gregladen | November 24, 2016Clinton beat Trump by a large margin, by electoral standards. A couple of percent is actually a lot these days. Yet so far it appears that Trump won the electoral vote, even though those votes are not yet cast and who knows what is actually going to happen.
But this year, strange as it it and stranger thought it may become, is not the strangest ever. That goes to 1876.
Wow.
gregladen | November 23, 2016What is Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is a feast. But what is a feast? Anthropology is all about examining ourselves through the lens of other cultures. Or, at least, that's what we used to do back in the good old days. Let's have a look at this great American holiday from this perspective and see what we see.
A traditional feast in Venezuela
The enemy has arrived, in force, outside your village. The men are armed and wearing the symbols of war, which is appropriate because your group and the group milling about outside your walled settlement are at war. One of the men, wearing war garb but…
gregladen | November 23, 2016When I go to Thanksgiving, all the people there will be reasonable. Also, this will be in Minnesota where politics are not discussed. And if they are discussed, my Father-in-Law has well developed techniques to run interference, as is his responsibility as head of the hosting household. There will be chairs to get from the basement (always wait until the last second to ask Greg to help with the chairs, just in case he starts talking politics!). The dogs are trained to make a fuss when given secret hand signals. That sort of thing.
But you may not be as fortunate as I am. Perhaps you will…
gregladen | November 22, 2016Question: How do we wipe out racism by making racists not be so racist?
Answer: We don't.
We do something else that actually works.
The expanding Trump-fueled conversation about racism
It has been absolutely fascinating to observe myriad conversations reacting to the Trump electoral win. All the usual suspects are engaged, but also, many others who had previously been little involved, or not at all involved, in the national political conversation, are saying things.
And along with this has come a certain amount of method or concern questioning. I won't call it trolling because only some…
gregladen | November 21, 2016This is a bit late in the year for an Atlantic Hurricane. The season normally runs from June 1st through November 30th, but that includes a bit of buffer time.
Otto is a tropical storm that will turn into a hurricane on Wednesday, probably, and make landfal near the border of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Expect coastal flooding as well as serious inland flooding. The storm will arrive in the Pacific on Friday as a tropical depression.
Then, we'll have to see if it turns into something in the Eastern Pacific basin.
gregladen | November 20, 2016These are my suggestions, mostly books, for holiday gifts that have some sort of science relevance. See this guide for gift ideas for kids. (There is a pretty good chance that there is an idea or two in the Kids Guide for the adult in your life, depending on the adult.)
For your Uncle Bob
Get ready for your favorite science-denying uncle, whom we all know of as "Uncle Bob" (though he goes by many different names) with these two important books related to climate change.
If your Uncle Bob is an Evangelical Christian.
Or, really, any kind of Christian.
My friend Paul Douglas has co-authored…
gregladen | November 20, 2016Large hairy elephants got me into paleoanthropology, eventually.
Cohoes Mastodon Exhibit in old New York State Museum, Albany, NY.
I had a strong interest in science, and it was nurtured and expanded by my frequent visits to the New York State Museum, and there was never a doubt in anyone's mind, anywhere, that the coolest exhibit at that museum was the Cohoes Mastodon exhibit. Barbarians eventually came along and tore that exhibit down, along with all the other fantastic and traditional museum displays, when they made the new, slick, produced for consumption and not intense engagement…
gregladen | November 19, 2016I've reviewed, researched, and generally looked around for a selection of gifts that could work for kids ranging from very small to High School (and beyond!?!?) that are science oriented.
(For gifts, mainly books, for adults, see THIS.)
Coding
The best kids coding books these days are probably those that use scratch. Before suggesting a couple, though, consider, especailly for older kids (middle and high school) this fairly recent Python language book that focuses on Minecraft: Learn to Program with Minecraft: Transform Your World with the Power of PythonHERE is my review.
My favorite…
gregladen | November 18, 2016They are coming for the Muslims, and they will not stop there.
Registries exist and we have no problem with some of them. Sex offenders, known bad guys, that sort of thing. They really aren't even registries, but records governed by due process.
Then there are some others that we allow in our post 9/11 world, but that never would have been allowed in a former, less frightened, less ignorant version of our society, such as the "No Fly List." That list may actually be a good idea, but there is no known due process involved, so it ends up constituting one small step in the direction that Germany…
gregladen | November 18, 2016This is not the best possible recourse, but it might be important. The idea here is to bring the Senate within reach as a body to oppose some of Trump's worst moves, by making the 100th Senator, a seat in Louisiana for which the election has not yet been held, a Democrat instead of a Republicans.
This is within reach. Democrat Foster Campbell is a good guy. This could save some people from some awful things that may happen to them over the next four years. And, again, it is within reach.
The place to go to give Foster Campbell's campaign some money is HERE.
Here is some background…
gregladen | November 18, 2016There may be a few individuals who are not in politics who have some ethics who still call themselves Republicans. One such person, a friend of mine for whom I have great respect, sent me an email the other day apologizing. For the whole Trump and Republican thing.
But at the professional level, there isn't a single Republican out there that is unwilling to stick his slimy nose right up the ass of whichever other Republican happens to be top dog at the moment, putting their own self interest ahead of the nation, of governing, of the people, even of their own families.
As proven by events…
gregladen | November 15, 2016The Princeton Field Guide to Prehistoric Mammals ,by Donald R. Prothero, is the first extinct animal book that you, dear reader, are going to give to someone for the holidays.
This book is an interesting idea. Never mind the field guide part for a moment. This isn't really set up like a field guide, though it is produced by the excellent producers of excellent field guides at Princeton. But think about the core idea here. Take every group of mammal, typically at the level of Order (Mammal is class, there are more than two dozen living orders with about 5,000 species) and ask for each one, "…
gregladen | November 13, 2016President Elect Donald Trump is tweeting again. See above.
Phenomena is plural, phenomenon is singular.
Here, the New York Times is being chastised for not covering the "Trump Phenomenon" in a way that the president elect finds acceptable. That is bordering very closely on a violation of the first amendment.
Clearly, The Donald somehow managed to get his hands on his twitter account again. His handlers need to tighten up security in that area.
Here is a link to the tweet:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/797805407179866112
gregladen | November 12, 2016OK, lets start out with the assumption that it does not matter who you or anyone else supported in the last election or what your politics are. If it happens, hypothetically, to be the case that a vulnerable person feels threatened by some sort of bully, wouldn't you like that vulnerable person to know that you are an upstanding citizen of good character who is willing to stand up for that person? This is especially true if you are a teacher, or you work in a retail business, or any place where there might be bullies and victims.
One way to convey your willingness to stand up against…
gregladen | November 11, 2016I just received two books that I will be reviewing in more detail later, but wanted to let you know about now.
Coding Projects in Scratch: A step by step guide by DK Publishers is a new scratch coding book. I got a copy a couple of days ago and have been going through it, and found it to be excellent. I'll be including it in my Science Oriented Holiday Shopping Guide for Kids Stuff, which I'll have out soon, but I wanted to give you a heads up first. From the publishers:
Using fun graphics and easy-to-follow instructions, Coding Projects in Scratch is a straightforward, visual guide that…
gregladen | November 11, 2016Look
In case the point is not clear, read:
Trump’s anti-Semitism, racism, sexism, was not so genuine or violent as it sounded, and he was merely using this language as bait to catch masses of followers, and keep them aroused, enthusiastic, and in line for the time when his organization is ready to make a political move.
A sophisticated commenter credited Trump with peculiar political cleverness for laying emphasis and over-emphasis on racist and sexist rhetoric, saying “You can’t expect the masses to understand or appreciate your finer real aims. You must feed the masses with cruder morsels…
gregladen | November 11, 2016I thought you should see this, copied from here.
Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid released the following statement about the election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States:
“I have personally been on the ballot in Nevada for 26 elections and I have never seen anything like the reaction to the election completed last Tuesday. The election of Donald Trump has emboldened the forces of hate and bigotry in America.
“White nationalists, Vladimir Putin and ISIS are celebrating Donald Trump’s victory, while innocent, law-abiding Americans are wracked with fear –…
gregladen | November 11, 2016Remember the Dump Nixon movement?
Well, now we have the Dump Trump movenet. Same idea, but it rhyme better!
I have assembled a handful of suggestions for your body, your car, your doorway.
The Dump Trump Hat Anti-Trump Navy Blue also comes in a "Fuck Trump" version and is very reasonably priced. I've already ordered mine.
This second one is cheaper: Dump Trump- Navy Blue Hat/Cap- Low Profile- Adjustable 100% Cotton.
I'm actually worried that I'll wear out my Dump Trump hat, so I'll probably order one of these too just in case.
Here is a Dump Trump Tee Shirt:
Dump Trump T-Shirt-Funny…
gregladen | November 11, 2016Secretary Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. The way the current Electoral College works, Trump won the Electoral Vote.
However, from the point of view of Federal Law, he didn't win anything yet. The Electors who gather in each state, with each state's Secretary of State, to vote on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December are not bound by Federal rule to vote for Trump. They could cast their vote for Clinton.
Those organizing protests may want to consider having some of those protests at the Secretary of State's office, with the idea of having a very large protest on the…
gregladen | November 10, 2016Donald Trump is the president elect of the United States. Why?
Trump did not win because he is widely liked. He is NOT widely liked.
A very small number of Americans voted for Trump, and this number was magnified by the conservative-state-favoring electoral college, and most of those who did not vote for him not only don’t prefer him, but find him truly abhorrent. During the campaign, and over his 70 year long life, Donald trump has done or said myriad things each of which is fully disqualifying to be a candidate for president. These deplorable things are, of course, the reason he won this…