Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
David Shiffman remains in the lead for the 2011 Blogging Scholarship, but there’s been a shake-up over the last few days and a new challenger is climbing the ranks. Let’s make sure this upstart doesn’t climb much higher.
There are many faiths in the world, but the one truest and purest is David Shiffman’s faith in me. Yes, that is a shrine to the Southern Fried Scientist that David is kneeling before. The offering appears to be of the magnetic marine creature variety. I too am filled with faith, faith that our own … Read More “An homage to greatness.” »
A few weeks after they were listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, giant manta rays (Manta birostris) have received major international legal protection. The Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) just agreed to list giant mantas on Appendix 1 and II of CMS at their tri-annual meeting in … Read More “Giant manta rays protected by Convention on Migratory Species” »
I extracted this picture from David Shiffman’s Facebook page, so I really don’t have any context for you. Please post your own captions and backstory in the comment thread. And don’t forget to Vote for David!
On a cold Thanksgiving morning, three years ago, I sat down at my old computer, a desktop long disused which had served me throughout high school, logged on to wordpress.com, and launched Southern Fried Science. This little blog has changed so much since those early posts, but the heart of the blog, that science is wonderful, conservation is essential, and we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously all the time, remains. In honor of our three year anniversary, here is the very first post, excepting the generic “hello world” introduction, published on this blog.
In order to start with something interesting, I thought I’d dig up and old article I wrote on a visit to the Kentucky Creation Museum in 2007, enjoy.
Down a long country road outside Petersburg, Kentucky, past giant roadside crosses and even larger adult entertainment centers, stands a new monument to the old time religion of William Jennings Bryant. The Creation Museum was built by Answers in Genesis, an evangelical non-profit, as a state-of-the-art natural history museum promoting young earth creationism. The museum is not new – it’s been here for more than 20 years – but now it’s stylish and sleek, sexy and inviting.
…by which I mean he bleeds Duke Blue. He’s also still maintaining a healthy lead in the 2011 Blogging Scholarship. Vote for him so it stays that way.
This Friday, tune in to National Geographic Wild for a day of sharks! Starting at noon, they will air a series of shark documentaries culminating at 9 p.m. with “Shark Attack Experiment: Live“. This show, aired live from the shark hotspot of South Africa, aims to test some common myths about shark attacks and to “to … Read More “Check out Shark Attack Experiment Live, Friday on National Geographic Wild” »
The noble turkey, a centerpiece of the American Thanksgiving supper. It looms large from its prominent position on the dining room table. The master of ceremonies – or, in my case, the guy who keeps slicing himself open with various sharp objects yet is inexplicably the one people call on when there’s knife-work needs doing – draws a set of fine, honed knives, set aside for this particular task, and carves, delicately yet firmly, into the hefty white meat of the turkey’s breast. Sure, some favor the dark, rich meat around the legs, but this white meat, soaked in gravy and topped with cranberry sauce or stuffing, that is what we crave.
“We give thanks,” the benediction may begin, “to Charles Darwin, for determining the underlying mechanism by which a theropod may, over the course of 65 million years, through a process of gradual change by means of the retention of beneficial traits through successive generations, evolve into this delicious, delicious bird.” And then, perhaps, that surly teenager, the one determined to point out the social inequalities inherent in the holiday and the colonialist attitudes which led to the wholesale extermination of America’s native peoples – every family has at least one – will chime in to quip “you know, evolution didn’t shape the turkey. The modern Thanksgiving turkey is the product of an extensive selective breeding program that began in the 1940’s. Commercial turkeys can’t even reproduce naturally, they have to be artificially inseminated.” At which point the older members of your family may blush and/or faint at such an unseemly turn of phrase.
Another day dawns and David Shiffman remains in first place, though his lead is rapidly shrinking! Go vote for David Shiffman! Go vote for sharks! Go vote for more hilariously embarrassing pictures of the man many would call Shark Whisperer!
Two pieces of good news for European sharks were announced yesterday. The European Union signed the UN Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Memorandum of Understanding for sharks. This MOU was established last year to support the conservation of seven shark species which regularly migrate between national boundaries, a list which includes great whites and whale sharks. … Read More “European Union officials propose stronger finning ban, sign UN migratory shark initiative” »
