If you've ever felt stupider after watching Congress bicker about some issue for a couple of hours, you're not wrong. The nation's lawmakers are, in fact, dumbing themselves down, according to a new report by the Sunlight Foundation. more ›

Yesterday, we accidentally used the word "the" before "D.C. United," not aware that the soccer team does not take a definite article. But it got us wondering just why that is. more ›

You know what this Thursday needs? Some incredibly juvenile humor, that's what. more ›

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... more ›

FRIDAY: >> It’s been over six years since he last had a properly released album, but crooner Bilal (left) has still managed to catch people’s attention with some of his latest material. Too bad it was illegally leaked and now his label is threatening never to let the refined product see the light of day. Regardless, his Black Cat performance should be noteworthy. 9 p.m., $22. >> We’ve told you about Deleted Scenes many times... more ›

MONDAY: Peter Behrens will be at Politics and Prose to discuss his latest book, The Law of Dreams. Maybe Behrens can analyze our reoccurring dream where we keep getting lost while driving down some featureless freeway. Wait ... His book is about a young man roaming the Irish countryside in 1847? Good thing we read that before we asked about the part where we're naked. 7:30 p.m. TUESDAY: The one and only Dave Eggers will... more ›

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Repertory: The Great Punch-Out: A Hard Hitting Week of Boxing at the Pickford Theater Those of you with an interest in the pugilistic arts may want to camp out at the Library of Congress next week. The library is doing a series of boxing features, shorts, and classic fights that lasts all week long. There's a... more ›

MONDAY: Democratic presidential candidate and Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd will make an appearance at Politics and Prose to talk about his book Letters from Nuremberg, which has nothing do with 2008 and everything to do with 1948 (or thereabouts). Dodd's father, Thomas, was an attorney during the famous Nuremberg trials, in which members of the Nazi Party in Germany were prosecuted for their crimes, and the book consists of letters written by Thomas to his... more ›

>> The 3rd annual Can A Sista Rock A Mic? Festival kicks tonight off at the Rock and Roll Hotel. Bahamadia and Emoni Fela among others will be performing tonight, stay tuned for a full preview from us later. 9 p.m., $12. >> Like we mentioned in the jazz agenda, pianist Abdullah Ibrahim is one of the most influential jazz musicians to come out of South Africa, and tonight he'll be at Blues Alley... more ›

This past weekend's concerts from the National Symphony Orchestra provided the second opportunity in the last month or so to hear Yundi Li play Liszt's first piano concerto. The first time was with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra at George Mason (reviewed last month), and the coincidence demands a comparison. On both occasions, Li has played the work with impressive accuracy and grace, with renditions remarkably similar to his recent recording. There were a few negligible... more ›

Happy Friday, folks; may this day be the start of a fantastic, 80-degree yet cloudy weekend. On that note, who loses 1,137 laptops? It seems that, having announced the missing laptops Thursday night, only the Commerce Department is capable of such feats. NBC 4 tells us that since 2001, the laptops, 672 of which belonged to the Census Bureau, have vanished. Says Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez. "The amount of missing computers is high, but... more ›

MONDAY The troubled Americans of the McSweeney’s empire have built their legacy on ironic footnote deployments, mock mawkishness, and the transformation of the esoteric into the sublime. Plus some funny-ass lists and stuff. Tonight, join Evany Thomas and Dustin Long as they read from The Secret Language of Sleep and Icelander, respectively. It will be like staring into the face of God. Olsson’s Dupont Circle, 1307 19th St. NW, 7 p.m. TUESDAY Ariel Dorfman comes... more ›

. Both books are published by Dave Eggers’ McSweeney’s, the literary empire we either love to hate or hate to love (which is it, again?). more ›

>> Who can forget T.C. Boyle's memorable turn in the movie Kinsey? Most of you, probably. Well, look: if you're an enthusiast of short stories, stop by Olsson's in Arlington this evening to meet T.C. Boyle, whose recent collection, Tooth and Claw, travels to the four corners of the globe to reveal men and women on the edge of primal fear, weird nature, and the threat of untimely death. 2111 Wilson Boulevard, 7 p.m. more ›

Georgetown also promised not only to provide full-time jobs whenever possible, but to seek commitments from its contract employers to do the same. In other key non-economic wins, all Georgetown workers will now have access to grievance procedures and contract workers will have the same access to Georgetown community resources as Georgetown direct employees, including library privileges, English as a Second Language courses, Georgetown University Transportation Shuttles, and general financial planning information.