Need Links?

This is the rare Xenoglaux ("strange owl"), a tiny owl that exists as its own genus. It's been spotted in a Peruvian conservation area, marking the first time the animal has been seen in the wild. It was first discovered in 1976, but only in nets, caught by accident. This news makes me happy and sad at the same time. Happy to see something thought lost again, but sad at the prospect of losing it as it is, of course, endangered, and it is thought that as little as 250 of them might exist in the wild.

That was the only news story I read this week that I thought was interesting. Well, that and the capture of British sailors by Iran, but I'm waiting to see how that comes out. Hope to see you tomorrow! Everything else was about Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears, and I really didn't find enough interesting stories to do a Throwdown. So, I'm taking the week off from it and just presenting my usual links instead. I hope doing The Ladies at Court earlier today was good enough!

I'm going to start off, of course, with ModFab's weekly installments of American Idolatry. Here's the rundown on this week's competition and this week's loss. Goodbye, Stephanie; you deserved another chance. Speaking of Idol, Badmouth has a rundown on some of the former criminals who've appeared on the show.

Some literary interests this week: Culture Kills has something to say about the importance of history in fiction; Attempts is starting a look at great comic book pages; and I Against Comics has a great idea for a Teen Titans book.

Remember Eric Poulton's steampunk Star Wars? Well, he's got a new entry: the Death Star. He's also got some downloadable steampunk Star Wars desktops which are pretty cool.

Here's some more cool movie-related stuff: from Josh Hill comes some notes on the workout the actors did to become Spartans for 300 (intense as hell, here and here); My New Plaid Pants laments the recent choices Wes Craven has made; Cartoon Brew says that the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie is as bad as I figured it would be; and Apropos of Something has Smurf Fiction.

Lots of weird and terrible political action. I think it was a mistake for Hillary Clinton to let Bill come forward and defend her from the detractors who point out (correctly) that she voted for the war. Congratulations, Hillary, you just killed your campaign. You just made it possible for guys to taunt you for crying to your husband just because someone said something mean. Seriously, is she going to run to her much more capable husband every time things become more overwhelming? Anyway, The Hill has a little bit about it. Meanwhile, Bill Maher has two very clear paragraphs about Valerie Plame, No Fear of the Future has some cynicism I can identify with, and Johnny Yen has a powerful post about the Iraq War that I urge you to read.

After all of that, you'll forgive me for retreating back to tits. At No Smoking in the Skull Cave, Becca has the cutest pictures of Saskia Howard-Clarke and Sophie Howard playing together. British models are the sexiest girls in the world.

And finally, Mary-Louise Parker asks: why are singers such pussies? She wrote this for Esquire, and I love every word. I always felt she was a rock chick.

Need glasses?