Sochi's gay scene

There is an interesting AP article this morning about the gay scene in Sochi. I kid you not. Russia is an odd country.

Aravosis nails it again

John Aravosis has a great post over at AmericaBlog about the current moral state of the Catholic church. Seriously, go read it. And wait for the last line of the post.

Why isn't there a Straight Pride month?

The headline above is the title of a terrific LZ Granderson article at CNN. Here's an excerpt:

Just as Stokely Carmichael's "Black is Beautiful" became the rallying cry against racism in the 1960s; just as "I am woman, hear me roar" was the anthem against sexism in the 1970s; "gay pride" is the banner that flies over a people whose dignity continues to be put to a vote in 2013.

And his answer to why there isn't a Straight Pride month is this:

Because Congress has yet to pass a law requiring people to hide the fact they are straight. Because the streets are not filled with children who have been kicked out of their homes for being straight. Because there seems to be a lack of stories in which someone has been beaten, tied to a fence and left to die or shot in the face at point blank range because they were straight.

I've heard bigots ask this question many times. Now they've got their answer. Good to see this on a popular site like CNN.

This looks great

Have you seen the trailer for "Europa Report"? It looks so good! It's been ages since a good American sci-fi movie was released. I can't wait to see it.

Tiny Chinese fossil is earliest primate

"From this almost complete skeleton, we can conclude that our ancestors were a kind of very small animal. It was very active and agile; and it lived in the trees and fed on insects," he told BBC News.

(and)

Many people may be taken aback by the animal's small size - a body just 71mm in length and an estimated weight of about 20-30g. But Archicebus gives us a good idea of what the very first primates on Earth would have looked like. 

Go read the whole thing over at BBC News.

PZ nails it

Just go read it.

Method to trap carbon dioxide while producing green energy

I read a lot of science stories. Sadly, part of this experience is that I encounter news that seems extremely hopeful -- but then I never hear about it again. This may be one of those disappearing wonders. But if it works, it could solve many of our problems.

The basic idea is that scientists have discovered a way to trap carbon dioxide while simultaneously producing hydrogen for clean energy and a product that can de-acidify the oceans. Talk about a free lunch! This would be marvelous if it's both true and cost-effective. Time will tell.

I sure hope it works. We're going to need an earthshaking discovery to avert climate-based extinction. Perhaps this is it.

Great, funny article on gay marriage

You have to read this. It's heartwarming and I promise it will make you laugh.

Bruni on Collins

Frank Bruni has a good column about Collins coming out. Here's just a bit:

If you read all of Collins’s article, and you should, you’ll come away realizing that the gay part of him was and is so big only because his world — by which I mean America, and by which I mean pro sports — made it so. 

Note: I added the link to Collins' article at Sports Illustrated. It wasn't in the original.

I think I like this trend. Plus, it's fun to wonder who will be the next athlete to step out of that fusty old closet.

Good article at AmericaBlog

John Aravosis has a post up called "The gay kiss as political weapon". It's great and he's right. Two men kissing! Two women kissing! Some people get the vapors over this but images of same-sex kisses are powerful and have played a role in the fight against anti-gay bigotry.

He's also got a shot of the Time covers. Very cool, as is Time's headline: "Gay Marriage Already Won". Yes, indeed. If you haven't seen the cover(s), click on over to John's post.

Good article about caring for old people

You care for old people and then they die. That's the brutal truth. One writer's take on the whole thing. It's quite good.

Reading is dead in Mexico

The Country That Stopped Reading is an op-ed by David Toscana. It's about Mexico's vast illiteracy. Even the teachers don't read. Amazing.

Only for physics freaks

A seminal event in quantum reality has occurred. The article about the experiment isn't for light science readers, but if you follow quantum matters, check out A Non-Quantum Causal Eraser at physorg.

Short excerpt:

"In a certain sense, quantum events are independent from space and time", says Anton Zeilinger.

I love when scientists talk dirty.

(PS: My own take is that "spooky action at a distance" is the result of extra dimensions -- which is also why particles jump into and out of existence in the quantum foam. Gotta be.)

Amid the chaff

This was my favorite Xmas story of 2012 (aside from Xmas Carol, of course). It's the one about Santa signing to a deaf child. So sweet.

How was your Xmas?

Good article

AP is running a story about Hilde Zadek, a 95-year-old opera singer. I found it interesting and wanted more. Here's a link.

Don't read this story

Seriously, whatever you do, don't read this story. It could ruin your life.

Cockburn on Tom Friedman

We lost an important voice when Alexander Cockburn died last week. I think he'd be gratified to see so many blogs providing links to his work. Writers never actually die, you know. As long as their words are read, they live on. And he was widely read this week, and will be for quite some time. (Yes, I'm leading to a Cockburn link. Hang on.)

Yesterday, Glenn Greenwald skewered Tom Friedman on his blog and mentioned a great Cockburn putdown of Friedman. I followed the link and the article was a joy to read. It includes a bounty of embarrassing stories about Friedman's humongous ego. Read the article if you enjoy seeing Friedman shamed. (And who doesn't?)

Lifting the veil on Anthony Shadid's death

There's an interesting story at counterpunch this weekend. It's about the circumstances of journalist Anthony Shadid's death. It seems the NYT version of events may not have been accurate.

Here's an excerpt:

At this point, Dr. Shadid said, Anthony called his wife and “gave his last haunting directive: ‘If anything happens to me, I want the world to know the New York Times killed me.’”

If this is true, Anthony Shadid's last wish was that you read this story. I've read it and sadly, it seems plausible.

That incredible time

Booman posted a great excerpt from Hunter Thompson today. It's about the 1960s and what it was like to be young back then. You have to read it.

Religious fool dies

Jerry Coyne has the story.