.

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Miss Utah and the dreaded Q&A brainfreeze

Cara Kelly — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:02:12 GMT

Poor Miss Utah -- the latest victim of the loathed on-stage interview meltdown.

That was a likely reaction for viewers of the live interview portion of the Miss USA pageant Sunday night, as contestant Marissa Powell stammered out an incoherent ramble of an answer. Add her to the list with Miss Teen South Carolina's epic 'and the Iraq' fail.

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Chris Cooley's tribute to Teddy Roosevelt

Fritz Hahn — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:47:35 GMT

Teddy and the Bully Bar, restaurateur Alan Popovsky's tribute to America's 26th president, is filled with nods to Theodore Roosevelt, including sconces styled to look like hunting rifles and a chandelier made of monocles. But the most intriguing items might be the easiest to overlook. Shelves across from the bar are lined with pitchers, mugs and flasks decorated with portraits of the Rough Rider. "Chris Cooley made those," Popovsky said.

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Hear Kanye West's 'Yeezus' at U Street Music Hall listening party

Lavanya Ramanathan — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:21:09 GMT

Kanye West's hotly anticipated, dyspeptic new album "Yeezus" may have spilled prematurely onto the web and into everyone's download folders over the weekend, but you might want to reserve judgment about the album's dance-worthiness until you hear it cranking from the speakers at U Street Music Hall on Tuesday night.

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Briefly: Nigella Lawson, presidential deaths

The Reliable Source — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:21:21 GMT

Brief news from here and elsewhere:

Nigella Lawson and her children have left their home after tabloid photos showed the celebrity chef in what appeared to be a physical fight with art dealer husband Charles Saatchi, who was grabbing her by the neck; he says the photos have been misinterpreted. (Telegraph, Guardian)
Update: Saatchi warned by police, 6/18/13

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Hey, isn't that . . . ?: Bryce Harper

The Reliable Source — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:02:11 GMT

-- Bryce Harper waiting for a table at the Chart House in Alexandria Friday night with girlfriend Kayla Varner. The Nats were in Cleveland that night; maybe the disabled-list superstar can't bear to sit home and watch the games he's not in. He dressed down in an untucked plaid shirt, rolled sleeves, jeans, while she appeared to be wearing the new little black dress she happily tweeted about earlier that evening.

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Capital Fringe Festival shows announced, tickets on sale now

Stephanie Merry — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:52:00 GMT

Maura already gave you 10 things to look forward to during this summer's Capital Fringe Festival, which runs July 11-28. But now there are 129 other items to get excited about. The whole overwhelming list of shows was announced this morning, and tickets are on sale now.

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