This is just weird: Congressional-page-toucher-cover-upper House Speaker Dennis Hastert spent some quality time today with a Texas evangelist who brags about his previous contacts with Saddam Hussein, Charles Taylor, and Al-Qaeda’s own Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.

Nice company to hang with.  While calling press conferences in cemeteries.

Is it just me, or has Fellini hijacked the news completely?

While we’re on it, Hastert’s minister dude reportedly used to brag about running a leper colony.  Which wasn’t actually his:

Sweet.  All the benefit of having your own personal lepers, but none of the fuss.

Not entirely unlike declaring "Mission Accomplished" before, y’know, fighting the actual war.

Then creep yourself out a little further by visiting Korea-dpr.com.

Particularly great (and reposted, since I mentioned this once before): the flash-animated Mitch Miller-style North Korean musical number.

So friends have been forwarding me this "Free Hugs" video that’s zipping around the Internets.  If you haven’t seen it, it’s wonderful, and here:

Now look a little more closely.  See if somebody kinda familiar-looking shows up.

The whole time I was watching this guy, I had the weirdest feeling of deja vu.  And that’s because, at the 1:12 mark or so… I’m about 99% certain that’s me.

Wow.  Yeah, I remember now.  Small planet.  Nice place, mostly.

This is precisely the sort of thing Prisoner of Trebekistan is all about.

OK, not exactly what you’re thinking, but still.

Next Thursday, I’ll be doing a live teleseminar thing with my buddy Patrick Combs, whose whole professional career is about learning and growing and figuring out how to do rewarding things with your life.

Since we’re friends and all, Patrick sometimes speaks about me in terms that make me wonder if I’m actually the guy he’s talking about, but whatever — there’s this phone thing, and we’re doing it, and if you enjoy this site or want to know more about TV or radio or Jeopardy! or the book deal or whatever, we’ll be talking about all of those things.

I’ve known Patrick for maybe a dozen years, and while we don’t agree on
absolutely everything, he has taught me a lot, often just by example,
and I can tell you nobody is more sincere about trying to help make
people’s lives richer and cooler.

So there it is.

(Incidentally, I have just learned from his site that I am an AMAZING MANIFESTER.  I have no idea what that means.  However, if I do try to manifest in front of you, well, shield your eyes, apparently.)

OK, not exactly what you’re thinking, but still.

Next Thursday, I’ll be doing a live teleseminar thing with my buddy Patrick Combs, whose whole professional career is about learning and growing and figuring out how to do rewarding things with your life.

Since we’re friends and all, Patrick sometimes speaks about me in terms that make me wonder if I’m actually the guy he’s talking about, but whatever — there’s this phone thing, and we’re doing it, and if you enjoy this site or want to know more about TV or radio or Jeopardy! or the book deal or whatever, we’ll be talking about all of those things.

I’ve known Patrick for maybe a dozen years, and while we don’t agree on
absolutely everything, he has taught me a lot, often just by example,
and I can tell you nobody is more sincere about trying to help make
people’s lives richer and cooler.

So there it is.

(Incidentally, I have just learned from his site that I am an AMAZING MANIFESTER.  I have no idea what that means.  However, if I do try to manifest in front of you, well, shield your eyes, apparently.)