Poor Animals!

I love animals.

I understand there are times when experiments need to be conducted on animals to save human lives.

I know that many people are alive today because of the sacrifices made by animals (with no consent from the animals).

What I do not understand is intentionally inflicting pain on ANY animal (including humans).

So, hats off to L'Oreal (the cosmetic people) and Hurel Corporation for their research into creating a way to test cosmetics without having to use animals -- using, instead, human tissue cultures. It is a testament to the inherent good in all humans that computer simulations and tissue cultures like these are being used more and more instead of animals. I just wish we were advanced enough technologically to be able to do all scientific experiments without harming animals. :-(

You can read about the new method here

Y, Thank You!

I like being a guy for lots of reasons: I can pee standing up, I can spit without people being really surprised, and I am a lot more popular with gay guys than I would otherwise be. Another quintessentially "guy" thing is our "y" chromosome (pictured) -- which stands alone as the only chromosome without a matching mate.

New research is indicating that the male "y" chromosome is evolving faster than any other chromosome in the bunch. Not exactly sure what that means, but I think that's cool, too.

You can read more about this research here.

This is Going Viral

Hey! Did you know that humans are, it appears, part virus? (The next thing you will tell me is that some sea slugs are part plant and part animal. What a world!)

No, it's true. Recent research has discovered small bits of human DNA that originated as virus DNA. These bits of DNA are not enough to make an active virus, and scientists think humans evolved ways to use partial virus traits to our own advantage.

This is all cool and everything, but they are also talking about trying to recreate these paleo viruses in the lab! I'm not sure that is such a good idea. I was squeamish when researchers dug up the bodies of people who died from the 1918 influenza to study that virus. I mean, do we really want a lethal pathogen floating around -- even if only in a secure lab? I don't think so.

You can read more about these ancient viruses here.

It's Not Just Opposable Thumbs

You might enjoy this very intriguing listing of the top ten things that most make humans unique. There are a couple that might be unexpected. My favorite on the list is number five. This trait is why we are the only animals that can choke to death on food or water.

Crab Shortcake?

My spouse, Matt, sent me a link to an article about the discovery of a new species of crab in Taiwan. While it is interesting enough any time a new species is discovered, this crab is interesting because it kinda looks like a strawberry (for the sake of comparison, I am including a photograph of a strawberry, not the actual crab).

You can read more about this really cool discovery -- and see pix of the real crab -- here.

And the Nominees Are

Isn't it always the case that your favorite movie never gets nominated for a damn thing? We were in the cinema watching "District 9" back in September and I turned to Matt and said something like "I sure hope this film gets nominated for an Oscar for something -- even if only for its script -- because it is so different!" I like "different." I hate "same." "Same" is why I hate most Hollywood films because they all are so much from column A and so much from column B with a touch from column C that nothing original ever comes out.

You can just imagine my surprise when the Producer's Guild of America announced its nominations yesterday and "District 9" got a nod -- not for script, but for BEST PICTURE! Now, I know the PGA awards are not Oscars, but wow! Somebody got it. I am so happy for that picture (with which I have no affiliation, other than loving it).

You can read more about the PGA nominations here.

Hollywood's Best Restaurant?

It's no secret that I love Musso & Frank restaurant in Hollywood. I've been going there, whenever I am in town, since about 1985. It is the closest thing to classic old Hollywood that still exists -- except, maybe, movies.

So, I've been going there forever. One time, I was visiting my BFF in Hollywood, Shirley Wilson, who has been a mover and shaker in, as she says, "La La Land" forever. I mean, she used to work for Edith Head, for crying out loud. Anyway, so one time in the early 1990's I'm visiting Shirley and she knows I love Musso & Frank, so we go there for dinner and sit in one of the booths in the bar side (shown in the photograph).

One of the servers comes by, and I tell him that I am a writer and I love Musso & Frank because I know all the big Hollywood writers from the 1920s and 1930s used to go there. So, this waiter says to me "In fact, you are sitting in F. Scott Fitzgerald's favorite spot!" Well, I guess he took me for some kinda rube from the sticks and probably tells everyone that EVERY seat used to be Fitzgerald's favorite. Whatever. I know Fitzgerald loved Musso & Frank so probably every seat in the place really did used to be his favorite.

This venerable institution just turned 90 years old, and NRP did a nice little story about it, which you can hear here.

P.S. When you go, I totally recommend the chef's salad. Tell them Christopher sent you.

Hollywood's Most Underrated Actor?

There was a nice review today of the career (so far) of Patricia Clarkson on the CBS News program Sunday Morning. Clarkson (pictured) is one of Hollywood's hardest working actors -- not necessarily because she works a lot; rather, because she does such a great job with every part she undertakes.

You can read more about this talented woman here.

Books I am Reading

Am reading this.

Just finished reading this.

Paper or Plastic?

Recently, Matt and I went out to dinner with his parents. They had one of those global positioning devices (GPS) and were tickled pink showing us how well the directions took us from their house to the restaurant. In fact, they offered to buy us one for xmas. "No thank you," I said. That surprised them and I told them I would rather rely on a paper map, thank you very much. That generated quite the discussion about how much better was GPS than a paper map.

I was not swayed. I have used paper maps for decades and they work just well. Plus, who wants the aggravation? I told them of an incident on our Los Angeles trip in October. We were in the lobby of our hotel at Venice Beach and this very odd man was demanding the hotel employee get him an address for Universal Studios because he needed to program it into his GPS. Always trying to be helpful, I explained to the traveler that the studio was just a couple miles away and all he had to do was get on the freeway (just a block or so from the hotel) and follow the signs. The man turned nearly apoplectic. He needed the address and would not listen to reason. I gave up trying to help. In the time he wasted trying to find a street address for the studio, he could have driven there and back again.

People today rely too much on technology -- and this instance is just the tip of the iceberg. Three times this past week came stories of people who relied for directions on their GPS devices and got stranded in the Oregon snow. I mean, seriously, are we so ready and willing to give up common sense and basic skills (how hard is it to read a map?) and turn our lives over to so many bits of silicon and plastic?

Not me, thank you.