A new tweet from Richard Dawkins:
There’s just one minor problem with this lovely recommendation; can you spot it? But believe me, I’ll accept it with alacrity.
h/t: abrotherhoodofman for the alert
100% of the world’s most famous atheists recommend this site
November 28, 2012 • 4:39 pm
I agree with Richard Dawkins 🙂
He called your website a “blog”! The nerve…
Oh, that’s just Dawkins’ typical stridency.
So shrill…
Because this is not a blog; it’s a web site!
but…but…if it looks like a cat, and it meows like a cat, it must be a cat.
Ceci n’est pas un bleargh.
b&
Nice, Ben.
Peter Sellers out of Magritte.
ROFL!!
Thees ees nyert er blerg, yew murngkee.
Alors, c’est un chat? (Not a cat, a “tchatte”.)
Desnes Diev
Sub
That tweet is accurate, kind, and lacking a comma.
That tweet is accurate, kind, and missing a comma.
In the UK, many tend to frown on the serial comma.
Yes, it is perfectly correct; the ‘and’ replaces a second comma: it is otiose to have both.
It is otiose to use the word “otiose”.
You prefer supererogatory?
If there was a comma there, it would be for emphasis (in conjunction with the ‘and’)
Otherwise, it is superfluous.
(The comma in the last sentence was optional, and not necessarily optimal).
In the UK, serial commas are convicted, and put on death row.
That’s “deaf” row. You might get a trial, but you sure won’t get a hearing!
I remain a firm believer in the Oxford comma, which is much more logical than believing in a deity.
You are correct. It’s missing a comma. There are some absolutes – get over it. Mrs Saunders said so!
It should say: read it daily, which is what I do.
Only daily?
b&
Oh, and he failed to mention cats.
That too.
And boots!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nni0rTLg5B8
b&
Embedding a video, brother Ben?
My, my… will the rule transgressions on Jerry’s blog never cease?
(Ooops…)
So can we assume that Puss in Boots is a favorite film? Seems to have it all.
Now there’s an idea: establish an alias for WEIT “Puss’n’Boots” and lure in hapless young fundies, thereby exposing them to satanic pro-evolution propaganda.
“Pusses’n’Bootses” perhaps, for a somewhat hobbitoid flavor?
These days, that would have to be the title of a porn flick.
I assume the cowboy boots are what Dr. Dawkins had in mind when he said idiosyncratic. Otherwise, this place seems quite normal.
Most normal, yes. Indeed, I’d say this is the very abbey of normal, if you will.
Cheers,
b&
Clearly, if Jerry wants the acceptance of the “websiteness” of WEIT he needs to make the statemanly concession that this is a blog. There is no other way.
Zing B)
But how does it describe itself? The side panel says “Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog…” And how is a website distinguished from a mere blog?
Whatever, I agree with Prof Dawkins. It has been a revelation to me and I wish I’d discovered it sooner than this summer!
WEIT is an example of cybernetic mimicry, a website that disguises itself as a blog.
With a tip of the hat to the frogfish.
blog /blôg/
Acronym: Biologist Lectures On Gastronomy
Bingo!
Another important tweeter from Richard:
Richard Dawkins @RichardDawkins
Vote Malala, fighter for girls education in Pakistan. Competition is Kim Jong Ugh & Morsi (Muslim Brotherhood ugh) http://ti.me/UAVLuy
The voting so far:
Name Definitely No Way
Mohamed Morsi 253,684 269,520
Kim Jong Un 178,740 70,797
Malala Yousafzai 121,793 32,059
Voting closes at 11:59 PM on December 12th.
Done. At least, %age-wise, Malala’s on top. But who are all these N Koreans with internet access?
Unfortunately, it appears that the vote is being manipulated, here are Un’s totals now:
Kim Jong Un 546,011 80,425
The manipulation isn’t surprising but sad given the seriousness of Malala’s position.
As former sailing people, now living in Costa Rica, WEIT is our navigation, every day. We also follow a nice course “Genetic and Evolution” given by jour colleague prof. Noor.
Willy and Cor.
Well deserved!
Too bad, I really liked this site. I had no idea it was a blog. Good bye.
Hee.
I thought it was a beer and food site, although I didn’t much like the look of those worms in the last post.
Oh come on, get over it. You have a blog 😉
Ceiling Cat knows that’s true. I always figured the whole “this is not a blog” thing was similar to a Usenet Shibboleth.
As for the possible missing comma, I am comfortable with the UK custom of leaving it out except when the sentence is misleading without it.
“I invited the strippers, Hitler and Stalin.”
vs.
I invited the strippers, Hitler, and Stalin.”
Is the usual way to explain it.
In situations where such ambiguity might present itself, it’s best to avoid that type of a formulation in the first place.
“In addition to the strippers, I also invited Hitler and Stalin.”
Cheers,
b&
I cannot imagine any scenario in which that would be credible. 😉
Are they dead strippers?
Stage names?
b*
just because you want your index finger to be identified as a thumb doesn’t mean that everyone else is obliged to address it as such.
This is a born blog who identifies as a website. This is a trans website.
Don’t let cis websites tell you what you are, WEIT.
Anyway, about the mistake, didn’t you say recently that there weren’t any atheism in the book?
Wrong book?
It’s not a sodding blog, Richard!!!11!
If Dawkins calls it a blog, you just have to take it, I guess! But he didn’t mention the food posts and that is unforgivable!
Or boots!
Of course I mentioned the food and the boots. That should be obvious to anyone blessed with discerning sensitivity. What else do you think I could have meant by “idiosyncratic charm”?
Point taken! Charm includes, but is not limited to, food and boots.
Agreed, we’re just having a laugh.
I have a theory about your hangup about calling your blog a blog:-
Blog rhymes with dog, dog spells god backwards, and that’s all just a little too close for comfort.
😉
I just noticed that on the “About the author” page there’s clearly a link to Jerry’s blog (sic!) in the red side column. What’s going on here, has the web site been hacked?
This poor site, so misunderstood in its time. I’m just grateful it’s around. It’s become part of my morning routine now – coffee, stumble out of bed, get attacked by toddler daughter, and check out new posts on WEIT. Perfect way to start the day!
Blog < WEBLOG: Draft entry March 2003
weblog, n. Computing.
. . .
2.2 A frequently updated web site consisting of personal observations, excerpts from other sources, etc., typically run by a single person, and usually with hyperlinks to other sites; an online journal or diary.
1997J. Barger Lively New Webpage in alt.culture.www (Usenet newsgroup) 23 Dec. I decided to start my own webpage logging the best stuff I find as I surf, on a daily basis:‥www.mcs.net/∼jorn/html/weblog.html. This will cover any and everything that interests me, from net culture to politics to literature etc. 1998 Village Voice (N.Y.) 8 Sept. 33/3 Jorn Barger's Robot Wisdom WebLog‥might not be pretty, but it's one of the best collections of news and musings culled from the Web—and updated daily. 2000 Independent 23 Oct. ii. 9/1 A weblog is simply a site where you post your thoughts whenever the muse strikes. 2002 Times (Electronic ed.) 14 Jan. There is a way to be stupendously well informed.‥ Scour the highlights in‥weblogs.
OED
Now do the same for “web site” – let’s be scientific & present all the evidence!
My point was that (according to the OED) while all blogs are websites not all websites are blogs; and as a former library cataloguer I was taught to always prefer the specific to the general.
Anyway –
[Draft entry June 2001]
web site, n. Computing.
Brit. /ˈwɛb sʌɪt/, U.S. /ˈwɛb ˌsaɪt/
Forms: 19– web site, 19– web-site, 19– website [Also with capital initial.]
[‹ web n. + site n.2]
Originally: a computer system that runs a web server (rare). Now: a document or a set of linked documents, usually associated with a particular person, organization, or topic, that is held on such a computer system and can be accessed as part of the World Wide Web.
1993 Computer Shopper (Nexis) Mar. 724 Alas, the web has just begun its development. When we checked, we found that there’s not even a single web site in North America, although there is a very good chance that one will exist by the time this goes to print. 1994 Macworld (Electronic ed.) Sept. 34 Netscape has announced a package of Web-site management and content-development tools titled LiveWire. 1994 .net Dec. 13/4 Pore over fascinating trivia on The Death of Rock ‘n’ Roll, a‥Web site that provides detailed information on rigamortis [sic] rockers who are prematurely pushing up the daisies. 1997 J. Seabrook Deeper vii. 230 About sixty hits deep into the search, at the Web site of Jay Kinney,‥I came across an article called ‘The Return of Baal’. 2000 Sunday Times 23 July i. 15 (advt.) European billers are currently grappling with e-commerce strategies, asking: ‘How do I get my customers to my web site?’
Congratulations. You deserve it Jerry.
And I agree—ceci n’est pas un blog!
Isn’t it 2 problems? Competition and blogs.
But if it is about “blog”:
Early websites have evolved to blogs.
So maybe it comes down to whether convergent evolution is applicable or not.
Or perhaps there is an environmental factor that is prohibitive. (Eg Jerry.)
Could it be both a floor polish and a dessert topping?
People agreeing with what I said, perhaps thinking it is even ‘true’, would have less appeal if they did it for the wrong reason. But I don’t suppose it is Dawkins’ use of the word “charm” to which you object!
I do agree with him of course, and not because he is either charming or militant (the exclusive “or”).
Now now Richard, it isn’t a blog. Its a wordpress account dedicated to providing organized thoughts on the subject of biology and atheism. Don’t you know the difference? Blogs aren’t organized.
Ah no. It’s clear that either is true, and while it wouldn’t be my or your preference, preference is all it is: and of course the author is king.
Jerry, why didn’t you say you had a blog! Do you have a link?
Mike.
Blog, blog, blog, blog,
Blog, blog, blog, blog… (etc., in background)
BLOGGITY-BLOG, Wonderful BLOG…
BLOGGITY-BLOG, Wonderful BLOG…
BLOGGITY-BLOG, Splendiferous BLOG…
BLOGGITY-BLOG, Splendiferous BLOG…
Blog, blog, blog, blog,
Bloggity, blog, blog, blog…
SHUDDUPP! SHUDDUPP! (I don’t like blogs!)
Cats and boots, huh?
I’ve come to suspect that the deeper symbolism behind it is Jerry’s mission to demonstrate how religious apologists are constantly pussyfooting around the real issues.
“Blog” IS an ugly (and abbreviated!) neologism.
If that’s not linguistic bigotry, I don’t know what is.
Or perhaps the right term is to be found with the experts.
But a very infectious meme…
Oops! That was a reply to JBlilie
(damn WP for tricking my fingers…)
Until you change this “Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog …” at the top left, you should stop complaining if people call it a blog.