down and out in the magic kingdom

So I thought this to be a bit odd- The other night I finally got around to finishing up Shadow of the Hegemon; the book was a complete waste of time, as I sort of expected it to be though I hoped it wouldn't be and I read it anyway becuase I was desperate to know what happened. I guess I should have learned my lesson with the several abysmal follow-ups to Ender's Game, but I digress. In the book's afterword, Card mentions that he believes any political or historical writer possesses the responsibility to read Guns, Germs, and Steel before publishing a single work. Not that I have any intention of abandonning science for a career in writing, but of the three other books on my nightstand, Guns, Germs, and Steel is one of them.
Now it's time for a fun game: Come up with a hilarious caption for this photo! (That's Chinese president Hu Jintao getting a gentle tug from our fearless leader).
Other items I find to be blogworthy: It turns out that we missed National High Five Day, but it is ON next year! I can't get the Gnarls Barkley single "Crazy" out of my head and I have a mad crush on my kick boxing instructor. Lastly, I think that Maven is a pretty good word that doesn't get used nearly often enough, please allow me to suggest that you incorporate it into a conversation at least once today. But don't over do it, wouldn't want to wear that one out.