Geek cred at the edge of science and culture

I was sent this lovely bit of poetic biology, by someone who said it was written by a colleague at the Salk…maybe she’ll give full credit in the comments. Consider yourself a knowledgeable cell biologist if you get all the allusions.

The p53rd Psalm

p53 is my shepherd, I shall not cycle
It maketh me to lie down in G1
It leadeth me beside still nucleotide pools
It restoreth my genome
It leadeth me past the restriction point for replication’s sake
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of the cobalt irradiator
I shall fear no gamma rays, for thou art Guardian of the Genome
Thy amino and thy carboxy termini, they comfort me
Thou maintainest my genomic stability in the presence of mine enemies
Thou annointest my nucleus with p21/WAF1/Cip1/Sdi1/Pic1
my cyclin dependent kinases overflow
Surely pRb phosphorylation and E2F activation shall follow me
all the cycles of my life
and I shall dwell in a non-tumorigenic state until senescence

And if you want some more literary bioscience, here’s some short fiction I was sent.

I also want the future and the past at the same time

I think I have a new favorite t-shirt supplier: Retropolis Transit Authority. Not only are the designs well done and stylish, but any designer who has both “mad geniuses” and “space pirates” as categories (not to mention “demented futuristic housewives,” which I somehow find highly titillating) is a winner in my book.

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Remember: Father’s Day is coming up, and what dad wouldn’t want an “I still want my flying car” t-shirt?

(via Schlock Mercenary)

Portrait of a president

I never thought I could actually like a portrait of George W. Bush, but this one isn’t bad. Go ahead and click on the link — the overall portrait is fine, and you may not notice anything at all disturbing (well, except for the fact that it is George W. Bush) on seeing it. You might not want to click on the links to details in the image, though; this picture is a collage made from pictures of anuses snipped out of porn magazines.

It ain’t pretty, but it’s art that speaks the truth.

Fear the philistine

I am reminded of the whole host of intellectual failings of creationists: it’s not just that they reject modern science, but many of them tend to be brain-damaged peckerwoods who are also incapable of viewing literature and art without squawking in horror, unless maybe it’s a tasteless photorealistic airbrushed Aryan Jesus, or perhaps some cookie-cutter landscape from a hack like Kincade. For a truly sickening example, just look at Ray Comfort’s latest blog entry. He’s reacting to a documentary of Gustav Klimt, which describes his work as “sensuous” and “obsessed with women”, which are all marks of Satan in Comfort’s book. He ends his recitation of the description of the eroticism in Klimt’s paintings with this:

If you too enjoy gazing at the naked female form, you don’t have to go to New York to see similar works. You can find them scrawled on the walls of most public rest rooms.

I know there are lots of good artists around, but they generally don’t scribble on restroom walls. Does this look like something you’d find on a bathroom stall?

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Does this make you think of pornography?

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Here’s a gallery of art by Gustav Klimt. There’s a good reason he’s a famous painter — this is wonderful stuff. Ray Comfort, two-bit rednecked ignoramus that he is, sees none of it, and is so freaking dishonest that he doesn’t dare show his readers any of Klimt’s actual work … so instead he does his own crude rendition of “The Kiss” to illustrate his screed, and just so you don’t miss his point, he crudely slathers wicked words all over it.

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I think you might find Comfort’s work in a seedy, filthy restroom somewhere, but not Klimt’s.

Just so you don’t think this battle is all about nothing but esoteric arguments over details of the interpretation of rarefied biological data, I can’t imagine a clearer example of the broader field of the struggle. This is a war over all of Western culture. What do you want? Klimt or Comfort? Science or lies?

Seattle, I am seething with envy

I wish I could be there this Friday — this sounds like an extremely cool art gallery event, sponsored by the Cephalopod Appreciation Society. See, Seattle gets a whole society, while Morris just gets me, sitting in a corner, pining for molluscs. If you’re in Seattle, you should go. Tell ’em I sent you.

Please join the CEPHALOPOD APPRECIATION SOCIETY Friday, DECEMBER 7th at the McLeod Residence for an art opening and squid celebration featuring 20-foot Giant Squids made of fabric by NY artist Cassandra Nguyen.

The general reception is from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m., and from 7:30-8:30 p.m., the Cephalopod Appreciation Society will host Squid-inspired Poetry and Music performances daringly paired with Live-Action Blind Drawings of the elusive giant squid!

Please come early to sign-up as a blind drawer – you will be randomly teamed up with a poet or musician, blindfolded, and only given the length of that particular piece to create your work. The giant squid has so rarely been observed by human eyes – we eagerly await the creative insight your blind drawing will provide!

Dedicated to spreading cephalopod love, knowledge & understanding through art and science, the Cephalopod Appreciation Society is going on its sixth year. It’s been a big year for giant squid, and a big year for us. We can’t wait to party with you at the McLeod Residence!

Sincerely, squid girl, Cephalopod Appreciation Society Members, and of course the Chambered Nautilus, Cuttlefish, Octopus and Squid

McLeod Residence
2209 2nd Ave.
Seattle, Washington 98121

Squid-inspired poets and performers will include:
A.K. Allin
Anne Bradfield / Elizabeth Bradfield
Levi Fuller
Rachael Harper
Rebecca Hoogs
Rachel Kessler
Travis Nichols
Melanie Noel
Avery Slater
Cody Walker
Deborah Woodard
and more!

For more information about this event, visit:
http://blog.mcleodresidence.com/2007/11/press-release-b.html and
http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/328305/