singley.org > blog archives > Earl, Grammys, Martha and Nostalgia 02.18.2003

• Too Much Earl: No matter how many times the nice man brings you more hot water, try not to drink 8 cups of tea in a single sitting.

• TRL, Meet the Grammys: This year's Grammy nominations are just sad. Do the people selecting these artists actually listen to music? Or do they just ask their 12-year-old sons and daughters what's "hip?" I'm all for pop music as a form of mindless musical entertainment, but if we're talking about awards for the most talented musicians of our time, I really don't think that Avril Levine and Nickelback qualify. And if they do, where's my Grammy?

• Your Martha Stewart Moment: After cutting myself shaving then getting a drop of blood on the shirt I'd worn for a total of about 7 minutes, I sought stain-removal solutions. A little research led to hydrogen peroxide. And the fun bit is that not only does the stain slowly disappear after repeated applications, the liquid foams on contact with the blood. How does this work, you ask? The answer can be found at one of the best time-wasting sites on the web: HowStuffWorks.com.

• Nostalgia: The 2'+ of snow that was dumped on the East Coast this week got me thinking about winter at my old house in Minneapolis. We had a short, but fairly steep hill in our front yard where during major snowstorms, fantastic drifts would creep out over the lip of the slope. Mittens, hat, coat, moon boots, and bib-style snowpants would be hurriedly put on the next day and I would plow into those drifts, making tunnels for me and my orange sled or small caves to store snowballs. I'd stay outside for hours, nose-running, attempting to build the elusive two-story snow fort. Then, it would start to get dark early, mini-icicles would be dangling from my scarf and sometimes my eyelashes, and it was time to retire. Hot chocolate would be made, my cheeks, fingers and toes would sting from the quick temperature change, and outside there would be more snow falling. The snow gear would be placed near the heat vents to dry, waiting to be put on hurriedly, and the next day, it would all happen again.

Eric,

If you ever have questions about chemistry and hydrogen peroxide again, you should come to me first. Otherwise I feel as if all of my knowledge is in vain.

Yo dude, you're right about the snow in Boston being like we remember it fifteen-odd years ago. It actually is. I've been thinking this winter out here has been more like the winters I remember than those of the last 5 or so years at least. This latest blizzard just seals the deal. I'm glad I didn't go to UCLA.

My Philly-area relatives have been talking smack about what winter wimps we are in Chicago. That's just not right.

Of course, Sarah, I wander around when it's 10 degrees outside telling New Yorkers, "This isn't cold. You don't know cold like I know cold."

(Eric, sorry about using your forum as a place to leave messages for Sarah. I'd have left this comment at her site, but, well, she's afraid of comments.)