Brigita found a cool toy at the PBS site: Surname Popularity Index. You enter your last name and it tells you how popular it is in the U.S. based on Social Security records. “Howard” is #62 out of, like, 50,000! Yeah, baby! I got more relatives than you can shake a stick at.

AICN is running an interview with Peter Billingsley, otherwise known as Ralphie from A Christmas Story. He’s working as a producer now and seems like a well-adjusted guy. (Did you know he was on “Punky Brewster”?!) Still, it’s gotta be kinda weird to see yourself on TV for 24 hours straight at Christmas.

Reason 6,415 Why I Love Britain: The British Medical Assocation have passed a motion that will allow women access to the morning after pill free from pharmacists. Yes, free. Without a prescription. Meanwhile in the States, only 15% of women even know that such a pill exists. And even if a woman did know, is she really going to head down to Planned Parenthood and run the risk of some whackjob shooting her? We’re talking about something that could reduce the number of abortions in America by 50%. (Whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice, I think everybody can agree that fewer abortions is a good thing.) Now I don’t want y’all to get the wrong idea about me. I’ve never had the need for these services whether in the U.S. or the U.K. But I still love the fact that over here, the government doesn’t try to legislate what happens with women’s bodies. They give us the choice and the means to take control of their own lives. I also like that they subsidise their programs so the poor (i.e. the ones most in need of the services) aren’t left out. Did I mention that ALL contraception is covered by the National Health Service here? Sometimes leaving the U.S. feels like travelling into the future by 100 years.

Whatever happened to broadband? Seriously. Snookums and I have been waiting for AGES. BT sucks.

England’s most scandalous murder trial in several years is finally over. A jury convicted Barry George of the Jill Dando murder. Unlike the OJ Simpson case, I think the public are going to be very happy with this verdict. Personally, I’m glad that he’s being put away. The neighborhood where he lives (and where the crime took place) is, like, just one Tube stop over from mine.

New Answer Man column over at Ebert’s site, if you’re interested. I thought the question about Pearl Harbor was pretty funny.

She’s heeeeere!
Yeah, so part of the reason I’m irritable today is that I’ve been up since 5 a.m. Snookums and I had to haul ass to Heathrow in time to meet my sister, who was due to arrive at 7:20. Due to some freaky-ass 100 mph tail winds, her flight arrived half an hour early. I had fortuitously checked BA‘s website the night before, though, so we were there with plenty of time to spare. (That’s her just stepping outside the Arrivals door. I caught her mid-blink.) She’s going to be here for a few months killing time before going to grad school or something. At any rate, the first item on her agenda is to get a J-O-B.

New Poll: What do you use for your password? (Sorry I got so catty in the responses. It’s Monday morning and I feel a little on edge.)

Good gracious. How much would I LOVE to have a 35-hour work week?! It’s not the hours so much as the days. Even at 40 hours I’d prefer to work four 10-hour days and have an extra day of weekend. (I’m here for 10 hours most days anyway.) I could – dare I say it? – have a LIFE.

In honor of the fact that Snookums, Ferret, and I watched six – yes, SIX – episodes of Buffy Saturday, here’s a timely list of Things I Will Do If I Am Ever the Vampire. (Thanks to John for the link.)

Did I tell you about when we bought the Season 2 DVD? We actually got it at Tesco, which is a British supermarket that also happens to sell DVDs and CDs and appliances and stuff. So we pick up the empty box and head to the checkout to pay and get the actual discs. The guy rings through our other stuff and then does a double-take when he scans the box. “Seventy-five quid? That can’t be right.” “Uh, yeah, it is.” And he’s like, “How many are in there?” And we’re like, “Six.” He looks at us like the geeks we are. “You guys really like Buffy, huh?” We’re now thoroughly embarrased. “Uh, yeah.” He didn’t say anything after that, but I could tell he just wanted to get us out before any of our nerddom rubbed off on him. 🙂