Sommer Mathis contributed to these picks FRIDAY: >> DCist likes to stay up late on Sundays and watch Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry”. We enjoy the variety of viewpoints it always includes, and really truly, at least one poet each episode knocks our socks right off our collective feet. DCist also likes to stay up late and watch “The Cosby Show” on Nick at Nite. It makes us feel all warm and fuzzy, like we…

In an interesting move that could have repercussions for new media and other online newspapers, washingtonpost.com today switched to a dual homepage format. One homepage features more local and regionalized news, and the other has a national/international focus that won’t highlight the Post’s regional content (like the Entertainment Guide) as much. Which homepage you view is based on your registered zip code — if you provide a local zip code, you will get the local…

FRIDAY: >> If your faux pas have lately been spiraling out of control, head over tout suite to Politics & Prose. This evening at 7 p.m. Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, will be talking about “Miss Manner’s Guide to Excruciatingly Exact Behavior,” her newly updated book about modern-day etiquette. >> The Dulles Expo Center gets busy today with the weekend-long Sugarloaf Craft Festival. You can buy everything from well-engineered teddy bears to wood art. Check…

If you can make it through the 4-5 inches of snow that are sure to shut down our fair city this weekend, we’ve got some picks to round out your weekend of snowball fights and hot chocolate. FRIDAY: >> Velvet Lounge celebrates its sixth birthday this weekend with a Friday lineup of Meredith Bragg and the Terminals, The Small Shouts (featuring Olivia from Washington Social Club), Debutants, and Greenline. >> On-the-rise female rapper Jean Grae…

From DCist contributor Catherine Andrews: DCist couldn’t help but notice lately all the buzz surrounding the new Georgetown lounge bar, Blue Gin. The Post’s Fritz Hahn seems to have gone especially ga-ga for the place, writing a glowing review, suggesting it no less than three times in a recent Going Out Gurus chat, and choosing its main bartender as the Entertainment Guide’s Bartender of the Month for August. DCist’s curiosity was officially piqued, so we…