[Taxacom] Happy Taxonomist Appreciation Day!

[Robert Zuparko]

Well, I thought I'd just share something I wrote back in 1995, "Dem
Taxonomic, Intergrading, Microscopic, Polymorphic Blues", which is set to
the tune "Stealin" (an old blues tune):


Sittin' at a scope

counting hairs on veins

The numbers always changin'

Driving me insane

Maybe it’s the light

or the focus ain't right

Or it could be just

a tiny speck of dust.



Try to

identify

with characters I cannot use.

Cuz they look alike

I got dem

Taxonomic blues.



Traipsing cross-country:

yet another museum.

Hunting for types

with no per diem.

Sittin' in stuffy rooms,

breathin' in those fumes.

Lord, that PDB,

its a-chokin’ me.



Eyestrain,

and back pain.

My mind I'm beginning to lose.

Cryptic species haunt my dreams.

I got dem

 Taxonomic blues.

Working on this group

for the past eleven years.

My keys and descriptions

are a-spotted with my tears.

Just when I was through

the group was reviewed.

All my names, so prized,

they're now synonymized.



Lumpers

and splitters

both claim I hold the wrong views.

Lord take me now,

I got dem

Taxonomic blues.
Robert Zuparko
Essig Museum of Entomology
1101 Valley Life Sciences Building, #4780
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-3112
(510) 643-0804



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On Tue, Mar 19, 2019 at 10:47 AM Richard Pyle <deepreef at bishopmuseum.org>
wrote:

> Just sayin'...
>
> Aloha,
> Rich
>
> Richard L. Pyle, PhD
> Database Coordinator | Associate Zoologist | Dive Safety Officer
> Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum
> 1525 Bernice Street, Honolulu, HI 96817-2704
> Office: (808) 848-4115;  Fax: (808) 847-8252
> eMail: deepreef at bishopmuseum.org
> BishopMuseum.org
>
> Our Mission: Bishop Museum inspires our community and visitors through the
> exploration and celebration of the extraordinary history, culture, and
> environment of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.
>
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