Large-brained ex-Python Terry Jones wants to preemptively defend himself against his neighbors, under the Bush “Doctrine.”

Brought to my attention by a loyal reader: People don’t pay attention. 17% of Americans surveyed knew that none of the hijackers was Iraqi, while 44% believed some or most of them were.

Two books of the day today, both lavishly illustrated coffee table books. The Art of the Airways by Geza Szurow features beautiful reproductions of vintage airline posters, from the days when air travel was romantic. Pacific Legacy: Image and Memory from World War II in the Pacific by Rex Alan Smith and Gerald A. Meehl […]

The excellent Dawn points our attention to a column by Rick Reilly* on the lack of attention to women’s achievements in sports and a call to vigilance for Title IX. *Also the author of the excellent sports novel Slo Mo! My Untrue Story.

From Washington State Vital Statistics 2001, the top ten baby names in the state in 2001: girls: Emily Madison Hannah Emma Grace Olivia Elizabeth Samantha Sarah Ashley boys: Jacob Joshua Ethan Michael Andrew Alexander Daniel Nicholas Tyler Matthew The list in the book, from the Department of Health, lists the top 100, with percentages and […]

Today’s book of the day is “Diaper Free! The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene” by Ingrid Bauer. Yes, it’s chock full of “wisdom” on how to hold your baby over a receptacle when your intuition alerts you to their need to eliminate. Lavishly illustrated with black and white photos of white people with dreadlocks, […]

Sometimes this blog is for you, my loyal readers, but much of the time it’s just for me. Here’s a list of library blogs I wish to peruse later this week. People who write blogs that have crazy fans instead of loyal readers sometimes get lavish gifts. If any of you is even slightly crazy, […]

Apparently, extremely dire things are happening in Hong Kong. This is from my usual source of things that leave me speechless. Check out the schematics, though.

Noted futurist Dan Bern will no doubt be pleased to see that his prediction is coming true. As soon as they realize that putting barcodes on babies isn’t early enough to prevent all mix-ups, I have no doubt they’ll start putting them on fetuses in utero.

There’s nothing like googling yourself and finding a page full of how you feel about reproduction at the moment. Or even how you felt about it a couple months ago. Not like I wasn’t signing up for exposure by agreeing to be the poster-boy, but it’s still a little unnerving. Also, for the record, despite […]