Taboo

Each week, my inbox fills up quickly with surveys that explore some aspect of the workplace, some serious, some light-hearted. Here's a sampling of recent surveys that can be used for watercooler fodder or a good laugh: A survey commissioned by Diet Pepsi Max, a highly caffeinated new soda, found that 50 percent of 1,102 respondents have caught someone asleep on the job, while 28 percent have fallen asleep at work themselves. Apparently, auto mechanics have the highest rate of on-the-job snoozing at 65 percent, followed by government workers at 51 percent.

When hip-hop DJ Rob Swift went on tour with his group, the X-Ecutioners, earlier this year, he brought along the basics: vinyl records and a pair of turntables. This winter, though, when he sets out from New York on a solo tour, he intends to pack an additional device: a compact disc player. He is not alone. Recently some of hip-hop's most celebrated DJs have similarly made the leap from analog to digital. From Jurassic 5's Cut Chemist to California's DJ Shadow to DJ Swamp, a member of Beck's touring band, the list of converts includes some of the most respected hip-hop DJs in America.

IF WE were to put our faith in the West Valley School Board of Kalispell, Mont., we might be convinced that there are witches in that part of the state.Certainly, there is one woman who has handed out books and knowledge, to mere children, and it looks as if some may consider such acts black magic.In following the American Library Association policy that librarians are duty bound to obtain requested material without regard to bias or personal judgment, Debbie Denzer, an assistant librarian who had worked at the West Valley School for a little more than a year, made the sort of mistake you can't afford to make around there.

MOSCOW -- Every Wednesday afternoon, Petya Nikitenko invites into his office some of the men and women Russia usually tries to ignore. Some have spent time in jail or have sold sex. All have abused drugs. Now that they have come for help, Nikitenko counsels them on the dangers of using intravenous drugs. One of the risks is that, by sharing needles, they will become infected with HIV. What he does not do - and what HIV-prevention programs in Russia often cannot do without bringing unwelcome attention from the government - is distribute clean needles that could help prevent the spread of the virus.

Handed dismal economic news for the umpteenth time yesterday, Gov. William Donald Schaefer finally acknowledged he has virtually no choice but to try to raise state taxes.Carefully circling the politically explosive issue, Mr. Schaefer indicated that he may not put forth a specific proposal until he is convinced there is public support for it. But he predicted that could come in a matter of weeks, as soon as the public feels the nasty effects of having the state budget slashed one more time.

The vamp is back. Thanks to the modern feminist movement, the exhibitionist behavior of reality show contestants and the frank sexual exploration of Sex and the City, female taboos on TV have been shattered. These days, prime time is the place for a girl to get in touch with her sexuality. Nicolette Sheridan's Desperate Housewives divorcee Edie Britt wears her carnal heart on her sleeve. Eva Longoria's Gabrielle Solis is unhappily married to a rich cad. So what does she do? Have an affair with the 17-year-old gardener, of course.

In "Amy Fisher: My Story," the high school student who has come to be known as the Long Island Lolita is asked what she sees in an auto mechanic twice her age."We have great sex and he fixes my car," she says without hesitation.That's the nearest thing to a satisfying answer viewers are going to find in the NBC docudrama that airs at 9 tonight on WMAR (Channel 2). And those viewers who pay attention to disclaimers might not even be sure there was any sex -- let alone how good it was -- in the real-life case that this show purports to dramatize.

What's up this weekend? Some lucky  folks will be going to see Sade launch her first tour in a decade at 1st Mariner Arena, some folks will be gathering with their families on Father's Day, and some folks will be taking in the fun at the Baltimore Pride events around town. Some folks will be doing all of the above. I'm off to Starksboro, Vermont, for a wedding, with a stop in Nyack. Baltimore Pride kicks off tonight with an $85/person dinner at Gertrude's .  There were still tickets for Saturday night's Sade concert when I wrote this up. I gathered up some information about Father's Day promotions here . There really weren't so many of them, which makes sense.

When the moon is in the Seventh House and Jupiter aligns with Mars - or this Friday, whichever comes first - Opera Vivente will open its 10th anniversary season by taking a gloriously tuneful 1735 work by Handel and relocating the action and the mindset to the psychedelic, tie-dyed, free-lovin' 1960s. If You Go Alcina will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1 and 3 at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 811 Cathedral St. Tickets $30-$50. Call 410-547-7997 or go to operavivente.

A new requirement that Anne Arundel County police personnel cover up their tattoos - even if it forces bike patrol or animal control officers to don long sleeves, pants or turtlenecks in scorching heat - has the rank and file hot and bothered. The week-old policy, among the strictest in the state, requires that all personnel, including volunteers, cover up visible tattoos when they are on duty. The aim of the policy shift is "to promote the uniformity of appearance ... to maintain neutrality ... to foster discipline and to encourage public confidence," according to a memo sent a week ago by Col. James E. Teare Sr., the police chief.