pharyngula

The beans have been spilled. I lied. I am not the Digital Cuttlefish, I am not leaving Scienceblogs, I have no talent for poetry, and I am not a nice person. I am highly untrustworthy, though. I had people asking all day if I was really in Elmhurst and if I was really going to the local pub last…

This is how to handle a depressed person: On December 23, 2010, Shuai, a 34-year-old pregnant woman who was suffering from a major depressive disorder, attempted to take her own life. Friends found her in time and persuaded her to get help. Six days later, Shuai underwent cesarean surgery and…

Rats, I didn't realize what day it is, and now no one is going to believe the announcement I just made is real…at least not until the 2nd rolls around and the persistence of reality sinks in. So I guess I better post stuff here, just for today, since no one is going to switch their feeds around…

Three and a half years is a pretty decent lifespan for a cuttlefish. The Cuttlefish Poet started out as a joke. I had posted about Cephalopod Awareness Days, including a cephalopod poetry contest, and just for fun, added a handful. I have my reputation to think of, so a quick nom de tentacle…

Ken Ham was asked what Answers in Genesis would do next, after building a gigantic wooden boat on dry land in Kentucky, and now Mark Looy has confirmed it: they have big dreams. They want to build a copy of Solomon's Temple. Don't panic, though, they promise "it's not going to be some kind of…

This year's Upchucky award, which is "bestowed upon that person or organization who persists in denying evolution despite a blizzard of empirical evidence," has gone to a particularly deserving entity: Answers in Genesis. Their plan to build a giant "life-sized" model of a fictitious boat and use…

I don't think I do — her history of policies in the state just screams racist. But she has suddenly become a concerned egalitarian, signing a law to protect minorities and women. She says. The law is actually designed to increase control of the reproductive rights of women and minorities — it…

Earlier, I posted a photo of a saguaro — Rob Bartlett had to one-up me by sending me this photo of a saguaro+.

Don't worry, it's not such a big deal, as the thread of infinite lives and this video demonstrates. (Current totals: 12,133 entries with 1,326,356 comments.)

Sikivu Hutchinson has a new book out, Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars, which I have just ordered for myself. You fortunate people in LA, though, could also go hear the words straight from her mouth: she'll be be speaking at Revolution Books on 3 April. Apparently…

This email from Tea Party Nation clearly shows their true egalitarian nature. What is keeping America's fertility rate up are immigrants - both legal and illegal. There are those in America who are continuously attacking the family, bent on redefining marriage and have established anti-family…

Ray Comfort called in to the Atheist Experience with Matt Dillahunty and Russell Glasser, and now you can watch the little twit twist and writhe and make circular arguments.

But that's just me.

The animal rights kooks were crowing about their 'victory' in intimidating one student, but that's no victory at all. Alena Rodriguez is a real person who was targeted with an intense campaign of harassment and threats, and who was made to fear for her life; all they accomplished, though, was to…

As are we all. But Ray Comfort imagines what his last words will be, and they're quite a doozy—twelve paragraphs of god babble, more mindless regurgitating of his usual evangelical spiel, culminating in this: So, please, repent today. Confess your sins to God, and then forsake them. Then trust…

Curse our sense of good taste and our willingness to disagree! The American Atheists have put up a billboard in Des Moines, Iowa, in preparation for the big meeting next month, and the local media have noticed and put up a poll. I'd like to say that we shall simply go in and crush this poll, except…

The animal rights loons are ranting again. These people are simply terrorists, as you can see in this quote from their odious website. Every time a vivisector's car or home — and, eventually, the abuser him/herself — blows up, flames of liberation light up the sky. They're quite proud of taking…

I know you're out there, and I'm laughing at you. Something happens to me occasionally: some clever dick decides that they'll torment me by signing me up for all kinds of internet newsletters and advertising, so that my in-box will get flooded, or they sign me up for magazine delivery and then…

Carole Smith is a Wiccan who worked for the TSA at the Albany airport. Her coworkers didn't much care for working alongside a witch, so they complained. …her former mentor in on-the-job training, officer Mary Bagnoli, reported that she was afraid of Smith because she was a witch who practiced…

I'm giving you advanced warning: the awesome science fiction convention, CONvergence, will be taking place in Bloomington, Minnesota on 30 June-3 July. You should go. Really. It will be fun, and I'm always telling atheist activists to go to a few science fiction conventions — they have mastered the…

Aaargh! Dueling events on Thursday night! Oh, well, they're easy to resolve spatially. If you're somewhere near Minneapolis, you should attend JT Eberhard's talk in Smith Hall at 7. He's going to be talking about "Campus Preachers: An Excuse to Build Forts and Other Shenanigans", so I'm sure there'…

We occasionally get threads full of deconversion stories here: atheists arrive at their conclusions by some very different paths, where sometimes it was an easy and natural transition, and sometimes it was painful, agonizing, and there are still deep wounds left from parting the ways with religion…

Newt Gingrich is thinking about running for president, and has predicted the future: I have two grandchildren: Maggie is 11; Robert is 9. I am convinced that if we do not decisively win the struggle over the nature of America, by the time they're my age they will be in a secular atheist country,…

Good news, everyone — Our Glorious Seed Overlords have resolved those nagging financial issues and have caught up on their backlog of payments. I got a very satisfying check in the mail today. so everyone should say hooray for ScienceBlogs! Six+ months of blogging income in one lump is rather nice…

Guns vs. Butterby Audley Z Darkheart Since the Libyan protests began, the debate over the US led NATO enforcement of a "no-fly zone" has raged nearly everywhere-- news outlets, op-ed pages, blogs, even facebook. It all boils down to one fundamental question: Should the United States be dropping…

It's another godless birthday. March must be a good month for birthing ferocious atheists — so procreate in June/July!

What is it with these stupid, cheap silicone wrist bands? It seems every scam artist in the country is selling these things along with claims that they have amazing magical powers, and people must be buying them. Here's a promotional video for Energy Armor — "NEGATIVE IONS!" This is their…

(via National Geographic)

I had never heard of these before: Papal knighthoods are awarded to lay men and women for conspicuous service to the church and society. They are among the highest honours the Pope can bestow. Surprise, surprise, though…the "highest honours the Pope can bestow" can be purchased for £50,000.…