Evolution

This story has it all: it’s a conservation problem for an aphrodisiac ‘zombie’ fungus that’s worth more than gold!

Yarsagumba, Ophiocordyceps sinensis or ‘caterpillar fungus’ or ‘winter worm, summer grass’ or ‘Himalayan Viagra’, is a Himalayan fungus that is quite the status symbol in China where it can fetch up to 100 USD per gram due to its use in traditional Chinese medicine as a supposed aphrodisiac.

The fungus spores infect the larvae of ghost moths; cause them to move to just below the surface of the soil with head facing upwards then kill them. The valuable fruiting body then grows from the corpse.

As you may well imagine, this high value has triggered rather a fungus boom in the extremely poor mountainous areas of Nepal where the fungus is found. However, research for a study to be published in Biological Conservation found that the annual trade fell by more than 50% from 2009 to 2011. This is likely because 94% of the fungus collected by villagers had not dispersed its spores; the study’s lead author said “this would probably reduce the yield in the following year”.

This may damage the area the fungus is found in by causing a boom in the populations of the ghost moths that could have further ramifications for the local ecosystem.

Image from the Rafti Institute is of O. Sinensis specimens.

Qui, J.Q., 2013. Overharvesting leaves ‘Himalayan Viagra’ fungus feeling short. Nature.com, [ONLINE] 29 January 2013. Available at: doi:10.1038/nature.2013.12308. [Accessed 31/01/2013].

Science Is Awesome

David Harrich and his team at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research have found a way to prevent HIV from developing into AIDS. They have managed to modify a protein in the virus so it now stops the virus replicating in a laboratory environment.

“This is like fighting fire with fire,” Associate Professor Harrich said. “If this research continues down its strong path, and bear in mind there are a many hurdles to clear, we’re looking at a cure for AIDS.

Animal trials are due to begin later this year.

More info: http://bit.ly/UQoaIt
Read the paper here: http://1.usa.gov/WJbQtf

Saul Alinsky January 30 On this date in 1909, the great 20th-century community organizer Saul David Alinsky was born in a Chicago slum to Russian Jewish immigrant parents. Alinsky said in an interview that his parents "were strict orthodox; their whole life revolved around work and synagogue." When asked if he was a devout Jew as a boy, Alinsky responded: "I suppose I was — until I was about 12. I was brainwashed, really hooked. But then I got afraid my folks were going to try to turn me into a rabbi, so I went through some pretty rapid withdrawal symptoms and kicked the habit" (Playboy, 1972). Alinsky majored in archaeology at the University of Chicago, but after two years of graduate study he dropped out to work as a criminologist for the state of Illinois. In the mid-1930s, he started working with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), and became a close friend of John L. Lewis. Alinsky shifted from labor to community organizing in 1939, focusing first on improving the impoverished slums he grew up in. In 1940, millionaire Marshall Field III provided Alinsky funds to start the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), which grew into a prominent training institute for radical community organizers across the country. Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez were connected to the IAF, along with numerous other leading community organizers and movements. Alinsky's "street-smart tactics influenced generations of community organizers," including President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, who wrote her senior honors thesis at Wellesley College on Alinsky (The New York Times, "Know Thine Enemy," by Noam Cohen, Aug. 22, 2009). The New York Times said Alinsky was "hated and feared in high places from coast to coast" for being "a major force in the revolution of powerless people... " Though Alinsky said he always told people he was Jewish (Playboy, 1972), his political philosophy was very nonconformist, and this carried over into his personal life. When asked if he had ever considered joining the Communist party, he replied: "Not at any time. I've never joined any organization — not even ones I've organized myself. I prize my own independence too much. And philosophically I could never accept any rigid dogma or ideology, whether it's Christianity or Marxism" (Playboy). The goal of the radical, Alinsky explained in his final book, Rules for Radicals (1971), must be to bring about “the destruction of the roots of all fears, frustrations, and insecurity of man, whether they be material or spiritual." Enemies of the poor "can no more live up to their own rules than the Christian Church can live up to Christianity. . . . No organization, including organized religion, can live up to the letter of its own book. You can club them to death with their ‘book’ of rules and regulations" (Rules for Radicals, p. 128 & 152). In a move that horrifies the religious right to this day, Alinsky dedicated his final book to "Lucifer": "Lest we forget at least an over the shoulder acknowledgement of the very first radical, from all our legends, mythology, and history . . . the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom — Lucifer." In the opening paragraph of Rules for Radicals, Alinsky wrote: "What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be." Alinsky died of a heart attack at the age of 63. D. 1972. "If you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated. The greatest crimes in history have been perpetuated by such religious and political and racial fanatics." —Saul Alinsky in an interview with Playboy Magazine, 1972 Compiled by Bonnie Gutsch - www.ffrf.org

Universal Flu Vaccines Charge Ahead | The Scientist Magazine®

Universal Flu Vaccines Charge Ahead | The Scientist Magazine®

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=scientists-discover-childrens-cells-living-in-mothers-brain

Science Is Awesome

We're going to have to agree with io9 and say the Brazilian treehopper is one of the strangest creatures we have ever seen!

From io9: "...Note that the 'balls' on the antenna-like structure aren't eyes, but simply spheres of chitin. A first guess is that it's a sexually-selected trait, but those are often limited to males, and these creatures (and the ones below) show the ornaments in both sexes. [Art Historian Martin Kemp, an expert on visualization in art and science] hypothesizes-and this seems quite reasonable-that 'the hollow globes, like the remarkable excrescences exhibited by other treehoppers, probably deter predators.' It would be hard to grab, much less chow down on, a beast with all those spines and excrescences.

Note, though, that the ornament sports many bristles. If these are sensory bristles, and not just deterrents to predation or irritating spines, then the ornament may have an unknown tactile function."

More info: https://bitly.com/XAStoO

Hat tip to The Science Channel

Open Your Mind.

How To Safely Detox Fluoride From Your Body

As many people already know the commonly used sodium fluoride is extremely toxic, and contrary to most “medical professionals” it is not good for the human body.

There is no 100% verified method of totally detoxing fluorides from your body. But there is several methods that I have used (along with many others), that can make a huge difference.

Number one of course is to stop fluoride exposure as much as you can. Even though you may have stopped drinking it in your water, many preserved foods contain it. Second is to start using a sauna regularly. Saunas expel many heavy metals and toxins (including fluoride) from your system. Third, getting enough sunlight daily plays a large role in detoxing the pineal gland. As well as getting enough time in the dark. Sounds strange I know. But the right balance of light and darkness helps to regulate the melatonin production (the main function of the pineal gland). Fourth is getting enough exercise (which also helps regulate melatonin production). And fifth is doing a raw liver detox. The raw detox is were most people cringe and get turned away. But it is very simple and effective. All that you need to do is drink two cups of tea a day, cut back on preserved foods, and increase your intake of raw foods. Here is the tea recipe that I use.

* 1 thick slice of lemon
* 1 piece of fresh ginger, 2/3″ long, peeled and bruised
* 1 cup boiling water

Place lemon and ginger in cup. Add boiling water and leave to infuse for two minutes. Remove lemon and ginger and drink immediately.

SOURCE: http://canadianawareness.org/2011/03/how-to-safely-detox-fluoride-from-your-body/

Skeptics; Atheists; Realists; Agnostics; Humanists

The light fantastic: Harnessing Nature's glow

Bioluminescence describes the light that some living creatures such as fireflies and jellyfish emit from their cells. Harnessing these reactions has already transformed key areas of clinical diagnosis and medical research.

But scientists are now looking at whether this "living light" could help enhance food crops, detect pollution or even illuminate our journeys home.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21144766

Patton Oswalt

January 27

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On this date in 1969, Patton Oswalt was born in Portsmouth, Va. Oswalt began to perform stand-up comedy in the late 1980s, before graduating from the College of William and Mary in 1991. He became widely known after he starred in an HBO comedy special in 1996. He began to headline at comedy clubs nationwide and also started his career as an actor. From 1998 to 2007, Oswalt was a regular on the CBS show “The King of Queens,” playing the role of Spence. He has appeared in many small roles in movies, as a guest star on television shows including “Dollhouse” and “Nurse Jackie,” and done voice work for movies, television and video games. Notably, he voiced the main character, the rat Remy, in the 2007 Pixar film “Ratatouille.” He also starred in the 2009 live-action film “Big Fan.” His supporting role in “Young Adult” (2001) was nominated for several awards. Oswalt has also written for TV and film, as well as doing behind the scenes uncredited punch-up work on a variety of live-action comedy and animated film scripts. In 2005, Oswalt married writer Michelle McNamara. Their daughter Alice was born on April 15, 2009.

Oswalt is a self-described geek, who called a 2007 return to Dungeons and Dragons “a midlife crisis that doesn’t involve sports cars.” (Wired magazine.) Much of Oswalt’s comedic material addresses popular culture and his daily life, but he has been known to mock religion and religious believers. For example, his “Sky Cake” routine characterizes religion as a trick played by smart weak guys on big dumb guys. He describes himself as an atheist.

“My feelings on religion are starting to morph. I’m still very much an atheist, except that I don’t necessarily see religion as being a bad thing. . . . I’m almost saying certain people do better with religion, the way that certain rock stars do better if they’re shooting heroin.”

—Patton Oswalt

Compiled by Eleanor Wroblewski - www.ffrf.org

Mikhail Baryshnikov

January 27

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On this date in 1948, Mikhail Nikolaevitch Baryshnikov was born in Riga, Latvia. His father, Nikolai Baryshnikov, was an engineer and his mother, Aleksandra Kiseleva, was a seamstress, who introduced him to ballet when he was nine. A strong athlete, Baryshnikov played sports in school in addition to ballet, but turned completely toward ballet when he was 12, after his mother committed suicide. At 15, he began studying with the Kirov Ballet, where he stayed for the next five years, under the direction of Alexander Pushkin. Baryshnikov became principal dancer at the age of 21 and began earning recognition for his strong technique and gravity-defying leaps, which were to later become his trademark. While on tour in Canada at age 26, he defected to America. Granted political asylum, Baryshnikov began working as principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in New York, where he stayed for five years, before joining the New York City Ballet. Working under George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, he expanded his repertoire, as well as the role of male dancers in ballet. He then returned to ABT as principal dancer as well as artistic director, a position he held for ten years. Always seeking to enlarge the frontier of ballet, in 1990 he teamed with choreographer Mark Morris to cofound the White Oak Dance Project and, in 2005, opened The Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) in New York; a place created to support artists in all areas, both novice and master, under one roof. Observing that the challenge of dancing different choregraphies and styles is similar to learning a new language, Baryshnikov writes, "every ballet, whether or not successful artistically or with the public, has given me something important. Everything that I've done has given me more freedom" (Baryshnikov At Work, by Mikhail Baryshnikov, Knopf 1978). In addition to dance, Baryshnikov has appeared in film (Turning Point, 1977, and White Nights, 1985), on Broadway ("Metamorphosis"), and on television, most recently appearing in a regular role on HBO's hit "Sex In the City." Among his several honors, Baryshnikov has been awarded the Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award (2000), Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actor in a Play (1989), Theatre World Special Award (1989), an Emmy for Outstanding Variety or Music Program (1979-1980), an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement-Special Events (1978-1979) and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor (1977). Baryshnikov has four children, the oldest with actress Jessica Lange, the three youngest with his partner dancer, Lisa Rinehart. They currently live in New York.

“I don't believe in marriage in the conventional way. I am not religious person, and marriage in front of altar wouldn't say anything to me.”

—The Larry King Show (May 5, 2002)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

January 27

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On this date in 1756, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born. Son of a Catholic musician, the child prodigy conducted his first original Mass at age 12 in Vienna, was later made a Knight of the Golden Spur by the pope, and was concert master to the Archbishop of Salzburg for many years. Accused of neglecting his religion, he resigned the appointment in 1781. Mozart joined the Freemasons, who were condemned by the Catholic Church, in 1781. Mozart refused to ask for a priest when dying. His wife sent for one anyway, who refused to attend. Mozart was buried in a pauper's grave without a religious service. Referring to the orthodoxy of his youth, he said: "That is all over, and will never come back." (Mozart's Leben, by A. Ulibichev, 1847, i, 243). D. 1791.

David Friedrich Strauss

January 27

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On this date in 1808, David Friedrich Strauss was born. The German writer pioneered scholarship doubting the historicity of Jesus. Strauss became a Lutheran vicar in 1830, and studied theology under Hegel. He was appointed to the Theological Seminary at the University at Tubingen. His book Life of Jesus (1835), dissecting the New Testament as largely mythical, was published to great acclaim, but lost him his teaching post. In 1836 he left the church. In his final book, The Old Faith and the New (1872), Strauss eschewed Christianity and the concept of immortality. British freethinking novelist George Eliot translated his first book into English. D. 1874.

Jerome Kern

January 27

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On this date in 1885, songwriter Jerome Kern was born in New York City to Fanny and Henry Kern, a German-born immigrant and an American-born Bohemian. Although they both had been raised Jewish, "[t]heir marriage at Temple Emanu-El was the last religious function in either of their lives," writes Kern biographer Michael Freedland. They gave their son no religious training. For Kern, "[h]is religion was his music and his lifestyle. . ." (Freedland) Jerome began playing the piano at a young age, showing musical talent. He left high school after his junior year, studied at the New York College of Music, then at the Heidelberg University in Germany. At the age of 20 in 1905, Kern composed his first hit song and in 1912 wrote his first Broadway score. The Broadway musical, "Showboat" (1927), broke ground by integrating music with story. Due to Kern's remarkable musical influence, he became known as "father of the American musical theatre." Kern, a composer who worked with a variety of lyricists, eventually paired up with lyricist Dorothy Fields. They won the 1936 Academy Award for Best Song with "The Way You Look Tonight" from the movie "Swing Time." In 1941, he and Oscar Hammerstein won an Oscar for best song for "The Last Time I Saw Paris," from the film "Lady Be Good." During his career, he wrote close to 700 songs and more than 100 complete scores for both shows and films. Kern classics include: "They Didn't Believe Me," "Look for the Silver Lining," "Old Man River," "Can't Help Lovin' That Man," "Make Believe," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "I Won't Dance," "A Fine Romance," "The Way You Look Tonight," and "All the Things You Are." While beginning work on a project initiated by Dorothy Fields, the musical "Annie Get Your Gun", Kern had a sudden stroke and died a few days later. He was 60 years old. D. 1945

“Life is to be enjoyed.”

—Jerome Kern's motto. Jerome Kern, A Biography, by Michael Freedland

Critical Thinking

• 

  Is it possible that I'm wrong?
  
  Is it possible that I'm emotionally or intellectually attached to one particular answer or opinion?
  
  Should I read more on the subject before coming to a conclusion and look at alternative opinions?
  
  Is it possible that I'm hardwired or inclined to believe this?
  
  Have I been told that this is true so often that I assume it to be true?
  
  Am I afraid to not agree with others so I convince myself that it is true?
  
  Should I try to put myself in the shoes of someone who disagrees with me and see if it makes sense from their perspective?
  
  What would it take to change my mind? ~SCTS
  
  " For myself, I found that I was fitted for nothing so well as for the study of Truth; as having a mind nimble and versatile enough to catch the resemblances of things … and at the same time steady enough to fix and distinguish their subtler differences; as being gifted by nature with desire to seek, patience to doubt, fondness to meditate, slowness to assert, readiness to consider, carefulness to dispose and set in order; and as being a man that neither affects what is new nor admires what is old, and that hates every kind of imposture. "
  
  - Sir Francis Bacon, 1605

Evolution

Why do we yawn?

Most animals that can respirate via their mouths can also yawn. We yawn, as well as most other mammals, birds, and fish. Even human fetuses have been observed yawning in the womb. Do animals yawn because they are bored or tired? Not necessarily. It is difficult to explain why other animals yawn; for some species, it may be a way to assert dominance or signal to others, while for others, it may simply be a way of stretching jaw muscles. But why did yawning come about in the first place, and what evolutionary advantage does it have, if any?

New evidence suggests that yawning might be a way to cool down our brains. When we initiate a yawn, our maxillary sinus expands and contracts, allowing air to flow through them. The back walls of our sinuses are a bit thinner than the front, so when cool air passes over them, it effectively cools down the brain. This is crucial, since our brains are extremely sensitive to high temperatures and work more efficiently in lower temperatures. Researchers tested this with rats by implanting probes that recorded temperature differences in the brain pre-yawn and post-yawn. They noticed that the temperature was highest just before a yawn, and dropped dramatically to normal levels after the yawn was finished. The evidence is strong; it seems that yawning might be directly coordinated with sinus ventilation and brain temperature.

There is also new evidence to suggest that yawning is actually crucial to brain development in human fetuses. Between 24 and 36 weeks of gestation, most mouth-openings seen via facial profile ultrasound were yawns. At the end of the 36 weeks, the yawning stops. Premature babies also yawn much more than full-term babies, suggesting that yawning may be an important step in development. We still do not know why this happens exactly, but the research is currently ongoing.

So yawning is important for our health, but why is it so contagious? It may be rooted deep in the primitive parts of your brain. One theory suggests that when we contagiously yawn, we participate in a hardwired behavior that once allowed groups to stay together and detect danger. This sort of "herding behavior" would have been extremely crucial, and yawning could have been helpful in communicating with other members of the group. Yawning could have also been used as a way for humans to communicate their alertness to one another (hence why we may compare it with sleepiness). There are many theories, but the truth is only half of humans are prone to contagious yawning. We're guessing at least half of you yawned at some point through this post!

Sources:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/11/111115-yawning-mystery-brains-sinuses-health-science/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57553513/yawning-may-be-linked-to-brain-development-in-fetuses/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6270036.stm

Image credit: http://juditheglaser.blogspot.com/2011/10/it-started-with-yawn.html

Atheists and Rational Thinkers

Nobel prize winner Rita Levi-Montalcini, who passed away today aged 103.

Levi-Montalcini enrolled in medical school in 1930 despite her father's objections (who believed that the role of a woman was to be a wife and mother, not an academic). She earned a degree in medicine and surgery, but her post-graduate career was cut short when Mussolini issued his "Manifesto of Race" which barred those of Jewish descent from professional careers. Rather than fleeing the country, Levi-Montalcini chose to stay in Italy and continue her work alone. She built a small research unit at her home and installed it in her bedroom.

She spent time on her research and as a physician during the war, and then returned to academic life afterwards. In 1947 she joined Washington University and became a full professor there in 1958. In 1962 she established a research unit in Rome, splitting her time between there and St. Louis, and in 1969 she became the Director of the Institute of Cell Biology of the Italian National Council of Research.

In 1986, Levi-Montalcini and Stanley Cohen were awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for isolating Nerve Growth Factor from tumor cells.

Although she officially retired in 1977, she never truly stopped working as a scientist or an educator. Eight years ago she founded the European Brain Research Institute (EBRI) in Rome. She (with her sister Paola) also founded the Rita Levi-Montalcini Foundation, which focuses on the education of girls and young women in Africa. In 2001 she was appointed an Italian Senator-for-life.

Levi-Montalcini was truly an inspiring woman and she will be greatly missed.

Watch an interview with Levi-Montalcini here: http://bit.ly/ZMklM3
Read more about her life and work here: http://bit.ly/12QFbs8

Evolution

So what's the deal with altruism?

A new study suggests it may not have the origins we have suspected all along. Instead of altruism existing as a response to greed, researchers believe altruism may be a construct of society created by greedy people to keep check on other greedy people, thereby increasing their own chances of the biggest spoils. They found that pure altruism requires a large expenditure of effort for the entire society, while altruism based on the need for greed only requires effort from the greedy, allowing the rest of society to passively reap the benefits and often times cast reverence on the greedy-false-altruists.

Some neat examples: "Tree wasps that police hives to make sure that no member other than the queen lays eggs will often lay illicit eggs themselves. Cancer cells will prevent other tumors from forming. Medieval knights would pillage the same civilians they readily defended from invaders, while neighborhoods ruled by the Italian Mafia traditionally had the lowest levels of crime."

http://m.phys.org/news/2013-01-dark-hearts-kindness-mankind.html

Evolution

Most people can probably recognise that our love of bread, potatoes and any other carbohydrate heavy foods will have had an effect on human evolution, but now scientists are beginning to understand how it could have shaped the evolution of dogs as well.

It’s well known that dogs are the domesticated close relatives of wolves. It is generally considered that this must have occurred as wolves took advantage of the easy food source of waste food left by humans. This food would have been a very different composition of nutrients compared to a traditional wolf diet with far more carbohydrates from roots, bread and porridge than they normally would have got.

A report published in Nature this week compared the DNA of 12 gray wolves with 60 dogs (including 14 different breeds) and found there were key differences which allowed dogs to digest carbohydrates far more easily. The presence of changes to starch and sugar-processing genes would have allowed early dogs to make the most of the scraps they could scavenge from human settlements, helping them to thrive despite abandoning the pack lifestyle.

What’s really interesting about this study is not necessarily the study itself but rather the questions that it has led to. The study itself suggests that the domestication of dogs was a form of selection as the canines which were already able to easily digest carbohydrates were able to survive easier apart from the pack and consequentially became domesticated. While other scientists have suggested that these genes may have become adapted after the domestication of dogs as the carb heavy diet promoted the specialisation of the carbohydrate digestion genes. So rather like the question of which came first the chicken or the egg, science now has a different question to ponder, which came first domestication or the genes? JB

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-how-dogs-evolved-20130124,0,1620029.story

Evolution

No, it’s not really humid in here. You’re looking at the (aptly named) White Silkie Bantam. Though the precise origin is unknown, the top theory is that this chicken came from Southeast Asia. In western cultures, they are not typically bred for consumption, though Silkie meat is considered a delicacy in other parts of the world.

Chickens that have been bred to display ornamental plumage are collectively known as fancy chickens. They are usually quite docile and mostly serve a decorative purpose. Fancy chickens often compete in breed shows that are similar to dog shows.

For more information: http://www.omlet.us/breeds/chickens/silkie/

http://www.americansilkiebantamclub.org/about.asp

Photo credit: everything-poultry.com

Garrett Lisi

January 24

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On this date in 1968, Antony Garrett Lisi was born in Los Angeles, Calif. He earned B.S. degrees in physics and mathematics from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1991, and received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California at San Diego in 1999. After graduation, he moved to Hawaii and worked as a snowboard instructor and hiking guide. Lisi briefly taught at the University of Hawaii at Maui in 2005, before deciding to pursue independent research. Lisi authored the paper “An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything,” published on the online database arXiv on Nov. 6, 2007. The Theory of Everything, also called the E8 Theory, unites the electromagnetic force, strong force and weak force, as well as gravity and all elementary particles, through the use of the mathematical structure E8. It is an alternative to the popular string theory, which purports that these forces and particles are united by a complex system of vibrating strings. Lisi lives with his longtime girlfriend, Crystal Baranyk, an artist.
The July 21, 2008 issue of the New Yorker called Lisi a “committed atheist.”

“Lisi, an atheist, says the whole notion of God misses the point. He’s not after the creator of the universe—he’s after the universe itself.”

—Maui Time, Feb. 16, 2011.

Compiled by Sabrina Gaylor - www.ffrf.org

Joseph Mazzini Wheeler

January 24

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On this date in 1850, Joseph Mazzini Wheeler was born in Great Britain. Wheeler, an atheist, is best known as the author of the monumental Biographical Dictionary of Freethinkers (1889). Wheeler, who dedicated his life to freethought after moving to London in the early 1870s, was a close friend of freethought editor G.W. Foote. Wheeler also wrote Frauds and Follies of the Fathers (1888), Footsteps of the Past (1895), and co-authored Crimes of Christianity with G.W. Foote. He served for many years as vice-president of the National Secular Society, and was a frequent contributor to freethought periodicals. He served as subeditor of the National Secular Society's publication, The Freethinker, from its founding in 1881 to his death. D. 1898.

“The merits and services of Christianity have been industriously extolled by its hired advocates. Every Sunday its praises are sounded from myriads of pulpits. It enjoys the prestige of an ancient establishment and the comprehensive support of the State. It has the ear of rulers and the control of education. Every generation is suborned in its favor. Those who dissent from it are losers, those who oppose it are ostracised; while in the past, for century after century, it has replied to criticism with imprisonment, and to scepticism with the dungeon and the stake. By such means it has induced a general tendency to allow its pretensions without inquiry and its beneficence without proof. ”

—Preface, Crimes of Christianity, by G.W. Foote and J.M. Wheeler

Frederick the Great

January 24

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On this date in 1712, "Enlightened Despot" Frederick II, King of Prussia, was born in Berlin. Frederick endured a severe military education at the hands of his unsympathetic father, who once beat him publicly when he was 18. Frederick was forced to witness the execution by decapitation of a friend with whom he had planned an escape from Prussia. When Frederick ascended the throne in 1740, he instituted many domestic reforms, including abolishing court serfdom, permitting freedom of speech and enforcing universal religious toleration, promoting education and the arts, improving infrastructure, and creating industries. Under his sway, his court was turned into an international hub of Enlightenment and culture. He separated from his wife, chosen for him in an arranged marriage, and is widely believed to have been gay. He corresponded for 40 years with Voltaire. He was admired for his military strategies and expansions. By the time he died, he had doubled the size of his country. Frederick the Great was the first to codify German law, and he reformed the criminal codes and abolished torture. While holding absolute power, he dedicated himself as "first servant of the state" and modernized Prussia. Frederick's collected writings fill 31 volumes. D. 1786.

“Religion is the idol of the mob; it adores everything it does not understand. . . . We know the crimes that fanaticism in religion has caused . . . ”

—Frederick the Great, letter to Voltaire, July 6, 1737. Cited by James A. Haught in 2,000 Years of Disbelief

Jules Feiffer

January 26

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On this date in 1929, cartoonist, playwright and author Jules Feiffer was born in the Bronx, New York, and studied at Pratt Institute (1947-1951). His weekly editorial cartoon appeared in the Village Voice for 42 years. Feiffer won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1986. His cartoons have been published in 19 books. Feiffer's antimilitary animated cartoon, "Munro," won an Academy Award in 1961. Feiffer's comedy, "Little Murders" (1967), won an Obie. Among his other plays and revues is "Knock Knock" (1976), which had a 1976 Broadway run starring Lynn Redgrave. Feiffer wrote the screenplay for the film "Carnal Knowledge" (1971), which spawned censorship and lawsuits. His cartoons in particular skewered Presidents Johnson and Nixon. Feiffer retired from cartooning to devote more time to writing children's books. He is adjunct professor at Southampton College, and has taught at Yale and Northwestern.

“Christ died for our sins. Dare we make his martyrdom meaningless by not committing them?”

—Jules Feiffer, quote cited widely on Internet, and by Warren Allen Smith in Who's Who in Hell

Paul Newman January 26 On this date in 1925, actor and philanthropist Paul Newman was born in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, to a Catholic mother and a Jewish father. Newman enlisted in the Naval Air Corps, but his career there was cut short due to color-blindness. He served in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II. Upon his return from the war, Newman enrolled at Kenyon College, Ohio, and received his B.A. in 1949. He worked in summer stock, married Jackie Witte, with whom he had three children, enrolled at the Yale University grad program in acting, then left it for Broadway. His first Broadway success was playing the lead in "Picnic." Newman was admitted to the Actor's Studio, studying "method" acting. His first film, a biblio-epic flop, "The Silver Chalice," came out in 1954. Newman's breakthrough role was portraying Rocky Graziano in "Somebody Up There Likes Me" (1956). He met actress Joanne Woodward while making "The Long, Hot Summer" (1957), and married her in 1958. They had three daughters. Newman was nominated often for "best actor" Oscars for such movie classics as: "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958), "The Hustler" (1961), "Hud" (1963), and "Cool Hand Luke" (1967). He won for "The Color of Money" (1987). Other films include "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting," in which he was paired with Robert Redford. Newman ran "Newman's Own" line of food, donating much of the proceeds to charity. Newman was listed on the website of the Unitarian Universalists, which is creedless, as one of its famous members. According to Who's Who in Hell, edited by Warren Allen Smith, Newman once told TV interviewer Barbara Walters that he didn't believe in an afterlife. D. 2008.

Evolution

The Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata) is a small fox that lives on the Tibetan plain (2500-5200m or 8200-17,000ft elevation). Not much is known about this fox because it lives in such a remote area of the world. This fox mates for life and the couple raise kids together. They are not particularly territorial, but they are almost always found where there are black-lipped pikas (Ochotona curzoniae), the main prey of the Tibetan fox. Scientists are not sure why the Tibetan fox has such a strange silhouette, but some speculate it may help it blend into its environment when stalking the vigilant pika.

Photo courtesy of:

http://www.canids.org/species/Vulpes_ferrilata.htm

Sources:

http://www.canids.org/species/Vulpes_ferrilata.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Tibetan_Sand_Fox

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41258/0

W. Somerset Maugham

January 25

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On this date in 1874, William Somerset Maugham was born in Paris, France. Maugham was orphaned when he was ten years old, and soon moved to live with relatives in England. He underwent medical training at St. Thomas Hospital in London, becoming a doctor in 1897. After publishing his first book, Liza of Lambeth (1897)—inspired by his time in London—Maugham left his medical career to pursue writing. His literary skill and concise writing style helped him become an accomplished novelist, playwright and short story writer. Maugham is most famous for writing the semi-autobiographical novel Of Human Bondage (1917). His other popular works include The Moon and Sixpence (1919), Cakes and Ale (1930), The Razor’s Edge (1944), and the short story “Rain” (1923). He married Syrie Wellcome following her divorce from Henry Wellcome in 1917. The marriage was unhappy and they divorced in 1928. They had one daughter, Mary Elizabeth, born in 1915. Many of Maugham’s significant relationships were with men; Frederick Gerald Haxton, Maugham’s American secretary, was his lover and companion from 1914 until Haxton’s death in 1944.

Maugham was a nonbeliever who saw no need for religion. “I remain an agnostic, and the practical outcome of agnosticism is that you act as though God did not exist,” Maugham wrote in his memoir The Summing Up (1938). In the notebook he kept from 1892–1949, he discussed religion and his lack of religious beliefs more extensively. Maugham wrote: “I’m glad I don’t believe in God. When I look at the misery of the world and its bitterness I think that no belief can be more ignoble” (A Writer’s Notebook, 1949). He continued: “The evidence adduced to prove the truth of one religion is of very much the same sort as that adduced to prove the truth of another. I wonder if that does not make the Christian uneasy to reflect that if he had been in Morocco he would have been a Mahometan, if in Ceylon a Buddhist; and in that case Christianity would have seemed to him as absurd and obviously untrue as those religions seem to the Christian.” D. 1965

“I do not believe in God. I see no need of such idea. It is incredible to me that there should be an after-life. I find the notion of future punishment outrageous and of future reward extravagant. I am convinced that when I die, I shall cease entirely to live; I shall return to the earth I came from.”

—W. Somerset Maugham, A Writer’s Notebook (1949)

Compiled by Sabrina Gaylor and Eleanor Wroblewski - www.ffrf.org