The Leap Day Roundup

I knew a guy in high school who was born on February 29, 1976. He only had a birthday every 4 years. So wherever you are, Jason What's-His-Face, happy 8th birthday. Hope you get that 10-speed.

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In honor of leap day, here is my post full of things that I didn't think of myself, favorite new places on the internet, questions I've recently been asked, and other randomness. I am reserving this one day every four years to fail to think for myself.

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Watching an episode from Season 3 of "The West Wing" last night, probably one of my favorite quotes ever:

Leo: It was a screwup, but I love how he just ran full speed at it. Bam! It's like, there's a Sam Seaborn-shaped hole in the wall.

Aaron Sorkin: greatest TV writer ever.

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A Twitter by Mighty Girl's Maggie Mason: "BABYBOI plate and "I've got piercings in places you'd love to lick" license frame suggest that aging is gonna be hard on you."

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Dan and I are in a mighty battle with our weight, which has collectively become a little out of control. I have lost 8 pounds; Dan has lost an inch and a half from his waist, but after seeing the food porn at Sunday Night Dinner, I think we'd give it all up for that spicy, totally greasy Thai wide rice noodle dish that I can't think of the name of at the moment.

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Imaginary notes to your kid and from your kid to you: At Yummy Mummy Cooks Gourmet and Finslippy. If Max were going to leave me a note it would say, "FYI: Anything I liked last week, I now hate. You are a terrible mother. Never talk to me again. Love, Max."

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The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks made me put my head down on my desk and laugh so hard that I cried this week. There is very little that I like more than a grammar Nazi.

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Tertia at So Close frequently speaks publicly about her journey through infertility to motherhood. This week she wrote a little about bedside manner and how medical professionals can better meet patients' needs. As a sufferer of a chronic illness and secondary infertility, I really appreciate the comments of her readers.

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I hope that Sarah of Sarah and the Goon Squad doesn't mind me stealing her Leap Day Pop Culture survey, but she would have made an outstanding MTV reporter. Her questions are great ones. They are as follows:

1) What is the last movie you saw in a theater? Was it good?

2) What is your favorite tv show?

3) What is the last album you bought (or stole from the internet, or burned from a friend) that you loved?

4) If you were in charge of People Magazine’s Sexiest Person Alive, who would win?

5) Who is your favorite artist? (Like art artist)

6) What is your favorite musical/opera/play?

7) What do you think is the worst song ever recorded?

Leave your answers in the comments.

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I am so weary of hearing about the dangers of aspartame. Let me throw something out there for you, people: I am diabetic. I would rather be temporarily cranky from aspartame than permanently dead from kidney failure. Sugar may occur in nature, but insulin does not occur in my pancreas, so stop telling me what to eat or I will ritually destroy myself before your very eyes. Additionally, aspartame breaks down in digestion into naturally-occurring substances, and recent studies show that cancer may be hereditary in lab rats. So, thanks for your input, but as it turns out, you know less about my endocrine system than I do, so go away.

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Does Christian Siriano know how he comes across on TV? I feel like I'm trying to peel, slice, and eat a bag of limes every time he talks. If only somebody would give me a large bottle of tequila to go with the limes, and also to ease the pain every time he calls something "fierce."

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If you have favorite recipes or food that you don't have a recipe for but you still love, email me and I'll talk it up on A Year In The Kitchen. Along those lines, here's a recipe for a Leap Year Cocktail, apparently conceived for a 1928 leap day celebration in London.

2 oz gin (I'd go with Beefeaters on this one)
½ oz sweet vermouth
½ oz Grand Marnier
¼ oz fresh lemon juice

Shake above ingredients with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass,
then garnish with a lemon twist, just so.

Just so? Pip pip, old chum.

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Does anyone have a Leap Day tradition? I think I should start one, but what should it be? A leap or jump of some kind seems appropriate, but what? And keep in mind that I am not that coordinated, nor am I looking to break a bone or anything.