Puzzle Solved! (See comments)
I am very very disappointed in my readership that no one has yet figured out the meaning of the phrase “The X Blog.” I admit that if you google “The X Blog” you get things that are not helpful in pursuit of this information. And I admit that there is no wikipedia article on “The X Blog” so you can’t just look it up there. But if you do piece together just a few additional clues that are in the first post on the blog, and do a little bit of investigating, you can figure it out. It isn’t totally obvious. It is obscure. But once you are there, it’s very cool.
To know what The X Blog is, you need one word.
There are clues all over the place.
The modern use of “X” will seem absurd.
You’ll be close when you find the face.
A blog is like a child
And a child is like a blog.
A name can be revealing
Or it can be like fog.
To win this cool mug
Be the first to know the name
And you can rhyme me some smug.
And revel in the fame.
If you are a blogger on Freethoughts.com, you probably already know this (especially if you are Stephanie). That makes you ineligible! Also, Amanda is ineligible! Julia is overseas so she does not know, and Huxley is too little. Everybody else, let’s see what you can do.
In the event of close calls or ties, I’ll determine who gets the mug. Win a bounty of one mug to the first correct guesser, put your guess in the comments.
Does it have to do with the blastula xenopus stage of embryonic development where the blastomeres become arranged around the outside, with a central fluid filled cavity, corresponding with the embryonic nature of the freethought blogs which brings people together who may drift apart otherwise?
This is the second time I’ve commented here where my comment has not shown up, but the WP commenting system tells me I’ve submitted a duplicate when I try again. Are mine disappearing?
Well, I’m going to go way out on a limb, and say X is for Christian.
My first thought was that this is your 10th blog, but I don’t think so.
My guess is that the X refers to Exodus, meaning that the posts are not a part of Science Blogs.
Hmmm… You’re new blog is a metaphorical ‘centromere’ of a blastula? A blog in it’s earliest state?
X Club!
None of that has anything to do with the face…does it?
I think I found the face, at least, and it meshes with something Greg hinted in an earlier post which I can’t seem to find. But, I’m still stumped.
i assume X is a variable to be filled with whatever topic you want.
if X=bachmann, then you have The bachamann Blog. (scary!)
I have two thoughts on what “X” stands for, but I like the first rather better. It’s the idea of something that’s unknown or undiscovered, as in “Planet X” or “X-Ray.” This meaning has a feeling of something waiting to be found, which is a good direction for a blog.
The X means of course that this blog is THE PLACE TO BE, since X marks she spot… even Indiana Jones got that right eventually…
Cyber, only people who know what “The X Blog” means can see their comments!
But seriously, your comment is here. I don’t understand. Reload/refresh browser?
But no, while the blastula is a clue it is not the answer.
K.B.: Hahahaha!
Ah, no.
Anony: Nice guess. Not my tenth blog (I don’t think) and an Exodus doesn’t really fit.
X= X Christians?
cfeagans: Again, blastula is a clue but not an answer, but keep thinking along those lines.
enjnrs: The face is not related. Look to the right of the face. The boat is the clue.
Rob, TH Huxley thought of the X as a variable in the name of something, or rather, a stand in for an ambiguous name.
Yellow: Nope. Sami: Well yes. But no.
X Club: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_Club
A social/dining/intellectual club in Victorian England, 9 members included Thomas Huxley, Herbert Spencer, Joseph Dalton Hooker, John Tyndall and others, said to have had Darwin as unofficial 10th member, hence the X. Simply, they put their minds together to keep religion out of social and political matters.
Hmmmm…..
The X could stand for nothing, I guess, since the original X Club chose it to commit the group to nothing.
(De lurking for a chance at a sweet mug from an awesome blog.)
Michael, check your inbox for a congratulatory email. Yes, it is The X Club!
Hey, I did not know that Darwin was the unofficial tenth member part!
Congratulations, Michael.
Trevor, nice try.
Oh, and (worthless) bonus points for identifying the ship in the blog banner! (Michael, not you, I know you know!)
HMS Rattlesnake?
“The X” sounds like “theist”, but X meaning an “ex-theist”?
Very clever Greg. I learned something new today (of course, I usually do). I knew Huxley was an important name for you!
I tried, I really did. OK, so who is the face, one of the members? I spent entirely too long trying to get that clue.
What is it about the ship?
Thanks, Greg!
Re: Darwin as 10th member, note I wrote “It is said…” meaning I don’t believe there is any historical evidence that this was the case. But it wouldn’t be surprising, as Darwin’s work was something the group supported and defended.
Lynn, the face is simply close to the ship. I think that’s Greg with his steampunk goggles on.
Also, Greg, I’m pretty sure John Wilkins got the reference correctly on Twitter a while back. You may owe him a mug.
OK is the ship one that Hooker used?
The HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror were used for the expedition to Antarctica.
Both ships have great names.
Both were recommissioned bomb ships. And I see that was the last major eploration voyage with sailing ships.
+1 Stephanie!
He did? He needs to send me his address then.
The banner is made in part form fragments of a Linux Steampunk theme, with victorianesque type face (retro, not real). THe first item in the imagry is a blastula. Huxley wrote about development and related topics (though he invented some of the terms, I think he did not invent Blastuala …. but there is another reason I put a blastula in there that you can guess).
Then there are gears representing 19th century science and engineering, me wearing my faux steampunk goggles (actually quidditch goggles), then the boat, which I will leave up to others to identify, though it fits with the rest of the theme.
The ship looks just like this picture of the Rattlesnake:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/HMS_Rattlesnake_%281822%29.jpg
It is the HMS Rattlesnake!!! Huxley did a stint as a “naturalist” on a ship (the story is a bit more complex) in 1846-1850, after Darwin did his (1832-1835) but before Darwin published the Orign.
Huzzah! My failure to identify the X is completely eclipsed by my awesome ship-identifying worthless bonus points.
So I see, it’s really all about Huxley.
Oh, well, I was wrong, but it was fun guessing.
HUXLEY! HUXLEY! HUXLEY!
Personally, I was kinda hoping it had something to do with John Doe and Exene Cervenka.
It’s the X used to mark a ballot.
I did (thanks for noticing Stephanie)! And my address is presently in flux…
I’m very bad at keeping up with my twitter stream, even though I’ve put it in the side bar.