A four-day-old Chilean flamingo chick is fed by its father named Migi Aka (L) and mother Hidari Aka at the Himeji Central Park on October 2, 2013 in Himeji, Japan. The baby flamingo was born on September 29 and will take up to two or three years to fully develop the pink feathers of mature adults. By Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images.
Delegates listen to speeches in the Main Hall of Manchester Central on the third day, and penultimate day, of the Conservative Party Conference on October 1, 2013 in Manchester, England. On the same day that America’s Republicans shut down the entire government to deny millions of uninsured people access to basic healthcare insurance, David Cameron unveiled a new Government pilot scheme for General Practitioner surgeries to open from 8am until 8pm seven days, backed by 50 million GBP of funding. By Oli Scarff/Getty Images. Update from a reader:
Why is Mitch McConnell in Manchester when he’s supposed to be solving our shutdown crisis?
Protester Scott Osberg holds up a sign behind Republican members of Congress while they hold a press conference on the Vitter Amendment as Congress remains gridlocked over legislation to continue funding the federal government on September 30, 2013. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has said the Senate would not vote on any legislation passed by the House to continue funding the federal government unless the legislation was free of Republican added amendments. By Win McNamee/Getty Images.
A float made of dahlia flowers cruises through Corso Zundert, an annual flower parade in the Netherlands.
(Photo copyright Omroep Brabant)
A child eats at US pastor Jimmy Hughes’ refuge in Zambrano, Honduras on September 27, 2013. Hughes gives refuge to 50 Honduran children and teenagers hit by violence, drugs and poverty. By Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images.
U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner listens to House Republican colleagues speak at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol September 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. Boehner signaled that he is urging Republican colleagues to remain flexible in negotiations to avert a governmental shutdown when federal funding runs out next week. By Win McNamee/Getty Images.
Pakistani Christians protest in Lahore against the suicide bombing of a church in Peshawar. A devastating double suicide attack on a church in northwest Pakistan has triggered fears among the country’s beleaguered Christian community that they will be targeted in a fresh wave of Islamist violence. By Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images.
US President Barack Obama makes a toast during a luncheon hosted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on the sideline of the 68th United Nations General Assembly at the UN in New York on September 24, 2013. Obama demanded that the world take action on Syria, saying that the regime must face consequences after the use of chemical weapons. Speaking before the UN General Assembly, Obama defended his threat of force against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and denounced critics who accuse the United States of inconsistency. By Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images.
Jesus, I’m so old.
A friend at The New Yorker emailed this to me. He found it poring through the archives. It’s from twenty years’ ago – and I have the original in a closet in DC – signed by Annie Leibovitz. From twink to bear … the cycle of gay.
The Dish 