We're gobsmacked that we forgot to mention Tim "Make it Work" Gunn's planned whirlwind visit to the District this weekend. A native of Washington, he's a veteran of Corcoran College of Art + Design and hit the big time as a mentor to aspiring designers on Bravo's oddly addictive Project Runway. Along with co-author Kate Moloney, Gunn comes to town promoting his new fashion manifesto, Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste, and Style.......

For once, we could afford to buy a CD at Tower Records. Unfortunately, the pickings were slim and the occasion sad. In October the national record store chain succumbed to the pressure of its online competitors, selling the assets from its 85 stores to a liquidation firm and marking the end of a generation of music buyers who preferred to curiously browse through unknown bands at the advice of knowledgeable, if surly clerks. Since then,......