WTOP's Mark Segraves got a hold of a partial list of the folks who've been receiving tickets to use the city's free luxury box in the Verizon Center -- the one that the D.C. Council is so miffed they're being boxed out of -- and there's some fun tidbits he discovered.Most of those invited to D.C.'s Luxury Suite at the Verizon Center by Fenty either contributed the maximum $2,000 to Fenty's campaign or worked on......

MONDAY >> It wasn't too far from here -- just a couple hours south in Midlothian, VA, where Aimee Mann got her start. Now the guitar playing song weaver is a bonafide modern music legend. She's treating The Birchmere to her 2nd Annual Christmas Show, and it's not something you should miss. $45.50, 7:30 p.m. >> Roofwalkers (pictured), the band formerly known as Pagoda, are treating the Galaxy Hut crowd to an evening of......

Our Pilgrim cousins to the north have been having all the wintry fun of late. While we sit here in the mid-Atlantic frantically wondering if we'll get snow instead of an annoying, ice-cold spritz, Boston gets about eight inches of commute-snarling precip. Why do they get all the snow AND all the good sports teams? This weekend is our next chance at a winter coating, but again, we sit on the line of pure snow......

I doubt anyone is at the "Gilbert Who?" stage yet, but anyone who's been watching the Washington Wizards play since Agent Zero went down would be hard pressed to deny that the team has been just plain fun to watch these last few weeks - perhaps because with the big gun out, they are playing like a team. Last night three players had double-doubles and a total of six players scored in double figures......

The Air Force Memorial has a certain architectural elegance that makes it almost hard not to photograph well, but some certainly stand far above the others, and we especially like Flickr user mosely.brian's crisp version here. Did you miss our announcement on Wednesday? The DCist Exposed Photography Show contest is open and accepting entries for our 2008 exhibition. Not only might you get to show your original work on a real gallery wall at......

Last year we were blown away by how many folks participated in our very first DCist Exposed Photography Show. What we hoped would be a fun event for our faithful photography contributors turned into a full-blown gallery event packed to the gills with supporters. Many of the selected 2007 photographers -- most of whom had never even framed their work prior to the show -- have continued to sell their prints and some even......

MONDAY >> Those looking to kick the month off with a bang might be out of luck, as it looks like there's not a whole lot going down tonight. Still, it's not a total wash, as all the usual suspects — the Black Cat, DC9, the Velvet Lounge and the Rock and Roll Hotel — will have their bars open and waiting for the District's disillusioned masses. >> DJ Jahsonic has a new Monday night......

Good news in time for Christmas this year; the Warehouse Theater will continue to operate through next summer, according to the institution. The venue is currently hosting Scena Theater's The Maids and will have new shows in February and March. That also means it remains a venue for next year's Fringe Festival. The Warehouse is still looking for a new home. Despite the usual winter doldrums that December brings, there are still a number of......

Last April I sold my elderly car for a few hundred dollars. I was tired of the expense of repairs, gas and insurance, no longer needed a vehicle for work, and the wide availability of car-sharing services in the D.C. metro area made the switch to no longer owning my own car seem easy and obvious. I hadn't regretted my decision for a minute -- until I got the following press release in my inbox......

Have you followed Eddie Argos' instructions and formed a band? Have you been looking, but just not finding, the perfect way to celebrate Hannukah this year? Are you free on December 8? The Eight, a concert presented by JDub Records, and Taglit-birthright Israel, is a worldwide Hannukah party happening simultaneously in 9 cities: D.C., New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Rio and Moscow. JDub, home to bands such as Balkan Beat Box,......

Happy Thanksgiving, Washington. The streets are quiet this morning in the capital; one cab driver remarked to this writer that it was his favorite day to drive in the city -- no traffic, no tourists, and everyone he picks up tends to be cheery and a big tipper. The forecast in D.C. today is calling for an unseasonably warm high of 72 degrees, with a solid chance of afternoon showers and gastrointestinal distress. What's the......

We missed this when it happened a couple of weeks ago, but is it really ever too late to point and laugh at New Yorkers? We didn't think so. So, people are probably aware that Five Guys franchises are proliferating across the Eastern U.S. like nuclear weapons in central Asia. The greasy, peanut-laden fingers of our locally born burger stand have spread as far as Delafield, Wisconsin; Nashville, Tennessee; and Miami, Florida. They've even broken......

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did......

Whether or not you were actually part of the 1960s, if you are a Beatles fan or, well, obsessed like some of us, then consider heading down to the Music Center at Strathmore tonight for Rain: The Beatles Experience, a tribute band that takes its audience on a trip down memory lane to a time when four lads from Liverpool tried to show the world that there's nothing funny about peace, love and understanding. The......

Southeast Jerome. Sheriff Gonna Getcha. Coach Janky Spanky. The Ghost of Southeast Jerome. Most of the 2005 season, and a few times last year, Clinton Portis showed that he wasn't only electric on the field by holding press conferences dressed up as ridiculous characters, who he named and gave purposes. The get ups were such a hit that they even made a t-shirt about them (hey, we all knew that Snyder wouldn't let a chance......

Despite the cold, we have to admit this looks like a lot of fun. A little white water kayaking should get that heart racing to the point where you probably don't notice the frigid waters anymore. We love how Flickr user KJ Grabowsky manages to make the kayaker almost an afterthought, nearly hidden in the frothy waters that threaten to swallow him/her whole. EXIF.......

Meh-NAH-meh-nuh? Meh-NOH-meh-nuh? Meh-noh-MEE-nuh? A nonsense word, an inside joke, or derived from that fantastic old school Muppet Show sketch? Whatever it is, it's not much of a telling name for a band with such a wide array of musical backgrounds and interests. Their debut I Am the Fun Blame Monster! was characteristically all-over-the-map in its creativity, but erred on the side of goofy and even a little obtuse. Then came Under an Hour, a score......

It’s been a few years since the Pope of Mope has graced the District with his presence—four three to be exact—and in the meantime, many of us have managed to see him play in other nearby locales. As a matter of fact, a few DCist staffers caught the Moz’s Halloween show in Baltimore, at the relatively intimate Ram’s Head Live—a date that was rescheduled due to Morrissey’s string of cancellations this past July. While......

Londonist got the big scoop of the week with what may be the first images of notorious street artist Banksy in action. They also got on a runaway train without an operator provoking a response from the transport authorities. Elsewhere, London's answer to Central Station is about to open for business, and Londonist got a sneak preview. Meanwhile, spooky goings-on beneath London Bridge, where a cache of skeletons provided an apt story for Hallowe'en.......

>> It's Halloween! Spooky, Scary! Despite the taxi strike, SoberRide is still offering free taxi rides for people who have had too much to drink celebrating the holiday: If you need a ride home between 8 p.m. tonight and 4 a.m. tomorrow morning, call 1-800-200-TAXI and you should be able to get a free ride home of up to $50. How long you'll have to wait for that ride is an open question, but......

It's been a long, frustrating, even humiliating journey together for tax paying D.C. residents, and a man named Roy Pearson. Yesterday, it all finally came to an end, so we thought it only fitting that we should pay tribute to the former administrative law judge who, through suing his dry cleaners first for $65 million over a lost pair of pants, then later $54 million, succeeded in driving international attention to D.C.'s legal system --......

You'd think potentially violent criminals would know by now: if you injure someone anywhere near your favorite hang out spot in Ward 1, Council member Jim Graham is going to swoop in and ruin the fun for everyone else. If the possibility of being locked up in the terrifying confines of the D.C. Jail isn't enough of a deterrent, having all your friends be totally pissed at you for getting the place where they like......

We've already covered some of the great Halloween photos today, and, wouldn't you know it, there are all kinds of other interesting things going on in October besides creepy costume parties. There's the fall harvest at our local farmers markets, some fun times at our arts festivals before it gets too cold to play outside, and, well, whatever the hell is going on here. Of course, there was also the Marine Corps Marathon yesterday......

The verdict on the D.C. Zombie Lurch on Saturday was sadly a little underwhelming ... we estimate there were maybe only two dozen people participating in the mass "Thriller" dance, another two dozen who were dressed as zombies but didn't dance, and then a slightly larger group of pure spectators and/or friends of zombies who didn't dress up. Still, everyone was having a great time, and we got some fun shots of zombies with......

The Red Sox has permeated nearly every facet of Bostonist's lives. When they're not live-blogging the games, waxing poetic about the games, thanking Curt Schilling for his splendid work, or telling Dane Cook to watch his hair, they're watching certain presidential candidates hop on the Red Sox bandwagon (sorry, Gothamist). The Sox are so branded on the local brain that people are using the Series to spice up their sex lives. Speaking of spice, Bostonist......

Editors Note: We enjoyed the tour diaries J. Tom Hnatow wrote for us as part of These United States' last tour, so we asked him if he wouldn't mind doing it again as the band embark on their first ever intercontinental tour of the UK and Europe. He graciously agreed. Look for his dispatches from the road abroad over the next few weeks. Tuesday, October 16, 2007 We walk (and walk and walk) from Baker......

FRIDAY: >> The Howard Homecoming events could make an entire Weekend Picks feature by themselves, but don't forget to consider some of the less publicized goings on we're recommending as a way to enjoy the fun without the insane crowds. >> Tickets are still available for the amazingly cheap (only $10!) Catalyst Theatre Company production of Kafka's The Trial. Check out our review over here, and get your tickets — did we mention they’re only......

The annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund begin on Friday, and the city will see a number of changes in traffic patterns and road closures this weekend as a result. Here's what you should plan around: Streets closed to vehicles: Beginning at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 19, until 2 a.m. on Sunday, October 21 * Pennsylvania Avenue, NW between 17th Street and 20th Street, NW * 19th Street, NW......

Good Morning, Washington. In an apparent attempt to rule the D.C. media landscape through terror and intimidation, the Washington Post has published the scariest local news story we've ever read this morning: apparently, these disgusting-looking creatures called camel crickets are infesting area basements due to the lack of moisture in the ground thanks to the region's rather serious drought. Described as "a mix between a spider and a cricket" and accompanied by disturbing photographic......

Editor's note: The DAM! Fest concludes tonight with Cat Power at 9:30 Club. One of our critics headed out to the Historic Sixth and I Synagogue on Saturday and her thoughts on the show are below. Let us know which DAM! shows you caught and what you thought of them in the comments. Exit Clov: What can we say about Exit Clov that we haven't already said? The overwhelming beauty and austerity of the Sixth......