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As reported in the Telegraph: "Atheists offer to care for Christians' pets after the Rapture":

All the atheists signed up by Eternal Earth-Bound Pets are self-confessed sinners and blasphemers, guaranteeing they will be left behind when the chosen are selected...

According to some polls, as many as 55 per cent of Americans believe in the notion of the Rapture.

"You've committed your life to Jesus. You know you're saved. But when the Rapture comes what's to become of your loving pets who are left behind?" the group's website asks.

"Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind."

For $110, the firm promises lifetime care for almost all domestic pets if their owners are transported to heaven within the next ten years.

Nice. But who will water my plants when it turns out I'm not inscribed in the book of life? I've got a pocket-warming ten-spot to ensure all those leafy greens are otherwise spared that "strong hand and an outstretched arm".

~ EMILY BOBROW

PowerPoint slides flash across a large screen in the corner of a coffee house in Atlanta, Georgia. In a presentation called "Chocolate Lab", a woman named Kristen expounds on the dissection of cocoa beans to a rapt crowd. She has exactly six minutes and 40 seconds to get her point across (20 images, 20 seconds apiece). After a quick plug for her local candy boutique, Cacao, Kristin hands the mic to the next presenter, who can’t wait to talk about fractals, interior design, mountain climbing or animé. The cycle continues for at least an hour. Then there’s lots of chatter.

What is this? The love-child of a French Salon and a stockholders meeting?

It’s called "Pecha Kucha", a trendy (and patented) presentation system popular among architects, designers and otherwise creative folks. Pecha Kucha Nights take place anywhere with space for a projector and a few willing participants. It’s free to present, though topics must be pre-approved by organisers and brevity is key. Afterwards, everyone networks and drinks, and the next day podcasts are often posted on iTunes. Weeks later, a new crowd gathers and does it all over again.  read more »

After attending a seder at my house on Passover, a friend sent me Judith Warner's "This I Believe". On her New York Times blog, Warner described being thrilled at the prospect of "celebrating Passover with our motley Jewish-Catholic-Episcopalian crew, commemorating events we don’t believe in, confirming an identity that doesn’t quite fit, united in the love of one another."  read more »

Among the reasons I have to feel grateful that I did not come of age in the 1970s, the "buttered bun" and the "grope suit" rank high on the list. Both of these terms are explained in the first edition of the "Joy of Sex", published in 1972 by Dr Alex Comfort, an English gerontologist who, according to a piece in today's New York Times, "practised his own joy of sex by ditching his wife and moving to a free love commune in California." His book, with its "hairy man" illustrations and titter-provoking subject matter, was a huge success, with 343 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, and on night-tables everywhere.  read more »

A foreign policy lecture at London’s renowned international affairs hub, Chatham House, isn’t the sexiest way to spend an evening. But with Zbigniew Brzezinski as the invited guest speaker, the discussion was complex, enlightening and stunningly direct.

Brzezinksi was America's national security advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981. Now he’s professor of foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, and a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He’s a no-nonsense man with a slick haircut and a sly sense of humour. On this recent occasion, he sported an impressive double-breasted pinstripe suit.

It was interesting, as an American in London, to sit in a room full of professional Brits listening to a Polish-American talk about what’s going on in American’s minds when it comes to world politics. For an hour Brzezinski delivered his take on America’s view of the world in 2008, in light of Barack Obama's win. He lamented the fact that there isn't a politically unified Europe right now. He pushed for a renewed transanlantic dialogue and a worldwide coalition of partners committed to interdependence and global management (the guy sitting next to me responded by shifting in his seat and exhaling loudly, repeatedly). Also, America and Europe should be more engaged with China, Russia and Iran, and Afghanistan needs to be de-militarised.  read more »

This is pretty good:

Reminds me of that notorious letter to Dr Laura--that bossy, conservative meddler of the radio--that once circulated the internet. And frankly, it makes me feel somewhat sheepish for continuing to keep my diet shellfish free. ~ EMILY BOBROW