What's in a name?

I wasn't really surprised by Pluto's demotion, mainly because it made more sense to me than the alternative, to expand the number of planets in the solar system to twelve (thirteen if you count Barry Bonds' head).

Hey, I'm still for New Horizons. To me, Pluto/Charon as a double Kuiper Belt object with two minor satellites is a lot more interesting than as a planet.

Then again, I'm the type of guy who finds shit like this interesting.

So are the people who are looking for loopholes in the new definition:

...the language of the resolution is flawed. It requires that a planet "has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit." But Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune all have asteroids as neighbors.

So Earth isn't a planet? Holy Belgium, Douglas Adams was right!

Suprised CmdrSue didn't find this first.

Star Trek themed inspirational posters.

Can't believe they didn't stick a Tribble on there somewhere...

My centieuro on Lieberman.

With the Connecticut primary today, I'm sure there's going to be a lot of informed reaction to the results, so let me sprinkle some gut reaction as a foundation...

First, I have NO IDEA what to expect. I trust poll results less than I trust credit-card companies, and a Lieberman win wouldn't surprise me in the least.

If Lamont does win, though, I hope it starts a trend that the Dems will stop bringing pea-shooters to gunfights and pose some political opposition in November. Yes, constant partisan politics is exhausting and ugly, but that's the way it works, and for the other side it's worked spectacularly for the last couple of decades.

Shame about Lieberman. By all accounts, he is a deeply religious and moral man, and he could've brought some honest debate against this administration. I was impressed by him in the 2000 VP debate (yeah, back when Cheney was able to keep the black ichor of his Lovecraftian ancestry deep within his liver), and he could definitely have been a respected elder statesman in his state for years to come.

Anyway, we shall see.

Didn't know that.

Turns out that the moon has a "bulge", known since 1799 (by people who actually read, i.e. not me), and scientists can now explain it.

It's because of those tight slacks.

I'm anti-censorship...BUT...

...in terms of good taste, I have to say this is probably for the best.

ABC said to pull Mel Gibson Holocaust miniseries

The ABC television network has pulled a miniseries about the Holocaust it was developing with Mel Gibson's production company, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, quoting an unidentified representative for the network.

[snippity]

An ABC representative told the paper, without elaborating, it has been two years and the network still has not seen a script, so the project is being pulled.

This is one time I've gotta say that I appreciate the slow machinations of Hollywood, as this is one script I would NOT want to see.

No confirmation that ABC has greenlit Michael Jackson presents Alice in Wonderland as a replacement, to be directed by Roman Polanski.

I will say this for Gibson; he made a lot of money and had the freedom to choose his own path in show business, so the fact that he used it to pursue his uncompromising artistic vision is admirable.

Of course, I think his artistic vision is cuckoo-for-cocoa-puffs INSANE, and the fact that his bibble-bibble-boinga-boinga-apostle-meets-Hostel vision made $370 million dollars in this country is disturbing to the core, but, so be it.

Besides, isn't this a face you can trust?