Unshelved is made possible this week by Georgetown University Press, publishers of Careers in International Affairs, Eighth Edition.

My dad just turned seventy last week. As the celebration wore on (I think it was when the elephants were going by) he confided to me yet again that he always wanted to be in the diplomatic service, dreaming of living life overseas among the movers and shakers. Another expert on the subject, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says,

"Over the years the SF Guide has proven to be an invaluable resource to those students who are eager to use their international relations training productively. It is respected by those who teach, those who employ, and those who want jobs . . . a trifecta!"

Sounds like the perfect book for my dad. So I'm going to use the proceeds from this sponsorship to buy a time machine, go back fifty years, and give it to him. Now that's a thoughtful birthday present.

In one of those entertaining life-imitates-art moments that pervade our experience as comic strip authors, we wrote this week's skateboarding sequence last week on the plane back from Burlington. Then yesterday I went to the park with my kids on the Ripstik they got me for Christmas. Within seconds I was sporting this exciting new addition to my ensemble.

(My excuse: I was carrying a bag full of baseball gear, and it threw off my balance.) Undeterred, I got right back up on that horse, and never went down again. But I was bleeding pretty freely for the next hour, which made a terrific impression on neighbors as I whizzed by. I'm pretty sure no one who saw me yesterday will ever buy one of those things.