Pharyngula has been nominated for a Cobb Award. No, actually, that’s not quite right: you, the readers of Pharyngula, have been nominated for an award for Worst Community.
It sounds awful, but don’t panic (they almost instituted a ‘Most Super-extra Worst Professor EVAR-INFINITY’ award, and then I might have been in trouble). Here’s the description of the Worst Community award:
Worst Community is designated to honor left-blogs that for some reason don’t allow comments, but also to single out for distinction blogs that genuinely have a lot of really dumb comments. Another purpose is to better enable bloggers and commenters to annoy and make fun of each other through misuse of the awards process.
That last sentence is the operational one, I think, since I know the first two rationales don’t fit here. And as you might guess from that one link up there, the natural enemy of one liberal professor is another liberal professor: Michael Bérubé and I are in competition.
I do see that Bérubé has already voted for Pharyngula as Worst Community. So it’s on, baby. I want you folks to turn out in force and teach that fellow with the un-American accents in his name a lesson. Vote! I’m not sure whether victory means we win the award, or whether we force the award on him, but I think part of the spectacle is watching everyone bumble about making incoherent comments. So drink heavily, then vote. Or something. If you’re a commenter at both Pharyngula and Bérubé’s joint, then, I don’t know, make up something. There also don’t seem to be any rules about voting, so vote lots.
We’re a community?
Can I run for Fire Chief? I’ve always wanted to drive the big red truck.
-jcr
One write-in vote for ***rocket and Power Line.
No, I’m not here that often, but if it is a community nonetheless, and if JCR is going to be fire chief, then I’d like to nominate myself for out-of-tune minstrel.
If we are in fact a community, who gets to be on the school board?
I don’t care to belong to a community that accepts people like me as members.
All the creationists here get to be on the school board, obviously. That’s the way it always works.
If I volunteer for the post of local accordion player, will that mean universal hostility towards me?
Martin, I play the trombone and the ukulele. If there’s sufficient interest, we could start the Pharyngula Community Band and play weekly concerts in the gazebo in Pharyngula Plaza. (Also, I read somewhere that Benzene is quite the singer.)
Hm. Things seem to have gone suddenly quiet over at Berube’s place, but I definitely heard the creaking of oars and the rattling of muskets.
Those humanities PhDs are devious and rapacious, you know, and brazen about their hatred of science. You should hear the rude song they were singing about Agassiz before…
But, but I’m not a creationist ;) I just want to teach the kids the controversy ;)
All the creationists here get to be on the school board, obviously. That’s the way it always works.
Does that mean we get to sue them?
I can play clarinet or flute in the band, but my attendance will probably be sporadic like my commenting!
Benzene, are you the same Benzene as occassionally appears over at cruel.com?
If so, how did cruel.com not instantly win that “award”?
If you’re a different hexagonal hydrocarbon, apologies. You should probably avoid checking out cruel, it’s only for the chemically imbalanced.
But, but I’m not a creationist ;) I just want to teach the kids the controversy ;)
As a concerned lurker, I am glad to know that someone will finally admit Flying Spaghetti Monsterism deserves a place in this community’s science classes. Or were you talking about some other “controversy”?
bagpipes!
Prof. PZ said,
OK, that’s 18 votes for Michael Bérubé, 6 votes in each category. I’m afraid that if I vote anymore they will accuse me of stuffing the ballot boxes and I would like to keep the voting honest.
No, Execudork, I am not the other Benzene on cruel.com. In fact, I consider this affront to my name-iness to be a great personal affront and shall summarily investigate the matter.
And perhaps minstrel wasn’t the right word. Perhaps troubadour is more accurate: I play cello. So we, all together, would make for a wonderful polka band: cello, accordian, ukelele, clarinet, flute, and trombone. Now we just need a drummer.
Well, I dont visit Berubeville much anymore, so I guess I can help Michael ‘win’. I say we make Carl Buell our game warden (except PZ and handle the marine portion) Chris should be park ranger. Who in their right mind would want to be on a school board. Unfortunately someone has to do it so the wingnuts dont take over by default.
I march to a different drummer ….. will they do?
I say, let’s teach the kids some real controversies. How about: “Can Mr. Incredible kick Superman’s ass?”
-jcr
Superman and Mr. Incredible? No, let’s stick to the real questions: If Mickey Mouse has a dog, what sort of animal is Goofy?
Martin, sorry no *%#@! accordians allowed. This is a respectable blog.
PZ, if we win, will you make us a PDF poster we can print and post on our walls?
I think you’re outnumbered, Bruce. Martin and I are playing our accordions. If you don’t want to listen you can go out behind the garage with the smokers and the bagpipers. In fact, I think I’ll bring all three of my accordions in case anyone else wants to play. Will someone else bring a banjo?
Martin, AB,
Play the accordion, go to jail. It’s the law.
-jcr
Play the accordion, go to jail. It’s the law.
You and me, John. Alpha, I’ll take bagpipes anytime over those, those infernal hybrids! But I’ll bring a banjo, just to show I’m a good sport.
PZ: You may have your squid t-shirt, but have you got your pirrrrate sneakers yet?
http://yatuc.com/1pz
???