Easy as ABC

Google "alphabet book" and you'll find 427,000 entries. Google "trouble falling asleep" and you'll be directed to 167,000 websites. And google "fun" and you get 668,000,000, yes 668 million, links. We think today's episode will tantalize anyone with an interest in those three subjects, as well as all who are interested in word games, crossword puzzles, and even sudokus. We hope you'll play along on your commute, in your office, and at home--whether around the kitchen table or in bed. Please send me the fruits of your labor. We'll post them. It will be fun. (Now we're up to 668,000,001).

If you have trouble creating a single sentence alphabet string, there are other ways to do your ABCs. How about compiling an A to Z list of places you have visited, authors you have read, or first names of people you ever dated.

Class Action

Those of us who graduated from eighth grade at Central School in Glencoe, Illinois, in ( ) remain a tightknit group. (I've intentionally left out the year of our graduation, not to protect the guilty, but to protect the aging!) At any rate, we hold reunions at least as often as our high school class does. Recently, a classmate proposed another reunion dinner. Great idea! Out of towners were as excited as those who wouldn't have to travel for it. It struck me: why can't we add a somewhat non-traditional element to the festivities? And, thus was born this week's episode on www.ampolo.com. Please check it out and comment on that website and/or here on the kind of community-oriented projects a reunion class might perform during a reunion weekend or even an afternoon.

Finals finally finito

With apologies to PETA, we are now in the dog days of August. No closure on the Vick scandal, the NBA ref scandal, or the Barry Bonds sideshow (speaking of doggerel, see bardball.com for some great limericks about Bonds.). We do, however, have winners in the ESPN Who's Now poll and the Ampolotalk, Who's ESPN's most happening personality poll. These winners are respectively, Tiger Woods, who mauled LeBron James and Tony Kornheiser, who outlasted Suzy Kolber. 'nuff said. Let's move on. America will find something else to talk about over the internet or at the water cooler. For this, I recommend HBO's hilarious new series, Flight of the Conchords--seen on Sunday nights after Entourage.