I don't feel like pasting the whole Snopes article in here, but No, Al Gore did not claim he "invented" the Internet, nor did he say anything that could reasonably be interpreted that way.
Say what you will about Gabe and Tycho's delight in vulgarity, they clearly have a talent. The writing has better comic timing than half the crap you see in the daily paper (though that's not saying much), and the art's not bad on the eyes.
If it were really as bad as you say it is, they simply wouldn't have the readership they do. This is not to say that popular things are invariably good, but rather to say that they cannot be offensively incompetent. Problems that people have with Penny Arcade are problems of taste. Not of basic art and writing skills.
If it's as simple as you pretend it is, I dare you, I double-dog dare you to script a Penny Arcade strip or two. Just pop out some dialogue. If they lack even the most basic writing skill, surely you can outdo them, yes?
I don't recognize the username (but then again, that's no surprise around here). Give me an example of what you're talking about. (Yes, I'm asking for a citation.)
And I still say that calling someone on their bullshit is always a worthy endeavor. "He can't ask for a citation because he fudged the facts in his own post" isn't an explanation, it's an excuse, and a shitty one at that.
You know, you're really sloppy with what you mean by the word "moral". 'Round here, a lot of folks think it means "respectful of another's rights". I'm guessing you think it means "in concordance with what my Superhero From Outer Space told me".
And there's a damn important different between the two.
If you're going to argue that porn is bad because it causes harm, go ahead. The Meese Commission went through some effort to do so, but ended up making shit up to suit their prejudices.
If you're going to argue that porn is bad because your Superhero From Outer Space (or god or whatever you call it) says so, then don't steal the word "moral". It's rude.
Come on. I could state that actresses working on general-interest television are druggies willing to do anything for a fix, and berate you endlessly for refusing to outlaw any sort of broadcasting.
This whole argument---"women who work in porn are exploited drug addicts, thus porn should be illegal" is specious. The second half doesn't even follow from the first half, and the first half is far, far from a given.
Y'know, "Why Nerds Are Unpopular" changed my life, and I really mean that. I learned why things were so bad for me in middle school, and now that I've seen the reasons in all their naked splendor, I feel... well, not better, but I feel a sense of closure.
But goddamn, I don't think I've ever seen an example of science dorks being more full of themselves than this:
It could be that the scientists are simply smarter; most physicists could, if necessary, make it through a PhD program in French literature, but few professors of French literature could make it through a PhD program in physics. Or it could be because it's clearer in the sciences whether theories are true or false, and this makes scientists bolder. (Or it could be that, because it's clearer in the sciences whether theories are true or false, you have to be smart to get jobs as a scientist, rather than just a good politician.)
Of course, I don't understand the humanities, really. I hope I never understand the offensive moral relativism that I keep hearing about, that I'm told seeps from every political science and economics department.
And as an engineering student, I cast my share of rocks at the humanities people for not taking, y'know, real classes. (And I was frequently right---have you seen some of the crap for which they hand out course credit to business majors?)
But still, this is kind of gratuitously offensive. Then again, maybe Slashdot is the wrong place to complain about this, since there can't be that many people in the humanities here.
You just go on pretending that digital cameras would be a tenth as widely adopted if horny teenagers didn't want to send each other naked pictures of themselves. Or did you really think that people wanted that many pictures of their cat Woogums?
What exactly is your motivation? It's not like there can be some sort of profit in it for you. Do you have a problem with religious tradition? There are weirder ones to go after. But this?
I guess I just don't understand the motivation of the "don't lop that foreskin!" movement.
Not to make a judgment on the tactic, but a lot more of Clinton's nominees were blocked than Bush's, and it wasn't a big deal then because the Republican congress was doing the blocking instead of the Democrats.
You know, this is the sort of crap, like "Al Gore claimed he invented the internet!" that will get repeated because it sounds really damn good and reinforces someone's beliefs. We want to believe that bible-thumpers are secretly pervy, because it make them more like the rest of us.
But there's no excuse for intellectual dishonesty like that, and you were damn right to call bullshit on it. Thank you.
This is a distressing development I've noticed of late, frequently on blog comments, but now on Slashdot as well. Instead of saying "I don't know" or "I heard it somewhere and really wanted to believe it"---which would be the truth---a commenter will resort to the "It's so obvious that I can't be bothered to look it up for you" tactic, which implies both that the questioner is incompetent and ill-informed, and that the questioned is on top of things, when he is, as in this case, almost certainly full of shit.
And, as the sibling comments will show, it then degenerates into name-calling and shit-talking.
Am I asking too much for people to admit when they're wrong? Is it so terrible to say "gee, I didn't look it up, egg on me, let's move on, I can make a similar argument in this way, and back it up with this information"? Are we truly so petty?
Someone on my floor (university in the northeastern United States) used to call them "jimmy hats", because they're, y'know, hats for your jimmy. I've shortened this to "jim-hats", but nobody seems to be picking up on it.
"Condom" is pretty universal. I know someone who works in a health clinic that serves a significant Spanish-speaking population, and he says they call them hats---sombreros---but I can't really be sure that he wasn't pulling my leg.
Well, you're not really describing S&M (that is, sadomasochism, the infliction and reception of pain for a sexual happy); rather, you're talking about D/s (dominance and submission, the power dynamic).
I've come to think that being a pervert is like being gay, in that some people are just wired that way. It may take a long time to realize it, we might try to deny it, but eventually we'll have to accept that we're perverts, and it would be a denial of our nature to pretend it isn't so.
Any attempts to medicalize BDSM or categorize it as a problem, an affliction, something that must have an origin and an explanation---this implies that there's something wrong with it. This just isn't so, any more than being a tit man or an ass man is an affliction that needs to be analyzed.
(Note on the word pervert: I and a significant proportion of the people in the local scene I know call ourselves that. Like lesbians call themselves dykes as a way of reclaiming the word, I can call myself a pervert without disparaging myself.)
Here in the US, trading copyrighted media is considered a form of financial gain. So, I ask, what if it was traded over the internet for other kiddie porn? How would that make a difference.
Have you seen 1995's "Theodore Rex"? I had the misfortune of picking it from a pile of tapes to pass the evening. It's... well, it has to be seen to be believed.
Oh, man, if you believe that Hollywood cares about getting original material, you're nuts.
Besides, they've got plenty of authors who optioned their estates, like Isaac Asimov or Philip K. Dick, so they can piss on their graves for many years to come.
Really, I'd only be satisfied if the British used Dr. Moreau's botulinum-anthrax hybrid to kill the Martians, then orchestrated a secret Masonic coverup. "Officially, the Martians died of the common cold. Any Londoners died of Martians."
Anyone else a "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" fan here? Anyone?
I thought one of the major points was that Beowulf brought home the bacon, as well as the mad shiny riches, to his king and later to his people, and that was what made him so heroic in the story. 'Cause I remember that they were always talking about the loot that Beowulf collected.
I read Sphere and Congo, and realized that they were the same story---six to a dozen characters enter a remote and dangerous situation, half to two third of them die, and they return to civilization.
I was pleasantly surprised that Eaters of the Dead didn't follow the same formula. It may not be your thing, but it's not like the five hundred page bricks that he craps out every year and a half to top the bestseller lists. ibn Fadlan was a real person, and a pretty interesting one at that.
It is official; Netcraft confirms: Phrack is dying
One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered hax0r community when IDC confirmed that Phrack market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all k-l33t readers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that Phrack has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Phrack is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent International Blue Boxing Competition.
You don't need to be an Erik Bloodaxe to predict Phrack's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Phrack faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for Phrack because Phrack is dying. Things are looking very bad for Phrack. As many of us are already aware, Phrack continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.
There can no longer be any doubt: Phrack is dying.
Well, the USA PATRIOT Act is part of a growing cult of paranoia and secrecy. "Fortress America", some have called it. So this is part of that same movement. Hell yes, it's apropos.
Slashdot Mirror
My profit would be if I went out with an american, or if they started making better pr0n movies.
So... you have a foreskin fetish? And you like to see porn with foreskins in it? Am I reading you right here?
--grendel drago
I don't feel like pasting the whole Snopes article in here, but No, Al Gore did not claim he "invented" the Internet, nor did he say anything that could reasonably be interpreted that way.
--grendel drago
Say what you will about Gabe and Tycho's delight in vulgarity, they clearly have a talent. The writing has better comic timing than half the crap you see in the daily paper (though that's not saying much), and the art's not bad on the eyes.
If it were really as bad as you say it is, they simply wouldn't have the readership they do. This is not to say that popular things are invariably good, but rather to say that they cannot be offensively incompetent. Problems that people have with Penny Arcade are problems of taste. Not of basic art and writing skills.
If it's as simple as you pretend it is, I dare you, I double-dog dare you to script a Penny Arcade strip or two. Just pop out some dialogue. If they lack even the most basic writing skill, surely you can outdo them, yes?
--grendel drago
I don't recognize the username (but then again, that's no surprise around here). Give me an example of what you're talking about. (Yes, I'm asking for a citation.)
And I still say that calling someone on their bullshit is always a worthy endeavor. "He can't ask for a citation because he fudged the facts in his own post" isn't an explanation, it's an excuse, and a shitty one at that.
--grendel drago
You know, you're really sloppy with what you mean by the word "moral". 'Round here, a lot of folks think it means "respectful of another's rights". I'm guessing you think it means "in concordance with what my Superhero From Outer Space told me".
And there's a damn important different between the two.
If you're going to argue that porn is bad because it causes harm, go ahead. The Meese Commission went through some effort to do so, but ended up making shit up to suit their prejudices.
If you're going to argue that porn is bad because your Superhero From Outer Space (or god or whatever you call it) says so, then don't steal the word "moral". It's rude.
--grendel drago
Come on. I could state that actresses working on general-interest television are druggies willing to do anything for a fix, and berate you endlessly for refusing to outlaw any sort of broadcasting.
This whole argument---"women who work in porn are exploited drug addicts, thus porn should be illegal" is specious. The second half doesn't even follow from the first half, and the first half is far, far from a given.
--grendel drago
Y'know, "Why Nerds Are Unpopular" changed my life, and I really mean that. I learned why things were so bad for me in middle school, and now that I've seen the reasons in all their naked splendor, I feel... well, not better, but I feel a sense of closure.
But goddamn, I don't think I've ever seen an example of science dorks being more full of themselves than this:
It could be that the scientists are simply smarter; most physicists could, if necessary, make it through a PhD program in French literature, but few professors of French literature could make it through a PhD program in physics. Or it could be because it's clearer in the sciences whether theories are true or false, and this makes scientists bolder. (Or it could be that, because it's clearer in the sciences whether theories are true or false, you have to be smart to get jobs as a scientist, rather than just a good politician.)
Of course, I don't understand the humanities, really. I hope I never understand the offensive moral relativism that I keep hearing about, that I'm told seeps from every political science and economics department.
And as an engineering student, I cast my share of rocks at the humanities people for not taking, y'know, real classes. (And I was frequently right---have you seen some of the crap for which they hand out course credit to business majors?)
But still, this is kind of gratuitously offensive. Then again, maybe Slashdot is the wrong place to complain about this, since there can't be that many people in the humanities here.
--grendel drago
You just go on pretending that digital cameras would be a tenth as widely adopted if horny teenagers didn't want to send each other naked pictures of themselves. Or did you really think that people wanted that many pictures of their cat Woogums?
--grendel drago
*checks wang*
Hmm. Seems to me like it's working.
*fap*
Yep.
What exactly is your motivation? It's not like there can be some sort of profit in it for you. Do you have a problem with religious tradition? There are weirder ones to go after. But this?
I guess I just don't understand the motivation of the "don't lop that foreskin!" movement.
--grendel drago
Not to make a judgment on the tactic, but a lot more of Clinton's nominees were blocked than Bush's, and it wasn't a big deal then because the Republican congress was doing the blocking instead of the Democrats.
Seriously. A lot more. Thirty percent of Clinton's nominees, two percent of Bush's were blocked.
--grendel drago
You know, this is the sort of crap, like "Al Gore claimed he invented the internet!" that will get repeated because it sounds really damn good and reinforces someone's beliefs. We want to believe that bible-thumpers are secretly pervy, because it make them more like the rest of us.
But there's no excuse for intellectual dishonesty like that, and you were damn right to call bullshit on it. Thank you.
--grendel drago
This is a distressing development I've noticed of late, frequently on blog comments, but now on Slashdot as well. Instead of saying "I don't know" or "I heard it somewhere and really wanted to believe it"---which would be the truth---a commenter will resort to the "It's so obvious that I can't be bothered to look it up for you" tactic, which implies both that the questioner is incompetent and ill-informed, and that the questioned is on top of things, when he is, as in this case, almost certainly full of shit.
And, as the sibling comments will show, it then degenerates into name-calling and shit-talking.
Am I asking too much for people to admit when they're wrong? Is it so terrible to say "gee, I didn't look it up, egg on me, let's move on, I can make a similar argument in this way, and back it up with this information"? Are we truly so petty?
--grendel drago
Someone on my floor (university in the northeastern United States) used to call them "jimmy hats", because they're, y'know, hats for your jimmy. I've shortened this to "jim-hats", but nobody seems to be picking up on it.
"Condom" is pretty universal. I know someone who works in a health clinic that serves a significant Spanish-speaking population, and he says they call them hats---sombreros---but I can't really be sure that he wasn't pulling my leg.
--grendel drago
Well, you're not really describing S&M (that is, sadomasochism, the infliction and reception of pain for a sexual happy); rather, you're talking about D/s (dominance and submission, the power dynamic).
I've come to think that being a pervert is like being gay, in that some people are just wired that way. It may take a long time to realize it, we might try to deny it, but eventually we'll have to accept that we're perverts, and it would be a denial of our nature to pretend it isn't so.
Any attempts to medicalize BDSM or categorize it as a problem, an affliction, something that must have an origin and an explanation---this implies that there's something wrong with it. This just isn't so, any more than being a tit man or an ass man is an affliction that needs to be analyzed.
(Note on the word pervert: I and a significant proportion of the people in the local scene I know call ourselves that. Like lesbians call themselves dykes as a way of reclaiming the word, I can call myself a pervert without disparaging myself.)
--grendel drago
Here in the US, trading copyrighted media is considered a form of financial gain. So, I ask, what if it was traded over the internet for other kiddie porn? How would that make a difference.
Only the leechers are safe!
--grendel drago
Next time you're wondering about something like that, or wondering about anything at all, really, you might want to try Wikipedia: fisting.
Bonus factoid! "Formication" is the sensation of bugs crawling under your skin. It's a symptom of neuropathy, and a really, really funny word.
--grendel drago
Have you seen 1995's "Theodore Rex"? I had the misfortune of picking it from a pile of tapes to pass the evening. It's... well, it has to be seen to be believed.
Prepare to eat your hat, sir.
--grendel drago
Oh, man, if you believe that Hollywood cares about getting original material, you're nuts.
Besides, they've got plenty of authors who optioned their estates, like Isaac Asimov or Philip K. Dick, so they can piss on their graves for many years to come.
--grendel drago
Really, I'd only be satisfied if the British used Dr. Moreau's botulinum-anthrax hybrid to kill the Martians, then orchestrated a secret Masonic coverup. "Officially, the Martians died of the common cold. Any Londoners died of Martians."
Anyone else a "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" fan here? Anyone?
--grendel drago
This is a dork site! Someone else here reads comics! Right? Right?
*sigh*
Grendel is also a series of comics created by Matt Wagner, but with peripheral stories done by other writers and artists.
--grendel drago
I thought one of the major points was that Beowulf brought home the bacon, as well as the mad shiny riches, to his king and later to his people, and that was what made him so heroic in the story. 'Cause I remember that they were always talking about the loot that Beowulf collected.
--grendel drago
I read Sphere and Congo, and realized that they were the same story---six to a dozen characters enter a remote and dangerous situation, half to two third of them die, and they return to civilization.
I was pleasantly surprised that Eaters of the Dead didn't follow the same formula. It may not be your thing, but it's not like the five hundred page bricks that he craps out every year and a half to top the bestseller lists. ibn Fadlan was a real person, and a pretty interesting one at that.
--grendel drago
It is official; Netcraft confirms: Phrack is dying
One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered hax0r community when IDC confirmed that Phrack market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all k-l33t readers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that Phrack has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Phrack is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent International Blue Boxing Competition.
You don't need to be an Erik Bloodaxe to predict Phrack's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Phrack faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for Phrack because Phrack is dying. Things are looking very bad for Phrack. As many of us are already aware, Phrack continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.
There can no longer be any doubt: Phrack is dying.
And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium!
Err. That was a guess. And Google confirms! I win! But I had to look up the following lines.
And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium
And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium...
Oh, good times. The flash animation makes it even more fun.
--grendel drago
Well, the USA PATRIOT Act is part of a growing cult of paranoia and secrecy. "Fortress America", some have called it. So this is part of that same movement. Hell yes, it's apropos.
--grendel drago