Jehovah’s Witnesses once again confirm that they’re a mob of dour, po-faced killjoys. Watch MommyJW suck all the joy of of SonJW’s life, in the name of her invisible deity.
Remarkable, isn’t it, that the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving cosmic creator of the universe is so very concerned about a child’s plastic toy…and not even the toy itself, but whether the fictional backstory of the toy accords properly with dogma.
(Episode CCCXXXIV: Eject! Eject! Eject!.)
Predator Handshake:
I’m glad to hear that!
I will stop with this comment, per the instructions of the Great Poopyhead not to get into longrunning arguments on this thread. Everyone understands where you’re coming from. What we also understand is that you, unlike kristinc, are blaming RahXephon for your reaction rather than taking responsibility for it yourself. Read kristinc’s comment again; it’s all about her and why she has that reaction, and that it’s independent of what the other person says or does. Then read yours again; you say the same thing, but then tell the other person it’s their fault you reacted that way because they didn’t tell you exactly what you wanted to know in the proper format. That is the major difference there. Please try to figure it out.
Predator Handshake
She’s verra cute and I’m glad she’s in good health
*gna*
I need to get up and do some cleaning. Only that it’s 11pm and I’m tired.
Wait, is this video actually made by the JW? It seems more like the kind of spoof people would make to make fun of them.
I mean, “Who likes magic? Jehovah or SATAN?”
Cue little boy looking sadly at his new toy
Seriously? They actually made a video like this? And none of them realized that it makes them look like cultish little idiots?
sparlok the warrior wizard…
anyone else reminded of this scene from Dogma?
At least in Dogma, all the board members were also guilty of actual offenses, not simply imaginary ones.
On TV:
Experiment about homeopathy: Double-blind test, one half gets homeopathy remedies and the other half pure sugar pills
Me: what’s the difference?
But a good broadcast, they even featured Randi’s classic debunking in France.
Magic is bad, because it’s humans doing things Jehovah can do without his annoying paternalistic deity ass being necessary.
I just had a beer that was magic. Does that count?
Louis
At least in Dogma, all the board members were also guilty of actual offenses, not simply imaginary ones.
I just sneezed.
Exaggeration by Atheists to oppose people who believe in God. I am not a JW, but agree that they have a right to give boundaries to their children. The commentator shows a bias that discriminates against parental rights to teach the negative aspects of bullying (rape) and mocks a Christian tradition – Noah’s flood.
The commentator also employs exaggeration to foster discrimination – ‘ the boy …. Can’t go to movies with his friends, and can’t form emotional and lasting bonds with his friends at school’ because his mum asks him to consider a toy he brings home. RUBBISH. Aren’t there other topics, games, sports and movies that can allow the boy to form bonds with his school friends? Yes. The topic is regarding sorcery and black magic. He can play baseball with friends, watch Disney movies (I don’t agree with the extreme view shown by this biased commentator) about animals and music (talking animals are OK – but Atheists should ban THEIR children, as they mock the talking snake seen in Genesis stories).
About YHWH being insecure? Imagine if there is a neighbour portraying himself as a kindly teacher, but is known to be a paedophile, twice convicted. He offers your child some lollies and offers to be their friend and come over. Would you, as a parent, be ‘insecure’ by disallowing this neighbour to see your child and warning your child against seeing this neighbour? I see it as responsible parenting – not insecure.
In summary, this cartoon is biased, and shows that Atheists frown upon responsible parenting and the rights of American parents to teach moral stories, and to gently guide their children. Atheists employ extreme views to negatively influence American parents, their primary agenda to exclude any talks to children that have themes relating to teachings about a loving, superintelligent and infinite being known as ‘God’. They prefer to teach the evolutionary myth which emphasises racism (some humans are on a lower evolutionary scale than whites), bullying (flood stories are not real, hence Scientists who believe it won’t be employed), and religious vilification.
FTFY
Giliell (@previous subthread)
Within the last five years my mother has bought a Bernina overlocker and sewing machine (to replace a burnt out Husqvarna). She knows what she’s doing, and wants tools that don’t get in the way.
Not that my parents have ever won the lottery, but they no longer need to support their children either. :) That might be almost the same thing.
@antigodless
Shoo! Out of TET! *sprays Troll-Away™*
ATTENTION: PAUL ZACHARY MYERS.
Zombie sighted in thread!
grab your cattle prod and shove it over to TZT.
we’ve been waiting patiently to torment it there.
Hooray!
Antigodless, TITTZT! Thataway→…NOMNOMNOM
That’s what PZ stands for? Huh, interesting.
And the blockquoted sentence is about 9000% more informative than anything antigodless has ever said since, well…probably since they learned to talk.
It took some Where’s Wally-type searching to find a correct statement by you, antigodless, but by the FSM, I found it!
I like this new TET already.
Carlie,
thank you. message received and understood. It’s late in my bit of the world and I am going to bed, with my Collie.
antigodless godbot, there is a thread for your kind. Stay the fuck away from the lounge.
Why should I ban my children?
You ain’t only antigodless, you’re also anti-grammar. Off with you to TZT.
Weed Monkey
So, that’s in about 20 years or so… That’s when I was planning to get my own crafts room, too.
What a coincidence *hehehe*
+++++
Did I mention that I have the bestest Mum in law in the world? Not only does she babysit the kids when I work late, no she also awaited me with about 2lbs of fresh, washed, cleaned strawberries and a glass of homemade strawberry jam when I came home.
Caine,
Did you say something about new ratties?
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
It never fails! I try to level up my tons and whoosh! Two threads get cut off before I get back!
There’s a difference between setting boundaries and strangling the joy out of your kids. Setting boundaries means things like, “Maybe when you’re a bit older,” or “Not a good idea, and this is why.” Really, Mom could have told the kid he could see it as long as she or Dad was with him. She could have even used seeing the movie as a starting point for talking about morality.
Barring her son from seeing it based purely on the fact that it has magic in it and that hurts Jehovah’s feelings? If you don’t think you can impress on your son the difference between reality and fantasy without making god sound like a tyrannical brat, you’ve got bigger problems than what your kids are being exposed to. Like blind fear.
As for the social interaction part, I can understand parents wanting their kids to avoid people who would get them into all sorts of serious trouble, but it’s not always possible. Besides teaching them to avoid that crowd, what about teaching your kids HOW to deal with them? And not by clobbering them over the head with “You’ll burn in hell forever.”
antigodless
Get out of this Thread.
Yeah, I mean, sensible parents could have used that as a starting point about magic vs. imagination, how we know what’s real and what’s not and wouldn’t it be totes cool if we could do some magic but sadly can’t (I want a house-elf, badly).
No, what JW-mum said was “magic is real and Jahwe hates it, throw the toy away”
… not that I want to help the godbots or anything, but when some of your major advocates are convicted pedophiles and their supporters, it’s an analogy you probably want to steer clear of.
I am going to bed, with my Collie.
*ahem*
I won’t take that as a euphemism.
no siree.
Happy Transit of Venus day to the Aussies! (and anyone else watching) The real time cam is up on the site, doesn’t look great tbh, just a purple ball with some black spots – no venus yet.
That’s what PZ stands for? Huh, interesting.
yeah, strangely I now notice that the profile links on the FtB version of Pharyngula no longer lead to an actual, you know, profile!
here’s a brief one:
the Rise of Atheism
:)
This video reminds me greatly of a time SonSpawn came home from a 4H meeting in tears because some Catholic kid there had told him that his Yu-Gi-Oh cards were satanic and had to be burned to destroy Teh Ebil™. Apparently the kid and siblings had gotten some YGO cards and, surprisingly enough, began arguing about them. Instead of discussing how hard it is to share, how to resolve conflict via communication, or any actual useful response, parents informed kids that their fighting was because a Spirit of Evil™ had entered their house with the new cards and proceeded to have a ceremonial burning. SonSpawn was well and truly freaked out to the point of sobbing.
Mr. Mattir (the other one) knelt down in front of SonSpawn, took him by the shoulders, and said, very very gently:
Then SonSpawn asked if we could have a family poker game to help him feel better.
* * *
Troll at #11 – I spent the years from roughly 5 to 15 believing that a Magic Sky Fairy had created me in order to suffer, that I was going to hell because I hadn’t received the correct sprinkles of magic water, and that I was, by design, impossible for the Magic Sky Fairy or any actual real life human being to love. My main source for these ideas? Religious books picked up at second hand book sales. (Well, that and a majorly suckitude family situation…) This is why I paid very careful attention to what my children read, at least up until the point that they began reading Pharyngula… I didn’t want them exposed to the malefic influence of irrational godbots such as yourself. So shoo over to TZT – there are impressional youths lurking here.
Impressionable. Impressionable Youths.
And is it just me, or is that the lamest looking toy ever? And isn’t Spurlock The Wizard a great name for a Harry Potter themed porn movie?
Interesting story.. Vatican rebukes nun for her book making case for same sex love
The Vatican should be promoting and reading from that book, and not their one-and-only…
…the governing body for Jehovah’s Witnesses is called The Governing Body?
Creativity is a sin, I guess.
Ugh, if only this were the worst they did to their kids… When my mother lived in a YWCA for a while in the late 70s she shared a room with a teenager who had been kicked out by her family. Her crime? She had a non-JW (but still xtian and according to my mum really nice) boyfriend.
(Incidentally to the many previous conversations on harrasment/safety of women, my mother was living in the YWCA on the advice of friends in the police. They’d told her her previous digs were in a likely target area of the Yorkshire Ripper and advised her to find anywhere else)
All but one of the times I’ve been doorstepped by JWs they’ve had a kid with them. Annoys the hell out of me, but hopefully I do my best to plant seeds of doubt without ever raising my voice. I don’t tell them I’m not a believer, I just politely point out all the nastier bits of the OT and Revelations and why the xtian god is not worthy of worship. They generally seem quite suprised to be so politely refuted (Heh, I know my father is a lot angrier with them, especially after the death of a JW mother of twins from postpartum haemorrhage that happened a few years ago in the UK)
Mattir
I hope he had those fuck expensive trading cards in protective sleeves or he deserves to be tortured in hell forever.
Seeing the kids play at the playground with naked cards in the sand makes my heart bleed.
Antigodless: Get the fuck out. You make me sick.
Esteleth: Regarding the Real Scientists thread: There’s only one troll there. Illithid. Has shown himself to be desperately insecure, jealous of anyone else who has nice things, extremely misogynistic, and downright predatory when it comes to women. I’m not even kidding.
Giliell: Yeah, carbon steel does sharpen up wonderfully. And rust can be prevented with a bit of oil. But most people don’t like to have to maintain their knives.
BTW if Crip Dyke doesn’t mind the maintenance, I’d gladly use carbon steel.
Toys! Much too serious business to be left to kids, eh?
When I was a child, I thought like a child. Now I am no longer a child, and have put aside childish things.
I read slash based on childish things instead …
Science: ur doin it rong.
There is no such thing as an evolutionary scale. It’s not a ladder (that’s what “scale” means), it’s a tree, and the present time is the outside of the tree, where the tips of the twigs are.
“Never say higher or lower”
– written by Darwin in a margin of a book in the 1840s
If you know any facts about geology and apply the scientific method to them, you’ll conclude that no global flood ever happened (at least not in the last… let’s say 3 billion years). There are no scientists who believe in Noah’s Flood, and there haven’t been since the early 19th century, well before Darwin. It really is that simple.
:-) I can imagine this so well… Mr. Mattir (the other one) is really good at that. :-)
Impressive ones, too.
Giliell:
Er, you really don’t want to look at my M:TG cards. Really. You don’t. They were in a box for 15 years, but I just put them in binders.
Aaaand here we go!
Well, it’s not because of the toy, it’s because of the book of Middle Eastern fairytales they accept as truth.
And if you don’t think devout Christians of many flavors don’t care for their kids to mingle with kids of other faiths… then I’m not sure what planet you’ve been brought up on. Not this one, anyway.
So, um, please explain, in terms your preadolescent can understand, why this magic, by Disney, is good, while this magic, by Sparlock the Warrior Wizard, is bad.
Can you tell me what bit of black magic Sparlock demonstrated in that video? I’ll bet you can’t.
It depends – if, with a five minute conversation, you could utterly cleanse that neighbor of his tendencies, and know perfectly that it had succeeded forever, would you do that?
Would you love your kids enough to do that if you had the ability?
Can God do that?
Does he love your kids enough to do that?
If you had the power to make certain that neighbor could never in any way hurt the kids, no matter how much they interacted, would you do that?
Would you love your kids enough to do even just that?
Can God do that?
Does he love your kids enough to do that?
Or would you just respect the neighbor’s free will, and let him do whatever he wants, and then promise your kids that you’ll get him later on… after he’s dead. He’ll be sorry – you’ll see! (Well, actually you won’t see, of course – ’cause he’ll be dead – but I’ll get him good, really! Really really really and for true pinkie-swear really!)
“There are demons hiding in your toys to do bad things to you” – responsible parenting or not?
‘Cause that’s what the video produced by the theists actually said.
You are incorrect. I would be perfectly happy to talk to my kids (were I to have any) about whatever myth system they’d like to. The more the better, in fact.
Once again, you demonstrate a seemingly willful misunderstanding of the people you’re speaking to.
Citation required. Please, please, try, just try, just this once, to be honest enough to give a citation for this. You’re so used to lying, I know, but make the effort.
Wrong facts are wrong.
If I insist on putting maple syrup into gasoline-powered vehicles, I will not keep a job at a filling station.
The only groups more interested in vilifying religion than atheists are other religious groups. I believe that Moslems are incorrect, and may suffer – often undeservedly – throughout their lives for it. You believe they deserve to suffer endlessly for it. Which one of us has a more positive view of their faith?
Richard Austin
Well…
I have a box full of U and Cs still somewhere at my parent’s and some folders with the rares. Sadly The Lord of the Rings (movie) TCG died long ago and they are only worth the nostalgia.
Hey, but I have some that are signed by totally unimportant side-characters that appeared for like 2 secs in the movie…
But it was great fun while it lasted and I met one of my best friends via this. Seriously, she alone would be worth the money (and it was a lot of money) I spent on it.
I used to play the pre-movie Lord of the Rings TCG, back in the day. That was a heck of a game. Still get nostalgic about Legend of the Five Rings from that time-period, as well.
Havelock & Sam are settling in nicely, especially considering their arduous journey here. I put them in the Rat Condo initially, top floor, where the igloo is at. Rubin was terribly excited, smelling my hands and could. not. wait. to meet the new kids. Sam is now figuring out ladders, Havelock is raiding one of Rubin’s pantries. Sam also wants to fuck Rubin, which is making Rubin a bit nervous.
We did momentarily think to only bring Havelock home, but after talking to the woman at the pet store, we decided against that. Havelock & Sam are sibs and have always been together. This turned out to be a good decision, as just a while ago, I lifted Havelock down from the fifth floor of the condo and showed him the 4th floor. As soon as Havelock was out of his sight, Sam started distress crying something terrible. Rubin rushed to his aid immediately.
They are both now out of the condo and exploring their side table, summer house and ferret tent.
Havelock is calm and quiet, Sam is a screamer and a handful. Pics here, last 5 shots. (Havelock is the black & white, Sam the brown.)
Godbotters like Antigodless thoroughly repulse me.
They just go around spewing their fucking religious dogma anywhere they like like dogs shitting on people’s lawns.
No sense of boundaries. No respect for anyone. Nope, they just gotta spread the ‘good news’ of their horrible, miserable, misogynistic rapist sheep-god.
Antigodless: Wad it into a ball, spit on it a few times for lube, and ram it up your asshole.
But you might cause less damage than putting gasoline on pancakes!
Sorry, my humor sucks but it wants to be ared from time to time ;)
Okay, okay, okay. Three things…
–
#1 – A friend would never give you a toy. No friend of mine just gave me a toy. Lost credibility right there.
#2 – Why does Mom sound like Sarah Palin. (That upped the creepy factor.)
#3 – I was a JW kid. I had that terrible yellow book “for kids.” I was forbidden to watch a show that had magic in it. It was then that I realized I was an atheist. I was about 4 years old. So forbidding stupid things like kid shows is a brilliant tactic that JW’s are using for our movement. We should send the Governing Body a gift basket.
Fucking predatory Xtians… always hunting for someone in pain, or alone, or hurting… ‘Prey’ in a weak moment for them to exploit. Fucking carrion birds. But they do it out of god’s loooooooooooove! Fuck them.
Always trying to co-opt any charity or cause they come across so they can make it all about ‘winning souls for jeebus’ and point to it as an example of the GREAT charity work their church does. *spits*
Antigodless figures he can just come into TET and take a big runny shit like that, but I bet if I went into his church and started talking about evolution and natural selection, I’d be another one of those meanie-weenie atheists trying to ‘oppress’ their faith.
*spits, directly into antigodless’s gaping mouth*
Caine
Squeeeeee!
Havelock look like really nosy and out for mischief.
And now off to be where I should have been an hour ago.
Herb Reed, of The Platters, has died.
Only You
I would like to point out that, when I ‘tell’ a fire story, I try very hard to make sure that it is germane to whatever the current discussion is. Or at least, I hope I do.
If PZ is good with this, this sounds like a good policy. No idea how it will actually go over, but it sounds good.
That really is depressing. But, on the bright side, a friend of mine told me, just a few days ago, that the days of sexism are over.
What the everloving fuck?
I think the first is more polite. Maybe use the second if I, or whoever, persist.
I can offer a model of a German Tiger tank, would that help? We could put it on top of the alligator hanging from the ceiling.
Should be simpler, though. Fully ossified and a lot fewer fenestra than, say, a Permian amphibian.
Billboards? Don’t get much more high tech than that.
From my experience with Wife, the ‘glow’ was capillary hemorrhaging from the vomiting.
So the rich shouldn’t be allowed to comment on the tax rates on the rich? Corporations shouldn’t comment on regulations?
I disagree. Vehemently.
I agree. Vehemently.
Conga rats!
I hope they fit into the herd quickly.
—
antigodless: Out! OUt, you foul beast from the nether regions!
A Very Important Lesson.
Oh, definitely. Creativity requires the ability to think outside the book.
Audley:
I did! Havelock & Sam are doing just fine, but there’s been much squeaking going on…Sam is intent on fucking Rubin, and barring that, it’s ‘alright then, fight!’ Boys.
Havelock is doing excellent, he’s already following all of Chas’s pee trails on the studio floor, checking out every inch of the studio.
Hrm? Linking to the Pharynguwiki works again? That’s good to know.
EEEE for new ratties!
\o/
Here’s hoping they settle in well, Caine!
*ignores the troll*
Caine: The rats are adorable! They seem pretty happy… unrequitted sexual advances notwithstanding…
Giliell:
He’s the sweetie of the two. At least so far. :D
Ogvorbis:
Thank you! Esme hasn’t discovered them yet…
antigodless
there’s good damn reason for mocking that bit of nonsense.
Because it is 100% unsupportable, proven wrong, nonsense.
Pretty much like the the rest of your #11 comment.
The transit of Venus is now visible here. Just saw it through a kind neighbour’s refractor and solar filter.
Esteleth:
Thank you, Esteleth!
TLC:
Thank you! They’ve quieted down for the moment, probably working on schemes of evil and whatnot. :D
Provided you haven’t named any of them Ben, they should be fine.
The Astronomy Picture of the Day is showing live pictures of the Sun taken by the Earth-orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory. It’s happening now, folks.
RahXephon, one of the people at PET made a response:
—
quoderatdemonstrandum, I’m fairly sympathetic; I too am inclined to try to sincerely apologise while also defending/justifying the basis for my transgression. Being here has made me aware of this habit, and I am consciously changing my modus to a simple sincere apology.
↑This↑
Agent Silversmith:
No Bens. Right now it’s Esme, Rubin, Havelock & Sam.
rats: Oh squee that Havelock has a little keyhole bib. One of my past rats had belly/throat splash markings like that.
kristinc back on the previous TET: argh. Yes, that’s worthy of climbing-the-walls crankiness all right. Personally I’ve got to the point where I just smile and nod and don’t talk about it at all ever (it’s hellish complicated, not my immediate family and we don’t live under the same roof thank FSM). I wish you a respite from bullshit permitting a speedy return to normal blood pressure levels!
.
Sili #38
My favourite fun reading thing :-D
.
Yay for the inseparable Havelock and Sam! Sounds like you have your hands full for a bit Caine :)
.
antidelusionless:
Wow, that’s some prime grade A industrial strength ignorance and stupidity you’ve got there … seriously, you believe such nonsense – and poisonous nonsense at that – and you think you have lessons in morality to give anyone? Beggars belief.
Ogvorbis,
I judge that PZ’s bottom-up management style for this little soap-box has been exemplary, so far.
Anyone who thinks more is less or that a DMZ means there is no battlefield thinks differently to me.
(I still miss Pirate Mode, but)
Pity.
Every Havelock should have an Ellis.
Hey, anybody care to give some Paris vacation tips to Jen?
http://freethoughtblogs.com/blaghag/2012/06/help-this-stupid-tourist/
Or a Bourne.
Pteryxx:
:D :D :D
Opposablethumbs:
Oh yes, I will. :D
Sili:
You shouldn’t assume. Wrong Havelock. They’re named after Havelock Vetinari and Sam Vimes.
Demilitarized ROU
@John Morales
You can tell them I’m in Oklahoma City, and the “scaredy dog” (heh) is a cocker spaniel. And he’s not “troublesome” in the sense of being mean, he’s very sweet, it’s just that I’ve never been able to get him house trained, and he doesn’t mind at all. For example, if I call him to go outside to use the bathroom, he either ignores me or runs to hide under the bed.
Caine
Naming intelligent, inquisitive creatures after Terry Pratchett characters seems quite fitting.
Relayed, RahXephon.
Kid #3, aka child-the-tiny, is obsessed with the woodpeckers that come to the bird feeder. Birds that can drill a hole in a tree with their face?!
But then, no adult’s understanding of reality (or unreality, or indeed logic) survives contact with child-the-tiny. She is a chaotic force of nature.
I can only hope for chaotic good.
‘Twas a joke. A pun even. A bad joke in poor taste, of course, but consider the source. And not being familiar with that particular meme is actually points in your favor.
*hug* for Cipher. Come back when you can.
–
JeffreyD!!!
*hugs&chocolate*
(NOT a response to any unintended passive/aggressive cry for attention. I missed you. How does the foot?)
–
Audley, rubber chickens are quite reasonably priced. I have one, myself.
:)
–
Ogvorbis! *hug*
–
In fact, *vast pile of hugs/booze/chocolate/kittens/bacon* for all the returning Threadizenry!
–
This.
If it goes on long enough, if scrolling shows that this is all that’s going on, I start to feel that old familiar helpless/nauseated/paralysed feeling. And I know damned good and well that it has everything to do with [Parent’s] screaming ranting. Works in meatspace, too, and even better.
I don’t expect it to all be butterflies and rainbows and fakey pasted-on smiles, but there comes a point-past-which.
–
And This.
I know meatspace people for whom there is no such thing as an honest mistake or misunderstanding. I avoid them like the Plague.
–
I wear my cultural ignorance on my shoulder. Proudly.
I had no idea that even existed.
Agent Silversmith:
I agree. :D
Ugh, it stinks of lying fundie in here. And bad-faith arguments. I don’t think spraying the room will be sufficient; it may need professional cleaning.
Predator Handshake, glad to hear Matilda’s okay.
Aratina, without Googling, I’m pretty sure PZ has posted about Hagee before. He’s a big name among the Dommies.
Giliell:
Jealous.
TLC, re Illithid:
Probably jealous of “assholes” for having “nice things,” meaning female significant others. It couldn’t be that the women in question prefer the company of other men to his pathetic self; naw, they’re unjustly hogging the pussy.
Jazz-metal fusion was a new one on me. I’ve heard Celtic-metal fusion and bluegrass-metal fusion, but not jazz-metal fusion.
Ogvorbis:
:(
Caine: Sam and Havelock are teh cute.
A link for Walton and some other people as well.
Thanks, John.
antigodless,
You’ve just completly displaced the literal use of that word in your mind, haven’t you? Yikes.
‘Tis Himself
Aww, all I have is this…
(I’m all excited, though, I actually got a shot with my camera without breaking anything. Even if it’s not a fancy shot, it’s MINE! :P )
Crip Dyke, you got unmoderated. Subsequent comment #s are toast. ;)
For the squidly ones via Google+:
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/33793/anglers+extraordinary+find+is+no+sea+monster+but+a+giant+squid/
Stuff about royalty isn’t still banned, is it?
RahXephon, previous TET:
That was me, I think. I’m so glad that the suggestions worked out for you!
Caine:
I haven’t been on TET recently, so I’m a bit late, but I’m so sorry to hear about Chas. I enjoyed following his antics vicariously through your pictures and stories.
Your new additions are adorable.
Caine, congratulations on the adorable new additions to the herd!
Because everyone loves pet pics, here’s Gatsby, the Mr.’s demon, petting my hand
Rey Fox: I LOL’ed.
Jessa:
Oh, thank you so much, Jessa. Ever since Havelock discovered under the quilt, he hasn’t been seen. :D Sam wouldn’t stop fighting, so he had an encounter with the dreaded water bottle and he’s quiet now too. Poor boy, he’s going to have a bit of a hard time adjusting. Oh, Havelock discovered the bathroom, too. We might just have another adventurer/explorer, a la Alfie.
Happiestsadist:
Thank you! Gatsby is a gorgeous monster.
Fucking vikings!
http://freethoughtblogs.com/rodda/files/2012/06/vikings.jpg
But unlike fists, words are Taken Internally, virtually as soon as they hit your eyeballs.
–
Thanks!
–
onion girl! *hugs*
–
*hugs* for Esteleth and Ing.
*reading on a bit*
Aaaand moar *hugs*.
–
And goodness knows the homophobic religiot demographic hasn’t learned how to
spammass email every.single.
person.
that they know with their religiotically homophobic screeds.
*rolling of eyes, yea, even unto spraining*
–
Oooh, yes! Leaving Loki lying (laying? let’s go with, ‘collapsed’) in a Loki-sized divot in the floor, groaning quietly. I’ve been looking for a clip of that, too. My very favoritest part of the whole movie!
–
Thank you, Richard Austin! “And I will not be bullied by…..” *wham wham wham wham*
–
:D :D :D, indeed!
–
:)
Fit company for Esme.
–
Caine: He is indeed. And really knows it. He’s also loud, too smart for his own good, and vicious when he wants to be. We love him.
Here’s Cinnamon, my ancient and utterly sweet cat, who, by contrast, has never lifted a paw in anger to any human, and is scared of most things that aren’t me, or that godawful ugly, yet incredibly comfy, chair. However, her farts could peel paint.
However, she hates having her picture taken And eventually makes a face suggesting that were she less of a lady, she’d do something indelicate.
http://www.skepticalcommunity.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=626710#p626710
Oh! And for the folks here wondering about my collection of bones, the whole reason I got the camera out tonight in the first damn place!
Leviathan, the pilot whale.
and Ratatosk , who has a fancy metal body.
Fucking Vikings? I wish. I lived in Scandinavia briefly.
I know I shouldn’t – but I think Alfie is my favourite.
Vaguely royalty associated Rey, (I LOLed to, BTW) here’s a guy who has just been knighted. A mighty All Black! Epitome of the manly manliness associated with Rugby Union!
He received the gong, largely for his fronting of a campaign to address depression, using his own experience as a starting point. Now that’s an admirable specimen of a bloke:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/sport/7049684/Well-deserved-honour-for-Kiwi-legend
Cicely:
Indeed. :D
Happiestsadist, Cinnamon is beautiful, I am so jealous over Leviathan and I *love* Ratatosk!
Esteleth, Raging Dyke of Fuck Mountain
I mentioned this in an email to my sister-in-law, and she is interested. As in, how-can-I-get-this interested.
Caine: She’s the weirdest cat I’ve ever met, and hard as hell to photograph, but I agree she’s pretty much utterly adorable.
And thank you. A friend of mine does wire art, and he asked if he could borrow and make a body for the skull I’d just acquired for an art show. So for a couple months, he was originally displayed in a cage at a gallery. It’s an amazing piece, I feel lucky knowing so many artists.
Amblebury:
Why shouldn’t you? Alfie was a wonderful rat, a great personality. He was an adventurer extraordinaire and a rescue rat*.
*As in Search and Rescue. One time, when I thought I lost Chas out and about in the house, I let Alfie out. He proceeded to search the whole house, foot by foot, checking back with me every 10 minutes or so. He did find Chas for me and earned “free run of the house” privileges.
Caine @ #100: Wow, that’s pretty amazing. Rats are so damn smart.
Caine:
:D
I don’t know about rats (I’ve only had one at a time), but I know that the dominance humping still happens every once in a while with the gerbils. Usually, it’s Chuck, um, dominating Syd.
But, then again, they get rough with their grooming, too. Syd will push Chuck over and groom his belly until he squeaks. *head shake* They are weird little animals!
It sounds like Havelock and Sam are going to fit in just fine. When they’re ready, give them snuggles for me. :)
cicely:
I keep meaning to buy one and now I have an excuse!
When I was in college, I took a lit class called something like “humor in America”. Anyway, for our first paper, we could write on any humorous subject of our choice. I wrote on the absurdity of rubber chickens– I think I got an A-. :D
Is that Javascript – The Definitive Guide in the background? Ugh.
Cool skull though.
Audley: That paper sounds, well, hilarious!
CM @ #103: The skull is mine, but that section of bookshelf belongs to The Mr.
My replacement is physically incapable of performing a common task required for the job. Oh boy the next month is going to be Hillllllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiioooooooooous.
Anyone think I should warn her to run now?
Attention everyone! I cooked dinner!
This is an accomplishment. I generally don’t cook (not to be confused with can’t cook), because I consider the effort involved outweighs the reward. But I had a craving for jambalaya. I cobbled together the ingredients from the recesses of my memory, and it turned out delicious.
Unfortunately, I didn’t write down the amounts of the ingredients, so the next time I make it will have to be improvised as well.
*sniff* I knew I loved that rat.
Also, to look at, he reminded me very much of my old rat, Wes.
Wes was described by the vet as a, “fine, plump little gentleman.”
Happiestsadist:
Yes they are and Alfie was exceptional in that regard. He was so very intelligent and ever inquisitive. He wasn’t afraid of anything, either. He freaked the cats out – they’d be trying to stealthily follow him, looking at that tail, when he’d turn around and charge them. :D
Audley:
Oh my. Boys. Odd little critters all the way around. :P The grooming gets a bit ferocious with Esme, too. She means business when she grooms!
I’m glad to hear about Chuck & Syd though, glad they are doing well.
I’ll definitely do that. :)
Mattir:
:D
+1 to Mr Mattir!
Changed nyme to cheer myself up
Amblebury:
Oh, how sweet and wonderful is that? That is just so…perfect.
Le sigh. Nothing but local nebulae* all night. No transit of Venus for me. I even got the solar filter for the telescope and a set up for projection. NASA tv sufficed, but there’s something about collecting the photons with your own retina.
*fucking clouds!
“We Are Ing The Matrimonial Collective”:
I likes it. A lot.
I just came back from showing my daughter’s kinder class the transit of Venus. While I was doing it one kid said “Are you magic?” Wheee! I got to say: “No. No it’s not. It’s SCIENCE!” I’m having a really great day.
I also showed it to a couple of adult friends as we were leaving the grocery, and the rep who sells me Wurth tools and a random customer, and the butcher next door, he’s threatening to call me Professor from now on. Oh, and my wife…twice! It’s a good day to be a geek.
This is how I feel right now!
The Laughing Coyote: I would be interested in commissioning a knife from you. Please email me at rob at metalmischief dat com. :-)
I could go on for years about this Jehovah’s Witless crap. Suffice to say that when I meet one I don’t know they get the story of how watching my mom getting baptized was the worst day of my life and I still hope she’ll throw off the yoke of oppression before she dies and actually gets to spend a few years living. That tends to cool out the coming kingdom talk. Unfortunately there are a few that I have known since childhood that I can’t be a douche to and it always burns my ass that they remember me at book studies trying so hard to learn. Actually I was busy staring down some girl’s blouse, I was just holding the book at a convenient angle to permit studious observation (For some reason bras were considered worldly at the time).
Ah, I didn’t get that the first time. Probably because I’m a gay man and that’s not the crowd I hang around. But I am saying TITTZT in my head as “tit-zit”, so I should have got it.
I has a rat sad. My son left me 3 fancies to take care of and thanks for all the great advice. A person I am still pissed at entered our home briefly, bought a rat and dumped her in with my son’s crew. They were all female so got along. The person freakin inebriated and opiated left in a pissy fit and took the wrong rat. Poor thing had never been separated from her crew. She died coughing 2 days later and the person never bothered to call to say she was sick! Im not really a rat fan but the girls were always respectful and grateful for treats….. surprised to say that I miss her
Oh Broboxley, I am so sorry.
Hey it’s broboxley! I actually was just wondering where you went!
Sorry, missed post and had feeling that might be not-misery to see you post again. Sympathies from the collective
Hey broboxley!
What a thoughtless,stupid individual to do that. A pox on them.
Hey now, I don’t hang around that crowd either. Not really sure how the hell I got exposed to that meme, but I assumed more people knew about it. Now I’m sad because I have to explain my bad pun (it was funny in my mind, but then again my mind is a strange and hostile place). Talk about several layers of humor fail.
Ima go play Skyrim now.
Erülóra, huh.
FWIW, I am fully aware of it (I’m married to an ex-stripper!) but I didn’t get it, either.
(In my case, possibly because I don’t tend to “sound” words as I read them)
Erulora:
Because it was used *all over* for way to long, perhaps? I know some people who still use it. For what it’s worth, I got your joke and chuckled.
Hey Ing, I don’t think I said it, so congrats on your matrimonialism!
@broboxley, good to see you again, and how awful to hear about what that person did to your crewmember.
@Erülóra Maikalambe
D’OH! Sorry for such an implication. Come to think of it, one of the links I clicked today or yesterday–oh, I know, it was the one to Fat, Ugly or Slutty–documented several men who I assume are straight saying such a thing to random women on MMORPGs. I’m glad I was not exposed to that crowd growing up.
Too. :sigh:
@TLC:
No. I don’t mind the maintenance. Both my Hemmer knives are carbon steel recycled from saw blades from a lumber mill (or more than one) in Sweden. I don’t know why he gets his recycled carbon steel from old saw blades sourced from Sweden, but he does.
Maybe he just likes visiting the strap-on of women’s rights.
I know I do.
Repeatedly.
Caine:
I’ve been admiring your embroidery work, most recently on the Darkheart Duckie project, and I have an itch to try my hand at it. Apparently my brain responds to the looming huge loads of work at my job by thinking, “Here! New craft!”. Any recommended resources?
FossilFishy:
Out getting a couple of last-minute shots at sunset, I had two different couples happening past who asked what I was doing and then totally squeed (one even made the noise) when I showed them.
Gotta love digital photography.
My job leaves me very little free time, I truly miss all here but do hang around the fb group easier to keep up with. Ing huarge congrats, smokey, miss everyone but the sick march(death march with sundays maybe off) will be ending this month and will have more time to keep up.
thx,
bill
Myeck,
The 30’s Singer, as previously stated, is in my grandma’s cabin. And I’m not sure if it is for sale. If your SIL wants to see it, that can be arranged, but I’d have to ask about selling it.
PZ, perhaps The late John A Davison could be removed from the Dungeon roster?
Aratina Cage
No problem, as no offense was taken. I just wanted to make sure to clarify.
Jessa:
You sound just like me! JoAnn’s is where I generally get my supplies. A couple of things, though – if you’re going to use hoops as opposed to a slate frame, go with the Susan Bates hoops (you can see them here) as they have a lip on the inner ring which helps lock your fabric and raises it slightly. A hoop stand is worth the money, I have a floor stand. Have a fucktonne of needles, change them out often.
Don’t skimp on scissors, get good ones. Finger gloves are most helpful. For patterns and such, Urban Threads is my go to place. A cheap lightbox (you can find one at any art supply store) is very useful when it comes to drawing patterns on fabric.
http://www.berlinembroidery.com/ is a good shop and so is http://www.everythingcrossstitch.com/ (They sold me individual skeins of a variegated I needed.)
I’ll continue links in the next post. :)
*applause* for The Other Mr. Mattir!
–
broboxley! There’s a huge pile of *hugs’n’stuff* over thataway; help yourself to some, and welcome back. :)
–
Continuing embroidery stuff:
Corvus tristis has some of the best free patterns you’ll ever find, including the best tentacles ever.
Stitches & Embroidery tutorials: http://www.embroidery.rocksea.org/
Bad Birds, Andrea Zuill’s blog, informative and fab patterns.
Urban Threads group at flickr.
Without overstating the obvious, @antigodlees = mushhead.
Regarding JWs, I dated a girl formerly a JW, and received the whole inside story. Lets just say that the teaching methods go far beyond videos and books.
That fuckhead Anthony Morris left out intimidation, coercion, duress, isolation, neglect, and that’s a partial list. The fucking JWs are sick bastards and they are one version xstians I have ZERO tolerance for. Adults can do what they want, but to subject children to the shit I heard about, they should be on trial for abuse.
Esteleth
Yes, if it’s no problem. Thanks.
Where is your SIL, myeck?
[threadcrupt]
But I bring you a peace offering: Venus transit from Hong Kong.
(Hah, you all on the wrong side of the pond are snoozing and going to miss it, mwahahahaha)
Crip DYke:
I know why, because that’s likely good quality steel. Swedish blades in general have a reputation. Gransfors-Bruks axes, Mora knives, etc.
On top of that, a lot of older sources of usable steel tend to be ‘better’. I don’t have any actual data to back that up, but I know when I tried to make armor from car hoods, the older the make and model, the stronger the steel.
There’s something I enjoy about recycling steel tools into good knives. I’m actually managing to get myself psyched up to light the fire-pit.
Well, Esme & Havelock have met. She immediately climbed on him and peed on his head (high approval from Esme.) She then presented herself arse first to him, waited until he started to get a good sniff, spun around, got him in a headlock and slammed him into the floor. He’s rather enchanted with her.
Yes, boys and girls, God wants to be your friend, but ONLY if you obey his every slightest whim, and cater to his every smallest desire. He doesn’t like it if you go off and do your own thing, have thoughts of your own, or have interests and hobbies that are not his own. If you try to do any of these things, he will be VERY cross, and he might try to hurt you. Because THAT, kids, is what true friendship is all about!
Wellp, gov Walker won in Wisconsin. I feel like a foot kicked with a large force on my psychological balls. Fuck you Republicans. Fuck you billionares. My mind is paralyzed. I don’t know what else to say.
Hey, silverbuttons, your snark ain’t too shoddy.
Eight years ago, about 20 minutes before the transit, the sky socked in and no transit was seen.
This year, we had rain and clouds for three days. Today was socked in with clouds but I packed up my two scopes and went to The Tellus Museum with hope in my heart.
At 5 p.m., the clouds began to break up. Twenty minutes after the transit started, the sky cleared.
With just a few scattered clouds that stopped viewing for about 5 minutes here and there – it was clear viewing until sunset. I kept looking at that little black dot on the Sun and saying “It’s Venus! That little black dot is really Venus!” Also, some very nice sunspots.
With eight members of our astronomy club and two scopes from Tellus, we had between 800 and 1,000 people view the transit.
It was a good day. A very good day.
Well, I just saw that Prometheus movie we were all talking about a few TET’s back.
It’s not what I expected it to be. And not in a good way.
I can’t really discuss my disappointment with it without spoilers though, so that’s all I’ll say. Well, that and at least it didn’t outright piss me off like the The Thing prequel nonsense.
Wow, that video is all about wtf-erry.
“Do you want Jehovah to be sad with you?”
“No”
“I don’t want him to be sad with you either!”
SERIOUSLY? This shit is beyond toxic! Besides, it’s clear she doesn’t mean “sad”, she means “mad”, or if she does, it’s the kind of “sad” that has to hurt someone else when they are sad. TOXIC.
Also, I totally had that exact “My book of bible stories” book. That’s pretty weird, seeing as how I know no Jehova’s witnesses. It’s also pretty lulzy since before I could even read English properly, I snipped it up to paste the pictures in a school book for some assignment.
TLC:
Aw, bummer.
Caine: Yeah… the movie I was picturing was kind of interesting. And, without going too far into spoiler-land, for a bit the movie almost looked like it would be ‘that movie’.
Obligatory transit of Venus video, and/or an excuse to put up my fav Police track.
I’m slightly jealous of all the high-tech observations other folk can make. I used a pair of binoculars and a sheet of white paper. The photo of my observation was digital though; my wife snapped a pic of the paper with her iphone. :)
FossilFishy: Your video doesn’t appear to work for me.
Nor me LC doh! Trying again.
Well, Sam finally stopped hiding, made his way back upstairs, had a big drink of water, discovered the dish of chocolate Ensure, declared it to be good and is now settling down on the top floor of the condo. Yay for the new boys doing so very well and extra Yays for Rubin & Esme being so accepting. *Whew*
I just watched the video of the “The Road Less Traveled Panel” with PZ Myers, Chris Stedman, & Leslie Cannold from GAC 2012, and I missed it in the audio version, but Leslie Cannold ends the panel discussion with this little admonition to us “militant”, cracker-stabbing, sacred-earth-violating atheists: “SHUT YOUR MOUTH!”
Sounds accommodationist to me. Why shouldn’t we get to state our real thoughts and feelings about religious nonsense? Why shouldn’t we get to say we will have none of it and won’t play their games?
After all, the religiously inclined do that all the time and we get virtually no say in the matter when they do it. Forget the rare exception when that crosses the Wall of Separation, most of the time it is private conversation or public speech where we hear about some ancient phrase or tradition they fancy as if it was accepted truth. Why can’t Cannold see how they do that to us? How about: we’ll shut our mouths when they shut theirs.
TLC #148:
That shitstorm had MacReady in it. It wasn’t a prequel =/
Swedish iron ore was considered to be some of the best (I.e. purest) in the western world. When the early Bessemer processes where being developed, purity was a huge factor in the quality of steel attained. Nowadays, the tech is advanced enough that the origin of the ore has little to do with the quality of the final product. (now it is the mill’s production methods and attention to detail that determines a steels final properties.)
too tired to dig for a less wiki link
Also, carbon steel blades do require more maintenance, but a properly heat treated high carbon steel blade will out perform stainless in most tests. (citations available on request tomorrow. :)
I saw Venus’ shadow today.
___
Sam, that’s a nice name. Glad I am to hear it.
Dhorvath:
:D I once had an apple snail named Sam I Am.
Setar: I’m not sure I remember MacReady being in the ‘prequel/remake’. You do know I’m talking about the 2011 movie, right? Not the 80’s masterpiece by John Carpenter which the ‘prequel’ shits all over.
And it was basically a prequel, they tried (lamely) to tie in a bunch of stuff from the 80s movie, most notably that two-faced Thing found torched and frozen at the norwegian camp in the climax. The whole thing was supposed to be ‘what happened at the norwegian camp’.
Speaking of shitstorms, FTBlogger Justin Griffith started off a thread at John Loftus’s with a copypasta of Hemant’s original–and wrong–“both sides are bad but Rebecca’s worse” Elevatorgate post. Unbelievable. As we have uncovered, the sequence of events that led up to Rebecca’s feminist preface to her speech at CFI was not as simple as Hemant portrayed it to be.
There were many more people involved than just Rebeccca and Stef. Once it was in motion, it was largely out of their hands. A simple phone call or email to work things out privately even between Rebecca and Stef (who, again, were not the only ones involved) wouldn’t have had much chance of success in calming things down in the small amount of time in which the whole thing blew up.
Hemant just didn’t know and reported his version of events based on very little information, but Justin has had so much time to investigate what really went down or to read what others have uncovered that he has no excuse for reposting that garbage.
Aratina Cage:
FFS, why? Ugh, the stupid that has been FTB lately…
Groupthink!Deep Rifts!Rebecca has to be worse because she said “guys don’t do that”. The other side want to touch people with their peepees whenever they want, that’s positive, Rebecca wants people not to do that, that’s negative.
Positive beats negative.
Quod erat dumbmotherfuckersexistrandum.
HTH HAND.
Louis
@ theophontes
I am SO jealous.
It was socked in all day here near Shanghai. I could watch live updates on my tablet, though, which I did and geeked everyone out. Meh. Let that be the worst day they ever have.
Good image, too!
Mutters to self. Kicks couch.
Aratina, #156,
Yeah I’ve seen that too. It was…unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons. Not least of which was I think too much was (allowed to be) made of PZ calling Chris Stedman names, Leslie Cannold was allowed to get away with (sorry) shrieking as opposed to argument (go listen, she really does shriek a couple of times, it’s astonishing), and PZ was avuncular and NICE. NICE DAMMIT! Maybe it wasn’t one of his fire breathing baby eating days, caused by nice Aussie food, Aussie beer and fear of lethal wildlife.
Louis
Theophontes,
I watched the transit of Venus…
…on the internet…
…IT SO DOES COUNT!!!
{sob of self pity}
{look of determination to live 105 years more}
Louis
Apropos of nothing at all, and especially of nothing that happened yesterday, here’s a parenting tip for those that want it.
How to not be a shitty parent.
If your three year old kid is in the process of being potty trained, and in the course of said process is not wearing a diaper, please tell the other parent of said kid’s bare bottom before leaving to get some groceries. Otherwise, things can get real shitty.
====
And another pro tip — and this may or may not have anything to do with events that may have happened in this household once — if your kid is sick and has puked, don’t assume that the bit of puke you found is the only puke around. Also, don’t clean up barefooted.
SQB,
Wise words. Wise, wise words.
I extend my sympathies to you as a fellow parent of a potty training 3 year old. Mine has decided that potties and toilets are not for him. He knows he needs to poo/wee, he knows when he’s doing it, he knows when it’s done. Doesn’t matter how much we sit him on the potty/toilet, when he’s ready to let fly the logs of war he simply stands up, does a runner and screams “nappy chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaange”.
I am tempted to strap the potty to his arse and administer elephant laxatives. But apparently that’s “child cruelty” or something. Bloody political correctness gone mad I tell you.
I see TET getting babyfied again. Deal with it. ;-)
Louis
Audley,
You will have noticed that a large portion of what parents do is sit about chatting in stunned amazement at the shit their kids pull. Sometimes literally.
When I had been a daddy for about a month I went up to my mother in tears and apologised. She patted me on the back and said “Tough. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!”. It was at that point I learned that the parental pressure to have children had but one purpose: Revenge.
Louis
@ SQB #169
Oh, this brings back many, many memories. My, yes.
Also when you are picking up a tiny squalling infant in a darkened room, do not clutch him to your bosom until you have checked the state of his tiny sleepers, ESPECIALLY if you are wearing your last clean shirt and are due in court within the hour.
Finally got to watch the video. Yeah, I had that Bible Studies book in the house while growing up. Even to my unseasoned kid’s mind, Jehovah came across as a real shit, someone who was just itching for you to do one little thing wrong so he could inflict a terrible punishment.
The snippet about Dinah shows just how “superior” the morality is. It was very bad for Shechem to rape Dinah – not because she didn’t want to have sex, or because she’d be traumatised, but because they weren’t married. A fucked up perspective still looks fucked up in G-rated terminology.
The video itself was a lesson to all kids with god-soaked parents. Have fun where they won’t notice, because squashing anything the least bit subversive is what they enjoy most. Oh, and Satan has all the best toys.
@ Louis
I put “the parent’s curse” on my children more than once:
“May you have a child just like you.”
Louis
The fact that he’s too young for “This will be filmed and shown at your 21st” to be an effective threat proves that there’s no god.
I dunno. Seems to me leaving him in there is kinda a fitting memorial.
(/’In memoriam: JAD. And even if he returns from beyond the grave, no, he still can’t post here.’)
Agent Silversmith, Feathered Patella Association,
I’ve never been worried that the threat is ineffective now. I merely refer to my activities as “collecting material for future use”.
Louis
Aratina, watching that video now.
I imagine I can see PZ really forcing himself to keep quiet in places.
I heard Ridley Scott being interviewed. He said people were mistaken if they thought Prometheus was going to be some sort of prequel to Alien, and that that was at least a couple of more movies away.
MOAR MOVIES
I also heard Leslie Cannold speak at the GAC. I especially heard the, “I believe agnostics do actually exist, unlike bisexuals” part.
A charmer, to be sure.
Amblebury,
Oh on the day I can deliver the message of revenge to my spawn I will be able to die a happy and fulfilled human being. And apparently the teenage years are worse! I’m turning up to every school disco/activity in a Borat style mankini and 70s style platform high heels including a dead goldfish in each, with “Don’t hate me because I’m gorgeous” written on my chest in glitter and the kind of bad lipstick job* that makes you think the person wearing it is about to go for your throat.
Hey, parent-teacher conferences will be a BLAST.
Louis
* Incorporates only one side of face and opposite eye at minimum.
Ugh, I’m so upset about Scott Walker winning. This proves that corporations own this country, and their interests are to fuck over everyone who makes less than them. How people can seriously vote Republican when they have been caught on video saying pretty much that they don’t give a rat’s ass about anyone besides their special interest groups is beyond me.
This is an absolute mess. Romney has a shot in the election now, and not because people want him in, but because corporations are going to pay hand over fist to get him in there. Greedy billionaires. Fuck them. Fuck them, fuck Republicans, fuck Republican voters (even my parents, fuck them too.)
Ah Louis, it’s nice to have something to dream and plan for. *sniff*
I don’t think I’ve done anything too remarkable with regard to my own offspring’s educational experiences. There was a slightly-too-audible “Oh, for fuck’s sake” at one of the school masses, (small town, no option but to go Catlick.) But the progeny were off flinging chalices around, or whatever it is they do.
Amblebury,
Oh good work that parent!
I can only aspire to such lofty heights. There have been a few audible (and obviously visible) face palms. My friends tell me that when the Boy goes to do religious educations classes of any type and there is any form of parent teacher conference I have to get through it without using the word “but”.*
Louis
* Based on similar bets made at university. I had to go to a Christian Union talk on creationism and pay my friend one pint for each use of the word “but”. He realised my vocabulary was extensive, and thus I could find alternatives, but he was relying on me losing it to such an extent I was reduced to spluttering “but but but but but” at which point he would get at least a free night out. I did not accept the bet.
@ Louis
But you might have won!
My favourite period of childhood was when my kids came to recognise sarcasm. It was like gaining two wise-cracking buddies.
One Christmas, a store sold giant chocolate bars wrapped in gold. I asked the kids to pick ONE that they both liked. My sonspawn chimed in at once, but daughterspawn only shrugged. We got sonspawn’s choice. A minute later, she said quite loudly, “Why does sonspawn always get to pick!” I was not amused, and replied, “Because I love him more than I love you.” She glared at me and said, “Yeah, right!” An eavesdropping shopper unfroze with a sigh of relief and moved on.
I practised safe sarcasm after that.
A few million years ago, when I was a woolly-headed, slightly crunchy, (a difficult combination to achieve, mark ye) Mother I formed a vague notion that I would expose the loin-fruit to religion, via schooling, and they could make of it what they would.
Fairly soon, they had converted me to hard-nosed atheism. Without a word of a lie, that is how I slipped from the pearlescent fence of agnosticism, onto the lush, earthy turf of reality.
(Can you believe my novel keeps getting rejected by publishers? With prose like that?)
Lyn M,
I know my limitations! I had precisely zero chance. At some point some piece of abject stupidity would have reduced me to a mammering wreck, dribbling faintly on the floor and sobbing “but but but DATA” to myself as my brains leaked out my ears due the bile pressure exerted from my spleen.
It’s best to know when one is beaten! Focus one’s efforts on smaller problems than human stupidity, like global poverty, perpetual motion machines, whether or not purple really looks like the same colour to different people, the limits of knowledge and What Do Women REALLY Want?*
Louis
* I actually know the answer to the last one: the same as everyone else. Women are people. It’s a trick question. I’m not falling for THAT one again. Oh no. My testicles still ache in cold weather.
@ Louis
This is the sort of “joke” that floats in the ethereal atmosphere of the ivory tower I now inhabit.
I accept your point, btw. Sorry about the ache.
Lyn M, Part 2, The Return,
Safe sarcasm. LOL! Reginald D Hunter* has a good bit on sarcasm. He says when he was a young man in Georgia, he fell in with the wrong crowd and started using sarcasm, which apparently is still a capital offence there.
Louis
* Tragically he also has several terrible bits which are really sexist. {Sigh} One day a perfect human being will be born who is right about everything.
Lyn M, Part 3, The Embarrassment,
OH MY LACK OF GOD I DIDN’T SPOT THAT!!!!!
I has a shame.
I am going on a remedial spotting comedy course immediately. The fault is entirely mine.
Louis
Lol. I’d love to hear stories of it when you graduate.
@ amblebury #186
Publishers. A lower life form.
They know not the heart of the true artiste.
Fuckers.
Amblebury,
{Smokes herbal cigarette with cigarette holder}
Indeed, indeed. Vulgarians and commercialist philistines to a person.
Louis
The capitalist imperative. So dull when it comes to reading.
Dabs lips with fine linen napkin. Sips peppermint tea.
Insensitive clods.
Tch! What can one do? There are all sorts of silly rules and regs regarding Burning Edgars nowadays.
PC gorn mad. You’re quite right Louis, quite right.
Friends – kindred spirits. I must retire for the evening.
Fetches the Waterford tumbler. One’s gnashers deserve a decent recepticle.
Is there any bastion for the sane?
Everywhere we look, religious nutcases are taking over and trying to destroy this world. The economy is going down the shitter and people in charge are laughing it up over bottles of champagne. Religious fundies are trying to get education destroyed so they can have their little drones do their factory work.
I’m so depressed, the election of Romney (which is very likely to happen (thanks, Citizens United)) is going to mark the end of Western civilization.
Flights of angels, amblebury, flights of angels.
Katherine Lorraine,
Really? Romney is electable? I would have thought that despite all the sound and fury Obama was a shoo-in.
Shows what I bloody know! ;-)
Louis
Kat,
Well, the US, anyway. There are other places that seem to be getting their shit together.
Sorry, that didn’t help, did it?
I’m upset about Walker, too. It’s complete and utter bullshit and it just goes to show that it’s not very difficult to convince the elctorate to vote against their own self interests.
Anyway, if I’m gonna live someplace shitty, I’m gonna at least live somewhere with a tolerable climate. :-/
@Louis:
Sadly yes. Romney is electable. Not only is he electable, but there’s a good chance he’ll be elected.
And this isn’t just the typical ‘a Republican won’ type depression and frustration I’m feeling. Romney stands against everything good for the future of this country and civilization. He stands against equality. He stands against lowering the wage gap between the middle and upper classes. He stands against education. He stands against honesty.
A Romney presidency will be disastrous to the world’s economy. Everyone who lives outside of the Citizen’s United States should be worried as well, because as the US takes a dump economically, so too will the rest of the world.
Waves to all who proffered greetings on the last thread. No sooner did I decide to return, catch up, and respond that my laptop had issues. Fixed now.
Since someone (Nerd?) asked, foot is problematic at best. Apparently it is as good as it is going to get so I am learning to maximize my mobility. Fortunately, I look good with a cane.
Speaking of Caine – Greetings to the new kids at your home. Sorry about Chas, I missed all of that. I do have the original artwork my daughter made of Chas and Alfie and will mail to you as soon as possible.
Cia, y’all.
Katherine Lorraine, #202,
Oh SHIT! I must not have been paying attention. I thought that you chaps and chappesses had learned your lesson with Bush Jr. I mean…electing uber rich, ultra conservative, babbling idiots who lie as much as they breathe. Who’d ever do THAT?
{Looks at David Cameron}
Shut up!
;-)
Louis
Indeed. And he stands for racism.
(He’s been taking advice on immigration issues from Kris Kobach. Who campaigned against the DREAM Act, supports SB 1070 and bills like it, and thinks undocumented kids shouldn’t be able to go to college. Even if I knew nothing else about Romney, his support of Kobach would be sufficient to make me oppose him.)
How romantic.
(I love that you named all your rats after Discworld characters.*)
(*If I ever have a pet, I may name him Dr A. M. Dinwiddie, after the Bursar. With whom I have much in common.**)
(**I wonder how one gets a prescription for dried frog pills.)
Sorry, Dr A. A. Dinwiddie, D.M. (7th), D.Thau., B.Occ., M.Coll., B.F.
I’m sorry for missing that.
Caine, my condolences for your loss of Chas, and congratulations for Havelock and Sam.
I’m a former JW. A couple things. Yes, this video is real. It’s part of a DVD the Watchtower Society (the head organization of JWs) released/is releasing to JWs for children. It is also their first animated film.
Also, yes, this is how most JW kids are raised. I was never allowed to have a superhero action figure or any related toys because superheroes take glory away from God. Needless to say, toys based on characters with a backstory involving magic were off-limits as well.
@Walton:
That too.
I’m convinced that Romney’s entire political position could be “vote for me cause I’m white” and he’d still have a good running because of Citizen’s United.
Walker seems to have survived the recall vote in Wisconsin. Depressing. The man is a disaster for the state and the country and people have decided that they like him. If it weren’t that a depression in the US would take down the rest of the world, I’d be voting Republican and letting the US get the government it deserves. Yeah, I know that’s fucking unfair of me and I wouldn’t really do it, but come on people!
It doesn’t help that the proposed strike here appears to still be likely and I’ve heard more people make “I’m not anti-union but…” arguments lately than I’d ever believe possible. And we’re talking about perfectly intelligent, generally liberal people, some of whom only got educations because of unions. WTF everyone? Do you really fall for the propaganda that easily? Gah! Have had to stop talking about it because I am a) completely ineffective at changing people’s minds on this and b) getting upset and obnoxious about it.
(ot ‘nother call to arms)
Dana Hunter just posted about the glaring lack of availability of past women freethinkers’ writings.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/entequilaesverdad/2012/06/06/but-where-have-the-women-gone
She suggested crowdsourcing an effort to get these women’s writings digitized and posted on the Internet. Sounds really workable to me, between FTB, Skepchick and the existing librarian network.
Unfortunately, the GOP is a faith-based organization. Piss down economics will work. Eventually. It just has to be done right. Which means more of it. George W. Bush was not a conservative failure. He was Not A True Conservative. He must have been a liberal because, if he had been A True Conservative, the United States would have become a capitalist utopia. Conservative policies and ideas never fail — they just haven’t been tried enough.
And this is what they are going to sell to the US voters.
And it will most likely succeed.
@ walton #206
Dried frog pills you say? Here in sunny China, I can buy entire strings of dried frogs (about half a meter each with dried frogs touching one another all the way across). Also dried starfish, dried deer penises, dried tree fungus, dried cauliflower, dried lizard onna stick, well all kinds of dried.
How many strings do you want?
Caine
It’s worth quite a bit. Thank you. :-)
Aratina Cage
To be fair, I did know that was a risk.
It is pretty awesome. I loved teaching my kids how to do sarcasm and other types of joking, and sometimes they just crack. me. up.
@ walton #206
No,no,no… Take no head of Lyn M. The best dried frogs are from the Pearl Delta….
I’m anxious for this whatever-it-is in my head to end. I haven’t been able to hear properly from my left ear in over a week. Now the sound is a lot less muffled than it was before, but the pitch in my left ear is off now. Everything’s just slightly lower than it should be. The result is some jarring dissonance. My coffeemaker’s beep now sounds like the Emergency Alert System going off.
SQB
Poop and puke, eh? Sounds like we lead similar lives in some ways. My poor toddler fights some pretty bad constipation on a regular basis. She’ll be fine for a while, then go a few days without filling a diaper. Then comes a day or evening of pain and crying. Last night was the worst. When it finally happened she strained so hard she threw up. She sees the doctor next week for her 2-yr appt, so my wife will see what changes we can make.
@ walton
pffft! I assure you that the dried frogs I have seen are very dry and very froggy. Would two meters do? I’ll throw in a dried lizard onna stick which really looks a lot like a tiny jebus on a stick with an extra stick.
re: sarcasm in kids
My toddler is at that age where she’s picking up new words but not always using them the way you’d expect. It was funny this morning when I picked out a shirt for her and she looked at it and nearly dead-panned “wonderful.”
@ carlie
It is great, isn’t it? They tell you how much work kids are, but don’t mention the fun.
Son #2 had this stage where he was asking over and over again what certain animals eat. He had the answers given to him over and over again, it was just a game he liked to play.
“Mommy, what do elephants eat?”
“Mommy, what do horses eat?”
“Mommy, what do lions eat?”
And so on.
Also, he had it explained to him that he has a penis, as do his brother and his father, while his mother has a vagina.
“Mommy?”
“Yes dear?”
“What do vaginas eat?”
It’s a good thing I don’t have kids and have learned to temper the first bad jokes that come into my head…
As a vegetarian, I’d probably have to have a synthetic substitute.
(If there’s such a thing as mock duck, why not mock frog?)
But do they have CMOT’s ‘Sausage’ onna bun?
I groaned aloud when I heard the news about Walker. The silver lining is that the state senate’s Democrats have a majority now and can block much of his fuckery.
The complacent types in this thread especially “Robert (SeraphymC),” are grinding my gears.
Ing:
Yes.
Mike:
Oh, look, it’s the misogynist and racist douche who assured us that a crack addict hit on him at a gas station, and he put her “in her place.” Fuck off, why don’t you.
Broboxley, sorry to hear about your rat.
Aratina, judging from this essay, Cannold is not someone I want speaking for me on atheism.
Also, never mind what I said a few TETs ago about Justin Griffith being on my must-read list. Fuck him.
Louis:
BWAHAHAHAHA.
Amblebury:
WHAT?!
,blockquote>Here in sunny China, I can buy entire strings of dried frogs
But is it a crunchy frog? And are they the finest baby frogs, dew-picked and flown from Iraq, cleansed in the finest quality spring water, lightly killed, and sealed in a succulent swiss process smooth treble milk chocolate envelope and lovingly frosted with glucose?
Walton:
There’s mock pork chops, too!
carlie:
What? You leave the bones in?
The silver lining is that the state senate’s Democrats have a majority now and can block much of his fuckery.
If they will. They might be “saving their political capital” for FSM knows what and not block anything at all.
Ogvorbis – of course you leave the bones in! If you took the bones out it wouldn’t be crunchy now, would it?
Morning everybodeh.
It does feel like, at least to me, that our choices are a party that does nothing, and a party that does something, but that something is horrible, and the former party runs on the fact that it does nothing.
“We’re not actively making gay marriage illegal or taking abortion rights away, so we’re the good guys” is total bullshit.
Voter suppression tactics in the Walker recall: robocalls to the recall petition signers telling them they didn’t have to go vote because “the petition counted”, or that their votes would be fraud if they tried; reporters telling voters standing in line that Walker had already won when only 20% of precincts had even reported yet, etc.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77061.html
http://publius9.blogspot.com/2012/06/milwaukee-runs-out-of-ballots-and-forms.html
as well as Salon, ThinkProgress, other places.
Instances of voter suppression can be reported to the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board here:
http://gab.wi.gov/complaints
ANYONE can report, not just Wisconsin residents, so if anyone saw media reports of voters being told Walker had already won, please consider following up.
Hi there
Gosh I’m smothered. Shopping, playgroup, big trip to Ikea. Just me, the kidses and a full list. I think we did pretty well. Only when we came back to the car some asshole had parked so close to my door that I had to get in via the passenger door. Unfortunately that was the place where I had to put the new laundry rack…
potty training
#1 was sooo easy. From one day to another at 30 months, hardly ever a miss. The little one, on the other hand, is very good at it as long as her ass is bare. By that I mean bare. She makes it 19 out of 20 times. Put on as much as slip and the ratio reverses. With pull-ups she’ll only want to go to the toilet whem you’re in the middle of the grocery shopping…
revenge
Mr and I will turn up for our kids’ first real flat with a sharpie. We’ll also pour our beverages onto that floor.
broboxley
I’m so sorry about the rat :(
Sorry about Walker.
Caine
Sir Samuel or Little Sam, BTW?
That’s a cheap way of making ’em crunchy.
How do you think it crunches?
Oh, and sexism is still bad when it praises girls.
At the check-out, the little one helped me putting our stuff onto the conveyor. Two middle aged women behin us first praised the good lad. Or is it a girl? Yes she is. Of course she is, that’s why she’s helping mummy, boys just lack the social competence.
I replied that you only have to teach them, just like the girls, but they were so enthsiastic in praising the good girl, they didn’t even notice…
I did cook my pork shoulder blade roast yesterday. Cooked it at 200F for 8 hours. For the last 1/2 hour, I decided to try to get the drippings to smoke, so I turned the heat up. And got some really thick smoke. So I turned the heat back down and the thick smoke continued. So I removed the pork (which was delicious — tender and smokey) and turned off the grill. And the temperature continued to climb. So I unplugged the grill. And the temperature continued to climb. So I opened the grill and, amazingly, still have one eyebrow. So I got some foil and placed it over the grilling surface to block as much airflow as possible. And the fire went out and the temperature dropped. Turned out I had about two cups of rendered lard caught in the foil underneath the grilling surface. Which I will remove this evening.
@Audley
Mork chops?
m:-/
Nanu, nanu.
Ogvorbis! Gaaah! (yikes, glad you’re okay to write about it)
PSA: Never give the fire an opening! *shudder*
No damage. I started out with one eyebrow.
Two middle aged women behin us first praised the good lad. Or is it a girl? Yes she is. Of course she is, that’s why she’s helping mummy, boys just lack the social competence.
Wait, what? Their first default assumption was that the child was a boy. Then when they found out she was a girl, they concluded that a boy couldn’t do what she was doing? But…what about your assumption 5 seconds ago.
@ Crip Dyke:
Ankh-Morpork chops? ^^°
But will you be able to play the violin after it heals? [/groucho]
So I opened the grill and, amazingly, still have one eyebrow.
“Am I missing an eyebrow?”
A unibrow?
Yeah well it’s not just that. One thing I was excited about was that the ‘space jockeys’ from Alien would be explored in Prometheus. And… they delivered on that promise. In the most lame and disappointing way I can imagine. Seriously.
Midichlorian-level disappointment… if anyone knows what I mean.
And yeah it was pretty obvious at the 2/3rds mark that this was just franchise bait. Even ignoring the Alien movies and trying to view Prometheus just on its own merits, it disappoints.
Crip Dyke:
I found the recipe in a Depression era cookbook that I inherited from my grandmama. I’m at work so I can’t check right now, but if I’m not mistaken, mork chops were made out of peanut butter, then fried in lard.
Irene:
:D
And it all comes full circle!
Some of you with excellent memories might recall that I have a strong interest in space, among other forms of geekery. My new hobby (aside from Skyrim and Minecraft) is building a scifi setting. It started as an idea for my own version of FTL flight, but is turning into a universe-building project. I’m approaching it from the standpoint of trying to suspend disbelief as little as possible (while still conforming to at least some of the aesthetics I have in mind). The whole point of it was to eliminate one of my annoyances with Trek – that math means nothing and everything is as fast as the plot needs, shields are the shape of whatever they need to enclose, engines sit where they look best, etc. Here’s a primer on how it started and my thoughts about the FTL stuff.
At some point I’m actually going to get around to designing some ships, which was kinda a main point of it. But it’s been fun thinking about all the other things that factor into a spacefaring culture’s makeup. Yesterday was about getting cargo from a ship as far from Earth’s gravity well as feasible down to the surface. What would be the most economical way to do that? With some help, I’ve envisioned a government controlled industry around this, with a large station at the L2 Lagrange point and a courier system from there to an orbital ring with elevators attached.
It’s all fantasy, but it’s fun as hell to think about. And like I said, at some point I’m going to get around to designing some ships. I’m also thinking about getting into making add-ons for Celestia to help visualize all this. Not sure that will happen though, as I lack anything approaching the competence to do that correctly.
@ Audley:
Well, full Disk, maybe? ;-)
Recall elections generally fail. No one likes to admit they made a mistake, and in this case Walker’s actions didn’t piss off enough people who had voted for him. In addition, Barrett was pretty luke-warm (the unions were actively fighting him at the start, and he lost the last time he tried this). This isn’t a failure of the democratic process or a Citizen’s United issue, and it’s wrong to read it as such.
Also, Romney has a chance of winning – of course he does. He’s still well below Obama on the electoral college count, and the situation in a fair number of swing states is not in Romney’s favor. The big issue is, of course, the economy, and that will be a bigger factor in Obama’s re-election than anything Romney says or does. I think the trends point to Obama being re-elected, but we can’t be complacent.
The Citizen’s United decision was the *only* possible decision that the SCotUS could make. The Constitution doesn’t limit free speech to citizens, persons, etc.; it explicitly limits Congress’ actions only. Believe me when I say you do not want to start allowing Congress to make broad exceptions to free speech, nor do I think we want the Bill of Rights to be edited to only cover citizens.
And a final note: even with the Citizen’s United decision, Obama and his groups are out-raising the GOP and their groups. It’s only on the state level (or smaller) that the decision is likely to make a difference, as a few million dollars can easily overwhelm most state-level contests. Now, that can have effects further up the ticket (as we’ve seen with redistricting), but it’s limited.
Did you know that my great-grandma always said that people whose eyebrows meet in the middle have a pakt with the devil?*
*She didn’t believe in the devil, she was atheist. But she belied you had a pakt with him.
Dianne
Don’t ask me. Thinking seemed hard for them.
Irene:
Touché!
Another Gooper resorts to stochastic terrorism.
Dianne:
Ah, right. “Keeping their powder dry.” We’ll have to see.
Rah:
Agreed. And I’m tired as well of the knee-jerk Democratic partisans whose only comeback is “BUT DO YOU WANT THE GOP IN OFFICE?!”
Pteryxx: Voter suppression in the recall election? I’m shocked.
Also, fucking O-Bots in general. Here are a few prime examples of the species courtesy of Jeremy Scahill’s Twitter feed.
@ TLC:
Yep, I know exactly what you mean. :(
The funny thing is that I had a good time while seeing the movie: the visuals are gorgeous (with obvious influence from Moebius, plus eerie Icelandic landscapes playing the part of the alien planet, eh, eh), the soundtrack just the right level, pacing and suspense are satisfying, there’s interesting characters played by damn good actors – too bad they are so poorly used in the story.
But nothing seems to make sense. The “science” is so laughingly bad that I just turned off thinking about it during the movie. The links with the initial Alien just don’t work. There’s a ton of hints and winks to classic sci-fi (including Blade Runner, Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness and so on) but in a haphazard way. And the editing… Holy Crocoduck, it’s as if someone tried to put together two different stories with hands hampered with snow gloves!
The only thing I can hope for is a thoroughly reworked Director’s Cut, one day. Sigh.
Irenedelse: No director’s cut can fix my disappointment with the explanation for the Space Jockeys. None.
…Would y’all discussing Prometheus consider speaking freely under shield of rot13? Folks are asking me for details and I’d like to pass them along without everybody having to read them…
Pteryxx: I dunno anything about rot13 or how to use it.
But I sure as hell would love to unload my disappointment with this movie without having to constantly censor myself for spoilers.
I wonder if now that Walker has beat the recall if people will start referring to all of Wisconsinites as some sort of homogeneous monolith of morons hell bent on destroying women’s right and tearing down labor…
TLC: here’s a quick rot13 encoder/decoder
http://www.rot13.com/
It just rotates the letters 13 places.
ROT13 is replacing every letter with the letter 13 letters after it in the alphabet.
Plain text:
Hello, world!
ROT13:
Uryyb, jbeyq!
Advantage that is that if you do it again, you get the original input.
@Pteryxx:
Oops. Thanks, you’re right.
Yes. I go for the Cro Magnon look. Works well with the cowboy hat and boots.
Didn’t know that.
How, exactly, do I go about making a pact with the devil? And will this make me really rich and powerful like Romney, and Perry, and Bush aand . . . .
Nevermind.
Of course he will. After all, a Democrat with a substantial plurality of votes cast, and voters, is an illegal usurper whilst a Republican who lost the popular vote and only won because SCOTUS squelched the counting of votes has an unlimited mandate. Doesn’t matter to the GOP how you win; once you have, though, you have permission to do anything.
Pteryxx and anyone else who’s curious:
Here you go!
BX, jryy svefg bs nyy: Gur zbivr fgnegf bhg cebzvfvat. Gur bcravat bs gur zbivr vf irel zhpu yvxr gur bevtvany Nyvra. Fb sne, fb tbbq…
Ohg cerggl fbba nsgre fgneg vf guvf fbhe abgr. Sbe fbzr ernfba, guvf fpvragvsvp rkcrqvgvba gb gur fgnef oebhtug nybat n cnve bs perngvbavfgf, naq sebz gurer vg fgnegf qrfpraqvat vagb ‘ybbx ng gurfr urvebtylcuvpf bs zra jbefuvccvat orvatf sebz gur fgnef sebz nyy gurfr napvrag phygherf!’ Lbh xabj jung V’z gnyxvat nobhg, evtug?
Fb gurl tb gb gur cynarg naq svaq n qbzr gung znl unir orra pbafgehpgrq, naq va gurer gurl svaq fbzr qrnq fcnpr wbpxrlf. Urer vf jurer gur zbivr tbrf vagb SHPX LBH ynaq. Gur perngvbavfg ynql oevatf bar bs gurve urnqf onpx gb gur fuvc… naq…
THRFF JUNG NFFUBYR, GUBFR JRVEQ YBBXVAT NYVRAF JRER NPGHNYYL UHZNAF VA JRVEQ OVB-FHVGF GUR JUBYR GVZR! Naq gung’f bhe ‘nyvraf’ sbe gur zbivr. Shpxvat uhznaf. Lrnu, gurl unir perrcl nyy-oynpx rlrf, ab unve, naq cnyr fxva, ohg gur zbivr rira pbasvezf gung gurfr ner onfvpnyyl trargvpnyyl UHZNAF. Naq Evqyrl Fpbgg whfg Trbetr Yhpnfrq gur Fcnpr Wbpxrlf.
Fb gurer’f fbzr ghorf, jvgu fbzr xvaq bs jbez-yvxr nyvra guvat va gurz, naq perngvbavfg ynql raqf hc vzcertangrq jvgu fbzr xvaq bs nyvra rzoelb… guvf vf qvfnccbvagvat gbb. Fur trgf na rzretrapl P-Frpgvba va bar bs gur ulcrefyrrc cbqf naq gur guvat gung pbzrf bhg bs ure vf… n sbhe gragnpyrq bpgbchf. Ab, gung’f yvgrenyyl nyy vg vf. OBEVAT.
Yngre ba vg tebjf uhtr naq qbrf n tvnag snpruhttre npg ba n fheivivat Fcnpr Wbpxrl (juvpu, V ercrng, vf whfg na birefvmrq cnfgl-cnyr oynpx rlrq unveyrff UHZNA), naq gung’f gur pybfrfg jr trg gb ‘Nyvraf’. Naq gra zvahgrf yngre gur zbivr raqf jvgu zber dhrfgvbaf guna nafjref. Perngvbavfg ynql naq gur urnq bs Qnivq gur naqebvq (juvpu gur jubyr zbivr frrzf gb or nobhg) mbbz bss vagb gur fgnef ybbxvat sbe gur ‘perngbe’ bs gur fcnpr wbpxrlf.
@Richard Austin:
No. It really wasn’t. Congress, and through the 14th amendment the legislative bodies of the “several states,” can’t limit free speech but can limit the ability to deceive in advertising.
What’s going on here is that the Supremes *wanted* to get to this result and found it easy because of the precedents of the new school legal realists who ditched the economic progressivism of early legal realists and went full-bore Lochner on us.
But here’s the deal: we put limits on corporations *all the time* that would be unconstitutional if applied to individuals. Imagine if the US government could just pass a law saying that you had to make all your financial records available to anyone who wanted to see them!
We can put limits on corporations because corporations are entirely creatures of law. If we do not create laws allowing the creation of corporations, then they don’t exist. But when we do create laws allowing incorporation, those laws can add any conditions that they see fit. If folk don’t wanna be subject to those limitations, they don’t have to incorporate.
Nothing stops wealthy people from pooling their money, as individuals and without incorporating, from asserting first amendment rights. And, indeed, as I understand it McCain-Feingold didn’t regulate that activity. But we offer thousands of benefits with incorporation…and we add thousands of conditions on incorporation. Many of those conditions would be considered violations of privacy or of the 4th amendment. The 3rd amendment excludes corporations altogether from its protections, or so it has been interpreted. It’s hard to see how the 8th applies in any way. Corporations are central to the press freedom and hence receive *more* protection than an individual pamphleteer/zinester or blogger. Yet corporations getting together to talk about pricing within a market can be illegal **even when there is no proof that an actual agreement to fix prices occurred**.
The “right to incorporate” is seen by some as a right of freedom of association, but it is not. You can pool your money all you want, but if you want to be able to borrow money while still having your creditors be barred from pursuing you when you default, you’re not asking for freedom of association. You want some very, very special rights.
In our society, we attach conditions to those rights. Choosing to incorporate and accepting the burdens of incorporation is no different in principle than choosing to take a job at the white house and accepting the burdens of the laws Congress has passed limiting the ability to speak to those outside government (or otherwise unauthorized) about your duties, actions, and the information you have accessed.
The cops can enter the public area of a retail store you own to see if you are present in a bid to arrest you, and even use those things lying around the area as evidence in your prosecution – all without a search warrant. They could not likewise enter your living room without a warrant, requiring one only when they wanted to see if you might be hiding out in the bedroom or bathroom.
Commercial property is not residential property and a legal person is not an actual person.
And the most ridiculous part of your assertion that the Supremes had no choice is that the decision was 5 to F*n 4.
Five to four. What part of that is inevitable?
V yvxr onpba
Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, I’d love to hear someone else’s detailed thoughts on the movie.
TLC, thanks for that righteous rant. I haven’t even decoded it yet, and my friend on IM is already screaming incoherently in rage. ♥
Yeah I wish i had missed the un-coded discussion previously because I’m feeling this little hole of disappointment in my heart growing at the thought of the little I read…
And they frown at drowning your sorrows at my office.
…TLC, now it’s my turn to be ragey, just quietly. IMHO, that wasn’t just any bad writing, it was bad writing with a specifically right-wing message – two, actually, considering the nagv-nobegvba gebcrf. (Fcrpvsvpnyyl, fgrevyr jbzna trgf vasrpgrq/vzcertangrq, unf gb ubeevoyl fhetvpnyyl erzbir gur guvat, NAQ VG FHEIVIRF.) (Caveat: I haven’t seen the movie, I’m going by my friend on IM, but that’s my own interpretation.)
Pteryxx: Gb or snve, gur perngvbavfg gurzrf va gur zbivr ner zber bs gur ‘Vagryyvtrag Qrfvta’ inevrgl guna LRP. Ohg fur qbrf znxr n ovt qrny bs ure snvgu guebhtubhg gur zbivr, vapyhqvat n ybg bs penc nobhg ure yvggyr pebff. ONES.
V pna’g trg bire ubj zhpu gur Fcnpr Wbpxrlf cvffrq zr bss. V unq nyy gurfr pbby ulcbgurgvpny vqrnf nobhg gurve ovbybtl naq grpuabybtl. Ohg abcr. Whfg fcnpr-uhznaf. Gung’f vg, gung’f nyy. V gubhtug “BX, Jr’ir frra fbzr fghss nobhg gur krabzbecuf, fbzr fghss nobhg gur cerqngbef, Abj vg’f gvzr gb yrnea nobhg FCNPR WBPXRLF!!!” Ohg Evqyrl Fpbgg jrag nyy Trbetr-Yhpnf ba gung vqrn.
Naq gb gbc vg nyy bss, jr’er tbaan unir gb jnqr guebhtu n ohapu zber bs gurfr obevat-nff zbivrf vs jr rire jnaan frr ubj vg pbaarpgf gb gur Nyvra zbivrf. V org gubfr ghea bhg gb or perngrq ol uhznaf be fbzr abafrafr gbb.
TLC: V ungr ungr ungr gur perngvbavfg vafvfgrapr gung uhznaf ZHFG or gur bayl yvsr sbez va gur havirefr orpnhfr gurersber fcrpvny Wrfhf fnpevsvpr fbzr ohyyfuvg yvxr gung. Perngvbavfz nofbyhgryl qrcraqf hcba nolfzny vtabenapr bs onfvp ovbybtl naq ovbpurzvfgel naq hcba gur qvivar fcrpvnyarff bs uhznaf. V qba’g pner juvpu irefvba vg vf, V ungr nyy bs ‘rz.
new word in vocabulary: Ungr. Ungr ungr ungr UNNNNGRRRRRRR.
…I like this rot13.
@TLC:
Perngvbavfgf? Really?
I’m new to reading rot13 and didn’t use the engine to translate, so it took me several minutes to get to this spoiler, but now I’m totally ntunfg!
What is the cbvag bs gung, I wonder?
Hmph. MOAR READING REEQUIRED!!
Hopefully I can go a lot more quickly now.
V xabj Cgrelkk… yvxr, gur zbivr qbrfa’g rira nggrzcg gb rkcynva jul, vs jr jrer perngrq ol fcnpr-uhznaf, jr funer fb zhpu bs bhe QAN jvgu bgure rneguyl yvsr. Qvq gur Fcnpr Wnpxnffrf perngr NYY yvsr ba rnegu? Gurl vzcyl gung vg jnf whfg ‘hf’. Orpnhfr jr’er shpxvat fcrpvny.
Gur jubyr perngvbavfg guvat shpxf zr evtug bss, orpnhfr Nyvra vgfrys frrzrq fb tbqqnza tbqyrff. Jurer vf ‘Tbq’ jura lbh unir n zbafgre gung shpxf lbhe snpr naq sngnyyl vzcertangrf lbh? Gur krabzbecuf gurzfryirf jrer fb jbaqreshyyl VAuhzna.
Jnpoy gos zo gooror. Wewo pahhpah dhhmvovna?
Sorry. Do not try to translate my last. I am in a weird mood. It was an attempt at humour which I have reconsidered.
also, I now answer to Cgrelkk.
TLC: gurer ner cyragl bs ubeevsvp zbafgebfvgvrf evtug urer ba Rnegu (thvarn jbez? vpuarhzba jnfcf? uhzna puvyqovegu, sbe crgrf fnxr?) ohg gur shmml-jhmml perngvbavfg ivrj zbfgyl vtaberf nyy gung, be juvgrjnfurf vg, be fnlf rirelguvat hc gb G.erk jnf irtrgnevna hagvy FNGNA!!11!! shpxrq jvgu vg. Nccneragyl gur krabzbecuf gurzfryirf jrer vafcverq ol vpuarhzbaf, erny yvsr sbezf evtug urer ba Rnegu gung funer bhe QAN. V bayl frr bar ernfba gb oyngnagyl vtaber GUNG perrcvarff.
Lesson learned: out of season clementines aren’t very good. :-/
@Cgrelkk & GYP:
Ernqvat ebg68 vf shpxvat uneq jvgubhg hfvat gur genafyngbe.
Sehfghngvba ohvyqvat!
…
…
UHYX FZNFU NOQ EBG68!!!
I wrote about Sparlock on Street Carnage today and linked back to this blog. You can also see the unedited video there.
Pure Sparlock Magic awaits you…
How to Emotionally Screw With Your Children By Pretending Their Toys Are Satanic
Wait, should I have ROT13ed my last post?
Yrffba yrnearq: bhg bs frnfba pyrzragvarf nera’g irel tbbq.
:p
@Btibeovf:
Jrel Qdqd bs you.
I’m looking forward to watching the Myers/Cannold clip tomorrow after this (final) night shift. I can’t believe she made the bisexual/agnostic comment ?
Bbcf!! Zr:
V zvffcryyrq “Sehfgengvba”.
Gurer. SVSZ.
Freddie’s Dead-Fishbone
You sound ungry.
Okay, new challenge:
What words, if any, put into rot13 come out as synonyms of the original words?
Is it possible to write even a short phrase that is grammatically correct in both original english and rot13 that means (or at least can mean) the same thing both ways?
And are there interesting possibilities where the order of the transliteration matters? For instance, if there are words with multiple meanings that can be synonyms but also have other definitions, does the original text color the interpretation of the resulting text so that one instantly sees the parallel, but that if one puts in the text in the other order one doesn’t instantly see the parallel?
What about rot13 jokes, where you have a question as input and answer as output. Is that possible?
I think that e/r and a/n help quite a bit, but o/b isn’t as useful and y/l seems useful but tends to put things in the wrong place in words. U/h is probably a wash as far as utility (neither helpful nor unhelpful), but i/v seems unhelpful.
Around My Smile-Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
Janine –
I love fishbone. I was just talking about their music and especially their founder and bass player (among other instruments) yesterday. Or the day before.
What about some P Funk doing it to you in your eardrums?
@Aratina:
Not so much Ungry as Ungrshy
:-P
Head On-The Jesus & Mary Chain
Yes!
I finally ordered new business cards from our pubs office (at this point every single piece of info was out of date and wrong except my name), and my department is now a three-parted one, and the pub guy kept in the Oxford comma that I added in the form. Huzzah!
It takes very little to make me happy.
JUNG.
V unq gubhtug gung “Cebzrgurhf” ybbxrq vagrerfgvat. V fnj gur genvyref jura V fnj “Niratref,” juvpu – sbe gur erpbeq – vf cerggl tbbq.
Ohg vg ybbxf yvxr V’z tbvat gb or cnffvat ba frrvat vg. Wrfhf shpx.
Va bgure arjf, V unir znqr n qrpvfvba. Jura V ohl 5 be 6 lbthegf ng gur fgber naq chg gurz va zl sevqtr, V’z tbvat gb qb n orggre wbo bs ebgngvat gur lbthegf V nyernql unir.
Orpnhfr V whfg bcrarq n lbtheg gung nccneragyl rkcverq va NCEVY. LHPX.
Omgwtfbbq.
I was ungry, but I ate some soup.
It’s kind of amusing that “Jung” ROT13s to “What”. Or, rather, “WHAT.”
I confess I did other things while Cannold was talking at one point, so if she said that during the panel discussion with PZ, I missed it. It might have been something she said at a different time. Kylie Sturgess reports on her blog that Cannold probably meant for it to be a sarcastic joke. What really bothers me about it is her conflation of agnosticism, which is an ill-informed belief, with bisexuality, which is not a belief but a biological fact about people. Fence-sitters have a duty to get off the damn fence; they only exist out of ignorance or “skepticism gone wild”.
You know, the Walker thing and now this column by Paul Krugman make me wonder if maybe we shouldn’t have a party-based government; not that we’d have single-party rule, but no party. I don’t see a real barrier to having people, rather than party candidates, run and be elected. I know people would still group up based on similar beliefs, but without a rigid party structure there wouldn’t be compulsions to toe the party line.
I mean, watching Paul Krugman on This Week yesterday was eerie; here he was talking about real issues with the economy, and all the Romney and Obama reps could do was snipe at each other, trying to score points. In a party-based system, it stops being about the good of the country and it starts being about winning. Hell, I dunno if being party-less would fix this or make it worse, but at this point I feel like I’m on a blimp, throwing anything I can think of out the window to keep it from crashing.
Carl?
@ Daisy, 299:
And now we have our first rot13 joke:
Jung.
WHAT?
Yeah, I like that, carlie. I had hoped that ‘fuck’ would do something great, but no, it’s just ‘shpx.’
@Crip Dyke
Ungr Shy? Why so shy?
@ Pteryxx #272:
Well, if you haven’t seen the movie yet (it’s already out in Europe), TLC’summary at #266 is pretty much it. Plus, as you’ve heard, there’s the perrcl (naq tbel) nobegvba ovg.
Ubarfgyl, V qba’g xabj jung gb znxr bs guvf, orpnhfr va gur zbivr, vg jnf irel zhpu frra sebz gur jbzna’f cbvag bs ivrj, naq fur jnf ernyyl, ernyyl “nnntu, phg vg bhg, phg vg bhg dhvpx!!” orsber, naq zvtugvyl eryvrirq nsgrejneq. (Fb zhpu fb gung fur ghearq va na npgvba urebvar, haernyvfgvpnyyl ehaavat naq whzcvat qrfcvgr ure erprag fhetrel, naq raqrq hc gur ynfg bar fgnaqvat.)
Nyfb, gb qb vg fur unq gb onggyr gur perrcl naqebvq (jub jnagrq ure gb xrrc ure va fgnfvf jvgu gur guvat fgvyy va ure jbzo gb “fghql vg”). Lhx. Fgvyy, gurer jnf n fbeg bs fpunqraserhqr gb frr gur tbqobgurevat ynql tbvat nyy ceb-nobegvba fhqqrayl…
Crip Dyke, part of the reason why I linked to a Fishbone song.
The first time I saw them live was in the winter/spring of 1986. They were touring college campus in support of their first EP. I only just heard Party At Ground Zero and U.G.L.Y. earlier that day. Got me dancing almost immediately. Ripped my jeans while doing so.
GREAT FUCKING SHOW!
One of the best shows I seen was when they were touring in support of The Reality Of My Surroundings. A hot summer’s night, a packed house and the band at the peak of their energy. Their stage show was almost pure kinetic energy. I had to wring my shirt out after the show.
Never understood just how it went kaput after that.
American politics: The Ungr Games.
Born Under PunchesTalking Head (Big band version, live.)
@Esteleth:
I’ve had that problem. Miso lasts a long time, but that can make one overconfident. If you have more than one miso, one can get pushed to the back and just left for ages. Not exactly the same…until you have a friend make a batch of miso soup for you while you’re sick. Then it’s
QBHOYR LHPX.
Oy.
Also, I’m with you on the other thing – I think I’ll cnff “Cebzrgurhf” bire.
@Daisy #308:
Yes! Yes! Classic! EBSY! EBSYFUVCZ!
Janine 307:
*nods*
Saw ’em with Primus in Cleveland late in 1991. ZOMFG. Best show evah.
Okay, now I’m monopolizing the thread, but rot13 got me going and now I have to respond to Janine.
Seriously. They were one of the best bands of the era with definitely some of the best live shows in the history of live shows. I saw them only once, but it was amazing. Also Reality of My Surroundings. Seriously awesome. At this point, anything the Fisher brothers do attracts my attention.
Did you ever see Trulio Disgracias? I’ve never had the chance, though I’ve wanted to…
Also, it’s possible that the band couldn’t keep going because John was doing amazingly large amounts of cocaine and needed to knock it off for a while. I have no idea if that’s true, but I wouldn’t be surprised based on his ridiculously energetic (not to say frenetic!) stage performances…
The Great Curve-The Talking Heads (Same show as before.)
Just one of the most amazing things ever.
Primus/Fishbone?
I would have killed to see that show. Killed quite a number of soybeans, some wheat kernels. Maybe some potatoes, fungus and fresh veggies, too!. They would be amazing to see together.
I’d rather do a manual disimpaction than to go to Kylie’s blog ever again, I’m afraid…A joke ? How so, I wonder.
You know what they say. A hungry man is an ungry man.
I saw Fishbone in 2001, and they put on a pretty good show, so I don’t know how kaput they went.
QNZA LBH EBG13 CRBCYR!!!!
ZHFG ERFVFG ERNQVAT GENAFYNGRQ TBOOYLTBBX!!!
@rorschach This tweet of Cannold’s supposedly explains it:
I need to hear it in context, but who said agnostics of the fence-sitting variety “don’t exist”? Of course they exist.
Saw Fishbone at the Mangy Moose in Jackson Hole a few times many moons ago.
Rey Fox, there has been versions of Fishbone for over thirty years now. But there peak, both in quality of the band and the public notice they received was the late eighties/early nineties, when the band had all of their founding members plus the addition of John Bigham on guitar. He added a metallic kick on top what was a potent mix of funk, punk and horns.
No one sounded like da Bone. Just dig up a copy of Truth And Soul and The Reality Of My Surroundings
Fight The Youth
(Damn it! I am choking up on nostalgia now.)
I played in a band called the Jaywalkers in the late 80s and we opened for Fishbone once. [/kw*k]
I do not understand the actions of some people.
OK, I’m reading through that Loftus traiwreck and the Crommunist makes me crack up as usually:
ChasC: Kw*k away. What were they like?
I missed the names for DarkFetus edition, but I’ll just throw these out here:
Sparlock Darkheart
Ray Bradbury Darkheart
Charles Darwin Darkheat
Paul Zachary Darkheart
After living dangerously yesterday afternoon, to see the transit of Venus through two pairs of sunglasses held together (not blind yet, but my eyes were a bit, um, blinded for a couple hours after the brief peek), I’ve decided that I’m going to give people pieces of #14 welding glass as baby gifts, wedding presents, etc. Along with something more traditional, of course, but I think gazing at one’s local star should be encouraged.
If I’d actually gone blind from last night’s star-gazing, I would have told everyone it was due to decades of wanking…
Fetusbob Squareheart
SQB,
A tiny PZ! That would be awesome.
As someone who is both bisexual and agnostic, I can honestly say I don’t give a crap what Leslie Cannold, whoever xe might be, thinks about either aspect of my identity. (And this kind of tedious crap is one of the many reasons I don’t generally go to atheist conventions.)
I’d have to glue a beard onto him, though.
Jeffrey:
Thank you, Jeffrey.
Walton:
I think that will make one of the best pet names ever.
SQB:
Caine, my condolences for your loss of Chas, and congratulations for Havelock and Sam.
Thank you, SQB.
Giliell:
Sir Samuel, of course.
As a childfree person, there is one habit of parents, displayed in this thread, which I truly dislike: the assumption that of course your kid[s] will breed! Bah.
Haven’t thought about girls names, yet.
Ayaan Darkheart?
What are the chances that in a decade, that child who sang that homophobic song will be this teen?
(Sorry. That sounded grouchier than I intended. It certainly wasn’t intended to be a dig at anyone here; but Cannold’s talk sounds pretty dire.)
So are bisexuals then supposed to be heterosexual pretending to be homosexual, or the other way around? I really don’t understand why some people have such a concern about proving that bisexuals can’t possibly exist.
Bisexual people do not exist if the definition of “bisexual” is being attracted to “both” genders, since there are not 2 & only 2 genders, and thus the definition is a logical fail, leaving potential members with no logically coherent definition to which a person may conform.
Thus, no bisexual people.
See, he was totes making an important point about how gender oppression constrains sexual attraction and human connections. …
That just makes no sense at all, unless it’s some attempt to cram as many false premises into a statement as humanly possible. Ah, whatever really. My own “I won’t be going to the next GAC” post is already in the pipeline.
Well, Mister is in the kitchen starting his brew of Imperial Russian Stout, so I best get to work m’self. *Yawns* Right after another cuppa.
Janine: My, Obama has some serious magical powers, doesn’t he? Can he make pets gay, too?
Speaking as an atheist, I know that agnostics exists. I am an agnostic.
Oh, I forget myself. A True Agnostic™ is always open to all arguments for god.
Irenedelse: Lrnu, gung ovg ohttrq zr gbb. Abg whfg urnil noqbzvany fhetrel, ohg PEHQR fhetrel gbb, pbafvqrevat gung gur cbq jnf ‘pnyvoengrq sbe n znyr’ fb fur unq gb gryy vg fur unq n ‘sbervta obql’ va ure ‘noqbzvany ertvba’. V gubhtug sbe n zvahgr gurl’q or pyrire naq unir gur znpuvar ernyyl zrff guvatf hc, ohg ab, yvxr lbh fnvq fur’f vzzrqvngryl ehaavat naq whzcvat yvxr na npgvba ureb.
Naq jung n qvfnccbvagzrag vg jnf! N sbhe gragnpyrq bpgbchf. Gung’f nyy. N erny bpgbchf jbhyq unir orra pbbyre naq perrcvre (gubhtu fgvyy abg arne rabhtu). Naq lbh pbhyq gryy gurl jrer gelvat gb pncgher gur jubyr ‘purfgohefgre’ tybel jvgu vg… fbeg bs n snhk-nyvra nf n fbc gb cvffrq bss snaf yvxr zr jub qvqa’g trg jung gurl jrer rkcrpgvat.
He is the Magic Negro. Just ask R*sh L*mb**gh.
Last part of my rant got cut off: V jvyy ARIRE sbetvir Evqyrl Fpbgg sbe znxvat gur fcnpr wbpxrlf shpxvat uhzna. Rire. Whfg yvxr V’yy arire sbetvir Trbetr Yhpnf sbe Wne Wne Ovaxf be gur zvqvpuybevnaf.
Ms. Daisy Cutter, I knew that the former Navy chaplain was disconnected from reality, I just did not know how thick a wall there is between him and reality.
I don’t, seriously. I admit that I’m hoping for grandchildren in many years from now, but I really don’t want to add any pressure in this department. Sentences like “when you have children of your own” or “when you have a husband/boyfriend” are verboten.
And now I wish you all a good evening. Mr.’s at home since it’s a holiday tomorrow.
DSG
Va snpg, DSZSG.
Esme & Havelock are sleeping together. Sweethearts.
@ TLC, Crip Dyke:
Jbeq.
Giant squid being eaten by a shark.
Watch out, PZ!
the assumption that of course your kid[s] will breed! Bah.
I’ve got one kid. My partner’s sister has zero, meaning his parents have a total of one grandchild. My sister has three, so our parents have a huge total of four. My paternal grandparents had a grand total of six great grandchildren (mine, my sister’s, plus one cousin’s two.) The other side of the family did a bit better, netting 10 total great-grandchildren for my grandparents, but that’s still little more than replacement, given that each person has 8 great-grandparents. With that kind of family fertility, I’m not counting on grandchildren.
RATS OR GTFO ~;>
Crip Dyke and Irenedelse:
Jung vf jvgu gurfr qverpgbef qrpvqvat rirelguvat arrqf gb unir na vqvbgvp onpxfgbel?
Gur zvqvpuybevnaf: Abj, guvf vf cebonoyl oynfcurzl urer, ohg V YVXRQ gur vqrn bs ‘Gur Sbepr’ nf guvf inthr, jbbvfu, pbfzvp raretl. Gb zr, gung xvaq bs fuvg vf cresrpgyl nccebcevngr va n fcnpr-snagnfl frggvat. V yvxrq gur vqrn gung nal bar, rira n snezobl abobql yvxr Fxljnyxre, pbhyq qvt qrrc jvguva gurzfryirf naq svaq guvf vaare cbjre gb qb terng guvatf jvgu.
Ohg ab, vg gheaf bhg vg’f zvpebonpgrevny guvatf va lbhe oybbqfgernz, vg pna or grfgrq ol znpuvarf, naq lbh rvgure unir vg be lbh qba’g. Gbgnyyl xvyyrq gur zntvp sbe zr.
Naq abj jr svaq bhg gung jrveq uhyxvat zlfgrevbhf frrzvatyl gehaxrq Fcnpr Wbpxrl va Nyvra jnf whfg n shpxvat FCNPR UHZNA VA N FHVG gur jubyr tbqqnza shpxvat gvzr. Znxrf zr entr.
Attention!
Attention!
There is now an anti-choise troll in the stupid compendium thread.
Count me in for the Prometheus disappointment.
I’m not disappointed that it is not an Alien film, I know it was in the same universe but not with Aliens.
I’m not disappointed that it wasn’t whatever I expected it to be because I didn’t really follow the hype and went in just expecting a good movie with just knowing that it would use some chariot of the gods like plot device for its story, which doesn’t bother me (suspension of disbelief and all that).
I wasn’t disappointed in the special effects at all, which were unsurprisingly well done for a big budget movie.
But I was very disappointed by the nonsensical plot with plot-holes some small ((rot 13) Puneyvmr Gureba, n srznyr, univat va ure cevingr dhnegref n zrqvpny havg pbasvtherq bayl sbe znyr obqvrf? JGS? (/rot 13)) but cringe worthy, some big enough to drive a
Space-JockeyEngineer sized spaceship through ((rot 13)Fb gur perj jrag gurer orpnhfr gur Ratvarref yrsg na vaivgngvba jvgu cevzvgvir phygherf gb gurve zvyvgnel vafgnyyngvba qrfvtarq gb jvcr gur vaivgrr bhg? Gur thl punetrq jvgu znccvat gur fuvc (gur chax trbybtvfg) naq guhf gur yrnfg yvxryl gb trg ybfg… trgf ybfg?(/rot 13)).
I was disappointed by the unsubtle foreshadowing throughout the film.
I was disappointed by the stupid heroine (wait, was she supposed to be a ripley like character? Except for an out of character scene or two she wasn’t), and the slasher movie stupidity of just about everyone; and I was supremely disappointed by the godawful ending where I expected the heroine to (rot 13) jnag gb tb gb gur guerng’f ubzr cynarg gb qrfgebl gur zranpr jvgu gurve bja jrncbaf (/rot 13) but no, what she wants to do is (rot 13)tb gurer gb gryy gurz “url thlf, jr’er fgvyy nyvir, pbzr xvyy hf. Bu, ol gur jnl, jul qb lbh jnag gb xvyy hf?”(/rot 13).
There are some movies I don’t know how I feel about them after watching it butthey grow on me as I think about them and internalise them.
Prometheus is the opposite. I didn’t know what to think when I left the cinema, liking some parts, cringing at others, but the more I reflect on it the more I dislike it.
It’s a shame, with some tweaking it could have been a great flick but its flaws sinked it for me.
If you go see it I do hope you enjoy it though, so start by dialing down any hype you have and leave your brain at the door.
Bloody hell, that was longer than I expected.
I might as well post it on my blog then, so if any of you want to discuss it with spoilers feel free to do so there (click on my username).
Pteryxx:
I tried, but they took off in a sleepy huff when I took the sheets off the bed to be washed. They’re in Esme’s Paper Palace of Splendid Squalor™ now.
Even worse. It is Joey. Peddling his same inane ‘what-if’ fantasy games.
Caine, I was mostly teasing, y’know, no right to demand and all.
…Real life just needs way more rats. Thanks for sharing yours.
@ TLC:
Lrc, fb qvq V. Cresrpgyl nccebcevngr, vg’f abg yvxr Fgnejnef jnf n uneq-fpvrapr zbivr. Uru.
Ohg Nyvra jnf uneq fpv-sv! Naq gur jubyr “uhtr uhznaf jvgu fvzvyne QAN nf hf, unun, sbbyrq lbh” va Cebzrgurhf vf whfg qvfthfgvat.
Ungr vg vf. Teee.
(BX, V’z univat jnl gbb zhpu sha jvgu ebg13, abj. Unir lbh abgvprq vg znxrf hf fbhaq yvxr Pguhyuh? “Cu’atyhv ztyj’ansu Pguhyuh E’ylru jtnu’anty sugnta.”)
There is now an anti-choise troll in the stupid compendium thread.
Not a very good one, though. Very little staying power. How am I supposed to sharpen my fangs if he doesn’t return to defend his illogic?
re: Prometheus
I’m guessing from all these negative reviews that I shouldn’t waste the money for the ticket..?
Pteryxx, I know. I still thought it was worth a shot (no pun intended!)
Oh, Joey. Not worth the pixels.
Beatrice: I don’t tell other people what to do, generally, but yeah. Pretty much.
@ GYP
jura lbh fnvq,
Gung gbgnyyl erfbangrq jvgu zr. Gung’f rknpgyl jul V ungrq vg. Vasvavgr cbffvobybgl erqhprq gb rkpyhfvbanel ryvgvfz.
*fbeel. ebg68 wbxr. V xabj gung znxrf vg uneqre gb ernq. OGJ: vf nalbar ryfr ernqvat guvf jvgubhg hfvat gur znpuvar genafyngbe?
@ Beatrice:
Depends on your mood. I enjoyed going with a friend and then dissecting the crap out of the film. But I wouldn’t have payed full price for the ticket.
Irenedelse: GUNG VF ABG QRNQ JUVPU PNA RGREANY YVR, NAQ JVGU FGENATR RBAF RIRA QRNGU ZNL QVR!
Lrnu. V abgvprq gung gbb.
I have the fancy schmancy Greasemonkey Leetspeak add-on that translates rot13 for me easy peasy. That’s just how much of nerd I am. (Also rot13 has been de rigeur at Mark Does Stuff for some time.)
Crip Dyke: Nyy gung “Ernpu bhg jvgu lbhe srryvatf!” naq “Hfr gur sbepr, Yhxr! Yrg tb!” Jnf whfg Bov-Jna ubefrfuvggvat uvf jnl guebhtu vg orpnhfr ur pbhyqa’g svaq n zvqvpuybevbzrgre, V thrff.
@ Julien Rousseau:
Lrnu, vg obgurerq zr gbb. Zl sevraq fhttrfgrq gung vg jnf vagraqrq sbe gur byq jevaxyrq thl (naq OGJ, jung’f jvgu uvevat n 45lb npgbe gb cynl n pragranevna jvgu gbaf bs znxr-hc??), Jrlynaq, jub unccraf gb or, 1) ba obneq nyy gur gvzr, 2) Ivpxref’ qnqql. (Naq jvgu fbbb zhpu sberfunqbjvat.) Lrnu, evtug. Jul pbhyqa’g fhpu n uvtu-raq, fhcre-fcvssl znpuvar unaqyr obgu znyr naq srznyr cngvragf? Be rira qb n pyrna wbo? Arneyl ab narfgurfvn, n phg jvqr rabhtu gb rivfprengr gur cngvrag… Htu.
Alzheimer’s disease; -Scientists at The Karolinska Institute have been doing a phase-2 clinical study of a vaccine itended to prime the body’s own immune system to destroy the proteins believed to trigger Alzheimer’s disease.
80% of the patients developed antibodies, while experiencing only mild side effects.
A previous prototype vaccine trial -using larger molecules- had to be stopped when some patients experienced severe side effects.
It now remains to test if the vaccine also is effective against the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. If -and this is a big if- the phase 3 trial goes well, there might be a vaccine available in six years.
Below is a Swedish-language link.
Genombrott för botemedel mot Alzheimers sjukdom http://www.dn.se/nyheter/vetenskap/svenska-forskare-genombrott-mot-alzheimers
— — — — — — — — —
P S Those far up in northern Sweden had the opportunity to view the Venus passage. Many from Britain had traveled to Kiruna, above the Arctic circle, for a chance to view the rare event. Despite some early cloud cover, the skies cleared up in time :-)
Well then, I’ll probably go see Prometheus if my friend (huge Alien fan) asks, but I’m not going to suggest it myself.
*sigh* I hoped it would be something we’d both like. She usually dislikes all my choices. (she even hated Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy… I mean, wtf?!)
Julien and Irenedelse: Gung nyy ohttrq gur fuvg bhg bs zr gbb. Fur jnf cenpgvpnyyl phg va unys!
Naq jura V svefg fnj gur byq thl ba fperra, V gubhtug vg jnf fhccbfrq gb or na vasrpgrq perjzngr be fbzrguvat. Gung’f ubj onq gur znxrhc rssrpg jnf.
Beatrice: Your friend is going to have a sad.
I got up at Sun-up, but it looked cloudy, so I went back to bed.
Turns out I was wrong.
Pteryx: “new word in vocabulary: Ungr. Ungr ungr ungr UNNNNGRRRRRRR.”
You wouldn’t like me when I am Ungry.
Another thing about Sweden;
We had the national day today. Since we did not have a national day before 1979, I have been a True Conservative and ignored the new-fangled event (get off my lawn!!!).
Also, the choice of June 6th was originally the anniversary of king Gustav Wasa becoming Feudal Tyrant Asshole of Sweden and Finland.
Later, the anniversary has instead celebrated another June 6th, the adoption of the 18xx rules for parliament, an event so dull that 99% of Swedes do not know about it.
Personally, I celebrate June 6th because my brother Gunnar has his birthday (in archaic Norse, Gunnar is supposed to mean “great fighter” or something:-)
Anglo-Saxons might be celebrating the invaion of Normandy, or is that another date? If that is the case, I vote we celebrate the Swedish national day in honour of that, at least it is something the schoolkids can remember!
Ogvorbis: “Sorry. Do not try to translate my last. I am in a weird mood. It was an attempt at humour which I have reconsidered”
ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn
Yes, it’s true Miss Daisy Cutter. Rorschach – you remember we were there as a family? Spouse and the two elder kids were at that talk too. Before I posted that comment I went and double-checked with them if I was correct. They assured me I was. As one of us is bisexual, it really left an impression.
I haven’t seen Prometheus yet, but I must admit the trailers left me feeling – well – as if something wasn’t quite right. Apparently there’s a re-working of Bladerunner in the offing too.
I did see Men in Black 3 last week. That I enjoyed, especially because Jemaine Clement is such a good baddie.
One or two things disappointed me about MIB3… But I genuinely liked it overall.
Also I was almost 100 percent certain the baddie in the movie was Tim Curry. It was the voice. He had a bit of that ‘curry villain’ voice thing going on. The deep but nasal tone.
MIB3 is a way more positive thing to think about than Prometheus. MIB3 was, in my estimation, 100 times better than MIB2.
MBZT, V’z nyfb univat n gba bs sha jvgu ebg68.* V yvxr gur pbzcnevfba gb Pguhyh. Vg tvirf zr n tbbq vqrn ubj gb jevgr sbe uvz, vs V rire qb Pguhyh fynfu. V pna jevgr, “Bu, Unfghe, lbh’er fbbbbbb ovt!” naq bgure fhcre-purrfl qvnybt yvxr gung & vg pbzrf bhg ornhgvshyyl.
Bxnl, abj V unir gb jevgr fbzr Pguhyh fynfu snasvp. Gung vqrn vf whfg gbb jrveqyl njrfbzr. …nygubhtu V fuhqqre gb qb n frnepu, fvapr, tvira ehyr 89, V’z obhaq gb pbzr hc jvgu fbzrguvat pbzcyrgryl qvfgheovat.
Bxnl, tbggn fgbc. Gnxrf jnl gbb ybat gb jevgr naq ernq guvf fghss. V zvtug unir gb fgneg hfvat gur ratvar gb genafyngr fuvg jevggra va abezny ratyvfu fcryyvatf. Hpx. V zrna, vg’f n terng zragny punyyratr & V yvxr arj guvatf, ohg gurer’f n yvzvg, l’xabj?
*V qba’g xabj jul V srry pbzcryyrq gb ebgngr qvtvgf ol 5, ohg V qb. Fhr zr.
Is nothing sacred ?
Apparently not, Rorschach.
I’ve just been corrected on the Cannold quote. Apparently she said both agnostics and bisexuals do exist.
I guess we all misheard.
Why you’d associate the two is a bit of a mystery to me, though.
ImaginesABeach, thanks for that Budget Bytes tip. Really nice website.
No. There is money to be made.
Next question?
OK! So apparently they’re associated because her stance was, many atheists don’t believe agnostics exist, in the same manner as, ( should that be “that” not “as”?) many gays don’t believe bisexuals exist.
The ‘many’ is her word, not mine.
Hopefully I have clambered out of that hole, and now I shall run screaming, naked and filthy across the vast plains of I Will Keep My Mouth Shut.
;)
“Bladerunner” was a very much altered version of “Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep”, apparently Philip K. Dick actually liked the film despite the major changes.
.
But that was a Ridley Scott film. Only Ridley Scott is Ridley Scott.
—- — —
Erratum. Sweden has had a national day since 1983. So it is an even less impressive “tradition”. Bleh.
Having read “Get Fuzzy” I agree with Bucky Katt* that the logical use of a national anthem should be to intimidate other countries. The music should be bombastic, the text should include words like “burn”, “slaughter” and “loot”. Like a viking battle re-enactment without the helmets.
*being feline, Bucky Katt is a natural Republican.
irenedelse: “BX, V’z univat jnl gbb zhpu sha jvgu ebg13, abj. Unir lbh abgvprq vg znxrf hf fbhaq yvxr Pguhyuh? “Cu’atyhv ztyj’ansu Pguhyuh E’ylru jtnu’anty sugnta.”
Oops. Didn’t see you made the same connection.
irenedelse: “Zl sevraq fhttrfgrq gung vg jnf vagraqrq sbe gur byq jevaxyrq thl (naq OGJ, jung’f jvgu uvevat n 45lb npgbe gb cynl n pragranevna jvgu gbaf bs znxr-hc??), Jrlynaq, jub unccraf gb or, 1) ba obneq nyy gur gvzr, 2) Ivpxref’ qnqql. (Naq jvgu fbbb zhpu sberfunqbjvat.)”
V qbhog vg, orpnhfr Ivpxref jnfa’g fhccbfrq gb xabj ur jnf gurer juvpu fur cebonoyl jbhyq vs fur unq n znpuvar sbe uvz va ure dhnegref. Nf sbe Thl, V pna haqrefgnaq orpnhfr bs gur Grq 2023 pyvc ohg vg jbhyq unir orra orggre gb hfr gjb npgbef naq unir Thl qho gur bpgbtranevna cynlvat byq Jrlynaq, vg’f abg yvxr jr fnj uvz n ybg va gur zbivr.
Nf sbe gur qnqql guvat, V qvqa’g frr vg hagvy fur jrag gb frr uvz ohg ol gura vg jnf boivbhf.
V jnf qvfnccbvagrq gung Ivpxref jnfa’g gur urebva orpnhfr juvyr fur jnf pbyq fur nyfb unq ure urnq ba ure fubhyqref naq ure ershfvat gb yrg gur urebva’f ornh ba obneq erzvaqrq zr bs Evcyrl gelvat gb rasbepr dhnenagvar.
V nyfb yvxrq ure ercylvat gb “lbh’er qbvat vg jebat vs lbh jnag gb trg ynvq” jvgu “vs V jnagrq gb trg ynvq V jbhyq abg tb sne njnl sebz rirel zra ba gur cynarg” (cnencuenfvat) ohg gura fur unq gb shpx vg hc ol snyyvat sbe gur jbefg cvpx hc yvar va gur uvfgbel bs CHNf “Ner lbh n ebobg?” “ab naq yrg zr cebir vg gb lbh ol frkhnyyl freivpvat lbh”.
Univat gur fpevcg punatrq gb unir ure nf gur urebva, tbvat sebz orvat pbyq, rzbgvbayrff naq va punetr gb trggvat zber unaqf ba nf gur fvghngvba qrirybcf naq trggvat ure rzbgvbaf fuvar guebhtu (srne) juvyr fgvyy xrrcvat ure jvgf nobhg jbhyq unir orra fb zhpu orggre sbe punenpgre qrirybczrag guna univat ure gel gb cebir ure uhznavgl guebhtu shpxvat naq orvat gbb fghcvq gb eha bhg bs gur cngu bs gur fuvc naq unir gur urebva’f punenpgre qrirybczrag orvat “V tbg uvg ol
tnzzn enlfn P-frpgvba naq abj V nz n fhcreureb”.Jung n jnfgr bs na bccbeghavgl gung svyz jnf.
Ok, it was nice to vent for a bit. I think I’m gonna go see The Avengers again tomorrow to wash the after taste off; it might have had a few jokes that fell flat but it was damn fun.
birgerjohansson, thanks for that I hadn’t heard about it. I don’t know anybody with alzheimer but I am fricking excited by that because losing your mind seems a fate worse than dying to me.
TLC: “MIB3 was, in my estimation, 100 times better than MIB2.”
Excellent. I really liked the first but was pretty underwhelmed by the second so didn’t even consider the third until amblebury said he liked it and you said that it was much better than the second.
Ok, good night everyone.
The Truman Show was a very much altered version of Time Out of Joint. Discuss! ;)
Ah, the house is redolent with malt and oats, the rats are doing well, I’m working and a thunderstorm has arrived, making the wireless and satellite cranky and not wanting to work, so I’m out for the evening.
Really, really threadrupt, and in need of going to bed (this is what exam season does to me.)
So, just briefly:
@Caine:
New ratties! D’awww, they’re adorable. May you have many happy times ahead. :)
—
Missed the transit of Venus. Mostly because it happened mostly overnight (I think), but also because it’s been cloudy for several days here, and they only broke late this afternoon. >.<
—
And now I really should go to bed *before* I fall asleep on my laptop. (Unlikely but possible.)
There’s a jaw-shaped dent in the countertop in front of the computer.
Thanks!
*painkillers*
Sorry, no Rorschach, that makes *perfect* sense to me. Although fortunately it’s getting to be a thing of the past.
People who call themselves ag/bi are not really truly what they say they are: they are really just ath/gay and in denial; or they’re distancing themselves from the stigma; or they’re really straight but trying to jump on the bandwagon and be cool and co-opt all the fun parts. And they need to stop dithering, make up their minds what they really are, and get off the fence. Even in its nicest and kindest form, it was part of the process of coming out, just a phase that we’d get over.
I heard all of those as a budding young bisexual, and totally fell for the “lesbian but in denial” thing for a while and metaphorically beat myself up over my weak and pathetic inability to decide.
I am completely certain that Leslie was joking; it seemed that way when I first saw it. I’m not quite sure that I agree with her about the parallel to agnosticism, but I’m agnostic on that part of the question :)
random: if anyone wants a good comeback to “But I’m just a clueless guy why won’t women say what they meeeeean” argument (or, if you’re ACTUALLY socially clueless), Rebecca Watson made buttons for you! Er, us!
http://skepchick.org/2012/06/merch-update/
(Inspired by Jadehawk.)
@CripDyke, if you are going to user rot13 for fun, then PLEASE label it as such. “Harmless” or “ROT13 for joke only” at the start, for example.
The point of using it here is to hide spoilers and other stuff like triggers like all the slimepit phagvat. (There’s one for your collection).
Rot13 signals text that people don’t want to read by accident, but might read by choice. If anything at all could be in rot13, then the signal stops working. It’s like saying TRIGGER WARNING before a discussion of tea and biscuits.
MIB is one of my favorite movies, so believe me when I say that 100 times better than MIB2 means nothing to me, due to anything times zero equaling zero
Oh wonderful, she’s co-opting actual bi-erasure for the fact that people point out that agnosticism isn’t the fucking in-between between theism and atheism.
Huh Ing, that’s much more nastily said than I did, but at least you got it. :)
It’s a flawed and tenuous analogy to make a erroneous and stupid point.
I noticed that the 7 on my keyboard is much more worn than the other number keys. It comes from writing /blockquote – / is Shift+7.
Awesome.
As I already explained somewhere near the end of the previous subthread, that’s not what I meant. I’m too tired to look for it now.
…awesome beyond words…
Seconded. :-) :-) :-)
Day saved.
Aren’t there any rumors of a Votergate yet? How exactly do they count votes in Wisconsin…?
+ 1
Mass arrests. Let every one of them have their day in court. Fiat iustitia, et pereat fucking mundus.
IOKIYAR.
Such structures would still emerge very quickly, because they’re so effective.
The Founding Fathers shared your dislike of “factions”. They were stupid enough to believe “factions” wouldn’t form if they just didn’t mention them in the Constitution. Turns out the constitution they wrote automatically and inevitably causes not merely parties, but specifically a two-party system!
“Stops”?
+ 1
Taken literally, that’s not what the word says. It says “two”, not “both” (Latin ambi-, Greek amphi-).
My maternal grandparents have 6 children and 6 grandchildren.
I want one.
~:-| What’s so bad about MIB2?
Woah, I didn’t think MIB2 was *that* bad. Not as good as MIB1, sure. Less plot, more flashiness.
@Ing: now that’s concise!
I don’t have a strong opinion myself. I think there’s something a bit off about the agnostic-bashing that Cannold indirectly references, but I also think there’s something a bit off about the agnostic position. But I can’t quite bring myself to care enough to think it through carefully.
Arrow’s Paradox.
However:
(Source. Via. The “via” is worth reading.)
I only feel so strongly about how much MIB2 sucks (again it’s fucking not finished, look at the main view screen in several scenes it’s just the green place holder that they’re supposed to put in effects.., twins are missing, when the pizzaria alien is killed the script calls for his suit to be sliced open, revealing his alien form which is then shot and vaporized…note how they didn’t bother to actually give him an alien form? he just was apparently a balloon), because of how much I liked MIB. It’s flaws shine through blindingly to me. I also got the shooting script and can directly see where effects were cut out and the scene was just left lazily incomplete.
Alethea, there’s not really that much there to think about regarding the agnostic position — it’s just a way to be non-committal.
(Depending on how god-soaked the milieu is, it may be the only way for an atheist to express their belief, and I’m pretty sure many historical declared agnostics were no less atheistic than I)
See the South Park with the Fundamentalist Agnostic family. They drink Dr. Pepper because it is neither root beer nor a cola
Ugh. Linkbork and preview fail.
Arrow’s Paradox.
More flushiness !!
Link fail.
I didn’t notice most of these (watched it twice), and the rest falls under YMMV. The dialogue may have been improved in translation. Who is Ballchinian?
How about “the villain has a wrong/incomplete idea of what it is”? That’s how I understood it.
FOR GREAT JUSTICE.
Yeah but even THEN there needs to be a reason for WHY they want it. Hell even if all she knew was that it was “the hope of the people” who she was at war with, it’s still safer to just kill sat the whole planet.
The alien with balls on it’s chin.
IDK. I thought MIB2 was delightful.
You would
@John Morales re agnosticism: “it’s just a way to be non-committal”.
I mostly agree, but then you do also get all the philosophers jumping out of the woodwork to disagree. And that’s where I usually lose interest. It would not be fair for me to say that they have no good argument, when the truth is that I can’t be arsed to read it carefully. I do think that IF they have a good argument THEN it’s about deism or pantheism, and not any specific current theistic religion.
Antiochus Epiphanes
“We Are Ing The Matrimonial Collective”
Fight!Fight!Fight!
(It’s the antihistamine and cough suppressant talking.)
I will shiv anyone who tries to tell me that movie wasn’t bad, I really do hate it.
But it’s not particularly bad…it’s on par with the best of say Michael Bay. But compared to the original and what it could have been, that is a failing grade.
Julien: Yeah, and I went in to MIB3 expecting shittiness. There are a few things in it that disappoint me a little (not enough aliens, if you ask me, and a few things don’t exactly tie in with the first movie), but overall I enjoyed it.
ING already went over lots of what was wrong with MIB2. One thing he missed though, and for me it’s a big ‘thing’, was the lame-ass way they dropped that lady from the morgue out of the movie.*
I liked that character! She was awesome in so many ways! I especially liked how she wasn’t a generic love interest… she and J end up working together as partners, and the ending implies a respectful and professional working relationship between the two.
*loved her character, but haven’t seen MIB in so long I can’t remember her name.
My mistake, it was the first thing on his list! Agent L! DUH!
Still… my point still stands.
Wasn’t that my point A?
Also seriously, J is morally hideous in that movie from what we learn of how he treats his partners (brain wiping them and abandoning them in a strange place). Which considering that J was disturbed that K would casually mind wipe people…feels odd.
C’mon. The pug who could talk? Fred, or whatever?
Hilarious! I laughed so hard I cried.
You should give it another shot. It’s much better on Blu Ray.
Alethea, it certainly gets convoluted.
John S. Wilkins did a six-post article on it.
Interesting reading*, actually, but I get a sense that it’s motivated reasoning.
From his conclusion:
—
* For me :)
ING: That partner was another thing too. He annoyed the everfucking piss out of me. How did he end up in MIB? Why did they have to make him so irritating? So we don’t feel bad when J mind wipes him and ditches him like an unwanted pet? Because as you pointed out, it’s still morally hideous.
I also want to point out, so as not to raise expectations too much, that MIB3 wasn’t quiiiiiiiiite as good as MIB, looking back.
FRANK! Frank the Pug is the best thing in the movie. I have no complaints with Frank. Best actor. My love of pugs is well known.
Funny story, as a youngling my parents took me to see MIB 1, and when we got home I opened the door to take the garbage out and there was a pug sitting on the porch.
ChibiIng “…Frank?”
Turns out neighbor dogs got out and lost and came to our house. Funny coincidence though
Ing wrote:
I vaguely recall hearing that that was more to do with the fact that Linda Fiorentino, who played L, was very unpleasant to work with – though I don’t have a specific source for that. Which is a shame, because she was one of the things I liked most about the first one.
Oh, and I hated MIB2 as well. Ranks up there with one of the most disappointing sequels of all time – though much lower than Highlander 2 or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
I once found a befuddled, utterly lost, and very grateful pug wandering around. Luckily, the address on his collar was just two houses down, and I could hear someone yelling for a dog. Day saved.
It was a message from
Fun note, that that was Brock Sampson.
When you think about it, knowing that J apparently has done this to TONS of partners, he comes off as someone trying too hard to impress…which given that he’s in a “do it perfect or be executed” position that just makes it sad. Think about it, this was an agent more afraid of his partner than the alien monster! Since we see that agents give up EVERYTHING to join, J so casually taking that away from him makes him the worst boss ever!
@Chigau
…dog?
First movie basically compares neuralizing an agent to retire them as basically putting a dog down. Second movie treats it as a Texas “Right to Work” contract
LOTS of actors are “unpleasent” to work with. I note that people don’t often drop male actors for that reason, even ones infamous for being difficult.
And even then, you could pull a DK and do “Other Daren” on the role.
Ing
Sure.
I suck at punchlines.
I have officially lost all faith in the human race.
I was in the field today, at a provincial park in small-town MB. Collected the morning’s samples, popped them in a cooler, and left the cooler in the shade by the car while we went to collect something else.
We came back to the car an hour later, and someone had stolen my cooler full of samples. From a parking lot by a beach full of parents and toddlers, on a Wednesday afternoon. Let me just say that no one but me could possibly want these samples, and the cooler is distinctive enough that no one would mistake it for theirs. Nope, somebody stole my cooler and took the samples with it. And they probably have no idea what they are or how to dispose of them properly.
Grr. This is how invasive species spread, with idiots transporting them away and dumping them somewhere. My critters aren’t invasive, but for all I know someone is dumping them in a city park somewhere right now. Or leaving them to die slowly in the wrong habitat.
I had to go back out to a different site and collect the same number of critters again, when I would much prefer to leave them in their natural habitat. Not impressed with people today. I would expect this kind of crap in the city, but not in the country.
TLC:
Think about it, and how it makes you feel good.
(You sure the dog was lost, two houses down from its domicile?)
If the dog wasn’t lost, the owner was negligent. I have zero tolerance for people who knowingly let their dogs (or cats) run loose anywhere there are other people.
John Morales
The dog was a pug.
Its eyes are bigger than its brain.
It was lost.
Janine, a friend of mine who’s ex-Navy said that even before they read that article they knew from the headline it was Klingenschmitt. They fully expect that in the next few years he’ll be found dead, wearing a “gimp mask” and two wetsuits, with a banana up his ass.
So Joey’s back? Is he talking again about sticking sharp up mother?
cm’s changeable moniker:
Awesome indeed. Between a slow connection at home and YouTube being blocked at work, I tend to skip the music videos. Thanks for alerting me to one I didn’t want to miss.
carlie, “I could hear someone yelling for a dog” doesn’t make it seem like an owner who knowingly let their dog run loose, does it?
(Why doesn’t anyone give the pug any credit?)
chigau, TLC claimed it was lost. Utterly, even. Two houses down.
A dog, lost two houses down.
Whilst the owner can be heard yelling.
(We’ve only heard one side of the story)
John Morales
I would like to hear the dog’s version. ;)
That’s about the only thing I remember from that movie, so I’d count it as a point in its favor. It’s such a dumb gag that it made me laugh.
I liked MIB3, and came away thinking somehow that I shouldn’t have liked it as much as I did, that it could have been stronger, but I guess it still holds up. Was disappointed that they didn’t find another role for David Cross, though.
Curry’s getting up there in years. That voice you described is very much a Jemaine Clement voice. He sounds similar as one of the teachers in the Napoleon Dynamite cartoon (though I thought that was Maurice LaMarche at first).
Interesting lunch break for me today. I needed to run an errand , so I headed out, only to find that the first intersection that I needed to cross was blocked off by barricades. Strange. So I turned around and went back to work and told a co-worker.
Me: “[Street name] was blocked for some reason.”
Co-worker: “Oh yeah. It’s blocked because they’re shooting scenes for Iron Man 3.”
After asking around, I concluded that I was the only person at my work who didn’t know this tidbit of information.
Thunderstorm is over, no damage. A bit of brewing stuff: chilling.
Did someone say Tim Curry? He’s got the yummiest voice EVAH, and why, yes, I am listening to him read Garth Nix’s Lirael at the moment. (He’s 66, which seems less “getting up there” than it used to…)
I heard a story – apocryphal, but has that grain of truth – about how Tim Curry got bored once, put on his original Frank N Furter costume and entered a Frank N Furter costume contest under a fake name.
Apparently, he got kicked out for being too campy and freaking other people out.
I cannot decide if that is beter or worse than Dolly Parton losing a Dolly Parton lookalike contest on the grounds that she was too short and her breasts too big.
Caine,
Thanks so much for the embroidery links. I rooted through my stuff and found that I actually have some Susan Bates hoops, a ton of embroidery floss, and a variety of needles. I “inherited” them when my grandmother died. I was the default recipient of crafty odds-and-ends when my father and aunts were sorting the estate. So maybe I can take up another craft-that-I-don’t-have-time-for without too much expense. :)
Charlie Chaplin apparently came in 3rd in a look alike contest
John,
Your incredulity leads me to believe that you have never encountered a truly dumb dog. My cute but utterly stupid Bichon could easily be the pug in TLC’s scenario.
Jessa:
Yeah. Jayne is dumber than a bag of hair. Also, very old dogs can suffer from dementia, same as people.
Sarahface:
Thank you. :) Havelock is doing fantastic, Sam is going to be an incredible amount of work.
Jessa, my open mind, not my incredulity.
Be aware that just as this post is addressed to you, that the post to TLC was addressed to him*, and if I’ve read TLC right my less ostensible but more salient point will not have been lost to him.
(Yes, I concede that the dog could have been an imbecile of its kind, or under some other circumstance that truly made it lost)
—
* I know this is public and there are a multitude of people who may read and respond to me, but eavesdroppers** lose context.
** People’s little joke on my conceit.
Oh, my fucking FSM. Trigger warning for rape, victim blaming.
Caine,
Indeed.
(This I know from personal experience)
Jessa, that’s great news on the embroidery front!
John,
Your point to TLC was not lost on me. I was merely remarking on the expanded conversation.
Holy shit, Ms Daisy Cutter isn’t kidding.
(warning for victim blaming)
That goes really well with the “she was covered in blood” part of the testimony.
*hurk*
a) Even responsible dog owners can have someone dig a fence or something unseen like that
b) if it’s an entirely inside dog it may literally have no idea what to do once it finds itself outside. I had a cat who literally didn’t know what to do outside…he didn’t like it.
…Maybe a bunch of us should forward that article to DJ?
Jessa, fair enough.
(Sorry for underestimating you)
See you in your nightmares…blech
“Lost” also could mean, out exploring and not aware of the danger it’s put itself in.
We just put down Husky #2 on Sunday.
She was 14 and was my brother’s dog who we took in when he moved in with his GF who had never owned an animal, ever. Tough choice for him as he found her as a stray puppy when she was only 4-5 months old in very rural NC mountains and had her until 2 years ago when we took her. We have two other dogs so it was good for her to be here.
Last 4-5 weeks she really started the slow down and we got her checked out and she had spots on the liver, big mass near her heart and she’s had bad hips for a year or more. In the last few days she was having trouble navigating our hardwood floors. Sunday morning we knew it was time.
My bro got to come down for her last days and he made the decision early Sunday morning. We got a friend who is a vet come out to the house to take care of it. It was a good choice. Last dog we did it at the vet and this was much better.
She got cremated with her favorite stuffed hedgehog.
Dogs getting old sucks.
Pteryxx,
I’m not impressed when people make light of the need for and value of these warnings, and this is not such an instance.
That made clear, I note that I myself, though not subject to being triggered, still appreciated the warning.
(I don’t need to get more evidence of how the way the system deals with rape victims is still fucked-up, and I don’t enjoy depressing reading)
Rev. BDC: My thoughts go out to you and your brother. Hugs if you want ’em.
Oh, Rev. My condolences to you and your brother. I’m glad you were able to do it at home, that really does help.
***
I’ve gotten my instructions for babysitting the Imperial Russian Stout, so Imma take my meds and head out. Ratties kept me up most all last night.
I’m sorry about your dog, Rev BDC. It sounds like she had a great life and was lovingly cared for to the very end.
Rev. BigDumbChimp, you have my condolence for your loss.
Sorry about your doggie, Rev.
QFT.
Worse — it’s in your face, and as one ages and has known the lifes of a couple of companions, getting a puppy becomes a much more considered matter.
(Which, to make light* of things, was the whole conceit of Highlander the original movie.
Even to have a sequel was an abomination)
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* For certain values of making light, because some matters are too deep for that.
I’m sorry to hear that Rev. You have my condolences. It’s never easy, but at least it sounds like the process went as well as one can hope for.
Rev
Hugs for you and your bro.
My condolences to Rev. BDC for the loss of his dog. Never easy when you keep outliving your pets.
It has been a bad week. My next door neighbor knocked on my door this evening and asked me to take in their mail over the next few days. Her brother had just died in an adjacent state. Her oldest just graduated high school. That’s too young.
Sorry for your loss, Rev.
*ahem* What sequel?
I remember vividly the day when Son, aged 5, delivered his very first stinky-bad pun…
…and that the punch line was “roll-playing game”.
:)
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Erulora…you didn’t happen to break your left eardrum, did you? Muffled followed by dissonance sounds familiar.
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So dense, an agnostic could walk on ’em!
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Me, too! Glad to know that I wasn’t just imagining it.
You’ll get no argument from me. :)
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I wouldn’t rate MIB2 as a zero; it just was basically “more of the same”, no novelty at all, in many respects the same movie only with different casting (other than the stars).
It was just…there. Like oatmeal without brown sugar and pecan chunks, when you were expecting brown sugar and pecan chunks.
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Erülóra, oops, I misspoke.
Thus: Even to have a sequel would’ve been an abomination.
Next: Brazil II.
(ObTasteless)
Rev. BDC:
I have a husky who is getting old and had to have emergency surgery a year ago for non-age related stuff, but that emergency took it’s toll on her. She’s 13 going on 17. I worry for her quite often, though she always manages to get up when it’s time for a walk.
All this to say, I empathize. I really do. My heart goes out to you for your loss.
As for Alethea:
It turns out that I am not aware of all internet conventioins. I was having a lot of fun with rot13, but clearly going out of the norm for TET. Apologies for bothering anyone. Fortunately or unfortunately, I’d gotten to a point of having the initial fun played out before you posted, so I’ve written all I’m going to in rot13 for the foreseeable future.
And thanks for the info.
Caine:
I hadn’t said anything about the new rats yet. I was trying to think of something witty and clever about Esme’s throwdown with Havelock. I failed.
So let me just say that Havelock and Sam are guaranteed to have a great home, and I hope you share much love with both.
Oh, Rev BDC, I’m sorry.
Ing:
I have one of those too. About once a year he thinks he’s being clever, slips out the door, and 10 minutes later we find him hiding under a bush and he’s pathetically relieved and grateful to have us rescue him.
Also, when I was growing up we had a very old, mostly deaf, mostly blind dog who toward the end of his life would literally get lost in the living room.
Crip Dyke:
Thank you. :) (I’m back up because I just had to break up a squabble between Sam and Rubin. Again.) Esme & Havelock are quite taken with each other. Sam is jealous, to say the least. That boy has two handsful of troubles.
y’know, I’m pretty sure that was supposed to be “aware of all internet traditions”.
Nothing like making my own point for me m:-/
…or something.
For general knowledge:
If you have a linked in account, you should change your password. There have been 6.5 million passwords stolen.
Once you have changed the password, you can go to linkedin dot org and check it. Mine wasn’t stolen, but I have a new one anyhow.
Good luck to all of you.
@ Caine
Great to see you are integrating two new rats to the homestead. I see they are already differentiating themselves. Sam and Havelock are great names, too.
Thanks for the good wishes the other day. I did have fun, but after I finished work.
Something like intra-governmental bodies, like the Progressive Caucus or the Congressional Black Caucus, are fine. There’s a clear delineation between groups that form on their own after an election and a system that pre-selects candidates before an election and refuses to support anyone who doesn’t “fit” whatever “bill” they’re trying to push.
It’s undemocratic for a party to only give you one person to vote for, so instead they give you five or ten, they all just happen to be near-carbon copies of each other. CHOICE!
Well, they were bound to be right about a couple of things.
Seeing as they didn’t have any experience with democracy and their only real goal was to carry on making sickening amounts of money without English interference (yes, I do take the cynical historical viewpoint that the Founders were just the 1% in breeches), I don’t think they tried as hard as they could have to prevent that, nor did they have the knowledge to give it a good try.
Which is why my position is that the Founders didn’t provide us with a magical guidebook to run a nation, they left us a mess that we’ve spent 200 years trying to fix. :)
By the way, my comment was at least part sarcastic, part tongue-in-cheek, and part annoyance at Founder-worship. Also, part sleep deprivation. I’ll probably catch your reply in the morning or tomorrow or whenevah.
Who’s up for being absolutely astounded?*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6n8LdHRifOk
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–
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*Note I do not specify at what, exactly.
Gah, too early.
This was sent by a friend, who was convinced by its authenticity.
In fairness, I think they do it really, really well.
Hey y’all. Totes threadrupt, so apologies:
1. In Tucson, AZ after airline made me miss speaking engagement (which had been promoted with paid adverts).
2. Ensconced in hotel for rest of business trip (a whole week).
3. Hotel rawks, staff too nice and competent to believe. Upgraded to brand-new renovated suite with mahogany furniture, huge-ass bed (you could have a fuckin’ pig-pile in it and none of the participants would know. And you wouldn’t spill a glass of red wine).
SpokesGay to front desk after checking in and going downstairs to find restaurant (yes, this is a quote):
“Girrrrl, you know my house never looks that good even when I steam clean. That room is fabulous!”
Front desk woman: (busts up and tries to cover the phone while laughing), “That’s OK. . .mine neither!”
SpokesGay: “Girl, does anyone have a cigarette?”
Front desk woman: “Aks Rhonda—she’s right outside.”
Thank you Rhonda, for my once-a-month smoke.
4. Just paid $23 for a bottle of wine at the bar that costs 9.99 at the store. I’m worth it.
5. Went shopping at the e-cigarette store I mail order from. Total vape nirvana. Gots me a high-powered nicotine stick that’ll put you back in your seat. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Vapers email me for details.
6. Now going to try to catch up on TET goings-on as a wind-down before bed and a board meeting at 9 am. Stupid, stupid SpokesGay.
xxoo,
Me
FYI amblebury, when I put up a naked link, I ditch extraneous elements as a courtesy.
Thus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n8LdHRifOk is the very same link.
(I haven’t bothered to click it, since it ain’t named or meta-tagged)
Josh, sounds like you’re having fun! Yay!
Pardon my poor memory, Josh, but how ‘rupt are you?
(You know about the new rules, no?)
PZ, I humbly suggest you include your pronouncement in the Pharyngula Standards & Practices for formality (and handy reference).
Thus I release my inner bureaucrat.
I know bouts the new roolz; thank you though.
John Morales: I’m pretty sure this pug was lost. And even if he wasn’t, he was about to be. It was abundantly clear to me, a creature of the outdoors, that this pug had no clue. And when I whistled to him, he came running to me like he was on a desert island and I was the first human he’d seen in five years.
I wander around at night plenty when the mood takes me, and I come across the occasional dog and plenty of cats who know how to be outdoors… and this pug was absolutely clueless, man.
I totally saved his life.
@ Josh
You have been away so long that “stuff” will likely be at Chez Josh before you.
To assist in your catch-up: Linky.
SallyStrange:
Well, I’m having about as much fun as one can have when one desperately wants the Business Travel Season™ to be over and hunker down in one’s own bed.
Yep, the accommodations are luxurious and I’m grateful for that. Good friends are here to drink wine with at night, too!
But I still have to run a biennial national conference and be “on” and funny/informative from 8 a.m until well after nightfall, and it’s exhausting. I like it, it’s good, but I’m tired. I wanna go home and tell everybody to STFU and stop talking to me:)
Then again I complain about everything, and I’m kind of a whiner.
Oh also, the worst part: I left my Ambi*en (sleeping pill) at home. I take it only very rarely, but it’s most helpful when I’m in a strange place (i.e.-not my own bed). Brought every other fuckin’ pill under the sun, but oh no, couldn’t remember the Magical Sleep Potion.
John, ignorance isn’t a lack of courtesy.
There are more positive ways to educate.
TLC, fair enough.
A friend of mine has a pug-pitbull cross. Poor dog. Inherited the large head and strong jaws of the pit bull, and the tiny little teeth of the pug. The energy of a pitbull, the brains and stupid grin of the pug. He’s hopeless off his leash, and always ends up the loser if he tussles with another dog.
He’s sweet though, and always good natured. He slept in my tent on that big drunken group camping trip for a night. Took over my sleeping pad, the stupid mutt. At least it wasn’t cold.
amblebury, that’s very true.
In atonement, I offer you the explanation of the anchor tag, the which you can see under the Allowed Tags by the reply box:
<a href="URL" title="the alt-tag">visible text</a>
Also my condolences Rev BigDumbChimp.
With old and well loved dogs… logically you’d think that after a good long run at life, it’d be easier to ‘have perspective’ on letting them go… but in a way I think it’s harder to lose them after they’ve been around for so long.
She sounds like she lived well, though.