Greetings Earthlings. Today we are introducing two new features to Lisablog: Iraq: the New Bermuda Triangle? and Great Couples in History.

It's true, stuff keeps disappearing from Iraq. UFOs took the weapons of mass destruction, and then giant vampire men from Mars took a whole cave-load of explosives back to their angry red planet and then the CIA took a bunch of non-Iraqis out of Iraq and hid them somewhere far from the realm of the Geneva Conventions. Don't blame me. Blame the New York Times. They reported it today on page A1.

Great Couples Update: Let's hear it today for James and Nora Joyce. They got married in London on July 4th, 1931. Go Joyces.

Coming Tomorrow: The Loch Ness Monster: Fact or Fiction? and Did William Blake beat his wife?

Allison and Jen's Thailand Update: "We just saw the world's biggest solid gold buddha that is 700 years old. we are on our way to ayuthaya, the medieval thai capitol....WE've seen a lot of holy stuff. Haven't eaten any bugs, but saw a real big flying cockroach, lots of stray cats and dogs. And a tray of roasted bugs for sale. Also, at the rain bar down the street from Chris and Mo's apt., we watched a Thai folk singer, who sang John Denver's Country Roads for our benefit--I feel a new affiniti with the Thai people. We ate cheese banana ice cream. But no snakehead fish, even though there are many for sale on the street. Tomorrow, we fly to the beach."

And now a Medieval Lyric:

Abu-L-Hasan Ibn Al-Qabturnuh

In Battle

I remembered Sulayma when the passion
of battle was as fierce
as the passion of my body when we parted.

I thought I saw, among the lances, the tall
perfection of her body,
and when they bent toward me I embraced them.

12th Century