Friday funnies and tidbits.

I can't focus enough this morning to write a single-themed post because I am deeply immersed in something at work and my brain has its limits. So here you go, Friday readers . . . random tidbits of things that interest and/or amuse me:

I wish I knew this man . . . via Eric Zorn's blog.

I have discovered a new favorite wine, which I believe I found during my one-day stop in the wine country in September. It's a Beringer 2001 North Coast (please note the correction: I initially called this "North Country," which was incorrect) Sangiovese. With the red wines, I cannot usually tell much difference, but this one really stands out. It is like drinking velvet. The strange thing is, I can't seem to locate it anywhere, even on Beringer's own web site. I haven't looked very hard yet, but will this weekend . . . I believe this will be my new house wine.

Speaking of wine, have you seen this web site? Bar Man, as he calls himself, has the goal of visiting 1000 bars this year, with a sometimes partner in crime being his wife, the Mysterious Chinese Woman, as he calls her. He is up to bar number 863, which he visited on a trip to Barcelona. However, most of the bars he visits are in New York City and his web site is a valuable guide to charming, strange and excellent places in the City.

If any of you are in Texas or simply interested in what is going on in the civil rights arena in Texas, you shouldn't miss this new web site of the Texas ACLU. It is chock-full of information! Also, reading it makes me feel heartened that progressives have not yet given up on this Reddest of Red States.

Lots of buzz these days about Joan Didion's new book, "After Life." The New York Times has an appetite-whetting excerpt for your reading pleasure.

The New York Times helped stoke my appetite in another way as well, with this story about the jitters at the White House in light of the potential criminal indictment of Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove and "Scooter" Libby. It's a must-read that will brighten even the gloomiest of Fridays.

I desperately want to live in this city.

This little one, my darling Orley dog, is having a teeth cleaning today, which for some bizarre reason is considered dental surgery, so please think good thoughts for her, and for all dogs undergoing procedures of the veterinary kind:



Here's some Friday hobo humor for you, via Overheard in New York:

It Means He Intends to Begin Courting

Hobo: I wanna tackle you! I'm gonna tackle you girl! I'm gonna tackle you girl! You hear me? I'm gonna tackle you!
Girl #1: Did he just say he wants to tackle us?
Girl #2: Oh my god! What did he mean by that?

--Spring & Mercer

Overheard by: Spooner

And here is a Friday photo for you . . . Little Boy Waiting in Rural Massachusetts:



UPDATE: Check out this fun version of my photo above that Canadian Brett created with his SPS (Super Photoshopping Skills):