With the opening of its ongoing Exploring the Early Americas exhibit today, the Library of Congress marks the beginning of a transformation that by the Summer of 2008 will “merge cutting-edge technology with the knowledge and inspiration embodied in the Library’s unparalleled collections and curators.” The exhibit features some of the 3,000 items representing the "beginning" of America (that is, the beginning of European documented America), that Jay I. Kislak has been collecting for more......

According to Forbes magazine, the Washington Capitals are the third most worthless team in the National Hockey League. This is a big step up from last year, when they were number one! Of course, being businessmen and not hockey fans, the boys at Forbes have failed to take into account the kinds of younger, developing players that the Caps hold, ready to carry them to success either this year or in the immediate future. If......

>> We interviewed former Grandaddy member Jim Fairchild earlier today, so be sure to check out his show tonight at Black Cat under the moniker All Smiles. Fairchild opens for David Bazan, formerly the driving force behind Pedro the Lion, will open along with Lavender Diamond. 8 p.m., $12. >> Palace of Wonders is hosting a special Day of the Dead performance of Philadelphia's The Squidling Brothers' Clown Centrick Sideshow, a vaudeville and burlesque......

The press ahead of D.C. United’s first round playoff clash with the Chicago Fire last night leaned heavily on D.C.’s poor record against the Fire, especially in recent playoff history. A lot of it also talked about Chicago’s big signing, Mexican national team veteran Cuahtemoc Blanco. And to some extent, there was some talk about D.C.’s injured stars, Jaime Moreno and Luciano Emilio. Both players picked up injuries in United’s completely meaningless season finale last......

This was not exactly the weekend that D.C. United was hoping for. A 3-2 loss to the non-playoff bound Columbus Crew closed out United's MLS regular season and snapped United's unbeaten streak (dating back to July). Worse yet, United lost their two star strikers, Luciano Emilio and Jaime Moreno, to foot injuries. With last night's Fire victory over the Galaxy, United were assigned the Thursday night time-slot against a Fire team that might be......

D.C. United played out a relatively dull and featureless 0-0 draw with the Chicago Fire on Saturday night, but the real celebrations would come on Sunday night. The Colorado Rapids scored in the final minutes to pull out an upset over Chivas USA, 2-1, making D.C. United the first team to ever successfully defend the Supporters’ Shield. It probably wasn’t the stylish way United will have wanted to take the regular season crown, but with......

FRIDAY: >> Two shows for DAM! Fest tonight, with events at Rock and Roll Hotel and the Red and the Black. The former includes an appearance by recent Three Stars subject the Beanstalk Library, plus The Exit, Dragons of Zynth and The Teeth. Stick around for the free afterparty, We Fought the Hej, a combo of two of our favorite DJ nights, Hej Hej and We Fought the Big One. >> Don't forget to check......

Good morning, Washington. It's Columbus Day, the least observed of all the federal holidays -- or is that Veterans' Day? Unless you work directly for the government or your job is absolutely dependent on it being open for business, odds are about even you're sitting at your desk at the usual time this morning, as a trade-off for getting to take the Friday after Thanksgiving off. It's also, of course, a controversial day, and is......

Written by DCist Contributor Meghan Welsh What originally began as a venue to expose the residents of D.C. to traditional and folk dance genres has now become an annual tradition. Today through Sunday, the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities will present the 4th D.C. Dance Festival. Arts enthusiasts and even dance aficionados can find something new to experience at the festival — the three jam-packed days feature over 37 performances and interactive workshops,......

We've been expressing a lot of optimism about the possible Senate floor vote on the voting rights legislation this week, but it bears clarifying that what's expected tomorrow afternoon will not in fact be an up or down vote on the bill -- in case you were hoping for hot, hot Senate action right away. The Senate will proceed to the cloture vote tomorrow as planned, in an attempt to record the 60 or more......

We were bummed when the U.S. Senate decided in late July that legislation granting the District a voting seat in the U.S. House of Representatives would have to go on summer break with the rest of Congress. But now that they're all back, so is the push for D.C. voting rights. According to Congressional Quarterly, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is hoping to bring the legislation -- which would grant Republican-heavy Utah an additional......

Ever wonder what it's like to be a band out on tour? And by "band out on tour" we don't mean U2 or even Scott Stapp. We mean bands that load in themselves, play their show and then get in the van and drive all night to the next gig. D.C.'s own These United States is such a band. Criss-crossing the country, playing upwards of 100 shows a year with bands like Califone, Someone Still......

Anyone who watched the Nats get smacked around in Florida this weekend saw the club nearly swept, saved only by Friday night's endless string of baserunners. The team's all-too-familiar weaknesses were exposed once again in the form of poor starting pitching, with Bergmann, Chico and Simontacchi surrendering 18 earned runs in 14.2 IP between them. Early deficits on Saturday and Sunday were exacerbated by the team's inability to drive in runs, highlighted by the 9-0......

Though a puzzling choice for director, Chris Columbus' screen adaptation of Rent worked because it took a show that hadn't aged well and set it firmly in the 80s, easing its audience from the outset through the parts that felt dated. The same trick works for Sherry Glaser's one woman show, Family Secrets, now being staged at Theater J. In this production, in which the actress plays five members of a Jewish family in......

Frederic Cassivi looked extremely confident in goal last night as he helped the Capitals maintain dignity through a three to zero loss at Toronto that could have been much worse. Cassivi preserved a scoreless tie with solid, calm, positional goaltending through twenty-three minutes of play in spite of receiving a dirty slash to the back of his helmet from notorious goon Darcy Tucker, who was immediately knocked to the ice by stalwart Caps defenseman John......

MONDAY >> If you're not high-tailing it to the Maryland end of the Orange line to see the Redskins take on the Vikings, you may want to pay the Black Cat's backstage a visit to see The Whigs. This trio from Athens, GA has been called the "best unsigned band in America" by Rolling Stone. $8, 9 p.m. >> The haunting, violin-driven alt country of the Black Swans is coming our way. Catch these boys......

Although the team is techincally on their All-Star break, DC United will take on the Columbus Crew tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Germantown, MD as part of the U.S. Open Cup. After losing to Real Salt Lake over the weekend, United will look to get back to their winning ways in a tournament they haven't won since 1996. There's a good chance Santino Quaranta will be back in the United line up after taking......

Ok, so we're no Portland or San Francisco, but we're also not Columbus or Oklahoma City. According to rankings released yesterday by SustainLane.com, the District is the twelfth most sustainable of the nation's 50 largest cities, coming in just behind Baltimore (11) and fellow -ist cities Boston (8), New York (7), Chicago (5), Philadelphia (4), Seattle (3), and San Francisco (2). According to the write-up on the city, the District fared well on public transit......

Though they left us with a good deal of thunder and lightning, the storms that hit our area yesterday cut a deadly path through other parts of the country, particularly Tennessee. We're not in the clear yet, though -- there is a wind advisory for the District and surrounding areas in effect until 1 p.m. today. D.C. Smoking Ban Really Goes Into Effect Today: Ahhhh, government efficiency. There has been some confusion to date......

By DCist contributor Amanda Kazdoy Bistro Europa, a German and Italian restaurant smack dab in the heart of Old Town, suffers from an unfortunate situation. It occupies prime real estate (on King Street between Columbus and Washington streets), but never seems to have the full house that its more pedestrian neighbors, Bertucci’s and Austin Grill, enjoy every night. Perhaps it’s the absence of Zagat clippings in the window or the loud bar upstairs (which the......

Welcome back to the work week, D.C. While some may have been celebrating the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Americas yesterday, others were protesting for one cause or another. Students at American University organized to push for president Ben Ladner's dismissal (which came last night), while anti-circumcision activists, at right, took to the streets outside the Washington Convention Center, where the American Academy of Pediatrics was meeting (yes, we will have a full write-up......

In the Washington Capitals first game in 550 days, the city's hockey team defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets before a near capacity crowd long thirsting for the team's return. DCist can't help but be excited for this turn of events -- a full season gone, we finally have one more thing to carry our attention through the soon-to-come winter months. Mayor Offers Barry Support: Upon learning that former mayor and current Ward 8 Council-member Marion......

Last night in Columbus DC United notched their first road win since their season opener, riding Nick Rimando’s agility and the Crew’s own misfortunes for a hard fought 1-0 victory. In the first half, DC spent the bulk of the time in Columbus’ defensive end, but though they outshot the Crew, Columbus managed to imbue their scant opportunities with a more significant amount of danger. Luckily, Nick Rimando brought his “A” game. In the early......

D.C. United fans celebrated a come-from-behind win this week and have been rewarded with a high profile exhibition game as a midsummer treat. Chelsea FC, who posted a 29-1-8 record this past season as they soared to win the Premiereship, will be coming to these shores to take on the United here in the DC area, as well as playing a pair of dates with Champions’ League runners-up AC Milan. AC Milan is similarly scheduled......

Ahh, it's been so nice to disconnect from our computers this Memorial Day weekend. We hope you were able to do the same. But the DCist crew was busy this weekend. DCist not only joined Rolling Thunder on our Harley and snapped this photo, we also shared drinks with Jessica Cutler aka Washingtonienne. And then on our way to an East Carolina-style barbecue in Columbia Heights, we bumped into Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld eating at......

In the nation's captial, among the subcategories of workers -- the civil servants, the lawyers, high-ranking administration officials, Starbucks baristas, congressional staff assistants, etc. -- there are the hundreds of events planners. In a city where official events are usually so well-scripted and logistically planned out, it is surprising that tourism and events officials had to cancel the annual Taste of DC because they failed to realize that there were other events taking place in......

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. -- If it weren't that this DCist ran across additional snow flakes yesterday driving through the unseasonably cold spring weather, Lake Michigan looked down-right enticing when we went to the beach. Calm water, some sun, and the summer tourists from Chicagoland were nowhere in sight. And for $1.50, a bag of chocolate-covered peanuts from Fortino's on Washington Street was welcome treat. But we should have gotten a Pronto Pup, which is "a......

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Greetings from the capital of the Buckeye State. Thanks for all your input on our "Team America: World Police"-themed journey. We're continuing to head west. This photo, taken from Third Street near the Nationwide Arena District shows one of Columbus' more controversial advertisements. Like the giant H&M advertisement on the Flatiron Building in New York that has graced the landmark building and pissed off most everyone, the three-part ad seen here......

FROSTBURG, Md. -- From the DCist mobile command center on I-68, we present to you our picks for stuff you should do this weekend. (Actually, we did this early this morning, we think we'll be around Frostburg around lunchtime. But wouldn't it be cool if we did have a mobile command center? C'mon Jake, can you spare a few pennies for that? We promise we won't take it on any joyrides ...) Anyhow, with Catherine......

>> Wins on Friday against the free falling Cleveland Cavaliers and on Sunday against the Charlotte Bobcats coupled with an Indiana Pacers loss at Miami have moved the Wizards into 5th place in the Eastern Conference playoff race with just two games to go. The Wizards overall record now stands at 45-35 and the team has won four in a row since their five game losing streak. With the Pacers two games back with only......