I may be a philistine, but I smell orangey!

I've mentioned how my L'Ailee can't stand diet discussions, yet has to endure a lot of them because she works in a gym. She wouldn't be any better off in an office, and not just because having to dress conservatively and act all diplomatic and make small talk would probably kill her. I just heard a loud and uninteresting conversation about the supposed evils of "white carbs," right near my cubicle. Worse yet, I can't play music, because I've got lots of phone work today. I was so, so, so tempted to prairie-dog up (Dilbert readers will know what I mean), assume my "innocent" voice, and ask whether chocolate's acceptable, because it's clearly a brown carb. L'Ailee's really affected how I think in a lot of ways. I no longer think of any food as "bad" in moderation, and I start to get twitchy when people talk about food being "bad" or "good" or "sinful", or talk about whether they've been "bad" or "good" because of what they ate.

What I'm craving right now is oranges. Lander Essentials makes a knockoff of Philosophy's 3-in-1 (shampoo, bubble bath, body wash--and in our cases, also shaving cream), for, like, one-tenth of the price. The Juicy Orange is SO yummy. It's *really* orangey, too, not sweet or sugary. What could I pair with it besides my Florida-tourist-trap orange blossom perfume? And then I had to have fruity deodorant, so I put on Teen Spirit strawberry. I was afraid I smelled like the Tropicana plant exploded, but I've been getting sniffed at all morning, not least of all by L'Ailee. She thinks orange and Healing Garden Organics' Wild Honey, which also has floral notes, are my best scents. At least I don't have to shell out a lot of money to please her nose.

You see all the heavy stuff on my mind today. It's just as well that I let my mind calm down a little, though.

Yet I'm still reading.

New Fay Weldon book out!!!! L'Ailee and I love-love Fay Weldon! Once again, we're gonna be sharing a new book, and I'm going to have to make the "no wasabi peanuts, no chocolate, no dog-earing" promise.

As if our smart little panda-boy Tai Shan, who's been loving his new pool lately, isn't enough, the National Zoo also has new baby tigers! The tigers are a bit shyer than the pandas, but you can catch glimpses, especially at night.

And ohmyGawds, there are Su Lin checks, as in the little panda princess in San Diego!!! Proceeds go to the San Diego Zoo's panda conservation, too. I'm definitely getting these for my personal account, even though it'll be hard to write on her and her mother Bai Yun's sweet faces. That is probably just as well. :-)

In light of glass artist Dale Chihuly's copyright infringement suit, Slate decided to recycle an extremely vicious article claiming that his art is more commerce than "real" art. Glass is a very difficult material to work with--hot and heavy, yet fragile. Being a Pisces--and, I guess, a philistinic cretin--I remember being blown away by his show in Orlando a couple years back, particularly the Seaforms. See the man's work for yourself.

Great article on re-joining the world after dealing with depression.

A year after the Kelo v. New London Supreme Court decision, and after all the other plaintiffs have settled with New London, brave Susette Kelo is still trying to hold on to her house

The American Family Association started the Christmas controversy way early this year. That's right--they're trying to avoid persecution by "Happy Holidays" nice and early. But guess what? They inspired me to write my first article for Talk 2 Action, an anti-Christian Nationalism site. I'm sure more will follow.

Finally, you may also want to read their take on Left Behind: Eternal Forces, the video game. I take it personally not just as a non-Christian, but as a New Yorker.