Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader loves etymology. He particularly loves his Oxford Dictionary of the English Language because of its extensive etymological entries for words. Just as fascinating as word origins are the origins of idoms or idiomatic expressions. It is always fun to read about the history of a phrase. It is espcially fun when the history is written out in a major national newspaper. To wit: see the history of “Who’s Your Daddy?” in the Washington Post.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader was saddened by the result of last night’s (Nokia) Sugar Bowl. The Virginia Tech Hokies (or the Virginia Tech Fighting Gobblers for those alums pre-1960-something) were fairly defeated by the Auburn Tigers last night. The Hokies could have pulled it out if they hadn’t dropped an (almost) TD pass and had hit two field goals. Your Maximum Leader was quite surprised that the Hokies were able to shut down the Auburn running game. The Tigers have those two absolutely studly running backs. So the fact that the game stats were close is something the Hokies should be proud of.

And there is always next year.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader, sadly, has come to this. A blog dump of interesting headlines and blog entries.

Yahoo! News - Michelangelo’s David to be protected by ‘wall of air’ Let your Maximum Leader get his mind around this… They are going to blow lots of air around the statue of David to keep dust away. What about all those poor visitors with asthma? Or allergies? Trying to keep them away too? Art snobs.

Bad news for Ally, Annika, and Sadie. Brainy women are likely to end up spinsters. Your Maximum Leader has always been attracted to smart women. But, he has also been attracted to dumb women who happen to be good looking. Well, not attracted really. Not attracted in “long-term” way. Mostly attracted in a hormonal way. If men had to choose between the smart and attractive woman and the only attractive woman, it would be no choice at all. The smart and attractive woman would be the choice. Your Maximum Leader supposes the problem is that most normal men would choose the attractive dumb woman over the unattractive smart woman. Problem for the men that is. Better to be single than to live with an idiot.

New home business opportunities! Make thousands from home! Be your own boss! Franchises available now in your area!

Big star puts her money where her mouth is. Bravo Sandra Bullock. Your politics may not be aligned with your Maximum Leader’s, but you are willing to pay for what you believe in.

Somehow, your Maximum Leader doubts that the Poet Laureate will be picked up by the Food Network any time soon.

Back to stories that satisfy your Maximum Leaders more libidinal tendencies… Tampa radio station fined for offering breast implants to listeners. Not all listeners. Just the 13 of 91,000 who wrote the best essay. Let your Maximum Leader tell you something. He, at one point, had to read essays written by college freshmen. As he remembers, he might have had to read these essays in batches of 300 or so. IT WAS HELL. The very thought of reading 91,000 essays written by women of, he suspects, dubious epistlilary talent about breast enlargement makes your Maximum Leader physically sick, yet strangely turned-on all at the same time.

And speaking of women of obvious epistlilary talents… Ally speaks kindly of your Maximum Leader in this post. Perhaps sometime your Maximum Leader should organize somthing like a “Meet your Maximum Leader” event in DC. It would probably involve drinking, dancing girls, servile fawning over the person of your Maximum Leader, and more drinking… Humm… Sounds like a Jawja Blogger meet!

And your Maximum Leader (as well as countless minions) anxiously await part deux of Sexy (Sexy, very sexy) Sadie’s Interview with your Maximum Leader. He knows that many of his minions are having trouble sleeping at night because of their compulsive checking of Sadie’s site looking for part two. Then they have to go and re-read part one again and again.

Speaking of Sadie, your Maximum Leader thought of her today while driving around in the 75-friggin-degrees-hot-in-January-bright-sunny-day weather he’s been having. He was listening to a “mix CD” and the song “Summertime” by the Sundays came on. (Yes, yes. Silly poppish tune. But it is kinda catchy…) And for some reason your Maximum Leader kept thinking “Harriet Wheeler” and “Sexy Sadie” all in the same mental breath. He doesn’t know what to make of this.

Well… He’ll let you all ponder this for a while. He must leave and watch the VA Tech v. Auburn game.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader wishes you all a very happy New Year. His long weekend was spent playing with the Villainettes (playing Uno in fact - they love it), playing with the dog, playing games on the PC, and watching all three Lord of the Rings movies. “Fellowship of the Ring” with Mrs. Villain on Friday night. “The Two Towers” with Mrs. Villain on Saturday night. (Mrs. Villain fell asleep about 1/2 way through.) And “Return of the King” last night. Wow! Viewed together they have catapulted into the top 5 of your Maximum Leader’s favourite movies. (Others include: “The Lion in Winter,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Bridge on the River Kwai,” and “Blade Runner.”)

Your Maximum Leader also took a break from reading e-mails or blogs for three days. So, today will likely be a catch-up day.

Your Maximum Leader, because he is all about sharing, will share with you the only “resolution” he’s made. To buy “Rome: Total War” and waste and entire day of his life learning to play it.

New Years resolutions are silly. If you want to make a change in your life, decide to do it and get going. Don’t wait for some arbitrary date that comes with the baggage of “no-one-really-keeps-resolutions.” Of course, if you are Fallen and resolve to shag a lot - well, that might be an exception.

Carry on.