Is it rude to diet? This speaks to frustration - while the typical New Zealand woman does not suffer from the diet fad du jour, combinations and permutations of dietary preferences (oh, so you're a vegan who doesn't eat onions or garlic - how interesting) often sees dinner parties organised according to who I can feed as much as any other factor.

"Let's say 1 cookie equals $10 billion..." Ben Cohen explains the federal budget with Oreos. [Flash.]

Remember John Bobbitt? Here's a slice of his life, a cutting-edge update as to his whereabouts during the last few years. As Ex-Wife No. 2 reports on his famous fixture, "It looked like a little pig wrapped in a blanket." (Via the ever-amusing/amazing PervScan.)

5ives. Yo Monkey, what's your 5? Here's mine: more inside

This word deserves to live. Use it today. Do it for Languagehat, because you know he'd do it for you.

I am in my bedroom in the palace. There is a four-poster bed, and not much else. A portrait hangs on the wall. An exit leads north. And if you get lost, there is always the Coles' Notes, now presented in ever so convenient Power Point. [via Metafilter] more inside

The Birds First crows are making tools, and then a complaining parrot. Now there's one with a sense of humor, too.

Where No Economist Has Gone Before Former Reagan administration economist Paul Craig Roberts compared today's taxes "with that of a 19th century American slave." According to him many 19th century slaves came out better. Slaves in that situation were as free as today's American taxpayer to choose their housing from the available stock, purchase their food and clothing, and entertain themselves. In fact, they were freer than today's American taxpayer. By hard work and thrift, they could save enough to purchase their freedom. Roberts must be getting talking points from Grover (I compare the estate tax to the holocaust) Norquist.

Call Immediately ATTENTION: Anyone who was at the Ka'u - St. Joseph game at Ka'u last Sat. Jan. 24 We lost the game by 3 points and have filed an official protest to BIIF officials. Anyone who was at the game who did a video of the incident where the score keeper hit the buzzer "accidentally" as our boys were deep into Ka'u territory about to make goal, please call my office immediately at 935-4936. As you may know, the buzzer froze our guys, resulting in a Ka'u player gaining possession of the ball and running it all the way across the court to score. Our protest is not only about the "accidental" buzzer incident, it is also about the referees allowing the Ka'u score to stand. Mahalo for your kokua in helping us find a video of the incident if it exists.

The Scary Guy: The New Face of Love
The next step in the "Scared Straight" program yields mixed results.

Iceland's Beautiful, Horrible Desolation. You think YOU'RE cold? This is how it must look when they turn off the sun...

On the Origins of singing in the bath: ...when those who enjoy a hot bath inhale the air of the bath, so that the heat of the air enters their spirits and makes them hot, they are found to experience joy. It often happens that they start singing, as singing has its origin in gladness. More quotes (taxation, posting, gravitation, relationships, goodness) by Ibn Khald more inside

Razzie Award Nominee Have Been Announced Gigli leads the pack with nine nominations, followed by Cat-In-The-Hat, and From Justin To Kelly. Ben Affleck scored a hat trick by being nominated for Gigli, Daredevil, and (the title says it all) Paycheck. Sylvester Stallone received his 30th nomination for his versatile performance playing five characters in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.

Monkey time explained. Wondered what "UTC" meant? I did. "Coordinated Universal Time" didn't mean much to me, until I found this. The passage of time can be measured so accurately that the rotation of the earth can be seen to be variable. UTC allows these people to add leap seconds to our clocks.

Has your hedgehog been pestering you about volunteer opportunities? Put that hedgie to work for charity at the second-annual Wheel-A-Thon! Let's just hope there isn't too much self-anointing going on.

The Cell-Phone Gun. A REAL killer app... [Warning: Quicktime. Via Gizmodo]

Hutton! Hutton! Hutton! Discuss... more inside

Moby Games. An extensive database of videogames (a computer game IMDB, basically). The Killer List of Videogames, a site devoted to just arcade machines. Which is part of The International Arcade Museum, a site devoted to all coin operated machines. more inside

The sound of joy Speaking of beautiful music, (or something), have we all been Winged yet? Indispensable.

Papal blessing for break-dancers VATICAN CITY (AP) -- In an unusual spectacle at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II presided over a performance of break-dancers who leaped, flipped and spun their bodies to beats from a tinny boom box.