Lunchline: Eye black serves a purpose

If you have difficulty viewing this newsletter, click here to view as a Web page. Click here to view in plain text. Wednesday, July 11, 2012 Earlier this week, I received a letter from a reader unlike any I'd ever seen. In short, it was extremely racist. I thought about it for a day and decided to respond. Here's what I had to say. And thank you for everyone's support and feedback during the process. The federal buzzards are circling around D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray's dying credibility. Another aide of the D.C. mayor's 2010 campaign was in court Tuesday on charges she aided a vast "shadow campaign" that helped Gray get elected. Details of the scheme were damning. Jeanne Harris, a PR consultant, admitted in U.S. District Court that she helped disburse and conceal hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal contributions from businessman Jeffrey E. Thompson. But there's still one more unnamed big fish for the feds to catch. The Post's Mike DeBonis and Nikita Stewart report. Food is the new frontier of one-upmanship when it comes to weddings. Whereas the bride's dress, venue or the reception band might once have been the most memorable part of the nuptials, couples are now going farm to table to leave their mark. Forget a lavish cake, if you don't serve regionally sourced food to your guests, you won't be making headlines in any of the big wedding blogs. Regina Schrambling explains how ceremonies have gone locavore. It makes me happy when kids get an opportunity to create art. And when those works are showcased in a prominent place, you can't help but smile. The National Gallery of Art's High School Summer Institute is designed for exactly that purpose. This year's program focused on surrealist painter Juan Miro and a man whose work I admire a lot, Alexander Calder. The students' work is now on display at Northwest One Library. The Post's Marissa Evans reports my favorite story of the day. When I first heard Frank Ocean's "Nostalgia, Ultra" — I listened to it for a week straight. His sound was so unique and captivating that my mind felt like it did as a kid reading an adventure book. And when I streamed his new album Tuesday, I knew listening to it at the office wouldn't give me what I wanted. It was fantastic, but I was right. The Post's Chris Richards explains in a masterful review that Ocean's new "Channel Orange" is "an album best experienced with your eyes closed." I don't ever want to hear another word about Bryce Harper's eye black. Clearly, he needs it. He didn't wear it for Tuesday night's All-Star Game, presumably in an attempt to not be too showy at the midsummer classic, and it cost him. In the 5th inning, he lost a routine fly ball in the light playing left field. The rest of the Nats looked pretty good. But again, eye black serves a purpose, so stop whining about it. The spikes, on the other hand? Fair game. Extra Bites • I have an unhealthy obsession with live television police chases.  And Tuesday's was a doozy. In all my years of watching these things, I'd never seen an ending like this. Off the road, airborne into a house, ends in a tree. I watched it live and it was NUTS. • Spike Lee is working on a documentary about Michael Jackson, an in-depth look at 'Bad,' coordinated with the 25th anniversary of its release. • A D.C. woman is in the hunt to be Kelly Ripa's co-host on "Live!" Currently, she works for WAMU. Here's how to get at me. There's Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and you can 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