Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Reader Chris sent us this amusing anecdote of domestic food thieving.
The dominant squirrel got impatient and gnawed his way into the feeder:
So I got out the tinsnips and an old tin can:
I see I’m not much of a tinsmith as yet, but I guess I am an example of an animal learning tool usage because of another animal….
Score: Human 1 Squirrel 0 (so far).
And a bonus Gus photo. Someone knows how to live life for comfort.
Good morning!
Today in 1962 Bob Dylan released his eponymous first album. In 1982 the Falklands was invaded by Argentina precipitating the Falklands War. Today is also the birthday of actress Glenn Close, Güyük Khan, third Khan of Mongol (in the 1200s) and in 2000 this day marked the death of Joanne Weaver, right-fielder in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the early 1950s.
To kick off the morning, here’s Bob Dylan playing around live in concert with Like a Rolling Stone.
In Poland Hili is redefining words to suit herself. It’s a good trick providing you can get others to go along with it.
A: Why are you so puffed-up?
Hili: I’m not puffed-up. I’m dignified.
In Polish:
Ja: Czemu jesteś taka napuszona?
Hili: Nie napuszona, tylko dostojna
I was surprised he made it to this age, but Chuck Berry died today in Missouri—at 90. I haven’t time to write a long obituary, but of course he was one of the pioneers of rock and roll, one of the earliest black rock stars, and this was one of the songs that made him famous. Written in 1958 and rising to #2 on the U.S. charts, “Johnny B. Goode” is instantly recogizable from the opening guitar riff, which, as you’ll read below, wasn’t really original. The song was covered by, among others, both Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles.
And some background from Wikipedia:
Written by Berry in 1955, the song is about an illiterate “country boy” from the New Orleans area, who plays a guitar “just like ringing a bell,” and who might one day have his “name in lights.” Berry has acknowledged that the song is partly autobiographical and that the original lyrics referred to Johnny as a “colored boy”, but he changed it to “country boy” to ensure radio play. As well as suggesting that the guitar player is good, the title hints at autobiographic elements, because Berry was born at 2520 Goode Avenue, in St. Louis. The song was initially inspired by Johnnie Johnson, the regular piano player in Berry’s band, but developed into a song mainly about Berry himself. Johnson played on many other recordings by Berry, but Lafayette Leake played the piano on this song.
The opening guitar riff of “Johnny B. Goode” is essentially a note-for-note copy of the opening single-note solo on Louis Jordan’s “Ain’t That Just Like a Woman” (1946), played by guitarist Carl Hogan. Neither the guitar intro nor the solo are played at once. Berry played the introductory parts together with the rhythm guitar and later overdubbed the solo runs.
h/t: Ivan
Professor Ceiling Cat is headed to Milford Sound on Monday, then to Fox Glacier on Tuesday for an overnight, then to Greymouth on Wednesday for about two days to see the keas at Arthur’s Pass.
From Greymouth I’ll find my way up to Nelson, probably arriving there on the 24th or 25th of March. I’ll probably stay in Nelson a few days to unwind, and would be glad to meet readers.
If you’re in the Nelson area and were interested in getting together, please email me with contact details. I have a cellphone but can’t figure out how to activate it, so if you want to contact me, please use email. But I can use Skype to make outgoing phone calls, so if you want to send your number, please send the whole thing as if I were calling from the U.S.
kthxbai
by Matthew Cobb
https://twitter.com/scienmag/status/843175939588677632
Betteridge’s law of headlines strikes again.
No, it’s not what you think, but you should read this nice and well-researched post at Heather’s Homilies. Think about what is happening to the far right parties in Europe before you click over to her post.
The upshot; her conclusion.
Not long ago, there were worries that far-right nationalist and anti-EU parties might sweep to power across Europe. Now, the reality of what it’s like to actually be governed by someone like Donald Trump is frightening a lot of people off. Thank you for your example, President Trump. (And those aren’t words you hear every day, even from his fans!)
By Jerry & Grania
Caturday is upon us again!
First we have a compilation of cats demanding attention. Mine always did that by knocking my coffee cup to the floor because sometimes cats can be bastards. RIP countless mugs.
Next there is a new wine bar for you and your cats, where you and your felid companion can go and relax after a long, hard day of sitting on the couch and purring.
The cats are served non-alcoholic beverages such as Moscato and Pinot Meow. Of course, cats are picky creatures, so they may not actually like it. You know how they are. How embarrassing to sit with a companion who disapproves.
As reported in the New York Times here.
I came across this new package in the statistical software R. You can actually plot cats or anything with cat-shaped points! I’m not entirely sure what its purpose in the real world could be, but there you go. Catterplots.
library(CatterPlots)
x <- -10:10
y <- -x^2 + 10
purr <- catplot(xs=x, ys=y, cat=3, catcolor=c(0,1,1,1))
cats(purr, -x, -y, cat=4, catcolor=c(1,0,1,1))# for more fun …
meow <- multicat(xs=x, ys=y, cat=c(1,2,3), catcolor=list(c(1,1,0,1),c(0,1,1,1)), canvas=c(-0.1,1.1, -0.1, 1.1))
morecats(purr, x, 10*sin(x)+40, size=0.05, cat=c(4,5,6), catcolor=list(c(0,0,1,1),c(0,1,0,1)), type=”line”)# random cats
meow <- multicat(xs=x, ys=rnorm(21),
cat=c(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10),
catcolor=list(c(0,0,0,1)),
canvas=c(-0.1,1.1, -0.1, 1.1),
xlab=”some cats”, ylab=”other cats”, main=”Random Cats”)
And finally, an episode from that most famousest of cats, Maru, this one entitled “When Maru has a toy in his mouth, he cannot help kneading”.
h/t: Les, Jente, Blue