There is a small but rather impressive shrine built on top of tomb #4, with an eternal flame burning bronze effigies of Tod Frye and Howard Scott Warsaw.
Etched on the Warsaw bust, the words that Warsaw said to Steven Spielberg during the short development cycle of E.T., "Steven, this game is going to make your movie famous."
And etched on the Frye bust, the words that Rick Mauer said to Tod Frye after hearing of his $1,000,000 paycheck for PacMan, "You ought to put a photocopy of that on your office door at Atari. I think it'll help programmer morale."
1) You have brazenly declared Napster to be not only in violation of the law, but committing a great wrong, as relates to the free distribution of your music... But in making this accusation, Metallica renders not only a legal judgment, but a moral one. Do you believe that groups which have opposed your music on "moral grounds" in the past, groups who have taken offense to the often violent, remorseless, sexually depraved or otherwise amoral language of several of your songs, still have no right to do so? On the grounds of what moral system can Metallica render a judgment regarding the morality of other individuals or companies and not be similarly indicted as immoral?
2) You have stated that the free distribution of your music converts it from "art" into a "commodity". Do you believe that an artist that distributes his art for free via Napster (or any mechanism, for that matter), is less of an artist for having done so? Is there something inherently more artistic, in your view, to art which is sold commercial via retail channels?
3) Do you fear that your attempts to enlist the assistance of the U.S. Government in your crusader against Napster, an institution you have lambasted in several songs in your career, renders these songs hypocritical or hollow?
4) Within the strict confines of a capitalist system, you have benefitted a great deal financially from celebrating anarchy and disorder. Your experience with Napster would appear to be a first brush with a kind of anarchy, a collision with lawlessness is its truest form. How can you artistically embrace anarchy, while still repudiating it in real life, without seeming hypocritical? Are you concerned that you will be less credible in making artistic statement in the future when your practical lives are in such direct conflict with your artistic lives?
I wonder if Yahoo minds the "Do You BooHoo?" parody on Despair, Inc.'s website?
Somehow, I don't think Tim Koogle would approve of the use of his image in the manner that it is incorporated...
YAHOO AND DESPAIR ANNOUNCE PLANS TO LAUNCH BOOHOO!, A SPECIALIZED PORTAL AND BRAND FOR THE MISERABLE
SANTA CLARA, CA - August 13, 1999 - Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), the world's most popular internet portal, and Despair, Inc., the world's worst Internet company, today announced a joint-venture agreement to launch a specialized portal and brand for the miserable.
The specialty portal, called BooHoo! (http://www.boohoo.com), would offer a branded network of comprehensive information, communication and shopping services to congenitally unhappy Internet users.
http://www.despair.com/demotivators/year20cal.ht ml
$14.95, with volume discounts available.
I received this as an early Christmas present, and have since bought a dozen for other friends.
The 12 new "Demotivational poster" designs are really funny and beautiful (esp. "Burnout" and "Idiocy"), but even cooler are the 120+ historical dates of idiocy, despair and failure in this calendar. I can't tell you how hard I laughed at some of the weird-ass dates they included in this thing.
You be the judge. Here are my favorites:
President Bush shares dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa - January 8th, 1992
Homer Simpson first utters "D'oh!", aiding millions in articulating a precise feeling of self-inflicted stupidity - January 14th, 1990
AT&T phone switch failure leads to worst telephone system breakdown in US history - January 15th, 1990
Apple introduces the world's first "user-friendly" computer, the 52 lb., $10,000 Lisa - January 19th, 1983
Self-described "comical terrorists" assault Bill Gates with cream pies in Brussels - February 4th, 1998
Chess legend Gary Kasparov is defeated by IBM's "Deep Blue" supercomputer - February 10th, 1996
Al Gore tells CNN, "I took the initiative in creating the Internet". MIT's Dr. Larry Roberts makes a voting decision for the 2000 election - March 9th, 1999
"The Original Texas Ya-Hoo Cake Company" applies for trademark of "Ya-Hoo" - May 2nd, 1988
Scientists sheepishly announce that "Dolly", the world's first cloned mammal, has DNA damage - May 26th, 1999
Old Navy debuts their terrifying national TV advertising campaign - August 25th, 1997
"E.T." game released for the Atari 2600; hastens collapse of the videogame industry. Up to 1 million units end up buried in a New Mexico landfill. - November 8th, 1982
John Flamsteed observes Uranus, not realizing it is undiscovered - December 23rd, 1690
and the single best date...
Stroboscopic effects in TV show "Pokemon" trigger seizures in over 600 Japanese children. Media exacerbates problem by replaying clips while covering story - December 9th, 1997
Keep in mind that there are 10x as many dates in this thing as I've included above- and they are all hysterical or cool or interesting. I just picked my geekier favorites.
Everyone keeps trying to steal mine- so I know its a keeper. Check it out. Smirkleton.
Sorry if you perceive errors here, but what was keyed in was an exact quote from a movie called "Naked", by famed British filmmaker Mike Leigh. Your correctly noted language correction (Russian vs. Ukrainian) is appreciated, though.
As for stars-falling-from-the-sky, most people who believe this was a vision of the future accept that the description is slightly allegorical. The point is well taken, given that a Jew in the first century having a vision of any sort of nuclear catastrophe (or a worldwide, cashless economic entity for that matter) would be at something of a loss for high-resolution descriptions. Visions of a nuclear meltdown, with the glowing core burrowing into the earth, would probably look more like a burning star had hit the earth than anything else imagineable.
In reference to the barcode conspiracy and in response to an earlier request, here is a transcription of the entire apocalyptic monologue from Mike Leigh's "Naked".
JOHHNY: Has nobody not told you, Brian, that you've got this kind of gleeful preoccupation with the future? I wouldn't even mind but you don't even 'ave a f*ckin future. I don't 'ave a future. Nobody as a future. The party's over. Take a look around you, man. It's all breakin' up. Are you not familiar with the Book of Revelation of St. John, the final book of the Bible, prophesying the Apocalypse?
BRIAN: Yes. As it happens, I'm familiar with all of the books of Bible.
JOHNNY: I'm very happy for you. "He forced everyone to receive a mark on his right hand, or on his forehead, so that no one shall be able to buy or sell, unless he has the mark, which is the name of the Beast. Or the number of his name; and the number of the Beast is six-six-six."
BRIAN: Six-six-six. I know about it!
JOHNNY: Great!
BRIAN: I know about Nostradamus. Nostradamus talked about three brothers. Now, did he mean the Kennedy brothers, or was he talking about three bits of the Soviet Union. You see, you just can't tell.
JOHNNY: F*ck Nostradamus! I'm not talkin' about Nostradamus or Mother Shipton or Russell Grant or Mystic f*ckin Meg- I'm talkin' about the Holy Book! What can such a SPECIFIC prophecy mean? What is the mark? Well, the mark, Brian, is the bar code- the ubiquitous bar code that you'll find on every bog-roll, on every packet of johnnies, on every pocy pork pie. And every f*ckin' bar code is divided into two parts by three markers. And those three markers are always represented by the number six. Six. Six. Six! Now what does it say? "No one shall be able to buy, or sell, without that mark". And now, what they're plannin' to do in order to eradicate all credit-card fraud, and in order to precipitate a totally cashless society, what they're plannin' to do, what they've already tested on the American troops, they're gonna subcutaneously laser-tatto that mark on to your right hand or forehead. They're gonna replace plastic with flesh. FACT! In the same book of Revelation, when the seven seals are broken open on the Day of Judgement, and the seven angels blow the trumpets, when the third angel blows 'er bugle, "Wormwood will fall from the sky. Woodwood will poison a third part of the waters, and a third part of the land, and many, many, many, many people will die". Now do you know what the Russian translation for "wordwood" is?!
Strange coincidence re: Steaming Heap of Quickies.
The Atari Video Game History is produced by Howard Scott Warsaw, programmer behind "Yars Revenge" and "E.T." for 2600. On his website he takes joking credit for the collapse of the video game industry, saying "Rarely is one given the opportunity to topple a billion dollar industry single handedly. Yet according to the May '95 issue of New Media magazine (p. 27) this was my shot."
In my Demotivators 2000 calendar, Despair, Inc. includes the November 1982 date that Howard Scott Warsaw's "E.T" was released, saying in full "E.T." game release for Atari 2600; hastens collapse of the videogame industry. Over 1 million copies end up buried in a New Mexico landfill.
Freak coincidence, or is Rob listening to too many old Police albums?
I got an advanced copy of the Despair Y2K calendar from a friend last week. I am still laughing at the dates they chose to include (over 120 bad, stupid, funny dates in human misery in the past 2000 years). My faves are more recent things like the following:
1) January 1st, 2000 - Largest collective hangover in human history.
2) January 7th, 1943 - Nikola Tesla, inventor of radio, AC power and wireless communication, dies penniless in New York.
3) January 8th, 1992 - President Bush shares dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.
4) January 14th, 1990 - Homer Simpson first utters "D'oh!", aiding millions in articulating a precise feeling of self-inflicted stupidity.
5) January 19th, 1983 - Apple introduces the world's first "user-friendly" computer, the 52 lb., $10,000 Lisa.
6) January 25th, 1996 - FDA approves Olestra.
7) February 10th, 1996 - Chess legend Gary Kasparov is defeated by IBM's "Deep Blue" supercomputer.
8) March 9th, 1999 - Al Gore tells CNN, "I took the initiative in creating the Internet". MIT's Dr. Larry Roberts makes a voting decision for the 2000 election
9) April 29th, 1983 - "Kilroy Was Here", a concept album about a rock band's descent into self-parody, is certified platinum.
10) December 9th, 1997 - Stroboscopic effects in TV show "Pokemon" trigger seizures in over 600 Japanese children. Media exacerbates the problem by replaying clips while cover the story.
Funny video game errata, pretty obscure, "E.T." game release for Atari 2600, hastens collapse of the videogame industry. Over 1 million copies end up buried in a New Mexico landfill." and August 8, 1997 - Lord British assassinated while addressing his subjects in Britannia
I know where I am buying 90% of my friends for Christmas now. Smirkleton
This media gimmick should flash out so fast on the news cycle that it will make Rob Toup's 95 phenom "Babes of the Web" seem like it lasted an eternity. Hopefully they can nab at least 15 suckers, if the birthing rate for them remains constant to Barnam's era.
I'm glad to hear you say that. It is a fair thing to disagree with someone trying to share their faith with you, but it is good of you be willing to assume they might have noble intentions. Many people can't possibly believe this.
Thanks for listening to what I said. I guess I'll stop adding to this thread!
Re: SPAM, FILTERING, PORN, CHRISTIANITY (or "One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn't belong")
One other quick point, while I'm being moderated down to "ZERO" (which, given the overarching topic of censorship, open-mindedness, and 1st amendment blah-smack makes for irony you can't fake) on the subject of Bible Thumpers vs. Porn-Purveyors.
We all, from time to time, have our personal space invaded. Most often it is through unsolicited email. Very often this unsolicited email is from online pornography outfits that want you to come visit their website, so they can get advertising dollars, or sell you a subscription to some online porn feed, or in some other way take your money.
Those who SPAM with PORNLINKS almost always does so while hiding behind anonymous remailers and other trickery to make sure you can't really even know who sent it. The reason is obvious- if they did, they'd get flooded with angry replies! They are absolute cowards, and they are afraid to face the people they badger and spam directly, for fear we'd slap them!
Much less frequently, we might have a Christian knock on the doors of our homes or apartments, wanting to share the gospel. On the off chance that this does occur, most people react with anger and send the "Bible Thumpers" packing. Laughing at them. Maybe cursing at them. It isn't surprising that this happens! What IS surprising is that this doesn't discourage most Christians involved in this sort of ministry from knocking on the next door. And the next. Come what may.
Though it might be hard to believe, these people are not going to get a commission check if they can con you into going to church. Nor are they going to get some sort of kickback by selling you some magazine. They can't hide behind some anonymous remailer in doing this- they are looking you in the eye when they deliver their unsolicited message. They do this because their religion teaches them to "go forth unto all men sharing the good news". They do this because they believe that they have been forgiven of their sins, saved from Hell, and they feel the urgent need to share this "good news" with others who might choose to believe it. At the risk of looking stupid. At the risk of being despised by many. (At the risk of being told to s.t.f.u.)
Although most people don't ask the obvious question, "Why would these people risk looking stupid / being belitted / getting turned away if they geniunely didn't care or believe that what they were doing was worth risking these depressing responses?" But it is a worthwhile question.
At this point, many readers will already be incredulous, furious, ready to bail out on my message and complain to Cmdr Taco and Hemos that there is rampant offtopic nonsense going on. This is because the idea of Hell (common to ALL monotheistic religions, BTW) is so alien and offensive to so many people that to mention it engenders more hostility than contemplation. Hate it, love it or yawn-when-you-hear-it, this is what Christianity is about. Christ himself talked a lot more about Hell than he did about Heaven.
I hope that at least one single reader will labor carefully enough on my words to understand my point.
You can choose to hate or mock the Christian who knocks on your door and leaves you a bible or a free videotape, if you want to. But try to understand that those who go so far as to risk so much do so 99 times out of 100 because they believe that there is nothing more important they can do than share the Gospel. Than to help others find salvation, just as they have.
Romans is a fine book to reference on the subject of judgment, sin, forgiveness, and so forth. It doesn't end with the first chapter, though. Read chapter 2 and see Paul repeat the exact same message Christ spoke to the Pharisees, about the danger of hypocritical sinners judging others, and not leaving judgment up to God.
Romans 2,1: You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Romans 2,2: Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. Romans 2,3: So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Romans 2,4: Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? Romans 2,5: But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed. Romans 2,6: God "will give to each person according to what he has done."
For those who would hear the message, it is pretty simple.
From the biblical perspective, it is a terrible thing in God's eyes to call yourself a "religious" person and be, in deed, a judgmental hypocrite, guilty of that which you condemn. As much as any of us get angry when we see hypocrisy in action (in politics, in religion, or business), God despises it moreso and will hold hyprocrites more accountable.
And why shouldn't He? Religious hypocrites (e.g. "Christians" who advocate killing others) give people an "excuse" to dismiss God, just as was casually done in the original thread about "bible-thumpers" vs. porn consumers (which, btw, I know you intended to be humorous and not meanspirited, Improv.:-) )
Again, you don't have to believe a word of it. Most people DON'T!. But, as with any idea or belief system, those best equipped to reject it are those who best understand it. Anyone can dismiss something they don't understand: they just can't do so rationally.
I'll stop thumping my own bible, so as not to further anger Mr. Delmoi .
Funny comment, although truth-be-told true Christians don't advocate "execution" for sin, since the very premise of the religion was that Christ died as a ransom for the sins of all mankind.
I say this only because it is all too easy for people to perpetuate stereotypes about others they don't agree with, understand or respect in order to make points that really aren't objective about others. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Blacks, Hispanics, Women, Macintosh users, and the list is goes on and on.
SPOILERS
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY A "BIBLE-THUMPING" CHRISTIAN WOULDN'T ADVOCATE MURDERING SOMEONE FOR BREAKING ONE OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, READ ON. IF THE BIBLE BORES, OFFENDS, OR AMUSES YOU, BAIL OUT NOW.
Christ was confronted by the religious hypocrites of his own day, the Pharisees, who wanted to "execute" a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery (for the record, one of the 10 commandments). See this response in the Gospel of John:
Jhn 8:3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, Jhn 8:4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Jhn 8:5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? Jhn 8:6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. Jhn 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. Jhn 8:8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. Jhn 8:9 And after hearing this they, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in his midst. Jhn 8:10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are your accusers? has no man condemned thee? Jhn 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Now, on the subject of pornography, another quote by the very same Christ, from the book of Matthew.
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
The point of all this? Christ himself shows that Christians who advocate "execution" for sin aren't Christians, simply pompous religious hypocrites. True Christians would fear Christ's warning here and elsewhere to "Judge not lest ye be judged". But true Christians also believe that ultimately a holy God will judge all mankind, even for sins of the mind (like lust)
Of course, if you've made it this far in my post and you're seething in bugnut rage, don't be. I'm not telling anyone you have to believe in Christ, God, or anything, for that matter. You may believe whatever you wish. You may be more right than I am. Just be fair to others by learning what their belief systems really are, and not furthering erroneous stereotypes that happen to be popular.
Slashdot Mirror
There is a small but rather impressive shrine built on top of tomb #4, with an eternal flame burning bronze effigies of Tod Frye and Howard Scott Warsaw.
Etched on the Warsaw bust, the words that Warsaw said to Steven Spielberg during the short development cycle of E.T., "Steven, this game is going to make your movie famous."
And etched on the Frye bust, the words that Rick Mauer said to Tod Frye after hearing of his $1,000,000 paycheck for PacMan, "You ought to put a photocopy of that on your office door at Atari. I think it'll help programmer morale."
2) You have stated that the free distribution of your music converts it from "art" into a "commodity". Do you believe that an artist that distributes his art for free via Napster (or any mechanism, for that matter), is less of an artist for having done so? Is there something inherently more artistic, in your view, to art which is sold commercial via retail channels?
3) Do you fear that your attempts to enlist the assistance of the U.S. Government in your crusader against Napster, an institution you have lambasted in several songs in your career, renders these songs hypocritical or hollow?
4) Within the strict confines of a capitalist system, you have benefitted a great deal financially from celebrating anarchy and disorder. Your experience with Napster would appear to be a first brush with a kind of anarchy, a collision with lawlessness is its truest form. How can you artistically embrace anarchy, while still repudiating it in real life, without seeming hypocritical? Are you concerned that you will be less credible in making artistic statement in the future when your practical lives are in such direct conflict with your artistic lives?
Somehow, I don't think Tim Koogle would approve of the use of his image in the manner that it is
incorporated...
YAHOO AND DESPAIR ANNOUNCE PLANS TO LAUNCH BOOHOO!, A SPECIALIZED PORTAL AND BRAND FOR THE MISERABLE
SANTA CLARA, CA - August 13, 1999 - Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), the world's most popular internet portal, and Despair, Inc., the world's worst Internet company, today announced a joint-venture agreement to launch a specialized portal and brand for the miserable.
The specialty portal, called BooHoo! (http://www.boohoo.com), would offer a branded network of comprehensive information, communication and shopping services to congenitally unhappy Internet users.
FULL ARTICLE
http://www.despair.com/demotivator s/year20cal.html
I'll include a few more Despair 2000 calendar dates in this reply so that I'm adding something of substance to my original post.
sorry about the screwup.
smirkleton.
http://www.despair.com/demotivators/year20cal.h
$14.95, with volume discounts available.
I received this as an early Christmas present, and have since bought a dozen for other friends.
The 12 new "Demotivational poster" designs are really funny and beautiful (esp. "Burnout" and "Idiocy"), but even cooler are the 120+ historical dates of idiocy, despair and failure in this calendar. I can't tell you how hard I laughed at some of the weird-ass dates they included in this thing.
You be the judge. Here are my favorites:
Keep in mind that there are 10x as many dates in this thing as I've included above- and they are all hysterical or cool or interesting. I just picked my geekier favorites.
Everyone keeps trying to steal mine- so I know its a keeper. Check it out.
Smirkleton.
Sorry if you perceive errors here, but what was keyed in was an exact quote from a movie called "Naked", by famed British filmmaker Mike Leigh. Your correctly noted language correction (Russian vs. Ukrainian) is appreciated, though.
As for stars-falling-from-the-sky, most people who believe this was a vision of the future accept that the description is slightly allegorical. The point is well taken, given that a Jew in the first century having a vision of any sort of nuclear catastrophe (or a worldwide, cashless economic entity for that matter) would be at something of a loss for high-resolution descriptions. Visions of a nuclear meltdown, with the glowing core burrowing into the earth, would probably look more like a burning star had hit the earth than anything else imagineable.
For what its worth.
Smirkleton.
JOHHNY: Has nobody not told you, Brian, that you've got this kind of gleeful preoccupation with the future? I wouldn't even mind but you don't even 'ave a f*ckin future. I don't 'ave a future. Nobody as a future. The party's over. Take a look around you, man. It's all breakin' up. Are you not familiar with the Book of Revelation of St. John, the final book of the Bible, prophesying the Apocalypse?
BRIAN: Yes. As it happens, I'm familiar with all of the books of Bible.
JOHNNY: I'm very happy for you. "He forced everyone to receive a mark on his right hand, or on his forehead, so that no one shall be able to buy or sell, unless he has the mark, which is the name of the Beast. Or the number of his name; and the number of the Beast is six-six-six."
BRIAN: Six-six-six. I know about it!
JOHNNY: Great!
BRIAN: I know about Nostradamus. Nostradamus talked about three brothers. Now, did he mean the Kennedy brothers, or was he talking about three bits of the Soviet Union. You see, you just can't tell.
JOHNNY: F*ck Nostradamus! I'm not talkin' about Nostradamus or Mother Shipton or Russell Grant or Mystic f*ckin Meg- I'm talkin' about the Holy Book! What can such a SPECIFIC prophecy mean? What is the mark? Well, the mark, Brian, is the bar code- the ubiquitous bar code that you'll find on every bog-roll, on every packet of johnnies, on every pocy pork pie. And every f*ckin' bar code is divided into two parts by three markers. And those three markers are always represented by the number six. Six. Six. Six! Now what does it say? "No one shall be able to buy, or sell, without that mark". And now, what they're plannin' to do in order to eradicate all credit-card fraud, and in order to precipitate a totally cashless society, what they're plannin' to do, what they've already tested on the American troops, they're gonna subcutaneously laser-tatto that mark on to your right hand or forehead. They're gonna replace plastic with flesh. FACT! In the same book of Revelation, when the seven seals are broken open on the Day of Judgement, and the seven angels blow the trumpets, when the third angel blows 'er bugle, "Wormwood will fall from the sky. Woodwood will poison a third part of the waters, and a third part of the land, and many, many, many, many people will die". Now do you know what the Russian translation for "wordwood" is?!
BRIAN: No.
JOHNNY: CHERNOBYL!
Strange coincidence re: Steaming Heap of Quickies.
The Atari Video Game History is produced by Howard Scott Warsaw, programmer behind "Yars Revenge" and "E.T." for 2600. On his website he takes joking credit for the collapse of the video game industry, saying "Rarely is one given the opportunity to topple a billion dollar industry single handedly. Yet according to the May '95 issue of New Media magazine (p. 27) this was my shot."
In my Demotivators 2000 calendar, Despair, Inc. includes the November 1982 date that Howard Scott Warsaw's "E.T" was released, saying in full "E.T." game release for Atari 2600; hastens collapse of the videogame industry. Over 1 million copies end up buried in a New Mexico landfill.
Freak coincidence, or is Rob listening to too many old Police albums?
Smirkleton
I got an advanced copy of the Despair Y2K calendar from a friend last week. I am still laughing at the dates they chose to include (over 120 bad, stupid, funny dates in human misery in the past 2000 years). My faves are more recent things like the following:
1) January 1st, 2000 - Largest collective hangover in human history.
2) January 7th, 1943 - Nikola Tesla, inventor of radio, AC power and wireless communication, dies penniless in New York.
3) January 8th, 1992 - President Bush shares dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.
4) January 14th, 1990 - Homer Simpson first utters "D'oh!", aiding millions in articulating a precise feeling of self-inflicted stupidity.
5) January 19th, 1983 - Apple introduces the world's first "user-friendly" computer, the 52 lb., $10,000 Lisa.
6) January 25th, 1996 - FDA approves Olestra.
7) February 10th, 1996 - Chess legend Gary Kasparov is defeated by IBM's "Deep Blue" supercomputer.
8) March 9th, 1999 - Al Gore tells CNN, "I took the initiative in creating the Internet". MIT's Dr. Larry Roberts makes a voting decision for the 2000 election
9) April 29th, 1983 - "Kilroy Was Here", a concept album about a rock band's descent into self-parody, is certified platinum.
10) December 9th, 1997 - Stroboscopic effects in TV show "Pokemon" trigger seizures in over 600 Japanese children. Media exacerbates the problem by replaying clips while cover the story.
Funny video game errata, pretty obscure, "E.T." game release for Atari 2600, hastens collapse of the videogame industry. Over 1 million copies end up buried in a New Mexico landfill." and August 8, 1997 - Lord British assassinated while addressing his subjects in Britannia
I know where I am buying 90% of my friends for Christmas now.
Smirkleton
This media gimmick should flash out so fast on the news cycle that it will make Rob Toup's 95 phenom "Babes of the Web" seem like it lasted an eternity. Hopefully they can nab at least 15 suckers, if the birthing rate for them remains constant to Barnam's era.
I'm glad to hear you say that. It is a fair thing to disagree with someone trying to share their faith with you, but it is good of you be willing to assume they might have noble intentions. Many people can't possibly believe this.
Thanks for listening to what I said. I guess I'll stop adding to this thread!
One other quick point, while I'm being moderated down to "ZERO" (which, given the overarching topic of censorship, open-mindedness, and 1st amendment blah-smack makes for irony you can't fake) on the subject of Bible Thumpers vs. Porn-Purveyors.
We all, from time to time, have our personal space invaded. Most often it is through unsolicited email. Very often this unsolicited email is from online pornography outfits that want you to come visit their website, so they can get advertising dollars, or sell you a subscription to some online porn feed, or in some other way take your money.
Those who SPAM with PORNLINKS almost always does so while hiding behind anonymous remailers and other trickery to make sure you can't really even know who sent it. The reason is obvious- if they did, they'd get flooded with angry replies! They are absolute cowards, and they are afraid to face the people they badger and spam directly, for fear we'd slap them!
Much less frequently, we might have a Christian knock on the doors of our homes or apartments, wanting to share the gospel. On the off chance that this does occur, most people react with anger and send the "Bible Thumpers" packing. Laughing at them. Maybe cursing at them. It isn't surprising that this happens! What IS surprising is that this doesn't discourage most Christians involved in this sort of ministry from knocking on the next door. And the next. Come what may.
Though it might be hard to believe, these people are not going to get a commission check if they can con you into going to church. Nor are they going to get some sort of kickback by selling you some magazine. They can't hide behind some anonymous remailer in doing this- they are looking you in the eye when they deliver their unsolicited message. They do this because their religion teaches them to "go forth unto all men sharing the good news". They do this because they believe that they have been forgiven of their sins, saved from Hell, and they feel the urgent need to share this "good news" with others who might choose to believe it. At the risk of looking stupid. At the risk of being despised by many. (At the risk of being told to s.t.f.u.)
Although most people don't ask the obvious question, "Why would these people risk looking stupid / being belitted / getting turned away if they geniunely didn't care or believe that what they were doing was worth risking these depressing responses?" But it is a worthwhile question.
At this point, many readers will already be incredulous, furious, ready to bail out on my message and complain to Cmdr Taco and Hemos that there is rampant offtopic nonsense going on. This is because the idea of Hell (common to ALL monotheistic religions, BTW) is so alien and offensive to so many people that to mention it engenders more hostility than contemplation. Hate it, love it or yawn-when-you-hear-it, this is what Christianity is about. Christ himself talked a lot more about Hell than he did about Heaven.
I hope that at least one single reader will labor carefully enough on my words to understand my point.
You can choose to hate or mock the Christian who knocks on your door and leaves you a bible or a free videotape, if you want to. But try to understand that those who go so far as to risk so much do so 99 times out of 100 because they believe that there is nothing more important they can do than share the Gospel. Than to help others find salvation, just as they have.
Romans is a fine book to reference on the subject of judgment, sin, forgiveness, and so forth. It doesn't end with the first chapter, though. Read chapter 2 and see Paul repeat the exact same message Christ spoke to the Pharisees, about the danger of hypocritical sinners judging others, and not leaving judgment up to God.
For those who would hear the message, it is pretty simple.
From the biblical perspective, it is a terrible thing in God's eyes to call yourself a "religious" person and be, in deed, a judgmental hypocrite, guilty of that which you condemn. As much as any of us get angry when we see hypocrisy in action (in politics, in religion, or business), God despises it moreso and will hold hyprocrites more accountable.
And why shouldn't He? Religious hypocrites (e.g. "Christians" who advocate killing others) give people an "excuse" to dismiss God, just as was casually done in the original thread about "bible-thumpers" vs. porn consumers (which, btw, I know you intended to be humorous and not meanspirited, Improv. :-) )
Again, you don't have to believe a word of it. Most people DON'T!. But, as with any idea or belief system, those best equipped to reject it are those who best understand it. Anyone can dismiss something they don't understand: they just can't do so rationally.
I'll stop thumping my own bible, so as not to further anger Mr. Delmoi .
Best to all. smirk.
I say this only because it is all too easy for people to perpetuate stereotypes about others they don't agree with, understand or respect in order to make points that really aren't objective about others. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Blacks, Hispanics, Women, Macintosh users, and the list is goes on and on.
SPOILERS
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY A "BIBLE-THUMPING" CHRISTIAN WOULDN'T ADVOCATE MURDERING SOMEONE FOR BREAKING ONE OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, READ ON. IF THE BIBLE BORES, OFFENDS, OR AMUSES YOU, BAIL OUT NOW.
Christ was confronted by the religious hypocrites of his own day, the Pharisees, who wanted to "execute" a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery (for the record, one of the 10 commandments). See this response in the Gospel of John:
Now, on the subject of pornography, another quote by the very same Christ, from the book of Matthew.
The point of all this? Christ himself shows that Christians who advocate "execution" for sin aren't Christians, simply pompous religious hypocrites. True Christians would fear Christ's warning here and elsewhere to "Judge not lest ye be judged". But true Christians also believe that ultimately a holy God will judge all mankind, even for sins of the mind (like lust)Of course, if you've made it this far in my post and you're seething in bugnut rage, don't be. I'm not telling anyone you have to believe in Christ, God, or anything, for that matter. You may believe whatever you wish. You may be more right than I am. Just be fair to others by learning what their belief systems really are, and not furthering erroneous stereotypes that happen to be popular.
peace.