Lately, I’ve been crazy about tennis. Maybe it’s all the free time I have on my hands, maybe it’s Rafael Nadal—it’s really anyone’s guess. But the fact remains that sitting and watching two players hit a ball back and forth for several hours sounds like a blissful afternoon to me.

While I’m still learning the terminology, techniques, and strategies behind the sport, I consider myself an expert in tennis photojournalism; it honestly yields some of the most awkward sports images I’ve ever seen—which I love, of course.

It’s as if the sport isn’t really meant to be captured in a still image. But occasionally there are those rare moments when all the necessary elements convene to produce an amazing, graceful, and transcendental photograph that makes you realize how balletic the sport can be.

Also, I’ve realized that Rafa is the best. Go tennis!

I didn’t realize smack was a specific problem in orphanages. Or that there was a concerted effort to stop it. Maybe that’s why demonic children in movies always seem to be orphans. Those kids are messed up.

A word from the Vogue Book of Etiquette (1948, Simon & Schuster) about conversation at a dinner party:

The hostess starts the conversation first with the man at her left, the host with the woman at his right. If there is an uneven number of guests, the hostess may talk to two guests (the two at her left, or the ones at each side of her), but if she has not done this, guests should be careful not to leave one of their number stranded.

Stupid Ad #1: When advertising a somewhat cutting edge movie rental service, it might seem logical to push a new release. And if you’re particularly smart, a new release that was wildly in demand during its theatrical run. If this is truly the way it works, then one can only assume that Netflix believes no movie since 1997 has been as awesome as Men In Black. That said, part of the appeal of using Netflix is its implied guarantee that few titles will ever be completely checked out, so this advertisement at least succeeds in quelling my concerns about Men In Black‘s availability next time I need to see it (which is monthly, obviously).

Stupid Ad # 2: Who would EVER click a link that says More Ads? What sort of person chooses to view more? What kind of marketing strategy is this?

During a routine Google search of the terms “Wolverine” and “Morgan”, Ariella discovered that there’s something called the Wolverine Morgan Horse Association. And get this: it’s recognized by the American Morgan Horse Association and Registry! If it weren’t located in Kalkaska, Michigan, I would be ALL OVER their trail rides and open-breed horse shows. Regardless, you can rest assured that Pop Effect will expand its current coverage to include the WMHA. (So for those of you keeping track, we’ll be writing about the following: Hugh Jackman, Wolverine, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Morgan, and The Wolverine Morgan Horse Association.)

No one knows why Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn is called Sheepshead Bay. Unless you subscribe to the Brooklyn Based theory that it’s named after the Sheepshead fish which used to populate the Bay waters. The blog did a bit of digging to discover this piece of information and it offered astute evidence, but my favorite part of this story is that, apparently, no one knows why the fish is named Sheepshead. So really the line of questioning continues on. Fun fact though: the Sheepshead fish hasn’t been living in the Bay since the 19th century, but because of global warming, the Bay may once again be an ideal temperature for the species. Yay! Nature is man’s bitch!

If you can guess who wrote the following guest post, I will be shocked.

Great news guys! Changing the world and being BFF with Barack Obama will not get in the way of Kal Penn’s movie career! I know what you’re thinking: how did we get this lucky? I’m guessing because even Barry himself can’t go eight years without seeing one of Kal’s fantastic films. He prob also has a soft spot for stoner jokes and Neil Patrick Harris.

Warner Brothers announced today that they are green lighting “A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas,” which will be released on November 5, 2010 (what a great way to blow off steam after the midterm elections!) You know what that means! Bong hits under the mistletoe, NPH being his usual crazy self and other hijinx that only Roldy and Kumar could pull off.

My dream plotline would somehow involved getting high, stealing Santa’s sleigh and being pursued by the police while NPH tags along. And throw in some extreme sports fans and hookers for good measure. Sounds like Oscar gold to me!

A momentous thing has happened: I was reading The New Yorker the other day, and one of the cartoons made me actually LOL. Usually, I don’t understand the vague jokes; they tend to be droll instead of funny. (I pretend that I understand though because I’m not an idiot, and I’ll be damned if a cartoon disproves that.) And even at best, the cartoons are just mildly amusing, sometimes evoking a smirk. But I think this cartoon by Paul Noth is genuinely hilarious because I’m pretty sure there are actually only five ways to kill a man with a lemon. So you see, the numbers don’t add up!

Lately though The New Yorker in general seems to be extra funny. Exhibit A: this fantastic piece by Noah Baumbach that’s essentially a monologue of a bee high on coke. In particular, this excerpt is brilliant: “God, I so badly wanna just go sting the fuck out of someone, you know? Just land on their ass and sting. . . . I’m so fucking jazzed right now. And then I hope they’re allergic and they just blow up!”

And then, in getting the pictures and links for this post, I found a New Yorker blogger who talks incessantly about robots—what they wear, whether they’re evil, etc. You can even learn to build your own robot at work (see the picture below)! I highly recommend reading it. The writer (who I suspect might be Dan) seems to respond to reader commentary, so maybe someone should ask whether eating a robot is against vegetarian ideals.

Missing the opening weekend of probably the greatest movie of all time was definitely worth it because it meant I got to see the baby above, in action. Morgan barely ate the Goldfish Cake Ariella and I made her, but as you can see from this photo, our painstaking attention to detail did not go overlooked by a certain birthday girl! Her appreciation for the craftsmanship was, frankly, unexpected—yet totally appreciated.

While conversing with Jackie about what sort of costume one wears to a movie like Wolverine (ie, the movie I’ve been talking about for almost a year), I noted that Morgan should really be appreciative of the sacrifice I’m making by waiting until next Friday to see it, so that I can attend her birthday. The sacrifice, people. And just as I was about to blog about this (since no one but the Internet cares about my irrelevent rant), I had an epiphany—my blog’s tagline should really be, “Pop Effect: A blog about Wolverine, a baby named Morgan, and the ways in which they affect my life—and each others’.” I think I can safely say that I’ve effectively cornered the market in mutant hero/baby relations. And, apparently, there’s more to say about the subject than anyone might logically assume.