Riots in London

A 140-year-old furniture store burning.

Youths are rioting near me right now: Hackney, Tottenham, Clapham Junction, Ealing, Brixton, Lewisham, and basically every high street in London.

People are talking about it in Lavender Hill.

All the reporters on the BBC sound like they're running for their lives-- they keep explaining how impossible it is to get pictures of anything because the kids just keep popping up everywhere.


Right now the Debenham's I ride my bike past every day is on fire.

Lots of faraway sirens but it's way quieter than usual-- I think all the youth from my neighborhood are out rioting instead of shouting at each other, which is what they usually do.

Jesus!

Eddie Izzard: On Mass Murderers

Since we're on the subject, and Panic mentioned that whole magic number and empathy thing, and it's Eddie Izzard, after all...

Bonus! I hadn't seen this one before!

Why didn't Jesus shapeshift?

Good question!

The Jesus cheeto!

The evolutionary evangelist

You'll love this: a pastor who calls himself an evolutionary evangelist.

For the last six years, he has traveled across North America with his wife, Connie Barlow, in a van that displays an image of two fish kissing each other — one labeled Jesus, the other Darwin — explaining to conservative and liberal congregations why understanding and accepting evolution will bring them closer to spiritual fulfillment.

He thinks evolution will help us "understand our sinful ways" (To use the reporter's words.) I'm not sure this way of thinking really harms anyone - so long as school boards don't force teachers to teach it in science class. But the article quotes a scientist saying it could encourage society to think less rigorously about evolution.

The Emissary

"The extraterrestrial is my brother"

The Catholic Church says we may have alien friends. This came out about a month ago, but I'm posting it now in case you missed it. I've since read Vatican officials have made a similar remarks before, but apparently a lot of people hadn't heard them because this interview was big news for many. A highlight:

Aliens could be out there, and believing that the universe may contain
extraterrestrial life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief
astronomer says....Mr Funes mused that aliens would not have been visited by
Jesus, because his "incarnation was a unique and unrepeatable event". However, "I am sure that they too, in some way, would have the possibility to benefit
from God's mercy".