Die! Die! Die!

Commentary to come later (I'm late! I'm late!), but I had to pass this along before I lost the link: it's a Lurlene McDaniel snark blog!

Her official Web page is here.

So, for the sake of context: anyone remember those Scholastic book order sheets we got in elementary school? Lurlene McDaniel had a book on there every month. They had titles like Too Young to Die, Baby Alicia is Dying, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep... you know, perfect for a fifth grader. All about various cancers, teenagers who needed transplants, teenagers living with terminal illnesses. And I became obsessed. My best friend and I couldn't get enough of them.

I would seek them out at used book sales, look for them on friends' book shelves, get stacks out of the library. And they were so, so wonderful in their horridness.

My parents still tease me about all my "dead-people" books. But, shh. If I see them, I'll still get them.

The last one I read was about a car accident, though. She really needs to stick with natural tragedies. Or maybe I need to stop reading them.

Just because it's true

Doesn't mean it's polite to say in mixed company!

The first line of an e-mail from a friend, that had me laughing very loudly (luckily, I was at home to read it and not in my chair at work):

You are. So. So. SO weird.

Just because I want to visit the Columbus Washboard Co. I mean, it's the only washboard manufacturer left in the country! And they give tours!

How can you pass that up?

Sweets

The upstairs neighbors baked Christmas cookies for my roommate and I (and they are delicious)!

Merry Christmas

From the lit Terminal Tower and downtown Cleveland.


I spent my Christmas Eve with latkes, Chinese food and friends new and old. It was a lovely time. And our waiter, who called himself "Jolly Jeff" was absolutely insane. He had all of us falling-out-of-our-seats laughing. It's really too bizarre to properly recount -- to simply say that he was animated doesn't even begin to do him justice. Hysterical.

Punctuation

I got a text message from a friend that employed a semicolon. That rocks.

Deer, deer everywhere

This picture is great.

We used to see deer in the yard all the time when I was growing up. One day, my sister went out to the mailbox and came in to tell my mom about the "big doggy" standing there. Turned out it was a pretty huge buck standing at the end of the driveway.

And for the record, I grew up in the 'burbs.

Happy Hanukkah

Two giant hanukkiahs, including one on Public Square.

More ego boosts

The publisher made his rounds this afternoon to wish us all a happy holiday. He didn't pronounce my name correctly (and I didn't correct him, though I should have), but he said he really liked a story I'd written yesterday.

"You’re off to a really good start," he said.

Christmas music

I'm not one of those people who gets all excited about Christmas music. Or even likes it, really. But I have heard a few that have made me smile.

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas is really cute. So is The 12 Days of Christmas as sung by the Muppets. Let's be honest: any time the Muppets are on the radio (which is more often than you might expect), it's a reason to smile.

And this version of the 12 days, by Straight No Chaser, is really cool -- and the Hanukkah moment gets the biggest laugh (give it a minute to get into it).

But I'm still waiting to hear You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch. That's my favorite Christmas song, by far.

Balance

Two bike messengers, pedaling down the street with their hands in their pockets. They looked like they were on unicycles (except for that extra wheel).

Snow day

OK, not exactly. But we got a water-main-break day -- the office was closed down at 10 a.m. So it's like a snow day.

I keep trying to convince my brother (who's on break from college) to do something fun with me. But he's totally lame and keeps saying he didn't go to sleep last night, and therefore doesn't have the energy to do anything interesting. So there are probably errands in store for my middle-of-the-week vacation. Which is still OK.

Also, I filled my gas tank for $16! What fun.

People are funny

I have a few sources who I'm connected to through other lives -- I went to high school with their kids, I babysat for them, etc. And it's always nice to talk to them because they have a concept of me as a person -- not just a byline, so to speak. They tend to be a little more excited (and surprised!) when I call.

One of those sources is the father of one of my sister's friends. He just called after seeing a story that I wrote (we send a daily e-mail) to say hi, and that he had read it. Wished me a happy holiday and said he hoped to be sharing more good news, soon.

I thought that was kinda cool.

Aww

I was talking to a source yesterday about how I've bought a coat and gloves, but still need to invest in a scarf. When I got to work this morning, this was in my in-box: Since the temperature will be dropping, I got my hands on a scarf for you. I'll drop it in the mail.

Sweet!

Window washers

There was one rappelling down the side of my building this morning.

On a related note, rappelling is mad fun.

Good TV

I spent part of today catching up on Life, which I think is one of the best shows (along with Mad Men) on the telly these days. It's just so quirky and grin-worthy.

The main character is obsessed with fruit. In one episode, there's a recurring fruit cake theme. Charlie Crews, our main character, says,"It's fruit and it's cake, what's not to like?" Later, while eating it, he concludes that "there's a distinct possibility that this is neither fruit nor cake."

Out of context, it's maybe not laugh-out-loud funny. But the humor's persistent and spot-on. And the series hasn't been canceled yet. So I am joyful.

Side of the road

One is an image, while one requires a bit more of an explanation (or maybe doesn't, but you're getting it anyway).

First, stapled to a telephone pole, a yellow sheet of paper with "He'll be back. Merry Christmas." written in black permanent marker.

Second: The Great Lakes Science Center has a renewable energy exhibit -- a rather prominent windmill, and a number of solar panels outside. I usually don't drive that way, but did tonight. 

Each of the solar panels was bordered by purple Christmas lights. I assume they're solar powered, as well. Pretty and cool.

Santa hat tally

Three, so far, for the day. And only one of them was a white-bearded man. (For the record, he was also clad in jeans and a dark pullover of some sort.)

Sense of humor

The Better Business Bureau apparently has one.

From the article:

A BBB staffer posed as a renter who claimed to live on "Lois Lane" and work for the "Daily Planet" but needed to move soon.
The Superman references were apparently lost on the Nigerian "medical doctor."

This also reminds me of the Animaniacs' (doesn't everything?) song, The Senses.

One of the best things a reporter can hear

When there's a 1:30 deadline:

"Your stuff comes through clean, so 2:00 should be fine."

Twofer

I've been riding the bus to work, when I can. On the way home today, the bill reader was broken. So the ride was free.

And when I checked the mail, there was a hand-addressed envelope -- it was my first piece of real mail at my new home! Hooray!

Grin all weekend!

Airtran is having a sale -- you could come see me for cheap! (That's for all you Atlanta readers. Although you can visit from elsewhere, too. I'll allow it.)

And then we can party like it's 1999. And if you've never been to the Akron airport, I have a feeling you'll have a hard time leaving without a bemused expression. I almost missed a flight back to Atlanta once because I had to explain that the metal stress balls in my carry-on luggage were not bombs. And once I showed off the brightly painted, chiming balls, everyone in security wanted to know where they could get some. (The answer, of course, is Marc's.)

Edit: Delta's on sale, too.

Your new twin-sized bed

Saw a guy pushing a dolly loaded with a twin mattress and box spring down Euclid Ave., one of Cleveland's main drags, at 9:45 on a rainy Tuesday morning (near no housing I could see).

Just an odd thing to see on a downtown street.

Where a kid can be a kid?

This also goes under the amusing-yet-horrifying category.

I've wanted to have an adult birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's for a little while, now. But this article makes that sound a little scary. The cops get called there more often than they do at biker bars? Wow.

Did you know they served alcohol?

Bye bye, Boston Legal...

Boston Legal makes me smile -- the last episode was tonight, which is sad. But it went out well, shark-jumping and all.

You get to hear about it, though, because of this: When I was on jury duty, one of the questions the attorneys asked the crowd of potential jurors was if we watched any "lawyer shows," and which ones. I said no as people talked about Law & Order's various iterations, and the like. But then someone said Boston Legal. And I had to raise my hand and correct myself -- I told the judge that I watched it, but didn't consider it a lawyer show. Which caused him and the attorneys to chuckle. 

I got picked for the jury, by the way. Boston Legal is de-lawyerly enough that it's not disqualifying.

The same magical animal!

The microwave at work has an auto-cook button for bacon.

Snow

It's snowing again, which is nice as long as you can continue to operate motor vehicles on the road. As I was driving, the snow was still not sticking to the street, but it was pretty heavy -- there's a dusting on the ground. As the wind whipped by, it pulled the snow with it. It looked like sand dunes in the desert, or the current under water. Lovely.

Mail!

I got a letter from Raul today! Thanks, Raul!

Never mind that I wrote it myself (long story). It was more hysterical than I remember. My mother laughed pretty loudly at it, too.

This Love

...has taken its toll on me -- she said goodbye too many times befo-o-o-o-ore...

Whenever this song came on in college, my roommates and I would turn the volume up loudly and sing at the top of our lungs. I had the windows rolled up this time (after all, it was 24 degrees and snowing!), but still blasted and belted it.

Then, they played MMMBop. And I quickly changed the station.

People should smile more

It's not only a song by Newton Faulkner. It's true. (Maybe.)

Festivus for the rest of us

There's a light display on Public Square with a sign that says it was put there by some Catholic women's organization. It's surrounded by green yard signs wishing passersby a HAPPY NEW YEAR, HAPPY HOLIDAYS and HAPPY HANUKKAH.

Then there's a hand-written sign on white posterboard that says Merry Christmas.

Hear me roar

Yesterday was the 14th anniversary of my becoming a woman.

The party was lots of fun (back me up on this, Chrys).

It must be the voice

The radio wants me back :)

About those destinations...

I have more days off than I thought I did!

Tea

...oh how I love thee!

Tea Time is back baby, and I for one am super excited. I grew up reading Georgette Heyer and "hearing" about clotted cream and cucumber sandwiches...now I get to taste them. I can't wait to crook my pinky and crunch into delicate pastries.

It's a dream come true : )

Oh, Canada!

A few months ago, I went to a seminar in Detroit with a couple co-workers. Using my awesome persuasion skills (Hey, d'ya wanna....?), I convinced them that they in fact did want to cross the border and go gambling in Canada.

It was my first casino venture, which was super-fun -- we were there for an hour and I came out on top. Except that it cost like $16 to drive in and out of the country. So in the end, maybe not that cost-effective. Especially considering there are casinos in Detroit.

But you don't get to take these pictures in Detroit! (Well, the first one you do. But just as you're leaving.)

Destinations

I'm seriously contemplating driving more than an hour (albeit slightly) for Brusters ice cream. That led me to Google maps, where I started scrolling across the state. And learned that we have some gems of place names.

Among them: Delightful, Phalanx, Ira (my HS crush), River Styx, Charm, Welcome, Widowville, Funk, Jelloway, Climax, Waldo, Magnetic Springs, Jumbo and Jump.

I'd love to hear more, here or elsewhere. I've always meant to venture to Hell, Michigan and really should've made it to Between, Georgia while I could (though somewhere I have a list of great names from there, as well, and that's just the start of it).

Still in my PJs

On this lovely Friday afternoon.

Why?

I no longer have to work on holidays :)

No Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Labor Day, Fourth of July... and I could go on!

Believe me -- I'm grinning from ear to ear at the vacationary prospects (though now, I'm simply enjoying a four-day weekend at home).

I love this rabbit

If you don’t know about Bernie, you must.

Quoth the raven

I'm cleaning off my desk at the moment (a gargantuan task) and have been thumbing through some of the publications that get left in my mailbox in the process.

And I had to share this article, about how a dearth of ravens may spell England's downfall (and that of the Tower of London).

My favorite part:

“It'll be raven crazy,” Ms. Steventon said.

The birds' lifting feathers are trimmed to ensure a prolonged stay (although, with a daily diet of six ounces of raw meat and bird biscuits soaked in blood, what sane raven would ever leave?).

My knight in shining armor!

Webster, my loyal steed, is apparently unsuited for unplowed driveways following lake-effect accumulations. He got very stuck -- half in the driveway and half in the street -- when my tires just kept spinning and spinning in a lovely pile of snow. I had so hoped we could make it through.

Lucky for me, my dad was willing to come shovel me out (and make paths with his heavier car, which doesn't balk at piles of snow), so once out, I could get my car off the street. Yay for dads (and yes, SUVs)!

In my refrigerator

(It means I get to tell people Greek myths as I offer them a snack!)

We go together, like...

The radio station I was listening to on the way home played, in succession, songs by Afternoon Naps and The Dreadful Yawns.

This makes me smile (almost) every day.

Today's strip of xkcd.
And even better? Friday's xkcd strip (all of you in the sciences should roll).

Flattery!

I wasn't going to post this, but Rel told me to (And since she posted something similar, I guess I'm entitled to brag a little bit too, right?)
So the other day, I emailed the program coordinator at U. Akron about the application requirements. One of them is that applicants must have a 3.25 GPA, which I don't have; hence my concern. Her response after I told her this plus my other qualifications:
"Please apply….your scores are exceptional…and yes, we do overlook lower GPA’s when all the other requirements are as strong as yours."

:)
Now to find a faculty member with whom to work....

We are destructive sorts

This, courtesy of Bek.

[And I got it three times. But all of them were from you :)]

It finally stopped snowing

Which means there are snowmen about, wearing scarves and with gnarled stick-arms.

There are also icicles and snow-covered wishing wells.

And the sound that the piles of snow make when I sweep them off the roof of my car is like pillows fluffing.

Unrelatedly, the nice man at the truck-rental place knocked a chunk of change off of the rental for my troubles (which are not too troubling at all, but which belong elsewhere, since this is the blog of happiness). So I saved $10.

Blast from the past

My lab partner from high school chemistry (who is a pretty cool dude -- like, way more of a cool dude than I am a cool dudette) e-mailed me today, having seen one of my stories, and wants to get together and catch up.

First of all, that alone made me grin. Second of all, I've discovered that it's much easier to make new friends when you don't really have to at all.

Potty humor

I got to quote a politician saying "That's crap."

And that makes me happy.

I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore...

Kansas is for another day. Or more likely, in person. That story shouldn't be in print on the Internet.

But Maryland... that's another story.

Came across a Web site today that had a "Save Cleveland" theme. Only problem?
The skyline under "Cleveland, Ohio" was in fact Baltimore.


(It was changed later in the day, which disappoints me greatly.)

Bonus points to you if you know which is which.

Water, water

This is a little old, but it takes me forever to get pictures off my camera. Tanya keeps denigrating my beach. The lake is big! And on Halloween, I got let out of work early and headed to the water. It was beautiful.

Secret compliments

E-mail from a co-worker:

(The boss) told me he thinks you're doing an awesome job -- and i couldn't agree more! (now ssshhhh, if he didn't tell you that, don't let him know that i did!)

i just thought it would be a good thing for you to hear!

Happy day!

Snow in the South and a new job!

(AKA, when my friends are happy, it makes me smile, too.)

Cutlery

During a conversation with my boss this morning, he pulled a spoon out of his pocket.

Airport humor

I was so engrossed in this, that I didn't realize my ride from the airport had arrived -- even after she honked the horn.

But there were two guys trying to fit a carry-on suitcase into the trunk of a Pontiac Solstice, a car that looks like this:

and has a trunk like this:

It was really great. They pushed and shoved. And in the end, they left with the suitcase on the passenger's lap.

In a few short hours

Heh

One of the PR-ish guys I harass all the time found me on Facebook. I am amused.

Yum

Today was birthday day at work. Birthday day at work is good. It comes with cake.

It used to be cookie cake, which was fun. But now.... ice cream cake! Even tastier.

My family is an ice cream cake family -- Dairy Queen for every birthday I remember, going back decades. Because it's a bird-killer -- why get cake and ice cream when you could get both at once?

Seems like it may be a while before I have normal birthday cake again :)

Rarity

I took a good driver's license photo!

Today is

Veterans Day.

But Armistice Day sounds so much better. And makes me smile when my boss uses it.

11/11 is aesthetically pleasing, too.

Happiness is

Paper, warm off the printer, on the first truly cold day of the year.

Grapefruit

Halved and sectioned. Yum.

It's total West Wing

First, there's all the who-will-be-the-chief-of-staff fun. Now, can't you just see Josh or Toby doing this? (From the first Obama news conference)

Here’s a lively segment. He calls on Lynn Sweet, the campaign reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, who’s arm is in a cast. What happened, he asks. She says she had an accident while running to his election night speech in Grant Park. She goes on to ask about the big issue of what kind of dog the Obamas intend to get and where his daughters might go to school in Washington. And what former presidents is he consulting?
He said he is "obviously" consulting former President Clinton and that he has spoken to "all of them that are living" adding, "I didn’t want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about, you know, doing any seances."
...As for the dog, he recognizes it’s a major issue, saying it has generated more interest on our Web site than anything. He says he has two criteria that may not be reconcilable: His older daughter, Malia, is allergic to dogs, so the dog has to be hypoallergenic; at the same time, "our preference would be to get a shelter dog, but obviously a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me." That brought a laugh…

But wait, there's more!

Wikipedia says Josh Lyman's character is based on Rahm Emanuel, the new chief of staff. And several articles have said Matt Santos, the Democratic candidate, was based on Obama. Republican Arnold Vinick was based on McCain.

I love it when fiction comes to life. It's just so entertaining!

Clever!

Cuz it's W, see!

Mr. Bush has said he is determined to conduct an orderly transition. The White House wants to avoid a repeat of the kind of news reports that plagued President Bill Clinton when he left office amid questions about whether members of his staff, irked at having to turn their offices over to Republicans, removed the letter W from some computer keyboards.

Me & Bobby McGee

One of the most interesting -- and most noticeable -- pieces of public art in Cleveland is the Free Stamp. It makes me smile every time I walk past it, as it did today.

Print has a future!

At least when there's national triumph or tragedy.

But seriously, check this out!

I'm not going to write about the election

But when I voted this morning, I got mistaken for my 17-year-old sister by a former neighbor. And I find that amusing. See, I totally could've still gone trick-or-treating! I look like a high school student!

And even more awesome: it was a gorgeous day today. Like, I-ate-lunch-outside-in-the-sun gorgeous. In November in Ohio, you cherish that :)

And there was free Ben & Jerry's and Starbucks. Yummmm.

OK, a wee little bit about the election. It's exciting that Ohio is not keeping us up for a week. And regardless of your politics, it's nice to know who the president is on election day (well, we don't yet -- but it looks like we'll find out tonight).

No, I'm yours!

I listen to the radio on scan in the mornings, stopping when I hear a good song. This morning, I heard "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz four times.

And that song makes me smile. As does this cover of it. (Thanks, Bek!)

Edit: The day's total was six times. Good thing it's a happy song!

Tourists

Or poll monitors and get-out-the-vote operatives.

We're in a battleground state! Who knew?

So there was an Obama rally downtown today. Christy and I were going downtown for other reasons -- but we took the rapid, hearing that traffic would be terrible and there would be no parking anywhere. (There wasn't any parking at the rapid station, either. It was packed!)

There, a nice woman from Rochester wanted to know where we had come from to drum up votes. And on the way back, this dude started talking to us... and decided we were his new friends. So when we walked by the rally (Bruce Springsteen was playing!), he hung with us. When we left, we decided to go get a cup of coffee -- and he came along. We invited him to dinner, too, but I think he felt like he was intruding at that point (and it was nice that he didn't come).

But he took our e-mail addresses. And I just think it's cool that he had the guts to start chatting with a couple of gals in a strange city and make them his friends. Or at least his temporary acquaintances.

Go go Gadget wheels!

I saw a guy pedaling through downtown Cleveland on a very tall bicycle -- much like this one. It was a little bit supreme.

But there was no snow -- it was in the 70s yesterday instead :)

OMFG

I think you all should come to Ohio for the weekend, where we have this:

Eddie Izzard, star of the TV show The Riches and one of the fore-most Stand-Up Comedians of his generation, will interview Dennis Kucinich, America's most courageous Congressman, and moderate a Q & A with the audience. Questions will span from American politics, to entertainment, to the world at large. Come laugh, ask questions, and be entertained by two amazing minds at work.

You have until Sunday to get here :)

Imagine a little old lady - maybe 75 years? Curling gray hair and a sweet little cardigan. On a segway, circling around and round in front of the atlanta underground entrance as she tries to manage a cigarette, a digital camera and a machine spinning 3 miles per hour. I could have watched her for hours...

Funny Shirts and Stuff

I completed the Breast Cancer 3-Day this past weekend and there were some awesomely hilarious shirts and sights...let me share:

Shirts
1. Walkers for Knockers
2. Yes these are fake (the real ones tried to kill me)
3. Freshly Squeezed
4. Sisters with Blisters
5. Buttercups (they wore yellow bras outside their clothing)
6. Tutus for Tatas (wore pink fluffy tutus during their walk)

Sights
1. A man with gigantic (and I do mean gigantic...as in larger than my head) fake boobs under a "wet" t-shirt
2. motorcyclists in pink kilts and the ribbon shaved into their skulls
3. motorcyclists in purple fairy wings and tutus dancing atop their pink feather boa decorated bikes to "I will Survive"
4. Sweep van theme: Halloween - scare away breast cancer, one boo-bie at a time!

It was fun and I was laughing the entire time : )

That donkey, again

Apparently, Cleveland's Scene magazine was at the same Chagrin Falls rally we walked past. And they saw it much the same way! The lead paragraph of their story:

Overcast skies hang stagnant over Chagrin Falls, contrasting with the festive scene outside the old Town Hall. Red, white and blue bunting droops from the walls. A quartet of middle-aged women stands on the steps, singing patriotic songs in four-part harmony. Cardboard cutouts of President Bill and Senator Hillary Clinton greet visitors. Only the red eyes and strangely sneering smile on the papier-maché donkey seem out of sync with the excitement that's in the air as local Democrats gather inside.

Josh Corgan? Smashing Groban?

You've loved them both, albeit at different times in your life.  You've wanted to bear their sons.  Now, at long last, they have combined their powers (much like Capt. Planet and the Planeteers) to bring you one, euphoric performance: Disarm performed live at the Bridge School Benefit 2008.

I can do that

Someone sent me an e-mail with the subject line "I can do that." Since then, I've had Meatloaf's I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) stuck in my head.

You're welcome.

At least the financial crisis can provide some amusement

As in this WSJ story about the Stock Market Game (which I totally played -- and sucked at -- in high school).

Playing the Market, These Kids Are Losing a Lot of Play Money
This School Year, Short Sellers Rule; Avery Maxwell, 11, Dreads Monthly Statement

By JENNIFER LEVITZ

WILMINGTON, Del. -- Michael Ashworth slumped by his computer, weary from another rough day in the stock market. All his favorite picks -- Domino's Pizza Inc., Hershey Co. and Gap Inc. -- were down.

"I'll be honest with you," he confided. "Before all this, I asked my mom to get me stocks for Christmas," but then "I told her not to do it. I asked for a parakeet instead."

Michael, a 13-year-old at Wilmington's Skyline Middle School, is one of 700,000 players in the "Stock Market Game," a scholastic contest in which students from grades four through 12 get a hypothetical $100,000 to invest in stocks, bonds or mutual funds.

Welcome to winter

I decided this morning to wear my slightly more appropriate for winter coat when the radio said there would be a high of 43 degrees. But I couldn't find my gloves, which I've wished I could put on at work for the past few days. It's cold in here!

Unexpected, though, was the blanket of snow on the lawn and my car when I went outside. An inch and a half! It was beautiful.

Luckily, it was also fluffy and therefore easy to wipe off the windshield. Hardly late at all.

Plus, the Peanuts theme song on the radio. And last night, the Great Pumpkin.

To the point

A white cargo van, blank on the outside except -- in all caps and blue -- the word FISH on one door.

Hail, hail!

It's not snow, but there were definitely small chunks of ice falling on my windshield as I drove home tonight. And landing on my coat when I got out of the car.

And you may think I'm weird (OK, I guess you guys just know I'm weird), but I love hail. Love it. And fog. I just think both are so cool.

I mean, ice, falling from the sky! Clouds you can walk through! Amazing!

Also, I apparently didn't sound like a total fool on the radio (although my grandparents *have* to tell me that I was supercool), and someone I know heard the show and sent me an e-mail. So at least five people were listening :) You can, in fact, hear it online if you want to, but I didn't talk all that much, so you may have better uses for an hour. I'm a bad interrupter, a trait the publisher told me I need to improve upon.

Also also, mom was featured pretty prominently in a Plain Dealer story. Today is the day of media whoredom, it seems!

My sister is a dinosaur

"I rawr more than anything all day," she says.

I got skillz

I have a magical pony who jumps over waterfalls and sunshine. But the real story is how I acquired the pony.

However, I'm not going to tell you that story now. That's a story for later.

Instead, I'm going to tell you that my boss handed out gift certificates to a certain Italian eatery for the awesome job we did on a breaking story on Friday.

And that because of it, I'm going to be on the radio tomorrow!

If you want the details, let me know and you can listen live at 9 a.m. Or on a podcast, later. I think.

More politics.... and cupcakes!

Last weekend, I took my sister and her friend to picturesque Chagrin Falls, which is the home of Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson and where I interned (at the local newspaper) in college.

Driving into town, there was a road where nearly every house had McCain-Palin signs, one on each side of the driveway. There was a lone Obama-Biden sign.

But when we were wandering around, there was a Rally in the Valley for Obama. Interestingly -- and hysterically -- there were cardboard cutouts of both Bill and Hillary Clinton, but Obama was nowhere to be seen. There was also an animatronic donkey that twitched its ears, blinked and opened and closed its mouth. It was pretty freaky. Neither my sister nor her friend wanted to get their picture taken with any of the aforementioned Democratic props.

Everyone was much more excited about the cupcake case in a men's clothing store across the street. No, I can't explain it either. But the pumpkin spice one was delicious.

Most concise letter to the editor, ever

From today's Plain Dealer:

I invite all uncommitted voters to join me in supporting Sen. John McCain's candidacy for president of the United States. Thank you.

There was one Obama letter that was only two sentences long, as well, but the first sentence had 43 words in it and referenced a previous column (that I hadn't read), so it does not win the prize.

In other news, warm banana bread is delicious.

Ben met Anna

Made a hit

Neglected beard

Ben-Anna split

Burma Shave

And now xkcd shares my joy!

(Here's a whole collection. I could read these things for hours.... and hours and hours.)

Ha -- this would be so funny!

See you later, alligator

Most super-awesome cutline:


Police think this 7-foot alligator was used to guard a massive marijuana-growing operation.

The picture was slugged "large_alligatorthatguardedpot."

The whole place looks like a rainforest (scroll to the bottom for a slideshow).

Perhaps it's a kindness

In one of the many, many performances I saw this weekend (OK, it was only two, but both were "backstage" plays, so it's as if I really saw four shows) this song played during intermission.

I think it's just hysterical... if maybe a tad bit evil, too.

Lyrics are here.

And that additional last verse (as sung by Jeremy Irons!) can be heard here.

The weather *is* unpredictable

A girl with a buttoned-up wool coat and scarf, on top of... capris and sandals.

Greenspan

I find this picture ridiculously amusing.

Hopefully, it's not just my computer and he lacks a mouth everywhere.

Home, sweet home!

I signed a lease today :)

This is my home to be:

NPH, pumpkins and Joss

This, via Danny:

Dr. Horrible, alone, is amazing. And now you can carve him! (And I do mean you. No way could I ever make a pumpkin look like that.)

Meatlessness

This song actually creeps me out a little, but as it was playing at a restaurant I walked past this afternoon, all I heard were these lines:

Tell your boyfriend / If he says he's got beef / That I'm a vegetarian / And I ain't fucking scared of him

and that was kind of funny.

I thought of Judson

In an article about why monasteries and convents are better than hotels:

And if it’s disconcerting to think of men and women of the cloth chasing after tourist dollars, for some orders it’s a matter of economic survival, according to the Association of Superiors of German Orders, whose German-language site, www.orden.de, lists 311 cloisters in Germany that offer room and board (and, in some cases, housemade beer and marzipan). “The income from overnight guests is a necessity,” Arnulf Salmen, a spokesman for the organization, wrote in an e-mail message.

I'm a winner

Our offices are being renovated sometime in the next few months, and my bosses are taking the opportunity to clean out drawers. Who knows why they have what they do, but they've taken to giving out prizes for random things.

One person won an oven mitt last week when his question was selected for a "man on the street" type feature. And today, the big boss had a grab bag of items from Marc's, only the best store there ever was. I swear to God, you can find everything you ever need at that store if you go on the right day. They sell organic vegetables and rugs, outdoor grills and small boats, Halloween candy and live birds. It's incredible.

But I digress. One person, who organized some awards ceremony, pulled out a cooler. Another one got a knife set and a thermos for scooping the competition twice. A third took home a Christmas pillow and a set of four champagne flutes for breaking a story that the Wall Street Journal later covered on its front page.

And I pulled out first a shaving cream dispenser (it was returned to the bag for something more female-appropriate) and then a cheese board for two stories I wrote about a speech by the head of a local bank last week.

Alas, the cheese board was supposed to come with all sorts of cheese-knife accouterments, but they were missing from the package. So my boss threw in a combination peeler/slicer for good measure.

Amusing.

Heaven and hell

Sunbeams through the clouds, looking like ladders to the ground. Distracting (in a super way!) in the rear-view mirror.

And one of my co-workers, working on a story, had someone tell him that banks are running from loans (in a particular industry) "like the devil runs from holy water."

First!

Some of you may have met me. You may know that I tend to be, uhh, tardy. On just about everything.

So imagine my surprise when -- having turned in just moments earlier the last of my five profiles (everyone was assigned five for a large section we're doing), when I thought I was already more than a week late -- another reporter asked if anyone had turned all theirs in.

My hand shot up. I received death glares. I was the only one.

In fact, the reporter who asked hasn't even done all his interviews yet!

So here I thought I was too procrastinatory and had already missed deadline by a substantial margin. Turns out I'm early!

Go me :)

How cool

The Chicago Tribune (which was then the Chicago Press and Tribune) endorsing Lincoln for president in 1860.

Moreso, makes my jaw drop

Full story here. From the Charleston (W.V.) Gazette:

Voters allege ballot trouble
More say machines changing their votes
By Paul J. Nyden
Staff writer
WINFIELD - Three Putnam County voters say electronic voting machines changed their votes from Democrats to Republicans when they cast early ballots last week.
This is the second West Virginia county where voters have reported this problem. Last week, three voters in Jackson County told The Charleston Gazette their electronic vote for "Barack Obama" kept flipping to "John McCain."

Bubble tea

I introduced my sister to bubble tea tonight. She was utterly fascinated. She kept spitting the tapioca balls out to see what they were, sucking up three at a time and trapping them between her upper lip and her gum so it puffed out, biting them in half so they stuck to her teeth, then baring her teeth in a wide grin, while laughing maniacally. It was pretty hysterical.

She got to the point where she was ignoring the tea (taro, my favorite, though I got coconut to try something new) and simply pulling the tapioca out with the super-huge straw (she also got excited when they looked like stripes in the straw). Of course, when I tried to skip the tea and pull the beads out, using the straw as a spoon, I spilled it all over the place.

But we knew that was going to happen, didn't we?

Komodo dragons

First of all, the name Komodo dragon is just awesome. And although this situation is really horrifying, I couldn't help but laugh at the lead of this story, from the Wall Street Journal. And the fact that they have an artist's sketch of the lizard.

You can read the whole thing here. The original article was called... When Good Lizards Go Bad: Komodo Dragons Take Violent Turn. More about Komodo dragons here.

KAMPUNG KOMODO, Indonesia -- At least once a week, an unwelcome intruder crawls under a clapboard wall and, forked tongue darting, lumbers its way into Syarif Maulana's classroom.

"Then, everyone screams, there is no more school, and we all run away very fast," says the 10-year-old boy. "We are very afraid."

Grooming

I told Resa this story earlier, but I think it's good enough to repeat.

Let's start with our cast of characters. All are straight males. J is in his mid-20s, blonde and lanky with a booming voice, a bit of the class clown type. He's an instigator. S is in his late 30s or 40s, is more understated, has a very dry sense of humor. M is in his mid to late 50s, is a quiet but very present presence and likes to poke people. Not physically, mind you, but in that "I'm not touching you" sort of way. He's in charge of the place.

Monday, the office had some reception to honor business leaders after work that these three were going to. A little after 5, J pulls out a toothbrush and toothpaste and asks if the others are almost ready to go. He's going to brush his teeth.

M pokes his head out of his office. "You're going to brush your teeth? I'm going to brush my teeth, too!"

J gets a little flustered. It seems that he doesn't want to share the bathroom with someone else during this very personal moment. "That's so not fair!" he says. "I totally got my toothbrush out first."

But M is not deterred. He walks out of his office holding toothpaste and a toothbrush.

Then S looks up. "Hey, are you guys going to brush your teeth?"

They say yes, but J reiterates that he wants to brush his teeth alone, without company. Is S going to brush his teeth, too?

S says no. He pulls a razor from his desk drawer. "I just hate being stubbly at these things," he says.

At this point, it took everything I had not to fall out of my chair laughing. Another co-worker, C, who is J's roommate, started digging into him about having a toothbrush at his desk. J was honestly horrified. "You mean, you don't brush your teeth after lunch? What if you have an interview? What if someone smells your breath?"

C responded that the people he talked to weren't important enough that they couldn't deal with a little lunch breath.

In the end, M and S went to the bathroom together to brush and shave. J went into the breakroom, where he could tend to his teeth undisturbed.

Scoot

I was talking to a friend this morning who drives a scooter. He was out last night and had a bit to drink and was on his way to retrieve it, he said, because he had been too intoxicated to scoot home.

Scoot home makes me giggle.

They cancel each other out

On the way to work this morning, I saw a car that had (on its left side) a sticker that said Women for McCain (it was pink) and (on its right side) a sticker that said McCain Palin.

Driving home, I saw a car that had (on its left side) a sticker that said Obama Biden and (on its right side) a sticker that said Women for Obama (it was blue).

Housekeeping

I promise, gazillion-post days will not be the norm.

But! Tanya wanted to know if she could post things, too. So I've added her. If anyone else would like to, just let me know. As long as you promise to post random/happy/shiny things, you're welcome to.

And I promise that the phone calls will keep coming :)

By the way

You can listen to the Big Band station (and should!) here.

Music and lyrics

Cleveland radio rocks.
This is because, in part, we get stations from Akron, Toledo, Detroit and even Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Canadian radio is fun because in addition to saying "aboot," they give traffic updates that include how long it takes to cross the border. And that's just awesome.
But Cleveland has some good stations, too. I've taken to listening to college radio (four stations! No commercials!) and heard the lyrics "whores don't cry" this morning. I can't find the song, though, which is disappointing.
My favorite station, though, is the Big Band one. The songs on there are just gems. Take, for example, Strip Polka.
How can you not smile at that?

Pizza on wheels, plus

I was riding the trolley to a meeting today and got off at E 9th and Euclid. There, in front of the trolley, was a bike messenger (+18 points for starters). He was holding a thermal bag for pizzas in one hand and going in circles in front of the trolley to keep from stopping at the traffic light.

A bike messenger! With pizza! And dizzyness! I enjoyed.

Later (on the way back to the office on the trolley), there was a man in a police uniform with big glasses and a Sherlock Holmes pipe. How often do you see one of those?

The answer, of course, is not often enough.

The point

I'm going a little bit American Beauty and taking a chance to write down some things I think are amazing about the world around me.

Back in the day, the Sphere -- who remembers Sphere? -- had a subconference called "Makes Me Smile." In the years since it's disappeared (the loss of LearnLink hampers everything!), I've taken to jotting notes on scraps of paper, calling friends in amazement or just walking around with a grin on my face whenever I've seen something incredible.

Well, I want to keep my incredible moments somewhere where they can continue to make me smile weeks after they first make an impact. And in talking to many of my friends, those smiles are getting harder and harder to find. So I want to share them.

And that's why you're here.