National Treasure starts out with a vast implausibility: A sailing ship frozen in arctic ice for 200 years, with no explanation of how it could survive intact the griding and crushing of moving ice that have left better vessels crushed into oblivion.

Nicholas Cage plays Ben Gates, the latest scion of a family cursed since the Revolution with the knowledge that somewhere in the US the founding fathers have hidden a treasure amassed (or stolen) by the Knights Templar. The Gates men have been searching for the treasure ever since, and Ben has discovered that a clue is in the boat.

What follows is a delightful romp through improbability after improbability. Ben is forced to steal the Declaration of Independence in order to keep it from being stolen by his former partner turned badguy Ian Howe, played by Sean Bean. Helping Ben is Justin Bartha as computer wiz and comic-relief sidekick Riley and Diane Kruger as National Archive Conservator Abagail Chase. After the theaft of the Declaration, Harvey Keitel joins the action in a too-small role as FBI Special Agent Sadusky, and Jon Voight comes on board as Ben’s father, who believes that the treasure is a fake.

Ian and Sadusky both chase Ben & company through various car chases, Independence Hall, Trinity Church and catecombs beneath Wall Street, while Ben chases clues that come from objects ranging from a Meershaum pipe and special glasses constructed by Ben Franklin to a $100 bill. The characters are, of course able to determine the true meaning of extremely obtuse clues without even breaking into a sweat.

Improbable, yes, but prepare to suspend your disbelief. Although instantly forgettable, National Treasure makes a pleasant holiday-season (almost) diversion.

Mom’s take:

#1 Son met me at work last night to catch a ride home with me. Along the way, I stopped at Washington Square in search of a tweed jacket. I want one with several colors mixed in the tweed so that on days when I have meetings with “important people” I can throw it over any pair of pants without thinking and call it good. It doesn’t seem like that should be that hard a thing to find. I mean, how can you get more yuppy than a tweed jacket?

True, I didn’t have a long time to look because #1 Son needed to get home to do homework. But in my brief foray through a store or two, no tweed jackets were to be found.

So that the trip wouldn’t be a total waste (I guess), #1 Son started throwing other jackets at me and giving me a critique. “No. I’m not seeing that, mom. Try this one.” “Put your hands in the pockets. Yeah… that’s pretty stylin’, mom.” “Here… try this.”

I ended up with a bright red quilted jacket and a black sweater with 3/4-length sleeves and black lace trim. And while I was paying, #1 Son spotted a cream and red stripped sweater that was perfect, so I grabbed that, too.

I haven’t bought any clothes for a long time. It was fun! And everything was on sale, too. (Even better.) And I’m thinking the red jacket and black sweater are gonna look pretty “stylin’” with a pair of faded jeans for casual Friday today.

I still want a tweed jacket. I’ll be on my own tonight, as #1 son is going to a show with his girlfriend. But there’s got to be tweed out there somewhere, and I think I am competent to tell how it looks on me.

Phil Knight is stepping down as CEO of Nike. He will remain Chairman Of The Board.

Stepping into Knight’s shoes as CEO and President is William Perez, currently President and CEO of S.C. Johnson & Sons, Inc., purveyors of Windex and Scrubbing Bubbles.

The shoes will be clean?

Jobless claims are down, including in my household. #1 Son has joined the ranks of working stiffs. Not that he ever actually filed for unemployment, because he’s never been employed before. But… well, you know what I mean.

When I picked him up last night after his first day at work, I asked him how it went. Was it fun? “No!” he said. “It was horrible and I’m really tired.”

Ah, yes, kiddo. That’s why they call it “work.” Congratulations on making it through the first day. I promise it will feel better when that first paycheck comes.

I’m really trying to get away from blogging about politics. Hopefully neither of my readers will be disappointed. Also hopefully I’m going to gain more of a life so I will have more to blog about. I’m not sure I want to blog about my own foray among the working stiffs, as I’m not really sure who those two readers are! In a world where an airlines attendant can be fired for posting a picture of herself in uniform on a blog where her employer is never named… well, one just never knows, do they. This may be “a job,” but it’s my job and it’s the only one I’ve got.

Use Linux, get sued. Micro$oft warned Asian governments that they may face patent lawsuits if they use Linux instead of Windows.

At Microsoft’s Asian Government Leaders Forum, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, said that Linux violates more than 228 patents. He declined to provide specifics. Quoth Ballmer:

Someday, for all countries that are entering the WTO (World Trade Organization), somebody will come and look for money owing to the rights for that intellectual property.

SCO group claims that Linux violates its copyrights for Unix. They have sued various companies, and have threatened to sue others, including Linus Torvalds. SCO refuses to allow access to the samples of code containing the alleged violations except under an NDA that would require signers to hold confidential even information that they knew before signing the agreement or seeing the code. The open source community refutes SCO’s claims.

SCO has been bankrolled by Micro$oft.

Singapore last month switched 20,000 PCs to run Linux instead of Windows. China, Japan and South Korea have agreed to jointly develop Linux applications.

The Chinese government considers Microsoft a potential threat due to conpiracy theorys that claim back doors in Windows code would give the US Government access to Chinese networks. Again, quoth Ballmer:

We think our software is far more secure than open-source software. It is more secure because we stand behind it, we fixed it, because we built it. Nobody ever knows who built open-source software.

Uh… sure, Steve… whatever you say…