Fortunately, unlike Simon & Garfunkel’s song “My Little Town,” not all of the colors are black. Nor do they lack imagination.

Purse? Check.
Belt? Check.
2 necklaces? Check.
Shoes? Check. On shoulder? Double check.

… while lying in bed.

(Step by Step: A Pedestrian Memoir, by Lawrence Block.)

Great headline: “Local soldier killed in Afghanistan, for second time this week.”

The actual article is titled, “Fort Lewis solider killed in Afghanistan.” And clarifies that two different soldiers were killed. Perhaps “Two local soldiers killed in Afghanistan this week” would have been a better on the front page. Or simply, “Local soldiers killed in Afghanistan.”

Bonus: The “If you died today …” ad for life insurance. On a related note, check out 23 Badly Placed Internet Ads from BuzzFeed (via Bore Patch … and I don’t remember how I arrived there).

Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed Our World, by Mark Pendergrast.

I purchased the book from the gift shop at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. The Burke’s current exhibit, Coffee: The World in Your Cup, continues through Sept. 7, 2009 and includes weekend coffee tastings through Aug. 29. The exhibit then goes on tour to museums in Oregon, Texas, and Iowa.

Applicable to people as well as peaches.

Spotted at the Ballard Sunday Farmers Market.

I think Martin Family Orchards should make (and sell) t-shirts with this slogan.

*Photos taken behind Leva on Market, a new development of luxury apartments. It’s a common misconception that all of the mega residential buildings that have sprung up in Ballard over the past few years are condos. Technically, most if not all of the recent megaplexes (megaplices?**) are mixed-use, with retail/office and residential. But “Ballard welcomes our new mixed-use development overlords” doesn’t sound as good.

(**More than one index = indices.)

Our most pressing issue:
How we, as a nation, feel about our First Lady baring her arms and what, if anything, we need to do about it. I saw at least three headlines last week about this “controversy.” I just did a Google search for “Michelle Obama bare arms” and got 499,000 results. The New York Times today has an op/ed piece on this “issue.” Although, in her defense, columnist Maureen Dowd calls Michelle’s “sculpted biceps” a symbol of America’s strength.

I was talking with The Boyfriend about this, and he pointed out that Michelle Obama is not the only First Lady to bare arms; Jackie Kennedy occasionally did, way back in the 1960s.

President Barack Obama also created controversy recently when he was photographed in swimming trunks. On a beach. While he was on vacation. It’s not like he was sitting in the Oval Office, greeting foreign dignitaries while wearing nothing but a Speedo.

So, yeah. America clearly needs to do something about our swimsuit-wearing President and his bare-armed wife.