grrlscientist | March 17, 2009tags: St Patrick's Day, humor, holidays, streaming video
Okay, so today's the Big Day and as you might know, Americans like any excuse to drink to excess, even if that means we have to import and celebrate holidays from other countries. So, if you are American, here's a little video guide for how to celebrate St. Paddy's Day like the Irish do [2:46]
grrlscientist | March 16, 2009tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Oculus, #10 (1998).
Stone mosaic on walls throughout Chambers Street station complex (A, C & E trains); also, there is a stone and glass floor mosaic at Park Place entrance, which connects to this station via a tunnel.
Artists: Andrew Ginzel & Kristin Jones.
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 January 2009 [larger view].
Oculus is located in passageways under the World Trade Center and was largely untouched by the events of 9/11. Oculus will also be…
grrlscientist | March 16, 2009Here's the latest carnivalia for you to enjoy;
Did you know that there are a LOT of people out there who really love books? Well, if you didn't, a look through the latest Book Review blog carnival should be proof enough of the public's passion for all types of literature.
grrlscientist | March 16, 2009tags: fortress wall, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Linnan Muuri.
Photographed at Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day).
This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | March 16, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Wren (known as the "Winter Wren" in the United States), Troglodytes troglodytes, photographed near the Bridge of Orchy, Scotland.
Image: Dave Rintoul, Summer 2008. [larger view].
Birds in Science and Technology
What happens when the demand for suitable nesting sites exceeds the availability? The law of demand and supply also applies in nature, and the consequences of enhanced competition for limited nesting sites can have far-reaching effects. Which individuals will prevail? And what happens to the unsuccessful…
grrlscientist | March 16, 2009tags: Cave Swallow, Petrochelidon fulva, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Cave Swallow, Petrochelidon fulva, photographed at the Water Ranch in Gilbert, Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 18 February 2008 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 16, 2009
Talitiainen (Great Tit), Parus major.
Photographed in Hietaniemen hautausmaa (Hietaniemi cemetery), Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 November 2008 [larger view].
Here's my list of birds seen in the Helsinki area of Finland during my two visits. Even though I only visited for 8 days in November 2008, I actually went out on a birding trip with several grad students from the University of Helsinki, while I only once went birding during my much longer February/March 2009 visit -- to see the Eagle-owls that are nesting on the Lutheran Church (name?) in downtown Helsinki.
Helsinki…
grrlscientist | March 16, 2009tags: windmills, windpower, bird-friendly windpower, conservation, environment, streaming video
Here's an intriguing video describing affordable and bird-friendly windmills that are competitive with more traditional windmills, and are designed to be used in urban and suburban areas as well as out in the countryside [2:02]
grrlscientist | March 15, 2009tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Oculus, #9 (1998).
Stone mosaic on walls throughout Chambers Street station complex (A, C & E trains); also, there is a stone and glass floor mosaic at Park Place entrance, which connects to this station via a tunnel.
Artists: Andrew Ginzel & Kristin Jones.
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 January 2009 [larger view].
Oculus is located in passageways under the World Trade Center and was largely untouched by the events of 9/11. Oculus will also be…
grrlscientist | March 15, 2009tags: god of the forests, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Tapio.
The god of the forest, sometimes depicted as a fierce creature, part human and part tree, in Finnish mythology
Photographed at Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day).
This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | March 15, 2009tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
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 by me and published here for your information and enjoyment. Below the fold is this week's issue of The Birdbooker Report which…
grrlscientist | March 15, 2009tags: Snowy Owl, Nyctea scandiaca, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Snowy Owl, Nyctea scandiaca, photographed on the Fort Pierre National Grasslands in South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 4 January 2009 [larger view].
Photo taken with Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 15, 2009tags: get religion, religion, godlessness, atheism, streaming video
Here's an ad for one of the world's favorite time and life-wasters: Religion. Presented here as a public service (notice the background music) [1:25]
grrlscientist | March 14, 2009tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Oculus, #8 (1998).
Stone mosaic on walls throughout Chambers Street station complex (A, C & E trains); also, there is a stone and glass floor mosaic at Park Place entrance, which connects to this station via a tunnel.
Artists: Andrew Ginzel & Kristin Jones.
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 January 2009 [larger view].
Oculus is located in passageways under the World Trade Center and was largely untouched by the events of 9/11. Oculus will also be…
grrlscientist | March 14, 2009Here's the latest carnivalia for you to enjoy;
The Just Write Blog Carnival, 13 March 2009 Edition. This blog carnival is large and includes a wide variety of interesting submissions from around the blogosphere.
My mention of the Carnival of Family Life is late, but it's better than never!
grrlscientist | March 14, 2009tags: canons, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Mörssäri.
Photographed at Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day).
This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | March 14, 2009
I receive a fair number of books to review each week, so I thought I should do what several magazines and other publications do; list those books that have arrived in my mailbox so you know that this is the pool of books from which I will be reading and reviewing on my blog.
Open Lab 2008 (2009). Read more about it. I contributed to this book.
Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America-and Found Unexpected Peace by William Lobdell (Collins; 2009). I requested this title and am almost finished reading it.
Land of the Lost Souls: My Life on the Streets by…
grrlscientist | March 14, 2009tags: The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks, Susan Casey, science, adventure, memoir, book review
An ocean without its unnamed monsters would be like a completely dreamless sleep.
-- John Steinbeck, The Log from the Sea of Cortez (Penguin Classics; 1995).
Unlike any of the kids I grew up with, I was absolutely fascinated by sharks. Despite their bloodthirsty reputation, I saw them as elegant and beautiful creatures, although I never appreciated them as individual personalities. But when you read journalist Susan Casey's book, The Devil's…
grrlscientist | March 14, 2009tags: fledgling Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Fledgling Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, photographed near a small Olympic Peninsula lake in Shelton, Washington State. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Lee Rentz, 19 February 2009.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Adult male Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, photographed near a small Olympic Peninsula lake in Washington State.
Image: Lee Rentz, 19 February 2009.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours…
grrlscientist | March 14, 2009tags: books, memoir, godlessness, losing faith, William Lobdell
I am most pleased to tell you that William Lobdell, an award-winning journalist from the LATimes, who is also a new book author, as well as a blog writer, college lecturer and public speaker and media consultant, will be in NYC this coming Saturday to talk about and read from his hot-off-the-presses book, Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America -- and Found Unexpected Peace.
When: Saturday, March 14, 300pm - 430pm
Where: The third floor of the Muhlenberg Branch of the Public Library, 209 W.…