On cold, gray winter days like today, you almost forget that the planet is capable of summer. Those sweet, halcyon days sure seem idyllic and irretrievable now. If anyone knows of a mansion in Greenwich with an in-door pool, grill, and stocked bar (preferrably with some kind of fortified wine, though I’m not choosy) where I could hang out for a weekend, please let me know. If anyone knows of an indoor cabana boy I could hang out with for a weekend, please let me know.

Amazing.

“The same Christmas Day, my son, who is in sixth grade, went to see ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’ with his mother and other family members. When he came back he had some hard questions, but they had nothing to do with naked congressmen in hot tubs or cocaine or extramarital dalliances, all of which feature prominently in that movie. ‘Why did the Russians invade Afghanistan in the first place?’ he wanted to know.” –A. O. Scott, “Take the Kids, and Don’t Feel Guilty,” New York Times, 1/11/08

My grandma used to get incredulous with my parents for talking about certain topics in front of me or exposing me to innappropriate cultural stuff. I want to say it’s their collectively deranged sense of humor and set of pop references (Tom Waits, R. Crumb, for example) that has made me the enchanting nut I am today. Cheers to A. O. Scott.

“I would have preferred something looser; more latitude for designing my own Mandalas with a simple idea or direction given for ‘guidance.’” –an Amazon.com user’s review of Coloring Mandalas 3: Circles of the Sacred Feminine. I colored in this book tonight; it was deeply satisfying.

In other new age-y news, check out Lev’s post on David Lynch’s audiobook on transcendetal meditation and his and John’s discussion in the comments. I’ve yet to actually listen to the audiobook, but maybe that will be tomorrow’s project.

I Don’t Know Where This Comes From:

Graham: John King on CNN just said, “Barack Obama thought this would be checkers… but now they’re playing chess.”

Me: Dude, Nas would say that.

Avi and Graham: [point at me] “YES!”

Ha.

On Secularism:

Avi: You’re going to be a brunch character in the book I write someday.

Me: What?

Avi: You know, like you tell awesome stories that you only hear on Sunday.

From the front of the New York Times’ website right now:

Who wrote that, a smug college freshman?

The Slow Music from Africa mix goes well with Sunday.

My roommate and I freak out every time this commercial comes on because it’s soooo cuuuute. Remember how around this time last year I woke up in bed, still drunk, and the bridge of my nose was bleeding and I didn’t know why? A year later, and I’m obsessed with the Starbucks bear hug commercial and I woke up still reeking of the Guinness Book of World Records’ most expensive perfume (I did an experiment yesterday). If that’s not a sign of personal growth, I’m not sure what it is.

I don’t know why I am so into Yoko Ono, but check out this photo spread of her and John circa 1980 in Vanity Fair.

Hey everyone, the most important case of the decade starts tomorrow.

Brian arranged and performed Suzy Q with his band, Frances for this commercial!

Have you seen the T: Times Style blog? It’s HILARIOUS. Fashion humor! A Karl Lagerfeld joke! I would love a quilted Lagerfeld beer cozy.

In other news, due to the strictures of middle school music appreciation, I never really got into Phil Collins or Genesis. In high school, my friend’s older brother was a huge Phil Collins fan, and I remember that I chewed him out over the man’s lousy drumming the first time he drove us somewhere. I was fifteen. I want to take it all back now because I’ve recently acquired a wealth of Genesis and PC, and I am on my way to receiving my phG. I listened to “One More Night” two days ago and wondered why this song sounds so familiar. I realized that I used to ice skate to it! I didn’t have a program to the song–I don’t think I was ever talented enough to have one–but the ice skating rink I went to played it all the time. All of this nostalgia and new-found fandom, just in time for the Genesis Power Hour.

When will my cold go away? Let’s take a poll. I have had a shifting sore throat/congestion thing going for maybe three weeks now. If there were a movie about my cold, it would be called From Here to Eternity.