A Soul Man's Metal of Honor

James Brown's Kennedy Center Honors medal -- a rare example of the prestigious performing-arts prize being offered for sale-- sold at Christie's auction house in New York yesterday for $10,000.

Not bad. But it got way outclassed by a much humbler piece of Brown bling: His medical bracelet -- a cheap piece of metal stating that the late Godfather of Soul was diabetic and allergic to penicillin -- went for $32,500.

What's that about? "Typically, fans especially want items that are personal in nature," Darren Julien, a showbiz memorabilia expert in Los Angeles, told us. "That's something you know he would have worn a lot." While Brown's 2003 KenCen prize "is a great piece as far as an award, he wore it once when it was given to him," said Julien, who bid on other items in the sale. "Whereas the medical bracelet he would have worn over and over."

Christie's wouldn't name its buyers. Altogether, the sale of 325 items from Brown's estate -- ordered by a judge to pay legal bills and taxes -- collected $857,688. The top seller: a beaded black silk satin cape, with Brown's name embroidered in the collar, for $47,500.

At This 'Prom' Dance, the Colombian Was Floral

What kind of prom is it where the prom king gets a better corsage than the prom queen? The Trade Prom, apparently, also known as the annual dinner of the Washington International Trade Association, where on Wednesday trade wonks partied as hard as trade wonks can, and the royalty -- U.S. trade rep Susan Schwab and former congressman/Grocery Manufacturers Association chief Cal Dooley-- were bedecked with giant boutonnieres made from Colombian flowers (in honor of the proposed Colombia Free Trade Agreement). "I know most proms end with a slow dance," Schwab told the crowd. "But we have a lot left on the agenda. We need to rock-and-roll." Yes, these are the ways official Washington amuses itself in the summer. Still think Rep. John Lews in UPS shorts takes the prize, but staffers who've tricked their bosses out in any other cute costumes should share the pics at reliablesource@washpost.com.

THIS JUST IN . . .

· Thirty years after he fled the country to avoid jail, Roman Polanski is asking the Los Angeles DA's office look into claims that a former prosecutor improperly influenced the judge in the Oscar-winning director's sensational statutory rape case, reports the New York Times. A new documentary, "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," suggests the prosecutor may have violated California law; a spokeswoman for the DA said she was not aware of any plan to reopen the case.

HEY, ISN'T THAT . . . ?

· Anthony Bourdain perusing the Penn Quarter farmers' market yesterday and causing a fan frenzy, judging from the scores of you who contacted us about it. ( Way more than wrote in about Robert Redford the day before.) The cable-foodie god, taping a "No Reservations" spot, walked with D.C. superchef José Andrés smelling peaches, fondling tomatoes, debating cheese. He'll keep shooting around here the next couple of days but please, people, give him his space.

THE SOURCE QUOTE

"Everybody in China, Philippines, Berlin and Barcelona, all they kept saying was 'I love your blog. Keep blogging!' . . . When I told them, 'I retired due to technical difficulties with our media,' they were, like, 'Noooooo! Do it in Chinese so they can't read it! Do it in Spanish so they can't read it!' "

by Miguel Villagran -- Associated press

-- Gilbert Arenas explaining on his blog how global demand observed on his world tour persuaded him to keep blogging. He had threatened to stop, weary of seeing his musings blown up in the U.S. press.