• Geek Out! - Random Access Memories - Uncategorical Weirdness

    Squirrelly little guy flew with the dinosaurs | Chicago Tribune

    Squirrelly little guy flew with the dinosaurs | Chicago Tribune A furry, squirrel-sized creature that soared through prehistoric skies–possibly even sharing the lofty view with birds' first ancestors–suggests that mammals took flight nearly 70 million years earlier than scientists had thought. The evidence comes in the form of a squashed skeleton found in Inner Mongolia that belonged to a tree-inhabiting creature born with a built-in hang glider–a fold of furry skin that stretched between its front and hind legs. This news item sent me Googling around to chase down an old, old memory from college: a professor of evolution who…

  • Episcopal - Flickr - Parish: Holy Moly (ECUSA) - Photos and Shutterblogs

    Station: Falling the First Time

    This is an example of the kinds of things we're going to be moving from Holy Moly to St Nicholas. It's one of the Stations of the Cross that was made by one of our parishioners, and I think it represents Jesus falling the first time on the long walk to Calvary. If you look closely, you can see two honkin' big wood screws going right up His robe. Also, it's really battered and like all the rest, really dusty and cobwebby. The ladies from the Altar Guild no longer dust these, because they regularly got pulled from the wall…

  • Episcopal - Parish: Holy Moly (ECUSA) - Uncategorical Weirdness

    Fraught Process

    My little Episcopal parish, Holy Moly, is closing at the end of this month. I'm part of the lay leadership; I'm involved in this process. If you had told me 5 years ago when I reluctantly agreed to be on the Bishop's Committee that I'd be part of the stubborn remainder that had to come to this decision and actually deal with the physical and emotional and spiritual challenges that come with closing a church, I'd have said "no way. Not gonna do it." Well, here I am, in at the death. In my time, I've attended probably 50 normal…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Uncategorical Weirdness

    Real Life (and Death) Murder Mystery In Britain

    Bloomberg.com: U.K. Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) — A prostitute who was one of five suspected victims of a U.K. serial killer gave a television interview four days before she vanished. Paula Clennell, 24, was filmed on Dec. 5 as she continued to walk the streets in the red light district of Ipswich, in the eastern English county of Suffolk, even though the body of one local prostitute had already been found and another was missing. "I need the money,'' Clennell told regional broadcaster ITV Anglia. "I am a bit wary about getting into cars.'' Clennell was last seen on Dec. 9.…

  • Mini-Posts

    links for 2006-12-13

    WorldNetDaily: A devil food is turning our kids into homosexuals Hilarious funny-mentalist theory that soy foods feminize Amerikan males and turn them gay!!!1!! (tags: Christian Food funny Gay Health homosexual Religion Science Zealotry)

  • Hot Off The Presses - Radio

    Why Is This Man Smiling?

    NPR : Rumsfeld Makes Farewell Visit to Troops in Iraq     This photo from NPR, via Getty Images, tells an untold story. Donald Rumsfeld, grinning widely, gets a last photo op with "the troops" that he was so instrumental in placing in harm's way. The female Marine at lower right seems to be smiling politely. Maybe she's thinking "My mom/husband/kids will see me" and is happy at the prospect. The other Marines in the photo all look stonily and grimly at some other focal point. The one guy standing on the right looks directly  into the camera. I can't…

  • Blogs Wot I Read - Geek Out! - Uncategorical Weirdness

    Wessex Archaeology And Flickr

    Wessex Archaeology And Flickr: How We Use Web 2.0 – 24 Hour Museum – official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage       Wessex Archaeology is one of the largest commercial archaeological practices in the UK, employing over 160 people. We are a registered charity with educational objectives and play a vital role in helping people learn about their past. In September 2005, we decided the Wessex Archaeology gallery (on the web) was looking a little long in the tooth. It was using a proprietary ASP gallery script and the process of uploading new photos was a…

  • Mini-Posts

    links for 2006-12-10

    meditatio: Witnessing for Peace (tags: Episcopalian Blogs PeaceAndJustice) Romney’s Gay Rights Stance Draws Ire – New York Times (tags: Romney GayRights Anti-Gay Hypocrite)