Portugal's Priorities - Hell Yeah!

Portugal's conservative president announced Monday he is reluctantly ratifying a law allowing gay marriage, making the predominantly Catholic country the sixth in Europe to let same-sex couples wed.

President Anibal Cavaco Silva said he would not veto the bill because majority liberal lawmakers would only overturn his decision. The country must focus instead on battling a crippling economic crisis that has increased unemployment and deepened poverty, he said.

"Given that fact, I feel I should not contribute to a pointless extension of this debate, which would only serve to deepen the divisions between the Portuguese and divert the attention of politicians away from the grave problems affecting us," Cavaco Silva said.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/05/17/international/i122534D53.DTL#ixzz0oO34ZddD

Wait. What? Concentrating on actual governing and making your country a better place to live instead of endless morality debates? What a concept. *round of applause for Portugal's pres*

Oh, If I Lived Closer

I'd be so there. Thank you to Arlington, Virginia's Business Improvement District for this bit of fun.

2010 Crystal Screen Outdoor Film Festival Schedule:

June 7, 2010	Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
June 14, 2010	Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
June 21, 2010	Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
June 28, 2010	Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
July 5, 2010	Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
July 12, 2010	Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
July 19, 2010	Star Trek Generations (1994)
July 26, 2010	Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
August 2, 2010	Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
August 9, 2010	Star Trek Nemesis (2002)
August 16, 2010	Star Trek (2009)

If you are nearby, there's more info here.

Iron Man is Watching

Okay, so I know most of you don't read comics, but... I find it positively hysterical that Tony Stark is watching out for Donald Blake. From Robert Downey Junior, on visiting the set of Thor:

"I take it fairly seriously, as a bit of an ambassador from Marvel, it's important for me to just show up and let these guys know there's a presence and an awareness, and a gratitude, and a bit of a commiseration — because these are tough movies to pull off. I think between the casting and Branagh at the helm, I particularly feel that 'Thor' is on a really solid page right now."

Talk about a role reversal! *laughs and laughs and laughs* Iron Man looking out for Thor! Hee, hee, hee! Also, I'm tickled that RDJ takes his role as Iron Man so seriously. I mean, he's always been that way as an actor, but for him to understand that as Iron Man he needs to comprehend the Universe his character inhabits means a lot to us Marvelphiles.

Better Living Through Chemistry

Think Geek tweeted this today, and I found it quite amusing, if not quite perfect.

The Periodic Table of Super Powers

Now, being the way I am (I did major in chemistry, you know - and I graduated) and floundering around in a deep end of fandom like I am at the moment, I couldn't resist this.

I postulated this equilibrium: SoScVRcGeWLcG + FSSpFeFfFm < - > SoScVRcGeWLcGFSSpFeFfFm

( Which I suppose could be written like this: )