From the Tuesday papers

OK, JB, here's the last installment: Gangster Teeth, part 6.

In the NYTimes this morning, I learned how to get massive quantities of salad greens ready for salad (from this article, but the site requires registration):
'After rinsing eight bags of arugula salad, he [Mr. Roberts] tied the leaves inside a pillowcase and turned on the spin cycle. "Don't put it in the dryer," he warned. "I did that one Christmas and my beautiful lettuces came out all wilted."'

In more a more serious vein (or artery?), according to one poll (numbers of people surveyed and exact wording of questions not given, so who knows how reliable it is), more than half of MA residents support gay marriage (Globe article here).

Current image: arrogant goth chickens with mohawks avoiding vampires
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Political upheaval

Front Room, 17:25 local time

In a surprise move late this afternoon, the opposition Showerite party has taken control of the lower house of Parliament, ousting the previous favorite Bathist party. "I suppose the warning signs were there, looking back," said Representative R. Ducky (Bath.). "But we didn't expect public opinion to change so quickly."

The Showerites cited a growing preference for efficiency as well as cleanliness as the foundation of their new majority. "Cleanliness and Speediness are next to Godliness" was their campaign slogan in the last campaign, and though it didn't win them control then, it has taken off now. Auxiliary slogans point out how more time out of the shower leads to more time with the family, and it was the young, midwestern families that their popularity soared; the midwest is now their base of strongest support. "Time saved in the shower is family time, quality time I can spend with my kids," agrees J. Publick, Jr. "The Showerites are the party for me."

Interestingly, the delegation sizes of the two parties is a complete switch, leaving the small but vocal third-party Hot Tubbers secure in their six seats.