51. Richard Dawkins on The Big Questions

Comment #157741 by bluebird on April 9, 2008 at 1:43 pm

This was brought to my attention via 'Composers Datebook' a few days ago.
Music was written 30 years ago, and this video is from a recent Holocaust movie (I think)...
Very moving...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miLV0o4AhE4

52. Christian Founders 3D Adventure Computer Game

Comment #152951 by bluebird on March 31, 2008 at 6:52 pm

First week of May brings 'National Day of Prayer'. Also, as if that isn't bad enough, senators Lieberman & Brownback are sponsors of a 'Ten Commandments Weekend' Resolution. Aaarrgghh.


Some progress was made very recently for the "forgotten people":
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080308_1_A1_spanc54823

53. Vatican: Islam surpasses Roman Catholicism as world's largest religion

Comment #152923 by bluebird on March 31, 2008 at 5:54 pm

CruciFiction, the 'New Pope' video is a real hoot, thanks for posting it!

The Pope will visit the U.S. in a few weeks.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/080328/us/usreport_pope_usa_colleges_dc_2

54. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #150090 by bluebird on March 26, 2008 at 12:53 pm

Tillykke med fodselsdagen, Professor Dawkins, and many happy returns of the day!!

55. Sue Blackmore debates Alister McGrath

Comment #149648 by bluebird on March 26, 2008 at 3:45 am

The grapes of McGrath are barely palatable.

Susan, however, I very much enjoyed listening to. She's the Julie Andrews of reason! I'd love to see her featured on mainstream American women's television and magazines.

56. I suppose it's due ('Expelled' review)

Comment #147959 by bluebird on March 21, 2008 at 4:43 pm

Lawrence Krauss did a BookTV segment recently called 'Scientific Literacy & Public Policy'~~
The subject of Evolution & ID is interlaced throughout this 1 1/2 hour program:

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=204010-1

57. Beatrix Potter, scientist

Comment #147423 by bluebird on March 20, 2008 at 11:27 am

A wonderful article to read this Equinox...good links, too!

...donated 4,000 acres

58. Report: 32% Of Prayers Deflected Off Passing Satellites

Comment #147082 by bluebird on March 19, 2008 at 7:00 pm

They shoot, they score!!

These two Onion bits are a great nightcap, thanks :))

59. Sci-fi guru Clarke to have secular funeral

Comment #146824 by bluebird on March 19, 2008 at 1:14 pm

...DNA from his hair sent into orbit

60. God's cure for gays lost in sin

Comment #146788 by bluebird on March 19, 2008 at 12:06 pm

I had not heard of Mercy Ministries until these articles from au/news. One young woman is quoted from another article~ "Mercy Ministries is obsessed with women's bodies, and controlling them". Their web-site looks friendly & inviting: http://www.mercyministries.org/

Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly...
Buyer Beware...

61. Richard Dawkins on The Alan Colmes Show

Comment #143969 by bluebird on March 14, 2008 at 6:49 pm

Thanks for posting this, I enjoyed it! Nice that Colmes was able to shed that cockleburr Hannity for this radio interview.

Off Topic.... Enjoy a slice of (American) Pi Day:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_Day

62. Beauty ad banned after Christian outcry

Comment #142422 by bluebird on March 12, 2008 at 1:03 pm

schwie, thanks, I was hoping to view the ad. I think it's rather clever, and I like it.

Must be uncomfortable for the religious to always have their bloomers in a bunch.

63. Should Galileo's tomb be opened for DNA tests?

Comment #142351 by bluebird on March 12, 2008 at 11:14 am

Our city is now hosting "Bodies, the Exhibition"; the Catholic Church (and others) have protested this. However, the exhibit continues to be very popular.

Something that is becoming popular in the U.S.~~ eco-friendly burials:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/12/27/green.coffins.ap/index.html

64. Seven new deadly sins: are you guilty?

Comment #142341 by bluebird on March 12, 2008 at 11:00 am

Another article about the new so-called "Magnificent 7" intimates that the Pope lists the 'ruination of the environment' because he plans to incorporate speeches about ecology/environment in his trip to the U.S. this Spring.


http://www.uspapalvisit.org/mediakit/PR_Sambi1_1112.htm

65. Richard Dawkins' US Tour begins this week

Comment #138390 by bluebird on March 4, 2008 at 9:01 am

RE: Hell, Michigan. The U.S. is chock full of unique city/town names:

http://www.accuracyproject.org/towns.html

66. A natural phenomenon

Comment #137560 by bluebird on March 3, 2008 at 6:46 am

Great article! We look forward to Netflix stocking "Life in Cold Blood"; hope it's soon.

Thanks to poster's recommendations of other Sir D.A. "must sees"...

RE: deletion of evolution reference:
http://richarddawkins.net/article,1628,Censoring_Sir_David,James-Randerson

An aside, Robert Redford has been a staunch environmentalist since early '70s. His pleasant voice would inject passion into any nature show. Sigourney Weaver is also an environmentalist.

67. Berlin gallery in Islam art row

Comment #137378 by bluebird on March 2, 2008 at 6:37 pm

Fiesoduck & MelM, thanks for those links.

njwong, Yea!
Reminds me of a Soma Cube.

68. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #137001 by bluebird on March 2, 2008 at 5:38 am

Interesting banter on the current U.S. political controversies. Good to see C.H. again... "Invisible means of support"... good line!

Looks as tho "Religulous" release date has been postponed:
http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/12/13/religulous-follows-in-the-steps-of-michael-moores-sicko/

69. Add another flea to the list...

Comment #135531 by bluebird on February 29, 2008 at 4:22 am

...and give away

70. Earth's Final Sunset Predicted

Comment #135521 by bluebird on February 29, 2008 at 4:03 am

Interesting article/comments...plenty to ponder.
I heard about this "scheme" the other day; it does sound like science fiction.

Anyway, Happy Leap Day!!

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080229.html

71. Sea reptile is biggest on record

Comment #135147 by bluebird on February 28, 2008 at 3:21 pm

"Sea monsters" fascinate me, and this one is no exception. Don't know if scientists routinely give their discoveries nick-names... I humbly suggest "Flipper2".

emmet, Svalbard does look amazing!! I hadn't heard of it until this article. (Thanks RDFSR).

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard

72. The Giant Tortoise's Tale

Comment #134028 by bluebird on February 27, 2008 at 6:39 am

Maravilloso!! These tales are truly wonderful (eagerly awaits #3).

I noticed that Isabela Island has the form of a Sea Horse (I think that's way cool).

Fortunately, there are many Tortoise/Turtle conservation efforts, including this:
http://gct.org/tortoise.html

*Slow and steady wins the race*

73. The Encyclopedia of Life, No Bookshelf Required

Comment #133670 by bluebird on February 26, 2008 at 1:46 pm

I remember reading about E.O.L./EO Wilson last year (can be found @ RD.net "archives"). Now it's imminent!

Oodles of kudos to all the people who helped bring this momentous idea to fruition!!

Another reference: http://crossmediablog.wordpress.com/2007/12/18/eolorg-launching-by-mid-2008/

74. The Salamander's Tale

Comment #132745 by bluebird on February 25, 2008 at 7:15 am

Interesting.

Per Salamanders, this snippet caught my eye:
http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jan/salamander-tongue-strikes-like-a-crossbow

75. The Science behind the Large Hadron Collider

Comment #132622 by bluebird on February 25, 2008 at 3:56 am

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080225.html

76. Physicist Neil Turok: Big Bang Wasn't the Beginning

Comment #132408 by bluebird on February 24, 2008 at 6:04 pm

pulsar1z, thanks for that link!

Will delve more into your site later; (I like the Planetarium music...thanks to clear skies here, the Lunar eclipse was awesome).

77. The Lava Lizard's Tale

Comment #131271 by bluebird on February 22, 2008 at 6:45 am

Bellissimo!! We certainly look forward to the next two installments...

We are in the midst of a frigid/icy winter... so 'tis lovely to be an arm-chair tourist and "visit" the Galapagos, esp. with Professor Dawkin's sublime narration.

78. Whale Evolution

Comment #130935 by bluebird on February 21, 2008 at 2:06 pm

We enjoyed this PBS video, thanks!


Next Tuesday on PBS (online 27th):
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/microraptor/index.html

79. Revealed: Secrets of the Camouflage Masters

Comment #130895 by bluebird on February 21, 2008 at 1:10 pm

"cuttlefish heaven", that's where our parakeets would like to hang out!

The article, video, and three-category hypothesis are all so interesting.
I forget to check the NY Times science links, so thanks for posting this.

EDIT:Rational_G, cool video.

80. Fleabytes

Comment #130518 by bluebird on February 20, 2008 at 6:50 pm

Zowie Paula... as Elinor Glyn would say, you've got "IT"!!

You're the cat's pyjamas & the bee's knees :)

81. 'Frog from hell' fossil unearthed

Comment #129476 by bluebird on February 19, 2008 at 7:26 am

Wow, don't goad this toad!
Fascinating discovery from the fascinating eco-system that is Madagascar.

Recently in our area, a cousin of the chorus frog was discovered... the tiny Cajun chorus frog, pseudacris fouquettei.

Listening to a frog chorus is not only soothing, it's a sure sign of a healthy environment.

82. Smaller Version of the Solar System Is Discovered

Comment #128829 by bluebird on February 18, 2008 at 3:30 am

APOD for this subject: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080218.html

83. The argument from oranges

Comment #128476 by bluebird on February 17, 2008 at 5:08 am

Somewhere a turnip truck is one vegetable short.
****

MelM mentioned TheBrickTestament;
Yea, that website caught my eye a while back (it's a hoot!). http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brick_Testament
http://www.flakmag.com/features/bricktest.html

84. A match made on RichardDawkins.net?

Comment #128215 by bluebird on February 16, 2008 at 2:43 pm

Tillykke med bryllupet, Veronique & Yorker.
(Congratulations!)

*************

Love the lion/lioness touch, it's purrrrfect.

85. Map reveals extent of human damage to oceans

Comment #127572 by bluebird on February 15, 2008 at 12:33 pm

octopus, thanks for the GreenPeace link. It's a good visual for the recent story: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23156399-2,00.html

86. My Saudi Valentine

Comment #126728 by bluebird on February 14, 2008 at 3:50 am

Ms. al-Sanea's article (& book) is part of a steady stream of writings from Middle-Eastern women lately. They can tell their stories, and we want to hear them. Such as the recent book by Zarah Ghahramani, and play by Heather Raffo.

Here's a photo of Ms. al-Sanea: http://www.uic.edu/depts/endo/DrAlsnea.html

87. Earliest bats did not 'see' with sound

Comment #126496 by bluebird on February 13, 2008 at 11:16 am

Very interesting discovery!! Here's a photo: http://www.au.news.yahoo.com/080213/15/15tt905/1267571074.html

Bats are so cool! Fortunately, bats are now more accepted by the public as the amazing, beneficial creatures that they are.
We thrill at the sight of bats flitting about during summer nights, amiably competing with Nighthawks for delectables.

http://www.batconservation.org/

88. Feb 12th: Happy Darwin Day!

Comment #125785 by bluebird on February 12, 2008 at 4:00 am

I've been looking forward to viewing these cards...they did not disappoint, nicely done everyone!!!


APOD for Darwin Day: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060919.html

89. Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science

Comment #125466 by bluebird on February 11, 2008 at 12:06 pm

A wide sweep of the hat to Mr. Simonyi!!
I found this neat website per his mission as a space tourist: http://www.charlesinspace.com/

...change in PBS...NOVA show...

90. BREAK THE SCIENCE BARRIER - Available Now on DVD

Comment #125441 by bluebird on February 11, 2008 at 11:18 am

Our DVD arrived today...thanks.

EDIT:
Just watched it...great program, we liked it!!!

91. The challenge of finding peace in Lourdes

Comment #124726 by bluebird on February 10, 2008 at 6:07 am

The Song of Bernadette resonates still.

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernadette_Soubirous

92. Inventor Doesn't Dare Say 'Perpetual Motion Machine'

Comment #124366 by bluebird on February 9, 2008 at 8:08 am

clatz, that is cool!
********

Foucault pendulums are so neat... found a bevy of them via YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9OS5qY0x2I

93. Why Darwin matters

Comment #124299 by bluebird on February 9, 2008 at 4:05 am

Since a copy of today's Guardian isn't to be found in our neck of the woods, this is the next best thing: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/darwinbicentenary

It has a link to a printable version of "Why Darwin Matters".

94. The New Atheist Movement

Comment #123092 by bluebird on February 6, 2008 at 12:55 pm

I've seen this video (or something very similar) recently. Ugh, time to swig another dose of Pepto Bismol.

95. Admitting that you have no religion is not politically correct

Comment #121981 by bluebird on February 4, 2008 at 12:51 pm

Well pluck my feathers, this is absurd!

PZ's colorful repartee made me smile, tho.

96. Atheists to celebrate at Darwin Day in Coconut Creek

Comment #121826 by bluebird on February 4, 2008 at 7:58 am

We'd probably attend a Darwin Day Festival, to check it out. Wish we could visit this one... Broward County has NASA, and Fern Forest.

97. Some non-Christians feel left out of election

Comment #121598 by bluebird on February 3, 2008 at 7:10 pm

We are a "Super-Tuesday" state; I predict Obama will win our state (MO) and most others.

Time Magazine article from last July 'How the Democrats got Religion'(they want to level the praying field):
http://www.time.com/politics/article/0,8599,1642649,00.html

98. God the psycho

Comment #121263 by bluebird on February 3, 2008 at 6:19 am

Pat Condell serves another piquant morsel!!

99. God-Man and Human-Man Team Up

Comment #121239 by bluebird on February 3, 2008 at 5:55 am

Nice chuckle for this Sunday morning!

100. Happy Birthday Josh Timonen!

Comment #118835 by bluebird on January 31, 2008 at 3:49 am

Tillykke med fodselsdagen, Josh, and thank you for this site.