SCIENCE
We landed “a plutonium-powered rover the size of a small car” on the surface of Mars early Monday morning. The name of the rover is “Curiosity”, and it “ushers in a new era of exploration that could turn up evidence that the Red Planet once had the necessary ingredients for life — or might even still harbor life today.” (NYT) Okay, cool. Hats off to science. Also, according to The New York Times:
(1) Curiosity is far larger than earlier rovers and has the most sophisticated movable laboratory that has ever been sent to another planet.
(2) It will spend at least two years examining rocks within the 96-mile crater it landed in, looking for carbon-based molecules and other evidence that early Mars had conditions friendly for life.
(3) It is powered by electricity generated from the heat of a chunk of plutonium and could continue running for years or decades until it wears out.
(4) The journey from Earth to Mars took eight and a half months.
(5) The project cost $2.5 billion.
Here is a newly released color photo:
I hope that’s enough information because I’m moving on.
SPORTS
Speaking of Martians… Okay okay Dwight Howard doesn’t look like a martian but wouldn’t it be interesting to find an extremely intelligent life form on Mars that resembled our top athletes and had the brain power of our top scientists? And what if they were a “dark hued” species?? Lol. Boy oh boy wouldn’t a certain segment of the US population be maaaaaaad??!? Hahahahaha. Just to see the look on their faces… Alright alright I digress.
Dwight Howard will be joining the Lakers. I just might start tuning in again. Oh wait, Kobe isn’t going anywhere right? Damn. Hmmm. Anyway, Good luck Dwight. No seriously, GOOD LUCK!
THE OLYMPICS
Team USA is of course still cleaning up. Below is a table of the top 10 medal winners by country.
USA! USA! USA! USA! Sometimes it’s fun to start chatting just for the hell of it. 
By the way, the Closing Ceremonies are scheduled for Sunday, August 12th. It “will be titled ‘A Symphony of British Music’, to celebrate the fact that music has been one of Britain’s strongest cultural exports over the last 50 years.” Okay, sure. In addition to a tribute to the Beatles, Amy Winehouse and Adele (I’m guessing) there will be a handover to the next host city – Rio de Janeiro – as well as extinguishing the Olympic flame as a clear signal the games are OVAH! London is probably like “take ya’ll a*ses home!” And btw, Rio is gonna be OFF THE CHAIN! Like fo reals.
POLITICS
Over it. Sigh.
1. Romney’s way of doing business…
I did a post earlier this week highlighting the fact that the initial start-up money Romney collected for Bain Capital came from Central American investors who had family ties to those parties responsible for death squads in El Salvador in the mid 80s. The Huffington Post had a long (seemingly) thoroughly researched article about it AND this information had been previously reported in the LA Times, The Boston Globe and Salon. Clearly it’s not a story that is going to take off because I didn’t see any more headlines this week from any of the main sites I check regularly. Okay. Fine. Maybe because it’s old news or people honestly just don’t care but I think it is an unnerving association and indicative of his willingness to get in bed with either the devil himself (Karl Rove) or at a minimum the devil’s acquaintances (Donald Trump) just to get what he wants. There’s a pattern here and it would be best to not ignore it. Anyone who thinks this country will be better off after 4 years of a Romney administration is sadly mistaken. #Obama2012
2. Voter ID Laws
What has been a truly disheartening and tragic state of affairs during this election cycle is the number voters who will be disenfranchised by the slew of Voter ID laws that were enacted “almost entirely in swing states with Republican controlled legislatures.”
Bullshit declarations of voter fraud as the rational for these laws will prevent large numbers of – wait for it – elderly and minority voters from being able to vote in November, voters who typical vote – wait for it – democratic. I am aware of volunteers going out in various communities to assist people with making sure they have the proper ID or can get the proper ID in time for the election but you can damn sure believe many people will fall through the cracks and not be able to vote. The GOP really is a despicable party. A difference of opinion about the best way to run our country is fine. Deciding that you don’t support the guy I support is fine as well (foolish but that’s your right) but deliberately f*cking over an American’s right to vote is an abomination. Bleh.
A damn shame and a spit in the eye to all those who marched, died and fought like hell to guarantee the right to vote to ALL Americans. #makesmesicktomystomach
MOVIES
The new “Jason Bourne” movie comes out today. Leave it to Hollywood to keep it moving with a successful franchise. “Oh you’re no longer interested Matt? That’s cool, that’s cool, we understand. Don’t worry we got it covered. Thanks for playing! Hey Jeremy, you busy?”
Will this be the new James Bond franchise but with a twist…?? #thinkaboutit
INTER-SPECIES LOVE
Come on you’ve got to admit that’s super cute. Smile already, sheesh! If they can get along so well why can’t we? Think on that and go forth and be nice to people this weekend even if you think they are planning to vote for the other guy.
