And Again, Um

This morning as I was skipping lightly through The New York Times, I noticed several ads exhorting people to volunteer service for New York. I think this is a great thing--I am in favor of volunteerism, and have been known to do a bit here and there myself. But the campaign's ad line strikes me as unfortunate: Give your BLANK.. Or, afterward, "I Gave BLANK."

The idea, of course, is to give your passion, your talent, your time, your experience. Fill in the blank. Only I, jaded person that I am, keep thinking of all those Victorian novels where the profanity is rendered with, well, blanks. "What the _____ am I to do with you, Miss Frobisher!" and that sort of thing. Sarcasm Girl and I sat there this morning filling in the blanks: "Give your shit to help New York" had her giggling for several minutes. Someone really should have thought this out better.

The Universe is a Strange and Beautiful Place

Via tnh at Making Light: Photos taken by Cassini on near approach to Saturn. Breathtaking. Go look.