grrlscientist | June 29, 2010tags: Of Venom and Silk, arachnids, spiders, new species, endangered species, NYC, New York City, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, streaming video
Spider biologist Norman Platnick, from the American Museum of Natural History, has traveled the world cataloguing some of these creatures, many for the first time ever. World renowned for his work, he hopes to find as many as species as possible before some disappear.
grrlscientist | June 28, 2010tags: Konzerthaus-Musiker spielen Brahms und Ravel, Vuvuzela-Konzert, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Berlin, Germany, Helge von Niswandt, vuvuzela, vuvuzela concert, humor, satire, funny, silly, fucking hilarious, your inner child, music video, streaming video
Those of you who think Germans can't laugh have not lived in Germany. Die Zeit (The Time), a left-leaning German weekly newspaper that is highly respected for its quality journalism, has recorded a vuvuzela mini-concert. In this charming video, three brass players from the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, led by "ensemble abrassador," Helge…
grrlscientist | June 28, 2010tags: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, film, movie, trailer, entertainment, streaming video
Those of you who are Harry Potter fans will LOVE this! This is the first trailer from the penultimate installment of the Harry Potter films; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, which will hit theaters on November 19th, 2010 [it's being released in Belgium on 17 November, so guess where I'll go to watch it on opening night?]. And it looks like the entire film will be offered in IMAX 3D and in 3D, too! Yeow!! I am exciiited and I'll bet you are too! And here's the first trailer,…
grrlscientist | June 28, 2010tags: King Rail, Marsh Hen, Freshwater Marsh Hen, Rallus elegans, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] King Rail, also known as the Marsh Hen or the Freshwater Marsh Hen, Rallus elegans, photographed at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Anahuac, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 26 May 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/400s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Today's Mystery Bird seems a bit confused about its own identity,…
grrlscientist | June 28, 2010tags: Evolution in Action by AMNH, Congo River, fishes, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, evolution, variation, biodiversity, Melanie Stiassny, streaming video
This video tells the story of speciation in Central Africa's roiling, rapid Lower Congo River. This river is home to an extraordinary assortment of fish -- many truly bizarre. This new video by Science Bulletins, the American Museum of Natural History's current-science video program, features Museum scientists on a quest to understand why so many species have evolved here. Follow Curator of Ichthyology Melanie Stiassny and her…
grrlscientist | June 27, 2010tags: Lightning Strikes Three Buildings Simultaneously in Downtown Chicago, Chicago, lightning strikes, nature, weather, storm, wow, your inner child, Craig Shimala, streaming video
For the third time in the last 6 days, another line of nasty storms rolled through Chicago on Wednesday evening. Wednesday's storms towered up to 63,000 ft, unleashed 80 mph gusts, local 3"+ rains and 15,000 cloud to ground lightning strikes in a single hour. Craig Shimala captured the action from his balcony.
Lightning strikes three of the tallest buildings in Chicago at the same time! from Craig Shimala.
Music…
grrlscientist | June 27, 2010tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
~ Arnold Lobel [1933-1987] author of many popular children's books.
The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature, environment and behavior books and field guides 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 "…
grrlscientist | June 27, 2010tags: Green Wood-Hoopoe, Red-billed Wood Hoopoe, Phoeniculus purpureus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Green Wood-Hoopoe, formerly known as the Red-billed Wood Hoopoe, Phoeniculus purpureus, photographed in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 18 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm VR lens with 1.4 extender ISO 500, f/5.6, 1/250 sec.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This mystery bird species has a remarkable breeding strategy, can you tell me what…
grrlscientist | June 27, 2010tags: The Stork Is Real!, religion, sex, sexuality, funny, humor, comedy, satire, fucking hilarious, social commentary, Edward Current, streaming video
Do you really believe that precious life comes from disgusting body fluids? The Truth is, babies are brought into the world by a pure white angel, the Stork.
grrlscientist | June 26, 2010tags: Best Church of God Vs. An Atheist, religion, cults, faith, funny, humor, comedy, social commentary, Greg Epstein, books, streaming video
A silly video about a bunch of wackaloon religious wingnuts and an atheist humanist discussing religion and how god forces people to live moral and decent lives. (The video is silly, but the protest signs are rather amusing).
The Best Church of God takes on heretical "humanist" Greg Epstein, famed author of the controversial book, "Good Without God."-- edited by Aemilia Scott
grrlscientist | June 26, 2010tags: Village Indigobird, Vidua chalybeata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Village Indigobird, Vidua chalybeata, photographed in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 17 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm VR lens with 1.4 extender ISO 500, f/8, 1/1000 sec.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This Old World genus of birds is filled with species that have a very close relationship with another species of bird -- can you tell me the nature of that…
grrlscientist | June 26, 2010tags: FuÃball, sports, soccer, futbol, World Cup Soccer, South Africa, FIFA, humor, funny, television, The Daily Show, streaming video
This video explores the local South African opinions about the World Cup -- in one scene, the reporter asks: "What's more African than the subjugation of black people?"
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
World Cup 2010: Into Africa - Goal Diggers
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes
Political Humor
Tea Party
grrlscientist | June 25, 2010tags: Fast Lane -- The Rocket, shopping center elevator, Einkaufszentrum, Berlin, fun, silly, your inner child, entertainment, volkswagen commercial, television, streaming video
A sound system turns the ride into a rocket take-off. Welcome on-board! This is the fast lane for elevators ...
grrlscientist | June 25, 2010tags: Ancient Murrelet, Synthliboramphus antiquus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ancient Murrelet, Synthliboramphus antiquus, photographed zigzagging rapidly roughly 15m below the waves off the south side of Alki Point, Seattle, Washington. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Ron Shimek [larger view].
Olympus OM-10 in an Ikelite Housing, Kodachrome 64 film.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This poorly-known mystery bird species has two remarkable behaviors that are thought to reduce predation at the nest -- what…
grrlscientist | June 25, 2010tags: Inside the Collections: Ichthyology at AMNH, fishes, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, evolution, variation, biodiversity, Melanie Stiassny, streaming video
This video is the first of a new series of behind-the-scenes looks at the collections at the American Museum of Natural History. In this video, Melanie Stiassny, Axelrod Research Curator in the Department of Ichthyology, takes us through the Museum's vast collection of fishes.
The Department of Ichthyology, one of the four departments within the Museum's Division of Vertebrate Zoology, houses a collection that comprises more…
grrlscientist | June 24, 2010tags: Fast Lane -- The Slide, subway, Rutsche U-Bahn, Berlin, fun, silly, your inner child, entertainment, volkswagen commercial, television, streaming video
A long staircase. Next to it a slide. Which way would you go? This is an ad that was created in a subway station in Berlin. Makes me want to visit.
grrlscientist | June 24, 2010tags: evolution, biogeography, phylogeography, animals, Here Be Dragons, How the Study of Animal and Plant Distributions Revolutionized Our Views of Life and Earth, Dennis McCarthy, book review
I'm happy: another book review of mine was just published, this time, by Science magazine. This book, Here Be Dragons: How the Study of Animal and Plant Distributions Revolutionized Our Views of Life and Earth (Oxford University Press: Oxford; 2009), is by Dennis McCarthy, a researcher at the Buffalo Museum of Science in Buffalo, New York. In short, I liked the book and I thought it was generally well-…
grrlscientist | June 24, 2010tags: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, photographed at Monterey Bay, California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 7 May 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Can you tell me something remarkable about this mystery bird's beak/mouth?
The pelican's gullet pouch really can "hold more than its belly can" (as claimed…
grrlscientist | June 24, 2010tags: Meet Paul, Germany's Prognosticating Octopus, soccer, football, World Cup 2010, fun, offbeat, weird
Paul -- an octopus at the Sea Life public aquarium in Oberhausen, western Germany -- has so far correctly predicted the outcome of each of Germany's World Cup matches. On Tuesday, Paul contemplates Wednesday's match between Germany and Ghana. [larger view]
The World Cup and all the fanfare that surrounds it is truly amazing to experience. But perhaps strangest thing of all is that several zoos and aquariums in Germany have been asking some of their animals to predict the winners to the…
grrlscientist | June 24, 2010tags: Education Innovation in the Slums, education, technology, poverty, slums, curriculum, philosophy, learning as a productive activity, Charles Leadbeater, TEDTalks, TED Talks, streaming video
Charles Leadbeater went looking for radical new forms of education -- and found them in the slums of Rio and Kibera, where some of the world's poorest kids are finding transformative new ways to learn. And this informal, disruptive new kind of school, he says, is what all schools need to become.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the…