Because of all the articles on the ban that’s up for discussion, suddenly ALL our placed ads are for smoking cessation programs. Now, if you’re really interested in quitting, there are all kinds of programs here in DC to do it. Health & Human Services based out of DC has a whole set of guidelines on how it works, and there’s a group at Children’s Hospital in DC that is willing to help.

Give it some thought, think about quitting smoking before it kills you like it did my grandparents.

The 44th Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game is tonight at RFK Stadium, pitting legislators from the Republican and Democratic parties against one another in a true battle for dominance in the House. Last year’s MVP was Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) and he is coming back for another shot after going 3 for 3 with 2 RBI in last year’s game. Tickets cost $8 and all proceeds are going to charity. So, Metro on over and check out your Congressmen and Senators fight for dominance on the diamond!

This friday at the Zucchbar in Adam’s Morgan my good friends from Medusa Promotions are hosting “It’s No Good”, an all Depeche Mode dance party.

That’s right, all Depeche Mode spun all night long!

A novel idea, for sure, but what a great band to highlight. Particularly their holy trinity of albums:

“Music For The Masses”
“Violator”
“Songs of Faith and Devotion”

Nuff said.

Address, times, and complimentary entrance RSVP are all here.

Okay, who the hell is doing the copyediting over at the Post?

I sure do love those weddings where people honor their “ethnical” traditions.

Guys, you’re one of the most respected papers in the country. You could maybe pay a little more attention. And run spellcheck.

[Better still, they've declared Rehnquist Dead/Retired in their RSS feed. --Ed.]

What a great impression people must get of our fair Metro area when reading our site lately. Welcome to DC the land where we don’t want you to drink, smoke, drive, ride bikes, or make decisions for yourself.

While we’re at it let’s add a few. We want to ban outdoor home improvement (pesky sawdust gets everywhere), playing loud music (my baby’s tyring to sleep), dancing (gasp human contact!) and noisy sex (aww someone is having more fun than me). Because after all, these are all things that can mildly effect the people around us as well.

All of this banning talk reminds me of the lyrics of the ever immortal Vapors in their classic “Turning Japanese” –

“No sex, no drugs, no wine, no women
No fun, no sin, no you, no wonder it’s dark
Everyone around me is a total stranger”

Seriously, all of this is ridiculous. Is DC really coming to this? No wonder car theft is on the rise; all our policy makers are too busy worrying about all of these really critical issues.

PS- Apparently they are having the same banning craze in Chicago

Smoke free DC because I value my health. I swim, bike, and run daily not always because I like it, no I do it for my health (and the looks the girlies give me), my health that you injure when you light up next to me. Lets not be overpaid tobacco lawyers here, smoking = cancer. That and smoke knows no boundaries, no zones, no separate seating. Ever see a pee/no pee swimming pool?

Smoke free DC because the stink of cigarettes is repulsive. It gets in your hair, on your clothes, under your skin, and down your lungs. A night out and you have to wash everything

Proving that DC’s City Council can be as infantile as any high school student government, Carol Schwartz introduced an alcohol ban at last night’s City Council, extending the smoking ban to it’s least likely next step.

The problem here is thus: alcohol, when administered properly and responsibly, affects only the person it’s served to. Smoking, when administered properly and responsibly, affects everyone within a 10 foot radius of the smoker. Honestly, it’s the only tobacco product that I have a problem with in a social setting. Dip, packets, snuff, that’s all fine by me, because it affects only the person partaking. You don’t leave a room filled with dippers smelling like smoke, or with lungs full of carcinogens.

Just because I want to go have a beer, it doesn’t mean I want to smell like your fucking ashtray, mmmkay? Carol, lighten up, maybe even quit smoking (or drinking, or driving, or sex, per your bill) and you can understand all that.

Fresh off the intense discussion earlier in the week regarding the “No Car” lifestyle, it seems that Fairfax County planners want you not to have a car in the burbs either:

In a place where cars and growth have always gone together, the county wants to offer incentives to the residents and workers in the planned MetroWest development at the Vienna station to not even own a car — let alone drive one.

They’re working with Pulte Homes (the builder) to reduce the number of car trips from the residents of a new development that we’ve discussed before, Metro West. Included are financial incentives, and penalties, related to the number of car trips. But, this isn’t enough for local anti-growth folks, who consider the community of nearly 6,000 people to be too much for Vienna, a sleepy bedroom community at the end of the Metro line. They want to sink the community before it gets any further along in the development process.

You know, I’m sure that car theft is a serious business. I sure know I wouldn’t want anyone stealing my wheels. It’s a real pain to deal with insurance companies, the police, all of that jazz. Except of course, when you’re the Police Chief. That’s right, Chief Ramsey’s own black Crown Vic was stolen from outside his house in Southwest this weekend.

He becomes one of roughly 20,000 car theft victims expected in the district in 2005. So, if you see someone tooling around downtown or the burbs in a black Crown Vic, license plate AL-6072, let the Chief know, will ya?

From too many late nights at work, if you hear the street cleaner going down I (Eye) Street at 15th Street, it’s Monday night around 11:30pm and you need to leave the office already.

From too many drink-a-thons happy hours, if you are on the patio of Fox and Hounds or Trio Restaurant and you see the trash truck come by to empty the street trash bins at the corner of 17th and Q Streets NW, its around 10:30pm and you’re drunk, guaranteed.

From too many brain cells killed by both, if you’re standing on the east side of 16th Street, waiting to cross what should be Lamont Street but is the entrance to the Parks & Rec Department headquarters, and you look at the walk sign