We're frankly mostly of the mind that New Year's Eve is best spent at a house party with good friends -- going out to a club is almost always overpriced and often a big letdown. But in the event you don't have a party to attend, are new in town, or for any other reason are facing tonight without a firm plan, here's a few of our suggestions on how to have a fun and......

Good morning, Washington. With a new year less than 24 hours away and an improbable playoff berth for the Redskins suddenly a reality, we frankly expect you to have been skipping in to your offices today, in a total and joyous rapture. Even if you've had to work straight through the holidays this year, we will tolerate no whining on this, or really any other matter, on this particular New Year's Eve. There will be......

FRIDAY >> The legendary Patti Smith is at the 9:30 Club tonight, and tickets are incredibly still available for $25. Doors at 9, show at 10 p.m. >> The idea of attending a lighting display, particularly after Christmas, might sound a bit cheesy. But the Garden of Lights in Wheaton might just change your mind. The designer tours the county gardens each year for inspiration for his display; this year, it invokes the four seasons.......

Believe it or not, it’s that time of year…. again. A time to sit back and reflect, but also to look to the future. But speaking in wine terms, it’s the time of year to pick out that bottle (or bottles) of bubbly to ring in the New Year. As much as we love our champagne, vintage champagne no less, it’s not always the practical choice. Unless you plan on not drinking what so ever......

Good morning, Washington. The week surrounding the holidays is almost always a certifiably slow news period, so you can bet good money every local media outlet in the country is shamefacedly relieved to be able to find their own angle on the terrifying fatal San Francisco Zoo tiger attack. Sister site SFist has the roundup of Bay Area coverage, and the Examiner steps up to the plate with the D.C. version of the story --......

>> Beginning tonight, piano legend Ahmad Jamal (pictured with bassist James Cammack) continues his annual tradition of closing each year with a week-long residence at Blues Alley. Daily 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. sets begin tonight and run through Sunday. Tickets are $30 + $12.50 surcharge/drink minimum. On New Year's Eve, the Keter Betts memorial band, which includes celebrated guitarist Paul Bollenback and local drumming ace Lenny Robinson, will join Jamal to ring in 2008......

Be sure to make a note of Metro's holiday schedule, which is available on WMATA's web site. Metrorail and Metrobuses are operating on a normal weekday schedule today, but tomorrow, both trains and buses will be on a Sunday schedule, with trains running from 7 a.m. until midnight. On New Year's Eve, trains and buses will be on a normal weekday schedule, but both will continue running until 2 a.m. — maybe not late enough......

Just one night after the Season Opening Night Gala hosted by Washington National Opera, another set of patrons (and the critics of the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post) came together to fill the Kennedy Center Concert Hall to open the National Symphony Orchestra's season on Sunday night. In terms of funds raised, it was the most successful opening ball in the NSO's history, according to Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Blackstone......

Celebrate Your Moms If you're lucky enough to have your mom or grandma somewhere easily accessible, then you have the distinct pleasure of celebrating Mother's Day with the real McCoy. As for me, I'll have to settle for a teleconference with my mom while eating pancakes shaped like Mickey Mouse that I'll pretend she made for me. Sniff. I love you, Mom! If you aren't separated by a continent, then you have some meal planning......

First of all, this is another suburban restaurant review, so let’s just get that out of the way. Second, yes, we went to the steakhouse and got the chicken. Third, this is a time of upheaval for Ray's the Classics, so we can’t make any promises. Executive chef Michael Hartzer left after New Year's Eve to do his own thing (though we presume that, of course, had absolutely nothing to do with much beloved owner......

The holidays are over. We're as sad to report it as you are to hear it, because next week, for the first time in over a month, we have to work a full five days. Some of you who had less lenient schedules may be primed to tell us to quit our whining. Those of us who spent the past month stringing together vacation days and holidays to make a patchwork of leisure time punctuated......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

Loosen that Belt, but Keep Your Surgery to Yourself As we enter the final stretch-of-the-pants holiday eating season, perhaps we all feel a little tight in the trousers, but apparently not as much as the chatters last week over on TomChat offering their inane advice on what a poor patron who has undergone gastric bypass surgery should tell a waiter who wonders why so much of a meal has been left on the plate. The......

In all honesty, it's tough to wholeheartedly recommend going out on New Year's Eve at all. We love the spirit of the holiday, but paying around $100 a person for a regular night of dancing dressed up with champagne is enough to make anyone feel like a schmuck. It's a safe bet most of us at DCist will be hitting various house parties to ring in the new year with friends at a more reasonable......

We know you're itching to get your perfect New Year's Eve plans in place, and we'll have a few suggestions for those of you still unsure what to do for the big night later in the day. But first a few of friendly reminders: Just like on Christmas Eve, D.C. liquor stores will in fact be open on Dec. 31 thanks to an amendment put in place by the D.C. Council to make exceptions when......

This year has proved to be quite a ride for D.C.'s commuters, travelers, and residents. There were highs: record ridership, the Yellow Line extension (scheduled for Saturday!), the rollout of NextBus, Tangherlini's arrival. There were lows: MetroAccess troubles, worker fatalities, Virginia politicians, Tangherlini's departure. And of course, there was more traffic. Heading into 2007, we're looking forward to having a big debate over closing Metro's budget shortfall. We're excited to watch Metro's new chief......

Jazz a la Count Basie seems an unlikely choice for the Black Cat. Yet, for more than a decade, Peaches O’Dell and her Orchestra have been swinging D.C. revelers into the next year. The bandleader is the subject of a special holiday edition of Three Stars. Even the most talented dance band can take a mental backseat to counting steps or following spins. The magnetic O’Dell is an exception to this rule — and several......

Good morning, Washington. As you may have heard, former President Gerald Ford passed away yesterday. The Post has all of the currently available details, as well as the detailed obituary you would expect. Moussaoui Barriers To Remain In Alexandria: The Post reports on a story near of particular interest to us. Alexandria resident Jim Savage has been trying to get rid of the allegedly-temporary security barriers that were placed around the town's courthouse for the......

By DCist contributor Amy Monroe As any D.C. dweller knows, it’s not so easy to buy a sixer, a 750, or a fifth on Sunday within city limits. The District’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Association restricts holders of Class A Licenses -- a.k.a. any store that sells wine, beer, and liquor for off-premises consumption -- to sales between the hours of 9 a.m. and 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. So what of those years, such as......

At this point in December, people looking to hear a concert are probably only looking for a performance of Handel's Messiah or Holiday Concerts, and we have already dealt with both of those. Since there is not much else to mention, this will be your Classical Music Agenda until the New Year. There are a few things to hear, so hang in there. We will be back on January 7. >> The year's final free......

The District will have one fewer place for middle-aged letches to hit on dancing college girls drinking watered-down hurricanes, when Friday night fades into Saturday morning and Lulu's Club Mardi Gras packs up its multicolored awnings for good. Lulu's has long been a fixture at the changing corner of 22nd and M Streets NW. Longtime owner Ulysses "Blackie" Auger sold Lulu's years ago, and when he passed away in November 2004, his family opted to......

FRIDAY: Dear organizers of tonight's Cryfest -- Cure vs. Smiths Dance Party on the Black Cat mainstage: Did we go to the same high school? Because, really, I thought I was the only one who spent several nights a week as an awkward teenager perfecting the disaffected side-to-side shuffle that is the only kind of actual "dancing" one can do to this music. Meet me there tonight, OK? I'll be the one in the raccoon......

Good morning, Washington. As we approach the new year and the amount of colleagues in your office thins out even more, here's a run-down on the happenings today in and around the District. And to get you ready for those new year's eve drunk text messages, today the Post features an article about bringing on the brevity. Call us critical, but it just sounds goofy when the Post tries so hard to sound hip. Stadium......

If you are anything like we are, your plans thus far for having something to do on New Year's Eve go a little like this: Sit around. Hope somebody will magically throw last-minute party with free booze. Sit around some more. Spend the night of Dec. 31 sprawled out on your couch with a coffee table littered with Miller High Life bottles, comforting yourself with the fact that New Year's Eve is so totally overrated......

DCist has been languishing on holiday this week, but we received an emergency e-mail and feel compelled to offer a few last minute ideas so everyone's 2005 kicks off as well as it can. I read DCist every day at work...it's the best. Do you guys have any suggestions for what to do in the district for New Years? Or do you know some of the options out there? Just wondering. First DCist wants to......

From DCist contributor Amadie Hart What to do on New Year's Eve can be a yearly dilemma—one that rarely presents an easy answer. Restaurants book up early and often forgo their usual fare for a more creative prix fixe option. Bars and clubs are expensive, crowded, and can be difficult to get into. The big parties are also expensive, and feature notoriously long lines for the bar. So, what about taking a break from all......

Let the fun begin. Election returns have begun to filter in, and the networks have begun to predict winners for the presidential contest in non-swing states and in some Senate competitions. DCist on election TV, Senate and House races to watch, and when the polls close across the nation in Eastern Time Here's some handy links for results: W. Post, Yahoo Election, CNN, NY Times, BBC News "Vote USA 2004", DemocraticUnderground.com. To keep your......

(By DCist contributor Kanishka Gangopadhyay) The National Blocktoberfest takes place this Saturday in the "Ballston Entertainment Zone" next to Ballston Common Mall on Wilson Boulevard in Arlington. Billed as "Fall's biggest street festival," the event will encompass five city blocks and features 20 local bands, including staples The Kelly Bell Band and Dewey Beach favorites Love Seed Mama Jump. Blocktoberfest will also feature numerous vendors selling Bavarian food and beer, an Oompah band, face painting,......