October 1st must be the official opening day of the free-for-all that is holiday mail order catalogs. In the past two days, I have received no fewer than 6 catalogs. Macys, 2 different Crate & Barrel catalogs (2007 Bestsellers and Everyday Best Buys), Lillian Vernon, something called Driving Comfort (featuring random car products such as an electrical traveling blanket and oriental carpet styled floor mats) and Personal Creations (for those of you who want to get a jump start on the myriad variations on the personalized Christmas ornament! There is even one that is an "expecting" couple with a little ? on the Mama's belly - woulda been a terrific gift idea if the babies weren't already here by Xmas).

I receive catalogs year round from the major merchandisers like Crate & Barrel, Nordstrom's and Urban Outfitters. But I love when the holiday season rolls around and I start getting the random and obscure catalogs. It's like Sky Mall delivered to my door! I like to look at these catalogs and think about things like a) Who is buying this stuff? Often, these items give me some kind of insight into middle America and why Bush is president, b) Who came up with this crazy idea? How did they manage to be dumb enough to have that idea but smart enough to actually get it out there on the market?  c) I wonder who is responsible for writing this ad copy? Some poor soul who majored in Medieval Literature and is now stuck thinking of witty puns all day long? d) I don't think I've ever purchased an item from a catalog in my entire life - that's what the Internet is for! How do the catalogs without Internet sites fare year over year through the 90s until now? How can they stay in business?

Hours of entertainment!

Anyway, I hereby announce that CHRISTMAS IS UPON US. Even though it is only October.