All the best

2008-12-18T19:58:00.000-08:00

Since everyone seems cheerful and in the holiday spirit, I'm joining in by running down a list of my favorite things.

The X-acto knife. Who doesn't love a good blade? Especially one that is razor-sharp and holds like a pencil? I've used mine (with trusty blade #11) for everything from excavating dinosaur bones in Wyoming to protecting important information by permanently disfiguring compact discs. Sundel Doniger's failed scalpel has a myriad of useful applications, and really, the danger is half the fun.

Does this even need to be explained? Nancy Grace is such a fierce, fabulous bitch! I wish I could be as amazing as she is, but I'll settle for having her as a role model.

If only I could live above this glorious establishment! It may not look like much during the day, but Kelly's Mart is truly a place for the freaks--I have never seen a more diverse crowd of weirdos in my life. Endless lols here.

Joel DeSpain, Madison's PIO, puts humor and feeling into serious crime, brightening my days with stories like this.

Bats get a bad rap. They really do. Despite the stigma against them, the cute little things are actually extremely helpful--they eat millions of insects that blight crops, aid in pollination, and some even have anticoagulant saliva that could be helpful in developing new medicines. Worried about rabies? It is unlikely a bat will bite you unless you're doing something you shouldn't be. In the rare case where the bat is actually seriously ill, you'll be able to easily evade it as it flops toward you in a confused haze. Concerned about vampire bats? Unless you live in Latin America, you're in the clear. And what is cooler than the ghost bat of Australia?

The Hot Zone is my favorite science-related book of all time. I loved it as a child, even though my peers were far more into Goosebumps. I was certain I would grow up to work with Ebola and other Biohazard 4 diseases (aspirations to become a virus hunter for the CDC replaced my long-held goal of being a marine biologist), and I forged on from there. Although I'll never be like Nancy Jaxx in Richard Preston's book, I will at least be working with some nonpathogenic microbes, another placer on my list of favorite things.

Other things I love that are self-explanatory: Vincent D'Onofrio, green tea, sloths, Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson, House MD, Cowboy Bebop, shamans, owls, Fallen Angels, geology, BRMC, "those smokestacks against that sky", my friend MJ, hot young professionals, key lime pie, and gin and tonics made with Bombay Sapphire Gin.

Oh, and Jimmy Smits as Miguel Prado. "Mariiiiiia!" He almost killed a guy (in real life)!

and that ^. baby lyssa's moment of fame. the guy pushed her...she had broken ribs but managed to actually catch him because she somehow got ahead of him...or something else totally not staged. I love Dog the Bounty Hunter.

Those Smokestacks

All the best