TGIF

Friday again, and my morning is starting off way too early. While the coffee is brewing, I got my morning jolt of optimism when I read this.

By the way, have you had the chance to fall for Jimmy Fallon? Jimmy took over Late Night for Conan O'Brien, who is taking over The Tonight Show starting on Monday night, June 1, 2009. Conan is a guest tonight on Jay Leno's last broadcast as host of The Tonight Show.

Congratulations to Kavya Shivashanka, the lovely young lady from the great state of Kansas, who is winner of this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee. I'm not sure exactly why I'm so enthralled by spelling bee competitions, and I wonder about the future and relevancy of them considering the twitter-text-message culture of lol, c u l8r, emoticonic communication of the day. Try your hand with this spelling bee quiz. And this movie is worthy of a lazy weekend viewing.

Remember the Atlantis landing earlier this week? Do you know how they get it back to Florida when it lands in California? It catches a ride on a 747. Check out this "Image of the Day" on the Nasa Website Image Gallery.

That's all for now, folks. The weather looks great this weekend. Look for mid-70's in San Francisco and Seattle, low 80's in Atlanta, a little rain for Boston and New York, and plenty of sunshine with mid to upper 80's in Olathe, Kansas.

Vacation Notice

Still have vacation on the brain? This article says it plainly: Only YOU can prevent vacation deprivation.

My favorite vacation notice came from New York City's finest, under the direction of Guiliani, as announced over a megaphone to the occupants of a squat in the East Village: "You are all in violation of a vacation notice!" Applause and laughter erupted, along with joyful cheers of, "Horray! We're going on vacation!" It helps to keep one's sense of humor when confronted with hundreds of men in riot gear. Especially when you're just hanging out and playing Scrabble.

I'm looking forward to a few days in San Francisco in the very near future. Did you know today is the 72nd birthday of the (opening of the) Golden Gate Bridge? Check out some cool photos here. I'm hoping to check out the street food scene for myself while I'm there. And kitchenette. Maybe even an edible expedition.

I've already told you about Mental Floss. Now don't forget this stuff for your teeth.

Wednesday always feels like a mini-vacation to me because of the food section. This site stays up to date all week.

And to my about-to-debut nephew, there's a vacation notice with your name on it, buddy. You've got a few more weeks to hang out in your happy place, so no need to rush. If you procrastinate too long, you will be shown the exit.

Alternate Merge

Alternate Merge. It's a concept. There are opinions. Like this one from Joe--a late merger married to an early merger. The idea is that cars take turns to merge into one lane--from a toll booth, on-ramp, when a lane ends, etc. Californians seem to have the "alternate merge without rage" experience well in hand. Elsewhere in the United States I've experienced it to be less than graceful on many levels.

Alternate merge was on my mind this past holiday weekend, when lots of folks were on the roads. Did you merge nice with your fellow holiday travelers? Ah well, Autopia had its issues, too.

Now it's back to our regularly scheduled program, and most people are thinking about alternate merging into the work week: twenty minutes of procrastination, twenty minutes of work.

This site is on the cusp of something, only I'm not sure what. Reality or virtual reality, there is some humor to be had.

Have you met The Guide Girls?

I'd rather be playing Space Invaders.

Happiness is...

...the sound of a twin sonic boom. Welcome home, Atlantis.

I love a good long holiday weekend. It affords me a good amount of time to read. I devoured the New York Times. I particularly enjoyed this piece in the Magazine section about Conan O'Brien's move to The Tonight Show, this book review, and this article that made me lament the loss of the era of the kinder, gentler pin-up girl.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. Take a few minutes to view this message from the Commander-in-Chief.

Enjoy the day. You can put off procrastinating until tomorrow.

Spent, conversation skills, and a weekend project

The unofficial start of summer is looming largely this Thursday. There are a million things to be done before taking off for the long weekend (longer if you start early tomorrow). But before you check out for the holiday, here are a few tidbits to pass the time.

First, an intellectual item: this from the New York Times (it references a new book, sex, and shopping--all of which could enhance your holiday weekend).

Second, study up on some social skills for the weekend ahead. This is especially if you have a wedding to attend this weekend or in the upcoming high wedding season. (P.S. If you happen to be socially savvy and come across a socially awkward person at such an event, please be kind.)

Third, enjoy these bloopers.

Last, if you are looking for a weekend project, you could always build a hobbit house.

That's all for now. If you have serious procrastination needs this weekend, spend some quality time with FOD. Now go do something productive. Finish packing for the weekend. Or find a happy hour budddy.

Hubble

My mind is on the crew of the Atlantis today. They are nine days into an eleven day mission, with plans to return home to planet Earth this Friday morning. Mike Massimino is still tweeting from space after successfully repairing the Hubble Telescope. If you've never viewed the images from Hubble, you're missing out.

Which got me thinking about Hubble. A funny-ish word. I Wiki-ied Edwin Hubble (kids and journalists, don't try that at home) and was delighted to discover he was born in the Show-Me-State (in good company with Mark Twain, Harry Truman, and Walter Cronkite). NASA tells a nice story of Hubble the Astronomer.

Sex and the City has a few Hubbell moments. Which are either a knock off or an homage to this scene with Katie and Hubbell, depending on your perspective. (Pardon the homophone).

And since it's Wednesday, have a laugh at these awkward family photos. One of them might be yours.

Red, White, and Black

Have you seen this commercial for a furniture company in North Carolina called The Red House? It is rich with levels of humor, mass marketing, cultural mores, and cult following appeal. Here's a look at the behind the scenes making of the commercial. Talk amongst yourselves.

Have you been introduced to Stuff White People Like? I'm still waiting for the post on sarcasm.

Feeling racy? Take part in the continuing research on race and perception at Harvard's Project Implicit.

Unplugged

At the University of Pennsylvania commencement ceremonies today, Google CEO Eric Schmidt urged grads to unplug and live "analog" for a while. This even as Goole's new search offerings are designed to pull one deeper down the super-nano-hyper-techno rabbit hole.

While watching this clip from the Today Show on NBC (text version, if you prefer) , my brain briefly wandered to the concept of early intervention for tech-isolated kids. Then the memory of a voice jolted me back to reality--"you kids stop playing those records so loud!" I resisted the temptation to jump into the fuddy-duddy pigeon hole and moved on.

The most laughable statement (as reported with journalistic earnestness by Matt Lauer) is this: "The biggest challenge was figuring out what to do with all the time he [David Silver] now had on his hands." Seriously? David's initial reaction to the situation? He described the experience as “chaos … just because you don’t know what to do, so you’re freaking out sometimes.”

Yes, free time. What to do? Perplexing.

Maybe the one girl can learn how to read time on a wall clock.

Are the days of "go outside and play" and "be home when the street lights come on" really gone?

Another voice, that of Peter Falk as the grandfather in The Princess Bride, comes to mind: "That's right, before television we had BOOKS."

Which brings me to the story of a mother with young four daughters (no this is not an Austen or Alcott novel synopsis), all of whom loved to read. One day she brought home a book and the girls began to bicker about who would get to read it first. The mother intervened, briefly: "figure out how to share it, or I'll take it away and none if you will get to read it."

The solution that presented itself was simple. All four girls piled into bed and took turns reading. Aloud. To each other. And thus began many happy lifetimes of unplugged diversions (not to mention countless hours of procrastination).

Verlyn Klinkenborg offers some thoughts on the lost art of reading aloud in this editorial observation from yesterday's New York Times. (Bonus points to VK for referencing the reading aloud of Shakespeare IN an Austen novel.) Read it aloud to whomever happens to be nearby.

Organic Sarcasm

Sarcasm is an often misunderstood literary form. Generally speaking, the purpose of sarcasm is to direct ridicule at its subject. Most journalists I know tend not to employ it--giving grand exception to the folks at Comedy Central.

This clip from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is a good case study for sarcasm. Well done, Samatha Bee.

Tweet and Eat

I just read this article about a use for Twitter that has me rethinking my opinion of the website.

Now I'm hungry. Time to go find some good eats. Have a good weekend, and please, try to dine responsibly.

Daydreams and Kleptos, Tweets in Space, and Bacon

I was delighted to read this article above the scroll on MSNBC when I sat down with my morning cup of coffee. It referenced this article from more than a year ago (while reading this one, my mind actually disengaged and started wandering--Jedi mind trick?).

Jason Werth had a good night yesterday. I particularly liked this headline: Jason Werth goes klepto on the basepaths. I've had that daydream. Thanks for living it last night, Jason.

For those of you who tweet, you may want to sign up to follow Mike Massimino, who has sent the first tweet from beyond the Earth's atmosphere. (If you are tweet-free, click here for Astro Mike's twitter feed.) Seven of NASA's finest are out there right now on a riskier than usual mission. I'll leave it to Brian Williams et al. to say it best. (Thanks for living the dream, STS-125. Godspeed.)

Well, it's Wednesday and I'm hoping to spend some quality time with with the NYTimes Dining and Wine Section. Of particular interest is an item in the Off The Menu column regarding Locanda Verde. Very excited to hear that Karen DeMasco has signed on as the pastry chef. Now I'm daydreaming about her desserts.

And while Karen likes to leave the bacon on the hot line, here's a peek at a no-hold-barred pork-off in Park Slope, including bacon ice cream and more. Mmmmm. Bacon.

Time for a Little Travelling Music

I love a good road trip, but some days you've got to pack it up to get where you're going without the luxury of wanderlust.

Brian Williams has a new web feature called BriTunes. Okay, he admits he didn't name it (and at least one guy is displeased), so take the hokey with a grain of salt, but check out the first webisode where he interviews Brooklyn based band Deer Tick. (Brian, even if this series doesn't last, I'll still love you.)

I miss the days of driving all night to get back to my city by the bay and popping in "Back to You" by Box Set just after paying the toll for the car behind me, too. Just another random act of kindness.

Speaking of raks, go hug someone. You'll feel better. You know, be appropriate about it, though.

That's all the time I've got to dawdle today, as I've got miles to go before I sleep. Now where did I leave my iPod....

All About the Momas

Did you forget your Mom this Mothers' Day? She may forgive you if you email her this video. Just make sure you customize it with her name first.

Here's a tribute to the Mother of Mother's Day, which I'll admit I didn't know before today.

Speaking of West Virginia (if you read the last link), here are a few words from Jennifer Garner, Mom to Violet and Seraphina. Did you catch her on the Letterman show a few weeks ago?

I took my Mom to see the new Star Trek movie today--loved it! Thank you, J.J. Abrams, et al! Zach and Chris did a fun little feature on SNL last night. Glad to see that everyone is having fun with this reboot. Leonard and Zachary do this lovely interview for Newsweek. You get a good sense of a successful mentor/mentee relationship. Everyone should be so lucky.

Happy Mothers Day again, Momas. And since you loves movies, here's a montage of 100 memorable movie lines in 200 seconds.

Now go to bed. It's way past your bedtime.

Trouble

Oh, Twitter, you little vixen! Wooing the masses with your hipness and instant gratification! I will bend but not break! But for those who are more inclined, here's "All You Need to Know to Twitter" according to Paul Boutin.

For my part, I'm still chewing on Mark C. Taylor's op-ed "End of the University As We Know It." Go find a grad student and talk amongst yourselves.

Here's another word to add to your vernaculary: arugulance. I like to stir the pot, but not to burn the sauce, so find go find a foodie, a chef, a farmer or a politician and chat for a while about the passions and influence of Alice Waters. I'm guessing, though, that she's not one to Tweet. C'mon Nation! Slow Food. And in case you're looking for a selection for your book club, here are some books to consider.

In case this is all too heady for a Thursday, veg out for a few minutes and have some fun with food.

Seems I'm feeling a little spicy today. Time to find some more trouble.

Fires and Spandex and Bears, Oh My!

While stopped at the gas station today, I crossed paths with a woman in spandex as she was getting out of her SUV. In her vehicle were two kids, three dogs, and a bunch of "stuff" that seemed hastily thrown in. She seemed quite frazzled as she rooted through her purse for her cell phone.

From where I stood, I could easily hear her phone conversation. Turns out she lives in Santa Barbara where wild fires are continuing to burn. While working with her personal trainer she had gotten a call that it would be a good idea to evacuate. She literally ran home, loaded up the car, and got out of there, still in spandex. She had the piece of mind to grab the dog food and the baby formula, but not to grab a change of clothes. She laughed for a moment at being "stranded in spandex" before assuring her person on the other end that they were fine. I'm saying a prayer for her tonight, and for her family.

I had a nice visit tonight with my godson and his family. They had a great tale to tell at the dinner table. This morning around 7:30 AM they received a reverse 911 call reporting that "a 300 pound b--- was in the neighborhood," and folks should take care to keep their kids and pets indoors until animal control resolved the situation. Unfortunately the family member who took the call didn't hear what it was that was in the neighborhood, only that it began with the letter "b." A bird? A bobcat? A helicopter was heard overhead. Unable to take the kids to school, the parents pulled out the Legos.

Turns out it was a black bear. I was amused to hear one news report refer to it specifically as a "California black bear." Someone joke it was really an Oregonian black bear that jumped a southbound train, but got spooked by the wild fires. I refrained from commenting that it could have been Smoky the Bear. At least while the kids were in the room.

Argh!

Ah, the ever revolving door of taxes. I was in Washington, DC the other day, and it never fails to amuse me that their license plates read "Taxation Without Representation." Ah, the irony.

Although tax day was over two weeks ago, you might want want to take a few moments to read this and think about next year's federal filing extravaganza. Seriously, don't procrastinate on this one, or there may be much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments.

Speaking of irony, as of today you can sign up for Facebook alerts for MSNBC Bob Sullivan's blog. Follow the link at the end of his post from today.

Enough of the serious stuff. It's been a long week and I'm feeling like it's about time swash my buckle. Please excuse me while I shiver me timbers and such. To get your weekend started, take this quiz to find out your pirate name. Mine is Captain Mary Rackham. Argh! And Godspeed, matey!