Don’t let the threat of Polonium poisoning crush your dreams of becoming a spy or the inevitable prison sentence keep you from robbing a bank. We understand your desire to solve ancient religious conspiracies shrouded in mystery and international intrigue, but perhaps you don’t want to get your hands dirty. Joshua Czarda, the brains behind Ravenchase Adventures, has a solution. He and his crack team of writers and actors want you to step inside a... more ›

Already an author of five New York Times bestsellers and likely well on his way to a sixth, Brad Meltzer has honed his eye for the political thriller. He's the kind of geek you want to be — part political junkie, part comic book guru (he also pens stories for The Justice League) — and his popular novels speak to this engaging combination. Meltzer appears tonight to talk about his new book, The Book of Fate, which arrived on bookshelves yesterday, at Politics and Prose at 7 p.m. more ›

They'll Kick You Out If You Give Butterstick an IPA Normally, the Feed saves its activity-related post for "after the jump," but given the popularity of last year's event, as well as the sheer number of great brews available, we're bumping this one up to front-page status. Tickets are on sale now for the Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) 2nd annual Brew at the Zoo mixer/fundraiser/drunkfest. For $60, or $45 if you're a... more ›

Massive deluges, flooded out streets, crime emergencies. The Washington region has been hit with some extreme elements already this summer, and, according to our friends over at Capital Weather, we are about to enter a "dangerous, excessive heat event." How dangerous and excessive? Just peep their graphic, which indicates there will be a gradual elevation of the temperature, followed by the sky turning red and the rivers running with blood. CW states that the coming... more ›

LAist is flashing a sad peace out to their editor Carolyn Kellogg with one hand and bumping knuckles with their new head typist L.A. blogger king Tony Pierce with the other. Where do ist editors go when they hang up the 'editorial we'? They take on MySpace, apparently. At least Ben Brown does. Austinist reminds of the just rewards of less savory careers this week and then they witness the Arctic Monkeys and We Are... more ›

When Gustav Mahler, near the end of his life, conducted the world premiere of his eighth symphony, in Munich in 1910, he did so with amassed musical forces — orchestra, eight vocal soloists, off-stage brass, and several large choruses of adults and children — numbering over 1,000 people. Although Mahler never liked the name, the work is still often known as the "Symphony of a Thousand." More an oratorio than a symphony in many ways, it ends with a mysterious exaltation of the Sacred Feminine (literally, Das Ewig-Weibliche), in the musical climax called the Chorus Mysticus. No, it has nothing to do with The Da Vinci Code. Although the end of Goethe's Faust would be a logical choice for a quick name-dropping reference in Dan Brown's hack novel, given how the man writes, it seems unlikely that he has read Faust. more ›

Dear DCist: Someone told me that it’s actually good to leave the Express behind on the Metro because you’re passing the news on to somebody else. That’s a good thing, right? Or am I just keeping the train dirty? more ›

Those who love (or despise) Dan Brown's literary crack, some more details about his new book, which will be set in Washington, are coming to the surface. The NY Times reports that during a reporters roundtable, Brown's publisher let the title of the book slip. The "Da Vinci Code" author's new book is titled "The Solomon Key," which we're Googling right now to see what it may be tied to. more ›

If you frequent Dupont or Logan circles, please note those traffic circles are tied to the apex of all evil: The White House. That's what people who push Masonic conspiracy theories would like to make you to believe at least. Now that "DaVinci Code" author Dan Brown is preparing his next megaseller on D.C.'s Masonic machinations, we thought we'd lay out the general thought patterns as to why some people think the L'Enfant street plan... more ›