There's a lot of fun things to do around D.C. when the weather is warm. You can go swimming, walk around the mall, hit a farmer's market, go to Great Falls. There's beer, and cookouts, and sports. And other things we haven't even though of. Overheard of the Week: In the 7-Eleven on Fenton Lane in Silver Spring: A bearded homeless man walks into the 7-Eleven, holds up a piece of posterboard featuring columns upon......

It's getting closer and closer to election time, which means a fair percentage of D.C. area folks pay less attention to sports, music, grooming, and the small stuff like that. People are no longer talking about 14-year old gymnasts, but what the senator said last night, or how that one attorney general guy looks like Joe Biden. And it'll be this way next week too. At least there are some entrepreneurs out there to take......

People say a lot of weird stuff about health, their bodies, and so on. And it's nice for grandmas to be concerned about their kiddos, but there's been a lot in the news about over-medicating kids for ADD or what have you. Just because a kid behaves badly and likes certain foods that most kids like, it doesn't mean he has a disease. If the latter is true, get me to a doctor. Overheard of......

Sometimes a word takes D.C., and for that matter the country, by storm. It fits so well, points out a specific, annoying thing, and is fun to say. Sometimes, however, people use words without knowing what they mean. Overheard of the Week Near Eastern Market: Two girls (maybe 8 and 12) are walking with their family. Younger Sister: "I kind of know what it is, but I'm not totally sure what it means because it's......

Maybe Washingtonians (or just me) are cruel, but sometimes befuddled tourists are hilarious. Standing around scratching their heads, looking at a map, asking dumb questions, and the like. Sure, it's cliche, but sometimes it is awesome. And kind of sad. Overheard of the Week: At the Rosslyn Metro at 8:30 a.m. during morning rush hour: Tourist family crams into a very crowded Metro car as the doors close. Mom: "Wow, we actually made it! Wait,......

Relationships are hard. They're fun, they're weird, they're sometimes awful. For some reason, a bunch of overheards recently deal with male-female relationships. Maybe it's the birds and the bees, or the ridiculously hot weather and humidity just do something to people. Not always good somethings, though. Overheard of the Week Walking through Dupont Circle: Young female professional talking very loudly on her cell: "I can't believe you are seeing someone who beats people with a......

Sometimes overhearing things is funny because what we overhear fits some stereotype, or something we always believed — the ignorant tourist, annoying intern, etc. Sometimes they're funny because they reveal some secret, sinister thing the person didn't want to reveal. And sometimes they're good because they're just completely bizarro. Dance contest! Overheard of the Week At Rice (14th & Q NW): Group of 3 girls at dinner talking. Girl #1: "You should do the ovary......

People love the newest gadgets. It was the Walkman back in the day, then the iPod, the Wii, and lately, the various iterations of the iPhone, with locals swamping Apple stores from Clarendon to ... wherever other Apple stores are. You see them all over the Metro, at bars, and hopefully not while driving. The newest generation of smartphones have all the bells and whistles, a Swiss army knife of communications. There's just one problem.......

D.C. as a city is the victim of a lot of stereotypes — the murder capital, crackhead mayor, bad baseball team. One of those is true, but there are at least a handful of other U.S. cities with worse murder rates than us these days, and the worst thing people have dug up about Adrian Fenty is that he appeared in an ad promoting the District wearing his parents' store's logo on his shirt. Not......

D.C. is a city of archetypes. There's the Hill staffer, the bigshot douchebag, the crackhead, the intern, the yuppie, the tourist. They all came together this week in a melange of stereotypes and stupidity. But not before discovering the newest trend: coming soon to a hip desk near you: vintage office supplies. Overheard of the Week: Three State Department interns at McDonalds during lunch rush: Girl 1: "So I'm supposed to go through her Rolodex......

Seems like the hot weather has brought out the awkwardness and passive aggressiveness in people. Then again, this is D.C., so those characteristics are never hard to find. But it's still fun to hear people putting their feet in their mouths more than usual, for our amusement. Overheard of the Week: At the Columbia Heights Target: A 20-something couple are in the closet and storage section. She points to some hideaway bins. Woman, sweetly and......

Geography is hard. They don't teach it much in schools these days and there's just so much stuff to learn. There's GPS and Google Maps and online things that make it easy, so it's no surprise when people don't know where they're going. That doesn't mean it's an excuse, however. Overheard of the Week Two 20-something tourist girls on the Orange line: Girl #1: "Salt Lake City, isn't that in Washington?" Girl #2: Laughing, "No,......

Making fun of ignorant tourists is the oldest thing in the D.C. book, aside from maybe complaining about the weather or comparing the city to New York. There's the old Metro shenanigans, getting buildings confused, dumb questions, fanny packs, on and on. But just because we've heard it before, doesn't mean it won't make you smack yourself in the head. And today it's a double whammy. Overheard of the Week On the Red Line: Tourist......

Grocery stores in D.C. — there's a lot to say about them, and not much of it is good. Um, they're open sometimes. You can usually purchase items there. That's good, right? Aside from that, D.C. supermarkets are best known for having poor selection, long lines, a questionable level of cleanliness, unhelpful staff, crazy customers, and on and on. Today's overheard comes from a grocery store PA announcement. They ought to bring Friendliness also. Overheard......

It's that time of year: graduation for area collegians and other students. Four years (or more?) of hard work, with possibly some fun, is coming to an end. That means fewer exams, fewer frat parties, fewer all-nighters. Mom and Dad are glad their tuition dollars earned something. Aunt and uncle and Grandma are in town too, probably going to some fancy restaurant, and you have a big black robe thing on in the hot sun,......

Awhile ago, we mentioned the crazy story of two guys who snuck all over Nationals Park during the team's opener game — the dugout, press box, locker room, luxury suites etc. And thanks to two drunk guys on the Metro, we think we know how it happened, straight from the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Overheard of the Week On the Orange Line Metro to Vienna: Guy 1: "Man, i can't believe......

A lot has changed in D.C. in the last few years. New stadiums, new development, new jobs. But also inequality, crime, corruption. Despite all the good things, some things haven't changed since the Marion Barry days. Overheard of the Week A man and a woman are walking dogs in Logan Circle: Man: "You look familiar..." Woman: "I think we are neighbors. 1st and Bates?" Man: "Yeah, we live on the 1st street side." Woman: "Ah,......

This week was a fertile one for overhearing good stuff — funny bros, funny office workers, funny bar goers. Of course, that doesn't mean you should stop listening, it just means you might be in better company. The best overheards are the random ones, or the ones that make you wonder what was going on to cause that snippet of conversation. This one does both. Overheard of the Week Walking near Dupont Circle: A guy......

Anyone who's ever ridden Metro at any point in their lives has been frustrated at some point. The trains take forever to show up, people won't move towards the middle, there are delays, track work, etc., etc., etc. It's the new death and taxes. Sometimes the frustration causes a reaction, like emails or phone calls to Metro, being rude to other passengers, or the usual grumbling. Sometimes you need to appeal to a higher power.......

Metrobus drivers and their friends are on a roll lately. There have been all kinds of funny stuff coming from the interaction between "operators" and their pals, or operators and random folks on the bus. Sometimes it's bizarre (see the one about safaris and dead wives, for example) and sometimes it's just random (crazy man lecturing the driver about the Redskins). And this one sounds like a stand-up routine. Hopefully it's not, just inspiration. Overheard......

The other day on the Metro, there was an ad protesting the Doha Round of World Trade Organization talks. Only in D.C. would people a) recognize what the Doha Round was, b) understand enough to get what the protest was about, and c) decide to advertise against the Doha Round. The ad probably wouldn't work too well in Akron or Albuquerque. There are a lot of bad things about D.C., and a lot of things......

D.C. has a lot of popular pro sports teams (Redskins, Nationals, and United especially) but not many titles (aside from United). Despite lackluster seasons, the fans stick with their teams — just look at FedEx Field the last few years or the Gallery Place Metro on Caps game days during the past few seasons. The fans have been almost too optimistic, i.e. every year the Skins could win it all, but maybe that's changing. Maybe......

Love is a burning thing. Two people coming together, sparks flying, cartoon birds, little cherubs flying around shooting heart-shaped arrows, all that good stuff. Sometimes you see somebody across the bar, and you just know. Sometimes it's on the Metro, and probably almost never it's a Missed Connection on Craigslist. But it's springtime, so why not go for something romantic? Overheard of the Week At the Target last Saturday: 20-something guy reminiscing fondly to his......

What with the recent anti-war protests, we've heard a lot of both anti-war and anti-protest sentiments. Freezing in place or knitting are all well and good, but sometimes the random snide remark can have more effect. Or at least be pretty amusing. Overheard of the Week: Crystal City Metro stop a few weeks ago: Three military guys were crowded around a Metro turnstile trying to exit, but their card wasn't working. Miltary guy: "How do......

Astute readers may have noticed that the last two overheard Quotes of the Week have been about farts and poop. That's because farts and poop are funny. This one, in particular, is strange and has a amusing non sequitur — or is it? The woman may want to visit a doctor, but maybe there is some connection between frequency and bling bling. This sounds like a job for science. Quote of the Week While walking......

It must be a fertile time for overhearing lately. Aside from the usual non sequiturs, put-downs, and random stuff, sometimes a little nugget of good advice comes out. The best advice I ever heard was in Teen Wolf, in a poignant scene where Michael J. Fox's character sought some help from Coach Finstock (before surfing on a van, if memory serves) : "There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve......

Parenting is not an easy job. Educating kids, teaching them right from wrong, not spoiling them but treating them well, giving them life lessons. Kids can be terrors, and they can be annoying, and they can be sweet. But why does it always seem like the most unusual parenting happens in the grocery store? Quote of the Week Giant Food in Columbia Heights around noon last Friday: Mom pushing two kids, one of whom was......

Politics is all over D.C., for good reason. The city is full of insiders who know all the ins and outs of Congress, bills, campaigns, you name it. Political campaigns have many, many workers from D.C., who work on the Hill or as lobbyists or what have you. And our city is a bad name outside the Beltway — if I'm elected, I'll get Washington out of your (insert thing here). But sometimes political campaigns......

Valentine's Day causes a lot of strong reactions. There are those who think it's sweet, a nice time to take your significant other out for a nice meal, give them some flowers and chocolate, have fun, and show them you care. Then there are those who think it's a crass marketing holiday perpetuated by Hallmark and chocolate companies where you're supposed to buy things you wouldn't normally get, eat an overpriced meal, and that it's......

Happy Chinese New Year! The big day, the beginning the Year of the Rat, was yesterday, but considering the state of D.C.'s Chinatown, it probably means Hooters gave out free wings or something. Even without a big time Chinatown, it's probably not a good idea to congratulate random Asian people about the big day. Quote of the Week Thursday evening on the street in Chinatown: Man, loudly: "Happy New Year!!" (Heads turn.) Man, loudly,......