I like finding famous paintings on the Internet and setting the best ones as the wallpaper on my computer monitor. Right now, I have Henri Rousseau's Merry Jesters on it. It got all stretched out because the JPEG was real small. This painting is actually in the Philly Museum of Art. It's just a bunch of monkeys and a bird laying around in the jungle. Watch out! They see you! They look playful, though. Look at all those different colored leaves.

Jon Lovitz

I can't help but laugh every time I see the Subway Dinner Theater commercials with Jon Lovitz sort of reprising his old SNL master thespian character. "The blond boy's a loser" and "EAT FRESSSH!!!" have infiltrated my everyday conversations. Sadly, I tried one of the sandwiches being advertised just the other day and it didn't measure up to my expectations of something that the great Jon Lovitz would endorse. Perhaps another classic Lovitz character should have been recruited for the pitchwork—Tommy Flanagan, The Pathological Liar. "Yeah. That's the ticket."

All I can think about are sunflowers. Last year in my South Philly garden lot, I had over a dozen of the tallest (10 feet) and widest (bigger than a human face) sunflowers. Scattered in the front section were smaller 3-foot red and black varieties. They didn't have any seeds, unlike the mammoths in the back. I thought sunflowers were a Euro thing but in researching, I discovered that the American Indians enjoyed the seeds as a high-energy snack. Spanish explorers carried them to Europe. The biggest sunflower, according to the Guinness Book, is 25 feet tall and 5 feet 4 inches wide. Last year, I dried them, saved the seeds and this year planted over 200 seeds. The plants are now 2 feet tall and growing.

Craving something steamy? Satisfy your urges at the Vietnamese soup kitchen Pho 75 (11th and Washington). Cafeteria-style dining goes "bargain buffet" as the well-portioned, piping-hot bowl nears the $3 plateau. (Cheap daters beware: While the price is tantalizing, the menu options are pretty sparse.) Don't fret, though. This place puts ramen to shame. Noodles are served and delivered in broth with options for both veg-heads and carnivores. Top off your bowl with fresh basil, hot peppers, lime and bean sprouts. Just make sure you are comfortable with your table etiquette. You don't need a fork—just down the noodles full-on Lady and the Tramp-style. Trust me, slurping is soooo this season.