News of the Day -- Late Edition Because Blogger Ate the Early Edition

+ Trekkies rejoice! There's a very cool new Star Trek exhibition getting ready to tour the country in 2008. Visitors will see props, costumes, experience simulations and get a chance to sit in the captain's chair on not one, but TWO bridges. Sadly, no word on whether we'll get to sit on the laps of any captains, although I'm calling dibs on Picard right here and now. The exhibition is currently in Long Beach, CA, so if you're out there, check it out and let us know what you think.

+ Although Miss Piggy was noticeably absent from the red carpet, the annual Jim Henson Awards were recently awarded to four companies and individuals who are carrying on the Muppet master's spirit of creativity. Honorees included My Billionaire Boyfriend (TM) Richard Branson, writer Neil Gaiman and the website etsy.com. The best part of the award? The trophy:


Way cooler than an Oscar!

+ This item's kind of a good news/bad news thing. The bad news? There's a fairly good chance humanity's going to fuck up the planet pretty bad -- yup, even worse than we already have. The good news? Whoever -- or whatever -- is left behind is going to have a fabulous seed collection. Yes, the doors opened recently on the cheerfully named Doomsday Seed Vault, which will serve as a repository to preserve and protect millions of seeds and crops in the event they get destroyed by climate change, war or natural disaster. I've been thinking of cataloging my Hostess Fruit Pie collection too but that one'll pretty much just benefit me. Sorry, humanity!

+ And finally, NASA is planning to crash two rockets into the Moon's surface to see if they can find hidden water ice. Ten bucks says they've got Gary Busey signed on to drive those bad boys. I'm guessing Busey will be unsuccessful in recruiting Jennifer Garner or Ryan Seacrest as co-pilot.

Special thanks to Trey for submitting the Henson award and Doomsday seed vault items.