APOD: A Rose Made of Galaxies (Arp 273)

Text via the Hubble site:

This image of a pair of interacting galaxies called Arp 273 was released to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the launch of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

The distorted shape of the larger of the two galaxies shows signs of tidal interactions with the smaller of the two. It is thought that the smaller galaxy has actually passed through the larger one.

Via:Phantasmagoria

Sex ED With Miss Lovecraft

I, am a pretty big fan of HP Lovecraft, shocking I know, but really, given the fact that Morbid Angel has been one of my top three favorite bands for the past 20 years or so, how could I not be? But I really wasn't sure that I'd enjoy a parody of Lovecraft's writing style, then I watched the video. Simply put, IT'S AMAZING!

It's dark and weird and funny, the writing style is a perfect parody, the delivery is awesome, and the ending is hilarious. Though I do have to admit that I couldn't help but think of DR. Orpheus from Venture brothers at certain points in the narration, but really, he's kind of Lovecraftian too, so that's ok. Bottom line, this is quite possibly one of the greatest things I have ever seen, and you should stop reading this now and watch it!

Also, let it be known that from this moment forward, I shall only be addressing the vagina using it's new proper name, Yog-Soggoth! which I'm certain is going to go over well with the ladies.

Enjoy!

-CAINE-

The LHC & Rumors of The Higgs Boson

-CAINE-

Source:Wired Science
Image Credit:cpepweb.org

The TRUE Meaning of Easter, The Gospel of Jeshua Cottontail

Today is Easter Sunday, which marks the day that x-tians everywhere believe Jesus rose from the grave three days after dying on the cross on "good Friday", or as I like to call it, Martyr on a stick day.

To mark this apparently glorious occasion, the faithful crowd into churches everywhere to spend their morning listening to some sad little man or woman lecturing them about why they aren't good enough for god. Meanwhile, the rest of us are just left at home wondering, what's with the bunnies and the colored eggs?

The Answer, most people believe, is that Easter is actually a pagan holiday meant to honor the fertility goddess Eastre, or Eostra (Ostare, Ostara, Eastur, ETC, man language is a pain the ass sometimes), but I disagree. The mere fact that the word "Eastre" may seem SLIGHTLY similar to the modern word Easter, or the knowledge that Eostra's chief symbols happened to be the rabbit (which she was said to appear as during the full moon, that's right, she was a were-rabbit, deal with it), and the egg (which is still used to represent fertility and creation to this day), don't necessarily mean it's all about her!

No, I believe that the blasphemous heretics who spread such lies only seek to defame the name of the one true savior of all non-human animal kind, Jeshua Cottontail.

Good Friday Sing Along- SLAYER: "Cult"

Because it's Good Friday, I'm grossly immature, and I just can't help myself, I thought, Why not have a little blasphemous fun with a near life-long favorite of mine, SLAYER! Besides, any excuse I can find to torment you all with the music I listen to, I'll take.

"Cult", which appeared on the 2006 release, "Christ Illusion", was released as a single on June 6th of that year, and immediately found it's way onto a lengthy list of my personal favorites from the band, primarily because of it's lyrics; which were also the reason I decided to post the song today.

A quick note for those of you who are turned off by the "satanic" nature of bands like SLAYER, as well as pretty much everything else I listen to on a regular basis. Try and remember, that like the overwhelming majority of metal bands, the guys in SLAYER are actually a bunch of godless atheists whose songs tend to be more anti-religion and anti-war than anything else, and the whole Satan thing, is really just a gimmick.

If, on the other hand, you're turned off because you just can't stand the music. Well then you're just destined to be deprived of all that is good and wonderful in the world, and will no doubt be forever doomed to a life of mediocre, unimaginative, and meaningless pop songs. Sadly, there is nothing I can do for you, except suggest that you click HERE for something more your speed.

-CAINE-

Christopher Hitchens' Letter to the American Atheists National Convention

All this weekend, the American Atheists National Convention will be taking place in Des Moines Iowa. The event, which, it should go without saying, was designed to promote atheism and freethought, features a variety of activities and speakers including: Paul Provenza, PZ Myers, professor Lawrence Krauss, and many others.

Christopher Hitchens had also been scheduled to appear at the event, but was forced to cancel after loosing his voice due to his ongoing cancer treatment. So instead, he sent out the following letter to be read out at the event on his behalf.

" Dear fellow-unbelievers,

Nothing would have kept me from joining you except the loss of my voice (at least my speaking voice) which in turn is due to a long argument I am currently having with the specter of death. Nobody ever wins this argument, though there are some solid points to be made while the discussion goes on. I have found, as the enemy becomes more familiar, that all the special pleading for salvation, redemption and supernatural deliverance appears even more hollow and artificial to me than it did before. I hope to help defend and pass on the lessons of this for many years to come, but for now I have found my trust better placed in two things: the skill and principle of advanced medical science, and the comradeship of innumerable friends and family, all of them immune to the false consolations of religion. It is these forces among others which will speed the day when humanity emancipates itself from the mind-forged manacles of servility and superstition. It is our innate solidarity, and not some despotism of the sky, which is the source of our morality and our sense of decency.

That essential sense of decency is outraged every day. Our theocratic enemy is in plain view. Protean in form, it extends from the overt menace of nuclear-armed mullahs to the insidious campaigns to have stultifying pseudo-science taught in American schools. But in the past few years, there have been heartening signs of a genuine and spontaneous resistance to this sinister nonsense: a resistance which repudiates the right of bullies and tyrants to make the absurd claim that they have god on their side. To have had a small part in this resistance has been the greatest honor of my lifetime: the pattern and original of all dictatorship is the surrender of reason to absolutism and the abandonment of critical, objective inquiry. The cheap name for this lethal delusion is religion, and we must learn new ways of combating it in the public sphere, just as we have learned to free ourselves of it in private.

Our weapons are the ironic mind against the literal: the open mind against the credulous; the courageous pursuit of truth against the fearful and abject forces who would set limits to investigation (and who stupidly claim that we already have all the truth we need). Perhaps above all, we affirm life over the cults of death and human sacrifice and are afraid, not of inevitable death, but rather of a human life that is cramped and distorted by the pathetic need to offer mindless adulation, or the dismal belief that the laws of nature respond to wailings and incantations.

As the heirs of a secular revolution, American atheists have a special responsibility to defend and uphold the Constitution that patrols the boundary between Church and State. This, too, is an honor and a privilege. Believe me when I say that I am present with you, even if not corporeally (and only metaphorically in spirit...) Resolve to build up Mr Jefferson's wall of separation. And don't keep the faith.

Sincerely

Christopher Hitchens "

You can visit the American Atheists web page at: atheism.org, for more information on the on-going event.

-CAINE-

Source: Phyrangula

APOTD:Messenger at Mercury

Explanation: On March 17, the MESSENGER spacecraft became the first to orbit Mercury, the solar system's innermost planet. This is its first processed color image since entering Mercury orbit. Larger, denser, and with almost twice the surface gravity of Earth's moon, Mercury still looks moon-like at first glance. But in this view its terrain shows light blue and brown areas near craters and long bright rays of material streaking the surface. The prominent bright ray crater Debussy at the upper right is 80 kilometers (50 miles) in diameter. Terrain toward the bottom of the historic image extends to Mercury's south pole and includes a region not previously imaged from space.

Via:NASA, APOD

Tim Minchin's "Storm" The Animated Movie

So if this isn't already making the rounds on all the atheist, skeptical, freethought, and science blogs around the net, it will be very shortly, and for good reason.

First, it's been a long time coming and there are undoubtedly plenty more geeks like myself who are happy to see it finally arrive. Second, it looks and sounds amazing! Third, Tim is AWESOME, and any excuse one may get to share his work is well worth taking. And finally, if Storm isn't already the official theme song of skeptics and freethinkers everywhere, it damn well should be.

I mean really, haven't we all been Tim, confronting our own personal "Storms" in various social situations throughout our lives? I know I have been, EVERYWHERE I GO, EVERY FRIGGIN' DAY!

Which is probably why I don't get invited out much anymore... Oh well. At least I still have you Internets!

Enjoy!

-CAINE-

What's Your Time Perspective?

Once again I feel compelled to start by apologizing for my lack of entries as of late, but looking back over my archives from the past year posting only once or twice a week has sadly become the norm, despite by best efforts to do otherwise. But look, it's not my fault... Okay, so it is my fault, but I have a really good excuse, I blame my time perspective.

I know what you're thinking, "Time perspective? Sounds kind of woo-ie, does this have something to do with that time cube guy?"

First, let me assure you that this has NOTHING to do with Mr Marbles or his freaky little "Order of the Sphere". Though I have to agree that there is something about uttering the phrase, "What's your time perspective?" that makes me feel a little uneasy. It just has that, new-age-unwashed-hippie-feel-good-life-caochy-self-actuating-Tony Robbins kind of vibe that I just can't stand. Plus, the book which first introduced the idea did get a shinning endorsement from Ophra's magazine, which is never a good sign (I know, I know, ad hominim, blah, blah, blah, but c'mon, O MAGAZINE BAAAaaaD!).

The concept of time perspective was first presented by psychologists John Boyd, and Philip Zimbardo, in the book "Time Paradox", and it is the idea that how we choose to live our lives and the decisions we make are all largely based on how we choose to focus on time.

In other words, do mistakes from the past, or maybe even the fear of never regaining past glories, prevent you from trying new things or finishing new projects for fear of failure? Do you spend all your time chasing instant gratification without ever stopping to consider the long term consequences of your actions? Or are you so focused on the future that you deprive yourself of sleep, and fail to make the time to indulge in even modest pleasures in the here and now (this is waaay me BTW)? It's an interesting concept.

But, like a lot of psychological theories, I think the idea of Time Perspective overstates it's usefulness when applied to large-scale groups rather than individuals, and I certainly don't believe that identifying your own time perspective is the quick-fix-life changing-revelation that the book cover claims it to be. But asking yourself how your focus on time might affect the decisions you make, seems if nothing else a worthwhile exercise in self awareness, which is something that the vast majority of us could definitely use.

At the very least, time perspective certainly seemed like worthwhile fodder for the blog, and a convenient excuse to try and generate a little discussion in the comments for a change. Which is why, rather than spending days researching and pondering the idea, only to end up never getting around to posting about it all ( seriously I do that A LOT), I wanna know what you think. Is this a visionary concept with the power to change the world that I'm just to dim to truly appreciate? Is it an utter waste of time and brain power? Or is it just an interesting idea? Let me know.

-CAINE-