• Loud planes are out; adorable Mars rovers are in! Viewers of the successful Curiosity Mars rover landing on Sunday may have noticed Adam Steltzner, the EDL (entry, descent, and landing) lead mechanical engineer who sports a pompadour and earrings. Apparently, he skipped college for a while to play bass in Bay Area rock bands, but he was inspired to learn more about the universe after looking up at the night sky on the way home from a gig. So inspired, the experience motivated him to earn a PhD in engineering physics and PUT A ROBOT ON MARS.
• Chicago's Lollapalooza was evacuated Saturday afternoon for the first time in P'looza history, due to a crazy storm. It was estimated that more than 60,000 festivalgoers had to clear out when the extreme storm was deemed potentially dangerous. The festival cleared in less than 40 minutes, causing nearby bars to run out of mixed-drink ingredients. When reports circulated that Lollapalooza would resume once the storm cleared, hundreds of fans gathered outside the festival gates to sing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." Just before 6 p.m., Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea reassured fans by tweeting "we r playing." And play they did. Twitter, Lollapalooza, the internet, and the world breathed a collective sigh of relief.
• Long Island pop punk band Latterman played a reunion show in Olympia on Saturday night at the New Direction Fest, and it was reported to have been GLORIOUS.
• The pizza-eating competition at the Funhouse's Pizza Fest last weekend was an inspiration for female competitive pizza eaters worldwide when a lady entered the contest for the first time and WON. Harriet Mary Stevens Howes, of England, stole the pizza crown by eating an entire pizza in under eight minutes, beating out five other competitors. In the final seconds, Howes looked slightly sick and dizzy, but she snapped out of it by jumping up onto the table and gnashing a victory crust while the crowd cheered. She was awarded $70 and the love and respect of pizza dreamers everywhere.
• Also in attendance at Pizza Fest were a gaggle of Australians on holiday who accidentally wandered into the Funhouse after hearing live music. After learning of the Funhouse's upcoming demise, they were confused and said, "When a local music venue is threatened to be shut down in Melbourne, people take to the streets and riot. And it works." After learning of the casual-dining restaurant Outback Steakhouse and its most popular appetizer, they were even more confused and said, "We don't deep-fry anything, let alone onions." They also mentioned AC/DC no less than five times and were happy to say the word "crikey" for any inebriated American who asked. 
