You waited until the last minute to try to buy tickets for Saturday’s “Hip-Hop Honors” concert, only to discover it sold out. Fear not, because D.C. will be having a number of other noteworthy shows over the next week. First up is Eric Roberson’s Friday night set at the Black Cat. Who’s Eric Roberson? New Jersey native Roberson began his professional singing and songwriting career while a student in Howard University’s Musical Theatre program in... more ›

As we mentioned briefly yesterday, the second fire in two years at Capitol Lounge has been found to have resulted from the same reason as the first: a cigarette, which was left burning in a trash can behind the building. Last week's fire caused about $100,000 of damage to the Lounge as well as the Trover Gift Shop next door. Now The Examiner reports that D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin is calling for a new... more ›

By DCist contributor W Jacarl Melton At the time when Jaguar Wright's 2002 album, Denials, Delusions and Decisions, was released, the industry term du jour, "neo-soul," was used to describe any singer who presented themselves as part of the vanguard who shunned the trappings of mainstream urban music. But the Philadelphia-based Wright resisted this categorization, and wound up standing out from those who were being viewed as artistic oddballs. Tonight she'll be supported by the... more ›

Congratulations, everybody: Wired says that we're one of the nation's top ten tech towns, putting us in the company of undeniably geek-friendly cities like San Francisco, Austin and Seattle. But to be honest, Wired's methodology seems a little bit suspect. Other cities made the list on the basis of a high number of comic book stores per capita, the ubiquity of free wifi, or the popularity of the local Dorkbot chapter. Our qualifications? We're desperately lonely: apparently D.C. has more postings on dating site Geek 2 Geek than any other town. We score high for Circuit City penetration too, but let's get real — as much as we hate to throw DC1974 a bone, there's no competing with Fry's for embodying the geek ethos (although we do love Microcenter). No, it's pretty clear why we made the list: the federal government and its attendant inefficiencies. D.C. area nerds may not work on the most exciting projects in the world, but if you want to build gigantic robotic spiders for Raytheon or maintain a database written on punchcards for the Bureau of Indian Affairs — and be well-compensated for doing it — there's no better place to be. That's not to say that there aren't exciting dot-coms in the area. But it's clearly federal largesse that drives the industry around these parts. But it doesn't have to be this way. If you're a like-minded technologist, why not help make this town a little more worthy of Wired's list by attending a 2600 or Dorkbot meeting, the ShmooCon conference, or another geeky get-together? more ›

Eric Schlosser is quick to point out that 2006 represents an important, but mostly overlooked, centennial. In his first opportunity to speak following the D.C. premiere of the movie based on his book, Fast Food Nation, Schlosser reminds the audience that it was in 1906 that Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, the classic muckraker that exposed the horrific practices of the meatpacking industry and helped prompt a major overhaul in the way they conducted their business. Schlosser evokes Sinclair to point out both the bleak and the hopeful: that after those reforms, the industry has been slowly backsliding under the collective radar, but that by raising awareness of the problem, the seeds of change can be planted. And with the release of the filmed version of his own industry exposé, Schlosser and his co-conspirator, director and co-screenwriter Richard Linklater, hope to do just that. more ›

If Hitler had been a gangster, what color tie would he have worn? To some, that inquisitive trajectory is irrelevant and even downright disrespectful. Hitler was not only obsessed by power and violence, but a monster to whom, most would say, we should never extend the benefit of a psycho-history. To Bertolt Brecht, however, the value of an inquiry into Hitler the gangster outweighed the dangers. Brecht’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (pictured), now... more ›

Anthony Bourdain defines "food porn" as "the glorification of food as a substitute for sex." As with food porn, wine porn -- to paraphrase Bourdain -- describes certain mind-blowingly hedonistic and expensive wines for an audience that has little intention of actually drinking them. If Wine Spectator and Robert Parker's Wine Advocate are the respective Penthouse and Hustler of wine publications, then the 7th Annual Heart's Delight Wine Tasting and Auction -- running from Thursday, May 11 through Saturday, May 13 at locations in and around Washington -- is the industry's blockbuster AVN Awards Show. And if you're willing to shell out enough cash, you can buy yourself a role as a wine pornstar for a day -- or three. more ›

Looking to put an imprimatur on your burgeoning wine-swilling habit? On Monday, January 16, the Washington Wine Academy will hold its first class in the WSET’s five-week Intermediate level course at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Crystal City. more ›

In a development that will force Washington area residents to trek out to BWI for our cheap flights, we bid farewell this week to budget carrier Independence Air. more ›

On Sundays, DCist publishes opinion pieces about life in D.C. The views expressed below are solely those of the author. more ›

Yesterday brought disappointing news about the New Orleans relief convoy that was hastily put together by city officials. Although the convoy and the volunteers manning it were able to distribute supplies and fuel, a late start and poor communication with relief agencies resulted in only one evacuee being brought back. Despite this lack of success, Mayor Williams says that the city will pick up the $82,000 tab — but only if the feds won't.... more ›

If you're an aspiring food writer or an aspiring chef, there are some cool new jobs opening up to fuel your dreams. First comes news of a new food editor position opening up at The Examiner. The position is freelance and listed as a 7-10 hour a week job for a 1-2 page weekly section. Based on the tasks listed, this section of The Examiner will most likely debut late this year. The ad is a bit confusing -- is it a food editor or the "Cooking Section manager"? -- but it seems like it would be a great gig for any budding journalist eager to begin the ascent towards becoming the next Mimi Sheraton or Jeffrey Steingarten. more ›

When Tom Sietsema gave a shoutout to Don Rockwell during last weeks' Ask Tom, it was a quiet nod to one of the lesser-known food writers active in D.C.:

Speaking of online food discussions, Don Rockwell, a former egullet host, has just launched a fun one: DonRockwell.com. Don is a fine writer, has good taste and eats out almost as much as I do. If you care about food in Washington, his is a site to monitor.

Good morning, Washington. The weather today is supposed to be frigidly chilly this morning with temperatures later rising into the 40s, according to Capital Weather. Drew McDermott's recent photo of the Virginia Square metrorail station entrance seems timely considering this morning's first item ... more ›

(From DCist contributor Kanishka Gangopadhyay) more ›