Dude, Mr T’s character on the A-Team was called Bosco Baracus?? I never knew that.

Congratulations to my friend Tia and her husband Daniel, who welcomed their son Rohan Stuart Daniel Porter this morning. He weighed 9lbs 12oz! (Which is why poor Tia hasn’t been to Stitch and Bitch very much lately.) Mum and bub are doing well. I’m going to try to get a picture when I visit this weekend…

Are chimpanzees people? I had a discussion with the Snook about this article last night. He came down on the side of emphatically not, mostly because we’re genetically pretty close to lots of other things too. I like the other argument though, that if they can communicate with us and share so many of our complex behaviours, then that makes them “people” no matter what the genetics say. (Or at the very least, ramen.)

The Snook is considering participating in “Movember.” It’s an event to raise money for men’s health issues. Participants start clean-shaven on November 1st, and then have the rest of the month to grow a mustache. Really, it’s just an excuse for him to grow a big old shaggy ‘tache and live out his Tombstone fantasy. (Me, I get to indulge in my secret fetish for guys with 70’s facial hair: Jason “My Name is Earl” Lee, Sam “The Big Lebowski” Elliot, etc.) Let me know if anybody else wants to join him in this crusade!

85C Cake Shop
I walked up to Giordano after work last night to buy some new pants, and as I left there I found myself walking past “85C”, the coffee-and-cake shop that opened last month. (Grab Your Fork has a review.) I figured “What the hell?” and went in. I asked the guy for two pieces of their signature cake. “Uh… you mean the most popular?” Sure, as long as it’s good. I left with “strawberry cardina” and “Black Forest chocolate cake” wrapped up in an adorable little box. After dinner, the Snook and I embarked on a taste test. I think the strawberry is the definite winner. Very fluffy and light, and pretty much as close as I’ve gotten to a strawberry shortcake over here. The Black Forest cake was disappointing though. If you got a bite that included a cherry, it was divine. Unfortunately there weren’t a lot of cherries, so the majority of it was just chocolate with whipped cream. And that bit wasn’t great. It had that Michel’s Patisserie quality of making you feel like you’re eating nothing but sugar and fat whipped with air. There wasn’t a lot of flavor to the non-cherry bit, is what I’m sayin’. (Of course, the Snook got to this one before me, so it’s entirely plausible that he surreptitiously ate more than his share of cherries.) Anyway, two pics:

Amish Memory Shawls. Now that is a lovely idea. (Link courtesy of Lara, who is a thoughtful and well-meaning person herself, no matter what she thinks right now. Buck up, babe.)

My latest baby is finally ready to see the world: Queen Adelaide Needlecraft. Please let me know if you spot any bugs!

This is amusing: a “sprawling epic that examines the deep inner psyche of Batman”… in six pages. Heh. (Link from MetaFilter.)

Quiz: 25 Cities of the USA. I buggered up some of New England. I always do that. And while I’d heard of “Great Falls,” I had no idea what state it was in. Final score: 81% in 1:25. (Link courtesy of Kel.)

Addendum: Ooh, he has a bunch more! I just tried the Australia and New Zealand version… and gave up after the first three. I know nothing about New Zealand geography.

Hot Dog Loaf. Disgusting… but I’d eat that. Makes me wish I was still doing Atkins! (Link courtesy of Bex, who almost certainly expected more revulsion than this.)