The October Molly should go to…

No brainer. Cuttlefish, tentacles down.

The guy that wrote that incredible poem in the past week or two. I can't remember his name, but I was in stitches. I'm sure you all know who I mean.

Ditto on the Cuttlefish nomination. Also, I'd like to voice a word of praise for AJ Milne and that wonderful sweater nightmare.

Incidentally, Dan Gardner has a new column in the Ottawa Citizen which people 'round these parts might like. He's the one who said, back in May,

But a series of books doing quite well on bestseller lists — by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and, soon, Christopher Hitchens — argues it's time to be a lot less deferential to faith, and I have to say I find it hard to disagree. After all, we live in a time when blowing children to bits is an increasingly popular form of worship, the most powerful man on earth thinks he's got a hotline to God, and much of the electorate who gave that man his power would never consider replacing him with someone who does not believe the son of a carpenter who died 2,000 years ago sits in heaven advising presidents, fixing football games, and waiting for the day he will return to the Earth to brutally murder all unbelievers and erect a worldwide dictatorship.

His new thesis:

So it's no surprise to learn that atheists can be perfectly decent people. They are human, after all.

Can we get some people in the OM who actually do things the way Molly Ivins did?

Put my vote in for Graculus, Steve LaBonne or Great White Wonder, whoever is closest to winning when this thing is done.

AJ Milne for comment #45 in the post "Bill Dembski 'Apologizes".

Cuttlefish for this one, has to be.

CUTTLEFISH!

That list is like a who's who of witchcraft.

NOT JEALOUS AT ALL.

Cuttlefish.

Cuttlefish. Best random poetry ever.

Cuttlefish rocked this month. A Molly or a Grammy? Either way, it's well deserved, IMO.

Dammit, I wasn't finished my 'Ode to Cuttlefish' yet, PZ.

Anyway, my vote this month is for Cuttlefish, because s/he's a lyrical gangsta.
My second vote is for Sastra, because s/he's to a bad argument as a Ginsu is to shoes.
My third vote is for Dustin, because what the world needs now/is clever sarcasm/sweet clever sarcasm.
My fourth vote is for--wait. How many do I get?

I thought the post was going to pre-emptively give it to Cuttlefish! 'Cause, yeah.

One for Cuttlefish and one for Graculus.

Cuttlefish, obviously.

Don't Mollies go out in pairs, though? If so, and if LaBonne hasn't got his yet, surely it's well past time?

Sastra.

Cuttlefish, obviously.

I'm voting for Cuttlefish. Anyone who gets away with blank verse on Pharyngula deserves kudos.

I was going to nominate Cuttlefish even before I saw everyone else voting for Cuttlefish, too. His/her poems are not only funny, but s/he's got a sense of rhythm Pope would envy (that's Mr. Alexander, not Mr. Ratzenberger).

lolife!

I don't deserve it but I just can't handle all of this agreement.

Not that my voice carries any weight, but I'd like to vote for singular they - they beat s/he hands down.

Second vote goes to Cuttlefish (obviously), though I have to thank Hap for reminding me of AJ Milne. That piece of introspection was well worth a reread.

First of all, it is hard for me to not cast a negative vote here. I just had to say that.

However, it's easy to vote for Brownian. He's gotta be a scientist; he knows more than I do.

Mine goes to AJ Milne; I have been meaning to put in for him for last two months, and this month is no different. Still a Molly in my book.

I think it was MartinC who referred to A** C****** as Eva Braun, so he gets my vote.

(Not entirely consistent with my stance that name-calling is a pretty useless rhetorical device, but I thought it was justified in this case.)

I vote for Spaulding, primarily for this post, which is exceptional not only for itself by in comparison to the posts surrounding it.

Yes, Cuttlefish is certainly funny. But Spaulding is the better reporter. And isn't that what an award named after Molly should be all about?

Okay, cuttlefish seems to have it tied up hands, er, tentacles down. HOWEVER, I'd really like to see SASTRA honored some way because her/his post on why Coulter's comment (about Jews needed to be perfected by becoming Christians) was not anti-semitic was excellent and made me change my mind.

I RARELY read something that makes me change my mind on a philsophical point.

The Cuttlefish Poet.
Just because he says it in verse,
It certainly don't make it worse
Than all those who voice in prose style
Opinions well-put or that make you smile
Sure, poems can be made by fools like me
But a cephlapod like that - 'Mollied' should he be.

Cuttlefish. ("The film clearly shows / That stupidity flows / Just a little bit faster than light.")

And AJ Milne.

Yeah, I know, I've promised lots more people a nomination over the last month. Next time. :-)

BTW, the nomination for Spaulding above fails to notice Spaulding's assumption that geographic subpopulations of people are reproductively isolated or nearly so. That's an error.

BTW, the nomination for Spaulding above fails to notice Spaulding's assumption that geographic subpopulations of people are reproductively isolated or nearly so. That's an error.

It's the "or nearly so" that's the important part. Which is why populations that aren't completely isolated can still have substantial adaptation to local conditions and founder effects.

Don't Mollies go out in pairs, though?

Torbjörn Larsson, Ichthyic, and I all got one alone.

It's the "or nearly so" that's the important part. Which is why populations that aren't completely isolated can still have substantial adaptation to local conditions and founder effects.

The extent of isolation is usually not even the important bit, it's the strength of selection.

"Okay, cuttlefish seems to have it tied up hands, er, tentacles down."

Arms? Legs? Tentacles? WHAT'S THE CORRECT TERM, DAMMIT?!

In keeping with the verse theme I'll vote with a haiku.

See the Cuttlefish
slicing through murky waters
to claim his Molly

Steve: I guess you've read Startide Rising?

Cuttlefish'll probably win anyway, so I'll give my vote to Christian Burnham this time :)

Mollies go out one at a time unless PZ forgets a month and needs to catch up, as he did last summer. (I'm sure that's how I managed to slip in, and not because I actually used to be a journalist.)

My votes are for Cuttlefish and AJ Milne, for the consistent funny.

Well, it's as I said last time, if Cuttlefish is inducted, say goodbye to his poems. I believe he/she/it has his/her/its own blog anyway.

That being said, since I'm sure they won't win this month, I'll give my votes to Sastra and Kagehi.

Also, other than that catch-up month, the other times there were two Molly winners were just months in which two people both got about the same amount of votes.

#32,

Dangly bits?

Put me down for Cuttlefish btw.

Plenty of excellent candidates this month, but for all round goodness, time and time again, it just has to be Cuttlefish.

Come late to a thread on Pharyngula and you'll have to wade through a great deal of muck before you reach the end. But the trudge here is more invigorating than it is on any other blog I've been to--science, political, philosophical literary, etc.
One of the things that makes this site refreshing are PZ's curious tangents into sci-fi, cuttlefish and Morris.
Nuf said...cast my vote for Cuttlefish.

I'll vote for Windy, just for mentioning Startide Rising in this very thread. Love those Uplift books.

But, my heart really goes out to Cuttlefish. A brain that works so differently than mine, seeing the world in verse instead of brushstrokes of oil....excellent.

windy and Sastra, I learn a lot from both, and have fun while doing it.

I must admit that Cuttlefish and AJ Milne each has managed to tickle my fancy... or feet or whatever.

Graculus, Steve Labonne and Dustin each deserves a Molly for constant high quality.

(Christian Burnham too, but seeing he promised to stay away a few weeks perhaps this isn't the time.)

Just like PZ instructed, I vote for Shelley Batts!

Wait, there's more than poll?! You vertebrates and your social behaviors!

[Kseniya misses Anton Mates]

[Kseniya jumps on the Cuttlefish bandwagon]

I'd like to add a thanks to Steve LaBonne for the Anatole France recommendation.

I was talking about the forthcoming Golden Compass movie with my dad, and I mentioned France's The Revolt of the Angels. His face assumed a thoughtful expression, and he said "Hmmm, wait a sec..." and went to look through some books on my mom's special bookshelf - and pulled out an old, soft leather-bound volume. Sure enough, it was the book you mentioned, an hundred-year-old book in excellent condition. The original owner had written her name on the inside front cover in simple but fluid script; she obviously hadn't used a felt-tip or ball-point (heh) and the flat tipped fountain pen had left a signature that had its own clarity and life.

I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it's a treasured possession, in no small part because it had last been my mother's. Serendipity!

Umm, OK, clearly my memory is somewhat selective.

So: Cuttlefish, obviously.

But if Steve LaBonne doesn't have an OM yet, something is very wrong with the state of the universe. Yiz are all godless here, so you won't buy this argument, but: the Lord demands that Steve be mollyfied.

Oh, and by the way: I'm an atheist now. I've been dithering for years, but tonight's RWC final made everything clear for me.

No, that's a joke, sadly enough. I'd like to be an atheist, I really would. But I can't get past the cosmological argument. Still, even if I recognise the existence of some sort of god, s/he is obviously interested in neither justice nor attractive rugby.

There are so many good ones, but a recent one by J Myers really hit a chord with me, so that's my vote. Looks like Cuttlefish has the inside run this time, though. :)

Chris Clarke. MA Jeff.

For hardiness through travails, I also nominate Christian Burnham.

Cuttlefish. ("The film clearly shows / That stupidity flows / Just a little bit faster than light.")

And AJ Milne.

Yeah, I know, I've promised lots more people a nomination over the last month. Next time. :-)

BTW, the nomination for Spaulding above fails to notice Spaulding's assumption that geographic subpopulations of people are reproductively isolated or nearly so. That's an error.

Don't Mollies go out in pairs, though?

Torbjörn Larsson, Ichthyic, and I all got one alone.

windy and Sastra, I learn a lot from both, and have fun while doing it.

I must admit that Cuttlefish and AJ Milne each has managed to tickle my fancy... or feet or whatever.

Graculus, Steve Labonne and Dustin each deserves a Molly for constant high quality.

(Christian Burnham too, but seeing he promised to stay away a few weeks perhaps this isn't the time.)