humor
pharyngula | July 7, 2008We seem to be having a light incursion of evangelical Christians. Here's some advice for them, on how to convert an atheist. It's a very silly article, I'm afraid, because while it says all these sensible things about being polite and getting to know them and leading them gently to church, it never addresses the key stumbling point for atheists: that their religion is wacky, nutty, insane, internally inconsistent, and illogical. The very elements that Christians think makes their faith unique and special and powerful are the pieces that make us wonder what damaged Christian brains.
For…
j7uy5 | July 5, 2008Seems like everything is being made so you can attach an iPod.
Shown below is the
href="http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=204553512&adid=17070&dcaid=17070">George
Foreman iPod Grill. With
10-watt speaker.
How patriotic is that?
And what are we to make of one of the reviews posted at Buy.com?
I love George Foreman's products! I own all of the
grills, and I use them when I have small get togethers. They are great,
indoors and out. I usually only use one at a time, since my friends
don't really come to my parties. I don't know what that is about. I
used the George…
grrlscientist | July 3, 2008tags: Just say Yes, humor, telemarketers, streaming video
Since I am a Seattle native, and since Seattle is the home of the grunge rock band, Nirvana, some of my readers are trying to use to get me in a London sort of spirit. In this case, a reader sent me this video of the Nirvana's hit song, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as played by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain [4:53]
I don't know if I should laugh or scream.
grrlscientist | July 2, 2008tags: Just say Yes, humor, telemarketers, streaming video
Just a little fun for all those people who are tired of being tortured by telemarketers [1:20]
pharyngula | June 30, 2008At least, it beats "Mr Gay", which sounds so frivolous. It seems the American Family Association, which you can tell from the name is yet another institution that has mistaken "patriarchy" for "family"*, was a little overzealous in their use of search and replace, and renamed an athlete named Tyson Gay briefly.
*Try it! Just mentally substitute "patriarchy" for "family" in the title of every right-wing organization that uses the term in their name, and it will suddenly make so much more sense.
oracknows | June 30, 2008I realize my post earlier today was a bit of a downer, but what can I say? Lately, there doesn't seem to be much good news on the ever-growing front in the war against quackery. However, in researching that piece I did come across something that made me smile. I found the campaign website for what to me appears to be the perfect embodiment of politics these days, for a leader who represents an exact fit with the mood of the times:
Locutus for President
You will be assimilated!
jlynch | June 29, 2008
Happy to see that Spain beat Germany today. Better team definitely won. Perhaps the Germans should have fielded the squad seen above?
terrasig | June 29, 2008If you didn't catch NPR's StoryCorps feature this week, you missed a charming doozy:
As a young woman, Betty Jenkins received a gift from her mother that was meant to attract the attention of young men. But as Jenkins, who is now 94, tells her niece, the attention she got wasn't the kind she was expecting.
"I was very skinny, and I didn't have any curves. I guess my mother got kind of worried, because she didn't think I had enough boyfriends," Jenkins said.
The gift was an inflatable bra that was designed to enhance its wearer's figure. A straw-like tube was used to inflate pads in the cups.…
grrlscientist | June 28, 2008tags: Unified Field Theory, humor, poetry, physics, Tim Joseph
Einstein's last blackboard notes in his office shortly before his death in 1955.
Seeking the Unified Field Theory consumed his last years.
A friend sent this amusing little story of why we do not have a "Unified Theory of everything" in physics (which is one of its goals) and why we likely never will. I've actually seen it before, but have been unable to find the original author to attribute it to.
Unified Field Theory
In the beginning there was Aristotle,
And objects at rest tended to remain at rest,
And objects in motion…
oracknows | June 28, 2008Apparently there's a chiropracter named Billy Sticker running for President. His platform:
My platform:
To increase your patient count by 200% during my first term
To increase your income by 200%
Pass legislation designating Chiropractic the Official Health Care of America
Reduce our dependency on pharmaceuticals (because Chiropractic would be the official health care!)
He even has his own video coverage:
Say it ain't so! A woo-meister for President. That'd be a step down even from our current President! It's even worse than that, though. He's apparently a guy who sells marketing…
grrlscientist | June 27, 2008tags: Tire Pump Concert, humor, musicians, streaming video
This amusing streaming video is an indication of what happens when a couple musicians get together in front of an audience after having forgotten their instruments at home. Hey, it's Friday already so it's okay to laugh! [1:31]
pharyngula | June 26, 2008Mark Isaak has put together a list of Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature — all those strange names people have given to species and molecules.
pharyngula | June 25, 2008But you should still watch this retelling of the ID saga, as it would be written by Dr Seuss.
evolvingthoughts | June 24, 2008
Here's a somewhat different take on the late great George Carlin, in an interview with Keith Olberman last year:
For me, though, he'll always be the hip Catholic Archbishop who brings about the end of the world in Dogma.
grrlscientist | June 24, 2008According to information leaked this week from the White House, planning is underway to design the George W. Bush Presidential Library, despite the fact that Bush has reportedly never read a book in his entire life. This library will include the following:
The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room, which no one has yet been able to find.
The Hurricane Katrina Room, which is still under construction.
The Alberto Gonzales Room, where you won't be able to remember anything.
The Texas Air National Guard Room, where you don't even have to show up.
The Walter Reed Hospital Room, where they…
oracknows | June 23, 2008
If you happen to be a blogger, has there ever been anything that you meant to blog about, but it totally slipped your mind? This is just such an item for me.
Yes, multiple people e-mailed me about this on Friday, and for some reason in my amusement at David Kirby's antics over the weekend twisting a CDC report and then looking even more clueless as he modified his post in response to his errors being pointed out, producing a mangled mess that made even less sense than before, in all the fun, I totally forgot about the item.
And my blog mascot is not at all pleased. Here's why:
MOSCOW - A…