I figure something on the lighter side would be a nice break from the heaviness of my last couple of columns. Plus it's my birthday week, so I feel like being goofy and lighthearted. So here's just a collection of random thoughts I've had in the past few weeks.

* USA Today is having a contest for the Best Mascots per state. I originally thought that this was kind of fun, but then I saw that it was only five choices per state. Obviously whoever came up with the choices for Rhode Island was either really bored and lazy, or they’re are from Warwick. All three of Warwick's public schools are represented. The 5 mascots are Skippers (North Kingstown), Hurricanes (Warwick Vets), Titans (Toll Gate), Patriots (Pilgrim) and Villa Novans (Woonsocket). That's a pretty sad list if you ask me. And their explanations are ridiculous. Okay, I get why with the Skippers and the Villa Novans. Those are pretty good names. But the Titans? That's right out of Generic Team Names 101. Hurricanes, because Rhode Island is prone to hurricanes? Wait, what? We're not Florida. Granted, we did have Sandy and Irene hit us recently, but we're not as hurricane prone as they'd like to think. Patriots sounds kind of lame too, but it has since grown on me a little bit since it kind of illustrates that Massachusetts went from Pilgrims to Patriots. Only penalty against it? This is Rhode Island. For the record, I voted for Skippers. 

* Also for that matter, this has always bugged me but why didn't NHS call themselves the Pacers when they first came up with a mascot? Don't get me wrong, I really like Mariners and all, but Pacers would've been clever and it's not like it's some sort of abstract mascot either. The Narragansett Pacers would be pretty awesome. For those who don't know what I mean, there was a horse breed known as the Narragansett Pacer way back when. It has since been extinct, but it had been cross bred a lot and its heritage is prevalent in a lot of horse breeds like the Tennessee Walking Horse and American Saddlebred. I think that's the history nerd in me talking. 

*I'm pretty sure that I am completely and utterly screwed if I ever have kids. My dad is a twin (He's a fraternal twin. He and his twin brother look NOTHING alike. It's kind of hilarious) and I found out that the twin gene is carried in the women of the family. I just shudder thinking of the possibility. Besides, I don't think the world can handle more than one of me. Let alone 3. 

*It's random days like these that make me miss Homestar Runner all the more. It hasn't updated since Christmas 2010 and the creators seem to be going onto bigger and better things. I'm okay with that. I just wish there was some kind of proper send-off they could do. Just come back one last time, do a proper send-off. It always bugs me when long-running shows and other media forms don't get a proper finale. 

*I've been watching SNL regularly again and I'm actually enjoying it for the most part. Granted, there are still problems, but it seems as if nobody gets the lion's share of time other than Bill Hader. However, Hader isn't the focal point of every single sketch like some past cast members were. Namely Kristen Wiig. However, I really, really wish they would retire The Californians. 

*Is it just me, or do the smaller dog breeds always tend to win Best in Show? This is a bit outdated, but I just had to ask. The last three larger breeds to win were the Scottish Deerhound (2011), German Shorthaired Pointer (2005) and Newfoundland (2004). English Springer Spaniel is debatable with whether or not it's a large breed or not. Anyways, I'd love to see more larger breeds get Best in Show. And I'm pretty sure that I'm one of the only people who actually enjoy the Dog Show. 

*I just recently got Scribblenauts Unlimited and I love the game. I've played the other two before, but this one has no limits to its ridiculousness. I mean, any game that gives you a star for throwing broccoli at hipsters is aces in my book!

*Is it just me or is every radio station starting to sound the same? They keep saying that the format is different. They call it all different things like "adult contemporary", "contemporary hit radio", "rhythmic AC", "hot AC", "top 40"....it's all the same to me. It's all the same handful of songs. Maybe I'm just bitter because my oldies stations got format changes on me, but I can't be the only one who hears this. 

*Apparently, there are some politicians trying to make calamari the official food of Rhode Island. With all due respect, shouldn't Clams Casino be the official food? It WAS invented in Rhode Island (Narragansett, to be exact). I'm just saying. Also, my mom wanted me to mention that, but I agree with her. 

*I have to admit that I kind of like Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. It's weirdly watchable and even though I hate Stabler, I still watch. Also, I love the new ADA they have, Rafael Barba. Such a pompous jackass, but man does Raul Esparza play that role well. 

*I really don't like the World Baseball Classic. I think it's stupid and pointless. It's not that I am against the idea of countries competing. I think it's great. I just think they should do it in the Olympics. What you do is you just have a two to three week break. One of those weeks would be All Star Week. You just don't hold an All Star game once every four years. When you think about it, the ultimate All Star game is The Olympics. So it would be fitting. 

*Of all sports for the Olympics to discontinue -- wrestling?! Really?! That's one of the original sports. I know I'm reacting to it just now, but it still bothers me. 

*And to close things out, I have recently heard the news that Whose Line Is It Anyway? is coming back. Teenaged me is very excited about this. I adored this show back then. I always thought it would thrive in a YouTube era and apparently, it's thrived enough to get another go-round on the CW. With Aisha Tyler hosting, which should be fun. A nice little early birthday gift for me. 

I apologize for the silliness, but my brain couldn't just settle on one topic and I didn't want to be too heavy. Next time, back to basics!