As always, this will be updated periodically over the course of the afternoon. I decided not to start it in the morning to give my fellow bloggers a chance to actually put in some Friday content before I pounced on their sites…

• Because I’m a schmuck and forgot about her last week, Madame Sinister starts off this week’s parade of superstars. Besides taking her life into her own hands through creative extension of use-by dates on chicken soup, she also had a brush with a local radio personality. (I count as a non-local radio non-personality.) And let’s not forget about the “sheeple.” No, never forget. I don’t watch Survivor so I don’t qualify. Nyah.
  
• The good Captain Rooba engaged in a skirmish with a mythological beast. No, really. He’s also job-hunting, missing The Out-of-Country Unexpected and being interviewed. No, really.
  
• Sar of Dragon Ink totally loves her brother. She totally loves playing with oil paints, but totally not-loves cleaning up afterward. This would seem to be a running theme in her life. Jacks, the fraidy-cat, escaped and then returned. And no, Sar, it’s not wrong to lounge around in your pajamas if given the opportunity.
  
• Phoemeister endured backlogged nagging, bad news about roommates and the discovery of some weird/scary search engine requests. Those nearby endured the singing of strange songs while she decorated her dorm room. Also, like Cap’n Rooba, she shared a strange dream with her readers. Oh, and Phoe, yes it is better than that nasty lime color. Amen.
  
• The Melpster treated her readers to a couple of reviews of… old Daily Show segments. I’ve seen stranger things, I suppose. An exchange of emails attempts to track the movements of some band members of some bands that, sad to say, I’ve never heard of. We will probably be treated to a review of Bop Girl Goes Calypso before too much longer. What, you didn’t know that calypso music is the Next Big Thing(tm)? Shame on you.
  
• All of a sudden, debris.com got very very updated, thanks in part to business cards with story ideas jotted upon. Sadly, both chinese restaurants and hospitals failed to provide a worthy culinary experience. While Matt did spend probably too much time laughing at his own joke, I admit that I’d be hard-pressed to think of something as clever as he did under similar circumstances.
  
• One thing that comes to mind reading Blogatelle this week is that the birthday card is way, way too big. Really it is. Meanwhile, it turns out very likely that power not only corrupts, but drives a man batty. Take the case of fear-the-calico-kitty John Ashcroft and the Turkmenistan dictator with the delusions of, well, delusional things. That sound you’re hearing is that of Samuel Clemens spinning rapidly in his grave. And banner ads are often evil, but you didn’t need her or I to tell you that.
  
• Emily pondered the latest in blood-donor fashions, the holy trinity (Holy Water, Holy Semen, Holy Urine) and resisting the urge to break the unbreakable. Her father is not unlike an angry paper clip.
  
• The fluttergirl blessed us with two great big fluffy wads of updating. I can’t even begin to sum up the wacky joy to be found there. You’ll have to read it all for yourself. Truck driving does provide plenty of journal fodder!
  
• Argephontes is back. We know this because she said so, and because she immediately had a hellaciously bad day thanks in part to double-booking. Because there’s no Friday Five this week she chose to recycle one from a couple of weeks ago. Not a bad idea, though I was thinking of making up my own FF instead…
  
• Going into brief hiatus is Snappy the Clam. He can use a break. We’ll see him again in a couple of weeks. Q Daily News isn’t on hiatus, but there aren’t any postings since Monday either. Ah well.
  
• Last and very far from least, Jessy has by now moved to her new home. We wish her the very best and look forward to her “return.” She was kind enough to say nice things about yours-truly before she left, which is always highly encouraged here. 😉
  

Proving once and for all that interns do have a useful purpose, Sean sent me the Simpsons Trivia Quiz for Idiots. Let’s see how well you score, hmm?

I’m not sure what to think of this. I mean, on the one hand it’s hella cool and it’d be neat to have one. On the other hand, it’s scary to live in a world where this is the kind of thing someone would seriously buy.
IBIS TEK Security Vehicle

To begin this week’s Recap, I’ll point out a couple of changes to the Blogs of Note: I unlinked the Weblog Wannabe (more blog than journal, and I like journals) and added Dragon Ink and Blogatelle. There may be more additions over the course of the next week. Maybe I should change that to “Journals of Note.” Oh well.

Also, there are a few MIAs this week. Argephontes, Phoemeister and Fluttergirl are all on trips of one sort or another. It saves me some time, I suppose, for which I ought to be grateful.

• Leading off the roll-call, Jessy is finally packed and ready for her move (due to take place next Tuesday). We probably won’t hear from her for a while, but we know that she thinks Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet” is the best rendition out there. I would beg to differ, but that’s a conversation for another day.
  
• At debris.com we learned more about the pitfalls and excitement of buying (and selling) a home. “There’s just the matter of the carbon monoxide from the heater; that’s the SILENT KILLER, you know.” And Wendi wants to buy a house some day. *shudder*
  
• One of our new entries, Blogatelle, presents us with an open letter to “compensating for something” drivers. We also get pictures of puppies, a very fine treatise on (part of) what’s wrong with major league baseball lately, and of course the Online Barcode Generator. Lots of good stuff, folks.
  
• Jason of Q Daily News experienced the strange intersection of online existence and meatspace this week. He also revels, as do I, in the search for NEOs. His plans for after the weekend include moving from Manila to Moveable Type.
  
• Captain Rooba wonders how cat food manufacturers know that a given product has a “superior new taste.” He also gave us a recap of last weekend, including sandcastle building and Godzilla time. And last but not least, Rooba’s Sister appears to be the queen of the Rooba’s Remix.
  
• Emily got to drive the sexy bright red mustang convertible. She also stopped during a bike ride to experience some of the weirdness and wonder of nature, including the mortality of dragonflies. And we shouldn’t forget about the odd souvenir of her parents’ trip.
  
• The everlovin’ Melpster is, according to one survey, a silkie chicken. You’re right, I don’t want to know either. She also learned of some new work-related stresses of the unusual kind. That is, unusual for those of us who don’t expect to deal with gun-toting looneys on a regular basis.
  
• Apparently fully recovered, Snappy the Clam is making up for lost time. If there’s one thing he’s good at, it’s blog-related commentary, mostly about (against) Dave Winer, et al. Damned good reading, and I’m thrilled to see Snappy back in action once more after his very-serious hospital stay.
  
• Sar of Dragon Ink had a Cheeto party of some sort, an Amy Grant moment, and a conversation about sex changes. We got to see photos from the ill-fated day at the waterfall. She also spends too much money on books and movies and posters and the like, but don’t we all?