Southern Fried Science is on vacation! Once again, we’ll be taking a break from blogging during the month of December. Weekly dose of TED and Biodiversity Wednesday will continue (since they don’t require any work on our part). While we’re gone, please enjoy a selection of exclusive penguin videos shot by Antarctic Adventurer David Honig. Don’t forget to check out the Gam to catch up with the rest of the Southern Fried Science Network, follow us on twitter (Andrew, David, Amy), and subscribe to the Gam RSS feed for updates across the network. Regular posting will return in January.

In the mean time, consider this post an open thread to discuss anything about marine biology, graduate school, conservation, life in science, or just life in general. We’ll check in every so often.

Can’t last a month without the fry-off? Check out our favorite blogs, tweeps, and articles.

Our favorite blogs in 2010:

• Deep Sea News is our perennial favorite (and the inspiration that spawned this endeavor) so if you aren’t already reading it, what are you doing with your life? Over the last year they’ve added three new writers who have expanded the breadth and depth of this go to source for ocean news.
• A picture speaks 1000 words, as the old adage goes – and Sociological Images is proof. The topics they cover are relevant to daily life and decisions about how you think about race, gender, and age relations.
• The Dorsal Fin is a great source for shark conservation news and sharks in popular culture.
• Anthropology in Practice is one of the best social science blogs out there, plus anthropological writing turned towards our own culture
• After several months of quiet, The Pimm Group has picked up the pace of posting, with several excellent commentaries on biodiversity (they even got web aggregator, Alltop, to add a biodiversity section). A must read for anyone interested in biodiversity issues.
• RTSea is written by Richard Theiss, an award-winning documentary filmmaker. While there is lots of good stuff about sharks, the focus is on marine biology and conservation in general.
• Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub is a nice reminder that history is important to every field and serves as nice fodder for dinner conversation when someone in the family makes it political.  More fundamentally, the author is committed to debunking pseudoscience and in training readers to be able to recognize it when they see it.
• Scientopia launched over the summer, with a cohort of outstanding blogs, but my current favorite is Neurotic Physiology (previously Neurotopia, previously Are you Scicurious) written by the (in)famous Scicurious.
• Dr. Al Dove, Senior Scientist at the Georgia Aquarium, writes Deep Type Flow. His diverse research interests include whale sharks, coral reef biology, and parasitology.
• Civil Eats is a go-to place for happenings in the foodie world. They bring you the typical foodie recipes and interviews but also have a focus on environmentally responsible eating. Plus, with a ton of writers, it never gets old.

Our favorite tweeps in 2010:

• RadicalOmnivore – though we occasionally disagree with Jae, his perspective on human rights, food security, and First Nation issues is not to be missed.
• Allochthonous – Highly Allochthonous is fantastic, but Chris’s tweets are almost better.
• Hectocotyli – Our special tentacular friend, keep up with all the latest in smutty Cephalopoda.
• ecosphericblog – a great source of articles and news sources that will get you riled up about environmentalism
• leafwarbler – A good source to keep apprised of the bird world who also links to great articles in all sorts of fields.
• Dr_Bik – Dr. Holly Bik is the rising rock star of Deep Sea News. If you aren’t already following the entire DSN team, you should definitely be following her (Kevin and Craig seem to have coalesced into a single DSN-tity anyway).
• RareWildlifeGuy – Kevin Coyle, VP of the National Wildlife Federation, tweets about endangered species.
• washingtonpost – Amy gets her news tweeted at her – plus, she gets to talk back.
• DianeN56 – Diane Neff tweets about sharks, whales, and saving the oceans.
• Sea4Ever – Lou Kawakami promotes green living tips, including ways to save the oceans.
• jgold85 – The author of The Thoughtful Animal and Child’s Play brings you a wealth of science and bacon-y goodness.
• SharksAndLasers – A great source of shark science news

Our favorite posts/articles of 2010:

• Early this year the tall ship Concordia, carrying a crew of high school students, was stuck my a microburst and capsized of the coast of Brazil. Peter Mello at Sea Fever has compiled news reports, articles, and videos spanning the accident and its aftermath. If you’re looking to kill a couple of days, spend some time reading High School Tall Ship Concordia Sinks Off Brazil.
• Can seabirds overfish a resource?
• Smells From the Past: The Fulton Fish Market
• Fiddler crabs: An unusual but important member of the salt marsh community
• Recycling for Profit
• An open letter to South African great white shark operators
• Lincoln: A Beard is Born – discover the origin and legacy of the most famous whiskers in the world.
• Seabirds as Indicators of Ecosystem Health
• What Can Dolphins Tell Us About the Evolution of Friendship?
• Science in a culture of “news-grazers”

Thanks to all our authors, guest writers, commenters, and especially you for an outstanding year! See you in 2011!

~Southern Fried Scientist

For an extra December Challenge – try and guess which Fry-entist nominated which blogs, tweeps, and articles.