Freebies for You, Food for the Hungry

Tea: Mandarin Green

Music: Mellodog, "Zombie Beach"

Time: Night.

We've all seen the banner ads: "FREE $25 GIFT CARD TO (INSERT CHAIN RESTAURANT HERE)! CLICK NOW!"

Of course, there's always the tiny asterisked disclaimer, something along the lines of:

*must complete offers (translation: jump through hoops and buy stuff) for eligibility

And, of course, it's printed in something that blends neatly into the background color of the ad. Thanks, but no.

But as we also know, there's legit free stuff out there on the web. No, this isn't another plug for Hulu, Horror Masters or Download.com, although all three are incredibly cool. This one's for Walletpop's "Fantastic Freebies" section.

Tonight's haul: One free movie rental, one free wall calendar and -- coolest of all -- one free tote bag. (Hey, at least one grocery store here cuts a nickel off the total for using your own bag. I'm not proud. I'll take it.)

For two of the offers -- the bag and the calendar -- I didn't even have to sign up for email alerts.

Best of all? Walletpop has a heart as well as a nose for bargains. One of their links isn't to free stuff for yourself; it's to freerice.com -- which, as with Kiva and Heifer International, I'm always happy to promote.

I hope Walletpop keeps Free Rice in heavy rotation. It would be a good thing, I think, if people "paid" for each freebie by making enough correct clicks to rack up 500 grains of rice. And if you get on a roll, by all means keep going.

Beats Solitaire any day.

Catching a Break

Tea: Blood Orange with honey

Music: Bob Walkenhorst, "Stolen the Moon"

Time: Night.

The heat finally broke today. You can tell it's been miserable when 88 degrees feels like a cold snap.

I shouldn't gripe, though. A lot of people are doing without air conditioning this summer.

We live in the most privileged country on earth, and it's easy to start thinking of privileges as rights. But people have lived a lot longer without conveniences than with them -- so, obviously, they're not essential to survival.

Gets me to thinking a bit ... what would happen if people gave up a few privileges and luxuries, now and again, so others could have the basic rights of food, water, shelter and purpose?

I'm not going to climb into the pulpit or anything ... but if anyone here catches your eye and your heart, isn't the chance to help worth a few lattes?