If you haven’t seen the MSNBC appearance of Salon‘s hot Hack List creator Alex Pareene it’s a must see, if only to catch a glimpse of his mustachioed look that looks so odd that it’s easy to imagine him gluing it on before the show. With Norah O’Donnell in the anchor chair, she welcomes Pareene on the show to discuss why people are buying former President George Bush‘s memoir. There are endless descriptions of Pareene’s look, but those that jump to mind — fresh off the set of a 70s porn film, or, as one journo put it, “Perhaps he looks like the son of the guy in those 70s Doritos commercials.” See here for a refresher. The Daily Caller‘s Jim Treacher took a few cracks at the Mediaite video on his blog, The Daily Trawler.

Treach writes, “That’s Norah O’Donnell with the shiny jacket, and aspiring writer Alex Pareene with the mustache and manly voith. In Pareene’s defense, he seems to realize that what he’s saying is very stupid and he kinda sorta doesn’t mean it probably. And yes, that’s a fairly accurate description of Pareene’s career so far.”

Congrats to Fox News anchor Bret Baier and wife Amy who welcomed Daniel Bret Baier into the world yesterday.

A healthy baby boy, Daniel is the Baier’s second son. Paul was the family’s first child. Message from the proud papa below:

Our #2 son… Daniel Bret Baier arrived into this world at 3:22pm on Wednesday 7/7/10 at an impressive 7lbs 13 ounces. Mom, Amy, was a real champion – after 7 hours of labor. Daniel has a full head of hair and most importantly is healthy!!

Paul- his brother- heard Daniel cry over the phone and said “Is that Daniel?? Is Daniel done?”. Yes he IS done– and we’re incredibly excited for life with two boys! Thank you for the thoughts and prayers.

WaPo‘s Ashley Halsey III got a big surprise this morning when the vintage airplane he was riding in flipped across the runway after landing at Reagan National Airport. Neither Halsey nor the pilot were injured but the spill did force the airport to close the runway. Did we mention that he caught the whole thing on video? Check it out below or click here.

From ThinkProgress.org: Amanda Terkel gives us this gem from this morning’s Imus interview with “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace. This Sunday FNC contributor Sarah Palin will appear for the first time in her new capacity on “Fox News Sunday”.

IMUS: When you interview her, will she be sitting on your lap? (LAUGHTER)

WALLACE: One can only hope. (LAUGHTER)

Imus’s response to that: “Oh man, thank you.”

See the full story and video here.

In a discussion about covering 3 Mile Island, Andrea Mitchell shares a story with Rachel Maddow about asking her bureau chief if it ever occurred to him that “men’s balls are as vulnerable as women’s ovaries?” Now, I love Andrea Mitchell as much as the next guy but hearing her say “balls” is roughly as uncomfortable as watching my parents do the YMCA dance at a wedding reception. Enjoy!

Whoa! Remember going back to school and realizing that a friend got all “grown up” over vacation?! Well, hats off to hometown bloggers Ana Marie Cox and John Dickerson for breezing past the 1 Million Twitter Follower in recent days!

Ana Marie Cox (1,047,204)

John Dickerson (1,015,819)

In case you missed it, CBS’s daily webcast “Washington Unplugged” took a walk down Presidential Vacation Memory Lane today, from Kennebunkport, to Crawford to Santa Barbara and Plains, GA with White House correspondents Bill Plante and Mark Knoller.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Have your calls and emails to Street Sense editor Mary Otto gone unanswered? Don’t take it personally. She was recently selected to participate in the prestigious Knight Science Journalism Fellowship, a “nine-month program that will allow her to learn from and study with the best and most knowledgeable in the field of science journalism at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University”. Founded in 2003, Street Sense‘s mission is to raise public awareness on the issues of homelessness and poverty in The District.

Speaking of cake … exactly one year ago today ABC‘s Jake Tapper wasn’t worried about the political symbolism of choosing the one piece of blue cake being served up by then-candidate (and birthday celebrant) Sen. Obama aboard the campaign’s press plane.

(photo HuffPo)

Did you receive an email promotion from The National Press Club announcing that they were “currently waiving initiation fees!”? Okay, so why didn’t you join?

If you’ve been in Washington for more than a summer, chances are you’ve been to an event (press conference, Taco Night) and marveled at the history of (and gazed upon the inductees’ portraits at) this fabled institution. You’ve partaken greedily from the endless stream of popcorn at “the reliable source”, too. With a hint of nostalgia that harkens back to another place in time, The Club’s got history and flavor. Just steps from the White House – and pretty much everything else – The Press Building itself should be our national monument to free speech, journalism & social congregation! Having just turned 100, The National Press Club used to be a place where Washington media congregated post-post. So why aren’t you there more often?

National Press Club – Why Aren’t You There?(opinion)