Blinded by Science

I Know Space and Time Are The Same Thing, But That’s Just Silly

Blinded by Science, China, Manufacturing consent
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Meteor Blades at DailyKos notices that the Chinese media seem to have perfected the art of time-travel:

Xinhua Runs Spacewalk Story Before Astronauts Leave Earth

China’s official Xinhua News Agency ran a story on Thursday announcing ground controllers were tracking Chinese astronauts sent aloft for the country’s first spacewalk, complete with details and quotes from the astronauts. There was just one problem: the astronauts had yet to blast off for the spacewalk, which is scheduled for the early hours of Saturday morning, Beijing time.

Carrying a Sept. 27 dateline that declared Xinhua reporters were “sleepless in the middle of the Pacific Ocean” aboard a Chinese tracking ship, the story — published on Xinhua’s Web site on Sep. 25 at 9:04 a.m. — offers a gripping account of conversation between ground controllers and astronauts aboard the Shenzhou VII spacecraft, citing the breathless silence aboard the Yuan Wang No. 1 tracking ship as observers waited for the craft to appear on its instruments..

The ship even established contact with the spacecraft 12 seconds ahead of schedule, said the report, which was written by reporters Wu Dengfeng, Mei Shixiong and Wang Yushan.

More…

Morally Right != Musically Talented…

Blinded by Science, Funny, Music, Religion, Video
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Like many staunch atheists the only thing that might ever make me revert to churchgoing youth is the beauty of sacred music. Nothing imparts a sense of the numinous like Mozart’s Requiem, for instance, whether you’re religious or not. So my fellow atheists are going to have to do a damned sight better than this atheist’s anthem if they want to persuade anyone of their rightness.

Cute, but it’s no Handel’s Messiah:

THE ATHEIST ANTHEM March Tempo
I AM AN A-THEISTS, FREE FROM MIND CON-TROL,
I HAVE NO GOD-S, DE-VILS OR A SOUL,
MY LIFE IS HAP-PY, AS PEO-PLE CAN SEE,
CAUSE I LOVE NA-TURE, AND HU-MAN-I-TY.

ALL THROUGH THE A-GES, IG-NOR-ANCE PRE-VAILS,
RE-LIG-OUS LEAD-ERS, PREA-CHING FAIR-Y TALES,
STOP ALL YOUR RAV-ING, AND YOUR REH-TORIC,
YOUR RE-E-LIG-IONS, MAKE ME SICK.

LOGIC AND SCI-ENCE, GOOD FOR YOU AND ME,
NOT A FOOL-ISH BI-BLE, OR A DE-I-TY,
I WANT REALITY, AS MY GOAL,
I AM AN A-THEIST, FREE FROM MIND CON-TROL,
I AM AN A-THEIST, FREE FROM MIND CONTROL,
I AM AN A-THEIST, FREE FROM MIND CONTROL,
FREE– ———- FROM MIND CON-TROL. YES!

Lyrics & Music by: David M. Mandell O May 2002 Atheists of Silicon Valley, Mt. View, CA. www.godlessgeeks.com

Have a great grand goddamn good godless day!

Ow. My ears hurt.

(courtesy of Pharyngula commenter Moses)

Yo! CERN raps!

Blinded by Science, Video
Published on

The Large Hadron rap — which as you know Bob celebrates the opening of the largest particle accelerator in the world — is almost as cringeworthy as the MS-DOS 5.0 rap, with dorky white people flashing what they think are gang signs while somebody does a Sugarhill Gang style enumeration of the wonders of the Large Hadron Collider. Sweet but embarassing, like your nan boogieing down to Kool and the Gang.

Palau adds: Yeah, but… the Large Hadron Collider! The Big Bang in a box! You have to admit that’s pretty fucking cool.

Atomkraft

Blinded by Science, Climate change
Published on

Nuclear Reaction is a new, Greenpeace run blog focusing on the nuclear power industry. With nuclear power being revived and rehabilitated as a carbon neutral solution to energy shortage and global warming, it’s a welcome antidote to the nuclear industry ‘s boosterism. Also involved: Justin “Chicken Yoghurt” McKeating.

Personally I think nuclear power can be save, can be a partial answer to global warming, but not when run by the current nuclear industry.