Quick Hits

Google is slowly merging with Blogger, so we're currently going through some growing pains. It took me quite a while to log in tonight, and I hope that this isn't a sign of things to come. Ultimately, though, it let me in, so here we are now. I've got a handful of things that have been hanging around for a while, so I should probably mention them before they get too stale.

• I never did comment on the Prez's reading Camus's The Stranger. The obvious question is why would he be reading it (no, the obvious question is does anybody really believe that he actually read it), and I suppose one reason might be that he found Sartre too happy and effervescent. My first thought was that he heard it was the inspiration for the early Cure song "Killing an Arab" and thought it would be right up his alley.

• A recent Zogby poll discovered that while 25 percent of the American public can name two Supreme Court justices, 75 percent can name two of the Seven Dwarves. That's a bit surprising, because there are two more SC justices available to remember. The poll even had a comics connection. Only 37 people knew Mercury was closest to the sun, but a full 60 percent could name Superman's home planet, Krypton. The oddest comparison was that 74 percent could name the Three Stooges, but only 42 percent could identify the three branches of government. I don't get it. These days, aren't they essentially the same thing?

• Back a few months ago, I noted that Kevin Drum was thinking about going to Worldcon in Anaheim this year. Well, the con starts in a couple of days, and not only has Kevin decided to go, he's going to be on a handful of panels. If anybody else reading this is going to Worldcon, have fun!

• Osama bin Laden's professed sex slave, Kola Boof, is claiming that Osama had a huge crush on Whitney Houston, even to the point of considering having Bobby Brown killed. She also mentioned that Osama enjoyed Playboy and that his favorite TV shows were The Wonder Years, Miami Vice, and MacGyver. I'm sorry, but I've got nothing to add that can possibly make that funnier or more oddball.