grrlscientist | June 4, 2010tags: BP's Spilling Fields, oil spill, Gulf of Mexico, humor, comedy, social commentary, BP oil spill, British Petroleum, Jon Stewart, Wyatt Cenac, streaming video
"BP gave up on getting the oil out of the water a LONG time ago. Now the challenge is to get the water and dead shrimp and stuff out of the oil."
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Cenac - The Spilling Fields - Oil Leak Containment Ideas
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes
Political Humor
Tea Party
Watch the entire episode.
grrlscientist | June 3, 2010tags: Deja Vu (All Over Again), oil spill, Trans-Alaska oil pipeline, Gulf of Mexico, Trans-Ocean, Ixtac oil well blowout, BP oil spill, British Petroleum, Rachel Maddow, streaming video
There was another oilspill in the Gulf of Mexico in 1979 -- and the same corporate players involved with that spill are there now! This 1979 oilspill WAS the worst oilspill in history, until now, of course. Despite corporate lies .. erm, claims that the technology has advanced since 1979, the same identical strategies are being used now to stop this oilspill. How long did it take to stop this oil leak? NINE…
grrlscientist | June 3, 2010tags: Green Jay, Cyanocorax yncas, Cyanocorax luxuosus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Green Jay, Cyanocorax (yncas) luxuosus, photographed at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Harlingen, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 30 March 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Because most mystery birders are on vacation right now, I am sharing another knock-your-socks-off-gorgeous…
grrlscientist | June 3, 2010tags: Brian Skerry Reveals Ocean's Glory -- and Horror, conservation, marine biology, fish, marine mammals, oceans, sharks, leatherback sea turtle, right whale, overfishing, photographer, Brian Skerry, TEDTalks, TED Talks, streaming video
Professional photographer Brian Skerry shoots life above and below the waves -- as he puts it, both the horror and the magic of the ocean. Sharing amazing, intimate shots of undersea creatures, he shows how powerful images can help make change.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's…
grrlscientist | June 2, 2010tags: Pocket Piglet, pets, animals, miniature pigs, silly, cute, funny, streaming video
This video shows a "pocket piglet" .. a miniature pig as a baby. I think keeping pigs as pets ultimately ends up becoming a sad situation for both the pigs and the people, but after seeing this video, I can certainly understand the attraction that people have for keeping them in their homes -- as this pig demonstrates, they're a helluva lot cuter and smarter than either puppies or kittens!
grrlscientist | June 2, 2010tags: Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea, Guiraca cyanea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Adult male Indigo Bunting, Passerina (Guiraca) cyanea, photographed at Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary, Brazoria County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 14 April 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/180s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Can you tell me how this bird's grows such spectacularly colored plumage?
Blue plumage in…
grrlscientist | June 2, 2010tags: education, public outreach, SciCafe, science cafe, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, NYC, streaming video
Who: A Conversation with AMNH Astronomer, Neil deGrasse Tyson
What: free public presentation, "Life, the Universe, and Everything"
When: Tonight at 700pm
Where: Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, American Museum of Natural History, Enter at the 81st Street (Rose Center) [directions and maps]
Cost: FREE, and there is a cash bar too! (must be 21+ with ID)
Ever ponder the mysteries of the universe? Join Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director of AMNH's Hayden Planetarium, for a casual…
grrlscientist | June 2, 2010tags: A Quick Peek at X-ray Crystallography at the Diamond Light Source, X-ray Crystallography, Diamond Light Source, proteins, Synchrotron, Van Morrison, wavelength, streaming video
This is a short video recorded on a trip to the Diamond Light Source by a group of Imperial College crystallographers. The video attempts to give a flavor of the strange things that they do to protein crystals when trying figure out the structures of the molecules within them. Music, "Wavelength", is by Van Morrison.
X-ray crystallography is a technique for determining the precise arrangement of atoms within a…
grrlscientist | June 1, 2010tags: Why Twilight is Popular, epipheo studios, social commentary, entertainment, books, Twilight series, successful book formula, streaming video
This amusing animated video describes why Twilight books are so popular. For those who don't know, the Twilight series is the story of a "regular girl" who is dating a vampire -- the typical "girl meets boy and falls in love" story.
This video was created by epipheo studios, which has a video-filled site that you will find interesting.
The author's discussion of her Twilight book series, how she came up with the idea and other details (including…
grrlscientist | June 1, 2010tags: Black-bellied Plover, Grey Plover, Pluvialis squatarola, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-bellied Plover, also known as the Grey Plover throughout much of Europe, Pluvialis squatarola, photographed at Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 14 April 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.
This mystery bird might be a little tricky to ID, but once…
grrlscientist | June 1, 2010tags: HIV and 'Flu -- The Vaccine Strategy, microbiology, epidemiology, virology, vaccines, medicine, public health, viruses, influenza, HIV, Seth Berkley, TEDTalks, TED Talks, streaming video
Seth Berkley explains how smart advances in vaccine design, production and distribution are bringing us closer than ever to eliminating a host of global threats -- from AIDS to malaria to flu pandemics.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers…
grrlscientist | May 31, 2010tags: The Maniacal Drummer from Hell, music, performing arts, Rick K And the Allnighters, Sharp Dressed Man, Knoebels Grove, Pennsylvania, weird, humor, funny, offbeat, streaming video
The drummer in this music video is either amazing or ridiculous. Since he's quite good, I am thinking he's probably amazing. I wonder what Günter Grass thinks of him?
grrlscientist | May 31, 2010tags: education, public outreach, SciCafe, science cafe, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, NYC, streaming video
Who: A Conversation with AMNH Astronomer, Neil deGrasse Tyson
What: free public presentation, "Life, the Universe, and Everything"
When: Wednesday, 2 June at 700pm
Where: Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, American Museum of Natural History, Enter at the 81st Street (Rose Center) [directions and maps]
Cost: FREE, and there is a cash bar too! (must be 21+ with ID)
Ever ponder the mysteries of the universe? Join Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director of AMNH's Hayden Planetarium, for a…
grrlscientist | May 31, 2010I was a (proud!) speaker at ScienceOnline London 2008 -- which would not have happened without my readers' kind and generous support! However, when I was in London, I was given a t-shirt as part of the goody bag that was, to put it politely, a tad small.
Okay, it was smaller than a "tad small": even though it was a "medium" size -- yes, I do wear medium and have lots of room left over, too -- this t-shirt was so small that my not-huge-at-all boobs emphasized certain portions of the "ScienceOnline London" phrase. It scared me so much that the t-shirt and I parted company before I relocated to…
grrlscientist | May 31, 2010You might not be aware of this, but there will be a Science Online London 2010! It is being scheduled as I write and will be held at the British Library on 3-4 September 2010, and YES! I will be there! (I am so excited!) As a blog reader, you are eagerly invited to suggestion session topics on the SciOnlineLondon wiki. Who knows? Maybe I'll be so lucky as to be asked to speak! (Yes, I would love that!)
Here's a topic that was suggested by my featherless slave: why SHOULD science blog writers be provided access to embargoed materials -- just like [OMG!!] FUR REALZ journalists! (Especially when…
grrlscientist | May 31, 2010tags: Paleontology, birds, Genyornis newtoni, rock art, aboriginal peoples, Archaeology, Australia, Niwarla Gabarnmung, Arnhem Land, Flinders University
Australia's oldest painting?
A red ochre rock art depiction of two emu-like birds (Genyornis newtoni?)
with their necks outstretched.
Image: Ben Gunn [larger view]
An Australian Aboriginal rock art may depict a giant bird that is thought to have become extinct some 40,000 years ago, thereby making it the oldest rock painting on the island continent. The red ochre drawing was first discovered two years ago, but archaeologists were only…
grrlscientist | May 31, 2010tags: Clapper Rail, Rallus longirostris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Clapper Rail, Rallus longirostris, photographed at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, 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 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
How to distinguish Clapper Rails from other, similar species:
King Rail is slightly larger than Clapper Rail, prefers freshwater marshes while…
grrlscientist | May 31, 2010tags: I'm a Scientist, Get me out of Here!, internet chatrooms, online program, technology, public outreach, scientists, employment, what do scientists do?, teenagers, streaming video
This video describes a new online program targeted to UK teenagers; "I'm a Scientist, Get me out of Here!" This program's goals are to provide teens access to real scientists, to provide them the opportunity to get beyond stereotypes about scientists, to learn how science relates to real life and to provide the scientists with feedback on their communication style -- can they explain their work to teenagers?…
grrlscientist | May 30, 2010tags: BestiFlokkurinn, Besti Flokkurinn, politics, Reykjavik, Iceland, social observation, Jón Gnarr Kristinsson, ferrets, humor, funny, satire, offbeat, streaming video
"We are the best" -- this satirical video is made by Iceland's Best party, endorsing comedian Jón Gnarr Kristinsson for Mayor of Reykjavik in 2010. Among his campaign promises? Iceland's very own polar bear, wow! (Nevermind that the last polar bear was a self-delivered visitor that was shot almost immediately after it stepped onto land)
Jón Gnarr Kristinsson speech at the end looks eerily of Hitler, then I discovered that…
grrlscientist | May 30, 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) will publish Monday and as usual, it is seeking submissions and hosts! Can you help by sending URLs for your own or others' well-written science, medicine, and nature blog essays to me or by volunteering to host this carnival on your blog?
Scientia Pro Publica is a traveling blog carnival that celebrates the best science, environment, nature and medical writing that has been published in the…