a Touch of Grey

My nephew Jake just painted his bedroom grey. It inspired me on a recent trip to Mystic, CT to find shades of Grey in the objects and surroundings around me.

Rogue or Redundant?

Just when politics was getting too boring to write about, Sarah Palin again wriggles into the spotlight. Her highly-anticipated book "Going Rogue" is mostly anticipated by those wondering what thought in her head could be worth the estimated $7 million (source: LA Times) Harper Collins is throwing at her.

The book, to be released Tuesday November 17 is already reduced on Amazon. com - selling for just $9 on pre-order (that's a $19.99 price cut before it's even released)! Not to be outdone, WalMart is offering the gripping piece of literature for $8.98 with free shipping.

Maybe a pre-release price chop is the only thing rogue about her these days. The title of the book itself is being questioned by news organizations like TIME magazine as being untimely.

Certainly she is not the first politician to fumble through a television interview, gain the obsessive hatred of 92% of Americans, and quit her job to go on a book tour. If she was a housewife with a horrible haircut then her name would be Kate Gosselin.

The press releases have been trying hard to promote this as there are no gripping revelations disclosed in the book. It includes admissions there were conflicts within the McCain Campaign (shock!), she hates Katie Couric for her "badgering" interview questions (Wait. She still hasn't looked up the definition of "badgering"?), and her ethics complaints drove her legal expenses to more than half a million dollars. No surprises. Except she does reveal a fondness for 8th grade literature, revealing George Orwell's "Animal Farm" is one of her favorite stories. Perhaps the pigs in the book influenced her during the campaign and as governor. Her actions seem to echo the scrawling on the barn door: "All animals are created equal but some animals are more equal than others".

Unfortunately it looks like "Going Rogue" will not be the jaw-dropping, scandalous read we expected from the Thrilla from Wasilla and in these dire economic times, even a measly $9 is too much to pay for a ghost-written piece of fluff. It seems her only revealing quality, the rogue actions that made her appealing to those that may not have agreed with her politically, has shriveled up in the vast tundra of Alaska. Sad.

You can see Sarah Palin revealing the dry details of her book on Oprah Monday November 16. If you need help falling asleep on the couch, that is.

Heads in Business Cards

Not everyone can be as clever, as witty as brilliant as comedian Steve Martin. Don't believe me? Check out his business card! It makes me want to ask him for his autograph if I ever meet him!

For the rest of us. we can try to make our business life a bit more interesting. This elastic business card makes so much sense when you pull it and read that its for a personal trainer. I almost want to go to the gym now.

Here's a card you don't want to get. It's for a debt collector. Don't pay? Your thumb will look like this.

And every landscaper needs a Chia-biz card pet.

When You Gotta Go

Artist Candy Chung comes to the aid of New Yorkers in need of a Restroom Rescue. With a background in Urban Planning, she was stunned to find, or rather, not find, the paltry number of public toilets in New York City. I personally only know of one (in the green space where Broadway and 6 Avenue cross at 33th street). This opposed to 750 Automatic Public Commodes in Singapore, 678 in London and 500 in Athens.

So, Chung mapped out some semi-public places to let it all out downtown. These include Starbucks, Hotels and Police Stations and she printed them on a tear-by-page note pad. If any are still available they were placed at the 4,5,6, J,M,Z Canal Street Subway Station. This is something very handy to have in your wallet. Save yourself the trip to Chinatown and print a PDF of the map out at www.candychung.com or here.