Things I read, things I'm doing

I read all of the internet every afternoon between doing the Lord's Work. I see interesting stuff sometimes.

Guys, Wonders and Marvels is both wonderful and marvelous. So much fantastic and strange historical nerdery! I particularly enjoyed this post by Jack El-Hai about how a) people used to watch kangaroos "box" for funsies and b) a tragic elevator accident made people realize that maybe this was not such a good use of our precious kangaroo resources. Fact: several years ago, I was buying a new pair of Adidas Sambas (the world's greatest shoe, probably) and was slightly chagrined to learn that they were made of kangaroo leather. But then I consulted the internet and found out that kangaroos aren't endangered or anything and I no longer felt guilty. True story.

In crypto-anthropod news, apparently a hot Siberian summer sent the local Yeti population to seek cooler climes farther north. Highlights of this article from the Voice of Russia include a description of one encounter where, sadly the Yetis "'did not answer our greeting,' one of the eye-witnesses, Vitaly Vershinin, said." Yetis can be such fucking snobs, you guys. Don't take it personal, Vitaly. Also, one expert's description of the alleged humanoid creatures: "They use neither instruments of labour, nor clothes or fire, but they are sufficiently intellectual. Besides, they are well known for their paranormal capabilities." I for one can't wait to find out what kind of intellectual/paranormal contributions Yetis and their Samsquanch cousins can make to human society. It's really only a matter of time before Bobo catches one, right?

In a post on his WaPo Wonkblog last month, Ezra Klein takes on the issue of poverty and "personal responsibility." Being poor is soul-suckingly depressing, it is hard, and it is expensive. And oh yeah, it requires you to be personally responsible for nearly every aspect of your day-to-day life. Can't put food stamps in an off-shore account, bro.

Sadly, I will not be live-blogging tonight's town hall presidential debate. Which is probably the best for both my sanity and my liver. But I WILL be attending a Chip Coffey event here in St. Paul! Will seeing the fantastically no-nonsense bescarfed psychic in action convince me to believe in an afterlife? I suspect that my ambivalence will be confirmed, but that Chip will be charming. I'm going to try to make myself ask for a picture with him when I get my book signed. We'll see if I can follow through.

Also, remember when this happened? I bought a few more flavors (they're only $1 a can!). I'm drinking the pomegranate berry flavor Max Velocity right now and it is delicious and awesome.

The end.

UPDATE: I just wanted to send a link love over to Blair (the blogger formerly known as B.), the blogmistress/curator of STFU, Parents a collection of majestic parental overshare and self-righteousness. She recently un-anonymized herself and people be hatin' on her for apparently not being attractive or child-having enough to qualify for internet snarking. This is misogynist bullshit, obviously.