13 Things to Tell You

A veritable potpourri of fascinating facts and links!

--Apparently, real men eat fried chicken made with Coke.

--Thanks to movies like "Julie and Julia," food is really big in the entertainment world these days. (My daughter, who works at Borders, says books about Julia Child and French cooking are selling like hotcakes--no pun intended!)

--Should Christians be cremated? Pastor Chris Brauns has some thoughts on the subject.

-- Ten of the Most Beautiful Places in the World, at least according to this photo blog. (Hat tip to Angela Hunt.)

--I may be the only person left in the world who doesn't have an mp3 player, and I'm asking for one for my 31st anniversary next week. I took an informal poll on Facebook and Twitter as to which one I should get, and the iPod is winning. What do you think?

--Check out the trailer for BJ Hoff's latest book, Where Grace Abides.

--Remember when we used to have real telephones? Apparently there's a real market for vintage phones.

--I read The Nanny Diaries recently because I picked it up on the cheap at a dollar store. I found it very entertaining and, if it's depiction of rich families who employ nannies is an accurate one, very disheartening. It's one thing to have a nanny as an adjunct in raising your child, but do some people pretty much turn the raising of their child over to a nanny? Sad.

--Eeeuw, creepy: Death Masks of the Famous.

--Found a great site for public speakers, media people and anyone who wants to know the correct way to pronounce people, places and stuff! Its Inogolo.com

--My latest fave healthy treat: Fuze empower pomegranate and acai berry. Yum

--Soon, visitors will be able to look at Navy Pier from a balloon.

--Very interesting: the 100 Best First Lines of Novels.