And it's so much more. It has the same selection as an airport kiosk but at twice the size. It seems to think everyone needs to be greeted with towering displays Palin and/or Beck and/or that No Spin guy. It is expensive. Why would anyone go there when D.C. has really strong independent stores?

Probably the worst thing about Borders is the long slog of stories about Borders' financial woes. WaPo's piece yesterday is just the latest. Can it just die already?

Full Disclosure: I used to work there in 1996. So here's my insider reasons why Borders may be closing:

1. At least in my store, the metal detectors didn't really work.
2. The store had an incredibly lame music staff. I once got berated for playing Patti Smith instead of the Rent soundtrack.
3. Management banned staff from reading on the job. Even when there were no customers in the store (say 10 p.m. on a Tuesday).
4. At a certain point, I did a really shitty job shelving the knitting and tatting section.
5. Customers only ever seemed interested in the Jesus books.

As you can see by my references, my reasons might be a wee bit dated. Sorry. In the mid '90s, there were no Kindles or iPads.

"A six-car Red Line train headed toward Shady Grove was pulling into the station around 12:30 p.m. when witnesses report the man intentionally placed himself on the tracks.   Emergency crews responded to the scene and removed the man from underneath the first rail car of the train. The man was transported to a local hospital."

Single-tracking is in affect between Friendship Heights and Cleveland Park so expect to wait for trains.  Nothing like a delayed Metro to kick off the weekend rush-hour!

Smokey

Princess

Mike and Ginny Spevak, the well-known Friendship Heights couple murdered in their home last November, left behind a daughter and son, their spouses, a grandson, siblings—a loving family. They also left behind three cats they adored. Two of them now need homes.

The cats were taken in by a family friend just after the tragedy (three suspects have since been arrested by D.C. police). Now that family is having a rough time caring for all three as they try and manage construction projects and other disturbances, says Mary Rowse, who put out a message on the Chevy Chase and Cleveland Park Listservs.

Her plea: "They are very loving and friendly lap cats but do not need to go to a home together. Is anyone willing to foster to adopt one of these two beautiful, shorthaired cats? They are very lonely now because the family taking care of them is only with them during the day and then only for limited periods of time"

"I just feel so sorry for the cats because they really are just wonderful," says Rowse by telephone, explaining she did not know the civic-minded Spevaks well, but thought immediately about their pets when she heard about their murders.

People who can provide a stable home are welcome to call Rowse at (202) 362-9279.

"Princess is a lap cat. Probably Smokey is, too, but no one else can be on a lap when Princess is on it," she says. Smokey would probably do well with another cat in the house.

Both are four years old, vaccinated, and negative for feline AIDS and leukemia. They're indoor-only cats with their claws intact.