Pronounced -deeves

The Maldives is a group of 1190 islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Sri Lanka. Looking at a map of the world, it appears to be the one inhabited place which is about as far from the United States as you can get. "The Ultimate Pocket World Factfile" (DK Publishing, Inc.) states, "The larger [islands] are covered in lush, tropical vegetation," because ,"Rain. . . [is] heaviest June-November, during monsoon. Violent storms occasionally hit northern islands. . . Rising sea levels, brought about by global warming and climate changes, are threatening to submerge the islands."

(Which is it? The "evil" global warming, or the natural adjustments of climate change?)

Anyway, it seems to be the perfect place to which to exile evil-doers. It's sort of like the TV show "Lost," before the writers discovered grandmother's house over the sand dunes and through the woods.

EXTRA: Today, in the Sacramento Bee, I saw the first advert ever for a real college, Drexel University (Philadelphia). It's part of the new program where prestigious institutions are sharing their vast endowments with students. (Welcome to Styx Ice-Skating.)