Kicking off the Kennedy Center's CHINA: The Art of a Nation series, Two Dogs' Opinions on Life is a laugh riot—if you speak Chinese. Luckily for the rest of us, the actors carry off the difficult task of parodying Chinese life in slapstick, farce, and sound effects everyone can understand. more ›

The temperatures might not be ideal for hovering over a heated bowl of stock, but the hot pot at Mala Tang is a cool dining idea. more ›

The question most film remakes need to answer is whether or not they bring something new or different to the table that justifies their existence. For American remakes of foreign films, that justification is generally language accessibility. When there's a great idea for a movie out there already done once, but there's an untapped audience that just doesn't enjoy reading subtitles, it's an attractive prospect to skip all that creative development and just make the same movie in English. The results (with plenty of notable exceptions) tend towards pale and uninspired reflections of the original film. more ›

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Written by DCist Contributor Eric Denman As the commercialization of Chinatown persists, the number of restaurants and bars continues to increase. For every existing grungy Chinese takeout place, there is a new sports bar, burger joint, or wine bar. Proof, which opened in July, is the newest entry in the Chinatown wine bar field, and it opened a mere block from the established José Andrés outpost Zaytinya (which has been open since 2002). Both places... more ›

Good morning, Washington. It's news of the weird day today on DCist, as the Post tells the bizarre story of two 2nd-year engineering students from U-Va. who have been charged with the kidnapping of a man in Tysons Corner and demanding $500,000 in ransom. Both the two kidnappers and the victim are Chinese nationals who had been living with host families in Virginia while attending college. Police arrested Guanyu Lu and Baichuan Shu, both 19,... more ›

The Post is reporting that a Chinese food deliveryman was shot and killed in Southeast over the weekend, the second such killing in recent months. Hong Zhi Wang, 29, was delivering food at 10:30 p.m. Sunday in the 1300 block of Barnaby Terrace when he was shot in the neck. The latest killing came less than three months after another deliveryman from an Asian restaurant was robbed and murdered. Ling Mao, 36, was found... more ›

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... more ›

What's That You Say, our roundup of the best, funniest, and most interesting comments of the past week, is back, and this time it's got taxi terrorism, school ponderings, Chinese food debates, and more. If you haven't already, take 20 seconds to register and make your own avatar. ----- The hybrid taxicab post spurred a lot of comments, but we particularly liked Reid's: Wait, do hybrids come in skeezy Buick? ----- Friday's Overheard in DC... more ›

Written by DCist Contributor Oscar Bunoan We’ve all heard it before. “You’ve got to try this place out. It’s a complete dive but the food is just to die for!” A friend told me about a hole-in-the-wall place in Chinatown, Full Kee, that's popular with the lunchtime crowd. Is it really? Mythbusters Adam and Jamie should have tried cracking this mystery back in season one, but since they're in San Francisco, it's up to me.... more ›

After FOX5 first broke the story last night, reports popped up all over today about how former mayor and Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry was the victim of a burglary at his home about a month ago, while he was traveling for a few days in China. That he was there addressing an association of Chinese mayors is humorous (presumably it was some sort of Scared Straight program), but that's not what's makes this... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Here at DCist, we pride ourselves on providing a forum for law-abiding citizens to discuss issues facing our city, like development and crime, in as open and honest a manner as possible. We may give you our opinions from time to time as a way to get the ball rolling (OK, all the time), but we're always open to hearing from those of you who disagree. Except for right now. Anyone... more ›

>> Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry feels "disrespected and misled" by Mayor Adrian Fenty regarding the changes the administration made to the development of Poplar Point, where plans for a new stadium for D.C. United have now been abandoned. [WTOP] >> The accused "D.C. Madam," Deborah Jeane Palfrey, is alleging that national security concerns related to the fact that Muslim men used her escort service before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks might... more ›

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,... more ›

>> The ceremonial flame for the Special Olympics will pass through town tomorrow afternoon, starting at the White House at 12:15 p.m. and making stops on the National Mall before heading uptown to the Chinese Embassy. Expect minor traffic delays along the route. [WJLA] >> Is a Rita's Water Ice coming to the Washington Convention Center area? [Bloomingdale (for now)] >> Bob Mould is set to release his first ever live DVD, Circle Of... more ›

Near sunset on a Tuesday in the middle of May, Lana Labermeier and her husband Stuart Davenport were sitting outside their then-unfinished new Bloomingdale coffee shop, Big Bear Cafe, enjoying a hard earned cold beer after a long day of landscaping work. Unfortunately, their neighbors could hardly let them rest. "When are you gonna be open?" shouted one man from his car. "Are you hiring?" asked another. "What's this going to be?" "Aren't you... more ›

Woe is all of us this morning, as the National Zoo has officially announced that Mei Xiang is not really pregnant after all. Real panda pregnancies are notoriously difficult to diagnose, and this time, unlike two years ago, the hormonal spike recently tracked in the mama panda was a symptom of a false pregnancy. Sniff. This makes Mei Xiang's fourth pseudopregnancy. She had three before giving birth to Butterstick (aka Tai Shan), her only cub... more ›

Welcome back to work, Washington. Actually, we're curious -- are any of you checking in on headlines from home today, having gone ahead and taken the rest of the week off? If so, we never liked you in the first place. Despite the tornado watch and humid, drizzly conditions, we hope you had a wonderful 4th of July celebration and of course, didn't have any fireworks-related accidents. ABC7 is reporting that at least nine people... more ›

>> The National are playing a sold-out show at 9:30 Club tonight, with Shapes and Sizes & Talkdemonic, doors at 7:15 p.m. If you don't have tickets, you have three options: Get thee to craigslist, park yourself at DC9 before the show and keep an eye out for folks who got stood up, or sit in the sweet, sweet air conditioning at home and tune into NPR's live streaming web cast of the headliners... more ›

At this week's concerts, the National Symphony Orchestra premiered the new harp concerto that it commissioned from Mark Adamo. Adamo dedicated Four Angels to conductor Leonard Slatkin, who helped make the commission happen, and the NSO's principal harpist, Dotian Levalier, for whom the solo part was created. On Friday night at the Kennedy Center, Slatkin led the NSO through a sensitive reading of this rather traditional but hauntingly lovely score. The first movement is named... more ›

Chinese superstar pianist Lang Lang joins the National Symphony Orchestra in this weekend's concerts at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, beginning this evening. He was originally scheduled to give the premiere of a new piano concerto by American composer Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962). However, as announced by the NSO in late March, the composer and the pianist issued a joint statement, saying that "differences in interpretive viewpoints and styles have led us both to feel... more ›

Be a good son or daughter and call your mother today. Then you can start thinking about what concerts to hear this week. Maybe you can ask your mom to come with you. THE BIG GUNS: >> Joining the National Symphony Orchestra this week is Chinese pianist Lang Lang. He and composer Jennifer Higdon have parted ways about her new piano concerto, which he was supposed to premiere this week. Instead, Lang Lang will play... more ›

>> One lucky DCist reader will be at the Rock and Roll Hotel tonight on us for The Cinematics, The Clientele Changes, and Cedars. But with $8 advance tickets ($10 at the door), there's no excuse for you not to head down and enjoy the show even if you don't win. Doors at 9 p.m. >> Wednesday night is always the best (the only?) night to head to Madam's Organ, when the bar serves... more ›

Part of my trek to Danny's Tindahan, a small Filipino-Japanese market in Tenleytown, was to satisfy my curiosity about whether or not the store sold balut eggs. Balut eggs are duck eggs that have been fertilized and incubated for about two weeks, so that when they are eaten there is a little duck embryo winking at you inside. At Danny's, balut eggs are in the refrigerator case and dyed pink. Definitely not for the squeamish,... more ›

Washington's most beloved toddler won't be sent to an unfamiliar country to participate in a forced breeding program. At least not yet. The irrepressibly cute Tai Shan, who turns two on July 2, has been given a reprieve by the Chinese government and will be staying at the National Zoo, at least for a while. Though the cub is a natural-born citizen of the U.S., an agreement with China says that any offspring from... more ›

April has been an exhausting month for classical music listeners. Still, when that means staying out late to hear Evgeny Kissin play eight encores, you will not hear me complaining. Put your shoes back on, because there is more music to be heard. We start with the best events this week. >> By all accounts, Chinese-American pianist Chu-Fang Huang, winner of the 2005 Cleveland Piano Competition, is an exceptional talent at age 23. She is... more ›

>> Along with their still awaited Local Blogger Directory, washingtonpost.com is set to roll out a social networking function this spring. How long will we have to wait before Hank Stuever starts updating his profile every hour with cryptic messages in an elaborate attempt at online performance art? [Fishbowl DC] >> A woman was struck by a Green line train on Sunday night at the Suitland station, after falling onto the tracks. Amazingly enough,... more ›

We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. Torontoist Special Report: Rosie to Trump: "Fire 300 Bicyclists for Fraud!" On DCist: Students Go Wild for Slogans, Secrets and Sexual Harassment The action was thick... more ›

This post by DCist contributor Gayle S. Putrich more ›

No, when rising in the wee hours of the morning to we didn't suffer a sudden wave of nostalgia for bad perms, The Bangles and "Mr. Belvedere". We were confronted by all four networks confirming that temps are hitting eighty degrees today. Awesome. This mild weather was welcome news for the hundreds of Georgetown students who camped out in line to get their hands on one of the 1,000 tickets made available around 9:00... more ›