SNOWBOUND IN THE 'CHESTER . . .

It's supposed to snow like a mo' fo' today, tonight, into tomorrow. (Apologies for the juvenile not-truly-literate street slang, but that's really the only way to describe the potential of 14 inches of snow being dumped on my poor little metropolitan region.) That's fine -- who cares that we're all already sick of winter, slick roads, freezing temperatures, lingering illnesses, dirty and salt-ridden cars, grey skies? What's another few inches of snow on top of what's left over from the last storm?

The only thing is ... I wish I were going to be snowbound with friends. Nothing against my parents or Gran, but there's something about being piled on a couch with a bunch of friends that makes the constant snowfall less of a drag. For example, two storms ago, J2 and I got snowbound at Camp Capio over the weekend, and we spent our two days there eating, eating, watching television, eating, dozing, eating, laughing, chatting, playing with the Noodles, eating -- it was fabulously lazy. There's something about scrounging for food in someone else's house that is much less pathetic than scrounging for food in one's own home. Plus, Fox is airing another set of "American Idol 3" auditions tonight, and really, one shouldn't experience that alone.

Ah well ... I'll just have to sucker Omma and Appa into watching that atrocity with me tonight ...

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BLING-BLANG . . .

I am an awards-show sloot -- if there's one on television, I will watch it. Back in the day, I used to tape them, just to see the dresses and hear the acceptance speeches. I will even say "Hey, can I come over to your house to watch the Emmy's with you?"

So you know I'm all over the February Oscars. Those nominations were announced this morning. It's a very diverse and interesting group, with some unexpected names (at least in my humble and not-that-knowledgeable opinion), so check out the list ...

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KERRY-LOVER . . .

Mrs.G was taunting me last night for being a Kerry-lover. It's not really my fault -- she lured me into taking a quiz, and we all know how much I love useless quizzes. Anyway, President Match asked me a bunch of questions, all of which I answered completely inconsistently, and it determined that John Kerry was the best president for me. He was followed by -- in no particular order -- Dean, Edwards, Clark and Lieberman. Mrs.G laughed at me, but at least I didn't have AL SHARPTON on my list of potentially best-matched presidents. Yikes.

In any event, the unreliable circus known as the New Hampshire primary is occurring today, so go out there and have fun, people ...

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AARON F. BOONE . . .

Dude. You went to college, so I know you can read. You have a lawyer who presumably went to law school and can also read. You are a professional baseball player and have been for six years. SO READ YOUR CONTRACT AND DON'T PLAY BASKETBALL.

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THE RANDOMIZER . . .

Can anyone suggest a good book about Ted Williams? And can anyone lend me $160 so I can purchase Ken Burns' documentary "Baseball"? Thanks.