That pesky mosquito.

Did you know those jabby jerks are responsible for more deaths on earth than any other creature? It’s true, homes. With millions of people getting malaria every year they’re bringing us all down, down, down. And they look so innocent too! Why, I almost feel sorry for them with their tiny lives, terrible hangouts by dumpy ponds, and their plain unluckiness when it comes to getting caught in slow-flowing amber back in the Jurassic.

Now it’s getting to be prime season for skeeters up here and those buzzy bullies are always zzz-zzz-zzz’ing in my ears. Sometimes they’ll land and jab their stingers into my arm before I notice I’m getting blood sucked good. In the words of Stephanie Tanner — how rude.

The fun really starts when I get home from the dimly lit patio and end up covered in an itchy patch of bright red dots. Cut to the annoying Five Day Scratchfest where instead of buying calamine lotion, wearing oven mitts, or soaking in bath salts, I choose instead to furiously scratch those itches over and over.

Because who doesn’t love that?

Yes, I say gimme that soothing one second relief from the mild burn in exchange for the fiery reburn any day. Because holding out is just too difficult and taking a little break from itchiness feels like standing straight under Niagara Falls.

AWESOME!

Photo from: here and here

It haunts you on every turn.

The muted thump of that half-filled water bottle, grass-stained golf ball, or pair of skates clanging against the side of your trunk. And you think it’s annoying, and you think you’ll get rid of it, but when you arrive at your destination it’s suddenly about getting out, getting in, and getting it tomorrow.

That’s what makes it great when the glorious day finally comes.

When you clean out the trunk and it sounds like

AWESOME!

Photo from: here

Thank you for being a friend.

When you’re crashing into the couch in the cold basement and flicking on the TV screen there’s nothing as nice as being surrounded by your favorite pals in familiar places. And while we’ve chatted before about finding gold there’s also something great about  bumping into the Christmas special in the completely wrong time of the year.

Whether Kevin’s got to find a Christmas gift for Winnie, George battles his Festivus demons, or the Tanner family gets stranded at the airport on Christmas eve, well… it’s a surprise dose of Christmas spirit sprinkled into the middle of your year.

Those Christmas specials usually feature the full cast of characters, surprise music interludes, and huggy closing scenes that zoom out to snowflakes falling past frosty windows and flickering red lights strung across rooftops. Christmas episodes remind us where we were when we first saw them and give us surprise doses of holiday family values right when we least expect it.

Christmas episode, your heart is true.

You’re a pal and a confidant.

AWESOME!

Have you ever ruled a planet?

Me, no. But I’ve wanted to! Wouldn’t it be fun? We could all have our own. We’d be like celebrities buying up tiny islands in the middle of the ocean. Only with planets in the middle of the universe. Perhaps if Science actually got off its ass and invented some decent space and time travel our dreams could become a reality. Then having your own planet will be like the Tamagotchi of the 22nd century.

See, it doesn’t happen that often but whenever I fly over mountains in an airplane I sort of feel like the Ruler of Earth. Zooming through clear blue skies I stare down at rocky vistas and snow-capped peaks in dazed wonder. Frost freckles on the window and steamy clouds blur my view, but nothing keeps me from staring and staring and staring and staring into the icy abyss below.

It’s trippy to let your brain slip back into neverending question mode: How long have the mountains been there? How did they get there? How many places like this are there? And how long would I survive down there before being eaten by that Abominable Snowman from the Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas special?

Just kidding about that last one.

He was a friendly snowman, remember?

Yes, flying over mountains reminds us all how tiny and fragile our lives really are. Because you’re dead soon, buddy! And brother, so am I. But when we’re flying way up high through that great big blue-black sky it’s like our dreams and our dreaming just survive and survive and survive.

AWESOME!

Photos from: my cell phone, here, and here

When your groggy groans are met with head nods and smiles it means only one thing.

You two are on the same wavelength.

AWESOME!

Photo from: here

Get out and start dripping.

Yes, it’s time to swish your bathing suit wedgie over to the beach chair by the water and lie down on the soaking wet plastic for a sun dry.

Who cares if your hair is a scraggly mat of chlorine knots? Who cares if your goosebumpy jello-thighs are dripping on the sidewalk? Who cares if the water washed your deodorant off?

Let me just say on behalf of the world.

Not us!

Just grab a drink, throw on some shades, and let those wavy rays dry you right up.

Towels are overrated.

The Sun is underrated.

AWESOME!

Photos from: here and here

Why walk?

Tossing something from a distance saves you an annoying six-second commute around the kitchen counter or picnic table. Since we humans have evolved the ability to suddenly hear someone scream “Heads up!” before turning into a set of keys flying at our face, it’s good practice to keep the skills fresh. If you’re catching, just remember to start with the basics and move your way up the chain:

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Level 1: Apples and oranges. Fruit is a good place to start. If you drop an orange, no worries — it just rolls away, still juicy and delicious. And the apple dent is completely edible. Getting beaned in the forehead with a banana stem could leave a mark, but it’s a sign of of toughness. Next time you’re down at the roller skating rink with the guys just point at the bruise and nod.

Level 2: Keys. There’s a lot to hold onto so this is still the minor leagues of throwing and catching non-ball objects. Fingers stabbing through rings, jingly keys catching on wild fingers, no problem, no problem. Make sure you never underestimate the surprise aerodynamics from a mini-flashlight, garage door opener, or Koosh ball keychain, though. There’s no shame in using two hands.

Level 3: Phones and remotes. Phones and remote controls are the perfect size and weight for an across-the-room toss, but make sure you check what’s surrounding the waiting hands. Cushion-covered couches and shag carpet? Yes! Ceramic-tiled floors and sidewalks? Broken!

Level 4: Unopened cans of soda or bottles of beer. Pulling out that ice-cold can of soda from the bottom of the melted freezing water in the backyard cooler is a good start. Whipping it across the deck is a good finish. Yes, there is some Minor Explosion Risk, but when you’re in the big leagues you gotta toss Cokes and beer bottles or go home, sister. If you’re going to cry about it then go back to clementines.

Level 5: Eggs and water balloons. Company picnics, family reunions, and  summer camps are the height of tossing non-ball objects to people. Remember to keep taking a step back and taking a step back until someone ends up a wet salmonelly mess.

Yes, tossing non-ball objects to people is such a great high. It’s a brief second of air-sailing fun in the middle of your living room or backyard deck. You may even score acrobatic catches such as The Beer-Over-The-Campfire Grab, Upstairs-To-Downstairs Drop, or Reverse-Angle Cat Snag.

The important thing is to keep on throwing.

The important thing is to keep

AWESOME!

The Book of (Even More) Awesome contains dozens of awesome things not on the blog. Read the first 20 pages here.

Photos from: here, here, here, and here

There’s something adorable about tiny hands reaching up to grab your face or glasses with their baby strength.

Just watch out for the wolverine claws.

AWESOME!

Photo from: here

I grew up in the burbs.

Streetlights and neon signs scattered red and yellow glows on empty streets and dark houses. Going out late at night with friends meant entering small worlds in bedrooms and basements away from the emptiness of the outside.

Whenever those hangouts finished the scene quickly cut to late night cruises through warm summer breezes till everyone got dropped off at their distant driveways three blocks away.

And if you were the last to get dropped off then it was on those driveways when you might have a great 3:00am conversation with your best friend. Curfews were cute but getting home later was nothing compared to the flickering connections you’d get when there was nowhere else to go.

Deep thoughts, dark thoughts, head twists and turns, there’s so much to burn when the moon’s up, the sun’s down, and you’re hanging with someone you love. When the buzz of the day just fades far away it’s time to crackle and connect in a tiny picture-perfect moment of

AWESOME!

Photo from: here and here

Your brain’s a drain.

Yup, according to our egghead pals over at Wikipedia, although our brains are only 2% of our body weight they use somewhere in the neighborhood of 25% of our body’s energy. Now that’s a lot, especially when you consider the energy-hogging hearts, lungs, and blood highways zig-zagging up and down our bony frames.

I heard a scientist give a speech once and he said can you believe it? Can you believe when humans first showed up we actually survived? After all, we had no camouflaged skin, no super hearing, and couldn’t fly. We couldn’t see in the dark, breathe underwater, or beat a monkey in a fistfight.

Basically, he said, we sucked.

Except for one little thing.

When we came around we had a three pound pile of flesh secretly stashed in our skulls. Our brains helped us develop tools, stone weapons, and hunting strategies. Our brains helped us socialize, fantasize, and dream. Essentially, we are our brains — and they’ve come to define everything we do. I’m using my brain to write this down you’re using yours to read it up.

I say nobody knows how far the thinking really goes. Sure, outer space goes way out forever but maybe inner space goes way in, too. Have you ever reached way back in your noggin’ and found a new conclusion, wild idea, or crazy thought? Back beyond your brain’s borders are big dreams twisting and turning … just waiting to let themselves out.

Your thinking place is where you go to nurture wild fires in your heart.

And maybe you dream in the shower, maybe you imagine in the car, maybe you wonder in the mirror, maybe you think in Myanmar. But wherever it is, wherever you go, wherever you sizzle, wherever you flow, well that thinking place is somewhere that helps you buzz and burn and become a little bit more

AWESOME!

Photos from: here, here, and here