These Jawns, Them Jawns - June 27, 2008

The Supreme Court upholds individual gun rights by a vote of 5-4.

Show of Unity: Obama's campaign announces that he, along with his wife Michelle and several top campaign staffers, have each contributed the maximum amount to Clinton's campaign in order to help retire her debt. The news comes just before Clinton and Obama make their first joint campaign appearance in Unity, NH, where they each received the same number of votes during the primary.

Looks like Madge and Guy Ritchie are divorcing.

VH1’s I Love the New Millennium premiered this week. I guess even their clever writers haven’t figured out what to call this decade.

Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson installs huge waterfalls throughout New York City.

The conservative Orange County Register comes out in favor of gay marriage in an editorial.

Beating the system: Two guys in Virginia, one of them dressed as a woman, get married. I wonder what the OC Register would say about that.

Advantage Obama: MTV has changed its policy and will now accept political ads.

And in local news...

Philly tries optical illusions to slow down drivers. Somehow I don't think it's going to take people too long to figure these jawns out.

Penn President Amy Gutmann makes a lot of money. $1.1 million last year, to be precise.

Shameless plug for a good friend: WILBUR, my favorite vintage clothier in Philadelphia, is open during the afternoon and evening each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Antiquarian’s Delight, 615 S. 6th St. Parker Posey’s been there!

Image: on221.com

These Jawns, Them Jawns - June 13, 2008

A weekly round-up of the edifying, the odd, the laudatory, the scurrilous.

The Obama campaign launches a Fight the Smears sub-site.

Camille Paglia scoffs at the idea of an Obama-Clinton ticket: "Hillary for veep? Are you mad? What party nominee worth his salt would chain himself to a traveling circus like the Bill and Hillary Show? If the sulky bearded lady wasn't biting the new president’s leg, the oafish carnival barker would be sending in the clowns to lure all the young ladies into back-of-the-tent sword-swallowing. It would be a seamy orgy of scheming and screwing." Wowzers. There's some imagery for you.

Insult to injury: annoying duck boats rescue Wisconsin flood victims. (via Philebrity)

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's daughter Katherine comes out as a lesbian.

Unicorn power! Single-horned deer found in Italy.

Hollywood in the 215: Transformers 2 is filming on the Penn campus as I type. Photos here.

DISCOVERED: Reel Geezers, two hilarious octogenarians who review movies. I recommend their Superbad review. (via Andrew Sullivan)

REDISCOVERED: Philly-based art and clothing collective Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction produce fun t-shirts and other stuff, and their website is cute, to boot!

Photo: AP/Center of Natural Sciences, Prato, Italy