101. The Science behind the Large Hadron Collider

Comment #117531 by bluebird on January 29, 2008 at 4:09 am

Cartomancer, Missouri is riddled with caves, which are (thankfully) protected from human intrusion http://www.mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2000/03/30.htm

However, those priests could try to rent Meramec Cave, I suppose ;) http://www.americascave.com/

102. Loneliness Breeds Belief in Supernatural

Comment #116294 by bluebird on January 26, 2008 at 7:47 am

AfraidToDie, I love your avatar, magnificant animals.

It brings to mind the movie "Curse of the Cat People", the classic ethereal drama that is mostly Val Lewton's psychological study of a little girl's creation of an imaginary friend.

103. Loneliness Breeds Belief in Supernatural

Comment #116278 by bluebird on January 26, 2008 at 6:12 am

nunquam, our younger son had strong empathetic feelings towards Tom Hank's character when he lost "Wilson".

Paula, here in the U.S. there are programs that allow dog owners to take their dog to Nursing Homes; the idea being it gives much needed emotional & physical contact to the residents. Is there something similar in the U.K.?

104. Darwin Day (Feb 12th) E-Cards

Comment #116052 by bluebird on January 25, 2008 at 12:05 pm

Boreas, thanks for that link! The Edge looks to be a great comprehensive site; the ZSL looks great, too.(http://www.zsl.org/)
*******

This seems to be a good place to post a recent article about the evolution of Australian skinks:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pr/skinks_pr.html

105. Life-Forming Chemicals Found in Distant Galaxy

Comment #114856 by bluebird on January 23, 2008 at 4:04 am

Another very interesting space article! I had heard rumblings a while back that Arecibo was facing a budget crunch; ideas are being considered as to how to fund Arecibo and keep it going:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/08/AR2007090801654.html?vav=rss_nation

Arp 220, a cosmic pas de deux: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970617.html

Rational_G & mesomodel, thanks for those links.
***********
All this astronomy news makes my day!

106. Darwin Day (Feb 12th) E-Cards

Comment #114357 by bluebird on January 22, 2008 at 4:00 am

rejohnsonil, aye, 'tis a seaworthy quip/idea :)

107. Stop revisionist Christian nation House Resolution 888

Comment #114277 by bluebird on January 21, 2008 at 6:01 pm

This proposed 'American Religious History Week' (May) would coincide with 'National Day of Prayer'(first Thursday in May):
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/04/20070420-4.html

Thankfully, there's a National Day of Reason:
http://www.mnatheists.org/page23/page23.shtml

108. How Evolution REALLY Works

Comment #113388 by bluebird on January 19, 2008 at 1:26 pm

tangerine_tree, thanks for the reminder about Sir D.A.'s new show! Alas, us U.S. folk will probably have to wait for it to air later, or rent the DVD. Our family has enjoyed a lot of BBC productions lately.

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_in_Cold_Blood

109. Interview with Neil Shubin, author of 'Your Inner Fish'

Comment #113260 by bluebird on January 19, 2008 at 5:59 am

Youtube link for Shubin interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3e2sdY_XnE

Mr. Shubin is very affable. He seems to be a great spokesperson for science.

Colbert asking if we can "go back" to being fish reminds me of the Star Trek episode 'Genesis'.

110. Gigantic fossil rodent discovered

Comment #112757 by bluebird on January 18, 2008 at 3:51 am

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck......

Punxsutawney Phil is jealous.

111. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #112497 by bluebird on January 17, 2008 at 10:44 am

Received the DVD today; thanks!!!

112. Huckabee Wants A 'Faith-based' Constitution

Comment #111955 by bluebird on January 16, 2008 at 4:19 am

notsobad, thanks for that link; now we're updated on that story.

113. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS

Comment #111759 by bluebird on January 15, 2008 at 5:32 pm

Hello Mr. Scales!
I send warm greetings from the chilly Mid-West U.S.!
Please accept my gratitude for your support of Professor Dawkin's site. My family & I benefit in so many ways with each visit here.

There was a red sunrise this morning, and it shall snow soon. Daffidols and crocus will slumber under the white blanket, patiently waiting for warm Spring days to rouse them, which is just around the corner!!

Congratulations on your C.de G., and I wish you fair winds.

114. 'Letter to a Christian Nation' now available in paperback

Comment #111733 by bluebird on January 15, 2008 at 3:36 pm

An interesting snippet:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1702365,oo.html

115. Carl Sagan's COSMOS begins airing on Jan 8th

Comment #111730 by bluebird on January 15, 2008 at 3:23 pm

Recently the space craft/probe 'Messenger' arrived at Mercury:
http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Update_MESSENGER_Races_Past_Mercury_12806.html

I always lament the fact that Carl is not here to witness and revel in each new wonderful discovery.

116. Fish out of water: Your Inner Fish

Comment #111248 by bluebird on January 14, 2008 at 6:33 am

steveroot, cool article, thanks for sharing!



Last time we visited Windy City, we couldn't visit the Field Museum. We did tour the Shedd Aquarium; it was great!!

http://www.sheddaquarium.org/

117. Why people believe weird things about money

Comment #111141 by bluebird on January 13, 2008 at 6:15 pm

"Money is the world's curse" ---
"May the Lord smite me with it. And may I never recover"

118. Richard Dawkins on The Late Edition with Marcus Brigstocke

Comment #109951 by bluebird on January 10, 2008 at 6:29 am

Rob A, thanks for the YouTube link!



If the timing/circumstances were different, it would be neat to see Professor Dawkins on the Johnny Carson Show.

119. Did mozzies, not a meteor, do for the dinosaurs?

Comment #109635 by bluebird on January 9, 2008 at 10:28 am

...cities filled with pigeons, rats, cockroaches, predatory birds...

120. Hook, line and rapture

Comment #109144 by bluebird on January 8, 2008 at 12:38 pm

Pat Condell, where have you been all my life?!!?


A delicious nugget of satire that brightened my afternoon... thanks for posting this!

121. Did mozzies, not a meteor, do for the dinosaurs?

Comment #108629 by bluebird on January 7, 2008 at 11:14 am

insects preserved in amber

122. The battle of the butterflies and the ants

Comment #108372 by bluebird on January 6, 2008 at 3:08 pm

'Life in the Undergrowth' by Sir D.A. is great!

We also enjoyed/recommend 'Microcosmos':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76R2EKEnoJQ

123. The OUT Campaign has its own Flea!

Comment #107447 by bluebird on January 4, 2008 at 2:26 pm

Linda_K, you're correct, the 'C' does resemble Chick-fil-A's logo!!

This chain is owned by a devout Baptist family, and are closed on Sundays:
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick-fil-A

124. Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Comment #105750 by bluebird on January 1, 2008 at 6:53 pm

my musical ability resembles that of a...Bach

125. A War On Science

Comment #105383 by bluebird on December 31, 2007 at 11:57 am

Article about the current director of the Vatican Observatory:

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0604813.htm

126. 'Gospel of wealth' facing scrutiny

Comment #104254 by bluebird on December 28, 2007 at 8:05 am

Preach-ers wobble, but they won't fall down...
Ones from the past survived scandal; interesting to see how this current crop squirms under the spotlight.

Joyce Meyer is a smart/successful cookie who plays the game well:

http://joycemeyer.org/AboutUs/FinancialAccountability/

127. Photos from Center for Inquiry's November Conference in NYC

Comment #103983 by bluebird on December 27, 2007 at 12:41 pm

Pretty cool...thanks for sharing!

128. Russia prohibits denial of Santa

Comment #103981 by bluebird on December 27, 2007 at 12:37 pm

Da Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

129. Top Ten Stories of 2007

Comment #103926 by bluebird on December 27, 2007 at 10:49 am

It's been a pleasant surprise to see many examples of "green" religion in our area. A lot do care for the Earth:

http://www.christianecology.org/Stewardship.html

130. Top Ten Stories of 2007

Comment #103880 by bluebird on December 27, 2007 at 7:27 am

Off Topic... An interesting Top-List for 2007:

http://www.discovermagazine.com/2008/jan/year-in-science-2007

131. Disquiet over schools' moment of silence

Comment #103864 by bluebird on December 27, 2007 at 6:32 am

...John Cage's 4'33"...

132. Man and God

Comment #103380 by bluebird on December 25, 2007 at 10:34 am

Paula, trying to chase you down *pant pant* to say thanks for the great photos. In one week a certain famous Scot will help usher in 2008...

We got to view this last night thanks to clear skies: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071223.html

*********
Strange little article; anyway.......
As David Silverman said recently, "the change of season is the reason"... http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071222.html

133. Bible bashing dying out in Kansas

Comment #103368 by bluebird on December 25, 2007 at 9:59 am

...concerns are human rights and the environment...

134. The Pagan Christ

Comment #103337 by bluebird on December 25, 2007 at 8:03 am

MikeV, thanks for that link; very interesting!
*********
Courtesy another poster: http://www.jesuspolice.com
********

EDIT: ubermensch, thanks for that link, too.
I'm enjoying this Twilight Zone moment of being sandwiched between two '2001' references ;)

135. The Evangelical Rebellion

Comment #103324 by bluebird on December 25, 2007 at 5:25 am

Hi Paula, our oldest son votes for the first time next year. We're all having a "Dickens" of a time narrowing our choices!!!
Frankly we're quite tired of all the political hoop-la, and there's still 11 months to go :/

A very Merry to you BTW :)

136. 2 fleas for the Christmas week

Comment #103321 by bluebird on December 25, 2007 at 5:16 am

'I saw two fleas on Christmas Day...'

Confute, my ***.

137. Disquiet over schools' moment of silence

Comment #103105 by bluebird on December 24, 2007 at 10:00 am

At the CafePress store:
http://www.cafepress.com/realitees/783369

138. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #99258 by bluebird on December 16, 2007 at 5:58 am

Griffin147, Cool that it's on Facebook!

Thanks for the link.

139. Happy Newton Day!

Comment #99254 by bluebird on December 16, 2007 at 5:47 am

Cool... didn't know S.M.A.R.T. had a website.

We love the CafePress items for sale!

Thanks for the link.

140. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #99016 by bluebird on December 15, 2007 at 8:13 am

Thanks to RDFSR & Josh for this!!

Since I'm behind schedule with Seasonal preparations, and have hungry birds visiting our Winter Wonderland, I bought a pre-ordered copy of the DVD.

We look forward to watching this early 2008!

The 'Fab Four' ------- 'Atheist Beatles'

141. Happy Newton Day!

Comment #99006 by bluebird on December 15, 2007 at 7:16 am

Interesting article, and posts!
Despite our P.C. society, I don't forsee 'Father Holiday' replacing Santa Claus, Kris Kringle, Saint Nick, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, etc.
http://snopes.com/cokelore/santa.asp

An early happy B-D to Sir I.Newton! You can take your hat off to the scientist, and put it back on for the man, if you wish.

The Brits gave us the Christmas card:
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cards
The U.K. has a great idea in recycling cards.

This weekend is Beethoven's birthday.
A neat pairing of Ludwig and astronomy:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/features/news/30dec99.html

142. Jumbo shrimp, creationist astronomy

Comment #98706 by bluebird on December 14, 2007 at 5:14 am

Science for home-schoolers

143. U.S. Congress Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith

Comment #98217 by bluebird on December 13, 2007 at 9:28 am

Just a tid-bit:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/12/13/-the-white-houses-super-c_n_76648.html

144. A Call For a Presidential Debate on Science and Technology

Comment #96926 by bluebird on December 11, 2007 at 5:35 am

It's a great idea, and sorely needed. However,
if this proposed debate comes to pass, you can knock me over with a feather.

There was a similiar discussion a while back:
http://www.richarddawkins.net/article,1703,A-New-Debate,Matthew-Chapman

145. In the Beginning was the Song

Comment #96635 by bluebird on December 10, 2007 at 7:26 pm

I was recently hoping the subject of music would be integrated somehow. This article and the BBC website look very interesting.

146. Biologist fired for beliefs, suit says

Comment #96009 by bluebird on December 9, 2007 at 5:30 pm

Double Bass Atheist, I had not heard that quote; I like it, & found it here:
http://www.the-ridges.net/evac1.html


There's a link to an interview with R.D. on this site, too.

147. Highway to hysteria

Comment #94273 by bluebird on December 5, 2007 at 6:23 am

aquambulus hirsutus, thanks for that link; we had not heard of Old Highway 666! This link shows the beauty and grandeur of the Four Corner's area:
http://www.azride.com/DevilsHighwayRun.html

148. Interview with Christopher Hitchens

Comment #93883 by bluebird on December 4, 2007 at 11:42 am

'Morning Joe' Scarborough is not my cup of tea; however, it was nice to hear what C.H. had to say.

The female co-host's chortling aside, I agree with her musings of "what a voice!; 'Portable Atheist' will make a good holiday gift and stocking stuffer!".

Incidentally, 'Sympathy for the Devil' was also the title for Time Magazine's article about 'The Golden Compass'/Phil Pullman.

149. Evolution Debate Led to Ouster, Official Says

Comment #92953 by bluebird on December 1, 2007 at 8:14 pm

I found a bit more info per this interesting article:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/11/29/1129science.html

This is beyond frustrating; science, reason, etc. is strong-armed again.

how many more honest teachers will lose their jobs fighting this battle for us?

150. Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #92927 by bluebird on December 1, 2007 at 7:14 pm

Per altruism, Professor Dawkins touches on it here:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1555132-7,00.html


Pleasant interview, I enjoyed it.