Support the Miracles of Modern Science (MOMS)!!!!!!

Click here to support an amazing band that I just randomly discovered on the internet. They're called the Miracles of Modern Science.  Okay fine, I'll admit it, the members started out playing at my eating club at college, and I know them, and I am particularly fond of the violinist.  But they make seriously awesome music (rock with no guitars!) and they need support to produce their first real album.  The website this is through, Kickstarter, is a brilliant idea.  You can pledge money through Amazon (any dollar amount), but your credit card doesn't get charged unless the project gets fully funded.  And you get rewarded for pledging different amounts.  I would be happy to pay 25 bucks for a kick-ass CD (which is the reward for a $25 pledge).  So anyhow, go to Kickstarter now and pledge a few bucks for the MOMS. WNYC called their music "Exuberant chamber pop that waxes and wanes with elaborate, rocky energy.” How can you say no to that???

Real Sexy Scientists Prefer Socks: A Belated Halloween Post

I did another Google image search, this time for "scientist" themed Halloween costumes.  Unsurprisingly, the majority of masqueraders were "mad," and male. The first page of results revealed only three females dressed as scientists:




Surprised by the amount of leg they're showing around toxic chemicals?  I doubt it.  Needless to say, the male majority of the results were not as sexy:


Although some were pretty adorable:


There are a variety of costumes that represent real professions: firefighters, cops, soldiers...  Granted, women have managed to make all of these costumes "sexy."  God forbid a woman dress up for Halloween and not be wearing thigh high boots:

Can you really fight fires in that?  Whatever.  I get it.  It's a day where you're allowed to dress provocatively without being unfairly labeled. In college, I was a "sexy train" one year.

I defy you to find a sexier train.  But let's talk about the non-sexy costumes. Why aren't any of them accompanied by a stereotypical psychological state, like "mad?"  Nobody dresses up as a "sad cop," or an "impatient soldier."  In fact, most of the fake men-in-uniform seem to be perfectly normal human beings:

Just once, I would like to see someone dressed as a perfectly rational scientist, his or her hand on the shoulder of another perfectly rational scientist, as they work together in the collaborative human effort we call "science."  Also just once, I would like to see a fake scientist who can be sexy without having to wear garters into the imaginary lab, because real sexy scientists tend to prefer socks.

Just for reminiscing's sake, and to prove that I didn't always just sit around and complain about stereotypes all day, here is the full group of "sexy women in uniform" from 2006:

Seemingly boring life forms doing amazing things

Wasp-killing fig trees: I already knew wasps were awesome, because they're social insects, duh.  But vengeful fig trees?  I never imagined the awesomeness.

Mating slugs: One of the grossest things in the world racks up some cool points with a surprisingly graceful XXX display.  Go banana slugs!

Mind controlling fungus: I've been fascinated by this phenomenon ever since my first visit to Los Angeles's Museum of Jurassic Technology, where they have a victimized ant on display.  Maybe if I introduce some of this into our apartment I could train it to lead the ants away from the kitchen?

A little something from each of my three favorite kingdoms.  What other seemingly boring life forms are secretly super awesome?