I’m currently working my way through archived back-episodes of The Show with Ze Frank. It certainly makes me wish that he were still at it; it’s the perfect blend of thoughtfulness, philosophy, news, and humor, and a great daily ritual. And the wiki-tastic community of Sports Racers that arose around The Show is totally amazing.

Having brought this all up, here’s an example of the awesomeness that you missed if you weren’t paying attention in ‘06:

Anyone know of something of this sort that’s around now? Ze Frank is unfortunately not doing it anymore (although he is up to all sorts of other awesomeness, and tweets semi-regularly)…

I feel like this is the anthem of anyone who works retail or customer service. It certainly describes how I felt working at the fruit stand.

Marina also has a well-written blog, the best post of which may be this one.

In the spirit of all things food (which have sparked my interest more and more of late), I wanted to share with you a web-site that a friend of mine found recently: Foodzie. Essentially, it’s Etsy for food. It’s an on-line market-place for small (and generally, indie) vendors and artisans to sell their edibles. Sauces, spreads, jams, oils, vinegar, nuts, cheeses, chocolate, candy — it’s a treasure trove of off-the-beaten-path foodstuffs! I have yet to order anything from them, but here are a few of the things I’ve found which are going on my to-eat list:

Cinnamon Basil Tea Cookies from the Botanical Bakery.

Lavender Hanahbells Thimble Cheese from the Shy Brothers Farm. I’m such a sucker for Lavender!

Grenache Wine Vinegar from Allure Estates.

Scenic City Sizzle, Grilling Pepper from Alchemy Spice Company. I’m imagining this getting slathered all over a grilled halibut. Whoa.

Mint Chip Macaroons from Emmy’s Organics. The “chips” are not semi-sweet or even bitter-sweet chocolate chips, but raw cocoa nibs sprinkled throughout. I love chocolate in its regularly consumable forms, but there’s something so totally pure and perfect about nibs, they’re so dark and bitter but with their own natural sweetness and oiliness that fills your mouth with the smallest amount.