grrlscientist | May 26, 2010tags: Dickcissel, Townsend's Sparrow, Townsend's Bunting, Spiza americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Dickcissel, occasionally (at least historically) known as Townsend's Bunting or Townsend's Sparrow, Spiza americana, photographed at Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 26 April 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to…
grrlscientist | May 26, 2010tags: Stevie the Professional Regurgitator, jobs, hobbies, passtimes, offbeat, strange, funny, people, The Tonight Show, streaming video
This man makes a living by swallowing strange objects, like light bulbs, and then vomiting them back up. I think at least a few of these stunts are illusions -- how did he do the sugar trick, for example? -- while other stunts (the fish trick) are really just gross.
Okay, how the heck did he do the sugar trick? And the fish trick? [and tell me, what does HSUS say about this fish trick?? or are they too busy writing legislation to outlaw people's pets to…
grrlscientist | May 25, 2010tags: This Man and His Marbles Are Rarely Parted, marble racing, hobbies, passtimes, offbeat, strange, funny, people, Belgian Television News, streaming video
This Belgian Television News video documents a man whom some of you might think is very strange. I don't think he's strange, though. Of course, I am probably telling you too much about myself, but I did this, too! Like this guy, I had a collection of hundreds of marbles that I'd race for hours at a time through intricate obstacle courses that I had constructed. I not only recognized each individual marble, but yes, I named each one, too…
grrlscientist | May 25, 2010
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
The next edition of Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) will publish Monday and as usual, it is seeking submissions and hosts! Can you help by sending URLs for your own or others' well-written science, medicine, and nature blog essays to me or by volunteering to host this carnival on your blog?
Scientia Pro Publica is a traveling blog carnival that celebrates the best science, environment, nature and medical writing that has been published in the…
grrlscientist | May 25, 2010tags: molluscs, Spondylus Imperialis Oyster, travel, Luonnontieteellinen keskusmuseo, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day, photography
Spondylus Imperialis Oyster?
Photographed in the Luonnontieteellinen keskusmuseo, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 18 May 2010 [larger view]
Canon SX100 IS.
grrlscientist | May 25, 2010tags: House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus, photographed in a backyard in Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 28 March 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This species has an interesting feature that provides insight into its life history -- can you tell me what that feature is and what it reveals about this…
grrlscientist | May 25, 2010tags: Bill Murray, Poets House, NYC, NYC Life, Construction Workers, employment, I dwell in Possibility, Gathering Paradise, poem, poetry, poetry reading, Emily Dickinson, streaming video
This is a beautiful video, showing the construction of NYC's Poets House, along with a reading of several poems, including Emily Dickinson's lovely poem, "I dwell in Possibility," by actor Bill Murray, and ending with a short segment where some of the guys introduce themselves. This poetry reading was the first to take place at the Poets House new home. It's really fitting that those who constructed the…
grrlscientist | May 24, 2010tags: Obama Gets Applause at West Point, Fox Erases It?, Fox News, right-wing propaganda, news media, politics, President Obama, West Point Academy, graduation speech, streaming video
President Obama addressed the graduates at West Point Academy on Saturday, saying, "Adversaries want to divide us, but we are united by our support for you -- soldiers who send a clear message that this country is both the land of the free and the home of the brave." His comments about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the threats of terrorism received applause from the graduates, but Fox News apparently didn…
grrlscientist | May 24, 2010tags: flowers, Purppura Päivänkakkaraa, travel, Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day, photography
Vaaleanpunainen Päivänkakkara.
Photographed in the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 18 May 2010 [larger view]
Canon SX100 IS.
Here's a silly thing that you might enjoy. When naming this image, I used Google translate to check my Finnish because, well, we all know why. Anyway, I found something weird (you can check this for yourself if you are so ambitious):
English
Finnish
purple…
grrlscientist | May 24, 2010tags: Blue Grosbeak, Passerina caerulea, Guiraca caerulea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Female Blue Grosbeak, Passerina (Guiraca) caerulea, photographed at Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary, Brazoria County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] [For your reference, here's a male of the species in breeding plumage]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 April 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery…
grrlscientist | May 24, 2010tags: The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies, feminism, film, movies, entertainment industry, pop culture, cultural observation, Bechdel Test, Allison Bechdel, streaming video
The Bechdel Test is a simple way to gauge the active presence of female characters in Hollywood films and just how well rounded and complete those roles are. It was created by Allison Bechdel in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For in 1985. It is astonishing the number of popular movies that can't pass this simple test. It demonstrates how little women's complex and interesting lives are underrepresented or non existent…
grrlscientist | May 23, 2010tags: Shuttle Launch Preparation Choreographed Like Ballet, Space Shuttle, space exploration, space flight, NASA, Scott Andrews, Stan Jirman, Philip Scott Andrews, photography, time-lapse video, streaming video
This video is simply stunning and the photography is masterful. In this video, we are looking at time-lapse photographs by photographers Scott Andrews, Stan Jirman and Philip Scott Andrews, who decided to demonstrate the process of launching a shuttle in a new and innovative way. Using time-lapse photography, they turned the 6 week process of prepping a shuttle into this gorgeous four…
grrlscientist | May 23, 2010tags: flowers, Vaaleanpunainen Päivänkakkara, travel, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day, photography
Vaaleanpunainen Päivänkakkara.
Photographed in the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 18 May 2010 [larger view]
Canon SX100 IS.
grrlscientist | May 23, 2010tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
~ Arnold Lobel [1933-1987] author of many popular children's books.
The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that currently are, or soon will be available for purchase. This report is written by one of my Seattle birding pals and book collector, Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, and is edited…
grrlscientist | May 23, 2010tags: Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda rothschildi, photographed on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Midway Island, Hawai'i [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joe Fuhrman, March 2010. I encourage you to purchase images from this professional photographer.
NOTE: Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 23, 2010tags: animal adoption, pets, birds, parrots, Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
Image: orphaned (like the birds).
For the last five years or more, the San Francisco peninsula parrot rescue organization, Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue, has been taking in injured or sick members of the wild Telegraph Hill parrot flock and finding homes for them. At this time, Mickaboo is overwhelmed with wild parrots. Jennifer Erlichman, the wild parrot rescue coordinator for Mickaboo is seeking homes for these birds -- I believe, but don't know for sure, that she wants these birds to go to homes that are…
grrlscientist | May 23, 2010tags: Scientology, SeaOrg, cults, religion, mind control, offbeat, weird, L Ron Hubbard, A Look at Scientology's Secret Base, Twin Peaks, AnonOrange, Angry Gay Pope, streaming video
The Twin Peaks base houses a vault full of Scientology's precious scripture. It's also a place to hide if WWIII breaks out. And it's a place where celebrities can come and escape. But judging by all the high fences and UltraBarrier, it's also a prison camp. Protesters AnonOrange and the Angry Gay Pope pay them a visit, seeking missing cultists Shelly Miscavige and Heber Jentz. Instead, they meet cultists Sarah…
grrlscientist | May 22, 2010tags: Scientology, SeaOrg, cults, religion, mind control, offbeat, weird, L Ron Hubbard, Scarlett Hanna, Australian Broadcasting Company, streaming video
Scarlett Hanna, the daughter of the president of the Church of Scientology in Australia, speaks out against the organization in this eye-opening interview with the Australian Broadcasting Company.
grrlscientist | May 22, 2010tags: nature, Keväällä Suomenlinnassa, travel, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day, photography
Keväällä Suomenlinnassa.
Photographed on the island of Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 20 May 2010 [larger view]
Canon SX100 IS.
This is one of the last photographs I snapped in Helsinki -- I chose to spend my last day in Finland on the historical island fortress of Suomenlinna (which is one of my favorite places to go and to photograph). One of my goals is to return to Helsinki and to stay in a hotel on the island of Suomenlinna (preferably in winter)…
grrlscientist | May 22, 2010tags: Kori Bustard, Ardeotis kori, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Kori Bustard, Ardeotis kori, photographed in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 15 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, ISO 400, 1/2000 sec, f/8. Exp Comp -1.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This African mystery bird is quite remarkable: if you can identify this recognizable species, then you'll also be able to tell me why this bird is so remarkable. I'm also wondering if it's possible…