It's called three-dot journaling, and it goes like this...

My free video advice for the month: don't rent "Get Smart." We shot $2.50 to take it out of the library, and fifteen minutes in, we were sitting there staring at each other all goggle-eyed, as in "What the HELL is this?" Note to Dwayne Johnson: you can go back to calling yourself The Rock any time now...While an anxious nation awaits the arrival of next month's O the Oprah Magazine, with the cover story all about how our favorite media mogul has gained weight again, what really makes me sad is that Gayle King has to be introduced on tv shows as "Oprah's best friend Gayle King." Did everyone else stop ascribing superlative status to their BFF back in high school? And for Gayle, it's as if that is her total identity, same as Unindicted Co-conspirator Richard Nixon and Troubled Rocker Tommy Lee; can't she just be "GK" without the "O's BFF" nonsense?...I had hoped to be appointed US Senator from Illinois, replacing Mr Obama, and I have been in touch with the governor out there concerning my...whazzat? he did what? asked for money for the appointment? Forget it! You ain't gettin' 88 cents out of me!...I love to listen to oldtime radio shows while I pound on this keyboard, and one of my favorites has always been "The Great Gildersleeve". These whimsical tales of a blustery small-town water commissioner and his family and friends and girlfriends took place in the 40s and 50s, yet they're one and half times funnier than the sitcoms on tv today...Moment of Crystal Clarity Dep't: I always wondered why Andy Williams sang about "scary ghost stories" in "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," figuring that maybe some families rang in the holiday season by swapping tales of headless monsters or something. I asked Peggy, as I always do after puzzling something over something on my own for several decades, and she pointed out that the song refers to "A Christmas Carol." God bless us, every one!...Big news from Toledo: Joe the Plumber is not such a big fan of John McCain after all. From the AP wire: Joe Wurzelbacher, America's most famous plumber, is lashing out at the man he once supported for president. On Tuesday, he said he was appalled by former GOP presidential nominee John McCain's reasons for supporting the government's $700 billion bank bailout plan. "I was angry," Wurzelbacher said. "In fact, I wanted to get off the bus after I talked to him." And remember, he might not be so good at choosing candidates for national office, but he's not really a plumber, and his real first name is not Joe...Big news from Carney, MD (home of ye editor): A Baltimore County man has pleaded guilty in the fatal shooting of his adult son on Father's Day. 57-year-old Harold Williams Sr. pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting of his 38-year-old son Harold Williams Jr at his home on Harford Road in Carney. Williams was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Police say the two men had been drinking and arguing. The younger Williams was shot in the abdomen with a shotgun. We came home that evening to see a caravan of news vans driving away from the scene. Really, it's our proud legacy of gun use that makes internecine slaughter such a tradition...New pizza favorite: grilled fresh vegetables, sauce and cheese on a whole wheat shell...28° on Monday, 48° yesterday, 63° today and 39° tomorrow. Let's hope it gets cool and stays that way. I happen to know that Santa is bringing me a 1958 Baltimore Colts stocking cap just like the one that kept my melon warm as a youth. I hope to wear the cap a lot this winter, but it's no good to wear knit hats with temps in the 50s..I'm not a lawyer, but even I have to wonder how they can get a murder conviction on Casey Anthony when no one can even start the case by saying for certain that a murder took place. Not saying she's mother of the year, but why not find out what we're dealing with here before we start to deal?...