Thursday, May 28, 2009

Rollin', rollin', rollin' ...

So, for the second time, a friend I thought was already on my blogroll asked if he could be on my blogroll.

Yes.

And since I am embarrassed not to have had him on my blogroll all along, allow me to direct your attention to I Peed on My Kid. It's every bit as funny as it sounds, and the guy who writes it used to write for both V.I.P. and the animated Spider-Man series. And porn. Plus, we went to high school together.

Perhaps more to the point, if you have a fabulous blog, and you can't understand why I hate you and haven't included you on the blogroll, it's probably because I thought I added you months ago and failed. Give me links in the comments.

Travel Tips: Lessons from Manchester, NH

You can complain all you want about Durham, North Carolina, but if you want something to eat in the Manchester, NH airport, on a weeknight, get there before 7 p.m. Yes, 7 p.m. in the town we call "ManchVegas."

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

A request for maybe the awesomest ongoing post ever

CousinMouse writes:
As a leading expert on the fashions of the 80s, can you please explain what the differences are between the styles of those days and those of today? Seriously, I have not observed any big differences. The 90s, too. I hear young folks saying "that looks so 90s" and I see no distinguishing features other than it looks contemporary.

Maybe a subject for City Mouse or a facebook note?
There may be others out there who struggle with this same very important issue. It is our responsibility to help them out.

Send me your pics of the 80s and 90s, specifically those that highlight differences between the fashion of that time and this one. Or post links to them in the comments. I'll add to this post regularly (sorry if you're reading this in a reader; you'll just have to keep coming back), and we will do what we can to educate a dude who acquired some of his signature pieces from the collection of 40s clothing my parents had in the barn in the 70s.

I'll kick us off with a pic from 1990. Note especially hair, eyewear, and footwear.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Thoughts while buying my mother's birthday present

Some of you in more citified or western parts may not have heard of Agway, which is too bad, because I love Agway. Agway describes itself as "Lawn, Garden, Pet, Bird and Farm Specialists," which is about right. You can buy chicks, and dog food, and fertilizer, and ant poison, and rose bushes, and a shed, and a bunny hutch, and a roof rake, and and and and and. Great store.
So, just so you know, if you went in just for a sec to buy someone you love a gift card, and you found yourself looking at the "impulse buy" stuff by the register, you might find yourself looking at the pet tags, and you might observe one that is pink and sparkly, with "Sexy" written on it.
Here are my two thoughts on that:
  • Do not not not buy your pet a tag that suggests that it is sexy. If a person wears a t-shirt that says, "sexy," there is some question about who procured the t-shirt, and therefore whether it is the wearer or some admirer who thinks the wearer is sexy. If a pet is wearing a tag that says, "sexy," everyone knows it was a human who bought the tag, and you will creep people the hell out if you tell the world you think your pet is sexy.
  • If you decide to write a blog post on pet tags that say, "sexy," do not search the internet for "pet tags sexy." There are creepy people out there, and they have posted to the internet already. Some of you may be reading this post because you went looking for some similar term on Google. Sorry both to call you creepy and to disappoint you with the content of this post. I do still think you're creepy, but you don't need that kind of abuse, you have bigger problems. Please feel free to look around City Mouse Country (ugh; the name of my own blog now grosses me out a little) and see if there's other content you find hilarious and entertaining. I am pretty sure none of it is creepy, though my regular readers will probably correct me with links in the comments.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Where? Weare. Where?

Sorry, kids. Been busy. There are mountains to climb and bellydancing lessons to take and commissions of diversity and multiculturalism to co-chair. Anyway, you don't want excuses. You want lists that compare me to Supreme Court Justice David Souter, inspired by a conversation with my cousin on a hike on Monadnock today.

Things about me that are like Supreme Court Justice David Souter:
  • We are white.
  • We have winning smiles.
  • We brought our belongings from New Hampshire to the D.C. area in a U-Haul.
  • We never totally unpacked.
  • We got sick of D.C., even with great jobs and friends there, and decided to return to New Hampshire.
  • The middle school in Weare, NH, (pronounced, "where." Yes, it's hilarious.) is named after neither of us.
Things about me that are unlike Supreme Court Justice David Souter:
  • Weare, NH, actually wanted to name the middle school for him.
  • I lasted only 8 years, while he lasted 19.
  • Republicans used to think he was on their side.
  • He does not seem to want special treatment or deference.
  • Anyone might be actually inclined to give him special treatment or deference.
  • I beat him back up here.
Other similarities or differences you think worth mentioning?

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Pot calling the kettles

OK, Internet friends, we have a crisis.
I have a pot luck to go to tonight.
Some of you may know that pot lucks are sort of my thing. Generally, I host them, rather than attending them, so that even if my dish falls a little flat, my guests are distracted by being impressed with what a good hostess I am (and I am).
But my go-to dish is my chicken chili with hominy in it. It's good, it's crazy-easy to make, and it goes in the Crock Pot.
And I have lost the recipe. More to the point, I have lost the whole book it was in, which includes all my backup go-to dishes.
So my plea is twofold:
  1. Did I give you that recipe?
  2. Do you have another backup recipe for me?
I need to be ready to go by 5, so any shopping and preparation needs to be done by then.