The city is marking the poet’s 200th birthday with dozens of events around town.

You might love Metro. You might hate Metro. But these are the best stations.

Thanks to Flickr contributor easement for submitting this photo of a quote from Walt Whitman that’s currently being carved into the north entrance to the Dupont metro stop at 20th & Q streets NW. So far it reads “Thus in silence in dreams’ projection,” which is from the last stanza of Whitman’s poem “The Wound Dresser.” When it’s finished, the enscription on the wall will read: Thus in silence in dreams’ projections, Returning, resuming, I…

Good morning, D.C. Thanks to everyone who joined us for Unbuckled last night — DC9 was packed for what we think was our best show yet. We had a great time, and we hope that you did, too. If you snapped some pictures while you were there, do us a favor and tag them on Flickr with unbuckled3 so that we can round ’em up in one place. Now that your concertgoing and drinking responsibilities…

Halloween falling on a Monday night, DCist took the night off, opting to hand candy to passing children and fend off egg attacks from neighborhood hooligans. We did explore area houses, though, taking in decorations both simple and elaborate. And proving that some people will use any opportunity to make a statement about the state of affairs in the country, we spied one gravestone marked “Scooter Libby, R.I.P.” and one proclaiming the death of world…

Do you toil at a dull government (or PR, or consultant) position by day while honing your artistic genius by night? Whether it’s the Great American Novel or the harmonies to the consummate hipster emo anthem, we know many DCist readers fit the bill, and you’re not alone. Poet Walt Whitman is one of the myriad of those who sojourned to Washington to work the levers of government before moving on to future fame, living…

Today will start cloudy and become partly sunny in the afternoon, with highs around 60. The photo is of the brand-new Music Center at Strathmore. Bush Budget Mixed Bag for Region: Although Chesapeake Bay cleanup and library programs would be cut, President Bush’s budget would increase military spending in the region. See the Post article the budget’s local impact. Whitman Remembered: Walt Whitman spent 10 years living in Washington, D.C., and the attraction to…

We hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. The weather today should be sunny with temperatures in the low 50s. UDC Gave Free Housing to Athletes: Who knew that that the University of the District of Columbia’s official mascot was the Firebirds? We certainly didn’t. The W.Times continues to follow the basketball scandal at UDC, which has forced the university to cut its basketball program. The NCAA violations? Housing student athletes for free. From Suitland…

The Washington Post Magazine piece this weekend on the Moscow subway got DCist thinking. Where is all the public art in WMATA’s metrorail system? In Moscow, the system has chandeliers, mosaics, stained glass and marble-clad platforms. Of course many of these pieces glorify the height of Soviet communism, but if Stalin could have created such an artistic system, couldn’t Lyndon Johnson have mandated some sort of artistic glorification of American democracy in “America’s Subway?” So…