Former Ulster Unionist MP Ken Maginnis has quit the party after 50 years. The party leadership had distanced itself from Mr Maginnis when he referred to gay marriage as “unnatural and deviant behaviour”.

He later insisted he stood by his remarks, referring to “unnatural physical acts” by “deviants”.

“These are people that seem to take some pride expressing their particular rights. I disagree with those rights and that deviance,” he added.

Party leader Mike Nesbitt and senior party members were clearly embarrassed by his attack and today he said it was time to leave.

Ken Maginnis Quits Ulster Unionist Party After Controversial Comments (RTE News)

Thanks Lars Biscuits

Dubliner Juliet Casey (above) writes:

I have been training in classical ballet since I was three years old and have been a member of the Irish National Youth Ballet Company since I was 12. I am now 17 and have been accepted after a difficult audition process to the Northern Ballet School in Manchester. However, the fees are STG£11,310 and I have to raise this money before the beginning of term (September 2012) or I will not be able to take up my place. If anyone is interested there will be a fund-raising “Evening of Classical Music” at 7pm on Friday [August 31] in Kimmage Manor, Whitehall Road, Dublin 12. Thank you.

 

Thanks Joe Casey

Dream Of Being A Dancer In The Balance (Alison Healy, Irish Times, August 23)

 

An Israeli judge on Tuesday perpetuated the fiction that [Rachel] Corrie’s death [in March, 2003, while intervening in the demolition of a Palestinian home] was a terrible accident and upheld the results of the military’s own investigation, widely regarded as such a whitewash that even the US ambassador to Israel described it as neither thorough nor credible. Corrie’s parents may have failed in their attempt to see some justice for their daughter, but in their struggle they forced a court case that established that her death was not arbitrary but one of a pattern of killings as the Israeli army pursued a daily routine of attacks intended to terrorise the Palestinian population of southern Gaza into submission.

 

Rachel Corrie Verdict Exposes Israeli Military Mindset (Chris McGreal, Guardian)

Rachel Corrie?


Filmmaker Colin Rich set out to capture Los Angeles from multiple vantage points as it transitioned from day to night. He sez:

Usually I was able to capture just one shot per day with a lot of driving, exploring, and scouting in between but the times sitting in traffic or a “sketchy” neighborhood often lead to new adventures and interesting places.
Nightfall in particular is my favorite time to shoot time lapse. Capturing the transition from day to night while looking back at the city as the purple shadow of Earth envelopes the eastern skyline and the warm distant twinkling halogen lights spark to life and give the fading sun a run for her money – this will never grow old or boring to me.

Music: M83, “Echoes of Mine”

cheezburger/nerdist

But…

John Cronin writes:

I know you don’t ‘normally do this’ but I am pleading for as much help I can to get my bike back, as it is my pride and joy. It’s a limited-edition bike made by Felt for Carhartt. There are only 1000 in the world, and this is the only one in Ireland. It was stolen on Saturday on Grafton Street, Dublin. It could be anywhere now at this stage. I’ ve reported it to the guards but I need as many eyes as possible. I’d be very grateful if anyone can help.

 

Anyone?

Previously: How To Not Get Your Bike Nicked In Dublin

Set list: Plainsong; Pictures of You; Closedown; Kyoto Song; A Night Like This; Just Like Heaven; Last Dance; Fascination St; Lovesong; Charlotte Sometimes; The Walk; A Forest In Between Days; Same Deep Water As You; Prayers For Rain; Disintegration; Lullaby; Close To Me; Let’s Go To Bed; Why Can’t I Be You; Hot Hot Hot; A Strange Day; Three Imaginary Boys; Boys Don’t Cry; Homesick Faith

“By the time we left for the RDS the conditions were extremely hot and sticky. We walked up Sandymount Avenue and almost wilted. Black-clad, mascara-streaked and hairspray-soaked temples. Then we reached the top of the road and gasped. The Curehead army was marching through Ballsbridge. Our time had come; this was our day. We may have been marginalised in our respective hometowns but this was truly a gathering of the tribe. A number 18 bus swung around onto the main road; its occupants stared at us with a mixture of shock and probably pity.”

 

When The Cureheads Invaded Ballsbridge (Nlgbbbblth, Where’sGrandad.com)


Photographer David Johnson explains to Colossal how he created these surreal shots of exploding fireworks at the International Fireworks Show in Ottawa, Canada earlier this month:

The technique I used was a simple refocus during the long exposure. Each shot was about a second long, sometimes two. I’d start out of focus, and when I heard the explosion I would quickly refocus, so the little stems on these deep sea creature lookalikes would grow into a fine point. The shapes are quite bizarre, some of them I was pleasantly surprised with.

colossal

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