Hot Man of the Day

Black and white makes this hairy man even sexier.

Daily Cat

"Islamophobia"

Can there be such a thing, or is it just self-preservation at work?

I love Pat Condell.

Evolution

I love science (and animation)!

Daily Cat

Steve Walker's Art

I really like the work of this artist. He evokes many feelings - more than simple eroticism (though that's present too) - melancholy, longing, joy, sadness, love... Often he conveys a sense of loneliness or solitude, even when there are two men featured. At other times, he presents the connections which help his subjects transcend this isolation. "Remove the gender of the painting's subjects and what we have is human relationships in general, and one's relationship to the world itself," he said. "As a homosexual I have been moved, educated, and inspired by works that deal with a heterosexual context. Why would I assume that a heterosexual would be incapable of appreciating work that speaks to common themes in life, as seen through my eyes as a gay man. If the heterosexual population is unable to do this, then the loss is theirs, not mine." 

Hot Man of the Day

More Bara

Remembering Harvey Milk

The Fruits of Religion

In Libya, an Islamic salafist militia has kidnapped and published its intention to torture and execute a group of gay men for no reason other than existing. This is the fruit of religion, historically (especially for gay people): terror, persecution, oppression, imprisonment, torture, castration, and execution (have I left anything out?). The historically christian world has, by and large, moderated its more egregious offenses (except in Africa, see here, here, and here), mainly because of the intervening Enlightenment era, where reason took charge and the church was brought to heal. No such luck in the Muslim world where gays are actively hunted down and imprisoned or executed in the name of religion. As I pointed out, however, Christians needn't be smug: their religion is still the mainspring of homophobia in the West. How can reasonable people still regard these ancient superstitions with anything but contempt?

Saturn and Its Moon Tethys

On Aug. 19, 2012, the hardest-working spacecraft in the solar system, Cassini, was 2.4 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) from Saturn when it snapped this overwhelming portrait of the ringed planet. Its moon, Tethys, is in the upper left corner, dwarfed by the huge planet and its thousands of rings.

Daily Cat

Cat waits while fish are being cleaned
in Nicaragua.

Yaoi/Bara of the Day

I can't get enough of this stuff. It's too bad that we in the west give it short-shrift: our graphic output, though interesting, doesn't seem to have the creative zest that the Japanese give it. They have a wonderful cornucopia of imaginative output that leaves us in the dust. Perhaps its the historical repressiveness around sexuality which brings it out imaginatively, I don't know. What I do know is that their culture allows its expression, while here in America it's often repressed, particularly its more fringe forms (shota, guro). Anyway, I intend to post more often these fine artistic expressions of gay graphic sensibility:

 

I'm not surely what exactly is going on here, but it sure is interesting!

 

Tattoos...

or, as I prefer to call them, body art. They can be quite beautiful, and serve as an enhancement to the human body. I, myself, have a few, and I also regard them as an expression of my spirituality. Here's a couple of examples of such work:

Daily Cat

Yaoi & Bara con't.

Walking

Blackest Friday

The beginning of the High Holy Days of America's true god: the Almighty Dollar:

Science vs. Fundamentalist Religion

There are those who disagree with modern science concerning such matters as evolution and the age of the universe, desiring, instead, to adhere to their interpretation of the Bible. Some of these are actually in the government, in positions of power:
 Representative Paul Broun, who sits on the House Committee on Science and Technology, recently stated that it was his belief that the Universe is only 9,000 years old.

 Alex Knapp at Forbes points out the implications of this:

...if Broun is right and physicists are wrong, then we have a real problem. Virtually all modern technology relies on optics in some way, shape or form. And in the science of optics, the fact that the speed of light is constant in a vacuum is taken for granted. But the speed of light must not be constant if the universe is only 9,000 years old. It must be capable of being much, much faster. That means that the fundamental physics underlying the Internet, DVDs, laser surgery, and many many more critical parts of the economy are based on bad science. The consequences of that could be drastic, given our dependence on optics for our economic growth.

It's not just that the fundamentalists get the science wrong, it's the practical implications that are worrying. If we were to abandon science to appease them, we would also have to abandon the technology which underlies the modern world. Why must we tolerate such ignorance? If Awakening is to mean anything, it means that we must wake up to the false information religion we are being fed in the name of religious orthodoxy and follow where reason leads.

Hot Man of the Day

Daily Cat

Daily Cat

For your viewing pleasure:  a yaoi furrie, an anthropomorphic tiger

Bad Santa

Obama gifts' comment shows Romney is clueless about the real USA

Commercial of the Day

After spending much of my childhood gorging on Hostess products (including twinkies and Ding Dongs), I was surprised by their impending bankruptcy. They just seemed like a force of nature. Still, there is something about them and their products which I am glad to see gone: their extreme artificiality, perhaps? Anyway, here's a scary commercial from my childhood to ease their going...

Sorry about the job losses, but good riddance...

Hot Men of the Day

More Yaoi...

Hot Man of the Day

Farthest Galaxy

This is fascinating: the farthest known galaxy has been discovered and photographed:

The new record holder is the galaxy MACS0647-JD, which is about 13.3 billion light-years away. The universe itself is only 13.7 billion years old, so this galaxy’s light has been traveling toward us for almost the whole history of space and time.
Astronomers spotted the object using NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, with the aid of a naturally occurring cosmic zoom lens as well. This lens is a huge cluster of galaxies whose collective gravity warps space-time, producing what’s called a gravitational lens. As the distant galaxy’s light traveled through this lens on its way to Earth, it was magnified.

I constantly marvel at the size and age of our universe, and at our ability to record and increase our understanding of it. I recently read that there are hundreds of billions of galaxies, even perhaps a trillion!! It appears that there are many, many galaxies which we simply cannot see. This size may be intimidating to some, but it leaves me awestruck, and puts my petty problems in perspective. Not only that, I am a part of this vastness, and am comforted that there is something much, much bigger than myself going on of which I am a part, however small. It reminds me to constantly expand my vision of reality and resist the boxes our culture constantly tries to fit us in.

Xmas In Disneyland

I went to Disneyland with a friend yesterday and enjoyed the Xmas decorations. They always dress up the park nicely, and this year they had the added attraction of the new Carsland, where they put up a lot of clever pieces. Notice above: the garlands are made up of air filters, with a tire for a wreathe. There's a nice element of humor here: trees made up of hubcaps, oilcans, roadsigns, cones, etc., which I like. I think this is one of Disney's more successful ventures (although the main ride of closed, I've ridden it before, and it's definitely an "E" ticket). It's nice to have a pass where one can take one's time and enjoy the park rather than rushing around trying to cram in as much as possible.

Bart Has Mitt's Number

The Right Wing Alternate Universe

From the L.A. Times:

Right-wingers will not let go of their own misleading mythology. They have a constricted vision of who the “real Americans” are and who they are not. Until election night, they still believed that people like themselves constituted a majority in this country. Now that they are faced with the truth of their own diminishing numbers, they are rejiggering reality. Incapable of accepting that the millions of people who voted for Obama are overwhelmingly hardworking, family-loving, patriotic Americans, they have to imagine them as the “takers” that Ayn Rand warned them were coming.

This is a necessary self-deception. Otherwise, conservative crazies would have to face an inconvenient truth: On election day, a majority of real Americans rejected them.

Daily Cat

Zen cat

Hot Man of the Day

Daniel Craig

Skyfall

I saw "Skyfall" over the weekend with a number of friends. We all quite enjoyed it. In fact, I think it's one of the best "Bonds" I've seen (and my experience goes back to the opening of "Goldfinger"). Daniel Craig is probably the best Bond since Sean Connery, who created the role. It's not just that he's handsome with a great body (which they show off to great effect), but that he's also an excellent actor in his own right. He brings to Bond a gravitas which has seldom been on display in the past. The film directly addressed the question of aging and turning the series' attention to the new challenges of the modern age in a number of ways - from the new Q's youth to M's age and years on the job, and, specifically, her testimony before a parliamentary committee. Bond, himself, definitely shows the effects of aging and the physical effects he has endured (from the scars to the lines on his face and world-weary attitude). All this builds to create a deeper, more mature experience which enriches the action and violence and sex which are the hallmarks of Bond films. Everything from the writing to the cinematography to the direction (Sam Mendes of "American Beauty") to Adelle's song (and the excellent title sequence) was top-notch. This series is a re-boot of sorts, and this film seems like a re-boot and re-dedication. I hope they continue... Recommended!

 

Light Sculpture

From the Creators Project description of Matt Pyke's stunning project, Made by Humans

Ad of the Day

Now this is funny!

Smart and innovative. Why can't more ads be like this?

World War Z

Zombie Apocalypse! There's a novel (which I have not read) that's supposed to be really good (really, there's only so much time). And now there's a movie coming. With Brad Pitt! Take a look:

I mean, it looks really good. But we've been snookered before ("John Carter" comes to mind). But it makes me want to see it. I love fast zombies, and these are the fastest ever (just look at the still above). And it has Brad Pitt! Oh, well...here's hoping.

The Election

Apparently, Charles Darwin received 4,000 write-in votes in a congressional election in Georgia. No wonder, the incumbent, Republican incumbent, Paul Broun, is known for calling evolution "lies straight from the pit of hell." He also ran unopposed, so one can conclude that his district is very "safe" (though not safe for the rational). I guess when one lives in such an area, and respects science and reason, the only alternative is to write in a long-dead Englishman in protest against such a stifling hegemony.

Hot Man of the Day

Daily Cat

Daily Cat

Cutest kitten website of the day:

Yaoi of the Day

Poster of the Day

Daily Cat

Hot Men of the Day

Wreck-It Ralph

I saw "Wreck-It Ralph" last night and had a thoroughly delightful time. Though many might avoid this little flick because of the gaming milieu, I recommend you put this aside and consider it above more "serious" fare (or see it in addition to). The main character (seen above in a " Bad-Anon" meeting - a very funny take on a 12-step group for bad guys) is Wreck-It Ralph, a gaming villain tired of being the bad guy. His quest to be accepted and, even loved (he has a heart, after all), leads him on an adventure in a neighboring game where he gets to find a selfless heroism which is real and not just the hero's medal he initially seeks. The animation is well-crafted and the voice work is spot-on (especially Jane Lynch as the tough-as-nails soldier). Not just for the gamers among us...an intelligent use of pop culture to tell a timeless story of the Hero's Quest. I recommend...