tags: Top Catholic Priest Accused of Sexually Abusing His Own Sons, ethics, religion, catholicism, Catholic Church, television, criminal activity, news, pedophilia, child rape, Pope John Paul, Marcial Maciel Degollado, streaming video This video explores the question; "how much money would you want in exchange to be raped and sodomized throughout your childhood years?" This is a question that I also would like answers to. Any thoughts? On one hand, I am completely sympathetic to this guy's situation, but on the other hand, I cannot help but wonder how a man who was raped as a child by his…
tags: Stephen Fry on Catholicism, Intelligence Squared Debate, religion, catholicism, Catholic Church, poverty, sexuality,homosexuality, AIDS, HIV, condoms, pedophilia, child rape, culture, Stephen Fry, streaming video Stephen Fry provides his very articulate and thoughtful opinion on Catholicism and the Catholic Church at the Intelligence Squared Debate.
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power) -- Sir Francis Bacon. Well, after the big explosion over ethics at ScienceBlogs, it's been a rather exciting week, hasn't it? Too exciting, if you ask me, especially since the most recent edition of Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) -- "Scientia Pro Publica 34" -- has been mostly overlooked. But nonetheless, it was published by Denis at This View Of Earth. To share yours, or others', writing, either use this automated submission form or use the cute little widget on the right (be aware that widget doesn'…
tags: Green Barbet, Stactolaema olivacea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Green Barbet, Stactolaema olivacea, photographed at Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Dan Logen, 10 January 2010 [larger view]. Nikon D300, 200-400 VR lens at 400 mm., ISO 800, 1/640 sec, f/7.1. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. Review all mystery birds to date.
tags: Validation, humor, funny, social commentary, film, movie, streaming video This sweet video is actually a short film that has won a lot of awards at film festivals. It's a bit long compared to the usual video embeds I share with you, but I think you'll enjoy this film (I certainly did). Starring TJ Thyne & Vicki Davis. Writer/Director/Composer - Kurt Kuenne. Winner - Best Narrative Short, Cleveland Int'l Film Festival, Winner - Jury Award, Gen Art Chicago Film Festival, Winner - Audience Award, Hawaii Int'l Film Festival, Winner - Best Short Comedy, Breckenridge Festival of Film,…
tags: 1945-1998, nuclear weapons testing, Multimedia artwork, Isao Hashimoto, streaming video This video documenting worldwide nuclear weapons testing and use is a multimedia artwork that speaks to all of us, regardless of which language we use. It's fascinating and horrifying at the same time. Multimedia artwork by Isao Hashimoto [contact: hashi123 [at] amy [dot] hi-ho [dot] ne [dot] jp]. 2053: This is the number of nuclear explosions conducted in various parts of the globe (excluding both tests by North Korea, on October 2006 and May 2009). About this artwork [paraphrased]: This piece of…
Railroad Sunset (1929, oil on canvas). Edward Hopper. I've noticed that I've recently started to dream in German. Well, the people who pop up in my dreams are speaking German, and I seem to understand them and act accordingly, but I never speak in German in my dreams. Actually, I rarely say anything aloud in my dreams anymore; probably a reflection of real life. The interesting thing about this is that I don't speak German. Well, I can utter a few words or phrases here and there, and my comprehension of spoken German is growing, but I don't speak it myself. Oddly, even though I still have…
tags: White-winged Scoter, Melanitta deglandi, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] White-winged Scoter, Melanitta deglandi, photographed at Bodega Bay, California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Joseph Kennedy, 12 May 2010 [larger view]. Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. The White-winged Scoter, Melanitta deglandi, a large black duck of coastal waters which is the largest of all the scoters. This species breeds farther…
tags: Walk-Through of NYC's American Museum of Natural History, museum, natural history museum, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, NYC, New York City, culture, edutainment, streaming video This is a rather nice video with a home-made feel to it. It presents a quick view of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, starting on the subway platform (filled with lots of beautiful tile art, all of which I've photographed and shared on my blog). (I noticed that they seem to have finished refurbishing their Indians of the Pacific Northwet exhibit). The AMNH is a scientific…
tags: What Do Disappointed Idealists and Tampon Commercials Have In Common?, social commentary, television, advertising, market research, mass media, manipulating the masses, satire, funny, humor, streaming video It's rare when I see a video that, in a short 30 seconds, sums up the level of cynicism I currently feel, and leaves me with a smile. Okay, I have a sardonic smile at the moment, but it's a smile, and that's a start.
tags: Food Frontiers, Astroturf blog, influence peddling, PepsiCo,pepsi, scienceblogs Subject: Food Frontiers Dear ScienceBloggers, I will be posting this on 3.14 in a few minutes: We have removed Food Frontiers from SB. We apologize for what some of you viewed as a violation of your immense trust in ScienceBlogs. Although we (and many of you) believe strongly in the need to engage industry in pursuit of science-driven social change, this was clearly not the right way. How do we empower top scientists working in industry to lead science-minded positive change within their organizations?…
It's taken me a few hours to cool off enough to write coherently and without using (too much) profanity after I learned that ScienceBlogs added a corporate PR "blog" about nutrition written by PepsiCo. I think I've learned all I care to know about corporate "food" giants' definition of what is "nutrition" by being confronted daily by a flock of hugely protruding bellies and jiggling posteriors everywhere I go (yes, even here in Germany). I would link to that "blog" so you can see what I am talking about but quite frankly, I don't want to send any traffic to them. I think you can find them…
tags: Paul the Prognosticating Octopus Oracle Sez, soccer, football, World Cup 2010, fun, offbeat, weird, news Paul the Prognosticating Octopus Oracle has disappointed his German fans by choosing Spain over Germany in tomorrow's World Cup Football match. Paul is a two-year-old English-born octopus of unknown species who has lived in the aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany since shortly after he was born. Image: Mark Keppler / DAPD This is a bummer for all those German fans who believe in tooth fairies and Santa Claus, because Paul the Prognosticating Octopus Oracle of Unknown Species (PPOOUS…
tags: Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus, photographed in China Camp State Park, Point San Pedro Peninsula, California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 May 2010 [larger view]. Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/400s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. This bird has a very unusual behavior that is a response to the availability of its primary food supply. Can you tell…
tags: Close Encounter with a Whale Shark in the Gulf of Mexico, marine biology, field research, research, technology, whale shark, Rhincodon typus, satellite tags, Gulf of Mexico, BP, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, University of Southern Mississippi, streaming video Whale Shark, Rhincodon typus, feeding in the Gulf of Mexico. Image: Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Whale Shark Research. Despite being the largest fish species in the world, measuring over 40 feet in length and 35 tons in weight, whale sharks are quite mysterious. We know they are plankton filter feeders, and we recently…
tags: Monty Python meets Darth Vader, humor, funny, silly, weird, Star Wars, Monty Python, satire, fucking hilarious, streaming video Is this the ultimate in silliness and hilarity? The combination of Monty Python AND Star Wars?
tags: Black-throated Sparrow, Desert Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Black-throated Sparrow, also known (erroneously) as the Desert Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata, photographed in Falcon State Park, Falcon Heights, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 April 2008 [larger view]. Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. This species has one character that sets it apart from all others…
tags: The Tiger Next Door, documentary, film, ethics, social commentary, exotic pets, wild animals, large cats, Dennis Hill, streaming video This interesting video is a trailer for a documentary, "The Tiger Next Door," the story of a man named Dennis Hill who has been breeding and selling tigers from his backyard for over 15 years. Hill's dream is to breed a stripeless white tiger -- but at what cost to the animals, and at what risk to the community? As the film begins, Hill has 24 tigers, 3 bears, 6 leopards and one cougar. But after a surprise government inspection, he loses the license…
tags: Muppets' Swedish Chef makes Pöpcørn Shrimp!, humor, funny, silly, weird, Swedish Chef, cooking, food, The Muppets, streaming video Do you like pöpcørn shrimp? Watch the Swedish Chef as he prepares this explosively good meal! The Muppets have their own official website.
tags: Zitting Cisticola, Streaked Fantail Warbler, Cisticola juncidis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Zitting Cisticola, sometimes known as the Streaked Fantail Warbler,Cisticola juncidis, photographed at Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Dan Logen, 20 January 2010 [larger view]. Nikon D300, 600 mm VR lens with 1.4 extender ISO 400, f/8, 1/1000 sec. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. This African mystery bird has the largest range of any of its congeners and its range…