pharyngula

I just received a big ol' mailing tube in the division office. The office staff made a little joke about how they'd rather I didn't open it there, just in case (the Catholics will be so happy — they've managed to instill fear in uninvolved innocents), so they missed out — it was a beautiful print,…

The mayor of Fort Mill, South Carolina forwarded one of those stupid chain emails that throws around absurd accusations — in this case, the Bible predicted that the anti-christ would be a Muslim in his 40s, and that Barack Obama was therefore the anti-christ. There is so much wrong there; Obama is…

This is a very simple, lucid video of Spencer Wells talking about his work on the Genographic Project, the effort to accumulate lots of individual genetic data to map out where we all came from. I've also submitted a test tube full of cheek epithelial cells to this project, and Lynn Fellman is…

I've barred the doors — I'm sure that any moment now, a squadron of goose-stepping nuns will come marching up the street to wag their fingers at me and rebuke me for what I've started. It seems the Youth of Today are going on YouTube and…flaunting their disrespect for crackers! People can find a…

…and this site is fertile ground for those seeking to spread the word of Jesus Christ. The readership here is far more in need of the word than Egypt, Colombia, Iraq, Solomon Islands, Malaysia, Zambia, Togo, Austria, Pakistan or Iran. So, please, get a bible. They're free, and if you don't take…

No, that's not right. It would be selfish for us as individuals to take advantage of this incredible windfall. A controversial creationist who successfully campaigned for Richard Dawkins' official website to be banned in Turkey has offered a multitrillion- pound challenge to scientists. Adnan…

Let us stir up a little tempest in Tennessee. An internet poll asks, SHOULD A DISPLAY OF THE 10 COMMANDMENTS BE ALLOWED IN OUR COUNTY COURTHOUSE?. The currently leading answer, with 82% of the vote, is "Absolutely. The laws of our land are based on the 10 Commandments and anybody who doesn't want…

I motored into my driveway at 1am last night, after a long day and a long flight from LA. And now you expect me to start blogging again? You people are so demanding. Oh, well, it was a fun weekend, and you can see some of it already on the web. That wild man Scooter was there, and he made an audio…

There may not be a god, but apparently there is a goddess, and her name is Tina Fey.

There's going to be a new Tangled Bank on Wednesday, 1 October, at Evolved and Rational — so send me your entries soon.

This photo won an honorable mention in the Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. They were robbed! Grand prize or they'll rip the judges' faces off! Squidsuckers: The Little Monsters That Feed the Beast Credit: Jessica D. Schiffman and Caroline L. Schauer, Drexel University Crunch. The…

Today is Pulpit Freedom Sunday, that day when the wingnut churches were all planning to preach endorsements of political candidates in defiance of the restrictions imposed on them by their tax-exampt status. I hope the IRS harvests a windfall here — it's simply absurd that they can demand freedom…

A reader just informed me that he saw that the Institute for Creation Research is advertising on Fox News. This is not at all surprising — all it takes is money, and these groups are always buying up ad space anywhere they can get it. There is some amusement in the ad, though: I didn't realize that…

There is a big rally for separation of church and state going on today at 3:30, beginning at the west steps of the Colorado Capitol building. Get out there and make your voice heard! This is the information I've received about it: Goals: To show support for a wall of separation between religion and…

I hope you like Japanese hip-hop. Here's Hifana: (via Nic)

It's the physicists' turn on Atheists Talk radio today. Tune in at Honolulu Sun 4:00 AM     Sao Paulo Sun 11:00 AM     Addis Ababa Sun 5:00 PM Anchorage Sun 6:00 AM Rio de Janeiro Sun 11:00 AM Baghdad Sun 5:00 PM Vancouver Sun 7:00 AM St. John's Sun 11:30 AM Aden Sun 5:00…

I'm at the big Atheist Alliance conference, and this has been the very busy day, so I thought I'd just mention a few of the fun things going on. Last night at Libros Revolución was a blast, and thanks especially to Keith for driving us around. Lots of familiar people from the threads here were…

I entirely skipped the whole McCain/Obama debate nonsense to spend a very pleasant evening in downtown LA, preaching the godless gospel to the already converted. So…who won?

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

I'm getting some email from local people wanting to get together while I'm here in LA. The best opportunity is tonight (Friday, 26 September), when I'll be speaking downtown at Libros Revolución, at 312 W. 8th St (between Broadway & Hill streets). We're scheduled to start at 7:00pm, but due to…

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

Here it is the time of year when Minnesotans are reviewing the state science standards, and I'm off in California, shirking. At least Greg Laden is on top of things, and while there are some things that need to be fixed, it's mostly good news: no creationists are making a fuss this time around.…

Geologists have just discovered the oldest terrestrial rock yet: some badly battered bit of something called a faux-amphibolite from Northern Quebec, Canada that has been dated to 4.28 billion years ago. I'm afraid most of the paper is way above my head — lots of radioisotope measurements,…

It's a stunning about-face. Not only does she admit that evolution is valid, but she confesses that she herself is an example of a transitional form. "I am gutted that I have let the American Right down like this," she said at a tearful press conference this morning, surrounded by her collection of…

Unfortunately, I left my red-green glasses at home, on the arm of my comfy chair, I think, so I had to settle for watching me looking flat. I was interviewed by 3D Science News, and they've just put the video of the first part online. Don't get your hopes up, Vincent Price was much better in the 3D…

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

Uh-oh. I'm at the Atheist Alliance International conference, and I've just discovered the Klingons for Jesus site…and it's convinced me. I've converted. Should I cancel my talk, or should I go ahead and preach in Klingon to an audience of atheists? P.S. If you're at the conference, too, and you'd…

Well, this is amusing. Someone sent in a complaint to Donald Wildmon's American Family Association about this post using my email address, which meant that the helpful people at AFA sent their response to me. Here it is: Thank you so much for sharing this information with us. We are aware that…

I should be flying through the air right now, on my way to Los Angeles for another long travel weekend. I was also out of town last week, and to my shame was too busy to post a Friday Cephalopod. I will not make that mistake this time: in recompense, tomorrow I will post THREE (3) Friday…

Donald Wildmon, crusading anti-gay bigot, is asking pastors to take a pledge to turn out the vote. He's getting a good response, and you might want to encourage your ecclesiastical friends to participate. I'm particularly impressed with the Alaskan contingent so far.