Some D.C. powerbrokers are finding a new way to count time. Several clever entrepreneurs have created the Bush countdown clock, which measures the time left until the end of W’s administration: January 20, 2009. The key chains are calibrated down to the second. The owner of Backwards Bush says he uses the clock as “a coping mechanism,” and doesn’t mean any disrespect. The trinkets have been appearing in the hands of Democrats all over the…

When Peter Gelb took over as the new general director of New York’s Metropolitan Opera, he promised several initiatives to bring opera to broader audiences. The leading American opera company opened its season last September, and New Yorkers were able to watch the celebrity-studded performance of Madama Butterfly on large screens in the plaza of Lincoln Center and the chaos of Times Square. The Met even brought a brief scene from its production of…

FRIDAY: >> Here at DCist we like to pimp scrappy locals and industrious indies who are charging hard against the establishment. When it comes to stand-up comedy however, sometimes we have to make an exception. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t support up-and-coming local comedic talent. You should. But we’d be the first to admit that there’s something particularly distasteful about amateur stand-up done badly — when a comic punts on stage, you just have…

MONDAY: >> It’s a slow concert night around town. Head over to the Black Cat’s backstage for Vintage DC Punk Video Night to benefit Jobs with Justice. 9:00, $5 TUESDAY: >> South Carolina natives Jump Little Children head north and set their sights on Arlington’s Iota club tonight. All classically trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts, their first songs were based in Irish folk music and Delta blues, and has evolved over…

Popular culture and politics are, indeed, strange bedfellows. Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry appeared last night on CBS’s Late Show with David Letterman and treated viewers by reading the Top Ten List. Kerry has also appeared on NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Comedy Central’s Daily Show with Jon Stewart. According to AP reports, candidate Kerry wasn’t all laughs last night: The Massachusetts senator spent much of his appearance discussing serious topics ranging from…