In the News...

Compiled by James Capo

A Wolphin? This Is No Fishy Story
Back in April, officials at Sea Life Park in Hawaii announced the birth of a brand-new baby wolphin (APNews, April 23, 2005). A what? A wolphin—a cross between a whale and a dolphin. The playful female calf is one-fourth false killer whale and three-fourths Atlantic bottlenose dolphin.

Her father is an Atlantic bottlenose named Mikioi who, despite his brief romantic encounter, "seems to be totally oblivious to this happening," according to the park's general manager, Dr. Renato Lenzi. Mikioi shares a tank at the park with the mother, a wolphin named Kekaimalu.

Usually, hybrid animals are sterile and cannot produce young. A mule, for example, which is a cross between a horse and a donkey, is typically sterile but on rare occasions one will turn out fertile.

Actually, according to the online Wikipedia, "the False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens) is . . . one of the larger members of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae)."

These rare dolphins are the only known wolphins in captivity. Kekaimalu has had two previous offspring; one lived only a few days, the other lived nine years and never reproduced (Kekaimalu is 19 years old). So while some see evidence for evolutionary development in this unusual pairing, others see proof of the strict genetic checks and balances God ordained at creation.

For more information on the evolution versus creation debate, write for our free booklet, Creation or Evolution: Does It Really Matter What You Believe?

Quiet Parties, Dark Parties: Is This the Way to Date?
From New York to Beijing, "quiet parties" are gaining popularity. No loud music, no yelling, no cell phones and . . . no talking! Pencil and paper are provided in the "quiet room"—usually an upscale bar or club where you would normally have to shout to be heard above the din—and singles mingle by jotting down notes and passing them back and forth.

"It gives people time to reflect on what you're saying," says Paul Rebhan, who started the idea of quiet parties back in November 2003. So what are they saying? He can't speak for all, but Rebhan says he's heard of guys getting good results passing notes like, "Hey, you're really cute. Want to go talk somewhere?"

Others trying to get past the "beauty-is-skin-deep" dilemma are trying another dating fad: Dinner-in-the-Dark parties. For $100 one can feast on a five-course tasting menu and make small talk with other singles in complete darkness, while being served by waiters wearing night-vision goggles.

"You really have to discover each other through conversation," says Jerome Chasques, who came up with the idea. The lights come on during dessert. Hopefully you discover your previously unseen tablemate is still interesting in the light (Source: Comcast News, June 9, 2005).

Without moral guidelines, many people are left to dating choices and strategies that look more like not-so-real "reality shows" than the happy true reality God wants for each of us. For some really good advice about dating, be sure to keep reading Vertical Thought and go online to verticalthought.org for our archives on dating, marriage and family.

President Calls for Teaching of Intelligent Design
American President George W. Bush raised the stakes in the debate over teaching evolution in schools in August when he said that children should be taught about "intelligent design," the idea that an unseen power or intelligence has guided the origin and development of life.

Asked by a reporter whether intelligent design should be taught in schools, he responded, "Both sides ought to be properly taught . . . so people can understand what the debate is about." He continued: "Part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought . . . You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, and the answer is yes."

His remarks heartened many parents, educators and religious leaders who have repeatedly asked legislatures and school boards to point out the many problems with Darwinian evolution and the extreme improbability that the complexity of life and the universe around us came about by blind chance.

John West of the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, a think tank supporting intelligent design, welcomed the president's remarks. "President Bush is to be commended for defending free speech on evolution, and supporting the right of students to hear about different scientific views about evolution," he said.

President Bush's statements brought harsh criticism from evolutionists, liberal politicians and other opponents of intelligent design, who argue it is without scientific support and should remain out of the classroom.

However, a recent poll showed that only 38 percent of medi-cal doctors surveyed believed that "humans evolved naturally with no supernatural involvement" and 65 percent thought intelligent design should be allowed or required to be taught in schools alongside the teaching of evolution.

Further, a July nationwide Harris poll found that almost two thirds (64 percent) of U.S. adults believe that "human beings were created directly by God" and 55 percent believe that creation, intelligent design and evolution should all be taught in public schools. Only 12 percent agree that the most widespread current practice, that of teaching only evolution in public schools, is appropriate.

For additional information regarding evolution, read our free booklet Creation or Evolution: Does It Really Matter What You Believe? and the "God, Science and the Bible" column in our sister publication, The Good News (www.gnmagazine.org).

Is Modesty the Latest Fashion Trend?
The young American fashion scene is changing: Less skin is in, while low-rise jeans and tiny tight tops are out. So says—of all the surprising publications!—Teen Vogue magazine. Its parent publication, Vogue, has long been a showcase for the slinkier, sexier look. But now, Teen Vogue's fashion market director Gloria Baume says the hot styles for American teens will be more "ladylike and almost old-fashioned," inspired by styles from the 1950s.

And Tara McBratney, fashion editor at CosmoGIRL! magazine, agrees. But she says the trend toward modesty in fashion has little to do with pressure from conservative elements in society. "Fashion is a cycle," McBratney says. "We got to the point where the jeans were as low as they could go, shirts were as cropped as they could go, baby tees were as tight as they could go, so the natural progression is for fashion to go the other way."

Not everyone agrees. Some see a trend toward more conservative values, including modesty. Michelle Ross, 15, said modest clothing is becoming "less unpopular. You can still be cool even if you're not wearing the same type of clothing as everyone else. Personality is what matters" (Source: Reuters, June 8, 2005).

Thanks, Michelle, for nicely paraphrasing what God says in 1 Timothy 2:9-10.