With the economy in the crapper, people must be getting bored. Can’t afford a night on the town? Or a trip to the movie theater? I know, why don’t you throw on a mask and become a super hero?! Seriously.

Meet Razorhawk (video clip). This guy’s a real-life superhero in Minneapolis who fights crime in his flamboyant, yellow costume (incidentally, he’s a costume maker from 9-5).

Which made me think – if you could be a “real” superhero and choose a super power, what power would you pick? I think I’d like the power of invisibility. Or the power to get inside people’s heads and see their thoughts. Too bad I wouldn’t have the first clue about how to make a bright, flashy costume. Oh well. I guess I’ll leave the crime fighting to Razorhawk.

Patrick and Charissa do tequila shots at their rehearsal dinner in Sept. 2006.

Patrick’s my big brother, and lately, enjoys making fun of me because I do this blog. I’m not totally sure why he feels the need to bust my chops, since I clearly learned my nerdy tendencies from him. :P

Anyway, I was thinking of what sort of post I could dedicate to PJ and while I considered an Ode to Marshmallows or Top Five Reasons You Should Build Your Own Speedometer, that seemed effortful. So instead, I’m going to take us back to our visit to Vegas last January.

Pat and his wife Charissa, and my other brother Tim and his wife Julie, accompanied me and Larry to Las Vegas almost a year ago for a long weekend of gambling, eating and quality sibling time. After our very expensive and extremely tasty visit to B&B Ristorante (Italian Chef Mario Batali’s joint), we next visited Chef Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill. And holy crap, it was delish.

If you’re ever in Vegas, or NYC for that matter, go to Mesa Grill. Just do it. I promise you won’t regret it.

As for the reminiscence and dedication to dear big brother, I thought I’d post the famous Mesa Grill Margarita recipe – Bobby Flay’s “Ultimate Margarita” – since I know how much Pat likes a good round (or 10) of tequila (wink, wink). Read up Patrick, because I expect you to make me one next time I’m in the Windy City.

Mesa Grill Margarita

Serve this margarita on the rocks, straight up, with salt or without. This recipe follows the familiar adage and acronym – K.I.S.S. – or Keep It Simple Stupid. And forget the sour mix – the fresh lime juice in this sucker is what makes it so much tastier and definitely more authentic.

What you’ll need

• 2 ounces silver tequila (you know the drill PJ — only the good stuff)
• 1 ounce orange liqueur, such as Cointreau or Triple Sec
• 1 ounce fresh lime juice
• Ice cubes
• 1 lime slice
• Kosher salt (optional)

What you do

Pour the tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice into a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake for 10 seconds. Rub the rim of a rocks glass with the lime slice and dip in a plate of salt. Strain the mixture into the glass and garnish with the lime slice.

Nothing beats wildly inappropriate best wishes. That’s why I’m a huge fan of someecards.com. Lose the cheesy singing cats and the bitter old lady, and trade up for memorable online greeting cards that will turn heads.

Here are some of my favorite from this holiday season:

Something that keeps popping up in conversations lately, it seems, is locality. Keepin’ it local. It’s a concept that will never get old. Whether you’re in financial services, the retail industry or the food biz, a local touch will always sell big.

Enter: Foodzie. It’s a brand spankin’ new website. I confess, I read about this site months back on TechCrunch and have been eagerly awaiting its debut.

Foodzie is an online market for local delicacies and upscale artisan food vendors. In other words, it’s a website that sells yummy food from around the country. The kind of stuff you probably wouldn’t be able to get unless you were shopping at a market in the town in which it’s made. A veritable food adventure from locales around the good ol’ US of A.

You don’t even have to be a foodie to enjoy the offerings. This is the kind of stuff that makes great gifts. And we’re not talking about $28 cookies (ahem, Lisa G). The prices are actually pretty decent considering the products. Plus, you can’t beat the uniqueness here. This ain’t exactly the sort of food you’d pick up at your local Kroger.

As I peruse the site, I have to stop to wipe the drool from my chin.  My favorite finds?

• The Pumpkin Pie Bar from BonBonBar: Pumpkin-spiced caramel atop Graham Cracker crust and surrounded by dark chocolate. The fresh organic pumpkin and butternut squash that’s used to make this tasty lil’ morsel is from the Santa Monica Farmers Market.
• Rosemary Olive Oil from Stella Cadente: Get a taste of Northern California with this olive oil made at an artisan company that only uses the best (pesticide-free) olives picked and pressed at the Frantoio.
• Hawaiian Lehua Honey from Royal Hawaiian Honey: With all the beautiful blooms in Hawaii, I can only imagine how tropical and sweet and island-rific this honey tastes. This honey is made by a second generation, family-owned business and is hailed as delicate and fragrant.
• The Teaspoon Box from La Cocina: Interestingly, La Cocina is a business that helps low-income entrepreneurs get exposure and grow their food businesses. This little goodie box holds a dark chocolate-covered carmelized graham cracker, a bag of spicy Yucca chips, a Heavenly Bliss toffee cookie, a dark chocolate and toffee shortbread Clairesquare, a bag of spicy roasted pumpkin seeds and a pair of shortbread and dulce de leche alfajores.

Sounds good, huh? My only beef with the site would be that there aren’t enough products. But it’s just starting out and recently got a big round of funding, so I’m hoping it’s all growth from here. I’d also love to see more in the product descriptions. Tell me why the giant chocolate chip cookie on my screen is so special. Let me know that the chocolate is made in small batches on a family-run organic farm in Colorado using a 100-year-old recipe. Peeps will eat that stuff up (in more than one way)!

I love anything that combines my foodie tendencies and web nerdery. This certainly does that. Support local. Support Foodzie.

I love this kind of stuff: NORAD gives you the ability to track Santa and his voyage around the globe on Christmas Eve.

So the question is kiddies… have you been naughty or nice?