Update: Following the success of Alicia’s PSA, Sky News put together a wonderful retrospective of PETA’s many naked ads and protests over the past year. You can check out the picture gallery here.

The folks in Houston were severely deprived yesterday, when their cable provider decided at the last minute (literally) that it would pull Alicia Silverstone's super sexy new pro-vegetarianism ad, which had already been approved and paid for. Comcast Cable told us that they had banned the spot "because she is naked," despite the fact that the ad has already aired on numerous news programs worldwide. Besides, as PETA Vice President Dan Mathews pointed out in a staff meeting today, they showed Holly Hunter's naked ass on Saving Grace the other night, so, um, what's the problem here, Comcast?

We had picked Houston because it consistently ranks in the top ten least healthy cities in the country, so we figured they could use some good diet advice (honestly, who in their right mind would turn down friendly diet advice from the beautiful Alicia Silverstone?), but Houstonians need not despair. As PETA President Ingrid Newkirk puts it,

And finally, because I love it so much, here is the ad again. Alicia, you are gorgeous.

OK, so not a bar exactly. Have you heard about the incredible shoplifting seagull from Aberdeen, Scotland? Apparently, the bird waits until the shopkeeper isn’t looking, then casually strolls into the store and grabs a bag of chips and takes off. Once outside, he rips the bag open and shares it with other birds. It’s become a daily occurrence and customers have actually begun paying the bird’s tab. Unreal.

Of course, here in Norfolk, the seagulls don’t have to resort to such shenanigans, as Ingrid Newkirk lives here. And, as evidenced by the industrial-sized bag of bird seed in the corner of her office, let me just say that the birds in these here parts are, umm, well fed.

Hopefully everyone has checked out our new Animal Birth Control campaign by now, but if not, give it a peek. To promote it, we’re going to make some new stickers with the slogan “I love my [insert incredibly cute word to replace ‘mutt’ here].” We’ve all seen countless “I love my Golden Retriever” stickers, right? Well, that’s the idea, but instead of promoting a specific breed of dog, we’ll be promoting the best kind of dog in the world, the [insert incredibly cute word to replace ‘mutt’ here]!

One of the best things about working at PETA is that I get to share ideas with some of the most creative people I've ever met—the same people who came up with the iconic I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur campaign, and countless other initiatives that have fundamentally changed the way people view animal rights issues. But sometimes, just occasionally, when you get those people in a room together, they just can’t exactly nail it, and they have to ask for help. Well this is one of those times, so please help us.

Here’s our list of finalists. Please tell us which one you like best, and please add your own ideas to the mix. Have fun!

Mixter
Muttle
Mixhound
FusionDog
All-American Original
Custom Blend Canine
57 Special
Diamond in the Woof

Before I go on—if you had a comment that was published but disappeared from the site recently, please be assured that it's nothing personal. We had a small glitch in our blog software, which we're sorting out today.

And for the few people who submitted comments that never got published, sometimes our spam filter picks them up accidentally, so feel free to let me know if you don't see your comment after a couple of days (though, if you're one of those people who submit the ol' "People Eating Tasty Animals" joke as if it were still funny, I wouldn't bother).

In completely unrelated news, U.S. News and World Report just did a great piece about our new Colonel Sanders novelty pen—filled with blood-red ink in order to make a subtle point about KFC's bloody business. You can check the article out here.

And finally, in another total non sequitur, my good friend Holly just reminded me that today is the official Talk Like a Pirate Day, so please don't forget to, um, talk like a pirate. And if you need a little inspiration, check out our amazing Pirates of the Carob Bean video here, and see if you can guess which voices are me.

That is all.

I would comment on this, but I'm still pretty much speechless. It may be one of the greatest videos ever created. Check it out:

There are some more pics and info here.

Following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Bristol last week, PETA UK protesters took to the streets to remind shoppers that the solution to epidemics like foot and mouth, mad-cow disease, and bird flu is actually really, really simple. Go vegetarian. The pics are priceless.

Answers/Creative Commons

Boy, it must be really unpleasant to be stuck like that, Jack. I know it’s hard, but see if you can grind those mental gears just a little bit more and think about whether there might be something wrong with the fact that your entire career is based on putting animals through exactly the same kind of nightmare.

I know—those khaki pants and that corny sense of humor make Jack Hanna oh-so-likeable, but the bottom line is that he has a simply lousy track record when it comes to animals. It's abundantly clear from incidents like this one that the animals themselves aren't Hanna's first priority, since he clearly feels comfortable lugging them around in crates to be brought out and paraded around for people's amusement, and it shouldn't take a wildlife expert to figure out that this experience can be immensely stressful for the animals involved. You can click here for some more info about the tawdry exotic-pet trade, which Hanna helps to glamorize by pimping leopards and big snakes on TV.

For future reference, Jack, exotic animals don't belong in crates any more than they belong in a TV studio, no matter how much they pay you. Here's hoping that next time you end up behind bars, it's for good.

Chrissie Hynde and PETA VP Dan Mathews

Reflecting Hynde’s commitment to animal advocacy and vegan living, VegiTerranean’s gourmet menu will include no meat or animal products. Hynde wanted Akron to be part of the national trend toward meatless dining, and at nearly every stop of her recent concert tour, she visited vegan hotspots, including Sublime in Ft. Lauderdale and Veganopolis in Portland to make sure her menu features the most delectable veggie dishes possible. The eatery will have a modern, Italian flair, and will feature three distinct areas: a coffee bar, bakery and lounge.

Of course, Hynde arrived at the ribbon cutting ceremony on the back of a Harley—and wearing a waitress uniform, just like in her "Brass in Pocket" video. Outside the restaurant she passed out hors d'oeuvres, implored the crowd to consider going vegan, and gave a speech, along with Akron mayor Donald Plusquellic and PETA’s Dan Mathews.

Here’s a great story about the whole event. Weekend road trip to Akron, anyone?

Since we began preparations to launch our new initiative to fight animal overpopulation a little while ago, I've learned an awful lot about animal breeders—who positively swarmed to my recent entry about shelter animals in order to leave lengthy comments trying to dissuade readers from adopting. These folks came from online forums with descriptions like the following: "We discuss how to fight bills or laws negatively affecting pet ownership … Federal, state, local legislation, zoning, breed bans, mandatory spay and neuter, breeder registration, breeder licensing, breeding bans, etc." It became fairly evident to me that these people are going to fight any attempts to reduce animal overpopulation at pretty much every turn, but we're more than ready to get down into the trenches, and our new Animal Birth Control (ABC) Campaign is the first step in a long-term plan to help bring an end to animal homelessness.

Putting the breeders in their place is only one part of the battle here. We need to do everything we can to encourage people to spay and neuter their pets—which means extensive education campaigns and pushing for mandatory spay/neuter legislation—and ultimately, the choice lies with the pet guardians themselves, since anyone who decides to bring an animal into their homes has the opportunity to save a life instead of funding the breeders and the pet stores, who couldn't care less that they're a huge part of the problem in the first place. You can check out our new ABC video below, and there's more info on the campaign here.

For years, singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick has worn her emotions on her sleeve, and used her music to draw attention to issues that are important to her. Well, now she’s speaking up for the millions of homeless animals killed in shelters each year in this stunning new ad promoting responsible animal guardianship. The shot may look familiar to die-hard Ferrick fans; she donated the cover of her 2006 release, In the Eyes of Strangers, for us to use in the ad.

Speaking out on important issues is nothing new for Ferrick, who is openly gay and talks about it in her songs. She burst onto the national scene after she was booked to open for longtime PETA pal Morrissey in the early '90s, and later started her own label, Right On Records. Ferrick is currently gearing up for a fall tour with alt-folk icon Ani DiFranco.