If only I was talking about today's on-going snowfall. Sadly I think it took me longer to clean off and warm up my car then it did to drive in to Press Herald Plaza.

No, friends. This morning I am struggling to come to grips with the news that my Missouri Tigers got jobbed by the Bowl Championship Series, and will not be playing in a BCS bowl game. Instead, two teams they beat will be playing in BCS games.

But I digress. This is not a sports blog, and I've griped to enough (for now). If I didn't cause a scene on Saturday night then I won't now.

In today's Monday offerings, I've got a round–up in the Monday Magazine, starting with a benefit this weekend for the performance space at the Meg Perry Center.

Peace Action Maine shares the space with the Foglight Collective, formerly known as the People's Free Space.

Next Monday will mark two years since Perry died on a relief mission in New Orleans.

By the nature of her work and her spirit Perry touched a lot of people. When I spoke to the people at Peace Action Maine last week they said it was a no–brainer to name the center after Perry and her family was honored by the move.

The benefit starts at 8 p.m. and features music from Big Blood, Visitations, and Cursillistas. They'll take donations from $5–$10.

Meanwhile over in iHerald, we look at online shopping and a few local businesses.

Obviously people expect big box and national stores like Best Buy and Target to have efficient and secure online stores, but it's not the same for independent stores.

Fortunately these days there's more than a few ways to at least plant a flag online. Setting up an online shop can seem like a beast when you consider shipping and distribution, inventory, payment methods, not to mention design and utility.

Small businesses can now turn to places like Yahoo, eBay, or Etsy to do some of that heavy lifting.

What makes this interesting for Maine businesses is obviously their geographic location and whether they depend on seasonal business (and let's face it, a lot of shops do).

Finally, a few things I'm following today -

Halo 3 – The Hollywood Reporter's Reel Pop blog decipher the prevalence of homophobia and other phobias through games with an online multi player component.

Doughnuts – No, this reporter does not run on Dunkin. This weekend I had the pleasure of having brunch at the Frog and Turtle in Westbrook. You may remember that the Frog and Turtle is the offspring of Uffa. ANYWAY, aside from having a scramble with two types of meat –I'll let you guess – I OD'ed on the doughnut bar. They have a rotating list of doughnuts made in–house, a move so delicious and possibly sinful that I felt wrong trying to eat all three doughnuts I ordered.

Nonstop rocking ... stopped – This once again proves my theory (maybe not mine per say, but a theory I subscribe to) that early adopters of anything are likely to get screwed somehow. Who's it now? the people who were first to get Rock Band home. It appears some of the guitars are malfunctioning on the music simulation game that is supposed to MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE A ROCK GOD ... or was that Guitar Hero III? Anyway, replacement guitars are on their way and should be just in time for Christmas ... maybe.

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