>> Congress has taken away D.C. CFO Natwar Gandhi’s pay raise in the wake of the Office of Tax and Revenue embezzlement scandal. Happy Holidays, Mr. Gandhi! [WaPo] >> What kind of person steals a wheelchair? [NBC4] >> Free holiday EP from Vandaveer. [You Ain’t No Picasso] >> Marvin is already expanding. [Prince of Petworth] >> Christopher Hitchens sings at the Reason Secular Christmas party. [via City Desk] Photo by AlbinoFlea…

You’d think that, once the Almighty found himself on the business end of God Is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens’ latest broadside, there’d be hell to pay. Instead, Hitchens’ book became an international bestseller, racking up laudatory reviews and garnering an even larger audience for his witty contrarianism. Which makes one suspect that perhaps The Hitch is on to something. As if it needed more attention, yesterday God Is Not Great was named one of five…

>> DC Arts Commission auditions for musicians who’d like to play outside metro stations start tonight, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Metro headquarters, 600 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC. >> Check out our Reader, Meet Author feature for a list of cup-runneth-over literary events for tonight. There’s Colin Channer at Vertigo Books, Susan Vreeland at Phillips Collection, Christopher Hitchens at Politics and Prose, and Irvine Welsh at Wonderland. >> The Rock and Roll…

MONDAY As a part of its ongoing “Face It: We Are Probably All Going To Die or at the Very Least, Suffer Immeasurably” Series, Politics and Prose kicks off the week with a visit from Stephen Flynn, author of The Edge of Disaster, which, apparently, we are teetering on (cf. “all going to die,” “suffer immeasurably”). Also: CSI: Miami is on tonight! 5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 7 p.m. TUESDAY The art of letter writing is…

TUESDAY: You probably know Cynthia Rowley’s clothing, but do you know her writing? Following the success of her Swell books Rowley’s new book recounts her personal coming-of-age lessons – from humorous childhood memories to fantastical experiences. Rowley will read from Slim: A Fantasy Memoir at the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s Hammer Auditorium, 7 p.m. $25 WEDNESDAY: Zachary Leader will appear in a discussion with Christopher Hitchens about Leader’s new book, The Life of Kingsley Amis,…

Controversy In Captivity From the disturbed minds at the Onion News Network: Fictional National Zoo giant panda Yun Mei is pro-choice. >> As part of a promotion for his new movie, Kickin’ It Old School, Jamie Kennedy taped himself breakdancing at various locations all over Washington, D.C. We know, we couldn’t believe Jamie Kennedy still had a career, either. [AOL Video Blog] >> Jimmy Kimmel gave Gawker editor Emily Gould a right serious spanking during…

Thanks to Eddy Elfenbein of CrossingWallStreet for sharing this link to photos from the Christopher Hitchens-hosted protest outside the Danish Embassy we mentioned yesterday. Other blogs are also busily posting photos, like here, here, and here. We liked Eddy’s shot, below, the best. Granted, it probably doesn’t accurately capture the spirit of the rally (we hear it was peaceful and friendly and all that good stuff), but we can’t resist posting a photo of Hitch…

Thanks to Wonkette for the tip that a “Stand Up for Denmark!” rally scheduled for lunchtime tomorrow outside the Danish Embassy looks to be a star-studded affair for the wacky world of D.C. political punditry. Christopher Hitchens, no doubt feeling his way for the keyboard through a thick cloud of indignant, hawkish cigarette smoke, was the first to type out the call to arms stand around outside the building in a docile manner: Please be…

Good morning Washington. This photo of the Dupont Circle fountain was taken by sideways and posted in DCist Photos. Before we get to the morning’s news, we should just say that some of the better reading is Congressionally related. So be sure to check out all the fun from the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and yesterday’s Jack Abramoff inquiry. Well, maybe not fun, just sort of fundamentally sad. (What we now wonder: was there funny…

Well, this weekend looks like it’s going to be absolutely gorgeous, so we’re hard pressed to recommend doing anything besides rolling around in the grass outside. With a beer. Or seven. That’s our plan, at least. But if you’d like more options, our suggestions follow. And don’t forget to plan ahead: DCist’s Unbuckled concert, featuring Cartel and Bicycle Thieves, is a little less than two weeks away! FRIDAY: >> The third annual AFI and Discovery…