Bleeding from the Bunghole

[katamari Damassi]

I read Lovecraft for the first time earlier this year (mostly on the advice of the Bible Geek Bob Price). This was the first or second story.

Can't say it grabbed me - though I wanted it to. Possibly I'd read too much Black Library stuff - which can get pretty out there at times. I stooped after a couple of stories - did I really miss much? I've still got the book.

No accounting for taste.

Great adaptation though! :clap:

It's one of my favorite Lovecraft stories, right up there with "The Whisperer in Darkness," "The Picture in the House" and "The Mountains of Madness." I suppose the reason I like it so much is the unreliable narrator and the last two or three pages. The horror being more human and less alien makes it more interesting to me. Same reason I like "The Picture in the House."

I read the Black Library frequently. It's my "turn your brain off" pulp entertainment. I wouldn't exactly call it horror, because so little of it is scary. The heroes always win, baddies always die etc. Eisenhorn is the cream of the crop, in my opinion. The Inquisition stories tend to have fewer burly space marines cluttering up the place, and more political intrigue and backstabbing. Forgive me, but when a space marine shows up, I'd like it to have some narrative impact. Since they're practically gods and such. :P

The Whisperer in Darkness was great. If you get a chance to see the recent film, I recommend it. They don't simply change the ending, they extend it, and in a good way

Got to see it and meet the film makers at last years NecronomiCon. It is really good. I also recommend their silent Call of Cthulu film. I've heard there's a Thing On the Doorstep movie but haven't seen it yet.

[Service Dog]

[youtube]C39fX6aIgUk[/youtube]

The 'fainting goat' phenomenon now explained: PTSD.



and

[youtube]AnVv0RkiG4U[/youtube]

[jet_lagg]

I went to Oxford a few times, mostly for the museums. Back then (2009/2010) I wouldn't have minded coming across Alex and friends (although I would have to supress the need to ask where he bought the spud he's using as a nose. No, seriously, I really thought he was wearing some of those groucho Marx fake glasses-and-nose).

He... he isn't?

[Mykeru]

Was this the post where he claimed that, although he appears to be a privileged white cis-clown male oxonian, he's really an oppressed Romani traveler who is a lifelong victim of racism? I believe he revealed that he has been subject to hate-crimes like people mispronouncing his last name (before he changed it) or asking about his ethnic background because he is slightly swarthy.

Ah, yes - here it is:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/godlessness ... taken-for/
http://www.freezepage.com/1385729611HOTDFAULTT

My, what a puketastic and self-indulgent roll in the muck of feigned oppression that was. If his mother is of Romani descent (100%, correct? Grew up in a caravan?), why did he refer to travelers? I thought Irish Travellers were ethnically and linguistically distinct from Romani.

At the risk of re-doxing myself and therefore giving full license for Melody Hensley and Greg Laden to crawl up my ass and establish a Maginot Line on my taint , with notable exceptions no one is able to pronounce my last name correctly on the first try. The Italian surname Cortese is "properly" pronounced "kore-TAY-zee". Usually people go for the anglicized "KORE-tee-zee" or the Hispanic-sounding "kore-TEZ", which is understandable as it superficially resembles "Cortez", Including by one Arizona State Trooper who pulled me over outside Yuma and was convinced I was suspiciously Mexican.

Adding to the potential confusion, even assuming people spent a lot of time and effort for some inexplicable reason thinking of how to pronounce it, is that a fair number of people with the surname pronounce it "KORE-tee-zee" and that Dan Cortese douche pronounces it Cortez.

A couple weeks ago I was biking through the Combined Base at Fort Meyers and the Marine at the guard post (who, for the life of me looked about about 12 years old) looked at my fed ID and said "Thank you, Mr (insert correct pronunciation here). That is so rare I had to comment on the fact that he said it "correctly" for me. However, he would have been a wrong racist shit had he said it one of the couple other ways people with the name pronounce it?

Even in the metro New York area where fully one-third of people are of Italian descent there is no consistency in the pronunciation. So, I ask you, when I'm in Virginia why in fuck's name should I expect random people from, say, Mississippi to know how to pronounce my Italian surname, even if there was only one way? I mean, there's regional variation in the way ordinary words are said, so why should one expect consensus on an surname, ethnic or otherwise?

For the most part, people try and fail, just as I fuck up words and names I'm unfamiliar with, and just as Alex Gabriel most certainly does as well.

That's not racist, or ethic and cultural insensitivity. That's just people not knowing the linguistic rules of Italian pronunciation, and why the fuck should they? Poor, poor Alex: Once again people simply fail to lavish him with the center-stage attention he believes is his birthright. Of course, in his case the eternal digging for offense in order to accrue undeserved oppression points is especially obvious and laughable and is a marker for a special kind of pernicious narcissism.

Well, that's the lame SJW schtick, isn't it? Racism, oppression, cultural insensitivity -- none of which is actually experienced by the sort of fat hipster white bread changing the world one Google Hangout at a time -- is just a series of code words for "you are all extras in the epic production of my life, starring me, let me give you some notes".

The well-balanced response to people "mispronouncing" one's name should be acceptance -- because who gives a shit -- if not mild amusement. To extrapolate wrong being done to oneself by it, or any of the million petty slights that populates the Social Justice Whiner mindset, must be just fucking exhausting. I know it is for me.

[tina]

I shudder to imagine.

tentacle.JPG

(58.38 KiB) Downloaded 254 times

Damn, out of stock. Xmas ruined!

I wish I wasn't photoshopilly so underprivileged!

[Dick Strawkins]

I shudder to imagine.

tentacle.JPG

Damn, out of stock. Xmas ruined!

I wish I wasn't photoshopilly so underprivileged!

Is the Skepchick shop, 'Skeptical Robot', entirely stocked with items from this 'Archie McPhee' company?

http://mcphee.com/shop/inflatable-tentacle-arm.html

Watson got her bigfoot products from here and I recognize some other skepchick merchandise as originating from here too.

[Dick Strawkins]

Myers has a pharyngula post up today about some terrible paper that has just been retracted.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/ ... gmo-paper/

It's a perfectly decent article by him - it explains the reasons behind the retraction and rightly criticizes the journal for having a crappy peer review process. He used to write articles like this all the time and get a decent conversation going - for the simple reason that his audience at the time were interested in science and were often scientists themselves and would therefore have some personal experiences to add to the discussion. Now that the cull of the past few years has occurred things are much quieter on that front.
Still, he always have Nerd. :violin:

[BarnOwl]

For a little hilarity, a SNL parody of the Ylvis video.

Trigger warning: MISOGYNY!!!111!!!

[youtube]foMQX9ZExsE[/youtube]

[Tigzy]

I read Lovecraft for the first time earlier this year (mostly on the advice of the Bible Geek Bob Price). This was the first or second story.

Can't say it grabbed me - though I wanted it to. Possibly I'd read too much Black Library stuff - which can get pretty out there at times. I stooped after a couple of stories - did I really miss much? I've still got the book.

No accounting for taste.

Great adaptation though! :clap:

Lovecraft is very much an acquired taste. His writing style is very difficult to adapt to but once you get used to it, he's a real master. Try "At the mountains of madness" or "Herbert West: Re-animator", they're probably amongst his most accessible writings. Once you get used to him, you could try some of the dream tales although they do get a bit "out there" to say the least.

There are also a few modern authors who write Lovecraft-style tales; Give Brian Lumley a go, he's quite prolific and has knocked out some amazingly nasty horror tales. The entire "Necroscope" saga comes highly recommended.

If you're looking for Lovecraft mythos stories, then definitely go for early Ramsey Campbell - 'The Inhabitant of The Lake, and other stories.' He is, IMO, the best horror writer out there. It's largely down to the way he writes - he has a very cold, weirdly hallucinogenic style which is immediately unsettling. His short tale 'Again' remains the most shocking, disturbing horror story I have ever read - and I've read a LOT of horror. Also check out 'Mackintosh Willy' and 'The Companion' - Campbell really does take the horror short to new and disturbing heights. For a good, extensive mix of his Cthulhu mythos and more modern short stories, I'd recommend his anthology 'Alone With The Horrors'. Can't recommend it highly enough, in fact.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

Was this the post where he claimed that, although he appears to be a privileged white cis-clown male oxonian, he's really an oppressed Romani traveler who is a lifelong victim of racism? I believe he revealed that he has been subject to hate-crimes like people mispronouncing his last name (before he changed it) or asking about his ethnic background because he is slightly swarthy.

Ah, yes - here it is:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/godlessness ... taken-for/
http://www.freezepage.com/1385729611HOTDFAULTT

My, what a puketastic and self-indulgent roll in the muck of feigned oppression that was. If his mother is of Romani descent (100%, correct? Grew up in a caravan?), why did he refer to travelers? I thought Irish Travellers were ethnically and linguistically distinct from Romani.

Little wanker has PTSD from how the other school kids pronounced his name? Oh, the Horror, the Horror!

[feralandproud]

I read Lovecraft for the first time earlier this year (mostly on the advice of the Bible Geek Bob Price). This was the first or second story.

Can't say it grabbed me - though I wanted it to. Possibly I'd read too much Black Library stuff - which can get pretty out there at times. I stooped after a couple of stories - did I really miss much? I've still got the book.

No accounting for taste.

Great adaptation though! :clap:

Lovecraft is very much an acquired taste. His writing style is very difficult to adapt to but once you get used to it, he's a real master. Try "At the mountains of madness" or "Herbert West: Re-animator", they're probably amongst his most accessible writings. Once you get used to him, you could try some of the dream tales although they do get a bit "out there" to say the least.

There are also a few modern authors who write Lovecraft-style tales; Give Brian Lumley a go, he's quite prolific and has knocked out some amazingly nasty horror tales. The entire "Necroscope" saga comes highly recommended.

If you're looking for Lovecraft mythos stories, then definitely go for early Ramsey Campbell - 'The Inhabitant of The Lake, and other stories.' He is, IMO, the best horror writer out there. It's largely down to the way he writes - he has a very cold, weirdly hallucinogenic style which is immediately unsettling. His short tale 'Again' remains the most shocking, disturbing horror story I have ever read - and I've read a LOT of horror. Also check out 'Mackintosh Willy' and 'The Companion' - Campbell really does take the horror short to new and disturbing heights. For a good, extensive mix of his Cthulhu mythos and more modern short stories, I'd recommend his anthology 'Alone With The Horrors'. Can't recommend it highly enough, in fact.

I can't second this enough. I remember alienating my entire social circle as a teen, trying to explain "The Count Of Eleven" while giggling hysterically. I'd also recommend T.E.D. Klein. I found "Dark Gods" at a yard sale as a kid and it ruined me.

[Tribble]

.
Welch you bastard

It's eliciting comments like these that make off 'pit commenting a joy.

With a bit of luck they will "literally" have a fucking heart attack and keel over.

http://i.imgur.com/mWY2t01.jpg

Jesus Christ, they're stupid.

1. Oggie was raped and coerced to rape a child he names "S." At this point he's still technically a victim and I doubt he could be sanctioned for his action nor would most people, at least those I know, hold him to blame or accountable or in bad repute. That kind of thing is a seriously fucked up thing and most people will give the person a break.

2. Sometime later he rapes three children without coercion. (According to him.) At this point he's a criminal regarldless of his previous victim status

Since the posters at FTB don't have the sense or wit to figure it out on their own:

Being the victim of crime doesn't give you the right to become a criminal. If someone kills your mother, you don't have the right to kill three unrelated people on the street.

Is that simple enough for you?

[jet_lagg]

Was this the post where he claimed that, although he appears to be a privileged white cis-clown male oxonian, he's really an oppressed Romani traveler who is a lifelong victim of racism? I believe he revealed that he has been subject to hate-crimes like people mispronouncing his last name (before he changed it) or asking about his ethnic background because he is slightly swarthy.

Ah, yes - here it is:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/godlessness ... taken-for/
http://www.freezepage.com/1385729611HOTDFAULTT

So, nobody could be bothered to pronounce his name right. Forgive me if I don't shed any tears over this great injustice.

Mykeru nailed the response to this one, and there's nothing of value I can add. Dude is just plain narcissistic.

[debaser71]

Was this the post where he claimed that, although he appears to be a privileged white cis-clown male oxonian, he's really an oppressed Romani traveler who is a lifelong victim of racism? I believe he revealed that he has been subject to hate-crimes like people mispronouncing his last name (before he changed it) or asking about his ethnic background because he is slightly swarthy.

Ah, yes - here it is:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/godlessness ... taken-for/
http://www.freezepage.com/1385729611HOTDFAULTT

My, what a puketastic and self-indulgent roll in the muck of feigned oppression that was. If his mother is of Romani descent (100%, correct? Grew up in a caravan?), why did he refer to travelers? I thought Irish Travellers were ethnically and linguistically distinct from Romani.

At the risk of re-doxing myself and therefore giving full license for Melody Hensley and Greg Laden to crawl up my ass and establish a Maginot Line on my taint , with notable exceptions no one is able to pronounce my last name correctly on the first try. The Italian surname Cortese is "properly" pronounced "kore-TAY-zee". Usually people go for the anglicized "KORE-tee-zee" or the Hispanic-sounding "kore-TEZ", which is understandable as it superficially resembles "Cortez", Including by one Arizona State Trooper who pulled me over outside Yuma and was convinced I was suspiciously Mexican.

Adding to the potential confusion, even assuming people spent a lot of time and effort for some inexplicable reason thinking of how to pronounce it, is that a fair number of people with the surname pronounce it "KORE-tee-zee" and that Dan Cortese douche pronounces it Cortez.

A couple weeks ago I was biking through the Combined Base at Fort Meyers and the Marine at the guard post (who, for the life of me looked about about 12 years old) looked at my fed ID and said "Thank you, Mr (insert correct pronunciation here). That is so rare I had to comment on the fact that he said it "correctly" for me. However, he would have been a wrong racist shit had he said it one of the couple other ways people with the name pronounce it?

Even in the metro New York area where fully one-third of people are of Italian descent there is no consistency in the pronunciation. So, I ask you, when I'm in Virginia why in fuck's name should I expect random people from, say, Mississippi to know how to pronounce my Italian surname, even if there was only one way? I mean, there's regional variation in the way ordinary words are said, so why should one expect consensus on an surname, ethnic or otherwise?

...

People mispronounce my Italian surname too. I won't say it but no, it doesn't end in "io", just "o". Then I go to a really Italian family's house and they tell me I pronounced my own name incorrectly. They say I should use a hard "g" not a soft "g". I should earn double SJW point for that right?

[Tribble]

Myers has a pharyngula post up today about some terrible paper that has just been retracted.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/ ... gmo-paper/

It's a perfectly decent article by him - it explains the reasons behind the retraction and rightly criticizes the journal for having a crappy peer review process. He used to write articles like this all the time and get a decent conversation going - for the simple reason that his audience at the time were interested in science and were often scientists themselves and would therefore have some personal experiences to add to the discussion. Now that the cull of the past few years has occurred things are much quieter on that front.
Still, he always have Nerd. :violin:

What's the over/under on comments? 20?

[Southern]

Was this the post where he claimed that, although he appears to be a privileged white cis-clown male oxonian, he's really an oppressed Romani traveler who is a lifelong victim of racism? I believe he revealed that he has been subject to hate-crimes like people mispronouncing his last name (before he changed it) or asking about his ethnic background because he is slightly swarthy.

Ah, yes - here it is:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/godlessness ... taken-for/
http://www.freezepage.com/1385729611HOTDFAULTT

My, what a puketastic and self-indulgent roll in the muck of feigned oppression that was. If his mother is of Romani descent (100%, correct? Grew up in a caravan?), why did he refer to travelers? I thought Irish Travellers were ethnically and linguistically distinct from Romani.

Little wanker has PTSD from how the other school kids pronounced his name? Oh, the Horror, the Horror!

I always had problems with people writing my name correctly - it's not hard to pronounce it, but pratically nobody writes it right unless I spell for them. I never knew that would give me SJW creed with the kewl kids. Goodbye, suckers! I'm tired of you not giving me the special treatment I'm sure I deserve. I'll go to FTB and present my poor, sad story of abuse and PTSD-by-incorrect-name-writing to get the attention I'm sure the rest of the world owes me.

[Jonathan]

Myers has a pharyngula post up today about some terrible paper that has just been retracted.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/ ... gmo-paper/

It's a perfectly decent article by him - it explains the reasons behind the retraction and rightly criticizes the journal for having a crappy peer review process. He used to write articles like this all the time and get a decent conversation going - for the simple reason that his audience at the time were interested in science and were often scientists themselves and would therefore have some personal experiences to add to the discussion. Now that the cull of the past few years has occurred things are much quieter on that front.
Still, he always have Nerd. :violin:

What's the over/under on comments? 20?

So far 6.

[AndrewV69]

Maybe flogging a dead horse? Suprising since it seems a rather simple though important concept:

sex•ism n.
2. Attitudes, conditions, or behaviors that promote stereotyping of social roles based on gender.

Should be obvious that racism also qualifies as stereotyping. Which is the common element or relationship that undergirds the analogy.

My dismissial was based on what I saw as an attempt to rope in those who do not see segregation as sexism by equating it to racism. In other words a blatent attempt to push buttons and manipulate opinion based on emotional triggers.

There is nothing wrong with pointing out that they may have a commonality though. I will not quarrel with that.

That may in fact be part of the objective, and there may be some justification for it – wouldn’t want to be scaring the horses. But I can’t see that in this day and age that it is a particular credible one. In addition, it seems a pretty thin argument to suggest that it would have much differential effect – can’t see there is likely to be much chance of any fornication or rape in the aisles, particularly since there seems to be virtually none at the moment. But who knows – maybe Muslim males have so little self control that that would be the inevitable result.

The issue is specific cultural attitudes. You can not not ascribe (well you can but you would be wrong) all specific attitudes to Muslims in general. There are differences in attitudes between societies and not surprisingly between different branches of Islam and also between generatons within the same branch. For some reason you almost never hear about a Sufi or Ismali in connection with terrorist attitudes and acts. No one is surprised if a Wahabi/Salafi is involved however. No one.

Indeed. If that is the case then maybe we should be closing the borders to Muslims. And/or exiling or deporting the ones already here. Or there. Something I pointed out to the guys and gals at Islamic Awakening – which was not received all that well, not surprisingly:

All countries reserve the right of deportation of foreigners, even those who are longtime residents. In general, foreigners who have committed serious crimes, entered the country illegally, overstayed their visa, or otherwise lost their legal status to remain in the country may be administratively removed or deported. ….
...
And of course, there have been a great many other such deportations in history, some more odious and problematic than others.

I doubt that the "will" is there to conduct deportations but a good start would be to stop importing the wrong kind of Muslim in the first place. I believe I wrote here before that Salim Mansur, a practising Muslim himself tried to warn the powers that be up here in the frozen north (strong and free) of Canukistan about how we were importing the wrong kind of Muslim and instead of taking the warning seriously, was instead thanked for his concern and that his input was valued (in Canuckistan when we say things like "thanks for your concern" and "we value your input" what we really mean is "Fuck off" and "Blow up and dry away").

In any event, my impression of Islamic Awakening is that it is littered with Salafi/Wahabe like sentiments so suggesting deportations would not go down well. They have other concerns though. More than a few are apparently very alarmed and concerned that an American style Islam has started to emerge. This guy for example bothers them:

Yes, There Can Be An "American Islam" - Suhaib Webb
[youtube]jzUL3RPv5JM[/youtube]

Better to have Suhaib Webb who I see as part of the movement towards a more "modern and inclusive" Islam if you ask me than the provocative and divisive Sheik Yasser Al-Habib.

(FYI: Webb is a Sunni and Al-Habib is Shia. While in my opinion you are more likely to find a Shia easier to get along with than the Wahabi/Salafi types of Sunni Muslims (at least online at any rate) Al-Habib goes out of his way to promote tensions. He is not a nice guy at all. )

[ReneeHendricks]

Was this the post where he claimed that, although he appears to be a privileged white cis-clown male oxonian, he's really an oppressed Romani traveler who is a lifelong victim of racism? I believe he revealed that he has been subject to hate-crimes like people mispronouncing his last name (before he changed it) or asking about his ethnic background because he is slightly swarthy.

Ah, yes - here it is:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/godlessness ... taken-for/
http://www.freezepage.com/1385729611HOTDFAULTT

So, nobody could be bothered to pronounce his name right. Forgive me if I don't shed any tears over this great injustice.

Mykeru nailed the response to this one, and there's nothing of value I can add. Dude is just plain narcissistic.

Ahh, Stephanie and her "tiny wee nosy" are amused by this and have been deemed acceptable (because of "tiny wee nosy" - and I may puke as this is a minor quote from Black Adder). *Love* how she chimed in with her married name. Not that she had to deal with it growing up, ya know.

[Tribble]

Was this the post where he claimed that, although he appears to be a privileged white cis-clown male oxonian, he's really an oppressed Romani traveler who is a lifelong victim of racism? I believe he revealed that he has been subject to hate-crimes like people mispronouncing his last name (before he changed it) or asking about his ethnic background because he is slightly swarthy.

Ah, yes - here it is:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/godlessness ... taken-for/
http://www.freezepage.com/1385729611HOTDFAULTT

So, nobody could be bothered to pronounce his name right. Forgive me if I don't shed any tears over this great injustice.

Mykeru nailed the response to this one, and there's nothing of value I can add. Dude is just plain narcissistic.

My family emigrated to the US in the early 1600s. In the nearly 400 years we've been here, our named has been mispronounced and, consequently, misspelled so many times in early non-standardized/semi-literate America (US & Canada) that you can trace entire branches of the family back for 100s of years based on the mis-spellings.

Our two-syllable surname ends with:

ish (the original ending that didn't make it one generation in the colonies)
age (the first variant and most common)
ige
eridge (beats the fuck out of me how that came about)
erridge (even worse)
ische
isshe
ysh
yshe

(and more).

Even worse, it still goes on. I can't tell you how many telemarketer calls I've gotten over the years asking for "Mr. *******eridge." I could understand if my name origin was from some non-English language country. But it's ENGLISH. Just two syllables, in English.

And yet, somehow, I don't have PTSD. And, strangely enough, instead of getting all whiny about it, I've found that it's quite helpful as people who call me and don't know my last name are almost always cold-call telemarketers.

[ReneeHendricks]

My, what a puketastic and self-indulgent roll in the muck of feigned oppression that was. If his mother is of Romani descent (100%, correct? Grew up in a caravan?), why did he refer to travelers? I thought Irish Travellers were ethnically and linguistically distinct from Romani.

At the risk of re-doxing myself and therefore giving full license for Melody Hensley and Greg Laden to crawl up my ass and establish a Maginot Line on my taint , with notable exceptions no one is able to pronounce my last name correctly on the first try. The Italian surname Cortese is "properly" pronounced "kore-TAY-zee". Usually people go for the anglicized "KORE-tee-zee" or the Hispanic-sounding "kore-TEZ", which is understandable as it superficially resembles "Cortez", Including by one Arizona State Trooper who pulled me over outside Yuma and was convinced I was suspiciously Mexican.

Adding to the potential confusion, even assuming people spent a lot of time and effort for some inexplicable reason thinking of how to pronounce it, is that a fair number of people with the surname pronounce it "KORE-tee-zee" and that Dan Cortese douche pronounces it Cortez.

A couple weeks ago I was biking through the Combined Base at Fort Meyers and the Marine at the guard post (who, for the life of me looked about about 12 years old) looked at my fed ID and said "Thank you, Mr (insert correct pronunciation here). That is so rare I had to comment on the fact that he said it "correctly" for me. However, he would have been a wrong racist shit had he said it one of the couple other ways people with the name pronounce it?

Even in the metro New York area where fully one-third of people are of Italian descent there is no consistency in the pronunciation. So, I ask you, when I'm in Virginia why in fuck's name should I expect random people from, say, Mississippi to know how to pronounce my Italian surname, even if there was only one way? I mean, there's regional variation in the way ordinary words are said, so why should one expect consensus on an surname, ethnic or otherwise?

...

People mispronounce my Italian surname too. I won't say it but no, it doesn't end in "io", just "o". Then I go to a really Italian family's house and they tell me I pronounced my own name incorrectly. They say I should use a hard "g" not a soft "g". I should earn double SJW point for that right?

My married name was Bullo - the original spelling of which had shit tons of vowels and "Xs". The correct pronunciation is "bee-you-low". People got it wrong all the time. Not once did I swoon and claim "racism". First, because it was my married name. And second, because mispronouncing things happens all the time. Bigger fish to fry and all that.

My guy has a rather interesting last name (I say interesting, he says "I hate it and we need to change it soon"), Pugh. In the entire decade I've been with him, I've not heard one person pronounce it correctly. Mainly due to him being 6' tall, muscular, and he's maintained that prison guard stance and stare that people find intimidating.

[Really?]

I also hope that this Nugent thread creates a little cognitive dissonance in the crazy people.

Theophontes reminds me of Richard Carrier:

theophontes November 29, 2013 at 4:34 pm

@ All

It will take me some time to fisk this thread, not least because I am typing this out on a cellphone on a crappy hotel wifi in Northern China.

In the interim, let me define:

Fuckers: Anyone who is trying to shift moral responsibilty and/or blame from the rapist scoutmaster of [name of victim withheld] to [name of victim withheld].

Fisking: I shall try to respond point for point to what I think are the most egregious comments, or otherwise (non egregious) relevant comments. If I respond to your comment, it does not necessarily mean that I regard you with disdain. I shall generally not repeat responses that have been adequately given already (even if by others).

slymepitters: If you are a person who finds it appropriate to use racial or gendered slurs (hell, any slurring of a defining attribute that is an accident of birth) then I am not your friend. In the past, as a first approximation, this has been a litmus test of the difference between FTB’ers and slympitters.

My apologies to those who recently responded if I continue to go through the comments in order, your responses may be delayed.

He or she seems to think that everyone is waiting with bated breath to see his or her analysis. (I'm just switching to 'his' for ease of conversation.) He is condescending to everyone with the definitions. He doesn't seem to be aware that Oggy claims to have raped other girls when he wasn't under the control of the scoutmaster. (If only Oggy would turn himself in so the authorities could sort all of this out!) He reminds you that his time is valuable; please don't be offended if he doesn't respond to you if the point you made has already been adequately addressed. I love that he can't resist accusing "slymepitters" of racism, even though nothing like that has happened in the Nugent thread. I suppose it's another of his impotent ways to try and assert control of a discussion that he can't control in the same manner as a discussion on FTB.

[John D]

Was this the post where he claimed that, although he appears to be a privileged white cis-clown male oxonian, he's really an oppressed Romani traveler who is a lifelong victim of racism? I believe he revealed that he has been subject to hate-crimes like people mispronouncing his last name (before he changed it) or asking about his ethnic background because he is slightly swarthy.

Ah, yes - here it is:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/godlessness ... taken-for/
http://www.freezepage.com/1385729611HOTDFAULTT

So, nobody could be bothered to pronounce his name right. Forgive me if I don't shed any tears over this great injustice.

Mykeru nailed the response to this one, and there's nothing of value I can add. Dude is just plain narcissistic.

My name is only pronounced correctly in one part of the country... Western Michigan. It is an odd Dutch name (actually Frishian I am told). So when my dad moved to Detroit he changed the pronunciation to the way most people naturally pronounce it. A practical solution to a real life problem. Detroit is in Eastern Michigan and has almost no Dutch influence.

On the West coast it is pronounced differently than in the Midwest and still differently in the East. Who cares? Not me. My family moved to Michigan in the 1830s. We are truly American in my mind. I know a bit about my "ethnic" traditions, but other than a few family recipes it doesn't really affect my life.

It is quite funny to me how bitchy some people get about their special background. Who the fuck cares? You can cook any way you want. You can make your own fucking holidays. You can sleep in the middle of the day for all I care. There are millions of Americans whos names are not even spelled the same as they were in the "old country". My grandfather's name was changed by a clerk on Elis Island. Whatever. Special snowflakes.

[John D]

My guy has a rather interesting last name (I say interesting, he says "I hate it and we need to change it soon"), Pugh. In the entire decade I've been with him, I've not heard one person pronounce it correctly. Mainly due to him being 6' tall, muscular, and he's maintained that prison guard stance and stare that people find intimidating.

Is it pronounced "pew" so it rhymes with the word "few"?

[ReneeHendricks]

My guy has a rather interesting last name (I say interesting, he says "I hate it and we need to change it soon"), Pugh. In the entire decade I've been with him, I've not heard one person pronounce it correctly. Mainly due to him being 6' tall, muscular, and he's maintained that prison guard stance and stare that people find intimidating.

Is it pronounced "pew" so it rhymes with the word "few"?

Yep. You can see why he loathes the name. 99% of the time people will pronounce it "pug" or just spell it out.

[Southern]

My guy has a rather interesting last name (I say interesting, he says "I hate it and we need to change it soon"), Pugh. In the entire decade I've been with him, I've not heard one person pronounce it correctly. Mainly due to him being 6' tall, muscular, and he's maintained that prison guard stance and stare that people find intimidating.

Is it pronounced "pew" so it rhymes with the word "few"?

Yep. You can see why he loathes the name. 99% of the time people will pronounce it "pug" or just spell it out.

Or worse, they throw him a dog biscuit. :rimshot:

[John D]

My guy has a rather interesting last name (I say interesting, he says "I hate it and we need to change it soon"), Pugh. In the entire decade I've been with him, I've not heard one person pronounce it correctly. Mainly due to him being 6' tall, muscular, and he's maintained that prison guard stance and stare that people find intimidating.

Is it pronounced "pew" so it rhymes with the word "few"?

Yep. You can see why he loathes the name. 99% of the time people will pronounce it "pug" or just spell it out.

Yeah... I can see why this is pretty annoying. Even when the name is pronounced correctly it sounds like the word people say when they smell shit. (no offense intended)

[Skep tickle]

If you're talking with someone, there is a pretty straightforward way of addressing this: "How do you pronounce your name?"

Though once it gets past about, what would you say, maybe 3 syllables, it still may be challenging for people who aren't used to that name, or names similar to it, to get right the first several times. (Does Alex have any friends with long Thai surnames?)

I get a female equivalent of the John/Jonathan thing all the time; people assume my first name must be short for one that's longer. Sometimes I feel like a broken record, correcting people (but you know if you don't, it'll perpetuate & be even harder to correct).

Then there was the guy I remember from school whose first name was spelled Jonathan but was pronounced "Joe-Nathan".

My husband & son share a last name that's 4 letters, 1 syllable, and European. Those 4 letters all are in the top third of letter-frequency-use in English words. People can repeat their surname just fine when they hear it, but half the time they panic when they see it written, and start inserting vowels or transposing letters. When I spell it for someone (who's writing it down or typing it in), I spell it one letter at a time & don't go on until they have that letter down, otherwise I know they'll panic when they hear the next one

[tina]

I also hope that this Nugent thread creates a little cognitive dissonance in the crazy people.

Theophontes reminds me of Richard Carrier:

Bless him.

Maybe he got confused with Theophanes the Confessor who "... married at the age of twelve, but convinced his wife to lead a life of virginity."

Gee...wonder how that conversation went? :whistle:

[paddybrown]

I have no name-mispronunciation issues. I'm just not special that way. But I thought I'd share this:

[youtube]q6RZZf6HMzo[/youtube]

Genuinely creative, and not, not[/u] I say, self-indulgent attention-seeking at all.

(Via David Thompson's excellent blog)

[Sulman]

My guy has a rather interesting last name (I say interesting, he says "I hate it and we need to change it soon"), Pugh. In the entire decade I've been with him, I've not heard one person pronounce it correctly. Mainly due to him being 6' tall, muscular, and he's maintained that prison guard stance and stare that people find intimidating.

Is it pronounced "pew" so it rhymes with the word "few"?

Yep. You can see why he loathes the name. 99% of the time people will pronounce it "pug" or just spell it out.

Go to England. Nobody would get it wrong there :)

[ReneeHendricks]

Is it pronounced "pew" so it rhymes with the word "few"?

Yep. You can see why he loathes the name. 99% of the time people will pronounce it "pug" or just spell it out.

Or worse, they throw him a dog biscuit. :rimshot:

:D That would be funny.

[piginthecity]

Then there was the guy I remember from school whose first name was spelled Jonathan but was pronounced "Joe-Nathan".

When I was a teacher, I would have pronounced that guy's name 'Jonathan'.

Reason being that, while politeness requires some effort to get people's names right, I don't believe that the name's owner has an absolute carte blanche to insist on eccentric pronounciations. If someone wants to use, or call their kid, a name that is a well-established name in a particular language or culture (in this case English), then speakers of that language, who know about that culture are entitled to pronounce it in the way they pronounce it for everybody else. Joe-Nathan's parents are entitled to choose the name 'Jonathan' for their son, or not to choose it as they please, but not to Dick about with it for the sake of their special little soldier !

(The actual case when i was a teacher was 'Catheryine' - and I held out despite her stroppy mother !)

[ReneeHendricks]

Is it pronounced "pew" so it rhymes with the word "few"?

Yep. You can see why he loathes the name. 99% of the time people will pronounce it "pug" or just spell it out.

Yeah... I can see why this is pretty annoying. Even when the name is pronounced correctly it sounds like the word people say when they smell shit. (no offense intended)

Exactly and no offense taken. He's getting his name change done here in the next few weeks. We're getting married soon and he says he doesn't want to inflict that name on me. I'm indifferent as I'm not with him for his name :)

[Tony Parsehole]

I have no name-mispronunciation issues. I'm just not special that way. But I thought I'd share this:

[youtube]q6RZZf6HMzo[/youtube]

Genuinely creative, and not, not[/u] I say, self-indulgent attention-seeking at all.

(Via David Thompson's excellent blog)

At 1:13 you can see how dedicated she was to knitting from the ball of wool in her twat. Being on her period didn't hinder her masterpiece at all.

[screwtape]

My guy has a rather interesting last name (I say interesting, he says "I hate it and we need to change it soon"), Pugh. In the entire decade I've been with him, I've not heard one person pronounce it correctly. Mainly due to him being 6' tall, muscular, and he's maintained that prison guard stance and stare that people find intimidating.

Is it pronounced "pew" so it rhymes with the word "few"?

Yep. You can see why he loathes the name. 99% of the time people will pronounce it "pug" or just spell it out.

Fairly common surname in Wales, and as you likely know, a contraction of 'ap Hugh' - son of Hugh. And Hugh is much easier in Welsh - it's Huw.

By the by, here's a sentence to shew most of the sounds 'gh' can make in English: "A rough, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman emerged from a slough to walk through the streets of Scarborough, coughing and hiccoughing."

[ReneeHendricks]

Screwtape - I know he's mentioned that he's a direct descendant of the Pugh family that landed on US eastern shores. Nifty sentence btw :)

[Tony Parsehole]

I have no name-mispronunciation issues. I'm just not special that way. But I thought I'd share this:

[youtube]q6RZZf6HMzo[/youtube]

Genuinely creative, and not, not[/u] I say, self-indulgent attention-seeking at all.

(Via David Thompson's excellent blog)

*Bleeargh*
I hope she didn't give the scarf to some unsuspecting relative for Crimbo.
Dirty cow.

[Tribble]

Looks like someone caved:

Our letter to the Beastie Boys
November 27, 2013Debbie

Dear Adam and Mike,

We don’t want to fight with you. We love you and we are actually huge fans.

When we made our parody version of your song, ‘Girls’, we did it with the best of intentions. We wanted to transform it into a powerful anthem for girls. Over the past week, parents have sent us pictures and videos of their kids singing with pride, building their own Rube Goldberg machines in their living rooms and declaring an interest in engineering. It’s been incredible to watch.

Our hearts sank last week when your lawyers called us with threats that we took very seriously. As a small company, we had no choice but to stand up for ourselves. We did so sincerely hoping we could come to a peaceful settlement with you.

We want you to know that when we posted the video, we were completely unaware that the late, great Adam Yauch had requested in his will that the Beastie Boys songs never be used in advertising. Although we believe our parody video falls under fair use, we would like to respect his wishes and yours.

Since actions speak louder than words, we have already removed the song from our video. In addition, we are ready to stop the lawsuit as long as this means we will no longer be under threat from your legal team.

We don’t want to spend our time fighting legal battles. We want to inspire the next generation. We want to be good role models. And we want to be your friends.

Sincerely,

Debbie + Team GoldieBlox

http://blog.goldieblox.com/2013/11/our- ... stie-boys/

I guess an attorney smarter than Popehat let them understand the pitfalls of 'illegal commercial taking' vs. 'fair use and parody.' Besides, they got their publicity.

[Tribble]

Then there was the guy I remember from school whose first name was spelled Jonathan but was pronounced "Joe-Nathan".

When I was a teacher, I would have pronounced that guy's name 'Jonathan'.

Reason being that, while politeness requires some effort to get people's names right, I don't believe that the name's owner has an absolute carte blanche to insist on eccentric pronounciations. If someone wants to use, or call their kid, a name that is a well-established name in a particular language or culture (in this case English), then speakers of that language, who know about that culture are entitled to pronounce it in the way they pronounce it for everybody else. Joe-Nathan's parents are entitled to choose the name 'Jonathan' for their son, or not to choose it as they please, but not to Dick about with it for the sake of their special little soldier !

(The actual case when i was a teacher was 'Catheryine' - and I held out despite her stroppy mother !)

[youtube]Dd7FixvoKBw[/youtube]

I'm sure Bah-lakie and A-Aron are shaking with rage!

[Mykeru]

People mispronounce my Italian surname too. I won't say it but no, it doesn't end in "io", just "o". Then I go to a really Italian family's house and they tell me I pronounced my own name incorrectly. They say I should use a hard "g" not a soft "g". I should earn double SJW point for that right?

Look at the bright side, if you want to do some cultural appropriation "MC Hard G" is a pretty kick-ass alias.

[tina]

I have no name-mispronunciation issues. I'm just not special that way. But I thought I'd share this:

[youtube]q6RZZf6HMzo[/youtube]

Genuinely creative, and not, not[/u] I say, self-indulgent attention-seeking at all.

(Via David Thompson's excellent blog)

At 1:13 you can see how dedicated she was to knitting from the ball of wool in her twat. Being on her period didn't hinder her masterpiece at all.

She dropped a stitch.

Outrageous!

[Skep tickle]

[.youtube]C39fX6aIgUk[/youtube]

Where did you get that footage? :shock:

[Phil_Giordana_FCD]

Reminds me of that mother who complained nobody was saying her daughter's name correctly.

She was called Le-a, pronounced Ledasha...

:doh:

[Tony Parsehole]

Looks like someone caved:

Our letter to the Beastie Boys
November 27, 2013Debbie

Dear Adam and Mike,

We don’t want to fight with you. We love you and we are actually huge fans.

When we made our parody version of your song, ‘Girls’, we did it with the best of intentions. We wanted to transform it into a powerful anthem for girls. Over the past week, parents have sent us pictures and videos of their kids singing with pride, building their own Rube Goldberg machines in their living rooms and declaring an interest in engineering. It’s been incredible to watch.

Our hearts sank last week when your lawyers called us with threats that we took very seriously. As a small company, we had no choice but to stand up for ourselves. We did so sincerely hoping we could come to a peaceful settlement with you.

We want you to know that when we posted the video, we were completely unaware that the late, great Adam Yauch had requested in his will that the Beastie Boys songs never be used in advertising. Although we believe our parody video falls under fair use, we would like to respect his wishes and yours.

Since actions speak louder than words, we have already removed the song from our video. In addition, we are ready to stop the lawsuit as long as this means we will no longer be under threat from your legal team.

We don’t want to spend our time fighting legal battles. We want to inspire the next generation. We want to be good role models. And we want to be your friends.

Sincerely,

Debbie + Team GoldieBlox

http://blog.goldieblox.com/2013/11/our- ... stie-boys/

I guess an attorney smarter than Popehat let them understand the pitfalls of 'illegal commercial taking' vs. 'fair use and parody.' Besides, they got their publicity.

Wow. Judging by that response these people realise how utterly fucked they are if they carry on with their entitled knobhead legal action.
I like how they now "love" the Beastie Boys and are "Huge fans" whilst still emotionally blackmailing them ("We don’t want to spend our time fighting legal battles. We want to inspire the next generation. We want to be good role models")... Bitch, please....They stole the BB's song for personal gain AND dragged their reputation through the mud. If I was the recipient of this letter I'd sue the fuckers into the ground safe in the knowledge that I can't lose.

[Skep tickle]

... He's getting his name change done here in the next few weeks. We're getting married soon and he says he doesn't want to inflict that name on me. I'm indifferent as I'm not with him for his name :)

Congratulations! (on getting married)

How did he pick a new name?

By the by, here's a sentence to shew most of the sounds 'gh' can make in English: "A rough, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman emerged from a slough to walk through the streets of Scarborough, coughing and hiccoughing."

That's fabulous.

[John Greg]

I have te say, one of the things that bothers me most about the Ogvorbis (I finally spelt it right!) issue is this business of recovered memory. I do not think this has been exposed/discussed enough. Yes, I know a couple of people have pointed it out, but nonetheless, there is a, in a sense, false degree of outrage over Ogvorbis's supposed crimes -- if recovered memory is false, which we understand is the case according to the uncontested (so far as I know) work of Elizabeth Loftus, then any outrage directed towards Ogvorbis for his supposed crimes is based on a false premise. Isn't it?

I mean, if his memories are false and/or self-manufactured, then so far as we know he didn't commit the crimes, right?

Unless, of course, he did commit the crimes, but is feigning recovered memory syndrome as part of his drive to play the pentitent and get FTB hugs and kisses while allowing an escape clause. But in that case it all becomes overladen with complex layers of convolution that I think are beyond the intellectual capacity of the FTB crew.

I think.

As for the outrage at the Pit from FTB over the Ogvorbis issue, that is also fraught with multiple layers of convolution. They are mad at us because they claim we are falsifying the rape issue, yet at the same time they are overlooking the issues of the falsity of recovered memory while trying to rewrite the history of Ogvorbis's own statement regarding not being forced/coerced into raping the three young children because he was only a kid at the time himself so Ogvorbis's victims are no longer Ogvorbis's victims but are actually the victims of the false recovered memory-based phantoms of control?!?

So, in all, it's kind of like a primer of how deep and conflicted cognitive dissonance, confirmation bias, and in-person/out-person bias can go for Justice Warriors with a friend's cause to support.

Right?

I'm confused now.

[ReneeHendricks]

Reminds me of that mother who complained nobody was saying her daughter's name correctly.

She was called Le-a, pronounced Ledasha...

:doh:

My guy was in a hospital years ago and he overheard a woman getting rather angry over the pronunciation of her daughter's name, Lasagna. "It's 'lay-sawn-ya'!" she kept yelling loudly.

[ReneeHendricks]

... He's getting his name change done here in the next few weeks. We're getting married soon and he says he doesn't want to inflict that name on me. I'm indifferent as I'm not with him for his name :)

Congratulations! (on getting married)

How did he pick a new name?

Thanks and he's going to have his middle name become his last name - Kelly. I rather like it as it makes my name pretty f'ing short when all is said and done :D

[katamari Damassi]

Then there was the guy I remember from school whose first name was spelled Jonathan but was pronounced "Joe-Nathan".



[youtube]Dd7FixvoKBw[/youtube]

I'm sure Bah-lakie and A-Aron are shaking with rage!

Love Key and Peele. They were both on MadTV in it's final couple of years. Too bad that show ended as it was consistently funnier than SNL and not really in decline when it ended.

[Tigzy]

Oh Good Lord, you have to see this: Theophontes has, I think, claimed a new FTB high in jumping the shark by likening Rebecca Watson's struggle to that of Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela & Harvey Milk:

http://www.michaelnugent.com/2013/11/26 ... ent-396925

@ Brive 1987 #51

Their commentators express exactly the same views – couched in the language of the oppressed and dispossessed.

Like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Harvey Milk, hell … lets bring this up to date: Rebecca Watson! We are talking about opressed and dispossessed people FFS. There are very many people commenting on FTB who experience life as second class citizens. Your smugness notwithstanding, even in the USA, as I type this, gays are being discriminated against by law. Blacks and women are being discriminated against based on nothing but the colour of their skins, or their sexual organs. And many more. How would you suggest all these people speak up for themselves? As winners? Or not at all?

There just aren't enough laughter smilies in the world...

[Joseph Porter, KCB]

@ Brive 1987 #51

Their commentators express exactly the same views – couched in the language of the oppressed and dispossessed.

Like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Harvey Milk, hell … lets bring this up to date: Rebecca Watson! We are talking about opressed and dispossessed people FFS. There are very many people commenting on FTB who experience life as second class citizens. Your smugness notwithstanding, even in the USA, as I type this, gays are being discriminated against by law. Blacks and women are being discriminated against based on nothing but the colour of their skins, or their sexual organs. And many more. How would you suggest all these people speak up for themselves? As winners? Or not at all?

There just aren't enough laughter smilies in the world...

"A Letter from the Birmingham Elevator"

[ReneeHendricks]

Did theophontes just compare rape to being pushed off a balcony? (http://www.michaelnugent.com/2013/11/26 ... ent-396926 )

[Really?]

@ Brive 1987 #51

Like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Harvey Milk, hell … lets bring this up to date: Rebecca Watson! We are talking about opressed and dispossessed people FFS. There are very many people commenting on FTB who experience life as second class citizens. Your smugness notwithstanding, even in the USA, as I type this, gays are being discriminated against by law. Blacks and women are being discriminated against based on nothing but the colour of their skins, or their sexual organs. And many more. How would you suggest all these people speak up for themselves? As winners? Or not at all?

There just aren't enough laughter smilies in the world...

"A Letter from the Birmingham Elevator"

"I'm in first class, blog deadline's passed...Thank God Almighty, drinks are free at last."

[ReneeHendricks]

ROFLMAO! Yeah, when I hear the name "Rebecca Watson" I *automatically* think of MLK and Nelson Mandela. Theophontes is an idiot.

[free thoughtpolice]

John Greg wrote:

I mean, if his memories are false and/or self-manufactured, then so far as we know he didn't commit the crimes, right?

I don't think any baboons doubted the accuracy of his story, although it seems they later have forgotten the most damning points.
The point as I see it is when he confessed to abusing the girls he was a teenager and doing so of his own volition yet the horde said he had no responsibility for his actions, almost as if they were the "rape apologists" they seem so quick to call everyone else.
Also, if Ogvorbis misremembered part of his story, maybe none of it's true. Think about it John, you wouldn't want to steal poor Oggie's victim cred, would you? :naughty:

[Really?]

Did theophontes just compare rape to being pushed off a balcony? (http://www.michaelnugent.com/2013/11/26 ... ent-396926 )

Theophontes said:

I think you are conflating issues. This was a horrific child rape. The instigator, though, was the same person who had previously raped [victim's name withheld]. What you are now suggesting is that the responsibility for all this comes to rest on one of the child victims.

There was never a need for [victims name withheld] to seek absolution. He has suffered greatly for his actions, even though he bears no responsibilty for them.

His was a rapist who never stopped giving. Please just stop transferring responsibilty away from the scoutmaster onto his victim.

Did Oggy turn himself in? Help the authorities give counseling to the young girls he raped?!?!? No, he just feels super bad. But, as he pointed out, it's rifle season, so he'll get in some nice R&R. (This reminds me of their "I'm literally shaking and crying--apologize!" red herring.) Shit, Oggy admits that the voices still talk to him and tell him to do things. Does he have kids? Living with him? FFS.

By this twisted logic, Jerry Sandusky should never have been put in jail and should still be running that creepy-ass charity. After all, by their logic, Sandusky is a victim who is not responsible for raping dozens of children over the decades.

[Suet Cardigan]

I have no name-mispronunciation issues. I'm just not special that way. But I thought I'd share this:

[youtube]q6RZZf6HMzo[/youtube]

Genuinely creative, and not, not[/u] I say, self-indulgent attention-seeking at all.

(Via David Thompson's excellent blog)

*Bleeargh*
I hope she didn't give the scarf to some unsuspecting relative for Crimbo.
Dirty cow.

While we're on the subject of vaginas and wool:

[youtube]cCc0DM53T78[/youtube]

The woman's name is Slymenstra - perhaps she could be our mascot.

[Phil_Giordana_FCD]

Ok, now i'm seriously considering attending the 2014 Humanist con in Oxford. Round trip would be 100£, plus the con fee. My brother-in-law can host me, and is only 30 minutes away from Oxford by train. Maybe I could start a donation campain? :p

On a more serious note: if I go, I'd like to get Dawkins to sign my Jerry Coyne WEIT edition. Is this bad form? :D

[ConcentratedH2O, OM]

... He's getting his name change done here in the next few weeks. We're getting married soon and he says he doesn't want to inflict that name on me. I'm indifferent as I'm not with him for his name :)

Congratulations! (on getting married)

How did he pick a new name?

Thanks and he's going to have his middle name become his last name - Kelly. I rather like it as it makes my name pretty f'ing short when all is said and done :D

So you're going to become "R Kelly"? :shock: