Potpourri early on a Thursday

IMPORTANT (BUT PERHAPS NOT PLEASANT)

1. PRELUDIUM: Six Bishops of one mind doing the right… – What? Religious leaders standing up for equal rights for gays? Aaaah … they’re Episcopalians. I guess this seems a bit more progressive than our brethren across the ocean: Church of England issues ‘apology’ to Darwin.
2. Crows use causal reasoning – Go, corvids, go!
3. Colorado’s Salazar may back Matheson oil-shale plan – Salazar is a hack. That said, I have a long-term interest in oil shale (it was a major topic of discussion in my high school debate class back in (cough) 1975, and my company does work related to this up in Canada). My concern is not over oil shale itself, but over the environmental impacts of its extraction. Show me how it’s going to be properly regulated, and you can start digging in my back yard.
4. dog fight over england – What’s remarkable is not that the Crufts dog show is threatening to yank its broadcast contract with the BBC over a damning tell-all about the pure-bred dog industry and dog shows, but that the BBC would still consider carrying the competition.
5. Oops! My bad. – This is wrong — badly wrong — on so many levels, from a goofy “manslaughter” conviction to the War on Drugs.
6. Public Resource wants to open source America’s operating system… – Why it is so difficult to get laws and legal codes out into the public eye so that anyone can look them up online remains a mystery to me. Well, I’m sure there are special interests that don’t want it to happen, but functionally it seems like a no-brainer to me.
7. A private eye’s best friend – Remember that when you call up Domino’s. Of course, if you’re ordering Domino’s pizza, you probably deserve it.
8. Houston food banks need your help – And if you can, you should.
9. Deciphering the myriad of claims on a carton of eggs – I actually spend a lot of time parsing egg cartons myself. It’s my one sop to avoiding animal cruelty, since it’s pretty straightforward and, ostensibly, on the label. And, unlike various types of meat, one has an array of choices for eggs at the supermarket. Bottom line for me — I want cage-free, free-range chickens laying my eggs, getting afternoon massages, and playing with puppies and unicorns in flowery fields.
10. Oregon man threatens suit for the right to video-record cops… – Police have a full right to privacy — when they take their badges and uniforms off at the end of their shift. When they are acting as public servants, their every move should be open to public scrutiny.

TRIVIAL (BUT PROBABLY MORE ENJOYABLE)

1. Welcome to the Official site for Talk Like A Pirate Day … – It’s tomorrow! Yikes! If you want to do a blog make-over, here’s a valuable resource: Pirates & Fonts
2. PeterDavid.net: George and Brad’s wedding – More news from the Mr-and-Mr Sulu wedding.
3. Golden Age Comic Book Stories – Lovecraft art – Lovecraft’s horror is best suited to the mind’s eye. When rendered in art — especially more conventional art — it looks … almost cute. Certainly you lose the whole non-Euclidean bit.
4. Selling Spells – I suspect most magick practitioners I know wouldn’t approve. 
5. Bioshock, Resident Evil 5 and more go Atari 2600 – Fun.
6. There will be a sixth “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” novel… – But not from Douglas Adams (obviously). Not feeling particularly enthusiastic here.
7. American Legion WWII posters – These are awesomely cool. There is something very clean and straightforward and effective about propaganda posters.
8. Roses for KTLA’s Stephanie Edwards | Show Tracker… – Stephanie Edwards’ unintentional loopiness was sorely missed thee past few years during the Rose Parade, after KTLA kicked her (literally, then figuratively) to the curb. It will be entertaining to have her back.
9. Toilet Paper Breakthrough – Three-ply will no doubt be followed by four-ply, five-ply, and five-ply with battery-operated vibro-action.