The XX Factor: What women really think.

I’m Sorry, Honey, But I Just Don’t Love Bruce Springsteen

My husband has been in love with Bruce Springsteen longer than he's been in love with me. Bruce's lyrics were the soundtrack for our courtship (I came for you, for you, I came for you), our long-overdue wedding (So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore), the many years of our marriage (This life, this life and then the next, with you I have been blessed), and his own work (sick of sitting round here trying to write this book). He rarely misses a Springsteen concert and can recite tracks, covers, and lyrics for any occasion. It was no surprise to me then that... (To read the rest of this post, visit our new website DoubleX.com!)

Washington Cool Watch, Item 1

This is where I draw the line. Yesterday I opened my daughter's Friday folder, usually filled with school news, permission slips, that sort of thing. This time there was an announcement that Shakira—the hottie Colombian pop star—is singing in school on Monday. My daughter does not go to Sidwell Friends or GDS or one of the private schools Sasha and Malia were looking at. She goes to our local public school. But these days in Washington, you never know where you might bump into a star. Hey, maybe we'll get lucky and Britney Spears will do an inauguration concert at the Cleveland Park public library.

There is a convention between Washington and Hollywood, worked out over many years. They come here to be boring, and we pretend they're not famous. Angelina Jolie gives a presentation to some subcommittee about AIDS relief. The congressmen nod soberly, like it's just another Tuesday, and then afterward snap a photo "for the grandkids." Now that dynamic is out of whack, and everyone's fawning all over everyone.

First it was just Bono and Bruce Springsteen coming to sing at the mall. Fine, they always do this kind of thing. But Mary J. Blige? Beyoncé? What could they possibly want with the Lincoln Memorial? The Huffington party list so far includes: Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Jon Bon Jovi, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Marisa Tomei, Demi Moore, and Ashton Kutcher. Denzel Washington? Where am I living? Is this a movie about Washington or the real thing?