cmooney | February 3, 2009The American Physical Society is asking folks to email Congress in support of the science parts of the stimulus package. The House version of the bill was very generous to science, but there's a concern about what the Senate version and the reconciliation process will end up with. So weigh in now; the tools to do so can be found here.
cmooney | February 3, 2009If the president is going to restore science to its "rightful place," he's going to have to do something serious about the Food and Drug Administration. Not only was it the site of many Bush-era science related scandals, over matters like the over-the-counter availability of emergency contraception, but it has also broken down repeatedly on the job. The most recent screwup involves peanut butter, but my God, how many others have there been? Remember Vioxx?
The president says he's going to be conducting "a complete review of FDA operations." Good. Moreover, the naming of a new commissioner is…
sheril | February 2, 2009We arrived in Austin on Thursday night and I've been pleasantly surprised to find such a progressive, musical, and fun corner of The Lone Star State. I've also got a feeling many of our readers have been through there, so let's see how many locations you can identify from these photos:
cmooney | February 2, 2009So...how cool is this?
I'm 31 years old. I graduated from college in 1999. Since then I've been a journalist--for ten years.
But now, at this very minute, I'm finishing my first reading assignment for Princeton's History 293, "Science in a Global Context," taught by D. Graham Burnett. Today is the first day of classes. (Princeton starts late.)
I am a student again, exhilarated by the prospect--and also deeply confused by it.
For example, I currently have numerous journalistic and book assignments, in various stages of completion. So while I'm being a student, I'm also going to have to keep…
cmooney | January 30, 2009I know, the Bush administration is history. So, I've argued, is the "Republican war on science."
But if you never yet got a copy of the book of the same name, now's the time--Amazon is selling the paperback, new, for $ 4.99.
I don't usually hawk my wares like this, but that's damn cheap.
sheril | January 30, 2009
While in Shreveport, Louisiana also we stopped at the Science Center to stretch our legs in the gift shop. Friendly folks, but still a reminder of the unfortunate Pluto affair. About half of the solar system mobiles, puzzles, and games had the 9th planet and the other half--not so much. What's a space-loving youngster to think? Ironically, I was wearing my Vote For Pluto t-shirt... My allegiances are with the underdog.
cmooney | January 30, 2009Maybe teenage geeks and fantasy-loving atheists have a shared faith after all? As Dylan Otto Krider reports over at the Colorado Daily, a University of Colorado postgraduate named Theo Zijderveld is making a serious argument to this effect:
For the paper, Zijderveld applied the French sociologist Danil Hervieu-Lger's four dimensions required to be considered a religion: community, ethics, culture and emotion.
He believes playing with friends constitutes community, the rules of the game the ethical dimension, the "Warcraft" mythos the culture and the feelings of belonging the emotional…
sheril | January 30, 2009Properly driving cross country involves stopping at unusual roadside attractions and sampling every regional delicacy you find. And once the landscape gets monotonous, calling into the local pop radio station to say you'd like to fill in as their guest DJ. Props to Brad Wells on Louisiana's Star 101.9 for indulging me.
sheril | January 30, 2009The wind drowned out my commentary over the river, but watch for the train:
cmooney | January 29, 2009My latest Science Progress column is up: It makes the case that Stephen Colbert is the heir to Johnny Carson in terms of talk show promotion of science.
It also includes various lame and stupid talking points that I made up and didn't use on the show, such as the following hypothetical Q&A responses:
Didn't scientists start the "war" in the first place? Didn't they commit acts of aggression?
Yes, if you mean by learning things.
Why should I care about science?
Because America is really good at it--much better than France.
Is there really a "war" on science? Where are the bodies?
Well,…
sheril | January 29, 2009
This morning I woke up in Mississippi. Our highlight so far was Dreamland BBQ in Birmingham, Alabama. Has anyone been there?
I also gave The Flip a try when the sun appeared in Georgia, so here goes a test run:
Tonight, it's Austin, TX.
cmooney | January 29, 2009
So...I have a new home.
Just two days ago now, I arrived in Princeton, New Jersey and occupied a new apartment here, along with the fiance and the puppy. Los Angeles was a blast, and it's somewhere I think everyone ought to try to live--but I wanted to get back to the hoary old east coast.
I also had reason to do so: I'm now a visiting associate at the Center for Collaborative History here. The professor I'll be collaborating with is D. Graham Burnett, a science historian who taught me Darwin at Yale back in 1997. We're working on a history of science project, not surprisingly...and that's…
sheril | January 28, 2009
By the time this post publishes, I'll be on the open road somewhere between the Atlantic and Pacific. I'm leaving NC a couple months to circle the states for meetings, talks, and some fun along the way. Stopping soon at UT Austin before heading west to USC where I'm looking forward to catching up with Clifford. Then up Rt. 1, and Chicago by the AAAS annual meeting for the Valentine's Day Science Of Kissing symposium. Eventually, hitting up the northeast for a few weeks before looping back to Durham. I'm bringing this dandy little camera called The Flip along for the ride, so while…
cmooney | January 28, 2009Here it is:
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The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Obama's New Science Policy - Chris Mooney
Colbert Report Full EpisodesColbert Report Tickets
Paul McCartney AppearanceMore Funny Videos
I'll have more to say about the whole experience in my next column....thanks to everyone who wrote in with positive words about the segment.
sheril | January 27, 2009
Over the past decade, I've spent many weekends camping in Boone, North Carolina. It's a lovely place with rolling mountains and excellent BBQ. The town itself is features all sorts of unusual shops where you can make your own hemp jewelery, admire blown glass, and there's also a particular bookshop known for mysticism and alternative cures. Once, I even found Cat Artists & Their Work in there. Needless to say, it's an interesting store.
It was in that bookshop where I first learned about December 21, 2012. The date marks the end of a 5,126-year cycle on a Mayan calendar and--as the…