That's the place. I hear the spinach is marked waaaaay down

I work in the historical collections of a biological sciences society. The strobe-lit sneeze is one of a series used to demonstrate the relative sneeze-product suppressing efficacy of various types of material (silk hankie, cloth, etc.) The image here is the control. Aren't you sorry you asked?

We also have a cool 1950s era photo of a small store in Utah named E. Coli Grocery, but I didn't think the name would show up in the small format.

After his recent trip to Texas I wouldn't be surprised if Peter is already proudly sporting an "Honorary Texan" tattoo. Except down there they call 'em brands.

Shouldn't the girls have been asking "May I kiss you?" And doesn't this further indict the school system? First things first.

Terry: I am surprised he didn't send Jay Z and Beyonce however..

They'll be part of his entourage when he attends the 60-years-too-late funerals of those two butchers down in Havana. Ayres, Dohrn, Van Jones, etc., all wearing Che T-shirts.

Another phrase that deserves wider use is "You're not the boss of me." Perhaps saying it often enough to politicians and bureaucrats can help make it true.

I know the phrase was featured in the theme song to Malcolm in the Middle. You may discuss among yourselves the show's conservative elements (e.g., when Lois is out of town, Hal reverts back to being just like the boys: marriage civilizes men)

I think Paul Revere looks more like Rob Long.

And, though they are just about contemporaries, there's a scary/amusing resemblance between Helen Thomas and Keith Richards these days.

John Walker: Some years ago, I watched the Super Bowl on French television, and the play-by-play announcer would say, «Troisième tentative et quatre mètres.»

John, that reminds me of a story a buddy told me years ago: he saw a classic American western ("Shane?") with French subtitles. When a cowboy walked into the bar and said "Gimme a shot of red eye," it was rendered as "Donnez-moi un Dubonnet."

It's less funny if you remember that we probably paid for it

Merina, I agree with your characterization of the whole appearance as creepy, but am less sanguine about creepiness somehow working against the Obamas: didn't we all think that the Julia and Lena Dunham ads were creepy? the "make a campaign donation in lieu of a wedding gift" deal? Joe Biden and the biker chick?

At their creepiest, these people will just turn into the lovable Addams Family (OK, Joe is Uncle Fester; fill in the rest yourselves...)

I agree that this clip presents a pretty scary level of ignorance and misunderstanding of the role of government, and that Rock is clearly out of his element. But we shouldn't just dismiss it as celebrity drivel: back in the Fall we all found the Julia and Lena Dunham ads both risible and  frightening, the result of a mad desperation on the part of the Obama campaign. But in the end that sort of infantilization coupled with a cult of personality seems to have carried the day.

I recently saw an SUV whose back window had those cute line drawings of the family members, in this case Mom and two kids; right next to them was one of the Socialist-Realist head-shot Obama campaign stickers. 'Nuf said

Will there BE a halftime show next year in New Jersey? Not even Dicky Betts can play when it's 15 degrees out.

Anybody want to start a philosophical discussion of the salary cap, especially vis a vis baseball? I've got a feeling it's going to devastate the Ravens this year.

• Sam Donaldson - Whose country? Loved him chasing Reagan on his way to the helicopter. Always a joke.

Bill Kristol earned at least one plenary indulgence about 20 years ago on the Brinkley show. The group was discussing the 55 mph speed limit and Donaldson told of driving around the Beltway at 55, with a camera crew recording the reactions of other (faster) drivers. To paraphrase him, "We got all kinds of shouted curses and rude gestures." To which Kristol replied "Are you sure it wasn't just because they recognized you?"

To his credit, Donaldson genuinely laughed

Whichever embassy she goes to, I'm sure it will be well-secured. Maybe if Chris Stevens had bundled some contributions in '08.....

Here's an actual "definition" of social justice, from a wall plaque in the Ida B. Wells Social Justice Lounge at the university where I work:

Social justice is an actively promoted practical philosophy that guides our attitudes, behaviors, moral judgments, standards, interests and activism toward upholding and conforming to principles that reflect what is honorable, fair, compassionate, valid within the law, suitable, fitting and based on facts and sound reasoning, as we strive to partner with the rest of humanity in the quest for a harmonious quality of life in local, national and international contexts

Clear enough? Clearer is the panoply of heroes adorning another wall: Bono, Rigoberta Menchu, Cesar Chavez, Kofi Annan, Betty Friedan, and Bono (whose guitar is shaped like Africa), among others

Sajak needs to step up with some new clues on his "fringe" show:

S_CR_T_RY  _F  ST_T_  J_HN  B_LT_N

_B_M_C_R_  D_L_ND_  _ST

S_PR_M_  C_ _RT  J_ST_C_  J_HN  Y__ 

If the HHS Secretary can do it while she's working, so can he.

There's some wonderfully understated craziness in many of J. P. Donleavy's books. My favorites (though not re-read for many a year) are The Onion Eaters and The Unexpurgated Code. The former cries out for a movie.

I also remember laughing out loud at parts of John Barth's The Sot-Weed Factor, but I'm not about to go slogging through a couple hundred pages of colonial Maryland history to find the good parts