On this, the 29th day of July, in the year two-thousand-and-ten, I hereby declare this blog to be swagger-free.
Not that I don’t have swagger. (Are you kidding me? I’m lousy with swagger.)
But I won’t be using the word “swagger.” Because the word swagger and all of its illegitimate children — swagga, swag, swags, swagger jack — is out of control.
Although, I admit, this commercial is very funny …

… it’s still part of the problem.
You’d think that people, especially Mia Michaels on “So You Think You Can Dance,” are …

Welcome to the first in what will hopefully be a long tradition of posts about My Favorite Things. (Stay tuned for the controversial spin-off series My Least Favorite Things.)

Today I turn my adoring gaze on Trappey’s Red Devil Sauce.

If you’ve never had Trappey’s Red Devil Cayenne Pepper Sauce, it’s a lot like Tabasco sauce — but weaker (milder?) and maybe a little smoother. It’s hard for me to say because I don’t really like Tabasco.

For the first year that I worked in advertising, whenever I told people what I did for a living, they’d nod their heads and say, “Oh yeah, right. Like Darrin on ‘Bewitched.’ ”

Or occasionally, “Oh yeah, right. Like the dad on ‘The Brady Bunch.’ ”

In both cases, I’d just nod my head. Advertising, architecture … Potato, potahto.

I was so excited to see the Sterling Cooper gang back together, I almost started cheering when Don, Pete and Roger walked into their new offices at the beginning of last night’s season premiere. Of course, I had to wait for my kids to fall asleep before I could watch, which meant I was cheering to an empty room. Here’re some of the things I was shouting about:
The new office.
It’s supposed to look newer and cheaper, right? I missed the luxe, oaken feel of Sterling Cooper, but it was kind …

So anyway … where were we again?

Oh, right. I was saying goodbye.

I was all, “The last nine years have been great, I’ll really miss you, Brandy, you’re a fine girl, it’s not you, it’s me … You see, I’ve always wanted to work in advertising.

Exit, stage left.”

(I hope you read that last bit like Snagglepuss. Did you? Good.)

I kind of hate to second-guess Matthew Weiner.
So far, he hasn’t let me down.
In fact, that’s the thing that makes “Mad Men,” which Weiner created and controls, so really and truly great. It’s almost always as good as you want it to be. As you know it can be. You don’t spend week after week hoping it will find its way back to awesome or trying to remind yourself why you ever liked it. (I’m looking at you “Glee.” And I’m making a really ugly face.)
So I trust Weiner to …

Hi.

Welcome to my blog.

I guess that’s the best way to describe this site. This is where you’ll find everything that I write for The Omaha World-Herald and omaha.com.

My column will land here, and so will all the online-only stuff we’re planning. This is also the best place to comment or ask questions.

Exactly what I end up writing here is sort of up to you …

(Originally published June 25, 2006)
Friday, while I was turning in my resignation at The World-Herald, my car was being towed from just outside the front door.
And all I could think as I stood staring at the empty parking spot was, “This could make a really funny column.”
I’ve spent the last nine years on the hunt for good column ideas. Longer than that really.

I started writing a column for my high school paper in 1989. Then I wrote for my college paper. When I came to The World-Herald in 1996, all …

(Originally published June 12, 2006, before the closing of the Council Bluffs Drive-In)
You should have been at the Council Bluffs Drive-In Saturday night.
And, when I say “should,” I mean it in the strongest sense, the way I would mean it if I told you that you should really stop smoking or that you should drive on the right side of the road.
You should have been at the drive-in Saturday night.
You should have brought the kids.
You should have parked up front.

The box office opens at 7:30 on Saturday nights, and the …

(Originally published December 13, 2004)
Mattel says Barbie and Ken are still friends. Don’t believe it.
The toy company tongue-in-cheekily announced the blond ones’ break-up Thursday, just two days before Valentine’s Day.
They just needed time apart, Mattel says. Ken is moving on, and there are rumors about Barbie and some guy named Blaine, an Australian boogie-boarder.
I hope they’re calling him Rebound Blaine — because this isn’t going to last.
Nobody can break up Barbie and Ken. At least, not this cleanly. Not even Mattel.

Barbie and Ken are bigger than Mattel. Barbie and Ken …