Monthly Archives: March 2009

Squirrel Nut Zippers at the Varsity

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A small group of us, including at least two IT workers who are not homophobic, went to the Varsity, which is one of the oft’ used venues of Cafe Scientific, to see the revitalized Squirrel Nut Zippers. Ben Zvan, who is the only photographer I’ve ever heard compared to Jesus Christ (who apparently was one kick ass photographer, to the extend that he existed) was on the scene. You can see a sampling of his shots here. And here’s one:

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I recognized about a dozen faces in the crowd, but the only person I really had a chance to speak with was blog commenter Serena. Nice to see you Serena!

PZ Myers Car Wrecked in Accident: Myers Suffers Minor Injuries (updated)

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UPDATE: Read it in his own words! Relive the horror of the road! Cringe as you hear all the gory details of near death and automotive crunchiness, here at Pharyngula!


Myers, trapped in remote region, unable to blog.

UPDATE: Myers has been picked up from the scene by rescue vehicle dispatched from Morris, and is now en route to Saint Cloud airport. where he will take flight to Michigan. Pharyngula readers await direct word from Myers, who may be able to blog from airport.

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Approximate Location of Car Wreck
University of Minnesota, Morris, Biology Professor and Science Blogger (Pharyngula) PZ Myers was in a car accident this morning while traveling across a remote prairie region of Minnesota heading for an airport. The wreck was apparently caused by snowy conditions. Myers suffered only minor injuries from flying glass, but his car seems to be totaled. As of this writing, Myers is waiting to be rescued by his wife. Myers has taken refuge in a diner in Glenwood Minnesota. This Glenwood diner, and it would seem likely, other venues in Glenwood, do not have wireless internet connections, so Myers, who has been reporting his plight on his twitter account, has been unable to blog.

There were no major storms in the region at the time of the accident, but several freak snow squalls were reported in the area and can be seen on radar records. From an insurance perspective, this will probably be considered an Act of God. Which is funny.

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Preliminary artist’s reconstruction of Myers wreck

Myers reports consternation over the cost of replacement of his vehicle, and ennui owing to his disconnection from the internet.

We can only hope that this diner has some kick-ass biscuits and gravy.

The initial tweets:

At about 7:30: pzmyersDisaster. Trying to get to the airport it’s snowing, totaled the car in a crash. Now stranded in Glenwood.

At about 8:20: Yeah, car is totaled-wheels pointing in diff directions. I’m OK, except for little cuts from a broken glass shower.

8:20: Now stuck in a tiny town with no way tothe airport. Waiting for my wife to pick me up…but she has to drive slowly, too.

Glenwood, Minnesota is about 60 miles or so west of Saint Cloud.

The Bachmann Effect

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“The Bachmann Effect” is now officially a phenomenon.

Danny Thomas made the spit take famous, in his TV show Make Room for Daddy. He’s always be drinking a cup of coffee when someone would say something to which he would react with such great and sudden incredulity as to suffer a visceral reaction making it impossible for him to do anything other than spit the coffee out in an impressive atomized spray. An excellent example of a spit take is in the following video, which is a promo form the re-make of Make Room for Daddy, called Make Room for Granddaddy. It’s at 30 to 32 seconds, and it is not Danny Thomas who pulls the spit take. Which in this case, makes it even better for various reasons.

The Dump Michele Bachmann web site documents Eric Kleefeld’s description of the Minnesota version of the Danny Thomas Spit Take. This is now called The Bachmann Effect, and it is different for two reasons. First, it is not Bachmann that does the take, but rather, Bachmann induces the take in another person. Second, only sometimes does coffee or some other liquid get atomized into the atmosphere. Usually, the person being Bachmanned is not taking a drink at the moment, so the spit take is something we see in the eyes and other aspects of facial expression.

This is so regular that I think it may in fact be a freshly discovered limbic response … a new emotion, as it were.

Check out the following video. First we have Michele Bachmann questioning Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. It is rather amazing that they would let her in the same room with actual cabinet officials, but they did. Watch Geithner’s facial expression when he realizes what she is really asking. This is the eyebrow drop at 24.5 to 25 seconds. Geithner is quick.

Then, we have the classic moment during a public discussion of immigration during the last election campaign. At 59 Seconds, El Tinklenberg, the Democratic Candidate running against Bachmann, gives us one of the greatest spit-takes ever seen in a national-level election, in reaction to Michele Bachmann’s statement characterizing Tinklenberg’s position in the exact opposite way he had characterized it moments earlier.

Now, to be fair, this is an edited tape. The truth is that Tinklenberg had articulated his position several minutes, not several seconds, earlier. We may be asking too much for Congresswoman Bachmann to remember that far into the past.

In the next bit, it is hard to pinpoint exactly when James Carville’s brain gets around the fact that Michele Bachmann is telling him that he ought to start supporting women who are running for office. But it does, seemingly in stages. Actually, it might be the case that the Bachmann Effect kicks in 1:38 and the rest of the facial contortions are minor strokes.

The Bachmann Effect.

Rachel Maddow: Sarah Palin is a …

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erp

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I love Rachel Maddow. You know, in a healthy, non-stalking kinda way. But I do.

Rachel Maddow: AIG -> AIU

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… and related matters.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Obama Cool = Cheney Smackdown

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… Cheney has been rather out of line. And now he’s out of breath.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The Replace Michele Bachmann Web Carnival is Back

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Back before the election in November, Stephanie Zvan and I had dinner to discuss the idea of forming a community of like minded bloggers to exchange resources and information. Mike Haurbrich was part of that conversation as well, but not at dinner that particular evening, which was at The Blue Nile. During that conversation, and in subsequent email conversations and over a pizza here and a Martguerita there, two projects developed, neither one of which was the blogger community resource that we had envisioned.

One of those projects was our joint blog, Quiche Moraine, which has been goin for a few weeks now and is starting to develop a regular readership (if you have not visited Quiche Moraine the please go have a look!!!).

The other project, which started up and went public almost instantly but then went into hiatus at election time, was the Replace Michele Bachmann Web Carnival

Of the three of us, none lives in Michele Bachmann’s congressional district, but we all live near it and we see her as a pox on our our otherwise very lovely state. We are the state of Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Arnie Carlson, Jesse Ventura, Harold Stassen, Gus Hall, Paul Wellstone, Amy Klobuchar, Keith Ellison, and Al Franken, to name a few. That is quite a diverse group, including Republicans, Democrats, Indies, Communists, Machine Politicians, Populists, Hard Core Liberals, and everything in between. You may hate or love any of these individuals (or something in between). But no mater what, everyone must admit that Michele Bachmann is does not hold a candle to, is not in the same league as, does not measure up to … fails, indeed, with every possible metaphor to come near …. any person in this panoply of pols.

We, and others in this state including the Dump Bachmann Web Site, were on top of this problem way before Michele Bachmann became uberfamous by insisting that a McCarthy like probe be carried out against all congressional democrats. Just thought I’d mention that.

Now, Bachmann has called for a violent insurrection against the “Obama Government.”

Clearly the time has come for her to be censured by her colleagues in congress, and possibly an election recall if such a thing is possible.

Or, at the very least, we intend to blog her sorry ass. Starting with the Replace Michele Bachmann Web Carnival.

The first carnival will be this Friday. By that time we’ll have decided if this is to be weekly, monthly, or what. In the mean time, SUBMIT YOUR BACHMANN BLOG POSTS HERE. or email them to this address.

Minnesota Senate Recount: Refining the prediction on how it ends

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In conversation with reporters earlier today Coleman noted that he does not anticipate this case going to the US Supreme Court, though he did apparently say this in his usual smarmy way so he can change his mind later. He did indicate that he DOES anticipate bringing the case to the Minnesota Supreme Court if the judicial panel now considering the case rules against his claim.

source

Michele Bachmann: Time for a censure. Seriously

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I live next to this crazy person’s congressional district and I do not want the yahoos who live there pouring over the border of My Fair City with their guns and rabid dogs, mullets and swastika-bearing pickups. Michele Bachmann barely makes it to Winged Monkey level, and this is well demonstrated here:



More details here.

More details and important request below the fold:
Continue reading Michele Bachmann: Time for a censure. Seriously →

Texas Evolution-Creationism Smackdown Part 3

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This just in from the NCSE:

The future of science education in Texas is on the line. The Texas Board of Education, after two previous contentious public hearings on high school science standards (TEKS), meets March 25-27 for its final vote.

As you may recall, at the previous meeting (January 23rd), the board voted to remove “strengths and weaknesses” wording from the science standards. That was a win for science. However, the Board took a big step backwards by allowing creationists to insert bogus attacks on evolution in the Earth and Space Science standards and the Biology standards.

In this final showdown, the Board will decide the science standards governing Texas high schools for the next decade, and affect textbook content throughout the country.

If the board’s creationist amendments stick, says Professor David Hillis of the University of Texas, Austin, “it will be a huge embarrassment to Texas, a setback for science education and a terrible precedent for the state boards overriding academic experts in order to further their personal religious or political agendas. The victims will be the schoolchildren of Texas, who represent the future of our state.” (Hillis was quoted in the Austin American-Statesman.)

Says NCSE Project Director, Steven Newton: “This is the most specific assault I’ve seen against evolution and modern science.”

This could be the most raucous hearing of the bunch. It’s crunch time for both sides, so expect heated testimony, protests, political theatre, and…who knows what else?

The Texas Freedom Network will be present and no doubt have some activities planned for the TV cameras. If you’d like to talk with Dan Quinn of the TFN, don’t hesitate to contact him at 512-322-0545, 512-799-3379 (cell), or dan@tfn.org.

The details on the Board meeting:

When: March 25 to 27 Where: William B. Travis Building, 1701 N. Congress Avenue, Austin, TX

Wednesday, March 25 12 to 6:30 pm: Board of Education Room 1-104 Purpose: Public testimony and debate on the proposed revised science standards. Agenda

Thursday, March 26 9 am: Board of Education Room 1-104 Purpose: The board will debate the issues (the key agenda item is #5…and maybe 8) and take a preliminary vote. Agenda

Friday, March 27 9 a.m.: Board of Education Room 1-104 Purpose: The official final vote. **Note: The vote can change from Thursday to Friday!** Agenda

RESOURCES

Overall board agenda

TEKS, as approved in January –Look for the item labeled: “Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 112, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science, Subchapter A, Elementary, Subchapter B, Middle School, and Subchapter C, High School”. A direct link

Analysis of the amendments to the TEKS: What wording is being disputed? http://ncseweb.org/creationism/analysis/analysis-proposed-texas-educational-knowledge-skills-teks-am

NCSE’s Texas coverage

Video of the January 2009 Board of Education meeting Dr. Eugenie Scott’s testimony and Board Chairman Don McLeroy’s commentary (look in the Playlists box)

Let Academic Freedom Ring

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As long as we understand exactly what it really is…

Debbitage has an excellent post responding to a piece in Higher Ed about critique v. objectivity in the classroom. The comparison is between “Objectivist” teaching and “Criticism Based” teaching…

An important aspect of criticism-based teaching is that if done right, it is able to correct the teacher’s own flaws. Objectivist teaching depends on the teacher to correctly draw the fact-opinion border, and to select the correct facts to teach. A criticism-based approach, done correctly, enables students (particularly those coming from a different perspective than the teacher) to challenge the teacher’s unexamined assumptions — and, crucially, to give both sides the tools to work through the dispute to see to what extent evidence and reason support one side or the other…

Go read this post, it is dead on. The important thing is to give students, even the ones you would never have a beer with or support politically in any way, as much safety as possible in the context where the conversation can go wherever it needs to go, respectfully but relentlessly. My gender and race classes have often included students with diametrically opposing views, and it usually turns out that the more conservative, sometimes even ‘homophobic’ views are in the minority, yet present. This is where the call for objectivist rhetoric often comes from, because objectivist rhetoric is the hobgoblin of the neoconservative academic freedom movement. It usually turns out that a thorough critical discussion, again, done respectfully (this is a classroom we are talking about) reaches a stage of thoughtful discussion, meaningful change in student’s perspectives, and true scholarly progress, while objectivist thinking usually reaches stalemate.

Anyway, go have a look at this blog post, it is quite impressive.