Disgustingly Cute: the Splendors of Feline Heterochromia

Jeepers creepers, where'd ya get those peepers?  Jeepers creepers, where'd ya get those eyes?

Nerd News: 2 More Depressing Looks at Higher Ed

One and two.

Life Imitates Aldous Huxley?

Kyle Smith ponders Brave New World in 2012.

Quirky Euro Files: Germany's Pirate Party

In all honesty, I just wanted to post this little picture of one logo which is, undeniably, quirky-humorous-cute.  Read more about the Pirate Party here and here or go right to its website.  What started as a kind of joke, computer geek/nerd political satire, and protest vote tweaking the stodgy political establishment has morphed into something else - something that actually seems to be generating a bit of real political steam.

Another Reason I Love Jimmy Kimmel

A real comedian takes potshots at everyone, and Kimmel's hilarious.  Here's a sampling from the recent White House Correspondents' Dinner as he riffs on this kerfuffle:

“Mr. President, I know you won’t be able to laugh at any of my jokes about the Secret Service so cover your ears if that’s physically possible,” said Kimmel. “If this had happened on President [Bill] Clinton’s watch, you can damn well bet those Secret Service agents would have been disciplined with a very serious high five.”

Bwahaha!

Meet Chen Guangcheng, the Blind Chinese Dissident ... Who Just Escaped House Arrest

READ THIS.  Blurb:

The dramatic nighttime escape of a blind rights lawyer from extralegal house arrest in his village dealt a major embarrassment to the Chinese government and left the United States, which may be sheltering him, with a new diplomatic quandary as it seeks to improve its fraught relationship with Beijing. 

The lawyer, Chen Guangcheng, one of the best-known and most politically savvy Chinese dissidents, evaded security forces surrounding his home this week and, aided by an underground network of human rights activists, secretly made his way about 300 miles to Beijing, where he is believed to have found refuge in the American Embassy, according to advocates and Chinese officials.

Headline Shenanigans at NPR

*eye roll*  Our self-proclaimed intellectual betters can be real idiots.

Ave atque Vale, Sydney Wignall

This brief bio reads like one heck of a thriller.  Someone make a movie!  Blurb:

Sydney Wignall, who has died aged 89, was an adventurer who, in 1955, led the first Welsh Himalayan Expedition with the intention of climbing Gurla Mandhata, at 25,355ft the highest peak in Chinese-occupied Tibet; in his book Spy on the Roof of the World (1997), he recounted how he was captured by the Red Army and held in jail accused of being a CIA spy.

I just put that book on my to-read list.  Goodness, is it just me or do the Brits really publish some smashing obits?  Wignall then became a marine archaeologist excavating shipwrecks from the Spanish Armada.  Wow, what a glorious bad@$$!

Friday Fun Video: Awesome Yo-Yo Trick

Fugly or Fabulous: Guys In Shorts

P.J. O'Rourke has some thoughts.  Nobody wants to look at your pasty legs.  Sorry.  On the other hand, I am on the record as being very much in favor of good suits and the iconic crisp white shirt.  Even if it's all rumpled, it looks fine.  (If it's any consolation, I stopped wearing shorts in public a long time ago myself.  A summer dress, be it cute-pretty or sleek-sophisticated, is just as cool and comfy - and far more charming and age-appropriate.)

Quote of the Day: the Secret Service's Naughty Antics

The Insta-Prof has this thought:

If the federal government can’t keep the President’s bodyguards from drinking and whoring on duty, how likely is it to be able to run anything competently?

Bwahahaha!

Killing CISPA

Too much power.  You know, probably the most troubling thing about bills like this and SOPA/PIPA is how the people behind them seem to know/care waaaaay too little about the Internet, technology, reality, etc. and then get all defensive when actual geeks, nerds, and Internet users object.  Anyway, CISPA's pernicious:

What sparked the recent privacy outcry over CISPA -- including a petition signed by nearly 800,000 Internet users -- are portions of the law that would allow Internet companies to open their networks and customer databases to the Feds for cybersecurity purposes. 

Probably the most controversial section of CISPA says that "notwithstanding any other provision of law," companies may share information with Homeland Security, the IRS, or the National Security Agency. By including the word "notwithstanding," CISPA's drafters intended to make their legislation trump all existing federal and state laws, including ones dealing with wiretaps, educational records, medical privacy, and more.

Seriously?  Come on, Congress.  Orwell was meant as a cautionary tale, not a playbook.  So, sure, cybersecurity is a real issue, but we mustn't settle for horrible "solutions."

MM in the Kitchen: Eggs Benedict

Hey, breakfast is the most important meal of the day!  Or something.  Any excuse to eat eggs Benedict is a good one.

Awesome: the Best-Dressed, Most Polite Protest Ever

Brilliant!  Stay classy, everyone!

Nerd Fun: Animals Disappointed In Your College Performance

This is hilarious.  Here's an astute slice of undergrad education that's especially piquant as the semester rockets to a close and students who haven't done anything all term now begin to panic.  An example:

Netanyahu on Iranian Sanctions

Running out of time and patience.

LOL: Craptastic Fantasy Book Cover Poses

Don't try emulating them unless you have a really good chiropractor.  Exhibits A, B, and C, with an additional thought.

The Imperial Presidency, Updated

*Sigh.*  I found this bit of the article interesting (my emphasis in bold)

William G. Howell, a University of Chicago political science professor and author of “Power Without Persuasion: The Politics of Direct Presidential Action,” said Mr. Obama’s use of executive power to advance domestic policies that could not pass Congress was not new historically. Still, he said, because of Mr. Obama’s past as a critic of executive unilateralism, his transformation is remarkable.

Heh.  YOU DON'T SAY!  

Quote of the Day: Friedman's Fresh Folly

Indeed: "Let our mockery of Thomas Friedman reach the very heavens."

Monday Therapy: the "PhD Comics" Movie!

First there was this delightful comic strip about grad school.  Now it's a movie!  RELATED: In case you think that once you're out of grad school you're out of the woods ... Tenure: the Movie.