Phoenix News Blog

We thought we were fortunate just to eat at the Yardhouse last night. But when we stepped outside after dinner, we were humbled (to say the least) by the sight of a $1.5 million sports car.

Before we even noticed the car, though, we saw a small crowd of folks gawking and taking camera-phone pictures of something. They weren't interested in the gorgeous pair of black of four-door sedans, a Rolls Royce and a Maserati, that we'd seen going into the Scottsdale eatery at Fashion Square Mall.

This was something even more remarkable: a wingless starship that the venerable Italian automaker Bugatti calls the Veyron.

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This is our through-the-windshield shot of a gigantic earthmover being escorted by DPS cruisers this morning going west on McDowell Road. The wheels of the vehicle probably needed a wide-load sign themselves.

We caught up to the procession ahead of us to take this shot, observing as the tractor-trailer's driver moved into oncoming lanes (cleared by the state troopers) to avoid taking out the overhanging streetlights. A similarly escorted load had driven by moments earlier.

Image: www.americanpie.ugo.com

While searching for real news this morning, it was impossible to miss the front-page story in the Arizona Republic about dating "cougars." You know, older women, MILFs -- Mrs. Robinson, Stifler's Mom.

The funny, feline-flavored fluff article by reporter Megan Finnerty is based on an upcoming "event' at a Scottsdale resort called MEOW: Men Enjoying Older Women. "Cougar" is a "tongue-in-cheek" term for "women typically older than 40 who prefer to date men at least a smidge younger," writes Finnerty, for whom 40 probably seems eons away.

The mainstream news article pussyfoots through this definition, of course. We all know "cougar" is more like a tongue-in-something-else term based on the other, more catty slang-word.  

Finnerty then quotes a 34-year-old dude who says he finds older women are "really just happier to be alive."

Hilarious.

We came upon this scene of doggie drama while hiking Camelback Mountain Sunday morning about 9 a.m. The woman in the white hat had dragged her fat golden retriever nearly to the top of the mountain, where it overheated and wanted to go no farther. A group of concerned citizens splashed the animal's fur with water. One burly guy offered to carry the 85-pound dog down the steep, rocky trail, but then apparently decided better of it.