• A jungle home in Bali, to be used solely for vacationing purposes. Who doesn’t want to live like a more sophisticated version of Tarzan’s Jane every now and then?
• A piece of “statement” jewelry… There’s no better way to make a statement than with something from Tiffany’s. What’s 83,500 bones between friends and family anyway?
• A pair of Manolos. I don’t care which pair. Even if they are the most hideous pair of shoes in the entire world, they will still be magnificent.
• A winning lottery ticket. Don’t laugh; I’m serious.

P.S. All these things will be on Solon’s list, which has not been made public, too. He just doesn’t know it yet.

For me, it’s no bother though. I love Christmas, the retail part NOT excluded.

But mostly, the part that I love is my living room lit by my tree at night, hearing “Winter Wonderland” sung by The Carpenters on my way home from work, and wrapping presents while watching Christmas Vacation over a glass of red wine.

So, in that spirit… the spirit that welcomes Christmas almost a full two weeks before Thanksgiving, I am releasing my Christmas list to the public. Solon’s will be released at a later date.

Here goes:

• A year’s subscription to The New York Times “Book Review,” a once-a-week publication that keeps book lovers in the know.
• Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States: A Dinner Party Approach to International Relations, a cookbook that can only be appreciated if you (a) are not a sissy about eating foods from other countries and (b) have a sense of humor when it comes to international politics.
• Dreams of My Father, a memoir by President-elect Barack Obama. Hardback, please. (This is not an indication of my politics, which will not be discussed on this blog.)
• A black coat that I can where anywhere with any thing. Like this one. This one is even cuter!

More later. Christmas may have come earlier this year, but that just means I have more time to add to my list.

P.S. Sorry I haven’t written in so long.

If you haven’t yet, here are some tips from our friends at The Clarion-Ledger.

My question: Is it really necessary to include the liquor/alcohol provision?

I say, go home and indulge after you find out the results. Just make sure to stock up on champagne AND whiskey in case your guy (or girl) wins or loses, respectively. :)

I have a gift for you, though, you may have already received it through my G-mail account.

It’s a playlist for Halloween, brought to you by The Boston Globe, full of fabulous song titles you can download for your H-Party tonight. Or tomorrow night. Or whatever.

My personal favorite from this list is “Nightmare Hippie Girl” by Beck, mostly just because Beck rocks. See:

Of course, the list includes “Thriller,” which my brother is reenacting tonight at the University of Kentucky. Go forth, little zombie, and dance the night away.

I’ll post the You Tube video tomorrow.

And don’t forget to vote on Nov. 4!

So, it fell to Solon. 

He wore it to an engagement party in an old airplane hanger in Flora (complete with old airplane paraphernalia strewn around) on Friday night. Several people, including the groom-to-be, called him “Shaft.” (Solon claims he called himself “Shaft.”)

Here’s a pic, for your enjoyment (ignore his eyes… he does that when the red-eye isn’t turned on). It’s pretty far out:

Shaft

And here’s the real Shaft… real and really groovy:

Shaft (real)

The two jackets look pretty similar to me…

Then check out these sample math problems.

Mail Goggles MATH

I can’t lie… No. 3 would rock my world if I was under pressure.

As we all know, G-mail cannot stop us from sending totally absurd e-mails on nights when we’ve… well, you know. But Mail Goggles can put a road block up, an obstacle that will prevent you from even getting to ‘send.’

That obstacle is called MATH. Once you install The Goggles, during prime party hours (a.m. Friday/Saturday), you’ll have to solve five “simple” problems in 60 seconds before anything gets out of your inbox. Talk about pressure. I’d never get an e-mail through.

Alas, now that I am out of college, I rarely have this problem… But, boy, would it have been useful.

Now, if they could only do something about texting and Facebooking, wouldn’t the world be a better place?

Here are some pics of the cotton gin bin I stayed in:

Here’s the inside of my room:

Pretty swanky for an old cotton gin, huh?

Here are some others from the campus… Enjoy!

I’m heading up North to the Delta today, meeting some folks in our sister state Arkansas tomorrow for a work-related event.

That’s not why I’m writing though. 

I’m writing to show you where I’ll be staying. It’s called the Shack Up Inn.

Check it out. Let me know what you think. I’ll post pictures when I get back.