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From today's New York Times:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 - Airplane passengers are going to have to leave their cigarette lighters home, under a policy announced on Monday by the Transportation Security Administration.

The ban, which takes effect April 14, will also prohibit lighters inside checked baggage for safety reasons. Passengers will still be allowed to carry matches, at least for now.

"The ban is not an attack on smokers," said Yolanda Clark, a spokeswoman for the agency. "This is a serious security measure that is intended to reduce security vulnerabilities."

The ban is required under a provision of the intelligence overhaul bill that Congress passed late last year. It was motivated by the case of the so-called shoe bomber, Richard C. Reid, who tried to light an improvised explosive device while on a plane to the United States from Paris in December 2001.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is said to have concluded that if Mr. Reid had had a lighter, instead of matches, the bomb probably would have been set off.

That would be called "ruining it for the rest of us."

(no subject)

Also (this time from Joyce Wadler's Boldfaced Names):

"What up, G!" shouted MARISKA HARGITAY, elegant in a sleeveless black and white polka dot gown, at ICE-T at Entertainment Weekly's Academy Awards viewing party at ELAINE's.

"What up, gangster!" Mr. T responded.

To be fair, Boldface Names is as much an ironically distant comment on gossip columns as it is a gossip column, and it is quite likely that this is as much a comment on as an example of the Times's tendency of calling the singer Meat Loaf "Mr. Loaf" on second reference; however, isn't the preferred style not to split up hyphenated names? I mean, I'd pity the fool who called Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakoff "Mr. Korsakoff."

(no subject)

arethusa2 recently linked to a trifecta of fannish Lego sites, Boing Boing had a Lego Abu Ghraib a few weeks ago, and Maud Newton today brings us The Brick Testament, a reconstruction (in, yes, Legos) of the Bible. These are all measured against the Lego Escher project, which is unfortunately off line, though you can get a taste of it here and here.