sundries

Do you all remember Tiny Kitten that showed up in our hallway some time ago? Well, Tiny Kitten is now Teenage Kitten and Patty encountered him again yesterday for the first time in months and couldn't figure out where he belonged, but then he disappeared. But, that said, there's a litter box up on the roof-access floor, and it's one thing if he's an outdoor cat, but he can't be hallway cat! So if we see him again and there are still no obvious caretakers, we're taking him in, separating him from the other cats, putting up signs and bringing him to the vet and fostering if need be. We are concerned!

I'm really, really hoping that because Patty is More Organized Than Me, I did not just accidentally throw out my passport this morning. It's going to be okay.

Patty is probably buying her ticket to Cardiff today. Does anyone have any thoughts on traveling cheaply in Europe (in case we're able to meet up on the weekends while I'm in Switzerland before I get to go over there for a bit)? I found a bunch of $30 airfares yesterday, that then had another $250 in taxes. Also, Easy Jet? Wonderful or Satan-spawn?

Don't be shocked, at least some some 9/11 families support Park 51. (Also, Dear CNN, it is not a mosque and it is not at Ground Zero).

Can we talk about the "Ground Zero" nomenclature for a moment? I hate it. I have hated it since it happened. I am a child of the cold war. A nuclear bomb was not dropped there. The site of the horror is not the center of terrorism, and hello, horrible shit happened in DC and Pennsylvania too. "Ground Zero" has been, since the beginning, a useful term to frame, not just what happened at the WTC as an act or war, but to frame this idea of ourselves ("The West") being at war with Islam (which we shouldn't be, and is what the terrorists are trying, successfully apparently, to trick us into), and that's not a type of useful I can support.

Are you fucking kidding me? The NYC MTA wants to raise our monthly unlimited transit cars from $89 to $130. Getting to work shouldn't be a luxury. Here's a petition, although I have no idea if that's useful. But my outrage needs a link.

More schoolgirls poisoned in Afghanistan.

Philadelphia wants its bloggers who are running ads on their sites to buy a business license. The licenses cost more than the profits most people make on their blogs, and are in addition to business taxes.

Speaking of, sort of: alchemia is in financial need because of medical and other issues and has set up a webpage with advertising and hoping page views can help raise some of the necessary funds (an extra $1,200 a month has just been added to the budget). I'll be frank and say this before a bunch of you say it to me in comments: I'm skeptical about this plan, not because it's a scam (it's not a scam, it doesn't hurt you in any way), but because asking people for page views can cause problem with some ad services ToS, and because it's hard to earn big money with online advertising as a small content provider (trust me, I know this personally). However, it doesn't cost you anything to try to help. Information on why help/how you can help/what the plan is.

Huge WSJ article on gluten-free. This is a useful article if you want a basic understanding of my daily concerns, the complexity of which even those who are trying to help often don't understand. Also, while I am a Yankees fan, not a Mets fan, I will now make a point of going to a Mets game as they have gluten-free hotdogs and beer available. Thank you, Mets!

In Pakistan, 800,000 people are now only accessible by air. help_pakistan.

The hidden gay cadets of West Point. It's not just Katherine Miller.

The dark history of immigrant labor and America's rails at Duffy's Cut.

The struggle for women's suffrage (granted 90 years ago Thursday in the US) mirrors national divides on today's issues.

The New York City Council is set to vote on an ordinance requiring clerks to inform gay couples seeking domestic partnerships of the other, non-New York jurisdictions in which they can marry and have their marriage legally recognized in New York instead. This is interesting, as it both shames New York State, takes dollars from us for being fuck-ups, but also is, in some way, a first step to eliminating the domestic partnership (which both straight and gay couples, and pairs who are not in romantic/sexual relationships are eligible for in New York City), which grants only a very limited set of rights, but holds some interest locally for those philosophically opposed to marriage.

Monks battle the casket cartel.

Last night on Angel: ( Read more... )

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