Hedwig Pöllöläinen
grrlscientist
Posts by this author
tags: Harry Potter, books, postage stamps
Has this ever happened before, where a book cover is made into a postage stamp? Well, it might have happened in Britain at some point (and it apparently has already happened in France not too long ago), but I'll bet it has never happened before in America…
tags: Ashcroft, Gonzales, politics, streaming video
This streaming video satirizes the Godfather by comparing it to the Ashcroft-Gonzales situation [1:03].
tags: limbless lizard, reptiles, snakes, India
A new species of limbless lizard was discovered in a forested region about 1,000 km southeast of New Delhi, India. The 18-cm (7-inch) lizard resembles a small snake.
Image: Sushil Kumar Dutta.
A new species of limbless lizard was discovered in…
tags: Harry Potter, Natural History Museum, books, contests
As an evolutionary biologist who has held a postdoctoral fellowship in a Natural History Museum, I cannot think of a better place in the world for a reading and signing of the last book in the Harry Potter series than the Natural History…
tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Pied Avocets, which returned to nest in Britain in 1948, now nest widely around the south-east coastline.
Image: BBC News.
Birds in Science
Palaeontologists fired a broadside over a fossil which is the cornerstone evidence…
tags: Simpsons, liberals, streaming video
This streaming outtake from a Simpson's episode about FOX news is amusing [1:13].
This is Memorial Day weekend in America, a time when we supposedly remember all of America's war dead. NYC celebrates Memorial Weekend by embedding it firmly in the middle of its annual "Fleet Week." So during this week, NYC is crawling with military people, mainly Navy and Marines. Basically, NYC…
tags: nonfat dairy cow, marge
To meet the demands of the health-conscious consumer, how about developing cows that produce skim milk? Well, scientists have identified a cow that does this, and they hope to establish herds of the animals to meet the increased health demands from the public. The cows…
"Wow! are you really reading that book, or is it just for show?"
I blinked and looked hard at a woman who, like me, was sitting at the bar. She sat several bar stools away, and was looking quizzically at my copy of Catch-22. This book had recently arrived in the mail, thanks to a devoted reader of…
tags: albino moose
Like a spectre floating out of the woods, a rare albino moose was spotted recently by Kurt Nikkinen in northern Norway, approximately 30 kilometers east of Karasjok in Finnmark County. Nikkinen was on his way home after a fishing trip when he saw the animal. He had a video…
tags: religion, creationism museum
While a small airplane flew overhead, towing a banner that read, "Thou shalt not lie," Ken Ham and his cronies opened their $27 million "museum" near Cincinnati today, and were met with condemnation from the country's scientists. This so-called "museum" portrays…
tags: Keith Olbermann, political opinion, streaming video
Everyone in our government has failed the American people and ignored their demand to extricate us from this war based on lies. [Keith Olbermann 7:52]
tags: cicada, 17-year cicada, Magicicada
"Cicada"
Image: Wikipedia.
After seventeen years underground, immature cicadas are now emerging as full-fledged adults, ready to breed. Adult cicadas live, feed, and breed above ground for approximately two to six weeks before they die. The dark-colored…
tags: insects, cicada, streaming video
In case you haven't heard yet, the cicadas are coming this year. In the next few months you will be hearing about the impending emergence of the 17 year cicada, mistakenly called 17 year locusts. If you don't remember the last outbreak, or if you are new to…
tags: snake, alligator, reptiles
A Burmese python swallows an alligator and then bursts open.
Image: BBC News.
An unusual struggle between a 6 foot (1.8 meter) alligator and a 13 foot (3.9 meter) python killed two of the deadliest predators in Florida's swamps. The alligator is native to the…
Well, ScienceBlogs is recovering from a system-wide crash, so some of your comments were lost and some of my colleagues' entries were lost, too. (I lucked out, because one of my entries published itself six times, instead of being lost). Sorry about that, but you'll be pleased to know that we all…
tags: snakes, smuggling, airplane
Did you hear about the guy who was trying to carry a bag containing 700 snakes in it onto a plane in Cairo? His stash of snakes included two deadly cobras -- the stuff of a good terror spoof. He was apparently trying to smuggle these snakes on board with him so he…
tags: insects, hive mind, Insect Warrior, streaming video
This streaming video is a mini-documentary showing how humanity appears to be headed towards the hive-mind of the social insects. Is this really what we want to become? [3:39].
tags: Monica Goodling, Alberto Gonzales, US Attorney General, US Attorney firings, politics
So what is Monica Goodling's excuse for her poor memory? She's a terrible liar if the best she can come up with is that she "didn't intend to commit a crime," that she "crossed the line, but didn't mean to…
tags: beliefs, Republican, politics
You might find yourself agreeing with this list (how could you not?), and possibly adding a few more of your own points to it after you've had a chance to read it. Of course, it wasn't always like this, as one commenter pointed out. But the Republican party has…
tags: suicide, mental health, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, college, university
Approximately 1,300 college students will commit suicide this year, according to experts. Yet even though university students are less likely than other age and occupational groups to take their own lives,…
tags: Australia, blog carnivals
Wow, this is the day of the blog carnivals, isn't it? This time, the 3rd issue of the new Carnival of Australia is now available for your reading pleasure, and they included a piece that this lowly American wrote! So even though many of you don't live there, that…
tags: mental health, bipolar disorder, manic depression, depression, blog carnivals
The Mental Health Blog Carnival is now available. They include a piece that I wrote, so be sure to check it out. Incidentally, they are seeking people to host this blog carnival, so if you might be interested, be…
tags: science, biology, medicine, nature, blog carnivals
Those of you who have been holding your breath for the past two weeks can now inhale again because the 80th issue of Tangled Bank is now available! Yippee! I would also like to mention that this is a fairly large issue and it included three…
tags: history, middle east, streaming video
This streaming video gives a brief overview of the situation in the Middle East, and why we are there now, fighting our former allies. [3:03].
tags: Julie MacDonald, Interior Department, politics
Julie MacDonald, a Bush appointee who resigned earlier this month as Interior Department deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, is being investigated by Democrats because she was involved with delisting an endangered species to…
Tomorrow is my court date. I am being sued for wages by the person who took care of my birds while I was in the hospital, even though she told me that these costs would be paid for by the social work department at the hospital. So I went to small claims court several months ago to solve this little…
tags: blogosphere, five lives meme, meme
I don't think this was intended to be a meme, but it is certainly has all the makings of a good meme. Basically, it is a self exploration exercise where you imagine that you could have five lives where you could explore five different careers, lifestyles,…
tags: advertising, sexuality, condoms, streaming video
This streaming video is a very clever (but of course, banned) Durex condom commercial and it is so hilarious that I had to share it with all of you [0:41].
tags: Wolfowitz, humor, politics
Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
A friend sent this cartoon to me, but there was no accompanying link, so until I or someone else manages to find it, this is officially an orphaned image.