Lunchline: Boy bands are back, so deal with it

If you have difficulty viewing this newsletter, click here to view as a Web page. Click here to view in plain text. Thursday, March 22, 2012 I got to watch my sister defend her PhD dissertation at George Washington University yesterday and it was one of the most thrilling things I've ever seen. I get the feeling she might make me start addressing her as 'doctor,' which I will gladly do! It's becoming more difficult to believe that Mayor Vincent Gray was playing above board during the 2010 election. There are now reports that the feds are probing a potential Gray shadow campaign that operated outside of legal realms, to bolster his campaign against then-Mayor Adrian Fenty. Granted, nothing has been proven yet, but this investigation is a problem for the mayor. The Post's Nikita Stewart reports on the latest. Yesterday's Million Hoodie March has led to a larger discussion about guns, in general. While the death of Trayvon Martin is tragic on multiple levels, it has opened up the debate over the overall gun policies in this country. Firearm sales are up nationwide, even though violent crimes are down. The Root's Steven Gray explains why President Obama needs to lead this discussion and how this case "is a consequence of our thirst for guns." Also, Courtland Milloy's thoughts on the matter. Metro could use a fun story these days. More importantly, it could use some more money. And now that the precedent has been set in Madrid, it might be time for WMATA to open things up creatively and start selling naming rights to its stations. The system did release a new map this week, with a few tweaks. So, The Post's Michael Katz took some suggestions on what he thought would be good commercial tie-ins for some names. Some of these are quite funny. The first time I ever heard of Big Time Rush was on Thanksgiving when it performed at an NFL game. And flipping through the channels the other day, I saw something I thought was an Old Navy/Gap/Pac Sun/Levi's/who knows what commercial, but was an actual music video. That was my introduction to One Direction. Melinda Newman explains the comeback of boy bands, which is much to the radio business's delight. Stop me if you've heard this before: JaVale McGee made a heads up play that won his team a basketball game last night. Keep going? Okay. A Wizards big man notched an impressive double-double leading the team to a semi-decisive road win Wednesday. Still nothing? I know, it's unbelievable. McGee had a great putback for the Nuggets and Nene might as well have been Wes Unseld out there in New Jersey. I guess both teams can say it was a good trade. Extra Bites • As scary as the New York City subway system can be, I can't imagine what I'd do if I saw a monster snake in Grand Central Station. Metro needs more gags like this. The riders could use a good practical joke. • A new study shows that many people would give up alcohol, chocolate and for some, sex, before they'd go without Internet access. Understandable. • Ever wanted to take pictures underwater with your iPhone? Now you can. Check out my Facebook fan page, my Twitter feed, or e-mail me at clinton.yates@wpost.com Get The Washington Post, your way. Want to stay on top of the latest news, features, commentary and more? Here's how: Mobile: Alerts: Social Media: Applications Web site E-mail SMS RSS Feeds Facebook Twitter SEND TO A FRIEND UNSUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTER CENTER GET HELP Washington Post Digital E-mail Customer Care 1150 15th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20071 ©2012 The Washington Post Privacy Policy