Op-Trav-Po

This is a funny, and yet scary article. I love the combination of column, travel and political writing. It's Steve Lopez from the LA Times. He visited Wasilla, to get a better sense of Sarah Palin's background.

Do Your Part

I hope everyone read or heard Gore's speech today. We're running out of time.

Mnemonic Majesty

My very exciting magic carpet just sailed under nine palace elephants.

That's the winning mnemonic in a National Geography Kids contest to help you remember the planet names. My thanks to the 10-year-old in Montana who came up with that one, since I'm gonna have to teach this stuff to my kid.

(If you haven't been paying attention, Ceres and Eris are the new planet munchkins...)

Idea for You

The effects of TV writers striking has been really interesting. However, it got me thinking...

On New Year's Day glenn fished Parade magazine out of the recycling bin when I mentioned that I had chucked it in there on sight when I saw the cover. He immediately began reading aloud the offending story (in his best Texan accent and with additional commentary): our president supposedly waxing poetic about what he found Special in 2007. It was one of those bizarre roundups of people who knew about hard times (some of which he caused) who he had the great fortune of meeting (or their surviving parents). You know this format: Many people were courageous. I had the good fortune of meeting one such person: Joe Lost His Legs in the War. Many people are struggling with the economy. I had the good fortune of meeting such a person: Jane Minimum Wage. The people who make up this proud country are strong. I have met at least five of them.

Anyway, here's an idea all you writers: unify even more and strike a deal with Other Writers. That's right, you know what I'm thinking: TV writers fire up your computers and get typing while the political and speech writers take an election time turn sitting out. Now That would be interesting, And it would give the television writers plenty of material. Let's work together, folks.

Send Me Some Money, Too, Okay?

From the Cambridge Chronicle. This cracked me up:

Duped by an old Internet scam. A 43-year-old Cambridge woman told police she was in Wendy’s at 598 Mass. Ave. Nov. 17 at 12:30 p.m. when an unknown man struck up her in conversation. The man told the victim he had family imprisoned in Africa and showing her a large amount of money, according to police reports. The man allegedly told the victim if she withdrew $1,200 from her bank account, he would give her $20,000 in return, police said. The victim withdrew $1,200 from her bank and gave it to the man, who in return gave her a sock containing what victim believed to be $20,000, according to reports. When the victim looked inside the sock, she only found cut-up paper, according to police reports. The suspect is described as a black man who is over 6 feet tall, bald with a beard and was last seen wearing black pants, a blue shirt and brown coat.

The Californians Don't Have 200 Words for Fire

"Whenever these fires are pushed by ... winds, it's a like a blow torch with a hair dryer behind it," said Inspector Sam Padilla of the Los Angeles County Fire Department." (CNN)

For some reason this description stuck with me all morning after reading it. I mean...did he pick such a small metaphor because we're supposed to relate to it? Oh, yeah, like that last time I put a hair dryer behind my blow torch and took out half of Cambridge!