Happy New Year

Or not.

Fortune: Year of Pig will bring disaster:

Pig years can be turbulent because they are dominated by fire and water, conflicting elements that tend to cause havoc, Lo said.

"Fire sitting on water is a symbol of conflict and skirmish," he said. "We'll also see more fire disasters and bombings."

He noted that the Russian AK-47 rifle, a weapon of choice among insurgents around the world, was invented during a pig year.

"So it will not be surprising to see more gunbattles, murder with guns and bombing attacks in 2007," he said.

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Hardaway dumped from NBA events for anti-gay tirade:

"I want to apologize for my comments yesterday regarding gays," Hardaway's statement said. "My comments were offensive and I regret making them. I'm sorry to anyone I have offended."

Oh bullshit Hardaway. You're not the least bit sorry. You're just pissed it's cost you something. You said:

"I hate gay people," Hardaway said. "I let it be known I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States sports."

If someone said "I hate black people", or "I hate white people", "I hate..." whatever, you'd be all over that, wouldn't you? You'd be right, too. There's no difference, Mister. They're as human as you are, they are as entitled to the same respect and honor as you are. Or were, before you opened your stupid mouth.

"You know I don't think he should be in the locker room while we're in the locker room. I wouldn't even be a part of that. There's a lot of other people I hear who are like that and still in the closet. I don't like that."

Yeah, thanks to idiots like you, there are a lot of people still in the closet. Their lives are filled with pain and anquish thanks to morons like you. Mr. Amaechi answered your... filth... better than I can. Go read it.

Jackass.

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On to more pleasant things ~

Greek archaeologists discover theater:

Fifteen rows of concentric stone seats have been located so far in the northwestern suburb of Menidi, according to Vivi Vassilopoulou, Greece's general director of antiquities.

"Another section appears to lie under a nearby road," she told The Associated Press.

"(The remains) were discovered during excavation work, supervised by archaeologists, for a new building," Vassilopoulou said. "But it is still very early to offer any conclusions."

The structure has not yet been dated, and further details are expected to emerge following a full excavation.

Menidi is thought to be built over the ancient village of Acharnae, the largest of a string of rural settlements outside ancient Athens. Ancient writers mention a theater at Acharnae, but no traces of it had been found until now.

The village was linked with Dionysos, the ancient god of theater and wine, as the Athenians believed that ivy — his sacred plant — first grew there.

Built in semicircular tiers on hillsides, ancient theaters were monumental, open-air structures that could seat thousands of spectators.

Theater first emerged as an art form in late 6th century B.C. Athens, where ancient playwrights competed for a prize during the annual festival of Dionysos — in whose cult the art originated.

The works of Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides and Aristophanes were performed in the theater of Dionysos under the Acropolis.

Originally a terrace where spectators sat on the bare earth above a circular stage, it was rebuilt in stone during the 4th century B.C. and could sit up to 14,000 people.

Seriously cool!

Science Tuesday

Why do scientists ruin their important discoveries with stupid names?

That's a rhetorical question.

Hobbit Declared a New Species as Debate Continues.

The Hobbit. [insert eyeroll here]

Ever since the 18,000-year-old remains of the three-foot-tall adult female hominid were unearthed in 2003 on the remote Indonesian island of Flores, scientists have argued whether the specimen was a human with an abnormally small head or represents a new species in the human family tree. The diminutive creature had a brain approximately one-third the size of modern adult humans.

Some scientists named the specimen Homo floresiensis, a dwarfed offshoot of Homo erectus, a human ancestor that lived as far back as 1.8 million years ago.

I understand that scientists want to connect the general public to their discoveries or topics of interest... but the Hobbit?

My eyes hurt.

Anyway, more information is at Livescience.com.

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Bad news: Hubble's primary camera shuts down.

Damn.

While other scientific work can still be done by the aging observatory, the unit that failed, the Advanced Camera for Surveys, is the one most scientists depend upon. NASA scientists say they expect to be able to restore just one-third of its observation ability, probably by mid-February.

"We're not optimistic at all" about returning it to full function, said Dave Leckrone, a senior scientist on the Hubble at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt.