Readers’ wildlife photos

August 13, 2015 • 7:30 am

I think we’ve been suffering from a dearth of beetles around here. Fortunately, reader Mike McDowell has fixed that issue, sending eight lovely photos of tiger beetles and adding that “All were photographed at various locations in Wisconsin during May and July.”

First, a word about the group from that unimpeachable source (until Greg writes his post about why it’s not unimpeachable), Wikipedia:

Tiger beetles are a large group of beetles known for their aggressive predatory habits and running speed. The fastest species of tiger beetle can run at a speed of 9 km/h (5.6 mph), or about 53.87 body lengths per second. As of 2005, about 2,600 species and subspecies were known, with the richest diversity in the Oriental (Indo-Malayan) region, followed by the Neotropics.

In other words, the fastest ones can walk nearly twice as fast as you do!

Punctured Tiger Beetle (Cicindela punctulata punctulata):

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Big Sand Tiger Beetle (Cicindela formosa generosa):

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Festive Tiger Beetle (Cicindela scutellaris lecontei):

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Oblique-lined Tiger Beetle (Cicindela tranquebarica tranquebarica):

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Sandy Stream Tiger Beetle (Cicindela macra macra):

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Bronzed Tiger Beetle (Cicindela repanda repanda):

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Hairy-necked Tiger Beetle (Cicindela hirticollis):

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Ghost Tiger Beetle (Cicindela lepida) [JAC: this species is threatened because of habitat loss]:

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The Staves: “Chicago”

August 13, 2015 • 6:39 am

We haven’t heard from The Staves in a while, but here’s a lovely and plaintive song, written and first recorded by Sufijan Stevens, about my home town. Sufijean’s many (and diverse) live versions on YouTube are good, but I love the Staves’s harmony:

Steven’s version as performed on Austin City Limits. Don’t ask me why everyone’s wearing wings. 

 

Thursday: Hili dialogue

August 13, 2015 • 5:45 am

The weather in Chicago was gorgeous yesterday: not too hot, and the lake was a very dark blue, almost black—darker than I’d ever seen it.  Gas prices are about to skyrocket due to a problem in a local refinery, but my long-distance driving is over for the moment. Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, the Furry Navel of the World is contorted like a pretzel:

A: Are you doing yoga?
Hili: No, I’m meditating.

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Don’t you just want to rub that furry belly, though?
In Polish:
Ja: Uprawiasz jogę?
Hili: Nie, medytuję.
As lagniappe, we have Leon, who is on vacation with his staff hiking in the mountains. I’m told, however, that in this hot weather he doesn’t want to take to his leash, and prefers napping during the day to hiking uphill.
Leon: And I am to climb this mountain at lunch time?
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Bad news about Jimmy Carter

August 12, 2015 • 4:34 pm

This came through my CNN news feed, and it’s saddening.

Former President Jimmy Carter says, “Recent liver surgery revealed that I have cancer that now is in other parts of my body.”

Carter, 90, had a “small mass” removed from his liver earlier this month. At the time, he received a prognosis for a full recovery.

Carter said he will receive treatment at Emory University in Atlanta.

Say what you will about Carter’s presidency, what’s undeniable is that he had a good heart and, unlike many other former Presidents, has behaved in an altruistic and exemplary way since he left office. It looks as though his end is near, and I’ll miss him being around.

A new book for secular parents: how to tell your kids about God and religion

August 12, 2015 • 12:30 pm

This book, which came out in March, may be useful for secular parents. It’s by author and journalist Wendy Thomas Russell, and called  Relax, It’s Just God: How and Why to Talk To Your KidsWhen You’re Not Religious. If you click on the secreenshot below, you’ll go to an interview on PBS between Russell and Jeffrey Brown:

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Thomas’s description sounds reasonable, but also a tad accommodationist, and I am a torn about the interview. On one hand, I don’t think kids should be indoctrinated with any belief, whether that be atheism or religion. Russell does seem to agree, urging parents to explain to their kids what different people believe in a neutral way.

On the other hand, she doesn’t discuss, at least here, any evidential basis behind those disparate beliefs. She says, correctly, that what people actually do matters more than what they believe, but she also emphasizes teaching kids critical thinking. That, then, neglects both emphasizing critical thinking in assessing different worldviews, as well as the role of religion in conditioning people’s behavior: “Mommy, why do so many people hate gays?”

Has anybody read this? Curiously, the book ranks pretty high on Amazon, both in terms of ranking and customer reviews, but there are extraordinarily few of the latter.

h/t: Karl

My interview on the Phil Ferguson show

August 12, 2015 • 12:02 pm

This is an hourlong podcast interview with Phil Ferguson, which I did yesterday (on top of my two-hour yakfest on the Milt Rosenberg show). It deals with both WEIT and FvF, and matters evolutionary.

As always, I can’t bear to listen to it, but you can–by clicking on the screenshot below. It starts at 18:40, and goes to about 51:00. I’ve determined where the end is, but, as usual, I can’t bear to listen to it.

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Japanese children learn about their digestive system

August 12, 2015 • 11:30 am

I got nothing today, and am feeling a bit wonky, so you’ll have to settle for entertainment. Here’s a video associated with a current children’s exhibit on The Great Adventure of the Body in Japan. Object: teach kids interactively about their alimentary canal and other parts of the body. As you’ll see, the makers have no shame:

I found a rather snarky explanatory video in English, along with the notes:

Teaching kids about the human body is important. And so is making learning fun. Which is why Japan has combined both of these elements oh so beautifully at “The Mysterious Great Adventure Of The Body” – an interactive science exhibit for kids that teaches youngsters about the parts of body, including the anus. And poop in general. Did I mention there’s a toilet exhibit? Cause there is.