Of the numerous romantic notions surrounding the writing life, perhaps none dies harder than that of the solitary, ink-stained wretch plugging away at his or her latest work in some dilapidated garret, alone and unnoticed and oblivious to what’s going on around him or her. Writing may be a solitary act, but as any intellectually honest writer can tell you, writers need communities: first, because the realities of today’s writing life necessitate that one be…

MONDAY: A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the wife of Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, Connie Schultz will be at Politics and Prose to discuss her book … And His Lovely Wife, which is her behind-the-scenes look at Brown’s campaign and their marriage. 7 p.m. In Last One In, Nicholas Kulish, who was embedded with a Marine attack-helicopter squadron for the Wall Street Journal, spins a slightly unbelievable tale of a gossip columnist who ends up covering…

One of those longstanding D.C. arguments may be finally coming to a resolution, and you can feel the excitement in the air this morning, Washington. No, it’s not the handgun ban, or taxicab meters, or anything to do with voting rights — but there sure are a lot of longstanding arguments in this town, now that we mention it. Rather, metro riders should keep their eyes peeled for two railcars that will soon be sporting…

Good morning, D.C. Did you have a good weekend dodging and weaving between all those digestive disease specialists in town? We couldn’t help but be impressed by the sea of 20,000 be-purple backpacked conference attendees, and kept hoping we’d meet one or two who could explain to us exactly what Crohn’s Disease is anyway. WJLA was kind enough to remind us that Digestive Disease Week will have brought in $32 million to the District when…

As sunny weather descends (or perhaps that should be in the past tense, now that we look out the window) on the Washington area, DCist’s thoughts turn to the plethora of outdoor activities that will soon be made not only possible, but enjoyable, by the temperate days. If you’re like us, you look forward to spring because it means the annual renaissance of local farmers’ markets. If you call yourself a Washingtonian, you’re already…

Back in January, the new Congress passed revamped ethics rules theoretically intended in part to minimize the influence of lobbyists on lawmakers and their staff. How our elected representatives hate lobbyists, with their wee beady eyes and those smug looks on their faces. “Oh, you’re gonna vote for ethanol subsidies, oh!” How can they hate lobbyists? The lobbyists put addictive chemicals — money, swag, and trips — in their dealings with lawmakers that make them…

Well, we suppose it makes sense. Just like a store-owner wouldn’t want customers to use their products without actually buying them, the Washington Business Journal is going all Wall Street Journal on us and putting their online content behind a door open only to print subscribers. As of Monday, July 24, the city’s business publication of note will no longer be a resource for freeloaders like us. Phooey. Are we going to pay to…

Good morning, D.C. It’s nearly May, and you know what that means: the region is once again being gripped by baby duck fever. Apparently. It seems that a year ago we were on pins and needles waiting for news of hatching from a nest near the Treasury Department, a nest that was assigned its own security detail. And right on schedule, the Washington Times brings us word of another increase in the city’s duckling population….

Washington loves the color red. It’s the color of choice for power-tie and power-suit wearing Hill types, and, of course, we all like reading about said Hill folk getting caught red-handed and red-faced. But on Friday, the color takes on a different meaning for National Wear Red Day, part of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign, which aims to raise awareness of heart disease as the leading cause of death for women…

So, The United States is preparing to develop methods for generating fuel from switch grass. I don’t know what switch grass is, but my gut tells me it’s a lot like brush, and Bush stands to make a killing off this whole arrangement. There is a Better Way: So, Washington was host once more to the State of the Union. We continue to marvel at the fact that once a year, at a predictable time…