He's Fed Her Muse: The Greenspan Oeuvre Is Over

He's the face of the American economy, so what better tribute on Alan Greenspan's last day than a quick portrait for posterity?

The 24-by-30-inch oil painting (and no , smarty pants, it's not a paint-by-numbers) was created yesterday by artist Erin Crowe , who started at 6 a.m. and painted the final brush stroke at 4:59 p.m. -- live in the CNBC studio. "It looks different from any other portrait I've done," Crowe said. Maybe it was the hot lights, maybe the caffeine, maybe because it's the final work of her Greenspan Oeuvre, but she loves it.

The 25-year-old University of Virginia grad (art major, politics minor) has been cheerfully obsessed with the retiring Fed chairman. She started painting his image three years ago, and has created close to 50 works detailing every nuance of his distinctive bespectacled face. She's never met Greenspan, but sent a letter to him so he wouldn't think she was . . . well, a stalker. "I tried to explain it was a healthy obsession. I'm really interested in the link between art and economics." We hear ya -- market demand always raises our interest rates, too!

This portrait will be auctioned on eBay with the proceeds going to Autism Speaks charity. Outbid? There are 30 others selling for up to $6,000 in her "Goodbye Greenspan" show at NYC's Broome Street Gallery. Crowe's headed back to grad school in London, so don't look for any Ben Bernanke paintings in the near future.

"I'll give Bernanke a chance -- but off the bat, his beard is covering his face, and I don't think he has the same facial expressions as Alan Greenspan."

Getting Their Props: The 24 Guests in the Box

Afghan legislator Sayed Hamed Gailani took Laura Bush's hand; his colleague Fawzia Koofi is at the first lady's side.(Melina Mara - The Washington Post)

Twenty-four guests joined Laura Bush in her box during last night's State of the Union speech. An honor for the guests, of course, who provided visual aids for the rest of us. Among them: Fawzia Koofi, the 30-year-old second deputy speaker of the Afghan National Assembly, was on the first lady's right; Ja'Detrus Hamilton, a 16-year-old Katrina survivor and volunteer, was on her left. Local props went to Mayor Tony Williams and 2005 National Teacher of the Year Jason Kamras, a math teacher at John Philip Sousa Middle School.

It's No Game: 'Henchman' Convicted

" Jimmie the Henchman" may be headed to the Big House: A Prince George's County jury yesterday found James Rosemond , manager for rap star The Game , guilty of second-degree assault for punching former WKYS personality DJ Zxulu . Rosemond faces up to 10 years at his April 3 sentencing.

The attack happened when the rapper went to the Lanham studio last year to promote his debut album. Zxulu (né Richard Dunkerson) teased Rosemond about his Trekkie-looking cellphone headpiece ("Hello, my Vulcan brother").

Rosemond -- a 40-year-old ex-con called "one of the most respected and feared players in hip hop" by Vibe magazine -- produced Salt-N-Pe pa 's hit "Shoop" but feuded with the late Tupac Shakur , who claimed Rosemond was behind a shooting attack on him a year before his death (Rosemond denied it) and later dissed him by nickname in a song. State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey told our colleague Ruben Castaneda that the verdict means "the culture of violence among gangster rappers has been rebuffed."

Update

Several days have passed since we first called the office of Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas to ask just what he meant when he said in a Rolling Stone interview: "You look at the social impact of the countries that have engaged in homosexual marriage . . . You'll know 'em by their fruits."

Now he has an explanation: He was misinterpreted. The senator released a statement Monday saying he "was in no way referring to sexual orientation." His paraphrase of Matthew 7:16 was part of a conversation about faith and deeds, according to the statement, and not an attack on homosexuals.