moment

"Cathedral" from Van Halen's 1982 Diver Down.

o holy suds

I'm bottling my latest batch of ale tonight so I thought I'd invoke an old (and official) blessing from the Rituale Romanum:

Bene+dic, Domine, creaturam istam cerevisae, quam ex adipe frumenti producere dignatus es: ut sit remedium salutare humano generi: et praesta per invocationem nominis tui sancti, ut, quicumque ex ea biberint, sanitatem corporis, et animae tutelam percipiant. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

(The + represents the Sign of the Cross.)

For those of you less versed in Latin, this translates as:

"Bless, O Lord, this creature beer, that Thou hast been pleased to bring forth from the sweetness of the grain: that it might be a salutary remedy for the human race: and grant by the invocation of Thy holy name, that, whosoever drinks of it may obtain health of body and a sure safeguard for the soul. Through Christ our Lord. Amen." *

According to this guy, Pope John XXIII in 1962 expressly allowed this blessing to be used in any pub, bar, alehouse, inn, tavern or saloon (but a club needs special permission!)

UPDATE: I stand corrected. The Pope didn't specifically address this blessing. The guy was making a jocular reference to the "Summorum Pontificum" which was issued by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 to allow priests greater freedom in using certain liturgical rites. I missed the subtle Catholic humor. Thanks for the correction.

* Some claim the following translation is more accurate, but I leave that to the linguists:

"Our lager,
which art in barrels,
hallowed be thy drink,
thy will be drunk, (I will be drunk),
at home as I am in the tavern.
Give us this day our foamy head,
and forgive us our spillages,
as we forgive those who spill against us,
and lead us not to incarceration,
but deliver us from hangovers,
for thine is the beer,
the bitter and the lager,
forever and ever,
Barmen."

academic freedom, my a**

It was only a matter of time for the Creationists. Ever since their attempt to cloak creationism in the pseudo-scientific garb of 'Intelligent Design' failed a few years ago, they have been looking for new ways to foist unscientific, supernatural views concerning the origins of life onto children in school. Now, they are claiming rights under the First Amendment. A new documentary, The Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, has recently claimed that educators and scientists are being 'persecuted' for their belief that there is evidence of design in nature. Richard Dawkins and others have protested the shoddy and deceptive way the film was made, but it seems to indicate renewed life for the admittedly nonscientific movement. Worse still, some lawmakers have gotten hold of the idea. According to the Tampa Tribune, a Florida Senate comittee recently voted 4-1 to approve a bill that would 'protect the rights of students and teachers who don't agree with the science behind Darwinian evolution.' In a supreme twist of irony, it's called an "academic freedom" act. Hopefully the Florida Senate judiciary committee, the next to see the bill, will see through this attempt to inject religion into the classrooms. Let's pray hard the Alabama legislature doesn't try such shenanigans.

bird's eye view

View of a space shuttle launch from the fuel tank. Here's what a launch looks like from inside the orbiter. Here's a synchronized collection of the two. And here's what a launch looks like to an unfortunate bird who gets in the way.

not so silly

When I was a kid I used to love three things about MAD Magazine: Spy vs. Spy, the little tiny cartoons hidden in the margins, and the fold-ins on the back cover. The New York Times has a nice retrospective of Al Jaffee's fold-ins here.

groaners follow

A thief attempted to steal paintings from the Louvre in Paris, but was caught 2 blocks away when his van ran out of gas. All the thief could say for himself was: “I had no MONET to buy DEGAS to make the VAN GOGH. But I tried for it anyway because I had nothing TOULOUSE!”

immersion therapy

Up, down.

I, robot

This is Dexter. He's very photogenic.

'The most complicated thing that humans have ever built'

Fascinating article and pictures about the Large Hadron Collider being built by CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Switzerland. Turns out it may be capable of bending time itself. Some quick facts:

• 20-year work-in-progress.
• A team of 7,000 physicists from more than 80 nations.
• 27 kilometers in circumference, 175 meters underground.
• facilitating head-on collision of protons, traveling very near the speed-of-light.
• each tunnel is big enough to run a train through it.
• temperatures generated: more than 1000,000 times hotter than the sun's core.
• superconducting magnets are cooled to a temperature colder than in deep space.

confessions of a car salesman

Edmunds.com, the ultimate website for car-purchasing advice, hired a fellow to get a job as a car salesman and report on his experiences. What he found out is worth some attention. (Long article--print it out and read it at your leisure).

so to speak

If you've been wondering whether you should use 'which' or 'that' in a sentence, ease your troubled wonderings here. On a related note, try not to use these words, ever.

options

These are bookshelves.

2 LEGIT 2 KNIT

announcement

Well folks, Mary Pat and I are immensely pleased to inform you that we’re having a baby. A baby! That’s right, a little shortie of our own. We’re due in late August and yes we will find out whether it’s a boy or girl. Updates will be forthcoming (and overwhelming). Let the games begin.

links

If you like Reddit and you like reading it on your mobile phone, then you'll appreciate Redditriver.

nice

The strength of a biological material like spider silk lies in the specific geometric configuration of structural proteins, which have small clusters of weak hydrogen bonds that work cooperatively to resist force and dissipate energy, researchers in Civil and Environmental Engineering have revealed.

This structure makes the lightweight natural material as strong as steel, even though the "glue" of hydrogen bonds that hold spider silk together at the molecular level is 100 to 1,000 times weaker than the powerful glue of steel's metallic bonds or even Kevlar's covalent bonds.

Researchers unravel the secrets of spider silk's strength

oh hillary

cycle

Michael J. Churchman, Executive Director of the Alabama Environmental Council, has sent out the following call to arms. Call your rep!

At last week's Environmental Management Commission, we learned that House Bill 395 has made it out of committee and will be voted on this week. Please contact your representative and let them know that you support recycling and ask them to support this needed legislation. You can call 334-242-7600 or use the following link to contact your representative's office. http://www.legislature.state.al.us/misc/zipsearch.html

Rep. Frank McDaniel of Albertville introduced House Bill 395, the Solid Wastes and Recyclable Materials Act. This legislation will require a $1 a ton tipping fee on solid waste which would create a fund to develop and enhance recycling programs, to identify and cleanup illegal dumpsites, and assist the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) in regulating solid waste.

Presently, Alabama is one of the last states in the country without a comprehensive recycling program. Only 81 out of the Alabama's 460 municipalities provide some kind of recycling program or service. Of the counties, 26 of 67 have recycling programs.

attaboy

Congratulations to my cousins Frank and Daphne, who gave birth to their first child on Thursday! His name is Bo Johnston. At 7lbs, 6oz, he's doing just fine.

extremely modern beds

I like almost all of these.

aahh hahaha

Black Guy Asks Nation for Change.

Obama's speech: A More Perfect Union

It is worth noting that Obama wrote this speech himself.

The New York Times has a great editorial on the speech here.

Arthur C. Clarke R.I.P.

"The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible."

Indeed.

For your creativity and prodigious output, for your clarity and devotion to the life of ideas, and for your steady gaze into the poetic reaches of space, you will be missed.

Idiom Shortage Leaves Nation All Sewed Up In Horse Pies

It's an absolute oyster carnival!

covert

Great article on the tunnels built under the French town of Arras during World War I which housed thousands of troops and allowed a great sneak attack ont he Germans in 1917.

creepy

Clandestine photos taken of Michael Jackson's Neverland.

all thumbs

These videos are hilarious overdubs of famous musicians playing awful music.

ridiculous

Why restaurants failed in Dubai.

Unbroken Chain, on piano

This is beautiful.

jolly good

Best vintage ads for modern products.

thank you

certifiable

song lyrics of the day

Almost home
And I miss the bottom stair
You were braiding your grey hair
And it's grown so long
Since I've been gone

Now the perfect girls,
By the pool, they would protest
With crosses 'round their necks,
But our sons were overseas,
And we all know about the hive and the honey bees.

Almost home
With an olive branch and a dove
You were beating on a persian rug
With your bible and your wedding band
Both hidden on the TV stand.

And the cruel wind blew
Every city father fell
Off the county carousel
While the dogs were eating snow
All our sons had sunk in a trunk
Of no ones clothes

Almost home,
We got lost on our new street,
While your grieving girls all died in their sleep,
So the dogs all went unfed,
A great dream of bones all piled on a bed

And the cops couldn't care,
When that crackhead built a boat
And said, "please, before I go
May your only honor bought
Be the kinship of the kids in the riot squad."

Carousel, Iron & Wine

keep scrolling

quote of the day

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy.

-- Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice - Act 4, Scene 1

Iron & Wine, Paradiso, Amsterdam, 1/27/08 full streamed show

Setlist here. I declare, Sam Beam is one of those rare people who touches this world with grace and fire.

what do these sentences have in common

A man, a plan, a canal, Panama.

A man, a plan, a cat, a canal, Panama.

A man, a plan, a cat, a ham, a yak, a yam, a hat, a canal, Panama.

A man, a plan, a canoe, pasta, heros, rajahs, a coloratura, maps, snipe, percale, macaroni, a gag, a banana bag, a tan, a tag, a banana bag again (or a camel), a crepe, pins, Spam, a rut, a Rolo, cash, a jar, sore hats, a peon, a canal, Panama!

i love these fences

why not.

nice

This is Google Sky. This is Mars.

with power comes great responsibility

get your Riely on

Great article in the South Bend Tribune on Mary Pat's dad Riely O'Connor and his latest round of gigs. If you live in the Midwest, get to the Midway Tavern in Mishawaka stat.

sudden cold

Impressively unintended ice sculptures.

metamorphose

The amazing life cycle of the Cecropia Silkmoth.

organic space

This guy builds some rather amazing homes. My favorite is the Nautilus.

O brave new world, that has such creatures in it

Incredible pictures and videos taken from the ocean floor below the Antarctica ice sheets.

bring on the hype

Great article in the Los Angeles Times about Alabama's wacky beer laws and the current legislation aimed at changing them.

this is either very cool or an incredible hassle

3-person chess

the next step

Introducing the Air Car. It runs on a hybrid engine that compresses air for acceleration. At speeds greater than 35 mph it uses a small amount of fuel to heat the air for greater power. The result is a car that emits little more than clean air and gets over 100 mpg. Get yours in 2010.

if you must

Get your beta version of Internet Explorer 8 here.

hope for better brew in Alabama

This is an email I just received. Good news may be on the horizon. Get involved and you can quit drinking all that cheap denatured swill.

Members and supporters of Free the Hops:
HB196, the Gourmet Beer Bill, passed the House yesterday. The fact that it passed is entirely due to all the hard work you put in to contacting your house representatives - we passed the BIR by one vote over the 3/5 majority needed, then passed the bill by 6 votes - if you had not all worked so diligently to speak to your representatives, this may have had a very different outcome!

The next step is to go to the Senate. We will be discussing this with our lobbyist to work out a timescale for this to happen, and what you can do to help pass the Senate bill, which may not happen for another few weeks.

Thank you again - we are one step closer to Freeing the Hops!

Stuart Carter
President
Free the Hops | Alabamians for Specialty Beer

the point of all religions

how very true

I personally prefer the politician who is willing to change his or her mind when they feel the facts have changed. The facts are always changing. As long as a politician bases the change on new facts and not on merely the popular will or the wishes of a donor, I have no problem.

best unintended energy drink ad ever

1. Wake up to find yourself on the floor of an airplane in the sky. You are only wearing a pair of shorts.
2. There is a Red Bull in your hand. Drink it.
3. Crawl over to the open door and jump out.

good morning

To hold the sun.

true

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

- Mark Twain

bon mots

great retorts. My favorite:

In the 1920s, Dorothy Parker was establishing a reputation as a witty woman with a sharp tongue (the actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell called her, "My pretty, pretty cobra"). At the same time, Clare Booth Luce was becoming a respected journalist and well-known playwright. While both women were highly talented, their numerous political, philosophical, and personal differences resulted in a strained relationship. One day, Parker was about to step through a doorway when she came face-to-face with Luce. As the story goes, Mrs. Luce stepped aside, extended the palm of her hand, and said coyly, "Age before beauty." Parker glided through the door, saying ever-so-sweetly:

"Pearls before swine."