The Airing of Grievances

What if our entire universe is just an atom in the fingernail of a giant person...

Your brain hurting yet, too?

Hell, maybe Kirk Cameron is right afterall.

Human-Animal Hybrids - FOUND!

And living a healthy and productive lifestyle in (you guessed it), modern, European, Turkey.

I just hope that after this discovery, Chiles can sleep at night.

Seriously though, a family of Turkish Kurds were discovered without the ability to walk upright.  Evolutionary scientists are currently fighting their worst nocturnal emissions since 10th Grade for the right to test on this family.

Hey, You Got Religion On My Science!

Charles Krauthammer scratches me right where I itch.  For those who have questioned why the ID/evolution debate is such a big deal, you really can't find a much better response.

Today's Ascent-To-Enlightenment Update

I still don't know what's the matter with Kansas, but I'm digging on the folks from Dover, Pennsylvania.  Read it and applaud.

(thanks to Kos for the link)

Today's Slide-To-Lunacy Update

The assault on science continues:

The Kansas State Board of Education has once again thrown itself into the middle of the debate over evolution, adopting new science-curricula standards for the state's 445,000 public-school students that openly question Darwinian theory.
...
Darwin's foes have proved resilient. They argued that the 19th-century scientist's teachings on natural selection and the formation of new species are unproven theories pockmarked with logical holes. They advanced an alternative premise - that matter and energy can't be credited as the sole originators of the universe and that much is owed to "a profoundly formative intervention."

So, for those keeping track at home, the score for our kids' science classes remains the same: imperfect theory with lots of supporting evidence? Not acceptable. Made-up explanation with exactly zero supporting evidence? Perfectly acceptable.

Stem Cell Research

Sounds like excellent news.

Scientists say they have created viable embryonic stem cell lines without destroying any embryos — a development that could clear ethical barriers that have sharply restricted federal funding for the controversial research.

Admittedly, I'm no expert on this whole stem cell deal as I pretty much called it a day for the sciences in about the twelfth grade. That said, isn't there a good chance that if this stem cell stuff works out I'll be able to undo whatever damage I've done to say, oh, my liver? Seriously though, for those of you more in the know, do we have any type of concrete fix on what we're looking at here? The goals? The possibilities? The limitations? In short, what's the real deal?

The Beautiful Chaos of “Unintelligent Design”

There are a lot of reasons to see Luc Jacquet’s March of the Penguins.  For one it’s a breathtaking achievement in filmmaking – the Antarctic sun glistening off an Emperor’s feathers is majestic, and the underwater photography of the post-spawn feeding frenzy is invigorating as if you dove into the freezing waters yourself.  Also, its like of like giving Penn Gillette the middle finger, so that’s cool (even at his own expense, I think that Penn would appreciate a good middle finger).  Indeed, it offers further evidence that Morgan Freeman can entertain me simply by reading the phone book.  But, you’ll remember the movie for the beautiful overarching themes.

Pastafarianism

If ya can't beat 'em, clown 'em. The theory of Flying Spaghetti Monsterism. "Like the noodles they worship, Flying Spaghetti Monsterists have flimsy moral standards." High comedy.

(Yeah, this story has been out there for awhile, but apparently the movement is picking up some serious steam. Excellent news.) (Hat tip: The Slate)

Life After Death

Pretty friggin' cool:

US scientists have succeeded in reviving the dogs after three hours of clinical death, paving the way for trials on humans within years. Pittsburgh's Safar Centre for Resuscitation Research has developed a technique in which subject's veins are drained of blood and filled with an ice-cold salt solution. The animals are considered scientifically dead, as they stop breathing and have no heartbeat or brain activity. But three hours later, their blood is replaced and the zombie dogs are brought back to life with an electric shock. Plans to test the technique on humans should be realised within a year.

Perpaps they can try it out on the Yankees. Seriously though, Wow.

This Is Not Just An Odor - You Need A Priest To Get Rid Of This Thing!

We bring you more on the decline and fall of the Upper East Side.  It seems early yesterday morning, neighborhood denizens were rudely confronted with an unbearable stench to accompany their commute in the 90 degree heat and humidity.  The neighborhood became so funkified that city medical examiners were called on to the scene, just in case.  As Gawker notes, some residents kept their minds on what was important:

"I thought it was a terrible smell and I immediately thought of how Sean felt about it," said Mary Ann Crenshaw, an owner of a public relations company. She was referring to Sean Connery, the actor, who lives nearby. "I said, 'Oh, my God,' and I wondered if Sean Connery still likes to live in this neighborhood."

Yes, what a pity it would have been for such a foul stench to penetrate 007's nostrils. 

As bad as it must of been, I'm not sure yesterday's aroma had anything on BBO.