A Side of Haggis

A few items that don't merit their own post:

Douglas Frantz To Be Chief Investigator for Senate Panel. It's about John Kerry's new chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee. But when I first saw it I thought, "What? First Sanjay Gupta and now that guy from NYPD Blue?!"

Okay, I guess I could write a whole post on this one: Porn Industry Seeks Federal Bailout/. Yeah, I could do a whole post on the porn industry's hard times, limp sales and need for stimulation. But I'm way too high-brow for that.

The ghosts of Presidents Past, Present and Future met at the White House today for a historic lunch. (I know I'm supposed to write "an historic" but that bugs me).
I love this pic because, to me, it perfectly highlights the awkwardness of the moment. George HW is all tight in with Obama for the shot, whereas Jimmy Carter seems to be keeping himself on the periphery. And there's Billy Clinton who is just barely tolerating Obama, next to Bush who is next to Obama who won the office by tying his opponent to his presidency. It's an exercise in awkwardness, at least the way I see it. (Although, on a positive note, it's also testament to our democracy).

H/T to Oliver Willis for this link to Ben and Jerry's new flavor, Yes Pecan!, available in stores during January. benjerry.com/yespecan Except, this flavor only works outside the South. One of the numerous things I learned while living in Georgia (such as "mash the button" and "gem clips" and "I don't mean to be ugly, but...") is that the nut of which we speak is a "pi-cahn." Why? Because as the sassy lady I worked with informed my carpetbagging ass: "A pi-cahn is a delicious nut. A pee-can is what your granpappy kept under his bed at night!"

And finally, a couple new books you might want to check out:
How to See Yourself As Others See You by the Dalai Lama--Not a new book, but new to me. It's about differentiating what we perceive with our senses and how those things really are. It talks a lot about getting over our obsession with "I," as in recognizing that we and the things around us are not separate things.

Snow by Cynthia Rylant--What a beautiful and lyrical tribute to snow and the feelings it engenders in us, adult and child alike: "The best snow is the snow that comes softly in the night like a shy friend afraid to knock. So she thinks she'll just wait in the yard until you see her. This is the snow that brings you peace...And then there is the snow that falls in fat, cheerful flakes while you are somewhere you'd rather not be. Maybe school. Maybe work..." It's a beautiful book, especially for bedtime. Which is where I'm headed now.

Hasta manana.