Friday, August 21, 2009

Mark Hyman, MD: 5 Steps To Reversing Type 2 Diabetes And Insulin Resistance


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Mark Hyman, MD: 5 Steps To Reversing Type 2 Diabetes And Insulin Resistance

Breaking news!



Some newly discovered compounds have just been found to turn off all of the genes that cause diabetes.



Are these compounds found in a pill bottle? No!



Instead, you'll find them on your dinner plate -- in rye bread and pasta.



(As I recently wrote in one of my blogs, rye contains special phytonutrients that turn off all the genes responsible for diabetes -- in just a few weeks.)



Last week, I explained how to find out if you are pre-diabetic or diabetic. Half of the 24 million people with diabetes don't know they have it and nearly all the 60 million people with pre-diabetes don't know they have it.



Today, I want to share with you more information about what you can do NOW to prevent and reverse diabetes and pre-diabetes.



And rye bread isn't the only answer -- I've got a lot more good advice, too.



But first I want to emphasize new research that should be headlines news but never saw the light of day. Do our current drugs treatments for diabetes actually work to prevent heart attacks and death?



Surely lowering blood sugar in diabetics is an effective strategy for reducing the risk of death and heart disease. It would seem obvious that if diabetes is a disease of high blood sugar, then reducing blood sugar would be beneficial.



However elevated sugar is only a symptom, not the cause of the problem. The real problem is elevated insulin unchecked over decades from a highly refined carbohydrate diet, a sedentary lifestyle and environmental toxins.



Most medications and insulin therapy are aimed at lowering blood sugar through increasing insulin. In the randomized ACCORD trial of over 10,000 patients, this turns out to be a bad idea.



In the intensive glucose-lowering group, there were no fewer heart attacks, and more patients died. Yet we continue to pay $174 billion annually for this type of care for diabetes, despite evidence that lifestyle works better than medications. We also pay for cardiac bypass and angioplasty in diabetics when evidence shows no reduction in death or heart attacks compared to medication.



So now that we know what doesn't work, let me review what does work.





Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Roast porpoise anyone? Medieval recipes go online


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Roast porpoise anyone? Medieval recipes go online

Chefs searching for authentic medieval recipes for porpoise, pike and blancmange can now look up the instructions online.


Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Banned in Utah


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Banned in Utah

UTAH_plate_mmmbeer_50196128.jpgIn other "Utah in the News," news, Esquire magazine's Answer Fella presents a sampling of banned in Utah vanity license plates, with a brief description of why these plates were considered taboo.


I was a little surprised "GOBUSH" was banned, I thought this was dubya country after all.


But hey, at least somebody is thinking of the children.


 


 UTAH_plate_gobush_61660257.jpg


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


UTAH_plate_2black_23170875.jpg



Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Take it easy in Michigan's Harbor Country


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Take it easy in Michigan's Harbor Country

Explore sand dunes, lounge on beaches, then retire to family friendly cottages or romantic bed-and-breakfasts.



Ginny
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i am surrounded by incompetence


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i am surrounded by incompetence

This is interesting. It's from an article entitled "Creative Solutions" in the current "New Scientist" magazine.

It's hard to stay upbeat when your penny-pinching bosses are counting paper clips and coffee grains, but here's some good news: you don't need to be cheery. Workplace discontent may just be a vast, untapped source of creativity.

"For a long time, it seemed that all companies cared about was job satisfaction," says Jing Zhou at Rice University in Houston, Texas. She and colleague Jennifer George wondered whether dissatisfaction was really such a bad thing. To find out, they surveyed 149 employees at a drilling equipment company. Without revealing their ultimate purpose, they asked workers dozens of questions about their work lives, including some to assess their level of job satisfaction. They also interviewed the workers' supervisors and asked them questions about which workers regularly came up with "creative solutions", "fresh approaches" or "new ideas".

Surprisingly, people who were dissatisfied and willing to pipe up were found to be the most creative (Academy of Management Journal, vol 44, p 682). "It was very striking," says Zhou, "and counter-intuitive."

Zhou and George reckon that employees who become disgruntled have four options. They can jump ship, taking any ideas they might have had on how to improve things with them, or they can stick around and whine, reaffirm their allegiance, or shirk their work. Neither the loyalists nor the shirkers have any impetus to work for change. The whiners, by contrast, spend a significant part of their day ruminating on how things can be improved. That is a creative force we can no longer afford to ignore, Zhou argues.

She points out that disgruntled employees are often discouraged from voicing complaints, so their valuable insights are stifled. The study found that the creativity of whiners could only be harnessed with the help of supportive colleagues who listened to and channelled their discontent. "Top managers really need to rethink how to do things," she says.

In a similar vein, Bruce Charlton at the University of Buckingham in the UK says that by overvaluing people who toe the line we are killing creativity in the sciences. In a paper entitled "Why are modern scientists so dull? How science selects for perseverance and sociability at the expense of intelligence and creativity", he argues that the long, tedious road to tenure ruthlessly weeds out the more imaginative people in favour of conscientious scientists who won't rock the boat.


COMMENT: Okay, I'm going to have to stick my hand up on this one. I am one of life's great whiners. I don't only moan for Engla...


Ginny
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Friday, May 08, 2009

Northwest e-mail accounts to be converted to Delta


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Northwest e-mail accounts to be converted to Delta

Roughly 38,000 employees of carrier Northwest Airlines, which was acquired by Delta Air Lines Inc., will be getting Delta e-mail ...



Ginny
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Friday, April 10, 2009

Rachel Maddow & Behind the Scenes of NOM Video


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Rachel Maddow & Behind the Scenes of NOM Video


As Pam wrote, the original InterTubes video of the NOM auditions is down. However, Rachel Maddow's take on the auditions is now up -- and it includes what was put up on the InterTubes.

So, without any further comment -- this is an interesting news segment from last night's Rachel Maddow show:

[YouTube Video]

Rachel Maddow: We do not know how Human Rights Campaign got access to the audition tapes, but because they did we do know that pretending to be a straight person hurt by gay marriage, umm...is apparently very, VERY challenging.

And, just because I'm not commenting doesn't mean you can't. (You can pretty much guess what my comments would be just from the fact we found a way to get the audition videos back up, hee-hee!)

~~~~~
Related:
* Transcript: Thom Hartmann and NOM's Brian Brown
* SF Columnist scorches desperate National Organization for Marriage ad
* National Organization for Marriage's hired guns for fact-free hate
* National Organization for Marriage's new tactic: fear-mongering without using the word 'religion'
* Towleroad: 'Pro-family' fear-mongering zombies release gay marriage scare ad



Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

My quest for the dodo bird, and other obsessions: Adam Savage on TED.com


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My quest for the dodo bird, and other obsessions: Adam Savage on TED.com

At EG'08, Adam Savage talks about his fascination with the dodo bird, and how it led him on a strange and surprising double quest. It's an entertaining adventure through the mind of a creative obsessive. (Recorded at EG'08, December 2008, in Monterey, California. Duration: 15:39.)






Watch Adam Savage's talk from EG'08 on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 400+ TEDTalks -- including more talks about what makes us happy.



Get TED delivered:
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Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Monday, March 09, 2009

Goth clockwork doll performance/dance


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Goth clockwork doll performance/dance

[YouTube Video]


Lisa sez, "Gothla, a very cool gothic bellydance event over the weekend had this showstopper; a broken clockwork doll looking for repair/ love? I dunno but it was the only time the entire building was rapt with attention and totally still."


That is one talented gothy clockwork lady in big chunky shoes.


Clockwork Couture presents Elysium Dance Theatre at Gothla US 2009

(Thanks, Lisa!)






Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Friday, March 06, 2009

Skaters and Haters: Mike Brown Fest I 2009


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Skaters and Haters: Mike Brown Fest I 2009

BY JON PAXTON

Photobucket


Mike Brown's Mind came up with these shenanigans The first annual Mike Brown Fest (MBF) went surprisingly well last night. One would expect some sort of tragedy or a small wastebasket fire––at the very least––but it was professionally done. The skateboarders were happy, the crowd was happy, and the bands, Andale!, Eagle Twin, and The Fucktards, all enjoyed themselves in a festive manner.


Photobucket


Skaterific The skateboarders availed themselves of any nearby objects to garner applause, even utilizing Urban's interior decorations as a jumping off and stalling point. It was just the sort of novelty that makes productions like these exciting.


Photobucket


Eagle Twin: Turbo If you're not aware of the rock fortress of Eagle Twin, make yourself aware. I was not until this point, having lived an almost hermit-like existence in a no-man's land of northern Utah but no longer will I tarry from these twin's of solid fucking, well, I almost want to say straight up metal––and all done with just two instruments. They make a ruckus, most assuredly, with these bare bones basics. I'd say take note of what kind of sound you can make with fucking amplifiers all you two-pieces...



Ginny
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Thursday, March 05, 2009

Celebrating jobs -- all kinds of jobs: Mike Rowe on TED.com


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Celebrating jobs -- all kinds of jobs: Mike Rowe on TED.com

From EG'08: Mike Rowe, the host of Dirty Jobs, tells some compelling (and horrifying) real-life job stories. Listen for his insights and observations about the nature of hard work, and how it's been unjustifiably degraded in society today. (Recorded in December 2008 in Monterey, California. Duration: 20:03.)






Watch Mike Rowe's talk from EG'08 on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 390+ TEDTalks -- including more talks from master storytellers.



Get TED delivered:
Subscribe to the TEDTalks video podcast via RSS >>
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Get updates via Twitter >>

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Ginny
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My only drinking problem…


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My only drinking problem…




funny pictures of cats with captions


My only drinking problem… …is that my head doesn't fit in this glass.


i dont haz dat problum.


picture: dunno source, via our lolcat builder. lol caption:


» Recaption This


» See All Captions






Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

HRC blasts Mormon church's involvement in fighting Illinois civil unions bill


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HRC blasts Mormon church's involvement in fighting Illinois civil unions bill

Human Rights Campaign is hopping mad at the latest news about the Mormons inserting themselves into Illinois public policy for the sake of hating the homos. The organization has launched an online action to its 35,000 members and supporters in Illinois as the legislature considers The Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act (HB 2234).
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, today learned that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has sent a private e-mail to its members in Illinois urging them to contact state legislators and voice opposition to civil unions legislation currently under consideration.   Mormons have notably utilized private networks to torpedo pro-LGBT policies in the past, most recently in their home state of Utah, where a package of fair-minded legislation called the Common Ground Initiative was systematically killed in the state legislature. Most notoriously, Mormons funneled millions of dollars into California last year to pass Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that stripped lesbian and gay couples of the right to marry in the state.

"It is irrefutably clear that the LDS Church is fighting an anti-gay crusade throughout the nation, targeting any form of equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community," said Bruce Bastian, Board of Director for the Human Rights Campaign and former member of the LDS Church. "Church leaders want nothing more than to do their hateful work in secrecy, but the time has come to shine a light on their insidious efforts.  If the LDS Church won't tell the truth, we will."

The e-mail, sent to at least one LDS ward in Illinois, was authorized by Bishop Chris Church, of the Nauvoo, Illinois 3rd Ward, and was sent out by that website's ward administrator.  The messaging in the e-mail carries many of the same bigoted lies that were hallmarks of the LDS Church's campaign in support of Proposition 8 in California and Proposition 102 in Arizona.  The e-mail misleads citizens in Illinois by blatantly misstating that the civil unions legislation would "empower the public schools to begin teaching this lifestyle to our young children regardless of parental requests otherwise."  It goes on to issue this incendiary and inaccurate warning - "it will also create grounds for rewriting all social mores."  The e-mail was uncovered by BoxTurtleBulletin.com, a website that tracks and monitors anti-gay rhetoric.  The contents of the e-mail are posted online at www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2009/03/03/9359.

More below the fold.
In the aftermath of the passage of Proposition 8, the ballot measure that ended marriage equal...


Ginny
I can has iPhone?

10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know


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10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know

Everyday I receive an email from somebody about how their account was hacked, how a friend tagged them in the photo and they want a way to avoid it, as well as a number of other complications related to their privacy on Facebook. Over the weekend one individual contacted me to let me know that he would be removing me as a friend from Facebook because he was "going to make a shift with my Facebook use - going to just mostly family stuff."

Perhaps he was tired of receiving my status updates or perhaps he didn't want me to view photos from his personal life. Whatever the reason for ending our Facebook friendship, I figured that many people would benefit from a thorough overview on how to protect your privacy on Facebook. Below is a step by step process for protecting your privacy.



Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Thursday, February 12, 2009

T(witter)-shirts


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T(witter)-shirts

Nicole Stewart, the wonderful talent responsible for the graphic design of my website, has come up with some (IMHO) magnificent T-shirts which we hope will appeal. We are selling them through mysoti.com and if you have any issues regarding pricing, ordering and delivery you can be in touch with them direct via ask@mysoti.com or tweet @mysoti where Steve will be happy to help you out. Prices are determined automatically by location and currency. Plenty of t-shirts on the market are cheaper than ours, but plenty are more expensive too. We think, given the work behind the design, that the price we've settled on for our shirts is fair and reasonable. I trust you'll agree. If not, don't worry. The option not to buy is also available (while stocks last).


Tweet.jpg

I Tweeted @stephenfry T-Shirt © Samfry Ltd 2009


This is certainly not about me profiting from my net presence. The volume of traffic that my website receives costs me a great deal. The more who visit, the more I pay for hosting: this is an ineluctable law that many may not be aware of yet which, on further thought, is inevitable. The running costs are rising monthly. I don't complain, but I would like my site to come reasonably close to paying for itself. I should hate to have to close it down simply because so many people visited it. I have too a matchless team of designers who need to be paid a proper reward for their creativity, industry and commitment.


I hope you will find the opportunity proudly to own and wear one of these t-shirts a merry part of the ceaselessly splendid pleasures that the Worldwide Web, Twitter and the digital age has brought us. Pleasures we continue to share with such never ending wonder and surprise.


x Stephen


© Stephen Fry 2009



Ginny
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Saturday, February 07, 2009

Darwin, Lincoln: Peers who changed the world


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Darwin, Lincoln: Peers who changed the world

Influence of Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln strong as their bicentennial nears





Two hundred years ago Thursday, two of the most influential men of all time were born on the same day—one in a three-story country mansion in Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, England, and the other in a one-room, dirt-floor frontier log cabin in Kentucky.





Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Hummingbird Babies Webcam

Check out this video on UStream:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Hummingbird-Babies-Webcam


Ginny
I can has iPhone?

The Lede: 25 Tips for the Busy Facebook User


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The Lede: 25 Tips for the Busy Facebook User

Help is at hand for Facebook users too busy to even think of 25 Random Things.


Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Darwin's 200th birthday is focus of February 15 bulletin inserts


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Darwin's 200th birthday is focus of February 15 bulletin inserts

The theories put forth by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species rocked the scientific and religious world 150 years ago. Episcopal Life Weekly bulletin inserts for February 15 mark the 200th anniversary of the scientist's birth and outline his contributions to 20th and 21st-century ideas about God, creation and the beginnings of humankind.


Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Texas creationists sink to a new low


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Texas creationists sink to a new low

It's getting hot and nasty in the battle over the Texas science standards. Donna Garner, one of the members of the forces of darkness, has distributed a letter in which she claims that the atheists are winning Texas (I wish!), and that those of us who are working to teach evolution must be opposed more fiercely. And, of course, any accusation levied against scientists is perfectly fair. The kicker in her letter is a bit of slander:



Jeffrey Dahmer, one of America's most infamous serial killers who cannibalized more than 17 boys before being captured, gave an [sic] last interview with Dateline NBC nine months before his death, and he said the following about why he acted as he did:  "If a person doesn't think that there is a God to be accountable to, then what's the point of trying to modify your behavior to keep it within acceptable ranges?  That's how I thought anyway. I always believed the theory of evolution as truth, that we all just came from the slime.  When we died, you know, that was it, there was nothing...." (Dateline NBC, The Final Interview, Nov. 29, 1994).



Well, yes, of course! Why didn't we think of consulting a convicted and confessed sexual sadist and serial killer on matters of ethics and science? I guess this is one perspective in which the religious have an advantage over us atheists — they're already accustomed to regarding the clergy as authorities.

Read the comments on this post...


Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Monday, February 02, 2009

Jonathan Wells' weird notions about development


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Jonathan Wells' weird notions about development

Jonathan Wells recently gave a talk in Albuquerque at something called the "Forum on Science, Origins, and Design", a conference about which I can find absolutely nothing on the web. I wasn't there, of course, and I don't get invited to these goofy events anyway, but I did get a copy of Wells' powerpoint presentation from an attendee. It's titled "DNA Does Not Control Embryo Development" — shall we look at it together? It's really a hoot.



wells1.jpeg
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...


Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Darwin 200


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Darwin 200

A few of us wild and crazy evo people, including Richard Dawkins, wrote up pieces for an issue of the BBC Focus magazine. You'll find me arguing with Steve Jones about whether evolution has stopped, Richard Lenski is highlighted, and Carl Zimmer makes an appearance. If you've got a flash player, you can read it online right now. It's pretty good stuff, if I do say so myself.

Read the comments on this post...


Ginny
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Saturday, January 31, 2009

Blagojevich: Such a classy man...NOT | THE News Pundit

http://www.thenewspundit.com/2009/01/31/blagojevich-such-a-classy-mannot/


Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Rival rips Feigenholtz for being on 'clout lists'


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Rival rips Feigenholtz for being on 'clout lists'

State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz is positioning herself as a progressive Democrat in the race to succeed Rahm Emanuel in Congress representing the North Side of Chicago and some of the west suburbs.



Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Closing arguments under way at Blagojevich's impeachment trial | Clout Street - local political coverage

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2009/01/blagojevich-to-give-impeachment-speech-in-a-few-hours.html


Ginny
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Of Darwin Dover And (un)intelligent design


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Of Darwin Dover And (un)intelligent design



February 2009


Feature

Of Darwin, Dover And (Un)Intelligent Design


Scholar Says The Future Of Science –; And Church-State Separation –; Are At Stake In The Creationism/Evolution Conflict


Kenneth R. Miller was one of the leading witnesses in a lawsuit challenging "intelligent design" creationism in Dover, Pa., public schools. In a sweeping defeat for the Religious Right, a federal district court ruled in Kitzmiller v. Dover in 2005 that teaching religion in science classes violates the Constitution. Miller, a professor of biology at Brown University, has now written Only A Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul (Viking/Penguin Group, 2008). The book looks at the ongoing drive to teach religious concepts in public school science classes and why that crusade must not succeed. Church & State recently asked him some questions.


Q. You were an expert witness in the lawsuit against "intelligent design" creationism in Dover, Pa., public schools. What did you think of the trial and its outcome?


A. Naturally, like everyone on the plaintiffs' side of the Kitzmiller case, I was delighted with the outcome –; and that wasn't just because of the judge's decision. I was especially impressed with the businesslike way in which the trial moved along. Both sides played by the rules and did their best to keep matters focused on the issues at hand. And the judge, John E. Jones III, did an extraordinary job of moving things along fairly and openly. At the end, I think that both sides had to admit that they had been given every opportunity to make their cases. The experience impressed me with the fairness and openness of the federal judicial procedure and renewed my confidence in our court system.


Q. What surprised you most about the trial?


A. Two things. First, the willingness of certain members of the school board to come into court and tell obvious lies. That might seem a little harsh, but that's exactly how the judge put it too, even to the point of lecturing a witness in open court about contradictions in his testimony. The second surprising thing was the public collapse of intelligent design (ID) during the defense phase of the trial. While many scientists, myself included, have written about the scientific flaws of ID, it was genuinely shocking to see them exposed so clearly under cross-examination. By the end of the defense phase of the trial, any contention that ID formed a coherent scientific theory had vanished. At that point, it was clear to everyone in the courtroom that the verdict would favor the plaintiffs.


Q. There was a lot of press attention focused on the trial. What was the public reaction to your ...



Ginny
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Attenborough's response to creationists' hate mail


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Attenborough's response to creationists' hate mail

Sir David Attenborough gets a lot of hate mail because he doesn't give credit to God in his documentaries.

In an interview with this week's Radio Times about his latest documentary, on Charles Darwin and natural selection, the broadcaster said: "They tell me to burn in hell and good riddance."

Telling the magazine that he was asked why he did not give "credit" to God, Attenborough added: "They always mean beautiful things like hummingbirds. I always reply by saying that I think of a little child in east Africa with a worm burrowing through his eyeball. The worm cannot live in any other way, except by burrowing through eyeballs. I find that hard to reconcile with the notion of a divine and benevolent creator."



Attenborough's response to creationists' hate mail










Ginny
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Saturday, January 24, 2009

Genuine Fakes

http://www.ioba.org/newsletter/archive/v9/GenuineFakes.html


Ginny
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Illinois.gov - Illinois Government News Network (IGNN) - Search the News Results

http://www.il.gov/pressreleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?RecNum=2163&SubjectID=17


Ginny
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Texas board moves closer to new science standards

Hi Steve,

Here's a current story about the Texas  school board, and how free speech issues were used as part of the creation/intelligent design faction's strategy.  

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Texas board moves closer to new science standards

AUSTIN, Texas -- The State Board of Education moved a step closer to dropping a 20-year-old science curriculum requirement that critics say is used to undermine the theory of evolution.



Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Friday, January 23, 2009

“Traditional” vs. “Contemporary”?


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"Traditional" vs. "Contemporary"?

By Donald Schell



For the healthy future of our church we've got to stop thinking and talking as if 'traditional' and 'contemporary' were opposites. This hackneyed dichotomy reduces us to a lose/lose battle between caricatured factions – do we want to be a backward-looking 'traditional' church bound by nostalgic practices of the last two hundred years or a 'trendy,' 'relevant' church whoring in uncritical embrace of 'contemporary' culture.



Only a church that's deeply traditional and truly contemporary can live fearlessly into creativity and mission. To find our way to deep traditional roots and a lively present, we'll need to relearn that the words 'tradition' and 'traditional' live in a creative process, an inspired engagement with our Christian past and discernment of the God-given opportunities and challenges of each present moment.



Hear Vladimir Lossky, a bold 20th Century Russian Orthodox theologian described tradition,

"…to be within the Tradition, is to keep the living truth in the Light of the Holy Spirit, or rather – it is to be kept in the Truth by the vivifying power of Tradition. But this power preserves by a ceaseless renewing, like all that comes from the Spirit." [Tradition and Traditions, Lossky's introduction to The Meaning of Icons, (Leonid Ouspensky and Vladimir Lossky, 1952 and 1969]


Lossky tells us that tradition is a creative process for the church and the work of the Holy Spirit among us. When the Spirit's steady hand harnesses the powerful troika of humble memory, faithful curiosity, and innovative imagination, the church has a powerful team for an exhilarating ride.



When other rabbis scolded Jesus' disciples for skipping the ritual hand washing that began the meal, those teachers' concern wasn't hygiene but sacrilegious violation of ritual purity. They understood a prophetic sign. Jesus was defying religious purity laws to show people the impatient welcome of his all-merciful Father. Hand washing was ritualized preparation for the sacred.



Jesus' deep faithfulness to the tradition he received had provoked him to break the rubrics (official rules) of the ritual meal of a rabbi with his close disciples.



Jesus teaching God's mercy on the Sabbath was good rabbinic practice. But to some his healing and feeding people to embody that mercy was more sacrilege. The Sabbath was the center of rabbinic Judaism's liturgy. Once again traditionally-grounded rule-breaking led Jesus to liturgical innovation and a new vision for works of mercy in community. Liturgy and his mission of compassionate love were inseparable.



Making his ritual choices to reshape the ritual of a rabbi's holy meal with close disciples, Jesus showed the fulfillment of Isaiah's promised feast, on the mountaintop, God's messianic banquet for all people. And he was using one tradition to reshape another. Isaiah and Israel's...



Ginny
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Thursday, January 22, 2009

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Honey Lemon Ginger Infusion Soothes Throats, Improves Water [Winter]


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Honey Lemon Ginger Infusion Soothes Throats, Improves Water [Winter]

East-coasters, northerners, and anyone with a cold lately knows how rough winter can be. Slashfood has a simple recipe for a concoction that soothes coughs and throats, and gets more fluid in your system.

Why bother with a natural concoction that sounds like a tea bar specialty? Researchers (and lots of anecdotal tales) have shown that honey, specifically the buckwheat variety, can be more effective than cough syrup (second item) at suppressing coughs. And no doctor isn't going to recommend getting more fluids when you're sick, but there's only so much cold, plain water one can drink before it gets old, and fast. So try Slashfood's easy take on creating an all-natural winter helper:

Simply grate a half inch chunk of ginger into a large mug. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon in on top (you can also add the zest if you're feeling daring) and add a heaping teaspoonful of honey (feel free to adjust the sweetness level to your personal taste). Fill the cup with boiling water and stir to combine. Drink while still warm and repeat as necessary.

One could, depending on taste, make a batch of this infusion starter ahead of time, rather than have it be a bad-morning ritual.

Got your own non-medicinal (or medicine-supplementing) cold-beaters? Share the recipe in the comments. Photo by kane ikin.









Ginny
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Daily Kos: How Rick Warren's Invocation Made a U.S. Army Officer "Hate Himself"


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Daily Kos: How Rick Warren's Invocation Made a U.S. Army Officer "Hate Himself"

Not unexpectedly, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) was besieged with emails and phone calls from members of our armed forces today following Rick Warren's invocation. These weren't complaints about the inappropriateness of Warren being chosen to deliver the invocation, or even about the content of Warren's prayer. They were complaints about the pressure put on our servicemen and servicewomen by their superior officers to applaud Rick Warren, whose book The Purpose-Driven Life is second only to the Bible itself as the most promoted religious book by the U.S. military, currently being incorporated into everything from pre- and post-deployment family programs to suicide prevention.

The following is an email from one decorated combat officer, a man with the courage to repeatedly put his life on the line on the battlefield, being wounded twice, but who could not muster the courage to resist the pressure of his "serious and committed born again Christian" commanding officer to applaud Rick Warren. The author of this email is typical of the majority of servicemen and servicewomen who contact MRFF for assistance. Like 96% of MRFF's clients, he is a Christian -- but not the "right" kind of Christian or Christian enough for today's military.

To Mikey Weinstein and MRFF:

My name is (name withheld) and I am a (officer rank withheld) in the U.S. Army currently stationed stateside at Fort (military installation name withheld). I, my spouse and my children are Methodists attending church regularly on both Wednesdays and Sundays. I will always remember today as the low-point of my long (number of years withheld) year career in the Army. I have only myself to blame. Today I firmly established myself as a shameful person. Mikey, I write about 3 things; Rick Warren, my cowardice and your bravery. Today, I watched President Obama's inauguration on the television set up in our Brigade staff conference room. I attended as a member of (unit level designation withheld) staff along with over 40 other senior officers, senior enlisted an few senior Army civilian staffers. There had been much talk here about Pres. Obama's selection of the evangelical pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at the ceremonies.

Our current Commander is a very intolerant and "serious and committed born again Christian" as he always describes himself to all his subordinates. At every military assignment I've ever been to it's ...



Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Reader

http://www.google.com/reader/i/?hl=en#stream/user%2F04329668731005320046%2Fstate%2Fcom.google%2Freading-list


Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Prayer at the National Cathedral


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Prayer at the National Cathedral

Here is the prayer presented by the Presiding Bishop at the Inaugural Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral.


On this radiant day we give thanks to you, O God,


for the freedom to gather united in prayer.


Strengthen and sustain Barack, our President,


that in the days to come he may lead your people


with confidence and compassion.


Grant patience and perseverance to the people of this Nation.


With malice toward none, with charity for all,


may we strive to finish the work you have given us to do


that we may achieve a just and lasting peace.


In this time of new beginnings, new ventures, and new visions,


light in us the fire of justice, and the passion for forgiveness.


Give us the strength to hold fast to what is good


that we may go forth renewed and committed to make hope a reality.


Amen.




The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
January 21, 2009






Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Nathan Fillion lays the Hammer down about a Dr. Horrible sequel


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Nathan Fillion lays the Hammer down about a Dr. Horrible sequel

Nathan Fillion, who played Captain Hammer in Joss Whedon's online musical Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, told reporters that the seeds of a proposed sequel were planted in the original's DVD. Whedon previously told SCI FI Wire that he is considering a sequel and will explore new forms of media with it.



"There is talk about a Dr. Horrible sequel," Fillion said in a group interview last week in Universal City, Calif. where he was promoting his upcoming ABC series Castle. "It's actually in one of the songs on the Dr. Horrible DVD commentary music." The recently released home-video version of Dr. Horrible featured a musical commentary track.



Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Monday, January 19, 2009

Fossil illuminates jaw evolution


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Fossil illuminates jaw evolution

A fossil fish is shedding light on the evolution of jawed vertebrates, according to a Swedish study.


Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Shozu now working

Finally hit on the right combo for using Shozu for the quick links blog; can't seem to edit non-Shozu posts though.

Posted by ShoZu

Why Ginny Can't Blog


Cat on lap immobilizes hands.

Posted by ShoZu

Monday, January 12, 2009

Twittelator Link

Here is an interesting link http://mashable.com/2009/01/12/tweetsuite


Ginny
I can has iPhone?

Friday, January 09, 2009

Talk to da paws cuz


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Talk to da paws cuz




funny pictures of cats with captions


Talk to da paws cuz da face iz asleep.


even wen i iz awake, u shud talk 2 mah hand.


picture: dunno source, via our lolcat builder. lol caption: Elizabethrose


» Recaption This


» See All Captions


      



Ginny
I can has iPhone?