Last time I posted a picture of Slurm, it was still sleepy from a months-long nap in the fridge. Here you can see it’s much more lively. Even, dare I say it, frisky.
Friday Petblogging
Spread the Serenity Love
Via SAP and Shakespeare’s Sister, respectively, comes news of two Serenity-related events.
First, June 23 is Serenity Day–a day on which fans all over plan to buy Serenity to demonstrate to Universal the purchasing power of the Browncoats (the goal, of course, is to get them to greenlight a sequel). Own it already? No problem; donate it to charity, send it to the troops, use it to convert a friend, or whatever.
Meanwhile, there’s going to be a whole bunch of benefit screenings of Serenity, with the proceeds going to Equality Now (Joss Whedon’s favorite charity). It’s a lot of fun in a very good cause.
[Cross-posted at If I Ran the Zoo]
Who Needs a Reason to Post Pictures?
Skull
Originally uploaded by Tom Hilton.
Not I, certainly. One more from the DeYoung: an ancestor skull from New Guinea. Pleasant dreams!
Friday Random Ten
Eno – Spider and I
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet – In My Room
Savage Republic – Moujahadeen [instrumental]
Michael Cox – Mata Hari
Teen-Tones – Sands of Arabia
Shriekback – Working on the Ground
X-Ray Spex – Let’s Submerge
Eno – Baby’s on Fire
Lamb – Heaven
I like the Middle-Eastern themed set in the middle. Feel free to post your own lists, or make nasty comments about mine.
[Cross-posted at If I Ran the Zoo]
Deborah, I Swear I Didn’t Break It
Happily, Property of a Lady is back from its little vacation in the land we call Broken. And it wasn’t my fault.
Quote of the Day
The ever-astute Hendrik Hertzberg:
For five days last week, the White House and its Capitol Hill allies did urgent battle against what they perceive, or say they perceive, as an attack on the institution of marriage. It’s a strange sort of attack, to be sure: a wonderfully pacific attack, a supportive attack, an attack without the slightest intention or capacity to cause harm, consisting, as it does, of the earnest wish of certain loving couples to join themselves to that very institution and thus to feel themselves, and be accepted as, full members of the American (and human) family.
[Cross-posted at If I Ran the Zoo]
Bigots on Bikes Get a Pass from the Chron
Yesterday’s Chronicle ran a story on an unique immigration protest: five motorcyclists who call themselves the Paul Revere Riders, crossing the country to sound the alarm about illegal immigrants. Here’s a representative sample:
“One if by land, two if by sea, three if from Mexico,” declares their Web site — comparing illegal migrants from Mexico to British redcoats of two centuries ago.
“The idea is to get enough people enough excited about their country to take action,” said leader Frosty Wooldridge when the group arrived in Los Gatos Tuesday evening. “Paul Revere in April of 1775 was the great communicator. He rode and spread the word and actually beat the British. We’re trying to spread the word through our neighbors and through the Internet.
“We’ve seen people march for anarchy, march for Mexico, march for illegality,” said Wooldridge, who hopes legal immigration will be reduced dramatically and illegal entries stopped altogether. “It’s time we as Americans stand up.”
The story quotes exactly five people: the leader, and four of the anti-immigration protestors. All had positive things to say about the ride, and about the anti-immigration cause. Nobody was quoted with anything critical to say. A story on a politically charged protest ends up coming off as a human interest story.
Just to be clear, I don’t think the reporter, Tyche Hendricks, has an agenda here. » Read more..
DeYoung Museum
Now that I’ve posted a good set of thoroughly depressing political posts, it’s time for something a little more frivolous: pictures from the (newly remodeled) DeYoung Museum. They’re not as good as I had hoped–no flash allowed, understandably, so they tend to be a little on the fuzzy side–but I figured a few were worth sharing here.
This is one of my favorite pieces, just gorgeous in person. Photo doesn’t do it justice, etc. » Read more..
What Really Matters Is the Appearance of Appearances
Start with the suicides of three detainees at Guantanamo–one of whom had been cleared for transfer.
Compound that with (Assistant Deputy Secretary of State) Colleen Graffy’s comments to the BBC that the suicides were a “good P.R. move” and “a tactic to further the jihadi cause.”
It looks bad, and the administration realizes it looks bad. The problem, of course, is not that what Graffy said was completely appalling to civilized humans; the problem is that it didn’t work. She certainly wasn’t off the reservation: » Read more..
Keystone Stasi
It’s good to know the DHS is protecting us from bootleg T-shirts. (The post title is from the article; I wish I’d made it up, but I didn’t.) Hat tip: Kevin Drum.
[Cross-posted at If I Ran the Zoo]
