I’m speaking tomorrow at noon at Oakland University in Michigan, and readers in that area are invited to come. It will be a general talk on the evidence for evolution and the religious opposition to it. The announcement can be found here, and the gist is this:
Jerry Coyne: Why Evolution is True
Join us in the Human Health Building (HHB) 4050 [noon to 1 pm] and enjoy a presentation by Dr. Jerry Coyne (University of Chicago). He will have his new book ( “Why Evolution Is True”) available for purchase ($10) and there will be a book signing immediately following the presentation from 1-2pm. He will provide a secret word on his blog [JAC: website, not blog!] Wednesday morning so that readers will receive a special bonus when they have their books signed.
And here’s the secret word: “meow“. Now you can’t just say “meow,” but must make a bona fide attempt to actually meow. The better the meow, the better cat picture you get. If you don’t meow, you get only a signature.
The folks at Oakland have volunteered to give me a behind-the-scenes tour of the Detroit Zoo, including a special visit to the Bat Rearing Facility. Sadly, they have no baby felids to pet, but with luck I’ll be able to hold a bat.
*****
Next week, on Wednesday and Thursday, I’ll be giving two talks at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana: a research seminar on Wednesday and the John S. Karling Distinguished Lectureship (announcement here) on Thursday afternoon.
Here’s the information about separate research talk:
The research seminar “Two flies on an island:…” will be on Wednesday, April 17, 3:30 pm in MJIS 1001 (Biomedical Research Auditorium).
The Big Karling Talk is at 3:30 p.m on April 18, with a reception at 3 p.m. Books won’t be on sale, so if you want yours signed (and there will be time for that), please bring your own (the Amazon link is here). There will be a separate secret word for that, announced next week.
Thanks to Todd Shackleford for arranging my visit to Oakland, and Morris Levy for doing the same at Purdue.
Woof, woof. Can I have my piccie to chase please?
There should be a secret handshake as well!
Be careful at the Zoo. Some of the animals could be shape-shifters or bio-bots. Being an exhibit at a zoo would give them a good opportunity to study us.
Best of luck with your talks and lots of fun on your travels, Prof. C.
Hopefully I will make it to your talk tomorrow and give you a meow! The Detroit Zoo is great, I just visited about a month ago. The primates always fascinate me, I was able to see a very young chimpanzee annoying some of the adults. Great stuff. 🙂
Unfortunately I am nowhere near either of these events, but I have been having a conversation with my cat about meeeeeows !!! He has an ever expanding vocabulary of same, also small “mrrs” when he is leading me somewhere (learned from his mother) and a variety of purrs. Actually, one of my daughter’s four cats is has perfected the best meeows – when she wants whatever she wants RIGHT NOW she has a very imperative:
“ N E E E O W W !!!”
The only one who can withstand that is my daughter who has had a lifetime (before birth, she says) of resisting cat imperatives – and has learned not only several cat vocal dialects, but also has a large repertoire of cat looks. She is the only human I know who can unblinkingly outstare a cat.
Patricia A. McKnight
mailto:athenasowlet@msn.com
“The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.” GBS
If you’re in West Lafayette, foodie that you are, you should find time to stop at the Triple XXX Family Restaurant, a local landmark eatery since 1929. Root beer is exceptional, as is the Dwayne Purvis All-American Burger! And they’re open 24 hours.
“Triple XXX Family Restaurant”!
ROFL!
The Detroit Zoo has an entire amphibian house, uniquely seperate from the reptile house. Since you’ve been on a salamander kick, don’t miss their hellbenders and Japanese giant salamanders.
Their giant salamander is pretty damn big, very cool.