Spy vs. Spy
The empire* strikes back: spylink. I like the line about the British expulsion of the Russian diplomats threatening to "jeopardise (sic) co-operation on counter-terrorism;" I compliment the flair of whomever wrote this piece. Considering that the Russian intelligence and security services have been subtly accused of poisoning to death a British citizen with an exotic radioactive toxin, I should think that itself would constitute an act of state-sponsored terrorism, aimed as much at silencing other expatriate dissidents as at punishing the late Mr. Litvinenko, and thus by definition place in grave jeopardy Anglo-Russian counter-terrorism efforts. I am sorry Mr. Litvinenko is dead and I do not wish to return to the bad old days when agents of the Kremlin prowled the world with virtual impunity, executing whomever was perceived as a threat to the Rodina, but I'd be a monkey's uncle before I denied that this story is a hell of a lot of fun. This, my friends, is the closest real-world analog to the exploits of 007.

*Empire? I have to believe that Putin would love to transition from being President of the Russian Federation to Tsar of the Russian Empire. We just need to install a new German Kaiser at Potsdam at it will be the Belle Époque born anew!

The Hoax With the Most
In the immortal words of the 1966 film Batman, "Success! Success! They've done it! They've done it!": hoaxlink. The more I learn about The Big Donor Show, the more I admire the people behind it. And, saints be praised, the hoax appears to have had the intended effect. Huzzah!

Godzilla?
I do not mean to make light of the loss of life and destruction of property wrought by the earthquake, but this is just begging for levity: radioactive material leaked into the sea? I think we all know how this ends. Godzillalink. This is why were I to ever relocate to Japan I'd live in the frozen north of Hokkaido, not in hipster Tokyo, epicenter of Japan's crazy and completely awesome pop culture and frequent target of rampages by giant atomic monsters. Compared to that, battling the dreaded snow monkeys on Hokkaido would be a walk in the proverbial ravenous monkey-infested park.

Emily the Strange
Emily doesn't cheat...

...she plays by her own rules.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
The Teen Idols, "Ketchup Soup" from Short Music for Short People (T.L.A.M.)