NIGHTCAP 08/10/11

Tonight's the night the space station releases their payload of 36 tons of old, heavy, glass tube TV sets. None are smaller than 24". They'll make quite a sight as they burn up in the atmosphere above North America. If you stay up late, and live in a remote area, you should be able to see most of it with the naked eye.

If you're really sharp, you might even glimpse the screaming visage of various celebrity comedians on the TV screens themselves as they realize the horror of their descent. NASA had their spirits trapped in the actual TV sets.

It also had enough extension cord wire to ensure the sets would stay on through most of their fall.

SENATOR’S HAIR

Thousands of years from now, when this culture of ours is being studied by the lizard men, heavy attention will be paid to one thing: The Cut, Length and Style of our most powerful Senators' Hair. But these future archeologists will make crucial mistakes in their analysis because they lack direct contact with the hair. Like scientists in our time guessing as to the texture and color of a dinosaur's skin, our descendants will have only speculation as their guide. Which is where I come in. As a service to the society of lizard men, I am leaving a record that clears up any and all misconception about our fine and noble senators' hair. I cut photos from popular news magazines and laboriously fill out index cards with samples taped to them if available. And, most importantly, I gather primary...

MORNING CONSTITUTIONAL 08/10/11

I gave up the private detective business three years ago. I'm a different man, now. I have a family. I work on boats now. The big ships. I draw pictures of them and sell them to people that live in landlocked states. I have a future. I can't help you. I don't care about the package of feathers you received last week. You can spend your own time glueing them under your arms and taking photos of yourself in the mirror. I have old copies of the yellow pages to skim through and obscene last names to circle. Your "clues" are meaningless. There is no big secret going on. This is a quiet town filled with quiet people many of whom have forgotten how to speak altogether. The most they can do is make sorta whale noises, and not even with their mouths! There is nothing suspicious about that! They...

NIGHTCAP 08/09/11

What kind of world doesn't have computers? Computers do everything! They make ice. They make ice sculptures. Human beings were totally alone in the universe before the computers landed. They've shown us the way back to ourselves.

I love computers. I love to hug computers and tell them they are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I was thinking of giving the Nobel Prize to my computer for all the help it gave me on my assignments, and I just might still do that. I know a guy who's brother works for them.

Thanks to computers - and no thanks to wild animals - I can work all day in just my sandals. No more heavy boots.

PUSHBACK

Lot of negative pushback on the decision to replace all of the cement animals and operating windmills at the miniature golf course with harsh, minimalist 12 foot slabs of gray concrete, some inscribed with the names of now-extinct indian tribes that once made their lives on the land under the always-fresh putting greens beneath the golfers' feet.

If it's any consolation, these slabs didn't come cheap!

Deadly Black Ice

I found myself, as I so often do, at one of our finer full service gas stations and was confronted, in the Accessories Aisle, with this, the Black Ice Air Freshener. What could it possibly smell like?

And why would someone driving, presumably in a cold climate where such winter road hazards abound, want to be reminded of deadly black ice every time they got behind the wheel? Why would a driver want to explain the aroma of deadly black ice to any new passengers along for the ride?

How did the scientists capture the scent of deadly black ice in the wild without themselves being undone by its dark powers? Why won't this gas station just break down and hire me to dust its shelves? I'm here everyday, often before the other employees arrive!