As I stepped outside this morning to let my dog take a leak, a beautiful yellow butterfly fluttered by.

I guess what I’m saying is that – relatively speaking – it’s been a slow news week.  As such, let’s talk about trivial matters.  For starters:

Sunday Comix

Instapoll: Glenn Beck Fans versus UCF Sigma Kappa Brothers

Winner: Sigma Kappa Brothers.

Hot Offer: The Public House Rules

If you have a stem cell of creativity, it’s time to put it in a petri dish and inject this contest.  The Public House (formerly Magnolia) at Colley and Princess Anne in Ghent has made an open call to design art work for a series of unalienable bar rules, to be displayed on the gastropub’s walls – opening this fall.

Bacon Awards: Best Hypothetical Act of Aggression

…Goes to Jay Ford, who on Thursday suggested Norfolkers march on (and presumably annex) Charlottesville when the flood waters become too much to handle down here.  I also love Jay’s idea to “go Venice” and start embracing a sinking world of water.

If you’re wondering where all this supposition is coming from, by the way, it’s a Pilot article about the consultants Norfolk has hired to help us do damage control.  I wonder, does Fraim’s plan to increase the city’s tree canopy have anything to do with increasing its root structure?

Life is Beautiful: The Little Indie-Rock Band That Could

Congratulations to the band Arcade Fire, whose new album The Suburbs debuted at #1 in August selling 156,000 albums.  Eight years ago this little band from Montreal self-released its first album and gained notoriety by rocking hard at shows.  As they’ve built a fanbase around the world, largely through peer-to-peer networks, Arcade Fire has done a tremendous job keeping the indie spirit alive.  Arcade Fire is living proof that a band can succeed without selling out.

If you’d like to hear some of Arcade Fire’s Francophone contemporaries, sure to never become as famous as their Anglophone cousins, check out Les Cowboys Fringants, one of my favorite bands with a folk-rock spirit that shouts Vieux Quebec.  There’s something enchanting about a familiar voice saying unfamiliar things.

Making Plans: National Wildlife Refuge Tour

There, now doesn’t that sounds more appealing than “Great Dismal Swamp Tour”?  Bob’s Monday installment pointed me to this narrated bus tour of a Hampton Roads natural gem.  Aside from the mosquitoes – thanks, Bob, I’ll remember my deet – it’s a truly great place to experience.

The Global: Flooding in Pakistan

If you want to learn more about Pakistan’s terrible and worsening flood situation, I encourage you to visit the NYT Pakistan newsfeed.

More importantly, call your representatives and tell them this could be the cheapest conflict we’ve ever not fought.  My rationale for helping Pakistan, Al Qaeda bastion that it is, is not purely altruistic.  The Washintsgton Post points outs the U.S. has already pledged more in relief aid than any other country, but as the world’s policeman we can afford to do a lot better.  It’s a basic “books not bombs” approach that could win a lot of friends in a place we sorely need them.

Please Enjoy,

Addy