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Ladies and Gentlemen have your credit cards at the ready... The shopping season is upon us!

Black Friday is THIS Friday and WIB is pointing you for the third consecutive year to the best Web sites so that you can get a head start on shopping plans.

Be sure to check out:

http://bfads.net/ and http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/

Maybe I'll see you at Best Buy, where I'll be picking up my Canon SD750 point and shoot camera for just $219.

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Paolo Does Europe - Sept. 14

I'm at the Venice train station about to head to Lake Como.

Venice is very expensive. I managed to get into a single room at a hostel for only $25E, but food and drink costs are terribly inflated. $4E for a cappucino? No thanks.

Still, this is a beautiful, romantic city. The canals really add to the ambiance. It's just too touristy to get totally immersed in. Too much spoken English. Too many visitors. It's a tough city to navigate. I walked around the city a couple times and only got the hang of the layout coming back from dinner earlier this evening. I swear, no street here goes straight for two consecutive blocks.

Some people say I'm too picky with women, but here in Venice, and over the course of my travels, I've come to the conclusion that I am not too picky, it's more that I live in a place with an abnormally low saturation of women I'm attracted to. Here, they're everywhere. I'm swimming through beautiful women on every street. No life preservers needed.

I was a little nervous about my hostel situation for the rest of my trip after barely getting into my hostel, a converted monastery, here in Venice. Internet costs $5E for 30 minutes so instead of hopping online I called Scott to have him get the phone number for the hostel in Lake Como, "La Primula at Menaggio."

Looking back, I would have spent an extra night in Interlaken or Napoli, but it's hard to gauge timing on the go, especially early in the trip. Scott said this hostel at Lake Como looks nice and I'm hoping it is because I really need some rest and relaxation in good weather before I have to head back up to Zurich.

Editor's note: Paolo took so many pictures in Venice that we're splitting them into two albums. This is 'Venice by Day':

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I need to show some love to the ladies who write over at "Bend There, Done That." Quoting me for your quote of the week and crediting me for inspiring a post? You shouldn't have.

Take a read over there about why I demand that the women in my life keep their nails well manicured. I'm serious. Ask the Wives.

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Check out the brand spankin' new Blue Scholars "Joe Metro" music video:

Unfortunately, my likeness does not appear in this video as it did in the "Back Home" video, but this video further pushes the boundaries of what homegrown bands can accomplish. This is not just a stellar music video, it's a great homage to Seattle and the 98118.

Be sure to catch the Blue Scholars headlining the five-night festival, "The Program," Dec. 18-22. Bands playing various nights include Common Market, Swollen Members, Unexpected Arrival, Can-U, Dyme Def, the Physics and more. For more information, click here. I'll be there!

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What a great weekend for football. The Huskies beat Cal without Jake Locker. The Seahawks beat the Bears.

And did anyone catch that tackle Seahawks kicker Josh Brown made on one of the league's best punt returners, the Bears' Devin Hester? Kick ass!