grrlscientist | July 17, 2008tags: explicit atheism, godlessness, religion, theism, rational living, freethinking, philosophy
Phylogeny of Christianity.
Image: FrostFireZoo.
All children are born Atheists; they have no idea of God.
~ Baron d'Holbach, 1772.
Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted) was recently added to the Atheist Blogroll. You can see the atheist doohickey on my left sidebar, which looks like this;
The Atheist Blogroll is a community building service provided free of charge to atheist bloggers from around the world. As a new member, I was invited to write a little blurb (blurp?) about…
grrlscientist | July 17, 2008My morning was interesting. I finally made it to the food pantry in my neighborhood on the day it was supposed to be open (it is advertized as being open on Friday mornings when in fact, it is open Thursday mornings -- something that I only became aware of last Friday after one month of repeatedly finding them closed, followed by careful questioning of several people regarding this).
So I arrived this morning half an hour early, as I was advised to do last week, only to find a note written on a paper towel in Spanish that was taped to the wall, stating that there is no food today.
Well,…
grrlscientist | July 16, 2008tags: West 66th street/Lincoln Center Subway Art, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers.
Artist: Nancy Spero, 1999. Installed 2004.
West 66th Street/Lincoln Center Subway tile mosaic art #10
as seen at NYC's Lincoln Center stop at Broadway for the downtown (southbound) 1 train.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Glass mosaic murals depicting scenes of theater, dance, and orchestra-related subjects are scattered throughout this station.
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC subway…
grrlscientist | July 16, 2008tags: Western Sandpipers, Calidris mauri, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Western Sandpipers, Calidris mauri, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 15, 2008tags: West 66th street/Lincoln Center Subway Art, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers.
Artist: Nancy Spero, 1999. Installed 2004.
West 66th Street/Lincoln Center Subway tile mosaic art #9
as seen at NYC's Lincoln Center stop at Broadway for the downtown (southbound) 1 train.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Glass mosaic murals depicting scenes of theater, dance, and orchestra-related subjects are scattered throughout this station.
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC subway…
grrlscientist | July 15, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, speciation, adaptive radiation, , diversification, ecological opportunity, community assembly, species interactions, North American wood-warblers, Dendroica species, Daniel L. Rabosky
Yellow-rumped warbler, Dendroica coronata, After Hatch Year male.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger view].
Several questions that motivate my own research and thinking are; How do species arise? Where does all this biodiversity that we see on Earth come from? Does speciation occur as a series of slow and gradual accumulated changes or is it an explosive process that occurs within a…
grrlscientist | July 15, 2008tags: Semipalmated Sandpipers, Calidris pusilla, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Semipalmated Sandpipers, Calidris pusilla, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 14, 2008tags: Sizzle, global warming, climate change, documentary, polar bears, hurricane Katrina, Randy Olson, film review
The new film, Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy by Randy Olson that will be released in a few days, explores a topic that concerns me greatly, so when asked if I would review it, I was pleased to do so. Sizzle is advertized as a combination of a documentary, mockumentary and reality about global warming, and therein lies its problem : it has no idea what it is supposed to be, and as a result, the audience (me, in this case), doesn't either.
I wanted to like this film, really, I…
grrlscientist | July 14, 2008tags: West 66th street/Lincoln Center Subway Art, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers.
Artist: Nancy Spero, 1999. Installed 2004.
West 66th Street/Lincoln Center Subway tile mosaic art #8
as seen at NYC's Lincoln Center stop at Broadway for the downtown (southbound) 1 train.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Glass mosaic murals depicting scenes of theater, dance, and orchestra-related subjects are scattered throughout this station.
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC subway…
grrlscientist | July 14, 2008tags: poverty level, poverty threshold, federal definition of poverty, Michael Bloomberg, NYC, politics, society
Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity, nothing exceeds the criticisms made of the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed.
~ Herman Melville
How do you define poverty? Do you think it is the lack of nutritious food, clean clothing, reasonable housing and adequate health care? Even though your definition of what constitutes poverty probably hasn't changed much during your lifetime, the basic financial resources necessary to keep you from being…
grrlscientist | July 14, 2008tags: Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Killdeer chick, Charadrius vociferus, running.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 April 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D200 1/400s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 14, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Juvenile male Blue-throated Hummingbird, Lampornis clemenciae, Cave Creek Canyon, AZ.
Image: Dave Rintoul, June 2008 [larger view].
For comparison, an adult male of the species -- also read the comments section to learn more about how to identify juvenile males of this species.
Birds in Science News
A new analysis indicates that birds don't fly alone when migrating at night. Some birds, at least, keep together on their migratory journeys, flying in tandem even when they are 200 meters or more apart. The study, from…
grrlscientist | July 14, 2008tags: underwater art, nature, photography, Andre Seale, streaming video
This video was sent to me by a Brazilian blog pal who "reads my blog every day"! It is a collection of beautiful nature images by award-winning photographer Andre Seale, who happens to be her husband. The soothing music was composed and performed on GarageBand. [3:13]
Be sure to leave some feedback for her to read.
grrlscientist | July 13, 2008tags: West 66th street/Lincoln Center Subway Art, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers.
Artist: Nancy Spero, 1999. Installed 2004.
West 66th Street/Lincoln Center Subway tile mosaic art #7 as seen at NYC's Lincoln Center stop at Broadway for the downtown (southbound) 1 train.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Glass mosaic murals depicting scenes of theater, dance, and orchestra-related subjects are scattered throughout this station.
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC subway…
grrlscientist | July 13, 2008
Sara, one of my good friends at YellowIbis science t-shirts, sent me some ScienceWear for my London visit! By the way, don't you just love their company name? Anyway, I had to show you the t-shirt I asked for because it's so .. science-y! How can you resist such a wonderful shirt? (Yes, I know, Saint Paddy's Day is long gone, but I am preparing early for next year). I also got two cotton totes (with different designs, one design is pictured above) to carry groceries, so I no longer am faced with the familiar "paper or plastic?" dilemma! Not only that, but I am bringing one tote to London…
grrlscientist | July 13, 2008tags: Black-necked Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Black-necked Stilt chick, Himantopus mexicanus, at Bolivar Peninsula, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 24 May 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200 1/1000s f/1.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 13, 2008tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history, animal and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase.
FEATURED TITLE:
Resh, Vincent H. and Ring T. Carde (editors). Encyclopedia of Insects. 2003. Academic Press. Hardbound: 1266 pages. Price: $114.00 U.S. [Amazon $91.20]. SUMMARY: A very detailed encyclopedia that anyone…
grrlscientist | July 12, 2008tags: West 66th street/Lincoln Center Subway Art, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers.
Artist: Nancy Spero, 1999. Installed 2004.
West 66th Street/Lincoln Center Subway tile mosaic art #6 as seen at NYC's Lincoln Center stop at Broadway for the downtown (southbound) 1 train.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Glass mosaic murals depicting scenes of theater, dance, and orchestra-related subjects are scattered throughout this station.
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC subway…
grrlscientist | July 12, 2008tags: Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Killdeer chick, Charadrius vociferus, at Anahuac Wildlife Refuge, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/2000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 12, 2008tags: atheism, crackergate, religion, religious zealotry, fundamentalism, freedom of speech, eucharist hosts, transubstantiation, cultural observation
Not so very long ago, Americans mocked muslim nations for rioting and issuing death threats over the publication of a few cartoons in Danish newspapers. A little over one month ago, Americans once again sat back in a cloud of smug judgmentalism as they laughed at the uproar caused by a teddy bear that was named "Mohammad" by a classroom full of kids. American christians aren't so backward and superstitious as all those muslims, the religious…