N.J. Wants You To Keep Bees

Everyone hates bees. They’re bugs, they’re annoying, they sting. Everyone is happy about all the bees dying off in America.

But apparently bees are an important part of our ecosystem, as they help flowers mate or something. And bees also make honey! That’s why New Jersey is offering free beekeeping equipment (a $300 value!) and lessons to anyone over the age of 10 willing to try out.

But wait a minute! South Jersey Beekeepers Association president Seth Belson told the Courier-Post “beekeeping is addictive.” Do we really want our children being addicted to keeping bees, strung out junkies who can’t do anything without a taste of honey?

State puts out call to recruit beekeepers [Courier-Post]

Mark Yr Calendars: Gross Clinic Viewing

Remember last year, when everyone was all so worried about that painting leaving town and being sold to that Wal*Mart woman? Yeah, I forgot, too. But then I searched the archives and noted I had written a lot about it! I know, really.

But anyway, that’s not the point. The painting is The Gross Clinic, painted by Thomas Eakins, and it’s really neat. And Wal*Mart doesn’t own it. Instead, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Art Museum jointly bought it. (And sold another Eakins painting to raise funds to buy The Gross Clinic.)

The painting will be installed at PAFA and will be on view starting March 14. On March 17 and 18 (Saturday + Sunday) seeing the painting will be free. And so, you will finally be able to actually see it for the first time. Huzzah!

Thomas Eakins’ The Gross Clinic goes on public view at the Academy [PAFA.org]
Archives: The Gross Clinic

It’s Easy Out Here For A Lawmaker

A story in Sunday’s Inquirer by Mario Cattabiani detailed the fun thing about being a Pennsylvania legislator: Tons and tons of free shit. And not just from taxpayers! (Ba-ZING!)

The article details all the free stuff legislators can get from lobbyists: unlimited skiing, FOP courtesy cards to get out of tickets, circus tickets — this sounds like a drawback, not a perk — Penn State football tix, and, most fun, all-access passes for movie theaters from Sunday to Thursday.

Pennsylvania is the only state that doesn’t require lobbyists to disclose what they’re giving to lawmakers, so who knows what else they’re getting? Legislators only have to declare gifts of above $250.

Although I think the free movie passes are quite a deal, apparently they’re not that popular:

David Tive, the theater owners’ lobbyist, who has personally handed out the passes for two decades, said he occasionally heard from appreciative legislators. But, he added, the passes are not as popular as one might imagine. “Maybe they would be used more,” he said, “if we gave them a popcorn pass, too.”

Yeah, that’s just what we need: Fatter lawmakers.

Office has its perks in Penna. [Inky]