Has there ever been a more entertaining pair of mechanics than Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers, on NPR's "Car Talk"?

These real-life brothers -- Tom and Ray Magliozzi of Cambridge, Mass. -- are hilarious and actually know what they're talking about when people call in for advice on automobile problems. Plus, they amuse each other and laugh so hard it's contagious. I alway get a kick out of these guys.
Here's a link to their website and a more informative one on NPR.

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It's Kate Beckinsale's birthday today.
I have been a fan since I saw her interviewed by Dave Letterman a few years ago. She is not only one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood but she's brilliant, spunky and has a British accent -- kind of an irresistible combination.
In her teens, Beckinsale twice won the W. H. Smith Young Writers' competition — once for three short stories and once for three poems, and she studied at Oxford but (I think) she quit to follow her acting career. I've also read that she is a heavy smoker, a dumb thing for someone so smart! The only time she quit smoking was when she was pregnant in 1999, apparently. I know how addicting tobacco is, as both my parents and four brothers all are, or were, hooked on cigarettes (one uses smokeless tobacco).
Of course, my little "crush" on Kate is just a meaningless, surreal 21st century pop culture thing. Most women don't hesitate to say how good looking they think Brad Pitt or George Clooney or Johnny Depp are, and guys have their lists of their favorite female stars, models, athletes, etc.
I've never had a celebrity crush on any Hollywood stars except Ms. Beckinsale. I guess I don't see them as real people, but rather two-dimensional characters you watch on a two-dimensional screen.
By the way, I've tried to watch Beckinsale in those "Underworld" movies but I just can't get into vampire films. I think her husband was the director. I thought her best role was in "Serendipity," and she was OK in "Pearl Harbor" and "The Aviator."
There are still a lot of Beckinsale movies I haven't seen, including "Vacancy," "Emma," and "Much Ado About Nothing."
(Here's a link to a fan site I just found when I googled her.)
I hope Kate B. has a very happy 35th birthday.
And Kate if you're reading this, check out my book and see if there's a role you'd like to play. I can write a part into it just for you. Ever think about playing a nun?
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Toledo, Ohio
July 26, 2008