Let's not even pretend today that Manhattan is the center of the universe. It's all about the Beltway, where Those Who Shape the Culture have concentrated like magnet filings for the Most Exciting Inauguration Ever. Dominating headlines, cookbook author Joan Nathan had a party where she ended up choking on a piece of chicken in front of Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, and Rachel Maddow. Wow, that's quite a crew to gag on a bird in front of — what was the running commentary like? Then Tom Colicchio did the Heimlich on her. The president-elect himself partied after Sunday's all-star concert with 100 friends, including Michelle and Gayle King, at Blair House, but then at 7:30 p.m., Obama's staffers got calls telling them to get back to work. That's a chain gang we can believe in! Joe Biden's son Beau, serving in Iraq, showed up as a surprise in D.C. on a five-day leave for the inauguration. Jay-Z and Beyoncé almost had to walk four blocks in the cold after their big D.C. rehearsal, but then Secret Service let their driver come through a restricted area to pick them up. Also, the couple hung out in the piano lounge at D.C.'s fancy Mandarin Oriental Hotel before hijacking the piano and doing "Love Will Keep Us Together." (Second part only wished-for.)

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