A HALT TO FORWARD PROGESS: Given the headlines of late, you can be forgiven for thinking the tag line for this post has something to do with the war. It doesn't, but it's a good "hook," eh? Actually, I have been contemplating my utter lack of progress on the road to maturity as of late. In fact, I've become infatuated with toys. Not grown up toys like a phallus mobile or squishy things made of silicone, but real, honest-to-goodness children's toys. Case in point: My tiny studio apartment is being overrun by: a remote control dinosaur named Matilda; a Spiderman lunchbox (sidebar: my sister once observed that if you pronounce Spiderman like a Jewish last name, i.e. Spidermen, it sounds hilarious. Try it! "Harold Spiderman;") several Star Wars action figurines; a bauble headed dog; a Harvey Nagilah doll; A rabbit clock; and much, much more. Is this is a case of arrested development run horribly amuck? Or is it symptomatic of larger issues? Don't hold back, dear reader(s), be brutal, be brutal, be cruel!