Can You Spot the Gay Terrorist?

Surfwise

When city folk move to the country...

How To Spend Your Rebate Check

Soon the feds will start sending out the "rebate" checks. I'm not sure how I feel about that since it's my money that they're sending me, and they'll expect me to pay income tax on it next year. Sheesh, every cloud has a black lining. But we need to be smart if we're to use the rebate money for what it's intended - stimulating our economy. So, with that in mind, here's some tips I received via email this morning...

If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China. If we spend it on gasoline it will all go to the Arabs, if we purchase a computer it will all go to India, if we purchase fruit and vegetables it will all go to Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala, if we purchase a good car it will all go to Japan, if we purchase useless crap it will all go to Taiwan, Korea and Viet Nam, and none of it will help the American economy.

We need to keep that money here in America, so the only way to keep that money here at home is to buy prostitutes and beer, since those are the only businesses still in the US

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Goes Bankrupt

Cleveland is a quiet place today as the red cheeked shame of last night's soirée melts on the once proud populace. The rest of the country is thinking about giving them to Canada. I'm sure that the denizens of fair Cleveland thought that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame would actually be for, well, rockers. Much like the Baseball hall of fame is for baseball players. Imagine the chagrin of finding out the gem of your city has sold out to Canadian beatnik poets and disco whores.

At least they threw in the Ventures and Dave Clark Five to add some semblance of respectability to the affair. But a little late for that, don't you think? Those guys should have been charter members.

My little bride suggested recently that we try going without TV for a while. This may just be the pill that pushes us over the edge.

The End of the Rainbow

Proof positive that there is a pot at the end of the rainbow, but that doesn't smell like gold...

John over at Devil Queen begs the question as to whether burying a little statue of St. Joseph really works when trying to sell your house. And when we were selling our last house it really did seem to help. But I can't help thinking about burying the little statue without thinking of fish sauce.

Some of you know that I am a real fan of southeast Asian cuisine. And I had decided that I would try making it myself since there's not a lot of choices around here for such fare. So I got a cookbook and started to collect the ingredients. I dutifully went to the Asian store and asked the clerk to show me their finest bottle of fish sauce. And she showed me the most ornately decorated, largest and prettiest bottle of brown liquid you could ever imagine for $1.99. I bought it and took it home.

I was so anxious to see what this sparkling little beauty had in store for me, so first thing when I got home, I opened it for a taste.

It smelled so bad that I thought I was going to get sick. Panic hit me as I realized that our agent could schedule a showing of the house at any time. And having something that foul in the house almost guaranteed sooner rather than later. This stuff could not stay.

And if I threw it in the trash, the garage would smell like rotten fish, so I did the only thing a sane person would do. I buried the bottle in the flower garden out front.

Some months later after the new owners had settled in, I noticed driving by that they were having all new landscaping done in the yard. I couldn’t help but smile as I passed, thinking of young Jorge digging up my buried treasure and thinking it was some long lost bottle of fine booze. I’d pay for the experience of seeing his face when he un-capped that bad boy.

It wasn’t until later when I read Kasma Loha-unchit’s book on Thai cooking, Dancing Shrimp that I found out that a good fish sauce doesn’t smell like that. It smells like walking on the beach. And the brand I use now, Squid Brand Fish Sauce, smells just like that.

$20 Cash - Includes gift