SALINGER-ESQUE MOMENTS: Since Calvin and Hobbes ended in 1995, create Bill Watterson basically disappeared from public life, with a few written pieces and interviews and a couple of pieces of art.  However, this week marked his first new art on the comics page in nearly 20 years, with him guesting on a few panels of Stephan Pastis' Pearls Before Swine this week.  Pastis explains how it happened.

IT WILL BE A TEST OF YOUR BRAAAAIIINNNNS:  Are you ready for a zombie apocalypse game show?  (Yes, it's on the BBC, but if it works, no question that the show gets picked up somewhere, and if the tone is snarky, Chris Hardwick or Wil Wheaton hosts, right?)

SOLDIERS, SAILORS AND AIRMEN OF THE ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE! Tomorrow, to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of D-Day, the BBC will have Benedict Cumberbatch and Patrick Stewart re-reading the Beeb's radio bulletins on air all day.

P.S. The new D-Day IMAX film is pretty fabulous, esp. if your kids are not quite ready for Band of Brothers.

IF THE MOUNTAIN WON'T COME TO MOHAMMED:  This week's climactic GoT fight, remixed with a different ending. Also, yeah, if you haven't watched the bar full of fans watching the scene, watch a bar full of fans watching the scene.

SUPER BOWL 10010 WOULD HAVE BEEN OKAY:  Not surprisingly -- but to my grave disappointment -- the NFL has wimped out of calling the February 2016 Super Bowl "Super Bowl L" but, instead, will go with "Super Bowl 50."

The 2017 Super Bowl will be Super Bowl LI.

MIKE D AND AD-ROCK AT THE MOVIES:  During the ongoing trial concerning use of several Beastie Boys songs in an on-line video promoting Monster Energy drink, Mike D testified that the band declined to license "Sabotage" for use in the recent Arnold Schwarzenegger bomb of the same name because "We weren't fans of Mr. Schwarzenegger's recent work."  No word on whether they thought Terminator 2 was cool or not, though.

Disclaimer:  I have previously worked with/for counsel for the Beasties in this matter, though not on this matter or any matter directly connected to the Beasties.

ETA:  Jury came back with a verdict of $1.7 million for the Beasties--$120K for each of 10 copyright violations, and $500K for false endorsement.

ENOUGH WITH THE CHEAP. ENOUGH WITH THE CRAP: Melissa Sher urges parents to stop giving away goodie bags at children's parties:

We no longer smoke on airplanes or perm our hair or let people drive with open Budweisers. So why in the world are we still giving out bags filled with sh%t to thank kids for coming to our children’s birthday parties?

Thank them for coming? Because why?

Because decades ago some overachiever decided that throwing a party, serving cake, and entertaining a horde of loud, sticky children wasn’t enough?

No! The party is more than enough! I’m putting my foot down. (And then I’m picking my foot back up. And then I’m putting it back down again. I’m actually stomping my foot because I feel really strongly about this.)

A REAL NUCLEAR TRIAD:  What are two things I love?  Game of Thrones and, of course, Nuclear Deterrence Theory.  I know Isaac Spaceman once described having dragons available in Westeros is at least as much of an advantage as having F-16s at your disposal.  This article from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists views them through the prism of deterrence theory, although doesn't go as far Ken Waltz might as to encourage every house minor bannermen having their own rookery.

I GOT CAST, MOTHER:  This blog occasionally swoons at the thought of live musical theater at the Hollywood Bowl, and this summer's offering will pique interest: Hair, starring Kristen Bell as Sheila, Hunter Parrish as I Believe In Claude (That's Me), Amber Riley as Dionne, and Jenna Ushkowitz as Jeanie. Adam Shankman to direct.

1.  SERVE THE PUBLIC TRUST 2. PROTECT THE INNOCENT 3. HIT THE STRIKE ZONE: RoboCop will be throwing out the first pitch at tonight's Tigers/Blue Jays game in Detroit.

ETA:  We have video, and RoboCop's pitching arm has apparently not yet been optimized.

KENNY G'S REVENGE:  When did the weird lopping sax become so popular in pop music?   You can arguably chart its return to last year's "Thrift Shop," and this summer, we've got two big songs built around a looping sax hook--Jason DeRulo's "Talk Dirty" and Ariana Grande's "Problem."

THE WOOKIEE AND THE MAIDEN FAIR?  As much rumored, Lupita Nyong'o is joining the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII, as is Gwendoline Christie, best known for playing Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones.

TINES UP:  Someone put a camera inside a dishwasher to show just what happens when they are operated. 

HERE'S A STORY: The Brady Bunch's Ann B. Davis has passed away at the age of 88. I'm sure she had other roles in her career, but this one was truly iconic, and the nation is saddened today.

RON SWANSON SINGS! A Million Ways To Die In The West is not in any way a good movie (though it features lavishly and gorgeously photographed shots of the American West), but it does remind us that this is an actual song written in 1864 (yes, there is an elaborate song and dance number in the film to it, though inexplicably, NPH does not get to sing it).