But full of excuses: Motorists won’t be surprised to hear that the average price for regular gas in the U.S. increased by 11 cents in recent weeks. A petroleum industry analyst said the price increase was “driven by infrastructure problems downstream at the refinery level.”

Allow us to translate for the oil companies: “You’re paying more for gas because we just realized it’s almost summer and there’s no way the kids are going to let you talk them into another ‘staycation.’ Now, fill ‘er up.”

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More beans, Mr. Taggart? Among this week’s best bets on TV is a documentary and interview with comedic director Mel Brooks, creator of “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein,” Monday night on PBS.

The “American Masters” episode is titled, “Mel Brooks: Make a Noise.” The Buzz will wager his DVD copy of “Blazing Saddles” that they’re referencing the campfire cookout scene.

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Must love ants: Zookeepers at a Connecticut zoo are puzzling over how one of their anteaters, named Armani, recently gave birth, considering there hadn’t been a male anteater in her pen since August, long before the anteater’s six-month gestation period would have started.

Among other possibilities, the zoo staff are asking Armani about a recent “casual encounter” ad on Craigslist for a “female anteater seeking male anteater.”

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