Antiquitopia

Huh? Penguins? In China? From Weird News at About.com: Who says China isn't a bastion for Civil Liberties? At least their gay penguins can marry. Two besotted male birds at China's Polarland wildlife park have just waddled down the isle to icy nuptial bliss. And, of course, both partners wore tuxedoes. But like any marriage, behind the live music, revelry and sumptuous servings of herring, there lurked adversity. I'm not just talking about cold feet. Both grooms are, after all, South Pole natives. As Britain's Sun reported, zookeepers once tried to isolate the gay lovebirds because they were stealing heterosexual couples' eggs for their own nest. Finally, officials let them to care for eggs rejected by other mothers. The gays are now considered the zoo's best penguin parents. As a newlywed myself, I say to them, "L'Chaim!" I call on gay zoo animals of the world to take the plunge. You don't need an opposable thumb to tie this kind of knot! .....

In today's NYTimes, there is an op-ed article on the Dalai Lama's willingness to make a deal with the current Chinese government, conceding the Chinese communist-run government in Tibet and that he would stay out of politics. In short, Tibet would be politically Chinese and communist, but religiously and culturally Tibetan and Buddhist. The Dalai Lama is aging, and time for negotiations are running out. Younger Tibetans think the Dalai Lama is too conciliatory to the Chinese government, while many fear that, once the Dalai Lama dies, there will be no uniting force for Tibetans and the younger generation will turn to violence (i.e., terrorism). Read the full article here .

While yesterday I posted on the Antikythera Mechanism, which of many things calculated solar eclipses, today there actually was a solar eclipse! It began in northern Canada, made its way through Russia and Mongolia, and arrives in China just in time for the Olympics! One can see a stunning slideshow of images from various countries where the eclipse was visible collected by AP and Reuters here . Remember! Don't star directly into it without special lenses! Here is a taste below with a special interest in religious sites. The first image is at a church in Minsk, Belarus (partial). The third image is taken at the Faisel Mosque in Pakistan. As you can see from the map of the total eclipse, Pakistan is not along the way, receiving a partial eclipse. And the stunning second and fourth images come from China (the second is at the Great Wall).