If you like reading about politics, or Washington, or really quirky dudes...

... read this terrific profile in the upcoming New York Times Magazine about Mike Allen. I reside practically within watermelon-cannon distance from the nerve center of Washington and spent the most formative chunk of my professional life on the national desk of the Washington Post, during which time I was a recipient and observant of Mike’s generosities and curiosities. Still, I have no interest in the types of political minutiae Mike writes about in Politico’s Playbook. While my well-connected neighbors are reading it at 6:30 a.m., I am likely watching on-demand “Yo Gabba Gabba” with my toddler until I can officially wake up.

You don’t have to be into inside-baseball politics to appreciate an interesting piece about somebody who is. A great profile about a person you know will capture him perfectly yet still teach you a lot. In this case, my friend Mark Leibovich succeeds marvelously. And I now have a better sense of this weird Washington I live alongside, but in many ways not really in.