A shameless mash-up of at least two other idioms that I just came across and rather like:

“This shit is pajamas.”

I encourage you all to slip it into your daily communication  in the year ahead.

You will be hard pressed to find a better cafe latte then one which is brewed in a little shop in Rome. Starbucks may try to emulate it, but they will never truly succeed.

Coffee bought at a gas station, regardless of location, brand, or size, will always taste like crap. How they manage to screw up something that you can easily do to satisfaction in your home is beyond scientific explanation.

(and Mark’s very funny comments earlier)

You are NO friend of mine!

Stupid salad.

So we had some crazy, Dorothy-visits-Oz inspired wind on Saturday. As luck would have it, we were at the movies during the worst of it, and by the time we got home it was dark out. (Note: our driveway is behind the house, and we enter through the back door because of this).

We went about our normal business Sunday, and then about 3:30 we left the house to get some late lunch/early dinner. We drove past the front of the house, both of us turning to admire one of the few unblighted dwellings on our unfortunate street, when we both noticed something wasn’t right…there appeared to be some large branches down, knocked loose by the wind storm. We drove around the block to make another slow pass, and thus take a closer look…

And holy CRAP, nearly the whole dag pine tree had been torn down, the trunk split down the middle, taking with it the power line and the cable connection that runs to our house from the nearest telephone pole. Luckily, it didn’t damage the actual power line, but it did knock it out of the air, tearing it off the side of the house where it had been trussed up.

Now we have to wait for the power company to come do what they need to do, and we’ll still have the better part of a pine tree to dispose of (in all likelihood). Crazy.

I took some pictures, which I’ll probably add to this post sometime in the next day or so.

Another Monday morning here in our nation’s capital. The sun is shining, the small mammals are scurrying, and there are robins everywhere. It’s expected to reach a high of 60 degrees today, and not a moment too soon. I think like many of you, I’ve been suffering the 2008 Winter Doldrums. A writer’s strike took away all our good prime time entertainment, leaving us with “reality,” which apparently consists of greedy people, angry children, camera whores and aspiring singers/dancers who apparently just don’t care enough to make it on their own steam. Oh, and did I mention the election? I’m sure by now you’ve all forgotten we’re electing a new president. Oh…you didn’t? Perhaps thats because THATS THE ONLY THING ON THE NEWS ANYMORE. And my god, has it gotten uglier than that girl you knew in high school that got pregnant, dropped out and married her baby daddy.

At this point I’d be willing to vote for the GEICO gecko…except, you know, not a natural born citizen, so that’s not going to happen. A shame too….he seems such straight-shooter (especially for a corporate spokes-lizard). Very photogenic too.

So, let’s all raise a glass and shout, “Here’s to Spring! May you warm our cold, bitter hearts.”

I can’t wait to barbecue.

I mean, what with all the attention its been getting. And don’t even get it started on that slut New Hampshire. Man, what a whore.

What do they both have that Idaho doesn’t have? Idaho provides the nation with potatos, for chrissakes… doesn’t that earn it the right to host a caucus once in awhile? Or a primary? Idaho would even settle for a conclave, a council…hell, a parley! Is that so much to ask?

Seriously, Iowa and New Hampshire. Get a hobby. Isn’t about time someone else got the spotlight for a change? Kinda makes the rest of the states feel sorta undemocratic, ya know?

Well, here we are at day 2 of the New Year…and you know what that means. “Blah Blah Blah Year in Review” will be flooding your eyes and ears for the next few weeks. The first one that caught my attention so far was the “Top Ten Photos of 2007 From National Geographic News.” Ever since third grade, I’ve been something of a cryptozoology enthusiast, and the photos/descriptions on this list thrilled the creepy little kid in me. Take a gander at the rare owls, ugly sharks, giant squids and wrist chewing crocs.

Happy 2008 everyone!

Because I love my niece, and she’s the coolest niece that ever an uncle had (just ask me, I’ll tell you), I sometimes like to talk about her. I have thus far saved the “she’s so cool!” talk for people in my personal sphere, but I have decided to share with you. And not just because every time I see her now, she tells me that we’re buddies, either.

You see, my niece has recently gained a love of all things He-Man.

I don’t know exactly how this happened, except that she discovered some old He-Man cartoons we had on video or something, and now she wants He-Man stuff. Which is kind of great. It means that my sister was able to pick up Castle Greyskull, Snake Mountain, a bunch of the characters, and a bunch of She-Ra stuff, for next to nothing on E-bay.

It’s going to be really weird to see my niece playing with He-Man stuff two and a half decades after I was doing the exact same thing.