Paul Z. Meyers
pharyngula
Posts by this author
November 13, 2006
Here's a useful tip: if ever you are attacked by giant monsters, you want to call a Minnesotan for help. I think it's the summertime practice in fighting off insectoid swarms that helps.
November 13, 2006
Stephen Bates of the Guardian gets an advance tour of Ken Ham's new creation science museum. It's amusing and creepy at the same time.
When it is finished and open to the public next summer, it may, quite possibly, be one of the weirdest museums in the world.
The Creation Museum — motto: "Prepare…
November 13, 2006
I heard good things about Dawkins' talk at Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, so I let my computer crank away at downloading the video overnight—it's 113 megabytes! Then this morning Norm of onegoodmove lets me know that there are some shorter clips available from the Q&A: a…
November 12, 2006
You have to applaud the courage of this history teacher in Kearny, New Jersey:
Among his remarks in open class were statements that a being must have created the universe, that the Christian Bible is the word of God, and that dinosaurs were aboard Noah's ark. If you do not accept Jesus, he flatly…
November 12, 2006
Julia Sweeney has audio samples from her new CD online—and gosh, she seems to have the same opinions of Intelligent Design and Deepak Chopra that I do! It must be something correlated with godlessness…like brains.
(Thanks to Hank Fox)
November 12, 2006
Check out the Sandwalk: Strolling with a skeptical biochemist. I'm dismayed that it's been up for a whole week before I noticed.
I've already learned something important: Tim Horton is the god-equivalent in Canada. If coffee and donuts inspire similar levels of sexual obsession and freaky…
November 12, 2006
Pam Spaulding suggests that this unbelievable speculation is a trial balloon:
Some big name Democrats want to oust DNC Chairman Howard Dean, arguing that his stubborn commitment to the 50-state strategy and his stinginess with funds for House races cost the Democrats several pickup opportunities.…
November 12, 2006
I like this summary by Brian Flemming:
The Democrats won a mandate without excessive God-talk and without actually winning over evangelicals in significant numbers. The election results weaken the argument for religious pandering; they don't strengthen it.
This is not to say that we can tell the…
November 11, 2006
My day was spent in the Twin Cities attending the inaugural public meeting of the Minnesota Citizens for Science Education (MnCSE), and I can safely say now that Science Education Saturday was a phenomenal success: a good turnout, two top-notch talks, a stimulating panel discussion, and an involved…
November 11, 2006
I'm ensconced in a comfy chair at the Bell Museum, waiting for the MnCSE Science Education Saturday meeting to start. I'll take notes and be sure to put up a summary later today.
It's not too late to come on down!
November 10, 2006
UTI is becoming just a center for hilarity lately.
November 10, 2006
Several people have brought this cartoon to my attention. I don't get it.
So Bush and Rummy are being rewarded for their incompetence by getting to hang out with the octopuses? Or does the cartoonist just hate cephalopods, and is illustrating their torment? (They do look kind of pissed).
November 10, 2006
I just got the program for the event at the Bell Museum tomorrow. If you are inspired and want to show up, you can register at the door ($10) and get in.
Science Education Saturday
November 11, 2006
Sponsored by Minnesota Citizens for
Science Education (MnCSE www.mnscience.org), The Bell Museum…
November 10, 2006
Oh, no! I've been assimilated!
What American accent do you have?
Your Result: North Central
Â
"North Central" is what professional linguists call the Minnesota accent. If you saw "Fargo" you probably didn't think the characters sounded very out of the ordinary. Outsiders probably mistake you…
November 10, 2006
So this is a sorta random music list, but not quite. The new version of iTunes has this "iMix" feature where it will generate a web-based collection from any playlist, so I selected the first 10 from my randomized library, threw it into a new playlist, selected iMix, and…discovered it only builds a…
November 10, 2006
Now Shelley gets in the game with a friday cephalopod post—but I'm not going to complain. Let's have squid on every blog, every day!
Also, finding out that there is such a profession as octopus stylist is good news, just in case I ever have to switch professions.
November 10, 2006
According to the mealy-mouthed Jim Wallis, anyway, the recent election was a defeat for the religious extremists and the secular Left, and a great victory for moderate and conservative Christians. Fortunately, we've got Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden to administer a corrective, or I'd have to…
November 10, 2006
I can guess what that all means—it's from a description of the Panda's Thumb and Pharyngula in a Polish newspaper. The rest of the article…eh, I don't have a clue.
November 10, 2006
Abraliopsis
Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
November 10, 2006
Spank me and make me cry. Or just read this freakin' terrifying article about homeschooling kids. First, start with the arrogance of Patrick Henry College:
"Christians increasingly have an advantage in the educational enterprise," he says. "This is evident in the success of Christian home-schooled…
November 9, 2006
Synergy! Ooblog leads me to a spectacular painting of carnotaurs mating (did they always get a flight of pterosaurs at the climax?), and then by way of The Two Percent Company, I found this enlightening poster of mammals mating (hey, how many of the first 20 have you done?)…with the unfortunate…
November 9, 2006
All right, stop it now. This is getting ridiculous. Tuesday, we watch the Republicans collapse in the elections. Wednesday, Rumsfeld folds up and goes home. Today, Allen concedes, giving Democrats the Senate. What next? Tomorrow, Bush and Cheney are abducted by aliens, who broadcast the anal…
November 9, 2006
Mike Klymkowsky is selling some snazzy evo-wear in the name of bioliteracy. I'm definitely going to have to get that tree of life t-shirt.
Here's yet another set of Evo-T shirts. No self-respecting biologist need expose his or her breasts to the world ever again!
November 9, 2006
So stop rubbing it in. Here's an article about the superiority of the bird visual system: it doesn't just have better acuity, it can process information faster. We're adapted to a sedate stroll, they're adapted to high speed aerobatics…and guess which one of us is crazy enough to pilot multi-ton…
November 9, 2006
Watch the initial "cautious optimism" about the "'Rats" (that's the Democrats) descend into outrage at the Commies and perverts at this election discussion from Tuesday night at FreeConservatives. Not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.
November 9, 2006
Brain imaging is a useful tool, but in the wrong hands it can be little more than hi-tech phrenology. Being able to say that you used single photon emission computed tomography to come to your conclusion sure sounds pretty, and it can seem like you know what you're doing, but all too often the use…
November 9, 2006
More carnivals!
Four Stone Hearth #2
Grand Rounds #3.07
Carnival of the Liberals #25
Skeptics' Circle #47 (whoa, check out the superhero comic!)
I and the Bird #36