We’ve had a good run. 102 separate editions, over four years and two months. Edition #103 was supposed to appear yesterday but after reviewing the submissions, or lack thereof, I think it’s time to end Carnival of the Liberals.

I had hoped that changing to the monthly format, and the other changes to the structure and format of the carnival would revitalize CotL, but it wasn’t to be. On average, over 70% of the submissions to each edition now are spam and there’s no denying the apathy, both my own and on the part of carnival participants, toward CotL the last year or so.

I think a lot of it has to do with the changing face of the blogosphere, and social media obsolescing the blog carnival idea. I’ll have more to say on this topic in future days, but the capsule summary is that I think that the two main functions of blog carnivals, high quality, relevant curated content and building blogger communities, are done better and faster by the likes of Facebook, Twitter, et. al. Even I have got to admit that I very rarely read blog carnivals anymore.

I’m sad that Carnival of the Liberals is ending, but you’ve got to know that organizing CotL all these years was bloody fantastic, and so were all of you. I can’t begin to tell you how many friends I’ve made, or how proud I feel that Carnival of the Liberals, and I, have been some small part of your lives these last few years.

Oh, and if anyone out there wants to take Carnival of the Liberals on, just let me know. I’ll happily transfer the domain into your name and even help you get a new website running. Otherwise, I’ll leave the existing CotL site up until the domain name expires.

So, for the last time…

Liberally yours,
Leo Lincourt

I don’t know how else to tell you all who love this blog. I am Jon Swift’s Mom and I guess I’m going to OUT him. He was Al Weisel, my beloved son. Al was on his way to his father’s funeral in VA when he suffered 2 aortic aneurysms, a leaky aortic valve and an aortic artery dissection from his heart to his pelvis. He had 3 major surgeries within 24 hours and sometime during those surgeries also suffered a severe stroke. We, his 2 sisters, his brother, his partner and his best friend since he was 9 years old were with him as he took his last breath. We have all lost a shining start who warmed our hearts, tormented us and made us laugh as he giggled at our pulling something over on us. He passed away on February 27, 2010. My beloved child will live on in so many hearts. I miss him more than I can say. If you are on Facebook, go to organizations and join “Friends of Al Weisel, Unite!” It will give you just a taste of how special he was. Farewell, Jon (Al). 3/02/2010 8:14 AM

I only knew Al through his involvement with Carnival of the Liberals, but I delighted in each and every post he submitted and I became a regular reader of his blog. Al was doing the faux-conservative thing long before Stephen Colbert and, in my mind anyway, he was much smarter, much funnier. His death is shocking in its suddenness.

I was sad when Al’s blogging output sputtered out at Jon Swift but I well understand the way life can get in the way of writing, especially when our blogs tend not to make us money. It’s terrible though to know that I’ll never have another opportunity to delight in Al’s wry wit. Al’s passing only underscores the fragility of all our lives and the need for real community among bloggers. After all, we’ve only got each other and, in the end, not even that.

Nobody is saying that kids aren’t sexually solicited online, or that there aren’t pedophiles out there preying on our children. However, when advocacy groups like the NCMEC inflate and misrepresent statistics it doesn’t do anyone any good. The odds of your child being sexually assaulted by someone they met online are very slim indeed, and fear mongering won’t protect them from the tiny minority that wants to hurt them. Teaching them common sense methods to protect their privacy and to respect themselves is going to go a long ways further than scaring them with exaggerated threats or severely curtailing their internet usage.

Beyond that you’ve just got to trust your kids. They’re pretty smart already and pretty hard to lead astray.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Majel Barrett Roddenbery was there from the beginning right through to the most current incarnation of Star Trek. She played the role of the unnamed ship’s first officer Number One in the Star Trek pilot, later playing the role of Nurse Christine Chapel in the original series, followed by voicing several characters in The Animated Series and the irrepresible Betazoid Ambassador Lwaxana Troi in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. She also provided the voice of the ship’s computer on every version of Star Trek right through and including the J.J. Abrams’ prequel debuting in 2009. However, it was her role as Star Trek creator Gene Roddenbery’s beloved wife that she earned the title “First Lady of Star Trek”.

It might be easy to look upon Majel Barrett Roddenberry and her role in Star Trek, indeed the whole Star Trek franchise, with a jaundiced eye. And while dreams are never quite what we remember of them, the fact remains that Majel Barrett Roddenberry was an essential element in keeping alive the utopian vision of Gene Roddenberry, along with all the cast and crew from that original series. And they helped spur the imaginations and ambitions of countless children and adults who wanted nothing more than to make that dream a reality.

The success of those ambitions should not be measured by the fact that dream has yet to be instantiated but by how far we have come. And I’m not just talking about the technology of Star Trek, although who could have imagined in 1966 how far humankind would advance on that front, but also Roddenberry’s vision of a truly inclusive society in which everyone, regardless of their differences, whatever they may be, could participate fully. It might seem maudlin, and disrespectful of all those who fought for civil rights in the streets, but I can’t imagine that seeing a multicultural crew “boldy going where no one has gone before” couldn’t have shaped young minds and allowed them to see that as the norm versus the hate and bigotry all around them. I know it helped shape me.

So that’s why I’m sad to see Majel Barrett Roddenberry pass from this Earth. I’m sure she was as human as the rest of us, with as many faults and foibles, but she helped create a marvelous dream of the world as it could be. And while she might die, that dream will live on.

The official family statement from Roddenberry.com:

FOR IMMEDATE RELEASE	Media contacts: Sean Rossall / Alfred Hopton 310-550-7776 srossall@bwr-la.com / ahopton@bwr-la.com
“FIRST LADY OF STAR TREK” MAJEL BARRETT RODDENBERRY PASSES AWAY AT THE AGE OF 76
LOS ANGELES, CA (December 18, 2008) – Actress Majel Barrett Roddenberry, beloved star of sci-fi phenomenon Star Trek passed away early this morning surrounded by family and friends. Roddenberry was 76 years old. She began her acting career in the 1950’s with roles in such popular shows as “Leave it to Beaver,” “Bonanza” and “The Lucy Show; but it was her numerous roles in the legendary Star Trek franchise that fans came to know and love her. Roddenberry had featured roles in almost every Star Trek television and film entity and became an iconic figure within the fan community. Her roles included Nurse Chapel in Star Trek: The Original Series, Lwaxana Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the voice of the USS Enterprise computer in almost every incarnation of the series. However, it was the love affair between her and the late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry that earned her the title “The First Lady of Star Trek.” Over the course of their more then quarter-century love affair, she became not only Gene’s partner, but also his creative muse. Roddenberry helped Gene expand the Star Trek universe and was an integral part of its continued legacy after his death.  Majel recently completed reprising her role as the voice of the USS Enterprise for J.J. Abrams’ new Star Trek film. Roddenberry succumbed to a short battle with Leukemia at 12:27 AM on December 18 in her Bel-Air home. She passed away peacefully, surrounded by her son Rod Roddenberry and family friends. She is survived by her only son Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry Jr. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her name to the CARE Organization or Precious Paws both of which share Roddenberry’s love for animals and dedication to animal rescue. Precious Paws 18034 Ventura Blvd., #430 Encino, CA 91316 www.preciouspaws.org (818) 304-5595 C.A.R.E. P.O. Box 56631 Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 www.care4pets.org (818) 685-9980 Funeral details are pending and a public memorial will be scheduled sometime after Christmas or in early 2009. Click here for the Majel Barrett Roddenberry Dedication Page Click here to share your memories and feelings in the Posting Forum dedicated to the loving memory of Majel Barrett Roddenberry: The First Lady of Star Trek.

In this episode of FreeThought Fort Wayne’s The Enlightenment Show I talk with infectious disease specialist Dr. Pamela Kelly about some of the more common myths surrounding the flu vaccine, touching briefly on the conspiracy theories. Oh, and just to put my money where my mouth is, so to speak, Dr. Kelly gives me a flu vaccination on camera. My segment is first up, right after Andy Welfle’s great introduction and the theme music, about a minute and half into the show. Stick around for the rest of the show though, as Andy Welfle and Chad Butterbaugh discuss David Hume and the problem of miracles, the group has a roundtable discussion, Andy Diekroger talks about the harm caused when people don’t vaccinate their children. Finally Mark Allen and Jake Doelling examine a new craze among Fundamentalist Christians — the belief that Barack Obama is the anti-Christ.

I’ve got to say, despite the usual flubs from me, this was the best episode of The Enlightenment Show yet. The new opening music rocks and Andy W’s Cobert-inspired intro absolutely rocked, while Andy D’s video production skills keep getting better and better as evidenced by the crisp editing on this one, as well as the unique presentation of Mark and Jake’s segment. I’ve also got to thank Dr. Pamela Kelly. She was a great guest and hopefully we can have her back on the show really soon.

We wanted to go beyond simple color customization, so out of the 30 odd themes we’re launching today, there’s a shiny theme with chrome styling, another one that turns your inbox into a retro notepad, nature themes that change scenery over time, weather driven themes that can rain on your mailbox, and fun characters to keep you in good company. There’s even an old school ascii theme (Terminal) which was the result of a bet between two engineers — it’s not exactly practical, but it’s great for testing out your geek cred.

Some of these themes are really nice. I happened to settle on the Planets theme which changes according to the time of day at your locale, although I’m going to have to check that Terminal theme out. On the other hand, some of these aren’t much better than many amateur designed blog themes. Still, this is a major improvement to GMail that has been a long time coming and I couldn’t be happier.

The themes started rolling out to users today and you can manage your themes by going to the Themes tab under Settings. If you don’t see it there yet, don’t panic. The GMail team plans to push the new feature out to users over the next couple of days. Enlarge the image to the right to get a sampling of the new themes.

Edited to add: There does seem to be a minor bug, at least for me. GMail no longer seems to respect the “Maximum page size setting on the General tab.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It is interesting to contemplate a tangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent upon each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us. These laws, taken in the largest sense, being Growth with Reproduction; Inheritance which is almost implied by reproduction; Variability from the indirect and direct action of the conditions of life and from use and disuse: a Ratio of Increase so high as to lead to a Struggle for Life, and as a consequence to Natural Selection, entailing Divergence of Character and the Extinction of less-improved forms.

It’s fitting that this edition should itself present such a tangled bank of blog posts intertwining many different fields of science and medicine. Unfortunately, that means it becomes almost impossible to find a common theme or even group together the posts in any meaningful way. So I’m going to take the easy way out and simply list them in no particular order, although we’ll try to group related posts together.

My suggestion to the reader is to wander through the blog posts, taking your time, and stopping here and there to smell a beautiful flower here and there or observe a particularly fascinating animal or insect along the bank. After a while, after taking in everything there is to see, maybe sit down and rest for a while by reading two or three, or even all of the fine blog posts contained herein. There’s no hurry. You’ve got two whole weeks until the next edition after all.

Starting things off, Grrlscientist at Living the Scientific Life presents us with two posts: Endangered Cockatoo Species Rediscovered in Indonesia and Research Suggests Bipolar Children Likely to become Bipolar Adults

And Grrlscientist wasn’t the only one thinking about birds this biweek. _PaddyK_ gives us a Myth of the day (part 1) (a myth about birds) and 10,000 Birds tells us about Forpus passerinus and the Ornithologists of Masaguaral

I wonder if birds would like these Superworms! that Great Auk – or Greatest Auk? writes about?

Maybe not, but the Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog tells us about some tomatoes that mice should find delicious in Purple tomatoes for longer life — if you’re a mouse.

Busting another myth is Stochastic Scribbles with Sound In Space.

Being the last Tangled Bank before election day and the current moronic fundie is ousted from his roost (or “doomsday” as one right-wing fundamentalist Christian I know of called it), there were naturally a few politically oriented posts. Capitol Annex informs us of Texas scientists who are organizing to fight the watering down of science instruction with Texas Scientists Denounce State Board of Educations Attempts To Water Down Evolution Instruction while Highlight Health lets us know where the candidates stand with 2008 Presidential Candidates on the Issues of Biomedical Research and Healthcare. And Submitted to a Candid World gives us Summary Judgment: McCain’s Legal Errors at the Debate, and Why They Matter (Part 1: Abortion & “Health”).

And speaking of politics, here’s two posts about Palin and fruit flies. Eclectic Echoes gives us Palin, Fruit Flies and Autism while En Tequila Es Verdad brings forth Flies like us.

Where would Tangled Bank be without blog posts about evolution? Several were submitted this time. Starting the evolution themed posts off, the evolving mind has Family Resemblance and Grrlscientist tells us what the ‘Fishapod’ Fossil Provides More Clues for the Evolution of Terrestriality and Pleiotropy shows us that Development shapes evolution in silico. The Behe Fails Weblog presents Evolution of Adaptive Immunity IV–”Lawful”* accidents of heredity visible in adaptive immunity while For The Sake Of Science puts to rest an old Creationist trope with Why Natural Selection is Not Random. And last but not least, Greg Laden turns our attention to another kind of evolution in Cultural Evolution from Mosquitos to Worm Grunting.

Next up we have a handful of neuroscience and psychology posts. Sharp Brains brings us an interview with Michael Posner in Training Attention and Emotional Self-Regulation and Ouroboros tells us how our thoughts can affect our health with An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but beware of intrusive thoughts. It’s Alive is using his brain to ponder Sex, what is it good for? and rounding out the brainy part of this edition of Tangled Bank, we have a pair of posts from Neurotopia: Remember the Old Days? and It’s not the size that counts, it’s how you use it!.

And leaving behind the microcosm we’ll shift our focus to world beneath our feet with Balancing Life’s post Life in the center of the earth (almost) and  En Tequilla Ed Verdad’s second appearance in TB #117, Two Billion Years of History.

Rounding out this edition of Tangled Bank, Kelosophy muses mathematically about a question that I think is answered daily by right wing bloggers everywhere in There’s a monkey sitting at a typewriter.

That’s it for this biweek’s edition of Tangled Bank! I hope you enjoyed perusing these wonderful specimens of the science blogging world as much as I did while putting together this edition of what is probably one of the ten best blog carnivals on the web. Keep an eye on Pharygula to find where next you might come across the Tangled Bank. Oh, and if you’ll permit me a little self-promotion for the little blog carnival that I run… Should you find yourself on the left side of the political aisle, or you’re just curious what all those vituperative, foul-mouthed bloggers of the left are saying after the election, then check out the next edition of Carnival of the Liberals on Friday, November 7th at The Lay Scientist.