Ah, religion. We’ve all read about its role in public and private life and how fewer and fewer people are going to church these days. Ben Franklin said “Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.” And in D.C., churches often cause a lot of debate about parking, “newcomers” versus older residents, and abandoned properties. And yet, despite all the distractions of our modern age, some young people in the city are still able to practice their…

Was Ben Franklin a playa, and Thomas Jefferson a great lover? Was the route to independence from Britain wrought with as much inner political wrangling as any of today’s Congressional machinations? Should our national bird really have been the turkey? 1776, Keegan Theater’s take on one of America’s most clever and underrated musicals, attempts to answer these questions through vividly imagined depictions of our founding fathers, and smart, lyrical songs; you have to love a…

This Sunday marks the end of Daylight Saving Time, so when the last call bell rings at 2 a.m., set your watch back an hour and buy everyone another round. Any excuse for an extra hour of partying is fine with us, so let’s toast to Ben Franklin, but do it ironically, since he may have come up with the idea just so people would go to bed earlier. We hoped you saved all that…

The recently flooded National Archives is closed but still active, hosting some neat events on this, our nation’s birthday. Earlier this morning, a crowd of sweaty people gathered at the Archives to hear historical figures (or at least their reenactors) read the Declaration of Independence. Announced by a town crier, the historical impersonators of the documents’ framers, Thomas Jefferson (suitably fire-haired), Ben Franklin, and John Adams, as well as two injured Iraq war soldiers and…

The first Sunday in April is almost upon us and that means it’s time to spring forward once again. Daylight Saving Time, one of those weird, man made government sanctioned conventions, begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday, April 3, so set your clocks forward one hour. Unfortunately, this DCist, never known for her punctuality to begin with, has been an hour behind on more than one occasion. Rather then bemoan that one hour of…