9/11: A day of Hate. Not of religion

Of all the conspiracies surrounding September 11^th, 2001, none of them hold up. Or I should say; none of them but one. The attacks were committed by extremists who hated everything they thought America stood for. Now we may not be angels, but nobody deserved to die that day. Nobody. 

Even now, after more than a decade, everyday people show that they didn’t learn anything about love and open-mindedness from it. We didn’t see that that blind hate like those extremists possessed was the same as the blind ignorance and assumptions so many now relate to the incident. 

People can slip up. Spew ignorance. Make connections between the religion, Islam, and the attacks. They say they didn’t mean it, but still their words have meaning regardless. The assumptions they make, those quick judgments. It’s as if an atheist could say that all Christians are evil because they claim to have the same religion as individuals who cherry-pick parts of the bible to justify their persecution towards certain groups of people. Maybe you aren’t old enough to know. But you are certainly old enough to learn. 

The Crusades, the Inquisition, the Klu Klux Klan. Are these movements guided by a religion of peace? No. They were led by self-important men who think they know more about the God they claim to worship. They diminish their God by claiming to speak for him. 9/11 was not the work of religion. It was arrogance, hypocrisy, ignorance. It was hate. Those horrible men who hijacked those planes hijacked Islam that day too. They insulted the Islamic God.

Care and love and faith was so absent that day. America hasn’t quite managed to bring it back yet.

That’s My Name…

9/12/12

There are some words subconsciously tied with certain events, emotions, or ideas that invoke an unexplainable effect on me when spoken. Many writers explain this fundamental power of language able to silence a room or win a war. Hearing derogatory terms such as retard, twat, and f@got directed at others causes me serious psychological pain. 

I hate the use of words like those in particular because people think having a mental disability or being a girl or homosexual would reduce a person’s worth. Through over-use they have morphed into nothing more than common insults. Using the racial slur: ‘N---’, lies on a whole new level of ignorant because of its ties to racism and violence, but people online or friends throw it around like nothing. 

Our modern society has diminished, muted, and nullified the true power and definition of the word. To some circles the word can mean ‘idiot’ or even just ‘person’. I understand that some African Americans began using it so show their oppressors that it wasn’t an insult to them anymore, but I believe that the history of that word needs to be remembered. We need to understand all the hate and discrimination that our country injected into ‘N---’ because it is an important part of America’s history. Its background reminds us of what we were, and what we still need to do. Like so many other words whose potency should be respected, that big ‘N-bomb’ has been worn out to say the least. The phrase “That’s my name, don’t wear it out” represents more than names, it describes the situation of these ‘worn-out’ swear-words. 

The terrible name representing America’s history of hate and segregation has decayed and its power forgotten. I think the potential consequences of rewriting or weakening the meanings of words should be a higher concern in social awareness, and that the influence of N--- should remain an unspeakable slur.

The tale of a desperate puffer fish.

Deep under the sea there is still so much shrouded in mystery and undiscovered. I mean a fish doing art! This pattern, roughly 6 and a half feet wide, were made by male puffer fish. It's thought to be a 'display' to attract females and/or a shield to protect their young from potentially dangerous ocean currents. 

He worked at it for several hours, sweeping his tail in the sand to carve out the structure. He didn't just shape it either - he decorated it, using small stones and shells.

Underwater photographer Yoji Ookata first noticed these bizarre geometric circles off the coast of Japan. He was understandably pretty confused, and asked the advice of colleagues.

Miracles in science and technology saved an eagle's life

This is Beauty the bald eagle. In 2005, Beauty was shot in the face by a poacher, causing the damage you see here. Her beak was so badly damaged it was impossible for her to eat or hunt on her own. 

Fortunately, she was rescued by volunteers at Birds of Prey Northwest before she starved to death. They nursed her back to health by hand feeding her, and hoped that she would recover. It became apparent that she would never be self sufficient again and they considered euthanizing her.

However, raptor specialist Jane Cantwell teamed up with mechanical engineer Nate Calvin as well as several other scientists, engineers and dentists to model a nylon polymer beak that would replace Beauty's damaged upper mandible. The beak was then printed on a 3-D printer and attached to Beauty.

Thanks to their hard work and the 3-D printer, Beauty can now eat, drink and preen herself. Unfortunately, the beak is not secure enough for her to return to the wild, but it has meant a second chance in life for this bird.

For more info, watch this video: http://vimeo.com/15184546

Science! The Tardigrade. indestructible and strangely adorable....

The first living organism known to mankind able to survive in outer space. They look a little like panda bears in Haz-mat suits! I'm thinking human sized versions of these could be a really cool Doctor Who monster someday! Or an endangered species that must be saved..



This little guy is a Tardigrade (it even has a name that sounds like TARDIS), or a water bear. In 2008, water bears were the first animals demonstrated to be able to survive the vacuum of space. They are virtually indestructible and can survive being blasted with radiation, intense pressures and years of desiccation.
Specimens were launched into space by Swedish scientists and they returned unharmed after eight days.

For more info on their superhero tendencies: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/12855775

This image is courtesy of The Scientist, where it is a finalist in their 2012 Lab image awards. Go vote for water bears! http://the-scientist.com/2012/08/08/2012-labby-image-finalists/

Science can be cool: Beautiful firefly squid on the beach

I think this is such a beautiful picture. It almost looks like fairy lights but even better.
 
This is a picture of the Sparkling Enope squid (also known as the flirefly squid or in Japanese: Watasenia scintillans) at Toyama Bay, Japan. 

They are about 6 inches long and die after only a year of life. Found in the Western Pacific ocean, it lives at depths of 183-366 meters and only comes up to the surface at night to show off its brilliant bioluminescence. Its photophores, the organs that produce the light, are located at the end of each tentacle. Interesting fact about the Sparkling Enope squid is they are only species of cephalopod that has evolved to be able to see color in three visual pigments. Scientists think that this is to help them distinguish between ambient light and their own bioluminescence. The firefly squid lights up for two reasons: the lights on the tentacle can flash to attract fish that the squid feed on and the squid can light up its entire body to attract a mate during the months of March to June.

For more information check out: http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/firefly-squid.html
Image credit: http://findlaydonnan.wordpress.com/2012/04/08/glowing-firefly-squid-beached-along-the-japanese-coast/

Science can be cool: Glaucus atlanticus

Some science (and other educational things) is really interesting to me and I want to share really cool facts, pictures, and stories sometimes.

For example, this little guy is a species of sea slug called the Glaucus Atlanticus.It grows to around 35 mm. It earns the name that sounds like Atlantis because it looks a little like a mythical water dragon. \(^-^)/
They float partially with an air bubble, which they swallow and store in their gastric cavity. It's just so cute! But they also have a rather unique defense mechanism. They store the nematocysts produced by jellyfish (their prey) in their own tissues to protect against predators with a weaker version of the jellyfish's sting.That sting of these creatures can sometimes be felt by a human.  

For more information, check out:
http://seaslugsofhawaii.com/species/Glaucus-atlanticus-a.html