BOHICA

Hard on the heels of a Katrina comes another storm that's one of the most powerful on record. And this time it's aiming at one of the main oil-refining regions in the country.

I should probably fill the tank before the weekend. And maybe a couple of coolers. I'm reminded of the old Bloom County cartoon about how the dog is going to drink unleaded from now on, since gas is still so incredibly cheap. As I overheard a vendor say at a show earlier this year, Starbucks coffee is like $30/gallon. Make that $60/gallon if you want milk in it. (Starbucks is in the business of selling dairy products, not neccessarily coffee beans.)

Perhaps I should look at the bright side: we'll soon have a Chief Justice where we know more about his movie-watching habits than his actual opinions. I think Bush's next nominee is gonna be Harry Knowles. Or Roper.

Ebert could cope with the blow of losing Roper by doing the whole rotating-chair bit again! This time he should drag people from the local weekly papers—David Walker in Willamette Week would totally bring down the ratio of easy-peasy "two thumbs up" ratings. He's a lot more critical of film. No, wait. I got it. Tasha Robinson from The Onion, who I've been reading since she was in the Daily Iowan. (Fun fact—her culture column was the first place I ever saw the glory that is Milk and Cheese.)