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.

It's Not Easy Being Green

Vowing to make New York City the center of the scientific universe — as it is for commerce, art and expensive dining — a panel of university presidents, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein of New York, the actor Alan Alda, the Columbia physicist Brian Greene and a Muppet announced plans on Wednesday for a World Science Festival to be held here at the end of May.

That's from the lead of The New York Times story about the late May event. The Muppet Newsflash confirms that the Muppet present at the announcement was Dr. Bunsen Honeydrew, pictured above. Unfortunately Dr. Honeydrew is missing from the list of the festival's speakers. Those included in the line-up: Francis Collins, Ira Flatow, and Oliver Sacks (but not Kermit). Dr. Greene, whose last book is on string theory -- and who is among the festival's speakers -- told the Times that the festival will not be about "fun" science. "This is the real thing," he said. (Soon after, Dr. Greene was sprayed with a can of silly string by Dr. Honeydrew).