Die Trekkies, Die!
And then, George Lucas came along to destroy the Death Star by shooting torpedoes made of unnecessary back stories down the exhaust port (Patton Oswalt alert!)
Astronomically Insignificant
The earth and the sun compared to several other celestial bodies; how insignificant we are (insert sigh of awe). I don’t know the original source of this file but I believe it is OS from NASA. Larger (readable) version can be found here.
Book Review: Your Inner Fish
You know the joke about the lawyers and the sharks? Well, after reading Your Inner Fish, you will have to modify the punch line to “we are all sharks”. Continue reading this post»
Childhood Origins of Resistance to Evolution
This is an old, unpolished file I dragged up from my folder filled with notes and clutter. Come back daily till the 12th of February for the Darwin Day advent posts and links!
In a 2002-2003 study about a third of American adults indicated that evolution is “absolutely false” (Miller et al. 2006). Disturbing as these results might be, the origin of this misconception concerning life’s humble origins lies not solely with, as one might expect, religious fundamentalism or plain ignorance. Continue reading this post»
I Just Lost The Game Again
It might be predetermination or just coincidence, but for some reason The Game pops up frequently for the last few weeks. So, I am loosing The Game all the time. What is this game?
It’s a simple game, and, unbeknownst to you, you are already playing it! The Game has only three rules: (1) you are playing The Game, (2) whenever you think about The Game, you lose, and (3) loss must be announced. You can announce your loss on The Game’s website (I don’t).
Yes, I just made you lose The Game! You loser!
Book Review: The Age of American Unreason
True! American intellectual culture is even more depleted than the elusive, Iraqi uranium stockpiles that apparently have been depleted into non-existence. Susan Jacoby makes that point come across clearly and quite eloquently. Filled with interesting details and plenty of harsh criticism, Jacoby has written an interesting tome on, among other things, why Americans are so obsessed with folksy people (George W. Bush, anyone?), and why so many Americans fear “intellectual elitists” (Obama, anyone?). Continue reading this post»
Aside & Bitesized
for Coraline (the film — in 3D) because it is just stunningly gorgeous!
Dear Music Industry, please stop hurting your own sales by fighting “pirates”.
For people wondering why I don’t go out to St. Mary Street, take a look at these photos. After many months, these snapshots are creating a political storm, too.
Is this a case of W. W. J. D.? Pastor found doing the immoral-atheist-killing-neighbours routine on a bunch of forums. Whatever happened to thou shalt not bear false witness?
Christopher Hitchens chips in on the recent UN anti-blasphemy resolution.
Watchmen… but read the graphic novel prior to seeing the film, otherwise you might not enjoy the visual spectacle as much as I did.
It seems that my native land is receiving some well-deserved attention from the always compassionate and meek Phelps Family! Hooray!
Saudi Arabia, pearl of True Islam™ where it is nigh impossible for women to buy undergarments. Allah doesn’t like under-thingies.
Nigerian police arrested an armed robber, who happened to transform into a goat!
31 Days to Darwin Day… Doonesbury, comic, here.
32 Days to Darwin Day… and here is a great collection of easy to understand resources on evolution, from Berkeley University.
33 Days to Darwin Day… and here are some more of those “evolution textbook” (and other) disclaimer stickers for you to chuckle over.
34 Days to Darwin Day… and I bring you my book review of Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin.
35 Days to Darwin Day… and here’s Darwin’s dangerous idea: Top 10 evolution articles at New Scientist.
36 Days to Darwin Day… and here are a bunch of long, interesting lectures on Darwin’s legacy.
37 Days to Darwin Day… and in an ideal world, when ignoramuses show up, this should be all we need to say.
38 Days to Darwin Day… and here’s a New Orleans style human evolution shirt from Dirty Coast.
39 Days to Darwin Day… and here’s episode 1 of PBS’s series on Evolution: Darwin’s Dangerous Idea, part 1 and part 2.
40 Days to Darwin Day… and evolutionists flock to a Darwin apparition in the form of a wall stain. “[P]ilgrims claim the image fills them with an overwhelming feeling of logic.”
41 Days to Darwin Day… Fold your own paper Carl Sagan, Albert Einstein, or Charled Darwin, including the iconic beard.