Have I talked about "Black Dog" here before? Those "Black Dog, Martha's Vineyard" shirts with the dog logo are my pet peeve. This has nothing to do with the place itself. It may be a fine restaurant. And I've never even been to "the islands" (I know they're called "the islands" from the Giant Glass commercials). I do know that Jaws was filmed on Martha's Vineyard, so it's got that going for it.

But this Black Dog place, wow. Do they give you a free sweatshirt just for eating there? And I don't understand why so many people feel the need to buy and wear something they surely know almost everybody else has? It's not like the place is a baseball team.

When I see someone with that logo on, my first thought is "Ooh, has your car climbed Mt. Washington, too?" And there's one in every crowd. Especially at a Fenway game. But I see it everywhere. Last night behind the plate in Oakland--Black Dog. On that commercial for that local restaurant on NESN--Black Dog. (That's actually a turtleneck, with the dog on the neck, as opposed to the classic full frontal dog--at least that lady's switchin' it up a little.)

Let's stop the insanity. If you have a BD sweatshirt, consider donating it to cold children who live far away. If you don't have one, ask yourself: Do I really need that tired old logo on my chest? Is the fact that I've been to this place that important? I'd rather see you going around telling everybody you've been there than have to see that dog one more time.

If I ever see someone in a Black Dog shirt emerging from a car with a Mt. Washington bumper sticker, my head would explode.