Home is a pretty subjective concept. Where you hang your hat? The place you can always go back to? Where your love lies waiting silently for you? But what about where you spend the largest part of your waking hours? We may like to keep a firm separation between office life and "home" life, but let's look at the facts: who do you spend more hours awake and in the same room with than that... more ›

Diplomacy is the cornerstone of foreign policy. The relationship between countries can be fragile, but diplomatic exchanges foster valuable insight into each other's cultures, bring to light areas of mutual cooperation to achieve common interests, and forge stronger economic and political ties. However, when two countries cannot reach an agreement on an area of conflict and the stronger country will sometimes jettison diplomacy and pull out their big stick. Quote of the Week Metro: Tourist... more ›

It has been a light week here at Overheard in D.C.'s cramped quarters, but we understand that most sane people would rather be out enjoying this incredible weather than basking in the warmth of a computer monitor's glow, sending us emails. However, we were particularly tickled by an email sent in by a reader from the great metropolis to our north, pointing us to his blog entry recounting a recent conversation with a sobriety-challenged, directionally-challenged friend in D.C. It's not technically an Overheard in D.C., but we couldn't not pass it along. more ›

Last October, Metro kicked off a quirky campaign to encourage commuters to travel more safely; basically, they coined new words to describe safety-enhancing practices and shine some light on those whose actions made riding the rails that much more painful a process. They started small, with four words -- PlanBdextrous, referring to the ability to map out an alternate route home; Sumpnspicious, those suspicious actions and occurrences that should be reported to Metro officials; Conseaterate, the act of giving one's seat to someone in need of a seat; and Doorker, the person who blocks the train or bus doors. more ›

It's here. Tourist season is officially upon us. But we're still light on clueless tourist comments. I know they're out there -- just as I'm sure there are a bunch of Parisians out there laughing about the stupid Americans who couldn't figure out where the actual Bastille was. That is, when they're not busy participating in mass demonstrations. So keep keeping your ears open, and email anything interesting, funny, or inscrutable you hear to overheardindc (at) gmail (dot) com. more ›

The picture above may say it all. They were on the National Mall. They were on the Tidal Basin. Their cars clogged our roads, their baby strollers and large extended families crowded our Metro. They were everywhere. Tourist season has begun, bringing with it the obvious advantage of their disposable income and the just-as-obvious disadvantage of their indisputable presence. As long as they stand right and walk left on Metro escalators, we're guessing a... more ›

Past restaurant weeks have brought a few DCists mixed results. Some of our experiences were great, while others -- especially at some high-end restaurants -- left something to be desired. We generally chalk that up not to food quality but to service -- waitstaffs showing the symptoms of getting slammed with customers on normally slow nights. By dropping prices to $30.05 for three dinner courses, we're sure area restaurants see Tuesday night crowds they aren't accustomed to. Still, our negative experiences during Restaurant Week aren't enough to put us off; as usual, the bad memories fade away and excitement about enjoying an awesome meal at the fraction of the usual price take their place. more ›

Tourist Time. They're here. Yes it is high tourist season and with it, comes heightened stress for locals. So with metorail during the tourist season, it is advisable to have your SmarTrip filled at all times, just to avoid long lines at farecard machines at some of the busier stations. Besides the main downtown transfer stations, Smithsonian, Union Station, Rosslyn, Pentagon City and Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan stations seem to have the worst tourist crowding on... more ›

Oscars, Oscars, Oscars! That's the main event going on this weekend (care to leave your picks in the comments?) but there's tons of other fun things out there. Check out this week's Arts Agenda and Music Agenda for some suggestions, like the opening of the Modigliani exhibit at the Phillips Collection on Saturday (a portrait of his is at right), or the continuation of the Teenbeat reunion tonight (check out shesbitter.com for some pictures of... more ›

Yes friends, Restaurant Week is here. This week, organized by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington and the D.C. Tourist Bureau, gives area residents the opportunity to dine out at some of DC's most well known restaurants at a fixed cost. For this week, a fixed 3-course lunch at any establishment on the long list of participating restaurants is $20.04, and a 3-course dinner is $30.04. Reservations are suggested, and can be made online, or... more ›