And then there were Eight

(no, that's not a disco ball -- just a grainy photograph taken at a distance)

So much for the rudimentary astronomy I learned in grade school. The International Astronomical Union -- an organization with apparently a great deal of time on its hands -- has reclassified the Planet Formerly Known As Pluto (PFKAP) as a "Dwarf Planet."

One could perhaps detect a hint of European elitism, in that PFKAP is (was?) the only planet to have been discovered by an American -- Clyde Trombaugh (1906-1997) in 1930.

Of course, not only does this unilateral decision mandate that we completely overhaul textbooks, museums, web pages and the NASA probe program, now we can't tell corny jokes like "Why did Mickey Mouse go to outer space?"

Oh well -- at least now we've settled the question of Pluto and can get back to important stuff like winning the war on terrorism.