Cool Mars-age!

Cool Mars news!:

Mars landers finds soil with Earth minerals
A patch of the red planet 'seems very friendly' to simple forms of life, a researcher says.
By Peter N. Spotts | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
posted June 27, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. EDT


With a little help, soil imported from Mars could support green beans, turnips, and asparagus.

That's one implication of this week's announcement that scientists had found several water-soluble minerals common to soils on Earth. The soil sample analyzed by the Phoenix Mars Lander at the far northern reaches of the planet also displays alkalinity levels similar to those found in soils in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica.

If the single soil sample analyzed so far is any indication, at least this patch of Mars "seems very friendly" to simple forms of life – at least below the surface, says Samuel Kounaves, a Tufts University chemist who heads the team interpreting the results from the lander's wet-chemistry lab.

By turning the soil into a mini-martian mud pie then stirring it, the lab liberated magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, and other ingredients of salts that initially require water to form them. They represent the kind of nutrients that many microbes on Earth crave.

The notion of what constitutes a habitable environment "has become very broad in the past 10 years," Dr. Kounaves adds. The discovery of Earth-like soils hundreds of million miles away means the subsoil environment could have the potential to host a wide range of simple organisms – not to mention string beans.

More broadly, the finding adds one more piece to a growing mountain of evidence that the fourth rock from the sun isn't so out of this world, after all. The more researchers explore the red planet with orbiters and rovers, the more Mars reveals its kinship with Earth.

"The amazing thing about Mars is not that it's an alien world, but that it's actually very Earth-like in a lot of aspects," Kounaves says.

So far, the lander is roughly a third of the way through it's primary mission. Researchers are still analyzing the evidence from the first soil sample that went through a shake-and-bake process to determine other aspects of its composition. One of eight small ovens heated the sample to 1,000 degrees C (about 1,800 degrees F.), revealing traces of carbon dioxide and water that had been bound up in the soil's minerals.

The international mission, spearheaded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, also has a clear learn-as-you-go aspect to it. One housekeeping detail pleased the research team: It found that the scoop can deliver portions of the same soil sample to different instruments, rather than delivering a unique sample to each. This allows them to make a broader range of tests to the same batch of soil, allowing them to draw more-confident conclusions about the samples they study.

Doctor Who Stuff

First, a teaser video for tomorrow nights episode (Part 1 of the season finale):



And some news:

Doctor Who star set to get £1.3m to stay

The BBC is rumoured to be ready to pay David Tennant a massive £1.3 million to carry on as Doctor Who.

The Bathgate-born actor is expected to be offered a new deal worth up to £100,000 per episode.

And he could also be offered other drama projects in a bid to keep him on board.

BBC bosses are desperate to stop the 37-year-old from quitting the show, which attracts up to eight million viewers.

One senior BBC source was quoted saying: "Everyone assumes David is quitting but that's not the case. We're hoping he will be back.

"The situation as it stands is that no deal has been discussed yet for the next series of Doctor Who. That, however, is about to change.

"David is brilliant in the role and naturally we hope he will continue. We're not considering anyone else at this time."

Tennant said: "I've been asked when I'm quitting since the first day I took the part. I've not quit – I've just not been offered another deal yet."

Excitement!!

So I just found out today that Robots in Disguise are gonna be openening up for the same show IAMX is opening for and that I'm going to in Camden (London). I'm so excited!! So to celebrate, here is one of my favorite Mighty Boosh episodes that Robots in Disguise are in.

The Mighty Boosh: Season 1, Episode 7: Electro







And here's a RiD video:

"Turn It Up"



"Argument"

New Oasis CD! (And Just In Time For My Birthday, Too!)

From Oasis's Official Facebook Page:

NEW ALBUM & SINGLE DETAILS ANNOUNCED
Today at 4:52pm‘The Shock Of The Lightning’ new single out September 29th

‘Dig Out Your Soul’ new album out October 6th

Oasis are set to return later this year with a new single and their seventh studio album. The single,‘The Shock Of The Lightning’ is released on September 29th and the album, ‘Dig Out Your Soul’ follows in October; it is the first new Oasis music since last year’s ‘Lord Don’t Slow Me Down’, taken from the on the road film of the same name. ‘Dig Out Your Soul’ sees Dave Sardy return to the producer’s chair following his work on their 2005 album, ‘Don’t Believe The Truth’. Recorded at Abbey Road and mixed in Los Angeles, all four members once again contribute tracks, but the recording marks a new approach for the band as described by the band’s principle songwriter, Noel:

“I wanted to write music that had a groove; not songs that followed that traditional pattern of verse, chorus and middle eight. I wanted a sound that was more hypnotic; more driving. Songs that would draw you in, in a different way. Songs that you would maybe have to connect to - to feel.”

The lead single is still unmistakably Oasis, a Noel penned song with Liam’s immediately familiar voice to the fore underlining their distinctive brand of finger in the socket rock ’n’ roll.

‘The Shock Of The Lightning’ may well represent the most recognisable Oasis song on the album but, again, the new approach on ‘Dig Out Your Soul’ was present on this lead track as Noel explains:

“If ‘The Shock Of The Lightning’ sounds instant and compelling to you, it’s because it was written dead fast. And recorded dead fast. ‘The Shock of The Lightning’ basically is the demo. And it has retained its energy. And there’s a lot to be said for that, I think. The first time you record something is always the best.”

‘Dig Out Your Soul’ will be the first album released on the band’s own Big Brother label worldwide.

Keep checking back to www.Oasisinet.net for more news..

IAMX US TOUR!!!

I GOT A TICKET FOR NEW YORK! Hopefully I'll be staying with Carin :O)

SPOILER ALERT: Doctor Who Trailer!!

Julian + Guitar = Awesome

Funny Signs (its dot cooommmm!)

From FunnySign.com:

Interesting Obama-ness

From CNN.com:

When the Obama logo and Presidential Seal morph
Posted: 05:10 PM ET

From CNN Political Producer Alexander Marquardt

The Obama campaign debuted a new logo Friday that bears a striking resemblance to the presidential seal.

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) – Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama sat down in Chicago Friday morning to discuss the economy with visiting Democratic governors, but all eyes were on the Illinois senator’s podium bearing, what might be described as, a quasi-presidential seal – the Obama campaign’s new official logo.

The seal includes the same bald eagle as the actual presidential seal clutching an olive branch and arrows in its talons, but instead of a shield covering the center of the eagle’s body, the Obama version displays the campaign’s trademark “O.” Unlike the Presidential seal, which includes the words “Seal of the President of the United States” around the circumference, “Obama for America” and “www.barackobama.com” grace the top and bottom of Obama's.

Finally, just above the eagle, in Latin, are the words – “vero possumus” – which translates to “yes we can,” the oft-heard chant at Obama rallies.

It remains to be seen how the new seal will play in the campaign’s quest to win over working-class voters.

And this!:

AP: Edwards makes Obama's VP list
Posted: 03:49 PM ET

Edwards recently said that while he is not interested in the vice presidency, he hasn't ruled it out if asked.

WASHINGTON (AP) — There's new information about the hunt for a running mate for Barack Obama.

A member of the Congressional Black Caucus who's met with Obama's vice-presidential screening team says she offered the names of former senators John Edwards and Sam Nunn — and was told they're on the list. Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan says when she mentioned that Al Gore is her favorite, the two members of Obama's team smiled.

Kilpatrick wouldn't say which names Obama's team brought up.

Lawmakers who've been briefed say there are about 20 names on the prospective vice-presidential list, which is said to include current elected officials, former elected officials, and retired military generals.

Fun Boosh Quote from the Radio Show

The Hitcher: Ooh, I know a thing or two about performin', my boy! I know a thing or two about performin', I can tell ya. Ooh, long time ago now, I was in a beautiful love story, all set on the stage, and I was all dressed up as a dazzlin' young lady. And I worked extensively with a Japanese gentleman, who used to bind his head up in a cloth, but with body language alone he could still reduce the audience to weepin'. Ooh, a remarkable actor! A remarkable love story, about a man dressed up as a lady and another geezer with all fabric on his head. Oo-hoo-hoo-hoo, how the audience would laugh and whee-hee-hee-hee, how the audience would cry, and whey-hey-hey-hey, how the audience would think, I seen something there! I seen something good there, but I came here last week and it was shit last week, oh, it was useless last week! Just an old lady with big fleshy, purelent, swollen arms smacking a woodpecker across the stage with an oar! What the hell was that about? But this week, the geezer with the cloth on his head? Ooh, he was remarkable! That was a tour de force, that show! Ooh, we got thirteen encores every night! And on the last encore I'd drag him out center stage, and I'd tear off that cloth to reveal the hideous deformed face of an otter! Ooh, his head was revolting! It was like broken butcher's meat, it was like a nik-nak left out in the rain. It made me want to be sick on my own penis. But I loved that boy! I loved that boy, don't get me wrong! I loved what he could do with his acting style even when he camouflaged his own features! Ooh, why did I have to cut him off in his prime? Why did I have to leave him alone in that black ditch? It don't matter though... It's all by the by 'cause I got my box... I got my box now...

Mighty Boosh Fest Update

From the Official Mighty Boosh Festival facebook page:

The Boosh Band Has Arrived!
Today at 5:10am

The comedy acts are in place, the bands have been booked, but as you would expect with the Boosh, there is a lot more to The Mighty Boosh Festival than meets the eye - this isn’t just another festival! Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt have put together a delectable day of comedy extravaganza and musical mayhem with The Boosh Band headlining the festival. This is a one off show that won’t be repeated, so make sure you get your tickets for the first ever, open air comedy festival.

All the usual Boosh characters will be present; Naboo, Bollo and Bob Fossil take to the stage with Howard and Vince. The Boosh Band will headline the Monkey Hell stage, giving us an eclectic mix of exclusive live music and specially written comedy material, including not too be missed, never to be witnessed again specials like a dance off between Har Mar Super Star and Bob Fossil, making this an extremely unique one off affair!

The festival will be spread across two stages, Monkey Hell, for the musicians, and the Velvet Onion which will be home to the comedians. Also on site will be Howard Moon’s Jazz Spectacle, face painting in Vince Noir’s Electro Tent, merchandise available at Nabootique, and a bouncy castle for the kids. Also if you come dressed as you favourite character you can text your photo in and it will appear on the massive stage screens, from which Noel and Julian will choose a winner. All this plus more at The Hop Farm on Saturday 5th July.

The Boosh boys have roped in a stellar support cast consisting of The Charlatans, Gary Numan, Jarvis Cocker, Har Mar Superstar, The Kills, Peaches, White Denim, Polar Bear, Robots In Disguise, with the Midfield General keeping the party going between bands in Monkey Hell.

Performing over at The Velvet Onion will be top notch comedians like, multi award-winning international cult comic Ross Noble, critically acclaimed Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle, plus Matt Holness (Garth Marenghi), Arj Barker, Mark Watson (If.Comedy Award WINNER), Perrier Award Nominee Tim Key, up and coming comedian Paul Sinha, Canadian comic Tony Law, Greg Fleet, Arnab Chanda, Josie Long (If.Comedy Award WINNER), Paul Foot and Robin Ince (The Book Club).

The Hop Farm is the perfect place this July to enjoy the spectacle – a live cacophony of comedy, accompanied by lashings of musical loveliness. Expect controlled chaos and organised confusion - a perfect summer feast of insane rock and roll!

Says Noel Fielding “We’ve got the band together and have written some special bits just for this festival. It should be a real laugh!!”

Join us for one of the hottest festivals this summer.

www.themightyboosh.com
www.booshfestival.com

Tickets on sale now at See Tickets – 0871 220 0260 http://www.seetickets.com/?c=310082

Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Official-Mighty-Boosh-Festival-Page/36282555547

Michelle Obama on the View

Michell Obama on The View this morning:

From CNN's Political Ticker...

June 17, 2008
Obama sidesteps question about Gore joining ticket
Posted: 04:27 PM ET

From CNN Political Producer Chris Welch, CNN's Rebecca Sinderbrand

TAYLOR, Michigan (CNN) – Could Barack Obama ask a former vice president to reprise his role on the Democratic ticket?

At a Michigan campaign event Tuesday, a student reporter asked the presumptive Democratic nominee if he would consider asking Al Gore to serve as his running mate.

Obama, who has kept mum on his vice presidential plans, sidestepped the question. "I have just started looking through possible candidates. I haven't made any decisions. I'm getting some recommendations,” said the Illinois senator. “Obviously Al Gore is a great public servant, he was a great vice president. He may not want to be vice president again, since he's already done that for eight years, but certainly he's somebody that I'll be getting advice from as we go forward and hopefully he'll help me when I'm president."

The 2000 Democratic presidential nominee, who officially endorsed Obama Monday, said in December that he might jump back into the political fray – but only in a bid for the top spot. A third term as vice president would mean Gore had spent more time in the office than anyone in U.S. history.

The Hold Steady -- New Album -- Streaming On NME.com

I can't wait to get home and listen to this!

You have to create a myNME account, but then you can listen to the whole album (for a limited time) at THIS LINK.

Transcript & Video of Al Gore's Endorsement of Barack Obama

From TheWashingtonPost.com:

Transcript: Former Vice President Al Gore Endorses Sen. Obama

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT ALBERT GORE JR.: Yes, we can.

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you, Governor Granholm, for your introduction and your great leadership.

Thank you, Michigan, for supporting me in 2000. I'll never forget it.

(APPLAUSE)

Congratulations, Detroit, on the Red Wings victory in the Stanley Cup finals.

I speak to you this evening as a citizen of the United States. I speak to you also as citizen of the world, because the outcome of this election will affect the future of our planet. For America to lead the world through the dangers we're facing and to seize the opportunities before us, we've got to have new leadership. Not only a new president, but new policies. Not only a new head of state, but a new vision for America's future.


I want to begin with a few words to my fellow Democrats. We have just concluded an historic contest among the strongest field of candidates any political party has ever offered for the presidency of this country.

(APPLAUSE)

An inspiring group of men and a woman with experience and vision, confidence and boldness. Their vigorous competition has attracted record numbers of voters in every part of America, reinvigorated our democracy and helped to rekindle the spirit of our country. And now we've made our choice.

(APPLAUSE)

As the general election begins, let us remember our obligation to honor the highest values of our democracy and conduct this campaign in a spirit of respect for the Republican nominee...

(BOOING)

No, no. In that case, I'm glad I brought it up. Because, as Senator Barack Obama has said, John McCain is deserving of that respect. He has demonstrated bravery in war and as a prisoner of war and has served in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate for many years. Moreover, he has demonstrated a willingness to debate some critical issues, including the climate crisis, that many Republicans have refused to discuss at all.

But even as we acknowledge his long experience, we must and we will make our case that America simply cannot afford to continue the policies of the last eight years for another four.

(APPLAUSE)

And we all know that a long tenure in Washington, D.C. is not the same as judgment, wisdom and vision.

Nevertheless, the other party seems to think that age and experience are factors that will work in their favor during this campaign. But our shared -- our shared experience as a nation tells us otherwise. I remember when one prominent Republican wondered out loud whether the Democratic nominee -- and I quote -- "really is grown up enough to be president." Another used the phrase "naive and inexperienced." Yet another said, "The United States cannot afford to risk the future of the free world with inexperience and immaturity in the White House."

(BOOING)

Who are they talking about?

Every single one of those quotations came from the campaign of 1960, when the Republicans attacked John Fitzgerald Kennedy for allegedly lacking the age and experience necessary to be president.

(APPLAUSE)

Richard Nixon's slogan in that campaign was "experience counts," to which John F. Kennedy responded -- and I quote -- "to exclude from positions of trust and command all those below the age of 44 would have kept Jefferson from writing the Declaration of Independence, Washington from commanding the Continental Army, Madison from fathering the Constitution and Christopher Columbus from even discovering America."

On January 20th, 1961, as a 12-year-old boy, I stood in the snow in front of the Capitol as John Fitzgerald Kennedy took the oath of office. I know what his inspiration meant to my generation. And I feel that same spirit in this auditorium here tonight building all over this country this year.

(APPLAUSE)

I feel your determination, after two terms of the Bush- Cheney administration, to change the direction of our country. In looking back over the last eight years, I can tell you that we have already learned one important fact since the year 2000. Take it from me, elections matter.

(APPLAUSE)

If you think the next appointments to our Supreme Court are important, you know that elections matter.

If you live in the City of New Orleans, you know that elections matter.

(APPLAUSE)

If you or a member of your family are serving in the active military, the National Guard or Reserves, you know that elections matter. (APPLAUSE)

If you're a wounded veteran, you know that elections matter.

If you lost your job, if you're struggling with your mortgage, you know that elections matter.

(APPLAUSE)

If you care about a clean environment, if you want a government that protects you instead of special interests, you know that elections matter.

If you care about food safety, if you like a T on your BLT, you know that elections matter.

(APPLAUSE)

If you bought poisoned lead-filled toys from China or adulterated medicine made in China, if you bought tainted pet food made in China, you know that elections matter.

After the last eight years, even our dogs and cats have learned that elections matter.

(APPLAUSE)

And this election matters more than ever because America needs change more than ever. After eight years of lost jobs and lower wages, we need change. After eight years of incompetence, neglect and failure, we need change. After eight years in which our constitution has been dishonored and disrespected, we need change.

(APPLAUSE)

After eight years of the worst, most serious foreign policy mistakes in the entire history of our nation, we need change.

(APPLAUSE)

In September of 2002, I argued strongly that the invasion of a country that had not attacked us would be a mistake and would divert attention, resources and resolve from the effort to track down and capture those who had attacked us. I argued that the occupation of Iraq would be dangerous and harmful for our country. And I well remember how few elected officials were willing to take that position in favor of protecting our national security by remaining focused on the right objectives. But I remember that an eloquent legislator in Springfield, Illinois named Barack Obama spoke up boldly and clearly, with the force of reason and logic to join in opposition to that blunder.

(APPLAUSE)

To those who still do not understand that the withdrawal of troops from the search for bin Laden in order to launch a misguided invasion of Iraq was a mistake, it's time to say we need a change.

(APPLAUSE)

To those who want to continue making that same mistake over and over again indefinitely, it is important for us to say loudly and clearly with our votes this November, we need change. We intend to have change.

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: We need change! We need change! We need change!

GORE: To those who want to continue borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf and burn it in ways that destroy our planet's environment, it's time to say we need change.

(APPLAUSE)

Barack Obama knows that we are too dependent on foreign oil and carbon fuel and has proposed a plan to create millions of good new jobs in renewable, green energy, conservation and efficiency. Here in Detroit, you know we need to revitalize our automobile industry with a commitment to plug-in hybrids and low emission vehicles to solve the climate crisis and create the jobs of the future.

The future is ours not to predict, but to create. But make no mistake, we need to change our policies on climate. Not too many years from now, the next generation will look back at the decision we make this coming November and the policies we put in place in January of next year. Were we to ignore the warnings of the scientists around the world and look the other way as the entire North polar icecap melts before our eyes and the consequences we've been warned about unfolded, our children might then well ask, what were they thinking?

Why didn't they act?

Why didn't they choose change when they had a chance? It is my deep hope that they will ask another and very different question. I want them to look back on this historic year and ask how did Americans in 2008 find the moral courage to rise and successfully solve a crisis that so many said was impossible to solve?

(APPLAUSE)

How did they find the strength to change?

As Americans, we know that our democracy often moves very slowly. But we also know that when we must, we can shift gears quickly and suddenly pick up the pace to respond boldly to a great challenge. That's what the greatest generation did to win World War II and then came home to start the Marshall Plan, unify Europe, create the United Nations and create the basis for peace and prosperity for decades.

Many people have waited for some sign that our country is awakening once again.

How will we know when a massive wave of reform and recovery and regeneration is about to take hold and renew our nation?

What would it look like if such a change were beginning to build?

I think we might recognize it as a sign of such change if we saw millions of young people getting involved for the first time in the political process.

(APPLAUSE)

I think we might just recognize that if we saw that new generation casting aside obsolete and hurtful distinctions and reaching out to one another across the ancient divisions that have frustrated action in the past.

(APPLAUSE)

I think we would know this change was coming if a new generation rejected this special interest politics of the past and the big money that fueled it and instead used the Internet to get small donations and unite Americans in a common effort to realize our common destiny.

(APPLAUSE)

If we saw it coming, we would recognize it by the words hope and change. Perhaps we would recognize it if we heard a young leader rise up to say we're not a red state America or a blue state America, we are the United States of America. We would know that change was on the way if that young leader reached out not only to the supporters of the other candidates in his party, but also beyond partisan lines, to Republicans and Independents, and said to us all, America, our time has come.

I think we would recognize it in a candidate who, in response to those doubting our ability to solve the climate crisis and create a bright future, inspired millions to say yes, we can.

We have such a nominee. We have such a leader. Yes, we can. Ladies and gentlemen, the next president of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

(APPLAUSE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, D-ILL.: Thank you, Detroit.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you.

(END OF COVERAGE)

END

This Sounds Amazing:

From the 7 June 2008 NME (Alternative Summer section):

Beach Break Live, Polzeath,
Cornwall, June 9-12

Who's Playing?
The Enemy, The Cribs, The Wombats, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Joe Lean & the Jing Jang Jong

Why Should I Go?
Beach Break are intent on keeping things surreal by including such events as Pimp My Sheep Grand Prix, Cornish Fruit Golf Firing Range and Toss A Weird Object. May contain nuts.

That must have been amazing!! It sounds like it must have been so much fun!

I'm Not Alone!

From the NME last week:

"What should we do if we see someone famous [backstage]?":

Miles Kane (a.k.a. the lead singer of The Rascals and one half of the AMAZING Last Shadow Puppets) responds: "Go over and offer them a night of passion. Just say 'night of passion', then say 'question mark'. I'm quite into saying punctuation out loud at the moment."

I say punctuation out loud all the time! You should try it, its fun :O)

Miles Kane:



Another awesome quote from an interview with Gavin Rossdale (formerly of Bush) in the 7 June issue of NME:

Q: "How big was the miniature donkey?"
A: "Well miniature."

And to round it all off, some Last Shadow Puppets pictures:

AL GORE TO ENDORSE OBAMA!!!! FINALLY!!!!

From BarackObama.com:

Former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Al Gore just sent out this email...

Dear Friend,

A few hours from now I will step on stage in Detroit, Michigan to announce my support for Senator Barack Obama. From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected President of the United States.

Over the next four years, we are going to face many difficult challenges -- including bringing our troops home from Iraq, fixing our economy, and solving the climate crisis. Barack Obama is clearly the candidate best able to solve these problems and bring change to America.

This moment and this election are too important to let pass without taking action.

That's why I am asking you to join me in showing your support by making a contribution to this campaign today:

https://donate.barackobama.com/gore

Over the past 18 months, Barack Obama has united a movement. He knows change does not come from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or Capitol Hill. It begins when people stand up and take action.

With the help of millions of supporters like you, Barack Obama will bring the change we so desperately need in order to solve our country's most pressing problems.

If you've already contributed to this campaign, I ask that you consider making another contribution right now. If you haven't, please take the next step and own a piece of this campaign today:

https://donate.barackobama.com/gore

On the issues that matter most, Barack Obama is clearly the right choice to lead our nation.

We have a lot of work to do in the next few months to elect Barack Obama president, and it begins by making a contribution to this campaign today.

Thank you for joining me,

Al Gore

LIVE TONIGHT -- 8:30 p.m. EDT: Watch streaming video of Al Gore and Barack Obama at a rally in Detroit, Michigan: http://www.BarackObama.com

I'll post a video/transcript as soon as they become available! I'm so excited!!!

The dream team is finally coming together: Barack Obama, Al Gore, John Edwards and Howard Dean!

Holy Unicorn, Batman!!

A UNICORN was born it Italy!! Awesome!!

Visitors flocking to see 'unicorn' deer

ROME - The shy, young deer nicknamed "Unicorn" because of the rare, single horn in the center of his head is drawing hundreds of curious visitors, park officials said Thursday.



People are flocking to the nature preserve in Tuscany where the deer lives, hoping to see him and take his picture.

"We have received so many calls from people and many are coming to see it," said Gilberto Tozzi, director of the Center of Natural Sciences in Prato, near Florence. "Sometimes he comes close to the fence, even if he is very shy."

In just the past few days, some 200 visitors have made the pilgrimage to the Prato preserve to see "Unicorn," Tozzi said.

The shy but budding media star wanders freely around the 2.5-acre park, he said.

"He is tranquil and leads his normal life," he said. "He doesn't feel like a star."

The year-old Roe Deer was born in captivity with an apparent genetic flaw, Tozzi said. His twin, in contrast, has two horns.

Single-horned deer are rare but not unheard of but experts say the central positioning of Unicorn's horn is unusual. Tozzi speculated that similar anomalies might have inspired the myth of the unicorn.

The unicorn, a horse-like creature with magical healing powers, has appeared in legends and stories throughout history, from ancient and medieval texts to the adventures of Harry Potter.

Oh No! Not the Bagpipers!!

This sucks!

From BBC.co.uk:

Edinburgh buskers 'to pipe down'

Authorised pipers will be allowed to play in Castlehill and Lawnmarket
Bagpipers on Edinburgh's historic Royal Mile have been told they will be arrested if they continue to play.

Lothian and Borders Police said they receive up to 100 calls a day about the bagpipe noise and have to commit too many resources to dealing with it.

About 20 regular buskers have been asked to sign "acceptable behaviour contracts" banning them from performing in Castlehill and Lawnmarket.

If they do, officers said they could be arrested for a breach of the peace.

The police have said they are responding to a very real problem which has been troubling people living close by.

City centre Insp Bruce Johnston told the BBC Scotland news website: "Some days it was from eight in the morning through to 10pm at night. They were disturbing a lot of elderly people and students studying for exams.

"It is more important for the residents to have a normal, healthy life.

"We explained that we would take their pipes away and they would not want that.

"We really don't want to go down that road, but we told them that if we have to we will".

The contract also informs the buskers that if the playing continues after warnings are issued, anti-social behaviour orders would be issued.

The NME Covers the Mighty Boosh Festival!

From NME.com:

The Mighty Boosh: 'We're taking band tips from Muse'
Comedy team promise 'stupidly elaborate odyssey' for live shows

Jun 11, 2008

The Mighty Boosh have declared they are taking inspiration from Muse as they prepare to headline their own festival as a band.

As previously reported, the Boosh played a low key 'dress rehearsal' gig last week (June 6), but are promising big things when they play their festival on July 5.

"We're going to try and make some stupidly elaborate odyssey," Julian Barratt told NME.COM. "I want to get some lasers attached to my guitar so I can do people’s cataracts while I solo, and I want a leather 'Matrix' coat like Muse."

He added: "Dave (Brown, who plays Bollo) will be doing backing stuff and percussion and Mike (Fielding, who plays Naboo) will be sitting on a toadstool and playing a magic sitar."

For the full details of The Mighty Boosh's plans get this week's issue of NME, on UK newsstands now, for an exclusive cover story interview.

The Mighty Boosh will headline their own festival on July 5 at Hop Farm, Kent. They are also set to headline the Big Chill Festival (August 1 – 3) at Eastnor Castle.

To check Mighty Boosh ticket availability and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/GIGS now, or call 0871 230 1094

I'm so excited!! Ack!

Also, I can't wait to get this week's issue of NME. Hopefully it'll come before I leave for England on July 3rd so I can actually read it!



Most tantalizingly: "WHY was The Mighty Boosh's Noel Fielding sitting in the rain sobbing (and wearing a green dress) when NME turned up to interview him in London?"

Why I Love Kucinich

He wants to impeach Bush! Its about bloody time!!

From Kucinich's Website:

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH
Washington, Jun 10 - Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio
In the United States House of Representatives
Monday, June 9th, 2008

A Resolution

INDEX

Article I
Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq.

Article II
Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression.

Article III
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War.

Article IV
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States.

Article V
Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression.

Article VI
Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of H. J. Res114.

Article VII
Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.

Article VIII
Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter.

Article IX
Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor.

Article X
Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes.

Article XI
Establishment of Permanent U.S. Military Bases in Iraq.

Article XII
Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation's Natural Resources.

Article XIIII
Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other Countries.

Article XIV
Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Article XV
Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq.

Article XVI
Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors.

Article XVII
Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives.

Article XVIII
Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy.

Article XIX
Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to "Black Sites" Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture.

Article XX
Imprisoning Children.

Article XXI
Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government.

Article XXII
Creating Secret Laws.

Article XXIII
Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.

Article XXIV
Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment.

Article XXV
Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens.

Article XXVI
Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements.

Article XXVII
Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply.

Article XXVIII
Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice.

Article XXIX
Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Article XXX
Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare.

Article XXXI
Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil Emergency.

Article XXXII
Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change.

Article XXXIII
Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.

Article XXXIV
Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001.

Article XXXV
Endangering the Health of 911 First Responders.

____________

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT FOR PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

Resolved, that President George W. Bush be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against President George W. Bush for high crimes and misdemeanors.

In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has committed the following abuses of power.

Am I The Only One Who Objects to This?

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Granted, sock monkeys are an established stuffed animal genre, but I find portraying Obama as a monkey seems somewhat offensive, especially considering that he's the first African American Major Party Nominee and there's a (racist) history of comparing black people to monkeys...hmm.

I Want One!!!

NASA's Picture of the Day for June 11, 2008:

Crew Mobility Chassis Prototype

The Crew Mobility Chassis Prototype is NASA's new concept for a lunar truck. Researchers are trying it out at Moses Lake, Wash., this week as part of a series of tests of lunar surface concepts. One feature is its high mobility. Each set of wheels can pivot individually in any direction, giving the vehicle the ability to drive sideways, forward, backward and any direction in between -- important if the truck becomes mired in lunar dust, needs to zigzag down a steep crater wall or parallel park at its docking station. NASA currently is building the spacecraft and systems to return to the moon by 2020.

800 Word Harry Potter Prequel Released!!!!

Posted today on Waterstones's Website:





A typed-out version can be read at Mugglenet.com. Click the images to see larger versions.

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED!

You can preorder the book containing this card HERE. It will be released on 07/08/2008.

Synopsis:

Waterstone's Exclusive Postcard Book: To celebrate the National Year of Reading Waterstone's asked 13 world-class authors to tell us their story. We extended this invitation to our customers, in the form of a nationwide competition to win the opportunity to be published in this limited edition postcard book, alongside the original works from JK Rowling, Doris Lessing, Neil Gaiman, Michael Rosen, Nick Hornby, Sebastian Faulks, Lauren Child, Tom Stoppard, Irvine Welsh, Axel Scheffler, Margaret Atwood, Richard Ford and Lisa Appignanesi. This collection consists of 13 story cards from the authors listed above plus story cards from the three winners of the national competition. Due to the exclusive nature of this product, we are limiting orders to two (2) per customer while stocks last. All profits from the sale of this collection will go to Dyslexia Action and English PEN. Please note that because the postcard book contains a mixture of authors, some stories are not suitable for children.

More Info On the BooshFest Warmup Gig:

Source: BigChill.net

Secret Mighty Boosh Gig At The Big Chill House
On Friday June 6th, to a capacity crowd at The Big Chill House, The Mighty Boosh debuted their live band, with a secret warm-up gig ahead of their appearance at The Big Chill Festival in August.


Future Sailors

The evening was kicked off in style with a DJ set from the Team Awesome DJ's who got the packed club up and dancing, before Naboo The Enigma (aka Michael Fielding) took to the decks for set of party bangers. Finally the stage was set for the Boosh boys and their band.



Naboo works his Shamanic magic on the dance floor

Vince Noir and Howard Moon (aka Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt) were joined on stage by many of the characters from the show, with a guest appearance from Rich Fulcher, in the guises of Bob Fossil, and blind jazz legend Lester Cornflake, who worked the crowd like a true jazz maverick with his trombone. But, it was the appearance of the distinctly disturbing Old Gregg, who invited Howard to suckle on The Funk, which received the biggest cheer of the night.


Old Gregg

The band played a selection of their greatest hits from the television show, to rapturous response from the crowd, who were lapping up Boosh favourites such as Electro Boy, Cockney Reggae, Eels, and Charlie.



The Hitcher and Howard do reggae - East London style

Unfortunately, after an hour, the band had finished, but if this warm up is anything to go by, we're in for a real treat when The Mighty Boosh take to the stage at Eastnor this year! The crowd were returned back to the safe hands of the Team Awesome DJ's, who kept the crowd on their feet till the wee small hours.

Vist our youtube page here for more footage from The Mighty Boosh's secret gig.

[CLICK HERE for slideshow]

All pictures by Lucy Kate Hill. To see more of Lucy's pictures of The Mighty Boosh please visit our Flickr page.

I can barely contain my excitement!! I can't wait to get home from work so I can watch the videos!

VIDEOS: Old Gregg Future Sailors Charlie Electro Boy

Teenage Cancer Trust Videos!

This happened back in April, but I'm just getting around to watching some of the vids now...

This first one is Noel Fielding reading out a letter from Russell Brand, parts of which he had never seen before. This makes for much hilarity, as parts of the letter are quite inappropriate. I think the best part of this video is Noel cracking up as he reads it...adorable.



Noel's take on Chavs, and other hilarious standup:



Noel's hatred of prawns:



Aaaand....the debut of the Boosh Band!!

Electro Boy (Live)



This is not a TCT video, but its Noel Fielding talking about the Mighty Boosh Festival and it makes me SOOO EXCITED!!!

Noel Fielding Interviews Gary Numan!!

Noel Fielding interviews Gary Numan! (Audio only)



Noel's Keith Richards impersonation sounds exactly like the spirit of jazz :O)







This makes me soooo excited for this summer!!

Ahh, Ram's Legs!

Noel Fielding in The Mighty Boosh episode "Tundra":



James McAvoy as Tumnus in Narnia:



And another of Noel Fielding:



And Noel from the short film "Sweet" with PUPPIES!!!

Why Can't I Live In London?

From the NME, "'The Mighty Boosh' play secret 'dress rehearsal' show":

'The Mighty Boosh' play secret 'dress rehearsal' show
Comedy team warm-up for festivals with free gig

Jun 9, 2008

The Mighty Boosh played a secret warm-up gig on (June 6) for the festivals, performing at London's Big Chill House.

The comedy team are headlining their own festival on in Kent on July 5, before playing the Big Chill on August 1.

To prepare themselves, the group took the stage under the name as The Arthur Conan Doyles, billing the free show in Kings Cross as a "dress rehearsal" for their shows.

The Mighty Boosh played:

'Electro Boy'
'Future Sailors'
'Did A Shit'
'Jazz Shit'
'Mangina'
'Bingo Jazz'
'Nannageddon'
'Eels'
'Charlie'

Get this week's issue of NME, on UK newsstands from June 11, for an exclusive interview with The Mighty Boosh.

To check the availability of Mighty Boosh and Bill Chill festival tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/GIGS now, or call 0871 230 1094.

Oh, how I wish I was there!! On the bright side, this makes me SO EXCITED for this summer!! Wooo!!

Noel Fielding on the Russell Brand Podcast!

June 9, 2008

"In another jam packed LA show Russell and Matt speak to Mighty Boosh star Noel Fielding and crooner Curtis Stigers and are joined in the studio by Richard 'Uncle Monty' Griffiths... wrinkly rocker Noel Gallagher also makes an unforgetable apperance!"

Listen HERE

Noel is on from about 28 minutes in until 35 minutes in.



And just for fun:

J.K. Rowling's Harvard Commencement Address

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination
June 5, 2008

J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Harry Potter book series, delivers her Commencement Address, “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination,” at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association.

Copyright of JK Rowling, June 2008

President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates.

The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.’ Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I’ve experienced at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and fool myself into believing I am at the world’s best-educated Harry Potter convention.

Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can’t remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, law or politics for the giddy delights of becoming a gay wizard.

You see? If all you remember in years to come is the ‘gay wizard’ joke, I’ve still come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals: the first step towards personal improvement.

Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and this.

I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called ‘real life’, I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.

These might seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.

Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation, is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has become. Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself, and what those closest to me expected of me.

I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write novels. However, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that could never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.

They had hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to study English Literature. A compromise was reached that in retrospect satisfied nobody, and I went up to study Modern Languages. Hardly had my parents’ car rounded the corner at the end of the road than I ditched German and scuttled off down the Classics corridor.

I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics; they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day. Of all subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than Greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.

I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you. What is more, I cannot criticise my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves, and I have since been poor, and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.

What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.

At your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, I had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.

I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak. Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the Fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.

However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person’s idea of success, so high have you already flown academically.

Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.

Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default.

Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above rubies.

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.

Given a time machine or a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.

You might think that I chose my second theme, the importance of imagination, because of the part it played in rebuilding my life, but that is not wholly so. Though I will defend the value of bedtime stories to my last gasp, I have learned to value imagination in a much broader sense. Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

One of the greatest formative experiences of my life preceded Harry Potter, though it informed much of what I subsequently wrote in those books. This revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs. Though I was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, I paid the rent in my early 20s by working in the research department at Amnesty International’s headquarters in London.

There in my little office I read hastily scribbled letters smuggled out of totalitarian regimes by men and women who were risking imprisonment to inform the outside world of what was happening to them. I saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to Amnesty by their desperate families and friends. I read the testimony of torture victims and saw pictures of their injuries. I opened handwritten, eye-witness accounts of summary trials and executions, of kidnappings and rapes.

Many of my co-workers were ex-political prisoners, people who had been displaced from their homes, or fled into exile, because they had the temerity to think independently of their government. Visitors to our office included those who had come to give information, or to try and find out what had happened to those they had been forced to leave behind.

I shall never forget the African torture victim, a young man no older than I was at the time, who had become mentally ill after all he had endured in his homeland. He trembled uncontrollably as he spoke into a video camera about the brutality inflicted upon him. He was a foot taller than I was, and seemed as fragile as a child. I was given the job of escorting him to the Underground Station afterwards, and this man whose life had been shattered by cruelty took my hand with exquisite courtesy, and wished me future happiness.

And as long as I live I shall remember walking along an empty corridor and suddenly hearing, from behind a closed door, a scream of pain and horror such as I have never heard since. The door opened, and the researcher poked out her head and told me to run and make a hot drink for the young man sitting with her. She had just given him the news that in retaliation for his own outspokenness against his country’s regime, his mother had been seized and executed.

Every day of my working week in my early 20s I was reminded how incredibly fortunate I was, to live in a country with a democratically elected government, where legal representation and a public trial were the rights of everyone.

Every day, I saw more evidence about the evils humankind will inflict on their fellow humans, to gain or maintain power. I began to have nightmares, literal nightmares, about some of the things I saw, heard and read.

And yet I also learned more about human goodness at Amnesty International than I had ever known before.

Amnesty mobilises thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have. The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet. My small participation in that process was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my life.

Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s minds, imagine themselves into other people’s places.

Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.

And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.

I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces can lead to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.

What is more, those who choose not to empathise may enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.

One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other people’s lives simply by existing.

But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people’s lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the world’s only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.

If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children’s godparents, the people to whom I’ve been able to turn in times of trouble, friends who have been kind enough not to sue me when I’ve used their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister.

So today, I can wish you nothing better than similar friendships. And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom:
As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.
I wish you all very good lives.
Thank you very much.

(Text as prepared for delivery)

She also got an honorary degree, but I'm not sure in what.

Huzzah! Obama Jewelry!!

I just ordered this from DIYorDIE on Etsy.com:



I think they're adorable.

I'm not sure if they have more in stock, but CLICK HERE to find out!

The Most Amazing Speech Ever! (OBAMA WINS!!!!)

OBAMA WINS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY NOMINATION!!!!!



Courtesy of my.BarackObama.com:

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama

Final Primary Night

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

St. Paul, Minnesota



As Prepared for Delivery

Tonight, after fifty-four hard-fought contests, our primary season has finally come to an end.

Sixteen months have passed since we first stood together on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Thousands of miles have been traveled. Millions of voices have been heard. And because of what you said – because you decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations, tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another – a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

I want to thank every American who stood with us over the course of this campaign – through the good days and the bad; from the snows of Cedar Rapids to the sunshine of Sioux Falls. And tonight I also want to thank the men and woman who took this journey with me as fellow candidates for President.

At this defining moment for our nation, we should be proud that our party put forth one of the most talented, qualified field of individuals ever to run for this office. I have not just competed with them as rivals, I have learned from them as friends, as public servants, and as patriots who love America and are willing to work tirelessly to make this country better. They are leaders of this party, and leaders that America will turn to for years to come.

That is particularly true for the candidate who has traveled further on this journey than anyone else. Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she’s a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she’s a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight.

We’ve certainly had our differences over the last sixteen months. But as someone who’s shared a stage with her many times, I can tell you that what gets Hillary Clinton up in the morning – even in the face of tough odds – is exactly what sent her and Bill Clinton to sign up for their first campaign in Texas all those years ago; what sent her to work at the Children’s Defense Fund and made her fight for health care as First Lady; what led her to the United States Senate and fueled her barrier-breaking campaign for the presidency – an unyielding desire to improve the lives of ordinary Americans, no matter how difficult the fight may be. And you can rest assured that when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country, she will be central to that victory. When we transform our energy policy and lift our children out of poverty, it will be because she worked to help make it happen. Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

There are those who say that this primary has somehow left us weaker and more divided. Well I say that because of this primary, there are millions of Americans who have cast their ballot for the very first time. There are Independents and Republicans who understand that this election isn’t just about the party in charge of Washington, it’s about the need to change Washington. There are young people, and African-Americans, and Latinos, and women of all ages who have voted in numbers that have broken records and inspired a nation.

All of you chose to support a candidate you believe in deeply. But at the end of the day, we aren’t the reason you came out and waited in lines that stretched block after block to make your voice heard. You didn’t do that because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else. You did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment – a moment that will define a generation – we cannot afford to keep doing what we’ve been doing. We owe our children a better future. We owe our country a better future. And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say – let us begin the work together. Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America.

In just a few short months, the Republican Party will arrive in St. Paul with a very different agenda. They will come here to nominate John McCain, a man who has served this country heroically. I honor that service, and I respect his many accomplishments, even if he chooses to deny mine. My differences with him are not personal; they are with the policies he has proposed in this campaign.

Because while John McCain can legitimately tout moments of independence from his party in the past, such independence has not been the hallmark of his presidential campaign.

It’s not change when John McCain decided to stand with George Bush ninety-five percent of the time, as he did in the Senate last year.

It’s not change when he offers four more years of Bush economic policies that have failed to create well-paying jobs, or insure our workers, or help Americans afford the skyrocketing cost of college – policies that have lowered the real incomes of the average American family, widened the gap between Wall Street and Main Street, and left our children with a mountain of debt.

And it’s not change when he promises to continue a policy in Iraq that asks everything of our brave men and women in uniform and nothing of Iraqi politicians – a policy where all we look for are reasons to stay in Iraq, while we spend billions of dollars a month on a war that isn’t making the American people any safer.

So I’ll say this – there are many words to describe John McCain’s attempt to pass off his embrace of George Bush’s policies as bipartisan and new. But change is not one of them.

Change is a foreign policy that doesn’t begin and end with a war that should’ve never been authorized and never been waged. I won’t stand here and pretend that there are many good options left in Iraq, but what’s not an option is leaving our troops in that country for the next hundred years – especially at a time when our military is overstretched, our nation is isolated, and nearly every other threat to America is being ignored.

We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in - but start leaving we must. It’s time for Iraqis to take responsibility for their future. It’s time to rebuild our military and give our veterans the care they need and the benefits they deserve when they come home. It’s time to refocus our efforts on al Qaeda’s leadership and Afghanistan, and rally the world against the common threats of the 21st century – terrorism and nuclear weapons; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. That’s what change is.

Change is realizing that meeting today’s threats requires not just our firepower, but the power of our diplomacy – tough, direct diplomacy where the President of the United States isn’t afraid to let any petty dictator know where America stands and what we stand for. We must once again have the courage and conviction to lead the free world. That is the legacy of Roosevelt, and Truman, and Kennedy. That’s what the American people want. That’s what change is.

Change is building an economy that rewards not just wealth, but the work and workers who created it. It’s understanding that the struggles facing working families can’t be solved by spending billions of dollars on more tax breaks for big corporations and wealthy CEOs, but by giving a the middle-class a tax break, and investing in our crumbling infrastructure, and transforming how we use energy, and improving our schools, and renewing our commitment to science and innovation. It’s understanding that fiscal responsibility and shared prosperity can go hand-in-hand, as they did when Bill Clinton was President.

John McCain has spent a lot of time talking about trips to Iraq in the last few weeks, but maybe if he spent some time taking trips to the cities and towns that have been hardest hit by this economy – cities in Michigan, and Ohio, and right here in Minnesota – he’d understand the kind of change that people are looking for.

Maybe if he went to Iowa and met the student who works the night shift after a full day of class and still can’t pay the medical bills for a sister who’s ill, he’d understand that she can’t afford four more years of a health care plan that only takes care of the healthy and wealthy. She needs us to pass health care plan that guarantees insurance to every American who wants it and brings down premiums for every family who needs it. That’s the change we need.

Maybe if he went to Pennsylvania and met the man who lost his job but can’t even afford the gas to drive around and look for a new one, he’d understand that we can’t afford four more years of our addiction to oil from dictators. That man needs us to pass an energy policy that works with automakers to raise fuel standards, and makes corporations pay for their pollution, and oil companies invest their record profits in a clean energy future – an energy policy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced. That’s the change we need.

And maybe if he spent some time in the schools of South Carolina or St. Paul or where he spoke tonight in New Orleans, he’d understand that we can’t afford to leave the money behind for No Child Left Behind; that we owe it to our children to invest in early childhood education; to recruit an army of new teachers and give them better pay and more support; to finally decide that in this global economy, the chance to get a college education should not be a privilege for the wealthy few, but the birthright of every American. That’s the change we need in America. That’s why I’m running for President.

The other side will come here in September and offer a very different set of policies and positions, and that is a debate I look forward to. It is a debate the American people deserve. But what you don’t deserve is another election that’s governed by fear, and innuendo, and division. What you won’t hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon – that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize. Because we may call ourselves Democrats and Republicans, but we are Americans first. We are always Americans first.

Despite what the good Senator from Arizona said tonight, I have seen people of differing views and opinions find common cause many times during my two decades in public life, and I have brought many together myself. I’ve walked arm-in-arm with community leaders on the South Side of Chicago and watched tensions fade as black, white, and Latino fought together for good jobs and good schools. I’ve sat across the table from law enforcement and civil rights advocates to reform a criminal justice system that sent thirteen innocent people to death row. And I’ve worked with friends in the other party to provide more children with health insurance and more working families with a tax break; to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and ensure that the American people know where their tax dollars are being spent; and to reduce the influence of lobbyists who have all too often set the agenda in Washington.

In our country, I have found that this cooperation happens not because we agree on everything, but because behind all the labels and false divisions and categories that define us; beyond all the petty bickering and point-scoring in Washington, Americans are a decent, generous, compassionate people, united by common challenges and common hopes. And every so often, there are moments which call on that fundamental goodness to make this country great again.

So it was for that band of patriots who declared in a Philadelphia hall the formation of a more perfect union; and for all those who gave on the fields of Gettysburg and Antietam their last full measure of devotion to save that same union.

So it was for the Greatest Generation that conquered fear itself, and liberated a continent from tyranny, and made this country home to untold opportunity and prosperity.

So it was for the workers who stood out on the picket lines; the women who shattered glass ceilings; the children who braved a Selma bridge for freedom’s cause.

So it has been for every generation that faced down the greatest challenges and the most improbable odds to leave their children a world that’s better, and kinder, and more just.

And so it must be for us.

America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.

The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment – this was the time – when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Fun Festival News

Exclusive: The Mighty Boosh's Bollo To Take On Honey Monster
02 June 2008

The Mighty Boosh are busy boys with a comedy show, a music festival, an album, a book and a film all in the works. Noel Fiedling dropped by Xfm to talk all things Boosh, including a planned fight with The Honey Monster!

Talking first about the inaugural Mighty Boosh Festival, Noel Fielding explained how they hastily put together the line-up - which features The Charlatans, Gary Numan, Jarvis Cocker (DJ), The Kills, White Denim, Peaches (DJ), Robots In Disguise, Har Mar Superstar and Polar Bear on the music stage:

"We wanted people that were connected to The Boosh so that it didn't feel like a really corporate festival. We wanted to make sure that everyone were even friends of The Boosh or starred in The Boosh or something.

"We're headlining with a music set and there'll be loads of Boosh characters, comedy bits, fireworks, plus I'm gonna release a hawk into the crowd... I'll dress it up as Suzy Quatro first!"

Fielding also revealed that they were thinking about bringing the Sugar Puffs Monster on stage at the festival (Sugar Puffs famously ripped off The Mighty Boosh's crimping style for a recent advert) to fight with the gorrilla Boosh character Bollo.

Turning next to progress on the rumoured Mighty Boosh album Fielding continued, "I know Mark Ronson was into producing it but then Nigel Godrich might be up for it too...we may just give it to a child to do.

"It will probably released after the tour which is happening September to January 2009, we want the music to stand up for itself but keep the comedy elements."

The Mighty Boosh Festival takes place on Hops Farm, Kent on July 5.

Watch the interview HERE.