[progress in nepal]

Nepal is officially becoming a republic, having abolished its monarchy after 240 years. The country is also finally shedding its status as officially Hindu, a designation that made little sense in a land with large numbers of Buddhists and a syncretic culture generally.

The monarchy in Nepal was officially divine, and until seven years ago, most Nepalis seemed to perceive it that way. But on June 1, 2001, the king and most of the royal family were murdered by (probably) Crown Prince Dipendra, and it's sort of hard to recover your image as benevolent divinities after something like that. The unpopular Gyanendra, conveniently away during the massacre, took the throne, and Nepal learned that a monarchy is just fine until you have a bad king, and then it's awful.

Well, now they've done away with the king, which is all for the good, in my view.

[how we livin']

If you want to see what it's like inside Google New York, check out this music video that was put together for our annual talent show. It's not, you know, good, but it's kind of funny (funnier if you know our inside jokes, like all office humor), and it's a chance to see the office I work in.

[chris matthews makes a funny]

I'm no fan of Chris Matthews, who I think is kind of a twit, but it did crack me up when The Daily Show's Moment of Zen showed him saying of Hillary Clinton, "It's almost as if she's the Al Sharpton of white people." Now that's comedy.

[massive]

California Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage.

[schrödinger's cat garfield]

Have you ever imagined an alternate universe in which Garfield the Cat didn't exist? The comic strip would still be around — just not the cat.

Well, Garfield Minus Garfield has done the work for you. As the site puts it:

Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.

Definitely surreal, and definitely worth a look.

[scandal in the 13th]

For those who have somehow missed it (like me, until today), Vito Fossella, my beloved Republican Representative, has been caught in a bit of a scandal: he got busted for a DWI in Virginia, where he was driving to the home of his mistress with whom he has a three-year-old daughter.

Wow.

It looks like he may run anyway, but jeez! This seems like the moment to take back the 13th District.

[cinema faux]

The Korea Society is presenting three nights of happy workers: Films from the North will be shown on May 12 through 14.

I'm sure they're all stellar, like all socialist art. And who can resist any film that "took the Bulgarian box office by storm in the late 1980s"? That's Hong Kil Dong, a kung fu movie that sounds less horrible, or perhaps just more surreal, than the films about turning your town into a model socialist village and going to the countryside for emergency agricultural work, respectively.

So, who's game?

[springtime in new york]

It's spring, and a lovely one. The weather is delightful. There are cherry blossoms on the trees (well, the cherry trees), and whole streets are paved in petals. The magnolias too are in bloom, and the dogwoods, and the tulips are getting slightly obscene. 

My life here continues apace. All is well at Google — I've had my first guest come in to ooh and ah at the wonders of my Googley life, and if you're nearby, you're more than welcome to swing by sometime for a free dinnner on Uncle Google. And this weekend I'm finally going back to the All-Night Concert of Indian Classical Music, an annual event held at St. John the Divine's Synod Hall. I went once years ago, discovered a love for the bansuri, India's wooden flute, and left at around 5 a.m., by which time I was seeing spots. I was younger then, too. We'll see how far I get this time. One advantage is that I won't be on my own (at least for the first few hours), as a Punjabi friend of mine will be joining me. And she may even know something about the music, which would be a welcome improvement over my admittedly blissful ignorance.

See you on the other side!