Nothing Says "Man Food" Quite Like...

... bacon cups!

Another Hot Piece of Glass

I had so much fun the other weekend, I signed up for 6 more weeks of afterwork glassblowing classes. When I've finished, I should be able to rent time in the studio for my own projects, of which I have ideas for a few dozen at this point.

So far, this is acting like all my hobbies, several months of intense, focused interest while I learn mad skillz, followed (hopefully) by several years of increasingly complicated projects.

Unlike digital art though, this is expensive and each piece is not abled to be copied en masse, so most folks won't see what I'm up to. However, its possible you might get a misshapen lump of colored paperweight for a birthday, anniversary, bar-mitzvah or gift-giving holiday.

Try to be polite when you get it. It's meant with goodwill.

Science AND Magic

News from the Vatican

First the science:

Writing in the Vatican newspaper, the astronomer, Father Gabriel Funes, said intelligent beings created by God could exist in outer space.
Father Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory near Rome, is a respected scientist who collaborates with universities around the world.
The search for forms of extraterrestrial life, he says, does not contradict belief in God.
The official Vatican newspaper headlines his article 'Aliens Are My Brother'.

Take out the god stuff and yeah, thats pretty much the standard idea. There isn't any evidence yet that it's true, but the basic idea, that if life is possible here, is possible elsewhere, is a standard assuption. Also, it turns out, one of my colleagues fromgrad school, Doug McGonagale, became a priest after graduation and is still involved in astrophysics, so this doesn't surprise me.

now for the magic:

Just as there are multiple forms of life on earth, so there could exist intelligent beings in outer space created by God. And some aliens could even be free from original sin, he speculates.

So it could be Zanzar and Xloric in the Garden of Chotalis on Tau Ceti Prime. Until a wicked sunoraxyl comes along and tempts them with a fizbin. Then it's low road to civilization for Tau Ceti Prime. Now that's really just a guess, you understand, of what could be going on there. All the Bible really tells for sure is that it's Zanzar and Xloric not Zanzar and Zorric in the Garden.

Catholics! God Love'm

Blind Man Gets 3 Year Driving Suspension

WTF?

A blind man convicted of dangerous driving, after police spotted his car on the wrong side of the road, has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Omed Aziz, 31, from Darlaston, West Midlands, who was being directed by an allegedly banned driver, was given 12 weeks in prison suspended for a year.

He has also been banned from driving for three years and ordered to take an extended driving test.

????
"dangerous driving"
Is there some other kind when you're blind?

Best Understatement of the Week.

From TPM on a race between 2 GOP candidates for an open House Seat:

They're going all out in the Republican primary for the open seat of Democrat Darlene Hooley in Oregon. One of the GOP candidates says he had no choice but to publicize a two-year-old email accusing his opponent of paying for an abortion for a woman he impregnated.

I wouldn't want to be seated between those two at the next Lincoln Day event.

You Can Actually See the Piece Go Pear-Shaped

David Brooks talks about "the militant materialism of some modern scientists". The first 2 paragraphs are actually pretty good. The he says,

just as Einstein’s theory of relativity affected art

Ut-oh.

Conversion Story

This is very funny!

“Goddammit,” I pouted, “I guess when you’ve got the Holy Ghost, you miss all the fun.”