Just a little further south

Mexico's re-opening, all the American schools are re-opening, and the swine flu seems to be letting up. Yay! It ain't over yet, but that's one less thing for some of us, at least, to worry about for now.

Some excellent news came out of Washington, DC today! DC is one city in which L'Ailee and I would both consider living. I like that it's big and bustling, but human-sized, and it has enough Russians in it to satisfy L'Ailee's need for that community. The only problems, really, are that our friends don't all feel the same way and that my mother works in DC a lot! We get along better the further away we are, and she'll agree with me.

Whatever. Today, the DC City Council approved legislation that recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere! Now, there is a snag. Congress must approve all DC laws, and they have 30 days to review this change. There are some ass-holy activists working to get Congress to overturn it. However, tonight, I can savor the flavor of this. It seems like a new state or, in this case, district is getting on board every week! Awesome!

Also, the National Zoo is on Panda Pregnancy Watch! Female pandas act pregnant after their yearly mating (I know, sad, right?) whether they are or not, and their tiny babies don't show in their chubby bellies, so it's just a matter of watching and waiting for zookeepers. Even at almost four years old and 200 pounds, Tai Shan is still one super-adorable panda boy.


(Picture from Unka Bobby)

However, I'd dearly love to see a baby brother or sister for him, too. The world just needs more of that kind of cuteness.

What I don't need any more of from DC is Washington Capitals victories! L'Ailee and I don't root for the home team here, so we wouldn't there, either. The NY Rangers fans in my office had a good laugh at my expense until I reminded them which team the Caps beat in the quarterfinals. It is soooo depressing when your team's captain manages a hat trick and that's still not enough. Of course, Alex Ovechkin had a hat trick of his own and a whole team playing with him, while most of the Pittsburgh Penguins' minds were already on summer vacation or something. (I might have screamed, "Geno, wake the fuck up!" a couple of times.) Sidney Crosby wanted Capitals fans to be told to stop throwing hats for Ovechkin, which will cement the whiner reputation, but I thought it was funny as hell. I like whiners if they're talented enough to tolerate; if I didn't, I wouldn't have been a Tony Stewart fan all these years. Anyway, I think Crosby would like a flood of hats and a delayed game a whole lot better if it happened for him in the Mellon Arena. Like everything else, it's a matter of perspective.

Links, links:

The Obamas' vegetable garden is leading to other high-profile garden plots. This is very cool (and in keeping with my theme!) My brother and I both have balcony gardens, and we love the entire idea of urban gardening.

As much as I love my home state, there are many reasons why I'm not going back to Florida right now. Here's another: They're getting a Jesus license plate. Seriously, someone needs to let my fellow Floridians know about these crazy new inventions called "bumper stickers." Or they can accept Jason at the Wild Hunt blog's suggestion for a Pagan plate....

Yay! TopFive.com is finally coming back!

Finally, from the Onion, For Gay Couple, Fulfilling Lifelong Dream of Marriage Not Worth Moving to Iowa. Ha!