Home of the Soul Cookie

Tetka

If the body gets stuck, or if you want to play puppeteer, you can click and drag it elsewhere.

[via]

We all deserve the
freedom to marry
[SoulCookie]

I’ve posted the pictures I took yesterday at Pride into my Flickr photostream.

…who are letting creationism be taught as “intelligent design” in public schools.

OPEN LETTER TO KANSAS SCHOOL BOARD

I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design to be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design.

Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him.

More here.

[via]

The commute in was interesting today. I took the bus from the pad to the MUNI station in the Castro. That went normally; plenty of room and seats for everyone.

When I got to the station, though, the platform was a solid mass of people running the length of the waiting area.

I let one full train go by before I decided to elbow my way into the next car, also totally packed.

I ended up riding all the way to Embarcadero (where I transfer to BART) wedged up into a corner by the door, my left arm in an awkward, almost-dislocated position.

That said, I still like living somewhere with public transportation.

I now have a role-playing game credit to my name!

I was one of the proofreaders on Sean K Reynolds’ new monster book “Hungry Little Monsters,” a charity fundraiser D&D/D20 monster book for FoodForAll.org.

This is a real product with some big-name contributors, including Dave Mattingly, Matt Forbeck, Scott Bennie, and Ed Greenwood. Sean himself even created several beasties for the book.

The only downside? A glitch kept my name off the title page, but even that’s going to be remedied shortly. Expect lots of Look! That’s me!’s after I print it out.

Now, to work on those author/designer credits…

In other news, I’ve convinced work to let me do an ongoing geek/pop culture blog for them, beginning with my trip to the Comic-Con!

I’m very excited about getting my words and POV out in front of a large audience. Nothing’s going to be changing here at the Home of the Soul Cookie, with the possible exception that my long-delayed plans to start a podcast might just get folded into what I’m doing for work. It’s too early to tell.

Some of our departments staff writers have tackled writing blogs with varying amounts of success. I’m hoping to be able to lead by example and to better acquaint them with some of the vernacular of blogging (and how it differs from writing a column or article for print).

The trailer for The Brothers Grimm, which stars Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, and Monica Bellucci, is available online now.

And is it just me, or does the brothers’ guide look and sound an awful lot like Keira Knightley without actually being Keira Knightley?

You Are Absinthe!

You have a unique personality. Although most like you, sometimes you take some getting used to. You can be a bit strong. You are full of energy and sometimes flamboyant. You are the life of the party but if people are not careful you can knock them on their ass.

What Naughty My Little Pony Are You?

I’m not sure I’d call myself “the life of the party,” and at this point in my life, about the only knocking-them-on-their-asses I do is when I try to bust a move on the dance floor.

(bump) “Oops, excuse me.” (bump)

[via Puppy's blog]

This won’t make a lot of sense unless you’ve played Apples to Apples. And if you haven’t… you should!

Marriage Proposal in a Box

MADISON, Wisconsin – People say romance can be a game, but nowhere was this truer than when Bill Becker got engaged to girlfriend Ashleigh…with the help of their favorite party game: Apples to Apples.

He actually got the Out of the Box guys to make a special “Ashleigh, Will You Marry Me?” red card that he could play when she was the Judge of the “Unforgettable” green card.

More in John Kovalic’s blog, including pics of the happy couple and their cards.

Google’s got satellite photography of the Bay Area; now they’re going to complement that by adding 3d modeling to the mix:

Google plans to use trucks equipped with lasers and digital photographic equipment to create a realistic 3D online version of San Francisco, and eventually other major US cities.

The move would trump Amazon’s A9 service, which offers two-dimensional photos of buildings on US city streets.

More: Smile for the Google 3D mapping truck