Minnesota
gregladen | March 3, 2009Norm Coleman had to pay a $7,500 fine yesterday for failure to disclose important evidence in the 26 day long Franken-Coleman Senatorial Election Challenge Trial. The plaintiff, Coleman, also claimed in a written statement to the court that since the number of illegal votes cast in this election exceeds the narrow margin of difference between the two candidates (which has Franken as the winner), the election needs to be set aside. However, Coleman has failed to show that any votes were actually cast illegally, or to make any compelling legal argument that this extraordinary request be…
gregladen | February 19, 2009Well, not really, but she did mention that we are Running Out of Rich People!!!11!!!!
This first bit below is from a few days back is just full of gems. I'm giving you the whole radio interview here. Below, is an annotated version that may be more enjoyable. Either way, shoot up some Valium first.
She gets giddy over Acorn, and at just under nine minutes declares that we are running out of rich people. She also mentions that any Republicans that don't vote as she wishes are not really Republicans. And considering how ICKY she is, it's pretty amazing that she can't pronounce the "ic…
gregladen | February 14, 2009Feb 15 - Darwin Year Panel Discussion Featuring Myers, Laden, Moore, Cotner and Phillips
2009 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origins of Species. In honor of this, we have assembled a distinguished panel of scientists to give us their thoughts on evolution, creationism, and Darwin. The panelists are: PZ Myers, Randy Moore, Greg Laden, Sehoya Cotner, and Jane Phillips.
The discussion will be moderated by Lynn Fellman. Lynn is a frequent science interviewer on our Atheists Talk radio program. She is also an…
gregladen | December 22, 2008The following is actually a Facebook group, but now I'm turning it into a sort of internet meme. I believe this is an accretitive list: People have added to it. You can tell by some of the redundancies. I myself have edited it slightly.
I was born and raised in Upstate New York, but lived in "Boston" so long that I became an honorary Bostonian. But now I've lived in Minnesota long enough that I call this home and in fact a large part of this list applies to me. I believe that for the most part, where this list does not apply to a person who lives here, that is true for people who have…
gregladen | December 10, 2008 If not, ignore this blog post.
If so, then my next question is, are you an atheist, agnostic, or free thinkier kinda person? If not, then ignore this blog post.
If so, then my next question is, are you a member of Minnesota Atheists? If not, then.
CLICK HERE AND JOIN, GODDAMMIT!!!!
On the left side bar: A "join and donate" link just waiting for you.
gregladen | December 10, 2008A good friend of mine, whom I shall call L.R., got a job ... a pretty nice job, with benefits and a salary and everything, in the "helping" industry, which she's good at and which she likes. So I took her out for a congratulatory dinner (and just because we had not seen each other in weeks). It took me some effort to get her to tell me where she really wanted to eat. L.R. is a sweetly, quietly self contained person (but made of steel inside, so don't mess with her) so it was totally out of character for her to tell me where we should go so I could buy us both dinner. But I made her talk…
gregladen | November 24, 2008Gardening Like The Forest: Home Scale Ecological Food Production
Learn how you can grow an abundant food-producing ecosystem in your backyard!
Join us and learn how to grow food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizers, farmaceuticals, and fun. We can meet our own needs and regenerate healthy ecosystems at the same time!
Friday January 16, 7pm to 9pm
$10 Cover charge. All are welcome.
Minneapolis College of Art and Design
2501 Stevens Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55404
AND
Gardening Like the Forest: Fundamentals of Ecological Gardening A Workshop for Gardeners, Designers and Students
Explore the theory,…
gregladen | October 26, 2008The lake is icy-green and in the distance almost blends into the sky through a fast moving fog bank. The bald eagles (a pair and one offspring) are up to something in the back, one of them making swings over the bay and then back into the yard where they are vocalizing quite a bit. The pair of loons that always nests on the point a few hundred meters across the bay have changed to their winter plumage and are actively feeding just outside the cabin, and have been for two days. This year, they did not successfully raise an offspring, which is unusual. so we didn't get to see the cute baby…
gregladen | October 10, 2008Thank you thank you thank you all Americans from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Great White North to the Rio Grande. We accept your adoration, we revel in your awe. We, the Minnesotan. Yes. Sometimes we mess up. Like when we sent Norm Coleman instead of Walter Mondale to the Senate in a fit of Passive Aggressive Rage (PAR) stemming from the inhumility while we commemorated Paul Wellstone. But now, we make that all up and more. We, the Minnesotan, now hand you the very head of the Republican John McCain. Bow to us, as we have done this for you, for all of you.
I give you The…
gregladen | September 22, 2008Members of the Public: Now is your only chance to comment on Minnesota's new Science Standards. My suggestions: Take out the woo, dampen down the special interests, and please, consider NOT removing biology from the High School standrds!!!!!
To comment, go to this web site and read the context, the standards, and use the resources available there. And/or visit one of the public meetings listed on that site.
Overall the standards are probably an improvement on prior standards. A few questions to consider:
Looking at these standards, it seems as though High School Biology has been removed…
gregladen | September 2, 2008Have you ever visited a culture entirety different than your own (or even moderately different, like you're from New York and you visit Kentucky, or you're from Belgium and you visit Italy)? You will see things .... things people do differently, right away. Then you leave and you figure these things are what 'they' ... the people in that culture do. And you are probably right most of the time.
But one or two of your observations might have been spurious. You observe an outlier ... an odd behavior, an odd person, whatever. In fact, I think that this happens far more often than people…
gregladen | August 25, 2008They say Lake Itasca is the source of the Mississippi. This is why there is a big state park surrounding the lake, a park that preserves some beautiful old forest despite the best efforts of 19th century lumberjacks to cut it down.
Amanda next to the tallest white pine tree in Minnesota I've been to Itasca a number of times, and I've even done archaeological research there (which didn't turn out to be very interesting). But when I went to Itasca last week, it was my first visit with no work agenda, and I got to spend more time poking around and seeing the sights. I was visiting because…
gregladen | July 24, 2008Claims, "It was a lot like teaching summer school, but with fewer ups and downs."
A Minnesota high school teacher has lasted 20 hours on a carnival ride to win the Ride the Tide Challenge at the Mall of America.
Forty-year-old Jim Salava, of Oakdale, was declared the winner at the Nickelodeon Universe theme park when his final opponent stepped down at 2:35 a.m. Tuesday.
Salava was among 10 riders who boarded the Avatar Airbender at 6:30 a.m. Monday. The pool dwindled to three riders just three hours into the competition.
I don't get this. You really are not 12 hours on a carnival ride if…
gregladen | July 15, 2008... and raise our voices in thankful prayer to God Almighty..
Because, verily (I've been using that word a lot lately) the Everlovin' God has decided to not tell Jesse Ventura to run for Senate in Minnesota.
Praise the lord...
Link
hattip: David, whom I am trusting here. I have not listened to this yet.
gregladen | June 5, 2008Minnesota's Sixth District is represented in congress by a lunatic right winger known as Michele Bachmann. She will be opposed in the next election by DFL Endorsed El Tinklenberg.
Tinklenberg is having a rally tonight in Saint Cloud.
Hat Tip PZ
gregladen | May 28, 2008Special Events; Summer Camps; Exhibits' Field Trips; Nature Play; Nature Tots
Read all about it:
BioBlitzFriday, June 13, 5 p.m. through Saturday, June 14, 5 p.m.
BioBlitz is part scientific survey, part community event, and part festival. This year, BioBlitz participants will help survey part of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Newly acquired by the refuge, this beautiful land is a scientifically interesting site that is surrounded by the rapidly developing Carver County. The data collected will be used to help manage the site. Activities will take place all day. For…
gregladen | May 27, 2008Got home from the lake last night happy to see that our neighborhood was spared any significant damage from the big giant storm that engulfed several local communities, including ours. There was very large hail up-stream from us and there are a few big trees down not far from here.
The people really hit were in Hugo, where a twister formed and touched down, doing a very large amount of damage and killing one child.
Ana's sibling (you know Ana, she's running for president) not far from the twiseter saw a giant oak tree sucked into the sky and carried off to oz.
I suspect no tornadoes…
gregladen | May 19, 2008A talk by Mark Decker!
May 20, 7 p.m.Bryant-Lake Bowl, Uptown
$5-$10 (pay what you can)
Darwin wrote about the competition between individuals that results in the survival of the fittest. But what about competitions within individuals, between the cells inside our bodies? In that struggle, cancer cells could be considered the most successful since they are the most prolific. Can Darwin provide us with a novel approach to understanding cancer? How might Darwin explain the degenerative diseases of old age? Some biologists suspect that evolution actually favors diseases of old age. In fact, an…
gregladen | May 11, 2008 Marilee Thomas of Beaver City, Nebraska. And a tornado. [source] Mid-Americans ... Minnesotans, Texans, Nebraskans and denizens of Arkansas, and everyone in between, understand tornadoes, but to varying degrees. There are differences by region in how we deal with them. In Arkansas, I've seen foolish bravado. The tornado shelter there is known as the "fraidy hole" and having one or not in your back yard may be linked to one's sense of machismo. People from Missouri that I have known have a deep respect for tornadoes. An example: A few years back there was a talk being given at The U…