'Be United, Resolute And Strong'

"Today I say: Rejoice, by Allah, London shall be bombed."

London Car Bomb Found; Second Car Bomb and Suspect Identified (updated)

By Jeffrey Imm

In London today, a car bomb was defused outside of a central London nightclub at 2 AM (British Time), targeting up to 1,700 people with a combination of gasoline bombs and reportedly a trunk full of nails.

London police were contacted when witnesses saw a Mercedes being driven erratically near London West End night club Tiger Tiger, and the driver jumped out of the automobile and ran away. The car was reported to have two gasoline canisters and be full of nails. Witnesses subsequently saw gas canisters being removed from a Mercedes automobile by police at 4 AM BDT.

Read it all at Counterterrorism Blog.

(UK) Scotland: Terror Strike at Glasgow Airport
By Jeffrey Imm

Sky News reports another "terror strike" in the United Kingdom today, this time in Scotland at Glasgow Airport. Sky News reports that the latest incident involving a flaming Jeep Cherokee SUV ramming Glasgow Airport terminal "is being treated as a terror attack" -- Sky News video report

Per Sky News:"Two Asian men are being held after a burning Jeep was rammed through the terminal building at Glasgow airport... [s]ince the attack, Blackpool airport has been shutdown and security has been tightened at Newcastle and Edinburgh airports."

Later, Sky News also reported that one of the men "was found wearing a suspicious device". Officers would not say whether it was a suicide belt.

Read it all at Counterterrorism Blog.

UK at Highest "Critical" Terror Level
By Jeffrey Imm

Sky News reported that: "[t]he country is now at its highest threat level and means an attack is expected 'imminently'. "The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) raised the level in response to the events of the last 48 hours".

BBC News reports that the UK's national terrorism threat level has been raised to "critical", according to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. BBC News stated that "The announcement came after a meeting of the government emergencies committee Cobra, following a burning car being driven into a Glasgow airport terminal. Ministers, police and security service officials began their third meeting in three days at 1900 BST, this time with a video link to ministers in Scotland. Cobra met earlier in the day to discuss the two car bombs found in London."

Sky News reported that "During the [Cobra] meeting, chaired by Gordon Brown, ministers discussed deploying troops at UK airports to counter any further terror attacks."

ABC News notes that "[t]he last time the threat level was raised to critical in the United Kingdom was last August after a liquid bomb plot was foiled." ABC News also states: "Although the threat level "critical" is meant to indicate an attack is imminent, in practice the British appear to have reserved its use for after an attack or attempted attack has already occurred and a follow-up attack is imminent."

Read it all at Counterterrorism Blog.

Fighter of the Month

Before Reno 911

...there was Viva Variety! I loved this Comedy Central show, which hopefully will one day make it to DVD. I'll always remember one of their acts, a song about how they didn't have drinking problems, just drinking solutions.

Watch here for a quick glimpse of some familiar faces.

"These separated members..."

I find this "policy revision" by the DOD as nauseating as it is sad. "You can't serve in the military because you're, you know, that way...but we encourage you to do important things here at home for the nation you were willing to die for but that said in return 'No thanks, faggot.'" I'll take hypocrisy for $1000 Alex.

Could Blade Runner Be Made Now?

Adam Savage of Mythbusters has a Popular Mechanics article on Blade Runner after 25 years.

Great Evo-Devo Video

The NYT has a great video up where Sean Carroll explains evo-devo. I reviewed his book, Endless Forms Most Beautiful, here.

What American "educators" will want to implement next school year

Trendy wankers continue to fuck up schools
The Devil's Kitchen

Via The Englishman, I find this piece of trendy wank-tossery: what the fuck are these lunatics thinking?

STATE secondary schools are being told to ditch lessons in academic subjects and replace them with month-long projects on themes such as global warming.

The pressure to scrap the traditional timetable in favour of cross-curricular topics is coming from the government’s teaching advisers, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).
...

Mick Waters, the QCA’s curriculum director, believes the changes will help spur enthusiasm and cut truancy. He said: “The challenge for schools is to create a nourishing and appetising feast that will sustain learners and meet their needs.

"Gerhard Carter"

Gerhard Schroeder Receives Honorary Degree in Syria
Davids Medienkritik

"Former Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schroeder received on Wednesday an honorary doctorate from the University of Damascus in honor of his positive stances towards Arab causes and his belief in dialogue between cultures, international cooperation and coexistence.


On this occasion, Schroeder affirmed Syria's right to restore the occupied Golan by international law and according to Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, pointing out to the necessity of finding a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and restoring rights.

Schroeder called the international community to prioritize security and stability in the Middle East and maintain the unity of Iraq, stressing that the US administration must end its occupation of Iraq via a timetable for withdrawal and the inclusion of neighboring countries in finding a solution for the situation in Iraq.

Schroeder rejected the policy of isolation, pointing out to the importance of encouraging and supporting mutual understanding between cultures and confronting the voices that incite conflict between civilizations. (...)

Dean of the Faculty of Law in Damascus University Fouad Deeb affirmed that Gerhard Schroeder has contributed via his distinguished political stances in setting the principles of international laws and higher values, pointing out to Schroeder's constant support of dialogue and coexistence.

Deeb also added that this honorary degree also honors the German people and their political stances that support human rights and reject the policies of hegemony and occupation.


Later, Schroeder signed Arabic-translated copies of his book "Decisions: My Life in Politics" which includes his memoirs. The book was translated into Arabic in association with Sham Holdings. (emphasis ours)

Via ¡No Pasarán!

PANORAMA 'DOES A HATCHET JOB' ON SAUDI DEAL SAYS RAF HERO
Daily Express

"The OECD making a fuss about investigations is rather farcical when you find out that it is France that’s leading the campaign to blacken Britain’s name – and win all the deals for Matra and Dassault, makers of Mirage fighter jets.

“The Saudis bought a cracking aircraft in the British Tornado and the Hawk trainer is second to none. Of course Bandar would have given his opinion. After all he could have flown the damned things if he’d wanted to. France has been out in the cold for a long time. They tried to block the military operation to rid Iraq of Saddam.

“Meanwhile they were busy building a French car manufacturing plant in Iran.

“Let’s face it, the French have always been opportunistic when it comes to weapons deals. Maybe their military industry is flat on its face.

“But we took enough French-built Exocets during the Falklands for me not to feel too sorry for them.”

The Daily Express has been told by a senior diplomatic source that the former French Prime Prime Minister, Dominique du Villepin – he famously attacked Britain and the US at the UN for proposed involvement in the second Gulf War – was heavily motivated in his outburst by the fact that the French could not field an operational aircraft carrier.

The RAF source said: “The Clemenceau, their flagship, had been in dry dock for over a year and their military contribution would have been seriously undermined and derided had they not had their military shop window in operation.

Nerd Apocalypse

Because T. has been reading Lucifer's Hammer (at my behest), it seems only fitting that Full Frontal Nerdity should bring us a timely perspective.

He can hide out in our house

As if we didn't know this would happen after the honors list came out:

U.K. Muslim Labour peer on Rushdie Rage: "What would one say if the Saudi or Afghan governments honoured the martyrs of the September 11 attacks on the United States?"

Rushdie Rage in London

Pakistani traders' association offers 10 million rupees for beheading of Salman Rushdie

Jesus Took The Wheel...And Drove Us Into A Ditch

Great post on the hypocrisy of the "religious" states.

What is the point of religiosity if it can't get what it preaches done without force?

Attack Bomber of the Month

Who can identify it?

Good. I can wear my B-3 Sheepskin Bomber Jacket again.

Read the sunspots
The mud at the bottom of B.C. fjords reveals that solar output drives climate change - and that we should prepare now for dangerous global cooling

R. TIMOTHY PATTERSON, Financial Post
Published: Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Politicians and environmentalists these days convey the impression that climate-change research is an exceptionally dull field with little left to discover. We are assured by everyone from David Suzuki to Al Gore to Prime Minister Stephen Harper that "the science is settled." At the recent G8 summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel even attempted to convince world leaders to play God by restricting carbon-dioxide emissions to a level that would magically limit the rise in world temperatures to 2C.

The fact that science is many years away from properly understanding global climate doesn't seem to bother our leaders at all. Inviting testimony only from those who don't question political orthodoxy on the issue, parliamentarians are charging ahead with the impossible and expensive goal of "stopping global climate change." Liberal MP Ralph Goodale's June 11 House of Commons assertion that Parliament should have "a real good discussion about the potential for carbon capture and sequestration in dealing with carbon dioxide, which has tremendous potential for improving the climate, not only here in Canada but around the world," would be humorous were he, and even the current government, not deadly serious about devoting vast resources to this hopeless crusade.

Read it all.

What happens when you believe GOD is talking to you? You kill a defenseless woman & her 15-month-old girl.

What I'm reading now:

Creepy, infuriating, and sad. Krakauer also gives a lot of information on the genesis of the Mormon religion.

Guess I'll Have To Start Saving My Money

How unholy can you get? Website here.

Cant...Make...It...Fit...

Original site here.

The Comical Farce Of Junk

There's been a lot of ID talk about "junk" DNA (a term I despise). The Questionable Authority dissects it pretty well. In essence, the pro-ID frauds made their bed and now they have to eat it: either you can postulate how the designer(s) work or you can't. If you can, get to work, formulate predictions, and test them. I would start with predictions about when or how certain biological mechanisms were inserted and where. Those seem like, you know, big ones...

I also like the new term "neo-Paleyians." Too funny...

Rule, Britannia!

Iran condemns British title for author Rushdie

"TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran accused Britain on Sunday of insulting Islam by awarding a knighthood to Salman Rushdie, whose novel The Satanic Verses prompted the late Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to issue a fatwa death warrant for him.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Rushdie, awarded for services to literature in Queen Elizabeth's birthday honors list published on Saturday, was 'one of the most hated figures' in the Islamic world.

Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini portrayed the decision as an act directed against Islam by Britain, which is among world powers involved in an escalating standoff with Iran over Tehran's disputed nuclear ambitions.

'Honoring and commending an apostate and hated figure will definitely put the British officials (in a position) of confrontation with Islamic societies,' Hosseini said.

'This act shows that insulting Islamic sacred (values) is not accidental. It is planned, organized, guided and supported by some Western countries,' he told a regular briefing."

Read it all at Iran Focus.

Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie

MIT in the Ahmadinejad mix

Israeli Jets vs. Iranian Nukes

by Daniel Pipes at danielpipes.org

"Barring a 'catastrophic development,' Middle East Newsline reports, George Bush has decided not to attack Iran. An administration source explains that Washington deems Iran's cooperation 'needed for a withdrawal [of U.S. forces] from Iraq.'

If correct, this implies the Jewish state stands alone against a regime that threatens to 'wipe Israel off the map' and is building the nuclear weapons to do so. Israeli leaders are hinting that their patience is running out; Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz just warned that 'diplomatic efforts should bear results by the end of 2007.'

Can the Israel Defense Forces in fact disrupt Iran's nuclear program?

Top secret analyses from intelligence agencies normally reply to such a question. But talented outsiders, using open sources, can also try their hand. Whitney Raas and Austin Long studied this problem at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and published their impressive analysis, 'Osirak Redux? Assessing Israeli Capabilities to Destroy Iranian Nuclear Facilities,' in the journal International Security.

Raas and Long focus exclusively on feasibility, not political desirability or strategic ramifications: Were the Israeli national command to decide to damage the Iranian infrastructure, could its forces accomplish this mission?"

The Natanz uranium enrichment facility.

Read it all.

Chilling, but not surprising

"Guest Worker Amnesty Program" Would Not Protect America
By Michael Cutler at Counterterrorism Blog

"Those pushing the 'Guest Worker Amnesty Program' who claim that our nation has attempted an 'enforcement only program,' and that this approach has not worked, fool no one! All that we have been provided with is the illusion of enforcement and it is the illusion that has failed to work! A Guest Worker Amnesty Program will not help to get our border under control, it will do just the opposite, providing a huge incentive to millions of aliens to run our borders with the hope (indeed, expectation) that they will be able to participate in this program!

Let us consider some of the many ways that illegal aliens and potentially criminals and terrorists can gain entry into our country:

1. Running the Mexican border
2. Running the Canadian border
3. Stowing away on a ship
4. Entering the United States through a port of entry under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program (This enables aliens from 27 countries to enter our country without first applying for and obtaining a nonimmigrant visa.)
5. Procuring a nonimmigrant tourist visa by filing a fraudulent application.
6. Entering the United States with a valid visa and then violating the terms of the visa such as overstaying the period of time for which he was admitted. (US VISIT is not currently able to track the departure of aliens who are admitted for a temporary period.)
7. Procuring a nonimmigrant student visa and then not attending the school for which the visa was issued.
8. Applying for and receiving an immigrant visa based on a fraud marriage. (If successful, this ploy provides the alien with a "green card" and puts him (her) on the path to United States citizenship.)
9. Applying for and receiving an immigrant visa based on a fraud job offer, as is the case with the marriage fraud, the alien would receive a "green card" and would place the alien on the path to United States citizenship.
10. Applying for political asylum by making a false claim of "credible fear." (Mir Aimal Kansi used this ploy. In January 1993, roughly one month before the first attack on the World Trade Center, he stood outside the headquarters of the CIA in Virginia and opened fire on CIA employees who were arriving for what they had thought would be a routine day at work. Two CIA officials died and three were wounded.) "

Read it all.

A busy week

Sorry I've been lax about our blog. Here's a sample of my activities for the past week:

• Read the entire His Dark Materials trilogy. Tip o' the hat to C. Squid for that one; it is superb.
• Got sucked into the world of Wacky Packages. I adored these stickers as a child- I found a few still stuck to an old camp table here.
• Thisbe found an addition to our turtle corral. As Thisbe discovered it (under the GateTree, no less), I dubbed it Pyramus. That makes 6. Picture soon to follow.

Wacky Packages for GateTree, Bromide 1701, & Clyde Squid.

Sound Familiar To Any Malleteers?

Is the Capitol Building the newest target of that nefarious defecator who plagued our hallowed halls in the days of yore?

Global Warming 'Deniers' Followup

The Global Warming Hoax has the finale by the reporter doing the series and links to most of the articles - our kind of stuff - link.

Why Republicans Suck

Even if you get past their false allegiance of constitutional authority, their base is debased.

Does anyone really believe that the Republicans are for a democratic republic anymore? Has anyone seen them fight for constitutional ethics lately, or just for religious-based Christian institutionalization?

A logical assessment of the world is not likely to even be on the field in our next election battle. So once again, we will be left with 2 bad choices, both "guided by god" to do what's next (as opposed to what's reasonable).

Our Top Govt. Space Geek Speaks

10 Tough Questions for NASA Chief Michael Griffin
(in Popular Mechanics).

I know it's Alexander Cockburn, but when he's right....

From ICECAP

Jun 10, 2007
Dissidents Against Dogma

"Counterpunch editor Alexander Cockburn, in a scathing indictment of global warming hysteria, shines a light on how climate science is being manipulated by climate modelers and the media. His commentary includes the conclusions of many top climatologists, geologists, geophysicists, astrophysicists and meteorologists.

Counterpunch describes itself as offering “muckraking with a radical attitude” and Cockburn is no fan of industry. But he does understand what’s going on in the global warming debate:

Back in the 1970s, as the oil companies engineered a leap in prices, the left correctly identified and stigmatized the the conspiracy. Some thirty five years, here’s the entire progressive sector swallowing, with religious fervor, a far more potent concoction of nonsense to buttress a program which will savagely penalize the poor, the third world and the environment.

Read more of this left-wing columnist’s article here."

We are all geography Geeks now.

How about "What is the largest island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island?" (link)

God Of The Universe: Lord Of Apathy And Neglect

I guess Madison, Jefferson, et al., are "right-wing Islama-phobic bloggers", as well

I've been watching this story for a while.

College's foot bath plans spark backlash
Project for Muslim students draws accusation U-M Dearborn is giving faith favored treatment.

It seems that not only are the administrators of the University of Michigan-Dearborn willing dhimmis, but the ACLU, as well:

Gallagher [spokeman for the University] argued taxpayer money won't be used for the foot baths because the $100,000 total bill for the bathrooms is underwritten by a fee students pay for building maintenance.
...
The Detroit chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union isn't getting involved, arguing the foot baths are secular since non-Muslims could use them, said spokeswoman Rana Elmir.

Read it at Dhimmi Watch.

Prepare for a week of redneck jokes

Punches Thrown On Alabama Senate Floor
- with video (scroll down)

If I could only find $150 lying on the ground....

Captain Kirk landing in Huntsville...

Great Pseudo Pop History

The Real Origin of Laugh-Out-Loud Cats

One for Clyde

At the last public display of what remains of G.od's O.wn P.arty some mammal named Sam Brownback joined two other mouthbreathers in indicating they did not believe in evolution. The NYT then gave this homo erectus a few inches to further hang himself. Over at The Edge, a place we should all frequent, Jerry Coyne, a professor in the department of ecology and evolution at the University of Chicago, filets him in a response - Don't Know Much About Biology.

A brilliant filmmaker, & my favorite director

I ran across this while searching for an authoritative list of Dell Publishing Co.'s Alfred Hitchcock Presents books. If pressed, I would probably say that the "Reduco Obesity Slayer" newspaper ad in Lifeboat is my favorite.

List of Hitchcock cameo appearances
from Wikipedia

"Thirty-seven of director Alfred Hitchcock's 53 surviving major films (the second is lost) contain a cameo appearance by Hitchcock himself.... This playful gesture became one of Hitchcock's signatures and fans would make sport of trying to spot his cameos....

Hitchcock indisputably appears in all 30 features from Rebecca (his first American film) onward; before his move to Hollywood, his appearances were sporadic."

The List

Olympic Logo Disaster

I know it doesn't really matter, but it says so much.
Among the potential logos:



The one they choose.

You History Buffs Prepare To Laugh Your Ass Off

I just flipped through TBN, my favorite comedy channel, and one of their "history" authorities was telling the son of the (homo) Paul Crouch that Alexeis de Tocqueville's seminal Democracy in America states that the reason the US was different from Europe was because of, get this, FAITH!

He even brought out the book and pointed to it! I guess that proves it then. Forget that crass property rights and common man/ anti-aristocracy shit THAT TOCQUEVILLE ACTUALLY WROTE ABOUT, it was Christianity that separated the US from Europe. I'm laughing so hard I almost spit up!

Jesus would be so proud...

Embrace The Inconvenience

Michael Behe, the biochemist who started the whole Intelligent Design thing with his book Darwin's Black Box, has a new book out. In it, he uses mathematical models to show how "Darwinism" can't produce certain biomolecular binding sites.

Several early reviews trash his mathematics and poorly reasoned premises, as to be expected. But this argument threw me for a loop: the "designer," who/whatever that is, specifically made malaria. Yeah. The argument atheists have been throwing up for decades, he embraces.

How do you worship such a beast? Creators of biogenic plagues are not looked kindly upon by modern history; deliberate spreaders of them are the villains of much science fiction. Behe's argument is not only logically vapid, it reaches a conclusion that is totally anti-theistic.

Brilliant! Good show, old man!

I'd Watch It

Another great diversion, the TV Show Pitch Generator. I got:

A conductor who can turn anything into gold enters a dance competition with a parolled murderer who wants to cure cancer. Stars Bruce Jenner and Joe Don Baker. Genre: Sci-Fi

Also funny, the Froo Froo menu generator.

Cool, Now Where's My iSquid?

Must...have...this...phone...

A Horror Re-make That I'll Actually Go See

Rob Zombie's Halloween trailer is here.

Bible Dinosaurs Live In The Jungle

The Anti-Chronicles Of Narnia

I didn't know this, but Hollywood has made a movie from The Golden Compass, part 1 of the "Dark Materials" trilogy written by Phillip Pullman. I haven't read these books (they are on my list), but I do know that they are considered more heretical than Harry Potter by the people who find heresy in such things (including the brother of our hero, Christopher Hitchens). Why? Pullman is an atheist, and these books are allegedly VERY hostile to religion. Hence, they are on my reading list.

The trailer is up at the official site here.

So good I just posted the whole article

Fat, Happy Angst-Ridden, and Stupid

posted by Joe Noory @ 12:56 AM

You are what you bleat.

One is a EU super-group of fat-fighters. Formally this is referred to as a High Level Group comprised of a representative from every member state. The group would compile programmes on nutrition, overweight and obesity health issues.

More than 50% of the adult population is overweight or obese in most member states, the EC says. In the child population, an estimated 21 million are overweight, with the number increasing by 400,000 every year.

The beaurocracy is a nice touch, isn’t it? It must be soothing somehow – something to break up the omnipresent anarchy of company and property owner wanting to do what they want with their own stuff from time to time:

Shoe factory workers in southern France took four senior managers captive on Wednesday after the firm announced plans to relocate its production to Tunisia.

Managers of Jallatte, Europe's leading manufacturer of safety shoes, told workers early Wednesday they intended to cut 285 out of 336 jobs across its four French production sites.

Furious at the news, union leaders and workers burst into a meeting in the southern town of Saint Hippolyte du Fort, attended by four top executives, including Giovanni Falco, managing director of the company's Italian owner JAL.

The managers were held captive for several hours, until Falco agreed to push back by three weeks a June 6 meeting intended to kickstart the restructuring plan.

When in doubt, the logical thing to do about a company that can’t break even is obvious: take hostages. It must be the mysterious X-factor in that “most productive people in the world” thing they keep banging on about.

Fat, happy, and stupid.

The Mahdi-come-lately gives even more reason to take out his nuclear capabilities

Ahmadinejad: Israel will be destroyed
Iran Focus

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday said the world would witness the destruction of Israel soon, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Ahmadinejad said last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah showed for the first time that the "hegemony of the occupier regime (Israel) had collapsed, and the Lebanese nation pushed the button to begin counting the days until the destruction of the Zionist regime," IRNA quoted him as saying.

"God willing, in the near future we will witness the destruction of the corrupt occupier regime," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying during a speech to foreign guests mostly from African, Arab and neighboring countries who attended ceremonies marking the 18th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who is known as the father of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Read it all.

Countdown to Israel's destruction has begun, says Ahmadinejad
Jihad Watch

"The countdown to Israel's destruction has begun, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech commemorating the death of Iranian revolution leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on Sunday.

'The arrogant superpowers and the Zionist regime invested all their efforts during the 33-day war, but after 60 years, their pride has been trampled and the countdown to the destruction of this regime has been started by Hizbullah fighters,' the president was quoted as saying by Iranian news agency Mehr."

Read it all.

I Love a Movie List

Particularly one that shows just how screwed up we are: The Best 25 Movies You've Never Seen. Well, that other people haven't seen. And there is the Divine factor, of course.

I thought Mr. Hitchens had sprung fully formed from the head of Zeus

Hitchens vs Hitchens

By PETER HITCHENS

"Am I my brother’s reviewer? A word of explanation is needed here. Some of you may know that I have a brother, Christopher, who disagrees with me about almost everything.

Some of those who read his books and articles also know that I exist, though they often dislike me if so. But in general we inhabit separate worlds – in more ways than one.


He is of the Left, lives in the United States and recently became an American citizen. I am of the Right and, after some years in Russia and America, live in the heart of England. Occasionally we clash in public."

Read it all at The Daily Mail.

I Had Forgotten This...

...but thanks to Christopher Hitchens, and his brilliant must-read God Is Not Great, I don't think I will again.

Deo Vindice, "God on our side," the motto of the CSA. Deo Vindice is now what I say whenever anyone claims that ethereal beings of some sort or another are guiding/ advising/ advocating his or her actions. Deo Vindice, indeed.

Look At All The Delicious Medicine!

Free The Hops (which has a most enlightening website) is holding the Magic City Brewfest tonight at Sloss Furnace. Here's an organization we can all get behind: one that demands that Alabama repeal its ridiculous beer laws.

I was in North Carolina when they repealed their equally absurd beer laws. As far as I know, the state has not burned to the ground, endured any pharaonic plagues, sunk into Sheol, or been struck by a celestial body. And the beer we got was really, really good.

ASO Strikes Back

In yet another addition of "Why I [Heart] Highland Park," the Alabama Symphony Orchestra is in the middle of its Sounds of Summer series. It takes place in Caldwell Park, a 3-minute walk from where I live. Last night was "The ASO Strikes Back," and as you might have guessed it was all Star Wars. Here are some pictures.
The park was pretty packed for a $20 dollar/head event. The McWane Center sponsored a sleep-over event in conjunction with this, so lots of kids were there, many dressed up. After the concert they headed to McWane to play in the museum and (hopefully) learn about science through science fiction.
The 501st was there, and the kids were loving it.
This little boy wanted to know why Leia didn't come dressed in her Tatooine bikini.

The best thing: the symphony was eating this shit up. They were clearly having a good time. Several of the women in the symphony came with their hair in Leia buns, and the conductor told stories about how the music had inspired him at an early age. And it was such a pretty night too. Very memorable and a lot of fun.

Abe Homo Sapien

A new winner in the "But The Door Has Been Open For Years" award is David Hyde Pierce, who recently came out of his Prada-filled closet.

John Travolta may try to snatch the prize away though, considering his portrayal of Divine in the movie-turned musical-turned back into a movie version of Hairspray, but every time Ms. Travolta opens his mouth, L. Ron Hubbard's purse falls out.

Someone Wrote This For Me

Battlestar - 4 & done.

It is Official : Battlestar Galactica Next Season Will be The Last Season