7 Weird Facts about Me

I liberated this one from Canada's own No Nonsense Girl.

1) After decades of loyalty to The Today Show, I have switched my allegiance to MSNBC's Morning Joe, with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist. I think it's because I prefer Mika to Meredith Vieria. At times I miss Matt Lauer. As you can see, I think about this way too much.

2) I think I'm the last blogger in North America with dial-up. I keep meaning to do something about it, but it seems like so much work to decide which service I want to get.

3) Looks like my nemesis from the third floor -- that snotty, snippy neighbor of mine -- has moved out. This makes me sad somehow. I never liked her, but I feel bad for her recent financial setbacks. I didn't expect to care what happened to her one way or the other, but I guess I do.

4) I have an issue with bags. I have a hard time parting with them. I have bags of bags under my kitchen sink.

5) I can wiggle my right ear and pick up things with my toes.

6) When my nephew was a baby, I was afraid of him. His whole head -- face, ears, bald head -- would turn red and then he'd emit the loudest, most piercing cry. He could howl like that forever! My nickname for him during this period was "Scary Baby Person." Now 9, he finds it amusing that he could terrorize me.

7) I can't remember the last time I wore a skirt.

If you play, let me know so I can swing by and see what makes you so weird.

Senatorial Musings

Senator Kerry appeared on Meet the Press, acting as an Obama surrogate. He praised Obama's talent and ability to inspire the electorate. I was impressed. If I were him, I'd be grumbling about all the Obama donors and saying, "Where were you four years ago? If you had supported me with this much enthusiasm, I could have helped you avoid this mess!" But I cannot imagine John Kerry saying that. To improbably borrow from Peggy Noonan's assessment of Ronald Reagain, Senator Kerry is "hardwired for courtesy."

On a separate note, I am saddened to learn of the death of my "other" senator's daughter, Chris Durbin. She was only 40. As he approaches a landslide reelection to his third term on Tuesday, I hope Senator Durbin can take solace that his daughter is at peace after enduring a long battle with heart disease.