Transmissions from the Blue Lion

See, I told you Rollie was only temporarily stuck in the trash compactor that is life. It happens to the best of us. In fact, I don't really have time today to sit and stew and vent my cho-cha at the universe, but I've been up since 2am cursing the pollens and the demons Hagar sends to me every night this week so far --lady, give a princess a break. Since I'm already up, I've been scanning the Galactic Transmissions since about 3am. I was looking for Transmissions from Venus, but Earth is in that direction too, so it's 2 for the price of 1.

It's a new feature. Tasty, bite-sized news chunklets from deep within the Blue Lion. If you've got a good idea for a name for this BRAND-NEW feature, go ahead and leave it in the comments. I'll personally pick out three comic books from my collection and send them to the person who comes up with the best name. Fine. Or not, maybe I'll just keep them all to myself. Meh. Without further ado here's some stray news transmissions.

UC Berkeley student’s Twitter messages alerted world to his arrest in Egypt

"Buck, 29, a former Oakland Tribune multimedia intern, used the ubiquitous short messaging service to tap out a single word on his cellular phone: ARRESTED. The message went out to the cell phones and computers of a wide circle of friends in the United States and to the mostly leftist, anti-government bloggers in Egypt who are the subject of his graduate journalism project.

The next day, he walked out a free man with an Egyptian attorney hired by UC Berkeley at his side and the U.S. Embassy on the phone."

Now, you try and tell me that building a cyber community is somehow less valid, frivolous, and not worthwhile in today’s world.

Please read the full article and take the time to sign the petition to free the still imprisoned Egyptian translator and journalist the student was with. Having an opinion that differs from that of the ruling class and voicing that opinion should NEVER be a crime, much less a crime that is punishable by prison time and possible torture. (via D@n)

Gator blood may hold the keys to curing herpes.

I shit you not.

"Researchers hunting for new antibiotics might get some aid from gator blood. Scientists are zeroing in on snippets of proteins found in American alligator blood that kill a wide range of disease-causing microbes and bacteria, including the formidable MRSA or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Previous experiments have revealed that gator blood extract cripples many human pathogens, including E. coli, the herpes simplex virus and some strains of the yeast Candida albicans. The serum's antimicrobial power probably derives from protein bits called peptides. Widespread among reptiles and amphibians, several such germ-fighting peptides have been isolated from the skin of frogs in recent years.

"It seems Mother Nature has built in a circulating system of antimicrobial factories that protect the animals while they are waiting to develop the cell-mediated response that we would develop quickly..."

Let's ride this wave of good news as long as we can and end on a light and funny note.

Thundercats are loose on the Houses of Parliament!

Last night, the Thundercats symbol for help was projected onto Parliament in London. I love whoever did this. That is twelve kinds of awesome. I can just imagine Lion-o locked in a battle to the death with Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher, and thinking, "Oh fuck, they're relentless and cannot be beaten. They're gonna kill me and eat me; time to call for help! Thundercats Hoooooooooo!"

For the record, it was most likely a stunt to promote the new release of Season 2 of the Thundercats on DVD.

Time to head down to Planet Arus. Princess duties call.