Etc...

But you may call me Ray

"I like to laugh and joke, and it's something silly to kind of poke fun with," the former Raymond Allen Gray Jr. told journalists. The former? Yup, because on Nov. 20 the Spring- field, Ill., resident and state government employee changed his name. It's all official, too. His new one, which reflects the nickname he has carried around since he was a small child, already appears on his driver's license and on his identification card at work. Well, what is it, for heaven's sake? Answer: Bubba Bubba Bubba. Really. His parents are deceased, so there's no way of knowing what they would think of the change. But Bubba can guess. "I'm sure my dad ... would be shaking his head," he said.

With a current estimated value of more than $150 million, the 1654 Rembrandt portrait of wealthy Amsterdam burgermeister Jan Six, owned by the Six Foundation there, is among the most desired artworks currently in private collections, according to a "wish list" compiled by ARTnews magazine. Competition among museums, dealers, and collectors is so fierce, the magazine noted, some of them are reluctant even to discuss the subject. The magazine's 10 most sought-after works of art (in alphabetical order by artist) in the hands of private collectors and the years they were created:

"Bird in Space," by Constantin Brancusi, 1926
"The Cardplayers," by Paul Cézanne, 1892-'93
"The Time of the Fire," by Willem de Kooning, 1956
"L.H.O.O.Q." ("Mona Lisa with Moustache and Goatee"), by Marcel Duchamp, 1919
"Bathers," by Paul Gauguin, 1902
"Diver," by Jasper Johns, 1962
"The Muses," by Brice Marden, 1991-'93
"Lucifer," by Jackson Pollock, 1947
"Jan Six," by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1654
"Portrait of Dr. Gachet," by Vincent van Gogh, 1890