rm | sundries

We did set the alarm for late to get up to see the eclipse, but the plan was only to look if we could see it from our bed (we can often see the moon from our window), but we could not and so went back to sleep. The world is, however, brighter this morning, and we are glad.

Last night we found a restaurant on the edge of Soho (so it claims, is Noho/Little Italy the edge of Soho now? God help me) that has gluten-free pasta and pizza. Also, excellent ambiance and major skylight action. We're very happy.

A cruise option may be back on the menu vs. France now. We're going to try to figure it out over the holidays. I don't know.

Cards are happening for New Year's.

And we both got our Yuletide's uploaded!

Today is the day. Dogboy & Justine fundraising ends tonight at 9:22pm EST.

Travel across Europe remains severely disrupted by weather. I've heard horrible reports of friends stranded in Germany trying to get home to the US from Asia and chaos at St Pancras in London. At least the volcano wasn't cold.

14% of the US population now receives food stamps. In Washington DC that number is over 20%; if you look at people under 16, the number near doubles in some jurisdictions. Some politicians would tell you the shame is that they're lazy. The shame is that our system is so broken that so many people need our help (and make no mistake, everyone who needs help isn't getting it) and that we vilify them for it.

A Brooklyn food pantry tries a plan to allow recipients to choose their groceries. This is huge. For people who need food assistance but also suffer from diseases like celiac disease the choice is often go hungry or get sick.

100,000 homes. A plan to address chronic homelessness is actually working.

Ireland's financial woes seen in the fate of its horses. (Warning: animal suffering).

With the DADT vote, Harvard and Yale are now exploring the possibility of ROTC programs.

Meanwhile, a Virginia politician wants to make sure LGB people remained barred from the Virginia National Guard.

The UN is to make another attempt to say that killing gay people for being gay is bad. Not gay or otherwise marginalized and at risk? Imagine if you had to type that sentence with adjectives that applied to you like it was a normal thing.

George Osborne accused of homophobia. (Hi, Fandom, HOW ARE YOU TODAY?)

And in case you missed it, Haley Barbour has just blown up his presidential hopes (we hope) by letting people know that "segregation wasn't that bad." Seriously, no matter how much of a bigot you are, how bad at this public speaking thing do you have to be to let that one slip?

Law and the multiverse: Are mutants a protected legal class? What if someone is convicted of murder but then the victim comes back to life?

Paul Cornell is a lot of things (all good, Paul, all good!) including a professional creator who has written fan-fiction. As part of his 12 blogs of Christmas, today he links to fanfic from people about some of his characters.

There has been a significant fall at Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark. About 20 feet. The actor is listed in serious condition.

A space wardrobe.

Finally,

custardfairy is part of an LGBT chorus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They have an upcoming concert in January on the WCC campus. The chorus desperately needs to sell tickets, advertising and receive contributions if they are going to continue to exist past January. The website is a bit out of date, but

custardfairy says "people can also email OutLoudChorus@gmail.com for more ways to support the choir. They are a 501c organization so advertising and donations are tax deductible." For more info on attending the concert, you can contact the Chorus's email address or

custardfairy.

P.S., Happy Dalek Day! (Gosh, there's a lot of analysis to do about bodies and sexuality and absence and The Void thanks that still of the Dalek plunger blocking out Barbara's torso, ne?). The first appearance on our TVs of the Doctor's nemeses (singular or plural do you think? How collective are they? Has this changed over time? Do we need to discuss the Dalek/human hybrid?), the Daleks, happened December 21, 1963.