World Cocktail Week: In this city you don’t need an excuse to drink … ever, really. But for those who like to have a reason to get inebriated (helps you fall asleep? totally understandable), it’s World Cocktail Week. According to the Museum of the American Cocktail (note to self: must go there), the Week was established to “promote a better understanding, appreciation, and respect for the cocktail and its history.” If you’re eager to learn what exactly it means to “respect a cocktail,” Proof, Bar Pilar, Sonoma, Sova, and Gibson are all offering specialty cocktails as part of the celebration. MORE »

Tryst in Adams Morgan has all the makings of a perfect coffee house, except for one tiny problem: the coffee is just not very good. They pride themselves on fresh organic coffee or whatever, but it always ends up coming to you lukewarm and watery. The animal crackers on the side don’t help, either. It’s almost patronizing — an apology for the shitty coffee. MORE »

Candy bar and porno chain 7-Eleven is of course holding an important election poll in which customers purchasing coffee have the option of using a blue cup if they support the Muslim or a red cup if they support Walnuts. Many more blue cups have sold! Why do 7-Eleven customers love terrorism so much? This website also says, “Hail To the Beans!” which is just flat-out funny as shit. [7-eleven via Mark Blumenthal]

Remember when those nuts on the right, Michelle Malkin and Charles Johnson, condemned beloved fast food bakery Dunkin’ Donuts for letting teevee chef Rachael Ray wear a Palestinian scarf in this ad? Dunkin’ Donuts first released a statement saying that no, it was not the Palestinian kaffiyeh design at all, just paisley, and a SCARF. Despite being categorically incorrect, the wingnuts have somehow “won” and Dunkin’ Donuts will pull the ad due to the “possibility of misperception.” Jesus. [Boston Globe]

Hardy har har har. Get it? She’s useless! Bwah! [YouTube]

Hillary’s trip to the gas station not only threw the AP into a blind rage, but it also found our candidate struggling to operate the dastardly coffee machine. Don’t call her a hypocrite yet, however! That looks like a cappuccino or — dare we say — latte machine, so it makes sense that blue-collar Hillary had no dang idea how to use the mechanism. [YouTube]

In Fred Thompson’s new campaign spot, he takes the time to put down his newspaper and talk Amerkan like ’bout teh illegals. As he folkily-dolkily opines, you may wonder whether Fred Thompson ever has met a minority in his life — or at least in that coffee shop thing. Anyway, sorry to interrupt, Fred! Feel free to go back to your newspaper.

Fred Thompson: No Amnesty [YouTube]

In a big huge graphic about how much money the campaigns have and how they’re spending it, the Times today gives us this little bit of David Brooksian brand identity-as-sociology. It turns out both campaigns spend a lot on really shitty coffee, but their choice of shitty coffee suppliers varies based on their party identification! The Times also tells us how much the campaigns are spending on pizza, but not where they’re getting it — but Republicans probably love Pizza Hut, while Democrats prefer the younger, hipper, equally terrible Papa John’s.

(Also, John McCain is out of money)

Where Campaign Money Goes [NYT]

* Baristas from Murky Coffee and Tryst took 1st and 4th in some sort of Mid-Atlantic/Northeast contest. [DCist]
* You know that valet bike parking we mentioned in To Do? Well, WABA needs volunteers. [WABA]
* “There are two visions for our public schools emerging now in the District — two camps: One is saying, ‘Mayor, Order Those Schools To Be Good!’ The other is saying, ‘Mayor, It Takes a Village, Not a King.’ Though you wouldn’t know it by reading the Washington Post, more and more people are joining the second camp and are speaking out against the mayor’s proposal to take the public schools from the public.” [Sam Smith's City Desk]
* “So don’t waste this incredible opportunity, D.C. If Georgetown wins tomorrow, and especially Monday, don’t hold back. Flood the streets. Overturn some cars. Light a few fires. Those really nice stores along M Street, with their large windows? Perfect for looting.” [The DC Universe]
* Second-date ideas, including Tallula which has a “prix fixe wine and dinner tasting menu. It’s five courses of perfect pairings and for only about $75 per person, including tip …. The wine manager comes to the table to introduce the wine before each course and you get a little sheet of paper to jot down notes about the wines. Oh, and they tailor it for beginners, intermediate, and advanced.” [The DC Concierge]

* Free Starbucks tomorrow. [DCFUD]
* At $50,000 a year, GW is the nation’s most expensive college. Nine local kids will now attend for free. [Read Express]
* RE: DC housing market: “For those of us with decent credit, watching all the posers getting foreclosed is like watching cheap porn in the middle of the night.” [TC The Terrible]
* Review of the closing of the DC Independent Film Festival and not meeting Kiefer Sutherland, “there was the adult man chanting ‘kiefer! kiefer!’ during the film festival award proceedings, impatient to skip right past the awards and movie and see kiefer.” [Life Off Balance]
* Baked and Wired has best cupcakes in town, according to WP and CakeLove serves some of their cupcakes at room temp now. [Eat Foo]

* Partially decomposed skull found at Hawaii Avenue and Taylor Street, NE. [stop, blog and roll]
* About half the district’s red light traffic cameras are out of service, some for six months. [City Desk]
* If you see a life-sized coffee mug walking around, ask it where you can get a Venti Peppermint Java Chip Frappuccino and see what happens. [The Luck of 13th Street]
* “Surely, however, we can all agree that the District’s legal reasoning for continuing the ban is a slap in the face to the District’s 580,000+ residents. No matter how much you hate guns (and, despite my merit badges, I despise them), putting the Bill of Rights in jeopardy to maintain a ban that may or may not work is disgusting.” [why.i.hate.dc]
* WUSA9 has smart reporters: “I’m counting on any possible intruders avoiding my place because they will think, “That Bruce Johnson probably has a gun in there and would use it if necessary.” [Bruce Johnson's Blog]