Seven means delete

What character in a book can you connect with or relate to the most? 
Submitted by Eating A Book.

Probably the narrator from Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.

Last night I dreamt that I was performing on American Idol. I performed "Soft Serve" by Soul Coughing. And the audience sang along with me.

The only comment from the judges came from Simon. He said, "You are awesome."

It was the best dream I've had in a while.

02 Soft Serve

Soul Coughing

Students are back on campus--Cornell classes started last week.

Today I saw the most adorable freshman couple walking around. One was a short indian guy wearing a Firefox t-shirt. He was holding hands with a much taller pale girl wearing an "I'm blogging this" t-shirt.

They were so cute and nerdy! I wanted to take their picture, but I didn't have a good answer if they asked me 'why?'...the girl would at least sympathize with my desire to blog my sighting.

I told a coworker I wanted to get a Firefox t-shirt, and she replied, "Yeah, that's what girls go for."... :-( I'd talk to a girl in a Firefox shirt.

This weekend my sister Bethany and I went to the Renaissance Festival in Sterling, NY. Highlights, beyond the flagons of mead, include:

• Sword-swallowing magician with magical water from India
• Fire-juggling guy for whom my sister volunteered me as a assistant, during which assisting I had to jump out of the way when an uncoordinated 13-year-old helper hurled a lit torch clear over the juggler's head and across the stage.
• Ridiculous amounts of unhealthy food.

However, the Sterling, NY festival was way more expensive and theme-park tourist-trappy than the Maryland Renaissance Festival where Kathie works as a hair braider. The MDRF also has better entertainers.

Hopefully I'll be at the MDRF in a few weeks.

If you could open any sort of restaurant, what would it be like?

I'm not feeling particularly creative, so I'll go with the actual Lost Dog Cafe.

What was your favorite candy when you were a kid? How does that compare to now?

M&M's. As a kid I like plain M&M's, but now I prefer peanut. (What's up with the apostrophe? What exactly belongs to M&M?)

Snickers are good too.

Soda? Cola? Pop? What do you say? Any other regional words that set you apart?
Question submitted by Gladys.

Soda. Or coke (even though I'm not from Georgia). Check out Vaux's Dialect Survey.

What's your favorite drink or cocktail? What's in it
Question submitted by charm.vox.com

Gin and tonic when I'm hot, Manhattan when I'm cold.

My Manhattan recipie:

• Two fingers of decent whiskey
• Spalsh of sweet vermouth (a teaspoon or two)
• Dash of bitters (very important!)
• Two...why not three maraschino cherries
• Handful of ice cubes
• Nice, bottom-heavy low-ball glass
  

Here's a picture of my friends Liz and Tony. Liz is a preschool teacher, and Tony's a Windows desktop support guy. They're a cute couple.

Liz and Tony

What's the one CD that will totally remind you of the Summer of 2006?

Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere, for sure.

St. Elsewhere

Gnarls Barkley