You didn't think we could get through the last few days of 2007 without one more Smithsonian scandal, did you? The Post has a lengthy report today on National Museum of the American Indian's retiring director Rick West and the whopping $250,000 of Institution funds he spent on travel and luxuries. Although West can account for some of the travel -- going to visit Indian reservations, meeting donors -- much of it is vaguely characterized......

>> Clinton Portis' performance in last week's game against the Vikings got him the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award. [Washington Redskins Official Site] >> Pepto Bismal threw up inside the Carville-Matalin home. [DC Metrocentric] >> Hosiery Warehouse finally gets the Cease and Desist order handed down as developers prepare to make way for condos. [City Paper] >> The Hirshhorn Museum's Chief Curator Kerry Brougher has been appointed acting Director until a permanent......

This is a fantastic shot of the Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum by chip py the photo guy. The futuristic silver on blue colors and interesting angle of the hangar and air traffic observation tower belie the awesome technological advancements inside. Though it takes a drive out near the Dulles airport, it's worth the trip if you're even mildly interested in the history of air and space flight, if only......

Jet packs, hover boards and robot maids. That future has yet to come true. But The New Future, now on view at DCAC, gives us a glimpse into what our next future holds, while reflecting on what didn’t come to pass. Curated by Kristina Bilonick, the exhibit brings together a collection of four artists and their eclectic mix of old and new, pointing out disappointment in what could have been and small wisps of......

From Hieronymus Bosch to Asher B. Durand to John James Audubon, the influences inherent in John Alexander’s work are clear. His paintings and drawings run the gamut from landscapes to abstractions, making for a diverse and extraordinary exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. John Alexander: A Retrospective, with 40 paintings and 27 works on paper, opens today and runs through March 16. Alexander explores politics and religion in many of his works, infusing them......

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......

Living in the Nation's Capital, with so many free events going on year-round, it might seem silly to spend a princely sum of money for the privilege of becoming a Member of a local arts organization. But there are a number of good reasons to think about becoming a member -- maybe you're interested in a particular subject that's only shown at a pay-for museum, maybe you're an artist looking to grab a foothold in......

This week the big news is the appointment (PDF) of Dorothy Kosinski as the new Director of The Phillips Collection. She's currently the Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Dallas Musuem of Art, and comes with an impressive résumé that include extensive curating, acquisitions, and teaching experience. Kosinski will officially take over next spring, to replace retiring Director Jay Gates, just in time to take the reins on a five-year strategy the......

December begins tomorrow, and that means only one thing: it's time to take that special person in your life to a holiday concert. Do you want to subject him or her to the same old carols, something historical, or something really weird? Here is a list of your options, not including the many performances of Handel's Messiah or The Nutcracker, to be previewed tomorrow. THE BEST OF THE BEST: >> For those who never want......

My mother and I used to think we were so clever sneaking out of the house after the post-pumpkin pie haze to spend our tryptophan relaxing time at the movie theater, while our extended family lay sprawled on the couches in front of the boob tube ... until a few years later when the entire world caught on and every theater had lines around the block on Turkey Day. Lucky for you, we're in Washington,......

Regarding Thanksgiving customs, going around the table saying what we’re thankful for is about as basic as it gets. If it seems too basic, this year you can consider adding a new dimension to the tradition by reading for the table what our Presidents have been thankful for. Thanks to the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Massachusetts, all the Thanksgiving Proclamations are available online. That means we have access to Proclamations dating from the Continental Congress......

Still in the office, D.C.? Yeah, us too. We hope you're only sticking around because you don't need to travel this holiday season. If so, enjoy the empty halls, bask in the quiet, and call it a day early. If not — well, good luck on the roads and at the airport. It sounds like they're going to be predictably nasty. There Seems To Be Some Sort of Holiday Occurring: And consequently you can......

America by Air, the newest permanent gallery opened by The National Air and Space Museum, encompasses the entire history of flight and air travel in the United States, starting in 1914 and leading up to today. We know what you're thinking, "Isn't that what the whole museum is about?" And yes...it is. So Air and Space has managed to create an exhibit that is, in fact, a microcosm of itself, which is so damn postmodern......

Dynamic, lively, stunning, soaring. These are the words used by Smithsonian officials and architect Spencer de Grey to describe the new Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, home to both the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. With a blend of modern aesthetics and historic sensibilities, the new courtyard is a gorgeous space that the Smithsonian plans to use to hold public......

A little over a year since the Reynolds Center, where the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery are housed, re-opened its doors, it continues to celebrate huge improvements to the building. This Sunday stop by for the grand opening of the Kogod Courtyard, which will include tons of musical performances both in the courtyard and inside on the third floor, hands-on activities for all ages (a Lite Brite station!), and, as usual,......

The newest exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History is not exactly a headliner for the museum, seeing as it is housed in just one small room inside an already existing exhibit. Despite not receiving top billing, Discovering Rastafari has made the absolute most of of its limited allotment, filling it to the brim with the colorful images and stories of a vibrant faith. The exhibit's hand-painted sign draws you in, clashing with......

Good morning, Washington. Make it to the polls yesterday? If so, we hope you did so before the sun went down — it got cold in a hurry last night, as the area rapidly moved from warmer-than-usual temps to colder-than-usual ones. CapitalWeather is saying that the weekend should be warmer, at least. Election 2007: The results are in, and it looks like it was a good night for Virginia's Democrats. The Dems picked up......

Your classical music schedule will be busy for the next two or three weeks, through Thanksgiving, and you have the chance to hear almost as much for free as you do buying tickets. BIG GUNS: >> Emmanuel Pahud is one of the leading flutists of the younger generation. He will be in Washington this week, beginning with a recital with his regular pianist collaborator, Eric Le Sage, at the Phillips Collection on Wednesday (November 7,......

Through a pre-coffee haze this morning, we were a little confused by an AP story up on WTOP about how the Smithsonian is looking for someone to move in and take over its Arts and Industries Building. Why did it seem so ... familiar? Oh right. Because the Washington Post wrote the same story back in May. So why did the AP pick up on it today? Because the The Smithsonian Institution issued yet......

With the surprising lack of Halloween aftermath photos in the DCist pool today, we did a little browsing back through the past week and found this interesting shot by Flickr user chapulin colorado. Using a fake tilt shift, he turned this photo of real life visitors at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History into a diorama you might find in an exhibit of the museum. Tilt-shifting distorts the focus so that viewers believe they're......

When the City Museum closed its door in late 2004 after a mere 18 months in existence, the one place to go for a comprehensive history of Washington, D.C. disappeared. But for those of you interested in the city's history, the next few days should be quite satisfying -- it's time for the annual Washington Studies Conference. The conference, now in its 34th year, kicks off tomorrow at The Carnegie Library building (801 K Street,......

As usual, you said a lot of funny and thought-provoking stuff last week. But like LeVar Burton, don't take our word for it, and read on for Georgetown protests, monkeyrotica running a museum, and GMU fraternities, among other things. ------ monkeyrotica would be an awesome director of the National Museum of Health and Medicine: The disorganized state of the Army Medical Museum is an example of vicious circle funding: hardly anybody visits the place because......

Written by DCist contributor Morgan Hargrave These days, we are not used to seeing reminders of war in our everyday lives. With a new exhibit that opened this weekend, the Smithsonian American Art Museum takes us back to a time when it would have been hard to forget, even for a moment, that we had soldiers dying overseas. Over the Top is a collection of American posters created during World War I to advertise so-called......

>> The D.C. Fire Department and WASA have finally agreed to play nice and share their toys and fix the city's terrible fire hydrant mess. We promise to provide the warm cookies and cold milk should they succeed. [WaPo] >> The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch to remain in effect through Saturday morning for much of the D.C. area. [NBC4] >> The sidewalk of 7th St. NW in front of the......

Written by Morgan Hargrave It is usually not a good sign when a museum’s first display details how popular it used to be. It seems the National Museum of Health and Medicine is decades removed from its glory days, when it was called the Army Medical Museum and resided in a series of more prestigious locations around D.C. It attracted between 450,000 and 765,000 visitors per year during the 1960s before being moved away from......

Gothamist learned about the craziest urban nightmare come true: A huge python found in the bathroom pipes. It was also a nightmare for some Yankees fans, as manger Joe Torre declined to come back and manage the Bronx Bombers. At least the city's attempt to give some direction to subway riders was interesting, pranksters went shirtless at the Fifth Avenue Abercrombie & Fitch and the I Heart Brooklyn Girls calendars came out. And just......

>> Art Whino, the new 22,000 square foot exhibition and studio space at 717 N. Asaph St. in Old Town Alexandria, holds its grand opening tonight. The gallery's debut event will be soundtracked by DJ Stylo, and marks the start of two new exhibits: a solo show by artist Derrick Wolbaum and a group show of Pop-Surrealism work in the Permanent Gallery. The opening reception is tonight from 6 to 11 p.m, admission is free.......

>> The one and only Chaka Khan is at H2O tonight as a pre-party of sorts to the kick off of Howard Homecoming festivities, which officially start tomorrow. Doors at 5 p.m., show begins at 7. >> Operation Filmmaker is documentary of sorts that follows the strange story of Iraqi film student Muthana Mohmed. Mohmed was given an opportunity to work as a production assistant in Prague on the set of Liev Schreiber's 2005......

Written by DCist contributor Amy Cavanaugh With all the Smithsonian museums clustered around the mall, it’s easy to overlook the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, which has been chronicling the life of the area’s residents since 1967. Their new exhibit, East of the River: Continuity and Change, celebrates 500 years of southeast Washington in a sweeping overview of its triumphs and tragedies. From archaeological artifacts to paintings to documents to video, the multimedia components of East......

Written by DCist contributor Amy Cavanaugh The Tuareg people, who once roamed a region of the Sahara, are the subject of a new exhibit at the National Museum of African Art. Art of Being Tuareg: Sahara Nomads in a Modern World uses art to explore the present-day world of a nomadic tribe, and explains that though the end of French colonial rule and droughts made most Tuareg settle down permanently, many aspects of their lives......