today's letter is "M," as in monsters. or music. or movies. or mugs. or meandering posts.

So, how's things? Good? Enjoying your Tuesday? Yes? Aww, that's just super. So, I don't really have anything in the way of interesting personal anecdotes, bizarre but true neighbor run-ins, or even mildly amusing fictions that I might attempt to pass off as fact, so instead take these links and whatnot. Please and thanks, my lovely lovelies...

Proving once again that only the good die young, it came as a terrible blow to hear that after 28 years of bravely reporting the stories that others feared to touch, this will be the very last installment of The Weekly World News. Where now will the world turn for periodic Bat Boy updates, blurry pictures of the Virgin Mary in someone's pancake, and headlines such as "Hillary Clinton Adopts Alien Baby" and "Crazed Dieter Mistakes Dwarf For Chicken?" Fox & Friends, I guess...

Speaking of Dick Cheney, here's yet more speculation on what the monster might be (or might not be) in 1-18-08. Apparently, it's not Voltron, and "much of the movie will revolve around the characters fleeing for their lives, not from the big one stomping the city, but from the 'raptor-like' smaller versions hunting them down." Suffice it to say, I'm excited.

I'm also more than a little excited about several new music releases this week (The New Pornographers, Rilo Kiley and Over the Rhine - oh my!), but more than a little deflated since nary a one of them is available on emusic....yet. Unfortunately, I'm nothing if not impatient when I spy something I want, so Steve Jobs will probably be seeing more of my money...soon.

One of my favorite bloggers penned a review of The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters that made me equal parts relieved that the video gamer documentary sounds as good as I hoped it would be and frustrated that it's apparently not going to run anywhere near me any time soon. I know Detroit's not exactly New York, but it's not exactly Muncie either. Throw a girl a bone.

And while I've got you here, wanna see what happens if you were to put a dry tea bag in an empty mug inside a microwave set for two minutes on "high"?


Cute, huh? Of course, you'll have to imagine the smell, leaping flames and me running bewildered and terrified full-speed towards my kitchen for yourself, which I trust you - being the intelligent, imaginative person you are - can very well do. And while you're at it, picture me devastatingly beautiful, well-coiffed hair blowing in a mysterious indoor breeze, as I risk life and limb to rescue several orphans and a basket of puppies from said flaming mug, 'kay?

Because that's exactly how it happened.

Exactly.