…and this is a 
You're all good, upstanding, moral atheists who like children (and not just on the barbecue!), so you'd all be happy to donate to Barnardo's, a children's charity even without any incentive. Incentives are nice, though, so we're going to give you one: it's a competition.
You see, Big Dave (bearded) and Simon (hideously naked-faced) are asking people to donate to Barnardo's, and for a £2 minimum donation, you also get to weigh in on the Great Beard Question: do they suck, or are they a majestic addition to manly beauty?
They are collecting the beard/no beard votes, and on 5 July they'll be tallied up. If their total goal of £1500 in donations is reached, and if it is mainly esthetically-compromised philistines who vote no on beards, then Big Dave will shave his beard off — a great loss and tragedy, but a sacrifice willingly made to benefit the children. If the goal is reached and a majority of wise and appreciative fans of the noble beard vote, then the frighteningly bare cheeks and chin of Simon will be graced with a new growth of dignity.
I know you'll all do the right thing and get over there and vote for beards and donate. But you know, just to be sure, I have generously offered to also put my beard on the line. This is a huge sacrifice, but I figured it would help sway the pro-beard vote, since no one could possibly vote to chop off my lovely facial hair. Right? Right? Please tell me I'm right.
If I'm wrong, and the voting is dominated by boorish, effete barbarians with no taste, then I will have to face public humiliation and will take a razor to my pride. With photos. Posted here. I will look ridiculous, because in addition to the intrinsic grandeur of the beard, a beard is also a good way to hide a funny-looking face.
So go forth and save the beard. I'm counting on you.
Comments
Posted by: Gus Snarp
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June 23, 2010 8:41 AM
I know it's for a good cause, but paying to vote? That's a little weird. I wonder how that will affect pharyngulation. I also wonder if the hordes will be as single minded on this issue as on evolution.
For the record, I think a beard is a personal choice. I for one have a chin that does my facial geometry no favors, a beard is a necessity. A friend of mine once shave his due to an accident while trimming it, and no one recognized him. He too had a facial geometry that, even more than mine, required a beard.
And I always thought "barbarian" meant bearded, but I just checked Wikipedia before making a fool out of myself here and it seems that may be an old wives tale.
Posted by: PZ Myers
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June 23, 2010 8:44 AM
The £2 donation will weed out the dilettantes and casual natterers, so only those who are truly serious about the merits of beardedness will vote.
Posted by: broboxley OT
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June 23, 2010 8:44 AM
in my yout I had a glorious beard mostly red in color much admired by ladies. Forget now why I shaved it (prolly job related) to a mustache then removed that about 20 years ago. Tried to regrow my beard last year, after 10 days quickly shaved off the pure white soft santa claus inducing mess. Long and short, you shave, you gonna look younger until the TWtm forgets what you looked like in a beard and gets used to the current phizzog
Posted by: A. Nuran
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June 23, 2010 8:46 AM
The beard is extremely important. It is nearly impossible to reach the heights of epic curmudgeonry without one. The greats like Mencken write their own rules. Always have. And sometimes a mustache with its own zip code can take up the slack. Think of Mark Twain. But the shredded wheat adds something essential and ineffable.
Posted by: okb
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June 23, 2010 8:50 AM
My five quid says you shave! :)
Oh and helps children too...
Posted by: https://www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawlig9rbZBOPCPsYlrVwRovSOMFfDFlVy9E
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June 23, 2010 8:50 AM
I'm neutral on the issue, but I'm going to vote against the fur purely out of curiosity to see what your chin looks like, Prof Myers.
Posted by: PZ Myers
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June 23, 2010 8:50 AM
It's the source of my strength!
Posted by: Naon Tiotami
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June 23, 2010 8:53 AM
I vote beard. We don't want PZ to be hideously crippled now, do we? DO WE?
You monsters.
Posted by: PZ Myers
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June 23, 2010 8:54 AM
My chin looks hideous. It'll give the ickle childrun nightmares. If you truly love innocent little kids, you'll vote to spare them that horror.
Posted by: Silič O'Nopolitanopoulos, Färschdbischuf Beesknees aus Ulm und Klein Elguth, Elector Pharynguline.
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June 23, 2010 8:55 AM
I remember a cartoon character doing much what I'm doing now: running back and forth unable to make a decision.
What's Mary's opinion in this matter?
Posted by: bigdavesb
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June 23, 2010 8:57 AM
A massive thank you to PZ Myers for not only blogging this, but also putting his beard on the line.
Whatever happens Barnardo's will win, and your vote will help them do this:
Whatever the issue from drug misuse to disability; youth crime to mental health; sexual abuse to domestic violence; poverty to homelessness; Barnardo’s believes we can bring out the best in every child.
A. Nuran - i whole heartedly agree : )
Posted by: Silič O'Nopolitanopoulos, Färschdbischuf Beesknees aus Ulm und Klein Elguth, Elector Pharynguline.
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June 23, 2010 8:58 AM
Gah!
Justgiving refuses to work with me. I got the same errormessage earlier when trying to 'pay' for Chatterjee's book.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp
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June 23, 2010 8:58 AM
Without the handlebars how on earth would I convey just how grumpy I am without speaking?
Posted by: Mattir-ritated
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June 23, 2010 8:59 AM
Thank FSM Mr. M hasn't heard of this - he's been bearded since before I met him, 28 years ago. I'm not sure I'd even want to see what his dehaired chin would look like. I'm going to vote for the beards, solely on the grounds of figuring that guys who have been so assiduously concealing their faces for years probably have good reasons to do so. After all, they do know what the face looks like without the hair.
Posted by: Endor
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June 23, 2010 8:59 AM
Beards, def. I have always had a thing for bald (or balding) men with goatees. And if they rock a Kangol too, I'm lost.
So lost I married one.
vote yes for beards!
Posted by: simon.painter
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June 23, 2010 8:59 AM
In the interest of fairness here is the case for and against the beard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGdRaCwS44A
Posted by: PZ Myers
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June 23, 2010 9:03 AM
IGNORE SIMON PAINTER. He's a trollish sort who is very funny looking without a beard.
Posted by: Gus Snarp
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June 23, 2010 9:06 AM
I for one don't want PZ to shave. There are people whose chins you should not see, trust me. PZ may well be one of them.
I read somewhere that beards were considered a symbol of socialists/Marxists/communists/anarchists and that this is why they fell out of fashion, only radicals and academics kept them, while suddenly no one with facial hair could be president (seriously, look at pictures of the presidents, there's a clear beard line (Benjamin Harrison was the last, 1893 - the rise of the specter of anarchism) followed shortly by a mustache line (Taft was the last, 1913). Beards are much more popular now, even if mustaches are rightly condemned to the shelves of 70s porn and Village People albums, but still no president has had facial hair in nearly a century. It is high time for a beard in the White House!
Posted by: bigdavesb
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June 23, 2010 9:09 AM
Imagine that - an atheist, bearded US president!
Simon Painter is indeed a trollish sort.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp
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June 23, 2010 9:12 AM
Yeah, when I went from goatee to Handlebar stash with the Zappaesque patch I exposed my chin for the first time in about 10 years. It was fine except when I exposed one chin I also exposed the second smaller one that had been growing over that decade.
Posted by: Kevin Anthoney
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June 23, 2010 9:30 AM
I bet I know which way your cat is going to vote!
Posted by: https://me.yahoo.com/hairychris444#96384
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June 23, 2010 9:31 AM
I was adopted through Barnados. Good people. Give them money. NOW!
A beard covers my somewhat lop-sided chin, although it's rather short right now. It gets clippered when it starts getting out of control...
Posted by: https://me.yahoo.com/a/cemAX6cih9TgU2BOcZGfj1yv.Ps-#8fef5
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June 23, 2010 9:32 AM
When my friend Bruce got married, his bride, Colleen, had never seen him without his beard. Bruce shaved for the ceremony. When Colleen saw his weak chin, she leaned over and whispered. "Grow it back."
--Slaughter
Posted by: First Approximation, L'esprit de l'escalier
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June 23, 2010 9:35 AM
Beards FTW!
Posted by: https://me.yahoo.com/a/cemAX6cih9TgU2BOcZGfj1yv.Ps-#8fef5
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June 23, 2010 9:36 AM
When my friend Bruce got married, his bride, Colleen, had never seen him without his beard. Bruce shaved for the ceremony. When Colleen saw his weak chin, she leaned over and whispered. "Grow it back."
--Slaughter
Posted by: Ring Tailed Lemurian
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June 23, 2010 9:39 AM
yahooetc #23
When I got married I shaved (and had my 18" hair cut short) and the wife had never seen me wthout a beard. Once she'd recognised me (after almost 10 minutes) she said "I liked the hair, but promise me you'll never grow another beard".
Posted by: bybelknap
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June 23, 2010 9:40 AM
Crap, I donated 5 pounds but forgot to vote for beards. Beards! Everyone should have one.
As George Carlin said, "See my beard? Ain't it weird? Don't be sceered. It's just a beard."
Posted by: MadcapHal
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June 23, 2010 9:45 AM
You've dug your own grave there, PZ. Posted online? With pictures? Who's not voting for that? I have a beard and I'm voting for you to shave yours because I also have a sense of humour and I like you. Those that read your blog and don't have a sense of humour will, I assume, all vote for the shave as well because they don't like you.
Get that razor honed, Myers...
Posted by: PS9
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June 23, 2010 9:47 AM
Nope. Enjoy the summer without a fungus face for once. Dogs shed hair when summer comes, so I've never understood men who don't either - especially you, PZM, living in Minnesota. I would look for any opportunity to go without if I lived somewhere cold.
I used to have winter beards when I live in northern British Columbia (-40C in January), but not here in Taiwan where I teach; heck, I don't wear any hair now, period. And when I lived in South Korea, it wasn't the cold that made me wear a beard, it was self-defense: US soldiers can't and don't wear facial hair, so wearing a goatee made the occasional belligerent Korean a little less confrontational. Otherwise, I wouldn't have worn one there.
Posted by: simon.painter
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June 23, 2010 9:48 AM
A trollish sort? I am not the one with the trollish beard!
VOTE NO TO BEARDS!
Posted by: bbgunn071679
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June 23, 2010 9:50 AM
bybelknap @#27
Also George Carlin (and perhaps a loophole for Dr. Myers): "Lenin had a beard. Marx had a beard. Gabby Hayes had WHISKERS." Dr. Myers. I hope you get to keep your whiskers.
Posted by: Epinephrine
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June 23, 2010 9:55 AM
Sorry, PZ, I've never seen my father's chin, so I had to vote "no beard". Think of the children! Won't somebody please think of the children!
Posted by: Cosmic Teapot
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June 23, 2010 9:59 AM
About your beard being a good way to hide a funny looking face ...
Posted by: PZ Myers
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June 23, 2010 10:02 AM
Yes, I know, it's not very effective. But every bit of camouflage helps!
Posted by: Perspexo
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June 23, 2010 10:06 AM
We need a third category, I personally would like to vote for full-on 19th century scientist beards. They're due a comeback.
Posted by: legistech
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June 23, 2010 10:20 AM
I am horribly crippled with a deficiency in the ability to grow reasonable-looking facial hair. Any time I've tried, it's just patchy and stubbly and then stops completely. And people make fun of me. Therefore, I will vote against beards.
Posted by: bigdavesb
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June 23, 2010 10:27 AM
For those that can't grow beards, vote FOR beards, then live vicariously through PZ (and me to a much lesser extent).
Posted by: eleusis
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June 23, 2010 10:41 AM
That's it. We MUST get PZ to shave his beard. Pharyngulate that poll!
Posted by: Matt "Nora" Penfold
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June 23, 2010 10:43 AM
Well I donated and have voted to do away with beards.
But I am part of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy.
Posted by: Rachel Bronwyn
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June 23, 2010 10:48 AM
When we started dating, my man was sans beard. Then one day he didn't have time to shave. I likd the look and encouraged him to let it grow a little longer. He's shaved once sinse that day. I lurv my man's beard (except when it's cold outside and my lips are cracked and his prickly beard hairs stab me in the cuts in the corners of my mouth when we smooch.)
He recently revealed to me that not only is maintaining a beard more conveniant than shaving daily but it serves as an effective way to hide his very long face. His family has a hereditary case of Jay Leno chin.
Posted by: simon.painter
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June 23, 2010 10:52 AM
If you can't grow a beard then vote against the beard so we can all see what PZ Myers and Big Dave are hiding under that fur!
Posted by: grolby
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June 23, 2010 10:53 AM
Hmmm. This is a tough one. I had a beard for much of the last four years, from about the middle of my undergrad onwards. My girlfriend liked it, and so did I, since it is very effective cover for my receding chin. But I was never very good at maintaining the ideal, very short (~1 week past stubble) beard stage that hides the chin AND looks sexy, and it was beginning to get on my nerves. The skin on my face doesn't do well when it's underneath a layer of fur, and it can get scratchy. So I started shaving it a few months ago. To my surprise, I look pretty damn good as long as I keep my hair nice and short. And I'm lazy, so I actually tend to cycle between clean-shaven and full beard over the course of several weeks. Best of both worlds?
Anyway, the point is that I support the beard, but I am sympathetic to the anti-beard activists out there. So it's a tough vote.
I think I'm going to vote against - not because I dislike beards, but out of cold, dispassionate scientific interest. Science must know what P.Z.'s chin looks like, in order to answer some very important questions:
1. Is P.Z.'s chin indeed funny-looking?
2. And, if P.Z.'s chin is funny-looking, why is it funny-looking?
The world wonders!
Posted by: Richard Eis
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June 23, 2010 10:54 AM
Do you also risk losing your "Hottest Daddy Blogger" title too?
Posted by: Richard Eis
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June 23, 2010 10:56 AM
Do you also risk losing your "Hottest Daddy Blogger" nomination too?
Posted by: Cliff Hendroval
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June 23, 2010 11:04 AM
In my youth I was fervently anti-beard - to me they reeked of hippiedom and people who wrote love songs to their "ladies". Around the time I hit 27 my hairline had severely receded to around the fontanelle area, and because I already had a very high forehead, the rest of my face seemed to be lost. My drivers license photo bore a pronounced resemblance to a peeled boiled potato. Then I happened to see a Time Magazine cover photo of Elmore Leonard, who was bearded (and, Endor, he was also wearing a Kangol). I figured if it was good enough for Leonard, it would be good enough for me.
Posted by: simon.painter
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June 23, 2010 11:04 AM
Bravo, grolby!
The science of chin investigation will win over!
Posted by: Walton, Marquis of Carabas
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June 23, 2010 11:11 AM
I've never managed to grow a full beard, but I used to have a moustache and (for a while) a modest beard on my chin. I shaved both off recently, however.
(Facial hair is always a controversial issue. Some love it, others hate it with a passion. In my experience, whenever I grow facial hair, someone tells me I should shave it off; whenever I shave it off, someone tells me I should grow it back. Go figure.)
Posted by: jaranath
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June 23, 2010 11:13 AM
I think we are all missing an important bonus to the No-Beard approach. Consider:
The Beard may indeed be the source of PZ's power. Yet sadly, PZ is but one man, and as a man (admittedly nearly superhuman) he has obligations and duties. In other words, he has a job, a family, a (phenomenally successful) life. The power of The Beard is unquestionable, but unfortunately it is attached to PZ's face. It's ability to travel the globe to fight the forces of ignorance and stupidity is thus limited. Certainly, it has managed to arrange some limited mobility, as evidenced by PZ's travels of late. But as long as it remains rooted, The Beard can never truly be free to stamp out the forces of darkness and their foul, corrupt pseudobeards (think of Ken Ham's facial abomination...shudder!). I have little doubt the Pharyngulite Horde would function well as support staff, arranging travel to suitable locations, providing photographic battlefield reports, etc.
I therefore move that we liberate The Beard. Not only will this maximize The Beard's potential, it will allow PZ to begin nurturing Son of Beard.
Posted by: daveau
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June 23, 2010 11:20 AM
I love a challenge. A fiver on no beard.
Posted by: Flex
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June 23, 2010 11:20 AM
You can have both a beard and a shaved chin.
I think they were called "friendly chops" in the recent beard poster, but I prefer to call them burnsides (mine are not quite as bushy as Ambrose's though).
I've been doing it for years now, and I don't think I'll ever go back.
Posted by: palefury
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June 23, 2010 11:20 AM
It seems that during human evolution there was sexual selection for male facial hair.
So vote the way your female ancestors did! - vote for beards! and save PZ's face fuzz!
Posted by: Thebear, just an agent of peas
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June 23, 2010 11:22 AM
2 £ put down to end the totalitarian razor regime.
The history of shaving suggest that it started among fighting men (to prevent beard-grabbing as a tactic) and as such it is the duty of every civilized man to protest against violence with facial hair (provided the man in question can muster a halfway decent facial hair of course - those who cannot must contribute in other ways)
Posted by: csrster
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June 23, 2010 11:24 AM
The problem with #2 is that the clean-shaven lack all conviction, while the bearded are full of passionate intensity.
Posted by: Ye Olde Blacksmith
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June 23, 2010 11:26 AM
Had a beard. Loved the beard. Wife hated the beard. Now no beard. :(
But as the brilliant "Evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz" ♫Evil incorporateeeeeeed♫
has rightly stated:
and where did that music come from when I typed his name????
.
.
.
So have decided to vote three times. Once for beards and twice for no beards. Oh noes, I suppose I'm to be ostracized now... :)
Posted by: hitblade
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June 23, 2010 11:29 AM
Or... we pharyngulate Pee-Zed! :D
What would troyphywife do?
Posted by: Silverlock
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June 23, 2010 11:30 AM
I vote for MORE beard. A beard of ZZ-Topsian proportions. Now I'm off to trim my goatee. Do as I say, not as I do.
Posted by: Gregory Greenwood
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June 23, 2010 11:31 AM
"esthetically-compromised philistines"
"boorish, effete barbarians with no taste"
"This is a huge sacrifice, but I figured it would help sway the pro-beard vote, since no one could possibly vote to chop off my lovely facial hair. Right? Right? Please tell me I'm right."
Methinks PZ is not entirely impartial on the beard issue... :-)
Since I am just one more cell in the Pharyngula hive mind, walking in lock-step through the echo-chamber of the blog, I will of course...
Vote 'no' to the beard just out of curiosity as to what PZ's chin actualy looks like.
Sorry, PZ. It sems like you have invited something of an 'et tu Brute?' moment here...
Posted by: simon.painter
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June 23, 2010 11:35 AM
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s778930.htm
Please pharyngulate PZ, it's for his own good!
Posted by: Andreas Johansson
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June 23, 2010 11:47 AM
You're a braver man than I am, PZ.
Posted by: Sven DiMilo
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June 23, 2010 11:47 AM
I have shaved once (1990) since 1982.
Posted by: Thebear, just an agent of peas
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June 23, 2010 11:52 AM
@simon.painter:
Yes, correlation is of course causation...
Posted by: glenister_m
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June 23, 2010 11:57 AM
Dilemma...
I'm one of those people that looks good, well okay, with or without a beard. In fact half of my friends/family like me with a beard and the other half without.
Personally having a beard means not having to shave daily, but when it gets to the point where you start eating your moustache and have to trim it, then it gets annoying. On the other hand, shaving it off takes off a few years in appearance.
I have also noticed people treat you different with a beard, eg. bus drivers check your transfer more carefully. I guess I look like a terrorist with a beard...
Should I vote to keep you in a good mood or a bad mood...hmmm.
Posted by: Andreas Johansson
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June 23, 2010 12:00 PM
If I were to shave seasonally, I'd be cleanshaven in winter, so as to avoid having my beard freeze.
Posted by: bullofthewoods
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June 23, 2010 12:09 PM
As a bearded one myself(for now).I vote for the facial hair.In my youth, my hair and beard were brown but now both are white,not grey but white,I've been told that I resemble either Santa,Hemingway or Einstein.I can live with that.It's funny that at times when I've shaved my beard after having one for a long while it took some people a long time to even notice.Weird.
Posted by: Weed Monkey
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June 23, 2010 12:09 PM
Voting pro-beard. Facial hair for every man, woman and child!
Unfortunately I've had to give up on my dreams of a nice beard, finally shaved off my feeble attempts at growing even a moustache. And as I'm in my mid-thirties already its highly unlikely my facial hair growth would get better when I grow up (Ha! Like that would ever happen!).
At least my hair is long and luxurious.
Posted by: hitblade
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June 23, 2010 12:10 PM
but beards keep the frost off your skin
Posted by: Rey Fox, Bird Caller Guy
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June 23, 2010 12:32 PM
Another thoughtful meditation on the debate.
Posted by: ekinodum
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June 23, 2010 12:40 PM
I have been squinting for a while at the photo so kindly provided in this blog, and have come to the conclusion that, if anything, PZ's beard needs to be a bit fuller.
Maybe quite a bit...
Posted by: https://www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawn0KF_R_4CBgt1Ax36huSgJ8ovRVB1VyLA
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June 23, 2010 12:42 PM
Beard=face pubes. Not that I have a problem with that, but really, it's the same thing. Nothing worse than a wild, untamed beard with food stuck in it though. A trimmed, nice beard is all right.
Posted by: Acronym Jim
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June 23, 2010 12:42 PM
Effete barbarians?!! I'll have you know we wear our leather ascots without the benefit of tanning!
Effete my chapped wattle!
Posted by: rose
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June 23, 2010 12:42 PM
My 14 year old son has a beard that would make both PZ and Big Dave jealous.
Poor kid.He probably cannot get pass airport security,but I am sure he can buy a drink at a bar.
Posted by: Die Anyway
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June 23, 2010 12:45 PM
I have to be true to myself... a beard-wearer for 35 years... so I'm voting FOR BEARDS. Shaving is for the birds, errr.. well maybe not, but it's a pain in the ass (I know, I know, I'm doing it wrong).
I've shaved mine off a couple of times. Once as a joke at work; I shaved off the beard and came to work in a suit and tie. No one recognized me for at least 5 minutes and thought I was a salesman come-to-call. Other times I've shaved it off when a costuming ocassion arose and I was doing face paint. But the next day I would look in the mirror and see a stanger looking back. It was too wierd. The beard came back as fast as I could grow it.
Posted by: https://me.yahoo.com/a/WBbp8jwlpMXZHHElvZOAoMyjUidGomg-#a31a6
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June 23, 2010 12:52 PM
i know it has been said already, but i am repeating it for emphasis:
beard=face pubes
think about that. Will you ever look at a bearded man the same way again?
Posted by: alysonmiers
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June 23, 2010 12:52 PM
PZ is holding his own face hostage, threatening to shoot himself if we don't pay up, insisting that if we don't give him what he wants, then it's our hand pulling the trigger.
(I guess that means I like beards.)
Posted by: Silič O'Nopolitanopoulos, Färschdbischuf Beesknees aus Ulm und Klein Elguth, Elector Pharynguline.
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June 23, 2010 12:58 PM
Nope, that's what tentacles are for.Posted by: Silič O'Nopolitanopoulos, Färschdbischuf Beesknees aus Ulm und Klein Elguth, Elector Pharynguline.
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June 23, 2010 1:03 PM
Yay! Atheist relics! This is even better than the calls for a return of colonialism and more state religions in Copenhagen.
Of course, I'll be first in the bidding for my own keepsake own Ebay when PeeZed puts up the goods for sale.
Posted by: Flex
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June 23, 2010 1:05 PM
glenister_m @62 wrote, Personally having a beard means not having to shave daily,....
Which is, I suppose the downside of burnsides.
I both shave daily and have to trim regularly.
But you can't argue with fashion. Or the lack of it in my case.
Posted by: Xayide
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June 23, 2010 1:08 PM
Yahoo @73:
A beard is already my #1 for sexy guy traits ... drawing a connection between kissing and oral sex only makes me love them more.
Posted by: plien
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June 23, 2010 1:11 PM
VOTE FOR BEARDS!
It isn't really fair you know, PZ and Dave would both shave, but only Simon would grow. We need another grower! Somebody of internet and/or atheïst fame. Is Dawkins available? How would he look with a beard?
Posted by: Epinephrine
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June 23, 2010 1:30 PM
Well, it's roughly* 50 "beard" votes vs. 38 "no beard," so if we want to see PZ's chin we have to step up our game!
So for all those talking about cuddly beards and distinguished beards, I offer these words: Mr. Twit!
Sure, PZ has a nice beard, but what about all those people like Mr. Twit**? We have to send them a message. So even if you like beards, I urge you to vote no!
* Very roughly. I mean, do people completely ignore instructions? I can only assume that someone offering to supply the shaving supplies is a "no beard" vote.
** Umm, ignore the fact that he's imaginary. I'm trying to motivate you to vote, so according to the politician's code I'm allowed to bend the truth, even to lie outright.
Posted by: creating trons
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June 23, 2010 1:45 PM
voted NO BEARDS. sorry PZ.
I wanted to donate $20 but they only take it in pounds. What do I know about that...
So I donated 20 pounds and just checked my card and it equals $29.65. Its for the kids.
I also donate to kids in the US thru Donorschoose.org. Check it out.
Posted by: jtingram
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June 23, 2010 2:18 PM
NO! No beards. No one should have them. Gay men should be free to live their lives without the scorn of others!
Wait...what are we talking about again??
Like most of the anti-bearders I couldn't grow one to save my life. Should you have to shave. Please give your beard a proper burial. Maybe a beard tree will grow (You're a scientist...that's how that works right?) When the tree bears some fruit, I'd like to get in on that. I'm gonna look so confident and trustworthy!
Posted by: Mattir-ritated
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June 23, 2010 2:34 PM
Face pubes? Does that mean that public acceptance of beards should exempt ladies from weird and sometimes risky shaving rituals? Please?
Posted by: kev_s
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June 23, 2010 2:36 PM
Q: Why are men with beards honest?
A: Because they can't tell bare-faced lies!
(From the Beano around 1963.)
Posted by: Thebear, just an agent of peas
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June 23, 2010 3:23 PM
@Mattir: I'm desperately trying to get my girlfriend to stop.
No success so far I'm afraid :(
Posted by: jcmartz.myopenid.com
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June 23, 2010 3:52 PM
Vote for no beard so we can make fun of PZ.
Posted by: Weed Monkey
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June 23, 2010 4:15 PM
For some reason their payment system refuses my (not-actually-a-credit-)card. If only everything was as simple as international payment with these new-ish SWIFT/BIC-thingies.
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, Quel Dommage
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June 23, 2010 5:10 PM
As the proud owner of a beard I have given £5 so that PZ and Big Dave can keep their beards.
Down with Gillette! Á bas le Nerelco!
Posted by: murtagh
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June 23, 2010 5:49 PM
PZ's beard would be an acceptable casualty, given the rewards, but for the love of spaghetti don't rope Daniel Dennett into this. That would be a crime against nature.
Posted by: murtagh
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June 23, 2010 5:54 PM
PZ's beard would be an acceptable casualty, given the rewards, but for the love of spaghetti don't rope Daniel Dennett into this. That would be a crime against nature.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott , Drinking Solo Since Death's Back On The Wagon
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June 23, 2010 5:58 PM
I can't imagine shaving off ol' No. 4. If for no other reason than the deep, animal satisfaction of starting each day with an indulgent, languid face combing. Lots of times one hind leg will bounce up and down.
Of course, we are talking beard here. Not the "I lost my razor(s) so for the last three weeks I've been using the garden shears" affectation commonly displayed by the noncommittal pretenders. Might as well compare a putting green to a rain forest!
Yes to beards. It's only natural . . . ;^)}}
Keep it on, PZ, keep it on.
Posted by: Ring Tailed Lemurian
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June 23, 2010 6:10 PM
I think the poll needs to be pharyngulated so that it's a tie. Then PZ, Big Dave, and Simon will all have to shave just one side, and they can all look really stupid.
Posted by: bigdavesb
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June 23, 2010 6:19 PM
Current totals:
Sensible votes FOR distuinguished faces of dignity, character, charm, wit and intelligence: 67
Simon's band of esthetically-compromised, boorish, effete, philistines, barbarians total 45.
5 generous people have donated, but not left any comments. I assume they're torn between knowing beards are totally awesome, but also, wanting to cause mischief.
The charity Barnards will of course win regardless. Their win currently stands at just over half the target: £768.33
@Wee Monkey Justgiving does accept Pay Pal. Sorry your not-card idn't work, I suggest emailing the lovely team at justgiving, help@justgiving.com, if Pay Pal's not an option for you. Thank you so much for trying!
Posted by: misha_vargas#9ae7a
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June 23, 2010 7:23 PM
Shaving is nothing more than male facial mutilation, supported by tradition. For a musical argument, see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmFnarFSj_U
Posted by: Cath the Canberra Cook
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June 24, 2010 12:15 AM
Beards are good. My bloke has one, and so do I. (*) If you find the skin under your beard gets irritated, consider using a moisturising conditioner or just rubbing in some moisturiser. My bloke uses one called something like "Cap'n Blackheart's Beard Wax."
(*) Mine is detachable, because it's knitted.
Posted by: jaybgee
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June 24, 2010 1:22 AM
"Beard Song" makes the case for beards too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe3Vsbsb33Q
Posted by: articulett
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June 24, 2010 2:57 AM
I put my money in the pro-beard camp. I think beards are sexy! (Jerry Coyne needs ought to have one, don't you think?)
Posted by: muttpupdad
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June 24, 2010 1:05 PM
Definitly pro-beard The first time I learned to shave took an act of Congress and a greetings letter from Uncle Sam to get me to shave, lucky uncle Elmo let me grow it back after boot camp. I have been prove since that gravity works as Newton intended as all my hair grows in the proper direction, down towards the floor in a proper 19th cen. Science Beard. If anything PZ let it grow so you better look the part!
Posted by: kaessa.com
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June 25, 2010 11:37 PM
I'm definitely pro-beard. Unfortunately, no donation from me this week. :(
Posted by: furr-a-bruin
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July 1, 2010 2:53 PM
Shaving is unnatural, painful and disfiguring. I have not shaved my face since I had enough hair on my face to constitute a decent beard - as evidenced by the fact I'm bearded in my high school graduation photo.
I find myself astonished and appalled at the utter nonsense some people who haven't the foggiest clue about beards spew with absolute authority. My beard has for years been at or near "terminal length" - which for me means just below the xiphoid process on my sternum. I can tell you from personal experience that all the guff about beards being "too hot in summer" (I live in sunny Southern California) is arrant nonsense. If one keeps a beard, the body is used to it being there. Likewise if one is not self-feeding challenged, one learns how to eat without making an enormous mess - and there's this concept called WASHING that prevents a beard from becoming a compost heap of food fragments - so anyone tempted to parrot that offensive slur can drink a big steaming mug of STFU!
Frankly, I think beards are like homosexuality - people with little to no contact with them find them scary and react with hatred; people who actually have them around and get to know them wind up not caring one way or the other.