What a peculiar idea. Volvo wants to design a car specifically for women. The strange thing is, I’m a guy, but I definitely would like to have all but one of these nifty features. (And yes, the one I don’t care about is the split headrest to accomodate a ponytail, but of all the women I know, none of them wear a ponytail. Perhaps it’s a Swedish thing.)

Apropos of nothing… the top headline in my hometown newspaper today is about the illegal bingo games in senior centers. Does anybody wonder why I moved away as soon as I could?

This is funny. I drive a Subaru Forester (arguably the first of the mini-SUVs) and I’m constantly amazed when I’m passed on the freeway by behemoths like the Cadillac Escalade and Ford Excursion. Nobody needs a vehicle that big. But this is a little bigger….

My observations on the Oscars:

1. Is there anything Helen Hunt could have done to make herself look less attractive? Bad dress. Bad hair. Bad makeup. Bad tan. And no statue this year.

2. Woody Allen has more hair than Ron Howard.

3. Russell, you wuz robbed. But nicely.

Of the films that won or were nominated, I’ve seen exactly one: The Wacky Mathematician, err, “A Beautiful Mind”, and that only because a very geeky date wanted to see it. (My choice, “Shrek”, was overruled.) I need to get out more.

The new inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? The Ramones, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and The Talking Heads?!?! This just isn’t right! I feel very old.

Oh-oh. Looks like it’s curtains for Chuckie. (No, not really. I just like saying that. Try it, you’ll enjoy it too!)

I wonder why the feds are so interested in chasing after this? The case is 26 years old, everybody involved (except Chuckie O’Brien) is dead, and there’s not much doubt as to what happened to Jimmy Hoffa. It’s not like Chuckie is going to roll over as soon as he’s charged; he’s an old-school thug, and he’s been under suspicion for many years.

I always enjoy a nice romantic story.

What do you do when the place you park your bicycle says you can’t park it there anymore? Simple: you park other things there. Like teapots. A old door for your refrigerator. The HMS Invincible. You’re invited to make suggestions. What should I put on the Fence?

The Japanese are pretty strange about a lot of things, none more so than melons, which are commonly given as gifts. The usual gift melon is a cantelope, though honeydew and watermelons are also given. Japanese farmers have developed a square watermelon, which they have designed so it exactly fits Japanese refrigerators. (Which is another bit of Japanese weirdness: there are two sizes of refrigerators. Period. One that’s maybe three-quarters of a cubic foot, and one that’s a couple of cubic feet. Ten- or twenty- cubic foot refrigerators like Americans and Europeans use do not exist.)

An example of life’s definition of irony: Laid-Off Worker Becomes Instant Multi-Millionaire.