I’m on to you …

... And now the rest of the women of the world will be too (FYI: millions read this blog yet stoicly refuse to comment ... ever). So men, do not try this at home, or your woman will look like this random chic.

(Thanks Dan.)

Evolution is Real! I Have Proof!

As clear evidence of evolution, I point to this recent cat development: the toilet as litter box. I’m just joking, of course, but be sure to follow the real evolving story. My favorite moment of overblown buffoonery:

The second day of the closely watched trial began with a defense attorney seeking to show inconsistencies in the remarks and writings of the plaintiffs’ key witness, Kenneth R. Miller, a Brown University biology professor and textbook author.

During cross-examination, attorney Robert Muise asked Miller whether evolution was “random and undirected” to which Miller replied, “No.”

Muise pointed out that the statement evolution is random and undirected appeared in bold type in his widely used textbook, Biology.

Miller replied that the statement was written by coauthor Joseph Levine for an edition published in 1998 and was removed in subsequent editions.

“It was a good day for the school board,” [defense attorney] Thompson said outside the courthouse. “Miller admitted it was a religious or philosophical statement and that book is still being sold in the United States and he is receiving royalties from it.”

Quotable Hamster

“Hamster-haired megamogul” having a kid. Before you follow the link can you guess who I’m talking about?

Web Keeps Getting Groovier and Groovier

In case you have not heard, something called web 2.0 is afoot. I cannot pretend to get it entirely, but it basically allows databases from more than one source to talk to each other. Sounds uber-technical, I know, but here are two sites sites that turn techy into too cool:

• Flickr-sourced pic search with related terms and funky floating interface
• Google-sourced Marumushi newsmap (the new croissant to my a.m. coffee)

Top Stuff

If you read nothing else in the news today, read these:

• Brown points finger after being ousted. If only fingers worked like Pinocchio’s nose; then we could tell who was lying, though I already have an idea...
• January federal report found medical system weak when responding to disasters. Suddenly, the homeland doesn’t feel so secure.
• Israel hitting Gaza in (successful?) airstrikes, but peace deal also brokered. Boy who cried wolf, anyone?
  

City Sleeps Above 40th Floors

Lights out past midnight for NYC higher than the 40th.

Get a Photoshopped Booty!

OK, for all the ladies out there (and even the men) who have looked at supermodels and thought: I will never have a body like that, it is time to face the music:

1. of course you will never have a body like that — you have better things to do
2. they don’t have bodies like that either, and here’s how I know.

T-Shirt Fun!

Two super fun(ny) online t-shirt stores: the first, called Vintage Vantage, is fresh and groovy (and is running a little slowly today because it got national press). The second, Threadless T-Shirts, allows someone to design a tee and then people vote and the winning t-shirt actually gets made and sold! Many are extremely creative and unique (I like Loch Ness Imposter).

Side note: anti-stink stuff for your next bathroom trip. Think it works?

Finally, two points to the one who explains why the T in t-shirt is conventionally capitalized (notice my damn-the-man laissez-faire attitude in this posting ... wild one ... yeah ...)

“Keep Your Hands Where I Can See ’Em!”

Flinked/wallowmuddy has been held hostage by blog spam (blam) of late. So new comment policy: you'll now have to type in some random letters to confirm that you actually put on your pants one leg at a time like the rest of us. Thanks RealLiveBreathing Readers!

Kinda Like Predictive Text

This Google is created with a new type of web interaction system called Ajax. Pretty damn cool, huh?

Shaq Likes Blue Uniforms as Well

Credit Dan for linking to this. It is so funny to imagine a 7-foot NBA star doing PD work, so I figured I would share the laugh with all o' you crazy peeps.

Got Unwanted Books?

Manhattanites, Bronxers, Queenies, S. Islanders & Brooklings: Give up your books this weekend at the city-wide book drive. Weekend hours are 10-3. Locations.

The Dangers of Lying About Science

So most people by now know that right-wing conservative Christians argue against evolution and instead for Creationism/Intelligent Design. Also filed under the category “If we ignore scientific fact and lie to the American people, our interests are better served”: global warming.

You’d be hard pressed to find a non-political scientist who can deny that the Earth is getting warmer by degrees, which can and will lead to atrocious environmental changes.

If you, like me, cared but felt pretty sure that the repercussions probably wouldn’t be felt during your lifetime, it turns out we’re wrong.

Scientists have concluded that due to the increased warming of the waters in the tropics, hurricanes are becoming increasingly more powerful. While it’s impossible to accurately blame Katrina on global warming (history has shown that powerful storms do hit occasionally, even without rising water temperatures), it’s clear that as an aggregate, natural disasters like hurricanes, wind storms and typhoons are getting worse.

“Wind speed measurements made by planes flying through tropical storms showed that the ‘potential destructiveness’ of such storms had ‘increased markedly’ since the 1970s, right in line with rising sea surface temperatures.” (New Yorker quoting Nature)

Scared yet? Write to your congressperson to demand the United States ratify and follow the Kyoto protocols. The United States produces almost 25 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. We owe it to ourselves and the world to stop.

I’ve Got ’Em on a List

As I think of Katrina, I look to the future. I know a lot of good people who would endeavor to make positive decisions for our country. These friends are not politicians, but there’s another reason why many of them will never hear Hail to the Chief in their honor.

Hobbies that mean you will never ever win the presidency:

• Collects action heroes
• Reads sci-fi books as an adult
  
• Buys Beanie Babies
• Believes in television marathons
• Pre-orders Sliders season 1-3 DVDs on Amazon

On the other hand, hobbies that appear to win you acclaim and support:

• Alcohol abuse in your youth
• Inability to do your taxes (I’m guessing…)
• Tendency not to listen to self speak
• Difficulty matching noun with verb
• Buddies who are either warmongers or complete idiots

Help me out, what else am I missing?

Fight ... for Your Right ...

A word of warning: you cannot automatically trust your doctor anymore. We are approaching an age when staffing shortages in almost every hospital means that care will be rushed, leading to errors and perfunctory treatment.

Doctors are trained to dehumanize people so they do not get emotionally invested. Do not accept that as okay. Not everyone means badly, but the time has come when anytime you have a loved one in the hospital or nursing home, you will need to advocate for them to make sure they are treated the best.

From the NY Times: In a nationwide survey of more than 2,000 adults published last fall, 55 percent of those surveyed said they were dissatisfied with the quality of health care, up from 44 percent in 2000; and 40 percent said the quality of care had gotten worse in the last five years.

Is there Racial Inequality in Disasters?

From the Washington Post: “Nearly three in four whites doubted the federal government would have responded more quickly to those trapped in New Orleans if they had been wealthier and white rather than poorer and black, the poll found. But an equal share of blacks disagreed, saying help would have come sooner if the victims had been more affluent whites.”

I have to say, while race may not be the root problem, poverty certainly is. The real fact is that rich white people live in New Orleans, too, but they’re not the ones who got trapped. So does every city have an evacuation plan that accounts for the poor? There’s no chance. Who is clamboring for one in your city? No one.

What do you think?

eLearning & Katrina

If you know anyone who was going to go to college this fall but was displaced by Hurricane Katrina, tell them about these two resources:

• Sloan
• SCUP

Pass it along to anyone you think could spread the word!

Light Cream to Counter the Heavy

Back from another vacay and feeling good! Here's some light tidbits to get your shortened week started (and take a break from the sad sad news about Katrina):

• Only 9 percent of women and 2 percent of men report dating someone they met in a bar. More dating facts.
• 1.7 million kids live with unlocked loaded guns.
• Crow and Armstrong engaged.

Katrina & the Poor

The stranded people of New Orleans are largely black and poor. No one has mentioned that until now. CNN confirmed today on the Situation Room that there had been oversight among the media. Saddest thing, to me, was how much of the early coverage on CNN Headline news focused on two white families who paid hundreds to get out, one by limo and one by taxi.