Eye Candy: Daniel Akyeampong (black/white)

Daniel Akyeampong has been featured eye candy on this blog twice before, January 10, 2011 and January 28, 2013. He is most well-known for being an Abercrombie & Fitch model, but despite his youthful appearance, rest assured he is definitely over 21 years old.

Enjoy!

ROME 2013: Federer-Nadal XXX Goes To Nadal 61 63

Rafael Nadal continued his startling 2013 run of good form by defeating his arch-rival Roger Federer  6-1 6-3 in the final of the 2013 ATP Rome Masters in just over an hour. (Interestingly, this was the identical score that Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka to win the WTA title right before, although that match took 93 minutes. Nadal has won a tour-leading 6 titles (in 8 finals) in 2013 and has only lost twice while playing 38 matches so far (the vast majority on clay). The 2013 BNL Internazionali d'Italia title is Nadal's 41st clay court title (of 56 ATP tour title) and his record 24th ATP Masters shield. and 7th title in Rome. (Federer is #2 on the all-time list at 21.) In fact, Nadal has already won 3 ATP Masters shields this year Indian Wells (d. Juan Martin del Potro), Madrid (d. Stanislas Wawrinka) and Rome. He lost the ATP Monte Carlo Masters title to Novak Djokovic and lost his first final of the year against the unheralded Horacio Zeballos. World #1 Djokovic failed to reach the final in Madrid (losing to Grigot Dimitrov) and Rome (losing to Tomas Berdych) but I still think if he reaches the final against Nadal in Paris he will have the mental advantage and achieve his career grand slam. He was well on his way to beating Nadal last year when the weather interrupted their match in the fourth set with Djokovic up a break of serve. The question is, will Nole reach the final? The 2013 French Open draw will be released Friday this week and may well be the most important factor in who wins, including whether Andy Murray withdraws (due to a back injury sustained in Rome), thus opening up a spot in the Top 4 for Nadal.

Nadal is now 20-10 in his career head-to-head with Federer and even though the Swiss player is considered the greatest player of all time, it is clear that both the physical and mental matchup with the lefty spin of the Spaniard is something that Federer is unable to handle at this stage of his career. It must be mentioned though that fully half of their thirty meetings have been on clay, with Nadal sporting a 13-2 lead on that surface. On the non-clay surfaces Federer still has  a slight 8-7 lead.  Two-thirds of their meetings have been in finals with Nadal leading 14-6 (but again, they have met in 13 clay court finals, with Nadal leading 11-2 there). Today's final was their first meeting in a final since the 2011 Roland Garros which was won easily by Nadal. Clearly, Federer has been the 2nd best clay-court player for the last decade, but Nadal is the best clay court player of all time.

(Yes, I'm still on my Caribbean vacation but of course I'm still following tennis! Sadly I was unable to see either match this year, although last year at this time I was in Rome.)

ROME 2013: Serena Slams Vika 61 63 For 51st Title

Serena Williams extended her winning streak to 24 matches in a row by defeating Victoria Azarenka 6-1 6-3 to win her 51st WTA title, the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. Serena has won all 16 matches on clay played this year, claiming titles in Charleston (d. Jelena Jankovic), Madrid (d. Maria Sharapova) and Rome, with Roland Garros starting next Monday May 27th in Paris. She is now clearly the #1 player in the world and the clear favorite to win her second French Open title.

Serena hit 41 winners to 19 unforced errors and only at 6-1 3-4 on serve with Azarenka serving at 40-15 did the match seem potentially in question, but Serena broke back and served out the next game and match with two aces. She improved her dominance over World #3 Azarenka to 12-2, getting revenge for her 3-set loss to Vika in the 2013 Doha final. Ominously for the rest of the field, that was Serena's last loss, and at age 31 it is looking like she may not lose another match until she turns 32!

BBC beach, St. George's, Grenada

This is a typical beach in my homeland of Grenada. It's called BBC Beach and is very near the more famous Grande Anse, which some people think is the best beach in the world.

Celebrity Friday: Marcus Brandon, Black Gay Congressional Candidate

Interesting news! Openly gay African American state Representative from North Carolina has taken out papers to run for Congressman Mel Watts U.S. House seat, NC-12.

Democratic State Rep. Marcus Brandon made his intentions to seek Congressman Mel Watt's 12th District seat official, according to Federal Election Commission documents made public this week. 

Watt is President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Federal Housing Finance Administration. If confirmed, a Democratic frenzy is expected in the race to replace him. 

A campaign treasurer for Brandon, a High Point political consultant, filed papers May 1, the day the president announced Watt's appointment, to create the Marcus Brandon for Congress political committee, the first step needed to raise money for a potential bid.

If elected, Brandon would be the first ever openly gay Black Member of  Congress. Mark Takano became the first LGBT person of color elected to Congress last year. Brandon was elected to the North Carolina State House of Representatives in 2010.

Brazil Appears To Have Legalized Marriage Equality Nationwide

It appears as if a court decision in Brazil may have legalized marriage equality nationwide.The New York Times reports:

RIO DE JANEIRO — The council overseeing Brazil’s judiciary ruled on Tuesday that notary publics cannot refuse to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies, a decision that opens the way for gay couples across Latin America’s largest country to marry. 

The move by the National Council of Justice, a 15-member panel led by Joaquim Barbosa, the chief justice of the nation’s high court, effectively legalizes gay marriage throughout Brazil, legal scholars here said. The decision follows legislation in twoneighboring countries, Argentina and Uruguay, where lawmakers have managed to pass bills authorizing same-sex marriage nationwide in recent years.

Previously it was known that in 13 of Brazil's 26 states and the federal district same-sex couples could have their civil unions converted into marriages, but this action makes it appear as if anywhere in the country a same-sex couple can not be denied registration of their civil marriage.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

FOOD REVIEW: Blue Duck Tavern (Washington, DC)

the striking interior of the Blue Duck Tavern

shaved brussels sprouts salad with walnuts and parmesan cheese; $11

sauteed wild mushrooms with olive oil croutons, garlic and parsley; $10

wood oven-roasted Maine scallops with
spring vegetables, sea beans, bacon; $24

passion fruit tart with toasted meringue; $9

The Blue Duck Tavern has been on my list of places to eat for quite awhile. I actually had reservations set with my regular dining companions that I visited Fiola de Fabio Trabocchi and Corduroy with but that outing got cancelled due to work pressures. Happily, I was able to find a different group of people who were interested in checking out this 2013 Washingtonian Top 10 Restaurant of the Year (it's at #8).

Blue Duck Tavern is in the West End section of D.C., pretty close to Foggy Bottom and thus in the environs of Georgetown. It's actually in the same building as the opulent Park Hyatt Washington (rack rate on rooms is over $500 per night). However, the moment one walks in you're struck by the attractive, sleek architecture which says this place is clearly not your average downstairs hotel restaurant.

We went on a surprisingly cool, blistery day in Spring so we didn't sit outside. At 5:30pm on a Wednesday the restaurant was happily almost completely empty and we were quickly seated and some excellent bread was brought to the table.

I ordered the brussels sprout salad (primarily because I love walnuts and parmesan even though I hate brussel sprouts) on the recommendation of our waitress. The inclusion of raw brussels sprouts into salads is becoming quite a "thing" in high end restaurants. I have seen it on the menu on at least three places I have eaten at in the last month. It has a very distinctive texture and, happily, the sour aftertaste of cooked brussels sprouts is minimal when it is raw. My tablemate ordered the "Swiss chard and onion tart with goat cheese and bitter greens" ($12). All of these things sound like ingredients I would avoid, but I had a bite and it turns out that it's really an absolutely scrumptious quiche! (Sometimes menu writers obfuscate more than they entice.) If/when I return to Blue Duck Tavern I would choose that as my appetizer next time.

Since I am avoiding my intake of red meat I ordered the scallops, but I was sorely tempted to try one of the beef dishes on the menu, all of which sounded delicious. My other tablemate ordered the "Roasted Muscovy Duck Breast with Crispy Leg Confit and Nettle Relish" ($45) and happily was unable to finish it so I got more than just a bite. The nettle relish is sweet and finger-lickin' good! The duck was sublime, as one would expect.

 I also ordered the sauteed mushrooms, mostly for me but also to share with the table. I was glad that I did because everything at Blue Duck Tavern comes a la carte (that means by itself, priced separately, in a gleaming stainless steel dish). Neither of the proteins (i.e. duck or scallops) came with a substantial amount of accoutrements (either vegetables or starch) so the mushrooms were a good choice. And they were also delicious! Frankly none of the starches (listed as "Potatoes and Grains" on the menu) looked appealing to me, except for the "Hand cut BDT Triple Fries" and those sounded too good, if you know what I mean. Summer is coming!

One plus for Blue Duck Tavern is that they had a good selection of non-alcoholic beverages, and I had a very delicious "mocktail."

For dessert I committed an unforced error by not ordering the apple pie (didn't do enough research beforehand) and had the intriguing sounding passion fruit tart despite the meringue (which I never like--it's too sweet for my taste). Passionfruit is both extremely sweet and also extremely tart and combined with the toasted meringue the dessert was too monotonic in flavor (it basically screams dietetic shock). It's missing a contrapuntal element, maybe some roasted almonds or something very nutty (macadamias?).

All in all it was a very pleasant dining experience, although I would note by the time we left (around 7:30) the place was packed and the noise level was just a bit above comfortable for me.
I would definitely come back, on a warm day and sit outside at an early evening time and this time order the apple pie!

Name: Blue Duck Tavern.

Location: 1201 24th St NW, Washington, DC 20037.

Contact: 202-419-6755.

Visit: April 17, 2013.

AMBIANCE: A-.

SERVICE: A.

VALUE: B+.

FOOD: A+. 

OVERALL: A/A- (3.83/4.0)

MadProfessah Is On Vacation (Grenada and Barbados)

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It's that time of year again! Last year I went off to Europe in May. The year before that I went to Cape Town, South Africa. Starting Wednesday May 15th until Thursday May 30th, I am officially on vacation. I am going to be visiting the Caribbean (Grenada, where I was born, and Barbados, where I went to secondary school). My husband is going as well, and it will be his first time in the Caribbean.

It should be a great trip!

I will have access to wireless internet and will of course bring devices with me but blogging will definitely be lighter than usual, maybe one post per day. My biggest peeve is that I will have to wait until I get back to see (S3E08) "Second Sons" episode of Game of Thrones.

Happy Endings Cancelled. Oh, Cruel World!

Friday was the day when the networks make their final decisions about what shows will be renewed to appear and what new shows will be added to their schedule. Sadly, one of my favorite comedies, ABC's Happy Endings was on the list of cancelled shows. The show is basically an update of NBC's Friends, following the lives and loves of six 30-somethings living in an urban setting. Except this time there's a Black member (the very funny, and quite attractive Damon Wayans, Jr.) named Brad and a gay member named Max (played in non-stereotypical fashion by straight actor Adam Pally). The biggest star on the show was probably Elisha Cuthbert, who played the ditzy Alex. However, the funniest actors on the show are Eliza Coupe (who plays Alex's sister Jane and is married to Brad) and Casey Wilson (who plays Penny, Alex's best friend and Max's college girlfriend). The 6th member of the group is Zachary Knighton (who plays Dave, who was Alex's fiance but who in the pilot was left at the altar.

The show was known for its incredibly fast dialogue, obscure pop references and slapstick situations. It was very, very funny but also pretty lowly rated and ABC tried mightily to help it find an audience by moving it from the time slot after power house Modern Family on Wednesdays to Tuesdays and then Fridays. (When your show moves to Friday you know you're almost dead!)

Max was one of the most interesting gay characters on television, and was a fully fleshed-out member of the cast, most definitely not just another "sassy gay bestfriend." Other gay-related shows that were cancelled are Smash (which I watched the first season but once Jennifer Hudson's arc ended this season I was done) and The New Normal, which was a comedy by openly gay TV producer Ryan Murphy (the creator of Glee) about a gay couple trying to raise a family by having a baby with a quirky surrogate. I never saw a single minute of The New Normal so I won't miss it. It only lasted a single season, while Smash lasted two and Happy Endings lasted three.

Apparently there were two other shows with prominent gay themes that were cancelled as well: CBS's Partners and NBC's Go On. I suppose it's a good thing that there are so many gay characters on TV that one doesn't feel obligated to watch every one. Now, let's hoping that representation of the LGBT community can be more uniformly distributed among the best shows on television as well.

Right now it's my understanding that there are no openly LGBT characters on The Walking Dead, Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory for example. There are gay characters on some of my favorite shows like The Good Wife and Game of Thrones. Perhaps some new ones will be added in the new season.

Hat/tip to Queerty!

Minnesota Will Become 12th Marriage Equality State!!

As I expected, the Minnesota Senate passed a marriage equality bill, 37-30, today, and Governor Mark Dayton (D) has announced he will sign it into law tomorrow at 5pm on the Capitol Steps. That means that on August 1st, Minnesota will become the 12th state where same-sex couples can get legally married, following on the heels of Rhode Island's law (11th state) which goes into effect the same day and a month after Delaware's which goes into effect on July 1st. I think it is only fair to order the states the order in which their laws go into effect, not the order in which they may have passed the bills.

And we are still waiting to see what happens in Illinois, where marriage equality passed the Senate (way back in February 15th by a vote of 34-21) and the bill is pending in the House.  Marriage equality may also return to California by the end of the June, since the Supreme Court is deciding whether Proposition 8, a state constitutional ban on marriage passed after marriage equality was already legal in the state (and I got married!), is constitutional under federal law.

Regardless, it is clear that 2013 is turning out to be a pretty good year for the good guys in the ongoing Kulturkampf (culture war) over what "equal right for all" means.

Minnesota Senate Voting on Marriage Equality NOW!

The state of Minnesota is widely expected to become the next state to enact marriage equality. The Minnesota House of Representatives approved a marriage equality bill by a vote of 75-59 on Thursday. As of 1pm EST the Minnesota State Senate will begin debate on the marriage equality bill, where it is expected to pass. The State Senate has 67 members, 39 of which are Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) members and 28 of which are Republican. The bill needs 34 votes to pass.

The Minnesota Star-Tribune reports that the bill is expected to pass and after Gov. Mark Dayton signs it into law, will go into effect on August 1, 2013.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

STUDY: Gay Men Having Fewer Sex Partners

There is a new report out indicating that men who have sex with men, i.e. MSM (which is a larger set of people than self-identified gay men), are reducing the number of partners. In "Temporal Trends in Sexual Behavior among Men Who Have Sex with Men in the United States, 2002 to 2006-10," researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyze results of two telephone surveys of Americans (ages 15-44) reporting their sexual behavior from 2002-2006 and 2006-2010.

A nice summary of the results presented in the article is:

Between the two polls, the mean number of reported male sexual partners dropped significantly from 2.9 to 2.3, and fell from 2.9 to 2.1 for men younger than 24. The drop reached statistical significance, meaning the finding was not the result of chance, among men whose incomes were below 150 percent of federal poverty level, who reported a respective 3.0 and 2.1 partners, as well as among men in suburban metropolitan areas (3.2 to 2.1). Those living in urban areas reported 2.6 male partners in both surveys.

Condom use remained unchanged, with 57 percent of the men in the first survey reporting they had not used a condom for the last time they had sex, and 58 percent in the second.  

The proportion reporting an HIV test in the past year also remained unchanged, at a respective 41 percent between both surveys.  Thirty-eight percent of the men reported receiving a sexually transmitted infection screening in the past year in the 2002 survey, compared with 39 percent in the 2006 to 2010 survey. However, the rate of those who reported never having had an HIV test dropped from 25 to 15 percent.

The average number of approximately 2-3 sex partners per year seems sort of low to me, doesn't it? Apparently there were 197 MSM surveyed in the first survey and 272 in the second. That would mean the margin of error on the percentages are  quite large.

hat/tip to Queerty

Eye Candy: Denham Ravi (black/white)

More images of the striking Denham Ravi, a successful 28-year-old Australian fitness model who was born in Sri Lanka. Unlike his two previous appearance as Eye Candy on this blog (March 23, 2009 and November 12, 2012),  these images are in black-and-white or sepia, but one is still able to appreciate his physical beauty.

Denham is on Facebook. I like, don't you?

MADRID 2013: Serena Defends Title, Retains #1

As I predicted, Serena Williams continued her domination of Maria Sharapova with a 6-1 6-4 win in 78 minutes in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open. With her 12th consecutive of win over Sharapova, the 31-year-old Serena won her 50th title of in her 66th career final, becoming only the 10th person to reach that milestone. 26-year-old Sharapova is now 29-21 in WTA tour finals and 2-13 lifetime against Serena.

The WTA reports:

Williams is now the 10th player all-time to win 50 or more WTA titles. The first nine were Martina Navratilova (167), Chris Evert (154), Steffi Graf (107), Margaret Court (92), Evonne Goolagong (68),Billie Jean King (67), Lindsay Davenport (55), Virginia Wade (55) and finally Monica Seles (53).

And with seven, Williams is now in third place among active players for most WTA clay court titles, tied with Sharapova and Flavia Pennetta; Venus Williams is second place with nine, and Anabel Medina Garrigues - the player who was on the verge of victory against her in the quarterfinals - is first with 10.

Williams is now 28-1 on clay since the start of last year's clay court season, Sharapova 27-2.

The result of the match was only in doubt for a brief time. Sharapova opened nervously and was broken easily. Serena was sharp from the very first point and was serving well over 80%. She came close to winning the first in a bagel but had to settle for a breadtstick 6-1. In the second set, Sharapova came out sharper held her first service game and was able to break Serena to go up 2-0. However, Serena was able to hold serve (after saving a break point) to stay close and then was able to break Sharapova to even the set at 3-all. There were three service holds and then in the 10th game, serving to stay in the match the Russian fell behind 0-40 and was quickly broken after a short rally.

WATCH: Trailer for "Oscar Grant movie" (Fruitvale Station)

There's a major motion picture being made about the horrible killing of Oscar Grant on January 1, 2009 by an Oakland police officer. It's called Fruitvale Station. The trailer is out now!

Happy Mothers' Day!

Hat/tip to The New Yorker

MADRID 2013 Final: Serena-Sharapova XV, World #1 At Stake

Interesting! Tomorrow there will be a dream final in Madrid, World #1 Serena Williams versus World #2 Maria Sharapova, competing for not only the prestigious Mutua Madrid Open title but also the WTA World #1 ranking. The two are meeting for the 15th time in their careers, with Serena sporting a hefty 12-2 advantage in their career head-to-head match-up, including a 4-2 head in finals (1-1 in Grand Slam finals). The two have already met twice this year on hard courts, with Serena pulling out a dramatic 3-set win in the finals of the Key Biscayne tournament after being down a set and a break.

With their wins in the semifinals, both players reached milestones. For Sharapova, it was her 19th consecutive clay court win and 500th WTA tour win. For Serena it was her 30th win of the year (compared to only two losses, to Sloane Stephens in the Australian Open quarterfinals and to Victoria Azarenka in the Doha final).

This is Serena's first red clay final since she won the Roland Garros title in 2002, Sharapova is the defending French Open champion and has won three other red clay court titles in the last two years (Stuttgart 2012, Stuttgart 2013, Rome 2012). Serena won the title here last year when it was played on "controversial" blue clay. In fact, she beat Sharapova handily on that surface (while I watched delightedly from the stands) 6-1 6-3. If she wins, Serena will become the 10th player in history to win 50 WTA Tour titles (49-16 in finals) while Sharapova would win her 30th (29-20 in finals).

Sharapova must have gained confidence with how she played the first 75 minutes of her match against Serena but the fact that she has lost their last 10 consecutive meetings must still prey on her mind. Serena has not been playing her best tennis at all in Madrid, while Sharapova appears to be happy on and off the court. In fact, in the quarterfinals Annabel Medina Garrigues became only the 6th player to ever win a bagel set from Serena and led 4-2, 30-all in the final set before succumbing 6-3 0-6 7-5. So, Serena will be definitely taking the occasion of playing her arch-nemesis on a surface which she has had limited success very seriously. It should be an interesting preview of what we'll be seeing in Paris in a few weeks. (Another interesting question will be if either one will withdraw from the Rome tournament, which Sharapova won last year and Serena reached the semifinals, depending on the result of this final. If Serena loses, then she would have to just reach the Rome final to regain the World #1, but she might have to go through Venus Williams to do so. If Sharapova withdraws she will almost certainly be ceding the #1 ranking to Serena for the French Open.)

MadProfessah's prediction: Serena in 3 sets.

Weekend Gossip: Dimitrov-Sharapova Coupling Confirmed

There have been rumors about World #2 Maria Sharapova and World #28 Grigor Dimitrov dating for months. Well, the rumors appear to be true, if these pictures taken on the streets of Madrid this week are showing what we think they are showing. Sharapova (a.k.a "Masha") is 26-years-old and Dimitrov (a.k.a. "Grisha") is 21, so they are consenting adults, but canoodling on the street? Seems a bit tacky to me!

That being said, Dimitrov is one of the best looking guys on tour, so I approve of Maria's taste, although I can't say I approve of his fashion sense!

Any suggestions for how we should mash-up Grisha and Masha? Maybe they can be called "Grasha"?

PA LGBT Civil Rights Bill Introduced!

Brian Sims is the first openly LGBT person
 elected to the Pennsylvania legislature

Good news from Pennsylvania on the gay rights front. Although most of the legislative action that has been happening recently has focused on the rapid developments in marriage equality, an even more important issue facing LGBT Americans is the lack of basic civil rights protections, at the federal level and in most American states.

In fact, despite what "fact-checker" Politifact says, it is absolutely true that in 29 states you can be fired if your employer learns that you are GLB or if they even think that you might be GLB. In 34 states you can be fired due to your gender identity or gender expression. That's because as of today, there are only 21 states that laws on the books banning employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and 16 states that ban employment discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression.

The federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) would ban employment discrimination against LGBT people nationwide if passed by Congress. Amazingly, even though we now know that there is a majority of Senators that support marriage equality, we do not know for sure that a majority of Senators supports employment non-discrimination for LGBT Americans.

Openly gay Democrat Brian Sims is one of 200 members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In fact, Brian is the first person to be elected to the Pennsylvania legislature, although Republican state Representative Mike Fleck came out last year as well.

Sims was one of the most prominent speakers at a press conference the introduction of two bills this week. Pennsylvania has famously been described by  Democratic politico James Carville as "Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between."

LGBT Think Progress reports:

Currently, the state offers no protections against discrimination for the LGBT community, including in employment, housing, and public accommodations — let alone any form of legal recognition for same-sex couples. A new pair of bills (HB 300 and SB 300) introduced this week with bipartisan support from 100 state lawmakers would ensure that LGBT people have legal recourse if they experience discrimination because of their identities.

Openly gay state Rep. Brian Sims (D) said that he hopes the commonwealth will “finally evolve,” and Rep. Chris Ross (R) added that ending discrimination is not a partisan issue, because “All Pennsylvania citizens deserve to be treated with dignity.” The Republican-controlled General Assembly may stymie the bill’s progress, but a recent Susquehanna Polling survey found that more than 70 percent of Pennsylvanians support the protections, even in the conservative central regions of the state.

It's well past time that Pennsylvania, the nation's 5th largest state, had statewide LGBT protections!

Actually, of the top 10 states by population (California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia) only three have laws banning sexual orientation employment discrimination by private entities (California, New York, Illinois) and only two (California, Illinois) have laws banning gender identity discrimination by private entities.

The time to pass a federal non-discrimination law (ENDA) is now!

Queer Quote: Margaret Cho Totally Outs JohnTravolta

Not like it hasn't happened before, but John Travolta has been outed again, apparently this time by comedian Margaret Cho. While on tour in Australia, Cho is quoted as having said this:

"I’m going to get in trouble, but I’ll just tell you. He is so gay. John Travolta is so gay. He’s not just gay. He doesn’t just like men. He is like Oscar Wilde gay. Like Lord Byron gay. That kind of crazy, incredibly flamboyant gay. I know him well because I did a movie with him and worked with him for a year. I feel bad for him; because I know he would be much happier if he could just come out. But he can’t."

Rumors about Travolta have circulated for literally decades. However, he is a prominent member of the Church of Scientology and they are well-known for controlling the public and private lives of their celebrity members.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God