grrlscientist | January 7, 2008tags: subway art, laughing gull, AMNH, American Musuem of Natural History, NYCLife, NYC
A laughing gull, Larus atricilla,
as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the NYC uptown subway stop
(A-B-C) at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [wallpaper size].
Read more about the AMNH tile artworks and see the AMNH tile artworks photographic archives -- with all the animals identified.
grrlscientist | January 7, 2008tags: Learning in the Great Outdoors, blog carnivals
The 8th edition of Learning in the Great Outdoors is now available for you to read and enjoy. Best of all, they included one of my submissions, although it is an older one, but you might not have read it.
grrlscientist | January 7, 2008tags: red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, birds, NYC, Central Park, Image of the Day
My good friend, the published author Bob Levy, has sent me eight images that document the lives of a little family of red-winged blackbirds living in Central Park, NYC. These images will appear as the Image of the Day beginning on the 6th of January and running through the 13th of January.
Male Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, Central Park, NYC.
Lord Hernshead peers down from his favored lookout post.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [wallpaper size].
grrlscientist | January 7, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Clark's Grebe, Aechmorphus clarkii, in the foreground with a Western Grebe, Aechmorphus occidentalis, behind. Both were photographed on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (north end of the Great Salt Lake) in the spring of 2005. Similar birds, but the field marks are straw-yellow bill (Clark's) cf. greenish-yellow bill (Western); white feathering around the eye (Clark's) cf black (Western), and whiter flanks on the Clark's Grebe. This pair of birds was hanging out together, and that was not unusual, making one wonder…
grrlscientist | January 7, 2008tags: God, MySpace, humor, streaming video
An amusing music video by Bradley Bandara, based upon the Eric Bazilian song One of Us, which was a 1996 hit when sung by Joan Osbourne. This video features a badly-costumed supreme being accepting and rejecting friend requests, responding to prayers in the form of messages, and being barraged with IM attempts. [5:04]
grrlscientist | January 6, 2008tags: subway art, California quail, AMNH, American Musuem of Natural History, NYCLife, NYC
A whooping crane, Grus americana, standing in
front of the shadow of a Dodo, Raphus cucullatues,
as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the NYC uptown subway stop
(A-B-C) at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [wallpaper size].
Read more about the AMNH tile artworks and see the AMNH tile artworks photographic archives -- with all the animals identified.
grrlscientist | January 6, 2008tags: red-winged_blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, birds, NYC, Central Park, Image of the Day
My good friend, the published author Bob Levy, has sent me eight images that document the lives of a little family of red-winged blackbirds living in Central Park, NYC. These images will appear as the Image of the Day beginning today and running through the 13th of January.
Female Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, Central Park, NYC.
Lady Hernshead in all her regal glory. Well, except for that one unruly feather.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [wallpaper size].
grrlscientist | January 5, 2008tags: subway art, California quail, AMNH, American Musuem of Natural History, NYCLife, NYC
A California quail, Callipepla californica,
with the shadow of a pigeon (passenger pigeon?) behind it,
as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the NYC uptown subway stop
(A-B-C) at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [wallpaper size].
Read more about the AMNH tile artworks and see the AMNH tile artworks photographic archives -- with all the animals identified.
grrlscientist | January 5, 2008tags: gull, birds, National Geographic, Image of the Day
Seagulls.
Image: Bartosz Nikiciuk 2007 (photo appears here with permission by National Geographic). [larger view].
grrlscientist | January 4, 2008tags: subway art, woodpecker, AMNH, American Musuem of Natural History, NYCLife, NYC
A pileated woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the NYC uptown subway stop (A-B-C) at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).
Image: GrrlScientist 2007 [wallpaper size].
Read more about the AMNH tile artworks and see the AMNH tile artworks photographic archives -- with all the animals identified.
grrlscientist | January 4, 2008tags: gull, birds, Oregon coast, National Geographic, Image of the Day
Gull on Oregon Coast.
Seagull at Bandon, Oregon.
Image: Alex Morley 2007 (photo appears here with permission by National Geographic). [larger view].
grrlscientist | January 4, 2008tags: Nora, piano-playing cat, behavior, streaming video
Nora is a cat who lives with a piano teacher, and she also loves to play the piano, as you will see in the video, below. Nora's solo was later followed by a duet with a student. Perhaps not surprisingly, Nora now has a CD available called Cat on the Keys. $2.00 from every CD sold are donated in Nora's name to Best Friends Animal Society. [2:48]
grrlscientist | January 3, 2008tags: Iowa caucus news, politics, Obama, Democrats
With 97% of the Iowa precincts reporting, there finally is a clear winner;
Barak Obama 38% (16 delegates)
John Edwards 30% (14 delegates) Was John Edwards really in second place? If so, why did he end up with one delegate fewer than Hillary Clinton? Or maybe the delegates were not yet assigned as reported?
Hillary Clinton 29% (15 delegates)
239,000 people turned out for the Democrats, a historic high for Iowa Democrats -- slightly more than 10% of the state's registered voters. (124,000 turned out in 2000). Incidentally, 28% of all Democratic…
grrlscientist | January 3, 2008tags: Iowa caucus news, politics, Huckabee, Republican
Is this an indication of the deep chasm that separates Americans today?
With 86% of precincts reporting;
Mike Huckabee 34%
Mitt Romney 25% Apparently, his former prochoice and "don't ask, don't tell" positions really hurt him.
Fred Thompson 14%
John McCain 13%
Ron Paul 10%
Rudy Guiliani 4%
112,000 Republicans turned out for the Iowa caucus tonight -- less than 10% of the state's registered voters (89,000 turned out in 2000). Huckabee had fairly even support across all groups, which included evangelicals, home schoolers and other…
grrlscientist | January 3, 2008tags: Iowa caucus news, politics
I am listening to live coverage of the Iowa Caucus on WNYC radio and here is an update:
Democrats: Obama (30%), Clinton (32%) and Edwards (34%), with 12% of the precincts reporting in Iowa.
Republicans: Huckabee (CNN projected winner), Romney and McCain, in that order (lots of close contenders in this race).
Apparently, there are so many people who are participating in this state-wide caucus that they are having trouble accomodating everyone. I am pleased to hear that the democratic process is alive and working.
One interviewee stated that he thought the…
grrlscientist | January 3, 2008tags: National Academy of Sciences Press, Science, Evolution, and Creationism, books
The National Academy of Sciences Press has revised their excellent book, Science, Evolution, and Creationism, which you can download for free. The book is a revision of an older version, which I own a hard copy of, and it has chapters on the nature of science, the evidence for evolution, and creationist claims. To receive the complete book as a free download [free PDF], you need to sign in, first. (You can get an 8-page summary PDF for free without signing in first).
grrlscientist | January 3, 2008tags: subway art, ostriches, AMNH, American Musuem of Natural History, NYCLife, NYC
The ostrich, Struthio camelus, as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the NYC uptown subway stop (A-B-C) at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).
Image: GrrlScientist 2007 [wallpaper size].
Read more about the AMNH tile artworks and see the AMNH tile artworks photographic archives -- with all the animals identified.
grrlscientist | January 3, 2008tags: books, book reviews
Thanks to you, I read a LOT of books (and watch a few DVDs as well), but end up reviewing approximately one in four (or is it one in five?) of all books I read (and rarely review any DVDs that I watch). This doesn't seem right, even though I have had the great pleasure to read so many wonderful books, both gifts from my readers and review copies provided by publishers. Unfortunately, if I reviewed every good book that I've read this past few years, I would not write anything on my blog except book reviews. So to address that sad situation, I have decided to add a…
grrlscientist | January 3, 2008tags: books, Open Laboratory
I know that you all are dying to begin collecting the Open Lab anthologies, so I wanted to let you know that this is still possible because the inaugural edition, Open Laboratory 2006: The Best Science Writing in the Blogosphere, is still available for you to purchase. The funds raised from the sale of this volume support the Annual Science Blog Conference, which is held in North Carolina. You can purchase this book either as a electronic download ($8.69) or as a hard copy ($19.95).
The 2007 edition of this anthology will be available on amazon.com a couple of…
grrlscientist | January 3, 2008tags: Eclectus roratus solomonensis, parrots, pets, birds, avian, behavior
Sophie, a female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis,
who looks just like my own Elektra.
Image: Courtesy of Denise and Dave Bell/Eclectus House.
As you might have surmised by looking at the image credit above, I still have not managed to get a picture of my companion, a female Eclectus parrot named Elektra, that pleases me enough to share it with you. Even though I don't have an image of her that is good enough to share with you, I do have a story about Elektra to share with you, thanks…