Cops' Copter Again

The cops' copter is orbitting about half a block away, loud and low, making slow circles as they shine their spotlight down at their target. There's something deeply fascinating about watching that. I can barely see the copter itself against the dark sky - just the lights, and a dimly-perceived bulk behind them. Something interesting is going on over there at the ground end of his light beam, but I can't see it from here.

Then I wrote to Those Villains in Congress...

It is shameful, shameful beyond belief, that the United States is trying to force the Crimean people to remain tied to the Ukraine when they would, beyond any doubt, rather rejoin Russia. When did the United States become a foe of democracy and self-determination? I sincerely hope that you will vote against the administration's efforts to impose sanctions. These people want to be free to choose their own future, just as we are. That should be a basic human right.

Maud Pie

The more I think about it, the less pleased I am with the Maud Pie episode. I liked the character, and her obsessive nature, and some parts of it were hilarious. I was disappointed at first that Tom the Rock ( "Here comes TOM!!" ) never got mentioned, but I can see how that whole incident is something they might not want to remember. On thinking further, though, Rarity's ability to find gemstones is surely the sort of thing that someone ought to have used to try to make conversation with Maud. She can also apparently eat quartz (or was that a diamond?) just like Spike (who was conspicuously absent). Again, as desperate as they were to start a conversation with her, that's the kind of thing someone should have jumped on.