The elections are rigged, the Constitution gets paid lip service every once in a while, and that formal system of checks and balances is a joke. Government is nothing but a protection racket once you strip away the fripperies and bullshit.
Hmm, New York has always been a bit bizarre about taxes.
They're not bizarre; they're just greedy for every dollar they can get their grubby little paws on. Just remember that the only difference between the government and the Mafia is that the government controls the schools.
There has never been a Congress that met a tax it didn't like. Check out the history of the income tax in the US. It was imposed twice and struck down on Constitutional grounds before the 16th Amendment was ratified.
Most academics wouldn't know good literature if it bent them over a lectern and spanked them in front of a packed lecture hall. Most academics would be more comfortable with Moby Dick if it were a doctoral thesis on cetology instead of "This is what happened to Ishmael on the last voyage of the Pequod." If I wanted somebody else's opinion, I'd be better off asking my cat.
Science fiction isn't considered "serious" enough to warrant the Nobel committee's attention, but they'll sometimes throw the magical realism crowd a prize. On the other hand, Doris Lessing got the 2007 prize, and has written some science fiction.
Ray Bradbury's a romantic? I always thought of Bradbury as a naturalist -- at least as far as characterization is concerned. As for whether or not he writes SF, I always thought he was more of a fantasist than a sci-fi writer. If he wants you to know that there are rockets, he'll tell you, but that's all he'll tell you. He doesn't care about how the rockets work, so he figures the reader doesn't need to know either.
No kidding. I work as a sysadmin, and as far as I'm concerned, a spam-free day is an occasion to praise my patron demon and bring Him an offering of hookers and blow, not an excuse for an "Ask Slashdot" posting.
Don't worry about it. I've noticed that a lot of people tend to mix up Milgram and Zimbardo. It doesn't help that The Lucifer Effect is easier to find than Obedience to Authority (and has a snappier-sounding title). As for Zimbardo only running his experiment once: can you blame him?
Thanks. Besides, how would Milgram have created a control group? Would he have ensured that some of the subjects knew that the guy in the booth was an actor? Could he have ensured that he himself didn't know who was in on the gag and who thought it was for for real?
Slashdot Mirror
Is government too intrusive? Verily. Can we get rid of it? Not before Universal Enlightement.
Would it kill you to let me dream, you rat bastard?
The elections are rigged, the Constitution gets paid lip service every once in a while, and that formal system of checks and balances is a joke. Government is nothing but a protection racket once you strip away the fripperies and bullshit.
Screw that. I'm an American. If I can dodge a tax, I will.
As for how to do it, well, you'd probably have to ask John Gotti, Jr. Or perhaps the **AA.
Or Congress and the IRS.
Hmm, New York has always been a bit bizarre about taxes.
They're not bizarre; they're just greedy for every dollar they can get their grubby little paws on. Just remember that the only difference between the government and the Mafia is that the government controls the schools.
There has never been a Congress that met a tax it didn't like. Check out the history of the income tax in the US. It was imposed twice and struck down on Constitutional grounds before the 16th Amendment was ratified.
Most academics wouldn't know good literature if it bent them over a lectern and spanked them in front of a packed lecture hall. Most academics would be more comfortable with Moby Dick if it were a doctoral thesis on cetology instead of "This is what happened to Ishmael on the last voyage of the Pequod." If I wanted somebody else's opinion, I'd be better off asking my cat.
Margaret Atwood also stands a chance of getting the price some day, although she vehemently denies that she has anything to do with sci-fi.
Yet she has no issue with using sci-fi tropes and imagery in her novels. If it walks like a duck...
Prismatic spray? Meh. I'm gonna cast Megidolaon. (I prefer Megaten over D&D.)
Science fiction isn't considered "serious" enough to warrant the Nobel committee's attention, but they'll sometimes throw the magical realism crowd a prize. On the other hand, Doris Lessing got the 2007 prize, and has written some science fiction.
Ray Bradbury's a romantic? I always thought of Bradbury as a naturalist -- at least as far as characterization is concerned. As for whether or not he writes SF, I always thought he was more of a fantasist than a sci-fi writer. If he wants you to know that there are rockets, he'll tell you, but that's all he'll tell you. He doesn't care about how the rockets work, so he figures the reader doesn't need to know either.
And Mary Shelley.
Ah, yes, good old Jack Vance. If he hadn't come up with Vanceian spellcasting, Gary Gygax would have had to do it himself.
If you think Ms. Le Guin is bad, you haven't read William Peter Blatty (the man responsible for The Exorcist) or any of H.P. Lovecraft's early work.
And John Lee Hooker was a bluesman. He was bad, like Jesse James.
Why is it always all about you?
Because I'm a selfish asshole, and proud of it.
Would you perchance be open to applications to become your patron demon? It sounds like a nice job to have.
Would blackjack be a reasonable substitution for blow?
Well, Arioch comes when I summon him most of the time, and does horrible things to obnoxious users. What can you do for me?
I've got SpamAssassion, and while I say that the hookers 'n blow are for Arioch, that's a lie. They're really for me and the missus.
Oh come on, as a sysadmin, you know that any precipitated change is bad, or at least troubling.
I also know not to let that stop me from making a good joke -- or a bad one, for that matter.
And you're complaining because .... ?
No kidding. I work as a sysadmin, and as far as I'm concerned, a spam-free day is an occasion to praise my patron demon and bring Him an offering of hookers and blow, not an excuse for an "Ask Slashdot" posting.
Conservatism in the GOP died with Barry Goldwater.
Don't worry about it. I've noticed that a lot of people tend to mix up Milgram and Zimbardo. It doesn't help that The Lucifer Effect is easier to find than Obedience to Authority (and has a snappier-sounding title). As for Zimbardo only running his experiment once: can you blame him?
Heh. I wasn't talking about Gonzo's excellent anime adaptation. I was talking about the novel. :)
Thanks. Besides, how would Milgram have created a control group? Would he have ensured that some of the subjects knew that the guy in the booth was an actor? Could he have ensured that he himself didn't know who was in on the gag and who thought it was for for real?
According to Amazon.com, they are.
A New Hope
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
May the Schwartz be with you!