It's official…Spring 2010 has SPRUNG! It seems as though we've all been enjoying lovely weather lately – I sure hope it sticks around. I know that sunshine can make any day better, which is why I'm looking forward to spending the rest of the semester in sunny Chico. I can't wait to be able to read poolside…with 'screen and a hat, of course.
Arcata Scoop – could you be any cuter?
The preview of Spring weather inspired my mom and I to make something light and fresh for dinner. Where else do we look for inspiration? …none other than, In Praise of Leftovers.
We made Sarah's Moroccan Grains & Greens Salad, adjusted slightly to our own personal tastes…and with the ingredients we remembered at the grocery store.
For some reason it feels like Sunday today, and since Sundays are designated for big, hearty breakfasts, I made waffles after my 7-mile run.
I forgot the 2 T of sugar, but it wasn't missed topped with plain 0% Greek, toasted almonds, strawberries & drizzle of agave-honey 'syrup'.
Spending my last day at home facing the reality of homework. My ServSafe certification exam is Wednesday, and I've yet to memorize each and every detail about foodborne illnesses. It is an important topic to me, though [unlike the bonding of organic chemical compounds]. Have you read about my E.coli experience? Perhaps I'll elaborate on the story sometime here in the near future.
Anyway, hope you are welcoming Spring into your life today. I'm going to take a stroll downtown and get an afternoon latte.
MMMMMMMM those prawns are right up my alley! Must try this recipe!
yay for spring!! that ice cream shop seems adorable!! & both meals look freakin' fantastic.
Waffles…YES YES YES! Look so good Hillary!
Your waffles look perfect! I completely forgot about homemade waffles. Must make them soon.
ooo this recipe looks so good! love the springtime photos and the shrimp.
my gosh, your eats look SO YUMMY! that shrimp dish, and then the waffle… mmm… jealousy.


We are a family-owned and operated business striving to uphold a Godly reputation.
We are a family owned and operated business. Davis Stucco was established in 1988 by James Davis, who brought with him 10 years of experience. We have built our reputation by supplying quality workmanship while continuing to be competitive in our pricing, and striving to meet our contractors' schedules.


text:
Why women's sport is 'our' sport and we all have a part to play
Posted on March 17, 2019 by scoophockey in Features // 0 Comments
A week after listening to Clare Balding speak at the magnificent Senedd (Welsh National Assembly) as part of Sport Wales' powerful new movement to empower more women and girls in sport, Watch Her Go (Amdani in Welsh), it seems that the words of Clare has very much embedded into my bones. I simply can't shake off her passion and her energy for women in sport, for closing the gap for equality and for giving women and girls the same opportunities as men.
As a society, we culturally just 'accept' that 'that's just the way it is' because it's easier. But it's the brave and ambitious ones who, over the decades, have decided to change the expectation. There are thousands of heroines in our society who strive for excellence, who push for better and battle for being bigger and bolder than ever before. And the whole panel at the Watch Her Go evening are ambassadors for their sport, but also, all the women and girls who they represent too.
Leah Wilkinson spoke courageously and honestly about what hockey means to her and how the life lessons you learn from the pitch weave into your every day lives. A shocking statement she made was the fact that the Welsh women have to pay to play for their country – about £1000 a year. Our hockey representatives who play on the world stage are teachers and police officers, business owners and mums. It's real. And this very point is why we should stop comparing men's sport to women's – it's comparable. Yes, the fundamental rules of the game is the same, the pitches played on, the kit worn – but the difference is that women's sport is our sport. The athletes are our friends, we are inspired because we literally play with the girls who play for our country. They're not put on some ridiculous pedestal, representing achievable theatrics like we see dominating men's sport in the media. Our girls and women are our champions that play sport with true grit, true determination and true heart.
I'm glad – women's sport isn't the same as the men's – but just because it's different doesn't mean we take our foot off the pedal and accept that's the way it is. We all have an important role to play, because we owe it to our future girls who are just finding their love for sport, we can't have them miss out. There are still ridiculous barriers in place, and, as powerfully put by Annemarie Phelps, who also spoke with fierce majesty and honesty:
Let's work out how we can smash through the barriers, and not sneak under them.
Many girls drop off playing sport at around 14-17 for a number of factors. Self-esteem is a huge issue, especially at this age, and I remember how hockey was such a driving force of positivity during my teenage years. Clare Balding mentioned in her speech how if we could bottle up the feelings we get from playing sport and sell it to girls who are struggling with self-esteem issues, that are exaggerated to extremes thanks to good old social media, then the problem would be halved. The irony is, the girls who need to experience the closeness, the bond, the feeling of success from overcoming struggles together in a team, are the ones who are turning their backs on the very thing that could transform their lives. It transformed mine, and continues to do so every training session, every bruise, every game.
I, myself, let women's sport down. I stopped writing. I stopped pushing and encouraging through the power of words. I stopped 'being the change you want to see in the world' – because quite simply, that's what it takes. I let other distractions get in the way and I feel horribly responsible for that. For women's sport to continue to evolve we all need to 'just do it', as Nike states. At the risk of sounding ridiculously romantic to the point of being delusional, that is quite simply what needs to happen. We need to continue to play, to train, to create new teams, be on those committees, plan socials, wear your team's hoody on a Saturday morning whilst heading to the gym or to the next match – be seen.
Sitting in that room full of inspiring sport stars, the sport makers and the policy creators, I felt honoured to know that we're all wanting the same thing – more. And that is the next chapter for our women playing our sport.
Why do we ever do what we do? Because we love it. Why do I stand in goal and let balls be smashed in my direction? For myself? No, for those 10 girls in front of me, the others waiting to come on the pitch, and for the coach on the sideline, because we're an 'us' that's worth it. The same when I play rugby – it's another 'us' that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world, and that's worth protecting.
As Clare Balding stated:
We have an opportunity to turn women's sport into what we want men's sport to be.
For more inspiration, head to:
Watch Her Go on Twitter
amdani
Sport Wales
Watch her go
women and girls in sport
women in sport motivation
women sport power

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Hey folks! Sorry for no update, plans have changed for me so I haven't really thought about getting an update up.
I finished up my psd training a couple weeks ago. We got back and got in backing training and got ready to test out. I felt pretty confident but it took me three tries to finally get it but I did. Backing is tough!
After passing I decided it was time for me to head home and get some family time. Spoke with office folks and they weren't very happy about it but I just couldn't stay out any longer.
I knew it was going to be hard to handle the separation from my family. After a month passed it all started to become too much. Soon all I could think about was going home. So I let them know and have been home since.
This is where my otr journey ends. I simply cannot emotionally handle it. I came into this knowing it would be hard but hoped I could find a way but I just can't. You guys out on the road are warriors, it's though.
I enjoyed the job, the driving, the experience that comes with it. Prime has a solid training program and my psd trainer did a great job being patience throughout my struggles. I wish I could see it through but I just know it won't happen.
I thank everyone for their advice and support through everything. I regret nothing and would recommend Prime to anyone. I'll have to pay back for the training but it's on me and I'll be taking care of it.
I did find a local job though. It's a straight truck but it pays well and will get me home everyday. It will allow me to take care of my family and financial responsibilities. Without Prime I wouldn't be at this point either.
I wish everyone the best and hope to stick around and keep up with everyone. Thanks again.
So we're driving along into Indiana when we started to get warnings about one of the trailer tires. We make a quick stop at the Petro and see that it's definitely leaking and going down. Make an appt with the shop, got in to park around 0100 and an appt for 0900, got in at 0800 and finished just now at 1105.
We couldn't see it at first but the tire had a nice big crack in it and it completely deflated over night. My first on the road issue and I'm amazed at these warning systems.
Anyway, all is well, appt for drop off is 1830 and we only have a couple hours to go and got some decent sleep.
Aaaaw yeaaah!! I knew ya would.
Yeah, cold is cold, then you add wind, yuck.
Up here near Peoria. Make the 7ish hr trip from Springfield, got in late last night around 3am. I got to drive about 150 miles which was awesome. Went down through Peoria so thankfully it was so late! Pretty city either way. Got into the delivery spot, took a nap, waited to be unloaded, took a longer nap, not we're waiting for the 10 hr to finish up so we can head out, not sure where yet!
Super! Be careful out there. Lots of white and cold ahead. You'll do fine.
Yes, I implemented a lot of advice I received for my testing anxiety, and thoroughly enjoyed a massive increase in my confidence, efficiency, and delivery while being tested by my trainer on pretrip today!!!! I got this!!!
Argh! Need help! I Panic During Testing!
Hey man, I honestly don't have any great advice but if you can find a way to channel the same determination you have been using for everything else into this you will find a way.
I think it's important to give yourself a break in the sense that it's ok to be nervous. Sure, they're examiners but they want to see you do well and pass. I know I would, if I'm testing someone I'd enjoy seeing students displaying their knowledge.
I would try to approach them much the same as anyone else when testing. I've talked to you several times, you are a very respectful person. My point is, act the same as you do with others, your demeanor is already polite.
My point is, try to humanize them. Just keep at it I know you'll find a way.
The more you do it, the better you'll become. Just takes time and repetition. Once you get out by yourself, it will take at least 6 months to get pretty good at it, 5 years to be a master at it.
Makes sense. Never stop learning!
I know the turns, there was no reason to get frustrated so I started singing to myself, so I could only think about the basics. It helped a lot! Went on to mail the left and right offsets over and over.
Keep in mind that what you're learning on the pad is to help you pass your driving test. Backing and parking in the real world will be a whole new adventure in learning.
Yeah I understand, which is why I distracted my brain a little. On the pad it's just about points. Learning how to guide the trailer is starting to come to me which is pretty cool.
Today was a million times better. I started off on the wrong foot because I was over thinking again. I know the turns, there was no reason to get frustrated so I started singing to myself, so I could only think about the basics. It helped a lot! Went on to mail the left and right offsets over and over.
Started on the alley dock, got it a couple times but basically got the idea so I'm off to a good start with it.
He wants to run a load tomorrow so it's about to get real. I'm excited but cautiously optimistic. I'm ready to learn.
That's awesome man. Love how good so many of my classmates are doing.
We worked on straight backing and then offsets. I got the offsets the second or third time and then suddenly my brain decided to crash and I got worse and worse.
Tonight I'll be going over the points and start tomorrow clear minded. Gotta get out of my brain!
Might do a local run tomorrow weather permitting as well. Either way, this is it, gotta get it together and I shall.
Awesome dude, told you it would be today! I had a fantastic day with a fantastic trainer!
Awesome! Excited for us all.
Gonna catch up with him tomorrow to see what's next. Got to watch his current trainee practice backing for his test tomorrow. Good stuff.
Mistakenly took one of my wife Adderall thinking it was one of my aspirants. Failed drug test.
"I swear I don't smoke at all! I was just in a room someone was smoking in!"
It just comes natural to me. Those years of pulling lawn equipment paid off.
Good for you, previous knowledge on how a trailer turns is a huge advantage. Lots of us have no concept of that so natural talent has little to do with it. Those struggling probably didn't spend years backing any trailer.
Are you backing in a reefer or FB?
It was a flatbed but that was because they just put me on any truck not having a trainer. It'll be reefee but that does help.
I go over pretrip whenever I can. I'm getting to the point I can visualize and do it in my head. Learning names of parts takes time, as a non mechanical person it just takes time and practice. Knowing the names feels important to me beyond just passing a test. I want to know why I'm looking for something not just what I'm looking for.
Everything with this job takes skill. Some things will be harder than others but it's up to me to find a way to learn, otherwise it's not for me. The rules shouldn't change to make it easier to gain more workers. Especially gaining less qualified workers.


With Pompadour, you can integrate your Americommerce store with the powerful back office, inventory management, shipping and accounting services that M.O.M. provides.
Pompadour works silently in the background to integrate your Americommerce store with your M.O.M. system.
Don't see a feature that you must have? No problem – we can custom develop just about any feature that you can imagine. Pompadour is a modular system, and runs on a series of "jobs" that run at configurable intervals. We can build custom jobs tailored specifically to your business needs.
A license to use Pompadour costs $99.99 monthly plus a one-time $250.00 setup fee. The setup fee includes configuring your Americommerce store to work with Pompadour and your M.O.M. System.
The license includes the rights to use the software at your location, as well as unlimited support and program updates. We regularly update Pompadour with new features and bug fixes, as well as compatibility updates to make sure that Pompadour, Americommerce and M.O.M are always in Sync.


text:
Jeff Dunham Makes Deal with Comedy Central
Cat Parker
in Casting News
Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham has inked a multi-part deal with Comedy Central, that includes a series order, a standup special, a DVD release and merchandising.
According to Variety, Dunham's 2008 Christmas special on Comedy Central drew 6.6 million viewers upon its initial run, and his touring business took in $19.2 million last year, making the 46-year-old comic the highest-grossing standup in North America, according to Pollstar.
Comedy Central has ordered six episodes of a new series starring the puppet-toting comic with plans to start production this summer and air the show early next year.
"The concept of the show will allow Jeff to appear onstage with his characters, similar to what you see in his standup, but it will also get him out in the field where he can interact with people," prexy of original programming and development Lauren Corrao said.
A one-hour standup special is slated to air in fall 2010, around the same time that a tour and consumer products push are launched. A DVD release will also be coordinated around these events.


Sometimes it's truly amazing what a little seed can produce. All of these easy to grow, direct-sow varieties will wow you with their exceptional size, bodacious flowers and exuberant colors. They all demand admiring attention, and many of them are spectacular additions to extravagant floral arrangements.


text:
10 Most Jaw-Dropping Game of Thrones Episodes
by Pranay Das
Ever since its premier in on 17th April, 2011, fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones has taken the world by storm and has over the years emerged as one of the most watched television series ever. With the fifth season set to premiere on 12th April, 2015, we take a look at 10 of its most jaw-dropping episodes from the first four season, which have kept the show viewers hooked to the TV sets.
10. Winter Is Coming (Season 1, Episode 1)
'Game of Thrones' proved its worth from its first episode and set the world ready for one of the greatest TV shows that it has ever witnessed. The pilot episode introduced the dynamic characters and the places that the show was set in. Revolving mainly around the Starks and the Winterfell, it saw Robert Baratheon, King of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, and his wife, Cersei Lannister visiting Winterfell. The episode ended with the revelation of the one of the first major turning points in the story – The discovery of the incestuous relationship of Cersei and her twin brother Jamie Lannister by 10-year-old son Brandon Stark, for which Jamie throws him out of a high window.
9. Fire and Blood (2011) (Season 1, Episode 10)
The season 1 premiere was as expected, saw the culmination of the events of season 1 and set the mood for the next season. With Robb Stark being declared as the new king of the north after the death of his father, the seeds for vengeance were set, with their first glory being capturing Jamie Lannister. The plot thickened when Daenerys Targaryen found her husband in a vegetative state and decided to give him peace by killing along with the witch responsible for his being like that. She along with the witch and her three dragon eggs and her husband entered fire, only to be discovered by others in the morning that she survived the fire, thereby proving her dragon blood and on her shoulders, stood three newly hatched dragons.
8. And Now His Watch Is Ended (Season 3, Episode 4)
This episode is known for a number of unprecedented twist that no one saw coming – from the cleaning boy's betrayal of Theon Greyjoy, Varys' revelation to Tyrion of keeping the person who castrated him captive, death of Craster and Lord Commander Mormont, Beric Dondarrion's revelation that he has been reborn by the God of Light, it saw all. But, of course it saved the best for the last. In what is claimed by many as Daenerys' most bad-ass scene so far, she plays a got-to-see-to-believe trick to kills the masters and free the unsullied and reclaiming her dragon.
7. The Children (Season 4, Episode 10)
In one of the best season finales ever, we see breath-taking scene where Stannis Baratheon and his army suddenly overrun the wildling army. And this was just the start of the many great things it had to offer. From Jojen Reed's death, appearance of three-eyed raven, Daenarys' juxtaposition in not being able to control her dragons, the Hound wounded by Brienne and left to die by Arya, Cersei's threatening to Tywin to reveal her and Jaime's incestuous affairs, murder of Shae and Tywin by Tyrion and his escape from the city along with Varys, it served us all. The season ended with the promise of an even better season with Arya heading to Braavos.
6. Baelor (Season 1, Episode 9)
This episode is credited for being the first episode which saw the death of a major character – Eddard Ned Stark and showed how unpredictable the series can be. It also made viewers ready to see their favourite characters to die anytime anywhere. Ned we say more?
5. Blackwater (Season 2, Episode 9)
This was the first episode which revolved around a single place. Unlike all previous episodes, "Blackwater" does not follow the parallel storylines of the characters outside of King's Landing. The Battle of Blackwater, which proved to keep everyone on their edge happened took place. With unanticipated events taking place every second, this was a sheer treat to GOT fans. And, of course, who can forget Cersei Lannister in this episode, where she was at the cynical best, even when death was knocking at the door, literally!
4. The Mountain And The Viper (Season 4, Episode 8)
This episode proved how wrong it is take anything for granted, when it comes to 'Game of Thrones'. With the Ironborn surrendering in the hopes of returning home, they are flayed and slaughtered by Ramsay and his army in return. Finally, despite being true to her, Ser Jorah's past comes to haunt him as he is revealed to be a spy and is asked to leave Meereen forever by Daenerys. But, in what has come to be one of the latest jaw-dropping moment, saw the brutal death of Prince Oberyn by The Mountain and the death sentence of Tyrion by Tywin for regicide.
3. The Laws Of Gods And Men (Season 4, Episode 6)
In one of the episodes which explored the darker sides of most of the characters, we encounter Theon, who now recognizes himself as Reek, refusing to get out of Ramsay when Yara comes for his help. But what took the limelight in this episode was Shae's betrayal towards Tyrion in front of everyone, and that's when Tyrion pulled out a game-changing twist by demanding a trial by combat, which no one saw coming and made for one of the greatest climaxes.
2. The Lion And The Rose (Season 4, Episode 2)
No episode was more loved probably than this one which saw the "Purple Wedding" in which the most hated character, Joffrey Baratheon after years of leading life as a spiteful monster, heartlessly mocks Tyrion at his wedding. And that was the last straw that broke the camel's back. As fate would have it, Moments after humiliating his uncle, Joffrey met his own death, pulling out one of the major surprises the show has ever witnessed.
1. The Rains Of Castamere (Season 3, Episode 9)
This was the episode that has scarred viewers for life in what is known as the infamous 'Red Wedding'. In one of the most unforeseen events, at the wedding of Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey, in a gut-wrenching betrayal, Walder Frey's men murder Catelyn, pregnant Talisa and most of the Stark bannermen, while Roose Bolton kills Robb. Moments later, Arya along with the Hound comes to the wedding only to find her family dead and soon escape s from there. Now, this is one episode that still sends the chills even to the brave-hearted.
10 Most Attended Concert Tours of All Time
in Pets, Featured
Extinct Dog Breeds – Top 10 Dog Breeds That No Longer Exist
Top 10 Most Dangerous Dog Breeds in the World
in Celebrities, Entertainment
Top 10 Most Famous Women Rockers
in Entertainment, Celebrities
Top 10 Greatest Singers of All Times
Top 10 Korean Pop Music Tracks
Top 10 Celebrity Deaths During Shooting
Top 10 Hottest Women News Anchors
Hottest Warrior Women in Movies – Top 10
Top 10 Famous Celebrities who Committed Suicide


I really honestly feel that you need to write with live bodies. The piece I am creating now, under the working title of Approaching Antigone (who knows what the real title will be) is, in the end, a performance installation, that is most likely only going to have me on stage. I have spent a lot of time reading, researching, developing ideas, but somehow until I am in the studio, nothing really comes out.
Today, I spent a lovely two hour session with a like-minded creator, trying out things and bouncing ideas off her both intellectually and physically. The ability to ask her to try something, see it in another's body, enables my mind to start to piece together how this will look to an outsider, the images it is creating. Particularly working without mirrors, this makes it possible for me to have a sense of the stage pictures my work is creating.
I tend to be extremely image-based, or text-based, and have always troubled with merging the two into a single piece. I either create a dance-theatre piece, or a text-theatre piece. I am aiming with this to merge the two so that neither text nor movement could exist without the other; i want there to be a reliance, a relationship, between the two that is parasitic in nature. The movement feeds the words which feeds the movement.
Only one more workshop left with the actors before I spend 3 weeks on my own finishing the devising process. I am going to do the majority of devising work in my flat, likely recording myself and then watching playback. Then I will move to the studio for 3 sessions. This project is really big in my head, and I need to get it out into my body and on to paper/video so that I can begin to piece something together to share in July.
Might share some videos soon.


text:
It all unravels in a hurry for Orioles in 12-4 loss to Blue Jays
The roof caves in after an encouraging start for Keegan Akin and the Orioles, and Freddy Galvis leaves early with a quad injury.
By Drew Bonifant Jun 26, 2021, 6:04pm EDT
Share All sharing options for: It all unravels in a hurry for Orioles in 12-4 loss to Blue Jays
Photo by Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images
Boy. When you're a 24-52 baseball team, and when you're a pitcher with a 6.42 ERA, things can get really, really bad in a really, really small amount of time.
The Baltimore Orioles, and Keegan Akin, provided the latest example Saturday afternoon.
Akin struggled again and the Orioles were handled by the homer-happy Toronto Blue Jays of Buffalo and their trio of four-run innings, 12-4.
It goes down in the box score as another one of "those games" for the Orioles and their pitcher, both of whom are in the middle of difficult 2021 seasons. Akin allowed six runs, all earned, on seven hits in 4.1 innings.
But this wasn't a case of Akin going out to the mound today and having nothing to work with. Instead, the 26-year-old got off to a fine start, rolling through the first two innings and getting the first two batters of the third, making that a full trip through the lineup with one hit allowed. There was reason to be encouraged.
And then, as if on cue, the lineup flipped over and everything went wrong. Leadoff hitter Marcus Semien ripped a hard ground ball down the third base line, fair by inches. It was a heartbeat away from being a foul ball, and nothing to worry about.
But when you have a 6.42 ERA, it's fair, and it goes for a double.
Next came Bo Bichette, and Akin made a decent pitch, low and away. But when you have a 6.42 ERA, it's hit the other way into the gap for a double, and it scores Semien for a 1-0 lead. Akin seemed to know just how close he was to getting out of the inning, dropping his head the moment he saw where Bichette's line drive was headed.
It was as if Akin was caught trying to sneak out of the inning undetected, and the Blue Jays made him pay. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was up next, and he smoked Akin's first pitch to left for a two-run home run. The next batter was Teoscar Hernandez, and when Pedro Severino called for a pitch low and away and Akin instead strayed inside, Hernandez blasted that to left to make it 4-0 and back-to-back home runs for the Jays.
Akin seemed to bounce back with a scoreless fourth, but he wasn't going to make it through the heart of the order again. Bichette doubled to right with one out and Guerrero walked, prompting Brandon Hyde to lift Akin and summon Konner Wade for his major league debut.
Wade got one out, but couldn't escape the jam unscathed. George Springer hit a seemingly harmless pop-up to shallow left, but it was perfectly placed down the line to be a long run away from everyone. Pat Valaika, who had moved to shortstop - more on that later - tried to make a sliding over-the-shoulder catch, but the ball popped out of his glove for a single that scored Bichette.
Those bad breaks always seem to prove costly, and this was no exception. Randal Grichuk turned on a Wade offering in the next at-bat for a three-run homer, and it was 8-0 Toronto.
The Jays continued the trend of two-out scoring in the sixth, with Hernandez driving in two runs with a single and Springer and Grichuk adding RBI singles.
Two Orioles made their debuts. Wade was the first, and finished with six runs allowed on seven hits in 1.2 innings, while Alexander Wells, the team's 17th-ranked prospect, pitched two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth.
It wasn't a much better day for the Oriole hitters. Once again, Hyun Jin Ryu had the lineup's number, and the O's didn't manage any hits between a Galvis bunt single in the second and an Anthony Santander double in the seventh. Ryu allowed one run in seven innings in his last appearance against Baltimore, and he was just as sharp through most of Saturday.
Even the Orioles' best chance at the plate came with bad news. Austin Hays ripped a single to left to lead off the second, and Galvis dropped the perfect bunt down the third base line for an infield single that put runners at first and second with no outs. The mood was dampened, however, when Galvis pulled up halfway down the line, and the O's lost their shortstop when he left the game due to what the team termed "quadricep discomfort."
The rally ended up dying, anyway, when Maikel Franco grounded into a 4-6-3 double play and Severino grounded to third. The Orioles wouldn't challenge again with the game in question.
They did, however, have their own big inning. In the seventh, Santander stung the one-out double off the center field wall, and Hays followed with an infield single when Bichette made a diving stop on his grounder but had nowhere to go with the ball.
After a groundout, a walk loaded the bases, and Severino put the Orioles on the board with a single to left that scored Hays and Stevie Wilkerson. After a swinging bunt single by Pat Valaika, Cedric Mullins did what he's been doing all year, lining a double into right field to score Franco and Severino and make it 12-4.
That was it for the good news. But hey, for the last three innings, the Orioles beat the Jays 4-0. Take the victories where you can get them.


text:
The History of Race, Performance, and Drag Intersect in a Rare Photo of Thomas Dilward
Dilward performed with all-white minstrel troupes that otherwise excluded black people.
by Sabrina Imbler February 21, 2020
A portrait of Thomas Dilward in the Brady-Handy Collection of the Library of Congress, originally taken in the 1850s or 1860s. Matthew Brady/Public Domain
The Evergreens Cemetery
Final resting place for the Triangle Shirtwaist fire's unidentified victims.
Today in Brooklyn, New York, the southwest corner of Court Street and Remsen Street is home to a vitamin store, a law office, and a pizzeria. But in September 1862, during the second year of the Civil War, the corner was home to Christy's Opera House, a theater that put on minstrel shows in which white men blackened their faces with burnt cork in a racist caricature of African Americans. Christy's troupe of 16 had one notable exception: a black performer named Thomas Dilward, who used the stage name "Japanese Tommy."
Dilward was one of the first African-American performers to tour with white minstrels, who typically excluded African-American performers from their shows, John G. Russell, a cultural anthropologist at Gifu University in Japan, writes in an email. Dilward often performed in drag, according to Errol Hill and James V. Hatch's A History of African American Theatre. He made history as a member of these all-white troupes, even as he inherited the troubling history of a genre built on racist caricatures and exclusion. A rare carte de visite of Dilward wearing a ruffled dress, white gloves, and a bonnet was sold to a private collector by Cowan's Auctions on February 20. "I have seen this carte de visite a long time ago at the Harvard Theatre Collection," Krystyn Moon, a historian at the University of Mary Washington, writes in an email.
Dilward (who sometimes appears as Dilverd or Dilworth, among other permutations) was born in Brooklyn, New York, in the late 1830s. He was a little person, standing approximately three feet six inches tall, and first began performing with Christy's Minstrels in 1853, according to Moon's book Yellowface: Creating the Chinese in American Popular Music and Performance, 1850s-1920s. The all-white troupe was formed in Buffalo but performed throughout New York City, once running for a seven-year engagement at Mechanics' Hall on 472 Broadway in Manhattan, which is now a six-story condo.
This rare photo of Thomas Dilward in drag, which recently sold to a private collector, was taken in 1866. Cowan's Auctions
"How and when Dilward got the name 'Japanese Tommy' is unclear," Russell says. "Some suggest he adopted [it] when delegates of the first Japanese Embassy visited the U.S. in 1860, but it appears he was already performing under that name with Christy's Minstrels as early as 1853." Commodore Matthew Perry opened Japan to American trade in 1853, leading some scholars to suggest that occasion might be the origin of Dilward's stage name, Moon says.
In 1884, Dilward performed in a skit, "Fun in a Chinese Laundry," that invited white audiences to laugh at both African-American and Chinese people at once, writes Josephine Lee, a scholar at the University of Minnesota, in The Japan of Pure Invention. Troubling portrayals of people of Asian descent were widespread at the time; the anti-Chinese sentiment that bubbled up in California in the 1860s had spread nationally by the 1870s, and in 1882, President Chester Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act.
After initially being cast for his stature, Dilward established himself as an acclaimed and versatile performer who sang, danced, and played the violin, Lee writes. Drag performances were a staple of minstrel shows, and Dilward often impersonated operatic prima donnas, Hill and Hatch write.
An ambrotype of Dilward, holding a cane, taken in 1859. Cowan's Auctions
Though Dilward spent much of his early career in all-white minstrel troupes, he later joined several of the African-American minstrel troupes that emerged after the Civil War. In 1870, Dilward joined the troupe of the formerly enslaved entrepreneur Charles B. Hicks. "Black-on-black minstrelsy was more attractive to black entertainers, because they saw it as a way of gaining a foothold in the more remunerative and mainstream white theaters," Monod writes. Black troupes still performed white stereotypes of black people, but their performances allowed black people to gain some control over how they were portrayed on stage, and there were few other ways to make a living as a black performer, Moon says.
Dilward's last recorded show was with the Criterion Minstrels on March 5, 1887, according to a white minstrel producer named Edward Le Roy Rice. Dilward died two months later, of asthma, and was buried in Evergreens Cemetery along the border between Brooklyn and Queens, according to his obituary in The New York Times.
Dilward's remarkable, complicated life appears only in the margins of the historical record; he appears mostly as "Japanese Tommy" in the credits of various playbills of minstrel shows, and in the reviews of local newspapers. In 2016, the theater historian Caitlin Marshall unearthed more concrete traces of Dilward for her graduate thesis at the University of California, Berkeley. She found that Dilward registered for the Civil War draft, and that he sued a Manhattan restaurant for refusing to serve him because of his race. Once, he headlined a show called Don't Fail to See the Little Man.
You can join the conversation about this and other stories in the Atlas Obscura Community Forums.
The Devilishly Difficult Locks of Dindigul
These unique handcrafted mechanisms are designed to protect homes, confound cashiers, and outthink thieves.
dragperformancesblack historyphotographyhistory
Meet the Woman Preserving 125 Years of Black History in Baltimore
The "Afro-American" is in her blood.
April White January 6, 2022
From Reclaimed Foodways to Joyous Murals, 2021's Must-Read Black History Tales
We revisit some of the year's stories of resistance, ingenuity, glamor, joy, and home runs.
April White December 27, 2021
Podcast: Widow Jane Mine
The Podcast Team December 20, 2021
Remembering the Remarkable Queens Who Ruled Ancient Nubia
Scholar Solange Ashby is uncovering the once-revered, now little-remembered female leaders of the Kushite kingdoms.
Sarah Durn December 15, 2021
The Art of the Lion Dance
Meet Dynasty Handbag, L.A.'s Queen of Weird
Reviving the Lost Art of Cambodian Shadow Puppetry
Hawaiʻi's Native-Language Newspaper Archive
Sponsored by Olukai
'Discovering' Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Migration
Video • Object of Intrigue
The Real Story Behind George Washington's Dentures
Behold, the Vampire-Killing Kit
See the Mysterious Horned Helmet of Henry VIII


Senator Sam Brownback is in the New York Times Op-Ed section today, in a piece entitled "What I Think About Evolution," applying enough spin to his denial of belief in evolution during the Republican Presidential debates early in May to make a Dervish envious.
The details of what he writes there (and it is mealy-mouthed enough for any two politicians extant today, as shown by Mark Hoofnagle at denialism blog) is not as important to me than the fact that he wrote it at all. The good news is that Brownback, and Huckabee before him, feel the need to spin it. It is especially heartening that, this long after the debate, Brownback was still feeing enough heat to backtrack in the New York Times.
I think that probably shows that creationism is a laughingstock among big Republican money-givers and that the Righteous Right is perceived by professional politicians to have less of a grip on the party than it once had.
Gee, Toto … maybe we aren't in Kansas anymore!
Tim Hotrton's drug supplier must be cutting the product again. There's this Canadian magazine called Only that I just ran across and, not only are they distinctly impolite to that nice Dr. Ken Ham and his fun and educational museum, they actually have words right out in the open that start with "f" and "v" and "d" and everything.
But the word I liked best was "Scientisticalness!" It seems so perfect to describe what Dr. Ham is sel ... er ... presenting to the good folks of America at a modest cost, "to install in them the truth of Intelligent Design over flimsy evolution theory, as only a theme park can."
Please note, firearms and pets are not allowed inside, except for seeing-eye dogs and guns that only shoot bad people.
Given that the Bible is essentially an historical document, however, you'd think there would be some kind of record of them. Even in the Old Testament. Over the course of four thousand years of noting every minute event, every begetting, every expulsion and bar mitzvah, you would think the Jews might mention the gigantic, ground-shaking, tree devouring, shrieking and bellowing turkeylizards wandering all over the place. Just once.
Those aren't bomb craters ... but they might be soon.
That's a dinosaur trackway in the Picket Wire Canyonlands, part of the USDA Forest Service Pike & San Isabel National Forests Cimarron & Comanche National Grasslands. Or they will be unless and until they are included in the U.S. Army's planned Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, a fancy name for an artillery range that will not only result in the destruction of untold numbers of irreplaceable fossils but will make whatever does survive unreachable for generations because of the danger of unexploded ordnance.
Here is a site giving the contact information for every member of the Colorado Congressional delegation. Feel free to drop 'em a line or two ... even that idiot Tom Tancredo, who held up his hand at the Republican Presidential debate to show he is ignorant of science. Maybe we can convince the dolt that Noah was a little off and the Ark is up in one of those canyons.
There is a good short article on Louis Agassiz, a giant of 19th Century American science who is largely unknown to the public today. An opponent of the theory of evolution and probably the last major scientific holdout against it, he had earlier dealt Darwin his most stinging defeat on the issue of the origin of the "parallel roads" of Glen Roy in Scotland. Darwin published a paper in the journal of the Royal Society proposing that these geological features were the remnants of ancient beaches. Agassiz, within only a few years, had shown that the "roads" were, in fact, striations left by glaciation during past ice ages. Indeed, Agassiz was the chief early proponent of existence of ice ages.
... Agassiz had no scientific explanation for the phenomena he observed; for Agassiz had only his observations on one side and his theory on the other. His science wasn't theoretical and his theory wasn't scientific. His ideas are edifices perched on top of mountains of data.
In other words, Agassiz thought, as was common in 19th Century science, that facts were supposed to be gathered without any thought of what they might mean and only afterwards was a theory supposed to be developed to explain the facts. The problem is that the significance that a fact may have, if not the very observation of them, is dependent on what you are looking for. The color and patterns of butterflies are just pleasing trifles of nature unless you are thinking in terms of camouflage and warnings and mimicry.
That leaves your preconceptions and prejudices to shape whatever theory you choose to "perch on top" of nature. Agassiz wrote to his mother of his physical disgust when he was first in close company of blacks who were serving him in a restaurant. That doubtless helped shape his support for polygenism though, to be fair, he was hardly alone in that opinion, in that a number of scientists and other thinkers, including such luminaries as Voltaire, held that there were different species of humans. However, as the first and most prestigious scientist in America in the second half of the 19th Century, Agassiz's opinion carried much weight and he cannot escape the fact that his polygenism was used, with his knowledge, as a support for the practice of slavery in the years leading up to the Civil War.
Marc-Antoine Kaeser, a professor of science history at Neuchâtel University in Agassiz's home town in Switzerland, thinks that Agassiz would not have accounted himself as one of today's creationists, promoting religion in science classes. According to Kaeser "He was betrayed after his death by the Creationists." I'm not so sure. Agassiz was a creationist but not a Biblical one. He believed that the history of vertebrate life represented an unfolding of a divine plan leading to the human form and he was, in no small respects, like today's Intelligent Design creationists.
In any event, a person's treatment by "history" is a contingent fact of that very history and may have little to do with the person's just desserts. At the very least, educated people should be able to place Agassiz and know something of his role in American science, if, for no other reason, than because Santayana was right.
In Mosul, in 2003, it felt like we were making the city a better place. There was no sectarian violence, Saddam was gone, we were tracking down the bad guys. It felt awesome.
But now, on his third deployment in Iraq, he has stopped being a believer in the war in Iraq. His change of heart came last February when soldiers killed a man setting a roadside bomb and, upon searching the body, identification showing that the dead man was a sergeant in the Iraqi Army was found.
I thought, "What are we doing here? Why are we still here?" We're helping guys that are trying to kill us. We help them in the day. They turn around at night and try to kill us.
It's a fair question. It's a shame that no one in the government can give a cogent answer. The closest this administration can come is that these dutiful men and women have to have to stay and go on dying and being maimed or else "the enemy" will "follow us home" to America. In short, the best excuse the president can give is that they have to stay there as decoys -- sitting ducks, really -- because the utter bumbling of the war has guaranteed that the civil war already under way will descend even further into chaos if we leave and that might be advantageous to our enemies.
... [I]n Sergeant Safstrom's view, the American presence is futile. "If we stayed here for 5, even 10 more years, the day we leave here these guys will go crazy," he said. "It would go straight into a civil war. That's how it feels, like we're putting a Band-Aid on this country until we leave here."
How can we stay for even a year more, though?
After spending six months in Iraq, the soldiers of Delta Company had been home for only 24 hours last December when the news came. "Change your plans," they recall being told. "We're going back to Iraq."
Determination is not enough. Dedication is not enough. Bravery is not enough.
In order to stay there we would need to start a draft and pay billions more in taxes to greatly expand our military to keep this up. But no politician is willing to suggest that, much less actually do it. So the young keep dying so that politicians can delay the inevitable end of this monumental error in hopes that temporizing will somehow produce a miracle or at least delay the ugly dénouement until it happens on someone else's watch so that some small part of the blame can be avoided.
Nothing can diminish the good service of the soldiers, living and dead, in Iraq. They did all they were asked to by those who sent them and more. And that is worth remembering on this Memorial Day.
Nothing can erase the stain the politician on both side of that imaginary aisle will bear for their craven failure to live up to their duty to those men and women. If we don't remember that, then we too will have failed to honor their sacrifice.
Okay, so I'm reading Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion and, for the most part, I want to wait until I have finished the book before I comment, so as to reduce the possibility that whatever I criticize isn't clarified or changed later on in the text. Still, this one is well enough known and independent of Dawkins himself that I think it is ripe for discussion. I'm talking about Bertrand Russell's orbiting teapot example of the alleged burden of proof concerning religious claims that is adopted with a vengence by Dawkins.
Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of sceptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmaticists to prove them. If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is an intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time.
According to Dawkins, "we would not hesitate to declare our strong belief that there is positively no orbiting teapot." And, indeed, it might well be the impulse of anyone to say that it is unlikely that there is a peculiarly human object like a teapot in orbit in deep space ... given what we empirically know about space flight and how such an object might get into orbit. There is much evidence showing how hard it is to launch things into space and there have been relatively few launches into the area between Earth and Mars. Furthermore, between the motivations for those launches, which leave little room for things like teapots, and our actual records of the contents of such flights, we may well dismiss the likelihood on empiric grounds. In short, Russell, and Dawkins after him, have, by their choice of object, not only imported, sub rosa, a standard of evidence -- empiricism -- to apply to the issue but a standard we can already meet.
Just for starters, what if what was being proposed was the existence in orbit between Mars and Earth of something like the monolith of Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick? In other words, what if it was proposed that an apparently created object of unknown origin was located there? Is the case for dismissing the possibility out of hand as compelling then? It certainly wouldn't be to me and the difference results from sneaking hidden premises into the original example. A term sometimes used for such argumentation is "cheap rhetoric."
John Wilkins gives an excellent explanation of agnosticism to counter Dawkins' strawman in the comments to this post at Larry Moran's Sandwalk. But I'm not really interested in that part of the debate here.
Instead, I want to focus on the notion of burdens of proof as they are usually used in these debates. People frequently assert various burdens of proof along Dawkins' and Russell's lines but rarely attempt to actually justify them. I would argue that the only burden that really exists (outside of socially imposed ones, such as those in the law, intended to attain specific social goals) is an initial burden of going forward.
In any debate, there must be a starting point, some issue to be discussed. One side must propose the issue and either provide some evidence for the reality of the issue or else a reason to discuss it as an abstract. It seems to me that this is a minimal burden and, once met, can either be thought of as dropping away or, perhaps more correctly, as a starting point for constant shifting burdens as each side makes new assertions and as new subsidiary issues are raised. Otherwise, the alleged burdens are just a rhetorical device to justify ignoring the opponent's evidence and arguments.
Let's go back to Russell's teapot example, as flawed as it is. What evidence would be needed to meet the burden of going forward proposed by Russell? Let's say, in the happy day when a manned spacecraft is making its way to Mars from Earth, one member of the crew, idly looking out a port, sees what seems to him something mighty like a teapot (perhaps with a Soviet red star on it).
The radar was not aimed in that direction at the time and there was no chance to take a picture before it was gone. In short, the only evidence is the astronaut's report. Still, an astronaut is presumably someone with some training in correct observation and someone who has undergone no little vetting for stability. More importantly, if one person's unconfirmed observation is not sufficient to meet the initial burden, why not? Other than dismissing the evidence out of hand (nothing more than an unsupported rhetorical move) any protesting of the quality or the import of the evidence is, itself, an assertion of a subsidiary issue that needs a reason for going forward on. For example, saying that the crew member was under stress and hallucinated the teapot must meet its own burden of showing that, not only was the astronaut under pressure, but was hallucinating and that the teapot was part of his or her [cough] delusion. At the very least, based on this scant evidence, the teapot would pass into Dawkins' temporary agnosticism, pending some compelling evidence that the teapot didn't exist.
Razib at Gene Expression has a most useful article for countering the triumphalists among both religionists and atheists. The situation, as always, is more complex than the passionate partisans will admit. The facts surrounding the state of religious belief today and the trends that can be discerned in the data stubbornly refuse to be cast in black or white. Razib presents a sober view that will make neither side happy and, therefore, is almost certainly closer to the truth than either.
Just for an example, ask yourself if the fact that only 60% of South Koreans believe in God is good news for atheism. If you think it is or you are not sure, then you need to read this article.
There's a lot of nuance here, it isn't as if most religions are literalist about geocentrism. Religion adapts to the world as it is, engaging in dynamic processes of retrofitting. If supernaturalism is the cognitive default in many then the details of the religious narrative are of only proximate importance. But, I also think it is important to note that the decline of organized religion does not imply a concomitant decline in supernaturalistic or non-scientific thinking per se.
Humans have all kinds of default "wild type" programs in their psyche and cognition which in a high density population will tend to fall out as religion. Does this mean that atheism is doomed? Or that secularism (which is a different thing) is doomed? I think there will be more atheists than before simply because any increase over nearly none is an increase in absolute terms, but I doubt we will ever see Lennon's society without religion.
But secularism - social organisations in which religion does not have undue privileges in setting the policy and law - is, I think, something that not only should be expanded, but can be.
While it not entirely clear what, in a democracy, is "undue" privilege in the context of a strongly held belief by a majority, or how to remove such privilege and remain a democracy, John's is, nonetheless, a program I can enthusiastically give an "Amen."
The theme is "The Hitchhiking Skeptic's Guide to the Galaxy."
Twenty years after he left office, Ronald Reagan's name was evoked 21 times in the recent GOP debate. Not surprisingly, George W. Bush's name never came up. Indeed, all of the GOP candidates went to great lengths to distance themselves from Dubya, even going so far as to stage the debates in a library.
No longer can they blame Bill Clinton for everything. Clinton ruined a dress; he did not ruin the country.
Too bad the rest is simplistic sloganeering in the Reagan mode. It would have been nice if Mr. Hart's social agenda was a sharp as his wit.
Surgeon on the Cutting Edge?
Further examination of this device, called the Antikythera mechanism, including x-ray and CT studies, shows it to be a remarkable assembly of precisely designed gears. Many scientists believe that it was a device for predicting eclipses and planetary motion, but its precise function is still a mystery. Its resemblance to an analog computer is striking ... Archeologists believe that the technology to produce such a device didn't emerge until at least the 14th century A.D. They have no evidence as to who designed it, and no evidence even of who could have designed it. Yet the inference to design is obvious, and no archeologist doubts that it is a designed artifact. Design can be inferred from an artifact alone, regardless of the obscurity or the implausibility of a designer.
In crossing a heath, suppose I pitched my foot against a stone and were asked how the stone came to be there, I might possibly answer that for anything I knew to the contrary it had lain there forever; nor would it, perhaps, be very easy to show the absurdity of this answer. But suppose I had found a watch upon the ground, and it should be inquired how the watch happened to be in that place, I should hardly think of the answer which I had before given, that for anything I knew the watch might have always been there. Yet why should not this answer serve for the watch as well as for the stone; why is it not as admissible in the second case as in the first?
For this reason, and for no other, namely, that when we come to inspect the watch, we perceive - what we could not discover in the stone - that its several parts are framed and put together for a purpose … To reckon up a few of the plainest of these parts and of their offices, all tending to one result: we see a cylindrical box containing a coiled elastic spring, which, by its endeavor to relax itself, turns round the box. We next observe a flexible chain - artificially wrought for the sake of flexure - communicating the action of the spring from the box to the fusee. We then find a series of wheels, the teeth of which catch in and apply to each other, conducting the motion from the fusee to the balance and from the balance to the pointer, and at the same time, by the size and shape of those wheels, so regulating that motion is to terminate in causing an index, by an equable and measured progression, to pass over a given space in a given time.
But note that, in both cases, the inference to design comes precisely from a recognition of a human-type purpose and means of attaining that purpose. The Antikythera mechanism clearly appears to be using gears to produce calculations of some sort, the way a watch uses them to produce a consistent turning of the watch's hands. Thus, the inference to a human maker is based on our own experience of what technologies we know we use.
But what experience do we have of designers using self-reproducing entities over millions of years to hone and adapt their designs to ever-changing environments? Of course, Dr. Egnor may want to deny the change in species that Michael Behe and other ID proponents admit, but then he is committing a petitio principii fallacy by assuming the very thing that he is trying to prove: that variation and selection is insufficient to produce the complex structures and processes he claims must come from design. Without an ability to rule that out as a source of the alleged design, his analogy must fail as unrealistic.
Let's hope, for the sake of the good doctor's patients, that he is closer to the 21st Century in medicine than he is in his arguments for ID.
Your results may vary ... as John Wilkins' and PZ Myers' did.
Okay ... so I'm equal parts Militant Atheist, Apathetic Atheist and Spiritual Atheist (say what?), with a soupcon of Angry Atheist. All that on top of 42% Agnostic and 83% Scientific Atheist. Oh, and 8% Theist (wherever that came from).
I'm so confused! It's a good thing that there is two and a quarter of me to figure it out!
That's how Alec Dubro at TomPaine.com describes Newt Gingrich's political philosophy but I think it could apply more personally as well.
Better known for his venomous attacks and his personal sins than his church-going, Newt Gringrich would hardly seem the man to give the commencement address at Liberty University, soon after the timely death of its founder and spokesman, Reverend Jerry Falwell.
Babbling about "radical secularism" Gingrich bemoaned the supposed fact that "our public schools cannot invoke the Creator, nor proclaim the natural law, nor profess the God-given equality of human rights." Strangely, as Dubro notes, despite this "growing culture" of non-sectarianism, all the Democratic candidate for president nonetheless have sought to demonstrate a relationship with the Almighty.
Gingrich isn't really as smart as he made himself out to be, but he is broadly knowledgeable. He knows that religion in the United States is about as endangered as are professional sports. But he bravely stands up at a glorified Bible school and attacks people who would never vote for him anyway.
Well, we've got Gingrich ... now all we need is the toe of frog, wool of bat, and tongue of dog.
That's the motto of Liberty University, founded by the late Jerry Falwell.
... Campbell County authorities arrested a Liberty University student for having several homemade bombs in his car.
The student, 19-year-old Mark D. Uhl of Amissville, Va., reportedly told authorities that he was making the bombs to stop protesters from disrupting [Falwell's] funeral service. The devices were made of a combination of gasoline and detergent, a law enforcement official told ABC News' Pierre Thomas. They were "slow burn," according to the official, and would not have been very destructive.
Is it any accident that the university's motto appears on the school's seal along with a burning book?
It's a good thing I buy keyboards by the gross.
Senator Sam ("I ain't no monkey") Brownback, who famously made his case for being the second President of the 21st Century by demonstrating that he hasn't yet made it through to the end of the 19th, is shocked … shocked … that Guillermo Gonzalez has been denied tenure despite his allegedly "well-reasoned hypothesis" set forth in a popular work of supposed science published by Regnery Publishing, which describes itself not as a publisher of works of science but as the "nation's leading conservative publisher." The writing of the book was actually funded, as Ed Brayton points out, by the John Templeton Foundation, instead of a scientific organization like, oh, say, NASA.
You kinda let the cat out of the bag that you haven't a clue what the word means, Senator, when you put your hand up that evening to signal your ignorance.
It is beyond belief that in the 21st century, our prime minister and the Department for Education and Skills are diverting taxpayers' money to faith-based groups intent on propagating culturally divisive dogma that is antagonistic to the secular, enlightened philosophy that created the modern world.
It is a scandal that the present system is enabling a car salesman to divert significant government funds to propagate dogma such as "intelligent design" in our schools.
Sir Harold has a lot more to say, none of it in the least stinting in its insistence on the value of science or in its disdain for those who would stand in its way.
What Are Baptists Coming To?
Oliver "Buzz" Thomas, a minister and a lawyer (Whew! There's a lethal combination!), has a new book out that goes by the snappy title: 10 Things Your Minister Wants to Tell You: (But Can't, Because He Needs the Job).
Thomas makes it clear he believes that God created the universe, but that such claims are religious claims. The idea of a creator should not be part of a public school science curriculum, sneaking in as either creationism or intelligent design. However, Thomas also believes the controversy surrounding the evolution/ creationism debate should be taught in public schools as history and social studies.
A perfectly reasonable position. Baptists aren't supposed to have those are they?
... there's something inside every American that is offended anytime discrimination takes place. Especially in the name of religion.
And on homosexuality and marriage, Thomas advocates supporting the separation of church and state through something like the system common in Europe, where the contractual relationship is established through civil unions and "marriage" is a religious rite.
Thomas acknowledges that evangelicals want to "make disciples of all nations" but he also admits that they have the right to say no and "failure to protect anyone's right to religious freedom diminishes everyone's religious freedom."
I hate it when people don't live up to my stereotype.
They may have lost in Kansas, but that's not about to stop creationists from trying to turn the whole country into the Kansas of their mind.
Kenneth Willard, one of the remaining quartet of anti-science members on the Kansas State Board of Education is running unopposed for "President-Elect" of the National Association of State Boards of Education, a nonprofit organization of state school boards that "works to strengthen state leadership in educational policymaking."
Willard is apparently qualified by his leadership in making Kansas an educational laughing stock (until even Kansans couldn't take it anymore). Having succeeded so well in that endeavor, he now turns his attention to making all of American education a laughing stock.
Isn't red usually for "danger"?
A few days ago I noted the story about a national effort to stop the U.S. Senate from passing legislation that some alleged Christians claim threatens their "right" to express their biblical hatred of homosexuality. Specifically, the law presently prohibits acts of violence against individuals on the basis of race, religion, color, or national original. The legislation being considered by the Senate, would add attacks based on the victim's gender, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Just a week after faith-based groups denounced the House vote approving the legislation, the Gallup Poll revealed 68 percent of Americans are for the expansion while only 27 percent oppose it. Moreover, 65 percent of Protestant and other non-Catholic Christians said they would favor it.
... 64 percent of those who attend church weekly expressed that they favor the bill. Among the less religious, 67 percent of those who attend church almost every week or monthly support the expansion and 73 percent of Americans who seldom or never attend church also favor it.
Even a healthy majority of conservatives, 57 percent, favor the expansion, though that is well below the 82 of liberals who approve of it. In fact, none of the groups identified in Gallup's standard categories, including Republicans, Independents, Democrats, conservatives, moderates, liberals, Protestants and those with no religious identity had a majority that opposed the legislation.
So it seems that most Americans don't think their religious beliefs will lead them to commit acts of violence against others. Now all we have to do is poll the statistical category under "politicians."
Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana is vying to have the school system with the best record of teaching its students contempt for the Constitution of the United States. The local public schools have been sued over improper promotion of religion five times over the past thirteen years.
I previously discussed the disclaimer the school board ordered to be read whenever evolution was taught to the effect that the instruction was to "inform students of the scientific concept and [is] not intended to influence or dissuade the Biblical version of Creation." Other cases involved the schools allowing a minister — the so-called pizza preacher — to give out pizza and teach Christianity on school grounds during lunch periods; prayers being broadcast over the intercom and promoted at school-sponsored events such as football games and at school board meetings and permitting a teacher to lead prayers in the classroom. Though most of the cases have been settled, the ACLU has had to file a number of contempt-of-court motions because Tangipahoa schools officials have defied orders set forth in the settlements.
... was told by their teacher to pick up their [Gideons] New Testament Bibles in front of the school office. The girl ended up in a line with the entire fifth grade, while two men handed each student a Bible and said, "God bless you."
... but they can't do it on school grounds, during school hours, because then it appears as though it's being sponsored by the school.
It's important that people of all religious traditions be made to feel welcome in their own schools and not like outsiders.
... requires government neutrality in matters of religion and non-religion to prevent tyranny by the majority. School officials who choose to ignore that fundamental principle, especially with children involved, act un-American and undermine the very freedom and democracy that makes this country great.
Being ignorant of the Constitution is bad enough but, strangely, these people who supposedly revere the Bible so much have apparently never bothered to read Matthew 22:21 either.
Remember those school field trips to the museum when you were a kid? Loading onto the buses. Head counts. Soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Forget all that because the Gospel fossils Portable Dinosaur Museum comes right to your school, organization or house of worship, bringing with it the Biblically based "Scripturescope" approach of examining the scientific evidence of God's creative genius!
Baird recently found a permanent home for Noah's Park, which consists of nearly $100,000 worth of fossils -- everything from dinosaur eggs to dinosaur excrement -- several displays, and a planetarium, at the Middle Florida Baptist Assembly grounds.
Oh, yes ... the mobile planetarium. You can see the inflatable iglooey thingie below.
The church has failed to see the importance of the history of the past. All of a child's education from kindergarten all of the way through is based on evolution, which is not only wrong and unscientific, it leads them away from the God of the Bible and the Bible. And that is why I think we're losing so many of our kids once they get into high school. Well, they're already indoctrinated and fully engrossed in humanistic, naturalistic reasons and answers for everything and they don't see how the Bible fits.
Noah's Park is part of the 21st century answer to the world's solutions, Baird said.
There was one thing I wished there had been more of an explanation of, namely Baird's claim about his fossils that he was "finding, often times, especially if it's a dinosaur fossil, [it was] a victim of God's judgment."
I'd kind of like to know what evidence God leaves on fossils when He's pissed.
You have probably heard that Jerry Falwell has lost his need, one way or another, for faith.
I have no particular feelings about the news. Few if any people did more to coarsen our politics and instill anger as the permanent state of our civic discourse. He pandered to racial bias when it was convenient and safe and, when that changed, he moved on to easier targets, such as children's program characters who were not manly enough to suit the homophobes he cultivated. When he misjudged the tenor of the public who, after 9/11, were in no mood to blame that tragedy on gays or abortion doctors, he backpedaled fast enough but the ugliness always emerged elsewhere, sooner rather than later.
On the other hand, his political power had faded nearly away and his real lasting influence, Liberty University, no longer needed him in order for it to continue pumping out glassy-eyed cannon fodder for the Righteous Right's war on the Enlightenment. Unlike the might-have-beens of thirty years ago, Falwell's passing now will bring no sea changes. He is just another old man to doff a hat for as the hearse goes by.
Mark Hoofnagle at denialism blog reported on Wild Bill Dembski's merry band of bloggers' record of acting as "information filters" (roughly, all clogged up).
However, they did catch the sneaky Darwinists this time! Specifically, they exposed the machinations that were going on over Guillermo Gonzalez's publication record and the blatent attempt by Scientific American to "disappear" Gonzalez by erasing any mention from the SciAm archives of the article he wrote for it and how it had been on the cover (the COVER? OMYGAWD! That must mean it was REALLY sciency-like!).
We're perfectly happy to claim the Gonzalez article as part of Scientific American's archive. Gonzalez and his coauthors make some interesting arguments in it about why parts of galaxies may be more likely to harbor life than others. Gonzalez may think those arguments amount to evidence for Intelligent Design, but he is of course just wrong about that.
Hah! And HAH again! Those people at SciAm must think the good people at Uncommon Descent are simpletons or sumthin'!
The Christian Post is reporting, in an article entitled "National 'Hate Crimes' Petition Day to Flood Capitol with Protest," on a national effort to stop the U.S. Senate from passing legislation that many so-called Christians are saying may threaten their "right" to express their biblical ... well, not to put too fine a point on it ... hatred of homosexuality as they see fit, including by causing or attempting to cause bodily injury to persons through the use of fires, firearms and explosive or incendiary devices.
Oh, I'm sure they won't phrase it that way, but that is what the law seeks to outlaw (under certain circumstances) so I can't imagine what other reason they'd have. You can go here to see the version already passed by the House.
We must not remain silent as our liberty to freely speak the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being threatened by those who are framing mischief by a law.
Yeah. Everybody knows the propensity of that Jesus character to use firearms and explosives on sinners.
Seems to me that it's obvious who wants to engage in mischief here ... and would prefer to not have the Federal government in the way.
Evolutionary theory teaches that millions of years ago a reptile, such as a lizard, evolved into the first bird. Imagine a lizard evolving into a bird. The lizard's front limbs are evolving into wings. The process will be completed over some millions of years. In the mean time, the lizard cannot run from its predators or fly away either.
How would it survive? Why would such a creature be preserved by natural selection over millions of years? Imagine such a species surviving in such a miserable state over many millions of years waiting for fully-formed wings to evolve!
Actually, Babu, scientists don't think it was "a lizard" or "a reptile." The best evidence is that birds evolved from (indeed, remain) dinosaurs. While we can't ever be sure of exactly which dinosaurs became birds, it was something rather like that fine fellow above, named Avimimus (meaning "bird mimic", because of its resemblance to a bird).
Really, Babu, didn't you ever see at least a trailer for Jurassic Park, with all those Velociraptors and the Tyrannosaurus rex? Remember how they ran around on two legs and had those little teeny front legs? I know you religiously refuse to think but can't you even see what's practically everywhere right in front of nose?
Guillermo Gonzalez, an assistant professor of astronomy and physics, whose book, The Privileged Planet, argues for Intelligent Design, has been initially denied tenure by Iowa State University.
... Gonzalez has come under criticism by the mainstream science community for incorporating the theory of intelligent design into his work.
Opponents maintain that proving intelligent causes or agents is not science but rather the study of theology and philosophy. Some also have accused Gonzalez, an openly non-denominational Protestant, of thrusting religion into science.
In the summer of 2005, three faculty members at ISU drafted a statement against the use of intelligent design in science. One of those authors, Hector Avalos, told The Tribune at the time he was concerned the growing prominence of Gonzalez's work was beginning to market ISU as an "intelligent design school."
The statement collected signatures of support from more than 120 ISU faculty members before similar statements surfaced at the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa.
Academic freedom is the foundation of a university because it encourages the unfettered inquiry, debate and learning that characterize an active community of scholars and students. Consequently, Iowa State University grants academic freedom to all members of the faculty, whether tenured or not. This means that the university supports full freedom, within the law, of expressions in teaching, investigation in research, and dissemination of results through presentation, performance, and publication. As a consequence, no faculty member shall be judged on any basis not demonstrably related to professional performance, so long as the exercise of this right does not result in situations that are illegal, that violate faculty-approved university policies, or that interfere with the faculty member's ability to perform his/her duties at the university.
With freedom comes responsibility. In the exercise of academic freedom, faculty members may discuss without limitation any topic related to their professional area of expertise in the classroom, at professional meetings, or through publication. They may not, however, claim the right to discuss persistently in the classroom subject matter that has no relation to a course, nor may faculty members represent themselves in extramural utterances, publications, or activities as speaking for the university, unless they have been specifically empowered to do so. When acting as citizens, faculty members are free from any institutional limitations imposed by this policy.
If the Tribune story is correct, Gonzalez has clearly met the "publish or perish" requirements for tenure. Assuming that Gonzalez's book and advocacy of ID is in furtherance of his religious beliefs, his advocacy for that would seem to fall within his academic freedom outlined above, unless he was teaching it in his astronomy classes as if it is science or was claiming he spoke for the university.
If there isn't something more to this story, it doesn't present a good impression of the integrity, intellectual or otherwise, of Iowa State.
Why was tenure not granted to Guillermo Gonzalez?
Dr. Gonzalez was evaluated for tenure and promotion to associate professor by the tenured faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. That evaluation was based on an assessment of the excellence of his teaching, service, scholarly research publications and research funding in astronomy, using standards and expectations set by the department faculty. The consensus of the tenured department faculty, the department chair, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the executive vice president and provost was that tenure should not be granted. Based on recommendations against granting tenure and promotion at every prior level of review, and his own review of the record, President Gregory Geoffroy notified Gonzalez in April that he would not be granted tenure and promotion to associate professor.
President Geoffroy is also the person who will hear Gonzalez's appeal.
This time it was William Lee, a Spanish teacher at Tabb High School in Yorktown, but the results were no better than they were for the Lee at Appomattox. This Lee surrendered one of the Discovery Institute's last hopes of getting Intelligent Design Creationism into public schools.
Lee posted various items on a bulletin board within his classroom, including a National Day of Prayer poster, featuring George Washington kneeling in prayer; a newspaper article about the supposed religious and philosophical differences between President Bush and his challenger John Kerry; an article about how then Attorney General John Ashcroft was leading staffers in "voluntary" Bible study sessions; and a couple of stories about a young Virginia woman who had been killed while in the course of missionary activities in South America. He claimed he posted them because he thought they were "uplifting" to the students and that imparting the knowledge of these people and their values to his students would expose them to social and moral values he deemed beneficial to their emotional growth. Lee claimed this was appropriate because he is responsible for more than just the academic well-being of his students.
After a complaint by an unnamed citizen about the religious nature of the material, the principal of the school, at the instructions of the school board, investigated and removed the above items. Lee, represented by the Rutherford Institute, sued the school board, claiming it had violated his rights under the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause.
[W]here the in-class speech of a teacher is concerned, the school has an interest not only in preventing interference with the day-to-day operation of its classrooms . . . , but also in scrutinizing expressions that the public might reasonably perceive to bear its imprimatur.
According to the Court, "disputes over curriculum constitute ordinary employment disputes and do not implicate speech on matters of public concern." In other words, the board has the responsibility to the public to decide the curriculum and, by implication, it cannot delegate that responsibility to individual teachers.
There could be implications for "academic freedom" of professors in state-run universities in this sort of analysis but there are sufficient differences in the two systems, particularly in the fact that higher education is not mandated by the state and the greater presumed maturity of the students, that distinctions supporting academic freedom can be made. But the wiggle room for ID is rapidly running out.
Now, I'm not questioning the integrity or complete ministry of Comfort, Cameron or The Way of the Master (their ministry). I'll assume that they are genuine Christ followers with pure motives. I'll also assume that The Way of the Master is a helpful, biblical approach to sharing Christ. But, they got completely shellacked in this one.
I'll be the first to say that I might not have done any better but I'm also not the one who threw down the gauntlet for a public debate.
Perhaps as amusing as that assessment is the list of "other apologists [who] would have argued God more effectively" that was compiled by Kevin Jackson, the Christian Post reporter on the story. It notably included Phillip Johnson, Michael Behe, Lee Strobel and William Dembski – you know, the guys who are just interested in the science of Intelligent Design.
Heaven is totally overrated. It seems boring. Clouds, listening to people play the harp. It should be somewhere you can't wait to go, like a luxury hotel. Maybe blue skies and soft music were enough to keep people in line in the 17th century, but Heaven has to step it up a bit. They're basically getting by because they only have to be better than Hell.
Everyone I've shown the cup to has been flabbergasted, whether they have a faith in Christ or not.
Don't quote me on this Ken, but somehow I can't quite get over the feeling that Mr. Stein was engaged in something rather like jest when he wrote that.
It's one thing to be a humorless dweeb, Ken, but admitting that everyone you know is too strikes me as rather sad.
You may remember Matt LaClair, a Kearny, New Jersey high school student who dared to point out that a popular teacher (supposedly of American history but actually a person utterly ignorant of the Constitution of the United States) was violating the Establishment Clause by proselytizing in class on the taxpayers' time. Matt's parents filed notice that they intended to sue the school district not only for the violation of his First Amendment rights but also for the district's failure to protect Matt from harassment by other students. The LaClairs were supported by the ACLU and People for the American Way.
Matt had taped the teacher, David Paszkiewicz, covertly, fearing that his word would not be accepted against that of the popular teacher. Paszkiewicz can be heard on the tapes telling students in a history class that if they do not believe that Jesus died for their sins, they "belong in hell." He also said that that dinosaurs were aboard Noah's ark and that evolution and the Big Bang theory have no scientific basis. Amazingly for someone who dares to tell others who is and is not going to hell, Paszkiewicz reportedly denied making the statements until the recordings were produced.
The board's initial response was, to put it mildly, less than satisfactory. It instituted a policy that requires students to request permission from an instructor to record or videotape a class, ostensibly as a result of complaints by other students that that their voices had been broadcast on the Internet and on television news programs without their consent. And while the board said it had taken "corrective action" against Paszkiewicz, it refused to be specific, leaving the definate impression that the teacher was being wrist-slapped while the board tried to make sure no uppity students could catch him red-handed again in the future.
The board and the LaClairs have now reached a settlement.
Another part of the deal says the board will make a public statement commending Matthew for his "courage and integrity," and the LaClairs will issue a statement commending the board.
Demetrios K. Stratis, the lawyer for Mr. Paszkiewicz, said that his client was not involved in the settlement and knew nothing about it. "There are people who think my client is the victim," Mr. Stratis said yesterday.
The 60th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle is up and running at Infophile.
In the event that you are skeptical about this, you can click on this link.
But then you might not trust me, so you can type www DOT infophilia DOT blogspot DOT com SLASH 2007 SLASH 05 SLASH 60th HYPHEN skeptics HYPHEN circle DOT html into your browser.
But that could be dangerous, so you can send me a stamped, self-addressed envelope and I'll print out all the articles and send them to you. But I might just keep the stamp and blow you off.
Understanding that teaching Intelligent Design is a local issue, does Senator McCain believe teaching Intelligent Design in science class alongside evolution is a good idea?
Senator McCain believes evolution is supported by science, but that we shouldn't be afraid to expose students to other theories.
Sounds like he's OK with Creationism being taught as well. Now as for whether he believes it should be taught as a science class or a religion clas (sic), that distinction hasn't been made.
First of all, notice how easily Brody switches back and forth between "Intelligent Design" and "Creationism," almost as if he didn't believe the IDeologists disclaimers that the two are worlds apart? But also notice how hard McCain is trying not to answer the question?
Maybe we should tell McCain that Osama bin Laden is just another creationist and let him hunt them to the gates of hell.
Chris Ho-Stuart, has long been one of the best posters at talk.origins. For example, see his article about Herman Muller's prediction, in 1918, that evolutionary processes would produce what Muller called "interlocking complexity" but which is, in fact, exactly the same phenomena that Michael Behe calls "irreducible complexity."
Anyway, Chris has a new blog that is well worth perusing, entitled Dua Quartunciae.
Sorry, Chris … this won't send your site meter through the roof the way PZ did.
Sometimes you just have to admire the sheer breadth of someone's vision, the audacity of their reach. Take, for instance, Jhershierra. Please.
It seems that Jhershierra is the Energizer Bunny of woo. She alleges in her book and web sites that she "has been visited by Jesus, Immortals, Ascended Masters, Extraterrestrials, and other Spiritual Beings." She is "a planetary channel for the Sacred Fire," (that cleanses and purifies a person's addictions and negative qualities and heals and realigns a person's mental, emotional, and physical bodies). The Sacred Fire permits her to perform healings, exorcisms, energy realignments and the all-important "Sacred Fire Activations." She teaches the secrets of the 7 Levels of Spiritual Evolution and how to achieve mastery and immortality. She has sidelines in organic gardening, alchemy, energy technology and the Tibetan Goji, the Sacred Berry of the Himalayas (organic, of course).
Religion, The Afterlife, The Astral Worlds, Reincarnation, Heaven/Hell ... All of these were created from the illusion of death. These are lies based on fears and separation from oneness with The Divine. Rise up and claim mastery over your life and victory over the world. Let Freedom Ring, Roll the stone away, It's Independence Day!
Yeah, but could she load the virus into the mother ship's computers?
NEWSFLASH! ID's prediction that the sun will rise this morning is confirmed!
Large swaths of garbled human DNA once dismissed as junk appear to contain some valuable sections [specifically, certain transposons], according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of California-Santa Cruz.
Now, I freely admit that I don't understand transposons but, unlike the people who Luskin hopes to fool, I can read the article from the Talk Origins Archive and am willing to make the effort.
First of all, the point of a prediction in science is that it has to confirm something that either was previously unknown or something that is in contradiction to an opposing theory. You couldn't choose between Ptolemy's and Copernicus' theories based on the sun appearing to rise in the morning.
... confirmation and potential falsification are independent of whether a specific pseudogene has a function or whether it is completely non-functional, for the same reasons explained in the prediction on morphological vestiges. Like any other genetic element or organismic structure, evolutionary opportunism may take a pseudogene and press it into a new and different function.
[Bejerano] suspects that when a transposon is plopped down in a region where it wasn't needed, it slowly accumulated mutations until it no longer resembled its original sequence. The genome is littered with these decaying transposons. When a transposon dropped into a location where it was useful, however, it held on to much of the original sequence, making it possible for Bejerano to pick out.
In other words, evolutionary theory does not predict in any sense that transposons will be funtionless, so what some crank once said, without any evidence to back it up, about "junk DNA" lends no support to ID over evolution. And the still-valid evidence that transposons give for common descent in no way retarded the discovery of the function that some of them may have.
But here's a prediction of my own: the region above Casey Luskin's neck will remain functionless for the foreseeable future.
Oh, and as Mark Hoofnagle points out at denialism blog, Casey's own quote (in a part I didn't include for brevity's sake) shows that evolutionary biologist and Nobel laureate Barbara McClintock, who first discovered transposons, was proposing as far back as 1956 that they had function. Talk Origin's time machine allowed Doug to go back and stifle McClintock, apparently.
Darwinism's impact on traditional social values has not been as benign as its advocates would like us to believe. Despite the efforts of its modern defenders to distance themselves from its baleful social consequences, Darwinism's connection with eugenics, abortion and racism is a matter of historical record, and the record is not pretty.
An Ohio woman is steaming after reading an anti-God message published on the side of a Starbucks coffee cup.
The quote was written by Bill Schell, a Starbucks customer from London, Ontario, Canada, and was included as part of an effort by the Seattle-based coffee giant to collect different viewpoints and spur discussion.
"As someone who loves God, I was so offended by that," Michelle Incanno, a married mother of three who is Catholic, told the Dayton Daily News. "I don't think there needs to be religious dialogue on it. I just want coffee."


text:
Ancient woodland could be opened up to nature lovers as council takes it over
Bullock Wood could be opened up after council take it on
By Rebecca Creed @Becky_Creed Senior Reporter
Bullock Wood, Colchester.
AN ancient woodland could be reopened to the public after a council took ownership of the site.
Bullock Wood, in St John's, Colchester, has been acquired by Tendring Council.
The site off St John's Close had been in private hands for hundreds of years and is fenced off.
But the council took it on last year after paying £1 as part of a planning deal with the developers of Avellana Place on the former Betts factory.
The developers in turn paid the council £18,084 as a contribution towards ongoing maintenance costs.
For years residents have campaigned to have the wood opened to the public and managed by the community and nature experts.
They had been concerned about its future due to lack of maintenance and damage caused by trespassers.
Neil Stock, leader of Tendring Council, said he supported moves for public access to the wood.
But he said any access would be subject to agreement by Natural England which is against recreational use of the woods.
He said: "I am aware of the interest in opening up the wood to public access, and it is something I instinctively support, which is why I am asking officers to draw up proposals.
"We must be mindful that Bullock Wood is both ancient woodland and a Site of Special Scientific Interest which means that preservation of trees has to be a priority, and there is guidance from Natural England about the scale and extent of public access which should be permitted in order to protect the flora and fauna.
"Indeed, as part of the planning application process for the nearby development it was a stipulation from Natural England that public access would not be supported for informal recreational use, but that there could be some formal educational activities and a volunteer management group which form part of our management plan.
"We will review future options for the woodland, and once these options have been assessed then we will look to take a decision on the best way forward."