You mean, global variables? That's kind of a step backward from block-structured (in the non-block-language sense) programming. I think we need something like block variables but there's only one variable shared among all instances of the block. I've never really liked the name "block variable" because to me that sounds like the new kind I'm suggesting. Maybe they should be called "class variable" (the new kind) and "instance variable" (the existing kind)?
Oh, and using TELL as in
to communicate with the block. You could say that only for class variables, not instance variables, unless we invent a way to point to a specific use of a block in a script.