THE MPLS BRIDGE DISASTER: I doubt many missed it, though James Lileks can hook you up if you did.  Pate has a fair contingent in Minnesota, including bassist Mike Kelly.  They and their loved ones are in our thoughts, with hope that none were involved in this tragedy.  I would add that the stories of people at the scene -- including people directly involved in the collapse -- immediately turning to help others help us keep our faith in humanity at times of crisis.

KEVIN DREW of Broken Social Scene releases his first solo video for "Backed Out On The..." with help from J Mascis of Dinosaur, Jr., Joules Scott Key of Metric, seven mirrors, one disco ball, four lights, one bottle of rum, three bottles of tequila, 62 beers, four crew, and 17 people.  He has also posted an exclusive B-Side at HisSpace.

JOHN VANDERSLICE makes the latest stop on his live video tour of blog love at MKOB with "Time To Go."

FAMOUS SONGS re-written as limericks.  Plenty in the comments at the link also.

JOSE GONZALEZ has two new tracks, "Down the Line" and "Killing for Love," streaming at HisSpace.

GOGOL BORDELLO frontman Eugene Hütz promises Harp magazine that the band is "always gonna be this drunk, galloping Eastern European horse of grotesque and dark humor."

STEVIE WONDER is known for singing, playing the keyboards and the harmonica -- but watch him on the drums!

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS have released "Run Away" as a promo track from the upcoming Hey, Venus! LP.  It has that 60s girl-group sound for which I'm always a sucker.  Except sung by Welsh dudes.

THE NATIONAL: Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner talk to PopMatters about the nine year road to overnight success.

MOVING DAY:  Matt at YANP posted a mini-mix for moving into his college housing.  You can jukebox it on the ol' HM.

PEARL JAM:  Heather Browne is streaming "a loose assemblage of demo versions and rough mixes of Pearl Jam songs from over the years, with the occasional live cut tossed in."

THE PHIL SPECTOR TRIAL:  Defense attorneys in the pop producer's murder trial have abruptly decided to rest their case.

PETE DOHERTY-KATE MOSS UPDATE:  The troubled singer denies cheating on the supposedly sober supermodel (much) and says he left her, as the relationship "became like the Vietnam war."  Moss is planning to jet off for a chilled out holiday in Marbella with 20 friends.

BRITNEY SPEARS:  There's a new round-up of trashtastic behavior -- including the pop tart trying to get her 22-month-old son's teeth whitened -- at US Weekly.

NICOLE RICHIE confirmed to Diane Sawyer that she's four months pregnant by Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden.

UMA THURMAN has been caught canoodling with handsome Swiss banker Arky Busson, who was Elle Macpherson's man for many years and the father of her two kids.

McGOSLING:  Are Rachel McAdams and her Notebook Costar Ryan Gosling finally engaged?  That would be crazy delicious.

TOM-KAT UPDATE:  A second man has been arrested in the alleged extortion plot involving stolen pictures of the Tom-Kat wedding, according to the FBI.

JESSICA SIMPSON:  Is her next movie going straight to DVD in the US?  "The movie is absolutely horrible," says a source. "It's just a bomb, mainly because of Jessica's acting."  Shocka!

ADRIAN GRENIER:  Life imitates HBO as the Entourage star is mobbed by groupies in the VIP section of Star Room in East Hampton.

HEROES:  Save the Cheerleader... from sticking her hands in her pants.

MADONNA was caught spending almost two hours at the Harlem headquarters of President Bill Clinton's charitable foundation.  But don't leap to any conclusions... the Clinton Foundation has been the biggest single donor to Madonna's Raising Malawi effort.

ALEC BALDWIN explains how the next President should handle Iraq -- first withdraw, then attack.

BRADGELINA:  Pitt reportedly begs Jolie to get help for her dwindling weight, according to the ever-reliable Star magazine.  The equally reliable Life & Style Weekly out this week claims the pair are so much on edge that Jolie drenched Brad Pitt with a glass of wine over the 2008 presidential campaign in the US.  And that was before Sen. Barack Obama started talking about invading Pakistan.

PAKISTAN:  Al-Qaeda commander Abu Yahya al Libi joins rival Ayman al Zawahiri in calling for the overthrow of Pres. Musharraf.  The hottest movie in the country, "In the Name of God," is a fantastical tale that warns its audience of the threat of Islamic radicalism to Pakistanis.

IRAN sentenced two Kurdish journalists to death "on the charge of Moharebeh," a term used in Iran's Sharia law to describe a major crime against the religion and the Islamic state... but not decribed specifically in this case.  The sudden death of a key ayatollah creates an opening for moderate reformers to regain some influence.  Meanwhile, Pres. Ahmadinejad said on Monday that defeat is meaningless for those believing in martyrdom.

IRAQ:  The chief of Iraqi army staff submitted his resignation, but the Iraqi Prime Minister and Armed forces Command-in-Chief rejected it, according to a Kurdish legislator.  The state minister for security affairs says Iranians are helping insurgents obtain better weapons and training.  Iraqi army Lt. Col. Abdulkhaliq Hamed says "there should be no type of any withdrawal" by the US from northern Iraq.  Col. Stephen Twitty, the commander of US and Iraqi forces in the region, said attacks in Nineveh province have gone from 18 a day in December to seven to nine attacks now.  Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice and SecDef Robert M. Gates are coupling the military assistance package for Arab allies with a public request for Arab leaders to do more to back the Shiite-led government in Iraq. The Saudi foreign minister said that his country was considering upgrading its diplomatic ties with Iraq, but rebuffed calls from the Bush Admin. to do more to halt Saudis from crossing the border to join the insurgency.

ABANDONED DUCKLINGS found battling against waves after being washed out to sea are being nursed back to health in a teacup.  More awww...some pics at the link.

A MACAQUE MONKEY -- normally found in Afghanistan, India, Thailand, southern China and Florida -- was found in a garden in Beaminster, Dorset.

WOULD YOU LIKE A FROG with your salad?

SPIDER-NEWS:  Judy Reardon found a Black Widow in box of grapes she bought from Costco in Coon Rapids, MN last week.  Julie and Peter Gillett a massive venomous tarantula running around their English garden (pic at the link).  Male wasp spiders have an interesting way of putting off rival suitors.

THE SQUIRREL THREAT:  The rodents are increasing their operational tempo at the U of Central Florida.