For my most recent birthday, I received a very nice watch of Swiss manufacture, a watch entirely more suitable to dressy and semi-dressy occasions than my heretofore standard kit plain-as-can-be Timex, though not quite as fancy as I'd have preferred. Of late, though, my latest Timex has developed an irksome fog problem. The underside of crystal fogs up under unpredictable conditions, sometimes when it is cold, other times not; sometimes when the air is dry, other times more moist. This is plainly unacceptable, but what am I do do for a wristwatch during the period required to pry justice from the miserly hands of Timex? Enter the birthday Wenger. I have now begun to wear it regularly, which for me entails every waking hour in which I am not showering, cooking, washing the dishes, or exercising.

I've taken quite a shine to my birthday gift, and I believe it signals a new era in wrist fashion. First, though not anytime soon, I must acquire a watch with a metal bracelet, instead of a leather strap. Then, a chronograph, before I finally acquire a certified chronometer. Shoes have never interested me terribly, but mayhap I shall become a man with a watch for every occasion, the perfect timepiece to complement any ensemble. Yes... yes, I think I quite like that. And it certainly seems a better use of my time and future resources (once I have cleared my many debts) than joining Jeremy Piven's crusade to restore to fashion the ascot.

To the shock and horror of my fanboy brethren, I've never yet read Watchmen, but I may yet become known as the Watch Man. (And though I have grown rather fond of my Wenger watch, there is no chance I would forsake Victorinox and switch to Wenger for my Swiss Army knife needs: Victorninox acquired Wenger in 2005, though it continues to market knives and other products under both names. Don't be fooled and think the Swiss never takes sides, being neutral just means they are only ever on their own side. The Swiss are nothing if not cunning, except maybe conniving.)

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Fountains of Wayne, "Strapped For Cash" from Traffic and Weather (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: I heard "Strapped For Cash" as the background music to a promo for Marketplace, a radio show - airing on, but not produced by, N.P.R. - that has recently adopted the pandering and infuriating slogan, "Financial news for the rest of us." And here I thought N.P.R.'s job was to raise the level of the discourse, silly me. Anyway, after that no other song had a chance. Hoo-rah for the proliferation of Fountains of Wayne.