I may have to sue

OK, that's enough. This April Fool's Day thing has gone too far when I am made the butt of the jokes. So far, I've been born again,
endorsed the Noah's Ark story, and have been
hired as a GOP consultant. Norwegianity even found this hugely elaborate web site set up as a parody of Pharyngula. Jeez, people, you need to pick on someone with a sense of humor. Crooked Timber found a service with the right idea: this Rhyme Rank thing from ask.com invents amusing rhymes from your search terms, but go ahead, try and enter "pharyngula"—it just gives up. It knows better than to indulge in idle wastrel japery with such a deadly serious site.

More like this

Today I introduce a new category, "Outrage of the Week", just so I am able to tell you about the nice young men who recently competed in the New Jersey King of Campus Comedy contest. As reported in the Chronicle (Jan. 11, 2008 issue): The competition's most popular topic was, believe it or not,…
Dr. Free-Ride: I wanted to ask you guys a question. I think maybe I asked you this question (or something like it) some time ago, but you were a lot younger and, you know, you keep growing and changing and stuff. So the question is, when someone tells you something about science, how can you tell…
Here at SB, we use Google analytics for getting info about how many people are reading our blogs, and how they get here. I also have a SiteMeter monitor on GM/BM. One thing that I get a kick out of is taking a look at my hits, and seeing what kinds of interesting connections come up. Sometimes it'…
I first heard of the Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam several years ago when he wrote a wrongheaded attack on the then-new phenomenon known as "blogging." Bloggers quickly eviscerated him; among other things, Beam had failed to comprehend one of their April Fool's jokes. As Catherine Seipp later…

I like the Noah's Ark theory, but there should be at least one pirate on board somewhere.

I like the Noah's Ark theory, but there should be at least one pirate on board somewhere.

Noah's Aaaarrrghk.

Hey, I took those words directly from your sight...I'm no quote miner!

By afarensis (not verified) on 01 Apr 2006 #permalink

What can one say, PZ? You're the big dog in the ScienceBlogs continuum. It's only natural that you'd be the biggest target here. It comes with the territory. I only wish someone did so many parodies of my stuff. Since they don't, I'm reduced to doing a not-so-good job of parodying myself.

This may be the right time to trot out the argument from frequency. You know:

So many people say they have been abducted by aliens, can they all be wrong?

There have been so many reports of PZ's apostasy ... can they all be wrong?

With no jokes, the pharyngula site
Could fall far from its singular height;
But who needs April fools
When all year there are schools
Making more for the insular right.

Aw, come on PZ. You should be flattered that all these folks like you so much that they're willing to poke a little fun. Hey, it made me smile. :)

back when i was a wee pharyngula
i might then have chosen to do ya
but things have since changed
i've grown: up, out, and brains
so look but don't touch, silly: boo-ya!

a pharyngula waiting for birth
had undeveloped organs for mirth
but he thought it quite funny
while squirming in Mummy
to kick her for all he was worth.

The only approximate rhyme I can think of for "pharyngula" is "tarantula". Maybe I should take a couple of poetry courses at the local college.

-jcr

By John C. Randolph (not verified) on 01 Apr 2006 #permalink

But I like the idea of you being hired as a GOP consultant! ("How can we become Godless Original Patriots? Show us the way...") If there's anyone who doesn't have a sense of humor, it's those Dembski Squad tut-tutters--they object to the idea that laughter preceeded speech. Jeez. (Do they really want to make the argument that man started laughing after God started yakking?)

Some think the world is made for truth and logic,
And so do I, and so do I!
Some think it well to be teleologic,
Opine and lie, opine and lie.
But I, I love to spend my time researching
Some larval fish, some larval fish;
To add infinitesimally to Science,
My fondest wish, my fondest wish!

Hearken, hearken, fossils from Afar!
Hearken, hearken, fossils from Afar!
Pharynguli, pharyngula, pharynguli, pharyngula,
Knowledge everywhere, pharynguli, pharyngula!