Well, here’s something even cuter:
Natural World
Is There An Entomologist In the House?
I’ve a horrible idea that this insect I snapped (then splatted) just now may have been a tiger mosquito. It had white and dark splodges on it’s body and legs, though you can’t see that in the pic.
I know they’re endemic in Italy now and spreading to Northern Europe with the warming climate, but blimey, I can do ithout Dengue or West Nile fever on top of everything else.
Bugger. I see screen windows and Deet in my immediate future.
A Visit To The Beach
This is why every bit of me that wasn’t already hurting is hurting – yesterday we went to Oostkapelle in Zeeland and got very wet and very cold indeed.
I’m not cut out for this going out lark any more although Martin’s little nieces, well protected in their all enveloping raingear and tiny wellies, loved it – but then they had the super-size, all terrain, 4×4 buggy to retreat to, unlike this poor bloody invalid.
When the rain that you can see looming on the horizon hit us, and hit is the right word, we repaired with all possible speed to the castle museum cafe for warme chocolademelk met slagroomand weiner melange coffee, where I was very taken with the chairs, made of autumn leaves imbedded in thick strips of clear resin
Closeup:
Want. Cold and wet and hurting on the other hand – do not want.
Europe Against Fundies
Of course Europe isn’t against novelty pants – but it made you look. didn’t it? Actually, the Council of Europe is directly challenging creeping creationism:
PARIS Council of Europe to vote on creationism next week
(Reuters) – Europe’s main human rights body will vote next week on a resolution opposing the teaching of creationist and intelligent design views in school science classes.
The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly will debate a resolution saying attacks on the theory of evolution were rooted “in forms of religious extremism” and amounted to a dangerous assault on science and human rights.
The resolution, on the agenda for October 4, says European schools should “resist presentation of creationist ideas in any discipline other than religion.” It describes the “intelligent design” argument as an updated version of creationism.
Anne Brasseur, an Assembly member from Luxembourg who updated an earlier draft resolution, said the vote was due in June but was postponed because some members felt the original text amounted to an attack on religious belief.
Only minor changes have been made to the initial draft.
You can contact your MEP to voice your support for the resolution here.