Radical Transparency

Ever paused and considered an eye-catching typo and then wondered if the "correctly" spelled word wasn't once just a luckily timed and placed misspelling that quietly slipped into ubiquitous use?

Sowrds.

Swords.

Not obvious to me that we should be using the S W O spelling.

Just sayin.

Another reason to appreciate the fact that cheap, easy media production tools are everywhere and spreading:



No original is immune to the mashup.  Nothing is sacred. 

And I think that's good.  Makes it more difficult for us to hold on to idealized glories past.  Keeps things evolving, living in the moment.

Basketball on TV.  Jon and his girlfriend sitting on the couch.  She frowns as she thinks for a moment.  And then:

Did you know the color red makes you hungry?  You think it's because it looks like blood?  Wolves like blood, right?

Wolves.  Werewolves.  Vampires.  People.

Exactly.

A few days ago, the Texas Board of Education met to discuss the possibility of repealing a rule that requires that the "strengths and weaknesses" of all scientific theories be taught.

At the center of the debate is evolution. 

Creationists love the rule because it gives them opportunities to get weird in classrooms. 

People afraid of fundamentalist religious lunatics love the proposed repeal because it would eliminate some opportunities for creationists to get weird.  In state sponsored schools.  In front of children.

Here's an excerpt from an article about the lead up to that meeting:

Protesters and activists gathered nearby, fervently arguing their sides of the debate.

"My grandfather was not a monkey!" one woman shouted at a crowd before the meeting began.

I think I need to talk to the reporter.  Fervently arguing one side of the debate?  Pointing out that her grandfather was not a monkey is fervently arguing her side of the debate?  The woman clearly thinks so, and fair enough to acknowledge that.  But.  I think the words argue and debate might be feeling a little taken-advantage-of, no?

Speaking of worms and historical first times, imagine the first time someone used a worm to catch a fish.

Fish live in the water.  Worms don't.  Sure, a few worms fall off banks or roll into ponds and rivers in rotten logs or flow with topsoil in floods, but I'm going to go ahead and challenge science to show me a fish that depends on worms as a food source.  Seems evolutionarily impossible to me.

But, as many of us learned when we were little, fish go crazy over worms.  Worms are to fish what ice cream sandwiches are to humans.

And, somehow, someone discovered that.  Discovered the worms part, I mean.  Though someone did also discover the ice cream sandwich.  To that person, I offer thanks and congratulations.

But back to the wormbait innovator...

Maybe he dropped a worm into a stream and saw a fish eat it.  And, maybe, because he'd seen fish eat lots of other things before, he was impressed with the level of satisfaction he could sense in the swish of its tail.  So maybe he dropped another worm, and maybe the fish smiled, winked, and ate that too, or maybe another fish swooped in and jumped for joy.

But then why did the dude have worms?  I mean it's pretty rare for a person to be carrying a worm.  Was he a worm-eater too?  Or was he carrying them back to his garden?  Showing his kids how weird they are?  Discovering for himself how weird they are?

I feel like there might be an obvious answer to all this, but my imagination doesn't seem to want to let me find it.

Oh well.  Kinda fun this way.

Did a little vid chatting today with Danny, my arch burrito eating rival.

The primary purpose of the call was to compare mustaches. 

But things didn't get really exciting until Danny showed me his new toy.

Moments like these remind me that it truly is the '90s, and anything truly is possible.

     

Click here to download:

Skype_Evolution.zip (2524 KB)

I bet Darwin and Obama would have been best friends.

Joe de Grazia, my dad, makes his internet debut...



And, Paul Hughes, since I know you're reading this, I mean it 100% lovingly when I call you a mad raver.

Note the Grateful Dead logo on the cabinet between our heads.  Parker drew that baby when he was like 11.  I love it.  We feature Led Zeppelin and Phish art in this kitchen too.

And note Pops's last comment about thinning our own herds.  Yikes.  He's not really that crazy.  Just a rookie video blogger looking to make a name for himself.

Sarah Palin doesn't like fruit flies.  Do we know why?

Does she think they are tiny and silly and dirty and thus obviously totally scientifically useless?

Or does she worry about the implications of research that deals with genes and genetics?  Might she think fruit fly research lies on a slippery slope toward acknowledging truth in evolution?

Thank you GOOD Blog for making me wonder about this.  But why, GOOD Blog, did you react to my submitted comment so coldly?  You didn't post it.  You didn't tell me it was awaiting moderation.  You didn't tell me something technical had gone wrong.  I'm confused.  So I resort to blogging.