text:
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Comic 965: Periodic Table of Terrible
[Comic title: Elements; alt text: Of all the nations, the armies of the ununoctium-benders are probably the least intimidating. The xenon-benders come close, but their flickery signs are at least effective for propoganda. [sic]]
Before we begin, I'd like to point out that Randy somehow has still not fixed the really obvious spelling error in the alt text. This is weird. Usually by now he fixes it without comment. I'm left to conclude he just hasn't noticed it yet, somehow.
Moving on. Apparently Randy has been cut off from Megan's bountiful flow of milky sustenance lately, for surely his pandering has reached peaks not unlike the twin peaks of her breasts as she lies on her bed asleep he watches her, breathing heavily.
The pandering has taken over every part of his being--but no mortal is meant to be a creature of pure pandering. It has filled him with an untold self-hate--he liked children's fantasy cartoons, but he also liked science, and in terms of science this cartoon was dumb. It put forward unscientific theories, worse even than Creationism--it was denying the existence of the periodic table of elements! It still thought there were only four of them!
"Okay, think, Randall Munroe, creator of the webcomic XKCD," said he to himself, calming his fragile nerves. "You can still pander in this comic, you just have to come up with something else. How about, uh. Who invented the Periodic Table? Archimedes or some shit? Wikipedia, don't fail me now . . . ." And so, after being distracted by the articles on lactation and chloroform, he discovered Mendeleev. He had successfully accomplished a double-pander in the space of a single text-filled panel! THE DAY WAS SAVED!
Seriously, Randy? Let's start with how completely unoriginal this joke is. Those are both from 2007, and the joke was already boring back then. With the exception of the double-pander, this isn't bringing anything new to the field. Why are you wasting our time with this? Do you seriously think that 'LOL THE CLASSIC FOUR ELEMENTS ARE WRONG BUT WE STILL USE THEM IN FANTASY EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE DUMB AND WRONG' is funny? Do you think pointing out that there is a difference between the classical elements and the periodic table is useful commentary, or anything apart from expected?
Often in XKCD, the concept is solid but it's ruined by some pretty awful execution. This is not the case here. The concept is pretty awful--the best the joke could aspire to is mediocrity in the hands of a gifted writer--and he basically gives it the worst possible execution, the perfect storm of bad comic-making. Which, well done, Randy, you got me to describe something you did as perfect.
197 comments:
Well you tore that one apart.ReplyDelete
One thing i'd like to point out is he put a little more effort into drawing and coloring this one, especially for the cartoon character. I guess he's going for brand recognition, for enhanced pandering points?
- UndercoverCuddlefishOctober 18, 2011 at 1:56 AM
colors add +1 panderingReplyDelete
just look at his posters
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 2:21 AM
UndercoverCuddlefish, everyone knows that pandas are black and white.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 2:35 AM
Not to mention that the massive leap of faith required to think that somebody is able to control something just because they were the first one to think of its categorisation.ReplyDelete
What's next? Bernouilli can fly because he discovered his eponymous principle?
This comic is pandering to redditors because this arrow on the guy's head looks like a downvote. He's using a reverse psychology, because seeing a downvote on their favorite comic will subconsciously urge a person to upvote it.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 2:49 AM
- SamefagOctober 18, 2011 at 3:19 AM
Let's discuss something more interesting than this xkcd.ReplyDelete
If a tranny blows you and you don't feel their junk, is it all good?
- Rochambeau IIIOctober 18, 2011 at 3:19 AM
So, the last Cyanide & Happiness is just an obvious rip-off of a recent south park episode...ReplyDelete
@Anonymous you're even dumber than I thought
Samefag, yes, it's also fine if you feel the junk because being gay isn't an issue in our enlightened society.ReplyDelete
How the fuck did Randy go to Avatar for a comic idea? Three years since the series finale, one since the film. The only explanation I can think of is he follows this.
And also how can Mendeleev control all the elements? He didn't even know there were that many. Also he was a human oh god
This comes close to the film for worst avatar media.
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 4:21 AM
Wow. I never thought I'd see someone do a lamer version of a joke Discworld did. And the Discworld version involved the phrase "element of surprise", even.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 4:23 AM
I wonder if society's stupidity can be measured at any one point by the number of people who enjoy Discworld. It's the non-thinking man's xkcd, and (insert obvious joke here).ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 4:24 AM
(I am not by any means saying that Terry Pratchett invented the joke, just expressing shock that someone found a worse way to execute it than him.)ReplyDelete
Did you seriously need three separate comments to describe your ingrained disgust for Discworld?ReplyDelete
Oh hey Rob, you disgusting excuse for pancreatic failure, why didn't you mention the art? There's this striking dissimilarity between Aang and Mendeleev, being that MEndeleev's beard looks like South America, that hte back of his head is leaking or shriveling or what is it even trying to do, and that Mendeleev's wrist is a radio antenna.
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 6:59 AM
Jesus Christ order of the stick is a terrible, why did you have to remind me it exists, Rob?ReplyDelete
anon, could you say why you dislike discworld? i've only ever heard fawning praise for it so this is interestingReplyDelete
maybe i'm an uncultured swine (likely) but the only real complaints i have with the series are the xkcdesque reference hemorrhaging and those Flintstones-with-magic jokes like c-mail or that stupid imp diary. oh and "the silence was so loud" type lines that are in every book. and the randomness i guess. and that ZANY chef who was allergic to a word but he's only in one book
Another thing, what is actually happening in this comic? There are so many things wrong with it that plot manages to be so far down the list most people ignore it but godReplyDelete
Here's a sequence of events.
1. Aang is wielding all four of the elements in a way that suggests he is ready to fight.
2. Mendeleev gives him radiation poisoning.
3. Aang burns him alive.
This makes Mendeleev out to be the loser. But he's the scientist! He doesn't "win" in this comic.
If you asked what Mendeleev's motives were, you wouldn't have an answer. If you asked Aang's you wouldn't have an answer. There is no reason for this comic to happen.
- BleedingOctober 18, 2011 at 9:46 AM
Discworld is alright. It's entertaining to read, although the format of the jokes can be predictable.ReplyDelete
It's not xkcd by any measure though, it's world is consistent and there aren't any author inserts. It's not preachy. It's fun to read.
If anyone is confused: No, it's not weird at all that Mendelev doesn't win this battle that is apparently happening.ReplyDelete
That's how xkcd works. It panders by making a self-ironical science comic that says "if you actually look at it like this, science is not so great", and then everybody laughs because it's fun when you can show that you don't take yourself and your ideals too seriously. Sure, you're a physicist/mathematician/whatever, but you're one of the cool ones.
- I can't remember what name I always use to insult idiots who don't know what "it's" meansOctober 18, 2011 at 10:31 AM
"it's world is consistent"ReplyDelete
"It's" means "it is," you dumb shit.
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 10:52 AM
Also thank you Rob for writing a real review this time, the peanut gallery appreciates it.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 11:14 AM
Why does everyone think that the level of English is the most accurate indication of someone's intelligence?
On the Internet, making a grammar error makes you some sort of retard, and everyone likes to go round correcting every mistake they see, because they'll be seen a geniuses.
You think people who use text speak on facebook walls are idiots? If you actually had any non-idiot friends, you'd know that a lot of intelligent, educated people use text speak.
From my experience, those who type properly with caps and punctuation are mostly pseudointellectual drop outs, artistic liberals, etc.
On the other hand, being bad at math is totally cool: "I'm so terrible at math I can't even add lololol," when mathematical ability correlates directly with intelligence, and skipping it serves no intelligible purpose.
TL;DR: Following the exact pinpoint rules of English is not that important, you neckbeard
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 11:34 AM
I think it's more that there are more people who are good at English than there are people who are good at math. So more people feel comfortable being smug and elitist about English than about math. Given how many people who speak English on the internet are speaking it as a second language, however, it's ridiculous the level of importance given to it as a standard of intelligence. Unfortunately, I was one of "those people" some time ago, and did not realize the error of my ways until I realized the girl I was berating for her poor grammar could still write in English vastly better than I could in her native language, which was German. So then I shut up about it. I still prefer to type in accurate English most of the time just because I like the way it looks, but I no longer feel the urge to correct every grammar mistake on the internet ever.ReplyDelete
- I can't remember what name I always use to insult idiots who don't know what "it's" meansOctober 18, 2011 at 11:58 AM
I love how you think you can deduce from my one sentence my entire opinion on text speak. I don't care if you use shorthands and whatnot, but using "there" instead of "their," or "it's" instead of "its" is not text speak.ReplyDelete
And calling someone an idiot doesn't always mean his or her IQ is below 50; it's just sort of a generic insult for someone who screws up. Welcome to post-nineteenth century America.
- BleedingOctober 18, 2011 at 12:13 PM
I'm sorry for not proofreading my comment before I posted it. The reason I made that mistake was that I type fairly quickly and said the word "its" in my head. When I think the sound "its", maybe 80% of the time, the correct way to write it is "it's". It's transcribing the sound, not the way the word looks.
This is where the homonym category of grammatical errors comes from; people use the way the word sounds in their head to write it down. And then they move on to the next word, there's not an element of choice at play, they aren't puzzling over to/too or your/you're. A simple unconscious choice.
I think typing speed is also a factor, when I'm not really concentrating, I make spelling errors, but these are called typos and forgiveable. I don't see why a grammatical error can't be called a typo as well.
And obviously I'd like to agree with 11:14 about assuming people who make a minor error are complete idiots. As in, not agreeing with the hypothesis.
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 12:18 PM
Is there a 'xkcdsucks' sucks website?ReplyDelete
- BleedingOctober 18, 2011 at 12:19 PM
Idiot still means "someone stupid". Are you trying to argue that you use the word to mean "Ooops you made a mistake let's still be friends"?
Maybe I can come round to that way of thinking.
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 12:23 PM
In this thread: we learn that 'idiot' is a grave insult and if you're called it all your butts get hurt to infinity.ReplyDelete
You can only reply to grave insults? Anyway I thought people sounded pretty calm.
- Dicksmash McIroncockOctober 18, 2011 at 1:04 PM
Stop petting the trolls. Nobody actually thinks you're an idiot for a typo. Go enjoy life.ReplyDelete
You're freekin retarted! - Paperlilies fan mail.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 1:36 PM
R: Thank you for that, I was waiting for an opportunity to go on an angry rant here. Here it goes.ReplyDelete
Now, let me start off by saying that I do not actually hate Discworld. Or at least, I don't hate it to not have read like twenty books. Overall they're fun enough, or at least not-boring enough. But they do have some pretty glaring flaws.
I'm really not sure how to phrase my biggest gripe with the books. I guess one way of putting it is that Terry Pratchett has discovered a text version of a laugh track. There are just some lines, at least a handful in each book, that just kinda wallop you over the head, going "THIS IS FUNNY. LAUGH DAMMIT." But the thing is, they're just utterly devoid of humor. They have the structure of a joke, sure, but there's nothing funny about them. It's kinda jarring and often distracts from what would otherwise be an enjoyable read. It doesn't help that he considers feminism, for instance, to be a punchline in and of itself. Not in the "You wanna hear a joke?" "OK" "Women's rights!"-sense, that would at least get some guiltlaughs from me. It's more of a "Oh my God this woman can kick your ass isn't that both hilarious and awesome at the same time?"
That brings me to another thing I don't like. His female characters. Nearly all of his remotely sympathetic female characters (probably not counting Nanny Ogg, but definitely counting Granny Weatherwax) is a blatant masturbatory fantasy. You think I'm exaggerating, but no, in one of his early stories he describes a female character (it doesn't matter what her name is, she's interchangeable with all his other female characters) with what amounts to "she's totally hot and is a ninja or something and kicks ass and oh my God I have such a boner right now you have no idea". But because his fantasy women are "empowered" and "non-traditional" he gets hailed as a feminist writer. Bullshit. He's about as much of a feminist as the average superhero comics writer.
As to your complaints, there do seem to be a lot of books that only exist so Pratchett can cram in a bunch of references (Soul Music, Moving Pictures), but I wouldn't say it's endemic of the entire series. Or maybe most of the references just go over my head, uncultured heathen that I am. The "Flintstones" thing, yeah, I can see that, it is kinda irritating to see him come up with a semi-interesting idea (the Clacks) and then use it as a vehicle to make lame technology jokes. Oh, and God yes, I the "loud silence thing" is annoying. It seems like every other book has a snowclone off of "It was anti-sound. Not silence, that is just absence of sound. But on the Discworld, everything has a true opposite. Silence is zero sound, this is negative sound." Yes, we get it, Terry, clever little thing you did there, I got it when you did it twenty books ago. Now shut the fuck up about it. I'm not sure what you mean by RANDOM but I think I might have covered it in my first complaint. I don't know what your last thing is about, maybe I didn't read that book.
So uh, in conclusion, Discworld is mildly enjoyable but Terry Pratchett can be amazingly unfunny at times and doesn't really deserve the praise nerds heap on him! That's...that's about it. Bye now.
in making money there is a chef called aimsbury who is allergic to the word garlic. it was terribleReplyDelete
the thing with the jokes is i've never really found them funny and didn't think they were meant to be. they're amusing and usually sort of clever but i usually only laugh once or twice each book. it's not why i read them
about the sexism, i didn't really notice it. although in thud! there are some awkward scenes involving angua, a vampire and a stripper that really stuck out. there's a sitcom line about them wrestling in mud and the vampire says something like "we could charge to watch."
i disagree with you about all of his good female characters being masturbation fantasies. self-inserts maybe. then again i've only read the first two witch books so maybe it gets worse
yeah i'm not really sure what i meant by the randomness
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 3:23 PM
And again, Rob mentions how Randy made one, maybe two if I missed one, comics about Megan's lactating. Also, he does so in a disgusting way. Try another joke Rob...ReplyDelete
Also, this was just a joke of play on words. When you go too in depth like this, of course it'll look like shit when you put out three comics a week.
@anon 11:14:ReplyDelete
you realize you published that exact comment before right
I copy all my witty rants and ripostes and paste them at will. It's a time-saving measure and allows me to impart a point concisely and well even when I'm not at my peak internet-arguing skill, or when I have, say, a lysine deficiency, or swine flu.ReplyDelete
but it wasn't a very good comment the first time around.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 4:24 PM
When you go too in-depth? You mean just like how everyone over-analyses the comics in the xkcd forums?ReplyDelete
Also, everyone gets trolled!:
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 4:38 PM
So we confirm what we always knew: everyone on the xkcd forums is a bender.ReplyDelete
Well, Rob, there are some mediocre rants among the good ones, but when they spread my worldview I hardly care of their quality. Let me catalogue my rants by title, and, in doing so, frame my ideology:ReplyDelete
Casey Anthony Guilty Proof
List of Ghetto Names
On Autist Self-Identification and 'Pride'
On Female Subculture Adherence
On Camwhores
Trolling Klansmen
On the Continuum Fallacy
Races as Subspecies
On Weeaboos
Grammar Rant
On that Poor People Simulator
On the Occupy Wall St. Protests
On the G Factor and the Genetic Basis of Intelligence
On Doomsday Fetishizing
On Nature Fetishizing
The Necessity of Change in Online Communities
On Welfare
Reagan and the Taliban
On the London Riots
Muslims and the Struggle for Global Jihad
Israel and the 'Chosen People'
Liberalism as a Substitute for Religion
On XKCD
Eastern Germany
The Uniqueness of Americans
On the Hypocrisy of Islamic Thought
Mrs. Obama's Anti-Americanism
All of these being .txt's, of course. If anyone wants me to paste any of them, ask and you shall receive.
But don't ask for the racist ones, I've got way too much to organize in one post. If you want to, I will, but you've been warned.
so basically you're an incredibly boring personReplyDelete
Guys, can you not appreciate anything at all? This one was hilarious, simply because of the pure nerdiness of it.ReplyDelete
But of course, you guys aren't intelligent...
i appreciate many things. hackneyed nerd-pandering jokes are not among them.ReplyDelete
- Yeah, I madOctober 18, 2011 at 5:22 PM
So basically you're an extremely fat person whose ticker roll updates every time he gets an update on his blog, causing him to ejaculate in excitementReplyDelete
what's a ticker rollReplyDelete
- anon 11:14October 18, 2011 at 5:24 PM
That bullshit that updates on your compy, a widget I guessReplyDelete
is it anything like a jelly roll because those are tastyReplyDelete
- anon 11:14October 18, 2011 at 5:25 PM
You would think soReplyDelete
Well xkcd is a comic meant for nerds. It's something ordinary people would not understand.ReplyDelete
There are plenty of math and science nerds that read xkcd and understand it, and LAUGH at the jokes, not the author.
i understand it, it's just not funny. sorry that you're so easily pandered to thoughReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 5:31 PM
@anon 11:14ReplyDelete
On Autist Self-Identification and 'Pride'
can you copypasta please thanks
I respect the fact that you do not particularly enjoy xkcd comics. Your rants are not what ticks me off...ReplyDelete
Truthfully, it's the trolls that comment that tick me off. They back your articles with unnecessary hate.
but the whole point of this blog is to cultivate as much hate as possibleReplyDelete
delicious, delicious hate
I think that is going slightly too far... just a little...ReplyDelete
but it's funReplyDelete
Sure for you... but I'm just saying... I don't feel like there is a reason for it.ReplyDelete
so your opinion on something is more important than all the people who derive enjoyment from said thingReplyDelete
Much obliged, 5:31. A rather short one:ReplyDelete
Autistic/Aspergers pride isn't that weird of a concept, really. Just because someone has a disability doesn't mean they should be a wallowing pile of self-hatred. What's weird is people who get angry when you call it a disability and insist that they're better than normal people and the only reason it gets labeled as a disability is that normal people don't understaaaaaaaaand how their brains work. It'd be bad enough if they just refused to acknowledge that yes, being unable to read social cues is a problem (it's society's fault for inventing them, obviously), but some of them go farther than that. They assume that everyone with autism is some kind of super-genius and that they're better than normal humans. For a disorder that tends to make one obsessive and nit-picky over minor things you'd think they would be offended by the popular idea that everyone with autism is the Rainman, but no, they embrace it. It'd be like if blind people insisted that everyone who was blind was Daredevil, and that it's sighted people who suck for not having super-cool radar powers and ninja skills. It's baffling.
I'm not saying that. I'm simply informing, just like all the other people. I just have a different opinion.ReplyDelete
well your opinion is wrong. next?ReplyDelete
Wait. Since when are opinions wrong?ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 5:42 PM
Ho, is Ruiqi Mao, prefect of fourth prefecture of Waixi City, Wuhan Oblast, Nanbei Governorate. A most high and exceedingry exemprary officiarReplyDelete
since you started having oneReplyDelete
your opinions have been wrong since you started having themReplyDelete
Geez thanks...ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 5:45 PM
Ho, Ruiqi Mao cannot berieve his opinions could possibry have been wrong ever, he is so exemprary and officious to the Chinese state and his overrords at XKCDReplyDelete
happy to helpReplyDelete
@Anonymous: GTFO. This has nothing to do with youReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 5:50 PM
Ho, this nothing to do with you with you white baka gaijin! I having exemprary courteous conversation with Rob-san, Premier of this Brog which I disaglee withReplyDelete
Captcha: Arong, as in Rob you a rong man
Racist bastards... I can't stand them.ReplyDelete
I'm Chinese, not Japanese, thank you very much. And I've been living in California since I was 4. So shut up.
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 5:56 PM
I been riving in Cariofolnia since I four year ord, get off this sirry website you sirry racist! We equal to you roundeyes! 14/88 Nanjing PrideReplyDelete
WTF is 14/88?ReplyDelete
Goddamn Nazi...ReplyDelete
godwin's law, ruiqi losesReplyDelete
I give up. You win.ReplyDelete
One plus side to this though... You're one of the first to be able to spell my name right.
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 6:27 PM
And so Luigi Mao departs, unremembered and unmissedReplyDelete
- skinheadOctober 18, 2011 at 6:45 PM
Opinions are a form of truth for the individual. You can't say that one person's opinion is more valid than the other, or that one person's opinion is better than the other. It's like comparing apples and oranges. One can be convinced that apples are the best thing in the world, while the other can be convinced that oranges are better than apples, and both are not wrong. It's a pragmatic form of truth, where each individual prefers/believes what fits in with their values.ReplyDelete
As for you not liking XKCD, alright, give me a comic that you do like and justify it just like you justify why XKCD is so horrible. Justify why all jokes are not just as "stupid" and "unoriginal" as XKCD is. Do it, pl0x, and keep the disagreements civilized.
"You can't say that one person's opinion is more valid than the other, or that one person's opinion is better than the other."ReplyDelete
pretty sure i just did
"Do it, pl0x, and keep the disagreements civilized."
why the fuck would i do that
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 7:01 PM
There were a lot of pointless comments above [like usual], so I didn't check, but did anyone mention the fact that Randall actually used too few panels? That whole "swoosh" thing being part of the dialogue makes very little sense.ReplyDelete
i considered mentioning it, but (a) he never uses the right number of panels (b) i felt that the comic worked as a one-panel if you just cut out the 'swoosh' and everything after itReplyDelete
89 comments already? what the fuck is this.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 7:12 PM
Skinhead you can go on and on about how all opinions are equally valid and blah blah blah but it doesn't change the fact that you're a horrible racist.ReplyDelete
- DANCE MONKEY DANCE!!!October 18, 2011 at 7:28 PM
ROBERT! I ,you incomprehensible douche bag, am here to demand that this bullshit not go on any further. Your points are invalid and your ideas are lamer then the very comic that you condemn. But if the endless stream of nonsense must continue then let it be so that you bring your A GAME! for if you give a half assed review or slip up in the slightest then YOU, ROBERT, are the one who is washed out and YOU!, ROBERT, will be the subject of the very ridicule that you so love to perpetuate, and if this is so then be prepared to defend yourself or be forced to the annals of internet obscurity for the REMAINDER OF YOUR PITIFUL EXISTENCE!ReplyDelete
"who was Rob" they will ask
"oh robert" the voices will murmer from the depths of the internet "he was that over blown jackass who thought he would earn the respect of people by pissing on one mans hard work, lets not speak of him"
Rob, I disagree -- I think he should end it at "polonium-bending". Then Mendeleev is mocking him, but Randy isn't making Cancer jokes again.ReplyDelete
Also I don't fully understand what Ruiqi was trying to do, and I really want to know what his hopes were or what he thought this place was. 0.o
captcha: gonads. heh.
- Adolf HitlerOctober 18, 2011 at 7:39 PM
hay rob I'm behind you all the way, also you still down for coffee on friday?ReplyDelete
ITT: TL;DRReplyDelete
Am I the only one who initially thought mendeleev's head was composed of two pieces of melted flesh?
- anon 11:14October 18, 2011 at 7:43 PM
>implying I and skinhead are the same posterReplyDelete
I am, though a race realist, no fan of skinheads or the klan as a whole. Simply 6:45 was trying to latch onto my fame.
BTW: Anyone want any other c&p rants?
- scottmctonyOctober 18, 2011 at 8:03 PM
haha race realistReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 8:26 PM
I want the grammar rant again. It is a very entertaining one.ReplyDelete
- scottmctonyOctober 18, 2011 at 8:41 PM
Listen I know you said no race ones but by god I want Races as Subspecies so bad nowReplyDelete
- Dicksmash McIroncockOctober 18, 2011 at 9:23 PM
I want the one that trashes on liberalism. Fucking hippies.ReplyDelete
- anon at 11:14October 18, 2011 at 10:07 PM
Races as Subspecies:ReplyDelete
See James Serpell's The Domestic Dog:
>"Recently using genetic and biochemical methods researchers have shown domestic dogs to be virtually identical . . . to other members of the genus . . . Results using mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) data . . . reveal startling similarities among canids . . . Greater mtDNA differences appeared within the single breeds of Doberman Pinscher or poodle than between dogs and wolves . . . to keep things in perspective, it should be pointed out that there is less mtDNA difference between dogs, wolves, and coyotes, than there is between ethnic groups of human beings." (pp. 32-33)
Anyway "race is a social construct" comments usually revolve around two fallacies:
1) Continuum fallacy ('continuums preclude sub-division, on account of them being continuous' - This is false. You may as well do away with all taxonomic sub-division if you believe that).
2) Within-between fallacy ('humans have more variation within races than between them' - This is based on a misunderstanding of how the Fixation index ((FST)) works).
Good recent study done on the matter:
>The term race is a traditional synonym for subspecies, however it is frequently asserted that Homo sapiens is monotypic and that what are termed races are nothing more than biological illusions. In this manuscript a case is made for the hypothesis that H. sapiens is polytypic, and in this way is no different from other species exhibiting similar levels of genetic and morphological diversity. First it is demonstrated that the four major definitions of race/subspecies can be shown to be synonymous within the context of the framework of race as a correlation structure of traits. Next the issue of taxonomic classification is considered where it is demonstrated that H. sapiens possesses high levels morphological diversity, genetic heterozygosity and differentiation (FST) compared to many species that are acknowledged to be polytypic with respect to subspecies. Racial variation is then evaluated in light of the phylogenetic species concept, where it is suggested that the least inclusive monophyletic units exist below the level of species within H. sapiens indicating the existence of a number of potential human phylogenetic species; and the biological species concept, where it is determined that racial variation is too small to represent differentiation at the level of biological species. Finally the implications of this are discussed in the context of anthropology where an accurate picture of the sequence and timing of events during the evolution of human taxa are required for a complete picture of human evolution, and medicine, where a greater appreciation of the role played by human taxonomic differences in disease susceptibility and treatment responsiveness will save lives in the future.
Source: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2009.07.046
Not very entertaining, eh? Hence my reluctance to recommend it, though true it may be.
- anon at 11:14October 18, 2011 at 10:10 PM
The Liberalism one's more light reading:ReplyDelete
Liberals believe in stupid things (like 100% racial equality) which are unsupported and even directly contradicted by empirical evidence.
Liberals believe these things for no other reason than the positive emotions associated with such a belief. Just like a fear of death makes Christians believe in eternal life, so does the fear of inequality and being labelled 'racist' (heretic) makes Liberals believe in racial egalitarianism.
Liberals are hostile towards nonbelievers. Just like Muslims will punish you for insulting the prophet Muhammad, Liberals imprison people for "hate speech" if they dare to criticize or express skepticism towards Liberal dogma.
There's no way around the fact that Liberalism is just a modern religion. Religion is not dying off, people are simply migrating to new religions. Just like the change from polytheism to monotheism thousands of years ago.
it must be so boring being inside your brainReplyDelete
- anon at 11:14October 18, 2011 at 10:16 PM
Well, I write it down (or rather copy and paste more reliable sources) so that my brain remains aloof and pert for new incoming information.ReplyDelete
As opposed to writing it down on paper and then ingesting it, as you seem to do.
- anon at 11:14October 18, 2011 at 10:18 PM
Why does everyone think that the level of English is the most accurate indication of someone's intelligence?
On the Internet, making a grammar error makes you some sort of retard, and everyone likes to go round correcting every mistake they see, because they'll be seen a geniuses.
You think people who use text speak on facebook walls are idiots? If you actually had any non-idiot friends, you'd know that a lot of intelligent, educated people use text speak.
From my experience, those who type properly with caps and punctuation are mostly pseudointellectual drop outs, artistic liberals, etc.
On the other hand, being bad at math is totally cool: "I'm so terrible at math I can't even add lololol," when mathematical ability correlates directly with intelligence, and skipping it serves no intelligible purpose.
the only paper i use is the deli paper they serve with donuts to add textureReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 10:26 PM
Do you eat that tooReplyDelete
they serve it to me don't theyReplyDelete
- scottmctonyOctober 18, 2011 at 10:29 PM
Ok so I just skimmed the race thing but I gather you think ethnicity is a genetically meaningful way to classify people? Aside from the fact that whether it is or not has little bearing on any of the arguments made on either side of racist debates, how do you account for the fact that the features by which most people generally identify most races are, while perhaps more physically obvious than most features, are as few and as specific as countless other genetic features? Nobody would attempt to argue that there's a point to classifying humans by hair colour, leg hairiness, or dick size.ReplyDelete
Also I like how you think the idea that some people get overly passionate about their ideals is sufficient to conclude that the entire position is delusional and dogmatic. Because, you know, it's not like any idea anyone's ever had hasn't had overly fervent proponents.
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 10:34 PM
"Propoganda" never got fixed, and the new comic has "demoliton". Randall's on a alt-text misspelling roll.ReplyDelete
- anon at 11:14October 18, 2011 at 10:42 PM
Well, we're not categorizing people by skin color at all, though, but by a number of traits, even in the most cursory analysis. Nobody would consider an albino Kenyan white, nor would they consider a sunburnt Norwegian Native American. A basic glance could tell you race reliably, say, 80% of the time; but you would have to look at genetics, haplogroups, etc. to reliably pinpoint derivation and ancestry. Peppercorn hair and burnished skin could suggest Bantoid ancestry, but you need genetic analysis to be sure, especially in mixed ethnicities such as the Brazilians, the Keralans, and the Lemba.ReplyDelete
You can argue that mixing precludes accurate racial classification, but that's the continuum fallacy, and if you continue with that line of reasoning you'd have to throw all taxonomy out the window, which no scientist is doing.
It is so with all subspecies, even those that branched of even more recently than the major human populations; while we split off between 160 and 50 thousand years ago, a species of Californian snake branched off ten thousand years ago into lowland and highland subspecies; though mixing can and sometimes does occur, they share enough key genetic and behavioral differences to be marked distinct.
Now, race itself is a bit of a misnomer, but all taxonomy is like this; at what point do subspecies begin and end in a continuum? But when anthropologists, given a skeleton, can deduce origin (i.e. race) from morphological differences alone, the groups are distinct enough to merit a subspecie label.
- scottmctonyOctober 18, 2011 at 10:52 PM
Ok I know there's more than just melanin involved but usually only a few more things. And uh, ok I think I remember what haplogroups are, and it's essentially the closest meaningful way of classifying humans to ethnicity, but the overlap haplogroups have with commonly recognized ethnic groups is minimal. That alone suggests that this is actually an incredibly stupid argument.ReplyDelete
As if you really being too boring for this to be worth it wasn't already an indication that i should stop.
- AnonymousOctober 18, 2011 at 10:57 PM
Populations change over time, to deny this is folly. Are you folly, 10:52?ReplyDelete
anon 1114:ReplyDelete
i'll take
Casey Anthony Guilty Proof
On Female Subculture Adherence
On Camwhores
On the G Factor and the Genetic Basis of Intelligence
The Uniqueness of Americans
Mrs. Obama's Anti-Americanism
for 100, please.
In the latest comic, Randy quotes the universal wisdom of of south park.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 12:04 AM
Do you make posters of these rants? They are very good and I would like to show them to visitors at my house.ReplyDelete
- anon at 11:14October 19, 2011 at 12:28 AM
Casey Anthony:ReplyDelete
She lied at least 3 times to the jury, changed her story entirely, made up a fake babysitter, then accused her parents of raping her and drowning Caylee. Plus, the car that only she had ever used was proven to have contained a dead, decomposing body. She actually had the gall to hold up the search for her child and attempt to end it at least 7 times. She went out partying with her boyfriend only 4 days after her kid went missing. Those are not the actions of someone innocent, ne c'est pas?
Female Subculture Adherence:
When girls like traditional mens' things, they are doing it not because they really enjoy it; girls cannot like these things like us. What they like is the subculture they enter, and how in these subcultures they can be precious and unique and the center of their own little clique. That's why you see girls into things like heavy metal, or, now that it is fashionable, nerdy things, but you will never see a girl being a fan of things that do not have a whole subculture associated, like Krautrock or avant-garde music.
They choose their tastes like choosing clothing, it justs matter what will fit their jib better; they cannot, shallow as they are, really appreciate things for what they are.
Let me start by saying that I have never seen more narcissistic losers in my life than camwhores. Do they have nothing more productive to do than spending their daddy's money to buy clothes and taking photos of themselves every day of their life? They are absolutely pathetic, I mean, how sad would they have to be to set up a tripod in a forest or a supermarket and laugh and pose like it's totally spontaneous.
They are also completely deluded. They'll never be real models - they're chubby, or their teeth are too large, or they have masculinely broad feet, their face looks autistic, their legs are disproportionately fat, or they have an awful taste in fashion. Their fashion styles are archaic, 2006, 2007; they're boring and unoriginal.
Finally, every lonely beta spamms their pictures on the web. Everyone has to endure 3000+ photos of them looking like attention-starved whores. If they don't stop doing this, consequences will never be the same.
- anon at 11:14October 19, 2011 at 12:28 AM
== Genetic Basis for Human Intelligence Confirmed ==
Genome-wide association studies establish that human intelligence is highly heritable and polygenic
Molecular Psychiatry; 9 August 2011; doi:10.1038/mp.2011.85
>Our results unequivocally confirm that a substantial proportion of individual differences in human intelligence is due to genetic variation, and are consistent with many genes of small effects underlying the additive genetic influences on intelligence.
>We estimate that 40% of the variation in crystallized-type intelligence and 51% of the variation in fluid-type intelligence between individuals is accounted for by linkage disequilibrium between genotyped common SNP markers and unknown causal variants.
== IQ Reflects Anatomical Brain Differences ==
Genetics of Brain Structure and Intelligence
Annu. Rev. Neuroscience; 2005. 28:1–23; doi: 10.1146/annurev.neuro.28.061604.135655
>Genetic influences on brain morphology and IQ are well studied. A variety of sophisticated brain-mapping approaches relating genetic influences on brain structure and intelligence establishes a regional distribution for this relationship that is consistent with behavioral studies. We highlight those studies that illustrate the complex cortical patterns associated with measures of cognitive ability. A measure of cognitive ability, known as g, has been shown highly heritable across many studies. We argue that these genetic links are partly mediated by brain structure that is likewise under strong genetic control.
== A Review of Studies Demonstrating the Heritability of IQ ==
Genetic Influence on Human Psychological Traits
Current Directions in Psychological Science; August 2004 vol. 13 no. 4 148-151; doi: 10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.00295.x
>This meta-analysis of former studies records intelligence to have a heritability of 0.85 in adulthood, which is very significant. "These findings are consistent with those reported for the traits of other species and for many human physical traits, suggesting that they may represent a general biological phenomenon.
Why do Americans use the Imperial system? Why do we use AM and PM? Why do we write dates differently? Why do we tip waiters and delivery men? Why do we spell words differently? Why are we so audible and sarcastic? Why are we so religious? Why do we shun elitists and class society? It is because our culture is unique. In our sources, developments, and achievements, we are matched by no other race, no other culture, on the Earth. And it is as god wills it.
Mrs. Obama:ReplyDelete
Written by Dr. Paul L. Williams
"In my own life in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much," she said. "See, that's why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service, "...
Michelle Obama
No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn't perform any official duties. But this hasn't deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession.
Just think, Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during the Civil War. And Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her personal secretary from her husband's salary.
Total Personal Staff members for other first ladies paid by taxpayers:
Mamie Eisenhower : One-- paid for personally out of President's salary.
Jackie Kennedy : One
Roseline Carter : One
Barbara Bush : One
Hilary Clinton : Three
Laura Bush : One
Michele Obama : Twenty-two
How things have changed! If you're one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers,prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for these servants of Ms Michelle are the same as members of the national security and defense departments and the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by YOU, John Q. Public:
Michele Obama 's personal staff:
One.. $172,200 - Sher, Susan (Chief Of Staff)
Two.. $140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Policy And Projects For The First Lady)
Three.. $113,000 - Rogers , Desiree G. (Special Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary for Mrs. Obama )
Four.. $102,000 - Johnston , Camille Y. (Special Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the First Lady)
Five.. $100,000 - Winter, Melissa (Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
Six.. $90,000 Medina , David S. (Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
Seven.. $84,000 - Lilyveld, Catherine M. (Director and Press Secretary to the First Lady)
Eight.. $75,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (Director of Scheduling and Advance for the First Lady)
Nine.. $70,000 - Sanders, Trooper (Deputy Director of Policy and Project for the First Lady)
Ten.. $65,000 - Burnough, Erinn (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)
Eleven.. $64,000 - Reinstein, Joseph B. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)
Twelve.. $62,000 - Goodman , Jennifer R. (Deputy Director of Scheduling and Events Coordinator For The First Lady)
Thirteen.. $60,000 Fitz , Alan O. (Deputy Director of Advance and Trip Director for the First Lady)
Fourteen.. $57,500 - Lewis , Dana M. (Special Assistant and Personal Aide to the First Lady)
Fifteen... $52,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (Associate Director and Deputy Press Secretary To The First Lady)
Sixteen.. $50,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (Special Assistant for Scheduling and Traveling Aide To The First Lady)
Seventeen.. $45,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (Associate Director of Correspondence For The First Lady)
Eighteen.. $43,000 - Tubman , Samanth a (Deputy Associate Director, Social Office)
Nineteen.. $40,000 - Boswell , Joseph J. (Executive Assistant to the Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
Twenty.. $36,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (Staff Assistant to the Social Secretary)
Twenty-One.. $35,000 - Bookey, Natalie (Staff Assistant)
Twenty-Two.. $35,000 - Jackson , Deilia A. (Deputy Associate Director of Correspondence for the First Lady)
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 12:29 AM
Wow everyone on here suggest a better comic for xkcd! So what should the comic be like to deserve your approval? Think about it. Will you guys ever be satisfied?ReplyDelete
i already am satisfiedReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 12:31 AM
No Rob you are just fatReplyDelete
- Anon 14:88October 19, 2011 at 3:00 AM
Hey anon11:14, I want your rant about jews. I often debates on that subject on liberal fora, and i'm running low on arguments.ReplyDelete
- Anon 14:88October 19, 2011 at 3:02 AM
OH NO! I did a GRAMMAR MISTAKE! Let me explain myself:ReplyDelete
Why does everyone think that the level of English is the most accurate indication of someone's intelligence?
On the Internet, making a grammar error makes you some sort of retard, and everyone likes to go round correcting every mistake they see, because they'll be seen a geniuses.
You think people who use text speak on facebook walls are idiots? If you actually had any non-idiot friends, you'd know that a lot of intelligent, educated people use text speak.
From my experience, those who type properly with caps and punctuation are mostly pseudointellectual drop outs, artistic liberals, etc.
On the other hand, being bad at math is totally cool: "I'm so terrible at math I can't even add lololol," when mathematical ability correlates directly with intelligence, and skipping it serves no intelligible purpose.
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 3:31 AM
Since when is being bad at maths cool? When is being bad at maths anything?ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 4:26 AM
Rob you fat sociopath.ReplyDelete
You can end this, and you know it.
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 5:41 AM
I'm going to call Rob fat. Maybe then he can strain to overcome his many flaps of greasy flesh and lean towards his keyboard to give ME attention. Buttflap. Engorged. Festering. Sensual.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 6:27 AM
Since when letting this forced meme die suddenly became okay?ReplyDelete
I don't think it's okay.
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 8:05 AM
When did people start accepting rants as legitimate discourse instead of what they are, which is essentially the overflow of emotional rhetoric unmediated by the need to, for example, appear reasonable or coherent?ReplyDelete
I mean, I realize that no one should ever take anything said in this sort of milieu with even the barest degree of seriousness, but it's really just appalling how "rant" has gone from "I couldn't control myself" to "I desperately search for opportunities to vent my indignation"
meta-rant over
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 8:41 AM
I'm going to call Rob fat to oops I made a mistakeReplyDelete
Why does everyone think that the level of English is the most accurate indication of someone's intelligence?
On the Internet, making a grammar error makes you some sort of retard, and everyone likes to go round correcting every mistake they see, because they'll be seen a geniuses.
You think people who use text speak on facebook walls are idiots? If you actually had any non-idiot friends, you'd know that a lot of intelligent, educated people use text speak.
From my experience, those who type properly with caps and punctuation are mostly pseudointellectual drop outs, artistic liberals, etc.
On the other hand, being bad at math is totally cool: "I'm so terrible at math I can't even add lololol," when mathematical ability correlates directly with intelligence, and skipping it serves no intelligible purpose.
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 8:50 AM
11:14, are you from WorldNetDaily, by any chance?ReplyDelete
This is a great comment thread. I haven't even finished reading it, but I like where it's going. The review was good too.ReplyDelete
@Anon 2:21 (from the top of the thread)
There is such a thing as a red panda, you know.
I like Ruiqi Mao, and hope he stays. Unfortunately I suspect he is just a samefag/sockpuppet of Rob. Just look at the timestamps on their posts. They were made mere minutes apart from each other. When I go samefagging, I usually leave at least a 15 minute gap between posts
The alternate theory is that he's a friend of Rob, and they were in the same room when they posted. I really want this to be true. If someone as repulsive as Rob can have friends, then it gives me hope for myself.
- Definitely not Jon Levi samefagOctober 19, 2011 at 9:30 AM
Seriously, Rob, what's with the samefagging? Your loyal readers deserve an explanation.ReplyDelete
- Definitely not Definitely not Jon Levi samefag samefagOctober 19, 2011 at 9:38 AM
Rob is the master of samefaggotry, as we have long known. After all, he *is* Randall.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 9:41 AM
I agree with 8:05.ReplyDelete
The right have replaced "logic" with "common sense", where "common sense" means "I feel this way and so do many other people who can't be bothered to think".
- Definitely not Definitely not Definitely not Jon Levi samefag samefag samefagOctober 19, 2011 at 9:47 AM
Anon at 11:14 - The Necessity of Change in Online Communities and On Doomsday Fetishizing, please.ReplyDelete
- ProsperOctober 19, 2011 at 9:57 AM
anon 1114 is schattenjager?ReplyDelete
bimbo is an insult for blacks in german, not for dumb slut. odd
more research must be put into this
hopw roewur ne
- anon at 11:14October 19, 2011 at 11:22 AM
Online Communities:ReplyDelete
What's so bad about the evolution in COMMUNITY_NAME's phenotype? If two genetically viable internet populations want to intermix, why shouldn't they? Are you a racist? Change is inherent to all organized communities; attempting to prevent it or to keep it frozen at a single point in time (usually the time when the speaker first joined said network) is firstly bound to fail and secondly a symptom of a deep-set fear of the unknown. Perhaps it would serve you well to visit a psychiatrist, instead of whining about foreign modes invading "your" COMMUNITY_NAME on the internet?
The world never stays the same, not for one year to the next, not even from one minute to the next; why should COMMUNITY_NAME be different? If we expanded to get more people, to become more international, it is no bad thing but rather an expression of diveristy (the healthy kind) and wealth. Lest we stagnated at a handful of members and thus were abandoned, becoming one of many websites which failed to achieve their full potential.
A tablet from ancient Assyria, daring from about 2800 B.C. has been found that states: "Our earth is degenerate in these latter days. There are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end. Bribery and corruption are common." People have been hailing the end of the world since time immemorial. Is this a rational response? Is the world ending, so commonly yet so slowly? Does doomsday approach? Of course not. But humans tend to recall their youth with past, and to dislike change; so we recall that which has already passed with rose-tinted glasses, and regard any modification with fear and scorn. Humans are by nature pessimistic, and when we see fashions and ideas changing we feel left behind and sad. So we make up theories as to the ending world, and the fall of society, and impeding doom, to lend us and our generation legitimacy in our refusal to change.
It's folly, of course, yet people persist in it. Such is human nature.
- steventhehawkOctober 19, 2011 at 11:52 AM
966 would have seemed pretty decent if Randall had come up with it back when 9/11 conspiracy theories were trendy. But now? It just comes off as staircase wit.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 12:08 PM
i don't understand why rose-tinted glasses are used as a synonym for favorable view, i would be freaked out if everything looked pinkReplyDelete
- KrokodiloOctober 19, 2011 at 12:30 PM
You obviously never whore pink glasses! It's awesome.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 12:31 PM
its WORE not WHORE you stupid faggot moron!ReplyDelete
- KrokodiloOctober 19, 2011 at 12:32 PM
Why does everyone think that the level of English is the most accurate indication of someone's intelligence?ReplyDelete
On the Internet, making a grammar error makes you some sort of retard, and everyone likes to go round correcting every mistake they see, because they'll be seen a geniuses.
You think people who use text speak on facebook walls are idiots? If you actually had any non-idiot friends, you'd know that a lot of intelligent, educated people use text speak.
From my experience, those who type properly with caps and punctuation are mostly pseudointellectual drop outs, artistic liberals, etc.
On the other hand, being bad at math is totally cool: "I'm so terrible at math I can't even add lololol," when mathematical ability correlates directly with intelligence, and skipping it serves no intelligible purpose.
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 12:41 PM
Interestingly, that's an anacoluthon in the second paragraph there, just days after I learned the word.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 12:43 PM
Krokodilo: You must come from the faraway land of America, where nothing makes sense. Here in the real world, we mostly try to write properly.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 1:11 PM
Where does your 'sense' help you when your youth follow American modes, and the whole world latches to the teat of our culture? Europe is dying, the old morals are dying, and a new world order arises. America's at the forefront of this new style, and it is as god wills it.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 1:20 PM
You should stick to critiquing the man's work, not the way you imagine his homelife to be.ReplyDelete
Once more, I bring much improvement to a dire comic indeed:ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 4:04 PM
(it's not a 3-paneller because the swoosh is actually the punchline, think about it guys)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 6:20 PM
anon@11:14 -ReplyDelete
Snopes would be a useful thing to check concerning Michelle Obama's personal staff.
You gullible asswipe.
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 7:01 PM
hey rob, i could really use an xkcdsucks app so i can conveniently check in and comment on my way to work each morning, you think you could do that?ReplyDelete
it's a free country until they declare martial law to crush the ows protestsReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 7:23 PM
Apps are fore legitimate website-based businesses and/or nonprofit organizations. This blog is some strange mix of neither.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 8:25 PM
Fuck you, Randall. Cancer is a conspiracy theory. Asshole.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 8:56 PM
It's "for", not "fore" you retarded fascist crypto-nordic.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 8:56 PM
Why does everyone think that the level of English is the most accurate indication of someone's intelligence?ReplyDelete
On the Internet, making a grammar error makes you some sort of retard, and everyone likes to go round correcting every mistake they see, because they'll be seen a geniuses.
You think people who use text speak on facebook walls are idiots? If you actually had any non-idiot friends, you'd know that a lot of intelligent, educated people use text speak.
From my experience, those who type properly with caps and punctuation are mostly pseudointellectual drop outs, artistic liberals, etc.
On the other hand, being bad at math is totally cool: "I'm so terrible at math I can't even add lololol," when mathematical ability correlates directly with intelligence, and skipping it serves no intelligible purpose.
i am so glad this has become a memeReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 9:16 PM
The dabbling writer who imagines his little passages of uninteresting thoughts are good enough to be reused. I have not encountered this type of person before. Is the type even worse than he hack writer who self-publishes because he figures his manuscripts are only being rejected on the basis that publishers can't comprehend his genius?ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 9:24 PM
@9:16 You can't entrap me with your trick question. We all know there's nobody worse than the smug wanker who goes around belittling other people's hubris under the conviction that he has no blind spots in his own vanity.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 19, 2011 at 11:58 PM
Ruiqi Mao:ReplyDelete
"your opinions have been wrong since you started having them" is the kind of shitty talking that the owner of this blog uses when he doesn't know what to say, and pretend it's an argument. Just read back a couple of the "discussions" he has in previous posts and you'll see how it works.
when have i ever pretended that anything i said was an argument? i believe i have repeatedly expressed contempt for the concept of arguments, actually.ReplyDelete
seriously, you people, it's like you've never been on the internet before.
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 4:21 AM
People have too much time on their hands these days...ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 4:23 AM
Nice blog, but I think you really could do a better job of covering Randall's blatant and disgusting racism.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 4:27 AM
Pick one.
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 5:17 AM
So this blog was made to discuss how much people get annoyed at a web comic? This doesn't seem very progressive...ReplyDelete
If you don't like it, then why go to the bother of looking up xkcd to begin with? Unless this is all one huge joke that I'm missing out on?
- Kosovo JoeOctober 20, 2011 at 6:49 AM
"1.Happening or developing gradually or in stages; proceeding step by step
- a progressive decline in popularity"
I would say this blog is very progressive in this sense, in that it has been developing gradually into a pile of shit since Carl left.
"2.(of a disease or ailment) Increasing in severity or extent
- progressive liver failure"
This usage seems apt for similar reasons.
"3. (of taxation or a tax) Increasing as a proportion of the sum taxed as that sum increases
- steeply progressive income taxes"
This might be used to describe Rob (in that his girth increases as a proportion of the increasingly taxing effort it takes for him to use the keyboard with his sausage-like fingers), but not the blog itself, I think.
"4. (of a card game or dance) Involving a series of sections for which participants successively change place or relative position"
Some samefags show up and start having arguments with themselves in the comments, so I guess this works.
"5. Engaging in or constituting forward motion"
In the sense that it continues to move forward with comments even when nobody has anything to say, I guess this is true.
"6. (of a group, person, or idea) Favoring or implementing social reform or new, liberal ideas
- a relatively progressive governor"
Most people here are former or current fans of xkcd, which attracts dirty liberal scum like myself, so this is probably true.
"7. Favoring or promoting change or innovation
- a progressive art school"
This blog constantly promotes change or innovation in xkcd. Sadly, it falls upon deaf ears.
"8. Relating to or denoting a style of rock music popular esp. in the 1980s and characterized by classical influences, the use of keyboard instruments, and lengthy compositions"
Hmmm. Well, I suppose you're right, this blog is not very progressive in this sense.
"9. Denoting an aspect or tense of a verb that expresses an action in progress, e.g., am writing, was writing"
It's called "xkcd sucks", not "xkcd am sucking". So no.
Perhaps the word you were looking for was "productive"?
Also, I have no idea what Anon 4:21 is talking about.
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 7:17 AM
517 You seem to be semi-reasonable about it so I'll try to give you an actual answer before leaving you to the trolls:ReplyDelete
Basically, some time back in 2008, Carl, the guy who started the blog, started to not find XKCD as funny as he once did. In most cases, this wouldn't have been an issue, people's tastes change all the time. But Carl noticed something weird: no one he knew seemed to grasp the idea that he didn't like XKCD. It's not just that he couldn't find anyone who agreed with him, he couldn't find anyone who didn't consider disliking XKCD some completely alien concept. So he Googled "XKCD sucks", figuring that on the Internet there's always someone who dislikes something, and he could maybe find some like-minded people. So he started this blog, to make see if he wasn't crazy, and there were other people out there who didn't consider XKCD completely and utterly genius.
That's how most of us got here: we used to like XKCD, we got tired of it, but then we found out that pretty much wasn't allowed. You stop liking XKCD, you start noticing how much people try to shoehorn the comic into every forum thread they can, no matter how little it has to do with the conversation. You start noticing how every friggin day, people are posting XKCD comics on their blogs or their facebooks or just on forums and going "omg so true get out of my head randall". You start getting people going, "I KNOW you don't like XKCD but surely even YOU like this one" every single comic.
And worse than that, people seem to get offended that you don't like it. You can't give it the slightest criticism without someone going "WELL WHY DON'T YOU JUST NOT READ IT, HUH?" You start getting told you must not be a real nerd/geek/whatever if you don't like XKCD. You start getting people telling you, without the slightest hint of irony, that it's all subjective and just because YOU don't like it doesn't make it bad. It gets to the point where you need SOMEWHERE where people are not shoving XKCD in your face and demanding you like it. So you wind up here.
And that's the situation. Or at least, it was. I'm not sure how many people there still are for whom the above still holds, but even Carl admits that XKCD isn't as popular as it once was, and there are in fact places (not just here) where people aren't obsessively linking it and you're allowed to not like it. That's why he quit: he felt the blog has fulfilled its purpose, at least for him. It stuck around essentially because a community had kinda formed that people didn't want to go away, and occasionally it's bad enough that Rob feels the need to write about it.
Aaaaand that's about it. Sorry if I got a little too dramatic there, I try to avoid that. If you're not satisfied with my answer, try scrolling up to the thing on the side called "Rob's Rants", and reading rant number one. Rob is a better writer than I am, but also more of an asshole. His answer might be more satisfying. As for "That doesn't seem very progressive...", if I'm interpreting that correctly (although 6:49 has a point, no one uses it the way you seem to be), Read rant number four. It puts it way better than I could have, so I didn't even bother addressing that one.
It doesn't sound progressive because it's not. We're all die-hard gun-totin' Jesus-lovin' conservatives in here.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 8:34 AM
Rob transcends argument. His affectation of untarnished emotional disconnection is totally sincere, believe you me.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 11:01 AM
You made a grammar mistake 8:34! You must be extremely unintelligent, you text-speak userReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 11:23 AM
no he did natt, 11:01 u dumb assReplyDelete
- Totally not butthurtOctober 20, 2011 at 12:18 PM
Why does everyone think that the level of butthurt is the most accurate indication of someone's foolishness?ReplyDelete
On the Internet, getting emotional makes you some sort of retard, and everyone likes to go round acting all edgy, because they'll be seen a tough.
You think people who use are passionate about issues are idiots? If you actually had any non-idiot friends, you'd know that a lot of intelligent, educated people are passionate about things.
From my experience, those who try to play it cool are mostly insecure autists, lonely, low self-esteem putzes, etc.
On the other hand, lacking any empathy is totally cool: "I'm so terrible at empathizing I can only get joy out of schadenfreude lololol," when empathy correlates directly with social success, and lacking empathy serves no intelligible purpose.
- Spelling, I mean spellcasting, is serious businessOctober 20, 2011 at 12:19 PM
Why does everyone think that the level of D&D characters is the most accurate indication of someone's geekiness?ReplyDelete
On the Internet, playing a monk makes you some sort of retard, and everyone likes to go round improving every build they see, because they'll be seen a grognards.
You think people who roll single-class fighters are idiots? If you actually were in any roleplaying groups, you'd know that a lot of intelligent, educated people use single-class fighters.
From my experience, those who go digging for obscure Dragon magazine feats and classes are mostly pseudointellectual "roll" players, computer gamers, etc.
On the other hand, being bad at roleplaying totally cool: "I'm so terrible at roleplaying I can't even come up with a backstory lololol," when roleplaying ability correlates directly with geekiness, and skipping it serves no intelligible purpose.
- Grand Wizard ObamaOctober 20, 2011 at 12:22 PM
Why does everyone think that the level of membership in the KKK is the most accurate indication of someone's racism?ReplyDelete
On the Internet, being a KKK member makes you some sort of racist, and everyone likes to go round upbraiding every KKK member they see, because they'll be seen a enlightened progressives.
You think people who use dress up in costumes that obscure one's race are racists? If you actually had any KKK friends, you'd know that a lot of tolerant, merciful people are part of the KKK.
From my experience, those who act all self-righteous about racism are mostly mighty whitey types, whiny liberals, etc.
On the other hand, being anti-Nazi is totally cool: "I'm so against Nazis I believe in the Holocaust lololol," when Nazi-hating correlates directly with anti-Aryanism, and Holocaust-acknowledging serves the Jewish overlords.
- TheMesosadeOctober 20, 2011 at 12:36 PM
Why does everyone think that the level of over 9000 is the most accurate indication of being able to break the scouter?ReplyDelete
In DragonBall universe, not knowing the power level makes you some sort of Nappa, and everyone likes to go round correcting every mistake they see, because they'll be seen as Vegeta.
You think people who use powerlevels are idiots? If you actually had any non-idiot friends, you'd know that a lot of intelligent, educated people use scouters.
From my experience, those who don't use the scouter are mostly supersaiyans, Master Roshi, etc.
On the other hand, being bad at piccolo is totally cool: "I'm so terrible at piccolo I can't even play it," when piccolo-playing ability correlates directly with being green, and skipping it serves no intelligible purpose.
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 12:56 PM
Mesosade, you fucking killed it with you gay old meme shit. It was kinda funny until you pissed all over it with your piss-shit.ReplyDelete
Fuck off. Anime is for gaylords and not the fine community of xkcdsucks.
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 1:12 PM
Enjoy refreshing sperm!ReplyDelete
the horse is dead guysReplyDelete
it's dead
- TheMesosadeOctober 20, 2011 at 2:51 PM
I herd you like memes, so I put a meme in your meme so you can lol while you lol.ReplyDelete
And the whole thing is a meme. Layered like a goddamn onion, guys.
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 4:35 PM
MeSoSad, you ruined it, you pissed shit all over it and now nobody can be happy again.ReplyDelete
Hurray for TheMesosade!ReplyDelete
"Rob is a better writer than I am, but also more of an asshole."ReplyDelete
i want that on my tombstone
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 8:05 PM
Why does everyone think that the level of fatness is the most accurate indication of Rob's intelligence?ReplyDelete
On the Internet, being fat makes you some sort of retard, and everyone likes to go round mocking every 400-pound person named Rob that they see, because they'll be seen a geniuses.
You think people who eat twenty cheeseburgers a day are idiots? If you actually had any non-twiglike friends, you'd know that a lot of intelligent, educated people eat out all day, every day.
From my experience, those who eat well are mostly pseudointellectual drop outs, artistic liberals, etc.
On the other hand, being bad at sports is totally cool: "I'm so terrible at sports I can't even catch a ball lololol," when athletic ability correlates directly with sexiness, and skipping it serves no intelligible purpose.
Y'alls be like all memetic an' shit.ReplyDelete
OMG IT'S FUNNY CUZ IT'S ACTUALLY NOT XDReplyDelete
C'mon Rob, you're better than this.
Yeah, come on Rob.ReplyDelete
Just don't get it in his hair.
better than what?ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 9:32 PM
Now for a personal rant of my own, since I have a lab report due tomorrow:ReplyDelete
Goddamn it, Microsoft. How do you go from functional - though shitty - graphing capabilities in Microsoft Excel, to such fucking retarded, ass-rapingly bad software? I do the same Goddamn thing as I did last time to make a graph, but now I don't have the same options to edit these motherfucking bullshit axes. The help file is a joke. Go fuck yourself, dumbasses. Have you ever heard of not 'fixing' something that isn't broken? Considering how little work I have less to do - this would take thirty fucking minutes to make all these Goddamn graphs, were it not for your piece of shit software jerking me around for an hour - this is mindnumbingly frustrating.
Go fuck yourself, you assholes.
I agree with the above poster.ReplyDelete
Windows Media Player 9 was just perfect, but then they had to "upgrade" it and now it's horrible. Some idiot actually thought it would be a better idea to not allow me to manually add a song to my media library and instead have only the option of adding an entire folder at a time. On top of that, it's impossible to find your way around. And of course, there's no easy way to dump it and install an older version. Seriously, Microsoft? Go to hell.
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 10:45 PM
Anonymous from October 20, 2011 7:17 AM:ReplyDelete
I understand your story about the creation of the blog and the community of users. Some comments are quite funny and yes, sometimes xkcd is quite poor. But some of the words in this blog are pure anger and bitterness and awfully aggressive, and i cannot understand why do you support that.
See how here Rob makes up a stupid story (which includes creepy personal references) on Randall Munroe's thinking process to create a xkcd strip, and then he goes "Seriously, Randy?" before starting to explain why the joke is bad. The same is done very often. And yet Rob has criticized R. Munroe, on this very blog, for using "straw man arguments". Please, at least make some effort.
Have you seen the constant personal attacks? People in this blog say that it is FUNNY that RM's wife has cancer, and Rob agrees with that - I wonder if you agree as well? Did you read Rob (that's his whole name as far as I know) accusing R. Munroe of rape on this blog?
I guess you're free of saying whatever you want (nobody can hold you accountable for anything... this is the internet) but unless it is jealousy, as some have suggested, I don't understand why there is so much hate.
- AnonymousOctober 20, 2011 at 10:48 PM
You know... totally unrelated with this blog, but since you brought it up:ReplyDelete
Mac did the same with the Final Cut Pro editing software suite, or so I've heard. Apparently the new version is not actually "Pro" and has lots of previously available features missing.
Why could that be happening? Damn.
i see sgirl is back. hi sgirl!ReplyDelete
- :itisamystery:October 21, 2011 at 1:39 AM
"Did you read Rob (that's his whole name as far as far as I know) accusing R. Munroe of rape on this blog?"ReplyDelete
This parenthetical statement is mesmerizing in its bizarreness. Why would you think that's his whole name? Why do you bring it up here, rather than any of the previous three times you mentioned Rob's name in this post? What does it have to do with anything?
@In Jam 9:42ReplyDelete
Actually in Randall's mind it probably goes more like this:
1. Aang is wielding all four of the elements in a way that suggests he is ready to fight.
2. Mendeleev gives him radiation poisoning.
3. Aang bows down before Mendeleev's leetness, and quietly goes into palliative care. Because science; it works, bitches.
That last part wasn't shown, but it was implied.
- AnonymousOctober 21, 2011 at 2:35 AM
you people are all missing the joke here, it's quite funny actually. what's going on is that randall is trying to tell the reader that not only does he believe that bending is real, but also that cartoons interact with the real world, he's crying out for us all to get him admitted in a mental hospital where he can finally get some help.ReplyDelete
Wait, Randall believes that cartoons are real? That explains why he's been using xkcd to live out his fantasies.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 23, 2011 at 7:21 AM
Is Rob to proud to admit he sometimes finds the comics funny? I think he just rejects them on principle.ReplyDelete
i have on many occasions in the past admitted in the reviews that i liked certain comics. it's just rare that Randy produces one that isn't utter shitReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 24, 2011 at 12:15 PM
Can you point us to some of those many occasions? Say, 12 or something...ReplyDelete
that would imply there have been twelve good XKCD comics, ever. and that I am sufficiently interested in your opinion on my opinion to go back through my old posts and find the ones where I said I liked a comic. do you have any idea how boring reading your own old blog posts is?ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 28, 2011 at 10:48 AM
If you're not a fan then why not stop reading? You might find your blood pressure would go down.ReplyDelete
I know it will shatter the mental picture you've come up with for me, but you will probably have a hard time finding a more generally apathetic and unconcerned person than me. I am actually quite well known for itReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 31, 2011 at 10:33 AM
WHAT THE FUCK.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 6, 2011 at 5:32 PM
'Why are you wasting our time with this?'ReplyDelete
Whoah seriously dude. No one is forcing you to read the comics. If you think they are that bad and a waste of time, simple answer is don't read them. And then don't go on to write a huge blog about how they are a waste of time and you hate them. That's just wasting more of your time. You might find your blood pressure drops a fair bit if you avoid the things that cause you stress. The comics are not even that bad...
my favorite part about this blog is the people who don't understand what rhetorical devices are and assume that every single word I have ever written is intended to be taken in its most literal and direct senseReplyDelete


text:
Difference between revisions of "Copenhagen/Christiania"
Revision as of 08:34, 16 October 2012
Christiania [16] is a self-governing "free town" established in 1971, a city within the city, on the site of a military barracks as an alternative to mainstream culture. The government has recently cracked down on long-standing activities such as the open use of soft drugs (hard drugs, firearms, and automobiles are among the items prohibited though). Nonetheless it's quite safe and popular as a tourist site. Keep in mind that it's a residential area, not commercial. Photography of the central "Pusher Street" will not be tolerated by the dealers.
Get in
Christiania is car free, and parking conditions outside can be hellish on good weather, so do what everyone else does and jump on a bike, if that doesn't cut it, take public transit; there are two options:
There are hundreds of buildings on Christiania, in all sorts of imaginative shapes, sizes and colours - from old army buildings dating back to the by-gone barrack days, to elaborate self-build homes. The best way to see them is just walking around sucking in the atmosphere. All the buildings have their own unique story to tell - if you're friendly, open minded, a bit lucky - and outside the main tourist season, you can sometimes get locals to tell you the, often amazing, stories of their particular house, otherwise the regular walking tours are a good introduction to the main sights.
Christiania is something of a powerhouse in Copenhagen's cultural life, especially on the alternative scene, and there will almost always be something going on, in one of the many club and venues dotted around the central part near Pusher street, or the open air scene on Café Nemoland (listed under drink)
Christiania offers some truly unique shopping, apart from it's (in)famous major export item; Cannabis. If you want to bring home a really unique souvenir from Copenhagen, there are a bunch of interesting options here. In addition to stores listed below, there is also a Bazaar at the entrance to Pusher street where you can buy everything from Cannabis posters, to bongs and Jamaican clothing.
Despite the best efforts by the police to shut down the Cannabis trade here, the selling is still going on - relatively openly. The Cannabis market in Copenhagen is estimated to around 1 billion kroner (€134 mio) annually, and with Christiania still being the epicentre, neither is there much chance of the trade disappearing any time soon. But potential buyers should be aware that police occasionally patrol the area, and you could potentially be fined if you are caught possessing hashish. Visitors should also take note that harder drugs are frowned upon on Christiania, and no attempts should be made to buy, or even ask for, harder drugs.
With some of the best vegetarian food you'll find anywhere in town, the residents love for everything organic, and the social responsibly (and socialism) so enshrined in the fabric of Christiana culture, that prices are kept at quite reasonable levels - especially considering the quality, Christiania is an excellent place for lunch and dinner. Often there is an open barbecue up on Pusher street dishing some yummy burgers and hot dogs.
There is no public option for sleeping, unless you bump into someone willing to lend you a couch. The nearest hotels are in Amager or Downtown
Stay Safe
Because of its tolerance of cannabis and autonomy against the authorities, Christiania has attracted a lot of criminal elements throughout time. Today it is real pushers selling the cannabis on Pusher Street, where some of them work for bigger gangs. As mentioned in the beginning, it is not a good idea to take photographs in or near Pusher Street, since you will be passed up by a local pusher or gang member, with threats of violence or humiliation of the worst kind. None of them want to be identified by the police, which means they have to keep a low profile. They even keep an eye out for suspicious behavior of policemen or journalists working undercover. That is why it is important to behave as normal as possible. That being said, it is a matter of respect of the drug dealing environment and its rules and you should have no problem at all. Just use basic common sense, by keeping an eye on your surroundings, your belongings and by keeping a low profile, as to not attract any unwanted attention. Having said that, Christiania is usually a safe and open place for everybody, as long as local rules and people are respected and tolerated.
Keep in mind that in Denmark possession of cannabis is illegal. Unless you are familiar and experienced with that kind of soft drugs, it is recommended that you do not buy any of the types of cannabis that the pushers are offering at their stands, except rolling papers in some Kiosks. Police often patrol the surrounding area and if you are caught through an inspection, you can expect to be fined or imprisoned, depending on how much cannabis you are in possession of. This is more of a warning if you are outside of Christiania, since the police hardly ever manage it to get inside.
What was mentioned about respecting the criminal activities is more for your own safety, these rules are also, but mostly not to get into bad company:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
Reviewing My Reviewers
I forgot to mention that Tricycle magazine's blog noticed the buzz that Sex, Sin And Zen was getting and put up this article about it. Neat.
Also, I got a notice in Scene magazine, the very same mag where I found the ad that Zero Defex placed for a bass player back a million years ago. And speaking of Zero Defex, we're playing again on Tuesday night at Annabelle's in Akron for anyone who missed the show at the Kent Stage on Saturday.
It was an amazing show, by the way. If you missed it, too bad for you because you missed something really cool. I feel like I can brag all I want about Zero Defex because it's not really my band, in the sense that I didn't start it or write most of the songs. Zero Defex is a force of nature. It's a creature that only exists when the four of us manage to get together and bring it forth out of wherever pit of darkness it hides the rest of the time. I'm telling you folks, last Saturday night we subjugated!
On Sunday, the day after Zero Defex destroyed Kent, Ohio, I got to go up to Cleveland and hang out with Tim McCarthy, my first Zen teacher (thanks to Zak for driving me up there and Jayce for hosting the get-together). He's still as foul-mouthed as ever. Someone told him that I talk about him more in my new book than I have in any of the previous ones. That might be true. I don't know. But every time I see him I realize how much of my schtick I've stolen outright from him.
Speaking of reviews, the reviews for Sex Sin And Zen have been real interesting. My favorite line so far is, "Coming soon, the inevitable Brad Warner sex tape. It's just a matter of time because I'm willing to bet the farm that this guy is getting laid like crazy." The same reviewer says I can't be a monk because monks are celibate and monastic. Not so. The guy ought to read up a bit on the Japanese Buddhist tradition. As for getting laid like crazy, that depends on what you mean by "crazy." Sorry. That's another one of my juvenile jokes.
It's just funny to read about what people imagine my life to be. It's intensely bizarre to have so many people you don't know commenting on your life and usually getting it so incredibly wrong. I used to find it far more worrisome than I do now. Now it's just silly.
I don't mind bad reviews when they're thoughtful. And the one excerpted above was actually OK. So far most of the reviews have been good, even the one I'm quoting wasn't really negative. The last time I got a bad review that was actually bad as a review was when Enlighten Next magazine (then called What Is Enlightenment) got pissy because I dissed their buddy Ken Wilber in Hardcore Zen. The reviewer gave no indication he'd read the book at all. But the editors wanted it trashed so he did his job.
Some reviewers think that I write in some kind of contrived persona. That I must not be really like whatever image that pops into their heads when they read me. And, of course this is true. That guy doesn't exist at all except in their heads. Same as the guy you are imagining right now does not exist at all except in your head. That's just how the game works.
People are always going, I've seen his videos on YouTube or I met him in person and he's nothing like his books. Which I just scratch my head about. I can only guess that these folks read what I write while imagining a voice something like Randy Blythe when he sings for Lamb of God. I ought to do an audio book so people can hear those lines delivered in my real voice. But then maybe I shouldn't destroy people's dreams. (This was a big deal when I worked at Tsuburaya Productions. We never allowed photos of people putting on or taking off the Ultraman costume because it would "destroy children's dreams.")
Anyway, I just write the way I write. My persona is as contrived as every other human on Earth's persona. Your persona is also a contrivance. So what?
Reviewers seem divided on whether the long interview with Nina Hartley was the best part of the book or the worst. Some say I should have devoted the entire book to interviews, others say the Nina Hartley stuff went on far too long. Me, I'm happy with it as it is. I think she makes some really important points that I couldn't possibly make myself. I don't agree with everything she says, but I didn't want to editorialize.
Some people didn't like the fact that the book is less of a memoir than my previous books. But I really did not want to write a book about my personal sex life. I don't think that would be very useful, and, unfortunately, it would be far less interesting than the reviewer quoted above would expect.
I thought it was high time someone addressed how contemporary Western Buddhists were dealing with issues of sexuality. It's an important subject and so far all we've really been presented with are what monastic Buddhists in ancient Asia did. Their solutions may be instructive but they really can't be applied to the world we live in, not without significant modification. And I talk about how those rules have been modified by people today trying to continue the tradition.
I was hoping the book would spark some discussion of the subject, and it has. This is one of the reasons I included some of my own views that I knew would not be accepted by a lot of practitioners. My views on pornography, S&M and prostitution, to give a few examples, are not shared by a lot of other Buddhists. So maybe this book will give those folks something to react to and talk about.
In the Zen school our only guideline for the past thousand years or so has been not to misuse sexuality. What the fuck does that mean? When Buddhism got transplanted in North America, a lot of people read that to mean what American conservative Christians mean when they say the stuff that they say about sex. But I don't think it comes from the same place at all. Am I right? Am I wrong? Only you know for certain.
NOTE: I've added a "donate" button on the upper left hand corner of the blog. If you'd like to make a donation to this blog to help it continue, now you can.


text:
Elva A. Damme, 87, of Kearney, formerly of Syracuse, died Jan. 13, 2013 at the Mother Hull Home in Kearney. She was born Oct. 8, 1925, near Vesta, Neb., to John Frederick and Lena Margaret (Harms) Rulla.
Elva A. Damme, 87, of Kearney, formerly of Syracuse, died Jan. 13, 2013 at the Mother Hull Home in Kearney. She was born Oct. 8, 1925, near Vesta, Neb., to John Frederick and Lena Margaret (Harms) Rulla.
At an early age, her family moved to Yuma, Colo., because of her mother's health. Both parents died and Elva returned to Nebraska to live with her Aunt Ann and Uncle Albert Panko in Burr. She graduated from Burr High School in 1944.
On Nov. 4, 1945, she married Kenneth Damme in a double wedding ceremony with her sister, Alice and Jim Graber at the Lutheran Church in Sterling. Elva and Kenneth made their home on the family farm near Cook.
Elva worked as a nurse's aide and later became the central supplies tech at Community Memorial Hospital in Syracuse. She belonged to the Meadowlark Extension Club for many years. They also belonged to a pinochle card club and enjoyed taking many bus tours over the years. She was a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Cook before transferring membership to Luther Memorial Lutheran Church when they left the farm and moved to Syracuse.
Elva was a loving mother and grandma, a wonderful cook, and very hard worker. After coming home from work, it was a common sight to see her mowing the lawn, gardening, canning, and doing hog chores. She loved cooking for her family. Apple pie and French toast with homemade syrup will always bring a special memory.
Survivors include daughters Sheryl Behrens of Lincoln and Marcia Meyer and husband Aaron of Curtis; son Boyd and wife Barb of Kearney; grandchildren Tammy Overton and husband Calvin of Lincoln, Troy Behrens and wife Stacie of Johnston, Iowa, Kelly Jelden and husband Josh of Kearney, Zachary Meyer and wife Christina of Lincoln, Jamie Abare and husband Mark of Bellevue, Wash., Benjamin Damme and wife Stacey of Omaha, Travis Damme and wife Jessica of Kansas City, Darin Damme and wife Kacie of Salisbury, N.C., and Joshua Damme of Kearney; great-grandchildren Jessie and Brittany Overton, Raegan, Gage, and Reid Behrens, Madison Meyer, Ava and Landon Abare, Faith, Rayna, and Caleb Damme, Isaac, Moriah, and Keziah Damme, Ransom, Avery, Hardison, and Finley Damme; great-great-grandson Jace Larson-Overton; sister Alice Graber of Freeman, S.D.; sisters-in-law Doris Rulla of Greeley, Colo., Vernelle Haertel of Waverly, Beverly Schroeder of Cook, and Jacki Hubbs of Fort Smith, Ark.; cousin Delton and wife Fran Panko of Tecumseh; nieces, nephews, many relatives and friends.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded by an infant son, brother Paul, and son-in-law Denver Behrens.
A memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Luther Memorial Church in Syracuse. There will be no visitation. Burial will take place at the Cook Cemetery in Cook.
Memorials are suggested to the family for future designation. Online condolences or personal reflections may be submitted at www.osrfh.com.
O'Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral Homes and Cremation of Kearney are in charge of arrangements.


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This is an activity about the requirements of life. Learners will explore what living things need to survive and thrive by creating and caring for a garden plot (outdoors where appropriate) or a container garden (indoors) at the program facility.... (View More) The garden will be used to beautify the facility with plant life with many planting and landscaping options provided. Children will consider the requirements of living things, compare the surface conditions on Mars to those found on Earth, view images/video of a NASA Astrobiology Institute "garden" where astrobiologists are studying life under extreme conditions, and consider the similarities and differences in the type of life that would be possible on Mars as compared to their garden on Earth. It also includes specific tips for effectively engaging girls in STEM. This is activity 3 in Explore: Life on Mars? that was developed specifically for use in libraries. (View Less)