Da-da's Most-Downloaded Pic of 2012

Yes, it's BOB the tumbleweed! Bob the tumbleweed? Bob received tens of thousands of hits from all over the world. Go figure. Bob is dry, transient, unsatisfying, leaves stickers wherever he goes (which are actually seeds for more sticker bushes) and is as fitting a monument for 2012 as you're gonna get. So long, Bob.

Of Rocks, Dead Rights, and a Tumbleweed Named Bob

Da-da loves this true family story, as it aptly details an important aspect of his complex clan. The following may give the gentle reader some inkling to the twisted Godzillas and trolls and Superfund sites lurking beneath the pleasingly carefree, totemic menus of Da-da ontological taco stand.

Envision a bright summer day in the midwest 60 years ago. Doves and bunnies leap about in gay '50s abandon. (You could say, "GAY ABANDON," back then without bursting into flame.) Da-da's father, then a teen -- the infamous Grampa Scotty, whose birthday is this week -- driving with his own grandpa, a feisty five-foot-seven relic of epic force and moment. You've heard of the rock and the hard place? Great gramps was both. Let's call him ROCK.

Anyway, teen Gramps and Rock were driving along when they came to a four-way stop. There was a bit of traffic, and everyone seemed to be behaving themselves, observing the rules of right of way. When it came his turn, the driver of the car (call it #1) to Rock's right started across the intersection... when suddenly the driver of the car behind him (#2) decided to skip his turn and follow car #1 right through the intersection.