Good Enough for Me

Good ol' Cookie Monster. "As opposed to many of us who need many things to try and make us happy, he only needs one thing, and that's a cookie," says Frank Oz. "That is his one obsession, and he's insatiable." This NPR interview and article on the "sensuous" muppet is cute cute cute. (Among the features, Cheryl Hansen's explanation of where all the cookies go and Cookie Monster singing the "C is for Cookie" song were my favorites). It's Friday! Have a cookie, you deserve it.

Imports vs. Exports: Bring it On!

The "Indian Premier League," a brand new 44-day 59-match cricket extravaganza (and "one of the largest and most- promising new business opportunities in India in recent years," according to Bloomberg's Andy Mukherjee) is quickly gaining on "Barack Obama" in Google Trends rankings! This surely in part due to the controversy erupting around the IPL's decision to import cheerleaders -- like those of the Washington Redskins (who apparently, may not even have Indian work permits) -- to spice up the sidelines. "What the cheerleaders are doing during cricket matches is ten times more vulgar than what used to happen in dance bars of Mumbai," Nitin Gadkari, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra told Reuters. (As for "what used to happen in dance bars of Mumbai," well, the BJP worked to ban it.) The counterpoint of course: "Our stars wear skimpy dresses in movies but nobody seems to protest. Why this double standards?" Why indeed? As the spectator interviewed in this Washington Post video puts it, "Sexuality and cricket is the way forward!"