Science... sort of

From the ashes of episode 13 rises the phoenix of episode 14. The Theme: Below the Crust. Be sure to check out each of the Paleopal's solstice shopping recommendations under their individual "About" pages at www.sciencesortof.comIntro: 00:00:00 One of the Paleopals is missing but, on the other hand, that means that 75% of them are here. That's a passing grade. It could be a lot worse. Crocs… sort of: 00:02:55 Patrick is his usual crusty self in examining this feast of fossils. Did these fossil crocs rule the world? Are they even crocs? Does duckcroc satisfy Kirk Cameron?Nitrogenous Isopterans: 00:21:35 We interview professor Kena Fox-Dobbs about her work suggesting that when in Africa, the termite is king of the nitrogen hill (or mound). You might think that big organisms would hold the keys to moving nitrogen around the savannah, but you might be wrong. Trailer Trash Talk - Clash of the Titans: 00:43:54 A remake of a 1980's stop-motion classic. Patrick reminisces about the original movie that tells the story of the myth of Perseus. Will the remake be a Greek tragedy?Fish on Europa? 00:53:47 There is almost certainly a vast ocean on Europa (everybody knows t hat). There may be some oxygen dissolved in the water (Ok). There may be 600 million tons of fish on the planet (I'm listening)!?! The question is, would the sushi be any good by the time you got it back to Earth? Call me back when there is life on Uranus.

Episode 13: Science... sort of - Digging Deep Links and more available at sciencesortof.com In which Patrick puns, Ryan runs (his mouth), Charlie contemplates and Justin bothers to show up. 00:00:00 The Paleopals begin with bickering and confusion. Who's there? What's being drunk? (drinked? drankened?) Who wants to get a word in edgewise? 00:05:31 Then they talk to the Acid Queen. She says something interesting, Ryan says something awkward in response. The usual. 00:30:22 Trail Trash Talk steps inside the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus this week. It's a confusing place, and Gilliam's luck sends the show off the rails but can the guys recover and make sense of it enough to buy stock? 00:47:23 After a trip to the Imaginarium the guys'll want a stiff drink, but the one they're talking about requires a bit of effort. 00:59:15 Self-correcting listener feedback from Jameson, just like Science... sort of. Music provided by: Adventures in Solitude - The New Pornographers Acid Queen - Tina Turner Make You Feel Better - The Red Hot Chili Peppers Drunken Lullabies (Acoustic) - Flogging Molly

Welcome to episode 12! This week's theme is Boldly Going. We are seeking out new (fake) life and (potential) new civilizations. 00:00:00 Intro and what-are-you-drinking? Justin has decided to pursue a career doing actual science and thus leaves us stranded for this episode. So, we call upon Charlie again to bail us out. 00:03:57 Ecoterraforming Plot - How do we turn Mars into Earth? Well, driving some Hummers around the Red Planet would be a start. Charlie has a few other ideas but they all sound really hard. Maybe we'll just hurl some nukes at Venus and see what happens. Ryan contemplates the future leggy Martian race, once the planet is livable. 00:21:25 The Morae River - Category: Best Faux Naturalist Art; and the Award goes to… Brynn Metheney. Brynn tells us how she thought up the Morae River and her plans for life after kicking her Velociraptor habit. We learn about her artistic process and then put in a request some future faux naturalist art. Outside of her blog, Brynn has a book on Blurb. Buy it, it's only available for a limited time. 00:34:29 Trailer Trash Talk - The Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Can Disney live up to past high expectations for Swashbuckling? Can Jake Gyllenhaal play a convincing Persian? Why do bad guys always want to destroy the world, isn't that a little short sighted? Has their ever been a good movie made from a video game? We look for answers to these pressing questions and more. 00:44:43 Updates and Listener Feedback: LCROSS update, there is water on the moon, no word yet on green cheese. Why can't NASA go from being sort of awesome to just awesome? Also, we tackle comments from lunatics. The Paleopals wax poetic on science and almost get emotional.

00:00:00 Intro and What are you Drinking: The Paleopals are drinking a wide variety of beverages this week and Africa sneaks back into the show (nearly unnoticed. 00:02:43 Oxytocin. All your relationship problems might be solved with just a little extra oxytocin. Or, you might just turn into a naked mole rat; it's too soon to tell. The hormone might also explain why you can't seem to get along with your siblings during thanksgiving. 00:18:48 Trailer Trash Talk - Avatar. The Paleopals have been holding this one back waiting for the perfect time to pass judgment on James Cameron's remake of Dances with Wolves (in space). Turns out this is the week. Lucky you. We discuss floating minerals and CG romance, then we reach a conclusion. But you'll have to listen to find out if we are long or short on this one. C'mon we even have time stamps now. 00:29:48 Babies Cry with Accents. Patrick records his recent offspring for our listening pleasure. Hard to place the accent but maybe she sounds a little like Zsa Zsa Gabor? We teach you how to tell if you've adopted a French or German baby and also what floor to avoid if you are staying in a Ch inese hotel. 00:41:39 Odd man out - Superman Red Son. Did Superman's spaceship land in the USSR instead of the USA. No, but it be a whole lot cooler if he had. Ryan and Justin leave Patrick out of Superman: Red Son. They teach Patrick what the world would have been like if the Man of Steel had grown up behind the Iron Curtain. Also, the book deals with why Superman and Lex Luthor are destined not to get along (and it has nothing to do with their oxytocin levels)

Welcome to the Decasode! Pulling out all the stops for the Paleopalophiles this week's show notes include… time stamps! @ 00:00:27 – The intro! Has Patrick realized his fitness? Do the guys have a theme? Do they have drinks? All these questions will be answered. @ 00:09:23 – Topic #1: The audio equivalent of Hemmingway's Snows of Kilimanjaro as the guys discus melting tropical glaciers, and the gumption they had daring to exist in the first place. @ 00:25:42 – This week on Trailer Trash Talk the guys take 2012 to task. Patrick again name drops the competition so here's a link their site, cause we're just that nice. The Paleopals even manage to include some Science… sort of (Hey! That's the name of the show!) @ 00:38:36 – Topic #2: The universe shows the LHC a thing or two about how to accelerate a subatomic particle. Justin explains the science, Ryan drops some metaphors with SPORTZ. A science book is mentioned, and a non-science book is lamented. @ 00:51:22 – Ryan feels like he gets hit with a fist full of quarters since he's the Odd Man Out as Patrick and Justin discuss the King of Kong! Music for this week's show provided by: So Hard to Find My Way – Jackie Greene When the World Ends (Live) – Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds We Like Sportz – The Lonely Island Super Mario – Byu Vocal Point

In Episode 8 of Science... sort of, Patrick Ryan and Justin sit back, relax, and eat some science... while drinking their favorite beverages. Patrick discusses a recent meeting on global species diversity, while Ryan and Justin can't decide what a species is in the first place. Then the trio discuss the trailer for the upcoming movie, Sherlock Holmes. Opinions of the trailer are varied, but all agree to buy stock in Rachel McAdams. Next, the Paleopals move on to the topic of parallel universes, and agree that productivity would be greatly increased if the idea were true. Finally, Ryan, Patrick, and Justin briefly discuss 'Starman' by James Robinson before playing Ryan's interview with Robinson recorded directly from the field, that is- in a bar.

In this week's installment of Science… sort of; The mysterious Sr. Nino makes an appearance, he teaches the guys and important lesson about jumping to meteorological conclusions but he also needs your help! Once you've listened to the show you can e-mail him, "seniornino" at "sciencesortof.com" and find out how you can get involved in SCIENCE! Next Patrick's tell us about butterflies having sex with caterpillars, which seems like incest but is really bestiality. The lesson: you're never too old to start a blog for your crackpot theories. Gentleman Broncos is up on the chopping block for this week's Trailer Trash Talk. We learn a secret of Patrick's past, a not so secret about Justin's current, and Ryan hears Kiwis everywhere. Justin is excited about Ardi, a "new" hominid fossil from Africa. The guys disagree with the consensus in a few spots and go through some of the basics of evolutionary theory that confuse creationists and other laymen. Lucy's grandma is full of surprises! Or maybe she's exactly what we expected all along… Jon has written in to find out about of sultry feminine intros. The guys defer to Patrick who has to decide whether or not to reveal another secret. Music this week provided by: The Gitanos - Dejame en Paz Blue October - Into The Ocean Flight of the Conchords - Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros They Might Be Giants - My Brother The Ape

Episode 6 of Science… sort of is probably the most sciencey episode so far. We bring in an extra-terrestrial expert to talk about water on the moon.We contemplate the price of lunar bottled water and where to hide a space elevator from terrorists. Next we discuss NASA's LCROSS mission, which is essentially launching a missile at the moon to see what happens. Ryan reminds us that there may be dinosaurs on the moon just waiting for cyborg paleontologists to discover them.We return to earth to discuss the upcoming Chinese epic, Red Cliff. Patrick has a surprise up his sleeve and Justin and Ryan don't care for it (I think they are just jealous).Are you going to die 3 billion years from now when our galaxy collides with another? Chances are you'll be dead already but at least future humans will get to crown a galactic champion, or will they?

Science... sort of: Episode 5. Do pretty women actually make men loose their minds? Justin, Ryan, and Patrick explore a new study that suggests that this is indeed true. Next the paleopals continue to be lost in space as they discuss the trailer for the upcoming horror scifi flick "Pandorum". Then the Nile crocodile tries to avoid extinction in the Okavango Delta, as the trio analyze opportunities for artificial insemination. Finally, Justin plays the odd-man-out as Ryan and Patrick continue their love-affair with werewolves as they discuss the comic "The Astounding Wolfman".