Tornadoes, mucilage pudding and weirdos on parade.

Hi, people. Howdy from Oz! The tornado threat just north of us in Oklahoma is so frightening today that you can’t even access the maps on Weather.com. I’ve been trying for more than an hour. Although Dallas isn’t under the gun at the present time I’m definitely scared to death for the Choctaw Casino and our favorite senior citizen buffet with pea salad and excellent sugar-free pie. The map below indicates: A) Moore, Oklahoma, just south of Oklahoma City, which was obliterated by a two-mile wide tornado about two hours ago; B) the Choctaw Casino in Durant with big fat twisters headed in their direction; and C) Howdygram headquarters in Mesquite, Texas.

If you care, we’ve got a 40% chance of severe weather later on tonight and a 60% chance tomorrow. In advance of the rain and hail I’ve been trying to shlep today’s UPS deliveries into the house, but there’s a 35-pound crate from Netrition on the front step that I can’t lift to save my soul. (It may get wet, but at least it sure as hell won’t blow away.)

Breaking news from our Weirdos on Parade department! Apparently Dallas Comic Con 2013 was a huge freakin’ hit at the Irving Convention Center this past weekend, attracting 20,000 costumed nerds, several of whom appear below, all willing to stand in endless lines and blow big bucks for autographs. Celebrities — mostly D-listers — on hand to sell their signatures included William Shatner ($80), LeVar Burton ($40) and Andrew McCarthy ($30), plus a crowd of highly-regarded comic book artists signing their work for free. (Personally, I’d be far more impressed by the artists than a bunch of greedy, out-of-work actors.)

A successful online shopping exursion to The Container Store resulted in a brilliant purchase this afternoon: RATTAN STORAGE BINS.

I bought two identical bins measuring 13¼" x 9" x 6" for the middle shelf of my new kitchen island cart that came last week from HSN (see earlier post). These were a damn good bargain at $9.99 each, especially when you consider I found practically identical baskets on at least a dozen other websites (including Amazon) priced at $20 or more. I love my new bins and can’t wait to stuff them full of useful whatnots and attractive crap.

And now it’s time for dinner! I think I’ll do some gefilte fish with horseradish and a nice big bowl of Chia Seed Chocolate Mucilage Pudding (see previous post). I’ll share my recipe if the pudding is a success. Stay tuned, okay? Thank you for reading this.