Readers may have noticed the title "Blogsnark" on a number of posts. What does it mean? I took the inspiration from Websnark, a blog that offers commentary on webcomics. I read it every day and enjoy Burns' insights. Whereas he is more gentle in his comments, though, I must confess to being harsher.

Burns describes the term "snark" thus:

The word "snark" comes from Lewis Carroll's poem "The Hunting of the Snark." It's a kind of beastie. In computer terms, a snark is some kind of threat or problem on a computer. However, the word has come to also mean sarcastic commentary or the sarcastic expression of opinions. He snarks, she snarks, they snark. That kind of thing. So, since my own sense of humor runs to the sarcastic, Websnark becomes my place to snark about the web.

Recently I have begun making more and more commentary — sarcastic, opinionated commentary — on things I find on the web. Typically they involve blog posts written by religious conservatives about atheism, religion, God, church/state separation, evolution vs. creationism, etc. Thus, whenever you see the label "Blogsnark," you can expect a snarky commentary on something I found on a religious blog.

In honor of Christmas, I decided to post a series of Blogsnarks on posts I came across recently. If you don't like sarcastic commentary (not everyone does), you'll want to avoid these posts. Consider "Blogsnark" a warning label. If, however, you enjoy a bit of opinionated writing alongside more filling and substantial dishes, keep your eye out for these pieces.