End of Angel
http://www.thewb.com/PressRelease/Index/0,8341,156980,00.html Season 5 to be the last... -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ 'The true sausage buff will sooner or later want his own meat grinder.' -- Jack Schmidling ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
FOOLish
People of the list, I ask that you forgive me for what I am now about to do, and that you understand the reasons behind it. You see, I have been personally scathed by what I would consider to be an ill-conceived and rather juvenile outburst, on the part of the Fool. This completely unfounded display of despiteful disdain towards my person is crass, antagonistic, and quite needless to say the least. It is also so far below the standards of this list, that it can be branded beyond any doubt, absolute rubbish. Something to be fed to the rats in the gutter, as opposed to the members of this list. And quite frankly I've had my fill. In any case, please understand that I have no intention of lowering myself to the level that the Fool has so eloquently shown he operates on. You see, I do not consort with such venomous creatures that prey on what they consider to be the young and relatively weak members of the herd. Instead, this young buck tends to frown upon such predatory advances. Which is why this message is being posted to the list in the first place. What better way to thwart this behavior, than to bring it into the light? To display it for all to see! Of course this type of posting can go nowhere, and fast. Which is why this will be a one time deal for me. I understand the apprehensions of those who have contacted me, and stated their concerns over what this could turn into. Rest assured though, that I have seen this many a time myself on different forums, and I just want everyone to know, that it will go no further than this post. I can only speak for myself though Moving on... Ah yes, top posting. An unwritten rule of etiquette. Yet people do it all the time. And I, though I don't do it often, fail to see why I deserve such harsh treatment on this score. As a matter of fact, I dont. Don't top-post. Ever. Thats a little authoritarian don't you think? Moreover, I find it amusing that you would have the audacity to say this to me, and not to the likes of Dr. Brin himself. Someone who top-posts quite often. But then you wouldn't have the gumption would you? Of course not! The only reason you singled me out, was due to the fact that you thought I'd be a good target for your own obscene arguments. Branding me a newbie. Well yes, I am relatively new to the list, but I'm not a complete n00b. And even so, it gives you no cause whatsoever to treat me with such disrespect. Is 'freedom' one of dr Brins 4 memes? No. Perhaps you should go find out what these 4 memes are if you are going to post on a Brin list? In all honesty, I have no idea what those four memes are. And quite frankly, I don't overly care. If I ever stumble across them though, I shall store them in my clueless brain. Besides, you left no indication that anyone responding was to utilize those four memes, and nothing else. Far be it for me to render an opinion on a topic on this list! Why, it goes against the fundamental premise of the list in the first place right? Nobody is allowed to discuss ANYTHING, unless it ties directly into your own self-prescribed, and might I add, stagnant sense of academia. This is the way you appear to operate. And if you truly believe in your own sense of self-importance, and you're not just an antagonizing and quite bothersome human being for the sake of being antagonizing and bothersome, then you are aptly named THE FOOL. As for your blatant question: WHAT ARE YOU DOING AN A BRIN LIST?, well I was referred here. By Dr. Brin. So...should I not post here? Perhaps not. At least not as far as you're concerned. Get a life. Is being a dim-witted top-poster the Meme of the clueless AOL newbie? Top-posting makes one look like an AOL newbie using numbers 4 letters and unable to write. Initially I was going to say that comments like those amaze me. But that's just a cliched figure of speech. In actuality, I'm not suprised in the least. People like you can be found everywhere. (Pardon me for generalizing. It's something that I argue against. But in some cases it's an accurate way of describing someone). They can be found in bars, restaurants, schools, post-secondary educational institutions, department stores, the workplace, the playground, on the public transportation system, in your own family, and most notably under rocks. You are a fact of life Fool. One that I accept, but don't tolerate. So I think it best that you refrain from such unrestrained outbursts in the future. It's bad for business. -Travis that's pretty much all I wanted to say Edmunds _ MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/viruspgmarket=en-caRU=http%3a%2f%2fjoin.msn.com%2f%3fpage%3dmisc%2fspecialoffers%26pgmarket%3den-ca ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Are ad honomin attacks ever justified?
Is it fair to bring up that someone railing against those drug users was an illegal drug user himself for much of the time? Is it fair to point out that he yells and screams about police action against him that was in line with what he advocated for others? You know what? Screw Rush and all his true believers who excoriated Democrats for being soft on Clinton's transgressions. Here's the definition of a compassionate conservative: A dittohead who's just learned that Rush is a junkie. I wasn't a Rush hater (or fan) till this happened. The way he's handled it makes me despise him. I wish him the worst. I hope he relapses, publicly and humiliatingly. But none of this proves Rush is wrong, it just proves he's a degenerate unreformed hypocrite. Like Clinton. He should be ashamed of himself, but he's not. Robert Downey Jr. is more sincere about reforming than that big fat idiot Limbaugh is. Rush is occasionally entertaining, frequently astute, and none of what's happened proves anything except he's a liar and a cheat and he doesn't obey the law and he's not really committed to his beliefs. There's a time and place to call someone an asshole, and there's a time and place to engage in reasoned debate. Frequently, it can be hard to remember which one you're supposed to be doing, especially when you disagree with someone who's an asshole, or when you disagree with someone and can't think of anything to say except, You're an asshole! I think we sometimes forget about the fact that, really, there is a time and place to call someone an asshole. Life isn't all about reasoned debate, and making judgments about other people can be perfectly rational and appropriate. Janet Jackson, you're an asshole. So's your brother. Justin Timberlake is a perineum away from being an asshole. My suggestion is that we should all divide our most impassioned posts into two parts: Part One: You're an asshole and here's why. Part Two: You're wrong and here's why. -Mike ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: FOOLish
Travis Edmunds wrote: Is 'freedom' one of dr Brins 4 memes? No. Perhaps you should go find out what these 4 memes are if you are going to post on a Brin list? In all honesty, I have no idea what those four memes are. And quite frankly, I don't overly care. If I ever stumble across them though, I shall store them in my clueless brain. Read The New Meme. It's at http://hsv.com/editorials/davidbrin/dbrin2.htm I agree that it was rude to take you to task that way, especially without providing a link to the essay which was referred to. At least as rude as top-posting. :) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: FOOLish
Travis Edmunds wrote: In all honesty, I have no idea what those four memes are. And quite frankly, I don't overly care. If I ever stumble across them though, I shall store them in my clueless brain. The essay where Dr. Brin described them is easy to miss, unless you've either been reading everything Dr. Brin wrote in the last ten or twelve years, or you've been reading this list for a few years. They're listed in his essay, The New Meme. You can find a copy here: http://hsv.com/editorials/davidbrin/dbrin2.htm Or in his short story collection, _Otherness_, under the title The Commonwealth of Wonder. The five memes he describes in the essay are Feudalism, Machismo, Paranoia, The East, and the new one, Otherness. It's a good essay, but not so good that I'll think you're clueless if you haven't read it. ;-) Wow, it's a small world. I ran a Google search for Brin new meme, and the first site I found is in a virtual newspaper from right here in Huntsville, Alabama. __ Steve Sloan . Huntsville, Alabama = [EMAIL PROTECTED] Brin-L list pages .. http://www.brin-l.org Science Fiction-themed online store . http://www.sloan3d.com/store Chmeee's 3D Objects http://www.sloan3d.com/chmeee 3D and Drawing Galleries .. http://www.sloansteady.com Software Science Fiction, Science, and Computer Links Science fiction scans . http://www.sloan3d.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Spot the fake smiles
William T Goodall wrote: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/smiles/index.shtml Spot the fake smiles This experiment is designed to test whether you can spot the difference between a fake smile and a real one It has 20 questions and should take you 10 minutes It is based on research by Professor Paul Ekman, a psychologist at the University of California We will not pass on your personal details to any other organisation without your permission except for the purposes of processing the data for this experiment Each video clip will take approximately 15 seconds to load on a 56k modem and you can only play each smile once Requires Flash 6 or higher I got 15/20, which is probably not very good...but I hadn't seen the TV program that explains how to tell the difference either. Finally got around to this -- 15/20 as well. Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: FOOLish
- Original Message - From: Travis Edmunds [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, February 14, 2004 11:58 AM Subject: FOOLish People of the list, Bully for you Travis (I wouldn't let it bother me too much. There's forest and there's trees, and I think you have made friends here already :) ) xponent He Stuck An Arm In And Brought It Out Bloody Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Win Source Code
Doug Pensinger wrote: Robertwrote: /* Source Code Windows 2000 */ ROTFL!! Thanks for that, Rob, where did it come from? It only proves that M$ is reusing the code, because I saw that for Windows 95. Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Brin: Tytlal and all the world's a Stooge
--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The Tytlal. Such a short listing for the Tytlal. wow... Now to establish a religion like Hubbard... One problem a CULT of INDIVIDUALISM? How would that work? You are ALL individuals! Yes, Master. We are! uh... I'm not. = . . * Please note. My email address of many years is changing FROM [EMAIL PROTECTED] TO [EMAIL PROTECTED] ... (Or else use [EMAIL PROTECTED]) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Branflakes: Tytlal and all the world's a Stooge
In a message dated 2/14/2004 3:52:59 PM US Mountain Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The Tytlal. Such a short listing for the Tytlal. wow... Now to establish a religion like Hubbard... One problem a CULT of INDIVIDUALISM? How would that work? ...on a thoughtshare basis? They have to get together for the really big pranks. Each individual independently deceides for themselves whether or not to participate in the prank. Thus making really big pranks that much more difficult. Thus making The Trickster that much more pleased if they get pulled off. A selfish fullfilling tytology. You are ALL individuals! Let's vote on the validity of that statement, scream 30,000 Tytlal in unison. ...several hours or days later: Yes, Master. We are! as 30,000 Tytlal bow in 30,000 random directions. uh... I'm not. And 29,999 Tytlal start voting upon the validity of that statement. --- Old L. Ron Hubbard went to his cubberd to give all the Tytlal some class. But when he got there, L. Ron Hubbard was bare. And the Tytlal could all see his asterisk William Taylor. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Sloan3D Store Update -- Black shirts now available
I released my first t-shirt design for sale a couple of months ago, featuring a high-quality single frame from the Izmunuti animation I created a few years ago... http://www.sloansteady.com/#anims ...showing Streaker getting hammered inside the red giant Izmunuti. The CafePress.com site I've been using to print and sell these shirts on demand has an annoying inability to print designs on dark shirts, so I decided to do those myself. My online store now offers shirts in black, and just about any other common shirt color you'd like, for $17 per shirt, plus shipping. I'm donating one dollar from the price of each shirt you purchase to the charity of your choice. As always, I'm also offering Universal Kilns temporary tattoos, for $3 per sheet of three tattoos, with fifty cents from each tattoo sheet purchase going to charity. I'm also donating one dollar per shirt for the usual white and gray shirts from CafePress. My main store site has links to all the merchandise I currently have available: http://www.sloan3d.com/store/ You can see a preview image of one of my t-shirts at the T-Shirt Store: http://www.sloan3d.com/store/shirts.html Temporary Tattoos Store: http://www.sloan3d.com/store/ditto_tattoos.html Original Sloan3D CafePress Store: http://www.cafeshops.com/Sloan3D I hope to complete more shirt designs soon. And thanks, Dr. Brin, for linking your page to my store site: http://davidbrin.com/ __ Steve Sloan . Huntsville, Alabama = [EMAIL PROTECTED] Brin-L list pages .. http://www.brin-l.org Science Fiction-themed online store . http://www.sloan3d.com/store Chmeee's 3D Objects http://www.sloan3d.com/chmeee 3D and Drawing Galleries .. http://www.sloansteady.com Software Science Fiction, Science, and Computer Links Science fiction scans . http://www.sloan3d.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Sloan3D Store Update -- Black shirts now available
Steve Sloan II wrote: I released my first t-shirt design for sale a couple of months ago, featuring a high-quality single frame from the Izmunuti animation I created a few years ago... http://www.sloansteady.com/#anims ...showing Streaker getting hammered inside the red giant Izmunuti. The CafePress.com site I've been using to print and sell these shirts on demand has an annoying inability to print designs on dark shirts, so I decided to do those myself. My online store now offers shirts in black, and just about any other common shirt color you'd like, for $17 per shirt, plus shipping. I'm donating one dollar from the price of each shirt you purchase to the charity of your choice. I don't know what's common these days. Do the dark colors include one somewhere between green and blue? :) (And would that color be available in XL?) Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Marco Pantani, former TdF winner, died Saturday
I don't think he competed in the Tour de France this past year, but he's one of the guys I used to root for. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/more/02/14/bc.eu.spt.cyc.pantanide.ap/index.html Former Tour winner Pantani found dead Posted: Saturday February 14, 2004 8:52PM; Updated: Saturday February 14, 2004 9:00PM RIMINI, Italy (AP) -- Marco Pantani, the former Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner who has been plagued by doping accusations and suspensions in recent years, was found dead Saturday, Italian news reports said. The 34-year-old Pantani, Italy's most popular cyclist, was found in a room at the hotel Le Rose in this seaside city, the ANSA news agency reported. Prosecutor Paolo Gengarelli told reporters that different types of medicine were found in the room, including tranquilizers. No cause of death was given, although news reports said it didn't appear that there had been any violence. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday. There was no answer at Pantani's Mercatone Uno team or his management agency Saturday. A man who answered his manager's phone said the reports of Pantani's death were true, and that the cause of death wasn't yet known. I'm devastated, it's a tragedy of enormous proportions for the entire cycling world, former world champion cyclist Mario Cipollini told ANSA. I'm at a loss for words. Also Saturday, 21-year-old Belgian cyclist Johan Sermon was found dead from apparent heart failure, according to Belgian news reports. He was an under-23 rider with the Daikin team. In 1998, Pantani became the last cyclist to win both the Tour de France and the Giro in the same season. Since then, he has been accused of doping several times. He has denied those accusations. He finished 14th in last year's Giro, one of his best performances since 1998. He had not announced any plans for this season, sparking speculation that he was retiring. It's still difficult to believe, I don't know what his health conditions were, former teammate, and 2000 Giro winner, Stefano Garzelli told ANSA. Certainly he had to deal with a lot of pressure, even from outside cycling. The pressure he was put under would have been tough for anyone to handle. Last summer, Pantani spent several weeks in a health clinic specializing in treatment for depression and drug addiction. In 1999, he failed a random blood test and was kicked out of the Giro, which he was winning. A syringe containing traces of insulin was found in his hotel room in a police raid during the 2001 Giro. Pantani contended the syringe had been planted and that he didn't stay in the room on the night in question. The judges dismissed the claim for lack of proof, and he was suspended for six months. In his prime, Pantani drew hoards of loyal fans to watch him sprint away from competitors while racing up steep mountain passes. After shedding the nickname of Elefantino -- little elephant _ for his big ears and small frame, Pantani became better known as cycling's Pirate for the bandanna covering his head and the earring he wore. After turning professional in 1992, Pantani won eight Tour de France stages and eight Giro stages. He wore the yellow jersey as Tour leader in six stages and donned the Giro's pink jersey 14 times. He registered 36 victories overall, the first coming in a 1994 Giro stage and the last in the 2000 Tour, when he rode wheel-to-wheel with Lance Armstrong. _ Choose now from 4 levels of MSN Hotmail Extra Storage - no more account overload! http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200362ave/direct/01/ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Thoughts on gay marriage?
The gay marriage debate has been a pretty hot topic here in MA, but there hasn't been much discussion about the recent developments on this list. I'm wondering what you guys think, so I'll throw out some of my thoughts to try to spark some discussion... First off, let me say that I support gay marriage and believe it should provide gays all the same rights, benefits, and obligations as heterosexual marriage. That said, while the MA SJC ruling is an amazing breakthrough, I wonder if it will in some ways harm the gay marriage cause almost as much as help it. The effect that the ruling is having is that it is having a polarizing effect and getting gay-marriage opponents stirred up and prosposing anti-gay-marriage legislation at the state level in many states and at the national level. My concerns is chiefly about timing, in several ways. From the poll numbers I've seen, general acceptance of gay marriage has been steadily growing, particularly among younger people, with the least acceptance amongst the elderly. Still, though, there is a fairly sizeable contingent against it, and far less than a majority that support it (there's a distinction between accept and support here - IIRC, accept means they won't howl over it and fight it, but wouldn't necessarily vote for it either, while support implies vote support). But let me divert for a second. As I understand it, a big concern of opponents is that once MA allows gay marriage, other states will be forced to recognize the marriages (IIRC, states are required to recognize marriages done in other states), and their own states will be vulnerable to lawsuits forcing gay marriage there as well. (In other words, the slippery slope problem). So they are less inclined to write it off as crazy Massachusetts liberals, and more inclined to attempt pre-emptive actions to prevent that possibilty. Once people have become polaraized and hardened on the issue, and if laws and/or constitutional amendments are put in place at the state/national level, I think it will be very, very hard to turn them around later. It also might degenerate the level of debate; ans Andrew Sullivan writes here (http://andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dish_inc=archives/2004_02_08_dish_archive.html#107678351686768322) This will alter the debate - as will the actual existence of marriages in Massachusetts in May. The debate will become how to tear gay couples apart, how to demean and marginalize them, rather than an abstract debate about theories of marriage. I'm praying it doesn't lead to increased acts of violence. Now back to my timing concerns... If the SJC ruling happened 10 years from now instead of today, I think there would be less opposition, more acceptance, and more support, resulting in less polarization, and less likelihood of anti-gay-marriage laws/amendments getting put in place. Of course, the ruling happened in 2003, not 2013, so it's spilt milk and I suppose it's a moot point if things might have been able to work out more easily at that point. My other timing concern is that this is happening right in the middle of the presidential election cycle. The current belief seems to be that a pro-gay-marriage stance would be a big loser in the national elections. This might force the Democrats to be only weakly supportive, at best, on this topic in order to avoid hurting their presidential chances (and those other dems up for reelection as well, I suppose). I think Kerry is going the I don't support gay marriage, but civil unions are ok route, but I don't know if that will make much difference to the gay marriage opponents. A worst-case scenario would be for the Republicans to force a Senate vote on some bill related to gay marriage this summer, which would force him to come down on one side or the other. A lot of the opposition seems to be centered around the word marriage, so in some ways it seems as if just calling them civil unions might remove the opposition. But looking deeper, a big part of the opposition is based on the thought: If the government allows gays all the rights/benefits of marriage, then the government is officially *condoning*/*promoting!* the gay agenda/perversion/sickness/etc. Calling it civil unions instead of marriage isn't going to change that, only increasing acceptance of gays in general over time will. Putting my concerns that the road to nationwide acceptance will be a rocky one aside, it's fun to think that barring some last-minute legal maneuvering, Massachusetts is likely to become the wedding capital of the US starting in May, when gay marriages are legalized here. (I'm presuming all those gay couples who have been unofficially married and waiting for this day to come for a long time, will find it very tempting to make a trip up here to MA and make it official.) -bryon _ Click here for a FREE online computer
Re: Thoughts on gay marriage?
In a message dated 2/15/04 1:56:06 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: As I understand it, a big concern of opponents is that once MA allows gay marriage, other states will be forced to recognize the marriages (IIRC, states are required to recognize marriages done in other states), and their own states will be vulnerable to lawsuits forcing gay marriage there as well. (In other words, the slippery slope problem). So they are less inclined to write it off as crazy Massachusetts liberals, and more inclined to attempt pre-emptive actions to prevent that possibilty. The US Constitution requires each state to give full faith and credit to the public acts of each other state. That's why some opponents of gay marriage want to amend the Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. My problem with that is, it enshrines discrimination in the very founding document of a country that supposedly believes in and celebrates liberty. Forty years ago, some of the very same arguments being made today against gay marriage were made then against interracial marriage (which still upsets some very conservative people today. When Clarence Thomas was nominated for the US Supreme Court, there were some Southern Republicans who were not happy about the fact that his wife is white.) To me, all the arguments opposing gay marriage are based on fear, prejudice, and attempts to pander to other people's fear and prejudice. I don't see how permitting two adults who love each other to solemnize that love in a legal relationship can possibly threaten the institution of marriage; if anything, it shows just how strong the belief in marriage is. And besides, what's more threatening, anyway: two gay people making a commitment that lasts years, or Britney Spears on a whim marrying some dope for a few hours and then ditching him? Why is it legal for her, and not for a committed, loving, responsible same-sex couple? Some conservatives seem to want to have it both ways: criticize gays for being promiscuous and irresponsible, and then not let them be monogamous and responsible. Basically, they want that there shouldn't be gays at all. Well, they can't be stopped from believing that, but why should the rest of us let them bulldoze and bamboozle the entire country into following their reactionary meanspirited hatefulness? It's the word marriage that appears to have some mystical, totemic meaning for some lamebrained lazyminded easily stampeded credulous dolts (i.e., most of the American public). They don't mind some kind of legal protection for gay couples but just for some reason don't want it to be called marriage. But why should their insensate fear be permitted to cause genuine harm to other people? You don't have a right NOT to be offended. There's no right to have your every whim and prejudice codified into law. Gay people are subject to all the laws of this country. They pay taxes. Why should they not have the right to the equal enjoyment of all the other laws that everyone else enjoys? If they can't marry, can't serve openly in the military, can't adopt, can't inherit from a partner, then maybe they should be exempt from paying taxes, etc. Man, can you see the rush of straight tax-avoiders claiming to be gay? Biggest new tax shelter in years. My final thought: Don't want gay marriage? Don't have one. Tom Beck www.mercerjewishsingles.org I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last. - Dr Jerry Pournelle ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Thoughts on gay marriage?
Bryon wrote: Putting my concerns that the road to nationwide acceptance will be a rocky one aside, it's fun to think that barring some last-minute legal maneuvering, Massachusetts is likely to become the wedding capital of the US starting in May, when gay marriages are legalized here. (I'm presuming all those gay couples who have been unofficially married and waiting for this day to come for a long time, will find it very tempting to make a trip up here to MA and make it official.) Or out here in S.F. where I believe it will require a court decision to nullify the recent same sex marriages taking place over the last few days. The gay side will use the state constitution's equal protection clause to try to make their case. I guess the timing is a bit problematic, but you know what; this is long overdue. It's time our morals evolve to accept the fact that people that are predisposed to be attracted to members of the same sex should not be persecuted or denied basic rights. The arguments against same sex partnerships are inane and bigoted. Just what is the threat to society? -- Doug ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
