pirates
pharyngula | September 19, 2006Hey, papal apologists (papalologists?), stop reading this! You won't like it. It's nothing but a couple of links to religion-bashing, prompted by the naked sectarian stupidity of one bizarre religious leader.
Christopher Hitchens takes the pope to task for pissing off Islam (a triviality, as always) and criticizing the application of reason.
It is often said--and was said by Ratzinger when he was an underling of the last Roman prelate--that Islam is not capable of a Reformation. We would not even have this word in our language if the Roman Catholic Church had been able to have its own way.…
pharyngula | September 19, 2006Ugh. John Pieret is right: this effort by Michael Shermer to reconcile evolution with conservative theology is hideous, on multiple levels. It takes a special kind of arrogance to think that Christians are going to consult Shermer, a godless hellbound skeptic, on how to interpret the fine details of the Bible. Either reject it or buy into it—but nobody is going to believe that Shermer accepts the religious premises of the book. He's being a kind of concern troll on a grand scale.
It's also nonsense.
Because the theory of evolution provides a scientific foundation for the core values shared by…
pharyngula | September 19, 2006
The Give Up Blog has a post outlining a general problem: denialists. The author is putting together a list of common tactics used by denialists of all stripes, whether they're trying to pretend global warming isn't happening, Hitler didn't kill all those Jews, or evolution is a hoax, and they represent a snapshot of the hallmarks of crank anti-science. Most of the examples he's using are from climate change, but they also fit quite well with the creation-evolution debates.
Here are the key features:
Conspiracy. Accuse the mainstream scientists of all being in it to defraud the government of…
pharyngula | September 19, 2006I confess that I have not read Bérubé's new book, yet. It's on my list, but that list is long and dreadfully discouraging…and now, Chris Clarke has undermined the book's sales by publishing a condensed version of its contents. I also suspect that Bérubé's book lacks the beautiful illustrations.
All hail the democratizing power of the net! Information must be free!
pharyngula | September 19, 2006Of course! They're lurking everywhere, scheming to get onto school boards and wreak havoc. I recently heard from a few people at the University of Hawaii who were shocked to see some of the responses of school board candidates there to the question, "Should public schools teach intelligent design?"—they gave answers like this:
Henry W. Hoeft, Jr. says Intelligent Design creationism "Should be taught side-by-side with Darwin's Theory of Evolution and students can decide which view to accept".
Brian Kessler says "Voters should decide by referendum".
There's a simple answer to this problem…
pharyngula | September 19, 2006Arrrrr. Let us begin a rude day with a rude picture.
I do protest, though, that Cap'n Blackbeard looked nothin' like that (he had two hands and a snaky tangle of a beard), and there is a great missed opportunity here. Blackbeard knotted lit matchcords in his hair and beard so they'd glow and hiss and smoke in battle—why not render the brute with the product tied into his flowin' locks?
(Alas, Pharyngula does not yet have a pirate mode restored, so don't be expectin' an excess of piratical nonsense today.)
(Some of you will be greatly relieved.)
pharyngula | September 10, 2006This is quite possibly the most offensive video ever: Christian pirate puppets rapping. Seriously, don't watch it if your stomach is at all unsettled.
pharyngula | August 21, 2006
Please, say it ain't so. We've just put up the pirate flag on our house.
pharyngula | August 17, 2006First, the Minnesota zombies invaded the lakes. Then there was some unpleasantness from the police when they took over the mall. Now there's going to be a zombie pub crawl in Minneapolis on Saturday, September 9. But wait! There's also going to be a pirate pub crawl on the same day! What to do, what to do…
Actually, my personal dilemma is easily resolved by the date. It is a very bad idea to do a pub crawl the evening before your wife's birthday. Even if the possibility of a pirate-zombie war tempts you.
(via MNspeak)
pharyngula | August 12, 2006Aye, this is a CD I shall be purchasin'.
Leering, full of menace and the threat of pain, "15 Men on a Dead Man's Chest" is arguably the most famous pirate song ever committed to tape (and thanks to its refrain, "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum," it also ranks among the more pro-booze sing-alongs in the children's section of the music store).
But as a genre, pirate music remains obscure even by musicologists' standards. To spotlight a genre that has all but disappeared — as well as cannily promote their summer blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" — Johnny Depp and director…
pharyngula | August 4, 2006Tonight is the Morris premiere of that fabulous documentary on exotic marine invertebrates and nautical history, Pirates of the Caribbean. I will be there. I will be leaving early so I can get a good seat, front and center. I shall be singing sea shanties as I walk downtown to the theater. I will be rooting for the handsome fellow with the tentacular beard. I'm certain I will have a good time.
I'll probably also gripe heartily about the movie afterwards. We curmudgeons just aren't truly happy unless we've got things to grumble about.
pharyngula | July 20, 2006
(And now Jokermage's life is complete. Don't give up, though: seek out new challenges, and continue in your personal growth.)
pharyngula | July 1, 2006I say, "Fie on you, Superman Returns." I'll probably go see it if it shows up here in Morris, but otherwise, Jesus in spandex has little appeal to me.
The only summer blockbuster I care about is the one with the pirates, and most importantly, the villains based on marine biology.
It takes a tortuously long time to get all the narrative plates spinning, but things fall into place once the real villain of the piece is unfurled. This is Davy Jones - of locker fame - and if that sounds like a cliché too far even for a camp pirate flick, Jones, played by Bill Nighy, and his crew are to this film…
pharyngula | June 3, 2006
I'm gimping about NY today, and I should have read Bizarro before I left to get some fashion tips.
pharyngula | June 1, 2006
Will I sign th' Pirate's Compact? Arrr. It be like askin' Blackbeard if he wants a tot o' rum before plunderin' yon fat merchanter.
Which reminds me…on me mission to New York tomorrow, I need to be askin' about Pirate Mode. Maybe a little proddin' with the cutlass will help.
pharyngula | April 23, 2006
My hometown of Seattle isn't big on that NASCAR thing—instead, they've got over-motored boats scudding and bouncing around the lakes and sound at insane speeds. One reader was nice enough to remind me of the summer rituals, and also that they've got pirates, which is always a plus.