AdamSmith

I was thinking the same thing. That Roberts could join Kennedy and the liberals in putting it through.

Extremely cool for telescope nerds. Formation-flying satellites link up to create giant virtual telescope in orbit http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/17/formation-flying-satellites-space-telescopes-esa-proba-3

A reader comment posted on The Guardian: Tbh, the only real tension is that Kennedy's health maintains long enough to write the decision (and there's no reason to believe it won't and best wishes to him, etc). This will be the capper for him legacy-wise after Lawrence v Texas, so it's pretty much inconceivable it's going to come out any of other way than a nationwide right to gay marriage. The fact that it's been legalized in a majority of states now without the sky falling also means that it's teed up at the point where the Supreme Court prefers to issue a national decision. It'll be 5-4 for a right to gay marriage, with Roberts writing a wibbly-wobbly dissent and Scalia blowing a gasket (which will add to the general gaiety).

Dept. of Feeling Inadequate Yet?

ROFLMAO

Here we go! US supreme court agrees to hear cases on right to same-sex marriage nationwide http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/16/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/14/swedish-childrens-tv-cartoon-dancing-sparks-parental-outcry-genitals-penis-vagina-dancing

Shocked, shocked. US atheists know more about religion than believers, quiz finds http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8030672/US-atheists-know-more-about-religion-than-believers-quiz-finds.html

Guess who turns out to be a big old bottom once you get them between the sheets?

Rate of environmental degradation puts life on Earth at risk, say scientists http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/15/rate-of-environmental-degradation-puts-life-on-earth-at-risk-say-scientists

On July 18 of 1969, as the world waited anxiously for Apollo 11 to land safely on the surface of the Moon, speechwriter William Safire imagined the worst case scenario as he expertly wrote the following sombre memo to President Nixon's Chief of Staff, H. R. Haldeman. Its contents: a contingency plan, in the form of a speech to be read out by Nixon should astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become stranded on the Moon, never to return, followed by some brief instructions relating to its broadcast. Luckily for all those involved, the memo was never needed. Transcript follows. (Source: The National Archives; Image: Armstrong & Aldrin on the Moon, via.) Transcript To: H. R. Haldeman From: Bill Safire July 18, 1969. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IN EVENT OF MOON DISASTER: Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice. These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding. They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by the nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown. In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man. In ancient days, men looked at the stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood. Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts. For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind. PRIOR TO THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT: The President should telephone each of the widows-to-be. AFTER THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT, AT THE POINT WHEN NASA ENDS COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE MEN: A clergyman should adopt the same procedure as a burial at sea, commending their souls to "the deepest of the deep," concluding with the Lord's Prayer. http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/11/in-event-of-moon-disaster.html

Not a headline from The Onion but rather Talking Points Memo. Princeton study: U.S. no longer an actual democracy http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/princeton-experts-say-us-no-longer-democracy

Found on a blog about seventeenth- and eighteenth-century English and Irish furniture! At your Convenience Posted on April 1, 2012 by Jack Plane We largely tend to take the lavatory for granted nowadays, but in pre-Victorian times, the average person’s daily constitutional would have likely involved varying levels of discomfort, draughts and conspicuousness in the open landscape. If one had the means, one might have undertaken a potentially hazardous journey, through rows of artichokes and Brussels sprouts, to arrive at some form of latrine at the bottom of the garden; or perhaps enjoyed the relative, but still atmospheric opulence of a garderobe. Both types of convenience would have been built above a cesspit that required periodic emptying by some unenviable serf. First-floor garderobe, sixteenth-century Wealden house, Sussex. Urban dwellers, of average or below average means, would have insulted a pottery receptacle or ‘pot’ and then either hurled its contents into an open drain running down the street, or emptied it into a cesspit below stairs for later collection and disposal by a gong farmer or night soil collector. James Gillray, National Conveniences, c.1796. Chamber pots Not wanting to miss a moment of excessive conviviality, Georgian diners didn’t remove themselves from the dining room to relieve their bladders: Gentlemen would request a small chamber pot or ‘piss pot’ from the cupboard in the sideboard and unabashedly drain themselves as the other guests continued unabated. Small earthenware piss pot, c.1800. How the French perceived English diners, c.1814. Women, similarly caught short, would either scurry behind the curtains or folding screen, pot-in-hand, or their maid would fetch an ergonomically-shaped bourdaloue[1] which they would immodestly thrust beneath their petticoats. François Boucher (1703-1770), La bourdaloue. Chantilly porcelain bourdaloue, c.1740. Close StoolsKnown also as ‘necessary stools’ and ‘night stools’, these amenities were the preserve of those who could afford such singularly indulgent furniture. Close stools invariably have a hinged lid concealing a seat that either supports a handle-less earthenware pot or, beneath a hole in which, a handled pot is placed and accessed by removing the seat, or via a door in the front of the stool. Circa 1720 oak close stool. (Lucy Johnston) William III’s velvet-covered close stool, Hampton Court, c. 1690. Some noted close stools were equipped with locks which, one might surmise, were to prevent vassals from covertly partaking of their masters’ extravagance, but in the case of the Hampton Court close stool, the lock was essential to deter miscreants from stealing William’s faeces. When dried, the King’s ordure was highly sought after by gasconading souvenir hunters of the day. More recently, an authenticated portion of Henry VIII’s dried faeces sold at auction in New York in 1996 for the sphincter-puckering sum of $1,650. Night Tables Circa 1790 mahogany night table with pull-out commode. (Bonhams) A common feature of Georgian bedchamber privy furniture was the apron which, identifiably shaped like the human posterior, left those who felt a deep nocturnal or auroral urge in absolutely no doubt as to the purpose of the contraption. Circa 1790 mahogany close stool with buttocks-shaped aprons. (Jayne Thompson) Circa 1790 mahogany night table with pull-out buttocks-shaped commode. (Richard Gardner) Circa 1800 mahogany night table with pull-out buttocks-shaped commode. For the newlyweds – matching his and hers night tables. Pots The Georgians were fond of their lavatorial humour: Chamber pots often contained amusing verses and the occasional ferly addition. Staffordshire pot with verse, cartoon and moulded frog. Pot interior. Slipware pot with moulded grinning face looking up. One occasionally sees pots containing effigies of individuals of widely held derision such as – in the example below – Napoleon Bonaparte. Their disparagers could glean some satisfaction from urinating and defecating on the subject’s head. ‘Boney’ in a potty, c. 1815. Thankfully a close stool has not yet appeared in the Proposed Furniture Program, but with advancing years and increased frailty, that could all too easily change. I estimate I still have a few years before deciding on whose noggin I would like in my potty. Jack Plane [1] An anatomically shaped female urinal named after the French preacher, Louis Bourdaloue (1632-1704), renowned for his bible-bitingly lengthy sermons. https://pegsandtails.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/at-your-convenience/

HAW! (In lieu of used-up LIKE.)

Any pot in a storm!

LMAO (Actually those particular Asian escorts I mentioned are real women. Some do exist, you know. )

The heavy stew ... the enclosed space ... Yoda's natural BO in any event ...