Just the other day, I posted about The Passion of the Christ: Jesus Returns, with the mild commentary Jesus Christ, a bad movie might be on the way to resurrection. Downright bland, compared to what Twitterers have to say about it all:
There are many more tweets to be enjoyed at Raw Story.
Slinkachu © 2015.
Slinkachu © 2015.
Slinkachu © 2015.
Slinkachu © 2015.
These are so absolutely delightful!
Blink, and you’ll miss it. Secreted amongst weeds growing in the cracks of sidewalks or hidden in a tiny pile of trash, street artist Slinkachu creates site-specific interventions of miniature people living just under our feet. More than just hiding tiny figurines in public places, each of his artworks are carefully considered, crafted, and installed before the artist takes a photo to document it. While clearly humorous in nature, Slinkachu’s pieces touch on much larger ideas of environment, globalization, and a culture of isolation often found in large cities. Via Andipa Gallery:
These figures embody the estrangement spurred by the over-whelming nature of the modern metropolis, and incite a renewed perspective of the everyday urban experience to those who find them. This sense of isolation and melancholy, however, is accompanied by sense of irony and humour that makes Slinkachu’s commentary all the more poignant.
Via Colossal Art. Slinkachu’s Official Instagram. Slinkachu at Andipa Gallery, London. Oh, go have a look, you’ll definitely have a smile on your face.
Charles Barkley. Credit: Shutterstock.
Charles Barkley believes the NBA needs to help put a end to North Carolina’s House Bill 2 — even if it means taking the All-Star Game with it.
The former basketball player and current analyst for Inside the NBA appeared on The Dan Patrick Show Wednesday, where Barkley reiterated his belief that the game should be moved from Charlotte, where it is set to be held next at the city’s Allstate Arena next February.
“I told my boss, I don’t want to act like I’m jumping on a sword,” Barkley said, “but I’ve talked to Adam Silver, we need to move the All-Star Game.”
“I hope they don’t put me in a situation where I have to boycott the All-Star Game,” he added.
[…]
“As a black person, I’m against any form of discrimination,” Barkley told CNN in April. “Against whites, Hispanics, gays, lesbians, however you want to phrase it. … We can figure out [where to play instead]. I know Atlanta wants to host it.”
Doing so would have a huge economic impact on North Carolina. The NBA All-Star Weekend is projected to bring in $100 million in revenue at a time when the Tar Heel State remains plagued by boycotts. Since the bill’s passage, over 160 companies have condemned HB 2, while PayPal and Deutsche Bank cancelled planned expansions in the state.
North Carolina could lose up to $5 billion in revenue every year the bill isn’t repealed, according to UCLA’s Williams Institute.
That’s why Adam Silver, the commissioner for the National Basketball Association, believes that the league can work with North Carolina and Gov. Pat McCrory to put an end to the discriminatory legislation. In an April interview, Silver stated his belief that “the best role for the league to play here is through constructive engagement towards change … behind closed doors.”
I’m getting tired of this “behind closed doors” business. It’s a big thing with Trump, and here it is again. “Oh, we’re going to do things, we’ll announce that all over, but it’s none of your business, it will be behind closed doors. I am not okay with this. The way I see it, this is simply allowing open bigots a way to keep on applying their bigotry on the QT, or allowing open bigots a graceful way out of now embarrassing and costly bigotry. I am not at all okay with allowing McCrory a face-saving exit on HB 2, and I don’t think he’d take it anyway.
Silver, who has said that he will wait until the end of summer to make a decision on whether to move the All-Star Game, stated that he believes change will come.
I don’t. Perhaps Silver has the clout to force a change. I suppose we’ll see.
Via The Advocate.
I posted earlier about the great campaign taking place in New York. NYC keeps forging ahead, and when there’s basically nothing except bad news about police and police departments across uStates, it’s really nice to read something positive for a change:
The NYPD recently made its own statement in support of transgender rights with a post at their headquarters noting that bathrooms in all police stations are now gender-neutral, according to the New York Daily News.
Way to go, NYPD! I know not all individual cops are going to be on board with this, but they will have to deal, just as they did when queer cops stopped staying in the closet. The campaign also has a couple of new videos.
Via City Lab.
Beautiful Sisyrinchium from D. Gregory. Such a delicate appearance. Click for full size.
© D. Gregory. All rights reserved.
Click for full size image. Adult bearded vulture. Some lammergeier have been released in the Alps as part of reintroduction programmes. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo.
In mid-May, a bearded vulture was spotted in the UK. Seriously exciting! This is one of the coolest and most magnificent birds I have ever seen. I would love to see this bird in person.
A spectacular bearded vulture, believed to be the first recorded in the UK, has been spotted soaring over the Severn estuary and moorland in Devon.
If it is confirmed that the vulture, also known as the lammergeier or ossifrage, is a wild bird, it will be the first of its species to be found in Britain and the sightings have already caused ornithologists to rush to the west country hoping for a glimpse.
The lammergeier was filmed on the Welsh side of the Second Severn Crossing at the end of last week, perched on rocks then flying off toward the bridge.
It is believed the same bird was seen last weekend over Dartmoor in Devon about 100 miles away. Though already a sizeable bird, the specimen is thought to be a juvenile. Adults can boast a wingspan of almost three metres (9.8ft).
Josh Jones, news manager at BirdGuides, said the sighting was very exciting. “I think we’re going to have a lot of people wanting to take a look,” he said. “This is special bird and we could get monster crowds.”
I believe that, I’d be part of those monster crowds.
The same bird is believed to have been spotted in Belgium earlier this month. Some lammergeier have been released in the Alps as part of reintroduction programmes but those birds have dyed feathers so can be easily recognised.
There were no obviously dyed feathers – or rings – on the Severn vulture which suggests it could be a genuinely wild bird. Young lammergeier do travel large distances.
Very exciting. I’m jealous of anyone who has a chance to see this most magnificent being in person.
Via The Guardian.
Rat Pile.
CREDIT: YouTube/Screenshot
It just never stops. There are always more willfully ignorant, evil-minded bigots out there, just salivating at the opportunity to cause harm.
The Conservative Republicans of Texas, which has already been named a hate group for its rhetoric, has launched what it’s calling “Campaign for USA” — modeled after their “Campaign for Houston.” It uses the same ad from the Houston campaign, which shows a little girl being stalked by a man in a bathroom, but the spot now targets Target for the retail giant’s inclusive bathroom policy.
[…]
The Campaign for USA website claims that by allowing guests to use restrooms and changing facilities that match their gender identity, “This means that any man can say he feels like a woman and use the women’s bathroom or dressing room at Target. Just because a man feels like and thinks he is a women [sic], does not make him a woman, any more than thinking he is a dog, would make him a dog, even if he walked on all fours and barked.” The site then links to an article about pup play, a kink found in the gay community that has nothing to do with gender identity.
“The whole concept of ‘transgender’ of course is absurd and irrational,” the site insists. “Those who practice this behavior or enable it have adopted perverted thinking.”
In case the Campaign’s perspective is not clear, the site continues to drive home the point:
The term transgender is a euphemism, a weaker alternative, for the term pervert, in order to make the behavior seem more acceptable. Men who dress up like women and want to use women’s bathrooms, showers and locker rooms are sexual deviants and perverts. The LGBT homosexual political movement wants to force society, under the penalty of law, to accept, affirm as normal, and celebrate the perverted homosexual lifestyle and the deviant behavior of men who claim to be women. The goal of the LGBT is to destroy all Biblical moral absolutes and create sexual anarchy in society. The LGBT political movement wants it mandated that this wicked lifestyle be taught to children in school, starting in Kindergarten, and that children be encouraged to experiment with homosexual and transvestite behavior. The goal is to break down the children’s consciences, so that they can more easily be recruited into the homosexual lifestyle.
It proceeds to start citing Bible verses, promising that rather than “affirm and celebrate homosexual behavior and other forms of sexual perversion,” they will “proclaim the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ” to the LGBT community “so that they may be saved from the penalty of their sin and walk in the light of God’s word.”
[…]
The anti-Target ad will nevertheless run across Texas for three months, costing the Campaign $2 million. Jared Woodfill, president of the campaign, promised, “We’re not going to let this go. We’re going to continue to fight this battle until Target changes their policy or goes out of business.” That could be a very long time.
Louis Round Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Photo: Ildar Sagdejev, via Wikimedia).
RALEIGH, N.C. – In court documents filed yesterday, North Carolina and the University of North Carolina system argued that the state’s law banning transgender people from public restrooms matching their gender identity should remain in effect while a legal challenge proceeds in federal court. The law, House Bill 2, also removes legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and others.
[…]
The individuals and ACLU members are represented by the ACLU of North Carolina, the ACLU, Lambda Legal, and the law firm of Jenner and Block.
The groups released the following statement today in response to yesterday’s motions:
“After rushing to enact HB2 in a span of hours, the government is now asking the court for six months to study its own law, so it can figure out what to say in its defense, all while transgender people suffer. By arguing that HB2 should remain in effect, Gov. McCrory, legislative leadership, and UNC are continuing to defend a law that specifically targets transgender people who just want to be able to use public facilities safely and securely like everyone else. Every defendant opposes efforts to block HB2’s discriminatory provisions from remaining in effect while this case moves forward. In so doing, all of the defendants are continuing to inflict daily harm on the transgender North Carolinians we represent and to defy federal court rulings that conclude that federal law forbids discrimination against transgender people.”
Via Common Dreams and Metro Weekly.
Continuing the Art of Pandering with Donald Trump: America Is A Judeo-Christian Nation Because ‘That’s The Way It Is’. Well, that’s certainly a concise, well thought out, well researched conclusion. *Cough* On with the show…
In an interview following his speech at the Road to Majority summit today, Donald Trump told Christian Broadcasting Network pundit David Brody that he agrees America is a “Judeo-Christian nation” because “that’s the way it is.”
Trump also vowed to reach out to Religious Right movement figures, mentioning his upcoming meeting with a variety of extreme activists and preachers hosted by Ben Carson.
And here I was thinking that the nightmare just had to stop at some point, the rhetoric and reaching out to all the evil people had to at least slow down, but no. It actually gets worse.
When asked if he would “turn down” some of the controversial rhetoric that has come to define him,Trump gave a mixed response.
“Well, you have to be who you are. I’ve gotten the largest number of votes in the history of Republican politics, by far, and so I want to keep doing what we’re doing. But if you ask me to tone it down I’ll tone it down,” Trump laughed.
He also used the speech to reiterate his support of the pro-life community. It’s no secret Trump has had a shaky relationship with the pro-lifers in the past but conservative women groups seem to be warming up to the idea of a President Trump.
“From what I hear he has been very consistent in meeting with the conservative community and the life community and being there in support,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told CBN News.
That is seriously bad news.
He will also hold a closed-door meeting with many evangelical leaders later this month.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, will be in that meeting. CBN News asked Perkins how Trump can narrow the gap between himself and evangelicals.
“His vice-presidential pick is going to be extremely important. I think it needs to be somebody that has a relationship with the evangelical community, which he really has not had,” Perkins said.
[…]
“I don’t think he can necessary transcend the theological differences from a stand point of evangelicals and the centrality of their faith. He can’t rewrite the narrative of his business career. But I think he can say,’ I’m going to protect your right to believe. I understand how important you are to American and America’s moral fabric and I’m going to fight for you,’ Perkins continued.
Oh good, a closed door meeting with evangelicals. Who knows what he’s going to promise them?
Via Right Wing Watch (video) and CBN.
Someone Chez Caine really, really needs her own set. Someone else might want to do some shopping this weekend for an upgrade, yes? xx
So sayeth Donald Trump. Bet you’re all surprised, aren’t you? The Master of Pander is at it again:
Donald Trump told Religious Right activists today that, as president, he will stop refugees from coming to America and will instead focus on the real victims of persecution: American Christians.
Trump, who read the majority of his speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference off a teleprompter, kicked things off by bragging about how well he has “done with the evangelicals and with the religion, generally speaking.”
He went on to talk about the need “to restore faith to its proper mantel in our society” and “respect and defend Christian-Americans” along with the need to reject refugees fleeing war and violence.
[…]
Trump also repeated his vow to appoint conservative judges to the bench, boasting that the judges on his list of potential Supreme Court nominees “are all pro-life.”
People keep saying that it’s all a game, he’s really an atheist, the stuff about Jesus proves he’s atheist, and so on, but I’m not seeing it. Regardless of what he actually believes, he’s courting the true believers, hard, and if he ends up as president, he’ll keep doing that, if it allows him to do what he wants. So, I don’t see where it really matters what he believes. It’s what he’ll do that matters.
