grrlscientist | March 15, 2010tags: embargoed science, embargoes, publishing, MSM, journalism, science writing
Image: Orphaned?
Embargoes: you either love them or hate them, and I hate them. No, let me rephrase: I despise embargoes. In fact, science story embargoes have been my daily rant for literally years. No, really. Every f*cking day. Well, except maybe for Sundays, which is devoted to ranting about all those religious wackaloons who have been trying to recruit visiting the previous week and preaching at me when I was absent-minded enough to open the door. But until a few months ago when I finally managed to…
grrlscientist | March 15, 2010tags: Lesser Yellowlegs, Tringa flavipes, Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Lesser Yellowlegs, Tringa flavipes (L), and Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla (R), photographed at the Lake Thompson in Kingsbury County, South Dakota. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 2 September 2007 [larger view]. You are encouraged to purchase photographs from this photographer. I am happy to email his contact information to you.
Canon 20D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification…
grrlscientist | March 15, 2010tags: British humor, cricket, sports, The Full Monty, silly, satire, parody, funny, humor, fucking hilarious, cultural observation, streaming video
I am not sure which form of torture would be most likely to make me crack first: being forced to watch paint dry, being forced to watch golf or being forced to watch a cricket match. This British film trailer parody is an amusing look at one of the world's most boring and inane sports.
I had to share this here since the person whom I share a flat with happens to be obsessed with this lameass sport.
grrlscientist | March 15, 2010tags: !Kung, ÇʼOÇKung, beatbox, beatbox girl, performance art, linguistics, streaming video
This woman is ridiculously awesome: she beatboxes for the camera. I have never seen anyone better than her. Which of course, makes me wonder if she might be the one Westerner who is able to learn to speak the !Kung language, ÇʼOÇKung, fluently?
Any linguists out there who might know if she has been contacted about learning to speak the !Kung language?
grrlscientist | March 14, 2010tags: PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Tulpe, tulip, nature, environment, image of the day
Tulpe.
PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 February 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | March 14, 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) is less than two weeks away and it is seeking submissions! Can you help by sending URLs for well-written science, medicine, and nature blog essays to me?
Scientia Pro Publica is a traveling blog carnival that celebrates the best science, environment, nature and medical writing targeted specifically to the public that has been published in the blogosphere within the past 60 days.
The most recent…
grrlscientist | March 14, 2010tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"How does one distinguish a truly civilized nation from an aggregation of
barbarians? That is easy. A civilized country produces much good bird
literature."
--Edgar Kincaid
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…
grrlscientist | March 14, 2010tags: Chestnut-bellied Kingfisher, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Halcyon leucocephala, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Grey-headed Kingfisher, also known as the Chestnut-bellied Kingfisher, Halcyon leucocephala, photographed near the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 13 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm VR lens, ISO 800, 1/1000 sec, f/7.1, Exposure compensation -.7.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 14, 2010tags: Tommy Davis, scientology, religion, cults, mind control, Thetan, silly, offbeat, beliefs, Xenu, L Ron Hubbard, television, BBC, CBS, streaming video
This is an interview with Tommy Davis, international Scientology spokesman, regarding the tragic death of Jett Travolta due to the medical neglect that their cult demands from its adherents, including Jett's parents. Davis is very scummy because he never gives a straight answer to any question asked. I also have embedded some other videos of Davis, where he reveals his less than angelic side.
Incidentally, Tommy Davis (the guy being…
grrlscientist | March 13, 2010tags: Sea Organization, Sea Org, Tommy Davis, scientology, religion, cults, mind control, Thetan, offbeat, beliefs, Xenu, L Ron Hubbard, television, Life after Scientology, ABC1, streaming video
Raised as Scientologists, Christie King Collbran and her husband, Chris, were recruited as teenagers to work for the elite corps of staff members who keep the Church of Scientology running, known as the Sea Organization, or Sea Org.
They signed a contract for a billion years -- in keeping with the church's belief that Scientologists are immortal. They worked seven days a week, often on little sleep,…
grrlscientist | March 13, 2010tags: PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, PalmenGarten Blüte, flowers, nature, environment, image of the day
PalmenGarten Herz.
PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 February 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | March 13, 2010tags: art, humor, cartoon
Some of you might be aware that the roughhousing at ScienceBlogs has been noted and cartooned by the extremely talented Joseph Hewitt. Unfortunately, I was overlooked in the cartoon so I made a comment on his blog, Ataraxia Theatre, about sending my flock of attack parrots after him. My parrots caught up with him early this morning (the middle of the night, Joseph's time) and so you can see the result. He did not finish his cartoon of me in time to stave off their chomping beaks of death, so his blood was split before I managed to call them all off. His poor well-…
grrlscientist | March 13, 2010tags: Pygmy Batis, Batis perkeo, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pygmy Batis, Batis perkeo, photographed near the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. The photographer writes: "I was incredibl[y] lucky to get such a good view of this little fast-moving guy. He actually responded to pishing, and sat there exposed for 10 seconds or so, allowing photographs in the late afternoon sun!" [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 13 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm VR lens, ISO 400, 1/250, f/6.3, Exposure Compensation 0.
Please name at…
grrlscientist | March 13, 2010tags: photography, sports, futbol, professional soccer, cultural observation, acting lessons, humor, funny, television, streaming video
I love futbol, but OMG, these boyz are such crybabies and drama queens! These soccer/futbol players demonstrate the reasons why I think they all are in desperate need of acting lessons: their ridiculous overblown theatrics.
grrlscientist | March 12, 2010tags: photography, NYCLife, NYC Life, cultural observation, Bruce Gilden, Street Shots, WNYC, streaming video
Watching this video makes me feel like I am walking on "my" streets once more alongside this photographer. It reminds me of how much I miss my beautiful and vibrant home, NYC.
Although I will admit that, as a former NYC "street photographer" myself, I find it amazing that he can photograph people without getting punched in the nose or having someone stomp on his camera. Even though I photographed flowers, more than once, I was told I was "not allowed" to photograph them .. um, why…
grrlscientist | March 12, 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) is less than two weeks away and it is seeking submissions! Can you help by sending URLs for well-written science, medicine, and nature blog essays to me?
Scientia Pro Publica is a traveling blog carnival that celebrates the best science, environment, nature and medical writing targeted specifically to the public that has been published in the blogosphere within the past 60 days.
The most recent…
grrlscientist | March 12, 2010Okay, I've been hinting that I have a really cool announcement that I want to share with you but a plethora of annoying (!!) technical issues have prevented me from telling you about it. Until now. My surprise announcement is ...
... I have a blog at Nature Network! My new NN blog is called Maniraptora (Tastes Like Chicken).
As you can see, we're still working on getting the name just right (I have to email the cat herders at NN and ask them to change it for me; I don't have direct control over such things as I do here at SB).
Adding me to the Nature Network lineup has been an ongoing…
grrlscientist | March 12, 2010tags: PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, PalmenGarten Blüte, flowers, nature, environment, image of the day
PalmenGarten Blüte.
PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 February 2010 [larger view]
Here's another pretty flower blossom that I photographed growing in the lawn at PalmenGarten. The flower resembles a buttercup but I am certain it's a different species .. can you tell me what it might be?
grrlscientist | March 12, 2010tags: evolution, evolutionary biology, gynandromorph, bilateral gynandromorph bird, half-sider, mixed-sex chimaera, sex determination, molecular biology, genetics, developmental biology, endocrinology, birds, chicken, Gallus gallus, ornithology, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper, journal club
Half-sider.
Almost exactly one year ago, hundreds of American birders
were thrilled by sightings and photographs of this remarkable
Northern Cardinal, or Redbird, Cardinalis cardinalis,
photographed in Warrenton, VA.
Image: DW Maiden, 2 March 2009.
I'll never forget…
grrlscientist | March 12, 2010tags: African Grey Hornbill, Tockus nasutus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Grey Hornbill, Tockus nasutus, photographed catching a dragonfly at the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300s, 600 mm lens, ISO 640, 1/2500 sec, f/5 0 exposure compensation.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes:
There seemed to be quite a lot of interest in the African Grey Hornbill's bill. Since it was partially obscured…