Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina performing as The Evens, photographed by good governor The District is excited to welcome its newest rock royalty! Carmine Francis Farina MacKaye was born late Saturday night to happy parents Amy Farina and Ian MacKaye—who are known together as The Evens and independently as musicians who've played in a host of hardcore and indie rock bands. All our best wishes to Farina and MacKaye and their brand new baby......

NBC4 reported last night that food banks are not the only local charities feeling the holiday crunch this year: the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program in D.C. also says it is suffering from a decline in donations compared to last year. So we are posting this photo of a crying baby we found to make you feel bad -- bad enough to donate some toys to needy local kids, that is. There are something......

Mid-December has arrived, and with that comes the inevitable flood of best-of lists. The Washington Area Film Critics' Association has, for the previous five years of its existence, been in the habit of trying to get their own list out ahead of most of the other critics' societies. We can't really blame them. Considering the fact that none of the critics from the city's biggest newspaper are members, not to mention the fact that the......

One need not dig too deep into our city’s jazz scene before coming across the name Thad Wilson. Since coming to D.C. in 1997, Wilson has become a mainstay in the jazz clubs of U Street and beyond by consistently performing with passion, intensity, and consummate artistry in a variety of settings. In addition to his own considerable abilities, his groups feature some of the finest players in the D.C. area. A native of......

With the surprising lack of Halloween aftermath photos in the DCist pool today, we did a little browsing back through the past week and found this interesting shot by Flickr user chapulin colorado. Using a fake tilt shift, he turned this photo of real life visitors at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History into a diorama you might find in an exhibit of the museum. Tilt-shifting distorts the focus so that viewers believe they're......

FRIDAY: >> It's raining, and you've got some serious partying to do tomorrow night, so we'd recommend taking in a movie and saving your strength. Don't miss our movie picks for the weekend here, including special Halloween screenings of Nosferatu at the AFI Silver Theater. Also of note tonight, The American City Diner screens Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho at 8:30 p.m. >> If you’re more in the mood for getting your eardrums absolutely destroyed, Japanese metal......

Unsurprisingly, Flickr user intemporelle hit the trifecta with the three photos she uploaded to the DCist pool yesterday, which also reminded us that it's about time to get some seasonal photos up in here. It's interesting to see our contributors taking bets on Photo of the Day selections, but though the pumpkin patch baby was a strong contender (along with this sweet one), this Wicked Witch image has the pitch-perfect hint of Halloween spookiness.......

Disoriented and Seeing Stars WaPo reviewer Tom Sietsema has released his 2007 Washington Post Dining Guide online. You can catch it on newsstands this weekend. At the top, Cathal Armstrong's Restaurant Eve has broken through to the four-star category, and his revamped Majestic also made the list. Newcomers Central Michel Richard (3 stars), Proof (2.5), Farrah Olivia (2.5), and Hook (2.5) also made it onto the list. A surprising omission was Brasserie Beck, which Sietsema......

Jason Campbell couldn't miss, the defensive line looked like a wrecking crew, Carlos Rogers actually intercepted a pass (and returned it for a touchdown!), and Baby Jesus announced his preference for Joe Gibbs over Jon Kitna in a beating of the Detroit Lions so savage that Daniel Snyder had plenty of free time to stop worrying about the state of his football team, and start worrying about how the rides from his terrible theme parks......

Over the weekend, Gothamist introduced comment profile avatars to our registered user system. If you have a profile (and if you don't yet, head over here to register), just go to "Edit Profile" and upload a 100 x 100 pixel image. Then try commenting (on this post!), and bask in the glory of our ever-improving commenting system. The default icon for registered users across the Gothamist network is an adorable baby panda, of which we......

LAist began the month with a new food series exploring the popular and unknown late night eats around town. If a Top Chef winner opened up a late night spot in Los Angeles, denizens would flock it, yet the LA Times and other media might be wary. Turning to sports, the Dodger season was quite memorable in the way that it imploded and the LA County Sheriff's Department made some games of their own such......

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King, and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out and......

New Hampshire Looks to Smack Down Senators: After the U.S. Senate failed to overcome a filibuster on legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives, voting rights activists swore they would have their revenge. On the top of their list are Republican senators John McCain (Ariz.), Gordon Smith (Ore.), and Thad Cochran (Miss.), not to mention the lone Democrat to vote against the bill, Max Baucus (Mont.). But one......

MONDAY >> This ain’t not J-Pop, we swear. If you want good old-fashioned Japanese rock ‘n’ roll (OK, it’s true, we don’t really know what that’s supposed to sound like either), The Captains from some place in Japan (the city name on their MySpace page uses Japanese characters) will drop by The Red & The Black tonight. They will be supported by Sugarcane Crawl, formerly known as Blues Hammer, and D.C.'s The Bourbon Dynasty. 9......

At Nevin Kelly Gallery until October 7th is Peer Pressure, a group exhibition guest curated by D.C. artist Thom Flynn. Of the four artists featured, Sue Huang and Pasqual Sisto hail from UCLA’s Media Arts program, while Carrie Mallory and Baby Martinez reside in D.C. Flynn claims that the impetus for his selection of work was simply to “assemble a group of his peers to size-up contemporary trends in art,” however the show itself seems......

>> Plans for the District's biggest hotel, with 1,400 rooms, near the Washington Convention Center, are on the verge of being shelved. [WaPo] >> A healthy baby boy was born on I-270 this morning, proving once again that life is really just God's cheesy network sitcom. [WJLA] >> Apparently those recent repairs at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library didn't include water fountains, ceilings or bathrooms. [City Desk] >> A photography exhibit that......

>> Don't miss our full preview and interview with Bonde do Role, playing tonight at the Black Cat with Plastic Little and local experimental audio/visual artist Edie Sedgwick. $10, 8 p.m. >> >> DC9's got The Daybreak Line and The Beanstalk Library, who we recently profiled in a Three Stars piece, and Athens, GA's The Winter Sounds. $8, 9:30 p.m. >> I have vivid memories of watching the significantly creepy 1960 TV version of......

There was very little else for Londonist to be concerned with when the threat of a Tube strike became a very unpleasant reality. The inconvenience was extreme: there aren't many alternatives to the Tube in London despite the best efforts of the Londonist team to get everyone from A to B. Brighter news came in the form of the first ever female Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater as the position is more commonly known, and......

Remember that first week of college? Amid the excitement of all the new people, new classes, new books, a new life, was the hope. The hope that you were embarking on an exciting journey that would make you into someone brand new. The hope that as you left high school and your parents behind, you could finally become the person you always knew you were meant to be. The hope that this was a fresh......

Voting for the National Zoo's Name the Baby Anteater contest ended on Aug. 26, but we now finally have an official name for the long-nosed bundle of joy: Aurora. The female name beat out the other choices by a healthy margin of votes (1,600 vs. 1,200 for Isabel and 1,100 for Pilar), and now that zoo officials have finally determined the anteater's gender, the winner of the boy's name contest is moot (though we did......

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-a-verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked......

MONDAY >> The City Veins are a strong local outfit that's been making their debut around town over the course of the past few months. They just formed in March and are already more mature and ready to bring the rock than a lot of bands with a lot more stage time. And hey, they have a blog! See what you're missing tonight at Solly's Tavern on U Street. 10 p.m. >> Do you......

>> "Investigators say the parents of a baby found alone in a stroller Tuesday have contacted them, blaming a miscommunication for the abandoned boy." [WJLA] >> "The D.C. government has been failing to comply with a federal court order to screen thousands of low-income children for lead poisoning, according to lawyers in the case." [WashTimes] >> "P.S. For the cute girls from virginia: Yes, the house is rented - BUT, but, BUT - Matt......

Another adorable baby animal at the National Zoo, another list of potential names for us to vote on. As you already know, the Zoo welcomed a brand new baby Giant Anteater last month, and nicknames for the little creature have already abounded -- Little Schnozzy being by far the most popular. But theoretically, Schnozzy won't be "little" forever, and the Zoo would like your input on selecting a proper name. The names this time around......

>> Most of the city it seems will be heading to RFK after work, so plan your Metro rides on the Blue and Orange line accordingly. >> The band that brought you the third most played song on the DCeiver's iPod, The Daybreak Line, is teaming up with three other list-worth bands (The Grownup Noise, The Able Birds and Aubriot) tonight at the Red & the Black. $8, 4 bands, too good to pass......

>> Earl Cunningham's America, which opens this Friday at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, features 50 paintings by one of the foremost folk artists of the 20th century. Known for his use of space and brilliant colors, Cunningham juxtaposes the ordinary with the unexpected and puts familiar subjects in unfamiliar settings. The result is an insightful commentary on American life and culture. >> Those looking for something new will have the chance to make their......

>> Mayor Adrian Fenty has chosen Clark Ray to serve as the city’s director of the Department of Parks and Recreation. Ray was previously the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and Services. >> D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier has called for her third summertime "All Hands on Deck" initiative for Monday and Tuesday, to coincide with Tuesday's National Night Out. The last "All Hands on Deck," when Lanier requires all MPD......

Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (30 Plays in 60 Minutes), the long-running signature show of Chicago’s the Neo-Futurists that we reviewed yesterday, requires each of its performers to be a hybrid of improv artist, actor, athlete, and polemicist. Notwishstanding the fact that the team currently performing the show in the Fringe Festival is 40% female, it also takes some serious balls. Because although you can rest assured that if a “play”......

The phrase “review-proof” usually denotes some property so universally recognizable and demonstrably saleable that no amount of critical huffing and puffing can possibly derail its commercial invincibility. Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind is something else. Yeah, it’s an established property, at least in Chicago, homebase of its creators, the Neo-Futurists. (Think the Groundlings, except less obsessed with getting on Saturday Night Live.) The hometown show has been up and running for at......

No matter how you feel about a city known for its hippie culture or holier-than-thou aging baby boomers, you sort of have to love Takoma Park, Md. Commonly referred to as "The People's Republic of Takoma Park" or "The Berkeley of the East", the commuter suburb right on the border of the District is not only charmingly beautiful, but the people who live there wear their political proclivities on their collective sleeves so seriously they......