Children of Evolution

There is a movement in Germany to change their national holiday "Christi Himmelfahrt" (The day of Christ's ascension to heaven) to "Evolutionstag" (Evolution Day). Sounds like a great idea to me. But what's really cool is this video that they made as part of the campaign:



Now didn't that just make your day?

Magician Fail

I don't know if this guy intended to get a laugh or if he just messed it up, but either way, it's funny:

My Latest Creation

via: icanhazcheezburger.com

Why is Science Important?

A very good question, isn't it? Well there's a website (created by Alom Shaha) that is trying to answer it by having lots of different people, scientists and non-scientists alike, give their answers. Here's the latest example made by Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy:

Good News for Arkansas Atheists

Rep. Richard Carroll of North Little Rock has introduced a bill in the Arkansas House that would finally lift the ban on atheists holding public office or testifying in a court case. The bill, HJR1009, would amend the Arkansas constitution, effectively removing a law that the federal government has already ruled is unconstitutional. This means that this is a largely symbolic change since the law is unenforceable anyway. But still... thanks Rep. Carroll for the thought. I expect that the xtians in the state will raise a big stink about this. It could get interesting. Let's hope that the legislature is sensible and does the right thing... yeah right....

The Answer to the Untimate Question

Good ol' Edward Current does it again with another great video. This answers the question: "What will happen to me when I die?"

Happy Darwin Day!

...Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved. --Charles Darwin: "The Origin of Species"

So reads the last few lines of Darwin's magnum opus. Happy 200th birthday Charles and thank you for changing our understanding of the world. My family and I will be having a private celebration dinner this evening which will include monkey bread for desert (of course). Also, in celebration of the day, Digital Cuttlefish has composed a great song in his honor.

That's one hungry baby!

This video "squeaks" for itself:

Evil

Here is an example of what religion taken to the extreme can create. This woman is pure evil. She is responsible for organizing the rape of 80 other women so that she could use their feelings of guilt (also induced by religion) to convince them to be suicide bombers. This is the face of a monster. Oh, and let me be clear, I'm not excusing the actions of the men involved. They may have been recruited by this woman, but they have working brains and the capability to think for themselves. They are fully responsible for their own actions.

Attenborough: Science and Art

Here is an absolutely beautiful video by WellcomeTrust of the UK featuring David Attenborough. It manages to get the gist of the evolution of life on this planet down pretty well. And does it with artistic flare. Very nice...