And you know it would happen in the Superbowl I didn't watch

Well, there was at least one other person who missed the whole Janet Jackson thing (which, with a warning, you can see in detail here) at the Superbowl other than myself -- George Bush. Now, while I at least can say that I boycotted the game, Bush's excuse is that he missed the controversy because he fell asleep before halftime. Hopefully he'll be more upbeat for the upcoming election, as a Guardian article points out that he's in for a tough ride if John Kerry wins the nomination. Why? Well, not because the massive deficits (although that's getting to be a larger and larger problem), or even the WMD problem, but rather because Kerry polls very, very well with Catholics, particularly of the male variety that voted predominately for Bush in 2000.

The New York Times has a decent piece on Kerry today focusing on his style. Of course, I'm still hoping the John Edwards will have a good showing tonight, but like almost any Democrat, I'll be supporting whoever is not George Bush.

Despite talk of its demise, it looks like Hubble is still making crucial discoveries, today detecting carbon and oxygen in the atmosphere of a planet about 150 light years away. This doesn't indicate extraterrestrial life, as the oxygen appeared in atomic form as opposed to a molecular form that is the result of photosynthesis, but still represents an important discovery.

In updates:
- Ariel Sharon is sticking to his plan to evacuate the Gaza Strip despite vocal opposition. Public opinion polls put support at 59% though, so it might work out for him in the end.
- The debate in the French parliament over the banning of overt religious symbols is about to begin.
- Students in Iran have been banned from staging a pro-reformist demonstration.

Finally, in a piece that I personally identified with, it looks like I'm not the only church musician who inserts secular music into the service for his/her own amusement. The BBC has a story about church organists doing exactly that. Now, I haven't used the theme from the Blackadder yet, but reading this story did give me some valuable ideas...