Get your meow on over at Carnival of the Cats #123.

Let the Gay Times Roll!  No, it’s not what you think.  It’s a heartfelt and passionate tidbit from someone who works in an animal shelter.  This is worth five minutes of your time.

Same-Sex Marriage Wins by Losing: Dan Savage’s editorial in the NYT.  It’s an excellent piece.  Go read it now.

Birds in the News 65 (v2n16) is back from hiatus.  Fly on over for some great photographs (that first one is spellbinding) and a lot of interesting avian news.

This is a great summary of common misconceptions about the Big Bang.  Too many creationists harp on that aspect of our universe as though doing so supported their point of view.  This post does a great deal of damage to that mentality by responding to such claims as well as general ignorance of the topic (ignorance meant not as an insult but as an indication of a lack of expertise).  This is really good stuff.  [via PZ, who aptly named it “The Big Bang for Dummies”]