EVERY MORNING AT NINE: I'm glad to welcome to the blogosphere a friend to many here, Ajit Pai,
whose new blog highlights the obituaries of the day. I mention this now because I look forward to his take on an obit now running in the Times, as
"Had Ear Cut Off By Captors" is not a phrase I'd want in the headlines about my death. (Nor would I want to have my ear cut off. Do read the story of J. Paul Getty III; it's quite Bunny Lebowski-esque.)