Written by DCist contributor Maria Flores Sometime in the early 1970s, when the photographs in Melody Maker, NME, and Rolling Stone were no longer enough to satiate his appetite, Claude Gassian swapped his guitar for a 35mm camera and took to the road with his finger on the shutter button. So began his photographic conquest to document the lives of some of his favorite musical artists. Over three decades later, his photographs stand alone as…

Remember that tingling sensation running rampant in the city this time last year? No, not that one. It was the anticipation of Washington getting an honest-to-goodness A-list power couple. Well, those halcyon days are officially over with the news that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt won’t be moving to town any time soon. Washingtonians dying to bump into Brangelina in the baby formula aisle of Whole Foods will have to look about 1,000 miles southwest….

By DCist contributor Amy Monroe There’s no disputing the fierce and even patriotic love of zinfandel among certain members of the American wine-drinking public. Indeed, Carole Migden, a California state senator from San Francisco, introduced a bill in February to make zinfandel California’s official state wine. But following objections from some of the state’s makers of chardonnay, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon (all of which earn more sales dollars than zin), lawmakers instead proclaimed zinfandel a…

As we reported last month, this city seems to be buying Tommy’s Scientific schtick whether or not he is still feeling indigestion pains after placenta consumption. In the hometown of Scientology (is it really allowed to share a suffix with Microbiology and Physiology?), L. Ron’s people are revving up to open their new location on 16th St. in NW, and as of today, go-time is set for the fall. With so much more space, they…

FEMA announced at a news conference this morning that it is fully prepared to handle the traffic disaster expected to begin mid-afternoon today as a result of heavy holiday weekend travel. “With more than half a million people potentially caught in traffic this Memorial Day Weekend, we are standing by and ready to assist in every way we can,” said a spokesman yesterday.Relief workers will be stationed along area highways with MREs and bottled…

I recently moved here from Chicago, and despite my best efforts to wait it out until I return home for a visit, it’s becoming quite clear that I am due for a new haircut and color. Like many women, I tend to have very strong “stylist allegiances” and am nervous about trying a new one. I want a young, hip style with a great color job but haven’t really come across any places that seem…

Although the advent of the real-time Gawker Stalker map has freaked out certain celebrities who would prefer that their Us Weekly-devouring public not know that they’re dining at New York’s Tao or taking their fruit-monikered babies out for walks on Fifth Avenue, DCist has no qualms about letting its readers know where local celebs hang out. And there’s no area celeb more freshly minted than George Mason University basketball coach Jim Larranaga, who just yesterday…

(By DCist contributor Hemal Jhaveri) DCist got an invite in the mail a few weeks ago to attend a big shindig being held on Sept. 21 for the AT Children’s Project, a nonprofit dedicated to, according to their web site, “finding a cure for ataxia-telangiectasia, a rare genetic disease that causes progressive loss of motor control, cancer and immune system problems” in kids. Now, we’re all for charitable works, but we’re on a budget here…