GeeCee's Not-Entirely-Original Miscellany

For the first time ever, I managed to both remember it was farmers market day and get out of the house in time to get to the Burke Farmers Market; granted, I didn't get there until half an hour before they closed, but still. (Why are so many farmers markets locally scheduled from like 8-noon on Tuesday mornings when people, y'know, have to go to work?) I took $20 with me, and returned with a big bunch of radishes, three cucumbers, a bit more than a pint of yellow cherry tomatoes (well, somewhat less than a pint now OM NOM NOM), four bell peppers of the purple and yellow varieties, good-sized green and white acorn squash, and a wedge of chipotle cheddar cheese. I passed on the apples this time; this is the time of year that you can drive out towards Shenandoah and buy apples at the local roadside stands, so you get both tasty locally-grown apples *and* a road trip. The remaining $4 or so from my $20 bill went into the Obama/Biden donations jar, so a bumper sticker is also technically part of my haul. Let's see if people can refrain from vandalizing my car this time.

It is a glorious day today; if you're local, you should really consider heading outside. I think I'm going to do some housecleaning until C. wakes up (or I wake him up) and then maybe go to Burke Lake or some other spot I can putter around outdoors.

Two things completely unrelated to the farmers market or even each other:

What if Raffi started a hardcore punk band?

If you use or are thinking of using Restaurant.com for dining gift certificates, they've got a 70% off coupon good until Monday 10/13, with $25 gift certificates going for $3. Enter Discount Code: SAVE At Checkout and Hit "APPLY"

For anyone trying to get in touch with me, I am currently dealing with a couple of high-priority projects at work and generally am pretty tired and not overly social when I'm home. The annual winter depression sapping all of my focus isn't helping much either. If you're waiting to hear from me and you haven't, I assure you that it is not in any way personal. I know a lot of folks on my f-list are having a difficult time of things right now; I am trying to comment as I can, but know that you're in my thoughts even if I don't manage to say anything to you very promptly. Things will calm down here eventually. I hope.

A couple of collected entertainment links for you in the meantime:

• Download the new album by The Charlatans (UK) for free
  
• My Old Kentucky Blog resurrects the MOKB Covers Project: Hallelujah post with a few new additions, including Regina Spektor, Beirut, and Keren Ann
  
• dawnd: A squirrel with over 2000 dress-up outfits, complete with hats and accessories. ;)
  
• "Breakfast of the Gods" is a fantastic webcomic featuring breakfast cereal mascots; follow the adventures of Cap'n Crunch and friends as they battle the evil Count Chocula.
  Book One: The Last Good Morning
  Book Two: O Cap'n, My Cap'n (just wrapped up recently, book three is on the way)
  
  From an interview with the creator:
  

  Part of what makes "BOTG" so funny is that it's played so straight -- rather than being silly or overtly spoofy, you actually play this tonally as a sort of "Crisis on Infinite Earths"/"Lord of the Rings" epic. I mean, my God -- you open with the brutal murder of the Honey Bunch Bee. How did you arrive at this tone?
  
  A. Well, I have to admit I am deliberately aping the tone of the big event comics -- specifically "Watchmen." I mean, it's still valid now because DC and Marvel are still cranking out megaseries, but -- for me and my whole generation -- it's still all about 1985. "Watchmen", "Dark Knight Returns," "Crisis on Infinite Earths." There's a grand, serious WEIGHT to these projects, which are still, at the end of the day, focused on guys in tights beating the crap out of each other. Simple characters created in simpler times, for children, suddenly allowed to carry grander themes -- deal with adult issues -- all with a straight face.
  
  So I'm doing the same thing here. Of course, I still try to inject enough winking satire to let the readers know I know perfectly well how ridiculous this story is.

  
  

Right. Break's over, back on my head.