Random Comments

I was looking at a local newspaper's "entertainment" section, and a regular feature caught my attention in two ways.

First, the feature, called "To the Nines," had "points" labeled 1-10. This, in and of itself, was obviously screwed up, and close examination revealed that there were nine items, but someone (or something, if there was an automated process) omitted the 7 in the count.

The other thing was not particularly direct, but a common sort of misconception implicit in the coverage. Criticizing President Bush is currently so popular it feels like it must be going out of style (I suppose it is, since he'll only be in office for a few more months), and this feature, species named after "celebrities," put him at the top because of the distinct honor he had received... having a slime mold beetle named after him.

A lot of people have had good laughs over this. I know for a fact that it must be so. But nothing could be more ironic about the laughs people are having... because the scientists who named the beetle (and many others) intended it as an actual honor because they admire Bush.

Now, I know this sounds implausible-not the honoring part, but the idea that there are Republican scientists-but it's true. And as further evidence that they did in fact intend it as an honor, by the way, are the other beetles which they named after Darth Vader and their wives. No joke.

Honor or not, there's a good chance they were in the doghouse for a few weeks after that.