Well, it's good to know that in a world in which many people cannot be trusted, some things are still kept sacred.

I recently received a book journal from Ex Libris Anonymous, and it was one of the most interesting, quirky, cool gifts I have gotten in quite some time. It came with two little notes tucked inside it that had obviously been written by a previous owner of the book that then became the journal. Just go and look at how cool their stuff is. It's a really neat idea -- one of those "wish I'd thought of it" things.

Every once in a while, there's a story that runs in the newspaper that seriously makes you wonder who could possibly have thought its publication was a good idea. This is one of those stories.

Don't talk to me about the Vikings. Just don't. Don't. Pool Boy is determined that it's my fault that they lost, because I had to leave the game with two minutes left in order to have dinner with the family. Insanely superstitious? Yes. Difficult to argue with? Oh, yes.

It's hard to believe that they could have started out 6-0 and ended up so badly. It's a microcosm for the season, I suppose -- they've been reliably inconsistent, to use a phrase that seems nonsensical but that every Vikings fan will understand. But even having watched their wretched season, I don't think any of us were prepared for that.

I should never have gone to eat dinner.

I enjoyed this Newsweek piece on Jon Stewart, although to some extent, there's little left to say about him. Funny, smart, relevant, and fair. Oh, and completely my boyfriend.

You can hear Sars talking about TWoP -- and a snippet of a Survivor recap, too -- over at NPR's On the Media. (Bottom of the page, headline "Telly Heads Unite.") It's worth the whole interview just to hear Sars's "Camel Lights" joke, honestly.

I played a lot of Mullendash! with the TWoP staff in Vegas. I have to tell you, I am very in touch with my inner Mullen. For quite a while, the Couch Baron and I were very effectively kicking each other's asses at that game, in that we often chose each other's answers as the Mullen. It's very complicated to figure out exactly how to take that sort of thing on the compliment/insult scale.

It actually seems like a good idea, but . . . Chimp Haven?

Just a quick funny story, from the continuing IM adventures of me and my friend PoolBoy. This was last Monday, obviously.

Alli: I have the flu or something. I'm very pink and clammy and coughing and generally adorable as all hell, you better believe.

PoolBoy: ugh, i'm due a cold, it's been a while

Alli: In other news, my five-year-old nephew was kicking my ass at Sonic 2 this morning on his Sega.

PoolBoy: EARTHQUAKE!

PoolBoy: OH MAN!

PoolBoy: HOLY SHIT

PoolBoy: jesus

PoolBoy signed off at 1:17:58 PM.

Yeah, that really happened. I would describe the ten minutes that passed before he signed back on as "tense." Being in LA itself, he is well and fine, of course, but . . . that is not an experience I care to repeat. Time for stomach to un-knot itself: probably an hour.

For those of you who only hang out here at the weblog, note that there's a new entry over in the journal about the fact that I quit my job. With any luck, that will get me here more often. Sigh.