But not so much toil, and not so much trouble.

It’s been a good week for double things. My column from last week about the decline of the newspaper industry got bumped to this week, so along with today’s column about dinosaurs, it was a two-column week.

Speaking of columns*, this week I finished reading The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, and thus freed myself to finally open and play my Pillars of the Earth board game. I had been avoiding it because I was worried about spoilers. Yes, from a board game. I hate spoilers. Unless it’s the Red Sox in a World Series. Anyway, double Pillars: a capital idea.

This week was also a delicious week, because we made a double-batch of Moussaka, thus guaranteeing a lunch of delicious leftovers for days. This pleases me greatly. If you have not had Moussaka, then you are missing out. I think I’d even recommend Moussaka over Rattattouie, if you are looking for a dish that is not made from rodents but is spelled like it might be.**

And finally, if you are not familiar with the work of fantasy author Margaret Ronald, you have the double good fortune of being able to read her newest short story, and being able to purchase her just-released novel, which I recommend.

*How ionic.

**See also: Vermicelli.

Hello, new year! I greet you with open arms*! I enjoyed last year quite a bit, so I’d like to sign up for more of the same. That’s why we’ll start off the new year right with a column about infinite food, millions of wasted dollars, and clean plates.

I know, you’re thinking, “Surely you won’t manage a whole post without talking about board games?” Well, you’re right.**  Some of you know that I recently got yet another shipment of board games. Among them was Android: an epic adventure game with a much bigger rulebook than any other game I own. This is also the first boardgame for which I’ve seen a truly compelling trailer, which is linked in my review, which you should go read.

Man, that’s enough whiches to start a coven.

*To hug you. Also with open mouth, to eat your tasty food.

**And quit calling me Shirley.

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy reviewing things? Well, I do. And hopefully you enjoy when I review things too. Because I have two recent reviews. One of them, team-written, can let you know where to get pizza in the Berkshires. The other will tell you whether you’re likely to enjoy a certain party board game, which happens to be a decent game for people who don’t like most board games.

And you should be glad that I’m happy writing these reviews. Because as I mention in yesterday’s column, new research suggests that your happiness is affected by the happiness of your friends, their friends, and even their friends. So if you’re looking to help yourself out by making me happy this holiday season, tell a religious friend about GodToVerse. Mentioning it to your pastor, your rabbi, or even fellow members of your congregation, would be appreciated. Definitely by me, and quite possibly by them as well.

So, lately life has been pretty great. I’ve been doing what I’ve always wanted to, which is writing restaurant reviews. I like eating, and I like reviewing, so that works out pretty well. But I also spend a copious amount of time playing board/card games, which I really enjoy (comma optional).  Thus I am pleased to share with you my first in a series of board game reviews over at the Talkin’ About Board Games blog.

I’ve played enough board games at this point to feel like I definitely know what I’m talking about, so head on over and check out my review of Race for the Galaxy, with more to follow in the coming weeks. And if you aren’t fortunate enough to live near a game store, but have a thirst for board games, the fellows who run the blog also have a game-selling website with nicely discounted prices. (And for any Florida readers, it sounds like they run local game nights too…)

Inside my package of sliced turkey breast was a small plastic wrapped insert. After wiping off enough turkey grease to open the package, it was a tiny little sweepstakes card for merchandise from a company called “Fathead”. I opened it up to play, and sure enough, I didn’t win. But since this message was printed just above the company logo, it ended up saying, “Sorry, you are not a winner, Fathead.” I found this pretty entertaining, and feel this message needs to be slipped into more food products.

I have now crossed the 100 board game mark*. It is an awesome thing to realize we could play a board game every night and not repeat ourselves for well over three months. It is probably time to stop paying money for board games now, although I am still always looking to acquire good board games through trade and serendipity.

But what is a good board game? Well, why not read my most recent feature article about a fellow who wrote the book (well, a book) on game design. Basically, a good board game has good mechanics, and I tend to favor “German-style” games (aka “Eurogames”).

My computer was down for a few days earlier this week, but it’s back up now, and I’ve got a new episode of News In Rap for you. You can get lots of news, and impromptu rhyming, all in 10 minutes or so. What’s not to like?

Oh, you don’t like news or rhyming? I have a sweepstakes card for you…

*By which I mean, my collection has surpassed 100 board games. I would not want to cross 100 Board Game Mark, who sounds like a Dick Tracy villain.

I read a news story that Sarah Palin masks were selling like hotcakes in the two weeks before Halloween. I guess it’s clear what some people are most afraid of. If you want to know what I think people are most afraid of, check out my most recent column. And no, it’s not Sarah Palin.

In other news… well, I’ve been reading a lot of other news. And freestyle rapping about it. A nerdcore beatsmith by the handle of Pelicaine has crafted for me a very charming news show theme song, which got its inaugural use yesterday in my www.NewsInRap.com podcast. Like a hot librarian, I advise you to check it out.

And speaking of other news, I just had to share this tidbit from Losernet. It’s a tiny news item, but basically, a funeral home is trying to convince people that the staff there aren’t creepy and weird. And this is their best idea.

Hey, they can’t all be good.

Last weekend I attended my fourth wedding* in as many months. I continue to be surprised how different each wedding is that I attend, although this most recent one was perhaps more different yet, what with it being an orthodox wedding. Still, there was a bride, a groom, and other people I knew, so it was a wedding. And there were even animatronic parakeets on each table, which were bizarre but charming.

In other news, my most recent book review** ran in the USA Today yesterday, about a book on neurological marketing techniques. It was a fascinating read about how corporations will approach advertising in the years to come, and it takes subliminal advertising to whole other levels. It’s sort of awesome and scary, or at least, would be scary if so many other things weren’t much more scary.

*That is, fourth wedding of other people. I try only to get married every other month. Prospective wives, feel free to send gifts!

**Not, of course, a review of my book, for which I am still trying to find a publisher.

Apparently the RSS feed on this page has stopped working. I’m not sure why, but I guess if you’re reading this, it’s either finally fixed itself, or you don’t need the RSS feed anyway. I will continue poking around and trying to fix it so you can get Reliable Seth Stuff.

Speaking of which, like clockwork, here’s my column from yesterday. I’m still a little sad about that, but I think I made the right choice. Also, now that the presidential debates are over, I’m converting my freestyle rap podcast to a more general news format. I’ll be trying to post one episode a week at www.NewsInRap.com, so go listen to last night’s episode and hear me rap about the news as I read it so you don’t have to.

Or seven, possibly. That’s why you should go read this article about the seven powers we really want to see on Heroes. If you dig it, Digg it. If not, well, then maybe you’ll prefer my most recent column, which was about tissues.

Last week, I performed my stand-up act for the first monthly Comedy Open Mic at a new local restaurant. I used a lot of the same material I used four years ago at a conference in Ohio, but for some reason, it didn’t go over nearly as well. I’d have thought a crowd of humor writers would be a tougher crowd then a bunch of local folks attending a comedy night, but I was wrong.  Oddly, the local folks seemed to really dig the improv we did post-stand-up, which (to my mind) wasn’t a patch on my carefully crafted routine. Oh well; that’s why I do improv stuff.

So, for a long time — since I graduated from college — I’ve been working on this book. I’ve even mentioned it on the bottom of my Books page. And I finally finished it. But I haven’t managed to find a publisher yet. That’s why I decided to put it online. I’m posting one chapter a week at www.GodToVerse.com

Oh, and I should probably tell you what it is. I translated the entire Torah, the first five books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, line by line, into verse. (Given that I spent roughly five years or so doing that, it should perhaps be no surprise that I consider summarizing a presidential debate in rhyme a relatively lighter project.) Anyway, go take a look, check back every week for a new chapter (or subscribe to the RSS feed), and if you like it, tell a friend.

Especially if that friend owns a large publishing company.