kuratkull

Let the War on Christmas being. Atheist style. [Greg Laden's Blog]

2009-11-22T14:59:20Z

This week is Thanksgiving in the United States. This means that over the coming weekend many Americans will be putting up Christmas decorations in and outside their houses. Many children will be putting finishing touches on their letters to Santa. The shopping malls will start to fill and while economists examine and measure the retail sales bump for signs that the world will not end, we, as a nation, will come together to incrementally crank up the material contents stored in our homes and the corresponding mass of our public landfills.
But what do Atheists do on Christmas?
We declare war
!!!! War,
I say!!!!
OH, and some of up put up Christmas and/or Hanukkah and/or Kwanza decorations, we go to the malls or on line and get presents for family and loved ones, engage in Secret Santa negotiations and some of us (and by “us” I [...]

Original post by Greg Laden none@example.com

Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: Ricky Gervais on The Book of Genesis [Effect Measure]

2009-11-22T11:37:03Z

Biblical exegesis as it was meant to be:

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Also check out the featured ScienceBlog of the week: The Island of Doubt

Original post by revere none@example.com

The Curious Case of Rick Rosner

2009-11-22T08:18:53Z

Is there such a thing as “too smart” or perhaps too smart for your own good? Bruce G. Charlton states a common observation that “high IQ types are lacking in ‘common sense’ – and especially when it comes to dealing with other human beings.”
This is a statement that could easily be exemplified by Rick Rosner. Despite a high IQ and a firm grasp on a litany of subjects, including writing, Rick’s life has had some strange twists and turns that are the combined result of his skewed sensibilities, and his desire to be famous.
Rick’s exploits, and the fact that he got a 44/48 on the Hoeflin Test are legendary. He’s also been said to have an IQ that rises each time he takes the test. Here’s his story.
Genius Prefers High School
Rosner liked high school a lot. After graduating with a (then) IQ score of 170 in 1978, he later successfully [...]

Original post by Johnny Cat

My, what a Dirty Fox!

2009-11-22T03:35:27Z

(YouTube link)
A cat spruces up a fennec fox. -via YesButNoButYes

Original post by Miss Cellania

Stained Glass d20

2009-11-22T02:35:00Z

John F. Talarico of the podcast show Bloodthirsty Vegetarians created two 20-sided dice out of stained glass and black and copper patina. The orange one is called “Fire.” There are more detailed images in the flickr photostream.
Image via d20 Blog | Flickr Stream | Official Website

Original post by John Farrier

Wonder® Bread Wonder® Woman

2009-11-21T23:14:25Z

Emily Berezin made a woman from eleven loaves of Wonder® Bread and the bags they came in. The result is, of course, Wonder® Woman! See more pictures in her Flickr set.
Link – via twitter
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by andrew-lynch.

Original post by Queuebot

Ray Comfort is a Half-Wit and a Libelous Scalawag [The Primate Diaries]

2009-11-21T20:00:00Z

Now that his plan has backfired drastically (his own website has removed the link to his “Introduction” of Darwin’s book) and more people were offended by his distortions than anything else, let me briefly point out some useful information. Comfort makes the following assertions in his introduction:
Adolf Hitler took Darwin’s evolutionary philosophy to its logical conclusions [and] the legacy of Darwin’s theory can be seen in the rise of eugenics, euthanasia, infanticide, and abortion.
As the National Center for Scientific Education has pointed out:
This is simply hyperbole on Comfort’s part. This laundry-list of unrelated controversial issues is meant to inflame passions rather than inform.
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Also check out the featured ScienceBlog of the week: The Island of Doubt

Original post by Eric Michael Johnson none@example.com

Rhodes Secretary: Wall Street Megabonuses Draining Our Young Talent [The Scientific Activist]

2009-11-21T17:05:10Z

In the op-ed pages of The Washington Post today, Elliot Gerson–the American Secretary of the Rhodes Trust–takes a bold stand:
Tonight, 32 young Americans will win Rhodes Scholarships. Their tenures at Oxford are funded by the legacy of the British imperialist Cecil Rhodes, a man whose life would not be honored today were it not for his vision that young people of outstanding intellect, leadership and ambition could make the world a better place.
For more than a century Rhodes scholars have left Oxford with virtually any job available to them. For much of this time, they have overwhelmingly chosen paths in scholarship, teaching, writing, medicine, scientific research, law, the military and public service. They have reached the highest levels in virtually all fields.
In the 1980s, however, the pattern of career choices began to change. Until then, even though business ambitions and management degrees have not been disfavored in our competition, business [...]

Original post by Nick Anthis none@example.com

Beaver Recipes

2009-11-21T16:48:58Z

Mmmm, beaver! Bug Girl posted these beaver recipes from a 1960 pamphlet entitled Good Eating from Woods and Fields, which also includes instructions for cooking muskrat. Link -Thanks, ersatz soubriquet!
See more from the booklet in her Flickr stream.

Original post by Miss Cellania

Leafcutter ants rely on bacteria to fertilise their fungus gardens [Not Exactly Rocket Science]

2009-11-21T16:30:40Z

Hardly a natural history documentary goes by without some mention of leafcutter ants. So overexposed are these critters that I strongly suspect they’re holding David Attenborough’s relatives to ransom somewhere. But there is good reason for their fame - these charismatic insects are incredibly successful because of their skill as gardeners.

As their name suggests, the 41 species of leafcutter ants slice up leaves and carry them back to their nests in long columns of red and green. They don’t eat the leaves - they use them to grow a fungus, and it’s this crop that they feed on. It’s an old, successful alliance and the largest leafcutter colonies redefine the concept of a “super-organism”. They include over 8 million individuals, span more than 20 cubic metres and harvest more than 240 kg of leaves every year. They’re technically plant-eaters, with the fungus acting as the super-organism’s external gut.

But [...]

Original post by Ed Yong none@example.com