...For The Ride Home: More on this LeBron story, Ellen and Kara out on "Idol" and we'll see y'all in a week!

A hell of an afternoon. Such is the life we live in. We send Week 18 off into the twilight with a picture of a beach. Why? That's because, yes, though we love you, the two of us will both be somewhere far, far away on vacation all of next week. This will be a bit of a departure from the vacation I recently took, in which the other half of this operation stayed with you by offering his usual two posts a week. This time around, we will both be gone, thus leaving you with a blank space in your heart for a week. I know, I know. How many vacations could I possibly need? Answer: Whatever the amount, it's not enough. This doesn't mean we both don't still love you, and, for that matter, we pray we see you back here in a week, ready and excited as ever. We promise there will be no more vacations for a very long time after this. Pinky swear, in fact. So alas, we leave you lovely, attractive readers with the following links to hold you over until a week from Monday, a date I believe is August 9th. Until then, please, please keep in mind that no matter how many breaks we may take, or how far away we may be, as always, love you, miss you.

This makes me laugh every time I read it. (Twitter)

More on this LeBron James story that I find fascinating. Also, this is exactly why The Big Lead is my favorite blog on the planet: A real in depth look at how things probably happened for those who don’t know about how these things happen. (The Big Lead)

Five things you should know before dating a journalist. “Yes, we think we’re smarter than you.” So, so great and so, so true. (Rock My Car)

As I’m certain you all heard: Ellen is out. Kara’s probably out. Looks like J-Lo and Steven Tyler are in at “Idol.” (Rolling Stone)

Very good idea. Taking the WikiLeaks stories and making them your own. (Columbia Journalism Review)

Wacky news agency hangs it up after three decades. Where are we going to get our “A bear walks into a bar…” stories? (AOL)

Sandy’s pissed. She needs to catch a break. Just one. (E! Online)

Ten cities perfect for young adults. Just can’t agree with Lansing, Michigan. (Yahoo)

“I Gotta Feeling” is nearing the six million mark in downloads. What is wrong with you people! (Pollstar)

Turns out Matt LeBlanc has gray hair, and has had gray hair. I don’t see anything wrong with this. Why did he dye it before? Gray is such a nice look. (USA Today)