Suggested by Shaker jay_bee: "If/when you travel to a new city for fun (or not-for-fun but you have some free time) what do you make a point of doing? I always visit public parks and local grocery stores. If I have more time, I like to find local microbreweries and art galleries or museums. But grocery stores are my favorites in a new place. You just learn and see things you would never otherwise! Local brands, what fruits are in season, local specialties in the bakery or deli, etc. :)"
I also love visiting grocery stores in new places!
Question of the Day
Your Best Photograph
If you're a photographer, even if a very amateur one (like myself), and you've got a photo or photos you'd like to share, here's your thread for that!
It doesn't really have to be your best photograph—just one you like!
Please be sure if your photo contains people other than yourself, that you have the explicit consent of the people in the photos before posting them.
* * *
Here's one I took not so long ago of a sassy seagull, just hanging out in the parking lot at the grocery store, hoping someone would drop something tasty:
The Monday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by leaves.
Recommended Reading:
Tim: [Content Note: Rape; rape apologia] Patrick Kane Is Not Your Friend
Jelani: [CN: Hurricane; flood; racism; classism; death] Race and the Storm
Monica: [CN: Transmisogynoir; violence; death] And Kandis Makes 15
Alan: [CN: Misogynoir; self-harm; police misconduct] Sandra Bland Isn't Going Away
Susie: [CN: Worker exploitation; misogyny] Working for Amazon
Arturo: In His Own Words: Julian Bond (1940-2015)
George: Remains of "Warrior Princess" Found Buried Alongside Dagger and Sword
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
OH GOODY!
[Content Note: Weight loss and diet talk.]
I got another terrific email from Dr. Oz today!
Hahahahahahahaha! You know, I think I'll risk it!
*delete*
Again, I will observe: That warning is pretty rich coming from a company whose entire purpose is to try to make me hate myself, and then prey on that hatred to sell me things.
Have I mentioned that I hate Dr. Oz? I hate Dr. Oz.
Mansplainer-In-Chief
[CN: Sexism]
Did you know that there MAY BE a problem with sexism in the media? Bernie Sanders has grudgingly allowed that this may be so, in a New York Times interview with Ana Marie Cox:
Do you think it’s fair that Hillary’s hair gets a lot more scrutiny than yours does? Hillary’s hair gets more scrutiny than my hair?Yeah. Is that what you’re asking?
Yeah. O.K., Ana, I don’t mean to be rude here. I am running for president of the United States on serious issues, O.K.? Do you have serious questions?
I can defend that as a serious question. There is a gendered reason — When the media worries about what Hillary’s hair looks like or what my hair looks like, that’s a real problem. We have millions of people who are struggling to keep their heads above water, who want to know what candidates can do to improve their lives, and the media will very often spend more time worrying about hair than the fact that we’re the only major country on earth that doesn’t guarantee health care to all people.
It’s also true that the media pays more attention to what female candidates look like than it does to what male candidates look like. That may be. That may be, and it’s absolutely wrong.
Whew! Thank goodness Bernie Sanders, after mansplaining a question about sexism in media to a female interviewer, is willing to admit that there may be a problem. And, if there is a problem with the media treating male and female candidates in a disparate manner, then that is absolutely wrong! I guess that gives us all permission to study this important question which of course no one has ever thought about before, ahem.
Here's the thing. Sanders isn't wrong that the media should be focusing on problems other than the physical appearance of candidates. But he's dead wrong if he thinks we can address economic injustice without also addressing the specifically patriarchal barriers to justice faced by women. Having more jobs doesn't help women as much when we also have to jump through extra hurdles that don't apply to our male competitors as much or at all.
Like having a patriarchally-approved appearance. It means something to women and girls when we see that one of the most politically powerful women in our nation's history still gets the same old sexist shit lobbed at her. One doesn't have to like Hillary Clinton or agree with her policies to get frustrated that a woman running for freaking president of the United States is still judged on how she looks.
It also means something when a man running for the highest office in the land will only say this stuff "may be" a problem, after essentially telling the woman asking to STFU and let him define her problems. And this is Bernie Sanders as a candidate, when he's actually trying to get women's votes, presumably. What will he be like as president? We've had enough Mansplainers-in-Chief, Bernie. Thanks, but I'll pass on supporting another one.
Daily Dose of Cute
PERFECTLY NORMAL NAP.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: Terrorism; death; images of aftermath and descriptions of gore at link] A bomb has exploded outside the Erawan shrine in the Chidlom district in central Bangkok, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens more. Some unconfirmed reports put the number of dead even higher. "There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Thai forces are fighting a low-level Muslim insurgency in the south of the predominantly Buddhist country, although those rebels have rarely launched attacks outside their ethnic Malay heartland. The country has also been riven for a decade by intense and sometimes violent rivalry between political factions in Bangkok and elsewhere." My condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of those lost; my thoughts are with the injured survivors.
[CN: Death; white supremacist violence] Fifty years after white seminarian Jonathan Myrick Daniels stepped in between a white supremacist and a black teenage girl named Ruby Sales, that girl, now a 67-year-old woman and a former college professor, advocate for civil and welfare rights, women's rights, and LGBT rights, and head of the SpiritHouse Project, a program that uses the arts, education and spirituality to bring about racial, economic, and social justice, talks about the past, the present, and how she didn't expect to be fighting the same fights 50 years on.
[CN: Sexual assault] Wow, this guy: "While riding the No. 3 train Wednesday morning at the [New York City] Bergen Street station in Park Slope, [37-year-old Maurice Osborne] said he heard screams from a woman, who investigators said was being sexually assaulted by 40-year-old Alvaro Dennica. Dennica had been allegedly fondling himself in the last subway car before chasing the victim onto the platform and jumping on top of her, [Matt Kozar] reported. Osborne, a fit 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, leaped into action and grabbed Dennica by the collar, as he demonstrated on Kozar during the interview. 'He said he did didn't do anything,' Osborne said, when asked what the alleged assailant's reaction was. Osborne said he continued grabbing the man by his shirt, pulling him all the way up the subway station's steps and across Flatbush Avenue to the 78th Precinct, where he turned him in to police. The 28-year-old victim was following close behind and told investigators what had happened, Kozar reported. ...Despite getting six stitches above his left eye and a swollen right hand that looked more like a water balloon, Osborne said he'd do it all again. Asked if anyone else was going to help the woman, Osborne said, 'Nope. I wish someone else did. I wish the conductor stayed. The conductor didn't even stay. The train left.'" Osborne explained his bravery thus: "As soon as she said that he was trying to rape her, I just reacted." Osborne is living in a shelter in the Bed Stuy section of Brooklyn while studying to become a medical assistant: "I like helping people. It makes me feel useful." Blub.
[CN: Sexual assault] Meanwhile, in New Hampshire: "Details of a practice authorities say was called the 'Senior Salute' were spelled out in stark terms by a former student at [the elite prep school St Paul's School in New Hampshire], who is charged with raping a 15-year-old girl on the roof of a campus building in May 2014. Owen Labrie, now 19, has pleaded not guilty to several felonies. ...Labrie, of Tunbridge, Vermont, talked openly about the tradition when he was interviewed by Concord police. On a campus where upperclassmen studiously avoid their younger peers in most settings, Labrie told a detective some students 'take great pride' in having sex with [sic] younger students before they leave school. Labrie also told the detective of a contest where boys compete to 'score' with the most girls, keeping a running tally written in indelible marker on a wall behind washing machines. The school kept painting over the scoreboard so it eventually was moved online. He acknowledged to the detective he was 'trying to be number one,' the detective wrote."
In good news: "A federal judge Thursday temporarily blocked an Alabama law that had forced one of the last remaining abortion clinics in the state, the West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa, to be closed since January. ...The American Civil Liberties Union sued in July 2015 on the center's behalf, arguing the [TARP] provision was unconstitutional and requesting the court block it so the clinic can reopen. Thursday's order grants that request. There is no time limit for the order; it will remain in place as the trial continues." Phew. Fingers crossed for continued good news there.
[CN: Rape; war on agency] Today in Mike Huckabee Is a Terrible Human Being: "Huckabee is defending Paraguay's controversial decision to deny an abortion to a 10-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped by her stepfather. Appearing on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, the Republican presidential candidate said it was 'horrible' that the girl, now 11, was raped. 'But does it solve the problem by taking the life of an innocent child?' he asked." Fuck. You.
This is very interesting: "A new YouGov survey has found 49% of 18-24 year-olds in Britain don't identify as 100% heterosexual. Respondents were asked to put themselves on a Kinsey scale where 0 is exclusively heterosexual and 6 was completely homosexual." Fully 43% of respondents placed themselves in the non-binary area between 1 and 5, while only 52% placed themselves at one end or the other. "Of these, only 46% say they are completely heterosexual and 6% as completely homosexual."
[CN: Murder] "Prosecutors in South Africa have filed papers calling for Oscar Pistorius to be convicted of murder, days before he is due to be released on probation. Pistorius has spent 10 months in jail for shooting dead [Reeva Steenkamp, who was dating Pistorius at the time], after his conviction for manslaughter last year. The Olympic athlete insists he mistook Ms Steenkamp for an intruder. State prosecutors want his conviction to be reviewed and converted to murder, with a minimum sentence of 15 years." Days away from being released. Unbelievable.
"A new 'drinkable book' has pages that turn raw sewage into drinking water: As many as 358 million people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have reliable access to drinking water. Now, researchers have come up with a book on water safety whose pages can be used to filter water."
[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Here is Tom Hardy talking again about how he's just fumblefucking his way through his career, to pretty spectacular results.
Hahahaha: "Meet the Real-Life Flying Spaghetti Monster." Which doesn't actually fly, but TECHNICALITIES!
And finally! "Unusual Friendship Between Wolf and Bear Documented by Finnish Photographer." Amazing.
Here We Go Again
[Content Note: White supremacist patriarchy.]
The Guardian: "After two years of careful consideration, Robert McCrum has reached a verdict on his selection of the 100 greatest novels written in English."
LOL better luck next time, men of color and women!
Primarily Speaking
Presidential campaigning is weird.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a big splash at the Iowa State Fair this weekend, where she mingled with the crowd, took selfies, and ate a porkchop-on-a-stick, of which she was reportedly "a fan." Hey, who doesn't love food on sticks, amirite?
In other Clinton news: "Clinton embraces the left." Haha "news." In all seriousness, there is a notable passage buried in this article:
Also causing some consternation on the left, Clinton has largely declined to enter the high-profile fights over Obama's trade agenda and the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline.There are two ways of looking at her refusal to take a decisive stand: 1. She's a coward who just wants to evade taking a firm position; 2. She's a diplomat who doesn't agree with her former boss and friend who is the sitting president and she is keenly aware that public disagreement could potentially hurt his negotiating position. I suspect one's take on it largely depends on your feelings about Hillary Clinton.
...Some liberals are looking the other way on trade and Keystone, saying her work as Obama's secretary of state puts her in a uniquely awkward position to oppose those projects while the president is still in office. They're encouraged by her strategic decision not to endorse either.
"The fact that she hasn't said anything [on trade or Keystone] is actually pretty telling," said one liberal Democratic aide."
As for me: There are things I like about candidate Clinton and things I don't like about candidate Clinton, but she has never particularly struck me as a coward.
Relatedly (or maybe not! you be the judge!), President Obama went golfing with former President Bill Clinton over the weekend on Martha's Vineyard, and chilled out on the island while Hillary Clinton held a fundraiser for major donors, who are lukewarm at best on a run from Vice President Joe Biden. Obama hasn't endorsed Clinton, nor has he said anything negative about Biden, but his presence on the island this weekend sure seems to send a message. It's almost like Obama and Clinton are colleagues who work well together and are both extremely savvy politicians well aware of how best to help one another and know what the fuck they're doing or something!
Or they're just craven monsters! Potato potahto.
It's funny how what sure looks like savvy politics becomes "craven monstrosity" when it's practiced by a black man and a woman. Especially when they seem to be allying themselves to retain power in the highest office in one of the world's most powerful nations.
Anyway!
Martin O'Malley, Lincoln Chafee, and Jim Webb continue to run for president. I promise I'm not avoiding bringing you terrific news about these fellows! There just isn't much to report—unless you're keen to hear about O'Malley complaining some more about the number of debates or Webb saying that Ronald Reagan was one of his favorite presidents. (Really.)
Meanwhile: I really don't know what the fuck Senator Bernie Sanders is doing, y'all. I really don't.
After protests twice derailed campaign events in recent weeks, the Bernie Sanders campaign has asked to meet with Black Lives Matter activists in Washington.Well, that sounds great! And even better, here's how Ferrell's email to the activists opened: "Hello all! My name is Marcus Ferrell, I am a senior staffer for Senator Bernie Sanders presidential bid in 2016. I am reaching out to you on behalf of our campaign because you are the folks doing the work for Black Lives Matter. I apologize it took our campaign so long to officially reach out." Wow, an apology no less?! That's awesome!
In an email obtained by BuzzFeed News, the campaign's African-American outreach director, Marcus Ferrell, told a group of activists that Sanders wanted a more formal interaction.
EXCEPT.
Then Sanders went on Meet the Press Sunday and totally pulled his usual "I won't say the words 'all lives matter' but I will clearly make the same point by deemphasizing the importance of Black Lives Matter" shtick, then said the email was sent without his knowledge and he didn't think an apology was necessary.
CHUCK TODD: BuzzFeed has an article out this morning. Headlines is this: Sanders' campaign reaches out to Black Lives Matter activists. Quote, I apologize it took our campaign so long. Tell me more about it.WHAT IS HE EVEN DOING?
BERNIE SANDERS: Well, that was sent out by a staffer, not by me. Look, we are reaching out to all kinds of groups, absolutely. I met with people at Black Lives Matter. We're reaching out to Latino groups. We're reaching out to the unions. We're fighting to expand Social Security and we're reaching out to senior groups. We're reaching out to health care groups because we believe that everybody in America is entitled to health care. We're reaching out to everybody. But on this issue of Black Lives Matter, let me be very clear, the issue that they are raising is a very, very important issue. There is no candidate for president who will be stronger in fighting against institutional racism and, by the way, reforming a broken criminal justice system. Chuck, we have more people in jail in the United States of America than any country on Earth. And we need real changes. We need to do away with the militarization of local police departments. We need to do away with minimum sentencing. We needed indication and jobs for our young people rather than jails and incarceration.
TODD: I understand that. But you said a staffer put it out but you felt an apology was necessary?
SANDERS: No. I don't. I think we're going to be working with all groups. This was sent out without my knowledge.
That is, of course, rhetorical—because unfortunately I know exactly what he's doing: He's bellicosely sticking to his message, which is tailored very particularly to straight white cis working class men, and insisting that it should appeal to everyone else, too, because he is an undeterrable subscriber to the notion of trickle-down social justice.
Even when members of this own campaign try to take an intersectional approach, and rightly apologize for not taking it sooner, Sanders outright rejects it. And further uses the language of inclusivity—"We're going to be working with all groups"—in a way that actually diminishes the significance of visibilizing marginalized people.
At this point, it isn't a failure to learn. It's a resistance to centering people many of his core white supporters don't want centered. If you imagine that's hyperbole, listen to [CN: racism; video autoplays at link] the audio of his Seattle audience reacting to Marissa Janae Johnson interrupting his event to stage a Black Lives Matter protest.
Every time Sanders is asked to center Black Lives Matter activism, he deflects by talking about "all groups." That isn't a mistake. Not at this point. It's a strategy.
For fuck's sake, Bernie.
[CN: Video autoplays at link] On the other side of the aisle: Donald Trump told a little kid at the Iowa State Fair that he is Batman. And in other news, 16 other assholes are still also running for president.
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
RIP Julian Bond
Civil rights advocate, social justice champion, one of the original leaders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, former chairman of the NAACP, and co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center Julian Bond died Saturday at the age of 75 after a short illness. His New York Times obituary is here.
He led an extraordinary life, right to its very end:
His wife of 24 years, Pamela Horowitz, was leaving the intensive care unit when a nurse stopped her, the first admirer to offer condolences.Julian Bond was genuinely a national treasure. Rest in power, sir.
"She told me, 'I want you to know it was a privilege to take care of him,'" recalls Horowitz, voice wavering. "She said, 'As a gay American, I thought he was a hero.' And for her to say that, for her to be the last person who was with him, I thought it was a nice way to end."
The Virtual Pub Is Open
[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
Obama's Playlists
President Obama made two summer playlists on Spotify for us—one for daytime and one for evening. (Fnar fnar!)
They're pretty great! And that isn't even sarcastic! Thanks, Mr. President!
*dances*
Naturally, you are enthusiastically invited to imagine what the Republican candidates might have on their summer playlists.
The Friday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by the smell of freshly cut grass.
Recommended Reading:
Imani: [Content Note: Racism; white supremacy] Dr. King and the White Progressive™
Feminist Aspie: [CN: Misogyny] Sometimes, We Don't Say Anything
Lisa: [CN: Racist imagery; discussion of racism including segregation and violence] Anita Pointer: Civil-Rights Activist, Pop Star, and Serious Collector of Black Memorabilia
Kenrya: [CN: Police brutality] California Bans Grand Juries for Police-Involved Murders
Tambay: Say Hello to Marvel's Newest Superhero: Moon Girl
Tim: [CN: Gender essentialism] Target Loved the Guy Who Trolled Its Haters, Judging by This Genius Facebook Post
Jessica: A Female-Centric League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Reboot Is on the Way
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime
Richard Marx: "Right Here Waiting"
This week's TMNS brought to you by songs that remind me of middle and high school dances.
Quote of the Day
[Content Note: Privilege.]
"I actually like [Donald Trump's] candor... There's something so refreshing about shaking up that world that is all about being handled and here comes this loose cannon who has terrible ideas and would be a horrible president, but there's something great about his 'I-don't-give-a-shit' attitude that really kind of keeps others honest. I think it's a surprise benefit to the country, actually. I hope he stays in for a long, long time. And just collapses that whole tent of his."—Actor Bryan Cranston, talking about the horrendo garbage nightmare that is Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
Listen, y'all know I love me some Cranston, but NOPE.
And I don't want to singularly pick on Cranston; I chose this quote because it's emblematic of similar sentiments I've seen being expressed by lots of people, who are mostly straight white cis men.
I get, really I do, the urge to believe that Trump's bombastic bigotry will implode the Republican Party, but that ain't gonna happen. What will happen is that Trump will just further entrench the despicable narrative that rank prejudice is merely "truth-telling," and not a highly subjective personal opinion with zero basis in fact and unadorned by the merest shred of decency. What will happen is that Trump will make an increasingly extreme Republican Party platform seem reasonable by comparison.
And, in the meantime, all the putrid bias he disgorges under the banner of "telling it like it is" will blow back on the marginalized people who are his targets.
It isn't straight white cis men at whose expense comes Donald Trump's controversial contemptible rhetoric about women, people of color, immigrants, and others (not mutually exclusive groups).
Professing delight at being able to sit back and laugh at Trump's campaign is indicative of profound privilege which has not been subjected to the most cursory examination.
I wish these mirthful progressives would try to spend two fucking seconds imagining what's it like to be the target of this swill, which is indeed representative of views lots of our fellow countrypeople hold about us—and act on—and see if maybe the joke doesn't seem so goddamn funny anymore.
Daily Dose of Cute
Last night at Shakes Manor: PILE OF PUPPIES! (Much like every other night at Shakes Manor.)
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
I didn't see this in time to include it in today's Primarily Speaking, so I'll just stick it here: Joe Biden's camp is floating an absurd trial balloon, suggesting he's considering a one-term presidency. "If Vice President Joe Biden makes the leap into the Democratic presidential race, he could promise that he would serve just one term in the White House, journalist and author Carl Bernstein said Friday. 'And one thing that I keep hearing about Biden is that if he were to declare and say, because age is such a problem for him if he does, I want to be a one-term president. I want to serve for four years, unite Washington. I've dealt with the Republicans in Congress all my public life,' Bernstein told CNN's New Day." OH GOOD JUST WHAT I WAS HOPING FOR! ANOTHER STUNT PRESIDENCY CAMPAIGN.
What are the Democrats even doing?! They're coming off eight years of a historic and successful and virtually scandal-free presidency, they're going up against the most hideous field of candidates the Republicans have ever mounted, they have among their candidates (and currently leading the pack) arguably the most qualified presidential candidate ever, they have a solid challenger to the frontrunner who is gaining in popularity, and we're getting proposals like referendum presidencies and one-term presidencies to unite the two parties?! Jesus fucking Jones.
[Content Note: Rape; child abuse; forced pregnancy and birth] Rage seethe boil: "An 11-year-old girl in Paraguay who became pregnant after being raped by her stepfather—and whose case sparked international outrage after Paraguayan officials prohibited her from getting an abortion—has given birth to a daughter. ...In Paraguay, abortion is illegal except in very rare cases when the procedure is deemed necessary to save a woman's life. Government officials said that the 11-year-old girl, referred to with the pseudonym 'Mainumby' in legal documents, was not in danger from her pregnancy—even though medical experts say that young adolescents under the age of 15 are more at risk for medical complications during childbirth. Mainumby's child was delivered via Cesarean section because doctors determined that a vaginal birth would be too dangerous. ...Erika Guevara, the Americas Director at Amnesty International, said in a statement that her organization is glad to hear that Mainumby and her child are healthy, but 'only time will tell the true extent of the physical and psychological consequences of her tragic ordeal. The fact that Mainumby did not die does not excuse the human rights violations she suffered at the hands of the Paraguayan authorities, who decided to gamble with her health, life, and integrity despite overwhelming evidence that this pregnancy was extremely risky and despite the fact that she was a rape-victim and a child,' Guervara added." This is what Republican presidential candidates like Marco Rubio and Scott Walker want for US girls.
[CN: War on agency; anti-choice terrorism] In related news: "A man accused of removing signs at an abortion clinic in Metairie, Louisiana, was arrested last Thursday and charged with committing a hate crime. William Kennedy, 27, is accused of removing signs from the Causeway Medical Clinic, which is within the greater New Orleans metropolitan area, reported the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The arrest report states surveillance footage shows Kennedy pulling the metal lettering off of the clinic in the early morning hours of August 1. Kennedy was arrested by Jefferson Parish Sheriff's deputies at his home on August 6, and released on a $10,000 bond on August 7. Policed charged him with simple criminal damage to property and with committing a hate crime. If convicted of both, he could be sentenced to up to six months in prison and fined up to $500."
[CN: Natural disaster; racism; death] This opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune by Kristen McQueary, in which she wishes a similar fate to Hurricane Katrina devastating New Orleans could befall Chicago in order to instigate necessary change, is one of the most offensive things I've ever read in the Trib, which is really saying something.
[CN: Stalking; child endangerment] Good lord: "Kensington Palace has accused paparazzi photographers of harassing Prince George and using 'increasingly dangerous' tactics to get pictures of the royal toddler. In an unusually strongly worded open letter, Jason Knauf, the communications secretary for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, said the tactics used by some photographers were creating a 'very real security risk.' ...As well as creating a 'very real security risk,' he said their actions had left the Duke and Duchess 'concerned about their ability to provide a childhood for Prince George and Princess Charlotte that is free from harassment and surveillance.'" I can only begin to imagine the fear and anger that Prince William must feel, especially considering the circumstances under which his mother, Princess Diana, was killed.
[CN: Rape culture; child sex abuse] TLC is utterly shameless: "TLC has scheduled its documentary about child sex abuse that was prompted by child molestation allegations against Josh Duggar. The film Breaking the Silence will air at 10 PM on August 30. The one-hour commercial-free documentary aims to shine a light on the challenges faced by those affected by child sexual abuse, as well as raise awareness of where people can turn for help, the network told The Associated Press... 'The goal is to take what has been a difficult and painful experience, and focus that attention on the really critical issue of child protection and child sexual abuse,' TLC honcho Marjorie Kaplan said." I love how TLC just continues to pretend it knew nothing until the rest of the public did. Sure.
Neat: "A planet 100 light-years away resembles an infant version of Jupiter, astronomers say. The new world, known as 51 Eridani b, is only 20 million years old—a toddler by astronomical standards. The alien world could yield clues to the formation of our Solar System."
Please please please, Maude, let this happen: "It's been more than 25 years since Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin shared the screen in buddy comedy classic 9 to 5. And while Fonda and Tomlin have since collaborated on recent Netflix series Grace and Frankie, the holy trinity of frustrated feminists has yet to get the whole band back together. Brace yourself for that to potentially change. While shilling for her NBC telepic Coat of Many Colors at the Television Critics Association summer press tour on Thursday, Parton seemed quite enthusiastic about booking a spot on Grace and Frankie... While she's not seen the series, and wasn't exactly sure that it was still up and running, she did not mince words about her desire to be reunited with two actresses. 'I told them whenever I get a little block of time, I'd love to come be on the show,' she said." YES.
And finally! Tom Hardy's dog Woody stole the show at a London screening of his new film, Legend, because of course he did! Hardy "was discussing his role in the movie when his canine companion interrupted him and stood in front of the stage. ...Woody then ambled onto the centre of the stage and started to roll around on the floor, in front of the actor as he continued speaking." LOL. Perfection. I'm guessing there's nothing that could have made Tom Hardy any happier!
Shaker Gourmet
Whatcha been cooking up in your kitchen lately, Shakers?
Share your favorite recipes, solicit good recipes, share recipes you've recently tried, want to try, are trying to perfect, whatever! Whether they're your own creation, or something you found elsewhere, share away.
Also welcome: Recipes you've seen recently that you'd love to try, but haven't yet!
