-The above photo of grass and telephone poles is currently the lead photo on philly.com. I haven’t seen such an engaging photo since that time I took a picture of the inside of my coat pocket. It was an accident, and I felt foolish when I realized what I had done.

–Tim Hardaway just said that he hates gay people. In case you were wondering, Tim’s a really smart guy who has seemlessly made the transition from ballplayer to businessman while keeping his dignity intact. Why, just last week, I saw him play a carpenter named Randy in a game of one on one on the showPros vs. Joes . Tim totally kicked his ass with that killer crossover, then poor Randy couldn’t sack Kordell Stewart. Silly carpenter.

-Michael Jackson might be appearing on American Idol soon. Realitytvmagazine.com reports that “several signs” point to the possibility that Michael Jackson will have his own “Idol” theme-week, and might even “mentor” the impressionable young talent on the show. Remember how well it worked out the last time that MJ “mentored” impressionable young people? This sounds like a really good idea. (from TMZ.com)

–Pat Burrell got engaged over the winter. Fortunately, the first time he met this girl, he didn’t freeze up (there were no runners in scoring position at the time.)

–Still collecting submissions for worst love song of all time.

Well, I promised myself a big trip after Quizzo Bowl and today I delivered. I purchased tickets to Kona, Hawaii for a couple of weeks, and I’m leaving on February 25. Word the f*** up. I haven’t had a vacation since, uh, I was like 15. Honestly. So I am gonna straight max and relax. OK, so that’s not true. I’m sure I’m gonna try to pack as much stuff into two weeks as I humanly can. That’s just how I roll.

I lived in Kona from March 1998-December 2000, and this is my first return. This will be the first time I have seen several very close friends in over 6 years. So for the next couple of weeks I will be reminiscing about my first stay there, which should certainly drive my site hits way down, b/c seriously, who wants to read about that s***? But I’m gonna write about it anyway, so just deal with it. And yes, I plan to blog while I’m there. Or maybe not. We’ll see. I am fired up!

Sorry I’m off to such a late start. But it is the holidays and all, so I went out for a hot chocolate at Darling’s Cheesecakes this morning. Ah yes, hot chocolate at Darling’s in the midst of a winter storm on Valentine’s Day. Boy, nothing more romantic than that! Unless you are a dude and you are grabbing that hot chocolate with Trivia Art. Then it’s not quite as romantic. Aww, screw you, I don’t even want a stupid Valentine! Just leave me alone!

Last year around this time, I posted what I thought were the worst love songs of all time. Well, this year I want you to tell me what they are. And who knows, maybe the one you suggest could be a question this week. So post below what you think is the worst love song of all time. Oh, and the pic above is of Muskrat Love. (I still can’t decide whether it’s the greatest love song of all time or the worst.)

Hey gang, gonna be a little selfish this week. As many of you know, I am coaching a Little League basketball team, and the end of our inaugural season is rapidly approaching. The head of the league wants to get trophies for all of the players for making this first year of the league a success, and is trying to raise money to do so without having to ask the kids, many of whom come from situations where money for a basketball trophy is out of the question. Therefore, I am gonna ask everyone playing quizzo this week to donate at least a dollar to play so we can get trophies. Thanks for your support!

PS: If you can donate about 6-8 hours a month to completely change a child’s life for the better and help make Philadelphia a world class city, please do so! Remember that the smallest good deed is greater than the greatest grand intention.

-Bummer on the local blog scene. Blinq, the blog of record at philly.com and considered by many to be the best blog in the area (in fact, Blinq was named “Best Local Blog” by the City Paper in 2005) has gone offline. Daniel Rubin (above), the proprieter of said blog, is still gonna be around, but he’s gonna be writing for the actual paper. I guess that’s kool, but I’m gonna miss checking out his site every day. He did a great job keeping his ear to the ground and had a knack for finding interesting stories and blogs. Best of luck with the new position Dan!

-They’ve apparently replaced Blinq with a weather blog. Which should be really exciting and filled with lots of good tips on weatherproofing your-OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE START BLOGGING AGAIN DAN!!!

–Trocadero. 7:30 p.m. tonight. Be there!

-Big winners at the Grammys last night were the Dixie Chicks, Mary J. Blige, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Is this a joke? Have any of those 3 recorded an album since 1993? What, no awards for other “hot” groups like C & C Music Factory and Right Said Fred?

-Just wanted to say congrats to La Va coffee shop on 21st and South (aka my home away from home) on their one year anniversary. Good food, good coffee, and great ambience. Congratulations on year one!