Mirror Universe Basketball

In the wake of the Cavs' back-to-back victories over the Hawks, I'm compelled to point out the most interesting thing about the matchup between these two teams. Namely, that it reminds me of one of the classic episodes of the original Star Trek, Mirror, Mirror. One of the more striking aspects of that episode was the visual distinction between Spock and the mirror universe ("evil") Spock: the goatee:




What does this have to do with the Cavs-Hawks? Only that this is a mirror universe matchup. Mike Brown is forced to coach against evil mirror universe Mike Brown (Mike Woodson):





Chilling. Get out of my universe, Hawks.

Mo

From the game I couldn't watch tonight:



And a bonus image from the game:



Gotta love Mo.

There Will Be No Lasting Peace

Obama makes a somewhat obvious point about human nature:

But as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation, I cannot be guided by their examples alone. I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism - it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.

A bit strange to point it out during a Nobel peace prize lecture but okay.

Thanks, ARRA

There's a lot of partisan sniping back and forth these days about how many jobs the stimulus bill has created.

It occurs to me that most of the grants funding my position are most likely derived from money allocated through the stimulus bill earlier this year. So that's one. Thanks, stimulus package!

WAR!

One bit from the Afghanistan speech tonight made me do a bit of a double take:

In Afghanistan, we and our allies prevented the Taliban from stopping a presidential election, and – although it was marred by fraud – that election produced a government that is consistent with Afghanistan’s laws and Constitution.

Okay then.