Talk:Main Page/Archive16

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Special cover story

I would like to propose to the duly dissembled mob that we feature Expelled:Leader's Guide as a fixture on the main page for the duration, at least, of the movie's release cycle. I would like to add another header bar just above the "Random Featured Article" section that says "Non-Random featured Article" (or better heading?), with simply has a line or so of text similar to the page's intro below the header bar, like:

Expelled:Leader's Guide

The producers of the film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed have created a "Leader's Guide", intended to structure debate on the topics raised by the movie. This is a point-by-point discussion of the arguments presented in the document...→ read the entire article

What sayeth those who care, and Bohdan? human 21:16, 3 April 2008 (EDT)

I sayeth a heartly and goodly Yes, fer sure, exactly as you describe, and get on with it. I think it should stay there for as long as the movie is 'current', however long that it - certainly a few months. DogP 21:50, 3 April 2008 (EDT)

Well, comments anyone? DogP 16:42, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Aye! SusanG 16:44, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Forsooth, good sirs (and ladies), it is a fine piece of work and we should let the disinfectant of bright sunlight shine forth on the perfidy of the cretinists who seek to return us to the days of darkness and ignorance. Genghis ^Marauding 17:14, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

The Great Lord Google list's RationalWiki sveral times in it's top 10 for Expelled:Leader's Guide. Unfortunately this is for the forum entry and our page on the movie itself. Should we consider making the title more Googlish? Genghis ^Marauding 17:23, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Teh Article's 4th on my (UK) google if you put in Expelled:Leader's Guide (no quotes) SusanG 17:35, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

If we do that, let's make sure we redirect the existing page to the new one, as there's quite a few article promotion campaigns going on to the existing URL. DogP 17:30, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Looks good to me. There is one issue, however, though it is not a direct one. I would like to hold off much stuff on the movie itself and its contents until it has actually been seen. Whenever a Michael Moore or other such film is released, a bunch of yahoos who know little about it always attack it without having seen it. I would not like us to be the liberal equivalent. I have little doubt it will be everything we expect, and generally awful, but we shouldn't base attacks on what we expect it will be like, or on potentially quote-mined excerpts by critics. But as this is about the Leader's Guide, which we apparently have in full and is a work unto itself, it is not terribly relevant to this.

Anyway, I'd like to see Expelled, but not pay for it. Anyone know how this can be done? I don't think they're going to have any advanced screenings around here. DickTurpis 17:42, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

As an RWian, and therefore by definition a purveyor of deceit, you could always buy a ticket for the next shitty Keanu Reeves movie and then go into the Expelled theater.

As far as the leader's guide artilce, another option is to just have it take the place of the random featured article spot for a while. Either way, it should go up soon because I think the article's ready for prime time.--Bayes_yikes 19:03, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

I've forced it onto the front page (& uplifted char count to 2000). Any complaints? SusanG 19:22, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Susan, I wondered why I got different results on Google.co.uk, you have posted the movie page rather than the leader's guide. Genghis ^Marauding 19:30, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

OOPS! Correcting NOW SusanG 19:33, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Can that nomination template be suppressed from being displayed on the front page? And right now most of the "featured" part includes a portion of the TOC from that page, which isn't that great of a main page thing.--Bayes_yikes 19:47, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Since it's on the Front Page now, I removed the nomination template. As for the content versus the TOC, thoughts? DogP 19:52, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

I don't know who broke what while I was away, but it sounds like there is strong support for what I suggested above. I still think the normal random article thing should be there. I'll see if I can do this without any saved mistake steps along the way ;) human 20:35, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Ive removed it - the noinclude isn't working on the TOC for some reason tis Effin annoyin SusanG 20:38, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Good stuff Human, that works well. But thanks for trying Susan! DogP 20:55, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

40 years ago...

... a respected person passed away, killed. I'm not tech savvy, but a mention of it on the Main page or somewhere? Editor at CP^{for a change} 16:51, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Yup! I wondered why there was no notice myself. It's not MLK day but still ought to be commemorated. SusanG 16:53, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

I was him, and Gandhi, in my last school Christmas recital (?), when I was ten. I probably already passed for the kind, good guy back then... Editor at CP^{for a change} 16:57, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Well, we don't do news of the day on the main page, but we have the holydaze thing for holidays. MLK's murder was surely sad, but we celebrate his life on his birthday. Not sure what one is supposed to do over someone's death. Perhaps add a news item about some observance to "according to"? human 20:48, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Top notch event

I imagine all of you will want to go to this. DogP 17:09, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

The "Center for Conciousness Center"? (Seriously. That's what the title-bar says.) --Gulik 18:24, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

Well, that sounds... moderately interesting, I guess. Especially if you're interested in Consciousness Studies. --AKjeldsen^Godspeed! 18:29, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

I don't know. I'm feelin' kind of self-conscious about it. -- Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 02:28, 5 April 2008 (EDT)

Google #1!

We're #1 on Google forbumblebee argument - take that Conservative and stick it where the sun don't shine. SusanG 22:19, 5 April 2008 (EDT)

Charlton Heston

I know what you were going for DickTurpis, but that line was both insensative and in horribly bad taste. Mocking the death of political opponents is the tool of Andrew Schafly and the last revenge of ignorant people. I personally found Heston's views to be incredibly short sighted and incorrect. But his death still warrants the respect due any other personality and mocking the death of anyone, especially a political opponent shows an utter lack of decency and morals. SirChuckB^{Further bulletins as events warrant} 02:51, 6 April 2008 (EDT)

Well, I knew when I posted it that it was probably a bit over the line, but I couldn't resist. However, I do have to take issue with the accusation that I was mocking his death (as well as being called ignorant, indecent, and immoral). What I did was merely take a lighthearted jab at one of his most famous quotes. There was no attack involved. Too soon? Maybe, but I'm of the opinion that nothing should be taken too seriously. I noticed little umbrage taken at my Hinckley userbox, for example. In any case, I notice you use the word "personality". Does a "personality" deserve any more respect than a person? I'm certainly not gloating over his death, but I see no reason to treat him any more favorably than the thousand of others who died yesterday, just because he was famous. DickTurpis 09:52, 6 April 2008 (EDT)

I didn't mean to assert that your were ignorant, indecent or immoral. I simply meant to say that mocking the death (or indeed, even the misfortune of others) is what people holding those traits do. As I said, I understood the joke completely, (Dennis Miller actually did a very joke about that same saying before he lost his mind) and I didn't for one second think you were really celebrating Heston's death, but on a forum like the internet, Context is completely lost by the coldness and anonymity of posting. Just like it's hard to discern sarcasm in posts, it's hard to differentiate(sp?) between jokes and seriousness, and I figured a site that takes Conservapedia to task constantly for mocking deaths should not give any appearance of hypocrisy. As for your last point: No, a person should not receive any more respect because they're famous, but neither should they receive less. Just as you would not randomly go through the obituaries or visit random funerals and mock the families and friends of the deceased. I feel it's very poor taste to do the same to someone famous. When Jerry Falwell died, I was disgusted at the treatment given by editorial cartoons and most commentators. A death is a death, and if you want to debate their views, their positions, that's just fine. But under no circumstances should one resort to character assassination and blatant mockery.... Please don't trip over my soapbox on the way out, and PALMD... the chip on my shoulder is giving me back problems... any suggestions? SirChuckB^{Further bulletins as events warrant} 13:13, 6 April 2008 (EDT)

Psychic crackdown

This is cool. "Mediums are fighting new EU rules designed to protect the public from dodgy traders, fearing that honest spiritualists could be targeted."--Bob^{bing up} 05:40, 6 April 2008 (EDT)

I refuse find it hard to believe that there are still 300 spiritualist churches in Britain, as the article claims. Thunderkatz^Ho! 10:35, 6 April 2008 (EDT)

Oh yes! My father's aunt was a great spiritualist & I have no reason to believe the practice has died out in the last 50 years. TV progs don't help; celebrity ghosthunters or some such is the latest. SusanG 10:52, 6 April 2008 (EDT)

Say Doris Stokes to any Brit over 30 & they'll know who you mean. (Google it you idle bugger!)SusanG 10:54, 6 April 2008 (EDT)

See umberella organisation for more (ugh!) info. SusanG 11:02, 6 April 2008 (EDT)

75th Anniversary

This day in history:

"1933 - Prohibition is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of the XXI amendment."

AKA New Beers Eve! Drink up! BeastmasterGeneral 11:38, 7 April 2008 (EDT)
Schlafly beer gets a shout out in the cnn article Jrssr5 11:41, 7 April 2008 (EDT)

In honor of this occasion, I propose you change your sig to BeermasterGeneral. : ) -- Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 13:01, 8 April 2008 (EDT)

Done and done. BeermasterGeneral 13:10, 8 April 2008 (EDT)

Expelled

I am hearing ads for Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed today, touting "in theaters April 18th". What is rather amusing is where I am hearing them - on KPHX, the NovaM liberal talk radio station out of Phoenix, Arizona! But anyway, there's our "heads-up" for the open release date, if anyone wants to suffer through watching it (I want to have watched it, but I don't want to actually suffer through the reality of watching it...).

I wonder if it would be worth mentioning our article on the various hosts' blogs...

I am also going to create a fork page at expelled. human 18:06, 7 April 2008 (EDT)

The more PR the better! Pimp our article!-αmεσ (historian) 18:12, 7 April 2008 (EDT)

That fork page is handy :) SusanG 19:04, 7 April 2008 (EDT)

I don't know if anyone watched (or tried to watch, I couldn't finish them) the clips from Expelled.... But OH MY FREAKING GOODNESS... I stopped when some idiot actually implied that Nazism and racism are darwinist traits.... because everyone knows that racism and the belief that one group was inherently better than another didn't come from natural human behavior... but Darwin... the Bastard. As Ghandi once said "I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians... They are not much like your Christ" SirChuckB^{Further bulletins as events warrant} 20:52, 7 April 2008 (EDT)

I have to get off my bucket and drop some lines to my favorite hosts. I fear and suspect they are advertising Expelled on a liberal talk radio station because some libs are also a bit into woo (Kennedy and autism/vaccines, the whole Pacifica network...) and perhaps susceptible to being conned if they don't know much science. What I'd really like to do is get at least one host to do a segment on ID/Expelled/YEC as an assault on science via the political system. If I get off my bucket and put together a post or email... human 14:07, 8 April 2008 (EDT)

There are a LOT of other links, blogs and commentaries about Expelled:No Bukkits Allowed appearing at Digg currently - check Upcoming News. If we ever get Digg'd you'll know all about it as the server will be whimpering in a corner for a few days, begging it to stop. DogP 19:58, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

We are notable in Swead'n!

http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/RationalWiki - Icewedge 22:28, 7 April 2008 (EDT)

Sweet... whatever "RationalWiki är en wiki för vetenskaplig skepticism, som skapades bland annat för att bemöta Conservapedia." means! human 22:40, 7 April 2008 (EDT)

Alright... which one of you wrote it? Who here uses the name "Yvwv"? -- Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 22:43, 7 April 2008 (EDT)

"RationalWiki is a wiki for scientific scepticism, which was created partly in order to counter Conservapedia." And I didn't write it, at least. --AKjeldsen^Godspeed! 06:23, 8 April 2008 (EDT)

Out of curiosity, what does the Swedish Conservapedia article say? -- Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 14:07, 8 April 2008 (EDT)

Conservapedia is a private wiki which was started by conservatives in the USA, under the leadership of Andrew Schlafly, who considered Wikipedia too liberal, anti-Christian and anti-American.

The editors of Conservapedia are fed up with the fact that their edits to Wikipedia are immediately reverted by other users, and have instead directed their efforts towards creating their own wiki where they can show their view of reality. As of August 2007, the level of activity was ca. 50 edits per hour, which is equal to less than one percent of the similar activity on the English language Wikipedia. --AKjeldsen^Godspeed! 16:58, 8 April 2008 (EDT)

Hm. I suspect the writer isn't actually Swedish. That's the sort of thing only serious CP (or RW) lurkers would bother knowing. How in God's name would a Swede have even heard of Conservapedia, or RationalWiki, and more to the point, why would they care? ^{— Unsigned, by: Nuclear matzah / talk / contribs}

Considering we have a German and a Dane and a Holland-hater here on RW? human 23:53, 8 April 2008 (EDT)

They have blogs and forums in Sweden as well, you know. ;-) --AKjeldsen^Godspeed! 10:43, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

LLLLLL Really, I'm disappointed that you fell for that deceit. Have you got any evidence that there are blogs and forums in Sweden? No? Then you're relying on blind faith. --מְתֻרְגְּמָן ^{שְׁלֹום}

But... it's true. I've seen them. :-( --AKjeldsen^Godspeed! 16:39, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

This is simply more anti-mercun and anti god botherer liberal deceit: 99.8675309% of everyone knows that those blogs and forums are written in . . er . . .swede-talk . . .so no one can actually read them. A blog that no one can read is the same as no blog at all. We are not fooled ^{Exasperate me!}Sheesh!_{Not the most impressive contributor here} 11:49, 18 April 2008 (EDT)

Still calling for help at forums

I am just banged out. Can't post, can't email. I doubt it's the forums, probably my "new" firefox. No "obvious" things have fixed it yet :( Any deeper help than "close all windows and leave driveway" would be sorely appreciated. Thanks in advance :) human 00:04, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

Have you cleared your cookies yet? Pinto's5150 ^Talk 00:18, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

Yes (all over the keyboard ;)). I have yet to click that "delete private information" button though, which I guess is the cache and page history. I should do that and reboot and see what happens I guess. Thanks, human 13:05, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

Could there be a firewall, pop-up blocker or something like that interfering? Rational Ed^faith

Firewall is the same old router I've been using for years, but it is a possible suspect, yes. Pop up blocker shouldn't be an issue, but it is something to check. Thanks! I just did an experiment, trying to "clear" everything and reboot. Firefox's "clear private data" box has a half dozen checkboxes, one of which is the download record thing - which doesn't work. I cleared everything else, though (except my page history, I figure that's harmless), and after the reboot I was able to post to a forum successfully. We'll see how long that lasts, though. Any ideas on how to fix the stupid download thing in Firefox? (It might be even a legacy holdover problem from Mozilla, for ages saving pix has taken 30 sec - 1 minute, which is very wrong...). Thanks! human 13:51, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

The pic save delay is your Download History being too freaking long. You can purge it (CTRL-J and then "Clean up"), but it will take AGES. Seriously, I once did it, and it took almost HALF A FREAKING HOUR. But you can simply delete the file containing the download history - Firefox will automatically create a new (empty) file next time you start it. Instructions --Sid 16:00, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

PS: A related tale of long logs causing disruptions. --Sid 16:05, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

Sid, if you're right, you're my hero! Um, where is the file containing the d/l history so I can snuff it? Thanks! human 16:27, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

Check your profile folder and delete the history file - as the instructions I linked to before tell you :P --Sid 16:57, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

Oops, sorry, I missed the instructions link, I was too busy reading about haunted doors! I go do now and report... human 19:50, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

It worked! I just downloaded a picture of a goat in under a second! I had to delete at least 3 separate (but equal sized at just under 4 M) download.rdf files, but after that we now haz speed again for goat pikchers. Thanks, Sid! human 20:31, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

No problem, glad it worked out :) --Sid 16:30, 10 April 2008 (EDT)

Nuke the Moon

Anyone check out the conservative T-shirt link on the vidya game article link. If nuking the moon is conservative then count me in. BeermasterGeneral 15:27, 9 April 2008 (EDT)

Re-vamp mainpage

Although the original coding for our mainpage was instituted by me I find it extremely irritating now, I know several others share this sentiment as well. Does anyone else think the mainpage needs to be redesigned? - Icewedge 21:04, 10 April 2008 (EDT)

You mean the templates that make up most of it? It hasn't been hard to work with, really, but what would you suggest? Can you set up a sandbox example? Ktxbai :) human 21:26, 10 April 2008 (EDT)

It is the color scheme that I like the least but I think that it would also be like to come up with our own formatting for the main page; we look too much like a Wikipedia clone right now. Anyways, I will get a sand box set up as you sugest and see if I can create anything that meets mob approval. - Icewedge 22:10, 10 April 2008 (EDT)

Wow, I just looked at the WP main page, I never realized they were so similar. Can we round the edges of our header boxes, at least? And add a couple of pixels to the border thickness? That would be a start! At we kan haz brainz though. human 22:51, 10 April 2008 (EDT)

tasteful spinning logo?   ^Contribs_Talk 18:28, 13 April 2008 (EDT)

I was thinking of mocking up a sandbox so it looks more like CP's main page ;). I also assigned myself the task of doing something really despicable with that spinning anigiffosaurus. human 18:32, 13 April 2008 (EDT)

Oh, wait, maybe like theirs used to. It's not interesting these days, except for the Masterpiece of the Weak and Broken News headers. We need more bold curves! human 18:49, 13 April 2008 (EDT)

I agree - we need to start with the colour scheme. Good design would suggest that various sections might have the same hue family, but we have mauve sections with mauve headlines , other mauve/mauve that represent different topics, and the mauve/green and blue/blue sections have no thematic reason. In an ideal world, the site's 'About Us' topics would have one hue, the editing and instruction topics another in the same hue but different saturation, featured items a different hue, and News something different again. It could probably be done with three tones. However, avoiding the Fairground Attraction look is always advisable too. Anyway, yes, a design reworking is in order. DogP 18:51, 13 April 2008 (EDT)

my 2cents   ^Contribs_Talk 19:33, 13 April 2008 (EDT)

No offense, but "ouch". human 20:00, 13 April 2008 (EDT)

None taken :)   ^Contribs_Talk 20:01, 13 April 2008 (EDT)

Hehe, whew ;) Here, I made things safer for children (no sharp edges!). Open to input on better colors choices though. human 20:31, 13 April 2008 (EDT)

We think this version might be ready to paste in, while we keep working on other improvements (colors, images...). What sayeth the mob? human 22:22, 13 April 2008 (EDT)

I like that, there is a bit to much purple however, how is this?(perma-link) I copied and pasted your code and tweak the colors of the main right column. - Icewedge 03:00, 15 April 2008 (EDT)

Come on mob! As human said: comment! - Icewedge 21:47, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

I really like the look except one thing....Who the hell told you that the puke-green in the "According to (ahem) Some People" section harmonised pleasingly with the rest of the colour scheme? Don't you have wives or girlfriends to help you colour co-ordinate? (True confession - I recently brought a jacket to the department store so the girl in the men's wear department could pick out t tie for me. Colour matching, not so much my ability.)PFoster 22:11, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

Beotch, I do my own colors, and the ladez like them. Anyhoo, Ice pasted in his version (be bold?), with grey on the left and no color in the headers. Comments? human 00:16, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Yeah, sorry about that Human but I feel that your contains excessive purple. Feel free to change the colors to something better but can we please try to stay away from growing a plumb orchard on our mainpage? - Icewedge 00:22, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Don't edit the main page when you're drunk, Hugh. SHahB 00:18, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

I didn't, you silly Danish trollop. PS, my name is spelled "Huw" - memorize that sometime that you are sober. human 00:20, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

"Hew" is but a misspelling of the English name Hugh. SHahB 00:24, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Drowning touchdown Jesus

This group is the funniest thing I've seen on facebook.-αmεσ (historian) 23:01, 10 April 2008 (EDT)

Can't access it—I don't have a Facebook account. -- Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 23:45, 10 April 2008 (EDT)

I'll be the first to admit I'm not much of a sports guy, but isn't that more of a field goal Jesus? DickTurpis 00:56, 11 April 2008 (EDT)

Name me

I'm thinking of changing my wikiname. Does anyone have any polite suggestions? The more latinate the better. I was thinking of PhoenixWright, but CP already thinks that that was me, and I don't want to feed more into their paranoia... which is kind of a bummer, because I really like that name.-αmεσ (historian) 15:20, 11 April 2008 (EDT)

Locutor? SusanG 15:25, 11 April 2008 (EDT)

"Miles Edgeworth" perhaps? He's got a spin-off coming out. --Arcan ¡ollǝɥ 15:27, 11 April 2008 (EDT)

You could always be Baltar. =3 --Kels 15:28, 11 April 2008 (EDT)

KT? PFoster 15:31, 11 April 2008 (EDT)

Make it a variation of Bohdan! SHahB 15:32, 11 April 2008 (EDT)

KT? Huh? And HOLD IT! I didn't know an Edgeworth spinoff was coming out!!!!!!!!!-αmεσ (historian) 15:32, 11 April 2008 (EDT)

KT - as in the evil twin of...never mind...PFoster 15:34, 11 April 2008 (EDT)

Oh, I like that! But, HOLY FUCKING SHIT!! WTF zomg-αmεσ (historian) 15:34, 11 April 2008 (EDT)

Despite the spin-off, I was pretty much joking. "ApolloJustice" would be a much more impressive name than "MilesEdgeworth" --Arcan ¡ollǝɥ 15:43, 11 April 2008 (EDT)

• Atticus
• Bodhandiddly
• Deus ex Ribena

--Robledo 16:26, 11 April 2008 (EDT)

What's wrong with AmesG? -- Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 18:23, 13 April 2008 (EDT)

Your Face -> That Book -> Or Else! DogP 18:24, 13 April 2008 (EDT)

Games? (Ludi in Latin. Maybe Ludicrous?) Genghis ^Marauding 09:00, 15 April 2008 (EDT)

Funny pictures...

LOVE these.-αmεσ (historian)

Excellent. Confirms that it's difficult to tell where parody leaves off and fundamentalist reality begins. Rational Ed^evidence 09:21, 15 April 2008 (EDT)

Pope Lulz

The Yankees told the Pope to keep off the grass That's too funny. SirChuckB^{Further bulletins as events warrant} 01:23, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

Your new names are all supremely awful

I'm taking this opportunity to express that your new usernames are both really bad. SHahB—it just reads bad. CivisAmericanusSum—it's far too cumbersome after months of using AmesG.

CivisAmericanusSum est LAME. And you don't have to put the verb last. "SumCivisAmericanus" is punchier and more dramatic—"I am!" Also, CivisAmericanusSum? Shouldn't American be in the dative case? As it stands, I believe you're saying "I am a Citizen American." It should read CivisAmericaniSum.

End rant. -- Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 21:04, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

You're right. How about Publius?-CivisAmericanusSum 21:34, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

Publius would be a hell of a lot better than CrimAnkletScum, that's for sure. Agreed on all points with Radioactive A Fuku Wearer. --Kels 21:39, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

Sorry :-(. I just wanted to experiment! Everyone else was doing it!-CivisAmericanusSum 21:42, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

Yeah, and look at how crappy Bodhan's experiment turned out. That should have been a warning to you! --Kels 21:46, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

How about PhoenixWright?-CivisAmericanusSum 22:01, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

How about AmesG? SHahB 22:07, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

Good heavens, that's even worse! --Kels 22:26, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

Now that I think about it, only an total yokel would choose such a stupid name as "AmesG". SHahB 22:28, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

Obviously someone lacking in moral fibre. --Kels 22:47, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

Bohdan, my parents are not yokels!

Also, how about something generic, like Advocate? I kind of like that.-CivisAmericanusSum 23:35, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

Your parents chose the name Ames. That's not yokelish. "AmesG" however just reeks of yokel. SHahB 23:39, 16 April 2008 (EDT)

YOu haven't even considered a bastardization my name yet! How about PuwHowell? human 00:06, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

I'm keeping this name. For realz. Sorry for flooding RC again :-(Caius 10:17, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

OK, so how do you pronounce it - Keys or Cai-uss? And does it refer to Caius Caesar (better known as Caligula)? Genghis ^Marauding 10:25, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Kai-uhs - the praenomen "Gaius" was really spelled "Caius," so it refers to anyone who used it ^{— Unsigned, by: Caius / talk / contribs}

Do you have to fill up Recent changes with your mammoth name changes? :-)   ^Contribs_Talk 11:08, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

KYUSS. BeermasterGeneral 11:20, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Isn't it ironic that having changed his name he forgot to use it? Anyway, he'll always be Bohdan to me. Genghis ^Marauding 11:25, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Darwin's First Draft, a Proposed Contest...

A contest - you know, liven things up around here. Darwin's first draft of Origin of Speciesis going up online. Try as I may, I couldn't think of anything funny to say to answer this hypothetical question: What would be the funniest or most shocking change/margin note/left out section that one could imagine finding in Darwin's manuscript? Schlafly jokes? Ben Stein jokes?PFoster 10:56, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

"I find myself strangely attracted to a young female chimpanzee at London Zoo. This has got me wondering, are they really so very different from us?"
Genghis ^Marauding 11:28, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

"Finally, a scientific reason to kill the Jews and Gypsies! Now, how to disguise my intent?" human 11:46, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

"I have a plan for destroying Christianity and all moral decency in the world. I will practice deceit liberally and cloak my strategy in scientific clothing." Rational Ed^evidence 12:09, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

"I dedicate this book to my dog." -- Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 15:29, 18 April 2008 (EDT)

Abortion, Art, and Liberal Universities all in one horrific story...

Part of me wants to call "bullshit" on this,but I'd be interested in 1. People 'round here's opinions on the story - true or not - and 2. Your predictions on how long this'll take to become a big deal over at CP....PFoster 14:10, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Ugh! 1) if true it's revolting. 2) You mean they're not onto it already?   ^Contribs_Talk 14:19, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Eh, it's gross, but it's an interesting point in terms of sovereignty over one's own body - so she repeatedly infected herself with possibly terminal cases of "children", and then used various self-cures to heal herself? Seems like a private matter to me. human 14:39, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Well, not particularly private since it will be an art project on public display. But it could be a hoax. Rational Ed^evidence 14:53, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

I meant that the "data set" was a private matter. The "art" project is then a public report on it. human 14:54, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

What would we do if someone started cutting off their fingers in public one by one as an artistic statement? I'm not suggesting it is the exactly the same, but it occurs to me we would probably draw a line somewhere as to what is private and what is insane. Rational Ed^evidence 20:23, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Seems it was a hoax. Well, not really a hoax so much as the story itself was the art piece. I think that includes the public reaction to it, though the statement is a little vague. --Arcan ¡ollǝɥ 02:15, 18 April 2008 (EDT)

@Ed, well, "harming oneself" is one of those symptoms that can lead to forcible intervention by health providers/authorities, so there is some sort of line, obviously. I suspect if she had really done it, at least once she might have found herself in an ER hemorrhaging, and sensible questions would have been asked. But art is tough these days, and you gotta break a few eggs to make an umlaut, right? human 12:05, 18 April 2008 (EDT)

AT(a)SP going the way of WIGO

There's a rampant excess of copy in this section - too much explanation, long, windy paragraphs, and even parenthesised exposition. I don't want to piss any the posters off, so I won't edit your stuff (yet), but do you think you could try and keep things snappy in this section? DogP 19:07, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

(Sigh.) If you insist. I find WIGO-shortness annoying at times, and when I click to find the link boring and not worth the click, it pisses me off. Plus I think WIGO is different than According to... Sterile^xx 19:10, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Well, I'm not insisting, absolutely not, but brevity makes for stronger statements. There's 10 items in AT(s)SP right now, and I can only see part of two before the second one runs off the end of the screen. It seems very diatribe-y to me. DogP 19:30, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Oh, and the DVD offer, while funny and I wholeheartedly approve of the item, isn't exactly "According to Some People", which is intended to be non-CP news from whackos, nutjobs and fundies around the world. Is there a better place for it? Maybe in TWIGO? DogP 19:32, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Although AT is getting a bit Expelled-heavy right now, tomorrow is the major release date. So it's kind of a big deal. And I agree with putting the link there (and anywhere else off site people can think of). After all, "According to" Dr. Dino, you can get a free DVD until April 30! That's news ;) That said, I agree that the writing style of these things could be improved. Two sentences, no first person/second person voicing, describe what the links(s) will bring people to... Both the DI and rotten tomatoes items are 2-3 times longer than they need to be. Like DP says, try to keep them tight. human 19:50, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

I don't see this Free Dvd offer? I see DVD's for sale - where's the free one? DogP 19:54, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

I fixed the link. It should work now - the link gives you a code to use in checkout. It works as advertised. I also took a sharp razor to some of the excess copy in ATSP, hope I trod on no tender toes. human 20:01, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Hmmm, link doesn't work for me, now. But maybe it's because I already used it? Please test, and if phailure ensues, delete item. They may be getting slashdotted and killed the offer, or changed the link to get to it. human 20:02, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Nope, don't work fer me. They're rotating the DVD they're selling on the page, so it's possible I'm just never seeing it. DogP 20:04, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

It's dead then. When I went there, it was a "special" page with the offer and a checkout code to copy and paste in two clicks later. The baby elephant sat on it :( human 20:09, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

<rant><apologies>Actually, the bigger problems is that not too many people contribute to According to..., they are more obsessed with WIGO, with every little nuance in CP with completely ununderstandble banter, and continue to make RW increasingly unapproachable for anyone in the general public and increasingly irrelevant to anyone in a potential audience. No wonder we never have more than 2000 unique visitors in a month.</rant> Sterile^xx 08:34, 18 April 2008 (EDT)

You've a point there Sterile. OK, that's gonna be my new focus. From WIGO to AT I go. DogP 20:55, 18 April 2008 (EDT)

I got mail :)

Today in my commie liberal government run mail service "box" was a nice envelope that cost some outfit called "CSE" $1.48 to mail to me. Contents: One shiny blurb for Expelled, with some bullet points, including "Learn how to defend your belief in God based on scientific evidence" (scan and upload to follow soon); a nice bright goldenrod bit paper saying the prices in the enclosed catalog may have changed and please check the website for current ones; a brochure adverising something called Dinosaur Adventure Land (which rips off the fonts from Jurassic Park!); a CSE "resource catalog"; and... tada... a drinks coaster with "The Age of the Earth" written on the non-shiny side. As promised earlier in this vital missive, I'll be scanning everything I can and putting the images in appropriate articles (eventually). Thank You Jesus, thank You Lord! (Is "you" supposed to be capitalized when speaking directly to any of the trinity? And is capitalizing "I" a wee bit grandiose from this perspective?) human 20:21, 26 April 2008 (EDT)

I got it too. I'm saving the Expelled slip-in, which is a nice little smoking gun for the next Kitzmiller. I even wrote stuff about how great these little slip ups are!</plug>-caius (hegemon)

Yes, it's classic stuff. I am so proud to own it, and will cherish it forever. Much as I cherish my YEC homskollar middle school science textbook (OK, I let it get roofleaked on, whatever). Evidence is the best defense! human 22:45, 26 April 2008 (EDT)

You gonna Upload sum skanz then?   ^Contribs_Talk 22:49, 26 April 2008 (EDT)

Pat Robertson and Al Sharpton....

In a commercial together. It seems hilarious to me, but you know, it might actually do some good. Say what ya think, RWians. ŖєuĻєux^{say wнäτ?} 20:59, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

I say more power to them both! Anything goes when it comes to stopping idiots driving around in Hummers. DogP 21:13, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

I think $110+ bbl of oil will do THAT very quickly. I'm glad someone outside of the CBN complex has seen Robertson in the flesh...I was starting to think he was an animatronic inwention of Billy Graham. CЯacke® 21:24, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Heh, I had already seen that on teh tellybision! It's amazing how fast people react when you hit them in the wallet instead of the brain. About 24-30 months ago I saw the first in the "new wave" of car ads promoting fuel economy of the model. Now everything from a Prius to a full-size pickup touts it's mileage one way or another. And the folks on the ground are scrambling for small cars, motorcycles, etc., to cut their fuel bills. OK, and I will admit to having bought long underwear and dropping the t-stats a good eight degrees due to $3.50/gallon heating oil. Here's where it gets funny, though: water4gas.com - part of what they are selling is snake oil to the gullible, but, ironically, some of the ideas (the MA sensor mod thing) have a solid basis in chemistry and internal combustion engineering. The neighborhood hummers all still seem to be rolling in defiance, though. Oddly, nothing about things like rolling trucker strikes in the "debate" a few days ago, though. human 21:35, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Also, there's another version, with Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich. Saw both tonight on CC. Also, the blurry Expelled ad... human 00:48, 18 April 2008 (EDT)

Even Netflix is advertising based on the gas you'll save not driving to the video rental store. Rational Ed^evidence 11:02, 18 April 2008 (EDT)

Virtual PZ

Check this out, too awesome. PZ Myers in Second Life, and yes, that's the real PZ Myers. He gave a talk tonight in-world, and apparently went clubbing after. The two squiddy things are good friends of mine, known them for almost as long as I've been "playing" there. One's an American artist, the other's a German science student. --Kels 23:13, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

WOW. That is the funniest thing I've seen in some time!-caius (hegemon) 23:26, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

You didnt' see the one with him dancing with a two-dimensional, flexible penis and making "flatworm" jokes. He's also got a sign saying "I WAS EXPELLED!". --Kels 23:58, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

So PZ is OK'd with the PN (they would, I assume, be the providers of >50% of the SL penis stock)? Damn. Now nothing can stop him. If only Stein would go into SL, I'd dust off my old account and start creating self-replicating cubes mapped with Dawkins' ugly face all over his speech. --מְתֻרְגְּמָן ^{שְׁלֹום}

Worst Music in the world

Ok, this isn't really mainpage but a conversation in chat about the CP Debate: "Is Rap Music Torture?" brought up this link to what has been designed to be the most annoying music in the world. It has just been described to me "Worse than Vogan poetry." I recommend it to all.--Bob^{bing up} 17:25, 22 April 2008 (EDT)

Listening to it right now. It certainly has great potential, although the first melody reminds me a bit too much of Kurt Weil's Mack the Knife to reach the highest levels of horrible-ness. --AKjeldsen^Godspeed! 17:37, 22 April 2008 (EDT)

Stick with it. You've got 18 minutes of torture if you're a man!--Bob^{bing up} 17:38, 22 April 2008 (EDT)

I'm not finished the whole thing, but I think knowing its purpose makes it hilarious. If I had not known it was designed to be horrible, I doubt I'd be able to last through the whole thing. Then again, Music majors are exposed to a lot of avant-gardery (Cage, theremin music, etc.). --Arcan ¡ollǝɥ 17:52, 22 April 2008 (EDT)

I heard the whole thing. To my surprise, I find that I must agree with the commenter who "non-ironically found this freaking awesome." --AKjeldsen^Godspeed! 18:13, 22 April 2008 (EDT)

I keep forgetting to pay attention to how "awful" it's supposed to be. I listen to a lot of college radio, so I just keep wondering which show is on. human 18:45, 22 April 2008 (EDT)

Wow, that was fun! Is there an interpretive dance video of it on utube yet? human 19:04, 22 April 2008 (EDT)

Very funny! Reminds me of some of Spike Jones' stuff. Rational Ed^evidence 19:27, 22 April 2008 (EDT)

Who needs interpretive dance when you can have virtual PZ dancing to it on your desktop? (this actually sounds scarily similar to stuff i listen to for pleasure) airdish 02:59, 24 April 2008 (EDT)

It took me about 5 listens, but I got through the whole thing. It was pretty bad. While I like pipe organs, bagpipes and tubas, the opera rap was just too much. And the kids' insipid songs were tough to listen to as well. Nonetheless, I'd listen to that over such godawful drivel as "I Wanna Rock'n'Roll All Night an Party Every Day" or various other songs that make me wat to stab somebody in th face. DickTurpis 13:16, 24 April 2008 (EDT)

Shelley The Republican

Probably old news to most of you, but I found this site whilst skiving at work during my lunch break, and thought it rather cool. It's another parody of conservatism, just like CP, except better written. Is there anywhere this should be linked to out of RW? Bondurant 08:34, 24 April 2008 (EDT)

Poe's Law. :-) --Bob^{bing up} 12:06, 24 April 2008 (EDT)

Awesome! -- Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 12:54, 24 April 2008 (EDT)

Jonesville

Shouldn't our commentary on the church sign focus also on the fact that the sign's claim is ridiculous (Obama's last name CLEARLY sounds like the first name of an Arab, and we all know Arabs CAN'T be Christians), and that it verges on the point of racism (certain names implies certain race, and certain race implies a certain religion)? Yes, it's also a blatant political message, but I think that's actually less important in this case, since there are probably plenty of other examples of political messages coming from religious organizations. Thunderkatz^Ho! 22:16, 24 April 2008 (EDT)

I dunno, I get the thing the way it's written - in exchange for their tax-exempt status, les churches in teh US aren't "allowed" (wink wink nudge nudge) to make overt political statements (endorsements?), or something like that. human 01:21, 25 April 2008 (EDT)

Are we surprised?

The New York Police officers were aquitted. 51 bullets into an unarmed man... Whatever, he's black. SirChuckB^{Further bulletins as events warrant} 21:13, 25 April 2008 (EDT)

Oh come on now, SirChuckB! White guys are always being shot with 51 bullets in some US city, aren't they? DogP 13:05, 27 April 2008 (EDT)

Spring cleaning boycott?

Is there a boycott going on at the moment? According to the IRC channel there is. (Editor at) CP:^{no intelligence allowed} 06:24, 26 April 2008 (EDT)

I dunno... I just logged in to see what the fuss is all about... human 14:08, 26 April 2008 (EDT)

Happy Easter? WTF...

Why are we wishing people a Happy Easter? PFoster 22:52, 26 April 2008 (EDT)

Because Sunday the 27th is Easter in the Eastern Orthodox Church, boyo. Jesus on an Easter stick, you didn't know that? human 23:05, 26 April 2008 (EDT)

Are you sure? There were big fights that broke out last Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre over Orthodox Easter visiting rights with Baby Jesus - someone is off somewhere, maybe? PFoster 23:08, 26 April 2008 (EDT)

Never mind - that was Orthodox Palm Sunday. My bad. PFoster 23:09, 26 April 2008 (EDT)

Right... first we read your palms, then we kill your God. Holydaze iz complicated, eh? human 00:19, 27 April 2008 (EDT)

Constantine's Sword

I went to see this today - absolutely fascinating feature doc, essentially about the deep roots of anti-Semitism in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, and its complicity in multiple horrors against Jewry down the years. It also looks at contemporary fundamentalist Evangelical involvement with the US military, particularly the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs where nutjobs like Ted Haggard, etc are proselytizing. Yes, you get to look at and listen to that total freak - a terrifying proposition. That man needs to be kept away from small children, oh, and male prostitutes too of course. It's particularly interesting about the various Popes and their back-turning over the millenia on the Jews of Europe. It's the 'movie of the book' of James Carroll's story - the son of a former 3-Star General who became a priest, then left the Church over the Vietnam War. The director - Oren Jacoby - says "Our film poses the question: Where did anyone get the idea that it was all right to kill people in the name of God?"

I thought it was fascinating. It's the anti-Expelled:I Haven't Got A Clue What I'm Blabbering On About. Go and support this film rather than obsessing about the other.

Constantine's Sword

DogP 11:10, 28 April 2008 (EDT)

James Carroll also has had a steady gig writing op-ed pieces for the Boston Globe for years (I think he's still there). He's definitely one of the "good guys", one of the few against the Iraq War from the beginning in print, in the MSM. human 12:52, 28 April 2008 (EDT)

Why do people laugh at Creationists?

This video shows a few good reasons. --Gulik 00:59, 1 May 2008 (EDT)

Hehe, one of these days I am gonna sit right down and watch the free DVD I was sent by CSE, care of DrDino, titled "The Age of the Earth". Then I'll join CP and work to promote the real truth! human 14:06, 1 May 2008 (EDT)

Mmm, Jesus spam. Nothing quite like it, eh, Human? -- Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 11:58, 2 May 2008 (EDT)

I watched all 24 parts of 'Why do people laugh at Creationists'. Some good points, but some easy targets also - VenomFang is so ignorant that debunking him is like shooting fish in a barrel. Some of the later parts with Ben Stein are just laughable - Stein conflates evolution with astronomy, geology, physics, abiogenesis in a way that shows he doesn't know what he's talking about. Just blaming everything that doesn't square with YEC on Darwinism. Genghis^{RationalWiki GOLD member} 13:36, 2 May 2008 (EDT)