Good morning, Washington, and welcome to Friday. There’s nothing like a nationally televised address about troop levels to put you in a mood for a sound night’s sleep heading into the weekend, isn’t there? Certainly we would never have tossed and turned contemplating the “sinister ingenuity” that allows President Bush to escalate a war and then de-escalate it a year later without ever having a plan to successfully end it, and yet be able…

Yesterday’s Animal Watch in the Post had an interesting item about an orange corn snake being found in a hallway at an apartment building in the 4200 block of Cathedral Avenue. If we’re guessing correctly, we think that the apartment building in question is The Towers, that cocoon-like building in Wesley Heights that is stuck in an era circa 1966. If you don’t know much about this magical place, we encourage you to read part…

Due to technical problems with DCist’s laptop, we neglected to get Part IV of “The Ladies of the Upper Northwest Side” up, so here is the conclusion. If you want to read the entire series click here for parts I, II and III. In the conclusion, the focus shifts from The Towers’ formal quarters to its parking garage, where anything can happen….

For the final two installments of “The Ladies of the Upper Northwest Side,” we move to The Towers, one of the most fascinating apartment houses in the District. It is a true cocoon and you’ll see why if you read on to the jump. For the first two installments of the series, be sure to check out: Part One: D.C.’s Octogenarian Attitude Part Two: The Disappearing Washingtonian Accent…

In Part Two of “The Ladies of the Upper Northwest Side,” we turn to the slowly vansihing Washingtonian accent. Never heard the Washingtonian accent? You may need to start hanging out with some of the city’s older residents. If that isn’t an option, read on to the jump. Then on tap for Thursday is the first part in a two-part examination of an old-school apartment building, a Cocoon if you will … Stay tuned….