- It’s snowing on Mars.
- God’s Words: the (unnecessary) rise of the spiritual memoir.
- Bill Maher was on The View to discuss his new film Religulous. Hilarity, of a sort, ensued.
- The NY Times applies science to alternative medicine.
- And, most importantly, happy birthday today to Amanda!
I think I can see Dr. Khalsa’a problem – “conventional” medicine is not “magic,” it is “science”. Simple mistake… could happen to anyone.
Happy birthday, Amanda!
Happy birthday!
Also, Yay! Snow!
Happy birthday, Amanda. Thanks for your contributions to the site; I’m always enjoying them. You add a lot! :)
Another large study enrolled 570 participants to see if acupuncture provided pain relief and improved function for people with osteoarthritis of the knee. In 2004, it reported positive results. Dr. Brian M. Berman, the study’s director and a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland, said the inquiry “establishes that acupuncture is an effective complement to conventional arthritis treatment.â€
Hrm… a study with a decent sample size, conducted by a group that seems to know what they’re doing, found that acupuncture was effective. Did they control for placebo effect? If not… well, then we have a study showing that acupuncture is effective.
Happy birthday, Amanda! :-D Another trip around the sun completed!
@Zoltan: There isn’t enough information about the study to make a judgment – which may well be the whole point behind the press release. “We’ll tell you just enough to make the average person believe it, but not enough to raise any doubts about the validity of what we’re saying.”
“The Snows of Mars” sounds like the title of an Arthur C. Clarke or Isaac Asimov novel.
Hooray, happy birthday Amanda!
Thanks, everyone! I’d share cake with you all if I could. :)
That clip from “The View” is fantastic. I’m looking forward to seeing Religulous, even if Bill Maher is a dickwad.
@QuestionAuthority:
I seem to remember that was an article by Asimov about Mons Olympus.
Oh, and happy birthday, Amanda!
It’s snowing on Mars
Looking forward to seeing the Olympus Mons ski report.
‘It’s Snowing On Mars’ sounds like an excellent indie-rock album, most likely from a band called ‘Olympus Mons Ski Report’.
And happy birthday Amanda!
@QuestionAuthority: I think you’re thinking about the Edgar Rice Burroughs’s John Carter series – Gods of Mars, Princess of Mars, etc. Good pulpy stuff.
we’re not too far off from snow in MN ourselves. i could see my breath this morning when i went outside. funny- now i’m inside at my office and i can still damn near see my breath! seriously doesn’t this place have some heat or something? happy birthday amanda and bill maher that was awesome. i hope the whole world was watching that one
@Amanda – he is a dickwad but at least he is making an effort to stir the pot a little. Another comedian that I alternatively chuckle then cringe at. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :)
@Jen – good articles! I was thinking the same thing about the John Carter series. Michael Moorcock had some stories in a similar vein as well.
Congrats on surviving another solar orbit, Amanda. Can I vote that you keep the cake and raise a toast instead? Drink of your choice.
@LBB: How about a bottle of some sort of Octoberfest ale in one hand and a giant mug of Earl Grey in the other? Then there’s a choice of beverages.
Excellent drink choices. And MARS SNOW!!! TOO COOL!!! ASTRONAUT SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!
Ahem. The inner four year old has been appeased.
I guess the real question becomes, when a bunch of these alternative treatments turn out to be shams, what does the justification from proponents sound like? We should have a writing contest-see who comes closest to the real post-study handwaving.
Good article about Bill maher’s new movie on CNN. See http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/01/film.religulous.ap/index.html
Love this quote:
“If I believe that Jesus is God and you believe Mohammed is God, then no matter how tolerant we are, we are never going to meet,” Charles said. “All you have to do is push that one more step, then somebody’s like, ‘You’re in the way of people believing in Jesus,’ and ‘You’re in the way of people believing in Mohammed,’ and the only answer is to kill you.
“Unfortunately, that sort of thing dominates the religious landscape, not the Mother Teresas of the world. She becomes the aberration. … The altruistic wing of religion has been minimized and this militaristic, warmongering fundamentalism has become the dominant presence.”