>> Canada's The Most Serene Republic bring their large and melodic sound to The Rock and Roll Hotel tonight, with Bellflur and Watch Man Walk. $10, 8:30 p.m. >> Married Charlottesville rockers Paul Curreri and Devon Sproule will share the stage out at Jammin' Java tonight, touring in support of their latest releases, Sproule’s Keep Your Silver Shined and Curreri’s The Velvet Rut. 8 p.m., $10. >> Rescheduled from last week, Judith Jones, cookbook......

Is everyone already leaving town for the holidays? Our calendar here at Reader, Meet Author is looking a little lonely right now. If you have any tips or complaints that we're not posting all the awesome poetry readings, feel free to email us. MONDAY: Caroline Kennedy will be at Politics and Prose to share the Christmas prose most dear to her. It's all in her latest book, A Family Christmas, which includes tributes to Irving......

MONDAY: Cass R. Sunstein will be at Politics and Prose to discuss the book Worst-Case Scenarios. No, it's not one of those books that gives you tips on how to survive if you wake up next to someone whose name you don’t remember or how to retrieve a candy bar stuck in the lunchroom vending machine. It's actually about scary stuff, like nuclear bombs in suitcases or avian flu. We prefer learning how to jump......

MONDAY: We will never understand why some people dislike Garrison Keillor. Personally we enjoy his folksy manner and dry sense of humor, even if A Prairie Home Companion is at times a bit hokey. Keillor will be at GW's Lisner Auditorium to read from and discuss his latest book Pontoon: A Novel of Lake Wobegon. Books will be sold by Olsson's. 7 p.m. Psychotherapist and author Amy Bloom will be at Politics and Prose to......

FOUND Magazine has a knack for revealing the beautiful underbelly of America, the forgotten parts of our everyday lives. Highlighting things like the hateful note you left the person parked in your precious parking spot, your laundry list of to-dos, that love note you didn’t find the courage to send, or those rejection letters that you didn’t want to hold onto, FOUND is the curated hamper for everything not worth collecting. That is unless you......

FRIDAY: >> The Millennium Stage Conservatory Project concludes this weekend at the Kennedy Center. Promising young musicians from the nation's best conservatories will be giving free concerts in the Terrace Theater: Eastman School of Music (tonight), Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University (Saturday), and Shepherd School of Music, Rice University (Sunday). All concerts begin at 6 p.m. and can also be experienced by live simulcast through the Millennium Stage Web site. >> Garrison Keillor brings......

MONDAY As we've said before: F.W. Thomas Performances rock, but credit curator and MC Adam Mazmanian—he aims to prove it. Tonight, it’s the Rock and Roll Edition of DC’s premiere reading series, featuring John Sellers reading from his new book (Perfect From Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life), Glenn Dixon discussing the secret porn of Christian rock, artist Mike Lowery emitting delightful odors, and Mazmanian himself, who’ll give rock gestures the Francois Delsarte......

MONDAY >> Anthony Pirog's (one of our recent Three Stars artists) many music outlets are coming together tonight at Iota. Head to Arlington's cozy club to hear rock music from The Bang. With Le Loup. $10, 8:30 p.m. >> Mark Mallman, Twin Cities veteran and spastic-rock-showman-turned-synth-pop-afficianado, plays DC9 with fellow Minneapolis rockers the Honeydogs in one of the week's best bargains. 8 bucks gets you a whole lot of rock and probably some ringing eardrums......

MONDAY Have you ever found yourself sizing up the state of contemporary education and thought to yourself, "Saints be praised that I got out when I did?" You’re sure to feel that way after hearing from David Berliner, author of Collateral Damage: How High-Stakes Testing Corrupts America's Schools. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 7 p.m. TUESDAY Whether you're a civil war buff or someone who, much like our editor-in-chief Sommer Mathis, enjoys stealing......

For citizens with a literary bent, this week’s major highlight is the Hyman S. and Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival, running all week long, mainly at the Jewish Community Center at 1529 16th Street, NW. Highlights include Peter Beinart and Rebecca Goldstein, plenty of panel discussions, a poetry reading, and an appearance by Madeleine Albright, who makes some time while planning her forthcoming libel suit against ABC. A full schedule of this week’s Festival highlights......

Like all good government employees, F.W. Thomas will be taking things a bit slower over the summer. We hear rumors an extended vacation in the Poconos may be in store. So catch the third installment of D.C.'s most comprehensive multimedia performance evening on Monday night before it goes on hiatus until September. DCist has attended both the first two shows and recommends the F.W. Thomas Performances, hosted by CityPaper writer Adam Mazmanian, with sincere enthusiasm......

Like it or not, the details of the personal lives of the rich and famous intrigue us. We like to know what exists behind that public facade, what quirks make the celebrity, pol, athlete or rock-star just a little more human. And just as we once found out that mayoral candidate Linda Cropp owns an iPod and stocks it with audio books and that D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams enjoys bird watching, today the Examiner brings......

TUESDAY: Unfortunately, the new book My Father's Houses: Memoir of a Family is not Steve Roberts' attempt to capitalize on all the buzz surrounding HBO's new polygamy series Big Love by coming out with shocking revelations. Instead, Roberts recounts the story of his own life as a young man growing up in New Jersey, attending Harvard, and courting and marrying Cokie Boggs. Just when we though Steve Roberts might have actually written something interesting. At......

Opening its doors just under month ago, Bar Pilar had a lot to live up to. The owners of Café Saint Ex hit a home run with their first undertaking, growing a small local secret into a popular nightspot that draws customers from far outside the neighborhood. That growth and the crowds that come with it, predictably, have locals seeking the next hip thing. The owners of Saint Ex hope that it’s Bar Pilar, or......

Today will be cloudy with occasional drizzle until late afternoon and highs around 50. The photo is from Flickr, and by the author of My Life As A Contact Sheet. Mayor Williams Releases Budget: Local media this morning all have different takes on Mayor Williams' budget. The W. Times finds tax cuts but also plans for a new central library as part of a "city center" development at the convention center site. The Post describes......

Thanks to all the people who turned out to the DCist happy hour at Biddy Mulligan's! In addition to most of the staff attendees included Kriston, Drew, Melissa, Natalya and the brains behind DCaffeinated and My Life as a Contact Sheet, whose names we have lost in a beery haze. No doubt we're forgetting plenty others, but that's what the comments are for. See more photos on Flickr and after the jump, where the......

The Photobloggies competition is now accepting nominations! This competition recognizes excellence in photoblogging in a variety of categories, including best of various regions around the world, best animal and abstract photography, and best photo of the year. They'll be collecting nominations until March 16 when the judges take over before announcing the winners on March 30. We encourage our readers to explore some of the D.C. photoblogs and go nominate some of your favorites. We......