When readers turned to page 24 in the October 4 New York Times Magazine, many read this line in the author’s note under the “On Language” column: “William Safire is on hiatus.”

Safire might have found fault with the choice of “hiatus.” Safire, author of “On Language” since 1979, died on September 27. The Times corrected its mistake in later editions.

If we define hiatus as a pause, Safire might be spending his time between events spinning in his grave. Ammon Shea, who penned the first “On Language” column since Safire’s passing, essentially spit on his grave.

Stacie Turner. Photo from stacieturner.com.

A source tells us that Washington-based realtor Stacie Turner has been tapped to participate in DC’s installment of the Bravo reality series The Real Housewives. Asked to comment, Turner said she’s “not at liberty to talk about it,” and Bravo communications director Rachelle Savoia toed the party line, writing in an e-mail, “Bravo has not confirmed the cast of the show yet.”

Still, film crews have been spotted around town, including The Washingtonian’s Style Setters party last week. The Washington Post reported today that cameras were spotted at the Inn at Little Washington the same night, taping Fauquier County winery wife Michaele Salahi and husband Tareq.

Daily newspapers are shrinking, digital news ventures are desperately seeking profit, and Politics Daily features a serialized crime novella on its website? What is Melinda Henneberger thinking? What is she doing with AOL’s money?

“Fiction in newspapers is a tradition that goes way back to Dickens,” Henneberger says. A former New York Times reporter, she has been at the helm of Politics Daily since its start in May. Financed and fed by AOL, it has become one of the most popular political sites.

“People who come to our site are interested in politics—why not political fiction?”

For nine days Politics Daily published a novella in serial form by Washington writer James Grady. It started with a gang shooting in DC; it took readers on a high velocity trip through city streets, populated by thugs and good guys, like Dante Jones, an ex-con trying to make peace between beefing crews. It ended last week. You’ll have to read it to find out whether Rhea, Dante’s woman, got her man back in one piece.

It’s a rite of passage for graduates of top law schools. With offers in hand from prestigious firms, these charmed young legal brains take the bar exam, flit off to exotic locales for the traditional post-exam holiday, then return in the fall to begin their lives as first-year associates with salaries that top those of federal district judges.

Not this year. Hundreds of first-year lawyers were told by firms across Washington that their start dates had been pushed back by as much as a year. Dubbed “deferred associates,” they’re symbols of a legal industry battered by the economy. “A lot of people are really just depressed about the whole situation,” says Joe Records, who had his start date at Wiley Rein delayed until next fall.

The news isn’t all bad. Several law firms, including Wiley Rein, have offered stipends of about $60,000 to deferred lawyers. Some firms are requiring, or at least encouraging, them to spend the coming months at public-interest organizations. Thus, in an odd twist, the deferred lawyers are probably still making more than many attorneys who do public-interest work full-time.

We know, John McCain. It can be heard to keep tabs on pesky everyday facts, like how many cars you have. But undisclosed Iranian nuclear sites? From someone who’s supposedly hot on foreign policy? Phew.

This week in Congress, Newt Gingrich continues his bromances with Republican members of the house, notably Roy Blunt and Darrell Issa. David Vitter is still obsessed with czars. Michael Burgess is endearing colloquial, Gresham Barrett is strutting (while not shamelessly sucking up to Joe Wilson), Chuck Grassley doesn’t care what you think about his tweet abbreviations, and Keith Ellison just about sums up how we feel about ACORN right now.

What: Celebrity Pet Night on Capitol Hill.

Where: Cannon House Office Building Caucus Room.

When: Wednesday, September 30, 5 to 7.

Attire: Dark suits and businesswear dominated the straight-from-the-office crowd.

Who: The Animal Health Institute invited members of Congress and their staff to socialize and celebrate the positive impact of pets at its annual reception. Headlining the event’s 12th year were four-legged “celebrities” Rocky—the rottweiler that plays Ahnold on HBO’s Entourage—and Raleigh, the Persian feline better known as Sprinkles on NBC’s The Office. Guests mingled and took pictures with the guests of honor, while a few brought their own purse-size dogs along. Congressional members such as Representative Shelley Berkley, who was eager to pose for a picture with Rocky, and Ralph Hall, who gave Raleigh a scratch behind the ears, made the rounds.

Congrats to last month's winner, Elise Benjamin! Look for her photo in the November issue of The Washingtonian.

It’s the first of the month—October already!—and that means it’s time for another Washingtonian.com photo contest. For this month’s theme, show us how you interpret the idea of contrast. We want you to play on opposites and juxatposition: Dark and light? Big and small? Hot and cold? You decide—just get creative.

Veterans to this contest are probably familiar with how it works, but for all the newbies, here are the details: Send your submissions by noon on Friday, October 16, and our judges will pick the best shots to advance to the reader-voting round. Then we’ll open it up to you, the reader, to select a favorite. The winner will be published in the December issue of the magazine.

Photos—one per e-mail—should be sent to photocontest@washingtonian.com. Be sure to include the photographer’s name, phone number, e-mail address, and place of residence, along with a sentence or two describing the photo and explaining why it fits the theme. Photos should be 300 dpi and at least four by six inches. And remember, both the photographer and the photo’s subject need to be from the Washington area, which includes the Maryland and Virginia suburbs.

Good luck!