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Articles by Eric Althoff

Jim Norton.  (laughstub.com)

Jim Norton decries ‘childlike’ nature of politically correct college audiences

Jim Norton wants aspiring comedians to know they should not try to be anyone other than themselves. Don't purposely try to push buttons, he says, unless that is your thing. Furthermore, the 46-year-old funnyman, who will entertain District audiences at the Lincoln Theatre Friday evening on his "Mouthful of Shame" tour, says that you can even get laughs from a hostile audience -- if you go about it the right way.

October 2, 2016
Shawn Yancy of the District's Fox affiliate, WTTG.  (Facebook)

D.C. newscaster Shawn Yancy discusses young pregnancy on Fox 5 podcast ‘I Still Have a Keycard’

Newscaster Shawn Yancy has been a fixture on the District's Fox affiliate, WTTG, for 15 years, but on the new Sarah Fraser-anchored Fox 5 podcast, "I Still Have a Keycard," the former Indianapolis reporter has opened up to the public as never before, discussing how she became pregnant unexpectedly while still in college. Something else Ms. Yancy Fox 5's audience may not have known is that she started her job in the nation's capital on Sept. 10, 2001. Her second day on the job, by even the most conservative reckoning, was a trial by fire.

September 28, 2016
Stonehenge, located on the Salisbury Plain in the southwest of England.  (Eric Althoff)

TRAVEL: Windsor Castle, Bath and Stonehenge can be seen in one day in England

During a week in and around London, The Washington Times was graciously granted press tours of some of the bounty in greater England thanks to Viator, a TripAdvisor tour-brokering firm that creates ambitious-yet-satisfying day trips. First excursion, run by the extremely professional folks at Evan Evans: the royal family's "other home," Windsor Castle, the ancient Roman town of Bath and, predating even the Druids, the mysterious rock sculpture, fashioned over thousands of years, known as Stonehenge.

September 27, 2016
David Koechner.  (Facebook)

David Koechner of ‘Anchorman’ and ‘SNL’ brings standup comedy to Arlington Drafthouse

David Koechner has a simple-yet-eloquent response for anyone who asks him for advice on how to make it in showbiz: "If you're asking, you're already behind." They want either compliments, reassurance or a short cut. That's my perception," the comedian and actor known for "Anchorman" told The Washington Times ahead of his weekend stint at the Arlington Drafthouse.

September 23, 2016
The seafood linguini special at Aperto.  (Eric Althoff)

Luigi Diotaiuti opens Italian restaurant Aperto in Washington, D.C.

There's a bold new spot for power lunching in Northwest, and it's fitting that celebrity chef Luigi Diotaiuti is there to be your guide. Mr. Diotaiuti, whose fortunate clients have included George Clooney, Hillary Clinton, Harrison Ford and John F. Kerry, has opened Aperto to be the companion piece to his other District Italian bistro, Al Tiramisu, which has been a Dupont Circle staple for two decades.

September 22, 2016
A still from "Is That a Gun in Your Pocket?"  (variety.com)

‘Is That a Gun in Your Pocket?’ a raunchy comedy that actually delivers the laughs

Isn't it nice when a comedy is actually funny? A low bar, for sure, but I've been disappointed far too many times to name. Hence it was a joy to behold "Is That a Gun in Your Pocket?" a slyly humorous modern take on the "Lysistrata," the classical Greek comedy about a woman who leads a sex strike of Athenian women in order to halt a war.

September 21, 2016

Nuclear weapons safety explored in documentary ‘Command and Control’

As the people of Little Rock, Arkansas, then governed by a young Bill Clinton, went about their business on the evening of Sept. 18, 1980, they had no idea that a nuclear weapon at Little Rock Air Force Base's Launch Complex 374-7 in Damascus, just 30 miles to the northeast, came dangerously close to exploding. Journalist Eric Schlosser penned a book about the incident called "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety," which has been turned into a documentary film opening Friday in the District.

September 21, 2016
In this image released by Disney, Lupita Nyong'o, right, and Madina Nalwanga appear in a scene from "Queen of Katwe." (Edward Echwalu/Disney via AP)

‘Star Wars’ star Lupita Nyong’o on filming ‘Queen of Katwe’ in Uganda

While the smells of the Uganda locations of "Queen of Katwe" will not waft their way into movie theaters, star and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o says that the ambient scents of Kampala helped her get into character. Miss Nyong'o stars as Nakku Harriet, a real-life widow who hawks produce in order to feed her starving children. At the same time, her teenage daughter Night (Taryn Kyaze) begins hanging around with a boy she disapproves of. But her other daughter, Phiona (Madina Nalwanga) finds a new hobby in a local chess club called the Pioneers, where she is one of the only girls.

September 20, 2016
A work from Ron Hess Original Art shows a D.C. office building with only one worker in it.  (Facebook)

Pennsylvania artist draws rendering of Washington, D.C., office building with one worker

Artist Ron Hess of Easton, Pennsylvania, never wants for a sketchpad. The store manager and father of three has been drawing for years, capturing the world about him in a prolific series of works that was on display at the weekend at the Riverside Festival of the Arts. Mr. Hess also commits to the canvas the great American urban scenescapes, especially of New York and Washington. One of his recent master works entails a painting he made of a District office building located at 17th and H streets in Northwest.

September 19, 2016
(Eric Althoff/The Washington Times)

TRAVEL: London sites to see in two days

Say you have but two days in London, as The Washington Times recently did, to explore the beloved commerce and banking capital of Europe -- a city founded in Roman times and has had as many identities as the people who have called it home. This requires making choices about what to see, where to go and, perhaps most importantly, how much time to spend at each. For if anything, two days here only whets the appetite for more. Welcome to London. Culture. History. Cuisine. Ever evolving. Always adventurous.

September 14, 2016

Redskins players to help spinal cord injury charity

The Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation will join with Walking With Anthony, a spinal cord injury group, for the 4th Annual Charity Celebrity Golf Tournament & Dinner Monday at The Country Club of Fairfax in Fairfax, Virginia. The event is being held as part of National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month.

September 13, 2016
(Discovery.com)

‘Taking Fire’ on Discovery shows American soldiers on patrol in Afghanistan

"Taking Fire," which utilizes helmet camera footage of soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division, will premiere Tuesday on Discovery Channel. The intense series showcases American soldiers under fire from enemy positions in Afghanistan, IED explosions and pinned down under patrol. Many of the surviving soldiers give contemporary accounts on the operations and speak of their fellow soldiers who did not return.

September 11, 2016
In this June 29, 2015 photo, lawyer-turned-director Adam Nimoy, son of the late Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy,  poses for a portrait in New York to promote his documentary about his father, "For the Love of Spock." (Photo by Dan Hallman/Invision/AP)

Star Trek 50th anniversary celebrated in ‘For the Love of Spock’ from Leonard Nimoy’s son

When you grow up with Spock as your father, chances are your life will take some out-of-this-world turns. This Friday, cinemagoers will get a chance to see the life of the late Leonard Nimoy from the inside, as his son, Adam Nimoy, unveils "For the Love of Spock," a documentary not only about his father's iconic character but also the renaissance man who brought the Vulcan scientist to life on TV and films.

September 9, 2016
Students at Civic Memorial High School in Bethalto, Ill., push some of the 2,996 American flags into the football field Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016, for a Sept. 11 Memorial Ceremony in remembrance of the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America. Each flag represents one of the people who died in the attack. (John Badman/The Telegraph via AP)

9/11 commemoration at New Jersey high school features the flags of victims

To commemorate the 15th anniversary of 9/11, students at Cedar Grove High School in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, will install, for the second consecutive year, 2,977 flags on the school's front lawn -- one for each person who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center. The flags will represent the home countries of each of the victims.

September 8, 2016
Ruthie and the Wranglers.  (ruthieandthewranglers.com)

Ruthie and The Wranglers to headline Fox 5 ‘Friday Night Live’ in Rockville, Maryland

The District's Fox affiliate, WTTG, will host a special live edition of "Friday Night Live With FOX5" at Rockville Town Square in Rockville, Maryland, Friday. WTTG anchors Anchors Tony Perkins and Mike Thomas will be on hand to highlight Rockville Town Square's restaurants as well as preview a concert by local band Ruthie and The Wranglers, which commences at 6 p.m.

September 7, 2016
(YouTube.com)

Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston break up

Celebrity couple Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston have split up, People is reporting. The couple went public with their romance in June, after they were photographed together on a New England beach.

September 7, 2016
This photo released by Touchstone Books shows the cover of "Don't Mind If I Do", by George Hamilton. Hamilton joins the tell-all trend with his memoir, "Don't Mind If I Do," in which he writes about losing his virginity when he was 12 years old to his voluptuous stepmother. And that's just for starters. Associated Press.

George Hamilton reflects on Hollywood career and new film ‘The Congressman’

Yes, he still has that silky smile and that famous -- or infamous -- tan. And at 77, George Hamilton, the legendary character actor and veteran of over 100 films and TV shows, is still going strong. Mr. Hamilton turned what was supposed to be a 15-minute conversation with The Washington Times about his new film, "The Congressman," into a nearly hourlong chat about his extraordinary life and career. All of it with a chuckle and a smile (yes, you could even "see" it through the phone).

September 7, 2016