The DC theater community is starting the year off right with...no more productions of A Christmas Carol. Seriously, there's plenty to like in January, from gutsy works to brand-new musicals. The Neo-Futurists (pictured) are back! Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind, which our critic Chris Klimek loved, makes a return engagement at Woolly Mammoth (Jan. 4). Stick 'em up! The American Century Theater gets nostalgic for police dramas with their production of Cops......

Traditionally Christmas decorations stay up through New Year's Day, which means today is the official start of the "chucking your dried-up tree onto the sidewalk without regard for your neighbors or trash collection schedule" season. Allow DCist to help point you in the proper direction for Christmas tree disposal. The District Department of Public Works is collecting trees from sidewalks starting today through Jan. 19. However, in order to be certain DPW will pick up......

Thanks to Christmas and days off and such, it was a bit of a slower week for comments, but there are still plenty of gems worth sharing. OldPosterKnownAsCranky gets the nod for comment of the week: Hello? Hello? [thump, thump] Is this thing on? Man, it royally sucks ass to have to work on Christmas Eve. After the jump, cranky Catania, drive through booze, cougars, and the esteemed best avatar and username awards. Photo by......

SFist saw Christmas Day turn tragic after a Siberian tiger escaped from her pen at the San Francisco Zoo, killing a visitor and mauling two others. Phillyist counted down the top ten items on Philadelphia's New Year's wish list. Gothamist looked at the wooden bikes being offered for NYC's first bike share program on Governors Island. LAist received a Christmas present in the form of a drunk Santa Claus in a g-string. Bostonist launched......

>> So Mayor Fenty and Schools Chancellor Rhee have scheduled 23 simultaneous school closure hearings at each of the proposed 23 schools to be closed. Logistics nightmare questions aside, what is a parent who has a child at more than one of the schools supposed to do? Pick which child they think is more important? [WaPo] >> The D.C. government has scheduled another gun amnesty buy-back on Saturday, only two weeks after the last......

FRIDAY >> The legendary Patti Smith is at the 9:30 Club tonight, and tickets are incredibly still available for $25. Doors at 9, show at 10 p.m. >> The idea of attending a lighting display, particularly after Christmas, might sound a bit cheesy. But the Garden of Lights in Wheaton might just change your mind. The designer tours the county gardens each year for inspiration for his display; this year, it invokes the four seasons.......

Federal workers may have had Christmas Eve off of work this year, but D.C. Department of Public Works parking enforcement officers apparently did not. No matter, though: DPW says it will dismiss tickets doled out during rush hour on Dec. 24, says WTOP. DPW Director William Howland Jr. explained that the agency believes "that many people thought enforcement was lifted since federal workers were given the day off." If we were DPW employees, we don't......

While the week between Christmas and New Year's is far from a dead zone for movies, most of the new fare that's going to be brought out before year's end has already come out, and those that the studios did save for Christmas day release look wholly uninteresting, from sequels to films that were horrible missteps to begin with, to overly earnest inspirational fare. Instead, we'll join the living in the past bandwagon and revisit......

Good morning, Washington. The week surrounding the holidays is almost always a certifiably slow news period, so you can bet good money every local media outlet in the country is shamefacedly relieved to be able to find their own angle on the terrifying fatal San Francisco Zoo tiger attack. Sister site SFist has the roundup of Bay Area coverage, and the Examiner steps up to the plate with the D.C. version of the story --......

>> Virginia Sen. Jim Webb has to work this week, too. [Politico] >> An 84-year-old Washington area woman won a Wii bowling tournament. [Examiner] >> "Presents, hugs, fun with daddy, tasty holiday treats, plus Post photog Gerald Martineau! Abominable." [City Desk] >> The spirit of Christmas, revealed. [AP via WaPo] Photo by cyaneyed......

It wasn't a very merry Christmas for Michel Morauw, the manager of the Park Hyatt Washington Hotel. NBC4 reports that an MPD officer shot and killed Morauw's dog on Monday in a small park adjacent to Rock Creek Park at 24th and N Streets NW. The officer reportedly said he was on foot patrol and entered the park "when an unleashed dog attacked him." The officer fired his gun at the dog, and the dog......

Flickr user christaki has a couple perfect Christmas: Day After photos in the pool right now (you can see the more amusing one in the Morning Roundup). This is the sad one, where the poor trees, which yesterday basked in the glory of bundles of prettily wrapped gifts, get stripped and thrown to the curb. Even worse, the ones in this photo may have never even made it to the bike rack of a......

Welcome back, Washington. We hope those of you who celebrate Christmas had a holly and/or jolly one, and that your stock of material possessions has been satisfactorily increased. As you might expect, not too terribly much happened while you've been away. Davis Mulls Eighth Term: Sure, it was published yesterday, but we imagine many of you may have missed the Post's analysis of whether Tom Davis will seek another term as congressman for Northern......

Am I the only one who thinks this year's White House Christmas tree is a little ... gaudy? These sweet little trees, part of the annual Pageant (or Pathway) of Peace, though perhaps less regal, seem more personal and softly colorful. Flickr user philliefan_99 took this shot of some families strolling by last week, down the path that shows off 56 trees -- one for each state, territory, and of course, D.C. I'm sure......

MONDAY >> Not really into the whole Christmas Eve thing? Jewmongous is Sean Altman from Rockapella (of “Carmen Sandiego” fame) and “What I Like about Jew” who will be offering humorous Christmas Eve odes including “They Tried To Kill Us (We Survived, Let's Eat),” and “Taller Than Jesus,” at Jammin Java in Vienna. $20, 7 p.m. and 9:30 (two shows). >> The music played by the DJs at the South African Christmas Eve party......

Happy Christmas Eve, Washington. With the frenzy of last-minute shopping and travel out of the city largely complete, folks staying here for the holiday are being treated to a quieter, gentler D.C. than normal, and it turns out in more ways than one. Over the weekend the Post took a look at a recent decline in the murder rate, reporting that only nine homicides have been logged in the District in the 37 days since......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on DCist. Hoovers, where you can find company information for free. Busted Tees, where it may be too late to get your Christmas order, but you can get free shipping with three shirts. If you're interested in advertising on DCist or any other site in our network, check out our online mediakit.......

Last spring, we interviewed New Rock Church of Fire for a Three Stars piece, and they revealed to us their deepest desire as a band: to play the Black Cat. Well, Santa apparently reads DCist, because tonight the Alexandria natives are getting their wish. Tonight they'll play the Cat's main stage with Velvet, Mas y Mas and Hammer No More The Fingers. Originally slated as a CD release show for NRCOF, it'll be more of......

FRIDAY: >> The 18th Street Lounge's regular Wednesday night reggae stars SEE-I are at the Rock and Roll Hotel to celebrate the holidays with some friends who are sure to get you dancing too -- DJ Mat the Alien and remix artists Fort Knox Five. Tickets for the Happy FKX-XMas are $10. >> Rufus Wainwright begins a two-night stint at the 9:30 Club tonight with his sister, Lucy Wainwright Roche. Tickets are still available for......

Happy Almost Holidays, Washington. With both Monday and Tuesday counting as a holiday for the federal government this year, most of D.C. is staring down a nice, long holiday break today. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, federal holidays are great for a lot of other reasons besides a day off - you don't have to feed parking meters, for instance. But The Examiner reports that that fact isn't stopping people from shoveling coins into......

As you might imagine, there's not a whole lot going on in the art world this week, and unlike the last holiday, even the Smithsonians close on Christmas Day. Nevertheless, we found a few exhibits for you to poke around this weekend. And if you're one of those last minute gift buyers and can't bear to wage war at the mall, don't forget our guide to art museum memberships for something a little more unique......

Flickr user Nivad caught some great detail of the St. Thomas Parish's decaying architecture near Dupont Circle. Though we love to see great pictures taken with any kind of camera, I'm sure the high-powered Nikon D300 didn't exactly hurt the quality of this image here. (Mom? Christmas, hmm?) EXIF.......

Good morning, Washington. With the Christmas holiday looming, things are slowing down in workplaces around the region. Well, most workplaces, anyway — D.C.'s firefighters seem to be keeping plenty busy. Yesterday, of course, there was the fire at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Since then there's been a two alarm fire at the Chinatown Red Roof Inn, and this impressive gathering of firefighters just south of Logan around 6 p.m. last night. Here's hoping......

>> The Muppet Christmas Carol isn't nearly as awesome as A Muppet Family Christmas, but for those of you looking for a little fluffy holiday cheer this evening, the AFI Silver Theater is offering a screening of the musical adaptation of the Dickens classic at 5:10 p.m. >> Hop in the way back machine and set the dial to 1992: The Lemonheads are at the Black Cat tonight. With Racoon and The New Rivals.......

Christmas seems to have come early for the District. Yesterday we reported that a congressional ban on needle-exchange programs was finally lifted and that we were getting our D.C. postmark back. Today we find out that the District will join the other 50 states and get its own quarter. Buried in a larger article in the Post on a $515.7 billion spending bill that allocates funds for the District, the announcement was made with almost......

>> Blues Alley's Christmas music extravaganza continues tonight with The Redd Brothers, a group led by vibraphonist Chuck Redd and pianist Robert Redd. Sets are at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tickets are $18 + $12.50 surcharge/minimum. >> If smooth jazz is your thing, head down to the Birchmere tonight to hear Boney James play selections off his latest release, Christmas Present. Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. show are sold out, but that's what Craigslist......

>> Congress has taken away D.C. CFO Natwar Gandhi's pay raise in the wake of the Office of Tax and Revenue embezzlement scandal. Happy Holidays, Mr. Gandhi! [WaPo] >> What kind of person steals a wheelchair? [NBC4] >> Free holiday EP from Vandaveer. [You Ain't No Picasso] >> Marvin is already expanding. [Prince of Petworth] >> Christopher Hitchens sings at the Reason Secular Christmas party. [via City Desk] Photo by AlbinoFlea......

Aimee Mann never seemed like one of pop's 500 likeliest candidates to release a Christmas album, but last year’s One More Drifter in the Snow was a tasteful, minor-key treat, and her “1st Annual Christmas Show” at the Birchmere last December was one of the best concerts of 2006. As she promised she would at the end of last year’s freewheeling interfaith revue, she's hitched up the sleigh again this year for a monthlong yule-tour......

Though perhaps the inclination when it starts to dip past the point of freezing is to stay inside with a blanket and a cup of something steaming, there are so many things to do and see outside -- whether it's the White House or Capitol Christmas trees or one of the many holiday fairs -- that it's almost a shame to spend all of December on your couch. Flickr user sintixerr caught this scene......

If you really must attend a holiday concert, make it something musicologically interesting. In what has become an annual tradition (see the 2005 and 2006 installments), the Folger Consort is presenting the most appealing and satisfying Christmas concert in the city. More than just a concert, it is a staged production of the Second Shepherds' Play, an English mystery play from the Towneley cycle. Director Mary Hall Surface began by modernizing the play's Middle English......