Los Links 8/19

I've spent the better part of a week traveling, seeing incredible things, and fighting hotel wi-fi. Now Aunty Flow's here, I'm virtually comatose, and the cat wants all the cuddles she missed. That's why your links are late. They still contain some damned awesome stuff, so as long as you're not engaged in a week o' mad travel, check 'em out.

Science

Open Mind: Learning from Bastardi’s Mistakes.

Outside the Interzone: The Imperative of Questions.

Updates from the Paleontology Lab: George Washington, canals, and geology.

Science Daily: Unusual Fault Pattern Surfaces in Earthquake Study.

Tetrapod Zoology: Prediction confirmed: plesiosaurs were viviparous.

Psi-Vid: A few notes about SCIENTISTS for those attending ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’…

Galactic Interactions: In Which I Compare the Slashdot Commentariat to the 17th-Century Catholic Church.

The Upturned Microscope: Lab Tour 2.

Los Angeles Times: Dear Parents: Why vaccines are vital.

Deep-Sea News: Scaring the $#!& Out of Lampreys.

The Economist: Silence is Golden.

APS Observer: The Psychology and Power of False Confessions.

Georneys: Geology Word of the Week: K is for Krakatau.

Anthropology in Practice: Scent of a Woman.

Geotripper: Vagabonding across the 39th Parallel: Mono Lake, the Barren, Worthless Wasteland.

Scientific American: Biologist Spending Way Too Much Time Thinking about Discovery He Made on Jon Stewart’s Body.

Speaking of Research: Project Nim – The Untold Story.

Eruptions: Volcanic or not volcanic: The "steaming hills" of Santa Barbara are not volcanic.

Superbug: How a US Court Case Explains Problems Eradicating Polio.

Science Sushi: In the immortal words of Tom Petty: “I won’t back down”.

Science-Based Medicine: Oh yeah? Thalidomide! Where’s your science now? and Homeopathic Thuggery.

The Loom: Fatal Attraction: Sex, Death, Parasites, and Cats.


Cocktail Party Physics: Crosstown Traffic.

Dinosaur Tracking: Dinosaurs for Experts, or for Everyone?

White Coat Underground: Dear Patient.

The Scicurious Brain: City Living and your Mental Health: Is city living driving you crazy?

Mountain Beltway: Hiking to the Burgess Shale and Swift Dam.

Atheism and Religion

Guardian: Christian teen camps are wicked, innit.

Furious Purpose: On theology.

Friendly Atheist: No, *This* Is How We Get More Black People Involved in the Atheist Movement.

Mother Jones: Horror Stories From Tough-Love Teen Homes.

Writing

Slate: Bloggers, Not Parasites.

A Brain Scientist's Take on Writing: Yes, Reading About Edward Cullen Will Make You Sparkle.

EurekAlert: Women's quest for romance conflicts with scientific pursuits, study finds.

The Intern: too many agents, not enough gin: the truth about multiple offer situations.

The Passive Voice: PG is Hanging Out His Shingle.

Writer Beware Blogs: Taking Famous Names in Vain.

WriteOnCon: I DON’T CARE THAT HE’S HOT: Building Believable Romance.

Patricial C. Wrede: Depth.

Women's Issues

Butterflies and Wheels: This has always been our battles.

(A)Theologies: Does Atheism Have a Misogyny Problem?

Dr. Jen Gunther: Cosmo’s sex position of the day proves they know nothing about good sex or women.

Politics

TPM: Anti-Gay Marriage State Rep. Accused Of Offering Young Male Money 'For A Really Good Time'.

The Digital Cuttlefish: Hinkle, Hinkle…

Center for American Progress: What You Need When You’re Poor.

Mike the Mad Biologist: So Is Standard & Poor's Still Rating Cows?

Firedoglake: The Enlightenment in the US Faces Slow Demise.

Pandagon: The illusion of control.

New York Times: Stop Coddling the Super-Rich.

Stupid Evil Bastard: There’s finally a group that’s hated more than Atheists: The Tea Party.

ThinkProgress: Texas Climate Scientist Katharine Hayhoe Responds To Rick Perry.

Balloon Juice: You Know Who Else Was a Socialist? Andrew Carnegie, That’s Who!

The Daily Beast: A Christian Plot for Domination?

New York Times: The Texas Unmiracle.

Society and Culture

Boston.com: A sober lesson that seems to stick.

Plugged In: Rail-to-Trail Revitalization.

Badass of the Week: Rukhsana Kauser.

KGW.com: $1M Columbia Gorge house replaced with trail.

Colorlines: Arizona Border Fence Causes Flood and Self-Destructs—as Predicted.

ABC: Berlin Wall Turns 50 -- and Some Want to Rebuild It, Barbed Wire and All.

Gobbledygook: Personal names around the world.

Millard Fillmore's Bathtub: History and economics of energy use and conservation – a more accurate version.

io9: Real-world policy experts weigh in on rebuilding a post-Voldemort society and When did magic become elitist?

Gas 2.0: Thorium-Powered Car Could Drive a Million Miles Before Refueling.

Decrepit Old Fool: Nothing to Undo.

Courthouse News Service: School District Blocks Gay-Friendly Websites But Not Gay-Bashing Sites, Groups Claim.

Techdirt: Police Say They Can Detain Photographers If Their Photographs Have 'No Apparent Esthetic Value'.

Gawker: Bridal Shop Refuses to Sell a Lesbian a Wedding Gown.

DrugMonkey: Pseudonymous blogging at Science Blogs is over.