Trend? --

from Nimoy Sunset Pie (thanks, Ben!), which presents 93 variations on that theme to date; see also Selleck Waterfalls Sandwich and Bea Arthur Mountains Pizza -- or is it just one creator?

(ggremlin notes, in the Star Trek episode, “Revenge of the Possessed Computer,” Spock commands the computer, “Compute to the last significant digit the value of pi,” and the computer responds, “Pi, Pi!, I’ll give you PI!!!” However, Eric Weisstein and others i.d. the episode as "Wolf in the Fold.")

What Cheney's Chernobyl Looks Like, So Far

"Mississippi River water (left) meets sea water and an oil slick that has passed inside of the protective barrier formed by the Chandeleur Islands, off the coast of Louisiana, on May 7, 2010."

Per dailykos, an "acoustic switch" costing $500,000 could have prevented the catastrophe; the failsafe is required in off-shore drilling platforms in most of the world, but not the U.S. This requirement among others was eliminated following Dick Cheney's secret meetings with oil industry reps during W's first term.

Lots more great images at boston.com.

Social Security Reform Made Easy

What You're Not Seeing Elsewhere Re- the Gulf Oil Slick

Apparently, one corporate media reporter did attempt to visit the "Oil Spill Command Center"; see "No Press Allowed? . . . ."

A flashmob infiltrates the Westin St. Francis hotel in San Francisco in support of a boycott called by the hotel workers, who are fighting to win a fair contract and affordable healthcare:

Endgame at The Undermain

(Dallas) – seen tonight; utterly brilliant on all levels. This play launched a thousand literary/artistic ships, and I doubt you'll ever find it better-acted or -produced.

Per Wikipedia,

"The protagonist of the play is Hamm, an aged master who is blind and not able to stand up, and his servant Clov, who cannot sit down. They exist in a location by the sea, although the dialogue suggests that there is nothing left outside – no sea, no sun, no clouds. The two characters, mutually dependent, have been fighting for years and continue to do so as the play progresses. Clov always wants to leave but never seems to be able. Also present are Hamm's legless parents Nagg and Nell, who live in rubbish bins downstage and initially request food or argue inanely."

If that doesn't snag you, what will. More info, tix at Undermain.

Absolute Oligarchy: 6 Banks Control 60% Of GNP

Bill Moyers Journal / By Bill Moyers

Moyers: Six Banks Control 60% of Gross National Product -- Is the U.S. at the Mercy of an Unstoppable Oligarchy?
Moyers and economists James Kwak and Simon Johnson wonder whether the financial powers are more profitable, and more resistant to regulation than ever.
April 23, 2010

* * * * *

You say that two years after the devastating financial crisis of '08 our country is still at the mercy of an oligarchy that is bigger, more profitable, and more resistant to regulation than ever. Correct?

Simon Johnson: Absolutely correct, Bill. The big banks became stronger as a result of the bailout. That may seem extraordinary, but it's really true. They're turning that increased economic clout into more political power. And they're using that political power to go out and take the same sort of risks that got us into disaster in September 2008.

Moyers: And your definition of oligarchy is?

Johnson: Oligarchy is just- it's a very simple, straightforward idea from Aristotle. It's political power based on economic power. And it's the rise of the banks in economic terms, which we document at length, that it'd turn into political power. And they then feed that back into more deregulation, more opportunities to go out and take reckless risks and-- and capture huge amounts of money.

Moyers: And you say that these this oligarchy consists of six megabanks. What are the six banks?

James Kwak: They are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo.

Moyers: And you write that they control 60 percent of our gross national product?

Kwak: They have assets equivalent to 60 percent of our gross national product. And to put this in perspective, in the mid-1990s, these six banks or their predecessors, since there have been a lot of mergers, had less than 20 percent. Their assets were less than 20 percent of the gross national product.

UPDATE: Make that 63%.

Ideas for Activists:

If you're heterosexual, refuse to be married, 'til gays can be.

If you oppose our (the U.S.'s or whoever's) perpetual wars, wear something with blood on it every day.