Presidential Proclamation: National Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Politics, Violence and Guns, , ,

A PROCLAMATION

Every day, women, men, and children across America suffer the pain and trauma of sexual assault. From verbal harassment and intimidation to molestation and rape, this crime occurs far too frequently, goes unreported far too often, and leaves long-lasting physical and emotional scars. During National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we recommit ourselves not only to lifting the veil of secrecy and shame surrounding sexual violence, but also to raising awareness, expanding support for victims, and strengthening our response. Continue reading Presidential Proclamation: National Sexual Assault Awareness Month →

Are health insurance companies pulling the wool over our progressive eyes?

Politics, , ,

A core Democratic Party value, it seems, is to not talk about health insurance reform. This is at odds with the rapidly developing grassroots movement that insists that we talk about almost nothing but health insurance reform, until we get it fixed. And, for a majority of Americans, fixing it means going to a universal, single payer plan. Continue reading Are health insurance companies pulling the wool over our progressive eyes? →

Little Big Man Cat’s Pajamas

Other, , ,

One of my favorite movies of all time is Little Big Man. If you have not seen it, you should, it is truly magical. Of course, sometimes the magic works, sometimes ….

Anyway, go see it. I’ve had the book sitting here for a while and I’ve not read it yet, but it is very near the top of the pile. Meanwhile I just discovered it is available cheap in Kindle form: Little Big Man: A Novel.

And, while we are at it, Bradbury’s The Cat’s Pajamas: Stories is also cheap.

Life on Earth: Dinosaurs; A Kids science book

Books, , , ,

I usually think of flip-lift books as being appropriate for little kids who can’t read yet. I remember my daughter being obsessed, for two years or more, with an Arthur flip book. She needed to look under every single flap, in order (many were in fact numbered or had letters on them, to teach counting and the alphabet, so there was indeed an order). There were pictures, not words, under the flaps. Continue reading Life on Earth: Dinosaurs; A Kids science book →

Yet Another South American Alien Turns Out To Be Human

Anatomy and physiology, Biology, Evolutionary Biology, Palaeontology,

But a very interesting human. A human being six inches tall (if standing), with only 12 sets of ribs, about 7 years old at the time of death. Did I mention six inches tall? New research on the so called “Atacama humanoid” (not an alien, just a human) shows a wide range of interesting genetic differences, according to a just published paper. Continue reading Yet Another South American Alien Turns Out To Be Human →

The Early Bird Crushes The Egg

Evolutionary Biology, Palaeontology, ,

Model I birds, the kind that lived during the Age of the Other Dinosaurs, may not have brooded their eggs. Today, birds sit on their eggs in such a way that the adult bird’s down surrounds the ovoids, and warmth from the adult can keep the eggs at a constant temperature. Depending on the bird, you may find additional intersting adaptaitons. For example, Penguins use their own feet as a nest, placing the egg there. One adult broods the egg for a long period (days, in some species) and then swaps with the other adult, with the swapping being very ritualized in some cases. Like this egg swqap between parent Adelie penguins (Tip: this video does not show the actual swap): Continue reading The Early Bird Crushes The Egg →

Biodiversity Down

Environment

You’ve heard of the IPCC, the climate change report thingie. That is a project of the UN, and the UN actually has other, similar projects that are less well known. One of them is the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). This is the international agency tracking global biodiversity. They are issuing their new report on March 26th, but I can tell you about it now. Continue reading Biodiversity Down →

How to keep your kids out of trouble in this modern age

Books, Technology, , ,

Do you worry that your kid is going to be rejected from civilization, or, at least, college or the boy scouts or something, because of dumb stuff they do on line? Do you see evidence that your children are copying the jerky characters that grace our TV screens and movies, and are becoming too annoying, compared to how we all were when we grew up? Do you want to just tell the up coming generation to GET OFF THE LAWN!!!!

Here is a way to do that. Continue reading How to keep your kids out of trouble in this modern age →