Mayor-For-Life Marion Barry continues to amaze us. Not only is he utterly untouchable by the long hand of the law, but he is an amazing politician; he just keeps getting elected to practically anything for which he's run. Now, he's even won a race he wasn't actively campaigning for: Barry (or his likeness, rather) was selected to fill the last slot at the forthcoming Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in Penn Quarter. The museum, which will... more ›

Hope for a last minute hail mary. After the highs and lows of almost getting an installment of Live Earth in our town, then having Congress stomp all over it, Al Gore's figured things out in the final hour and is adding the District to the globe-crossing concert. Live Earth will take place tomorrow, from 9 locations around the world. The purpose of the massive undertaking is to raise worldwide awareness of climate change. Musical... more ›

Written by DCist contributor Kelly Rand With Leonardo DiCaprio riding around in a hybrid car and Al Gore winning an Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth, “green” seems to be all the rage these days. But glass artist Erwin Timmers was “green” before “green” was cool. Co-founder and director of the Washington Glass School and Studio, Timmers experiments with firing techniques to incorporate discarded tempered glass into his art, giving it new life and diverting it... more ›

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti... more ›

>> Music junkies raised in an era of candy-coated pop or Seattle-based indie should check out a screening of The Day The Country Died: A History of Anarcho-Punk 1980-1984 at the Black Cat tonight. The flick features rare performances caught on tape before the era of ubiquitous personal video recorders, along with interviews from artists and activists. $5, 9 p.m. more ›

TUESDAY: Former vice president/rock star Al Gore will speak about his new book The Assault on Reason to a sold-out crowd at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium. Don't expect An Inconvenient Truth, though; this is all about shrinking approval ratings for the president and Congress, not shrinking coastlines. 6 p.m. Political journalist Michael Barone will speak about his book Our First Revolution, which is actually a reference to Britain’s Glorious Revolution of 1688, not the... more ›

No, these adorable critters don't have anything to do with the last post of the day. We just finished watching many hours of Planet Earth and are now looking for ways to make blogging "green". See, Al Gore, DCist loves Mother Nature and all her creatures. Well, most of them. >> We also love all sorts of maps. Now we've been informed that National Geographic's awesome array of maps are online. Let the cartographic... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Chilly and rainy, huh? So that's how nature wants to play it? Fine. You know what? We're glad that Al Gore's stupid eco-concert series isn't coming to D.C. And that MTBE leak in Frederick? We were going to provide an environmentally-minded link, but now we're thinking better of it. Your free ride is over, Mother Nature! No more PageRank-boosting blog mentions until you cut this crap out. P.G. Hospital Set To... more ›

Republicans in Congress just haven't been nice to the District lately -- they delayed a vote on the voting rights bill by adding a rider to end D.C.'s handgun ban, and now they're preventing a free concert from being held near the Capitol on July 7. The concert was to be part of Al Gore's Live Earth series of concerts to raise environmental awareness and was to feature some combination of acts like the Police,... more ›

It's the Ides of March and there's not much to fear, D.C. As long as we don't step on any cracks (and therefore break mothers' backs) or allow black cats free reign, we might not jinx our chances for voting rights. Stay tuned for full DCist coverage on the debate/vote today. On a more personal note, for all those who succumbed to the irrational exuberance of sartorial selection this week, temperance is due; it's back... more ›

The Washington Post reports today that Congress is set to vote on a landmark resolution to allow the likes of Snoop, Green Day, Kylie Minogue, and scores of other popular musicians to perform on the Capitol grounds for Live Earth, Al Gore's series of global-warming awareness concerts. Concurrent Resolution 17 was introduced in the Senate yesterday by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). Live Earth, which is scheduled for July 7th,... more ›

Well, consider our faith in the capital city of the world's superpower (mostly) restored. Despite the wintry mix of death and official emergency declaration yesterday, District kids and Federal employees are all expected to test their mettle and report for duty. Of course, the pride in knowing that long-predicted precipitation won't bring your citizens to their knees is nothing compared to having a second straight long weekend. Lucky kids in many Virginia counties have another day to frolic in the icy, slushy remains of snow while most other suburban schools are opening two hours late. more ›

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending... more ›

We'd like to start this week's run-down by wishing a very happy birthday to parent blog Gothamist, which turned four on Friday. If it wasn't for them, the rest of us wouldn't be here. They celebrated their birthday by nabbing an interview with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, who misses NYC public transportation when he's working in LA. They also reported on NYU students protesting a band whose name is also known as a slur,... more ›

Not to alarm you, gentle readers, but the Snowpocalypse is nigh. The National Weather Service has already issued a winter storm watch for the entire area beginning late tonight and lasting through Wednesday morning. Forecasters aren't certain they want to label it an exclusively snow event, or if we can expect a wintry mix, which, by the way, is our second favorite kind of mix, after margarita. CapitalWeather predicts the fluffy stuff will start falling in the wee hours of the morning and change to sleet and freezing rain as the day goes on. Predictions for total accumulation range from 4 to 6 inches, depending on who you listen to (Al Gore claims that the sea will rise 10 inches and polar bears everywhere will drown; Republican skeptics have called the warnings of snow an international conspiracy to slow the U.S. economy) and where you live. more ›

>> Breaking news from the DCist News Desk Sofa: Anna Nicole Smith has died in Florida. Smith was reportedly found in unconscious in her Hollywood, Fla. hotel room and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Looking back, it's hard to remember all that made Smith a tabloid celeb but we're sure we'll be seeing a Law & Order "ripped from the headlines" reminding us soon. [CNN.com] more ›

Welcome to the first morning of the Fenty administration, Washington. As we mentioned at the time, Mr. Fenty was officially sworn in yesterday. The Post reports that the ceremony was kept small in order to avoid distracting from funeral observances in President Ford's honor. Very tactful! Good job so far, Mr. Mayor. Fenty's inaugural address will occur today at the Washington Convention Center. Meet Your New First Lady: We're still not quite ready to... more ›

Wow! It seems like we haven't posted anything since last year! We hope you enjoyed your holiday and are at least 86% less hungover than yesterday. The new year begins with an extra day off for many of you, as federal offices are closed in remembrance of President Ford. Those planning to go to work, or for that matter, anywhere else, should heed these street closures and parking restrictions. If you're out and about and... more ›

Good morning, Washington. This being the town that it is, we don't have to tell you what today is. Pull the lever, push the button or mark the scantron form — do whatever you've got to do, but make sure you make yourself heard. And for those of you who like to wait until the last minute, here's how to find your polling place in Virginia, Maryland and the District. You might also find WTOP's... more ›

This entry was written by contributor Ben Clark. D.C. shows its love for politics in many ways, but nothing is quite as wonktastic as waiting in line for a citywide premiere of a documentary about Al Franken. Last Friday I made the trek to the only movie theater in the city that still serves beer for the premiere of God Spoke, sponsored by American Family Voices, to enjoy some Coulter- and Hannity-bashing with inebriated fellow... more ›

Neal Katyal is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center. He's been a visiting professor at both Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. Last year, the former law clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer was named one of the National Law Journal's top 40 lawyers under the age of 40. He was co-counsel to Vice President Al Gore during the 2000 election fiasco in Florida. For most people, that'd be enough. But not for Katyal.... more ›

Good Morning, Washington. Looks like it's going to be a beautiful, if a tad hot, day. Highs should be up around 90, with the humidity and rain we've all been hearing about holding off at least until tomorrow. Initiative for Slots Off Ballot: For those of you who have been waiting for electronic slots to hit D.C., looks like you'll be waiting a bit longer. WTOP tells us that the PAC that has been working... more ›

What Al Gore has done for global climate change, Jeff Goodell is trying to do for coal consumption. The Rolling Stone and New York Times Magazine contributor is ready to scare the crap out of you as he reads from Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future at Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. at 7 p.m. more ›

Given that this may well be the storm Al Gore has been warning us about, DCist is going to follow the lead of its mainstream media competitors and assign the staff to cover Deluge '06 from every possible angle. Ryan will stay inside directing the news team, while I hunt down the mayoral candidates to see what they're planning on doing about this rain. Sommer will be out to see if that whole story about... more ›

DCist welcomes the first official day of summer with a special Opinionist piece by reader Rachel Demma. What are your thoughts on the sweatiest season in the city? Got any summer survival tips? Share what you love and hate about the season. more ›

Acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese was recognized last night as the 2006 Guggenheim Honoree at the SILVERDOCS festival. The award, named after the late 4-time Academy Award winning (longtime D.C. resident) Charles Guggenheim, was presented in a ceremony highlighting Scorsese's contributions to documentary film. more ›

D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams seems to have been taken aback by "An Inconvenient Truth," the new movie detailing Al Gore's tireless fight against global warming. In a press release dated June 2, Williams mentions the movie alongside a plea for residents to do whatever they can to prevent global warming. Reads the release: “The best time to act is now,” said Mayor Williams. “Global warming is one of the most dire threats we face. Everyone... more ›

As soon as our friends over at DCRTV reported that Comcast had added three channels to its lineup, we jumped to attention. Might they have finally buckled under the weight of Congressional and D.C. Council pressure and added MASN, allowing area subscribers to finally get their fair share of Washington Nationals games? Nope. But lucky Comcast customers will be getting these channels: Current TV (107) [is an] Al Gore-backed youth-oriented political news and activism network... more ›

Shanghaiist probably knows a little more about China than the Chicago Sun-Times. Giving them the benefit of the doubt on that one. The city does to have a music scene. Don't even front like they don't. They also have Dorito bananas and white guys shopping for wives. What they don't have is any more tolerance for jaywalkers. Bostonist sees Boston and Somerville each whip out their art and face off. A plagiarized novel is the... more ›

The creators of the ubiquitous political flash film This Land have released another work, this time declaring It's Good To Be In D.C. While we appreciate the subject matter (It is good to be here!) the flash doesn't quite measure up to This Land - which the brothers readily admit on their blog: "In truth, we’re a couple of whores. Jay Leno asked if we’d be interested in making another one to debut on The... more ›