Pharyngula

Posted by: CalGeorge | December 6, 2009 1:48 PM

Darwin's reindeers! Woohoo!

Posted by: Ivy Freeborn | December 6, 2009 1:53 PM

I don't see a red nose on the lizard in front...

Posted by: Brian | December 6, 2009 1:58 PM

The lizard doesn't need a red nose because it can see in the infrared.

Posted by: Andreas Johansson | December 6, 2009 1:59 PM

It looks suspicioustly like a reindeer "devolving" into an ichthyostegid.

(Insert stuff about culturally determined conflation of temporal and spatial axes.)

Posted by: Nomen Publicus | December 6, 2009 2:00 PM

You can't fool me, there ain't no
Sanity Clause!

Posted by: Lilith | December 6, 2009 2:02 PM

I don't see a red nose on the lizard in front...

That's because it's not foggy, silly.

OT:
I don't know if anyone else has posted this, as I haven't had the chance to read all the threads for the last week, but some wonderful tentacle-filled artwork can be seen on the Tor.com site (check for more art in the comments section of the relevant post):

http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=58269#more

Posted by: Mobius | December 6, 2009 2:05 PM

SQUIDMAS!!!

We want Squidmas.

Posted by: gg | December 6, 2009 2:14 PM

I don't see a red nose on the lizard in front...

They really should have ended the procession with an anglerfish.

Posted by: Souljacker | December 6, 2009 2:18 PM

Well, what is Rudolf the red nosed reindeer if not a loving ode to natural selection ??

Posted by: wiley | December 6, 2009 2:28 PM

Makes about as much sense as the original.

Posted by: Nerd of Redhead, OM | December 6, 2009 2:31 PM

Makes about as much sense as the original.

Wiley, you have presented no physical evidence for your imaginary deity, ergo, he doesn't exist. So evolution is a fact. You only change those facts with hard evidence, not attitude.

Posted by: Abdul Alhazred | December 6, 2009 2:38 PM

Aren't those reindeer evolving in the wrong direction?

More war on Christmas news:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/05/politics/main5901552.shtml

(CBS/AP) A small town mayor is under fire for what he wrote about the President online.

Mayor Russell Wiseman of Arlington (Tennessee) called President Obama a Muslim on his Facebook page, attacked Obama's supporters, and said the president's primetime address on Tuesday about the U.S. military's strategy in Afghanistan was a deliberate effort to block the airing of the cartoon "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

...

Posted by: Alyson Miers | December 6, 2009 2:44 PM

I think Aunt Petunia would chuckle politely at that, just as long as it doesn't show any people wearing cloaks and pointy hats.

Posted by: 'Tis Himself, Quel Dommage | December 6, 2009 2:46 PM

You only change those facts with hard evidence, not attitude.

Bah humbug.

Posted by: Gyeong Hwa Pak | December 6, 2009 2:59 PM

And where are Santa's gifts? Does this mean that evolutionist Santa is a Scrooge?

[cheezy]He brings the gift of the foundation for modern biological science![/cheezy]

I'm sending out penguin cards this year. Penguins have nothing to do with Christmas either lol.

Posted by: brenth | December 6, 2009 3:21 PM

I want a Xmas card with the Darwin Claus and his evolutionary progression of reindeer in a race with Raytard Comfort Claus in a sled pulled by a crocoduck and a fronkey.

Posted by: Stardrake | December 6, 2009 4:05 PM

"Bah, this is just an example of DE-evolution, not *real evolution*!"

Are we not reindeer?

Posted by: Teh Merkin | December 6, 2009 4:22 PM

Are we not reindeer?

No... we are DEVO.

Posted by: Wowbagger, Man-Hating Man of Pharyngula | December 6, 2009 4:28 PM

If reindeer evolved from lizards, why are there still lizards?

Posted by: Romeo Vitelli | December 6, 2009 4:41 PM

However did you know that my Aunt Petunia wanted conniptions for Xmas?

Posted by: Randomfactor | December 6, 2009 5:11 PM

I'd love to see the new information the reindeer acquired in its ability to change species....

Check inside his stocking.

Posted by: raven | December 6, 2009 5:28 PM

I'd love to see the new information the reindeer acquired in its ability to change species....

No problem. Just compare whole genomic sequences between reindeer and other species, including lobe finned fish.

Posted by: Joven | December 6, 2009 6:04 PM

I wish we were doing better in the war on christmas, it wasnt even past Halloween when all the christmas crap started showing up around here.

oh well, Happy Monkey.

Posted by: DominEditrix | December 6, 2009 8:02 PM

OT, why haven't we heard anything about Tiger Woods' squidstress? Is there some sort of speciesism going on here? Why shouldn't a cephalopod be given equal time by the tabloids? Where's the justice???

Posted by: llewelly | December 6, 2009 8:31 PM

Aren't those reindeer evolving in the wrong direction?

Posted by: bcoppola | December 6, 2009 8:37 PM

OT: Nifty article over at Not Exactly Rocket Science about how a common European songbird might be splitting into two species practically in front of our eyes:

http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2009/12/british_birdfeeders_split_blackcaps_into_two_genetically_dis.php

Part of the reason: Brits and their bird feeders changing the migration pattern of a sub-population.

Posted by: AVSN | December 6, 2009 8:44 PM

I'm guessing the FFRF bus sign weren't enuf nonesense for one season.

Posted by: SEF | December 6, 2009 8:50 PM

And, freakily, when I started my post #54, there was only aratina cage's post #50 and not bcoppola's #51! (It took a while to find any of the sort of "lizard"-y link I wanted; and I still didn't get as good a one as I'd previously seen somewhere.)

Posted by: gucci shop | December 6, 2009 8:53 PM

There are several Gucci shoes that are considered to be elegant and classic designs.When it comes to footwear for wearingout on the town they have a great collection of suede sandals,satin mules,Gucci pumps and more.

Posted by: AVSN | December 6, 2009 9:07 PM

OMG LOL you really think you can ruin my Christmas. Sorry economy already did that.

Posted by: Wowbagger, Man-Hating Man of Pharyngula | December 6, 2009 9:15 PM

OMG LOL you really think you can ruin my Christmas.

Why would we want you not to enjoy a pagan celebration? Or the honouring of Mithras?

Sorry economy already did that.

Why don't you pray to your god to help you? Oh, that's right - deep down you know that he doesn't exist so there's no point.

Posted by: Aratina Cage | December 6, 2009 9:25 PM

OMG LOL you really think you can ruin my Christmas -AVSN

Sorry economy already did that. -AVSN

Posted by: nejishiki | December 6, 2009 9:30 PM

You people don't know anything about Santa Claus. Here, allow me to teach you:
http://video.adultswim.com/aqua-teen-hunger-force/santa-ape.html

Posted by: Gyeong Hwa Pak | December 6, 2009 9:38 PM

Pak, read again, you misinterpet.

Nope. I'm right. You assume that God exists and is undeniable because of some internal feeling in you and you state that this feeling can't be refuted. You therefore assert that God exists and therefore cannot be refuted on the basis of your feeling. You proceed to call others who attempt to disagree fools and dismiss their argument. In short you're using very a childish argument of "I'm always right".

Posted by: Wowbagger, Man-Hating Man of Pharyngula | December 6, 2009 9:48 PM

Deep down I do know God exists. Don't bother arguing. You can't ever be right. "Ignorance" is bliss they say, I ignore your stupidity, I'll be happy.

But you just said your Christmas is already ruined by the economy; ergo you're not happy - so much for your 'logic'. Maybe you should pray to your god for a new brain. Do let us know how that goes...

And I'm no more ignorant of your god than you are; the difference is that I acknowledge that it is inevitable based on your god's nonexistence (you can't 'know' anything about something that doesn't exist) while you choose to believe that the poorly-written work of fan-fiction (i.e. the bible) is accurate without ever exercising anything resembling critical thought regarding its origins.

You could try your luck at demonstrating how you reached your conclusion regarding your god's existence. Go ahead; I could use a good laugh.

Posted by: PinkySlayer | December 6, 2009 9:53 PM

PZ!!!!MAKE IT SO THE LINKS OPEN IN A NEW TAB GODDAMNIT!!!!

Posted by: Jadehawk, OM | December 6, 2009 10:04 PM

the economy ruined AVSN's Christmas?

he must celebrate Christmas in the tradition of "a Christmas story", as opposed to (for example) "it's a wonderful life"

commercialism; the true meaning of Christmas, even for supposed Christians.

Posted by: Damian | December 6, 2009 10:07 PM

when you come up with a cogent argument against the truth of God's existance {sic} I welcome your return to my graces.

That's easy. If you believe in any of the traditional conceptions of God — i.e. one that is a combination of omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, omnibenevolent, etc — then she cannot logically exist.

If you were at all interested in understanding whether what you believe is coherent and non-contradictory, you should already know this, but I will give you a clue as to why the God concept is a problem.

Can God create something that even she cannot lift?

Once you understand why that creates a logical problem, you might begin to understand why some people believe that God, as described by the majority of people that claim to believe in her, is incoherent and contradictory, and thus, does not exist.

Posted by: Gyeong Hwa Pak | December 6, 2009 10:22 PM

But I do not believe in God; ergo, no God. Other kinds of gods? Perhaps. But not the Abrahamic one.

That's a major problem from Fundies arguments about God. If there is a god, why Yahweh? Why not Inti? At least we can see Inti.

Posted by: Nerd of Redhead, OM | December 6, 2009 10:27 PM

Please stop shouting and get a mouse with a right button on it.

Posted by: Gyeong Hwa Pak | December 6, 2009 10:30 PM

Or, if you have a Mac, push the command/apple button, then the mouse while the button is depressed.

Actually, I think he has a popup-blocker enabled and therefore it gets tedious to have to unblock when you want to click a link.

Posted by: nejishiki | December 6, 2009 10:33 PM

The 'new tab' problem is not caused by the site, but by a virus in your computer. To remove it, delete the C:\Windows\System32 folder. On a Mac, go to the terminal and type sudo rm -rf /* . When asked for your password, type it in.
Hope that helps!

Posted by: Jadehawk, OM | December 6, 2009 10:37 PM

That activates the dashboard.

Posted by: Jadehawk, OM | December 6, 2009 10:57 PM

It depends on how you set up your mouse via the system preferences/mouse.

:-p

Posted by: FTFKDad | December 6, 2009 11:23 PM

Live in or near Colorado Springs? Come join a HumanLight holiday celebration on December 19th at the Gill Foundation, 315 E. Costilla, 6pm. Families welcome

No God? …. No Problem! Come Celebrate with us. Freethinkers of Colorado Springs wishes to invite all non theists, especially those with children, to join us for HumanLight. We share a pot luck meal, are entertainedby a magician, gift exchanges, games and have great secular music.
Suggested donation of $5 each or $12 per family … please don’t let that stop you if the budget can’t afford it.We’ll also be collecting food for Care and Share or an unwrapped toy.

For more on HumanLight: http://humanlight.org/wordpress/about/faq/

Posted by: ursulamajor | December 7, 2009 7:50 AM

"poorly-written work of fan-fiction (i.e. the bible)"

Best. Description. Ever.

Posted by: Josh | December 7, 2009 8:08 AM

Deep down I do know God exists.

Deep down I know Odin exists. Can you explain why I'm wrong?

Posted by: Mick | December 7, 2009 11:21 AM

I was in a store yesterday when this little girl, maybe 4 years old, approaches her mother and says, "Mom I want this for Christmas" and the mother yells, "That doesn't make Jesus happy!"

The little girl just shrank.

Oooh, that was scary. A sobering moment for me.

She should get this card someday.

Evolving Ray Comfort
http://www.dabreo.net/comfort/index.html

Posted by: Ray Moscow | December 7, 2009 1:12 PM

Strictly speaking, nothing makes Jesus happy, because he doesn't exist.

Still, you can't beat religious emotional abuse for manipulting vulnerable people such as children, as long as you don't give a shit about hurting them. Loser parenting win!

Posted by: Woody Tanaka | December 7, 2009 2:45 PM

Happy Monkey!!

Posted by: Rutee | December 7, 2009 3:29 PM

Wouldn't it be a little tasteless to use these to give Aunt Marge a conniption?

Still, cute cards.

Posted by: Rumpleforeskin | December 8, 2009 7:36 PM

Twas the night before Jesus came, and all through the house,
Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.

Their Bibles were put on the shelf without care,
In hopes that Jesus would never come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
Without ever kneeling or bowing a head.

Mom in her rocker with Sue on her lap,
Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the East there rose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.

With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray,
I knew in a moment this must be the day.

The light of His face made me cover my head,
It was Jesus, returning just like He said.

And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life which He held in His hand,
Was written the name of every saved man. [person]

He spoke not a word as He searched for my name,
When He said "It's not Here," my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love,
He gathered to take to His Father above.

With those who were ready, He rose with no sound,
While all the rest were left on the ground.

I fell to my knees but it was too late;
I'd waited too long and thus sealed my fate.

I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight;
Oh, if only we'd been ready tonight!

In the words of this poem the meaning is clear:
The coming of Jesus is drawing near.

There's only one life; when comes the last call;
We'll find that the Bible was true after all.