Often enough I've used this space to discuss ideas and opinions I've encountered while reading the wonderful science blog Pharyngula. The founder of the Pharyngula feast, PZ Myers (don't spell it Meyers!), shares with many of his readers a fascination with cephalopods: Squids, octopi, and all things tentacly.
Well, recently an anonymous bard, using the nom-de-pixels "Cuttlefish," has taken to contributing his (or her?) comments in verse. At first it seemed just a novelty, but it's grown to a full-fledged poetry blog, touching on the themes found at Pharyngula and like-minded blogs: Promoting science, attacking anti-science, and always celebrating cephalopods. I'm adding the Digital Cuttlefish to my blogroll, and I encourage you to check it out on a regular basis. For starters, I particularly enjoyed this ditty, while my daughter (an aspiring poet herself) is partial to the double-dactyl at the end of this entry.
Enjoy!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Friday, November 09, 2007
Back Again Again
Well, the elections are over, and between that and some other changes in my personal schedule, I feel both ready to start blogging again and somewhat freer to post my own opinions about Vernon politics without fear of diluting the campaign's message.
The fact that my side lost matters to me, not mainly because of competitive pride or partisanship, but because I genuinely think Democratic government would've been better for the town. Ellen Marmer has accomplished wonderful things here, despite dealing with a majority Republican town council and a determined anti-budget (which is to say, anti-government) advocacy group. At a time in her life when she really didn't have to, Ellen put herself squarely in the path of a whole lot of tsuris, solely because she cared about making Vernon a better place to live.
Community First was Ellen's motto, and it's instructive that new mayor Jason McCoy's first act was reportedly to remove a sign in Town Hall proclaiming that noble sentiment. As a political matter, it would be easy to hope McCoy and his new council would fail miserably, so we could beat them in the next election... but I can't indulge myself in hoping for that, because I believe in Community First, too, and I can't hope for anything that would harm my community.
I'll have more to say about my hopes (and fears) for our town's future in the coming days and weeks; in the meantime, I urge any Vernonites (or Rockvillians) reading this to keep a weather eye on the new administration: If they can keep their "free lunch" promises, so be it... but let's not let them get away with mortgaging the town's future to do so!
The fact that my side lost matters to me, not mainly because of competitive pride or partisanship, but because I genuinely think Democratic government would've been better for the town. Ellen Marmer has accomplished wonderful things here, despite dealing with a majority Republican town council and a determined anti-budget (which is to say, anti-government) advocacy group. At a time in her life when she really didn't have to, Ellen put herself squarely in the path of a whole lot of tsuris, solely because she cared about making Vernon a better place to live.
Community First was Ellen's motto, and it's instructive that new mayor Jason McCoy's first act was reportedly to remove a sign in Town Hall proclaiming that noble sentiment. As a political matter, it would be easy to hope McCoy and his new council would fail miserably, so we could beat them in the next election... but I can't indulge myself in hoping for that, because I believe in Community First, too, and I can't hope for anything that would harm my community.
I'll have more to say about my hopes (and fears) for our town's future in the coming days and weeks; in the meantime, I urge any Vernonites (or Rockvillians) reading this to keep a weather eye on the new administration: If they can keep their "free lunch" promises, so be it... but let's not let them get away with mortgaging the town's future to do so!
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