Whoops. I looked up Phineas Gage (iron bar dude) and he was affected mentally. The surprising part was his lack of dying. [link]

If your plantains are potatoey you're eating the wrong ones, or too soon. They're so much sweeter than bananas. They're okay boiled, but fried in thick slices they're breakfast candy. That was the food we'd get in trouble for as kids--we were always obsessive about their fair allocation, and my mother hates when you count food.

Get Jamaicans near a buffet with fried plantains, and you'll see a happy people.

I made this half-pony half-monkey monster to please you
But I get the feeling that you don’t like it
What’s with all the screaming?
You like monkeys, you like ponies
Maybe you don’t like monsters so much
Maybe I used too many monkeys
Isn’t it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you?

-- Jonathan Coulton, "Skullcrusher Mountain"

From Slashdot:

Anonymous Coward writes "A librarian at Brandeis University forced the FBI to obtain a warrant to seize computers used to send threats. From the article: 'Federal Bureau of Investigation agents tried to seize 30 of the library's computers without a warrant, saying someone had used the library's Internet connection to send the threat to Brandeis. But the library director, Kathy Glick-Weil, told the agents they could not take the machines unless they got a warrant first. Newton's mayor, David Cohen, backed Ms. Glick-Weil up. After a brief standoff, FBI officials relented and sought a warrant from a judge.'"

[link]

I don't know why the FBI just didn't have Bush call the library and tell them to turn the computers over without a warrent.

Whyyyyy did I come to work today?

My guess. Money.

No matter what, I could not NOT watch, at least up until Leomeo drives off into the desert with Balthazar Getty.

kat p! I LOVE YOU! I kept trying to place Balthazar Getty cause he kept looking familiar and I couldn't do it. SO thank you for the help!

Mmm...plaintains. Maybe I should go to Porto's again. But only if I ride my bike. Which means won't happen.

Sundance Channel Alert!

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"Slings & Arrows," second-season premiere 8 p.m. Feb. 19, first- season encore marathon 3 p.m. Feb. 18, Sundance Channel.

This Canadian import is searingly spot-on and seems effortlessly great, probably helped by having only six episodes per season.

Revolving around a group of actors at the New Burbage Theatre Festival (purveyors of all things Shakespeare), the series attempts to mix art with commerce, real life with drama. It focuses on Geoffrey (the superb Paul Gross), an actor turned director who ran a theater that stood on its values but never attracted an audience.

He was once as thick as thieves with his mentor, Oliver (Stephen Ouimette), and with the love of his life, fellow thespian (and aging star) Ellen (Martha Burns).

But the bitterly mean Oliver was killed while drunk (he now reappears in death) and Geoffrey had to put away thoughts of selling out and instead become artistic director of the New Burbage Festival, where he manages to pull off "Hamlet" despite myriad woes (Mark McKinney of "Kids in the Hall" and indie film guru Don McKellar also star).

In the second season, all hell continues to break loose while Geoffrey must stage "the most jinxed play in theatrical history" -- "Macbeth."

*********

Highly recommend this show to all Buffistas.

My guess. Money.

Yeah, all right.

He throws away the mad scientist and pig-man vote

The pigmen are always marginalized.

Listen! Can you hear the weeping of the pigmen...?