Hi everyone, Welcome back! How are you? We were woken up by some howling wind in the middle of the night. I had to double-check the weather forecast to see if something changed since we went to bed, because it sounded pretty menacing out there for a while. However, it eventually passed. The freezing rain is over, so now we're waiting for the next round of snow to arrive Thursday night. We're also starting the countdown to the first day of spring, because enough of this already. Of course, BDH and Little Buddha point out, this is nothing compared to... Read more →

Hi everyone, Welcome back! How are you? BDH and Little Buddha were just checking out the latest weather forecast. We haven't gotten that much new snow, but the guys say we could get two inches this morning. Apparently sleet and freezing rain is the bigger concern, so they don't want me driving today. I won't argue-it's a mess outside. We'll figure out later what this means about going to the bookstore today. I'd rather not slide the whole way there. Anyway, the power is still on, and the coffee is ready. Grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time... Read more →

Hi friends! Clearing out the Clutter has been an amazing journey over the last 11+ years. We started off with one guy who just wanted to discuss the day's headlines with a few folks. Now we've picked up additional staff (BDH and Little Buddha) and have a global reach as we talk about politics, sports, and a healthy dose of randomness, all while enjoying a nice cup of coffee or two. We've come a long way, and the expenses have grown as the site has gotten bigger. It's mostly the coffee budget, but there are back-end and advertising costs as... Read more →

Hi everyone, Welcome back! How was the rest of your weekend? We had a great time celebrating BDH's birthday yesterday. He was thrilled to hear from so many friends over the course of the day. (He and BDH took turns reading messages on Facebook.) We also hate horribly and enjoyed every minute of it. There were Oreos (following Saturday's M&M's) and a big chicken and sausage pizza with multiple applications of hot sauce. We'll have to eat nothing but broccoli and lettuce this week to counterbalance it, but a good time was had by all. Thank you again to everyone... Read more →

Happy Birthday to You Happy Birthday to You Happy Birthday, Dear BDH Happy Birthday to you Whoo! Hi Friends, We decided to take the day off from reading the headlines so we can instead focus on celebrating the 10th birthday of our one and only BDH. (Full name: Blue Dog of Happiness.) That's right, our little blue buddy has been with us for a full decade! He's smiling just as broadly as he was in 2011. I still remember the day my good friend Meighan dropped him off along with the stuffed baseball you see in the picture below. While... Read more →

Fred Hampton was assassinated on December 4, 1969, while he was sleeping at his home, during a raid by the Cook County State's Attorney's office which was aided by both the Chicago Police Department and the FBI. The 21-year-old leader of the Illinois Black Panther Party was deemed a dangerous threat to the dominant racist culture who had to be eliminated. It was eventually revealed that law enforcement was helped by an informant named William O'Neal. Hampton's story deserves much more attention in our schools, particularly given the current tensions regarding the police and racism. For that reason, it's good... Read more →

Hi everyone, Welcome back and happy Saturday! What's on your schedule? We're continuing BDH's birthday celebration, so he's pretty much in charge of the plans. We watched WandaVision and a movie last night, and I know he wants to read some more today. He and BDH have about 150 pages left in their book, so I need to find a new one soon. I may have to sneak out a little later to get him some birthday candy for tomorrow. Cake is too much for a guy his size to handle, but a few M&M's won't be too bad. (Plus,... Read more →

The wait is almost over. The next era of Van Halen rock music is about to begin, as Wolfgang Van Halen's new solo band, Mammoth WVH, starts ramping up the hype machine before the release of their debut album. First, there was "Distance," Wolfgang's emotional tribute to his iconic father, the legendary guitar god Eddie Van Halen. If that one doesn't get you misty-eyed, schedule an appointment with your doctor. This song made it clear right out of the gate that Wolfgang would sound different than his dad. Now Mammoth WVH has released the second single, "You're To Blame," and... Read more →

Hi everyone, Happy Friday, folks! Is it just me, or did this seem like a long week? It wasn't bad or anything, but Monday feels like it was a month ago. Maybe I'm just having another pandemic-induced bout of losing track of time. Anyway, what's the plan for the weekend? We've got a whole list of activities planned for BDH's birthday celebration. There's reading, watching a new movie on HBO Max, catching the new episode of WandaVision, and who knows what else might show up on the schedule? 10 years old. Where does the time go? For now, let's check... Read more →

Hi everyone, How are you? BDH and Little Buddha told me that we have a few days before the next snow, and it doesn't seem like it should be too bad. I've got a few errands that need to be dealt with before the end of the week, so that's good to hear. Oh, I got BDH a birthday present yesterday - I renewed his subscription to Doctor Who Magazine. (Don't tell him - it's a surprise.) It's the best thing we get in the mail each month, and each issue is like a small book, so it usually takes... Read more →