Mandingo's Imminent Return? Cue Madonna's "Ray of Light"

It's been a tough month and a half without the pied piper of crack cocaine. More than a few fans have sent me their well wishes and I send thanks to thee and thine. I assure you, dear readers, the Dingo has returned from a self-imposed, quasi-academic internment from deep within Satan's warm urethra--otherwise known as the Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs.
Well, what is there to write on this fine, snow bereft evening? Nothing, naturally.

• The Pied-Piper's favorite fanny duster, Patty Wetterling, goes all Loch Ness Monster on us and will announce her real intentions to run for the Senate on Friday [Strib]
• Q: Yo, so what do ye be doin with yo' self? A: Yo, me rates nursin homes for a livin'. Mic check it...one two, one two. [Strib]
• RIP Dean Zimmerman: Ye Hardly Knew Us. [PiPress]; [City Pages Blotter]
• The Real Mandingo. Or a Google search for his shadowy identity. [imdb]; [VideoVista]; [iafd]