[Alex Pepple]

Ian and everyone else - I want to call to your attention an important Eratosphere guidelines which, it seems, has been generally forgotten in this thread: including profanities in your posts is prohibited at Eratosphere, the only exception being where it's a part of a poem or story, in which case, it's also required that you post a language advisory.

Ordinarily, I'd be editing out the profane language from a post when it occurs and warn the poster accordingly. However, I came this thread too late,after it's gotten out of control. So, this time, I'll just ask you, Ian, and everyone else to keep this Eratosphere guidelines in mind in your future posts.

Cheers,
...Alex

[Kyle Norwood]

"Race is the third rail of American politics." Proven here again. I really think it is impossible at this point for Americans to have a discussion of race matters--both sides are so ready to have their indignation triggered.
So I'll keep my mouth shut, aside from saying that the most thoughtful, reasonable comments I've heard on Ferguson come from three ex-basketball players: Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neil. Link:
http://nesn.com/2014/12/charles-bark...the-nba-video/
Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith disagree, but both make good points, and having done so, they still speak to one another with respect. They may be the only people in the country who are capable of this.
But what I really wanted to say was this: the idea that sloppy poems are a "critique" of well-crafted ones sure has led to a lot of sloppy poems.

[R. S. Gwynn]

Charlie Hedbo

There were wines to be had for the taking
and others just for the asking,
but those that fell in between
were a lot like my Cousin Sushie
who could never discern fish from foul.

So we went out on those Saturday nights
in a host of croupiers, absinthe smugglers,
Romanian wannabes, and some perfectly normal Americans
in search of meat pies, flan, flounder sandwiches,
baguettes, and whatever went with them.

The stars in the sky were like those other stars,
just a little dimmer than the cartoons.
Then, Pete, M. le Mayor, issued a proclamation
that dimmer would henceforth be less dim.
And all the fireworks started.

They were underwater fireworks,
which meant they got wet and were uninspiring
but this was a day or so after the 4th or 14th
so no one really noticed in that foreign country.
I kept my hat on all that night and day

And stayed in and watched television.
There were too many shows about trucks and sandwiches
so I decided to take a nap and thought of rum.
I ordered a piña colada from room service
which arrived with a cherry slice and an orange on top.

[Martin Rocek]

Let's get back to some fun stuff--this is bound to offend everyone:
http://youtu.be/Tg-Ke36aBh4
(Sorry, but this thread seems so bonkers to me that only something
this drastic can rescue it. And for the record, I agree with Orwn about the poem.)
(BTW, Tim Minchin is genuinely funny--but he likes to cross lines occasionally.
For more innocuous humor, I recommend http://youtu.be/XP9pnSXhibw ;
if you want to see his sweet side, try http://youtu.be/fCNvZqpa-7Q .)

[John Whitworth]

Is he right about the dutch? The words he is discussing are almost polite in french. Sweet young girls say them all the time.