Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas, the two surviving members of hip-hop/R&B group TLC, have filed suit in a Georgia court charging Discovery Communications, Inc., owner of The Learning Channel, with trademark infringement. The cable channel's logo consists of the three letters T L C in a serif font, under which is placed the motto "Life Unscripted".

"It is obvious," said Watkins, "that Discovery is taking advantage of, and intends to further take advantage of, our collective name and persona without seeking our consent. Our dear friend Left Eye [Lisa Lopes, who was killed in an automobile accident in Honduras in 2002] would never forgive us if we let this matter slide."

"Besides," added Thomas, "we're a lot better looking than Spike Lee."

A spokesman for Discovery Communications said he had not seen the suit, but pointed out that Discovery's rebranding of The Learning Channel took place in 1991, one year before Watkins, Lopes and Thomas formed their group in Atlanta.

(Inspired by this Cam Edwards post)

The secret origin of the term "metrosexual," as filched from a mayonnaise jar on Funk and Wagnalls' porch:

At this writing, Myrtle remains unavailable for comment.

NEW ROME, OH (WATSO*): Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich today lashed out at the Bush administration's space-exploration proposals, calling them "ill-advised" and "unnecessarily bellicose."

"The very idea of going to Mars," said the former Ohio Congressman, "encapsulates everything that's wrong with George Bush. In the first place, it's a red planet. This is yet another example of the Bush administration's schemes to reward its friends and punish its enemies. There is no evidence that Karl Rove, or any of Bush's advisers, made the slightest effort to locate a blue planet for exploration."

Another problem, said Kucinich, is the nature of Mars itself. "It's the planet of war. How many times must we go through this? War, war, war. It's the only thing George Bush knows."

The Kucinich campaign has yet to release formally any alternative plan for space exploration, but the candidate hinted at some of the ideas he'd like to see in such a plan. "We're looking towards Venus, which is, after all, a planet of women, who have been cruelly underrepresented in the space program up to now, and then, perhaps in our second term, Vulcan, where war and hatred have been replaced by reason and logic. As Americans, we deserve no less."

*With apologies to Scott Ott

The history of the Japanese game manufacturer Nintendo goes all the way back to the 80s.

That would be the 1880s.

I knew this — read it somewhere back around 1990 — but I had no idea about Google's origins in the early 1960s.

(Via the ageless Dean Esmay.)

This got past the guardians of decency in Trenton, while actual Jersey girls made fun of my non-vanity Oklahoma plate?

Someone please tell me this is Photoshopped.

(Purloined from Gawker.)

Lesley anticipates the next move by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer:

But had the universe answered its phone, I'm sure it would have said something to the effect of "Bwahahahaha!"

It's not generally known, but the Belle Isle Bridge on Oklahoma City's north side was originally designed as an environmental tool for use in the slowly-warming Arctic: once installed, it would trap ice particles and retain them as long as possible along its surface during the winter, thereby helping to keep the temperature down and the polar-bear habitat intact. When the Canadians refused to pick up their half of the development tab, the inventors abandoned the project and sold the prototype at a substantial discount to ODOT, which put it to use as a mundane transportation module.

Although not like this.

What? You didn't have Maguire University (Chicago, Illinois) on your bracket? Tsk, tsk. Maguire is always a presence at the Big Dance.

(Via Fark.com)

It's even timely, sort of: Great Moments In Rock And Roll History (As Reenacted by Marshmallow Peeps®).

(Purloined from E. M. Zanotti.)

Brokeback Mountain 2: The Fur Traders.

(Recommended by Michael Blowhard.)

You can be a hobbit and still be a redneck. Possible indications:

This will no doubt get me barred from the Shire.

I did actually spot this as a fake when I saw the original magazine article, although not right away; what's bizarre is that I still want one.

Not that I expect Bill Ford to sign off on production plans, but I think they ought to build one for the show circuit, just to make people shriek.

I have some grave doubts about this contraption, but if it ever gets built, I am there, Jack:

Jargon aside, a Trekker (n. a Trekkie who objects to the term "Trekkie") will tell you up front that the first transporter really doesn't matter.

Now the second transporter, that's the important one.

(Beamed up from Tim Blair.)

So how's that giant tsunami in the Atlantic working out?

Fake news item: "Responding to mounting public pressure that the name of the nation's 46th state is offensive to Native Americans, the Oklahoma Legislature has passed and Governor Brad Henry has signed into law legislation that will change the name of the state of Oklahoma effective November 16, 2007. The law, which was drafted by Oklahoma State Senator Polly K. Rekt (I-Bowlegs), calls for a blue-ribbon commission, selected by the Governor, to propose three new names for the state."

From my own Pabst Blue Ribbon commission, the Top Ten Unlikely New Names for the State Previously Known as Oklahoma:

10. Bricktown Adjacent
    
9. Nazareno
   
8. Funnelland
   
7. Shotkickers
   
6. New New Mexico
   
5. Istuchas
   
4. [this space reserved for Rodgers and/or Hammerstein]
   
3. Claynation
   
2. Arrid Extra Dry
   
1. Dustbury [under license]
   

New signage will go up about as soon as we finish cleaning up the rest stops on the Interstates.

"Hey, if the Dark Lord of the Sith wants to indulge his fantasies of being a Japanese schoolgirl, who am I to stand in his way?"

(Courtesy of Dr B.)

The late Shel Silverstein wrote a poem, eventually a song, called "Stacy Brown Got Two", and, well, it goes like this:

Esquire seems to have found him a date.

Seen at OkCupid:

Being slightly less lazy, I went looking, and came up with this:

Of course, this is crossposted over there as well.