Everyone knows it's Windy

In light of Hurricane Sandy's imminent arrival here in the Northeast, I thought a little music was in order. And what better way to say hello to a hurricane (and goodbye to your power) than with "Windy" by The Association.



Honorable mention also goes to the Eurythmics' "Here comes the rain again"...



And 10,000 Maniacs' "Like the weather."


Where on earth is the sun anyway?

Here's hoping Sandy loses steam quickly and causes a minimal amount of damage.

Be safe everyone. See you on the either side of the 800-mile storm.

UPDATED: Have another suggestion for a Sandy theme song? Please leave a Comment -- with the name of the song and a YouTube link.

Blow me

Just when you thought hurricane season was over... along comes Sandy, what some East Coast weather forecasters are calling "The Storm of the Century." (Sometimes I think Schadenfreude is a requirement for being a meteorologist.)

Already, Hurricane Sandy has wreaked havoc upon Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, and the Bahamas, killing 21. Now it's headed northeast, whirling past Miami and Palm Beach, Florida, toward the Mid-Atlantic region and Southern New England just in time to turn the lights out on Halloween. (That Mother Nature, she sure knows how to deliver a trick!)

Here's a map of Sandy's progress and current projected path. (Right now forecasters are predicting the storm to slam into the Mid-Atlantic region and Southern New England Monday night or Tuesday a.m., bringing high gusts of wind and inches of rain, downing trees and power lines and knocking out power to millions along the Eastern Seaboard. Boo.)

As someone who lost power for six days after the first puff of Irene and again two months later, at precisely this time of year, when we had the Snowpocalypse, and again recently when another storm blew through (albeit only for a couple of days that last time), I do not share the macabre glee of the weather forecasters and networks at the thought of another major storm wreaking havoc upon the Northeast.

However, there is one potential silver lining (albeit a tarnished one) to Sandy: instead of a shitstorm of campaign coverage and ads that make us want to run and hide until after November 6, now we have an actual shitstorm to deal with! Plus, if we don't have power, we can't receive any annoying robo-calls or watch Super PAC ads!

Joking aside, I pray that Sandy loses steam before coming ashore -- or blows out to sea -- sparing the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states. But in the meantime, we'll be filling our bathtubs and water bottles and doing all of our laundry Monday (as we have well water and are the only house on the block without a generator).

UPDATED 10/28/12: Wondering if or when Sandy will be coming to a neighborhood near you? Just type your zip code into the NBC News Hurricane Tracker to find out! Also, I don't know about all of you but having been through several severe storms and having lost power on several occasions, I am at the point where I find the constant updates and phone calls about Hurricane Sandy annoying. WTF are we supposed to do (other than have water and flashlights and batteries and non-perishable foodm etc. on hand), get chain saws and start sawing every suspicious tree limb and tree near or next to a power line? In other news, our Superintendent of Schools just called to say that there will be no school this Monday and Tuesday. 

More pet shaming

As a cat owner, it is amazing to me what dogs will put up with -- especially come Halloween.

You would never (okay, almost never) get a cat to parade around in a costume. Especially one that involved wearing a wig and a pair of glasses on its butt.



Yet that boxer actually looks happy about it! Shameful.

Though this may be my all-time favorite Halloween dog costume:

It's the ultimate Chia pet!

Yes, cats have too much dignity to allow themselves to be dressed up in some ridiculous costume -- or do some of the other totally undignified things that dogs are always doing.

That is, I though so, until I saw this embarrassing video of a cat playing fetch with its owner. Fetch, I tell you! Sure, any cat worth its whiskers would happily chase after a ball or other small object its human tossed, but to actually return said object to the human?! Shameful.



(For more awesome cat videos, check out the finalists for the "The Friskies" award.)

UPDATED: This may require a separate blog post, but I just had to share. From Friend of the Blog Donna, "Sexy Pet Halloween Costumes." 

Think pink!

Now, I wouldn't presume to tell a woman 

what a woman ought to think, 

But tell her if she's got to think: think pink!

              --Maggie Prescott, Funny Face

As many of you no doubt know, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the symbol for which is a pink ribbon. And to support breast cancer awareness, education, and research, many businesses around the country offer pink products for sale during October and donate a portion of each sale to worthy charities. So this year, now that I am a business owner, I decided to join in and commissioned special pink Prepster Pineapple t-shirts.

And now through October 31st when you purchase a pink Prepster Pineapple t-shirt*, I will donate $5 of each sale to breast cancer research -- and will personally match the amount.

Don't need any more t-shirts right now? I understand. But please consider making a donation to the charity of your choice to help scientists discover a cure for breast cancer, which affects 1 out of 8 women in the United States.

And... think pink!



*T-shirts are $26 and are only available to customers in the 50 United States. Shipping is a flat rate of $6.

Romney's five-point foreign policy plan

Just in time for tonight's third and final presidential debate, which is on foreign policy, sources reveal Mitt Romney's five-point plan regarding foreign policy!



[H/T to Rumproast.com]

Also just in time for tonight's foreign policy debate between former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama (moderated this time by Bob Schieffer of CBS News and broadcast live tonight from 9 to 10:30 p.m. ET), a brand new presidential debate drinking game, brought to you by The Cloture Club!

Hint: For those wishing to get inebriated, just down a shot any time you hear the words Benghazi, Libya, or Iran.

Goo goo g'joob

Meet Mitik, the world's cutest walrus calf.



Mitik, known as Mit, was found on his lonesome in the Arctic Ocean around Alaska, separated from his herd this July. The Alaska SeaLife Center took the baby walrus in, and the New York Aquarium stepped in from there, flying out staff member Martha Hiatt to look after the walrus calf on his long journey east.

Mit is now a happy resident of the New York Aquarium on Coney Island, as you can see from the video.

I can honestly say this is one Mit I approve of.

More about little Mitik's adventure here. 

Mangia Italiano: Arthur Avenue Food Tour

For years, the spouse and I have wanted to go to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, often referred to as "The Real Little Italy of New York." So a few weeks ago, we signed up for a guided walking/food tour of Arthur Avenue -- which took place today. Unfortunately, the tour was a huge disappointment*, so the spouse and I broke off from the group a little over halfway through and explored Arthur Avenue on our own.

Following are some of the wonderful shops we visited (both with the group and on our own).

First up Tony & Tina's Pizzeria, where we sampled burek.

Next we visited Borgatti's, which was packed with pasta lovers waiting for their freshly made raviolis, egg noodles, gnocchi, and other pasta.

Then it was onto Addeo & Sons Italian Bakery where we sampled prosciutto focacia and chocolate bread.

Shortly after visiting Addeo & Sons we split off from the group and stumbled upon Calandra's, which had the most delicious smoked mozzarella.

Then we stopped into Calabria's Pork Store...

 So I could take a picture of their hanging salamis (?).

Next, it was into the Arthur Avenue Market.

Our last stop: Cosenza's fish market, where we slurped down half a dozen fresh oysters shucked in front of us.

I only wish we had not wasted so much time with the tour so we could have explored on our own longer! Oh well, next time!

*Too many people, too slow -- it should not take an hour to walk from the Fordham Road Metro-North stop to the start of the Arthur Avenue shopping district, i.e., less than half a mile -- and we were served very little food, and this was supposed to be a food tour! If you are thinking of visiting Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, skip the guided tour and explore the area on your own. You can obtain maps and suggestions online -- or just use this blog post as your guide!  You'll save a lot of money and aggravation.