David Arquette is my new fashion hero.

After you watch every episode of Other Side with Zabrecky, you will want to read his book. Read the rest

The Pendleton Westerly shawl collar sweater is super cool, but keeps me warm.

All my winter stuff is in storage and I have no access to it. I expected to be out of storage before the winter came, but now I am cold and without my favorite sweaters: cable knit shawl collar sweaters ala Steve McQueen. Deal is this: I have enough shawl collar sweaters in multiple colors that I do not need duplicates. When I am finally able to get all my stuff out of storage I will be very happy, but I have too much stuff.

Another sweater made famous by media that I love, and super comfortable too boot, is the Pendleton Westerly. This ultra-comfortable 3GG sweater immediately lets people know that you are a chill slacker who doesn't care much about anything, while also keeping you warm.

Vintage models are available on ebay and etsy, but Pendleton has been making an exact-ish replica of the Dude's sweater for a few years now.

Pendleton Original Westerly Sweater via Amazon Read the rest

Following in Melania's footsteps, while vetted by the White house, Mina Chang apparently embellished her resume to the point even Congress caught it.

Much like Orange Julius, she also proudly displayed a fake Time cover.

NBC:

Time magazine spokesperson Kristin Matzen said the cover is "not authentic."

A fake Time magazine cover with Mina Chang. Chang's biography says she was part of a panel on drones in humanitarian relief efforts convened by the U.N. But there's no record backing up her claim and a source with knowledge of the matter said she was not part of the "panel," which was a single public roundtable.

Chang says in her official biography that she is as an "alumna" of Harvard Business School. But according to the university, Chang attended a seven-week course in 2016, and does not hold a degree from the institution.

Her biography on the State Department website says she is a "graduate" of a program at the Army War College. But the program she attended was a four-day seminar on national security, according to the college.

Chang does not cite any undergraduate degree in her biography, but her LinkedIn account mentions the University of the Nations, an unaccredited Christian school with volunteer teachers that says it has 600 locations "on all continents."

The Southern Poverty Law Center's HATEWATCH shares a number of leaked emails written by Trump Administration lackey Stephen Miller. Unsurprisingly, Miller expresses many racist ideas. Read the rest

Can you believe racist Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is running to come back to the Senate? Sessions has no respect for himself in the way he's singing Trump's praises who embarrassed him, called him a "dumb southerner", & threw him under the bus. What a mindless wonder!

— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) November 8, 2019

I love Maxine Waters. Read the rest

I have made a terrible choice... pic.twitter.com/ffaJPogfsl

— Dogs are the best people (@_TheBestDogs) November 6, 2019

After Temple of Doom you can not expect the dog to have watched Last Crusade.

Nice use of Enya there too.

Read the rest

LEGO offers us the opportunity to build Harry Potter's Knight Bus.

Generally a wild time for Harry, the triple-level Knight Bus comes with Stan Shunpike, Ernie Prang and Harry minifigs.

With Ernie at the wheel, how can things go wrong?

LEGO Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban Knight Bus 75957 Building Kit, New 2019 (403 Pieces) via Amazon Read the rest

This DYMO Xpress embossing label gun is the boss. Read the rest

Rats flee sinking ships?

The president is speaking and you can see folks streaming out of the arena. It’s just unusual for his rally events. Those who remain are fired up. pic.twitter.com/nfxm1NVXeO

— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) November 7, 2019

Read the rest

I have been very happy Liquid Wrench Lock and Hinge Lube.

The back lid on my Volkswagen Vanagon started sticking a few years ago. A responsible person who does things right would likely take the panels off, clean everything up and lubricate it with whatever factory stuff was used. I have just taken to spraying some of this dry lube in the locks and other mechanisms once every year or so.

Doors and locks that were sticking or squeaky around the house have also been cured with one or two squirts of this 'ceflon' lubricant.

The spray straw is billed as some kind of special design. It is a very useful straw for directing lube where you want it, like on every other can of spray lube I've seen since the 80s or 90s?

Got sticky locks or squeaky hinges? This stuff is good.

Liquid Wrench LHL04/6 Lock and Hinge Lube - 4.5 oz. via Amazon Read the rest

The latest in Shannon Messenger's Keeper of the Lost Cities series, Legacy is now available.

No one hates her protagonist as much as Shannon Messenger. I have enjoyed every moment of this series, watching Messenger find new ways to make poor Sophie Foster's life an absolute living hell.

While ostensibly these novels are about a group of teenaged Elves learning their magical elf powers and saving the world for elves, humans, trolls, gnomes and munchkins alike, the underlying and distinct themes be all kinds of weird.

I know parents let their kids read these books, I think they are better read as an adult dark comedy.

Early books in this series focus on subjecting Sophie to all sorts of ridiculous torture. She is abducted from her human family by 'elves' and informed her entire life was a lie. Sophie learns she is an elf hidden amongst humans for unknown nefarious purposes, and her human family must be killed to prevent anyone from discovering this fact. Thrown into a very catty school for gifted and talented 'elves,' life only gets worse. Her foster family are an emotional wreck and worsen her situation. Sophie is drugged, tortured and abandoned mid-way thru her adoption process. Sophie is also subject to casual sexual advances and innuendo from nearly all of her male friends; all apparently trying to manipulate her into various forms of codependent romantic relationships.

As you progress through the series Messenger starts showing the fairly disturbing pasts and present of Sophie's contemporaries, also making their lives tortuous. Read the rest

The 2019 LEGO Harry Potter advent calendar is here!

This years set includes Harry and Hedqig, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, Professor Flitwick, and a "Hogwarts Architect" and a micro Hogwarts Express train amongst the many treats.

I wonder what the Jewish wizards and witches do for Hannukah? My daughter likes the Star Wars advent set.

LEGO Harry Potter Advent Calendar 75964 Building Kit, New 2019 (305 Pieces) via Amazon Read the rest

A new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows just about everyone beating Trump.

Washington Post:

Former vice president Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) run strongest against the president nationally, with Biden leading by 17 points (56 percent to 39 percent), Warren by 15 points (55 percent to 40 percent) and Sanders by 14 points (55 percent to 41 percent).

South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), the other two Democrats tested against Trump, also lead the president among registered voters, with Buttigieg up by 52 percent to 41 percent, and Harris ahead by 51 percent to 42 percent.

The poll reflects national findings; other surveys in the states expected to play an outsize role in the 2020 contest have shown tighter races, particularly in parts of the upper Midwest that Trump flipped from Democrats in 2016.

I never felt any affinity for a toothpaste brand. Read the rest

I do not like to travel without my McKenzie AirBack.

The self-inflating McKenzie AirBack makes travel a lot more comfortable. This pillow allows me to move around the globe without awful backpain.

I have long felt the massive amounts of flying about the globe I did in my late-20s and 30s heavily contributed to the terrible problems I have with my lowerback. Bad seats, bad posture and absolutely no clue that the things I was doing would later hobble me. Decent lumbar support would have made the travel much less destructive.

The McKenzie AirBack is made of great materials, lasts until I lose and is the best shape I've found for a lumber travel pillow. The taper of the McKenzie's hourglass shape seems to wedge well into mosts seats. The pillow doesn't move about.

I fidget. Other pillows will squirt out of place as I move about. The AirBack stays where I need it.

The Original McKenzie® Self-Inflating AirBack Lumbar Support via Amazon Read the rest

This set of nylon spudgers is excellent.

My Amazon Kindle Voyage is one of my most treasured pieces of electronica. The battery, after 5 years, started to give up the ghost. It is dying in a rapid and dramatic fashion. I really did not want a different model Kindle and the Voyage is discontinued.

I was worried I could not open the Voyage without destroying it. Amazon famously glues things in place and I tend to break plastic bits.

Instead of using a small eye-glass repair sized flathead screw driver, I decided I would try the right tool for the job. This set of spudgers matched with slow and steady movement did the trick. Amazon used double-sided sticky tape to make shit annoying. I was easily able to open the case.

3 Non-Mar Nylon Spudger Pry Bar tools to Open and Repair iPhone, Smartphones, Laptop, and Electronic Plastic Cases via Amazon Read the rest

The 1969 piece LEGO Apollo Saturn V rocket may be my favorite BIG set of all time.

Build the entire three-stage rocket, the command module and the lunar lander! Amazon has a it for 25% off, get your holiday shopping done early!

LEGO Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V 21309 Outer Space Model Rocket for Kids and Adults, Science Building Kit (1900 pieces) via Amazon

I checked and I have seen the set for $1 less. Read the rest