FRIDAY >> The legendary Patti Smith is at the 9:30 Club tonight, and tickets are incredibly still available for $25. Doors at 9, show at 10 p.m. >> The idea of attending a lighting display, particularly after Christmas, might sound a bit cheesy. But the Garden of Lights in Wheaton might just change your mind. The designer tours the county gardens each year for inspiration for his display; this year, it invokes the four seasons….

>> Virginia Sen. Jim Webb has to work this week, too. [Politico] >> An 84-year-old Washington area woman won a Wii bowling tournament. [Examiner] >> “Presents, hugs, fun with daddy, tasty holiday treats, plus Post photog Gerald Martineau! Abominable.” [City Desk] >> The spirit of Christmas, revealed. [AP via WaPo] Photo by cyaneyed…

Well ain’t this a kick in the pants? The Washington Redskins, faced with having to take the same long cut to the playoffs that they did the last time they found themselves all but eliminated and facing a slew of teams suddenly willing to play dead, took their act on the road to Minnesota and won 32-1421, in a game that was only briefly tense and was basically decided by an alert eye on the…

We’re all guilty of it. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in all the things we have to do to get ready for the holidays, that we begin to cast ourselves as the bright center of the universe that everyone else is trying to block out. Every parking space just missed, every biker riding in the road adding thirty seconds to our commute home, every shopper taking the last Wii off the shelf just before…

Before we begin, we’d like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of James Kim. We are not, by any means, trying to discount that tragedy by juxtaposing posts about the Kims with more light-hearted posts. It’s the nature of doing a compilation such as this one: we’re trying to give a full slice of the goings-on in the Ist-a-Verse: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Londonist wants you to know where to…

It’s almost Black Friday, which means it’s about that time where we look at our bank account balance and realize that we barely have enough money for rent, let alone hundreds saved in preparation for Christmas gift-giving. Too bad clay handprints and homemade cards are no longer considered legitimate presents, and our offices, unlike our elementary schools, don’t provide “Santa Shops” where we can buy “I Love Mom” mugs and cheaply made ornaments for the…

Morning, fair DCist readers. How was your weekend? Did you do any of the numerous activities in the area, like the homeless walkathon, or celebrating an elephant’s fifth birthday? Did you go on a fruitless hunt for the elusive Wii? Or perhaps you got married in a Roman castle? You could have signed with the Cubs for $136 million! Whatever you did, we hope it was excellent. The start of this week seems to…