Need to know just a little bit about something? Ask a dilettante. Ok, why does Mr. Whipple ask me not to squeeze the Charmin, yet he does it himself? Whipplecrites! They really irk me! -- Connelly Wirth, Houston First of all, for anyone born after 1980 or so, here's a link to a couple of Charmin commercials. You will note that once upon a time there was a pencil-thin mustachioed man whose sole purpose at......

Good morning, Houston. Do you feel like you're living and dying in 3/4 time? Need a margarita(ville) or two to pick up your spirits on this way-too-hot Monday morning? How about a vintage Jimmy Buffett video to help you through the week? "Come Monday" has long been one of our favorite JB songs, and what better time to listen to it than now? Plus, his girlfriend was super-hot, and we can't argue with that.......

Wow — it's still six months to Christmas, and yet we're getting gifts already: The AP reports that everyone's favorite golden-haired politico, Shelley Sekula Gibbs, is laying the groundwork for her campaign to return to Congress. Oh, yes. Sekula Gibbs (notice that she's dropped the hyphen, which she worried could be a problem during her write-in campaign for Congress last year) announced that she has some high-profile Republican supporters for her 2008 campaign, including homebuilder......

Houston-area congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul will appear on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report tonight. Paul has quickly distinguished himself from other Republican candidates with his libertarian views and his now infamous exchange with Rudy Giuliani in a debate last month. Paul asserted that the 9/11 attacks were triggered by American involvement in the Middle East, to which Giuliani replied, "That's an extraordinary statement, as someone who lived through the attack of September 11,......

Good morning, Houston. We can't remember a time when Ed Brandon wasn't on KTRK — so it'll be odd when he's not on TV anymore. As we learned from Mike McGuff yesterday, Brandon plans to retire in mid-April after 35 years in front of the weather map. McGuff has a long (and fascinating) interview with Brandon; once you've checked that out, you can leave a comment for Ed on Channel 13's website. >> Lampson......

It seems like, all across the network, folks were up to no good. Maybe it was all the green beer from last weekend... Gothamist spent the week writing about New Yorkers behaving badly: at the post office, at the Garden, and at the fertility clinic. Calvin Klein may not be misbehaving, but he's just a little dirty, and in a completely different way than some NYC kitchens. SFist had its share of misbehave-rs, too, like......

Good morning, Houston. If you've ever been sitting in an endless business meeting and thought to yourself, "A Half Lord of the Fishes would feel really good right about now," looks like you're in luck — as long as you can work your way into a meeting at the Hotel Derek, which will begin offering yoga breaks for people in meetings at the hotel this week. The breaks aren't going to teach you yoga;......

Good morning, Houston. Good news for anyone who loves to travel and have a spare $200,000 laying around: You can now buy tickets to space, with the journey set for 2009 on Richard Branson's space plane. More than 100 tickets have already been sold, and Houston travel agents Tara Hyland and Diane Vest are two of the only "Accredited Space Agents" offering them in the U.S. And yes, the tickets are $200K each. Anyone?......

Looks like everyone's favorite brief-tenure congresswoman, Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, has made an impact on Washington already: According to Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, former Congressman Tom DeLay's aides quit en masse yesterday, apparently after finding the golden-haired Sekula-Gibbs a little hard to work with. The full text of the Roll Call article is only available to subscribers, but we'll summarize: As you remember, Sekula-Gibbs won the special election last week to fill former Congressman Tom......

The shot from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor eschipul. At first we thought, "Oh no, not another Republican congressman chasing after boys." Then we realized it was just a friendly game of muddy football in the park. It's a great angle as you feel the pressure of someone's dad about to put the sack on this would-be Colt McCoy. If you've got a camera, and you love Houston, consider joining Houston's best photographers......

Don't you hate it when you feeze checks and cash you mean to deposit in the bank and try to deposit your poultry? This may be the exact kind of mix-up that's plaguing Louisiana Democratic Rep. William Jefferson — but we feel like it might have something to do with that little FBI bribery investigation he has going on now. A recent 95-page affadavidt that was used to gain a warrant to search his......

Whatever your political leanings, you're going to want to mark June 9 on your calendar: It's the day you'll want to get together with friends and have a farewell party for Tom DeLay. Whether you mope or celebrate is your business — but can you think of anything else DeLay has done that has the potential of bringing so many people together? Look out, liquor cabinet! DeLay wrote House Speaker Dennis Hastert yesterday that June......

Maybe things aren't so bad for everyone's favorite soon-to-be-former congressman after all: Tom DeLay will be able to start drawing nearly $67,000 a year in pension as soon as he retires. DeLay will get a total of about $1.3 million in pension payments over the next 20 years and will be eligible for the federal retirees' health plan, all of which won't be affected by any convictions he may face. Members of Congress are eligible......

The New York Post notes today a new series of TV ads running in Houston that attack liberal activist and billionaire financier George Soros, a response to Soros' recent ads criticizing everyone's favorite congressman, Tom DeLay of Sugar Land. The ads, financed by the Free Enterprise Committee, say that Soros bankrolled anti-DeLay ads "because Tom DeLay fights for lower taxes and economic freedom." Naturally, they don't stop there: "George Soros is full of money and......

Anyone can make a list that looks back at the best of 2005. That’s easy. Houstonist is going to take this art to a next level and predict which Houstonians to look out for in 2006. These individuals became famous or infamous in 2005 and face possible glory, or possible defeat, in the coming months. Vince Young: In Vince We Trust. As sad as we are that he’s leaving the Forty Acres, we’re looking forward......

Last month, Mayor Bill White announced plans to build a wireless network to cover downtown and surrounding business districts. Last week, West University Place said it is also looking into going WiFi. Who’ll implement first? Our money is on West U. For West U., the implementation will be much easier because it’s a smaller area. Also, it doesn’t hurt that the city has a little more money behind it (the average income for a West......