3 Quarks Daily is a 'filter blog' that compiles stuff from around the web on a daily basis, in science, design, literature, current affairs, art, and anything else they deem inherently fascinating.
They say the name derives from that moment in 1964 when Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig postulated the existence of three new subatomic particles and Gell-Mann decided to name them "quarks", an unusual word meaning "croak" or "caw" which James Joyce had used in Finnegans Wake: "Three quarks for Muster Mark!"
Cut to present day and they are having a contest for best science blogging. All of the nominees are listed here and at #50 (the list is alphabetical) is Ryan Anderson's MSL: Mars Action Hero.
The finaL winner will be decided by Richard Dawkins, but before anyone can get to that stage they have to be voted in by the audience. We're at disadvantage because we didn't know about this until after nominations were closed, whereas more social-media organized sites were wise enough to get audience members to nominate lots of their articles, but someone did it so let's see how it goes.
First prize: $1,000
Second: $300
Third: $200
So let's see if we can get Ryan some money! Vote for him here.
