I've got a crush on Nicki Minaj. Every time I watch the "Your Love" music video, I find myself staring at the screen like a toddler watching Yo Gabba Gabba!. If there was mirror showing my expression at such an instant, I'm sure I would resemble Bugs Bunny seeing Lola appear as a French maid. Dreamy eyed, and sighing like a fool.

Got my Christmas shopping all done. One trip to Sam's Club and one trip to Best Buy, and I'm ready for the holidays. Now all I've gotta do is stop by the UPS Store so I can ship it all home. I'm sure it will cost a fortune. The Kitchenaide mixer my sister's getting probably weighs 15 pounds by itself. It'll be worth it though to get delicious baked goods sent to me! HAHAHAHA! Talk about the gift that keeps on giving...TO ME!!!!

I'm reading a stack of books right now. The list: Heinlein's Starship Troopers, Bear's Blood Music, Kirkman's The Walking Dead (btw, the AMC series based on this is pretty good), Ellison's I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, and Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. The last one is particularly interesting for me. Do you ever read something, or see something on television or the silver screen, that makes you shift your perception of what you want to do with the rest of your life? I realize that sounds a bit overdramatic. The book's not really life changing. It does, however, point my mind in a direction that until recently I hadn't really considered. At least, not seriously. Now, I'm not so sure it's not a good place to look. Such a position would put me back on the East Coast. Maybe it's time to start calling in some favors.

In honor of the winter holidays, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, or Festivus, and specifically in honor of one of the authors on my wish list, enjoy: