And then one little boy exclaimed, "Look! The emperor is naked!"

The child was referred for counseling, and a social worker was dispatched to his home. The subsequent investigation cleared the parents of any criminal charges. Unfortunately the father lost his job shortly after the incident, due to downsizing.

Oh, look. I have a blog.

I forgot all about this. I assumed I started it so I could view someone else's blog, and here it sits, an artifact of the age of too much information.

I do think, as do we all, but I don't generally organize my thoughts into anything I could post.

If anybody had told me 30 years ago that pot would still be illegal and alternative energy would be a fuzzy goal for the future. . .

We're here, we're gone, it's the blink of an eye. A lifetime of experience is less than a second, and everything you know may be wrong.

Puff the Magic Dragon. Why didn't he make friends among the dragons? Was he the only one, or did the other dragons bore him or annoy him? It makes me think of Douglas Adams, who didn't like to write alone. So many fans felt a connection, but it didn't complete the circuit.

That one-way connection. I love you, JohnPaulGeorgeRingo. We feel as if we know Oprah, but she does not feel as if she knows us. And that's Oprah--I think she would try to appear gracious.

I saw a taping of Conan O'Brien's show, but I didn't feel the love. Stephen Colbert makes you feel the love. They're both smart guys, clever guys. Is it just because Colbert is newer at it?

I like Billy Collins. He's accessible, but he shows you something new. Nothing momentous, but still, something new. But Paulo Coelho, wtf?

Here's something that's truly a good thing: indoor plumbing. Consider what a tiny percentage of the world's population has ever been privileged to take a hot shower every day. Maybe your water pressure is crummy and there's mold on your grout, but you are one lucky son of a bitch.

Free at last

Paris Hilton was released from jail early because of her undisclosed medical problem.

Most of us refer to this condition as "filthy rich," but in the interest of maximum obfuscation, let's call it intractable hyperabundance.