MARS LAND GRAB!

Hydrogen signals “from the Martian earth” indicate the presence of water, says Rough Guides. “The Lander uses a robotic shovel to dig into the Martian earth,” says Design News.

“Martian earth!” says Strong Language. “What th’??!!”

“Easy, SL,” says everybody else. “Didn’t you know that earth is another word for soil?”

“Oh, yeah?” say we. “So tell us: Did they name it for the planet, or the other way around? But then why didn’t they name the planet Soil, or Ground, or Dirt? Greetings, Dirtlings!”

Either way, when some of the stuff shows up 120 million miles away, wouldn’t you expect more than casual mention in a couple of niche mags?

SL is as confused as the next Earthling. How much earth is there on Mars, exactly? What about those other planets — do they have some? Is there a pile on the Moon? Most important, who (or what) is behind the caper?

Meanwhile, you’re in good hands. We’ll cover this issue even if the other media won’t touch it. Because if there’s any earth up there, Earth owns it. SL at its post.

Bo Diddley knew

Bo Diddley was a founder of rock and roll, and the beat he invented drove much of the music that followed. Born Otha Ellas Bates, he passed on June 2. Read the Times obit

Where did his name come from? There are different recollections, but SL suspects a one-stringed instrument popular in Mississippi, where Bo came up, called a diddley bow.

We backed into Mr. Diddley once, literally, on a Delta flight. We begged pardon, he was gracious, and when we said “Bumpety-bump” you should have seen him grin. (It’s from Mona, his 1957 classic, the flip side of Hey, Bo Diddley.)

Bo Diddley knew something about creativity. He once said: “You cannot say what people are gonna like or not gonna like. You have to stick it out there and find out! If they taste it, and they like the way it tastes, you can bet they’ll eat some of it.”