Cutest Kitten Ever

Is it legal to be so adorable? This video reduced me to a weak-kneed silly-grinning speech-impaired gurgling mess for three minutes. The little scamp just swats anything in sight, but it's so cute you wouldn't mind it swatting your hand right off.

Marry or lose job, says Iran firm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7447227.stm
One of the more stupid/oppressive ideas to come out of a theo-fascist state. Unjust (it's a state-owned company) AND unrealistic (how to find a partner for life under pressure): what a combination

Hanzi Graphic Monogram

http://kr.gugi.yahoo.com/popup/photo/imgOtherphoto.php?url=http://kr.bz.img.yahoo.com/biz_image/submission/26/1587/2615879554_1.jpg||http://kr.bz.img.yahoo.com/biz_image/submission/26/1587/2615879554_2.jpg||http://kr.bz.img.yahoo.com/biz_image/submission/26/1587/2615879554_3.jpg&rNum=1
Excellent example of merging calligraphy and line art. You can see the characters 武 and 士 form the image of a warrior.

Rev. Sun Myung Moon, king of ... Silla?

I followed a lead from an evolution article I was reading onto information about Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church, and wandered into an article about his 2004 "coronation". Curious to see some pictures, I did an image search and found these:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was about to move on to something else when I thought the crown looked awfully familiar. And my first guess was confirmed when I image-searched the crown of Silla and got these results:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not entirely sure what to make of it, but I thought the point of the coronation was to recognize him as "King of Peace". Instead, he looks like "King of Silla". The fact that he's of Korean descent makes it all the more interesting. Hey, the Three Kingdoms is a big topic in Korean TV series nowadays, so maybe he will get a role?

韩磊 - 最后的倾诉 MV

I watched Han Wu Da Di (汉武大帝) late last year, and had always liked this opening theme Zui Hou De Qing Su (最后的倾诉). I finally found what appears to be the official music video, which shows Han Lei (韩磊) doing his singy-thingy on a fort. Could have used more clips from the series though.

Neocon Paranoia and the Keffiyeh

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24860437

Marvellous. Neocon Michelle Malkin has decided to label the keffiyeh "hate couture" because Yasser Arafat and Intifada militants wear it. To be fair, the Rebel Cross and the Swastika are still viewed with suspicion based on the times past when they were worn by the villains du jour. Even so, this is far too broad an attack on an article of attire that is still worn by regular everyday people, not even exclusively Palestinian.

And dropping the ad like a hot potato was certainly far too panicky a reaction from Dunkin' Donuts, who pulled it while explaining in the same breath that it was not a keffiyeh but a simple paisley-patterned scarf.

Yes, neocons have rightly pointed out many instances of oversensitivity in favor of Muslim activists (like the infamous Allah ice cream), but times like these just make them look like hypocrites.

Midori no Hibi

I had been planning to buy Midori no Hibi for over a year. When I first read about the concept and saw a few clips, I knew I had to get it. And I'm glad I finally did, because this one is a keeper. The premise, a sweet girl with a secret crush on the school ruffian literally becoming his right hand by replacing his fighting fist, is so novel that it deserves an award of its own. With just 13 episodes (so it doesn't drag out the concept too much), Midori no Hibi combines high-school crush drama with both slapstick and cute humor and a surreal plot. The best moments are those of tension and chemistry between the distraught ruffian who has had his lethal fist replaced with a fragile girl and the girl who finally gets close enough to shower her hapless crush with her love.

So here I present "Mou Sukoshi", Atsumi Saori's soulful ending theme for the anime, one of the best I have ever heard: