I said I was getting back to regular programming, but there’s some stuff you should read, if you haven’t already. These links have been all over the last few days, but I want to highlight them too.

Dave Winer on Palestinians
Michael Moore on insanity
Sean Hartigan on “a lie all the worse for being partly true”
Miguel on birthday cakes and tinsel
Noam Chomsky on trying to understand

We need to get beyond the jingoism and runs on flags at Wal-Mart. The eloquent words above, much better than anything I could come up with, might begin to help us understand. If you have any other favorite pieces of writing from this week, please leave the link in a comment so others can read them too. Thanks.

Another ‘words mean things’ consumer recommendation: Vicks 44M cough syrup. Good stuff, Maynard. I am under its influence as I write this.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…
In the grocery store the other day, I wanted to complement my Boo Berry purchase with Count Chocula. Sadly, they had none. So I settled for Cocoa Pebbles, the Flintstones-themed chocolate rice krispies. I am going to write the FDA and request that this cereal be considered a controlled substance. It’s like getting a sugar IV. It’s chocolate crack. And to top it off, it makes the most intense chocolate milk you’ve ever experienced. Not for the faint of heart.

Chicago hotel room window, morning
On my walk early this morning, I found myself looking up at the sky a lot, and I was reminded again of Gilbert Grape. Looking up at the limitless sky seemed to bring me a little hope – and I think we could all use a little of that.

This tragedy has served as another reminder of how amazing the weblog form is. Mike’s recollections, Haidi’s anger at ignorance and prejudice, Melissa’s painting, Xkot’s calls for comfort – these and many more show how weblogs can enlighten and inform much more than any TV coverage or news web site can. Watching endless hours of horrifying news footage can only numb; participating in real reactions can maybe bring us some perspective.

“I’ve just spoken with the vice president…”
Xkot hit the nail on the head in an e-mail to me today when he said Bush “looked like a frightened little boy” in the face of this monumental crisis. I saw Bush on TV at lunchtime, and when he said, with his Alfred E. Newman face screwed up in an expression of utter bewilderment, “I want you to know that I’ve just spoken to the vice president,” I thought, yeah, I bet you have.

He’s not up to the job, folks. Let’s face up to that.

Leave it to Melissa to write the most heartfelt, gorgeous post you’ll read about this whole mess.

All the news sites are unreachable, the cell phone networks are jammed. This is scary and surreal. This makes Oklahoma City look like a fender bender. Xkot and friends are talking about this unbelievable carnage on his message board.

Get To Know Me! Part Deux
If those last pics of me and my pad left you wanting more – well, then you need some professional help. But until your next appointment, you can look at this little gallery I put together today depicting my condo building and environs. The sign above is at the edge of Orton Park, which is the next block over from my house. I just cadged the gallery together using Photoshop Elements, and I haven’t added comments on the pics yet. But I think you get the general idea. It’s a nice place to live.

I must admit I felt a white-hot spear of envy go straight to my heart when Miguel announced that he had been named a Blogger Blog of Note. I mean, where’s my fame? Where’s my online adulation? Where’s my A-list weblog traffic and hundreds of e-mails saying how great I am and begging for links? *sniff* So imagine my surprise when I learned…..oh now I’ve already said too much.