Saturday, March 08, 2008

Oh My Teapot!


(Russell's Teapot design from InklingMagazine.com by Patrick Quigley)

Russell's Celestial Teapot finally wins over a worshiper! At long last someone has realized that the existence of Bertrand Russell's miniature china teapot, spinning ad infinitum somewhere in the void between Earth and Mars, is just as likely as that of the biblical Christian god! Or rather, that said teapot is just as deserving of idolatry as the god of the Christians. Click here to read the story at The Telegraph.co.uk. The bad news, however, is that this convert to Teapotism is a former Muslim Malaysian, and she's been arrested because Islamic apostasy is against the law in her country, punishable by jailtime.

I've actually been to Kuala Lumpur for a few days (my most memorable experience was climbing Cesar Pelli's stunning Petronas Towers while they actually were the world's tallest buildings) and this news is extremely troubling to me. My impression was that of a tolerant and "moderate" majority-Muslim country, divorced from the hardcore Wahhabism of the Near East, that endorsed freedom of religion and worship as well as the freedom not to worship. It appears now that my impression was wrong.

I offer up a prayer for poor Kamariah Ali:

Our little Teapot, short and stout,
who art in the heavens,
Hallowed be thy Brew.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in High Tea.
Give us this day our daily Scones.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into soft drinks,
But deliver us from Coffee.
[For the Earl Grey, the Chrysanthemum,
and the English Breakfast are yours
now and for ever. Amen.]

Friday, March 07, 2008

Phoenix Weekend

Desert hiking, man-made lake boating, fountain gazing, and carny folk hatin' -- you can see last weekend's set of 37 photos here.
Blue Dicks, a.k.a. Desert Hyacinth
Bird of prey
Handstand
driven by three 600 horsepower pumps
Wandering through the carnival
And for Mack's perspective, pics, and a list of our our discussion topics from the weekend, you can cross-reference his blog here.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

When Teddy Bear Chollas Attack!

Teddy Bear Cholla

As I was crouching down to take the above photo of Cylindropuntia bigelovii (Teddy Bear Cholla make you holla!), I stepped on a cholla ball which embedded itself in the sole of my trainer. I gave my foot a fast flick to get the thing off, and it rolled up the side of my sneaker into my ankle. Enter one Wilhelm scream, stage left.

Teddy Bear Cholla

Dave tried mashing it between two rocks and pulling, but that only drove it further in. Mack (my hero) finally took off his undershirt and, wrapping it around his paw like an oven mitt, yanked the barbed ball clean off, impaling himself in the process. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to immediately begin packing the wound with tiny leaves torn from a random nearby bush -- good thing poison ivy doesn't grow in the desert. Here is the video of the climax:



If the embedded video doesn't play for you, here is the link to the YouTube URL. Also, for Mack's pics & perspective on our day in the desert, see his blog entry here. More photos to come from our second day on Saguaro Lake...