Yesterday was my birthday. Today is Darwin’s. The thought of us almost sharing a birthday makes me happy.
I’m too tired to post anything about Darwin right now, but, if you’re interested in such things, there was a really good post about the teaching of evolution over at Cory’s site the other day.
(I didn’t make this image. I found it somewhere. I’m not sure what it really means… Was Darwin the James Dean of his day?)
27 Comments
Mark,
You ridiculed me for not giving credit for a post (though the link was in the header) and here you are pagarising a image with no credit.. Whats good for the goose is good for the gandar.. You have no arguments…
happy 36th birthday Mark
Wow!! Happy Birthday Mark!
I think for Marks birthday everyone should try to stay on the topics at hand on this site for one day (one day late I know). Enough hate spewing and shit throwing already please Brett.
JF
Federal Judge Orders Georgia School District to Remove Evolution Disclaimers
January 13, 2005 ATLANTA-A federal judge today ruled that placing disclaimer stickers warning that evolution is “a theory, not a fact” in public school science textbooks is an unconstitutional government intrusion on religious liberty.
Happy Birthday Mark. Instead of giving you a present this year I’m going to send $20 to the Georgia ACLU.
That’s the best birthday present ever, Steve. It’s even better than the shit-throwing cease fire.
happy birthday, mark.
rather than make the ubiquitous ‘over the hill jokes’, i suppose we should say ‘located at the pre-cambrian strata of the fossil record’, or something like that.
i like the james dean characterization, and imagine darwin recklessly whipping the s.s. beagle around the galapagos islands, ending up as a burning mass of wood, ballast, notebooks, and tortoise shells.
I’m going to try to evolve a little extra today in his honor. :)
While at church this morning celebrating creation I said a prayer for Mark during the lenten season.
By the JF – our kids mention youand your family each night during bedtime prayers (this is not to inflame anyone here -it’s serious). Each time I think that we have to get together for vacation sometime. I think it would be a blast. We could even split the cost and clean up together(hee hee).
Mark — Happy birthday! I’m sorry your old friends are so down on you. It seems to me you have a good job, a happy marriage, a cute baby, lots of friends, and many artistic and entrepreneurial interests. Maybe they’re just jealous.
And happy Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day, and Lincoln’s Birthday, while we’re at it.
Doug,
I am not down on Mark at all. As I said many, many posts ago I am impressed with what he has done on this website and even though our beliefs vary greatly I still respect him for his views. So don’t generalize and put us all in the same bucket. I know it is easier to view everything in groups rather than individuals but try it some time if you can.
JF
Doug – I also didn’t get on mark until he posted his hate filled trolls article. He then made false accusations because many of the posts originated from my work IP address (we only have one as I tried to explain). He thought I was the only one posting(under different aliases) and, although he is wrong about this, has made a big stink about it. And only then did I have to defend myself and in return sunk to his level on some occasions. Mark is the one that got personal. He is also the biggest hit and run bomb thrower here. But as I have said many times for the last several days, let’s get to the issues, stop posting personal information, and debate some of the topics. He is not a victim here.
JF — I noticed some of Mark’s old friends putting him down, so I thought I’d say something cheery on his birthday. If you weren’t one of them, great; I didn’t say you were; I don’t know how many of his old friends were weighing in. You must admit it’s been confusing here; I haven’t read the whole backlog, but I’ve seen several posts under my name that I didn’t write. Anyway, no offense meant, and I hope we all join in wishing Mark a happy birthday.
John 8 (King James Version)
6This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Mike — Oh, I don’t think Mark’s a victim. If he posts a blog, he has to deal with the feedback. I just wanted to say something nice to him on his birthday after all the rough stuff I saw here. I’ll do the same for you, if you like.
What happened to the cease fire? In the words of the infamous Rodney King “Cant we all just get along”
JF
Doug – ou’re the first one to say that he actually has to deal with it. You are a breath of fresh air.
Doug,
Mark and I go way back. We used to be friends back in high school but probably never agreed on anything (then or now apparently). Mike and I have never attacked Mark on this website. At least I dont think we have. I am sure if we have we will see some screen shots shortly if we did. I don’t see anything wrong with a healthy debate on any of the issues he decides to post on this site. But what seems to happen here is that when we respond with an alternate view point the name calling begins. I have tried to keep track but it has gotten too much. So far we have been called balding, fat, beer bellied, neocon, repug, hate spewing, shit throwing, douche bag, evil rich, racist trolls.
Some need to look in the mirror (not you) before becoming righteous and painting us as the evil ones here. I am not saying that I have not lost my cool a couple of times but for the most part we have stayed away from the name calling hate you see here.
Thanks for the breath of fresh air and maybe we can soon get back to discussing the issues we all so feel so strongly about.
JF
Mike & JF — I’m an irregular visitor here; frankly, I have other things to do, and I’m too old to get the blog bug (I just turned 50). I know Mark through his old friends Anne & Jen, who I sometimes play music with, and I wrote some stuff for his zine. I haven’t followed the whole uproar here. I’d agree that name-calling never helps in a political discussion; it doesn’t really hurt anybody (as in breaking bones), but it never helps.
I’m curious, by the way — do you consider “neocon” pejorative? Bush’s conservatism is certainly different from the old-style conservatism of Nixon or Goldwater.
Doug, I didn’t know about the birthday. I hope it was a good one for you. When I get my shit together, I’ll send a gift… And thank you for popping in and saying hello. It’s not as easy today as it usuall is, given all the shit flying around, and I appreciate the courage it took.
Drop by in a few days and survey the damage. Hopefully, there will still be somehting here.
Mark — I’m sure there’s light at the end of the shitstorm. By the way, you’re lucky to share a birthday with Lincoln. I share a birthday with Millard Fillmore, which is less inspiring.
“Chimpanzees can spit more than a pint of water and throw feces with great accuracy. Such behavior is directed at disfavored people and strangers and sometimes is used merely to provoke a responsive person. A trusted human can usually “talk” an animal out of such behavior by a calm, gentle approach, but this is not always successful.”
-The Psychological Well-Being of Nonhuman Primates (1998),Institute for Laboratory Animal Research
I’m coming in late, but I wanted to say Happy Birthday to Mark.
I don’t have time to read all the troll threads, but I do find it amusing that two different offices had multiple people with nothing better to do than post comments here.
I’d also like to wish Mark a belated happy birthday. I should have sent the action figures as a present.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, you are now over 35, there is no looking back. You are my favorite blogger EVER!
BTW, where tf did you go to hs? I hear that it is NJ, which makes sense, but where in Jersey?
by the way, Mark has turned 37. Whoever wished him a happy 36th birthday is one year too late.
he can pass for 36, though.
Happy birthday Mark! I didn’t realize that I am almost a year older than you. I hope you had a good one and many more good ones scattered throughout your remaining years. Heck. Make it all of them.