Biomes Blog

Entry #3029: On Route Twenty-nine

I was playing around on YouTube looking for some footage of JFK’s views on separation of church and state, and I found some great stuff. Watch especially the three-part question and answer sessions he had at the Houston ministers to clearly see how today’s presidents no longer interact with an audience like he did.

Geek stuff: All of Chewbacca’s dialog from “Star Wars”. It actually is all of his dialog.

Nokia has just filed a patent for a tattoo that vibrates with your phone so you never miss an incoming call. You can even personalize the vibrations so you experience different sensations depending on who the caller is.

Batman gets stopped for speeding. It’s actually a very sweet story about a guy who made it rich and is dedicating his life to cheering up children fighting cancer.

Entry #3028: Please Don't Eat the Loris

This story about a sting operation on Asian markets selling things like live turtles has gotten some criticism on the dirty hippy blogs, but this quote pretty much sums it up:

“History has shown when wildlife becomes commercialized, the population dwindles.”

Take a tour of the moon.

Buy your kid’s pirate ship playhouse here. Only $27,000.

Entry #3027: The Death of Poor Joe

I know yesterday's trivia was impossible. Twenty years ago, that photo of the a capella group The Telephone Chords was the first email attachment ever. It was sent by the guy on the far right of the photo.

Lost since 1954, “The Death of Poor Joe”, a 1901 short film, is the oldest known movie about a Dickens’ character.

Some things about Australia.

Entry #3026: Pulling the Iron Out of Your Body

Trivia (55 Biomes points): What’s significant about this image? As a reminder, whenever anyone reaches 100 points I will donate $25 to the (non-religious) charity or (democratic) candidate of their choice. Queen's in the lead with 86 points.

I’m not hooked into the Reddit community, but there’s this fascinating story of how a user became an internet celebrity and ended up working as a Hollywood screenplay writer after writing a series of posts in reply to a hypothetical question posed by another user. The topic was, “Could a modern US battalion, transported back in time, destroy the Roman Empire?”

Persecuted. Yes, Lance. I agree with that.

Entry #3025: The Brandaris

Life is tough. But Nuns are tougher. If you need helpful advice, just ask Sister Mary Martha. She’s this week’s niche blog.

Charles Pierce asks how we can help the president out today. We can start by passing around the graph he provides us with.

I had no idea there was a boat lift off Manhatten on 9/11, and was even more surprised that it surpassed the evacuation of Dunkirk as the largest boat rescue in history. A friend of mine owns a boat that was actually used in that boat lift in 1940. It’s called the Brandaris, and he uses it for harbor seal tours.

Entry #3024: Raptor Fail

Albino Monday: Piebald “pokadot” moose (via Derryl).

Murmuration + Peregrine Falcon + 10th Doctor = Awesome. It’s part of a BBC documentary called Earthflight showing why raptors don’t have an easy time grabbing a starling in a large flock. A large flock of birds is known as a murmuration. (The “10th Doctor” refers to narrator David Tennant, the 10th actor to play Doctor Who.)  

Everyday objects under an electron microscope. This one’s of salt and pepper.

Entry #3023: Black Heart

It’s sad that while 330 people died last year waiting for a heart transplant, a war criminal gets his with no problem whatsoever.

There are more species of insects living on earth than all other groups of animals combined. Yet, it’s never occurred to me to wonder why none of them live in the sea. It’s an interesting article, but I think that the author’s conclusion, that the “sea is full”, in other words all of the niches have been filled, is wrong.

TedTalks has a demonstration of SmartBird, a robot that flies just like a bird. 

Entry #3022: Enhydra lutris

Trivia (10 Biomes points): Name the plant.

Today’s slide show is about a little clutch of baby otters (which would actually be known as a raft of whelps.)

Benedict Cumberbatch is the British actor who played Stephen Hawking in the 2004 movie “Hawking”, and Sherlock Holmes in the 2010 BBC show “Sherlock”. Here are some otters that look like him. And then there are also some hedgehogs who look like U.K.’s “The Office”’s Martin Freeman.

Entry #3021: Why Cats Rule the Web

Most of you have probably seen this video of the scientist in The Netherlands who developed a set of wings that allow him to fly like a bird. It’s a hoax made by a Dutch CGI artist.

Hispanics, an increasingly huge voting block, hate the Republican Party.

Here’s a scientific explanation for why, pretty much from the very beginning, cats have ruled the internet.

 

Entry #3020: You Talkin' To Me?

The good news is that the KKK is hemorrhaging chapters, the bad news is it’s partly because there is so much competition.

Today’s long read is Obama, Explained, in which James Fallows tries to analyze the president’s first term in office.

The fifty greatest cult movies of all time.

Entry #3019: Sheep-herding Bunny

How a Tea Party candidate builds his website.

Income inequality is bad for society. Really bad. The graphs are stunning (check out the one that shows income inequality vs homicide rates).

Hump day musical interlude: The talented sheep-herding bunny. The border collie looks on impressed.

Entry #3018: Presidential Pets

Pet corner. An overview of 44 presidents and their pets. I found it odd that when France gave George Washington a gift of several hounds, John Quincy Adams escorted them across the Atlantic and then ditched them in New York Harbor when they docked.

I don’t see a space chicken in this photo.

I’m guessing there’s not a lot of sourtoers reading this blog.

Entry #3017: Hester Prynne Primaries

Albino Monday: Erythristic rabbit (via Hans). Erythristic animals have a genetic mutation that causes an unusually reddish coloration of the fur or skin.

This is one of the saddest photos I’ve ever seen.

When even Maureen Dowd's got their number, you know the GOP has a few issues to work out.

Entry #3016: Peppered Moths

Now that St. Patrick’s Day is over, you might want to work off all those extra calories with some Irish Yoga.

In a post titled “The Greatest Actress in American Politics”, Ebert reviews the movie “Game Change”.

When I was in high school the cautionary tale of the peppered moth, which was touted in textbooks as showing evolution in action by its evolving to match pollution-tainted tree bark, was actually false and an example of bad science. Now, however it turns out the science was correct and it is in fact an example of natural selection in action. Notice in this image that there are two moths on the tree. Click to embiggen.

Entry #3015: Hoofed Mammals

The Road We’ve Traveled is the Obama campaign video, directed by Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim. The Big Dog makes an appearance, and I think it’s narrated by Tom Hanks, but it doesn’t say.

The Ruins of Consumerism.

Welcome to Ultimate Ungulate, your guide to the world’s hoofed mammals.