Schmutzie, one of my Heroes of the Blog Faith, has instituted Grace in Small Things, whereby grumpy, pessimistic people strive to be more than the sum of their snarky blog posts. While I do enjoy grouching about here and elsewhere, it is an excellent way to stfu and write about nice things in a way that avoids cloying bonhomie.

I often forget that my religious tendencies include frequent mention of grace, in addition to the fatalism with which I most identify. Plus, Assers has been on my case to do something Lenten. I’m unlikely to give up or acquire anything for 40 consecutive days, but I can try to take on a healthy practice or two for bits of the duration.

I give you Grace in Small Things, part I

1. “Look for Me As You Go By,” from Befriended by the Innocence Mission. Just dug up this album last week and forgot this beautiful song existed.

2. Jersey shore fudge. Ran down to Cape May yesterday to look at rentals and got summmmme.

3. Bento boxes. I’ve had one weekly for the last few weeks.

4. Thor. My high school bestie just gave birth to her first son, and like it or not, that’s the wee boy’s name. I hope he grows up brave and strong enough to wield a hammer of his own.

5. The Saxon Stories. Talking of Norsemen, I love British history, and Bernard Cornwell, and men with swords, and tore through this trilogy like an ax through a shield-Dane.

…CORNIFY it! Click the button below.

Here is what you can expect from me in the xmas gift department:

C’mon, who doesn’t love a felt vag?

Today, the day before Thanksgiving, was not a good day to be at a mass transit hub. Penn Station was the devil, packed with thousands (I may exaggerate, but not by much) of suitcase-turtled wretches. It’s just a normal day at Penn when you see tricked-out soldiers with automatic weapons and attack dogs (ha, first I typed ‘attach dogs.’ Just as useful, perhaps like live, furry, rubber darts!), but tonight it occurred to me that a packed station on a holiday is actually quite an ideal time to cause some destructive mischief.

FEAR NOT, however. I present the New Jersey Transit Mounted Segway Police.

What could be scarier than Rihanna’s AMA outfit?

And who could describe it better than the Fug Girls?  “…her spiky bodice — the sides of which appear to be barfing chains — is something I imagine strippers wore in Mordor. It’s very overdone and freaky, and I can’t BELIEVE she was willing to put up with chains thwacking against her Precious every time she moved.”