More Evolution Stories In The News

More news to make the Fundies cringe.

This news about male crickets evolving flat wings from curved wings over just a few generations makes perfect sense to me. But to those who don't buy into evolution, this is just the devil's work. I'm curious what will happen to these crickets over time though, if the original curved wing music makers go totally extinct. And what will happen to the parasitic fly. This is why most species that have ever graced the earth have gone extinct.

The early bird may get the worm, but the first birds had four wings and used to glide.
'Scientists don’t know when in their evolutionary history birds switched from a "four winged" design to a two-wing one, but it's thought that hindlimb wings were sacrificed in order to free up legs for other functions, such as running, swimming and catching prey.'

Oh no. "Scientists don't know when," and "it's thought" are in the above quote. The first means that scientists don't know therefore God exists.

Scientists don't know YET, but they eventually will.

And finally, miniature animal remains found in Mediterranean islands have changed the theory as to why miniaturization takes place. It used to be thought that animals got smaller on Islands solely because of limited resources. Now research has led scientists to understand that lack of predators is another main cause that herbivores evolve to be smaller on Islands. If they don't need their size to survive, they will get smaller. Smaller animals tend to have more babies. Carnivores will get smaller if there is either a lack of prey or if the abundance of prey is smaller.
"Carnivores and herbivores don't respond to the same evolutionary pressures as far as their body sizes are concerned," Dr Shai Meiri added in an interview.
"Carnivores are affected by food availability and prey size, whereas herbivores are affected by the presence of other herbivores and also of predators."

In my world the above 3 stories make perfect sense. Do they make sense in your world?

Here is a Youtube Video I found today about vestigial organs. Kind of funny, and the points are valid.


I found the above video when I saw the comments made on the following video by this then 18 year old girl. No, I'm not a dirty middle aged old man, I was doing a Youtube search on "evolution" and watched it. Her video is sort of cry for help, and she makes very relative points about Fundamentalist Christians and proof. She does make statements that are wrong when it comes to "who knows?" and "there is no proof either way." This is where I disagree with the author of the first video who states "I don't consider myself an Atheist because I, like you, have conviction that we'll never have hard-core proof one way or the other."
That is only true if biology and fossil records can never be considered hardcore proof. But there will never be proof that God doesn't exist, because you can't prove a negative. Watch the video.

"The debate won't be solved because there's always gonna be religion and there's always gonna be science." Interesting. Hopefully she won't fall into the hands of a cultist. She seems to be on the right track.

I've Been Tagged Again

Here it goes again. I was tagged by Memoirs of a Gouda to do a movie meme. As you will tell by my answers, my days of going to the movies are in the past, so is my need to see current movies. I equate it to music. I’m stuck in the 70’s and 80’s.

1. The last movie you saw in a theatre, and current-release movie you still want to see.
This is really embarrassing, but I must add that my wife has a 10 minute attention span when it comes to movies, so I watch many movies by myself on my downstairs TV (I do subscribe to the Movie Network, ya know), while she is upstairs in bed watching some “Better Homes Than Yours” show. The last time we went to see a movie in a theatre would probably have been Southpark, Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. I made her go with me.
There are no current movies I know of that I can’t wait 2 year until I get it on the Movie Network, that I want to see.

2. The last movie you rented/purchased for home viewing.
That was a while back too. The Sixth Sense, I believe. I really don’t believe, but you know what I mean.


3 A movie that made you laugh out loud.
Lots. The first one I remember laughing out loud to in a theatre was Blazing Saddles. What would you expect from a 13 year old going going to such a gaseous movie with a bunch of friends?


4. A movie that made you cry.
Peggy Sue Got Married. I spent a lot of dough that night on a chick including taking her to the movie, and I think I wound up with just a peck on the cheek. That bitch.
Seriously, many movies filled my eyes full of tears. Usually feel good movies where the hero overcomes lots of obstacles and odds and winds up saving the world. Sometimes even romantic movies where the guy gets the chick in the end (I’m not talking porn here). I don’t remember ever crying, though I probably came close when Dorothy woke up from her “dream,” the first time I actually understood the movie.

5 A movie that was a darling of the critics, but you didn't think lived up to the hype.
Recently I saw Walk the Line. It missed oomph. Just an average picture.

6. A movie that you thought was better than the critics.
The Man With Two Brains. One of the funniest movies ever. At least that is how I remember it.


7. Favorite animated movie.
I really liked The Point when I was a kid. Probably saw it 7 times, but I haven’t seen it since I was 15 or so. If I remember correctly, it was quite existential. I did like Finding Nemo and the Southpark movie.



8. Favorite Disney Villain.
I’m definitely a Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies type of guy. The Disney shorts are for 3 year olds and under. But I’ve seen a few Disney movies. I always hated the villains, so I’m not sure what is meant by favorite villain. Lets go with the Queen in Snow White because she reminds me of my mother.

9. Favorite movie musical.
Gotta go with The Wizard of Oz. I hope it is considered a musical.


Favorite movies of all-time (up to five).
1. Planet of the Apes (the real version)
2. Goodfellas
3. The Man With Two Brains
4. Sleeper
5. Groundhog Day
6. I have to add Once Upon In America too. Screw the rules.

Now to tag 5 potential victims. Kathy Blog (this should be fun), Professor Kurgman (I want to prove to the blogosphere that Kathy and the Professor are two different people), Mad Zionist (I'm looking at this choice as being a science project where MZ is a lab rat), Doctor Boogaloo (this should be easy for him), and Big Dumb Chimp (I've been neglecting his blog the last couple of weeks and it is too good to neglect, even if he has that Big Dumb Black Background that I find so annoying).

WHAT BONDS JEWS TOGETHER: FAMOUS JEWS

When I was a kid, and I mean in my single digits, I used to watch lots of TV with my dad. When watching old movies (back in the 60's that would be movies from the 30's and 40's), my father's commentary during the movie would either be "he is dead" or "he is Jewish."
I'm not sure if it was pride or supremacism or a mixture of both. Or was it more like "can you believe that there are so many Jews on TV?" And yes, he was very guilty of saying "he or she doesn't look Jewish." I don't care what anybody says, there is a Jewish look. Even the Simpsons' acknowledged it when Lisa had a crush on the teacher voiced by Dustin Hoffman. She commented about his "Semitic good looks."
My father used to say that he was related to Kirk Douglas. Distantly related but related nonetheless. There is more proof that the Great Flood happened though.
I just can't put my finger on it. But I still get satisfaction if I find out someone famous is a Jew. Especially sports figures. I don't do somersaults or make a big deal out of it, but it does make me happier. Especially if I find out a famous person is an Atheist Jew, although I have mixed feelings about Woody Allen with the marriage to the step daughter thingy, and his love of France.
I wouldn't be that happy if I found out that a celebrity was a Jew if he or she believed in Young Earth Creation though. That would be a bummer.
I'm sure blacks and gays have the same type of pride/supremacy when a black or gay makes it big in the world. Or like when the blacks found out Lena Horne was actually black. That happened on the Cosby Show if I recall correctly.
Jewish inventors and scientists are big on my list, actors are pretty big too. But nothing beats professional athletes.

The video below illustrates what I'm talking about. This is really funny stuff. And none of the announcers are Jews (Denis Leary isn't a Jew is he? His name doesn't sound Jewish and he doesn't look it):


Notice how they didn't focus on the first baseman's religion. Is he a Greek? No. Irish?. No. He is a Jew. A Jew, as in ethnic Jew, not religious Jew. He could be religious, but he doesn't have to be. I just hope he isn't a Young Earth Creationist though.

Which God Do You Believe In?

Baylor recently released results to their American Piety In The 21st Century survey.

Some interesting things points from the survey are that those who attended college are slightly more apt to believe in the paranormal and that more women than men believe in haunted houses. But more important results were revealed.

Over 1700 Americans were asked a series of questions and the biggest revelation to come out of this was the fact that Americans for the most part agree there is a God (91.8%) but can't agree on what kind of dude God is.

It seems that Americans believe in one of four conceptions of God:

'A is the Authoritarian God, worshiped by 31.4% of respondents. This deity is highly involved, responsible for Earthly events such as tsunamis or economic upturns and "capable of meting out punishment to those who are unfaithful or ungodly."

B is the Benevolent God, the choice of 23% of respondents. He also is involved in human affairs but isn't in the smiting business. This God is "mainly a force of positive influence in the world and is less willing to condemn or punish individuals."

C is the Critical God, who "really does not interact with the world." But believers in this God — 16% of the sample — still watch their Ps and Qs because God C "views the current state of the world unfavorably" and will punish evildoers "in another life."

D, the Distant God. Twenty-four percent of respondents endorsed — "embraced" is probably too strong a word — this version of the deity, "a cosmic force which set the laws of nature in motion" but has no interest in human activities.'

Just over 5% of those surveyed identified themselves as Atheists.

The study is further broken down by region. It would only make sense that those in the South and the Midwest are more likely to believe in the Authoritative God for example.

Now my thoughts:

What about the 5th type of God? You know, THE TRICKSTER GOD. This is the God I would most likely to believe in. He is the one who put absolutely no evidence on this planet that he exists, in fact he purposely put all kinds of evidence on this planet and in the universe to contradict the Bible (His Word). He has made it appear to every reputable scientist that evolution is fact, that the earth is ancient, that the Great Flood never happened, that the Exodus never happened, and that Jesus wasn't even a historical figure.

I have to ask those who believe in a distant God.......Why? Is it so you think you have a shot at an afterlife? What evidence are you basing your belief on? At least the first three God's are at least somewhat based on interpretations of a Holy book or two.

Also, for you believers. If God exists, don't you think he would have made it crystal clear as to what type of God he is? Why is his word interpretated in countless ways? Shouldn't his word be black and white? Does man made ring a bell?

Here is a breakdown of God conceptions and specific religions:

Author. Benevol.Critical Distant
Catholic 22.6% 28.2% 18.6% 29.2%
Black
Protestant 68.0 12.0 20.0 0
Evangelical
Protestant 52.3 23.6 12.8 10.8
Mainline
Protestant 23.7 26.6 19.7 29.3
Jewish 19.4 13.9 16.7 41.7
Unaffiliated 2.9 5.0 15.7 35.7

Jews can't even agree on what kind of dude God is. Note: according to my calculations only 43 Jews were surveyed and 4 of them said Jesus is the son of God, so the Jewish numbers probably have a high margin of error attached to them. Jews were also most likely to not be sure if God existed of all those surveyed.

Distant God? C'mon, you people are really Agnostics. Get over it.

For more on this topic check out The Jewish Atheist, Stardust Musings, and God Is For Suckers (which is Stardust's post, but the comments are worth looking at).

The Movie "Obsession" Is Up Again On Google

This is a powerful documentary on radical Islam's Culture of Death.
If you haven't watched it yet, now is your chance. It is pretty much a guarantee that Google will take it down again very shortly......So watch it now.


About the Pope's recent comments. Are Muslims embarrassed by the reaction going on right now? "The Pope better apologize, or else"

As for the Pope's apology today; he didn't say the words in the quoted text were wrong, only that the text was quoted. Every preacher at church could say the same thing when they read from the bible. That is what religious dudes do, they quote old books to express their own feelings or to explain the world. Why quote a 14th Century text if he didn't believe it was true? And if he didn't believe it, he would have said "here is some nonsense from the 14th Century" before he quoted it.

The Pope said he is deeply sorry for the reaction. Humanity is sorry for the reaction, not just the Pope. But the Muslims reaction was completely predictable. Did it surprise anyone? They did have a choice. The Imams could have started a campaign to counter the quoted words instead of declare a Jihad against those words and the Catholics. The Palestinians of course, just look for reasons to destroy. 5 churches were attacked, and a 170 year old non Catholic church was completely destroyed:
'In the West Bank town of Tulkarm, a stone church built 170 years ago was torched before dawn and its entire inside was destroyed, local Christian officials said. In the village of Tubas, a small church was attacked with firebombs and partially burned, Christians said. Neither church is Catholic, the officials said.'

On a lighter side, on the Yahoo message boards I have seen a few posts stating that Jews paid the Pope to defame Islam. And on a satire site there was a heading that stated that dyslexic Muslims were mixing up the Pope story with the story of the tainted spinach and were now burning effigies of Popeye the Sailor Man.