Comments

  1. Ogvorbis says

    I just saw an advert for the Burger King Whopper. The Whopper is now 55 years old.

    I wonder if it has had its colon, cholesterol and blood pressure checked? Then again (this is from Wife), would you want to be the doctor looking between those buns?

  2. Tony ∞2012 recipient of the coronal mass erection∞ says

    Josh, that deserves another round of noodle spanking.

  3. Pteryxx says

    Thanks again y’all who linked Jennifer Armintrout’s 50 Shades of Grey takedowns, the gift that keeps on giving. I’m almost caught up now and saw this good news:

    http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/3334192-super-big-announcement

    Years ago, I did an interview with The Hathor Legacy in which I said that I didn’t think it was possible to write a feminist romance novel. At the time, I really didn’t think it would be possible. Then 50 Shades of Grey and all of its weird little copycat stories came along, and lo, I realized that it would be entirely possible to write a feminist romance novel. And I could do it in the exciting new genre that Cyndy at Brazen Reads called ” “unrealistic erotica involving little research and even less editing”. All I have to do is the exact opposite of everything in those books.

    So, I’m very pleased to announce that beginning January 15th, 2013, my very first self-published novel, The Boss, will begin appearing in serialized installments on this very blog. This book will be free, chapter by chapter, with a new installment releasing every fifteen days.

    […]

    But most of all, I just want to prove that you can write a romance like 50 Shades of Grey without falling into the traps that it and books like it did. I want to write characters who don’t view BDSM as a symptom of a large emotional defect. I want to write a book where the heroine can submit without relinquishing total autonomy and who actually likes and can cultivate noncompetitive relationships with other women.

    And I’m going to give it away for free, because I just don’t see a market for a book like that.

    …I’d read that. Possibly one-handed. <3

  4. Tony ∞2012 recipient of the coronal mass erection∞ says

    rq:
    Do you have any _simple_ recipes?
    Like ‘crack eggs into pan over medium heat; cook to preferred consistency’?

  5. carlie says

    *******WAR ON CHRISTMAS BULLETIN*******

    Went to the first of three school holiday concerts tonight, and it was blissfully free of any god songs. There was, however, one from Rent. Heh.

  6. Pteryxx says

    *grins at Tony* Because her reviews have gems like this:

    Every time he says, “Come,” when he should be saying “Come on,” I just imagine her having this loud, uncontrollable orgasm in front of everyone. And that is more arousing to me than anything E.L. has written in these fucking books so far.

    …I miiiight have a snark fetish. It’d explain a lot. >_>

  7. cicely (fair-to-partly-cloudy) says

    But anyway, if hanging out at the mall foraging doesn’t allow women to bond, then I wonder – how did we ever evolve to be considered so damn talkative?

    rq, you’re considering an important, possibly the important point: It’s all just babbling. No important content. Sound and fury, signifying nothing, but probably useful in introducing babbys to the concept of vocalisation.

    Besides, if we didn’t bond over the foraging, however could we compare notes on where the best shoes roots-n-berries can be found? Direction. Distance. Possibly some limited info about quantity/quality. It’s all we need, really, and even bees can do that, and they’re bugs!

    So how do gay men fit into evo psych explanations for gender differences?

    Girdles.

    :D :D :D

    …I miiiight have a snark fetish. It’d explain a lot. >_>

    The snark is a noble beast. Don’t be ashamed.

  8. ednaz says

    Hello Everyone!
    From wayyyy back in the thread:

    Portia @ 37

    I went 3 for 3 with new client interviews who retained my services on Monday. More and more since then. I’ll need a paralegal if this keeps up…

    YAY!!

    rq @ 91 – What a sweet story. So much fun to watch the little ones play using their imagination.
    All time favorite story told by my nephew started…’When I was 5…’
    ‘But honey, you’re only 3.’
    ‘Yes, but when I was 5…’

    I never interrupted again. : )

  9. ednaz says

    Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus says: # 95

    more rant:
    Reading over Ashley’s thread again, I often hope that, in absence of a just god, people who got such shit from their parents will in the end not be the bigger person and will just let them grow old and bitter alone, always aware that out there is your child, probably even your grandchildren, who would keep you company now, visit you, call you, love you, take care of you, but you, you alone drove them away by being a shitty asshole and sorry excuse for a human being.

    THIS.

  10. ednaz says

    Pteryxx – Jennifer Armintrout’s site is just too cool.

    broboxley OT – Thanks for that!
    hee hee *thumbsup*

  11. Tony ∞2012 recipient of the coronal mass erection∞ says

    Pteryxx has the snark hat apparently. Tis possible xe created the hat.

  12. Tony ∞2012 recipient of the coronal mass erection∞ says

    As of tomorrow, in Washington state, it will not be against the law to possess up to an ounce of weed.

  13. Pteryxx says

    wow, what’s with the good news and goodfeels lately? Is the world coming to an end or something? …

  14. Pteryxx says

    Tony: it sure wasn’t me that created the snark hat… but whoever borrows it next might want to wash it first. <_< BECUZ EVOPSYCH

  15. Tony ∞2012 recipient of the coronal mass erection∞ says

    Pteryxx:
    You may have missed the last thread. My long post was a downer. Joe had car troubles. Dalillama had money troubles. Giliell had tooth issues. Perhaps this iteration is acting as a balance?

  16. Pteryxx says

    *offers fluffy anklehugs to Tony and Dalillama and Giliell’s teeth*

    Joe I saw, I think, that that turned out okay in the end

  17. says

    Yo!

    I’m having a locally-brewed beer after a meal of green chile cheeseburger and fries. I have something similar to Internet(tethered iPhone), my guitar stuff is set up and everything works, and I’ll have TV hooked up tomorrow. The Office Cat is learning to live outside of an office, and the other cats have been absolutely perfect so far.

    Things are… OK. Not great, and they could take a somewhat negative turn before we’re completely in the clear. But for right now, things are OK. My wife and I are together, and together we can get through just about anything. Well, unless we have another terrible night of sleep like last night, in which case all bets are off. :)

  18. Menyambal --- son of a son of a bachelor says

    Improbable Joe, it all sounds yummy. I am glad it’s going well, and hope it gets even better.

  19. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    So, the engineering honor society I’m a part of has escalated its Initiation Luncheon dress pressure from “business casual to business” to “formal suits and ties for men, or at least shirt, slacks, and tie,” even though the former was what initiates were previously told at the last meeting, and as the luncheon is this Saturday this is VERY short notice for students on a limited budget.

    On the other hand, I’m glad to see “tie == formal” vindicated, since I often hear pretentious noise about it.

    I’m glad I initiated last year. >.>

  20. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    Not always. Since the invention of powered machinery they serve a valuable weeding purpose. >.>

  21. Tony ∞2012 recipient of the coronal mass erection∞ says

    FFS!
    Ragarth is a narcissistic fuckwit!
    “I shall depart soon my lackeys. As soon as this mions answers me.”

  22. says

    Almost two weeks ago I ordered a half gallon jug of coconut oil on Amazon because it was the best price er ounce (I use it in my smoothies, mostly).

    It took almost two weeks to arrive because some podunk company in Florida, instead of Amazon, supplied it. In that time, I ran out of my previous jar of coconut oil. I missed and craved coconut oil. I developed habits of daydreaming about how delightful it would be to have an entire half gallon of coconut oil. I checked the package tracking on the coconut oil.

    Today my jar of coconut oil arrived. I had a smaller glass jar all clean and ready to decant it into (see? I planned ahead). Of course, the oil was solidified in the large jar and had to be melted to decant it. I filled a large pan with hot tap water and set the plastic jug in it.

    I walked away and didn’t watch it, like a stupe, and my son didn’t say anything when the half gallon jar of coconut oil turned over on its side in the pan of warm water, spilling about half its contents and allowing water to flow in and mix with the rest. The only salvageable oil was the small core still unmelted when I found it, which naturally didn’t have any water mix with it.

    The stupidest part of all? That fucking jar of coconut oil would have fit in the microwave to melt. >.<

  23. Tigger_the_Wing says

    I’d find a large container, put the oil/water mix in it and put it in the fridge. The oil will separate out and solidify on top so you can rescue it.

  24. Crudely Wrott says

    Two good things:

    1) Nice to see that Oggie is back. Not that I was worried. I knew that other things can occupy someone’s time. Time well spent and energy well invested, I trust. Still, nice to see you back, Oggie. I wasn’t worried for you but your absence was conspicuous, as you my have gathered.

    2) Really nice to know that Improbable Joe and wife have overcome obstacles and have a measure of security and, like, own space. Together. The feeling of accomplishment must be heartening. Do savor it. May you accomplish more to savor.

    Two nice things.
    At once.
    And I just got here.

  25. rq says

    Good morning and all hail The Snark (who has so kindly given us the Snark Hat out of the Snarkiness of xir Snarkness).

    Pteryxx @3 re: feminist erotica
    I’m with you with all (available) fingers and thumbs. :) I’m very much waiting for that book to start appearing. Thank goodness for computersp; one-handed reading becomes so much easier. ;)

    Tony
    re: recipes
    Simple recipe? What’s that? Umm… I have one stock formula that I use to make all my cakes and never has anyone complained, but that’s about it. When I cook, I cook – on a daily basis, by improvisation, but when I follow a recipe, damn, I follow a recipe! None of this easy shit, I go straight to DIFFICULT.
    Or something.
    I would say they’re all worth the effort, but they’re also extremely voluminous recipes. For gluttons. :)

    re: ragarth
    Damn, he’s still digging? I got annoyed the first time around. :( But now it looks like I’ll have to catch up on the rest.

    re: evo-psych
    Being gay, you are simply an outlier in the data, which means you can be removed without any qualms, in order to make the rest of the data fit the theory. Because evo-psych, yo, can’t be wrong.
    Dammit, I really wish I could get you to do my Christmas shopping. Why couldn’t you tell me this in October???

    cicely
    You and your horses. That is obviously a fake news story with faked evidence, because I can’t open it in order to see it (some weird 30-day trial or some such issue). Everybody knows that horse-bites are beneficial. Or was that vaccines? I can’t remember. One of those things was evil and dangerous, at any rate.

    Portia @10 re: the words out of children’s mouths
    My personal favourite text, from eldest when he was three, goes something like this (I translate) (oh and for context we’d just bought him his scooter):
    Now that I’m three, I drive my scooter slow. When I’m four, I’ll drive my scooter fast. And when I’m a hundred, I will drive my scooter fast fast!!
    Yeah, heart melting, right there.

    +++

    I think I need better time management skills.

  26. mildlymagnificent says

    rq … violas? I suppose you’re in a choir so orchestra jokes don’t come up often. As in ….

    Q. What’s perfect pitch?
    A. When you get the viola in the skip first throw. That’s what.

  27. John Morales says

    [trigger warning]

     

     

     

    In local (Oz) news: Catholic order denies ‘culture of collusion’ over abuse.

    Among the litany of accusations that led to the recent announcement of a royal commission into institutional child sex abuse, none have been more shocking than those surrounding the Catholic order Saint John of God.

    […]

    Brother Graham says the order will do everything in its power to assist police in any investigation.

    “We have cooperated with the police on every encounter that they’ve investigated us to the fullest degree that we can,” he said.

    He added: “I believe that with great sadness we have to acknowledge that some brothers, stretching back to the 1950s, have done dreadful things. Again, we’re on the public record apologising to people with profound regret.

    “In terms of contemporary issues, we have not had a complaint, a contemporary complaint – most of our complaints go back to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

    “I can’t say how God will judge. All I know is that it’s indefensible.”

  28. says

    HI there.
    So, today there’s this presentation in college and of course today I wake up with a sore throat. But it went rather well I think and I was better off than the person after me who was coughing non-stop. I think she wasn’t too sad that we were running out of time and she has to do the second half next week.

    rq
    The girls have biblical second names, too, but that’s just a coincidence because they’re called after Mr.’s grandmother and my great-grandmother.

    Thanks, Pteryxx
    Tooth-problems have been solved by getting rid of the fucker.

  29. opposablethumbs says

    Tooth-problems have been solved by getting rid of the fucker.

    Glad it’s no longer a problem (sorry it had to go in the first place).

    I hope to be able to say the same come Monday afternoon!

    Can’t remember if I said Yay for Joe getting home at last, but if I didn’t, then Yay!!! for Joe getting home at last!

  30. rq says

    mildlymagnificent
    I was in an orchestra, years ago – a fairly decent youth orchestra. But I wasn’t as social then, so I didn’t hear many of the jokes. ;)
    My viola-player joke goes something like this:
    Q: In the centre of a football field lies a football. Standing in the corners are: Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, a fast viola player and a slow viola player. Who gets to the ball first?
    A: The slow viola player. Because Santa Claus doesn’t exist; the Easter Bunny doesn’t exist; fast viola players don’t exist…

    Giliell
    Well, that’s one way to solve a problem (tooth). :)
    Hooray on the presentation! One less thing to worry about in the near future.

  31. birgerjohansson says

    December 6th:
    The Banana Massacre
    (for the benefit of United Fruit aka Del Monte)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_massacre
    This is part of a chain ofescalated violence that remains to this day (and probably made the Colombian society vulnerable to infiltration by the cocaine mafia).
    — — — — — — — — — —
    The thirteenth amendment is passed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
    — — — — — — — — —
    The Halifax Explosion (WWI accident with ordnance loaded on ships, the world’s largest accidental explosion ever. 2000 dead)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion
    — — — — — — — — —
    Finland becomes independent from Russia and immediately starts a civil war that ends with massacres of the defeated “reds”.
    — — — — — — — —
    Mongols capture Kiev in 1240 and sacks the city.

  32. Ogvorbis says

    I wasn’t worried for you but your absence was conspicuous, as you my have gathered.

    I wasn’t sure if I was going to come back. I am trying (mostly unsuccessfully (I fail lots!)) to avoid threads that may trigger which isn’t easy.

  33. Ogvorbis says

    Tooth-problems have been solved by getting rid of the fucker.

    Had two removed late last summer. One of which had a low-grade abscess that, according to my dentist, could have been there for years. And in the past 16 months? No sinus infections. As opposed to two or three a year for the previous 15 years. Hmmm.

    Did you get Asterix?

    Not yet. Been real busy in meatspace. Sorry.

  34. rq says

    Ogvorbis
    It’s ok, I’m just wondering.
    For no reason.
    I suppose it doesn’t matter anyway. :)

  35. Ogvorbis says

    rq:

    I just went there. I’m going to check and see if my local library has an English version available. I am a stereotypical USAnian — no furrin languages.

  36. rq says

    Ogvorbis
    The Asterix won’t be in funny languages. Just the site is. Just click the green button and Asterix will come to you.
    Or something.
    The library should definitely have it, anyway. Any library that doesn’t isn’t a complete library.

  37. Tony ∞2012 recipient of the coronal mass erection∞ says

    Oggie, please stay away from threads that trigger you. You could just hang out here ;)

  38. Janine: Hallucinating Liar says

    Yesterday, the US House Of Representatives voted to eliminate the term “lunatic” from federal law.

    It was not quite unanimous. One person voted no. The person often called the most stupid man in the House.

    The lone “no” vote was cast by Representative Louie Gohmert, Republican of Texas, who said in a statement that “not only should we not eliminate the word ‘lunatic’ from federal law when the most pressing issue of the day is saving our country from bankruptcy, we should use the word to describe the people who want to continue with business as usual in Washington.”

  39. Portia, sporty and glam, pelted with pastries says

    ednaz

    Thanks! :D

    Janine

    Wouldn’t the bill move along a lot faster if people like that guy didn’t insist on speaking against it? Couldn’t it just be on a consent docket and take up zero more time than “more pressing business”?

  40. says

    Honey, I’m home!
    HONEY, I’m ho-ome!
    HONEY, I’M HOME!!!!
    Wait, you mean there is no loving spouse waiting for me with a hot meal and a clean flat when I come home after a mere 10 hrs?
    Damn!

    And I see PZ is busy driving the dudebroz out of the woodwork

  41. Beatrice says

    Giliell,

    Hello darling. I haven’t cleaned your kitchen, but here, have some chocolate (70%, with pieces of almond and orange).

    *sends chocolate via USB port*

  42. says

    Ogvorbis,

    I just hide in the Lounge… maybe you should too? It is OK to not be a tireless warrior for good, if the cost is as high as it clearly is for you. Nobody expects anyone to sacrifice their mental health and well-being for the sake of Internet arguments.

  43. says

    rq
    Thank you, love.
    *nomnomnom*

    Ogvorbis
    Well, my doc has been bickering about one of my liver values for the last half year, while everything else being totally ok. I’m wondering how it will be in 3 months.

    +++
    Kids story.
    While driving home today #1 suddenly said:
    “Mum, your grandpa died!”
    Which is kind of amazing, because it was almost 2 years ago to the day.
    She went on:
    “But we have pictures of him, so we can always remember him!”
    And then she went on in her cheery voice:
    “let’s see whom of us is first” and I expected her to have completely changed topics, but she went on “to die, I think it’s Daddy!”

  44. says

    It is OK to not be a tireless warrior for good, if the cost is as high as it clearly is for you. Nobody expects anyone to sacrifice their mental health and well-being for the sake of Internet arguments.

    This can not be said often enough. It’s just not worth it. Personally, nothing has improved my social circumstances, love life, alcohol consumption and general wellbeing as much as staying away from Pharyngula more and more, at least not since I closed my Facebook.

  45. Esteleth has eaten ALL the gingerbread! Suck it! says

    PZ’s driving the d00dbros out?

    *checks Pharyngula main page”

    OH.

    *puts on raincoat, grabs super-soaker*

    I’m goin’ in.

  46. says

    Are you “struggling with same-sex attraction”? The mormons have a new website just for you.
    http://www.mormonsandgays.org

    The experience of same-sex attraction is a complex reality for many people. The attraction itself is not a sin, but acting on it is. Even though individuals do not choose to have such attractions, they do choose how to respond to them. With love and understanding, the Church reaches out to all God’s children, including our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.

    Brothers and sisters, I put it to you that the mormon church has, once again, proven itself to be an abomination.

  47. rq says

    Giliell
    Sorry, it’s my day off as wife, Beatrice is the one preparing your chocolates today. I’ll be back in line tomorrow with the mopping and scrubbing, don’t worry.

    Also, awesome kids’ story. We’ve had several discussions about death, most of them about who will die and what will happen and how often he (eldest) will come visit us in the graveyard.

    Esteleth
    I look forward to reading your comments later. :) Good luck!
    (I’m slow to catch up to these conversations, but I find them entertaining and infuriating reading after the fact!)

  48. Ogvorbis says

    With love and understanding

    Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit.

    Denying a human being the right to love another consenting adult is not love nor is it understanding. If the LSD was serious about loving, they wouldn’t put up so many obstacles. If the LDS was serious about understanding they would actually try to understand.

  49. Esteleth has eaten ALL the gingerbread! Suck it! says

    love and understanding

    Yep. They love their ability to lord over everyone else and dictate to the world how it should be, and they understand that everyone is lesser to them.

  50. cicely (fair-to-partly-cloudy) says

    *handing Tony a lemon*:
    Suck it!

    Joe: All that, and you are no longer Trapped In Virginia. Party time!!!

    rq: There’s no need to rely on fake Horses for evidence of their Evil, when there is a regretably-large number of real Horses battening on human civilisation. Therefore it follows that this report must be true.

    Oooh! A poem-like substance:

    If babby’s bit,
    This tale’s legit.

    Also, I feel that a vaccine against Horses would be definitely beneficial. Someone get R&D right on it!

  51. Ogvorbis says

    Also, I feel that a vaccine against Horses would be definitely beneficial.

    But vaccines are baa-aaa-aaaad, dontcha know (said in a sheepish tone of typing).

  52. cicely (fair-to-partly-cloudy) says

    Don’t let the anti-vaxxers pull the wool over your eyes! Anything that prevents epidemics of Horses is a good thing!

  53. says

    More Moments of Mormon Madness: The LDS church has been involved in questionable adoption schemes for decades. Now the story of mormon duplicity and immorality in connection with adoption agencies is back in the news.

    Most of the LDS-related adoption agencies are organized as nonprofit organizations, with no formal connection to LDS leaders or to LDS dogma, at least on paper. This arrangement was set up after LDS social services was busted repeatedly for questionable practices. But, operating under changing names (A Heart of Gold Adoptions, An All American Adoption Agency, A Bridge Adoption Services and A Adoption with Love, etc.) these agencies continue to work closely with local LDS leaders to place children in mormon homes.

    …The center, based in American Fork, has facilitated at least five other controversial adoptions that ended up in rulings by the Utah Supreme Court or Utah Court of Appeals. All of those adoptions involved unmarried fathers, unlike the current case. Each of those fathers — Victor Johnson, Frank Osborne, Buddy Pruitt, Cody O’Dea and Bryn Ayers — were unsuccessful in stopping adoptions of their biological children, mostly based on findings they acted too late under Utah law to protect their parental rights.

    The center received harsh criticism in the ruling by McDade, who rebuked the agency for its failure to return Achane’s daughter to him once he realized what had happened to her.

    McDade also questioned the agency’s requirement that the Freis pay an “advertising fee” of $9,800 to a marketing company, in addition to other adoption and pregnancy-related expenses it collected….

    Yes, the marketing company was founded, and is owned by, the same scam artist that runs the adoption agencies that prey on underprivileged families.
    Salt Lake Tribune link.

    Excerpt from the Christian mormon dribblings of the lily white mormon mommie blog:

    … We felt more and more impressed that one last little girl would round out our family circle and provide James with a close, similar sibling. So we moved forward with great faith, and put everything on the line to follow this persistent feeling—a dream that had been revealed literally to the mind and heart of Kristi, early in 2007. Since that eventful day, we have, as a family, come to know that this dream was a righteous desire blessed to fruition by God, and that Leah would be that child—and yet, little did we know the challenges and trials that awaited us in finding and fighting for this little girl…

    The wannabe adoptive mother claims to be “Christian” when soliciting money for legal costs. Her vocabulary and attitude identify her as mormon, and I have confirmation from ex-mormons that she is indeed a true believing mormon.

  54. rq says

    Ogvorbis and cicely are actually sheep in disguise. They’re PZeep!! I knew it! SOmething was wrong from day 1!

    +++

    In other news, I have finally understood why my life lacks meaning (warning: snark). Thank goodness for you lot.

    And the LSDLDS, I suppose…

  55. says

    From the comments section appended to the Salt Lake Tribune article I referenced @78:

    Utah is run by religious fanatics that cross the moral line when the laws are created here to allow the theft of children. Aggrieved parents should have the right to seek damages against the state and the Federal government should intervene considering that children are brought here across state lines to take advantage of the UTAH law. It is nothing less than human trafficking which is also an international crime.

  56. Ogvorbis says

    Ogvorbis and cicely are actually sheep in disguise. They’re PZeep!! I knew it! SOmething was wrong from day 1!

    Nope. Were I a ruminant, I’d be a goat. They are cute, curious, and cute.

  57. cicely (fair-to-partly-cloudy) says

    rq: I do not have enough layers of wool to be a sheep.

    Wether that would make me enjoy the colds of winter is immaterial.

  58. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Nope. Were I a ruminant, I’d be a goat. They are cute, curious, and cute.

    until they eat your tuxedo

  59. says

    Quote from an ex-mormon dealing with LDS social services when pressured to do so by her Bishop:

    Link.

    As a teenager I became pregnant due to a date rape. LDS social services became involved the minute the bishop decided that me and the boy were too young to get married. The bishop never talked to the boys parents.

    I was pressured by my bishop, YW [Young Women] leaders, parents, and LDS social services to join their program where I would be quietly moved out of state so the baby could be adopted. I was told we would not even tell the “father” where I would be going.

    They wanted me out of the state and not to be in contact or very little contact with everyone even my own parents. They told me this would make it easier to make sure that the child would be adopted by a temple married couple.

    I hate hate hate that they are still doing this to people.

  60. Ogvorbis says

    Independent-minded sheep. The last thing this world needs.

    I think we already have that. Christianity is fissioning faster than a lump of pitchblende as we type!

  61. Ogvorbis says

    until they eat your tuxedo

    Best thing that could happen to a chimp suit. Damn things are ugly, uncomfortable and ugly.

  62. says

    All of you people not driving gigantic SUVs are butt-hurting God. You are insulting God’s feelings, according to Bryan Fischer.

    Believing in climate change is also an insult to God.

    “You know, God has buried those treasures there because he loves to see us find them.”

    More blather, in text and video format, here: Raw Story link.

  63. Tony ∞2012 recipient of the coronal mass erection∞ says

    I am going to warn you all, I made a statement (in the Never Forget thread) that was deeply stupid and unthinking. Hell it was insensitive and offensive too. I am incredibly sorry.

  64. says

    Oh, look, Occupy Wall Street did some really laudable work during the recovery efforts post Hurricane Sandy:

    Despite desperate conditions in the Red Hook housing development and residences nearby, there was virtually no crime—and no storm-related deaths. Other neighborhoods like Breezy Point and Coney Island haven’t been as lucky.

    Police sources have credited the drop in crime to an unlikely coalition that included the NYPD, Occupy Wall Street activists, and local nonprofits working together to keep storm victims safe.

    New York Post link.

  65. Beatrice says

    *ouch*

    PSA: If you are cleaning something old and rusty with a steel brush, and it starts losing its “teeth”, don’t wipe them away with the cleaning sponge. Then your daughter might squeeze the sponge while washing the dishes and get the steel wire poke into her palm.

    *ouch*

  66. says

    Gay marriage win in Mexico:

    Associated Press link.

    Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled that a law in southern Oaxaca state that bans same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, paving the way for same-sex couples to marry in that state and possibly in the rest of Mexico.

    In a unanimous decision on Wednesday, the tribunal struck down a Oaxaca state law that declares that “one of the purposes of marriage is the perpetuation of the species.” The court said in its ruling that to condition marriages to the union of one man and one woman “violates the principle of equality.”

    “Gays and lesbians have been able to legally wed in Mexico City since 2010, but that right hasn’t yet been extended outside the city’s boundaries.” [From commentary in Slate.]

  67. says

    Poor, poor Dinesh D’Souza. He didn’t receive an Oscar nomination for “2016: Obama’s America.”

    This film is just bad, bad, bad, but D’Souza doesn’t see that it fails as a documentary, as art, and as a coherent political statement. He thinks that he failed to win an Oscar because Hollywood is biased against political conservatism.

    “I want to thank the Academy for not nominating our film,” D’Souza joked. “By ignoring 2016, the top-performing box-office hit of 2012, and pretending that films like Searching for Sugar Man and This Is Not a Film are more deserving of an Oscar, our friends in Hollywood have removed any doubt average Americans may have had that liberal political ideology, not excellence, is the true standard of what receives awards.”

    From the critics:

    Washington Post critic Michael O’Sullivan panned the documentary as “a slick infomercial,” writing: “D’Souza’s one-sided argument ultimately stoops to fear-mongering of the worst kind, stating in no uncertain terms that, if the president is reelected, the world four years from now will be darkened by the clouds of economic collapse, World War III (thanks to the wholesale renunciation of our nuclear superiority) and a terrifyingly ascendant new ‘United States of Islam’ in the Middle East. These assertions are accompanied by footage of actual dark clouds and horror-movie music.”

  68. says

    Rev. BigDumbChimp @95, OMG, that is so right on.

    I especially like the ex-boyfriend who calls me and asks me to do tech support over the phone for a system with which I’m unfamiliar. Same dude cannot figure out why a logo he imports into a WORD document moves around when he types text into the document.

    He also does not know the difference between a trial version of an application and the real thing.

    I finally told him to never call me again. His feelings were hurt, an experience he expounded upon at length and for which he was still providing detail when I hung up.

    How did I ever managed to spend time with him? Fucking sex.

  69. says

    Apple seems to be making a effort to bring manufacturing back to the USA.

    Link.

    “Why can’t you be a ‘Made in America’ company?” NBC’s Brian Williams asked Cook in an interview that will air tonight. Cook began by noting that Apple does make the iPhone’s engine in the United States, and the glass comes from Kentucky. Then he added, “We’ve been working for years on doing more and more in the United States. Next year, we will do one of our existing Mac lines in the United States.”

    When Williams asked how much more Apple products would cost if they were manufactured entirely in the United States, Cook replied, “Honestly it’s not so much about price, it’s about the skills, etc. Over time there are skills that are associated with manufacturing that have left the US. … It’s a concerted effort to get them back.

    I’ve heard something similar from one of my brothers who used to work at a nuclear power plant. He said we’d have to import expertise, probably from France, in order to build new facilities.

  70. says

    …uh, couldn’t you just boil the water out of it?

    In theory, yes. In practice, I worry about getting the “cooked” flavor that virgin coconut oil gets when it’s overheated or heated too long; I don’t know where that threshold is.

    I’d find a large container, put the oil/water mix in it and put it in the fridge. The oil will separate out and solidify on top so you can rescue it.

    Great minds think alike! I did this! The only thing is, I know that there were droplets of water caught suspended in the oil (I know because I saw them while the oil was still clear). I don’t know if I can get 100% of this moisture out by melting/hardening a couple more times, and I’m paranoid about bacterial growth in those spots.

    Maybe keep the doubtful oil in the fridge and use it up first? Or save it for body and hair use instead of internal use? Exactly how far on the dangerous side would I live by eating it over a period of weeks?

  71. rq says

    Tony
    I’m just surprised you had that reaction at all. :/
    Anything that contributes to the toxic environment is encouragement to those who want to uphold it. And a lot of the surface talk hides an undercurrent of all kinds of violence. :/
    I’m glad you realized it fast.

    The reason I’m here is because of people like you.

  72. Tony ∞2012 recipient of the coronal mass erection∞ says

    rq:

    I’m surprised, shocked and repulsed by what I said.

  73. Esteleth has eaten ALL the gingerbread! Suck it! says

    Side rant: it is cold.

    My skin gets dry when it is cold.

    Dry skin cracks.

    In other news, the skin on the bottom of my nose (i.e. around my nostrils) has cracked open and is bleeding.

    This hurts and is rather unsightly.

    Oh, and I have a runny nose. Bad combination.

    *goes to sit in the corner and feel sad*

  74. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Would it be an insult to call Jim DeMint’s resignation Sarah Palin like?

    I am both excited that DeMint is no longer my Senator and in fear of who our moron Governor will appoint to replace him.

  75. rq says

    Esteleth
    Zinc. It works on my cold-sores (anecdotal evidence only, sorry), and chapped hands. But put it on overnight, because it’s glaring white and looks funny during the day. That, and for hands, get a good, lardy cream with nothing much else in it. We use one called Essex, it’s basically lard in a tube (or beeswax, don’t remember which) but it’s got super protective powers.

  76. Esteleth has eaten ALL the gingerbread! Suck it! says

    Another complaint:

    I like listening to Classical music, and I like listening to Christmas music.

    The confluence is frequently very nice.

    Unfortunately, it also sometimes features people singing the Hallelujah Chorus (a goddamned Easter song) while sounding bored. I disapprove.

  77. says

    beatrice
    Ouch!

    Lyanna
    My uncle works for a medium sized German company that makes lots of engine/car related stuff. They’re doig regular trade with the USA so about 10 years ago they figured out it would be cheaper if they just opened a factory there.
    Then they met a problem: In Germany there’s formal training. You can hire somebody who has the title “maschinenschlosser” (engine fitter/metalworker) and you can expect them to know certain things.
    In the States they couldn’t just hire qualified personel, they had to train them themselves. Once they had trained them GM would snatch them away. So, after a few years of high costs in training and still no stock of qualified employees they gave up and closed the thing down. In the end, shipping from Germany was cheaper.

    +++
    So, since I’m in charge of getting the kids their christmas presents from their grandparents and their great-grandmother (I’m not going to risk that mum forgets christmas, too. Not for her, but because of the kids and gran), I ordered Magformers for them (turn down the volume if you click the link. Annoying sound effects.)
    They’re forbiddingly expensive but soooooo cool. PLUS: Notice the complete absence of gendered marketing? Boys and girls on the boxes? And in the comercial?
    Yay!

  78. rq says

    Esteleth
    I agree. I think I started noticing all the Messiahs a couple of years ago, when typical Christmas concerts were playing various Passions and the like. It seemed a bit odd, but at the same time, if you listen to some of the older Christmas carols, they don’t only speak of the birth of Jesus, but also about his death (loosely translated from a Christmas song here, verse 3: You know and see everything / Gethsemane and Golgotha / Still you come to save and redeem / Glory to you and the Father!).
    I think in older times there wasn’t as much separation between the birth and the death, since the birth was overshadowed by the death to come (since it was already predicted and inevitable, making the birth a not-entirely joyous event…).
    Don’t know if that’s completely relevant, but… *shrug* Useless facts from rq. :)

  79. Esteleth has eaten ALL the gingerbread! Suck it! says

    rq,
    Except that as written, Messiah, according the composer, has an explicit 3-section split, namely:
    1. Prophecy and Birth (“Sinfony” through “His Yoke Is Easy”)
    2. Passion (“Behold the Lamb of God” through “Hallelujah”)
    3. Return and Last Judgement (“I Know That My Redeemer Livith” through “Amen”)

    In any case, “Hallelujah” is about the Resurrection and comes at the tail end of the Easter section.

    A performance of the entire oratorio at Christmas or any other time of year is fine. But if the pieces are taken and performed separately, then “Hallelujah” is not a Christmas song.

    /music rant

  80. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    Would it be an insult to call Jim DeMint’s resignation Sarah Palin like?

    Perhaps he should move to Britain, and become an M.P. DeMint to progress there instead.

    Great minds think alike! I did this! The only thing is, I know that there were droplets of water caught suspended in the oil (I know because I saw them while the oil was still clear). I don’t know if I can get 100% of this moisture out by melting/hardening a couple more times, and I’m paranoid about bacterial growth in those spots.

    Boil it for a short while?

  81. Esteleth has eaten ALL the gingerbread! Suck it! says

    It’s fine rq, I’m just one of those people who is all snobby, especially about music written before 1850. :p

  82. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    A fool. A fool who could have killed her son with her foolishness

    I assume she’s awaiting trial for attempted murder, right? >.>

  83. cicely (fair-to-partly-cloudy) says

    And It’s a Wonderful Life isn’t a Christmas movie…and yet, there it squats in the traditional holiday movie line-up.

  84. rq says

    Esteleth
    I’ll remember that next time I want to discuss Bach! :)

    Beatrice
    Scary, scary story, that one… :/

  85. Menyambal --- son of a son of a bachelor says

    I think it was my mother who said, a long time ago, that “You don’t show the cross at Christmastime.” It was about birth, and the arrival of the redeemer, not about death—which makes sense to me. I no longer regard the holiday as religious, and that somehow makes Easter-time religious stuff even worse. Somebody had a cross in the Christmas parade the other day, and I was taken aback indeed. It was creepy.

    So I agree about the music, I just hadn’t realized it was Easter-themed. I am often impressed by the things people know.

    (Oddly, in the parade, none of all the walking “shepherds” and other people in bathrobes had the long staffs that seem to be required for Bible-time costumes. I had one, though. (It was handy for getting my big self back up after picking up the candy that was tossed from the parade.))

  86. Portia, sporty and glam, pelted with pastries says

    Janine

    I couldn’t even finish reading that comment. It was for the safety of my laptop that I stopped, would have thrown it out the window otherwise. I know I shouldn’t be surprised by people’s depravity at this point, but…damn…

    Thanks for fighting the good fight that not everyone can.

    =====

    A client paid me in cash today. I’m just looking at it, goggly-eyed. I think I’ll start car shopping. Or rather, loan shopping.

  87. rq says

    Portia
    Go, Portia! Soon you can get your own Porsche! haha… :P But seriously congrats! Yay!

    Janine
    Yeah, couldn’t finish that comment.

    +++

    So much evo-psych, so little time!
    I’m grateful too all of you out there fighting and standing up against those willing to perpetuate false myths. I’m grateful to you for looking at things with a critical eye, and for spreading science to those clueless about how it works.
    One day I hope to be one of you.

    Good night to all.
    (At this rate, I’m never going to be caught up!)

  88. evilDoug says

    Bugger! Writing HTML by hand is like programming where you have to remember the op code for Halt and Catch Fire. Lemme try again

    Another try

    and if that doesn’t work
    h t t p://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/11/29/166156242/cornstalks-everywhere-but-nothing-else-not-even-a-bee

  89. Ogvorbis says

    And It’s a Wonderful Life isn’t a Christmas movie…and yet, there it squats in the traditional holiday movie line-up.

    WE had a conversation at work about our favourite Christmas movie/show. One guy said his favourite is Die Hard. I do not grok.

    I think it was my mother who said, a long time ago, that “You don’t show the cross at Christmastime.”

    So your mother never saw this ?

    Go, Portia! Soon you can get your own Porsche! haha… :P

    Shit. This has become a running joke. Sorry, Portia.

    Or you can just change your avatar to the Porsche logo? Embrace my idiocy?

  90. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Dang, the Redhead discovered another Knitting Show (Knitting Daily). Fortunately, it is on a couple of ed channels that Comcast still sends clear (but digital). Time to start recording weekly (Eye-TV) until all 9 seasons times 13 episodes are available (augh!). I may have to sneak a purchased download every now and then in the interest of filling out the collection faster.

  91. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    If those are gone before christmas they’re gone.

    If you want them gone, bring them to the Pharyngula Saloon and Spanking and Parlor (Patricia, Princess of Pullets, Proprietor). I suspect the Pullet Patrol™ will very quickly separate you and the wafers (you on the floor, the wafers in the air), gorging the wafers down before they hit the floor. A couple of people who brought in cookies found this out.

  92. Menyambal --- son of a son of a bachelor says

    Ogvorbis, that “Christmas tree” is disgusting. No, I’m not going to let my mother see that. What sick, twisted people.

    A few years back, there was a story going around about how the Clintons had decorated their White House Christmas tree with an assortment of sex toys. The obscenities were described in loving detail, of course, by the right-wingers who found it shocking, shocking.

    Og, your link is worse than the tree the Clintons never had.

    Sick.

    —-

    Speaking of sick, Jimmy Stewart makes me. I have never liked him in any role I have ever seen him in, and have been deeply confused by why he was in some roles, and deeply offended by others. He can do whiny guys, but keep him out of anything else, and still don’t ask me to watch.

    So, no, I haven’t seen _Wonderful_Life_ and intend to never see it.

    —-

    I envy all you real cooks out there. I just had some microwave-baked potatoes.

    With lots of butter.

  93. Crudely Wrott says

    I just watched the movie Meet John Doe on Turner Classic Movie channel. Starring Gary Cooper and (Miss) Barbara Stanwyck. A story of deception and perception that would not be a bad choice for, say, students about to matriculate from high school to whatever happens next. An inspired film that portrays how the power of image and the management of image often trumps actual accomplishment in social evolution and the advancement of humanity.

    For those who are unfamiliar with the film, watch it. For those who have watched it in the past, watch it again. I think you’ll be rendered . . . thoughtful, and a bit more circumspect when it comes to what you learn from commercial sources. Even lacking such, the movie has some great scenes and some great lines. Plus Cooper and Stanwyck; standard setters that have yet to be equaled. IMHO, of course.

    It occurs to me that a remake should be made, and soon. Faithful to the original script and screen play. Sans FX as they would add nothing of value. The story is a powerful indictment of the way that public perceptions are shaped, molded like wet clay, by those who make lots of money disseminating information to the satisfaction of their sponsors. In other words, much of what Joe Dokes knows (knows!) is passed through a filter that insures that he just knows that Charmin toilet paper is much nicer than Scott. That a Chevy goes faster than a Ford. That a Republican is better than a Democrat and that Aleve actually makes chronic back pain disappear, just like magic.

    Then it occurs to me that probably no one would notice or, if they did, would soon be distracted as soon as the next episode of some show featuring celebrities dancing with athletes airs.
    .

    Side rant: Another perfectly good word thrown into the trash bin of fashion: Awesome
    The actual meaning of the word is a description of something that makes one feel small. Immeasurably diminished and suddenly being shown in contrast to something far larger and overwhelming than one’s previous assumptions were able to . . . assume. It describes the sensation of being placed against an ominous and astounding panorama in which one is reduced to the role of a grain of sand on an endless shore. The word is full of astonishment and humility; it is an admission of insignificance and helplessness. It has no qualifiers.

    That it is now used routinely to modify the routine, that it is carelessly tossed out to express mere approval, that it is bastardized and assaulted to express mere temporary approval is to render the word useless. That it now is commonly used to express what might be otherwise described perfectly well as “cool” or “OK” or “acceptable” or “marginally better” or “nice FX” or “unexpected” or “interesting” or “distracting” or simply novel bleaches the word of all color, relegating it to the uniform and unremarkable grey of common slang. It is linguistic murder. The culprits are legion and they are sanguine, taking little notice. No more than the plucking of a weed to them, only to discover later that the weed held the only cure to a vexatious and embarrassing skin condition.

    Query: What word would you use if you were to actually experience something that made you feel like you were suddenly shrunk to the size of a single atom. If you unwittingly apprehending the scope of the universe spread out before you. If you suddenly experienced being undeniably naked in the face of something so much larger than your own self that you could be casually cast aside and it would make no difference, what word would you use to describe that?

    Here are some synonyms: exceptional, extraordinary, magnificent, outstanding, preeminent, rare, remarkable, singular, towering, uncommon, unusual.

    Now, honestly, do any of these really describe the imposition of AWE on your consciousness when you least expect it and are helpless to respond? Hah. I didn’t think so.

    /end rant that just had to be expressed ’cause things like that are like small parasites burrowing under my skin and scratching is the only treatment that provides relief however temporary

  94. Ogvorbis says

    Menyambel:

    Sorry ’bout that. Should have added a warning to it. That was me olde blog from years ago. Note the asshat ‘Matthew’ down in the comments. One of the reasons I gave up on having my own blog.

  95. carlie says

    But they grease the needles with lanolin!

    My skin gets dry when it is cold.

    Dry skin cracks.

    In other news, the skin on the bottom of my nose (i.e. around my nostrils) has cracked open and is bleeding.

    This hurts and is rather unsightly.

    OH HAI I HAVE A TIMELY STORY RELATED TO THESE THINGS.

    My hands have been getting worse and worse this winter, to the point that I also have cracked open bleeding dryness and even more eczema patches where none used to be, no matter what I put on them. Yesterday was my payday, so TODAY I marched over to the natural foods store with their great shelf-o-oils to find something SERIOUS to use on them.

    Now, back when I was nursing, there was a latch-on problem that resulted in badly cracked bleeding, um… lady breast bits. At that time I discovered Lansinoh, which I’m still convinced is a miracle substance.

    So anyway, there I was, staring at the shelf, when I saw a bottle labeled “100% liquid lanolin”. JACKPOT, I thought. Lanolin was the main component of said Lansinoh, and it cured such things in a miracle way, surely the straight oil would be fantastic!

    (many of you who are smarter than me already see what’s about to happen)

    So I got to the car, and couldn’t wait to try it out. Opened the bottle, wrestled the safety seal off, slathered it on my hands, and…

    immediately realized that what your average farm sheep smells like is at least 95% due to lanolin. And also, whatever all the other ingredients in Lansinoh are, they are apparently designed specifically to mask the smell of lanolin.

    Did I mention this was on the way to work?

    And also that liquid lanolin is about as viscous as half-dried rubber cement, and about as difficult to remove?

    And that the smell… lingers?

  96. carlie says

    So now I have a bottle of lanolin and don’t know what to do with it. I wonder if I can mix it with other things to make it usable.

    Esteleth – I imagine you have matters well in hand, but things I’ve used for extremely dry skin:

    Vaseline. I know, petroleum byproduct, but there was a several year period when my face was so sensitive (and wind/coldburned) that was the only thing that I had that didn’t sting like crazy. Plus it stays put where you put it, unlike oil which runs down and off of vertical body surfaces.

    Olive oil. Not too expensive if you’re relatively sparing with it.

    Vitamin E oil. More expensive, but a little goes a long way. I’ve made a 2 oz bottle last an entire winter.

    Jojoba oil. Kind of useless on severe chapping, but good to keep normal-ish skin from getting worse without causing breakouts. About the same cost as vitamin e oil if you shop around.

  97. Ogvorbis says

    carlie:

    No idea if they have this in your neck of reality, but there is a product called Bag Balm which is fantastic for cry and cracked skin. It was originally made for milk cow udders but the dairy farmers learned, real fast, that it is also great for human skin. All of the diary farmers down Maryland way swore by it.

  98. Esteleth has eaten ALL the gingerbread! Suck it! says

    Carlie, forgive me, but I just laughed my ASS OFF at your 137.

    And I have rediscovered the joys of Eucerin. I have a pot leftover from when I was rubbing it on my surgical scars (and damn does that shit work), and have relearned that:
    (1) it is a potent moisturizer
    (2) it promotes wound healing
    and
    (3) it REEKS.

  99. says

    I just started another batch of truffles. If they’re gone before Christmas, I’ll just make more.

    (/Well, time permitting, anyway.)

  100. carlie says

    Esteleth,
    I was hoping it would amuse. Needs to get something out of it. :) Eucerin I think I’ve used a little of before, but never gotten enough to keep around the house.

    Og – I do know of bag balm, somehow I’ve never gotten a hold of any. I have used Corn Husker’s, and it’s just creepy weird on my skin. It gets sticky after it soaks in.

  101. Ogvorbis says

    I do know of bag balm, somehow I’ve never gotten a hold of any.

    You’re not going to believe this, but . . .

    And, yeah, corn huskers doesn’t work nearly as well. Though it does work as great facial protection when skiing in -20F weather up at Wildcat (when I was young and stupid (as opposed to now, when I am older and only slightly less stupid)).

    ============

    And I actually find myself feeling guilty. Over on the ‘Never Forget’ thread, some of the disgusting MRAs are out in force and I’m sorry, I just can’t. I feel like I’m shirking.

  102. Esteleth has eaten ALL the gingerbread! Suck it! says

    Lard help me, I just tweeted at Justin Vacucla. I told him that Marc Lépine would agree with him (and think that Vacula agreed with him).

    I get called a feminazi and/or bitch in 3…2…1…

  103. carlie says

    Og – NO, you are not shirking. Not everybody needs to fight everything; that’s why it’s so great that there are so many of us. Everybody can take a break whenever and how often they need, and anyone can decide that they will never engage in certain topics, and there will still always be enough other people who are in the mood and have the reserves to do it and get it done.

  104. Crudely Wrott says

    Oggie was there before me but, yes,

    Bag Balm. It don’t cost very much and it lasts a long while. Get thee to a farm and feed store, Carlie (your name being so similar to my MS name I am being honest) and get you some.

    I grew up rural and surrounded by livestock. As they were subjected to similar infirmities I was exposed to the wonders of this potion. Cracked udders and chapped noses, remarkably the wet ones, responded miraculously impressively well. I recommend it to you with the imprimatur of my father, a cattleman and one of the last real cowboys. His cows were his livelihood and he doted on them so.

    Bag Balm.
    It is good to skin.

  105. Ogvorbis says

    And if no farm stores, Amazon has it. And there is also a Bag Balm web site. Great stuff. When I’m at forest fires, the medical tent always has tins of it. Lots of small tins. Remember, though, they do melt in temperatures over about 95F. And it expands when it melts. Believe me on that one.

  106. carlie says

    Thanks for the advices – there is a Tractor Supply Co. nearby, so I would bet they have it.

  107. Crudely Wrott says

    Also, I used it on my own hands which used to get chapped and cracked irrigating the hay fields.

    It works. I hope you try it and it works for you, Carlie.

  108. Crudely Wrott says

    I forgot to mention that Bag Balm is like Brylcreme. A little dab will do ya.

    They’ll love to run their fingers through your hair.

  109. Wowbagger, Antipodean Dervish says

    Most of the slimy MRA pissants who turned up to misread, misquote and generally miss the point – deliberately or otherwise – of what PZ wrote have had their asses handed to them and run away.

  110. Esteleth has eaten ALL the gingerbread! Suck it! says

    Try Eucerin, Joe. Shit is amazing.

    That or K-Y. Shit is also amazing, but somewhat different.

  111. Ogvorbis says

    [bing!] Use “Bag Balm” for those troublesome zombie elbows!

    This message has not been approved by the Internet Message Approval Agency.

  112. Ogvorbis says

    Most of the slimy MRA pissants who turned up to misread, misquote and generally miss the point – deliberately or otherwise – of what PZ wrote have had their asses handed to them and run away.

    And are now crowing about victory/bragging about being banned somewhere else.

  113. Menyambal --- son of a son of a bachelor says

    Bag Balm is good stuff, but/and a little goes a long way. I may need to see if I can find some—I haven’t used it in years—as this winter I’m doing dishes, laundry, feeling OCD, and trying to play a stringed instrument.

    Ogvorbis, I was fine seeing that “tree”, but *gawd* that was sick. Yeah, I can imagine giving up because of internet comments. I’m avoiding a few threads right now, as I have enough emotional turmoil already.

    Visiting the Lounge helps. Thanks, all.

  114. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    [help]Eggnog with nutmeg sprinkle. Pfeffernuese. Hallmarks countdown to Xmas. [/help]

  115. cicely (fair-to-partly-cloudy) says

    Gyeong Hwa!
    *pouncehug*
    Whereyabeen, Pikachu? Long time, no read!

    Ogvorbis, don’t feel guilty. You gotta take care of yourself. I feel sure that nobody else thinks you’re ‘shirking’.

    And Bag Balm can also be used as a desert topping and a floor wax.

    And you use the whole Bag, with no Bag waste, no scaling or gutting!

  116. Crudely Wrott says

    Yes, Kristinc, exactly like that.

    (And thanks for the intro to Izzard. I’ve heard the name before but never had a face to go with it. I’m so culturally illiterate these days. I tend more to George Burns and Red Skelton. Soupy Sales, too. (There’s always room for Jello) *grins widely*)

  117. ednaz says

    Rev BDC @ 95 – Exactly!

    My folks take us out to dinner when we visit them. Considering all the IT hours my Husband puts in, I don’t feel one bit bad. : )

  118. ednaz says

    Portia @ 24

    I think I’ll start car shopping. Or rather, loan shopping.

    Oh, to be pre-approved! YAY!!

  119. chigau (無) says

    damn
    damn
    double damn
    triple damn
    hell
    I missed Pikachu!
    Gyeong Hwa, how goes the battle?

  120. Crudely Wrott says

    Tonight’s news includes such stories as

    *40,000 pound whale decaying on Malibu beach. Oh, my lands and stars! Just imagine being a celebrity there.
    http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/06/15734308-40000-pound-whale-carcass-decomposing-near-malibu-beach-homes?lite

    *Roger Ebert (may he review forever) fractures a hip doing “tricky disco dance moves”.
    http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/12/06/15738754-roger-ebert-fractured-hip-doing-tricky-disco-dance-moves?lite

    Time well spent.
    http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/06/15730738-san-quentin-inmates-building-satellite-hardware-for-nasa?lite

    Life is not like a box of chocolates. It’s like a box of life.

    (apologies to birgerjohnson but I’m awake at this hour and could not resist the reporter that dwells in my deeper parts)

  121. Crudely Wrott says

    And now this, oh shit:

    It was unclear whether the homeowner would face charges.

    http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/06/15732574-cops-man-shoots-dead-2-intruders-at-pot-growing-house?lite.

    I suppose that it had to come to this, given that laws to prohibit things have predictable results. But still, dammit.

    It should be incumbent on all of us to work to end such foolish tragedy. Each episode will be made up of the familiar and the unexpected.

    The law is an ass.

  122. Beatrice says

    good morning

    Not only I’m behind with three men-hating threads, there’s also a new one from Chris Clarke? All that will take at least two coffees to read.

  123. Crudely Wrott says

    The law is a beast of burden, conscripted to carry a load that we are not willing to bear. Perhaps we should learn how to carry that load ourselves, though it be heavy.

    Peace. And good night to all. Fare ye well.

  124. strange gods before me ॐ says

    The law is a beast of burden, conscripted to carry a load that we are not willing to bear. Perhaps we should learn how to carry that load ourselves, though it be heavy.

    That would be libertarianism.

  125. Crudely Wrott says

    Oh, SG, you task me just as I was about to go to bed. The evil that you call libertarianism is a dead end. A door that opens onto a wall. You shouldn’t lose sleep over the notion. Here, let me tell you.

    When a law, such as the prohibition of potawana, is shown to be ineffective and costly and when it is recognized as such, the responsibility to bring such law to the attention of our elected representatives falls upon the citizenry. Another law that comes to mind is the prohibition of same sex marriage. Both of these embody the fundamental rights that we all assume and are, indeed, embodied in the laws of the United States. However disparate those states may be.

    In short, we are responsible for our own security and good fortune, however, it being irrational to expect a town meeting of millions, we elect and appoint individuals to stand in our stead. We do, voluntarily and under the auspices of law, charge and trust these individuals to stand for us and to reflect “the will of the people”.

    The scheme is not perfect, reflecting the imperfections that plague each of us individually. Nonetheless, we trust that a few, corralled and kept within sight. subject to public disapproval and diminishing votes, are more effective than the discord of the masses.

    That’s just the way we do it. It is not perfect and in fact in may not even be desirable yet it is demonstrably pretty damned good. It beats the hell out of most other forms of self government and is obviously better than governments that do not allow sell determination.

    In fairness, I do not know what to call it. What I do know is what it is not. It is not despotism, it is not dictatorship, it is not rule by royalty or accident of birth. It is not some twentieth century ism that has been bastardized and driven into the ground for all of my lifetime until its moniker has no valid meaning and it is surely not something gleaned from the agonizingly tepid fiction of a third rate novelist.

    We are what we are because some guys had foresight. That foresight includes the certainty that we would fuck up from time to time. Sometimes royally. It is up to us to do two things.
    First thing is to remain united in our heritage which is the same as loving your neighbor. No god required. The second is to have the wisdom and the knowledge of the framework given to us charge our representatives in governing bodies to carry out our will, requiring that we fully inform them and instill in them the requisite sense of duty. That we fully inform them and instill in them the requisite sense of duty. We inform them and instill responsibility in them. I said that twice because it is necessary to inform ourselves first and to instill in ourselves first of the burden we bear, for we bear each other as surely as we tie our shoes each morning.

    Libertarianism can’t touch that. It actually shrinks from it. It is no servant of civilization.

    And now I’m very sleepy and I once again bid you good night and farewell.

  126. says

    Beatrice

    I’m skipping a lot. All the haters melt into one giant whinge anyway.

    Yeah, this hampers my arguments with them too. After a certain point my brain just starts refusing to actually interpret the letters into words, out of sheer self-defence.

  127. says

    Good morning
    Don’t you just love it when you wake up and feel like shit?
    So, apparently my period is having a party with my cold all over the place…

    dry skin
    Second bag balm.
    I would recommend you my favourite “Kaufmanns Haut- und Kindercreme”, but I highly doubt that it’s avaible in the States. Should you ever visit Germany, buy it.

    Talking about Germany, if you understand German: Best Christmas ever

  128. rq says

    Good morning, all!

    Beatrice
    Yeesh, even more man-hating???
    And to think yesterday I was hopeful that I’d be caught up today. :( Poo. Well, I’ll hit those up in the afternoon when the children are napping.
    Ick, I’ll probably skip quite a few of the comments, but still.

    Giliell
    *warm tea with ginger cookies*
    Feel better soon!

  129. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    So, I took a friend out to the bar for his birthday and while we were there I overheard a woman who is apparently a professor at one of the local community colleges, a ways into her cups, talking with a couple of people who might be colleagues or former classmates. And I overheard her say, to paraphrase slightly, that “people who fantasize about ‘the good old days’ aren’t actually missing the way society was when they were children, they’re missing being children.”

    And it explained sooooo much.

  130. strange gods before me ॐ says

    Oh, SG, you task me

    No, I don’t. I respond.

    When a law, such as the prohibition of potawana, is shown to be ineffective and costly and when it is recognized as such, the responsibility to bring such law to the attention of our elected representatives falls upon the citizenry.

    Okay. It could fall upon the judiciary or the upper house, too, as it has in other countries. I’m fine with whatever.

    Another law that comes to mind is the prohibition of same sex marriage.

    This one has largely fallen upon the judiciary.

    Both of these embody the fundamental rights that we all assume and are, indeed, embodied in the laws of the United States. However disparate those states may be.

    I’ll be happy to provide a fundamental right to gay marriage, via Skinner v Oklahoma. There isn’t a similar argument for cannabis usage. I say this as a big fan of recreational drug usage.

    In short, we are responsible for our own security and good fortune, however, it being irrational to expect a town meeting of millions, we elect and appoint individuals to stand in our stead. We do, voluntarily and under the auspices of law, charge and trust these individuals to stand for us and to reflect “the will of the people”.

    Sure, great.

    The scheme is not perfect, reflecting the imperfections that plague each of us individually. Nonetheless, we trust that a few, corralled and kept within sight. subject to public disapproval and diminishing votes, are more effective than the discord of the masses.

    Also subject to activist judges, a very important addition. :)

    That’s just the way we do it. It is not perfect and in fact in may not even be desirable yet it is demonstrably pretty damned good. It beats the hell out of most other forms of self government and is obviously better than governments that do not allow sell determination.

    Eh. Maybe. I am in liberal mode anyway, so I wonder if you think you’re disagreeing with me here?

    In fairness, I do not know what to call it.

    I hear ya. I usually go with “realpolitik”.

    What I do know is what it is not. It is not despotism, it is not dictatorship, it is not rule by royalty or accident of birth. It is not some twentieth century ism that has been bastardized and driven into the ground for all of my lifetime until its moniker has no valid meaning and it is surely not something gleaned from the agonizingly tepid fiction of a third rate novelist.

    That’s not what we have or should have,

    but

    when you suggest that “The law is a beast of burden, conscripted to carry a load that we are not willing to bear. Perhaps we should learn how to carry that load ourselves, though it be heavy”

    that implies we should not be relying upon the law, we should instead be doing, by other means, the things that we’re currently doing via the law.

    We are what we are because some guys had foresight.

    Eh. What we have today is largely a function of the Warren court. And not so much because of foresight; they were dealing with what confronted them at the time.

    That foresight includes the certainty that we would fuck up from time to time. Sometimes royally. It is up to us to do two things.

    I note that neither of the things you list involves carrying the burden of the law ourselves instead of entrusting it to the law.

    to have the wisdom and the knowledge of the framework given to us charge our representatives in governing bodies to carry out our will, requiring that we fully inform them and instill in them the requisite sense of duty. That we fully inform them and instill in them the requisite sense of duty. We inform them and instill responsibility in them. I said that twice because it is necessary to inform ourselves first and to instill in ourselves first of the burden we bear, for we bear each other as surely as we tie our shoes each morning.

    Okay? I guess? But telling legislators how to vote is not carrying the burden of the law ourselves instead of entrusting it to the law. It is not learning how to carry a heavy load that we are not willing to bear and have instead conscripted to the law.

    I like law. I earned my ॐ specifically for anti-libertarianism. If you were not arguing for libertarianism, I counsel you only to reconsider your initial wording.

  131. John Morales says

    In the news: Afghan women embracing cosmetic surgery.

    Plastic surgeons in Afghanistan say women are increasingly seeking cosmetic surgery.

    Not long ago the sole focus of Dr Aminullah Hamkar’s clinic in Kabul was to repair scars caused by war, acid attacks or attempts at self-immolation by women driven to despair in the male-dominated society.

    However with more Afghans travelling outside the country since ousting of the Taliban, Dr Hamkar says women feel pressured into conforming with international ideals of female beauty.

    […]

    Dr Hamkar says it is a good sign that women, at least among Kabul’s growing middle class, are becoming concerned with issues like beauty that are usually reserved for times of peace.

  132. strange gods before me ॐ says

    Correction:

    that implies we should not be relying upon the law, we should instead be doing managing, by other means, the things that we’re currently doing via the law.

    We could manage the issues in the same or different directions by other means than the law.

  133. opposablethumbs says

    As Quentin Crisp once said, after the first two years the dust doesn’t get any thicker.

  134. says

    And also, answer me this….Why is it that I am deemed unfit to drive a car when under the influence, but at the same time I can play Ronnie Wood into the ground on the guitar when inebriated enough? Something’s not adding up here, science types!

  135. Beatrice says

    John Morales,

    Not sure what to say about that note. He does acknowledge horrible treatment women get (on internet, and more widely) and apologizes to LIghtsaber for his own contribution, but he also takes quite some time to whine about his own (perceived?) mistreatment.

    Woman go through horrible stuff, but look how mean women were to him, which is of course nothing compared to have mean some men are to women, but look at all the nasty things women told him, and they were mean and unfair… and that’s nothing compared to tweets Lightsaber got, but she and some other women were really nasty to him.

  136. birgerjohansson says

    Being outside Anglo-saxon culture, I found myself unable to decode this issue of xkcd http://www.xkcd.com/1143/
    ??? rain of green meteors??
    — — — — — — — — —

    Crudely Wrott
    “apologies to birgerjohnson”

    Don’t apologize. I use a “shotgun” approach of finding possibly interesting links in various areas, hoping each reader will find at least one item of interest.
    And since it takes time for me phrasing an intelligent comment in English, I might as well forward the unadorned links and let people think for themselves.
    — — — — — — — — —
    It is two o’clock, and it is getting dark. I could get weary of this winter sooner than I expected.

  137. opposablethumbs says

    It is two o’clock, and it is getting dark. I could get weary of this winter sooner than I expected.

    You’re further north than I am – 13:20 here, it’ll be dark by 16:00 and that’s bad enough. I hate that!!!!

    It should never get dark before 18:00 at the earliest.

    Change the clocks, change the clocks!!!!

  138. rq says

    opposablethumbs
    I wish we had some of those proposals here. :/ People actually want to go lighter on sex offenders because, like, it’s not like they murder anyone. :(

    birgerjohansson
    How far north are you? I feel the same way. It’ll be dark in another hour or so. BUT it’s snowing, which makes my heart a little bit lighter.

    Beatrice
    I got the impression that he’s confused about why women are so upset about the whole sexism thing, because it doesn’t seem that bad to him (as a man). I think he’s a bit blind to his own privilege, and when he asked to be shown a direction, he got replies from women who were tired of pointing men in the right direction (because he’s probably not the only one ‘innocently’ asking for direction). A lot of them probably don’t believe that he’ll actually follow up on the information provided.
    And while I agree that sexism against men is a bad thing, I think he doesn’t understand that the fight to end sexism against women should also, by default, lead to the end of sexism against men, through feminism, because the whole point behind feminism and the battle against sexism against women is to see people of all genders as being people, deserving of respect no matter their gender. So, in my opinion, he’s making a single issue (feminism and respect for women) into two different ones (sexism against women vs. sexism against men), when really, people should just be fighting against sexism.
    ALSO, the discussion in which he intruded was about sexism against women – insulting ALL men wasn’t the right thing to do, but in the middle of the fight, he stood up and said, ‘What about teh menz???’ Not a good idea. If he likes, he should start a completely different discussion about sexism against men. (Watch that get derailed into ‘But men don’t have it that bad’.)
    Or something. That’s my inexpert analysis, at any rate.

    +++

    I can tell they’ve turned the heat up in our building. All the moisture has been sucked right out of me. Ick.

  139. rq says

    opposablethumbs
    I’m all for changing the clocks even more. EVEN MORE! But it won’t make the day any longer. :( Too bad.

  140. mildlymagnificent says

    Oh lordy, at last.

    It’s almost midnight and the temperature’s finally gone below 30.
    (30C that is for those still working in old money.)

    Bedtime.

  141. thunk, cold air advection says

    Rq, opposablethumbs:

    MY PRECIOUS LOCAL TIME!!!

    Yes, it’ll just have the effect of having you wake up earlier. But you could do that a priori by going to bed that early, and setting your alarm to two hours ahead of where you were. Well… except for work schedules. That’s a thorn.

  142. rq says

    thunk
    It’s the job that won’t co-operate with my time, really. Thank goodness I’m currently on maternity leave, otherwise I’d have some words about scheduling. :)
    And waking up in the pitch dark has never been a high point in my life. Don’t know about you…

  143. rq says

    broboxley
    I read his post and I was a bit confused about what his point was… Is he saying it’s ok and normal for boys to go around playing violent videogames and treating people like shit within the games? Or what?
    Then other times I gathered that he was saying it’s wrong to be violent too much?
    And what was that bit about girls’ brains not working that way (leaning towards co-operation rather than just killing)?
    (Translate, please…?)

  144. broboxley OT says

    rq #210 His main point is that the group in question are self programmed to be haters but that they are a small portion of the human family and will not change so ignore them. That the behavior they exhibited is what is expected of that group. He explains in detail why.

  145. says

    And also, answer me this….Why is it that I am deemed unfit to drive a car when under the influence, but at the same time I can play Ronnie Wood into the ground on the guitar when inebriated enough? Something’s not adding up here, science types!

    Sure, it adds up just fine. It is about repetitive tasks versus novel tasks. You’ve played those notes/chords plenty of times, you’re using a certain part of your brain to handle that task, and letting “muscle memory” take over. When you’re driving, you’re doing some of that but you also have to deal with other drivers, people or animals that might cross your path, maybe unfamiliar streets and roads, unpredictable traffic light patterns.

    So say someone shouts out a tune you’re barely familiar with, and you’re like “huh-what?” and they shout back the chord progression and tell you to watch for the chorus and then start playing. Could you play THAT into the ground? While drunk? And if you can’t, what’s the worst thing that can happen, besides looking like a goof and someone turning off your amp? If you’re driving drunk, the unexpected thing like a deer running into your path or you making a turn too quickly can lead to DEATH! DEATH!!

    This has been a public service announcement for Guitarists Against Drunk Drivers And Drummers.

  146. birgerjohansson says

    “Ah, a mere 30? :P ”

    Luxury! When I was a wee laddie and had to pull the plow 18 hours a day across our 200-acre farm, it was so hot the metal ornaments on my father’s whip melted. And we only got a lunch break every fortnight!
    — — — — — — — — — —
    We are 63°49′32″N. And while it takes the sun a long time to set as it is grazing the horizon, it disappears below the tall roofs much sooner.
    In summer when we get hot air from Russia/ the Ukraine we don’t get muc releif until late evening (as the sun sets at ten).
    — — — — — — — — — — — —
    I am sure we have MRAs in Sweden, too, but they don’t come out of the woodwork much since they know they are a minority. Most of the time it is the same with xenophobes, they know their opinions are not popular, but whenever there is a big debate about problems with integration of immigrants or refugees they come out of the woodwork.

  147. rq says

    birgerjohansson
    The MRAs here are all over the place, but they’re so subtle you can’t notice them. Until they start telling jokes. THEN you can’t miss them.

  148. Beatrice says

    “It smells awful, but the taste isn’t so bad. What’s this thing* over the pasta?”

    Gee, thanks. I sure love cooking for you, dad.

    *read in the voice of someone asking “why is there shit in my pasta”

  149. says

    Hah! I outwaited my dog and now she’s eating her FUCKING KIBBLE!!

    She literally hasn’t eaten anything since Tuesday. I was almost going to cave in, but she had to get over the idea of living on road food and go back on her normal diet. It isn’t like we don’t buy her the good stuff…

  150. Janine: Hallucinating Liar says

    Marco Rubio calls homosexuality a sin but, hey, we’re all sinners.

    I can tell you what faith teaches, and faith teaches that it is. And that’s what the Bible teaches … but it also teaches that there are a bunch of other sins that are no less. It teaches that lying is a sin, it teaches that disrespecting your parents is a sin, it teaches that stealing is a sin, it teaches that coveting your neighbor and what your neighbor has is a sin. So, there isn’t a person in this room that isn’t guilty of sin. I don’t go around pointing fingers in that regard.

    Yeah, I can feel LGBT people warming up to him already.

  151. rq says

    broboxley
    Wait… A small portion of the human family, and self-programmed? Is he a fan of the bad evo-psych?
    More seriously, by his argument (ignore them), if I see one of my sons descending into a life of nothing-but violent videogames, and him and all of his friends have really bad social interaction especially with the women in their lives, I should ignore him? WHAT ABOUT WHEN HE GROWS UP? I do want him to move out one day. Be capable on his own one day. To be happy one day, not jsut sit in a cave playing videogames and spewing hate all over the place… No, he’s not programmed for it.
    And unfortunately, it’s not a small subset of humans. Because misogynists, as we have seen and many have experienced, exist in all spheres of life. And by ignoring them, we encourage them (‘Hey, no one’s telling me anything, it’s ok to say these things!’).
    So yeah, if I ever have a gamer kid who acts like his seem to, I’m going to call him out on it. And, if he’s still under my legal guardianship, I will revoke his gaming privileges. Because if he can be taught that shit, he can certainly be UNtaught that shit. (Probably a lot harder.)
    And before I do that, I’ll have to take a long hard look at myself and Husband and figure out how he got all those nasty ideas in the first place.

    /rant

  152. Rey Fox says

    “Everything’s a sin, Marge. Have you ever actually read this thing? Technically, we’re not allowed to go to the bathroom.”

  153. says

    rq,

    The house is AWESOME! It is staggeringly large, and the view is literally amazing. Not like “Awww, that’s pretty” but “HOLY SHIT THOSE ARE FUCKING MOUNTAINS!” Everything here is better than everything there, except for TV/Internet… I’ll learn to cope, believe me. :)

  154. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    I got the impression that he’s confused about why women are so upset about the whole sexism thing, because it doesn’t seem that bad to him (as a man). I think he’s a bit blind to his own privilege, and when he asked to be shown a direction, he got replies from women who were tired of pointing men in the right direction (because he’s probably not the only one ‘innocently’ asking for direction). A lot of them probably don’t believe that he’ll actually follow up on the information provided.

    ….was I the only one who skimmed through to the end?

  155. rq says

    Azkyroth
    I wanted to, but I decided to force myself to read it all. :/ Just to see if he had an actual point. I was speed-reading at the end, though.

    Improbable Joe
    Sounds AMAZING. :) Wish I could see it!

  156. Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven says

    Can someone explain why people are talking like the following parts (the ones that jumped out the most to me) are not in the piece?

    Imagine sexism against men is a painful cut on your finger. A cut like that really hurts. I mean… damn, sexism hurts like hell! Why doesn’t someone do something about that poor sexism cut? It’s even bleeding a little! Poor me! Well if you look to your right, you’ll see a lady with HER sexism wound. Well… wounds, really. Her arms and legs have been ripped off and her eyes gouged out. Her spine is broken in many places and there is a shocking collection of swords, spears and farm tools sticking out of her belly. How’s that finger feeling now, champ? What I’m trying to say, is that while I believe sexism against men exists, it’s nothing compared to the bullshit women have to deal with. If the female victim of sexism and I (with my finger) were in an emergency room, I wouldn’t leap in front of her, screaming “Heal my finger first, Doctors!”. Yet, that’s what I did to Lightsaber today. It was a cowardly, selfish way to break Wheaton’s law. Hmmm, shame smells like pine.

    And here’s where this scenerio puts on the IronMan armour of moral realisation and flies around, shooting repulsor beams. I got a TASTE of sexism. In fact, any time I run into sexism against men, it’s just a rare taste of it. I’ll never have to deal with the ongoing, daily bullshit that women have to. And that’s just the North America bullshit! There are places where women literally and openly BELONG to men and aren’t allowed to know how to read and have to wear fourteen blankets, two plastic R2D2 masks and a cigarette shop before they can step outside!

    Is there sexism against men? Yes, but my tiny, little cuts can be taken care of with a band aid and a cookie. I think I’ll shut the hell up about them and do my best to learn about and deal with the real sexism. And again… I’m really sorry, Lightsaber.

  157. broboxley OT says

    what a vicious rat bastard
    TRIGGER WARNING
    now the dead guy was a vicious serial killer who committed suicide before getting (hopefully) his just legal deserts but this Gardner asshole takes the cake for self aggrandizing mopery. Wonder how deep he is going to get into “mom’s” wallet?
    http://www.adn.com/2012/12/06/2716078/keyes-rejected-religion-says-pastor.html#emlnl=Morning_Newsletter

    Gardner said he was preparing a sermon for the ceremony, currently set to be held in Deer Park, Wash., between Colville and Spokane. It would be a convenient location for Keyes’ family and their friends to attend and was home to the nearest funeral home with an attached chapel, Gardner said.

    Keyes’ family, at least those in the church, were grieving not only over his admitted crimes and death but also for what they believe will be a torturous afterlife, Gardner said.

  158. Beatrice says

    What annoyed me was the same thing that happens here all the time. Someone jumps into a discussion about sexism with “not all men are like this, you are hurting my nice guy feeling”, he gets chastised, he doubles down, he asks for explanations because God knows every discussion about sexism/feminism/women needs to pause at some point so that some nice guy can ask for explanations of sexism (after he barged in sharing his wisdom), women get angry and then he is hurt because they are nasty while he just asked some questions.

    So, it’s great that he realized how much shit women get on the internet, but I don’t think he grokked why someone would get annoyed by what I described in the paragraph above.

  159. rq says

    Azkyroth
    About the two paragraphs you highlighted…
    I don’t see people talking as if they are not in the piece. What about them jumped out at you?

    Beatrice
    Yes, that’s what I got, too. Just doesn’t get that he’s not the first, just the latest in a long, long line.
    And also, after re-reading the paragraphs posted by Azkyroth above, I’m also getting the impression that his apology is, in fact, insincere. He’s sounding a bit sarcastic about the whole North-American-sexism vs. sexism-elsewhere comparison.

  160. chigau (無) says

    Azkyroth
    I read the whole thing and I don’t understand why it’s hard to understand.
    and I don’t doubt the author’s sincerity.

  161. Beatrice says

    rq,

    Hah, and I was actually going to soften my judgement a bit and go for “sincere, but not completely realizing his own privilege”.

    His sympathy seems sincere enough, as does his apology. He claims to realize that his little cuts are insignificant, but can’t help himself showing them under our noses repeatedly. I don’t really read it as malicious, just a bit privileged.

  162. rq says

    Beatrice
    I may be reading it wrong, in the light of recent all kinds of MRA comments on this site, which would be uncharitable of me.
    Just the paragraphs that Azkyroth highlights, when taken on their own like that, seem to sort of partly emphasize the whole ‘women elsewhere have it worse’ idea.
    Mostly, I think he doesn’t realize his own privilege. I think it’s the ‘showing [his little cuts] under our noses repeatedly’ part that annoys me.
    Must stop thinking about this now. :P Otherwise I’ll paint it all black.

  163. says

    ‘ello, cicely, carlie, and chigau!

    How goes the life for y’all?

    I’ve been busy with the day to day effort of trying not to be unemployed, balanced with the fact that I’ve manage to become a quasi-popular tumblr blogger – which in turn means I spend a lot of time chastising straight people and getting called a heterophobe in return.

    Janine

    Marco Rubio calls homosexuality a sin but, hey, we’re all sinners.

    Why I give no fucks about queers who coddles to straight conservatives.

  164. says

    Giliell @111:

    In the States they couldn’t just hire qualified personel, they had to train them themselves.

    Yep. Here in the USA we specialize in ignorance. Too many of our citizens think a lack of education and/or training is a virtue.

  165. Beatrice says

    rq,

    I started with the uncharitable reading, so I really can’t judge you. And I think we agree on everything except maybe author’s sincerity.

    After going after your link, I will have to go listen to The Rolling Stones (Paint it Black).

  166. says

    Beatrice,

    Thanks! I’m not 100% out of the woods yet, but close enough that I can stop and breathe every now and again. I still need a car someday, and I’m still trying to finesse the cash to get my stuff out of storage, but yeah… things are pretty good.

    On that whole sexism thing? I’m sort of with Azkyroth and chigau on this one, but I see your point as well. The author doesn’t quite “get” the reaction he’s receiving, but on the other hand he seems to understand that it doesn’t matter because his feeling “beaten up on for being a man” is a drop in the bucket compared to what women go through constantly.

  167. UnknownEric says

    My eighties era hardcore nostalgia has just gotten a bit more strange.

    That’s great. You’ve probably already seen the Cat Flag shirt, which replaces the iconic bars with black cats. I want that one too.

  168. Ogvorbis says

    broboxley:

    Why are they burning the morels? Why does the cat have a monocle? Why does the unicorn have a swastika ‘arm’band? Why am I trying to make sense out of this?