I'd sure hate to be at a meeting of the Pessimist Club:
Even folks in the Optimist Club are having a tough time toeing an upbeat line these days. Eighteen members of the volunteer organization's Gilbert, Ariz., chapter have gathered, a few days before this nation's 232nd birthday, to focus on the positive: Their book drive for schoolchildren and an Independence Day project to place American flags along the streets of one neighborhood.
Joe Klein is allowed to love warm weather, even when it "slouches toward humidity," but he can kiss my icy cold anatomy if he thinks I'm going to join in his silliness:
The unnecessary refrigeration of America has become a chronic disease. It seems to have gotten worse over the past few years, with thermostats routinely set at 68deg.F, and sometimes even 65 deg., in the (far too many) hotel rooms.
[. . .]
Everything old is new again:
Many claim that food prices are causing people to dust off their green thumbs, but whatever the reason, gardening is in.
The impact has been felt at seed companies nationwide and at area garden centers.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported in early June that W. Atlee Burpee & Co. had doubled its seed sales this year. The seed company, which started in 1876, has struggled in recent years as modern families moved away from growing their own food.
Didn't it seem for a while there that 9/11 was going to bring us together? Oh, well. Happy Fourth of July from Willie and me and the rest of the gang. John and Barack, too, OK? You can't possibly want to lead a country you don't love. The modern world began with the American Revolution. And for all its faults, the very presence of America continues to inspire people the world over. We were founded on the best ideas and embody the principles that offer the best hope for civilization's advance.
Now go grill something.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6WZtA0TWWQ]
Oh, no, it's too late -- the aliens have already landed:
With the blankest of blank expressions on their faces, these mysterious figures have been popping up in the most unlikely of places.
The faceless mutants have a penchant for A-list celebrity bashes and have been spotted at Elton John's White tie ball and Harrods summer sale, opened by Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall.
I don't mean to be critical, but wouldn't he get a better deal with the devil?
A New Zealand man has put his soul up for auction to the highest bidder, noting that it is "a merry old soul" rather than a "funk soul brother" but that he would "would like to think there is a bit of funk in there somewhere."
Walter Scott, 24, put his soul up for sale on New Zealand Internet auction site TradeMe, and so far has received more than 100 expressions of interest.
Those disgusting noises you hear from those sitting at the computer terminals are the sound of the economy being saved:
An independent market-research firm, AIMRCo (Adult Internet Market Research Company), has discovered that many websites focused on adult or erotic material have experienced an upswing in sales in the recent weeks since checks have appeared in millions of Americans' mailboxes across the country.
Scenes from a world gone mad
Coughing and spluttering resonated around Tweede Kamer coffeeshop in Amsterdam yesterday as customers got to grips with new Dutch smoking regulations that prohibit tobacco but not marijuana.
“They're having to smoke pure weed now and they're not used to it,” Frank, working behind the counter, said. “That's why there's all this coughing. It's going to be quite tricky.”
[. . .]
Scenes from a world gone mad
Coughing and spluttering resonated around Tweede Kamer coffeeshop in Amsterdam yesterday as customers got to grips with new Dutch smoking regulations that prohibit tobacco but not marijuana.
“They're having to smoke pure weed now and they're not used to it,” Frank, working behind the counter, said. “That's why there's all this coughing. It's going to be quite tricky.”
[. . .]
Since we're deep into festival season, and Three Rivers is right around the corner, I thought you'd appreciate this list of the seven unhealthiest carnival foods. I'm happy to report that chili dogs and elephant ears are not on the list. And you know what's No. 1 -- the unhealthiest of all.
