"Happiness at the misfortune of others."

That is German!

(As a side note, isn't it strange that Tom Skilling's brother turned out to be one of those complicit in this scandal? We look to our weathermen (and women) and their families to be better than us. I guess you can't hold a man's brother to the meteorologist's moral code. Or something.)

It's sensationalism, I tell you! He's just trying to get people's attention!

(Sorry, gotta preface this post with a remembrance of Deputy Fife, Mr. Limpet, Mr. Furley, one of "The Apple Dumpling Gang," and that cable repairman in Pleasantville. My dad still watches Andy Griffith regularly, so he's surely seen every episode 20-30 times. That's 3000 hours of Mayberry! Not including RFD or Gomer's service to his country! I think he's holding up well. OK, on with the show.)

It's funny, whenever the Fisher Price Man has big news, it initially shocks me, and then I realize that I should have figured it out beforehand. This was the case two years ago, when he informed me that he eloped, and it's the case now. It's like watching a movie, and I don't pay enough attention to guess the Big Secret™ ahead of time. Anyways, Congratulations!

Transforming Dinosaur Robot Series

Wow. Only the Japanese would design a dinosaur transformer whose dino head sticks out of the robot's groin. These are not part of the Hasbro/Takara line, but you can purchase knockoff versions of them in Easter baskets at K-Mart (thanks to Dave van Domelen for the info).

(Warning: juvenile comment follows!) I'm just glad they didn't design the pachycephalosaurus toy to have the same function. I can't imagine how many God-fearing parents, okay with dinosaurs to a point, would have thrown out the toys after seeing that hard head.

update on me, and an entertaining link

I don't have much to say today, as I haven't done much lately. I'm making preparations for a trip back to Japan in May, I'm feeling the antici..............pation for graduate school responses, and I've still gotta get rid of a bunch of my toys. Of course, I put all that off to catch up on House, Lost, and Arrested Development lately.

Aeeeeehhhhhnyways, this post is primarily to direct folks to Bill Simmons's report from the "Black Super Bowl," more commonly referred to as the NBA All-Star Game. Even if you don't follow the follow the NBA very much (like myself), you'll still like the stories about Michael Jordan and Roger Clemens's family. That, and hatin' on Houstin'.

(Oh, that was shameless.)

Everyone's a little bit Danish sometimes

Well, I finally saw the cartoons today, and while I don't know how the cartoons resonate with Europeans, where Muslim extremist attacks have been more prolific, I find them fairly stupid overall, except for the one where Muhammad tells suicide bombers that Heaven has run out of virgins.

If an entire religion considers an act offensive, the usual PC reaction is that we respect it. You never hear "God damn" on network television, so why should the Prophet be allowed to be depicted in a newspaper?

That said, the cartoonists don't deserve to be punished, and I fully support Denmark in resisting pressures from Muslim nations. Those who protest violently and threaten the safety of Danish envoys are only proving the point the cartoonists were trying to make.

In a show of solidarity, I will unofficially and temporarily change my name to Johnsen. Stay strong, neighbors to the south.

with the new hybrid model, AC can get 30 mpg

Okay, I didn't notice this when it happened, but it makes perfect sense that Ford discontinued their Bronco model series.

But why does it seem like they replaced it with the Ford Escape?