pharyngula

I am an unconsoleable wretch. I am 15,500km from home, parted from my beloved on this day when we should be together. This is our 30th wedding anniversary, we've known each other now for 45 years (we had a long engagement), and I'm in Melbourne, Australia, while she's in Morris, Minnesota. I sigh.…

After all, some Muslims fall apart into frightened hysterics when someone draws a cartoon. It's happened again; a couple of Muslim kooks have been arrested for threatening to murder a cartoonist. Lars Vilks' crime was drawing Mohammed as a dog. Although it could have been greed that motivated them…

I seem to have spent a lot of time at the Global Atheist Conference with cameras pointed at me. Below the fold I've thrown in a sampling of photos from Michael Barnett, Melinda Kelly, and Philip Costley — just to show you all that we did have a good time. Here are a few from the Pharyngufest that…

Gosh. I have been informed that yesterday's posting of my crazy email was too, too harsh, and that I'm such a meanie. Well, I resolved to be much nicer as I worked my way through my neglected in-box, so here are a couple more letters I've gotten in the last day or two. Dear PZ, I find the…

I have something in common with these guys. That's the Polish death metal band Behemoth, and you can see that they look like real atheists: cadaverous, lots of black leather and spikes, with nice metal jewelry in odd places on their clothing. Uh, none of that is at all like me. Here they are in…

It's more of the same; the deeper they dig into the Irish Catholic Church, the filthier it gets. The latest news is a revelation from the senior cleric in Ireland. Cardinal Sean Brady, primate of all-Ireland, admitted he was present at meetings where two abused teenagers were made to sign vows of…

Citing a "sophisticated campaign" on the internet (congratulations, Michael Nugent and all the gang at Atheist Ireland), the Irish government is going to reconsider their blasphemy law. Dermot Ahern, the justice minister, is proposing that a vote to remove the criminal offence of blasphemy be held…

Words are the great ju-ju — some apparently believe we have the power to call up Satan and summon the lightning with the choice use of language. One of the common quirks of many Christian and Jewish sites on the internet is the insistence on writing G_D, as if including an "o" turns the word into a…

The Australian had a few things to say about the convention. It sold out. That's probably enough. This convention could have been much, much bigger, with a little more support. Next time — and I did hear the organizers talk about the possibility of doing it again in two years, hint, hint — it can…

There was a bit of unwarranted controversy in Richard Dawkins' talk here at the Global Atheist Convention. In the Q&A at the end, one woman got the microphone, declared that she was a believer, announced that she was grateful to a god, and asked the question, "What is DNA? Where did DNA come…

OK, gang, my travels are greatly disrupting my ability to keep up with the thread everlasting, and you're taking advantage of my frequent absences to run up the comment count. Well, here's something to reassure the American audience that we aren't alone in dealing with idiots in power — I've been…

Convention is over! Gotta sleep! Just in case you were wondering who I've been hanging about with, here are some faces with familiar names. That's Rorschach, Wowbagger, some yob who barged into the picture, Bride of Shrek, and Kel.

One of the fun surprises of the Global Atheist Convention is that, after a long day of shrill talks from rabidly militant atheists (…and a few accommodationists, shock horror), the evening sessions are all about the humor. So last night we got The Chasers, and I also got to meet Nonstampcollector,…

I predict this cartoon will be appearing all over the place here today. I quite like Bob O'Hara's equivalent portrait of Nature Network, too.

I'm afraid I won't be doing much posting live from the Global Atheist Convention; I'm busy, I'm having fun, my dancecard is full, and whenever things slow down a little bit some new person comes up to say hello. But have no fear, I'll put up some comments afterwards, and also, the Australian…

I am remiss in my duties. The last episode of the endless thread has expanded to excessive size while I was off frolicking in the antipodes. In my defense, I have been distracted by the remarkable habits of Australians: every time my hands were empty, they would put a beer in it. I once made the…

Enteroctopus dofleini Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.

Not as nasty as I feared, but the consecrated hunk o' Jesus I put it on was ghastly.

We don't have a good name for this abomination. It's not bestiality, since it is cross-phylum, cross-kingdom lasciviousness. Although, I do have to admit…that is one smokin' hot orchid.

The official kick-off of the Melbourne Global Atheist convention is tonight, but we're starting without the the officials. I met Bride of Shrek (who is not green) and Rorschach (who wasn't wearing the cool shifting pattern mask) for dinner last night. I can't say I was exactly lively company — I…

Constance McMillen is a high school student in a small town in Itawamba County, Mississippi. She's also gay. I think you can guess where this is going. I can see the flames of someone's personal hell from here. It looks like Ms McMillen is a very confident person, though, so I'd guess that her…

Wow. Bill Donohue is going to love Andrew Brown. Brown has written a defense of the Catholic church titled "Catholic child abuse in proportion"; you can tell right away exactly where it is going to be going. 'Only' 4% of American priests have been accused of sexual abuse of a minor, and as much as…

After a long confinement in a cramped metal tube, the guards stewardesses have finally released me in Melbourne. I'm going to have to figure out what I'm doing next — I think the University of Melbourne Secular Society is going to wrangle me out to a wildlife sanctuary, but I haven't connected up…

Lithops

Well. There's another paper out discussing science blogs, which is a good thing, I suppose. I just find the conclusion a bit disappointing. Bora has an exhaustive dissection, and both The Panda's Thumb and Cosmic Variance have briefer (they'd have to be! Bora got loquacious) discussions of the…

I just got my hands on a very interesting book for the younger set: it's aimed at kids in grades 5-8, and it's a description of the life and work of a real live scientist, someone who does both field and lab work, and studies development and the effects of environmental toxins on reproduction. The…

Roy Ashburn, California legislator, opponent of gay equality, unwilling to even recognize gay rights activists, has admitted at the age of 55 that he is gay. That is so sad. To live a half-century in denial, to be so steeped in self-loathing that you build a career on stamping down people just like…

The Philippines has a problem with a rising number of AIDS cases every year, and members of the government have been promoting a sensible response: Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral has sponsored a program that distributes free condoms, for instance. You can guess who opposes prophylactics, though…