Ok, Now It’s Personal

The intimidatingly brilliant Scicurious has challenged (or been challenged? It’s all so hazy) the Cuttlefish readership, in the Donors Choose competition.

Pity her, but don’t act on that pity. Crush her, or let her readers help her. I know we can win–I know my readers. Remember (as per this post), number of donors is crucial, so even small donations are very welcome (and yes, huge donations will also be tolerated).

The stakes couldn’t be higher: bragging rights, and drinks. And Sci has fired the first shot. “May the best vertebrate win” indeed. Them’s fightin’ words.

A vain and a thoughtless Scicurious
Wrote verse, in attempting to worrious
Her rhyme and her meter
Are working to beat her
And teachers of English are furious

Small Donations Gratefully Accepted

Okay, people. Time to get it in gear. There is some sort of competition going on that I have forgotten about, and the deadline is fast approaching. The competition is not the important thing (which I say because I haven’t the slightest chance of winning); what’s important is the kids.

So here’s the deal. Give what you can. Don’t be worried that you can’t give enough to help. Even small donations of a buck or two can have an impact. This is not just me channeling Cialdini and Schroeder (1976) [they found that asking for even minimal donations—even a penny can help—increased the overall take significantly], this is the actual truth. A story:

A number of years ago, I volunteered in Cuttledaughter’s class, to serialize a book (ok, a play) and read it, over the course of several Fridays, to the class. It was great fun for me, and for them (they got to do sound effects; I got to do lots of voices). The second Friday, some of the students showed up with copies of their own, to follow along. I talked to my local bookstore, and we found a Dover Books edition which the shop owner let me buy at cost, and as of the third week every kid in the classroom had his or her own copy. The thing is, the Dover Editions came to a couple of bucks each (or else I wouldn’t have been able to afford to give them). If your donation of just a buck or two allowed a classroom to buy a single copy of a book of poems, that one book can help the entire classroom. One person, reading aloud from a cheap book of poetry, can move a roomful of kids. (In my case, the number of people listening grew each week, as other people found an excuse to visit the classroom on Friday afternoons.)

So please, if you can, click on the Donors Choose widget and give, even if it is just a buck or two. I assure you, you will still be making a difference. The more of us there are, the bigger the difference.

And do it soon—I honestly have no idea when the competition thingy is ending, but I know it’s soon. (It’s not the month-long competition, but something over just a few days.) Edited to add—the contest ends Thursday the 13th, and it’s for number of donors, not amount of donation. So this time, the little people can kick ass!

Donors Choose

“But look at the good that religions can do;
The hospitals, daycares, the soup kitchens too
They all let the love of the savior shine through
Like the light of the overhead sun”

Your invisible god has a bit of a quirk:
That good—every bit—is from people at work;
And working, not praying (“just clasp hands and shirk”)
Is how you get anything done.

So please join with me, and this atheist squad
(though your money’s still good if you worship a god,
Or an idol, a tree, or a cephalopod—
There’s really no way you can lose).

And click on the widget; follow the link
Root round a bit, and give it a think
And you’ve really helped students, as quick as a wink
By giving to Donors Choose

more, after the jump:
[Read more…]

Our Family Is Growing!

No, not Cuttlefamily–Freethought Blogs family. Seven new blogs start today!

En Tequila Es Verdad
A Voice Of Reason
The Atheist Experience
The Crommunist Manifesto
What Would JT Do?
Rock Beyond Belief
And my dear friend Kylie, the one who got me started with blogging in the first place (on a pseudonymous blog I had before I was Cuttlefish, and then of course as Cuttlefish), with
Token Skeptic

I am looking forward to getting to know all of my new family, and invite you to do the same!

Today is a mad-busy day
So I really have little to say
Go read these new sites
I’ve got time for two bites
Of my breakfast, then off on my way!

Some Thoughts On Mabus

Some thoughts on Mabus.

First. What is public is not much thus far. Stephane Giroux reports via twitter “Bipolar, compounded by alcohol and substance abuse, psy report sez. Hence the rehab while awaiting next court date.” That next scheduled court date is Dec. 2.

That’s pretty much the extent of what is available at present. The “why are you writing about this?” stuff comes after the jump. [Read more…]

Blag Hag

Ok, so for people like me who obsess over meter and verse, some things are weird. Symmetry is one of them.

So go and welcome “Blag Hag” Jen McCreight, who has upset the symmetry of our FTB homepage, and tell her Cuttlefish has a nervous tic that’s all her fault.

Ok, you don’t have to do that last bit. But go, read, comment, enjoy.

I’ll get over the lack of symmetry.

No News On Mabus

Today is the day Dennis Markuze, AKA David Mabus, was scheduled to appear in court after his 30-day psych evaluation. No reports yet in Quebec news outlets; if you know of anything, I would love to hear it. I hope it went well for him, whatever the outcome. Secondarily, I hope we’re not about to be inundated with new rants.

Update, of sorts– His evaluation is not over yet, and so he cannot be indicted at present. Perhaps the best source to follow is @stephaneincourt on twitter.

What, you’re supposed to let people know these things?

So I see that Greta Christina is actually telling people that she is on twitter. What an odd idea, letting people know how they can find you; I’ve always tended more towards hiding from them. But I have tremendous respect for Greta, and am willing to grant that, just maybe, she might be on to something here. And since @digitalcuttlefish is a couple letters too long to be an actual twitter name, you can find me at @cuttlefishpoet, where you will find the real reason the Library of Congress has decided to archive everybody’s tweets for posterity.

Pinel Institute–Mabus’s New Home

The Institut Philippe-Pinel de Montreal really does seem like it might be the place where Dennis Markuze can get the help he needs. Specializing in forensic psychiatry, they are also a research hub; I think he has a better shot here than in most places.

The site is worth looking around–the history of the institution mirrors the broader societal views of mental illness, and does not whitewash the “deplorable” treatment of the earlier years. From early asylum to modern institute, we’ve come a long way in terms of how we treat those we deem abnormal.

It’s an institution, not a hotel, but I’ve seen much worse, and not much better. They even have a cyberpsychology unit–not applicable to DM, I think; rather, it is a virtual reality immersion, for diagnosis and possible treatment of sex offenders. But this is clearly not just a place where individuals are warehoused with minimal custodial care.

Here’s hoping DM’s problems have not been ignored for so long that he’s a lost cause.