We're frankly mostly of the mind that New Year's Eve is best spent at a house party with good friends -- going out to a club is almost always overpriced and often a big letdown. But in the event you don't have a party to attend, are new in town, or for any other reason are facing tonight without a firm plan, here's a few of our suggestions on how to have a fun and......

A little patience resulted in this great photo by Flickr user epmd. He says the first night he shot this colorful playground in the evening, nothing was to his satisfaction, so, undeterred, he went out again a few nights later and came back with this wonderfully exposed shot. EXIF. This is your last reminder to join us at the DCist Photographer's Meet Up this Sunday. Epmd, moderator of the Washington DC/Metro Area Flickr pool,......

Flickr user philliefan_99 has become our resident birder, catching some amazing views of our local eagles, ospreys, and herons -- like this gorgeous one taking a dip off Roosevelt Island. The questioning pose of the great water bird and the awesome green reflecting off the water make for a spot-on nature shot. EXIF. Philliefan_99 was at our last DCist Photographer's Meet-Up; will you be at our next one? Join us at Solly's at the......

>> The Velvet Lounge hosts Three Stars alums and excellent understated rockers New Rock Church of Fire, with Mas y Mas and The Domesticated. 9 p.m. >> Home of those brilliant Saturday afternoon cheapo Miller High Life countdown specials, epic Jell-O wrestling contests and the surprising winner of any Best Vegan Brunch contest in the city, everyone probably has a different reason for their soft spot for Asylum. Whatever yours is, stop by tonight......

This marks the return of DCist's bar feature, Coalition of the Swilling. Don't forget Poland! Post by DCist contributor Brandon Gentry It's no secret: 18th Street can be a real mess, especially on the weekends. Drunk folks crowd the sidewalks, angling for fights and hook-ups. Too many of the bars cater to the lowest common denominator ("Shots! Blaaaargh!") or to adults playing dress-up (it's hard to pretend you're on a secret mission when you're puking......

Though the Snowpocalypse has been somewhat underwhelming so far, it looks like the storm is starting to pick up some steam. Area school systems have announced early closures, government workers are furiously updating the Office of Personnel Management's website and pretty much every office-bound amateur meteorologist out there is trying to convince their boss that the low pressure system over Tennessee is bad news and that everyone should get to go home in time for......

If you are anything like we are, your plans thus far for having something to do on New Year's Eve go a little like this: Sit around. Hope somebody will magically throw last-minute party with free booze. Sit around some more. Spend the night of Dec. 31 sprawled out on your couch with a coffee table littered with Miller High Life bottles, comforting yourself with the fact that New Year's Eve is so totally overrated......

It's never been hard to find cheap ethnic cuisine in the D.C. area -- from Burmese to Ethiopian to Middle Eastern via the Netherlands. Still, despite our miserliness and our search for interesting new foods, DCist has been looking over one of the long-time staples of cheap eats in D.C.: The Islander, possibly the only place on U Street where you can hear live music and enjoy authentic Caribbean cuisine. And with the prices decidedly......