pharyngula

The case of the various kinds of blogs hosted on ScienceBlogs has come up on Newsweek, and I get quoted trying to explain how I'm unperturbed by a couple of institutional blogs here. Not all bloggers feel this way, Myers included. "We've known about those [institutional blogs] for some time--they…

This isn't exactly schadenfreude, it's more like merely recognizing the ungainly nature of the beast — but blog networks are always going to struggle a bit. Take a look at these posts from the Nature Network. It's not doom-and-gloom, it's just wrestling with the medium, as we've experienced here in…

It's amazing: WikiLeaks has just dumped over 91,000 classified documents from the Afghanistan war on the web. Just like that, we get an actual look at what's been going on over there, unfiltered by the traditional media, and definitely not given a rosy patina by Fox News. Fox New is, of course,…

Anoura fistulata tonguing Centropogon nigricans (via Botany Photo of the Day)

There is a site called Christopher Hitchens Watch which, I believe, began with a good cause: it's been around for about 5 years, and initially focused on Hitchens' support of the war in Iraq. That was a good idea: I disagree with him on that colossal waste of lives and money, and his views are fair…

This is true, but cruel: It made me think…there would be a lot more vegans in the world if they could each declare one special exemption. I think "I'm a vegan, except when it comes to bacon" would be a very common phrase, just like "I'm a skeptic, except when it comes to religion." Mmmm, bacon.

There are now a few more details on the story of the dog given a communion wafer: the dog's name is Trapper, the majority of the congregation was happy to see him get a cracker, it's just one person who complained, and now dogs have been officially excommunicated from the church. And this is…

As some of you know, there was a long-running contretemps at Chris Mooney's Intersocktion blog — Mooney took a comment by someone named "Tom Johnson" as evidence that the New Atheists were inciting all kinds of destructive fury and ran with it, promoting it as a solid strike against the same…

Today it's family day with a mob of Myerses hanging about and bickering opinonatedly at a picnic. You aren't invited unless you can show evidence of a recent family relationship; showing evidence that all primates are related is nice, but won't get you in the door. Tuesday at 6ish I'll be at the…

Dr Charles is having a Poetry Contest, with wonderful prizes to be awarded to the winner with the best poem about "experiencing, practicing, or reflecting upon a medical, scientific, or health-related matter." It sounds great until you realize you're probably going to have to compete against the…

We're happier out of a straitjacket than in one. I saw something wonderful at a science fiction convention a few weeks ago. At these events, people often put on odd and extravagant costumes, and I saw one rather obese young man who'd made a minimalist choice: he'd come as one of the Spartans from…

This is disgraceful. A reader sent me a link to a Target catalog, and apparently they're now selling a Li'l PZ Action Set. Think of the children.

The participants in the exhausting thread are hereby ordered to explain this impossible phenomenon: rainbows. I don't wanna hear any of your crazy Newton talk and refraction and water droplets, neither. (via The Skeptic's Field Guide) (Current totals: 10,691 entries with 1,066,521 comments.)

I've already complained a little bit about the poor availability of network connectivity at my mother's house. I looked next door at the Bible Chapel and discovered the source of the problem. We're jinxed. No. No it isn't.

Most of you don't understand evolution. I mean this in the most charitable way; there's a common conceptual model of how evolution occurs that I find everywhere, and that I particularly find common among bright young students who are just getting enthusiastic about biology. Let me give you the…

Well, Auburn, actually. I'm visiting family this week and mainly holing up in my mother's house to type. She doesn't have an Internet connection, and no nearby wireless. It's like moving into the backwoods, so I'm going to be a bit throttled for a while. But I shall get much done! I'm entering this…

Stay tuned for frolicsome hijinks and high hilarity. We have stirred up some kooks. Here are 3 in ascending order of lunacy. That climate fraud, Anthony Watts, has noticed Pepsigate. He's got a unique spin on it: the reason some Sciencebloggers were very upset at the inclusion of an unlabeled…

Rebecca Watson on honesty as the atheist virtue:

There is a zoo near Bristol called — you'll see there are already problems right from the name — Noah's Ark Zoo. It is unambguously proud of its status as a blatantly creationist institution. After looking at the current explanations for origins and evolution; it is our view that the evidence…

Ben Stein has opened his mouth again, this time on the economy. He thinks the 15 million Americans who are unemployed deserve it. The people who have been laid off and cannot find work are generally people with poor work habits and poor personalities. I say "generally" because there are exceptions…

This story is nice and sad at the same time. At an Anglican church in Canada, a parishioner attended with his dog, went up to take communion and his pet followed him, and after giving the man the magic cookie, the priest placed a communion wafer on the dog's tongue, too. Hey, he was just waiting…

At last, word of Phil's secret media project has leaked out: he's got a Discovery Channel show about how the universe is out to get him, called Bad Universe. It's got debunkings of astronomical myths and bad movie tropes, and most importantly, it's got explosions. I'll watch that. (via Skepchick)

How about breast ironing? When I first read about it, I wondered how it would even do anything — but then you discover that they heat stones until they're hot enough to cause pain, and press these instruments of torture to their chest daily for months. And who carries out this sadistic abuse? Their…

Westboro Baptist Church decided that they were going to picket Comic-Con, and Justin Kirchart sent me pictures. He also sent me a photo of the WBC picket — it's a sad and pathetic 4 people standing and holding the usual "YOU HATE GOD" and "GOD HATES FAGS" signs, and it wasn't very interesting, so I…

CFI wants your help: they're looking for video public service announcements that make a point about freedom of expression. You can do it! Although they do set the bar high with this example.

So there I was on strike, and this appalling news story flew by and I had to choke on my tongue. I'm late, but I have to say something. The story, as you probably all know, is that Shirley Sherrod gave a talk on her work assisting poor farmers hang on to their land, in which she confessed to being…

I'm one of those dreadful animal-centric zoologically inclined biologists. Plants? What are those? Fungi? They're related to metazoans somehow. Lichens? Not even on the radar. The first step in fixing a problem, though, is recognizing that you have one. So I confess to you, O Readers, that my name…

Isn't this just the perfect theme song for recent events? The strike is over. We had a productive discussion with the Seed Overlords, and I think we've clarified issues, got some ideas for further progress, and will be working for a Better World in the Future. Don't expect any sudden changes here…