Here’s a follow up on the Annie Jacobsen article I mentioned a few days ago: “Undercover federal air marshals on board a June 29 Northwest airlines flight from Detroit to LAX identified themselves after a passenger, ?overreacted,? to a group of middle-eastern men on board, federal officials and sources have told KFI NEWS. The passenger, later identified as Annie Jacobsen, was in danger of panicking other passengers and creating a larger problem on the plane, according to a source close to the secretive federal protective service.”

Pulp’s song Common People, covered by none other than William Shatner. (It’s better than you might think! I mean, it’s still not good, but…)

I’m not sure what to think now that Shatner has moved on from butchering Beatles and Sinatra tunes to singing stuff from one of my favourite albums ever. Either I’m getting older, or William Shatner is getting hipper. I prefer to think it’s the latter.

I’m back in one of my moods where I try to avoid the news because my blood pressure simply can’t handle it, but this stupid, racist, incendary article about a woman who had 14 Syrians on her plane has travelled around the Internet enough in the last week that I simply can’t ignore it. Salon has an excellent front page article dismissing the story that I recommend you read. (You will have to watch an ad to get daily access to Salon. You can avert your eyes, but the article really is worth it.)

Look, after 9/11 and the generally fucked up state of the world right now we’re all a little on edge, and there’s no shame in that. However, we’re not all writing vaguely made-up articles in the mainstream media promoting racial profiling and a reduction of civil liberties. (She quotes Ann Coulter, for goodness sake, and, truely, sincerely, everyone knows Ann is mad as a hatter.) So be scared, be cautious, and if a musical band consisting of 14 Syrians in matching jumpsuits gets on your plane and it makes you nervous, that’s fine too. Just don’t go writing articles and trying to score political points off of it.

McSweeney’s muses on the implausibility of the Death Star’s trash compactor.

More weirdness with dogs: Death metal band Caninus has two pit bulls as the lead singers. So it’s virtually indistinguishable from most death metal, then.

Spider-man vs. Doc Ock.. in Lego!

If Fahrenheit 9/11 didn’t come to theaters in your neck of the woods, someone has already published an unofficial transcript of the entire movie. It’s posted on a pro-Bush weblog, of all things, but it’s a handy resource for the forces of good, too.

Stop supporting those sneaky pacifist liberals with your condiments! New “W Ketchup comes in one flavor: American“. Best served with freedom fries, I assume…

More stupid stuff from eBay: a fur coat for your dog. The look on the model dog’s face is priceless. (And really, um, don’t dogs come with their own fur coats?)

For those who haven’t seen this yet: a public toilet made of one-way mirrors. Talk about performance anxiety!

My new favourite absurd attack on Michael Moore: calling him Maochael Moore. Man, some of these over-zealous defenders of the right crack me up. (PS: Yes, I have seen F911, and yes, you should go see it too.)

I’m in a really good mood. I’m on the “love” side of the eternal love-hate relationship with my job. I’ve had some nice times with friends lately that I didn’t expect. The cat managed for the first time to throw up a hairball near, but not on, the fancy living room rug. I (okay, Mr. Pith, but same diff) beat that f!*$ing racing penguin in the snow level of Mario 64. Various things have proven that life is just as random and strange as it ever was, and I really like it that way. So, tomorrow I fully expect to be crushed by a freak asteroid or trampled by an escaped elephant or something. (Personal to TTB: Miss you!)