bellwether or straw man?

[substitute]

It's the day after rain, so everything here is infused with this tremendous clear light, something that Southern California doesn't get very often. It's like suddenly being teleported to Italy.

I have now tamed the bread machine and the new oven - a feeling of satisfaction overcomes me.

At work we toil to prepare ourselves for the huge absurdity of the Superbowl. It's another one of those perfect Ionesco weeks in which we strive mightily to do something inconsequential with style and verve.

What is a beanthug, anyway?