EVOLUTIONary middleman MEME

I was “tagged” recently by my friend The Exterminator over at No More Hornets to participate in The Evolution Meme. My task is to write about how my blog has evolved since its inception on August 19, 2005 and to provide 5 blog entries that demonstrate the evolution. I’ve been pretty lazy with my blogging lately and have put this one (and a number of others) off on a back-burner. I feel kind of bad about this one in particular, so the sooner I do this the better (proving that atheists can have a guilty conscience).

My very first blog entry very much represents how I still feel and how I still attempt to do this blog. I will say that there have been “adjustments”, but no major change of focus. Much like real evolution which occurs at extremely small points in the genome, and can only be detected after a very long passage of time, my blog retains the features I had in mind over two years ago.

I found this post about 6 months down the road. I was doing exactly what I talked about in my introduction by leading readers to a science blog that I found interesting, while discussing science and evolution.

About 18 months ago I made my first departure from the stated goals of the blog and talked about politics. In this case, it was about the possibility of expanding the “war on terrorism” by attacking Iran – potentially with battlefield nukes.

I thought this would be a good one to point out now, since we seem much closer to such a war than we were at the time I pleaded against it. As time has gone on, I have tossed in politics more and more, though I certainly don’t want this ever to be a blog specifically dedicated to such. However, as rational thinkers, we have a duty to speak out anytime and any place where we see a lack of clarity. In the case of this particular administration, it’s not just a lack of clarity but an assault on many of the fundamental values of a free society. I don’t have deep political interests, but it’s important to point some things out.

Perhaps the biggest change in my blog occurred earlier this year. During the previous 12 months, I had given my blog very little attention and was only posting every month or so. I decided to get into it a bit more and resolved to put up a couple of new items every week and, if inspired, even more. One of the first posts I put up at this time was one in which I encourage others to do as I do and read more about science.

I’ll end with a demonstration of yet another “adjustment” I made. I don’t consider myself a prolific writer. I can write quite a bit when the mood is right. But I can go months without writing at all. I figured to stay true to my demand on myself that I post regularly, regardless of how I was feeling, I was going to have to approach it with a new strategy. I would find interesting videos and news stories that were representative of my own point of view and post them along with a short comment from me. Some people have told me they stop by my blog specifically for this material. In other words, they like the videos and stories better than they like what I write! Somehow it doesn’t shock in the least. Here was one of the first ones I put up - no surprise that it deals with science and evolution!

Now, in conclusion, I am to select 5 fellow bloggers and tag them. I don’t know how it works if they have been tagged at an earlier time, but I’m just going to tag them without searching to find out.

Tales of an Ordinary Girl
Grumpy Lion
Fresh Brainz
The Choice is Now
The Loom