New Poll: What’s your verdict on ol’ Spook Tooth? You know, I honestly don’t know where I got that phrase from. I think it’s one of my sister’s. At any rate, I’m referring to “Jewel”, the singer-songwriter-poet (and crappy horse rider). As my college roommates can attest, I’ve had an irrational hatred of her for many years now. Am I the only one?

Let me see if I get this straight: Jewel (the singer) had to cancel several performances because she got thrown off a horse and broke her collarbone. She was going to debut her new single, “Break Me”. Seriously. I think she just did it for the publicity. 🙂

That reminds me of Clem Snide, the band that opened for Ben Folds last week. We only caught the end of their set, but we liked what we heard. My favorite part was the singer’s introduction to “Moment in the Sun”. He claimed that he was trying to channel Jewel through the song, “during that living-in-a-van phase”. I laughed and laughed. I’ve never been a big Jewel fan. The spook tooth scares me.

Holeee crap. Have you checked out my Recent Search Requests page lately? Katrina got evicted last night, and I’m #5 with a bullet on Google’s results list. Great. I don’t have any porn, people!

Some greenies at my alma mater tried to set a world record for tree hugging. I kid you not.

Woohoo! While looking up movie times online today, Snookums discovered that tickets are currently on sale in Sydney for Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones. Six hours later, I had a pair of them for the very first midnight showing in my hand. I admit I’m kinda bummed that we won’t get to camp out, but the fact that I’ll see it fourteen hours before you chumps in the Eastern Hemisphere more than makes up for it! 🙂

Cool! I just realized that Claire has a new blog. The world needs more snarky Aussie bloggers. And not only has she linked me, she’s linked my Dahl page! As she is brilliant and funny, I have returned the favor.

This is the coolest thing ever. A southern Indiana man built his own roller coaster out of scrap metal. It even goes upside-down! This guy sounds like my dad. 🙂 (Link courtesy of John.)

“Typecasting: The Use (and Misuse) of Period Typography in Movies”. That’s awesome. I love nitpicky articles like this. I’ve also noticed myself becoming more “font-aware” over the last few years. Lately, I’ve developed a physical revulsion to the inappropriate use of “Comic Sans MS”. (Yeah, I still use it for my Dahl logo, but it’s appropriate there.) For example, there was a restaurant near our place in London called “Spicy Fong!” that used Comic Sans MS on all its menus and signage. Could you possibly think of a font less suited to a Chinese restaurant? Me neither. I refused to go near the place.

Success! The Snook had a lot of willpower, but I broke him. He’s now as hooked on Big Brother as I am. We were both shocked to see Damian – the house Lothario – voted out last week. He was one of the couples! (He was probably the one most likely to have sex in the house, too, so imagine our loss.) This week’s scandals have been all about Katrina. First it was revealed that she’s posed nude in a soft-core porn mag. And even more shockingly, it’s now being reported that she’s a Young Liberal! There’s even an e-mail campaign afoot (masterminded by Young Labor, no less) to get her evicted. Who knew Big Brother was so political?

1. What are your hobbies?
Besides all this Internet crap? I quilt. My first blanket is coming along very well, aside from the fact that my fingertips are all raw and bloody from stabbing myself too many times with a quilting needle. I’m also learning Korean in the hopes of amusing my grandparents the next time I go home.

2. Do you collect anything? If so, what?
Though I collect books in general, I also have tons of Roald Dahl stuff. I’ve got an entire shelf of his books, including several rare volumes (that I paid an arm and a leg for on eBay). I’ve also got Dahl movies, Dahl CD’s, Dahl records, Dahl magazines, and even a doll (from Matilda). I tell myself that it’s all for the site, but really, it’s for me. 🙂

3. Is there a hobby you’re interested in, but just don’t have the time/money to do?
I’d love to actually get “serious” about my Dahl collection and go after some of the really nice first editions. Since I’ve seen prices with four digits, though, that’ll have to wait til I make my first million. I’ve also had a crazy desire lately to learn to knit. I’m just working my way through the domestic arts, people.

4. Have you ever turned a hobby into a moneymaking opportunity?
When I was first heading to London, I sold my rarest Dahl book because I needed the cash. I immediately regretted it though and was lucky enough to be able to buy the same volume back later. Quilting could possibly be a money maker, though. I used to scoff at how much the Amish back in Indiana charged for these things, but now that I know the work involved in making one by hand, I don’t think hundreds of dollars is out of the question. Of course, this first one is for my bed. It’s getting cold at night!

5. Besides web-related stuff (burbs, rings, etc.), what clubs do you belong to?
Not really anything. I don’t know enough people here to join a club yet.