/staff/articles/john+kelly/2009-11-06T17:00:00Z2009-11-06T17:00:00Ztag:www.washingtonpost.com,2009-11-06:/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/11/04/DI2009110403982.html?nav=rss_liveonline

2009-11-06T13:05:25Ztag:voices.washingtonpost.com,2009-11-06:/commons/2009/11/nature_red_in_tooth_and_paw.html?wprss=rss_blog

I walked into a nature documentary while I was out with my dog this morning. I'd just bagged Charlie's poop and we were continuing on our perambulation when he bounded towards a squirrel. He doesn't actually chase squirrels much anymore--I think he decided that since he never catches them it's not worth the effort--but perhaps this one looked like a likely candidate for chasing. There was something of the victim about it. Just as he broke towards the squirrel a massive bird swooped down to grab it in its talons. But it missed. Charlie had saved the squirrel, for by running towards it he startled the squirrel towards the safety of a nearby tree. The hawk's talons closed around empty air. Or course Charlie was immediately surprised by the bird. He instantly forgot about the squirrel and barked at the hawk, which swooped up and landed on a high branch,

2009-11-05T05:00:00Ztag:www.washingtonpost.com,2009-11-05:/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/04/AR2009110404674.html?nav=rss_metro/columnists

Does the world really need a device for safely lowering an Oreo cookie into a glass of milk, a ritual that has been ably performed for centuries by what scientists call "fingers"?

2009-11-04T13:50:44Ztag:voices.washingtonpost.com,2009-11-04:/commons/2009/11/extra_extra_snyder_feels_bad_f.html?wprss=rss_blog

"Garbo Speaks" were the headlines when Greta Garbo appeared in her first talking picture. Now we have "Snyder Speaks." In a rare address to the press yesterday, the Redskins owner said that the team was "disappointed" and "embarrassed" by its 2-5 start. When asked what the fans must be feeling, Snyder said, "I see disappointment. It's the same way I feel and I share their frustration. It's hard. We're going to try to put it together and get it going." He apparently did not offer his thoughts on all the extraneous stuff that's going on this season, such as the sign ban. He stuck to his message: We feel bad. We're disappointed. Interestingly, while Snyder said he felt sorry for the fans, nowhere did he say he was sorry. Unless I missed it, there was no apology. Oh wait, he did say this: "And I think we have an opportunity

2009-11-04T05:00:00Ztag:www.washingtonpost.com,2009-11-04:/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/03/AR2009110303581.html?nav=rss_metro/columnists

If I were a maker of reality TV programs -- as opposed to a chronicler of reality -- I would train a camera or two on Jon Urban, math nerd, industrial designer, grinder.

2009-11-03T05:00:00Ztag:www.washingtonpost.com,2009-11-03:/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/02/AR2009110203454.html?nav=rss_metro/columnists

Not since I proposed repaving Beltway potholes with kittens and puppies has there been such reader outcry as that which greeted my inclusion last week of comments from Shirley Connuck of Falls Church. Shirley wrote that at this time of year, she becomes aggravated when cars park on leaves she has raked into the street to be sucked up by city workers.

2009-11-02T13:04:05Ztag:voices.washingtonpost.com,2009-11-02:/commons/2009/11/photo_flashback_were_here_were.html?wprss=rss_blog

There is a file in the Washington Post photo archives marked "Homosexuals." Of course, I don't think we would label it that way these days. "Gays" or "Gay Rights" has a kinder ring to it. What sort of photos are in the files? For starters, this one, taken on Pennsylvania Avenue NW during a gay rights march on October--, 1979: The photo was taken by Fred Sweets and the caption reads: A couple watches as the advocates of gay rights parade along the Avenue. Hmmm. "Parade" along the avenue? Do I detect a slight condescension there? I suppose it's better than "swish," but what's wrong with "march"? Also, I don't know if you can see it, but there's a crop mark on the right, just below "We don't need laws for us." The layout person probably cropped that out so the photo would fit better, though it lessens the

2009-11-02T05:00:00Ztag:www.washingtonpost.com,2009-11-02:/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/01/AR2009110101870.html?nav=rss_metro/columnists

I'd like to welcome Washington Redskin Chris Cooley to the Bum Ankle Club. I joined about 10 years ago when I was walking down some steps in Cambridge, Mass. For no apparent reason, my right foot sort of turned in on itself. I felt a horrendous stab of pain, tasted bile rising in my throat and then looked down to see that someone had stuffed a tennis ball under the skin on my ankle.

2009-11-01T04:00:00Ztag:www.washingtonpost.com,2009-11-01:/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/31/AR2009103101607.html?nav=rss_metro/columnists

For something rarely seen over the past--0 years, Tiber Creek exerts a powerful pull on Washington. Answer Man heard from many readers after last week's column on the creek-turned-sewer that ran roughly where Constitution Avenue is today.

2009-10-30T16:00:03Ztag:voices.washingtonpost.com,2009-10-30:/commons/2009/10/britnews_roundup_naughty_co-ed.html?wprss=rss_blog

I'm an Oxford man myself so I can't say as I understand the way things work at the other university. The latest scandal to roil Britain's junior university is over co-eds posing suggestively for a student publication, or as the Sun puts it: "Cambridge girls in sexy pics row." The Telegraph is a little more restrained, though it doesn't miss the opportunity to include a photo (strictly PG-13, actually, and definitely SFW). The Daily Mail poses a question I think we've all asked ourselves: "What sort of man spends 15 years building an oil rig from matches in his front room?" David Reynolds of Southampton used 4 million matchsticks to create an exact replica of the Brent Bravo oil rig in the North Sea. It took him 15 years. "It's not my finest work," he told the Mail. "I was pretty happy with the drilling platform, but the rest's pretty

2009-10-30T16:00:00Ztag:www.washingtonpost.com,2009-10-30:/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/10/23/DI2009102302988.html?nav=rss_liveonline

Post Metro columnist John Kelly was online Friday, Oct. 30, at Noon ET to chat about the people and stories that don't make the front pages, plus his latest columns.

2009-10-30T14:10:43Ztag:voices.washingtonpost.com,2009-10-30:/commons/2009/10/the_rooster_to_crow_again.html?wprss=rss_blog

Jody Taylor has joined that select group of people who got to attend their own funeral. I last saw the owner of the Black Rooster Pub at a huge wake at his L Street NW establishment on Oct. 16. After more than 35 years the bar was set to close, victim of a lost lease and the expansion of the Peace Corps, with whom the pub shares a building. But Jody tells me the Rooster lives. With the help of D.C. Council member Jack Evans (and, I like to think, no small influence from this column), the bar is going to stay right where it is. "I was able to come to terms with the landlord," Jody explained in an e-mail to me. "We will be able to stay and will reopen after approximately two weeks. Good time to do a thorough cleaning, polishing and dusting." Don't dust it off

2009-10-29T16:00:54Ztag:voices.washingtonpost.com,2009-10-29:/commons/2009/10/photo_flashback_halloween_edit.html?wprss=rss_blog

Picked out your costume yet? I delved into The Post's photo archives to see what treasures were to be found. Maybe some of these ideas will inspire you. This photo has no caption information other than PHOTO BY ELLIS and the note that it was shot on Oct. 29, 1961. It was obviously a time when boys wanted to be cowboys and girls wanted to be...what is that? A clown? I love the way the boys are "kissing" her. It's the last thing they want to be doing but the photographer has told them to. The next two photos are from 1983 and were shot in Georgetown by Lucian Perkins. The caption info reads: Blinky from the game Pac-Man crosses M st. in Georgetown under the watchful eye of a policeman. I love how policemen always have "watchful eyes." Continuing the theme: The caption info read: Karen Lozano (left) and

2009-10-29T04:00:00Ztag:www.washingtonpost.com,2009-10-29:/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/28/AR2009102804483.html?nav=rss_metro/columnists

Did you see that story the other day about the Washington Redskins banning signs at FedEx Field? A spokesman said the policy is meant to protect spectators from getting injured by signs and also to make sure everyone can see the action. Um, right. Here are some stories I expect to see in the coming weeks:

2009-10-28T04:00:00Ztag:www.washingtonpost.com,2009-10-28:/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/27/AR2009102703513.html?nav=rss_metro/columnists

For every thing, there is a season. Right now, we happen to be in the season of leaves. The trees are finished with their leaves and, like a lush tossing away an empty beer can, they are ridding themselves of their now-useless photosynthesis machines.

2009-10-27T04:00:00Ztag:www.washingtonpost.com,2009-10-27:/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/26/AR2009102603039.html?nav=rss_metro/columnists

All of us know how to eat, but not all of us know how to cook.

2009-10-26T12:15:24Ztag:voices.washingtonpost.com,2009-10-26:/commons/2009/10/photo_flashback_pigskin_editio.html?wprss=rss_blog

With the Eagles coming to Washington tonight to take out on the Redskins, I thought this photo from 1955 was appropriate: The caption on the Associated Press photo reads: EAGLES STOP GUGLIELMI Ralph Guglielmi (3), Washington back, juggles the ball as Jess Richardson, right, Philadelphia Eagles tackle, grabs him from behind after a short gain in the first quarter, Nov. 6, at Washington. Another Eagle, left, lunges toward the former Notre Dame star. How did Washington do that day at Griffith Stadium? The Skins won, 34-21. That season they would go 8-4, which wasn't good enough to take them to the playoffs.

2009-10-26T04:00:00Ztag:www.washingtonpost.com,2009-10-26:/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102502090.html?nav=rss_metro/columnists

You may think an Oreo cookie is incapable of speech but those of us who work from home know better.

2009-10-25T04:00:00Ztag:www.washingtonpost.com,2009-10-25:/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/24/AR2009102401895.html?nav=rss_metro/columnists

I understand that Constitution Avenue was paved over a body of water called "Tiber Creek." What can you tell me about this creek?

2009-10-23T16:00:00Ztag:www.washingtonpost.com,2009-10-23:/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/10/19/DI2009101902519.html?nav=rss_liveonline