CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE:  Lurker Racquel writes:

Hi thing throwers! I am a long time lurker and I remember a while back you had some advice for Disney World. Well my 3 1/2 year old daughter, husband, and I are leaving in 3 days and I was wondering if the group had any strong thoughts about the place now. 

We live in New Mexico, so are closer to Disneyland. Also of note, my veteran husband has PTSD and it gets worse with large crowds (especially crowds of kids). Any tips?

My advice: At that age, focus on the princesses and character greetings, based on the schedule you'll receive at the entrance.  (Be sure to check in at City Hall for her "first time visitor" button and special greeting.)  In terms of rides, go for the basics: Small World, Tea Cups, Peter Pan, Snow White.  Spend more time at Disneyland than California Adventure. Learn to love the railroad. As far as the crowds issue, just go as early in the day as you can.

ROCK AND ROLL, THE COLA WARS:  It's the 30th anniversary of the launch of New Coke.  Maybe the commercials should've been the first sign of the fall of a pop culture icon.

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC SEA: The ThingThrowers have been gracious enough to provide reading suggestions for my mother during European trips--her request this time:

This time travel will take us from Lisbon, up the coast via Oporto to Santiago de Compostello, then through the Pyrenees with stops in Leon, Bilbao, Pamplona, Bielsa and ending in Barcelona. Oh and there are pre and post tour stops in Manchester, England.  I've already read Shadow of the Wind, which I loved.  Go!

WHAT IF MY MOM IS THE D.A.?  Okay, I'm taking one of the last seats on the Amy Schumer bandwagon, because I'm an admitted newbie, but that was some freakin' brilliant stuff last night.

BY GRABTHAR'S HAMMER, WHAT A PILOT:  How do we feel about Galaxy Quest: The TV Series?  

ALOTT5MA FRIDAY GRAMMAR RODEO MONDAY NIGHT BASEBALL EDITION:  I can't believe there are people who believe that "batting around" can be accomplished by a baseball team with only nine batters. People: it doesn't count until the tenth batter comes to the plate.

NOT RANKED: ASSISTANT CRACK WHORE:  According to Careercast, which does these rankings annually based on data on each profession's "Environment, Income, Outlook, and Stress," the worst job in America is "journalist," followed by lumberjack.  Top five, from two hundred ranked: actuary, audiologist, mathematician, statistician, biomedical engineer.

Of interest to many here: librarian is #35, attorney #125.