Christmas

To all those who come here regularly for a dose of Insolence, Respectful or otherwise, skepticism and science, best holiday wishes for whatever end-of-year holidays you might celebrate. I'll probably be on a less intensive blogging schedule until after the New Year, depending on things go (sometimes, even between Christmas and New Years, something happens that demands some Insolence, and I have a hard time resisting the call), but I'll definitely be back after Boxing Day. In the meantime...one of my all time favorite Christmas performances, and, yes, heathen that I've become, I still enjoy it…

By USA Science & Engineering Festival Founder Larry Bock Edison´s contribution to those wondrous beacons of the holiday season is a poignant one. On a wintry night during the Christmas season of 1880 -- just weeks after introducing his revolutionary invention of the first practical incandescent light -- Edison, in a bold move to promote his new technology, wowed thousands of people in front of his Menlo Park lab with a live outdoor display of dozens of incandescent lamps strung together, creating the very first strand of electric lights. Two years later, Edison´s friend and associate,…

Sorry, I don't know who to credit for that, I got it from a Facebook post...

As Orac takes a couple of days to commune with family (as amazing as it is, yes, a Plexiglass box of blinking colored lights has a family) and celebrate the season, here's a lost Christmas gem from Deepak Chopra, who interprets Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. Unfortunately, embedding is disabled; so you'll have to click on this link. You will, however, appreciate the quantum woo man's message of Christmas cheer. Merry Christmas!

This was too cute not to share. Here is a video of animals in Blank Park Zoo in Iowa performing their version of a Christmas carol.

You may be too young to know the truth about Santa Claus, but dear old Saint Nick is not the affable Anglo-Saxon philanthropist he appears to be.  In fact, evidence suggests that he is an unholy creature of the night, an ancient vampire who would suck your blood if you didn't placate him with milk and cookies. Saint Nicholas was born in Turkey in the third century AD, more than 1700 years ago.  Although rumored to have perished at the age of 73, he must have been trans-substantiated by some forgotten fiend.  Turned into a being that would burn in the light of day, old Saint Nick was gradually…

I remember it as clearly as if it was yesterday, even though it happened years ago, even before you were born. I screamed silently, pinned on my back by the massive weight of a cotton blanket, legs frozen, the dark lights flickering as the human-like form approached, its arms raised in front like The Mummy or Frankenstein's Monster, hands ready to grab, closing in. A strange net-like pattern covered the featureless humanoid shape, moving around on its surface like Saint Elmo's fire dancing on Jacob's Ladder, undulating, letting off light, disintegrating and reforming and making a crackling…

More Phenomenal random links to random stuff: life, the Universe and Everything Phenomena - new blog group under National Geographic, including some long time scibloggers: The Loom, Not Exactly Rocket Science, Laelaps and Only Human, to begin with. On the Usefulness of Useless Knowledge - Bee explains. Substantive Advice to Admissions Committees - Or, why, all things being equal, we should prefer candidates from less prestigious institutions. This is actually sensible - it is a "what have you done with what you were given" argument. But, all things are very rarely equal... and no one ever…

Scientists have discovered just what makes Rudolph's nose turn red:

And probably my all-time favourite, though this version isn't quite right:

Well, I need to do a Happy Christmas posting (and here it is, folks!) so this message from wonkroom seems rather festive: New psychological research finds that dire messages about the threat of global warming will strengthen people's acceptance of climate science when combined with solutions, which is the approach taken by leading climate activists. For some people, their response to dire messages is strongly dependent on whether hope is offered. (ht: Chairman Brian). Which means, I need to present you with The Solution. And that is clearly, dress up as Father Christmas and go rowing:

I did a little (very little, very short) newsroom debate on Fox 9 with a guy named Tom who appears to represent conservative Christians regarding the question of "Does Christmas have place in schools?" I quickly add that even though that was the planned focus of the discussion, it was quickly revised to be "Oh, no, not just Christmas, but Kwanza and Hanuka and stuff too." That particular bit of backpedaling is, of course, ingenuous and annoying, because nobody from Hanuka or Kwanza is trying to force their religious holidays into public schools, only the conservative Christians. So if we…

tags: What Do You get a Heroin Addict for Christmas?, television, humor, funny, comedy, christmas, satire, Mitchell and Webb, BBC, streaming video For those of you who are starting to think about (GAG!!) Christmas shopping already, I thought you might find this funny. I am still trying to figure out what the "message" here is ... More at BBC's That Mitchell and Webb Look site.

tags: How to Wrap a Cat for Christmas, holidays, christmas, funny, weird, silly, cats, pets, streaming video This silly and amusing video is a little late for christmas, but it's still the holiday season, more or less (especially considering the mountains of snow that people in much of the Northern Hemisphere are dealing with right now), so it's appropriate.

tags: MyZeil Einkaufszentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Expat Life, Frankfurt through my eye, photography, image of the day Weihnachten in MyZeil Einkaufszentrum. MyZeil Einkaufszentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Image: GrrlScientist, 29 December 2009 [larger view]. I love this photographing shopping center because it is so architecturally interesting. I plan to return often to snap more photographs to share with you.

tags: MyZeil Einkaufszentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Expat Life, Frankfurt through my eye, photography, image of the day Weihnachten in MyZeil Einkaufszentrum. MyZeil Einkaufszentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Image: GrrlScientist, 29 December 2009 [larger view]. I love this photographing shopping center because it is so architecturally interesting. I plan to return often to snap more photographs to share with you.

tags: MyZeil Einkaufszentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Expat Life, Frankfurt through my eye, photography, image of the day Weihnachten in MyZeil Einkaufszentrum. MyZeil Einkaufszentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Image: GrrlScientist, 29 December 2009 [larger view]. I love this photographing shopping center because it is so architecturally interesting. I plan to return often to snap more photographs to share with you. I already have planned a few images I wish to capture of the outside of this building during specific weather conditions.

tags: MyZeil Einkaufszentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Expat Life, Frankfurt through my eye, photography, image of the day Weihnachten in MyZeil Einkaufszentrum. MyZeil Einkaufszentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Image: GrrlScientist, 29 December 2009 [larger view]. I love photographing this shopping center because it is so architecturally interesting. This is the first of another series of images snapped shortly after Christmas.

tags: Holidays, christmas, Atheist Holiday Traditions, big fat whale, cartoon, comedy, humor, satire, fucking hilarious Image: Big Fat Whale [larger view].

Happy Holidays to all regular and part time readers out there! Frosty the Coalman, is a jolly happy soul, He's abundant here in America and he helps our economy roll. Frosty the Coalman's getting cleaner every day He's affordable and adorable and helps workers keep their pay. There must have been some magic in clean coal technology, For when they looked for pollutants there were nearly none to see. Oh, Frosty the Coalman, is a jolly happy soul, He's abundant here in America and he helps our economy roll. Thumpity thump thump, thumpity thump thump look at Frosty go, Thumpity thump thump,…