Here’s Michael looking sharp on the Market Optical blog.

Yes, I came across this portrait of our 40th President at the very end of the White House tour, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t destiny.

Ian is in the band, Deville. He also looks like this statue of Caeser, which gained considerable poularity after Laura mimed it in Caesar’s Palace. There is pretty much nothing else about Ian that I would like you to know at this point.

I’ve really been into user-generated content lately, so I was extremely pleased when Laura sent me this mime from Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.  Three stars for the mime and another half star for navigating the Vegas crowds to find a piece of historical art.

That being said, I’d much rather have a mime of that strange little naked man-child thing holding onto Caesar’s leg.

It may be hard to believe, but this is the only known photo of man doing an impression of Kiefer Sutherland doing a mime of Chief Seattle.

It’s been six months, and I’m finally ready to start talking about Arizona Cardinals football again. I don’t feel entirely bad about stepping away; even this painter doesn’t want to approach the topic of whether Santonio Holmes actually had both feet on the ground when he caught the go-ahead touchdown pass in the Super Bowl.

One of my favorite memories from our recent trip to St. Louis was visiting Citygarden, a downtown oasis full of lush plantings and impressive sculptures, which, in addition to a system of 102 water fountains known as “Splash Plaza” (aka “hookworm central”, in the background), features a 14′ 7-1/2″ painted bronze statue of Pinocchio that is perfect for public miming.

When AnHUGE and I volunteered for Servathon 2009, we weren’t thinking about individual recognition or accolades. We were thinking about America’s youth and their right to an enriching educational experience. But, I suppose when you dedicate a single Saturday morning each year to cleaning and painting elementary school bathrooms, you’re bound to inspire at least one piece of public art. This year, our commitment to teamwork, excellence, and yellow-green doors led to this beautiful artwork on the Wilbur J. Cohen Building (across from the Air and Space Museum).

What will we inspire next year?

Check out Bioephemera’s very thoughtful blog post about the Defense Department’s new audio webcast, Armed with Science, which I host every Wednesday at 2pm ET. In her post, she discusses this week’s interview with former AAAS Fellow, Dr. Mark Drapeau, a researcher at National Defense University’s Center for Technology and National Security Policy, who is studying how social technologies are impacting the way government agencies share information, collaborate, and communicate with the public. After reading her post, you should visit Pentagon Web Radio by clicking here and listen to our interview with Dr. Drapeau, as well as our previous shows. They are really interesting.

Bioephemera also mentions in her post the soon-to-be world famous send-off, “You’ve been SCIENCED,” but she incorrectly gives me credit for inventing the term. Indeed, I take full credit for bringing this phenomenon into popular culture, but it was Bioephemera herself who actually turned “science” into a verb. What a concept!

There is no limit to the number of ways in which you can use “science” as an action word. Feel free to come up with your own and post them in the comments section. Let’s try a few to get things started. This is fun!

“If you’re not busy for lunch, I’d like to science you.”

“I got scienced four times this morning on the way to work.”

“Science THIS!”

“Don’t mind him. He inadvertently sciences people all the time.”

“Stop sciencing me. No, seriously, I’m not kidding. Stop.”

From Michael’s “Based on a True Story” series of thank you cards. Talk about a crazy night!

The color schemes in these MmmmDunford birthday cards suggests a commonality between the two characters. The color schemes, however, do not explain the bow tie, the flames, the mini skull, “hi rodney!”, “dad?”, the beer gut, the floating head, or the roller skates.

Another memorable moment from our Plaid Tidings experience came when Jen and I were picking up our tickets at will call. Much to Jen’s dismay, I was suddenly reminded of our first Phoenix Coyotes hockey game together with Pejman and Richard. As you will find, this was not Jen’s day. As we were walking to the arena, someone mentioned that we needed to pick up the tickets from will call, to which Jen asked, “Who is this Will guy you are supposed to meet?”. After several attempts to convince her that we were not meeting someone named “William Call”, we came to realize that we were on the wrong side of the stadium, to which Jen asked, “Why can’t we just walk through the stadium to get to the box office? It would be much faster than going around.” We let that one slide, and everything went well for Jen until the 3rd period when Coyotes player Dallas Drake scored an important goal. We stood and chanted along with the rest of the crowd “Dallas Drake! Dallas Drake!”. Had Jen not continued to chant after the crowd quieted down, we wouldn’t have noticed her singing “Tell it straight! Tell it straight! Tell it straight!”.

Ok, back to the present. After the play, Jen, Joy, Ivonne, Carlos, and I gathered at the Cinema Deluxe to see the final installment of The Lord of the Rings. As was done for The Matrix Revolutions, I reserved prime seats in the IMAX theater, setting up what was going to be the greatest movie experience of the year. That is, until the previews were preempted with a message stating that this film was being shown on standard 35mm film and was not designed to take advantage of the IMAX video or sound quality. In other words, we paid 15 bucks to sit in comfortable chairs and watch The Return of the King projected onto a pretty big screen. I sincerely hope the mix-up wasn’t directly related to my disappointment with the movie. Well, that’s enough of ROTK talk… I’m going to write a review tomorrow and then post it along with several others.

* Do People Know They Are Doing This of the Day: Making the quotation mark gesture with their fingers while saying words “that” don’t need to be quoted.

* Movie Quote of the Day: “It’s the deep breath before the plunge.”

First and foremost, what is the deal with the marijuana? There are signs outside of the Hollywood Bowl venue that clearly state “No Smoking At Any Time”, which if my translation skills are accurate means: No Smoking At Any Time. I’m not sure which part of this rule is causing the confusion. We found ourselves surrounded by people “hitting up the MaryJane” constantly throughout the performance. Frankly, it makes no sense to me at all. None of Radiohead’s songs are about drugs–at least, since you can’t understand what he’s saying, they really aren’t about anything–and I’ve never seen them publicly endorse mind-altering substances, yet it seems as though fans were obligated to smoke the “reefer” like it was going out of fashion. I felt like I was at a Bone Thugz N Harmony concert right in the middle of their classic song “Bud Smokers Only”. Well, I suppose I can’t complain too much, as the “hash” smells slightly better than tobacco cigarettes. Plus, both Jen and I came away with a moderate marijuana high due to the enormous second-hand smoke that we inhaled. I think they call this phenomenon being “clam-baked”, with “they” referring to people who smoke “grass” way too much.

If the widespread “weed” consumption was annoying, then the dancing was absolutely infuriating. I seriously can only think of a few times in my life when I have been more annoyed. Now, I recognize the role of body movements and swaying, often termed “groovin”, but there is absolutely no place for dancing at a Radiohead concert. The standard “White Man’s Overbite” is acceptable, as is an occasional fist in the air, but beyond that, you are completely out of line. The general audience is there to watch, listen, and appreciate this work of art, not avoid flailing arms and legs that move randomly though the air as if independent from the rest of your torso.

What really sent me over the edge was hearing people sing out loud while they danced. Anyone who knows anything about Radiohead songs will agree that, except for a few lyrics, they are making zero sense. There is generally nothing that can be taken from the words. No themes, no stories, not even general concepts relating to the human condition. Nothing. For all I know, the aren’t even speaking a derivative of the English language. Plus, let’s be honest, I paid for my $80 ticket to hear RADIOHEAD perform, not some strung out hippie with a raspy voice and not a clue in the world what he’s singing. If you are going to ruin the performance for everyone around you, at least learn the words. Come on. Also, what is the point of screaming “Wooooooo!” in the middle of the song. We know you appreciate the performance. This is evidenced by your purchase of an $80+ ticket and your presence at the concert. If you really need to cheer them on–which seems unnecessary in itself considering they are on a world-wide tour and must be well aware that people enjoy their music–couldn’t it at least wait until after the song is finished so they could actually hear you?

Well, anyway…

The performance itself was absolutely incredible. They played all but two songs from the newest album, as well as the mandatory selections like Karma Police, Paranoid Android, and Idioteque. For those of you who aren’t familiar with their music, I would recommend downloading a few songs and listening to them one night while you’re relaxing before bed. I don’t claim to be any kind of music historian or expert on music trends, but I do know that Radiohead is really putting out some quality music. Lindsor was exactly right when she said that Radiohead has put out five of the best albums in the last 20 years and nobody really understands that right now. Of course, it was clearly evident from the concert that trendiness of Radiohead is certainly catching on. Otherwise, one wouldn’t see people dancing or singing like banshees and smoking “hydro” like there is no tomorrow. Again, this is not to say that I’m some kind of hardcore fan from the beginning. I sure wish I could “discover” their music all over again.

And, there you have it.

* Stranger Than Hell Radiohead Lyric of the Day:

Ice age coming
Ice age coming
Let me hear both sides
Let me hear both sides
Let me hear both
Ice age coming
Ice age coming
Throw it on the fire
Throw it on the fire
Throw it on the

* Movie Quote of the Day: “Hello, Mr. Braithwaite.”

* Movie Quote of the Day: “John Dunbar?”

• Libby: Did you hear about that guy who was decapitated by the elevator?
  Emily: No, I missed that headline.
• As we walk into Starbucks, Joy proclaiming “I think I’m going to buy some coffee!”.
• A random lab story: A few of the researchers in our lab were chatting one day, when Jeff, an MD-PhD student, claimed to have used the rodent rectal probe to measure his temperature. He said he was feeling ill and figured the rectal probe would be as accurate as any thermometer. Of course, he was 100% joking. Unfortunately, another MD student rotating in our lab didn’t catch on to the joke. A few weeks later, she started feeling warm, and proceeded to wipe the rectal probe with alcohol and measure her temperature through her ear. Were it not for the unspeakable horrors that I perform everyday in the name of science, this incident would be one of the more disgusting things I’ve ever heard.
• Somebody signed my guestbook under the name “Frank the Frankenstein Foreskin” with the following message (which will never be posted because this anonymous person has no brain):
  

  “He he. John and I go way back. We used to be naked models together for some art people round town. Then our lives came to a crossroads. John made up his silly little mind to become a neuroscientist while I decided to fulfill my dream of becoming a sex actor. We were great together John my man! They didn’t call you John the Bomber for nothin’!”

• A portion of the mural outside the elevator on my floor. My question: What could possibly be going on behind the scene that is producing this man’s facial expression?
  

* Movie Quote of the Day: “I’m dancing…”