Recent conversation with Brenda:

Brenda: How was your day?

Me: It was going so well until I got chased by a police dog.

Brenda: Oh, sweet lord, why was a police dog chasing you?

Me: I'm not sure. Maybe it was the Beggin' Strips t-shirt I was wearing.

Brenda: I told you that shirt was ridiculous.

Me: Whatever. But as a Public Service Announcement, if you're being chased by a police dog, try not to go through a tunnel, then onto a little see-saw, then jump through a ring of fire. Apparently, they're trained for that.


Web Junkie

Steve West scours the Web searching for interest or absurdity and then shakes his head ruefully when he finds it. Read more »

Steve's Supermarket Adventure (Cont'd)

...Or The Further Foibles of Ugly On a Stick Tonight, at the Safeway, I encountered the same cashier as I do most Saturday nights. Ugly On a Stick. Go »

GooCon: Siesta Key

What can I say? It was the best time ever! Future GooCons now have a standard that will be difficult to surpass. Go »

I'm Like Evander Holyfield Except With Two Entire Ears

Recent conversation with Brenda. Brenda: My aunt just had a birthday. She's 94. Go »

Not All Heroes Wear Capes

At 11:00 a.m., Brenda called me from the school where she works and told me that she had fallen and was unable to drive home. She needed me to 1) find a second driver for her car, 2) come get her and take her to urgent care and 3) make sure that Olivia is taken care of when she arrives home in an hour. Go »

The Bus Stops Here

In Slapshot, Paul Newman encourages the minor league hockey team he captains to play like goons. The team begins to have some success and the driver of the team bus joins in the spirit of gooniness. Paul Newman approaches him while he is proceeding to smack the exterior of the bus with a sledge hammer and inquires as to what he is doing. Go »

Creepy Halloween Lodgings

These creepy places to stay during a Halloween vacation may be too late to consider this year but they're not going anywhere soon so keep them in mind for the future. You can't stay in all of these places but for those that you can, there's that extra layer of creepiness. The Haunted Hull House in Chicago. Go »