Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto

Published 12:01 am Saturday, May 14, 2011

Domo arigato

The Artist Formerly Known as R2D2: A musical combo of robots, developed at the California Institute of the Arts and backed by human students, performed in concert for the first time last night at a Valencia, Calif., theater.

Sadly absent from the concert were most of the parents of the robots, Roombas and Aibos, who were disappointed the robots had forsaken promising careers as manufacturing and surgical robots.

Vampire costumes were at the cleaners: Protestors dressed as zombies shuffled and crawled up the steps of the state Capitol in Olympia on Friday upset over proposed budget cuts that would hurt the poor and elderly.

Real zombies, of course, would have passed by the Legislature all together, knowing that when in session it’s devoid of “tasty, tasty brains.”

An unveiled threat: Along with computer files and handwritten journals, Navy SEALs who stormed Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan also seized a collection of pornography, U.S. officials say. It’s not clear if the porn belonged to bin Laden or others at the compound.

Among the magazines seized were dog-eared copies of Girls of the Taliban, Penthouse: Desert Tent Edition and Barely Burka.

–Jon Bauer, Herald staff