Clumps of a white substance, uncovered by excavations of the Martian surface by the Phoenix lander, have disappeared over the last few days. Observers are confident that these were chunks of water ice, which evaporated after being exposed by the digging.
Best reaction to date comes from a co-worker, who observed that they should probably open a Rita's up there. Mm, Martian Gelati.
Nominee for Best Unintentionally Funny Law Firm URL:
Marks, O’Neill, O’Brien & Courtney, P.C. - mooclaw.com
I recently had to do an in-class presentation on a federal public service tuition forgiveness program. In order to spice up a Sahara-dry topic, I tossed some illustrations in to break up the monotony of my Powerpoint slides. I'm gonna toot my own horn a bit, and say they turned out pretty well.
The set of 10 is available as a slideshow on Flickr. If you want to humor me, take a look and let me know what you think.
Atheist and self-described "tumbleblogger" Ryoga M celebrates his 1,000th post with the start of a new feature looking at "the greatest plot holes in Bible stories."
God: Oh man! It tastes like chocolate strawberry and brandy. But don't eat it, or you'll live forever! I mean, die! Die. Forget I said live forever.It's funny. Go read it. And tell him that, while he's poking about in Genesis, he should take on the creation myth.
I'm lifting my April Fool's Day hiatus for this item. Enjoy.
NASA Photographs Liquid Water On Mars
Thanks to Skepchick.org for the heads up. This is without exaggeration the funniest things I've seen in months. If you're easily offended, fuck off. Also, don't watch the movie.
Dear Little Bald Bastard,
As a post-modern heathen, I find myself terribly bored with the traditional sins. While I'm sure that my soul is irretrievably soiled with the caustic filth of my decadent lifestyle, I find that living like a character in an Anne Rice novel just isn't as fascinating as it was when I was 17. How can I preserve the smear of acidic, putrid ichor that I call a soul, while trying new things at the same time?
- Soul Possessor
Dear Soul Possessor,
There's good news for those of you who consider the mundane dalliances with lust and sloth to be horribly banal. After 1,500 years, the fun-loving scamps at the Vatican have finally doubled their list of seven deadly sins. The seven newest deadly sins (now 100% deadlier!) are supposed to reflect the moral decline of the modern, secular world. They are, in no particular order:
* Abortion
* Damaging the environment
* Carrying out morally questionable scientific experiments
* Allowing genetic manipulation which alters DNA or compromises embryos
* Dealing or using drugs
* Pedophilia
* Social injustice that causes poverty or
the excessive accumulation of wealth by a few.
The mind-stomping irony of the last two items notwithstanding, this represents a boon for those of you who are tired of the trite, clichéd evil of the old list. Now you can enjoy the tingly thrill of mocking god every time you don't recycle.
One only hopes that the church will commission someone to write The Divine Comedy 2: Electric Boogaloo, so that we'll know for certain what eternal punishments await us for each of the new infractions. I can't see the deterrent effect being really powerful unless we know the penalties up front.
New Humanist
Times Online
On Sunday, Carl Hiaasen waded into the argument over science education standards in Florida with a great editorial warning about the damage that the teaching of evolution could do to the state's reputation.
Unfortunately, it looks like the state school board didn't take Mr. Hiaasen's recommendation seriously. Four of the seven board members voted to include the word "evolution" in public schools science standards for the first time.
After much wrangling, The board approved the use of the term "scientific theory of evolution," so as to placate the anti-science crowd, who still seem to think that tossing the word "theory" about somehow weakens evolution. It's so sad that, in the 21st century, it still takes this kind of pandering to get real science in front public school children. Somebody call Spain and ask if they'll take the peninsula back.
Instead, I offer you a list of 100 crazy quotes, courtesy of Fundies Say the Darndest Things! God commands you to click, and discover the wonders of his greatest creation.
Dear Little Bald Bastard,
Why is douche such a funny word?
- jenny
Dear jenny,
Douche is a great word. First off, it's just fun to say. Douche, douche, douche, douche, douche. Like the best profanities, it's a single syllable that's easy to yell at the top of your lungs.
Douche also has advantages over many of the traditional swear words. It fits into the "dirty" category of "things intended to go in a vagina" (see also: dildo) without the usual sexual connotation (see: dildo). As an insult, it carries the added bonus of association with the dreaded no-so-fresh feeling. When you call someone a douche, you're impliedly telling them they deserved to be jammed in a skanky vagina, in a way that will be pleasurable for no one. It's simultaneously skeevy and emasculating, like a crack whore who laughs at your teeny winky.
