Will Rast of Funk Art
@ Fort Reno
Q:What's your song for summer?
A:"'I Ain't Nobody's Baby' by Sharon Jones."
CONFESSION: It hasn't been 24 hours, but we're teetering on the verge of a Michael Jackson hangover. Ever since we first broke the news yesterday, we've been writing about the pop icon non-stop. For now we'll be taking a moment of silence. Here's a recap of what you've missed (which we can't help thinking is downright "Bad.")
» Toast the King: The latest updates on local parties in honor of Jackson.
» Waxing Nostalgic: Where to pay your respect to MJ's varnished form.
» A Form of Flattery, Mourning: Videos of worldwide Michael Jackson impersonators.
» Creepy Coincidence: The 9:30 Club had scheduled a Jacko tribute band before the singer died.
» Here Come the Opportunists: YouTubers rally to the defense of Michael, aim for fame.
» Tokens of Appreciation: Must-have Jackson memorabilia.
Photo by Getty Images
STILL LOOKING for your old Michael Jackson limited-edition tour T-shirt? You can stop rummaging through your dusty attic, because we've dug up some grade-A Jacko memorabilia. From dolls, to hats, to even domain names, here are some choice momentos floating around auction sites worldwide.
» Besides looking down right awesome, this vintage thriller hat comes with a sweet heart shaped "I love Michael Jackson" pin on it.
» For all you iPhone users out there, show the man some love with a Michael Jackson themed iPhone skin. Sorry older iPhone users, it only comes sized for 3G models.
» Apologies, Coke. This little piece of nostalgia is a must have for fans of useless dust collectors. A six-pack of rare Jackson edition Pepsi cans from the 80's. Unopened! It's prob best to leave it that way. Jack or no, it's bound to be a wee bit flat.
Continue Reading "Tokens of Appreciation: Must Have Jackson Memorabilia" »
THE KING IS DEAD but Michael Jackson's legacy will live on ... in varnished form. Today fans paid tribute in wax museums throughout the world.
Madame Tussauds: Berlin
Berlin
Madame Tussauds: Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Continue Reading "Waxing Nostalgic: Pay Your Respects to Michael Jackson in Wax Form" »
WHEN IT COMES TO defending Michael Jackson, YouTube wannabes wannabe startin' something ...
"How Can You Pass Judgement On Someone You've Never Even Met?"
theoriginaltyler
The Original Tyler
"No One Deserves to Die, Okay?"
GayGod
Continue Reading "Here Come the Opportunists: YouTube Reacts to Michael Jackson's Death" »
IT'S BEEN 24 HOURS since Remy Munasifi uploaded his latest video on YouTube. And if you've got a Twitter feed or a Facebook page or a Gmail account, you've probably already seen it: It's a rap lauding the 28-year-old's Starbucks-laden, Whole Foods-hoppin' 'hood: Arlington, Virginia.
"Arlington: The Rap," which sings the praises of Crate & Barrel and notes the ubiquity of brown flip-flops, has jumped from 300 to 30,000 YouTube views in less than a day. We caught up with Munasifi to quiz him on his, uh, Clarendon street cred.
» EXPRESS: What makes Arlington so hardcore?
» MUNASIFI: It's populated by straight-up thugs. Really, seersucker is a fabric, but it's really a fabric that holds the town together. I was on the Metro and I saw a guy with brown flip-flops and seersucker shorts and I said, 'Yes! This is a video that needs to be made.'
It's a unique place — that's why I moved here. I like it a lot. There are a lot of individuals, unique personalities, creative people. It's kinda artsy. Everybody's real nice, too. It's not something that happens completely up and down the East Coast.
» EXPRESS: The video has gotten a lot of traffic in just 24 hours. Has response been crazy?
» MUNASIFI: That's cool. Now I'm just worried that folks are going to get sick of it; it's only been a day. I'm just happy that folks liked it. I put other videos out there — about something general. But this [song] was about a two-mile radius, so I didn't think it was really going to do [well].
» EXPRESS: Where did the idea come from?
» MUNASIFI: I live in Clarendon now, just a couple blocks from the Metro. I just moved here a few weeks ago and I thought that would be kinda cool to introduce everybody to my new 'hood. I really like Clarendon; I didn't land here by accident. It was like a celebration. I got a couple e-mails yesterday that folks liked it, and I was content with that. So far today it's been more of the same.
PATRICIA EBRAHIMI CLAIMS her first staging job was when she was 12 years old, when her mom said she had to share a room with her sister. A few rearranged beds and a room divider later, Ebrahimi realized she had a knack for bringing out the potential in a space through creative design.
In 2005, Ebrahimi started professionally staging homes in the D.C. market and founded the Rockville-based business Show-Smart! to help homeowners make their properties more attractive to potential buyers.
"Everyone looks better elegantly dressed than naked — unless you're a swimsuit model — and that's the same for real estate," she says.
Ebrahimi says sellers need to accent the best features of their property — a great layout, floors, renovated kitchen, lots of storage space or a master bathroom, for example — and play down the negatives. It's about neutralizing the space to appeal to the broadest set of buyers, so don't take it personally.
Continue Reading "Keeping Up Appearances: Making Your Home Sale-Ready with a Staging Pro" »
MOST KNOW HER as Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the 2006 blockbuster soul-searching memoir "Eat, Pray, Love." But when Gilbert, 40, accidentally calls two weeks before a scheduled interview, she simply leaves a message to call back "Liz." It's this friendly familiarity that draws in readers and will make her March 27 PEN/Faulkner talk at the National Cathedral (Massachusetts and Wisconsin avenues NW; 8 p.m., $10; 202-537-6200) all the more compelling.
» EXPRESS: Thanks for being uber-punctual.
» GILBERT: I am so sorry! [Laughs] You know what? I've got so much going on right now and I just got back here yesterday! Would you prefer we talk later? I'd be happy to call you back.
» EXPRESS: Not at all! So it's been a whirlwind ever since "Eat, Pray, Love"?
» GILBERT: It's been a bit of chaos, but it's also removed a bit. ... I used to spend months a year traveling and working on magazine stories. I haven't had to do that since "Eat, Pray, Love." It balances out in a funny way. It took time away, but [also] put it back.
» EXPRESS: What did you gain with this time?
» GILBERT: A bit of domestic stability, which is something I've never had. I have a really nice man I'm married to — We started this retail business because we travel together and buy strange things overseas. We have this warehouse in New Jersey we sell from. If you want to look it's called Twobuttons.com.
It's wonderful for me because it's so different from what I do for my normal life. What I do is so ephemeral, and this is so supremely material. I can be working on a book and having trouble with it, and I can go down to the warehouse and the big question is, "Should the Buddha be in this corner or that corner?"
Continue Reading "Breezy & Brilliant: Author Elizabeth Gilbert" »
TAKE THE SOCIAL-NETWORKING power of Facebook. Sprinkle in the immediacy of Twitter. Mix in a dash of PostSecret style oversharing. Then simmer.
What's the dish?
Confessions like these:
"Today, I was standing on a crowded bus going home after school. A wriggling 5-year-old boy and his mum left the seat to get off the bus. Since no one looked keen to sit on the seat, I did, only to find out that it was covered in pee. FML"
"Today, I was studying for a final when I noticed all I had was a blue highlighter. I decided to drive to the store to get a yellow one, and on the way I got $200 worth of traffic tickets for not stopping at a stop sign. So, I basically spent $200 because I prefer yellow highlighters over blue. FML"
Welcome to F*** My Life.
Now in its third month of existence, the minimalist Web site — reminiscent of Craigslist — has struck a nerve with the Web's woe-is-me set. It already boasts 700,000 daily unique visitors and over 450,000 Facebook fans stretching from Canada to Lithuania.
"It's taken off because it's halfway between voyeurism and exhibitionism, isn't it?" said 37-year-old Alan Holding, who helps run the site from his pad in Beziers, France. "If you've got something embarrassing that's happened to you, you can post it anonymously on the Internet and the whole world can either [mock you] or empathize with you."
TAKE A GUESS. Which question probably won't come up at Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius' congressional hearing?
What is your stance on abortion?
Do you believe in a universal health-care program?
What do you think of the board game "Don't Drop the Soap"?
OK, so the answer is obvious.
Still, asking the U.S. secretary of health and human services nominee if she knows of this atypical board game isn't as far fetched as one would think. After all, her 24-year-old son John created it.
"I initially made it as a fun college game my friends could play," Sebelius said by phone from his home in Lawrence, Kan. "Soap" started as a class assignment during his senior year at the Rhode Island School of Design: In 2006, Sebelius and his fellow students were asked to create a board game from scratch. But rather than play it safe — after all, his mother is a politician — Sebelius opted to roll the creative dice.
THE FIRST WEEKEND of Lent can be tough. Even if you're not observing it, a bunch of your friends likely are — and it's early enough in the game that they haven't yet "forgotten" about what they vowed to give up. Here's one way to pair reverence with reverie, and take a road trip, to boot.
On the first Friday of each month between 5-8 p.m., the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore (600 North Charles St.; 410-547-9000) spices up one of its exhibitions with a happy hour: food, dancing — the works. The theme changes each month. This time it's "Manuscripts and Martinis," a little cocktail party tailored to the Walters' impressive collection of illuminated Bibles.
Yes, you'll be drinking alcohol in a room full of Bibles. During Lent. Just go with it. If you ever start to feel too sinful, you can set down your glass and wander around looking at the astonishingly detailed art.
After the party, walk over to the Helmand (806 N. Charles St., Baltimore; 410-752-0311), an Afghan restaurant just down the street. The food is incredibly tasty. It's vegetarian-friendly too, in case anyone in your crew gave up meat for Lent. Try the aushak (dumplings) served with yogurt and a savory sauce that traditionally contains meat, but doesn't have to. Both versions are excellent here.
Fun fact: owner, Qayum Karzai, is the brother of Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan.
Photo by Dudley M. Brooks/The Washington Post
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