From Michael Jackson to Markarian’s Chain of Galaxies

Another week, another tiny blip of time in the greater scheme of things. And another “Through Thick and Thin” post on Doug’s Darkworld. Yes, a tiny blip on a tiny blip, nothing like admiring the universe to feel insignificant. In any event, two bits of blog news. The first a repeat, there is now a [...]

I used to like the History Channel

I’ve been sick the past few days so I’ve been laying around watching the History Channel. And frankly, I’ve been appalled. Like clockwork on any number of documentaries they have confidently stated things that were so wrong and misleading that it made me want to scream. In come cases I got so angry I [...]

Oprah, abuse, stupidity, good guy/bad guy fallacies, psychology, sheep, cave men, and the Stanford Experiment

Maybe I’m just angry at the world lately, who knows, but Oprah’s boarding school scandal really annoyed me. And not for the obvious reasons. And since the whole point of this blog is for people to avoid reading the actual news, I will explain. Oprah is apparently an American TV star of some fame [...]

Music gets on my nerves?

This week tens of thousands of Elvis fans and Elvis impersonators have gathered in stifling Tennessee heat to mark the thirtieth anniversary of his death. So far one waiting fan has died as a result of the heat, yes, thirty years after his death people are still dying for Elvis. Who knew? What is it [...]

300

Spoiler warning! This post assumes you have seen the movie 300.
I saw the film 300 last night. It’s a highly stylized account of the Battle of Thermopylae, where a small Greek army under the command of Sparta’s King Leonidis held off a much larger Persian army for three days, before being betrayed, surrounded, and annihilated. [...]

Earth II discovered just 20 light years away, UN to debate establishing diplomatic relations with aliens

Artists impression of Earth II and Gliese 581. Credit: Reuters
In a “Woohoo” moment for astronomers, scientists, and their fans…the first potentially Earth like planet has been discovered orbiting a nearby star. It orbits the star Gliese 581 which is just over 20 light years from Earth. Granted 20 light years is a little beyond [...]