Jesus and Mary.

I found these two in the toy section of my local Wal-Mart. According to the packaging, they are fully poseable and can talk. Joseph, however, was nowhere to be found.

No coffee for you.

The fact that Starbucks is closing 600 of its stores is not news. But ever since I heard about this I wondered if the one in downtown Bloomsburg will be among them. And, according to The Huffington Post article listing all 600 stores, it is. I am not surprised by this since the downtown also houses Bloomin' Bagels, a locally owned eatery, and Phillips Emporium, a performance space coupled with a bookstore and a coffee shop.

Both of these places serve coffee of better quality than Starbucks at a lower cost. But fear not, coffee lovers. If you desire a cup of Starbucks coffee you will be able to find it in Bloomsburg atop College Hill, on the first floor of the Bloomsburg University Library. It seems that the twentysomethings who inhabit B.U. can not survive between classes without infusions of overpriced coffee.

But, to quote Lenny Kravitz, what I really want to know is what does a character from the original Battlestar Galactica has to do with coffee?

Slow rider.

Life in a small Pennsylvania town can be very unhurried most of the time. But once in a while something creeps in to town to remind you how rural this place truly is. For example, after I parked my car, but before Lili and I could get out, I saw a combine (second in the on-coming lane) making its way down a busy street with its hazard lights blinking as if to remind people to slow down and enjoy this Summer day.

Midnight cookies.

My wife and I are making cookies for a shindig at her work. She found this recipe in a recipe box that takes up most of our kitchen. It calls for an equal number of X's and O's. The idea, I guess, is to play Tic Tac Toe if the cookies taste bad.

Driving.

Lili in a box.

Lili likes to get her toys out and spread them out in the living room. Today she decided to get into the box that used to contain her toys.

Home Run Derby.

In case you are like me and missed last night's Home Run Derby, here is an MLB blog that was created to keep up with the derby as it happened. I don't know how long it will be up, so check it out now.

Celebrity baseball.

Just in time for the All-Star Game I discovered that Alyssa Milano, the star of both large and small screen, is an L.A. Dodgers' fan. This isn't a particularly interesting fact and neither is the fact that she has dated Dodgers' starting pitcher Brad Penny. But what I did find interesting is that she has a blog called Touch 'em All dedicated to baseball.

I have read a few entries and found that they are well written. The part that made me want to read this blog again was that it is written from a stand point of a fan, a fan with really good season tickets, but a fan nonetheless. While I expected to find the ravings of an armchair GM with a Hollywood sized ego, I found a baseball fan who used to watch the Yankees on her father's lap.

The only thing that surprised me the most about Touch 'em All is the name of its author. But, in large part due to that name, I will add Touch 'em All to my blog list.

Convenience Store Day.

Today is July 11th, sometimes known as Convenience Store Day. In honor of this "holiday", I am posting a picture I found via Google. Here is to all the convenience stores and their clerks out there, you make what passes for civilized living possible.

Thought of the day.

If you are going to make mistakes, and chances are you are going to make a few, make them while you are in your twenties. This way, as you get older, you will spend more time remembering them than regretting them.

Coney Island.

After our visit to Coney Island this weekend, I was curious if I can find a video of this piece of American history in its hey day. I got lucky and found one. Here it is, enjoy:

Planet Aid.

A recent addition to the sights I pass on my walk is this container for recycling of clothing and shoes. What I can't figure out is, how is this different from giving your old stuff to the Salvation Army?

Thought of the day.

A year ago, on what was supposed to be the luckiest day ever, an extremely large number of couples took the plunge and got married. I wonder how many of these people are now divorced?

Parachute jump.

Wonder Wheel.

Original Nathan's.

Coney Island boardwalk.

Mother and daughter.

Independance Day.

We are visiting my mother in Brooklyn. Earlier we stopped at a playground in Sheepshead Bay where I took this picture.

Trade agreement.

John McCain is in Colombia advocating a trade agreement between that country and the US. Doesn't he know that we already have a trade agreement? Colombians send us coffee and cocaine, then we send them currency. However, this trade benefits Colombia more than it benefits us. So a change of terms is in order.