Is it just me, or is Jared getting a little paunchy? No, no, it’s not just me because Fondy actually brought it to my attention today. “Jared got fat!”she exclaimed when the Subway spokesman flashed onscreen. Normally, I couldn’t care less what someone weighs (sumo wrestlers being the sole exception here as there’s nothing I hate more than a scrawny sumo – oh, don’t get me started), but the fact that this guy makes a living as a paragon of good eating and a healthy lifestyle makes him fair game so far as I’m concerned. Sure, he is to be commended for shedding close to 250 pounds in a year by subsisting on what are essentially “condiment sandwiches” and, oh yeah, consuming about 1000 calories a day. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that pretty much anyone could lose weight consuming the daily equivalent of a couple of bananas, a juice box, a small hamburger, a cup of boiled veggies, and a glass of chocolate milk – OR two shots of olive oil. Still, you have to give the guy credit for stretching what should have been a News of the Weird backpager into a bonafide career. How long do you figure until he loses his shilling duties and ends up sharing a loft with Gary Burghoff, Right Said Fred, and that “You can call me Ray” guy on The Surreal Life.

Speaking of surreal – I actually cooked tonight. I made a braised ling cod casserole with wild mushrooms and black truffle butter, topped with Hawaiian red sea salt. Fondy cooked up some serrano peppers, fixed a salad, and we enjoyed a rare dinner at home. With the NFL playoffs in full swing, there’s no way I’m leaving the house until Sunday night. And, by the way, my sympathies to Robert Cooper and Paul McGillion who watched their Dallas Cowboys implode against the Seattle Seahwaks tonight.

So, did anybody get around to reading Connie Willis’s To Say Nothing of the Dog? I thought it was one of the funniest books I’ve read in a long time. While in Montreal, I also managed to squeeze in Song of Kali by Dan Simmons, a truly harrowing read, and a collection of short stories by Eric Frank Russell (Dear Devil and Allamagoosa were particularly memorable). Next up: Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair and Minister Faust’s The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad.