Just a reminder that tomorrow is the best day of the year. I love Free Comic Book Day.

• The Orioles are in first place and I don’t want to jinx it. Dangit, I may have messed it up already…
• I am still mourning the last flight of the Space Shuttle
• My son loaded Angry Birds in Space on my phone
• I found out there were things wrong on the internet and I am off correcting them all on forums
• My new job has thrown my free time out of balance and I need to get some balance back

Pick anyone you like, but it is mostly the last one.

So I watched the Shuttle fly by today on the way to its become a museum piece and all I felt was sadness. I know American politicians from both parties promise one day we will get back to space I do not believe them, unless it will be for purely military purpose. It is simpler to dole out your political favors more directly than funding science. While there are companies that did well with the space program, they can be repaid for their donations with defense contracts instead. Maybe I am wrong. I hope I am wrong but I believe we will leave space, and most other basic science exploration to other countries now and so seeing the shuttle heading to its parking lot was just heartbreaking for me.

This is why the corruption of the current political process, which is shared by all participants is so sad. Once we reduced our politicians to quid pro quo fund raising machines our chances of getting the big decisions right goes down to almost nothing. Democrats and Republicans alike are so focused on paying back those that keep them in office that they are squandering the money we could use for science. Each cut they make is normally a little one, a tax break here, a special project there, but they add up all that money has to come from somewhere. Why do science? Why explore space? That is money invested and they have favors to pay back now so they can raise more for the next election. All that money in our elections is money we are not doing research with. It makes me angry. I would love to see a change.

Via Do Gooder Press

Found via Boing Boing

Even better is the slave Leia dance off, because nothing says class like a slave dance off.

So what do you think George says about all this? ‘Haters gotta hate’ as he lights up cigar wrapped in a hundred dollar bill.

How to Dance Goth from APBS on Vimeo.

Towton is their Antietam, the single bloodiest day they know for sure of and yet it is not much of site. When I visited it was hard get a handle on the lay of the land and there was not much to help a visitor get their bearing. Although no British field I visited was as nice as most US Civil War or Revolutionary War battlefields, which are aided by the USA’s large size and the fact that those battles were hundreds of years younger than the battle fields I visited in England, the fields for Bosworth, Hastings, and Culloden were all much, much better than Towton. The battlefield archaeology at Towton is breathtaking, really driving home how harsh war was in the middle ages.

I do sympathize with the British, if they tried to hold on to all their history they would not be able to build anything ever again, but it would be nice to see sites like Towton be recognized as major events in the shaping of the modern world.

The story starts in 1927 and features a down and out group of gangsters who have fallen on hard times following the death of the gang’s old leader. His wife it trying to bring it back with the help of our hero, Rocky Rickaby. Rocky is one of those guys who always manages to survive despite his mouth and poor judgement. The strip is violent, it is a gang story after all, but Rocky and his cousin Calvin manage to keep the tone light and enjoyable. Every character has a distinct personality and despite all cats looking alike to me I can keep them apart in the strip quite easily.

The strip is updated a couple of times a month. There is a book out and their own web shop has posters and buttons as well. If you like O Brother Where Art Thou you will enjoy the story which moves pretty quickly.