Are they all out of the same pod or something?

BBC NEWS | Americas | Bush defends US spying programme

That guy Hayden that Dubya wants to put in charge of the CIA looks like Karl Rove's evil twin, doesn't he? Pretty spooky is what I think.

Again.

Roper: "So now you'd give the Devil the benefit of law!"

[Sir Thomas] More: "Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get to the Devil?"

Roper: "I'd cut down every law in England to do that!"

More: "Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you -- where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat. This country's planted thick with laws from coast to coast -- man's laws, not God's -- and if you cut them down -- and you're just the man to do it -- do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of the law, for my own safety's sake."

-A Man For All Seasons, play by Robert Bolt

Magnets?

Wired News: Sneakers Get a Geek Injection: "But now, sneakers do a lot more than simply provide protection for our feet. New models can 'sense an athlete's needs' with computers implanted in the soles, keep feet from getting too sweaty with microholes or even keep a person 'in balance' with strategically placed magnets. And if all else fails, at least they look cool."

Magnets?

European sneaker maker Puma is also following the technology trail. The Chapora sneaker from the company's Nuala collection, created for yoga enthusiasts, contains magnets in its soles for spiritual balance and holistic benefits.

Oh.

I like going barefoot, myself. Not that I do it much in public so you wouldn't know. But I digress.

I've always found it a source of wonderment and a kind of perverted pride that American ingenuity and clean living can take an activity one might do perfectly well in the nude and turn it into a multi-billion dollar fashion industry, shoes being only one small part of that achievement.

I remember a long, long time ago - I'm talking 1940s here, that long - when Keds and Converse ran ads in the back of comic books claiming (Hey Kids!) their shoes would make you jump higher and run faster and get girls. And now look. We have magnets.

Is it working yet?

Here's this guy, just wants a little lick is all.

Man admits foot-fetish assaults on subway - Yahoo! News: "Weir said his motivation was to get to know the women, but he recalled that often they would move away when he tried to 'taste and touch them.'"

I used to ride just about the full length of the New York subway system in the very, very early hours of Saturday and Sunday once a month on my way to Army Reserve meetings in deepest Brooklyn and I thought I had seen, there on the subway, every possible form of human activity, one time or another. But I guess I was wrong. Never saw a guy nibbling toes.

I feel, well, cheated is how I feel. (Reuters, however, helpfully - if not exactly relevantly - illustrates the concept at least.)

Is our children learning yet?

Redneck School Crossing

Maybe he meant "studies a broad."

NPR : The Full College Experience: "Morning Edition, May 11, 2006 · It takes a lot to trigger Wisconsin's 'slacker tax,' but student Johnny Lechner is up to the job. He's decided to forgo his graduation and return to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for his 13th year! That will cost Lechner double in tuition for lounging around campus despite having enough credits to graduate with five degrees. The 29-year-old professional student tells the Wisconsin State Journal that he won't have the full college experience until he studies abroad."

Liz says watch this.

Puree Soiree - naked men

So do I.

Yeah that's the beauty of it.

Print Story: NSA Stymies Justice Dept. Spying Probe on Yahoo! News: "The government has abruptly ended an inquiry into the warrantless eavesdropping program because the National Security Agency refused to grant Justice Department lawyers the necessary security clearance to probe the matter."

Indeed. Secrets. You can't look. We did that in the Army to keep troublesome officers out of our hair. "Sorry, Sir, you can't come in here - it's classified." Worked every time. Problem is, they probably weren't just playing poker at NSA.

Next: the ringtone wars.

Shia ringtone sparks scuffle in Iraqi parliament - World - Times Online: "The fragile state of the sectarian divide in Iraqi politics was exposed today when a fight broke out in parliament after a mobile phone ringtone played a Shia Muslim chant."

An inspirational moment from YAME.

One nice thing about getting old is that you've already done stuff so incredibly dumb that nothing you ever do in the future could possibly be dumber.

I find that comforting, myself.

But it's been raining ever since.

Gotta stay on the green.

Man arrested for drunken mower driving - Boston.com: "Police had the lawn mower towed."

Art glut reaches new height.

<<>>: "What is an Art-o-mat?
Art-o-mat machines are retired cigarette vending machines that have been converted to vend art. There are 82 active machines in various locations throughout the country. "

And in a pinch they can double as inner city classrooms.

LiveScience.com - The President's New Helicopter: "After decades of upgrades to a fleet of notoriously cramped Sikorsky VH-3 Sea Kings, the White House has tasked Lockheed Martin with a dramatic, $6.1-billion makeover of Marine One, the presidential helicopter, starting this summer. The goal: to fit a mobile Oval Office into the tight quarters of a chopper. The new fleet will consist of 23 VH-71 aircraft, each of which will have 200 square feet of cabin space, nearly double the Sea King’s 116."

Yeah you're right, I just made that headline up.

I wonder if they've considered chopper pooling.

What's wrong with this picture?

Isn't it Ionic? Air Purifiers Make Smog - Yahoo! News: "California lawmakers are considering legislation to reduce emissions from indoor air purifiers."

Turns out the air from these things is, ionically, even worse than real. Real air, I mean. Ironically.

There'll always be an England.

Kitchen and bedroom blessings offered by vicars - Yahoo! News: "Individual prayers can be said for every room in the house: For the bedroom, clergy will lay hands on the bed and pray its occupants have a healthy sex life. In the bathroom, they will pray for good health and 'give thanks for sanitation'."

Nice thing to have around, that sanitation.

Nine minutes of the sweetest blues you'll ever hear.

YouTube - Billie Holiday - Fine and Mellow (1957)

Billie sings with Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Gerry Mulligan, Roy Eldridge, Doc Cheatham, Vic Dickenson, Danny Barker, Milt Hinton, and Mal Waldron - a group that makes the term "all-star" seem paltry - in this video (kinescope, more than likely) of a 1957 TV performance. Too bad it doesn't stream more smoothly (or didn't, at least, when I saw it) but even so it's not to miss.

Oh no! Say it isn't so!

Diamonds take a quantum leap to IT security - Network World: "Huntington said the nascent industry already exists in the US and Europe, but commercial systems available today don't send one photon at a time - 'they approximate it'."

Damn. Is nothing sacred? They only approximate sending one photon at a time? I am crushed.

Oh. Why does it matter, you ask? Something about networks and stuff. Who knows? It really doesn't matter any more, does it? No. Not any more. It's over with the photons. I'm not kidding. It is.

Bricks.

Wal-Mart claims it owns smiley face.

Wal-Mart Vies for Right to Put On a Happy Face - Los Angeles Times: "The company says it has officially been using what it calls Mr. Smiley since 1996 and in more limited ways long before that. But the company didn't move to register the trademark until someone else threatened to do so first, Simley said."

And yeah you read that right. The Wal-Mart spokesman is named Simley.

Cinderella dumps prince and pumpkin for Hef and a motorbike.

Former Disney dancer named Playmate of the Year - Yahoo! News: "Monaco, a blonde, hopes to leverage her new role to boost her modeling and acting career."