GILES PHOTOBOMBS THE NEWS

The big news of the week was the successful landing of the rover Curiosity on Mars on August 6, 2012. Curiosity has since been sending images back to Earth from the surface of Mars. This image is of the first panoramic view of Mars! Photos! From! Another! Planet! (Click on images for larger versions.)

One of the big stories from the Olympics this year was Gabby Douglas's gold medal win in women's gymnastics. She became the first African American all-around gold medalist. The news coverage noted the continuing racial (and class) barrier to the sport.

The big political announcement of the week was Republication presidential candidate Mitt Romney's announcement of Paul Ryan (senator from Wisconsin) as his vice presidential running mate for the election. The two made a number of appearances together. Giles wonders why no one is sharing noms with him.

Major earthquakes hit Iran, but the major media outlets made little mention of the disasters and devastation. :(

This news story was a heartening break from the usual doom and gloom of things falling apart in the world. Buenos Aires apparently has a program that offers pensions for aging writers. Support not just the arts but the artists themselves!

The previous week, on August 6, the Chevron refinery in Richmond, California, caught on fire and sent a toxic black cloud out over the city and the Bay Area more broadly. Sadly, many people have suffered poisoning from the fires.

Also not very extensively covered in the news is the fact that many people in Spain are publicly protesting economic bailouts of financial institutions combined with cutbacks on pay and benefits for civil servants. Giles makes his mark as a protest dog!

I happened to post an image of Darren Criss (arms outspread) in the trailer for the new season of Glee starting next month, and a friend commented, perhaps ironically, that she wished I had put Giles in the picture. So I went ahead and did so.