I’ve always wondered.
(via Boing Boing)
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
There’s a science fiction convention going on in San Francisco this weekend, and I wish I could attend for this one reading:
Fritz Leiber will be reading from his recently completed work, as well as answering audience questions.
Leiber is one of my all-time favorite authors, which is one reason to attend, but another is this little fact.
Yes, the rest of the con looks good, too.
There is a virtue to Christian prudes. They make me aware of ideas I might otherwise have missed. Conservative evangelical groups in the UK are whining about sex ed books that are too ‘explicit’ for their taste.
Children as young as five are being shown “explicit” images to teach them about sex, an evangelical Christian pressure group has claimed.
The Christian Institute has complained that at least 10 books or teaching packs used in English primary schools for lessons on sex and relationships, contain images or descriptions that are “obviously unsuitable”.
Its report, Too Much, Too Young, criticises, among others, a BBC teaching pack for its images of a nude man and woman and the children’s book Mummy Laid an Egg, by Babette Cole, for its child-like drawings of a man and woman having sex on a skateboard and wearing red noses. The book won British Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year.
Wait…sex, on a skateboard? I have never tried that, but it looks like great fun. I suspect that I’m not supple enough or coordinated enough to try it, though, but I could probably manage the sex while wearing red noses (not shown), however. I’m a little embarrassed that at my advanced age I can still get sex tips from a children’s book.
So thank you, Christianity! Once again, you lead by negative example. If you want more hilarity, though, check out the Amazon reviews.
I was disgusted when I read this book! One could very easily pick this up and start reading it to a child or a child pick it up and start looking at the pictures because the illustrations at the beginning of the book appear to be very innocent and cute!
A few pages into the book, one discovers very graphic and detailed crayon drawings of anatomically correct males and females and how their parts fit together and even positions in which they can fit together. This book should be snatched from all library and bookstore shelves. It’s intent could be nothing more than to … children’s innocent minds. I believe in … education for children, but this is going a little too far
This book written to explain reproduction to little children states that mothers have eggs in their belly buttons and daddy’s have seeds in sacks. It also has silly illustrations of people copulating on skate boards, bouncy balls, and wearing clown hats. I would not recommend this book on any level.
With reviews like that, it’s going straight onto my wishlist.
I have just learned that hagfish can absorb nutrients directly through their skin and gills simply by wallowing in the rotting flesh of a carcass. Somehow, that just makes the whole world look beautiful again.
Some poor embryo acquired a pair of embryonic axes, and look what resulted. It’s 7 weeks old, so all the internals seem to be functioning all right, so maybe it has hope for a long life.
I’m sitting here in Minnesota, anticipating another midweek snowstorm that’s on the way, and what do I learn? If I were in Rio de Janeiro I could be watching Carnaval. Heck, I could be dancing in the streets with a big fruity drink in my hand, blowing kisses to the lovely girls in exotic costumes.
Maybe I could even write it off. Look at this: one of the clubs is celebrating Darwin’s voyage of the Beagle with an hour-long parade. Here’s the announcement from the club.
Science still commemorates 150 years of the first publication of THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES, the book that caused a true world revolution with the Theory of Evolution. The adventure lived by the English naturalist Charles Darwin on board the H.M.S. Beagle, the British ship that in approximately five years travelled around the world and had the mission of mapping South America, where it visited ports in Salvador and Rio de Janeiro. And visited the Galapagos Islands, in Ecuador, which awoke the young scientist to the elaboration of his future theories. This scientific expedition will be relived by the samba school Union of the Island of Governor, in the same spirit of adventure present in the themes of past carnivals. The plot, being much more than a simple sea voyage, will travel through the history of the origin of the life and the evolution of species by means of the NATURAL SELECTION. The presentation will follow the sequence outlined by Darwin, one of the fathers of modern biology and ecological conscience, and show how groups descend from others, building a ramification he compares with a TREE OF LIFE. In Darwin’s theory, man loses the status of great master of the world, superior to all, showing that all life is related through a common ancestor. Its central message is that it falls on us a larger responsibility for the preservation of the planet.
It’s perfect. I’m sure it would please the old Victorian gentleman very much to know that his work is being celebrated with a grand party complete with 3500 participants, lots of scantily dressed women, brilliant costumes, and street-shaking music.
If you get the Brazilian station linked to above, you could watch it yourself at 7pm Eastern time tonight. I don’t even get that much.
Since the World Atheist Conference is in Dublin this June, you should go just to test this scientific conclusion: the Guinness does taste better in Ireland. I think so, too. So here’s the experiment: buy a glass of Guinness in your airport bar, fly to Ireland, drink some more there. Attend the atheist conference to cleanse the palate, as it were. Drink more Guinness, get on the plane and fly home, and have another one.
Compare.
So now you have another reason to go. It’s an Experiment!
There’s a certain evilutionist infatuated with cats — but has he ever considered what could happen if cats evolved in a new direction?
It can’t be that far-fetched! I think cats are just snakes with fur and legs, so adding thumbs is a relatively minor increment. We just have to hope that we get tool-using cephalopods in terrestrial battle-armor in time to defeat them.
I saw the Baby Jesus Butt Plug, and I just laughed. But now, someone has made a cephalopod butt plug and matching ball gag, and my laughter fades to a nervous tittering while my eyes dart about confusedly. Should I be outraged? Aroused? Amused? Disturbed? All of the above? A boundary has been transgressed!
Fortunately, I’m old and greying, and can always fall back on the ignorant old coot routine. “Eh, sonny? What’s that? That’s a mighty big fishing lure you’re waving around there.”
I’m teaching human physiology this term, and those of you who have done it or taken it know that this kind of course is a strain to get through the huge volume of material. I think I must simply be a horrible teacher, though, because here’s an
Here’s Your Chance To Skip The Struggle
and Master Human Anatomy & Physiology
In 3 Days Or Less… 100% Guaranteed
Wow. And guess what…it’s a $1985.00 value, available now for a limited-time only for the low, low price of only $37. And it’s been shown on the Martha Stewart show!
If that’s not enough for you, it has testimonials.
This might just be the best investment in my career as a chiropractor I’ve made in a long time.
I’m sold. Maybe I should just plunk down my $37 now and photocopy the images, hand ’em out in class, and be done with the whole course before spring break, and then I can spend the rest of the semester sipping pina coladas while loafing about in my underwear.
I noticed something disturbing. The CDs are illustrated with one photo and signature of Dr Ross, but the ad copy on the web has a different photo and signature of Dr Ross.
What have you done with the real Dr Ross, you bastards?
