May 11, 2010
Pope Benedict XVI has made the statement that the outrage and calls for action from outside the over the sexual abuse of children within the church is a for of "persecution of the Church." He further stated that the cause of that widespread sexual abuse of children that has been documented within…
May 11, 2010
When I was a kid, everyone in my neighborhood was divided into categories along three dimensions. There were color differences (light vs. dark hair and skin), there was the Catholic vs. Protestant divide, and there was the binary distinction of whether or not your dad served in World War II. In…
May 11, 2010
Criticizing an event in progress is often futile, both because it's frequently difficult to stop or redirect a process in motion and because ongoing events will distract from your message.
Wait, is this about boobquake?
May 10, 2010
... None of us want to think that criticism is actually about our behavior. It's much, much easier to dismiss it as the product of someone else's biased thinking. It's much easier to say, "This isn't about what I do, because no matter what I do, this person is not going to like it or me." ...
More…
May 10, 2010
The social transaction here is a major theme of both Dragnet and Adam-12, and one that would later be developed in new directions by TV shows like COPS.
.... Read on
May 10, 2010
You know I'm reviewing my QM blogging. Time for some rants.
The Black Forest Inn: Anarchists 2; Scientists 1
In the email, she had asked for my time. She wanted to talk to me about a strategy for finishing her degree in anthropology, and she wanted to know whether there was some research that…
May 10, 2010
Rachel Maddow suggests this as the Must Read document for the impending confirmation process.
May 10, 2010
How do you build up a movement with destructive criticism?
...
Yeah, that's what I thought. But that doesn't stop the makers of sites like You're Not Helping from going flat-out negative, even when they're offering "praise."
Read the beginning of what looks like a series of posts on how to be…
May 9, 2010
Barack Obama will nominate Solicitor-General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, US media reports say.
The White House has not yet commented, but Mr Obama is scheduled to announce his choice at 1000 (1400 GMT).
If confirmed, she would be the youngest member and the third woman on the court as well as…
May 9, 2010
In the continuing series recycling highlighting selected posts from the Quiche Moraine Blog, may I recommend a bite to eat ....
I've written a handful of social commentaries thinly disguised as restaurant reviews. Here's two of them:
Strong Ideas and Exclusionary Thinking: Obama, Palin and Greek…
May 8, 2010
Sort of.
The Quiche Moraine Blog has been a success in a number of ways. We have a community, though it is small. We have a voice, though it is subtle. And, we have simply done a good deal of pretty good writing on it. And now, as we approach our 2,000th comment, I thought it would be…
May 8, 2010
... in Edina.
Science vs. Religion: How Faith Makes Us Wrong
On Sunday, May 16th, Minnesota Atheists will host a presentation by Dr. P.Z. Myers. Myers is a biologist, associate professor at U of M Morris and webmaster of the popular site Pharyngula. His discussion will feature three examples -…
May 7, 2010
A new show called "JC" is planned for Comedy Central. The details of the show indicate that it has potential to be rather funny. But what is even funnier is watching the Catholic League trying to figure out exactly how to be mad at Comedy Central.
"It's not certain what is more despicable: the…
May 7, 2010
I have now been out for two drives in a row during which I did NOT see a bald eagle. Until now, almost every drive I've been on this year had yielded at least one. But, there is always something: last night a big red tail and the other day the usual egrets and an urban vulture.
But I would have…
May 7, 2010
Such are the words uttered by a young physical anthropologist in response to Sir Edmund Hillary's request that he join the search for Yeti on the fridgid snow clad slopes of Mount Everest.
Or so I'm told.
Although I've hardly ever blogged about it, I am keenly interested in the topic of…
May 7, 2010
Yet another foray into the mind-bending world of 1960s TV....
May 6, 2010
As you may have noticed, I've been blogging less than usual these last few days. Usually, when that happens, you can expect one of my chatty "What I had for breakfast/lunch/dinner" posts, which serve as the blogger's equivalent of the contact call of the black-capped chickadee. In this case,…
May 6, 2010
There is good reason that many of us would like to see religion gone, and it is religion itself, not the people who are religious, that we want to see wither and die.
Read more
May 5, 2010
The police officers are pleased and amused by the situation, which gives the young viewers an indication of what it looks like when all is well that ends well.
Another in the "How we got this way" series.
May 4, 2010
Remember the excitement when ER was first aired? In those days, a prime time hospital show was a fresh, new, wonderful idea and we all loved it. Then, St. Elsewhere, and that was OK. Then a lot more followed, and the market became saturated and annoying.
But now, there's something new. Not…
May 4, 2010
And now, the signature of the fifth dimension:
May 4, 2010
Convergence is an annual science fiction and fantasy convention that is held over July 4th weekend in Minneapolis. The Skepchicks organize a "track" at Convergence called SkepchiCON, which is a series of discussions about skepticism and stuff. At the risk of getting into all sorts of trouble, I'm…
May 3, 2010
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and other TV shows like it helped young Americans learn what and who to be be afraid of, and most importantly, what our enemies looked like....
Read on
May 3, 2010
Are now available:
1
Wired Science - Wired Blog
2
Watts Up With That?
3
Climate Progress
4
RealClimate
5
Bad Astronomy
6
Next Generation Science
7
Climate Audit
8
Respectful Insolence
9
Pharyngula
10
The Frontal Cortex
11
Dispatches from the Culture Wars
12
Deltoid
13…
May 3, 2010
After years of inattention, in the past month, the mainstream media has suddenly turned its eye toward black women. And the resulting coverage, filtered through a pretty jaundiced lens, is enough to make me wish the world had never "discovered" us. Here are the messages we've heard: 1). Men don't…
May 3, 2010
... like, twenty years ago ...
Back in 1989, Dr. Genie Scott and other scientists staged a mock debate between evolution and creationism. Where: San Diego meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologst. When: 4/6/1989
May 3, 2010
Michele Bachmann might be the stupidest person who can still breathe.
Do you know what net neutrality is? It is...
...a principle proposed for user access networks participating in the Internet that advocates no restrictions by Internet Service Providers or governments on content, sites, or…
