while you're up there, get that frisbee out of the gutter. thanks.

dr oz is having a special «ask anything» show today and here's what i want to ask - «if you are willing to ask a stranger on national teevee something you are too embarrassed to ask your personal dr - isn't it time to get a new personal dr?»

speaking of asking - there are these columns in the newspaper where you can send in questions and get answers from a stranger. advice columns. some are specific like heloise who provides household tips. some are general like carolyn hax and dearabby. of these, hax is by far the best. this is b/c hax answers actual questions and dearabby is a complete loon.

the other day, this lady wrote in to dearabby about her mom having theme parties on the days that equal the months & years. [1 jan 2001, 2 feb 2002, 3 march 2003, etc.] this was not even a question - it was a sort of letter to dearabby as if she were a personal friend. a personal friend letter that they published in the newpaper. and they wonder why newspaper sales are down. so anyway, dearabby's response was - i kid you not - «i hope 13/13/13 doesn't fall on a friday!» yeah, i am kind of hoping we don't HAVE a 13/13/13 at all since THERE ARE ONLY 12 MONTHS.

more fabulous advice from the dearabby snoozefest. actual dearabbyisms --
-- «By allowing their children to ignore the "rules," these parents are sending the message that rules don't apply to them.»
-- «Joking about someone's appearance isn't clever or funny.»
-- «If you want concrete answers from her, you need to discuss this subject more fully with her.»
-- «I'm sure you have many qualities that make you special -- and remember, what makes us unique is sometimes what we mistake as our "flaws."»

why am i droning on about dearabby? well, hell, why do i drone on about anything. b/c you hang on my every word, that's why. glad we straightened that out.

here's your action item takeaway: write your local newspaper and tell them to stop running dearabby. i don't care if your local paper doesn't run dearabby or if you don't even have a local paper. do it anyway.