See, what worries me is that the B side is where the artists tended to take more risks.

If Lair goes with that pattern, the next 36 years are going to be one hell of a ride.

Happy birthday, Lair.

Ew.

Ew.

He was hiding on my microwave when I thought I’d lured him out.

He’s gone now. Catch-and-release. He didn’t really fit inside the cup. That’s my 16-oz. plastic cup that I keep for the Yourish Catch-and-Release Program.

Tig let him in. Stupid cat.

Stupid cranefly.

This is why I love the Gilmore Girls:

Luke: And they have those flashlight thingies.
Lorelei: That’s the right name for those–flashlight thingies.
Luke: And Jedi powers of mind control, and they can move things, so they’re telekinetic. And they hover on their jet saucers over molten lava and they can jump and fly around like they’re in Cirque de Soleil.
Lorelie: Ah, coffee please.
Luke: But what gives one Jedi Knight power over the other, huh? The ultimate advantage? They stand on a mound of dirt and declare, “You can’t win. I’ve got the high ground.”

Oh yes, there’s more.

Lorelei: Dude, if he said it, that’s the way it is. It’s a fictional world.
Luke: He’s four feet up a little slope, and that wipes out all the other guy’s powers? To fly, jump around, move things around with his brain, use his flashlight thingie?
Lorelei: You’ve got to learn the right term for that flashlight thingie.

There’s more, but they talk too fast to get a proper transcription. I could not stop laughing when I saw this scene. The line that had me on the floor:

Luke: All the other guy has to do is scurry onto land, run up the hill a bit, and then he has the higher ground. I mean, they can fly jet pods but they can’t scurry?

I love this show. So happy there’s no sign of jumping the shark yet. I got a little worried last season with the emphasis on Kirk, but it’s as good as it ever was.

An Israeli shares the Nobel prize for economics. What’s wrong with the committee, didn’t they remember the boycott?

Israeli, American Share Economics Nobel

(AP) Robert J. Aumann and Thomas C. Schelling won the 2005 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Monday for their work in game theory that explains political and economic conflicts, arms races and even preventing warfare.

“Why do some groups of individuals, organizations and countries succeed in promoting cooperation while others suffer from conflict?” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

Game theory, which is often used in a political or military context to explain conflicts between countries, can also be applied to the business world.

“The understanding of game theory helps explain economic conflicts like price competition and commerce wars,” said Jorgen Weibull, chairman of the prize committee. “I think the main impact is on economics, but it also applies to other social sciences.”

Aumann, 75, and Schelling, 84, have helped to “explain economic conflicts such as price wars and trade wars, as well as why some communities are more successful than others in managing common-pool resources,” the academy said in its citation.

There are a host of news articles that President Bush is preparing the way to get rid of Baby Assad.

The Financial Times: US ‘seeks new Syrian leader’ as pressure mounts

Newsweek: Plans: Next, War on Syria

Reuters: U.S. Diplomat Says Syria Not Heeding U.S. Calls

U.S. News and World Report: Twilight for Assad?

AFP/Newsweek: US weighed military strikes in Syria

Say bye-bye, Dorktator.

Thanks.

The palestinians are making pre-summit demands, as usual. Here’s what they want in order for Abbas to meet with Ariel Sharon:

The source added that the PA is demanding Israel determine clear criteria to decide the number of prisoners set to be released, their identities and a specific schedule.

Once again the Palestinians are demanding Israel release among others, prisoners who were detained prior to the Oslo accords.

“Also on the ground, the Palestinians are demanding an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank towns - their demand is the withdrawal from Bethlehem with a clear schedule of this move,” he said.

And if Sharon doesn’t agree to the demands?

“Should no agreement regarding Bethlehem and the prisoner release be achieved, I do not foresee the summit taking place on Tuesday,” he added.

By the way, you can read and reread the article as many times as you like. Nowhere will you find the palestinians offering anything like, say, disarming terrorist groups, which is their responsibility under the Road Map that they seem to hold so dear.

You can also read the AP spin, which puts the entire blame on Israeli refusal to meet palestinian demands, here.

Update: And it’s over. The meeting is off. Gee, big surprise.