Life begins with climate control. Since we first hung woolly mammoth furs from forest branches we’ve gotten used to getting comfy when we settle in somewhere. Just look at babies in those curly fetal poses in their flannel onesies, napping in sunhats, shades, and shorts in stroll … | Continue reading
We all know that slippery wet pile of steaming sauce and steaming cheese doesn’t usually hold together when you jigsaw it out of the pan. Nope, after you yank it out of the burning hot tray the rectangle hole left behind quickly fills up with lasagna swamp water. Sure, your soari … | Continue reading
Ten goods. That’s a phrase my friends used in high school to express our casual annoyance with minor problems. Extra homework for the weekend? Ten goods. Cafeteria sold out of panzerottis? Ten goods. Tennis ball stuck in the gutter during road hockey? Ten goods. Now you got it. R … | Continue reading
Piling those slow rollers onto your fork and steering them straight into your mouth is Kitchen Table Victory. It requires intense mental focus, steady wristing, and a slow-steering speed. A little mashed potatoes on the fork also helps. AWESOME! Photo from: here The post #251 Whe … | Continue reading
I was a cakey mess yesterday. Before going onstage at The Today Show I was painted up by a friendly makeup artist wielding a messy palette full of assorted bottles and tubes. Clear gels, paintbrushes, and foam triangles came at me in a blurry daze before I teetered back to the le … | Continue reading
The jig is up. Nobody knows what the weather’s going to be. Not your nannie, not your newspaper, and not that guy on TV. So starting today we’re shredding the five-day forecasts, scrapping those swirling charts, and blowing the hot fronts out the window. Because after closer insp … | Continue reading
Surprise! While mindlessly dragging your hand between the couch cushions, sweeping the backyard patio stones, or searching for extra batteries in the junk drawer a tiny foiled egg suddenly appears like a sugary gift from the heavens. And when you score that surprise chocolate dro … | Continue reading
Office jobs are tough. I know we cubicle farmhands aren’t exactly hammering diamonds in dusty mineshafts, landing planes in snowy storms, or performing emergency appendectomies. But still — what we’re doing is complex mail merges to make envelope labels, compiling meeting minutes … | Continue reading
In your car you used to have all this lying around: an empty Doritos bag, a napkin, a parking stub, and a coffee cup. Now you just have a coffee cup. AWESOME! Photo from: here The post #278 Putting garbage in other garbage appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things. | Continue reading
Boom-badda, boom-badda. Back when I was a wee lad I remember begging my parents for some newfangled gadget from Radio Shack that let me play LCD checkers in the back of the station wagon. It was like Game Boy’s Great Uncle or something and after I fought with scissors to break it … | Continue reading
Big news, big news. I’ve got a new girlfriend. Her name is Leslie and she’s a kindergarten teacher. Now, one of the things I love about her is swapping stories after work because we do such different things. I work an office job in the suburbs so I tell horror stories of yellow-f … | Continue reading
There’s always one. It’s the beer belly guy with the megaphone, the face-painted lady with the dangly earrings, or the boozy teens with the letters on their chests. These folks don’t rest and we all can attest that they make our entire fan experience better than the best. The lou … | Continue reading
It’s good getting along with Future You. Whether it’s all-caps screaming to pick up the milk, terse finger-wagging reminding you to hit the gym, or polite memos to your Work Self to staple that important pamphlet tomorrow, well the point is that you’re making plans and pledging t … | Continue reading
Also known as Chef Snacks. When you’re stirring stew, popping corn, or frying fritters there’s nothing as nice as sneaking a few bites when nobody’s looking. You can do The Wooden Spoon Slurp to see if the soup has enough salt or the macaroni has enough cheese. Or you can try the … | Continue reading
Have you seen Twins? Yes, before The Governator governed he played Danny DeVito’s book-smart-street-stupid long lost brother in this classic screwball comedy. The story goes that The Terminator stole all the brains and muscles in the womb which turned him into a Superman but left … | Continue reading
Pop quiz, hotshot. What are your body’s five largest organs? No peeking, no peeking, we’ll reveal the big list later. But for now let’s just say skin is top dog and deserves six big props for six big reasons: 1. It’s our body’s giftwrap. No offense, but you wouldn’t look great wi … | Continue reading
Maybe it’s a metaphor for us all. Or maybe it’s just AWESOME! Photo from: here The post #286 Seeing a dog or cat chasing its own tail appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things. | Continue reading
Once upon a time you had a baby. Over those first few years you had ups and down, good times and bad, lots of laughs and lots of tears. You spooned applesauce off chins, you washed off their skin, and you walked them to their first day of school. And as they grow up and […] The p … | Continue reading
Where were you 31,000 years ago? Immortal wizards aside, I’m guessing you were the same place I was: nowhere. Nope, you were just a twinkle in your cave grandpa’s eye back then. Seriously, you weren’t around but your ancestors were scraping across soggy jungles, wet cliffs, and d … | Continue reading
You think it’s gonna be easy. But finally finding and finger-peeling the start of this stupid roll of tape takes two focused hawk eyes, a sharp set of witch’s nails, and a soft and delicate touch. If you’re missing these you’re outta luck. But if you’ve got all three you’re AWESO … | Continue reading
Chad came to visit last week. We’ve been friends since ninth grade and you may remember him playing important roles in my life like Neapolitan Shake Inspiration, Ticking Clock Monster, or Chocolate Milk Boy Genius. Chad’s been there for me through the thick and thin. He’s helped … | Continue reading
Goodbye, perfume. When I was a little kid I dreaded walking through Perfume Alley at the front of the department store. Holding my mom or dad’s hand I’d squeeze my face real tight while walking past lipstick-smeared smilies standing in front of shiny glass-n-brass countertops hol … | Continue reading
You were meant to be naked. After swimming in a stomach you came out crying in a new world full of harsh lights, surgical masks, and cold tables. A couple minutes later you were quickly covered in plastic, wool, and cotton, but you never forgot. You never forgot. Yes, you’ve been … | Continue reading
Our world can be a filthy place. Car fumes, cigarette smoke, and pet hair fill our air while our eyes suit up to sit on the front lines every day. This Dust War rages and rages and our eyes don’t get much protection in the trenches. On top of that, we don’t always treat them […] … | Continue reading
Successful sheet swooping is the term used to describe when you’re making the bed by yourself and you grab all four corners of a sheet and then suddenly swoop it out into the air in one quick move so that the entire sheet unfolds in a majestic rectangle of cotton that floats in t … | Continue reading
Stuff that belly. It’s time to enjoy some location based tastiness with some location based snacks: • Massive bag of wet popcorn at the movies. Squirt some hot buttery-like substance on that corn get ready to chomp through the previews. Now, there are two possible endings to this … | Continue reading
Because you know they’re not faking it. AWESOME! Photo from: here The post #296 Making a baby laugh appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things. | Continue reading
We start as strangers. Pushing into sweaty stadiums for the ballgame or splitting into opposites sides of the soccer pitch always feels like we’re getting ready to battle, getting ready to fight, and getting ready to cheer. Grab your flag, pump your fist, and finish that beer as … | Continue reading
I ain’t good at much. Seriously, when it comes to cooking I tend to burn toast, overcook pasta, and drown my cereal in white. Sports wise, I’ve been picked last in everything I’ve played — a broken-glasses freeze frame of me getting pegged in the forehead with a dodgeball would a … | Continue reading
Pull, pull, twist. Pull, pull, squeeze. Pull, pull, yank. Pull, pull, tweeze. SPROINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!!! AWESOME! Photo from: here The post #299 Finally pulling out an ingrown hair appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things. | Continue reading
Welcome to the dark. . It’s time to assess your nightwalking skills, young warrior: . Level 1: Fresh soldier. You’ve got confidence to try getting around in the dark but you’re just no good yet. Maybe you moved into a new place and are stubbing your toes on walls, stepping on you … | Continue reading
Packed boxes are ghosts. After you move into your shiny new place those cardboard demons haunt your hallways and basements for months and months and months. You see them hiding behind drain pipes in the storage room, lingering between boots in the closet, and even subbing in for … | Continue reading
Congratulations! You’re a walking talking Grandma. Well, if you made it this far then I think life’s treated you pretty gosh-darned well. You got born into a brave new world full of possibilities and you grew up and grew into someone who’s managed to spread their life, ideas, and … | Continue reading
AWESOME! Photos from: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here The post #303 All the food that comes out of a pig appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things. | Continue reading
Check out the sun. It’s just a big ball of fire swirling high in the sky. Plants, heat, life, pretty sunsets — damn girl, that’s some good deals for free. Yes, we owe a lot to that friendly fireball so it’s no wonder one of the Greatest Things We Ever Did was make fire in […] The … | Continue reading
Really outgoing two year olds are the friendliest people on earth. AWESOME! Photo from: here The post #305 When little kids hit the age where they just start saying hi to everyone appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things. | Continue reading
Life’s too short to be uncomfortable. Look, we already figured it out at nighttime: baggy flannel keeping you cozy in the cold, smooth and silky underthings slipping and sliding in the sheets, and extra-large sweatpants and thin fraying T’s help keep us relaxed when we’re sawing … | Continue reading
Works on underwear, milk, and babies. If it smells bad it’s bad. If it smells good it’s AWESOME! Photo from: here The post #307 The Sniff Test appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things. | Continue reading
I eat out a lot. I’m not proud of it but living alone downtown surrounded by greasy burger joints, neon sandwich signs, and late-night pizza places means I’m often tempted to trade a crinkly fiver for a waxy-wrapped package in a paper bag. Sometimes I step into the zone of an emp … | Continue reading
Snores are steam trains, clock radios are car alarms, and the neighbor building a deck outside is suddenly knocking urgently at your front door. When the sounds around your sleeping self magically morph into new stories in new worlds it’s a sign that the plump pile of pink flesh … | Continue reading
Flip the switch. After touch-feeling your way past the bed frame and slow-peeling your way under the sheets you blindly slip and shiver into the cool and cozy comfort of your beautifully dented bed. And whether you’re giggling in the bunks with your brother, whispering in sleepin … | Continue reading
Your brain is glue. Long after the cars are finished off-roading up a mountainside or speeding around a cliffside bend the jingle-jangly tune that accompanied those smooth rolling moments is still smooth rolling around your head. Yes, it bumps around your brain at the office and … | Continue reading
First you wait. Cold wind whips you on the lonely platform as you shudder and shuffle in the rain. Whether you’re catching the commuter train downtown, backpacking home from college, or visiting in-laws out of town you’re alone in that barren platform zone, baby. So you wait … an … | Continue reading
It makes you feel like a genius. AWESOME! Photo from: here The post #313 Showing old people how to do something on a computer appeared first on 1000 Awesome Things. | Continue reading
It’s more than a pour. Watching a bartender work really fast is like staring through the factory glass and watching all the whirring parts bump and grind before your beautiful finished drink pops out. Yes, you’re the foreman in a hardhat standing with a clipboard and a smile watc … | Continue reading
It’s your second home. Sure, you might shower and sleep on a suburban street but you probably spend most of your waking hours somewhere else — at a high school, in a cubicle, at the factory, on a farm. Maybe your second home is a dimly-lit and dusty hallway or maybe it’s a dirty … | Continue reading
You’re Jack Bauer. The clock’s clicking and sweat is pouring down your forehead because you know a bomb is about to go off… on your face! You can feel that sneeze tingle up where your brain connects to your eyeball and you know it’s about to boom out in a showery snotstorm the li … | Continue reading
Just listen. When the white sky splits and the big flakes fall there’s a certain peaceful calm that covers everything like a blanket. Floating flurries flutter and fly past dull yellow streetlamps before covering coats and cars in a thin layer of icing. Whistling winds fade to wh … | Continue reading