Morning all. I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but police presence has been screamin’ this morning in Petworth. Meanwhile, in the world of arts…

The New York Times‘ Cathy Horyn examines the gown Michelle Obama wore for Hu Jintao’s state dinner. She seems impressed by Obama’s choice of the festive red dress with streaky black petals by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. I think it’s overly on the nose for the Chinese president’s state dinner, and that it’s also not her most flattering look. Wonder what Vera Wang and Anna Wintour, who were also in attendance, thought of the dress.

Iconic buildings rendered in Legos may abound at the National Building Museum, which is cool. But “Brick Artist” Nathan Sawaya‘s gone and made himself a life-size Conan O’Brien out of Legos, which is infinitely cooler. Is that a life-size model of the Empire State building? Didn’t think so.Over at TBD, Sarah Godfrey writes about the “amazing image” R&B singer Tyrese Gibson painted of Malcolm X administering healing to Tupac Shakur. “Amazing” is a bit hyperbolic, I think—it looks like something you’d find on the side of a van. Tyrese: Just because you’ve got some musical talent doesn’t mean you have any painting talent.

Google “Anne Hathaway” right now and the top term that follows her name is “Catwoman.” That’s right, she’s going to play the role immortalized by Eartha Kitt, Julie Newmar, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Hathaway reportedly beat out the likes of Keira Knightley and Jessica Biel for the role in the next Batman film,The Dark Knight Rises. I’m on the fence about the choice; I think Hathaway will be suitably slinky and bring a certain cerebralism to the role, but it’s also hard to deny the athletic prowess of Biel.