While I seem to be the only one surprised by Mayor Williams’s gruff behavior, count me among the unsurprised when it comes to today’s item from Page Six:

PAPARAZZI, beware: Don’t take Joe Pesci’s picture without his permission–it might get you a fat lip. That’s what college student Juan Carlos Montenegro, 24, claims happened to him when he snapped the 62-year-old star of “Goodfellas” and “Casino” in a shopping center parking lot in Boca Raton, Fla., on Sunday. Montenegro told local cops Pesci popped him in the upper lip and said, “You shouldn’t have been interrupting my business.” Montenegro said in a police report that he repeatedly told Pesci he was a big fan and asked if he could take his picture. But the Oscar winner growled, “Not now,” and kept walking to his car. After he took the shots anyway, a “furious” Pesci let him have it, according to the report. A spokesman for Pesci declined to comment yesterday

I know this behavior is inexcusable but just a few thoughts: One, Pesci did tell him not to take the picture and he did. Two, Montenegro should count himself lucky. He could have found himself stomped on, pistol-whipped, smashed with a car door, stabbed with a pen, shot in the foot, stabbed with a butcher knife, his eye popped out by means of a vice, or with an ice pick jabbed into his brain.

I was recently disturbed to hear our city’s beloved mayor is personally a real jerk. I spoke to a friend last night who told me of her encounter with him last week at the Foggy Bottom 7-Eleven. No one else was around except for her, Hizzoner, and the cashier. She said, “Good evening, Mr. Mayor,” to which he said nothing back. She then tried a little small talk at the counter while he was getting rung up. At which point Mayor Anthony Williams turned to her and said, “I’m not here for the conversation” and left. There are some things politicians can lack, such as sincerity and honesty, but friendliness toward constituents isn’t usually one of them.

For some reason, various Galley friends and readers have been sending me a link to Tyler Durden‘s recent post about Jennifer Love Hewitt contemplating a spread in Playboy. Why on earth would this interest me, a married man? (This post is fraught with peril.)

I have always thought Jennifer Love Hewitt was enormously talented. She’s been endowed with qualities other actresses can only envy. But it seems she wants to be taken more seriously–as if we don’t take her seriously on CBS–and thinks posing for Playboy will do the trick.

Honestly, I don’t know if it would lead her to better roles and more respect, which she certainly deserves. But it might work. And so I support her in this noble quest in the hopes it will boost her career.

In fact, I’m praying for it. Her success, I mean.

Now that I have your attention…

What is it with invertebrates these days? (Yes, I know you’ve been wondering.) First there was the footage of the giant squid. And now there’s this from the Seattle Aquarium. It seems an octopus is responsible for the deaths of the aquarium’s resident sharks. Who would’ve guessed? (The octopus’s pure white eyes should have been an indication.)

Prior to yesterday’s Georgetown-Duke game, the Post‘s Camille Powell laid out some ominous statistics: “But for all the excitement surrounding the program, the Hoyas haven’t been ranked since early January 2002. They haven’t played in the NCAA tournament since 2001. They haven’t defeated a No. 1 team since Feb. 27, 1985…. Georgetown is still looking for that defining on-court moment of its second Thompson era.”

After yesterday, they need not look any further as the unranked Hoyas defeated the Duke Blue Devils 87-84. Aside from the free throws, there really wasn’t much more Georgetown could have improved upon. “It wasn’t their offense as much as the unity of their offense,” thought Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who also said his team ended up watching J.J. Redick more than playing alongside him. “We might as well get tickets and sit behind the bench. No one is doing anything out there.”

Redick scored 41 points while the rest of his teammates combined for 43. Ride-Me-Big-Shelden Williams managed just four.

The Hoyas are still a long way from the Big Dance. They still have a schedule that includes Pitt, West Virginia, and Villanova. But in terms of that “defining on-court moment” and the quest to build confidence, Georgetown may have reached a turning point–defeating a number one team (my guess is UConn takes the top spot come Monday), ending Duke’s 17-0 start, and outplaying six McDonald’s All-Americans.

I wonder where’s Craig Esherick?

A few other notes: A number of commentators loved pointing out the deep “Princeton-style” backdoor cuts used by Georgetown coach John Thompson III. It is true he employed them in yesterday’s game but his offense is far from being a purely Princeton offense.

At the end of the game as students and fans rushed the court, Big John Thompson came over to give his son a hug. Big John later told Tony Kornheiser, “That’s my child. Forget the coaching stuff; that’s my child.” Sure, as if he isn’t still pulling the strings like Emperor Palpatine.

Dikembe Mutombo, upon learning of Georgetown’s win, told Post columnist Mike Wise “This is good, exciting news for me. I can’t wait to call Big John.” But first, who will be sexing Mutombo tonight?

John Podhoretz originally linked to this on the Corner. I’m betting this was a number one video on MTV Europe. Or at the very least Germany.

WARNING: Due to the concern of some readers, it should be noted that the above link is not for the faint of heart. Children under 17 not permitted. If you are pregnant or psychologically frail, suffer from motion sickness, or use a pacemaker, this link is not for you. Trust me. You’re better off watching Hostel.

From Dean Barnett:

File under the “whoops” department. Just Tuesday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court authorized the state’s Department of Social Services to “pull the plug” on an 11 year old girl. The girl was in DSS’s care (and some care it was!) because her foster parents had beaten her into a vegetative state. Shortly after the SJC issued its ruling, the girl’s condition dramatically improved as if on some level she was warding off the ghouls from DSS and the SJC who were anxious to end her life. Now, according to DSS, she may even be a “miracle child.” Please, draw your own Terri Schiavo parallels – I’m not getting that conversation started again.

Get Edward Jay Epstein on line one. Here’s Lisa de Moraes reporting on Garth Ancier’s evaluation of his network’s economic model:

Even though the WB in its best year makes a couple million dollars and in its worst year loses a couple million, that’s not how the network is judged, Ancier insisted. The bigger moneymaker for parent Time Warner is Warner Bros. Television — the most prolific producer of small-screen programming in the business, selling to all the TV networks. The value of the WB network is that it puts half of that production on the air, thereby opening up the possibility that all those shows may become eligible for syndication, overseas sales and other back-end deals, where the big bucks can be found. “Frankly, what would be the point of owning this network,” which is a break-even proposition, Ancier said, “if you weren’t going to have ‘Smallville,’ which is worth hundreds of millions in back-end value?”