Washington DC

Here's a way to pass time at the DMV: get an HIV test while you're waiting. A DMV branch in Washington DC is rolling out a pilot program that sets up free HIV testing on site. With three percent of residents living with HIV/AIDS — that's a higher rate than in West Africa — the nation's capital has to get creative about increasing testing.

A nonprofit, not the government, will administer the test, and the results will be confidential. They're hoping to keep things fast, too. Results will come in 20 minutes, and counseling and medical help will be available for those who get a positive reading.

While I love the idea of making HIV testing easily accessible and decreasing the stigma, I'm not sure I'd want to find out my results at the DMV. But those behind it say it's the perfect place to educate a cross section of residents about the importance of knowing your status. In that case, it sounds like a smart idea to me.

In a previous life (or at least what feels like one), Thursday mornings used to be Top Chef talk time at the Sugar office. We would hem and haw over which Voltaggio brother made the more appetizing dish, or laugh over Fabio Viviani's unintentional jokes.

But these days, there is no commiserating over the bad judgments that took place on Bravo the night before. Many of the contestants, it seems, are much older and just care to promote their restaurants. The biggest drama of last night had something to do with stolen peas — at least that's what I think. Even Tom and Gail seem a little disinterested. As PartySugar put it: "The best thing about last night's episode was the hot young politician."

I couldn't agree more; in fact, I don't even care who wins this season. Like I said before, I think the show has lost its luster. What do you think of Top Chef: Washington DC so far?

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Last night, the second episode of Top Chef: DC went down, and it was totally action-packed. First came the Bi-partisandwich Quickfire, in which the 16 contestants teamed up in pairs and tried their best to single-handedly pile ingredients between bread while attached at the apron. The challenge was painfully cheesy, but Angelo was the right one to win immunity.

For the Elimination Challenge — seriously, who didn't see this coming? — the chefs took part in Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign, and made a four-course school lunch for 50 on a public school budget of $2.60 per person. Standing in for new chef judge Eric Ripert was the extremely attractive and intelligent White House chef Sam Kass.

I wasn't surprised by the taco team taking home the win, or for someone being eliminated over dessert. So far, I think Kenny and Angelo are the season's front-runners. How do you feel about Top Chef: DC?

Photo courtesy of Bravo

What's new with the White House garden following its fame on Iron Chef America? A video recently released by the White House reveals some interesting facts that you may not have guessed. Despite two huge blizzards and over two feet of snow, the garden survived the Winter to yield spinach, turnips, arugula, lettuce, and carrots.

Top White House garden tender Sam Kass attributed this past Winter's success to plastic hoophouses, which trapped daytime heat to prevent freezing at night. He also revealed that the Spring garden will produce leeks, garlic, and peas, and that the garden is being expanded at the request of First Lady Michelle Obama. Learn more, after the jump.

Hot on the heels of news that Top Chef 7 has been delayed, rumors are flying that the show will be filmed in the nation's capital. Yesterday, DC food blog Metrocurean said it received word that Bravo crews could roll in as early as next week — and anonymous tipsters quickly began leaving intel that the cast, crew, and judges would be staying on location in historic neighborhood Dupont Circle.

Today, The Reliable Source, the Washington Post's gossip column, is also reporting that Top Chef will be filmed in the nation's capital. It doesn't surprise me that Washington DC is the purported season seven location. I'm already envisioning episodes involving Michelle Obama's garden, the White House farmers market, and former Top Cheffers (and locals) Spike Mendelsohn, Carla Hall, and Bryan Voltaggio.

Would you be pumped if Top Chef 7 took place in Washington DC?

Source: Flickr User Alotor

• First same-sex couple in DC says "I do" — CNN
• Photos from Alexander McQueen's final collection — Fashionologie
• Congress still debating abortion and health care — Jezebel
• Sandra Bullock's Oscar worth less than Jeff Bridges's? — Vulture
• Have a foreign lover? Google's translation tool might kill language barrier — NY Times
• Top WTF moments from last night's Gossip Girl — BuzzSugar

The nation's capitol is now the sixth jurisdiction in the US where gay couples can marry. But as wedding bells ring today for happy couples, the local Catholic Church sounded the alarm. Following Congress's approval of DC's same-sex marriage law, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington decided to no longer offer health insurance to any spouses of employees in order to avoid covering gay spouses. And earlier, the DC Catholic Charities ended its 80-year foster care system because it did not want to place children with same-sex couples.

The Catholic Church doesn't take this approach everywhere. In San Francisco, for example, the Archdiocese pursued a more inclusive solution when it wanted to avoid an endorsement of gay marriage. It allowed any employee to insure themselves and a "plus one" — so it could be their gay partner, their grandmother, their sister, whoever.

A church is in a tough position when its teachings don't keep up with society, and many would argue that religion should not have to change with the whim of modern people, while others would call the leaders bigots. Still, I would suggest that if these religious leaders embraced acceptance and love they would move closer to the original mission of Jesus and not further from it. And wouldn't that be a win-win for everyone?

• The latest Real World kicks off today in new host city Washington DC — BuzzSugar
• The Dutch will use full-body scanners on people flying to the US – New York Times
• Alleged David Letterman extorter uses Tiger Woods defense — The Daily Beast
• Tiger Woods might be in rehab — Huffington Post
• The Obama administration might take up immigration reform soon — LA Times
• Millionaire tries to find love by advertising on a billboard — Lemondrop
• France's Carla Bruni asks for pardon of cocaine smugglers and gets it — The Telegraph