My husband is convinced that if not for him, I would have suffered the same fate as Mr. Morris of the Bronx at some point in my life. But he tends to exaggerate.

I was reading through the saga of Mr. Morris' rescue (registration required) and I realized that there's more here than meets the eye and that I shouldn't just poke fun. Imagine the discipline it would take to hold onto every piece of paper that came into your hands over 10 -- TEN -- years. I can't stand holding magazine inserts for more than a few seconds -- seconds I said. And this guy keeps whatever paper he finds for a decade? Truly amazing.

I read this article yesterday and it's moved me another step closer to supporting Howard Dean. And the attacks from Kerry and Gephardt are below the belt -- because they both know that Dean wasn't supporting or condoning anything bin Laden did in his remarks. He was, in fact, representing the true spirit of our democratic system. And he's 100 percent correct to say that politicians are not the judge and jury. That's what I expect to hear from my president - not a bunch of rah, rah cheerleading, inflammatory, manipulative bullshit.

And my Dean Lean received another nudge when I saw that Chief Fascist Rudy reminded everyone he'll always be a prosecutor at heart. (Don't get me wrong, I respect Guliani and he was a great mayor for NYC. But he should not be unleashed on the American public. Not now -- not ever.) I'd rather the Chief Executive discuss this without prejudice or pandering. How refreshing that would be.

I picked up Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier at the library way back when and just couldn't get into it. I'm that kind of reader -- if after the first five pages I'm not hooked, forget it. But if I am hooked, I'm up until 2 or 3 in the morning reading. Haven't had a good one like that in a while though.

Maybe the movie will be different. But I wonder: since there really is a Cold Mountain, NC, why go all the way to Romania to shoot the damn thing? Okay, so here's the answer.

I'm not sure if Congressional spamming is ironic, or just par for the course. Either way, I wish the New York Times would take on the Viagra, mortgage and "insert body part here"-enlargement spammers. Btw, my favorite spams are about anti-spamming software. More irony, I know.

For anyone that knows me, or has read most of this blog, it's no surprise that this article (registration required) about auto safety would grab my attention. So they're working on a car that will nudge you to be a better driver.

A few years ago the safety focus was on road rage, which had been around forever, they just gave it a new name. I used to call it "asshole driving." But that was just me, I'm sure.

Now the big safety problem is driver distraction, accountable for about a quarter of all car accidents. But when you look through what specific "distractions" cause accidents, wouldn't you think that after all the legislative and media hype, cell phones would be the number one biggie? I did anyway. I couldn't have been more wrong. Cell phones were at the bottom of the list. "Outside stimuli" -- basically whatever is outside that catches your eye -- is the number one distractor. Maybe they'll come up with a pair of high tech blinders?

First we had DeLay and the cruise ship, which outraged many (something I always like to see.) Now there's the possibility of Bush II accepting the nomination at Yankee Stadium? I guess I had better get used to all this nonsense - at least until they all pack up and leave town next September.

I love turkey. Here's the recipe for the best turkey sandwich in the world, courtesy of my dad.

Take two slices of bread, spread mayonaise evenly. Cover one slice with turkey. Take leftover stuffing. Form into a patty (I added the patty part.) Place on top of turkey. Take a generous slice of cranberry sauce. Place on top of stuffing. Add second slice of bread. Cut. Eat.

No need to thank me.

Quiet Christmas this year. Though Tilly the Cat made out like a bandit.

I feel the same way about TIME's Person of the Year as I do about the November 2004 election: ANYBODY but GWBush.
Not to take away anything from the soldiers. They all deserve it and I think TIME made an excellent choice this year.

Wasn't it the Cowardly Lion that said: I do believe in spooks. I do believe in spooks. I do, I do, I do, I do believe in spooks.

Hip hip hooray for Wilbur and Orville. The real story though is that their efforts might have gone unnoticed for much longer if they didn't have sister Katherine pushing for them -- and taking care of them to boot. Not one word about her in all the speeches though.

How is it that Strom Thurmond's illegitimate daughter Essie Mae is kept secret for 70+ years? Doesn't anyone wonder why there wasn't some word of this leaked to the press during Thurmond's most vocal anti-segregation tirades? It's a compelling story -- and all I keep thinking about is how things might have turned out if the news had leaked. Though decades late, at least one reporter tried. Not that I'm into revisionist history -- but it does make me wonder.

And why am I not surprised that Thurmond slept with a 16-year old house maid when he was 22 -- did that dirty secret haunt him his whole life or was he able to detach himself like so many white slave owners were able to do? And what's the cut off for statutory rape again?

What better place to fly than Kill Devil Hills, NC. Starting in 1972, we started going there for some period of time over the summer. (Technically we stayed in Southern Shores which is right next door.) Faithfully -- plus any weekends in winter and spring we could get away. Now I count the time between visits in years rather than months - but I think of the place often. If you've never visited the Outer Banks of North Carolina...on second thought, try Cape May. From what I hear, it's a little too crowded down south nowadays.

Let me get this straight. There's going to be an Average Joe 2 - Hawaii airing next month. Just a few weeks after Average Joe 1 was rejected? I'm almost afraid to even turn my TV on anymore. Do I have to tell you what I hope is next for reality TV?

File this one under: "Better Late Than Never."

And a double whammy in the news involving two things I will never understand: a mother who kills her kids and a woman who stays with a man who beats her. As Mrs. Puff would say, "Oh SpongeBob, Why??"

I've been on vacation this week. From everything. Until I saw this article about the restrictions on contracts in Iraq and Wolfowitz decked out in full military gear. Doesn't anyone in the White House understand the consequences of the decisions being made there? It appears not.

Gotta love this story. As a former Long Island RailRoad commuter, I hate to break it to the guy: you're not the first person this has happened to. And how dare you blame the MTA because he chose to sleep it off on the train. Why don't people hold themselves accountable for what happens to them? Why is it always someone else's fault?

Didn't I just mention how much I love NY Post headlines? (I'm not linking to the original headline because the Post thinks it okay to charge for yesterday's news. Go figure.) Could someone explain to me how the New York Times -- after all it's been through recently -- publishes an errant obit that 1) is unverified and 2) was basically plagiarized. You'd think they would make very sure to avoid such things. Then again, maybe Jayson Blair was the tip of the iceberg. Maybe they should change their tagline to All the News that Fits. (I didn't make that up - I've seen it somewhere before. Can't remember where.)

I've shared a bed with my husband since 1987 (we've been married for 12, you do the math). For years, his clock radio was tuned to WBAB-102.3 and the radio alarm kicks in usually aroun 6:30 AM. Kevin's able to get moving right away. It usually takes me at least 30 minutes to move my big toe. The DJ for most of that time was Bob Buchmann - who wasn't offensive but didn't do much for me in the morning. Not that much does, by the way. As I said, itt takes me forever to wake up -- and I'm usually a little grumpy.

Some time ago, Buchmann left BAB to go over to Q104.3 -- but my stubborn Irish husband didn't feel it was necessary to change the station. After months of bitching and moaning about the two morons -- Roger and JP -- who took over the morning slot, Kevin finally switched, largely because I just got more grumpy -- and he didn't think that was possible.

So now JP is in hot water because he decided to use the morning show to inform the children of Long Island that there is no Santa Claus. I don't buy his after-the-fact explanation. I don't have kids and I'm outraged. I can't image how I'd feel if I did have kids. If his message was to parents, why did the promos encourage kids to listen in? It was as mean-spirited and deceptive a thing as I've ever seen. The cynic in me says it was all calculated to generate publicity -- which it did -- and boost ratings. If it was, I hope it backfires. Permanently.

(No one does headlines better than the NY Post. Too bad the reportings sucks. Call number 106.1 is WBLI, not WBAB. Two separate stations guys.)

The Blogger.com homepage has a list of "Blogs of Note." I usually ignore them -- primarily because I'm extremely jealous that my blog hasn't been "noted." Not once.

For some reason today, this blog caught my attention.

So Ralph is "exploring" (registration required) whether to run for President in 2004. As noted previously, Ralph inspired the idea for Outrage.com. I was so angry after November 2000 that I wanted to create a website where anyone could talk about anything that outraged them. I procrastinated as I'm wont to do and when I finally got around to it, I discovered blogs. And set up my own outrage outlet. That's been enough. And believe it or not, Outrage.com's first anniversary is coming up soon - December 19. I may do a year in review -- or the Top 10 Outrages for 2003. Stay tuned...

I don't think I've mentioned this recently but I consider myself a DC native. Though I grew up across the Potomac in Alexandria, Virginia, I was born in Washington Hospital Center, attended Notre Dame Academy and Trinity College -- all three of them either on or just off of North Capitol Street. Not to mention my first three jobs were on Capitol Hill. So I know a little bit about how the city works.

Which is why I don't think the architect of the new Medicare "reform" should be let off the hook so easy now that he's moving to private industry (registration required). If the reform didn't so overwhelmingly benefit private business, maybe I wouldn't be so outraged.

I had a major presentation for school (I'm going part-time to get an MS in education) due yesterday. My thesis question was "Do boys and girls learn differently?" Brain research over the last decade shows that they do -- but what was most interesting was the reaction of classmates. I've been working on it since September in one way shape or form. Right now I''m just glad it's over.