So today on my lunch hour I was walking through Dupont Circle. It was a cold day and we've had our first snow of the year. More like slush, actually. But anyway, in front of the CVS were five topless gals, each covered head to toe in a single color of body paint, with a matching wig, so the five of them made a sort of rainbow. They were demonstrating for PETA! The first one I've actually seen, though I've read about various staged PETA actions in the media. In front of themselves they held a sign that said something about how Mars Candy abuses animals. (You can Google it for the details...basically more awful animal testing).

Being a well-conditioned city dweller, I was opening my purse all ready to give them money -- but there was no bucket or other way to do so. (The homeless guy nearby was bumming out because they were getting all the attention from passersby). I gave them the thumbs-up and said I hoped they would be able to get warm soon. One of them gave a great response, right on message: she said "Well, we have a choice to be here doing this. This discomfort is nothing compared to what the animals experience, and they don't have a choice."

I thought that was really cool.