Ok, uncharacteristically mushy of me... but I had to share:
Best birthday message ever - my 80-something year old, stroke afflicted, bed-ridden grandfather sang happy birthday to me on my voicemail and gave me a hard time for not being available when he calls. Couldn't have made me happier. Grandpa rocks.

The MoveOn.org winning ad is pretty excellent if you haven't seen it yet. It's not nearly as partisan as you might think.

I've added a comments feature to the site. I was inspired after getting this email:

Is it a bad thing that when I pulled up piecesofflair today I saw the picture and, before even reading anything, said out loud in a worried voice "James!?"

Now you can add your very own flair to the site. I look forward to many snide, sarcastic, and loving comments. Just don't make me use my editing powers for the forces of evil.

No, folks, this is not the homeless guy I pass every day on 9th Ave. (though the resemblance is there...), this is James Brown's mug shot courtesy of those great folks over at The Smoking Gun.

This one goes out to all the chatters out there: if you haven't had a conversation with VixenLove, you're missing out.

I don't agree with everything here, but it's still pretty damn funny: Dennis Miller on Dennis Miller.

Here's a nifty math trick I haven't been able to figure out yet.

Bwah-haa-haa-haa-haaaaaaaaaaa! Al Franken bodyslams a Lyndon Larouche supporter for shouting down Dean supporters at a rally.

"I'm neutral in this race but I'm for freedom of speech, which means people should be able to assemble and speak without being shouted down."

Apparently in the Franken universe, body slamming is an acceptable alternative.

For anyone interested, Richard Epstein in speaking at noon today at Cordozo law school on the future of affirmative action. Email me if you want details.

I've found my way to the same site twice in a week... I feel compelled to post. Meet the art of Brandon Bird:

I paint mainly in oils, varying my style as needed, attempting with each new canvas to tackle important questions of the day, such as, "Who would win, a dinosaur or a giant squid?" and, "Why does Chuck Norris exist?" In bringing John Tesh to my palette, I realized I'd like to see an animated version of what I imagine are his hip and outrageous daily adventures.

I highly recommend a gander through the gallery, especially "Killing Machine" which Todd directed me to:



Also quickly gaining in notoriety is his Law and Order Coloring Book.



The whole site is pretty excellent. If nothing else, the fact that he owns the domain painteroflight.com gets him my endorsement. Be sure to check out his hatemail.

This has been around for a while, but check out "Yatta!" a spoof on boy bands from some Japanese show that's SNL-ish. The resolution is pretty fuzzy, but this may be a good thing. More info here and a nifty fanimutation (is that really a word?) here.

Yeeagh!!! I love the market. Someone has already developed a Howard Dean Talking Action Figure. Although it won't ship out for a month, it does incorporate the Iowa speech. This is from the same folks who've made the Corpse of Uday Hussein (which talks !?!), Baghdad Bob, Putin, and other war on terror figures into more lifelike versions of themselves.

A plush toy to match the Ebola Virus necktie!



If that's not enough for you, GIANTmicrobes also features Althete's Foot, Ulcers, and the Black Death all in soft, fuzzy, hugable forms. Mmmm... Epstein Barr is so adorable!

When I worked at a certain nonprofit-on-the-Hudson, we would occasionally get bizarre letters, phone calls, and even visits from complete nut jobs. Those familiar with "the movement" know exactly what I mean. Anyhow, someone passed along this email today which I felt compelled to share:

Dear [So-and-so],

Yes, I should be in Houston, Texas the week of February 13th. I am eager to appear by tape or by video-conferencing.

For me to travel to the DC area, I would insist on all transportation and hotel accommodations being paid, and I'm not willing to travel by scheduled airliner or any other means whereby my privacy would be outraged. A small private plane or a car with driver would be fine with me, and should be arrangeable for less than the cost of a round trip airline ticket. Let me know if you'd like me to help with these arrangements, since I know many private pilots and drivers.

Please be aware that on Tuesday 20 January 2004 at about 14:30 I was attacked and severely beaten by Houston Police officers. I was handcuffed and kicked in the face repeatedly. As a result of injuries sustained and the refusal of prompt surgical attention, I suffered permanent disfigurement. My nose was broken and my eyebrow cut open, so I am not as physically attractive as some of my photos suggest.

Regards,

[Man less physically attractive than photo would suggest.]

Keeping with this week's musical theme: Herve Villachez (a.k.a. Fantasy Island's Tattoo) sings "Why Do People Have to Fight?"
I think I have an idea, Herve....

Finally back online....

Check out some of the many Howard Dean remixes out there. I almost wish he'd win just to liven the state of the union up a bit.

AOL continues to haunt me... now in the form of AOL Time Warner a.k.a. "Roadrunner Internet Service." My apartment has been offline since Sunday. Apologies for the unexpected hiatus.

In cheerier news, Victor has made me a custom blogtone! I think it fits the spirit of this blog quite nicely...

Every kitschy toy you could want, all in one place.

WHO EATS BRAIN???

Brain sandwiches still on some menus:

"Fear of mad cow disease hasn't kept Cecelia Coan from eating her beloved deep-fried cow brain sandwiches."

AGHHH!!

Don't be an $%@hole, Vote Democrat!

Heard about all of those MoveOn.Org anti-Bush ads? This one is going along like you might expect, and then, WHAM! hits you with hilarious liberal hijinks.

Lots of nifty Old Time Radio Shows for downloading.

Clerks meets superheroes.

The only way I can think of to make chess boxing even better:

Shotglass Chess

The Onion is clearly toying with my emotions this week. I'm far too gone as a capitalist apologetic to find anything funny with their lead story this week: "U.S. to Give Every Iraqi $3544.91, Let Free-Market Capitalism Do the Rest"
- but then they give a nice plug for Firefly in their AV section. What's a girl with fickle loyalties to do?

Take your pick: The Worst Album Covers Ever or The Greatest Album Covers That Never Were

And people wonder why I wouldn't want to teach...
Letters to an 8th Grade Teacher following a heart attack:
"HEY MR. APPLEBY IS HALF OF YOUR FACE PARALIZED LIKE DR. S? SHE GOT A HEART ATTACK TOO BUT HALF HER FACE IS PARALIZED SHE LOOKS SO HILARIOUS. HOW COME YOU GAVE ME A D? I DO ALL OF MY WORK THAT'S NOT FAIR. OH WELL I WON'T SEE YOU ANY MORE THAT'S THE GOOD THING. ARE YOU STILL DOING YOGA IN YOUR SPARE TIME. YOU SHOULDN'T DO IT ANYMORE. IT DIDN'T PREVENT THAT HEART ATTACK SO WHAT'S THE POINT?"

Jesus is everywhere: Sometimes, we need a little help to see him. IseeJesus.com provides assistance to you and your customers to see the spirit all around us. Our artists will come to your establishment to pray for creation. Through their special prayer techniques, a Holy Visage will be invoked and made visible for all to see!

I'm happy to note that Virginia Postrel's piece on Hayek in the Boston Globe has been cited on both FARK and Arts & Letters Daily. Plans are coming to fruition and soon the Deathstar will be fully operational....

Yes, there's a story to this, but I really just find the picture amusing:

And in a parallel universe, this picture is highly appropriate for this blog.

It's Mr. Picassohead!!!!

I just discovered that Alan Tudyk is playing the part of the robot in the upcoming "I, Robot." Tudyk was my favorite actor on the short-lived series, Firefly, and his presence vaults this movie to the top of my must-see list. Incidentally, having just watched the entire Firefly series again... bizarre premise, but still genius. It was even better the second time through - and there's not many pieces of film or television I would say that about. If there's any luck, Universal will go forward with plans to make it into a movie.

It saddens me to note that the hits per day stay pretty even whether I'm posting anything or not... but for you few and constant readers, fear not; I have returned to a happy broadband connection and will be posting new flair for your amusement.

Be sure to tune into the Style Network today or tomorrow to catch Todd and Michael on Style Court. As long as the editors didn't get too creative, it should be highly entertaining. More info on Todd's site.

Airing: Thursday, January 8 at 8pm and 11pm (Eastern) and again on Friday, January 9 at 9am and 4pm (Eastern)

Get your 80's tees while they last!

Will, this one's for you...