November 30, 2007
Huckabee's phone call from God
"You want me to deliver a message... and that would be... Yes sir, we wanna do what's right. And our president does. And we're behind him, yes sir, we sure are."
"We know you don't take sides in the election, but if you did, we kinda think you'd hang in there with us, Lord, we really do... Yes sir... We'll pass those good words on... I see. You talk to the president, and he talks to you, anyway. And we know that. Yes sir. Take care of the family, and marriage. And the people of America. And all the people. And the children... I can tell you every one of us are committed to doing that, and a whole army of people out here..."
See also: my rant about Huckabee's comment on primates. Oh, and you can still get "When The President Talks to God" for free on iTunes.
(via Cynical-C)
30 Nov 18:12 | Link | Category: Politics, Video
Obama is 'hip to Margaret Mead'
No presidential candidate in history -- not the polymath Thomas Jefferson, not the orator William Jennings Bryan, not the egghead Adlai Stevenson -- has ever uttered a sentence like this: "My mother was an anthropologist [and] the Margaret Mead reference I'm always hip to."
Somehow I was unaware that Barack Obama's mother was a cultural anthropologist. I'm always griping about how policy should be informed by an anthropological perspective, so this pleases me in a roundabout sort of way.
[ I tend to be critical of Mead's work -- but with that aside, I'm just glad he's heard of anthropology. Do you think the current president has any idea who Mead was or what anthropology (cultural or otherwise) is? Sadly, when people ask me what I majored in as an undergrad, most react like "what is this word 'anthropology' you speak of?" ]
30 Nov 17:32 | Link | Category: Human/Primate Evolution & Behavior, Politics
November 25, 2007
Paul Potts
My mom was telling me about this amateur opera singer who made it big after appearing on one of those TV talent search shows in the UK. The video clip she showed me seemed post-worthy, probably because I've been doing some research into the evolution of music (specifically, adaptive hypotheses).
Anyway, watch this unattractive British bloke bring a crowd to tears and cheers using opera (Pavarotti's signature Puccini tune)... in the space of about thirty seconds:
25 Nov 13:34 | Link | Category: Music, Video
November 22, 2007
Racist GPS
(via Cynical-C)
22 Nov 13:50 | Link | Category: Humor, Video
November 8, 2007
Mythbusters (or Science on the Boob Tube)
About a year ago, the NY Times ran this story: Is Mythbusters the Best Science Show on Television? (The link is still in my bookmarks list, which is now to 622 items, thank you very much.)
If you have cable or satellite, you've probably chanced across Mythbusters (since Discovery airs it constantly). Basically, a team led by Adam Savage and the crazily mustached Jamie Hyneman test various urban legends and popular myths. It's definitely meant as entertainment. Every show invariably involves an explosion, crash, or some sort of mayhem or gross-out. But what's really cool about the goofy program (to a science nerd like me) is the scientific methodology they employ to test their hypotheses (folk myths, Hollywood conventions, and the like). The questions they explore are usually completely trivial (though entertaining), but their methods are usually solid. It's getting harder and harder to find decent science-related programming anywhere on TV (with the exception of the Science Channel and the occasional PBS, Discovery, or Animal Planet show), so I say hats off to the Mythbusters.
Here's a clip of them testing whether it's possible to drive a car into a moving semi-trailer like Hasselhoff did in Knight Rider (and there are many more YouTube; this is just the first that came up):
According to a more recent story, this season the Mythbusters will be tackling the famous question about the airplane taking off on a conveyor belt. Should be interesting.
For a complete list of their results (confirmed, plausible, or busted?), check out mythbustersresults.com.
There - I got rid of three bookmarks in one post. Only 619 to go!
08 Nov 18:25 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Science, Video
'Waterboarding'
Waterboarding is back in the headlines (and you've gotta love that term - 'waterboarding' almost sounds fun, like wakeboarding or something). Since Mukasey's lame dodging of the question, the issue is back on peoples' minds and a couple of videos are floating around the web with renewed momentum. One is a segment from FOX News that reminds me of a clip from The Daily Show (but nevertheless does demonstrate waterboarding). The other is a clip from Current (with annoying dramatic music but minus the stupid FOX talking heads), embedded below.
The issue is, of course, larger than waterboarding. There are plenty of other 'coercive interrogation techniques' that are just as - or more - questionable (e.g., sensory deprivation).
08 Nov 16:30 | Link | Category: Current Events, Politics, Video