Anyone who has read the menu at the Brickskeller can tell you that Julius Caesar called beer "a high and mighty liquor." But aside from being a favorite of Roman conquerors, it causes people to say funny stuff - stuff that when you overhear it, makes you really want to know how that conclusion was reached. What winding path was taken to get there? Quote of the Week At the DCist flickr meetup Sunday at......

The winter holidays are a big time of year for family. You take photos, somebody always wears a dumb sweater with a reindeer on it, you eat together, shop together, and so on. It's also a big time for couples — do you go to one person's parents' house? Spend time together on the big days? Or purposefully avoid spending it together? And sometimes, even the smallest details take on a lot of symbolism. Quote......

>> A fire forced students to evacuate a dorm at Catholic University. [NBC4] >> "NEWSFLASH: The Nazis killed millions of people. This gay rights organization raises money for AIDS research, breast cancer and the arts, among countless other charities." [Blade Blog] >> "Wizards players are donating $20,000 to a woman whose former boyfriend doused her with gasoline and set her on fire." [AP via WTOP] >> A D.C. man in his 50s was hit......

It's starting to be winter, finally, after a long Indian summer of warm days and little rainfall. But lately it's been chillier and drizzlier and crummier outside. Most people prefer the sun; they don't have to wear big jackets or get soggy, and D.C. cold always seems to bite. That doesn't bother some folks. But they're probably looking at you because you're wearing Uggs. Quote of the Week At the Foggy Bottom Metro station: Girl......

Word of mouth is considered an important marketing tool these days; call it what you will, but it's still a great way to hear about new music, movies, TV, whatever. Usually the best way to find the good stuff is to talk to somebody whose opinions you respect, but sometimes just random folks can tell you about neat new stuff — some person at a party, a friend of a friend, or whoever. And sometimes......

Ever work at a store with an intercom system? "Cleanup on aisle four." There's always the temptation to say something funny into it, to make a weird noise or cough or confuse the customers. And there's the amusement that happens when somebody new uses it. "Uhh... (click, buzz) is this... hey boss, uh, come here." The Metro intercoms seem to be mostly used for incoherent announcements about "trains... and stations" and things of that nature,......

Washington has a ton of good things, but also a lot of problems. One we often hear about is a general lack of customer service in some local businesses — sometimes people are slow, rude, forgetful, or a combination of the three. We've seen it all over, from fancy joints to Mickey D's, but it seems to be worse here than elsewhere on the East Coast. Somebody could make a lot of money by renting......

Moms are great. Aside from birthing us, they wipe our mouths when we dribble food, wrap us up warm when it gets cold out, and give us Jell-O and ice cream when we're sick. For many years it seemed like mom and dad were the smartest people in the world, an Encyclopedia Familica. Usually they give us advice like cover your mouth when you cough, wash your hands after using the bathroom and useful stuff......

Many things seem more important in D.C. than they would be anywhere else. It's pretty difficult to impress somebody in most places by telling them you met the Undersecretary of such and such. Appearing on C-SPAN is more likely to be subject to quizzical looks rather than admiration in other towns. Most folks elsewhere wouldn't know they just saw George Will honking at pedestrians. And obviously, people talk about bills and laws and politics more......

Some people love kids. Some people feel differently. Kids provide unconditional love, but they can also make any flight or train ride interminable. They have great imaginations and can be funny and sweet, but they can also ask the same question 80 times, just because they want to. But whether you're a kid person or not, it's hard to argue with their ability to say complete nonsense. Maybe the non sequiturs match up with whatever......

What's That You Say, our roundup of the best, funniest, and most interesting comments of the past week, is back, and this time it's got taxi terrorism, school ponderings, Chinese food debates, and more. If you haven't already, take 20 seconds to register and make your own avatar. ----- The hybrid taxicab post spurred a lot of comments, but we particularly liked Reid's: Wait, do hybrids come in skeezy Buick? ----- Friday's Overheard in DC......

Movers get a bad rap. Their companies are frequently thought of as fly-by-night operations. Usually they lose or break some of your things, and they help you lose your security deposit by scratching the walls. They're always expensive, and it usually takes longer than you would have hoped. But they work long hours doing a strenuous job everybody hates — you rarely hear someone talking excitedly about lugging all their stuff to a new home.......

College is a time for experimentation. Trying new things and learning about subjects you didn't know about. It's also a time when you experience the wider world, meeting people from around the country, comparing what's the same and different where you're from and where they're from, expanding your horizons. And sometimes it's a time to do things you've only heard about but don't really know what they mean. Because that always works out for the......

MONDAY: The Beauty Myth author Naomi Wolf will be at the Arlington County Public Library in Shirlington to read from her new book, The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot, in which Wolf outlines how events of the last six years parallel steps taken in the early years of the 20th century's worst dictatorships such as Germany, Russia, China, and Chile. 5 p.m., free. TUESDAY: Erudite actor Alan Alda will......

The first day of school is a stressful time. New people, new things to learn, new ways to either be cool or embarrass yourself. And the same is true for Back to School Night. Back to School Night is, of course, the time when parents come to school to meet the teachers and try to show them that their kids were raised right, while the kids hope the parents don’t embarrass them in front of......

Ah, religion. We've all read about its role in public and private life and how fewer and fewer people are going to church these days. Ben Franklin said "Lighthouses are more helpful than churches." And in D.C., churches often cause a lot of debate about parking, "newcomers" versus older residents, and abandoned properties. And yet, despite all the distractions of our modern age, some young people in the city are still able to practice their......

Remember that first week of college? Amid the excitement of all the new people, new classes, new books, a new life, was the hope. The hope that you were embarking on an exciting journey that would make you into someone brand new. The hope that as you left high school and your parents behind, you could finally become the person you always knew you were meant to be. The hope that this was a fresh......

This week at Overheard, we'd like to take a moment to give thanks for a segment of the population that we feel is unfairly maligned. That's right, we're talking about you, Mr. Stares Blatantly at Women's Breasts on the Metro. And you, sir, who just nearly walked into a pole while leering at the woman who just walked past. We raise our glasses to the guy surreptitiously taking pictures of girls' rear ends on the......

As we head into the weekend, we'd like to make a small public service announcement. Though we've been enjoying unseasonably cool temperatures the past week, the heat is coming back, and we'll be back to our usual late August sweatbox by tomorrow. We realize that the heat and humidity can make you cranky and irritable. But we beseech you to try to keep your temper cooler than the air outside. We fully grant you your......

Nobody enjoys having to muscle through a dense crowd of people on the metro platform. Especially on those days when everyone is so eager to get on the train that they don't even wait for anyone to get off before surging onboard. Times like that, we wish we had some magical power to transport past the crowd, but then again if we could do that, we wouldn't be taking metro to begin with, now would......

According to FOX News, bastion of all things important and impartial, it's true: Michael Jackson and former mayor/D.C. Council member Marion Barry have become good friends recently after being introduced by their mutual friend and publicist, Raymone Bain. Given the fact that Jackson has been actively looking for a vacation home in the area and has been hanging around D.C. this summer with his children, it seems certain this is one of the most important......

Temp work is more than just a last resort to keep from having to beg your parents for money after getting fired for youthful indiscretions at your previous job. It can be a valuable learning experience. Not only can you discover that it really is possible to be even more expendable than an intern, but you can find your way to parts of office life you might never have considered before. There's the ever-popular......

You can lead a horse to water, yada yada. Same with music. You can force a kid to sit in front of a piano for two hours a day, but unless he actually enjoys what he's doing while he's there, eventually the force of his will not to be there is likely to win out over yours. Of course, you can dress it up. Making the tedium of endless scales and exercises into a fun......

You may have one in your office. That one person who simply cannot be trusted. He'll take credit for your work, stab you in the back, and probably trash the restroom just for fun. She makes your life difficult beyond measure, putting on a friendly face to mask the twisted machinations being constructed within. If only you could channel all that effort you put into steering clear of that person into more constructive pursuits. When......

"Listen, not a year goes by, not a year, that I don't hear about some escalator accident involving some bastard kid which could have easily been avoided had some parent — I don't care which one — but some parent conditioned him to fear and respect that escalator." —Brodie, Mallrats I was conditioned perhaps a little too heavily to fear and respect the escalator. While I had no trouble riding up, getting on from the......

There's an old saying that goes, "If you don't like the weather in D.C., wait a few minutes." The power of local weather to turn on a dime was demonstrated earlier this week. For all those complaining about the ungodly heat, haze and humidity, all they really did have to do was wait a few minutes. If you were stuck outside during a lunchtime deluge, the sudden cloudburst may not have been so welcome. But......

There are certain defining moments in the relationship between any father and son. Times when a father passes down the wisdom gained through the years, when a son asks those burning questions he doesn't feel comfortable asking his buddies, the guidance counselor, or the older guys in the gym locker room. And the father sits his son down and they talk long into the night. About why you should get flowers for a girl when......

We've come a long way, baby. The archetype of the dysfunctional family may go back farther than anyone can remember. But for the longest time, people just had to cope with passive aggressive animosity. At best, you could have lots of alcohol available to make the proceedings easier. The pharmaceutical companies, however, are always looking out for the best interests of you and yours. Their first success? Numbing emotional response to the point where no......

The longest day of the year has just passed us by, the solstice bells have rung out, and far to the north they've seen the sun at midnight. Here in Washington, we brace for the brutal heat we've only just tasted up to now. There is some consolation for the misery mother nature heaps on D.C.'s coming dog days. For many lucky office drones, in summertime the living truly can be easy. That filing that's......

It's the middle of June, and that can mean only one thing. Necktie and golf ball manufacturers are smiling, for this Sunday is that magical day when children across the nation give the gift that says, "You know, adult male who lives with us, it turns out I really don't know you all that well." Just be sure, if you go the Titleist route, that you don't go cheap. An extra 20 yards on his......