Not a big post–I composed this as a simple comment on Pharyngula, but it got a bit big, so I thought I’d post it here, too. Our free will, or its illusion,Is the source of much confusion;We make choices all the time, but can we say that they are free?Mind and body in cohesionMake us …
Monthly Archive: June 2009
Jun 28 2009
Fun With Magic Invisible Flying Monkeys!
In the closing of yet another post about the accommodationism skirmish, PZ lays claim to a magical, mystical, supernatural (and thus beyond questioning and deserving of utmost respect) source of knowledge: There are limits to what we can attack as bad ideas. But, apparently, there are no limits to the absurdities that the religious can …
Jun 27 2009
Ahh…. Sally. Sally Kern.
Sally Kern is at it again. She has produced a Proclamation for Morality (pdf–but seriously, click through and read it–it is a fantastic exercise in cherry-picking quotes from historical figures!), justifying her resolution to do… what, exactly? NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we the undersigned elected officials of the people of Oklahoma, religious leaders …
Jun 26 2009
Well, If It Can’t Be Me
Let’s hoist and let the flag unfrrl:Go vote! Go vote! For ScienceGrrl!* The blogosphere’s most precious prrl:Go vote! Go vote! For ScienceGrrl! I really think it would be niceTo send her to the cold and ice—So take my Cuttlefish adviceAnd vote! (Chicago, you vote twice.) So send her where the cold winds swrrl:Go vote! Go …
Jun 26 2009
Nothing Else Happened Today
Five women burned as witches, in a western Kenya villageThe authorities say nothing; it’s a common thing to do.The reporter was a witness to the burning and the horror,But with Michael Jackson dying, move the story to page two. In two days, we’ve seen eight bombings, maybe nine or more are dead,As Americans are pulling …
Jun 24 2009
Book Review: How To Teach Physics To Your Dog
Chad Orzel and I have some pretty serious differences when it comes to how and why we write. For one thing, he has help. His dog, Emmy, is an important part of his writing team. My dog is, thus far, no help at all. Part of it is our respective subject matter. Orzel writes about …
Jun 22 2009
A Hymn To Accommodation
Praise the pow’r of faith unswervingIn the face of evidence.With a doctrine undeserving,We must cling to our pretense;Let us climb the rugged mountainThough the cliffs are in our way:“Faith and science from one fountain”Let’s repeat the old cliché. Faith and science, we must tether,Through our cunning and our art,Force the twain to come togetherThough they …
Jun 20 2009
Romeo And Juliet, 2009
The BBC tells us that the story was buried deep within the pages of Indian newspapers Two star-crossed lovers committed suicide after the local village council, or panchayat, ordered them to annul their marriage or face death.Amreen was Muslim and her husband, Lokesh, a Hindu. Their match was simply unacceptable to their communities. The couple …
Jun 19 2009
The Digital Pack-Rat, Volume 18
A bit of a departure, at first–although they do show up on a Pharyngula thread, this was originally posted on Eric Hovind’s creationist blog! Eric had posted, with his approval, a racist piece of crap poem, lacking in rhyme, meter, meaning, and any shred of human decency. But for some reason, Eric liked it. After …
Jun 17 2009
Everyone Hates Everyone (And Everyone Hates You)
So on the same Pharyngula thread that spawned my last post, an interesting couple of comments appeared. “Troy”, self-identified as gay, described himself as “normal gay”, which he distinguished from “faggy, feminine gays”, whom normal gays don’t like. Now, of course, Troy could simply be trolling. Sadly, though, it is entirely possible that he is …
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