"I'd be a dog, because they get to stay inside and get on the couch."

I should have added "My Name is Earl" to my list of favorite things. Aside from "Arrested Development", which appears to be all but defunct now, "Earl" is the only show on tv right now that makes me laugh out loud. The title of this post was Earl's response last night to his brother Randy's question, "If you could be any animal in the world, what would you be?". And why not a cat? As Earl explained, because he's allergic to cats and he wouldn't want to go around making himself sneeze all the time. Genius.

Maybe being from the South makes this show just a little funnier because I have known (and am possibly related to) some people who would actually do or say some of the things shown on "Earl". I hope this show sticks around for awhile, because it seems like the shows I really enjoy always seem to get cancelled too soon. And I love the theme of the show, that if you "Do good things and good things will happen to you. Do bad things and it will come back and bite you in the ass. " I'll leave off with some of my other favorite lines from the show:

"Never underestimate the power of confidence. And never underestimate fifteen beers, a little enlightenment, and the power of Rob Base and DJ Easy Rock. "

"Whether picking up trash, returning stolen merchandise, or helping a homosexual find love, it always has the same reward… feeling good about yourself. "

Joy - "There is nothing in the Bible that says people have a right to learn stuff. I have read it."

"Quittin' smokin' is kinda like going to prison. If you can get through the first three days, you got a fighting chance. First we tried the tapes, then we tried the patches. Someone told us to try carrot sticks as a subsitute, but we couldn't get the damn things to light. "

"To some people, a free beer might not mean too much. But for a guy who just lost his last 12 dollars and is stuffin' free nuts in his pocket,...it's a life saver."

And my all time favorite so far:

Earl: "Yah, but that dress has a stain on it." Joy: "It's OK, that's where I'm gonna' Bedazzle my initials!"

Casey's Favorite Thing

I couldn't add this pic to the previous post, but I thought an image of Casey enjoying his favorite blanket was in order.

Favorite Things

So, I have to admit upfront that I am a little late to the whole iPod craze. To be perfectly honest, I just didn't get what the big deal was and was perfectly content to keep on using my Sony minidisc player while working out. But recently I started to notice all the other folks in the gym with their teeny tiny iPods, and my minidisc player (all 12 ounces of it) started to feel like a dinosaur strapped to my arm. So when Mom & Dad offered to hand down one of their shuffles (Mom has upgraded to the iPod nano - I am being out-teched by my mother!) I jumped at the offer. I get it now. I loaded 3 hours worth of music onto the thing and its not even half full. No skipping, light as a feather and CD quality sound. Now I am drooling over the new iPod, although I readily admit that I have no idea when I would actually watch Season 1 of "Lost" on the damn thing, but I like the idea of being able to should the mood strike me.

Anyway, my newfound appreciation for all things "apple" and watching Oprah give away the new iPods on her annual "Favorite Things" show got me to thinking about current fads and what would be on my list of "Favorite Things" and what wouldn't make the cut. So here's my short list:

FIRST, THE STUPID:
Sudoku - If you've missed the boat on this one, allow me to fill you in. Sudoku is this ridicuolous logic puzzle in which the player must fill in a grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9, but each number can only be used once in each row, column, and box. Rob brought me home a copy of one from the local newspaper and after fifteen minutes of hair-pulling and teeth-gnashing the puzzle found its crumpled ass in the trash. I saw a news piece on the Sudoku craze which said that there are people who fill all of their spare time working these puzzles. Now, I'll be the first to admit that logic puzzles are not my strong suit, especially those containing numbers, but give me a break. Can't we find something more useful to do with our spare time, people - like say, computer Solitare? Now that's a good old-fashioned fad I can get behind.

Brangelina - If I hear one more story about Brad Pitt, Angeline Jolie, and Jennifer Aniston I'm going lose my Thanksgiving appetite. I love a good gossip piece about celebrities as much as the next pop culture freak, but I've hit my limit on this one. Here's what I think: Brad Pitt is a aesthetically blessed man with limited personal hygene skills who probably farts at the dinner table. Angeline Jolie is a talented actress whose personal choices (marriage to Billy Bob Thornton, history of self-mutilation, brief stint as a lesbian) simply do not match the public persona she tries to display (UN goodwill ambassador, adopting mother, social activist), so we shouldn't be surprised that she would have some sort of inappropriate relationship with a married man while denying having done so while said man babysits her kids. So they're probably perfect for each other. Good luck, go away. As for Jennifer Aniston, I think she's a pretty hot babe who will have no trouble finding someone else to hang out with, and that since she has like 27 movies coming out this month she should probably take a vacation before we get tired of looking at her. Bottom line is they all have more money than sense.

NOW, THE GOOD:
The Braun Tassimo coffee maker - Spend $170 on a coffee maker that only brews one cup at a time? You betcha! Because it's not just a coffee maker. You can make tea, lattes, cappucinos, hot chocolate - all with the press of a button. No muss, no fuss. Me likey. By my calculations, if you bought 42.5 tall lattes from Starbucks in a year, then you could actually save money by brewing your own with the Tassimo. Of course, since I only purchase maybe 7 lattes a year then it seems a little silly for me to actually add one of these babies to my counter, but a girl can dream.

Rachael Ray and her 30 minute meals - OK, so with a new magazine, new cookbooks, and a new talk show all about to debut, our girl may be a little close to over-exposure land, but until she gets there I am her biggest fan. Cook a full Thanksgiving meal in 30 minutes? Yes, thank you. Only use 10 ingredients readily available at the local Kroger to cook a full dinner? Again, me likey. Who says you have spend all day sweating it out in the kitchen trying to figure out what the hell "brining the turkey" means? Not Rachael, and sure as hell not me. Plus, she's so damn happy all the time its hard to not like her.

So there's my list. And to finish things off, I thought I would discuss a fad that I love that never goes out of style. The blanket. Not those fancy cashmere "throws" Oprah likes to give away as one of her "Favorite Things", but the simple 32x34 version made out of anything that makes you happy and gets dragged through childhood as a loyal companion. Casey has two, a purple one and a green one, and he has one by his side at almost all times. Mine is blue and fuzzy and now scattered with holes, and I sleep with it every night as I have since I was born. Mom has lovingly made versions of these for the family and they are treasured. Rob carried one that apparently had to be frequently repaired by his mom until there was basically nothing left but a hankerchief. Ah, the unconditional love of a blanket. It may not brew a perfect cup of cappucino or adopt children from Cambodia, but it never lets you down. Now that's a favorite fad worth holding on to.

Photographic Evidence

In case anyone forgot, here's a pic of me as Princess Lea, Colleen's halo & wings, and Court draped in clear plastic with a roll at the bottom (and of course Ben in the background dressed as Spock, but that wasn't a costume). I may be fuzzy on some of the details, but I'm pretty sure her condom costume was the top prize winner at the Ball that year.

And a few more in case anyone forgot the drinking nun (Sister Mary Colleen) or "the road" or the Robert Palmer chics....

Halloween: Harmless Fun or Child Abuse?

Judging from the picture, you would probably choose the later of the two. Ah, but you would be wrong. Contrary to photographic evidence, Casey actually enjoyed his first official "trick or treating". He started out a little tentative when approaching houses, but by the end he was reaching into the candy bowl and grabbing his goodies like a pro. Although we never could get him to clearly say "trick or treat" he did manage his own version which sounded like "trickatrickatricka". He was the cutest monkey on the block.

Watching all of the little princesses and PowerRangers and witches and chickens (yes, there was an adorable little girl in a chicken costume) made me remember how much I used to love Halloween. Growing up it was my favorite holiday, and not just because of the free candy (although, let's be honest, free candy makes just about any occasion better). It was more about the costume, the chance to be anyone or anything else, even if just for a day. My friends and I would spend weeks planning our costumes, and with a stash of cardboard donated from my Dad, we would create our masterpieces. One year we were a pair of dice, another we were playing cards in the form of Blackjack (it's a wonder I didn't grow up to have a raging gambling addiction). There were of course the requisite years of being a hobo or a punk rocker, and those early teen years where we tried to get by with just putting on our PJ's and telling people we were disguised as babies (you remember those years when it was no longer "cool" to go trick or treating, but you secretly didn't want to give up the candy or the dressing up?). Even those years when the costume wasn't totally originally and well planned, it was still serious fun and I loved every minute. And yes Colleen, I certainly remember the Ball on the Belle when I was Princess Lea, you were an angel, and Courtney was a giant condom - the addition of massive quantities of alcohol taking the place of free candy certainly never did anything to diminish my affection for Halloween.

So I felt a little jealous watching all of our little neighborhood ghosts and goblins roaming the streets Monday night, and I've decided that next year I am getting back into costume. I may end up being the oldest fake punk rocker on the block, but who cares? Free candy and the freedom of being someone else for a day are calling my name.