John Kelly writes about the Washington that doesn't make it onto the front pages. His five-day-a-week Metro column, John Kelly's Washington, is about the normal -- well, relatively normal -- people who call our region home. It's about the joys and annoyances of living in the most important city in the most important country in the world -- as experienced by those of us who, frankly, aren't that important. His blog, John Kelly's Commons, is a place for readers to carry on a digital conversation.

Today: What's the best movie set in Washington? Is it okay to steal wi-fi? And how many pro-God ads can one city absorb? These are just some of the topics we'll kick around in today's online discussion.

A transcript follows.

Discussion Archives/Recent Columns

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John Kelly: So, first thing this morning I was at a high school, talking to 75 10th graders about writing. Now, any encounter with 15-year-olds that you walk away from with your dignity relatively intact has to be counted a success. These kids were respectful, attentive and they asked good questions. And yet I still had sweat trickling down my neck and the feeling that it could all go horribly wrong at any moment.

Teenagers don't have to yell at you, laugh in your face or threaten you with a weapon to put you off your game. All they have to do is be indifferent. Being ignored by a teenager when you're trying to talk to him or her is hell. Addressing a large crowd of teenagers and watching them exchange smirks or roll their eyes is like getting karate chopped in the neck.

Last year, when we were living in England, I spoke to a group of teens at a school outside of Oxford. I was with another journalist who was doing the same fellowship, an accomplished young woman who was a foreign correspondent in Beijing for a large Indian newspaper. She was nervous too. And when things started to drag a bit--when some in the audience started picking at their pimples or sighing loudly--she jettisoned me like a sandbag from a gondola. I was the local, parochial journalist. She was the globetrotter.

It wasn't that she made fun of me--"Look at the rube! He writes about finding a seat on the Metro! I write about great nations!"--just that, with a few innocuous comments, she erected a tiny wall between us, which is always enough where teenagers are concerned. They like coalescing into groups and are on the lookout for signals about which group to join and who is in or out of that group. So, I was cut from the pack like a wildebeest on the veldt.

To be honest, I would have done the same if I'd thought of it first. But I didn't and I soldiered on, listening to myself talking, sure that the audience of disaffected youth must think me an old fool and thinking they were probably right. Today's encounter was much better--unless they started cracking up right after I left the room.

But on to happier things, like the destruction of Planet Earth. Anyone planning on seeing the new "Day the Earth Stood Still"? It got a

fairly positive review

from Ann Hornaday in Style today. I'm peeved it's not set in Washington like the 1951 original

I wrote about yesterday

. Washington has a mixed track record when it comes to films. What are some of your favorites set in D.C.? And what goofs always bother you when the District ends up on screen?

In

blog

and

column

this week I also covered even more ads in response to those bus ads some atheists have placed. God has apparently been speaking again, and His message is to take out a billboard. Does that help?

And how many of you are accessing this chat from a wi-fi connection? Is it yours or are you poaching someone else's? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Or is there?

What do you think?

And away we go....

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College Park, Md.: The best movie set in D.C.? Can't answer that, but as for TV shows, oh how I miss catching glimpses of the taping of The West Wing.

John Kelly: I used to like the beginning of the old "Get Smart" show. I think they had shots of downtown in the opening credits, Max in his little sports car stopping at Federal Triangle, etc.

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Advertisi, NG: The pro and anti-God ads will soon disappear. They'll be replaced with Courvoisier and Grey Goose ads. John will you be partying until 5:00 a.m. during inauguration week?

John Kelly: I haven't decided yet. My partying days are pretty much over, but it might be nice to go and observe. I wonder if AA should take out ads. I think it's great the bars are gonna be open. Why shouldn't we get to do things a little differently?

I wonder how much of a nightmare it's going to be, transportation-wise. Could this end up like Y2K: much ado about nothing? Or will all the apocalyptic coverage convince people to stay away? I think people should start training now for walking. I think it's like eight or 10 miles from my house to my office. I bet I have to walk it at least once during those days. I may as well be ready.

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John Kelly: Anyone stranded this morning at White's Ferry? The Gen. Jubal Early evidently got hung up when crossing the Potomac, its underwater wire fouled by debris.

I like taking that ferry, or any ferry, really. One of the first road trips My Lovely Wife and I took before we were joined in legal matrimony was a trip down the Outer Banks in my MGB GT, riding as many ferries as we could. I've taken it on White's Ferry, too. My only worry, as any owner of an old car would understand, was that it wouldn't start when we got to the other side. I could just see it there, the starter motor gnashing futilely as motorists fumed behind me, stuck on the boat because of my piece of crap car.

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Frederick, Md.: John, what level of education do you think this guy possesses?

Redneck

John Kelly: You can't judge a book by its cover, just as you can't judge a man by his back hair.

Well, he can at least count to 3, we know that much.

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Bribery: With the lingering scent of requested favors hanging in the air, has anyone ever offered you recompense for a favorable mention in your fine column?

John Kelly: No! Not once! I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Probably a mention in my column isn't very valuable. People do try to give me complimentary things, like if I'm at a restaurant or something. And I explain that that's not allowed. The Washington Post pays its own way.

By the way, this is not necessarily the case in England, where journos--some anyway--think nice perks are a part of the job. I once wrote a column about a Hong Kong tailor who comes to town a couple of times a year. I'd bought a bespoke suit from him, then wrote about it. A few weeks after the column ran I got a package in the mail. It was a pinstripe suit from the guy. I called him and said "I can't accept this." He said he always sent suits to the English journalists who wrote about him. I ended up keeping the suit--after paying him for it.

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Transportation Overload: Stranded ferry, metro train fire, planes falling out of the sky, five vehicle pileups...what's next John? What's next?

John Kelly: Flat bicycle tires? Untied shoes? Oh, I know: a snowstorm. That always makes things interesting.

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Best D.C. movie: Wedding Crashers. Complete with John McCain cameo.

John Kelly: Oh, right. Wasn't that filmed on the Eastern Shore, on some estate? I mean, I don't remember many stony DC landmarks, besides the Senator from Arizona.

I keep meaning to get an estate on the Eastern Shore....

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Raleigh N.C.: John,

In 1964, a film called 'Lilith' was released with W and L alumnus, Warren Beatty. Supposedly set in a New England sanitarium, the exteriors were filmed in and around Rockville. 'Lilith' shows a small quiet Rockville that sadly has been bulldozed and replace with blocks of concrete and glass.

John Kelly: Ooh, I'll have to rent that. I wonder if they used the sanitarium that was in Rockville. What was it called? Chestnut Lodge? When I was a teenager in Rockville people used to tell stories about it. I remember hearing that Sean Connery's son was a patient/inmate there. Last time I drove past that whole area was being developed into housing, though the original lodge remains, I believe.

My memories of Rockville start with the huge and ugly Rockville Mall. The irony is, they tore down the old downtown to build the mall, then tore down the mall, then built a new "old" downtown.

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Not Make of Money: I recently called my mortgage company to obtain a payoff amount and they wanted to charge me twenty bucks just to fax a payoff amount. They won't give the payoff amount over the phone anymore. What a rip-off! They're as bad as banks trying to add on fees.

John Kelly: What's a "payoff amount"? Is that what you'd have to fork over to pay off the mortgage entirely? That is a rip-off. I guess they figure if you pay it off they'll be denied the interest they'd be getting over the next few years.

Those extra charges are everywhere. I ordered some Cirque du Soleil tickets the other day. In addition to the pricy tix themselves, there was a $9 per ticket fee AND a $5 web order fee. I especially love it when such charges are called "convenience fees." Um, it's not that convenient for me, bub.

You'd think that giving the pay-off amount would be part of the job of the person at the mortgage company.

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Kingstowne, Va.: If you are referring to businesses/people providing free access to their open networks, I'm not sure how that could be considered "stealing," anymore than you can steal public radio and tv broadcasts. However, if you are referring to people who hack into "secure" wi-fi networks, yes, that would be stealing.

John Kelly: But do you think people are knowingly providing free access to their network? Or are they just clueless about encrypting it? It's pretty much no harm, no foul, right? But let's say you subscribed to The Post (you do, right?) and every morning before you read it , I snuck over, borrowed it, read it with my breakfast, then put it back in the bag on your lawn. Would that bother you?

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Pennsylvania: John, just one day I was looking at the chats and POOF you were magically there! When did you begin back doing chats? Either way, glad you are back!

And your intro re. the teenagers is hilarious. Every teacher can relate.

John Kelly: I think this is the fourth chat or so since I've been back. We got back in June and my column started up in August. In between I was in a hyperbaric chamber reacclimating to cold beer.

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Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C.: One of the best Washington movies is, of course, "All the President's Men." I remember a review in my high school newspaper commenting on how the movie really used Washington well, to the point where there would be moments in the movie where you could say, "Hey, I know that phone booth!"

Sadly, one Washington movie that you would have thought would use Washington well but did not was "Talk To Me."

John Kelly: I need to rent that again. It's been a few years since I've seen it and it's the kind of film that should be seen regularly. I understand that they recreated the Post newsroom on a Hollywood soundstage, going so far as to scavenge the real newsroom for trash to strew across the desks. That was the only way to get the, um, lived-in look that a newsroom has. (It's amazing we can find the phone when it rings around here.)

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Movie set in DC: A great one is Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train." Terrific use of the memorials.

John Kelly: In D.C.? What movie am I confusing it with? What's the one where the couple embarks on an affair after running into each other on a train?

Could we update it with "Strangers Stranded on the Red Line"?

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Heaven: please stop taking out bus ads in my name; if I have anything to say I will send down a burning bush.

GOD

P.S. -- love your column.

John Kelly: Thanks, God. Can I use that in my marketing materials? "Four out of five deities prefer 'John Kelly's Washington'"?

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IT challenged: If you are "borrowing" someone's Web access space, does that mean they cannot use it at the same time? Or is it sort of like a pond where folks can be skinny dipping all the time?

John Kelly: Can someone answer this? I think it usually doesn't make much difference. For example, when I bought our wi-fi thing, the guy said "You can have 50 computers running on that." Wow. But if we were all trying to stream video or download a song at the same time? I don't know. I would think it would slow things down. And then there's the issue of security. I think a very tech savvy person could peek at what you were sending over the connection. Anyone know if I'm right?

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Just'a Swinging: John, do you remember the Foucault's Pendulum that was displayed at one of the Smithsonian Museums? Are there any still on display in the D.C. area?

John Kelly: Yes, it was displayed at the National Museum of American History. It knocked little red pegs over. I was always intrigued and confused by it. It's supposed to illustrate the rotation of the Earth. Somehow the pendulum doesn't move but stays in place while the Earth moves around it. Or something. But they used an electromagnet to keep the momentum going and the curators there actually hated it. Every time I'd go there to work on a story they'd mention how much they wanted to see it go. And now that the museum has been renovated, it's gone. Why the dislike? Because Foucoult was FRENCH and it's the National Museum of AMERICAN History. A Foucoult's pendulum has nothing to do with the history of the United States. It was a holdover when it was a technology museum.

I dunno if there are any others around here. Maryland Science Museum in Balmer, maybe? Why don't you build one in your house and invite us all over to watch?

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Stuck on the Ferry: Your "piece of crap" MGB GT? First of all, one of those is light enough that you could just about pick it up and carry it off the boat if it wouldn't start.

And second, if all else fails, what about your ferry godmother?

John Kelly: Yeah, that's true. And miraculously, on that trip it did start every time. It was just later that things went sour. I still wake up screaming remembering a drive back from Chincoteague. There was a problem with the carburetion and I couldn't let the revs drop. It would stall at idle so at every red light I'd hang a right, make a U-turn, then make another right so I'd never have to stop. The only problem was at the toll booth on the bridge. I had it in neutral and my foot mashed to the floor when I stopped long enough to pay the toll. They toll taker must have thought I was insane. Unless he'd had experience with English cars.

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Bor, ED: John, if you were to create a new scratch and sniff scent, what would it be?

John Kelly: Swiss creme.

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Annandale, Va.: Good sci-fi in Washington, D.C., is Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and Mars Attacks. Both are comedies (Mars Attacks on purpose).

I agree with Get Smart comments, in one episode a master criminal blew up a major govt building once a year. An army of construction workers rebuilt it over night so know one knew about it. Although some were rebuilt with just facades.

John Kelly: I've seen the latter but not the former. And my main memory of the latter is that tall blonde alien, at the time Tim Burtons's wife, I believe. (And that ended badly, I seem to remember.) I'll have to rent Earth Vs the Flying Saucers. Don't tell me who wins.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi, John! It's so nice to have your chats back.

It may be just because I grew up in Nevada that I'm having trouble understanding this, but why the heck does the city decide when bars can be open anyway?

John Kelly: Why does the city decide? I guess because alcohol and its use is regulated. Who else would decide? Can individual establishments decide in Nevada? The problem would be if you lived next to a place that was open till 5 every day. That'd get old.

By the way, I was talking with a fellow the other day about who has the first liquor license in the District, that is, the first one issued after the end of Prohibition, which was 75 years ago last Friday. Care to guess who has License #1?

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Washington, D.C.: Hi John,

Welcome back! Can I bring my small (though not tiny, she's a Scottie) on the Metro, or is it No Dogs Allowed?

John Kelly: No, no dogs allowed. Unless it's a seeing eye Scottie.

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Payoff amount: Yes, this is the amount that you need to pay to close the mortgage. It is higher than the amount of principle remaining on the mortgage.

If you have the time, the cheaper way to do this (rather than paying the $20) is in Month A, pay the remaining principle amount from your current statement. Then when you get the statement in month B, it should list the remaining amount for terminating the loan or you will get a letter from them advising you of the payoff amount.

Yes, the $20 fee is a ripoff. It's amazing considering that many mortgage companies, if you use their on-line systems for tracking your mortgage, will give you the payoff amount for free on-line.

John Kelly: Thank you! This is the place to come for financial advice.

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Annapolis, Md.: John, you have family and friends in England, and undoubtedly have more following your sabbatical. So do I, in the U.K. and Sweden and Greece. So I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on how to undo, or get around, the USPS requirement that all packages to Europe (and, I assume, the rest of the world) must be sent airmail rather than surface mail. I like nice wooden presents for youngsters, but there's no way I'm going to spend $30 on a gift that costs $87 to airmail to London. I would imagine many others are in the same predicament. I'm resorting to gift cards and buying gifts when I visit that parents set aside for their children and their own birthdays, but don't understand this policy at all. I've written my Senators and Congressman but, not surprisingly, they have other things on their mind at the moment.

John Kelly: That's a very good question and, yes, we noticed that when we moved there. Surface mail used to be a nice, cheap, lazy option and now it's gone. I'm not sure the Royal Mail has it any more either. I don't know why they did that. I'll have to look into it.

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What's next?: Well, aliens, of course!

As for Frederick's question about the #3 guy, don't jump to any conclusions. Just because he (or, rather, whoever shaved the number for him) knows that his favorite NASCAR driver is #3, that doesn't mean he necessarily knows how to count 1 and 2.

John Kelly: I have a sneaking suspicion that shot was PhotoShopped. Whaddya think? It's not that no one is that hairy, it's that: No woman would consent to do something as gross as shave that guy.

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Kingstowne, Va. (part 2): As for your newspaper analogy, it would be a closer one if you had me throw my newspaper onto your lawn so you could look at it if you wanted to. That's what an open network is. I agree that people are clueless, and thus, wi-fi should be secure by default out of the box.

... hey, get off my lawn ...

John Kelly: Sorry Mister, I was just getting my baseball.

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Movie mistakes...: It was in Annapolis, but that's close enough, right? In "Patriot Games," somehow the characters are leaving Annapolis in one scene, then in the next, which is SUPPOSED to be on Route 50.....there's palm trees. Somehow I missed those in 30 years of living here.

John Kelly: The biggest offender in that regard is "No Way Out," a movie I enjoyed but which has ridiculous scenes involving the Georgetown Metro stop.

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Silver Spring, Md.: John, is it true you sent yourself this message early this morning before leaving for work?

John Kelly: Yes, because, as you know, I'm always afraid no one is going to write in. Now go away, I'm busy.

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Wedding Crashers and The Day the Earth Stood Still: John, I can't believe you are forgetting the scene of them drinking on the monument as the sun rises. Awesome D.C. shot.

Saw the 12:01 of The Day the Earth Stood Still. I thought it was well done, although I haven't seen the original to compare. (My boyfriend thought the ending of the original was better since there was more resolution in a sense -- but I liked the lack of resolution).

John Kelly: So that sounds like a lukewarm recommendation?

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Arlington, Va.: A question prompted by your relatively recent return from the U.K.: After you got back to the U.S., did you have any episodes of looking the wrong way when stepping off the curb, or maybe walking on the wrong side of the sidewalk?

I remember walking in London one day, having arrived that morning and being a bit tired. I looked left, stepped off the curb, and just missed getting creamed by a double-decker bus coming from my right. And after three weeks in Australia I had a disconcerting tendency to walk on the left side of the sidewalk and the corridors at work.

John Kelly: Yes, but we converted pretty quickly. I think they lose a few tourists every year in London, but perhaps fewer than they once did. All the crosswalks have LOOK RIGHT painted on them. But when you're tired or distracted you can forget.

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D.C. Movie: To Catch a Thief -- with front-page article in International Tribune (is that the correct name?) with byline of Art Buchwald.

John Kelly: International Herald Tribune. And Buchwald was a writer there at the time. He may have even been in the movie. He was quite the bon vivant in Paris.

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Borrowed Wi-Fi: In general, if you "borrow" someone's wi-fi you're not hurting them. Now if your entire extended family all jumped on a network and started simultaneously downloading gobs of video onto 25 laptops, that would probably slow things down. But one laptop accessing the internet and reading the WashPost web site or something like that? Not likely.

John Kelly: Thanks. I'm still not unlocking mine, unless I could guarantee they read ONLY The Washington Post.

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Reddrag, ON: There may be no place for "Foucault's Pendulum" in Washington, but we sure could use Occam's Razor!

John Kelly: Maybe Occam's Razor is what that guy used to shave his back.

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Joisey: Re: Lilith

Contrary to the above poster's comment, area in Rockville where Lilith was filmed still looks much the same. The house which they used as a stand-in for Chestnut Lodge still stands at ca. 100 Forest Ave. We then lived around the corner on Harrison St. and my brother and I would watch the filming (for the rain scenes, they had a guy on the roof of the porch with a garden hose). Once we were flying a model airplane in the Presbyterian church across the street and a guy from the film company came down and gave us $5 to stop: it could be heard on the set.

(They also filmed at Great Falls on the canal.)

John Kelly: Cool. That's going to have to go on the Netflix queue too. (Q2?)

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Raleigh, again: John,

I agree, 'All the President's Men' is probably one of the best, artistically.

more on Lilith. Lilith (1964) A Korean vet returns from the battlefront and falls for a young psychiatric patient in his small Maryland hometown. Filmed in the Montgomery County towns of Rockville, Barnesville and Great Falls. Directed by Robert Rossen. Starring Warren Beatty, Jean Seberg, Peter Fonda and Kim Hunter.

Made in Maryland (Baltimore Sun, Nov. 1)

John Kelly: Wow, and an all-star cast to boot.

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Bowie, Md.: I liked the first National Treasure movie, which has some scenes in D.C.

What bothers me most is to see skyscrapers in movies that take place in D.C.

John Kelly: Right, if we are anything, we are a skyscraperless burg.

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Chicago Ill.: I loved the movie, but I've always thought it weird how, in "American President," they made a point of having the characters complain that Dupont Circle messes up the drive from Capitol Hill to the White House. Since, of course, Dupont Circle isn't on that route . . .

John Kelly: Guess what I learned today: There used to be a statue of Dupont in the middle of Dupont Circle. But his family paid to have it swapped with the fountain that's there today. The statue was moved to Wilmington, Del.

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"No Way Out": Ridiculous, yes, but it's the DC Metro's fault. The reason movie subway scenes set in D.C. are filmed in Baltimore is that, according to a Post article a few months ago, the D.C. Metro thinks that if people see gunmen running around jumping over turnstiles without paying, they will think it's OK to do that. The Baltimore subway authorities have a much more reasonable attitude about what people are likely to conclude from such films.

John Kelly: And DC's Metro would be so good for movies, with that striking architecture. It's the same thinking behind not wanting to put up "Stand on Right/Walk on LEft" signs.

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First Liquor, Lisc: The Willard Hotel? On Penn Ave.

John Kelly: Good guess. But wrong.

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First Licencse: The White House. Or the bar at the Willard.

John Kelly: Also wrong.

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Overseas mail malaise: Thanks to the Annapolis chatter for bringing up the unhappy demise of surface mail. I have a son in the Peace Corps in Panama and recall when the airmail-only edict went into effect. It was most unpopular because the volunteers relied on having educational materials (such as books and printed matter) sent via surface mail and the airmail costs for sending books are horrible. Especially when the extremely casual nature of the national Panamanian mail service negates any time saved by sending via US air mail.

John Kelly: Was there every any explanation given? I'm going to have to look into this.

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Bandwidth: Yes, the more traffic you have on your network, the slower it will become. Anyone who has used Comcast Internet service during peak times would know this first-hand. If you're unwittingly the wi-fi hotspot for everyone in your neighborhood, chances are you will have a less-than-optimal Internet browsing experience.

Another thing to consider: I remember reading a story where an elderly woman's apartment was raided on suspicion of Internet child pornography. It wasn't her -- it was someone using her unsecured wireless network. Problem is, since they were going through her router and the IP was dynamically assigned by the router, they didn't realize it wasn't her at the time.

John Kelly: So there's two reasons to lock it down. We use Verizon DSL through Earthlink. Is Comcast faster? The thing is, I hate Comcast so much.

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Alexandria, Va.: Not the movies (well, there was a movie too), but I always liked how certain scenes or whole episodes of the X-Files would take place in towns and neighborhoods throughout the region.

John Kelly: Yes, my older daughter--who remembers us putting her to bed so we could watch those disturbing shows when they were first on--is now addicted, recording them from Sci-Fi Channel and watching. They had a big b-roll shot of the FBI Building the other day.

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Strangers on Train: I think you're thinking of "North by Northwest" (not set in Washington) where Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint are on a train. "Strangers on Train" is with Robert Walker and Farley Granger, with their characters arranging to swap murders.

John Kelly: No, that's not it. I can't remember now. English film. They don't actually sleep together.

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Best D.C. and Annapolis: One of my favorite TV viewings of D.C. was in Stargate SG-1. One of the characters was being driven around D.C. in a limo and the scenery out the car window was completely wrong. They were in downtown D.C. and the scenery was very suburban L.A. style including some palm trees and large spaces between buildings. All I could think is that considering how much money they normally spend on green screen technology, they couldn't get someone to drive around D.C. for 10 minutes and videotape real D.C. landscaping to play behind the window?

And similarly about Annapolis (instead of D.C.). In the movie Patriot Games, it was very funny that they left the Naval Academy and drove to get onto "Route 50". First, they drove through completely wrong types of roads to get to the highway and then they enter a massive highway with like 6 lanes in each direction. This was clearly some L.A. highway they were filming, because there is nothing like the highway they filmed in the entire MD-DC-VA area.

John Kelly: I guess filmmakers figure the only people who will be bothered by such stuff are the people who live in that area, and that it's cheaper to just be sloppy with it than try to make everything sync up. Why, it's like these movies aren't real!

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Dog on Metro?: Why would you want to, unless it's a service animal? I'm not against pets, but the people who have to take their dog everywhere? I don't get it.

According to an article in last week's Post (the real live dead tree version) the animal wrangler for Legally Blonde said they had a real problem with girls bringing their dogs to the show in a hand bag (like the woman in the movie) that the poor dog on stage didn't know what to do! Now they have to check bags so no dogs (other than service animals) are brought in. Poor animals!

John Kelly: I missed that. Audience members were bringing their teacup dogs? Oh, man....

In Oxford you can bring your dog on the bus, as long as there is not other dog on the bus. We brought Charlie a few times, when we went to visit friends or take him to the vet. He was a little freaked out at first, but then he was cool with it. I don't know about the Tube in London. I never saw a dog there.

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D.C., Washington: Aha! So in England people do walk on the left side of the sidewalk, too? I always wondered if it was the same as driving.

I also wonder whether people who walk on the wrong side of the sidewalk in D.C. are British or just rude. Or both? But then they'd be French, wouldn't they?

John Kelly: No, they don't really walk on the left in England. My wife tried to get them to, but she was unsuccessful. Most walk on the right, or, more commonly, all over: right, left and middle.

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First Liquor, Lisc. Try #2: Old Ebbit Grill?

John Kelly: Nope.

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1st Liquor, Lisc: The Mayflower Hotel?

John Kelly: Nyet.

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Silver Spring, Md.: The film "Lilith" was based on a novel by J.R. Salamanca, who taught English Lit at Maryland, and was in fact set at Chestnut Lodge (called "Poplar Lodge" in the book). It was based on Salamanca's personal experiences working at that sanitarium as a young man. The movie also starred Jean Seberg, Peter Fonda and Gene Hackman.

John Kelly: Oh. My. God. I took creative writing from Salamanca at Maryland. I think I read one of his novels, not that one, though. I don't think he liked me.

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Cleveland Park, Washington, DC: Rhodes Tavern (in which case, I guess your question would have used the past tense).

Old Ebbitt Grill?

John Kelly: No.

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License #1: National Press Club. bunch of lushes

John Kelly: Ding ding ding! We have a winner! That's right. The National Press Club. Draw your own conclusions.

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Washington, D.C.: I always liked the closing scene of Logan's Run, with the view of Washington from Pentagon City, but everything is deserted and overgrown.

John Kelly: I hear they're doing a remake of that movie. Hope it's not set in New York.

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Mortgage payoff: Two tips for those who are paying off their mortgages: don't forget to get back your collateral (usually your deed) and also tell the mortgage company to file a UCC notice that the security interest has been lifted (and expect to pay another fee for that, about $40 in the District). You need to do this to ensure you can pass clear title when you sell.

John Kelly: Thanks.

(I hope this is good advice. I can see me posting something that says: "Make sure you underwrite your slash account with Form 1080 and pay off your accrual before converting your escrow"--and bankrupting everyone.)

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Day earth stood still: when Patricia Neal was in the taxi with Borght the U.S. Army said the taxi was heading NORTHBOUND at 14 and Harvard. When they said that, the pics were of DOWNTOWN D.C. 30 seconds later the taxi was at Conn. Ave. I KNOW taxis can't move that fast, can they?

John Kelly: Roads? Where we're going you don't need roads.

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Mortgage pay off: Send them a check for a bit more than you think you owe them (check your mortgage stub, there should be something on there) -- then they will have to cut you a refund check -- something that will cost them $20 or more!

John Kelly: Stick it the man!

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Ticket fees, Hell: The thing that gets me is, isn't Ticketmaster saving tons of money by not employing as many people for phone and in person sales? Is this just a matter of, we are willing to pay so they keep charging fees?

John Kelly: And you used to be able to go to ticket offices. I remember lining up outside Peaches Records to get tickets to the Knack. And Hecht's had ticket outlets too. I suppose you ca still do that at some box offices. You save a little money but you have to weigh that against the time spent going over there.

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Seat to Highest Bidder: John, I'm boarding the Red Line at Shady Grove station this afternoon. When I board, 99 percent of the time at 2:30 p.m., there are seats available. When the train gets to Metro Center, I'm still in my seat.

Would you, or any of your U.S. Government types, be interested in buying my seat from me, on the trip up to Glemmnont, or points in-between?

If the price is right, I could also obtain a seat in Silver Spring, on a train heading to Shady Grove. What do you think I could get for selling my seats on the RED LINE?

John Kelly: Why don't you rent it to someone coming for the inauguration?

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Independence Day: C'mon John! You know that was real!!

John Kelly: Right. How'd they get the White House rebuilt so quickly? They should have used the same crew to build the Capitol Visitors Center.

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Cameron, N.C.: I remember the first time I saw The Day The Earth Stood Still. It became one of my all time favorites. The story was gripping and the message was insightful. Now we have a movie, from the ads I've seen that has an apocalyptic, destructive, CGI feel to it that feeds the frenzy of action film fanatics. The genius of the original was in showing that the crippling of electrons could do more damage than a nuclear weapon. I guess I'm not a member of the focus group.

John Kelly: I'd like to see the original on the big screen. The AFI Silver should bring back. Though it's slow--at least compared to current films--it has a brain and it lets the suspense build. And the art direction is pretty neat, the spaceship and the robot.

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Mailing to England: If you remember to send packages far enough in advance, you'll find that Fed-Ex and UPS have reasonable "I don't care when it gets there" rates. Not everything shipped through them has to go overnight.

John Kelly: Thanks for the tip.

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Arlington, Va.: When our neighbors moved in, it wasn't long before we realized another wi-fi was available to us. Not only was it unencrypted, it was called something you knew they thought was cute but sounded ever so slightly pornographic. When my husband mentioned that we could see and use their network, it instantly changed.

John Kelly: Slightly pornographic? Maybe that was the router they used just for their pornography.

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Goofs re: films in D.C.: It always drive me crazy when they show characters getting parking spots in downtown D.C. with NO problem! Like that ever happens.... They need to have a movie where the main character drives around and around, and then finally gives up. heehee

John Kelly: Or they could come out and find that their car's been towed, or booted.

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Great Ferrry: My favorite ferry was one my dad used to take me to down in Macon County, Georgia -- must have been across the Flint River. It was basically a little single car raft that as I recall was attached to a cable overhead. You had to pull up and honk your horn to get the guy to come out of the little building, then drive on and he'd hit the switch to take the ferry across -- about a 2-minute ride, I'd say. Sadly, it's gone now.

John Kelly: That sounds lovely, almost like something that would take you to the afterlife.

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Great moments from Hollywood: So, I saw Die Hard 2 in the movie theater on a huge screen. Bruce Willis' character is apparently in Dulles airport and has to run to a pay phone to make a call. They show the phone as he is dialing and on a huge screen you see the face of the pay phone and it's logo "Pacific Bell".

I've been told that this has been edited out of the VHS/DVD version, but I haven't seen it to make sure.

John Kelly: Whoops. That's the sort of thing that gives filmgeeks a reason to live.

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NASCAR Guy: "What's next?: As for Frederick's question about the #3 guy, don't jump to any conclusions. Just because he (or, rather, whoever shaved the number for him) knows that his favorite NASCAR driver is #3, that doesn't mean he necessarily knows how to count 1 and 2.

John Kelly: I have a sneaking suspicion that shot was PhotoShopped. Whaddya think? It's not that no one is that hairy, it's that: No woman would consent to do something as gross as shave that guy."

For the poster, I would say don't jump to conclusions about the NASCAR Guy that he can't count. He's in a box at Bristol. Those seats cost $$$$.

And for you Mr. Kelly, don't jump to conclusions about NASCAR Women. It was probably her idea.

John Kelly: You're right. We shouldn't jump to conclusions. And "NASCAR Woman" sounds like a Neil Diamond song.

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NoLo, D.C.: I remember when they were filming 'Enemy of the State' (Will Smith and Gene Hackman) in Adams Morgan. One of my favorite scenes from the movie had Will Smith entering an apartment on Columbia Road and exiting it on Connecticut Avenue in Dupont Circle.

John Kelly: That is some big apartment.

Okay folks, I got to get back to work and I'm sure you do too. Thanks for stopping by. Look in the paper Sunday for a new Answer Man column. (I hope so anyway.) If you have column idea, send it my way: kellyj@washpost.com.

And I would really appreciate it if you would think about donating to my annual

Children's Hospital

campaign. Thanks.

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