Waugh on What's Hot

As a blogger, it's my necessary duty to inform my loyal readers on the hot spots and trends that cross my transom.

Each of these topics could take a blog post on its own, but I'll condense them now in order to keep pace with my new found high-paced jet-setter lifestyle.

TV Shows: The wife and I have been watching every single episode of Project Runway. I think its rubbed off on me, because I'm dressing more stylish now (thanks in part to a 75% percent off sale at Dilliards a few weeks ago). I've been starching my shirts and wearing my Palm Treo on belt clip as a fasion accessory. As far as the new season's designers, I've been pulling for Michael, because us Michaels must stick together.

Now that I'm middle class, I've started watching CNBC. Of course, the big show there is Jim Cramer's Mad Money. If they did a whole weekend marathon of nothing but Mad Money, I'd be on the couch all weekend eating chips and french onion dip. There's more catch phrases per minute on this show than any other pop culture phenomenon in television history. Booyah, skidaddy!

The missus likes Gray's Anatomy. I like the socially awkward character, George O'Malley. I also like pointing out all the plot holes and inconsistencies to my wife, who ignores them. "Are you telling me a bomb went off in the building and the elevator still works!?"

Baton Rouge Restaurants: I'll just say that Monjuni's has everything I like in a restaurant: great food (Italian in nature), a unique menu, a piece de resistance (like a super sweet and tangy tomato sauce), a free appetizer (toasted bread and the aforementioned tomato sauce for dipping), a funky decor (plastic grapes and lights hanging from the ceiling), great prices and an inconsistent but always entertaining wait staff.

Wine: Wal-mart has started selling a brand of Australian wine called Banrock Station for $3.97 a bottle. I tried the Shiraz-Cabernet blend and was blown away. It's balanced and youthful and fruity. There's nothing I can't say about it that this blogger already hasn't said about it. The chardonnay is good too. Bright apple flavors and not over-oaked or overly alcoholic.

Stocks: I've started investing in stocks, a passion that combines both my love of arcane research (that's why I'm a librarian after all) and gambling (old friends will recall my video poker addiction). The picks I feel best about are:

Blackboard (BBBB), which was the classroom software used when I was at LSU's School of Library and Information Science. It has a virtual monopoly of the virtual classroom. Buy, buy, buy!

Crocs (CROX) is my speculative stock that's been flying lately. It just got added to the S&P 600 Small Cap Index so it should do well for the next couple days at least. But if we are to buy stocks for businesses whose products we know, then Crocs is for me. I love 'em! I'm in them for the long run. But be careful, because a lot of people hate this stock and want to kill it.

I'm also into Guitar Center (GTRC) and PetSmart (PETM), among others. They've lost me a couple bucks in my first couple days of holding them. However, they will make good long term holds.

So that's what's hot...according to Waugh.