'Mellow' Connection, (or 'Dude, Don't "Marsh" My "Mallow"')

An observation from hcff:

hcff was at a gaming convention this past weekend, (see the "Little Wars" entries in his April archive). Saturday, whilst playing a game with a guy named "Dieter," (apparently a bit of a jerk), hcff used the expression "harsh my mellow," a righteous phrase to be sure, but admittedly not something you hear every day, (unless you're hAd). Then Monday night, after returning home, he heard it used by Neil Patrick Harris on "How I Met Your Mother," (CBS), and then again Tuesday night on "Teachers," (NBC). That's two different references on two shows on two networks over two nights. (I'm not making any connection on the number two here, just making the point that it was disparate circumstances.)

Hmmm...