Happy 3rd Pit Birthday!

[Billie from Ockham]

There are some exceptions. Tennis is a good example. The game, as it's played, minimizes sex differences so women are closer to men than in something like track-and-field or football. Consequently, interest in women's tennis is closer to men's tennis and top women make closer to what the top men make. Of the Top-10 earners (including endorsements) last year, women held the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th spots.

I'm not sure that's necessarily the case in Tennis. I think in Tennis it's where the men are SO good it creates a less entertaining game to watch.

You are both wrong. The near-equality in tennis can be directly traced to one person: Monica Seles. As is well-known [ref], the quality of a tennis match is directly proportional to the frequency and amplitude of the grunting. When Ms Seles tore down the wall that was preventing female players from grunting, the women's game quickly rose to being equal to that played by men. That her stabbing wasn't discussed as an obvious case of The Patriarchy striking back is one of the greatest failures of the world sports media.

[Shatterface as Guest]

People like to watch the very, very best. The vast majority of women's sports simply aren't there. In track and field, basketball, football, etc., the best, Olympic-class Women aren't as good, in most sports, as the best HS boys. Which, essentially, means huge swaths of women's sports are glorified amateur level offerings.

There are some exceptions. Tennis is a good example. The game, as it's played, minimizes sex differences so women are closer to men than in something like track-and-field or football. Consequently, interest in women's tennis is closer to men's tennis and top women make closer to what the top men make. Of the Top-10 earners (including endorsements) last year, women held the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th spots.

Basically, when you are watching men play football you are watching the best players in the world.

When you are watching women play football you are merely watching the best players who kick like a girl.

Shatterface

[Billie from Ockham]

I'm not sure that's necessarily the case in Tennis. I think in Tennis it's where the men are SO good it creates a less entertaining game to watch.

I remember when Sampras came along, '92 I think? Suddenly the power game went to another level with these cannonball serves.

In fairness Women's got a lot more physical too, with Seles grunting her way through several matches.

God-damn fucking ninjas! I hate them!

[Parody Accountant]

didn't one of the williams sisters challenge any ranked male and lost to some guy who was ranked #300 or something?

[Tigzy]

I'm not sure that's necessarily the case in Tennis. I think in Tennis it's where the men are SO good it creates a less entertaining game to watch.

I remember when Sampras came along, '92 I think? Suddenly the power game went to another level with these cannonball serves.

In fairness Women's got a lot more physical too, with Seles grunting her way through several matches.

Which is what ruins the womens' game, which would be much more entertaining were it not for the large variety of klaxon volume shrieks, howls and farmyard animal grunts which now accompany womens' tennis. Nigh on every serve and volley - 'WHOOOARRGHHHHHH', 'EEEUUURGHHHHH' 'EEEEEEEEEEEOOWWWWW'. If these tiresome females really must issue such aural expectorations, then they can at least have he decency to make them sound orgasmic, like out of a porno. Otherwise it's just vile.

[Lsuoma]

I'm not sure that's necessarily the case in Tennis. I think in Tennis it's where the men are SO good it creates a less entertaining game to watch.

I remember when Sampras came along, '92 I think? Suddenly the power game went to another level with these cannonball serves.

In fairness Women's got a lot more physical too, with Seles grunting her way through several matches.

Which is what ruins the womens' game, which would be much more entertaining were it not for the large variety of klaxon volume shrieks, howls and farmyard animal grunts which now accompany womens' tennis. Nigh on every serve and volley - 'WHOOOARRGHHHHHH', 'EEEUUURGHHHHH' 'EEEEEEEEEEEOOWWWWW'. If these tiresome females really must issue such aural expectorations, then they can at least have he decency to make them sound orgasmic, like out of a porno. Otherwise it's just vile.

And air gurning ought to be mandatory too.

[Billie from Ockham]

In the early 1990s, air-traffic to and from La Guardia was rerouted away from the US Open at the request of the players (with help from Mayor Dinkins).* A few years later, it was pilots who requested the reroute, after a near-miss was caused by a grunt from Monica Seles.**

* nb. this is true

** nb. this was a joke in NYC that some people actually believed at the time

[SM12]

h/t NoelPlum
What playing cricket looks like to Americans

[youtube]dEH4ahCCrJo[/youtube]

Cricket was invented at Rugby public school.

The story goes that they were playing football, and one day somebody forgot the ball and they had to stand around all day doing nothing. And so cricket was invented.

[CuntajusRationality]

didn't one of the williams sisters challenge any ranked male and lost to some guy who was ranked #300 or something?

How to... beat both Williams sisters in one afternoon

It was the 1998 Australian Open and the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, had seen some of the male players practising. On the basis of what they saw, they were convinced that they could beat a man ranked around 200 in the world and wanted to set up a game. At the time I was ranked 203 so the men's tour manager mentioned the possibility of a challenge to me, thinking that I was the perfect candidate. I didn't take much persuading, it seemed like a fun thing to do.

In the end I won my game against Serena 6-1 but by the time we were at the net shaking hands, Venus was on court, ready to have a go against me as well. The game against Venus was very similar. I ended up winning 6-2.

In the end I won, but neither myself, nor Venus or Serena took the game too seriously - we were just having a bit of fun.

[Tribble]

Maybe sexism IS he root cause of the disparity but you can't stop people liking what they like.

It's the abject lack of rudimentary economic understanding that astounds me. Where is the money to pay the women expected to come from? Top flight male footballers are paid hundreds of thousands A WEEK. Do they think the football-viewing public have consciously CHOSEN for that to be the case? Of course they haven't - it's just the free market exercising itself. I doubt even the clubs want to pay these ludicrous amounts; they judge they have to, to stay competitive. Hence the high prices for tickets, etc.

The pressures on the women's game are simply not the same. But no, women should be paid the same anyway, the money should simply be found from somewhere, because magical reasons. And it's sexist to suggest otherwise.

Mindless, cretinous morons.

People like to watch the very, very best. The vast majority of women's sports simply aren't there. In track and field, basketball, football, etc., the best, Olympic-class Women aren't as good, in most sports, as the best HS boys. Which, essentially, means huge swaths of women's sports are glorified amateur level offerings.

There are some exceptions. Tennis is a good example. The game, as it's played, minimizes sex differences so women are closer to men than in something like track-and-field or football. Consequently, interest in women's tennis is closer to men's tennis and top women make closer to what the top men make. Of the Top-10 earners (including endorsements) last year, women held the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th spots.

I'm not sure that's necessarily the case in Tennis. I think in Tennis it's where the men are SO good it creates a less entertaining game to watch.

In tennis the differences are much closer than in things like track and field. In track and field top US High School boys frequently out-perform Olympic class women. OTOH, in tennis women can stack-up with the men in many aspects. For example, the women's record for top serve is 131 MPH. Which is faster than anything Federer, and most of the top-rated men, has ever served.

And the reason is, serve velocity is incredibly influenced by height and, more specifically, arm length. And the Top Women's tennis players are fairly tall, like Venus Williams who is 6' 1" and tend to have arm lengths equivalent to the top male players.

In the mean-time, women tennis players are not limited by other biological differences that hamper their ability to keep up with the men. For example, women have some angular and stride issues when throwing. This causes them to have a lower peak velocity than a man of the same basic physical attributes. But in tennis, those things don't matter.

That's not to say women are entirely equal. Men still some advantage because we're naturally bigger and stronger. But in tennis, by the nature of the game, those advantages have been minimized.

[CuntajusRationality]

There is a solution to "scary" people. This is one of them:

[.img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... ght%29.jpg[/img]

See? Not so scary after that. Right?

I'm either misunderstanding this, or you're a bit of a fucking tool. Be assured I'm leaning firmly towards the former :(

Perhaps the latter after you read this?

Recall that Zvan saw herself apparently as a "scary"person? I was actually riffing on the theme of Zvan as an abusive prison camp guard prior to that. I have no difficulty seeing Zvan as doing her duty in that sense with relish. Well, some of those guards paid in the end.

In the comments at Zvan's place, your initial comment was cited as a "veiled death threat."
https://archive.is/sGbDr

http://i.imgur.com/7eDC8kx.jpg

[feathers]

h/t NoelPlum
What playing cricket looks like to Americans

[youtube]dEH4ahCCrJo[/youtube]

This is the Dutch comedic trio Jiskefet from the nineties.

[Parody Accountant]

h/t NoelPlum
What playing cricket looks like to Americans

[youtube.]dEH4ahCCrJo[/youtube]

What the English language sounds like to those who don't understand a word.

[youtube]Kj5TL1l9QYQ[/youtube]

skip ahead about halfway.

There's a pretty cool song in faux-english. Ever heard anybody do an impression of 'chinese talk' and go 'ching chang chong'?! Well that video has Italians making fun of English in a similar way.

[Malky]

From 2011, not sure how I stumbled across it, but I found it interesting, though I know feminist analysis reveals its many falsehoods

psychologytoday.com/blog/the-how-and-why-sex-differences/201101/how-can-there-still-be-sex-difference-even-when-there-is

How Can There Still Be a Sex Difference, Even When There Is No Sex Difference?
Why men may be more variable on some traits

Thanks, Guest - very interesting.

Steersman, you should read this - it's relevant to your presentation of bell curves for certain traits of females & males. (Apologies if you've previously referred to the ideas in it & I missed that in scrolling quickly through a post or two of yours.) Bonus, it quotes Pinker near the end. ;)

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/th ... n-there-is

I thought this was a very good article but I do not understand the mosaic cells in the female brain. Surely all the cells in the female would have 2 X chromosomes and the male only 1 inherited from his mum
Can anyone explain this in simple terms for me?

[Matt Cavanaugh]

I don't understand why Englanders still play cricket, when Americans fixed it like 180 years ago by inventing baseball.

[free thoughtpolice]

A Hunt must read from a few hours ago.

http://unfashionista.com/2015/07/07/the ... e-process/


http://i.imgur.com/6TEyJsC.jpg

I'm pretty sure Hunt wants segregation in science. Wasn't he the one that said he would never be alone with a woman in a lab in case the woman falsely accused him of rape? Funny the press has never picked up on that- it sounds like something a real misogynist, or even a rapist would say.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

I thought this was a very good article but I do not understand the mosaic cells in the female brain. Surely all the cells in the female would have 2 X chromosomes and the male only 1 inherited from his mum
Can anyone explain this in simple terms for me?

When two X chromosomes inhabit the same cell, one shuts down while the other is active. It's a random process, so as the zygote expands, you get a mosaic of tissue regions sporting either active daddy-X or active mommy-X.

So, just like the coat on a fully grown calico cat is splotchy, apparently wymmynz brainz be splotchy, too. Which explains so much.

[Malky]

I don't understand why Englanders still play cricket, when Americans fixed it like 180 years ago by inventing baseball.

Baseball is just a game of rounders nothing to do with cricket

[jugheadnaut]

In tennis the differences are much closer than in things like track and field. In track and field top US High School boys frequently out-perform Olympic class women. OTOH, in tennis women can stack-up with the men in many aspects. For example, the women's record for top serve is 131 MPH. Which is faster than anything Federer, and most of the top-rated men, has ever served.

And the reason is, serve velocity is incredibly influenced by height and, more specifically, arm length. And the Top Women's tennis players are fairly tall, like Venus Williams who is 6' 1" and tend to have arm lengths equivalent to the top male players.

Absolutely false. Federer's fastest recorded serve in match play is 143 mph, which is tied for the 29th fastest. In the chart in the linked article, only the top 50 or so male players are listed, and the cutoff is still a gigantic 9 mph faster than the fastest serve by a female player. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if there are 300 male players who have had faster serves in match play than the fastest ever woman's serve.

The reason why this discrepancy isn't readily apparent during matches is that a well placed 128 mph serve is just as unreturnable as a 150 mph serve. So most male players optimize on accuracy and serve with considerably lower velocity than their theoretical maximum. Female players don't have nearly as much room to sacrifice speed for accuracy without their serve turning into a lame duck.

6'1 would be considerably shorter than average for a current male player, with 6'5 and taller becoming the norm among men entering the pro ranks. Even so, arm length is only one factor. It's also about the strength to accelerate that arm length, and the coordination and technique to synchronize all of your joints into a whip-like motion. While the very top serve speeds have been mostly recorded by the giants of the game, there are many men who are 6'2 or under in the top 20 (e.g. Andy Roddick, Roscoe Tanner, Feliciano Lopez, Stan Wawrinka). A lesser known player, Ričardas Berankis, is tied with Wawrinka in 20th with a 145 mph serve despite only being 5'9. The very fastest serve, 163.7 mph, was by Sam Grothe, who at 'only' 6'4 is a good 6-7 inches shorter than the tallest men in the game.

So quite to the contrary of your claim, the tennis serve actually displays more sexual dimorphism than most athletic activities. Not only do women tend to be shorter, they lack the strength to quickly accelerate their arms, and seem to have more problems with coordinating the motion. I see astonishingly bad service motions in the women's pro game all the time, so bad that any intermediate club player would be able to notice them. From personal experience, I've known many women with a solid Level 4 game in rallies, but on their serve they are doing little more than pushing the ball into play. I've never known a Level 4 male player who didn't have at least a marginally competent serve.

[Malky]

I thought this was a very good article but I do not understand the mosaic cells in the female brain. Surely all the cells in the female would have 2 X chromosomes and the male only 1 inherited from his mum
Can anyone explain this in simple terms for me?

When two X chromosomes inhabit the same cell, one shuts down while the other is active. It's a random process, so as the zygote expands, you get a mosaic of tissue regions sporting either active daddy-X or active mommy-X.

So, just like the coat on a fully grown calico cat is splotchy, apparently wymmynz brainz be splotchy, too. Which explains so much.

Thanks short and concise

[blitzem]

I don't understand why Englanders still play cricket, when Americans fixed it like 180 years ago by inventing baseball.

Yeah, you might want to browse through this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_baseball

First recorded modern game took place in Canada, but rules recognizable as the same as the ones we use today existed earlier than that across the pond. Basically one more example of Americans stealing everything from everybody else and claiming it as their own. :mrgreen:

[Gefan]

I don't understand why Englanders still play cricket, when Americans fixed it like 180 years ago by inventing baseball.

The appeal of baseball has always eluded me.
I figure that if I wanted to watch a bunch of fat guys in caps, standing around, scratching themselves, I could just go to Home Depot.

[comhcinc]

I played a game of ping pong once.

[Parody Accountant]

I'm an excellent interpretive synchronized fisherman.

[piginthecity]

On a personal note, I just thought I'd mention that, hitherto, during the course of today's events I haven't had, as a matter of fact, any other man's semen on my face.

On a related note my own semen has not, to the very best of my knowledge, during the course of events so far today, been on the face of any other man or men.

I realise that today's events have not yet run their full course, so that it is possible that the status of my face with respect to semen, or that of my semen with respect to the face of another man (as yet of indeterminate identity) is conceivably subject to change.

[CaptainFluffyBunny]

Snip
In the comments at Zvan's place, your initial comment was cited as a "veiled death threat."
https://archive.is/sGbDr

http://i.imgur.com/7eDC8kx.jpg

So they openly admit to reading here now? It used to be verboten to admit it. They "got email" or other artfully euphemistic lies.

[jet_lagg]

h/t NoelPlum
What playing cricket looks like to Americans

[youtube.]dEH4ahCCrJo[/youtube]

What the English language sounds like to those who don't understand a word.

[youtube]Kj5TL1l9QYQ[/youtube]

skip ahead about halfway.

There's a pretty cool song in faux-english. Ever heard anybody do an impression of 'chinese talk' and go 'ching chang chong'?! Well that video has Italians making fun of English in a similar way.

I saw that many years back and was suddenly pleased to have an American accent.

[CaptainFluffyBunny]

And Svan is hardly scary. Didn't La-Den the perpetually greasy pull Svanatee's leash hard when Svan went after a target Laden was fond of? I seem to recall that ol' Steph took her spanking with proper grovelling and whining.

[Tribble]

The old lady and I were watching "The Newshour" on PBS and the topic came up about the women's soccer team; how they had to play on astroturf and how they won $2mill compared to $40mill for men. They had two idiot Women's Studys ladies on and threw them a ton of soft-balls. "This is because title IX is not working"... blah...blah...blah...." and my old Lady is like "Yeah... I told you John SEXISM! You always say their ain't none!" So I say.. "Look.... the reason we have the worlds best fucking soccer team is BECAUSE of title IX." If more people watched womens sports, there would be more revenue and they would get paid more. The she politely told me to shut-up... and I complied.

Yeah, facts don't work against feelings and conventional 'wisdom.' No matter how wrong.

I wouldn't mind "The Newshour" covering this topic if they would do it in a fair manner. They could actually discuss topics like why more people watch men's sports... etc. Instead they actually have the brass-balls to say the problem is that we are not doing enough to support title IX. Ridiculous. There are so many High School girls sports teams in our district that they sometimes can't find enough girls to play them all. Boys regularly get cut from the sports teams if they are not as good as other players. The "average" boys are not offered any sports that they can even get in.... meanwhile, any girl of any skill level is allowed to play on most of the teams. Somehow though... this is bias against girls. fuck it.

I remember those brutal days. I was in a private JHS/HS until my senior year. It was relatively small so there were years we didn't field a girls team in softball because they couldn't get enough girls to sign up. And there was also a struggle with the girls basketball team, though we did always manage to field one, even if it frequently had a very short bench.

Yet for us boys, we had too many trying out. There were plenty of times you just couldn't make a team. I played football and baseball, but I could never make the basketball team. Was cut every year for four years. Just wasn't good enough and there were no alternatives.

[Tribble]

There are some exceptions. Tennis is a good example. The game, as it's played, minimizes sex differences so women are closer to men than in something like track-and-field or football. Consequently, interest in women's tennis is closer to men's tennis and top women make closer to what the top men make. Of the Top-10 earners (including endorsements) last year, women held the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th spots.

I'm not sure that's necessarily the case in Tennis. I think in Tennis it's where the men are SO good it creates a less entertaining game to watch.

You are both wrong. The near-equality in tennis can be directly traced to one person: Monica Seles. As is well-known [ref], the quality of a tennis match is directly proportional to the frequency and amplitude of the grunting. When Ms Seles tore down the wall that was preventing female players from grunting, the women's game quickly rose to being equal to that played by men. That her stabbing wasn't discussed as an obvious case of The Patriarchy striking back is one of the greatest failures of the world sports media.

That's pretty funny.

[Badger3k]

Randi Harper, Suey Park, Brianna Wu, Melody Hensley, Author Chu. So many good options of good undervalued talented Social Justice Warriors who are not getting their equal due.

Um, they'd have to work maybe 40 hours a week though.

I wonder if Patreon has a breakdown of their users. How many men compared to how many women. Is there a gap there? Maybe the SJWs need to take a look at that.

[jugheadnaut]

Which is what ruins the womens' game, which would be much more entertaining were it not for the large variety of klaxon volume shrieks, howls and farmyard animal grunts which now accompany womens' tennis. Nigh on every serve and volley - 'WHOOOARRGHHHHHH', 'EEEUUURGHHHHH' 'EEEEEEEEEEEOOWWWWW'. If these tiresome females really must issue such aural expectorations, then they can at least have he decency to make them sound orgasmic, like out of a porno. Otherwise it's just vile.

Holy crap, it's annoying. I think it's a big reason why that even at a Grand Slam tournament, early round matches by top women players are sparsely attended. Here are scenes from a match a few years ago between probably the worst offender, Michelle Larcher de Brito and close contender Maria Sharapova.

[youtube]bi8R9JbF2cc[/youtube]

Thankfully, Larcher de Brito's game has degraded to the point that she's rarely seen at major tournaments, although perhaps still heard if she's playing on a court within 20 km. Shriekapova is still around, unfortunately.

I personally hate Victoria Azarenka the most though, because not only does her 3 second long 'WOOOOOH' wail after every shot drive me insane, she's a despicable and unsportsmanlike individual as well.

[youtube]n4H5kpmDkSU[/youtube]

[Shatterface as Guest]

It's already been mentioned above, but I second the praise for Jon Holmes's rant on <b>The Now Show</b> about the Twitch Hunt of Tim Hunt. Contrasting that overreaction with the easy ride Kanye West gets for far worse was inspired.

Also, the first episode of <b>The Infinite Monkey Cage US Tour</b> is now available for download.

Shatterface

[Bourne Skeptic]

How long did you live here? Sounds like you hit a bad patch.

I was there 5 yrs. It probably wasn't as bad as I remember, I'm just not used to that much rain growing up in S. Alberta.

[Tribble]

didn't one of the williams sisters challenge any ranked male and lost to some guy who was ranked #300 or something?

It was both of them. They lost to a guy ranked 203. But they were brash teenagers and not fully developed as players.

I'd love to see it happen today. I think Serena could hold her own against most professional men. Her serve is in the upper 120s, which is faster than most of the TOP men, never mind the mid-pack guys. And she's pretty strong and quick so I think she could hold her own against the power game. OTOH, she's not going over-power anyone on the men's side. So she'd have to play smart.

But I think she could make it a decent fight.

[jugheadnaut]

So, if Horntwat would like a Nobel prize here can get one here: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/eca ... ot.56.html

Given the cargo cult nature of his writings, he probably would actually believe that possession of the medal makes him a Nobel Prize winner.

[Tribble]

I don't understand why Englanders still play cricket, when Americans fixed it like 180 years ago by inventing baseball.

Because when you're pitching (bowling), you're throwing a hard leather ball at 95MPH at the batsman. :) You can't do that in baseball without clearing the benches and getting into a fight.

[AndrewV69]

Randi Harper, Suey Park, Brianna Wu, Melody Hensley, Author Chu. So many good options of good undervalued talented Social Justice Warriors who are not getting their equal due.

That reminds me that Ian Miles Cheong had a conversion on the road to Damascus, apologized to #GamerGate and believe it or not, was while not exactly welcomed into the fold with open arms, has been to all appearances allowed to get on with his life.

Of course, I don't think any of us can ever really forget the things Cheong has done, but I don't believe he's beyond forgiveness, either. Like I said, it might be my own naiveté, but if he wants to genuinely change, I say good for him.
...
If we ever lose the capacity to forgive someone we become that which we oppose. This sounds sincere and for me that's enough to give the benefit of the doubt. The poor bastard's got to detox after all that kool aid and that's a rough time.

My own thoughts are along the lines of "Meh, OK man whatever, I am willing to let it go" but when it comes to the baboons and their ilk, I find myself lacking in the milk of human kindness.

I seriously doubt that I can forgive PeeZuss Christ, Stefunny, Laden et. al for their past. What I would like to do to them for their persistent callous maliciousness does not bear description even in the Slymepit.

Based on what I have seen here though, I believe that there are some here who would forgive them, let bygones be bygone and move on. I am not one of that people.

I believe that these people are malign and given the opportunity would do it all over again.

You might forgive them in your heart, and while I believe that it makes sense from a humanist point of view, I also believe it would be a mistake to ever let them carry on as if their past was nothing more than a step in their development towards becoming a better person.

You will be tempted. I will not.

[AndrewV69]

So there will be a Han Solo Starwars Prequel.
cnn.com/2015/07/07/entertainment/star-wars-han-solo-prequel-movie-feat/index.html

I myself will be holding out for the Jar Jar Binks prequel. At least Star Wars Episode One took major steps towards minority representation & inclusivity.

Jar Jar Binks was the end of the franchise for me. I have never watched another Star Wars since and it was also the last time I went to the cinema.

I was not even offended in any way shape or form on behalf of anyone either, it was just a bridge too far for me to cross in terms of a willing suspension of reality.

[Billie from Ockham]

When two X chromosomes inhabit the same cell, one shuts down while the other is active.

Problem is, the one that shuts down still tries to sing the National Anthem.

[youtube]ls1YVhcLD2c[/youtube]

[Aneris]

h/t NoelPlum
What playing cricket looks like to Americans

[youtube]dEH4ahCCrJo[/youtube]

This is the Dutch comedic trio Jiskefet from the nineties.

Ah! This is what they mean by speaking double dutch.

[dogen]

I don't understand why Englanders still play cricket, when Americans fixed it like 180 years ago by inventing baseball.

We play baseball in England. Except we call it rounders, and it's for girls only.

Similarly, we play basketball in England. Except we call it netball, and it's for girls only.

Finally, we play gridiron football in England. Except we call it rugby, and it's for men not girls.

[feathers]

I wonder if Patreon has a breakdown of their users.

Don't know, but I'm sure they have users with a breakdown :dance:

[feathers]

Holy crap, it's annoying. I think it's a big reason why that even at a Grand Slam tournament, early round matches by top women players are sparsely attended. Here are scenes from a match a few years ago between probably the worst offender, Michelle Larcher de Brito and close contender Maria Sharapova.

[youtube]bi8R9JbF2cc[/youtube]

Can't the referee issue a classical Quiet, please - but now directed to the players rather than the public? I don't watch tennis but this seems way out of line.

[free thoughtpolice]

How long did you live here? Sounds like you hit a bad patch.

I was there 5 yrs. It probably wasn't as bad as I remember, I'm just not used to that much rain growing up in S. Alberta.

Every 5 years or so we get a winter that is really cloudy, not necessarily a lot more precip but a lot less sun. Probably one or two of those sticking in your mind.
I grew up in the 1950s early 60s in Calgary and have less than fond memories of blizzards, really cold weather, and late springs. The extra rain
and cloud isn't so bad by comparison, though the short daylight in both areas gets to be a pain.

[jugheadnaut]

I'd love to see it happen today. I think Serena could hold her own against most professional men. Her serve is in the upper 120s, which is faster than most of the TOP men, never mind the mid-pack guys. And she's pretty strong and quick so I think she could hold her own against the power game. OTOH, she's not going over-power anyone on the men's side. So she'd have to play smart.

But I think she could make it a decent fight.

More horse hockey. While Serena's fastest serve ever was around 128, typically her fastest serve for an entire tournament is in the low 120's. It would be like saying Federer serves in the low 140's because he's been recorded doing it in a match, even though he rarely goes above 128 in match play.

Aside from vastly increased power and mobility, spin plays a huge role in the men's game that is largely absent from the women's. It really is a whole different level. If Djokovic, Federer, Murray or an in-form Nadal played Williams, and they were given incentive to play hard throughout, I'd put the over-under on total games won in a two set match by Williams at 1.5. I'd put the over-under on total points won by Serena at 12. Just how far you have to go down the rankings before you get a competitive match is a matter for conjecture, but I'd venture it's a lot lower than 300. When she was a top player, Mary Pierce reported that she had trouble beating her male hitting partners who weren't even ranked.

[Karmakin]

Randi Harper, Suey Park, Brianna Wu, Melody Hensley, Author Chu. So many good options of good undervalued talented Social Justice Warriors who are not getting their equal due.

That reminds me that Ian Miles Cheong had a conversion on the road to Damascus, apologized to #GamerGate and believe it or not, was while not exactly welcomed into the fold with open arms, has been to all appearances allowed to get on with his life.

Of course, I don't think any of us can ever really forget the things Cheong has done, but I don't believe he's beyond forgiveness, either. Like I said, it might be my own naiveté, but if he wants to genuinely change, I say good for him.
...
If we ever lose the capacity to forgive someone we become that which we oppose. This sounds sincere and for me that's enough to give the benefit of the doubt. The poor bastard's got to detox after all that kool aid and that's a rough time.

My own thoughts are along the lines of "Meh, OK man whatever, I am willing to let it go" but when it comes to the baboons and their ilk, I find myself lacking in the milk of human kindness.

I seriously doubt that I can forgive PeeZuss Christ, Stefunny, Laden et. al for their past. What I would like to do to them for their persistent callous maliciousness does not bear description even in the Slymepit.

Based on what I have seen here though, I believe that there are some here who would forgive them, let bygones be bygone and move on. I am not one of that people.

I believe that these people are malign and given the opportunity would do it all over again.

You might forgive them in your heart, and while I believe that it makes sense from a humanist point of view, I also believe it would be a mistake to ever let them carry on as if their past was nothing more than a step in their development towards becoming a better person.

You will be tempted. I will not.

Well, I've been there and made that switchover. And trust me, it happens HARD and you never go back. It's not a toggle switch..once you stop giving the bullshit the benefit of the doubt it's impossible to go back. Everything just becomes so OBVIOUS, to be honest. Cheong is a good example, once that toggle hit, boom..it's a substantial change.

At the end of the day, if forgiving the people makes it easier to destroy that fucked up SJW culture, I'll forgive the people every day of the week. It's the culture I abhor.

[Dave]

Aside from vastly increased power and mobility, spin plays a huge role in the men's game that is largely absent from the women's. It really is a whole different level. If Djokovic, Federer, Murray or an in-form Nadal played Williams, and they were given incentive to play hard throughout, I'd put the over-under on total games won in a two set match by Williams at 1.5. I'd put the over-under on total points won by Serena at 12. Just how far you have to go down the rankings before you get a competitive match is a matter for conjecture, but I'd venture it's a lot lower than 300. When she was a top player, Mary Pierce reported that she had trouble beating her male hitting partners who weren't even ranked.

FWIW, Williams seems to agree with you, having refused a challenge from Murray a couple of years back:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... e-men.html

[Steersman]

[.tweet][/tweet]

I'll readily concede that you're the pro from Dover when it comes to detailed timelines and the data to back them up. However, I think you also tend to have a blind spot, particularly when it comes to PZ, although I'll also concede that the least charitable assumption about him is frequently the more tenable one.But that is, I think, not the case when it comes to that comment of his; he isn't saying, from my perspective, that Radford is necessarily guilty, but only that the evidence of a prior relationship does not prove that he's not guilty of harassment. You might try differentiating between those cases.

And, considering that Radford wasn't able to prevail upon Stollznow to make a categorical retraction, as he intended in his previous abortive attempt, suggests to me that either his case wasn't quite the slam-dunk that many seem to think it was, or he ran out of resources to pursue that objective.

[Sulman]

On a related note my own semen has not, to the very best of my knowledge, during the course of events so far today, been on the face of any other man or men.

This works best if you imagine it being spoken slowly and clearly as if at a press conference, with shutters clicking and flash bulbs firing.

"Thank you, that will be all."

[Strawberry Bitch]

elyseanders[dot]com /blog/2015/7/8/the-war-on-speech

Trolling is an assault on women. It is an organized weapon of terrorism used to silence feminist voices. The abuse is a mob attack, flooding our inboxes and comments Twitter mentions and Facebook pages, so that there is nowhere we can go online without seeing how little the world thinks of us. How little the world wants us to exist. It is an act of terrorism designed to force us into facing that, more of that, escalating levels of that… or being silent. It is an act of war against feminism. And if you do not relent, they will not only come after you, but your family, your friends, your job. Their goal is not only to drive you into silence, but to wipe your presence from the earth.

[Kirbmarc]

Randi Harper, Suey Park, Brianna Wu, Melody Hensley, Author Chu. So many good options of good undervalued talented Social Justice Warriors who are not getting their equal due.

That reminds me that Ian Miles Cheong had a conversion on the road to Damascus, apologized to #GamerGate and believe it or not, was while not exactly welcomed into the fold with open arms, has been to all appearances allowed to get on with his life.

Of course, I don't think any of us can ever really forget the things Cheong has done, but I don't believe he's beyond forgiveness, either. Like I said, it might be my own naiveté, but if he wants to genuinely change, I say good for him.
...
If we ever lose the capacity to forgive someone we become that which we oppose. This sounds sincere and for me that's enough to give the benefit of the doubt. The poor bastard's got to detox after all that kool aid and that's a rough time.

My own thoughts are along the lines of "Meh, OK man whatever, I am willing to let it go" but when it comes to the baboons and their ilk, I find myself lacking in the milk of human kindness.

I seriously doubt that I can forgive PeeZuss Christ, Stefunny, Laden et. al for their past. What I would like to do to them for their persistent callous maliciousness does not bear description even in the Slymepit.

Based on what I have seen here though, I believe that there are some here who would forgive them, let bygones be bygone and move on. I am not one of that people.

I believe that these people are malign and given the opportunity would do it all over again.

You might forgive them in your heart, and while I believe that it makes sense from a humanist point of view, I also believe it would be a mistake to ever let them carry on as if their past was nothing more than a step in their development towards becoming a better person.

You will be tempted. I will not.

I think that as long as you don't commit any heinous crimes and just behave like a stupid cunt if you ever happen to stumble on the truth and see how much of an ass you were you should be forgiven. That said, if you published accusations of bad behavior or even crimes and realize you shouldn't have had to, you should at least apologize to the person whose reputation you have hurt.

If PZ wanted to genuinely abandon the SJW ship he should apologize to Shermer, to Nugent, to the Slymepit (yes, to us), to Hemant Mehta...the list gets longer every week. He's burning too many bridges to be allowed back into the Atheism/Skeptic movement with just a slap on the wrist. if he ever realize he was wrong, he should probably at the very least close Pharyngula.

I really don't think that Zvan will ever switch sides, though. She's having too much fun in her role to even consider it.

PZ could eventually be reprimanded so many times by the Horde that they could make him snap. Zvan, just like Melissa McEwan or Amanda Marcotte, are too privileged by the perks of their position as Ruthless Feminist Inquisitors to ever change. Especially since if they change they'd be practically unemployable anyway. Maybe they'll have doubts about some SJW dogma sooner or alter, but I doubt they'll ever reveal them in public.

it's the young that will probably change their mind. People like Nate Hevens or Ashley Miller, who have plenty of time to rethink about their assumptions.

[AndrewV69]

In the comments at Zvan's place, your initial comment was cited as a "veiled death threat."
https://archive.is/sGbDr

http://i.imgur.com/7eDC8kx.jpg

Ahahahaha! Not surprised but still funny (to me anyway).

Will Holms now be banned over at the PeeZuss Bunker for reading the pit? That is the question.

[free thoughtpolice]

To be charitable to PZ, he had a point when he said:

FUCK OFF STEERSMAN

[Steersman]

HJ flexes his internet tough-guy muscles at SZvans anti-Yeti wail.

I dunno, there’s enough misinformation/misunderstanding out there that I worry a layperson will mistake a false-flag for a legit feminist-on-feminist argument. My preference is to string them along until their bullshit is visible from space, then deploy the banhammer or wrap them in Markov Chains.

Love his elitest lay person vs. what? A badged PhD feminist howitzer?

His Markov chains ref gave me pause. But a quick wiki check made it all very clear.

As mud.

[.img]http://i.imgur.com/L9QiNmQ.jpg[/img]

More picturesque than accurate methinks. Although I think it probably illustrates the fact that his "theory of mind", what he uses to base his inferences as to other people's motivation, is rather badly flawed - too much reliance on zero-sum game theory which he used in a "conversation" I had with him some time ago on Sinmantyx.

But that said, he seems to be quite knowledgeable in a number of areas, notably statistics and Bayes Theorem. Although I think he makes any number of highly questionable assumptions when he gets down to specifics - as in this ongoing (5 parts so far) "lucubration" where he attempts to prove (apparently, athough the absence of an abstract or a TL;DR means I'm guessing somewhat ....) that Shermer is guilty of rape.

[Really?]

[.tweet][/tweet]

I'll readily concede that you're the pro from Dover when it comes to detailed timelines and the data to back them up. However, I think you also tend to have a blind spot, particularly when it comes to David Irving, although I'll also concede that the least charitable assumption about him is frequently the more tenable one.But that is, I think, not the case when it comes to that comment of his; he isn't saying, from my perspective, that the Nazis didn't commit war crimes, but only that the Zionist media narrative has obfuscated the truth of what really happened at the forced labor camps. You might try differentiating between those cases.

And, considering that the Wiesenthal Center wasn't able to disprove Nishioka's assertion that the crematoria at Auschwitz were a post-war addition, as they have attempted on numerous occasions, suggests to me that either their case wasn't quite the slam-dunk that many seem to think it was, or they ran out of resources to pursue that objective.

LSUOMA EDIT - THIS IS A FAKED QUOTE by Really? that is not obvious. This is forbidden. Don't do it again or you're out. Last warning.

[AndrewV69]

Which is what ruins the womens' game, which would be much more entertaining were it not for the large variety of klaxon volume shrieks, howls and farmyard animal grunts which now accompany womens' tennis. Nigh on every serve and volley - 'WHOOOARRGHHHHHH', 'EEEUUURGHHHHH' 'EEEEEEEEEEEOOWWWWW'. If these tiresome females really must issue such aural expectorations, then they can at least have he decency to make them sound orgasmic, like out of a porno. Otherwise it's just vile.

Holy crap, it's annoying. I think it's a big reason why that even at a Grand Slam tournament, early round matches by top women players are sparsely attended. Here are scenes from a match a few years ago between probably the worst offender, Michelle Larcher de Brito and close contender Maria Sharapova.

[.youtube]bi8R9JbF2cc[/youtube]

Thankfully, Larcher de Brito's game has degraded to the point that she's rarely seen at major tournaments, although perhaps still heard if she's playing on a court within 20 km. Shriekapova is still around, unfortunately.

I personally hate Victoria Azarenka the most though, because not only does her 3 second long 'WOOOOOH' wail after every shot drive me insane, she's a despicable and unsportsmanlike individual as well.

[.youtube]n4H5kpmDkSU[/youtube]

That was hilarious! I was vaguely aware that wailing was a thing now but to actually see it in action had me in stitches.

[Søren Lilholt]

A Hunt must read from a few hours ago.

http://unfashionista.com/2015/07/07/the ... e-process/


http://i.imgur.com/6TEyJsC.jpg

I'm pretty sure Hunt wants segregation in science. Wasn't he the one that said he would never be alone with a woman in a lab in case the woman falsely accused him of rape? Funny the press has never picked up on that- it sounds like something a real misogynist, or even a rapist would say.

BACK OF THE NET!

[Steersman]

To be charitable to PZ, he had a point when he said:

FUCK OFF STEERSMAN

Politics makes for strange bedfellows, doesn't it? Although I think you might try analyzing each case on its merits instead of, in effect or apparently, allowing your peevishness to dictate your responses.

[acathode]

People like to watch the very, very best. The vast majority of women's sports simply aren't there. In track and field, basketball, football, etc., the best, Olympic-class Women aren't as good, in most sports, as the best HS boys. Which, essentially, means huge swaths of women's sports are glorified amateur level offerings.

There are some exceptions. Tennis is a good example. The game, as it's played, minimizes sex differences so women are closer to men than in something like track-and-field or football. Consequently, interest in women's tennis is closer to men's tennis and top women make closer to what the top men make. Of the Top-10 earners (including endorsements) last year, women held the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th spots.

Basically, when you are watching men play football you are watching the best players in the world.

When you are watching women play football you are merely watching the best players who kick like a girl.

Shatterface

Meh, sport is just entertainment, and there's so many various elements that can make it enjoyable to watch sports...

Yes, sure there's an element of watching the best of the best, you're never going to get as much hype around a woman running 100m as you get around Usain Bolt, because when Bolt breaks a world record it means he's the fastest human to ever run 100m, he's pushing the athletic boundaries of what's possible with a human body, while a woman will never get close to that, and only can become the fastest woman.

... but that's just one element, among many. Drama and getting people emotionally invested in the personalities and teams helps a lot making it interesting to watch - McEnroe is probably a good example, people love a good villain to hate. Skill recognition and the quality of the participants is another element, it's always fun watching stuff where you can kinda understand "wow, that took a lot of skill" or just "wow that goal looked awesome!".

There's nothing stopping women's football from becoming popular in the long run, they just need to keep at it and develop a fanbase while simultaneously upping their quality off play. The current quality they are at - where for example the Swedish national women's team get crushed with 0-3 while having a training match against a club's youth team with 16 and 17 year old boys, who even played with one man less on the field - just isn't good enough to earn themselves a large number of viewers.

Even if there is a physical discrepancy there is plenty of sports where the women are just as appreciated (and well paid) as the men - take for example cross country skiing (popular here in Sweden), the men and women are just as loved, and get similar levels of pay - but then again, the women there look like this:
http://i.imgur.com/gSRA2nS.jpg?1

Just from that picture it should be quite obvious that watching her ski is levels above what you'd see if you went and watched some amateur men ski...

The quality of the women skiing competitors is simply put very high, which shows during their competitions, which are just as dramatic as any male competition - and people invest just as much emotions into them as the men - so it's just as fun to watch, no matter that the men finishing the courses with better times.