celebrity elephants, American Gothic Pie, vaccinations, diva impressions

Regarding music videos about elephants, i came across this article in the NYTimes today, in reference to this music video (and much more expansive article on celebrity elephants in general here).

i was reading about Iowa, as two friends are going to the "internationally acclaimed" Iowa State Fair this week. Iowa is notable in my mind  from the welcome sign slogan: "Iowa - where exciting things happen". (Side track; i attempted to crosscheck this, but only came up with 'Fields of Opportunities'. However, the wikipedia compilation of US state slogans is pretty entertaining.) It turns out, there's a pie stand in what is/was the living room of the house which inspired the famous painting American Gothic. i am super taken with this, actually, particularly that they even keep props on hand at the house for picturing purposes. The linking arc also turned up an article documenting the painting's history and current state in American culture.

And then there's this wiki-how article entitled, "Stop Being Mean To People", yielded as an instant search hit upon googling 'how to stop' and letting google fill in the rest. It's pretty solid advice, i'm just amused that it's a how-to article.

You might be a scientist if you check the CDC schedule more than once a month? My labmate Ryan linked a BBC article today regarding an outbreak of polio in Somalia. This lead to the, "Is our generation immunized against polio?" query, then the CDC website's immunization schedule. Short answer, yes. i read an article last week about reasons why Americans choose not to get their kids vaccinated (Arrrgh. " Today, however, vaccines are becoming a victim of their success--many individuals have never witnessed the debilitating diseases that vaccines protect against, allowing complacency toward immunization requirements to build.Antivaccination sentiment is growing fast in the United States, in large part due to the controversial and hotly disputed link between immunizations and autism. The internet worsens fears regarding vaccination safety, as at least a dozen websites publish alarming information about the risks of vaccines.  "), and here are charts tracking this. Vaccines save lives, and herd immunity (immunity of the majority of the population) protects people who can't get the vaccine themselves, like cancer patients and the already fragile immuno-compromised. Please get your shots, folks.

This video (and backstory) about a singer performing impressions of various divas to the 80s tune Total Eclipse Of The Heart is remarkable.