Things That Make Me Happy...

I'm not sure what's with the lists-trend lately, but here you go:

1. My new H&M flannel-ish shirt. I'm kinda addicted to it. And so happy that the post-grunge look is back.
2. Backbends
3. New Yorker magazine. I read it cover to cover.
4. Farmer's Market
5. My friend Ruth is coming to visit!
6. Going to Austin.
7. NY in the fall. And summer. And spring. (Conspicuously absent: winter.)
8. Writing.

That's it for now.

***
Today I passed a homeless man whose cardboard sign read: THE ORIGINAL WHY LIE I NEED BEER GUY [sic]. PLEASE HELP.

I thought about helping him rewrite his sign to read, "The original 'Why-lie?-I-need-beer guy.' Please help." And then I wondered if begging signs (what do you call them?) made better use of the English language, or at least its grammar, would this result in greater contributions? Would potential contributors be impressed that an apparent bum refused to end a sentence with a preposition, or knew when to use past perfect vs. present perfect?

These are the things I think about.

***

Speaking of language, I've had a bug in my craw (did I just bungle a cliche?) about politicians opposing gay marriage. At stake, or so we're told, is the *definition* of marriage. In an effort to avoid the politically charged issue, opponents are hiding behind the literal meaning. Even Dems are arguing that a better alternative is the legalization of civil unions.

Since when does the American public care about language? The same public who chides Obama for his "words" and has overlooked eight years of Bush's egregious misuse, now care about semantics? Weird.