Hot links for a cold night

While my wife is definitely more than hot enough, there has been some other hotness burning through my computer wires the past couple days, and so I'll be sharing it. I'm starting off with sports--hey, don't you groan at me! I'm ending with other subjects, and anyway, at least there will be no mention of any golf players named after big cats here. (Well, after that one.)

* The Pittsburgh Penguins made their annual trip to a local children's hospital bearing gifts for kids who can't go home for the holidays. Awww. The only thing cuter would be *real* penguins in Santa hats. You know the Pens are secure in their masculinity just by looking at their sweaters. How about their big, bad enforcer Eric Godard (center) and their tough winger Bill Guerin (right) playing tea party in pretty tiaras? You wouldn't see any Flyers doing that!

* The beautiful and talented Tony Stewart presented his Stewie Awards to other drivers. It's mostly an opportunity to joke and swap stories. Smoke and Juan Pablo Montoya, who I also rather enjoy looking at, ended the season at Homestead on a mature, classy note by deliberately spinning each other out and ruining each others' cars. But, as you can see from this clip of Montoya accepting his award for best in-car radio communication, they really don't hate each other at all! Hope they remember that at Daytona next year! And if they don't, I hope they have the decency to have their fist fight in front of a camera, 'cause that will replace the sea goddess above as my blog logo.

* Speaking of racing, the story of the year is finally settled. Danica Patrick will be racing part-time with JR Motorsports, a/k/a Dale Earnhardt, Jr's company. Honestly, I have not been as impressed with her as, um, some of my readers. But she isn't at all bad to look at in a fireproof suit, and I hope she opens the door for other women. (Not just because that would be a fantastic day for a bi NASCAR fan, either.) I'd love to see her win Nationwide races!

* Sinead O'Connor celebrated her 43rd birthday yesterday by getting angry at the Pope. Again. But this time, she used her words. Good words, too, though she needs a proofreader. (I'll volunteer! I've got lots of experience with proofreading for smart, gorgeous women who can't spell or punctu...OW, damn it!) There's also this interview about her feelings toward the Church and her new single for the GEMS charity.

* Like every other woman-loving femme in NYC, I adore Rachel Maddow. It's easy when you see things like her awesome takedown of an ex-gay ministry promoter who had it coming.

* In Uganda, a bill is currently being debated that would force gay and lesbian people to undergo conversion "therapy." That is actually sort of good news, sadly enough. I am extremely interested in how American "pro-family" groups will respond to this modification.

* I thought Pottery Barn's ultra-neutral Christmas trees were awful. Then I saw this War-on-Christmas, or "CHRISTmas", tree for people who think regular trees just aren't Christian enough. No, it is not a joke. Yes, it's ugly and tacky and joyless and even, um, not really appropriate for celebrating the *birth* of Jesus. Consider the people who'd buy such a thing! See more, if you dare, at Boss Creations' website.

* How about something to put under that CHRIST-mas tree? Cory Silverberg at About.com Sexuality came up with this illustrated luxury sex toy gift list, and then another list with a more realistic budget. You know, for that hard-to-buy-for relative. I don't have to tell you these are completely and totally NSFW, right?

* There was actually some good panda news! When I saw the subject line "Zoo Atlanta panda announcement", I clicked with fear and dread in light of DC's beautiful boy Tai Shan leaving us soon. But only Mei Lan, their three-year-old girl, is leaving soon, and like Tai's departure, it's on schedule. The parents are staying five more years!!!! I'm *very* happy about this, because this bodes well for the DC panda parents sticking around, too.

* Finally, the inevitable happened. Christmas carol burnout hit my office. Here is a cure. I discovered this last year and made an entire department howl "That is SO WRONG!" by sending the MP3 file to my work husband. Now you can appall, astonish, and delight someone else with this YouTube rendition of the infamous "Chipmunks Roasting On An Open Fire," complete with lyrics.