News Tidbits

• Jill Carroll recounts her harrowing ordeal in the hands of Iraqi kidnappers. This is apparently the first in a ten-part series. It’s way too early to tell, but I predict they’ll give her the Pulitzer for this: a token of appreciation for her sacrifice.

• Pluto is finally up for final deliberation as to it’s status: is it a planet, an asteroid, or just a big rock? I personally believe the rule should go as follows: anything with enough mass and gravity to squeeze itself into a near sphere, and with an orbit in the same plane as that of the main solar disc, should get the nod of planetdom. Of course, this could open the field to countless new objects– a crisis in sentimentality for sure. Maybe the answer is to award the original nine a special designation and consider them first among equals, but I leave that to smarter and more dedicated individuals than I.

• Exploring the move toward casual dress in the workplace.

• Poor Boy George.