Bad news: Representative Ernest Wooton (R-Belle Chasse) introduced a bill into the Louisiana legislature that would allow concealed handguns on college campuses throughout the state.

Good news: The Louisiana legislature told Representative Wooten and his wingnut cronies to shove it. At least this session.

Bad news: The legislature’s hesitancy to allow students to pack heat might have something to do with the college tuition hike they just approved. ‘Cause, you know, angry, indebted young people aren’t always a force for good.

Great news: This artist has re-envisioned Pac Man in samurai style:

Want!

There is something strange and magnificent going on in that photo above. Can you guess what it is?

Can you?

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Give up?

That’s right: it’s a mailbox. A damned mailbox (though Pastor Hagee might prefer to think of it as a mailbox of the damned). For those not from New Orleans, this may not seem like a big deal, but trust me: it’s a big freakin’ deal.

In keeping with my weirdly-obsessive-for-no-good-reason tendencies, this morning I got distracted digging around for videos set to “Gay Bar” by Electric Six. Absolutely pointless, I know. And yet, somehow fulfilling.

Not surprisingly, there are a lot of crappy ones in the genre, but there are also a few gems (all of which get very loud, so, you know, plug in the ‘phones if you’re surfing on The Man’s dime out there in Cubicle Land):

• The plushie gay bar.
• The All Your Base-esque mashup gay bar (but only for the parking lot Stormtrooper, really).
• The flying Viking kitty gay bar.
• The super-minimal World of Warcraft performance gay bar.
• And, of course, the longtime standard of gay bar vids, the original World of Warcraft gay bar:

Can I get that Girl Scout badge in library science now, plz?

Yeah, that’s right: I fixed it myself. Kiss my McGuyver ass, Mr. Gates.

Oh, ye bitches of little faith.

FRIDAY NIGHT VIDEOS! BUT DURING THE DAY!

On the left, a wee homage to the Tony Awards–which, for you non-gays, is the annual celebration of Broadway theatre that takes place a week from Sunday, on June 15. It’s awwwwwfully gay. And so’s the clip. (Also kinda hot, if you’re turned on by the thought of a fully clothed Nathan Lane squirming in a room full of mostly naked, glabrous twinkletoes.)

On the right, the newest single from Beyonce’s younger sister, Solange. (Them girls can’t stand a surname.) I’m kinda digging on the beat–it’s spare and minimal and fairly “now”–but the video concept is a little obvious, a little “haven’t we seen this before?”, a little presumptuous, even. Like, girl, don’t even try to imply you’re in the same boat with Miss Ross and Nona Hendryx. Anyway, the full album drops in August. Let’s hope for her sake and for the sake of her mother’s retirement fund it fares better than her first pop foray. Yeesh.

I’m a sucker for chai. The pre-made stuff you find at the deli is usually made with milk and ain’t so calorie-friendly, but whatever. I’ll forsake my waistline for a bit of flava any day of the week.

Among my favorite chai varietals? The one from Bolthouse Farms, with vanilla and added protein gunk. I know that looks pretty vile typed out, but trust me: ’tis rather awesome.

Unfortunately, the magic is now gone, thanks to this bit of news:

Bakersfield carrot farmer [and Bolthouse Farms owner] William Bolthouse donated $100,000 to an initiative aiming to fight gay marriage — a measure that will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot along with the presidential race. The initiative qualified for the ballot Monday, less than a month after the state Supreme Court overturned a ban on gay marriage. June 17 marks the date when California counties will be permitted to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples….

I’ve already taken the liberty of writing the company and reminding them that just as Mr. Bolthouse is entitled to his opinions, I’m entitled to switch to another brand until that asshat comes to his senses. Perhaps you would like to do the same?

Via Joe.My.God.

From the antipodes comes a bit of good and interesting news–especially for sexually active uncircumcised men:

In a world first, a University of Melbourne study has shown that topical oestrogen could help prevent HIV infection by blocking entry of the virus into the human penis.

The study to be published in PLoS ONE journal June 4 reveals that application of oestrogen to the human penis increased the thickness of the natural keratin layer on the skin, which could prevent HIV from infecting the male.

The epithelium of the human penis is richly supplied with oestrogen receptors suggesting it could respond to topical oestrogen.

Dr Andrew Pask from the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne analysed the tissue samples from 12 foreskins and made the discovery.

“This suggested that oestrogen could induce a thickening of the keratin layer of the foreskin epidermis in the same way as it acts in the vagina,” said Dr Pask.

“Keratin on our skin acts a barrier to viral infection. We hope to be able to enhance this protection with the use of a naturally occurring, weak oestrogen,” said Professor Roger Short of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences who lead the research….

“In countries where circumcision is not religiously or culturally accepted, oestrogen treatments to the penis could be very effective in reducing the spread of the disease.”

— via Science Daily, via my inbox

AND YOU THOUGHT THAT “TOM TOM” CRAP WAS ANNOYING

The [robotic teddy bear car navigation system] stands 30 centimeters (1 ft) tall and has 6 joints in its arms and neck, which it uses to make gestures while providing spoken directions.

The robot bear is also equipped with functions to improve auto safety, such as an alcohol detection sensor embedded in its neck. If it smells booze, the robot confronts the driver, saying, “You haven’t been drinking, have you?” Other sensors detect wreckless driving, so if the driver suddenly accelerates or slams on the brakes, the robot says, “Watch out!”

As a bonus feature, the robot bear provides information about nearby landmarks when you stroke its head.

— via BB

I would like to stage an entire production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, using these bears in the roles of George and Honey. Now, please.

NO OLYMPIC UNDIES YET, BUT THIS IS HOT:

I am surrounded by librarians.

Seriously, my biological mother is a librarian. Half a dozen of my friends are librarians. And about 20 feet from my office door is, yes, a library.

I have a little librarian in me, too. Even when my grad school classes were dull as dirt, researching was always fun, frequently bordering on awesome. I liked nothing better than finding a topic and exploring the hell out of it, following each little thread until it petered out somewhere in the middle of the dissertation abstracts.

(NB: I’ve done the same thing in videogames–especially sandbox games like Fable and Assassin’s Creed. I’ve been happy to abandon a primary objective if a side quest looked interesting. I want to see every wee nook and cranny of the goddamn virtual world! I’m sure all those OCD designers from Oblivion love people like me.)

I still have those ferreting tendencies. Sometimes it’s a good thing, but oftentimes it gets me in trouble–or at the very least, sidetracked. This morning, for example, I came across this interesting bit of news:

Just as Clark Kent became Superman by changing suits, the [Japanese] national men’s volleyball team will be hoping to break its Olympic drought courtesy of “super” undies that members will wear under their uniforms instead of on the outside like other superheroes….

Underneath the uniforms are the amazing inner pants, which correct the positioning of the pelvis, apparently putting it in the place where it normally should be and thus giving athletes a spring on average 7 millimeters to 1 centimeter greater than those not wearing the same clothing. Much ado has been made about revolutionary swimsuits athletes will wear — or not wear in the case of Japanese swimmers who’ve been refused the chance to compete in Speedos — will revolutionary uniforms also boost the national men’s volleyball team’s chances of Olympic glory….?

—full story at Mainichi Japan

To most people, this would be just a weird news item: read it, then move on to the entertainment section. To me, however, it became a challenge–a challenge to find images of this amazing new underwear, preferably in action.

Welcome to my rabbit hole, ladies and gentlemen.

I’ve now spent the better part of an hour searching for photos, and I’ve got nothing to show for it. I could easily spend another couple of hours trolling for info, but I’d probably just stumble across another equally odd item, then get distracted all over again.

Help…me….