Catty Comments

Already a 2007 Darwin nominee

Sad but true...

Harlequin meets... NASCAR

I can't make this stuff up. The title isn't even figurative - Harlequin has signed a freaking 16-book deal with NASCAR for romances set within the NASCAR world.

One interesting tidbit in the article: romances account for 55 percent of ALL mass-market fiction. The remaining books sold, by percentages, are:  15% Rachel Ray "30-minute meal" cookbooks (as if - pure fiction in under 45 minutes...), 5% The DaVinci code, and the other 25% is Harry Potter. Rachel Ray needs to sign a motion picture deal, pronto

These books are truly fantasy - their guidelines are, "...no crashes, no drugs, no alcohol, no sex." Because, um, NASCAR drivers are all gay mormon men who only drive bumper cars?

In honor of the Grammys

Love it & had to share:

Mayor McDreamy goes to rehab...

While my friends and I are still trying to figure out what Isaiah Washington of Grey's Anatomy went to rehab for (stupidity? media training? beating the gay insensitivity out of you? can we send the U.S. president there? do you go to rehab *only* for homophobia, or can we send all the racist people there too?), here's our local San Francisco rehab news:

Mayor McDreamy is now in outpatient alcohol counseling in San Francisco. McDreamy is now so famous, People magazine is covering it.

I'm glad for him, and think that counseling is a great thing whether or not he has a problem with alcohol. But is an entire affair with your friend's wife (and co-worker), bringing 19 year-old women to city events where they consume alcohol, and losing the city's NFL football team *all* to do with alcohol? Can any alcoholics help me weigh in on this topic? And can President Bush use this as an excuse for starting 2 wars and saying it will only cost 2 billion dollars total?

2006 in review, from Florida

Strange, funny stories pop up from Florida pop up so often that FARK has an entire category for them. Yep, there's "Scary", "Strange", "News Flash" categories, alongside "Florida".

So via FARK, here it is - the 2006 Year in Review from the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Many of the glorious moments are here - a woman stopped at customs for a human skull in her suitcase, to "ward off evil spirits." The man who stole a small plane to fly him & his son to Cuba. A 15-year old boy who stole a transit bus in Orlando, picked up passengers, collected fares, and drove the speed limit (are you listening, Tucson Sun Tran drivers?!) before he was arrested. Teenagers joyriding in a stolen school bus. The Boca Raton police officer that accidentally left her gun in the ladies room of a resort. Fully loaded. And, as always, multiple incidents with alligators, drugs & pythons.

Fabulous "Pursuit of Happyness"

Man, the semi-hokey trailer (below) does not do this movie justice. It's sweet, raw, and touching. All filmed on location in San Francisco, Oakland & Alameda. I also *love* the details of the old BART ticket machines, the old cars & advertisements, and the old BART route maps.

Weird holiday gift of the day

Step right up, folks - you will never need to buy another Swiss Army Knife (or any other tool) for the rest of your life once you get your hands on this baby! It has 85 different attachments on it, including a laser pointer - very handy when you have to give a PowerPoint presentation on the Matterhorn! Of course, they don't mention that keeping it in your pocket is likely to cause severe imbalance, with the predictable result of falling off whatever sheer rock face you happen to be rappeling down at the time. No worries - I am sure there is a climbing tool included in the knife for hooking into solid rock. After all, it is Swiss.

Story from The Guardian Unlimited (UK), link courtesy of Arts & Letters Daily, one of the Web essentials for an omnivorous reader.

Weird toy of the day

We all know that Japanese toy and tech manufacturers are making great progess in the area of artificial intelligence, robotics, etc. But this odd little gadget is puzzling. It is a toy/whatsit  that's TOO SHY to come out of its box. No, really. Check it out and read the description. What if you were in a hurry and needed your damn keychain already, but you can't have it because you have to sweet- talk it out of its packaging?! Whatevs! The best part? The instructions are only in Japanese.

I found it at Shiny Shiny, the best source of gadget weirdness EVAH!

Fabu ice dancing costumes and program?!!!

And it's not even Dubreil & Lauzon! They're even FRENCH! It's Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder, and their free dance from this weekend's Trophee Eric Bomphard.

Cool music (Ennio Morricone's music from The Untouchables), cool choreography, and fabulous costumes?! From French ice dancers?! I'm crying with happiness...

Video of Fed-Ex finding out he was getting a divorce...

Via text message. Oh Brit - soooooo cold! And, dare I say it, how CATTY!