Okay, so I'm looking up an article - on Wikipedia, mind you - regarding family coats of arms. Suffice it to say, there are some REAL geniuses on Wikipedia.
Let me start at the beginning.
A good number of people online have no idea what my real name might happen to be, and I'd very much prefer to keep it that way; however, curiosity often gets the better of me, and I have to delve more into the science of etymology (that is, the derivation of names) to find out how and where my name came into existence. It is through this curiosity that I found my first name linked to a number of royal presences, and also became curious as to the origins of my last name. Interestingly enough, this last name ALSO ties directly to quite a bit of royalty; though it's not quite so surprising once I explain that this is my mother's surname, not my own, and that she is directly related to that particular Irish clan.
Now here's where I start my journey down the rabbit hole, so to speak. I dove into my family's history feet-first, and managed to find their original coat-of-arms. This got me thinking, and I naturally followed the links between certain design elements and elements commonly ascribed to royalty. Surprising as it was to me, the revelation arrived that there is a certain link to the Royal Family that can't be denied. When I decided to explore that link further, more similarities began to surface at an alarming rate. Whatever I found was either what some circles posit as "string theory", or one hell of a coincidence.
Now that being said, I decided to trace back the connections to my own family... and that's where my journey reached an abrupt halt. Not for a lack of trying to find further information, mind you, but more from a sudden, blazing hatred of idiocy the world over. I found one of my distant relatives being accused of *gasp shock horror* ANTI-SEMITISM! Now I'm not one to push the Klan ideology, or the whole "Jewish owned media conspiracy" bullshit prevalent on certain parts of the Internet. Hell, I believe that people practice anti-semitism to this date, and that they need to be denounced at the earliest convenient opportunity. Mindless idiocy only begets more mindless idiocy. No, that's not what bothered me at all. What bothered me was this: the "evidence" being used to smear this odd fellow's personal history. IT FLAT-OUT DIDN'T EXIST! The primary supporting evidence of this allegation? HIS DAUGHTER EDITED HIS BIOGRAPHY! That wasn't enough, apparently, because one author saw fit to state that "it doesn't matter what [his statements] are", but that they were nevertheless "part of his life and another record to his already large predisposition toward antisemitism".
HOLY HELL, DID I READ THAT RIGHT?
Let me explain a little bit about my problem with logical fallacies. They're a pet peeve of mine, and straw-man attacks as flagrant as the one above? That kind of ignorance just downright pisses me off. It's a little like somebody taking a post about... let's say Pokemon as it's a convenient target of opportunity... and doing this to it:
Commenter 1: "Pikachu is clearly modeled after a vibrator. His head kinda looks like a penis, and his tail is the AC cord. Even the sound he makes is styled after a sex toy! Somebody protect our kids from this freakishly monstrous sex-toy-achu!"
Commenter 2: "Dude, Pikachu was designed by an older fellow who may have been in an altered state of mind, but he's supposed to be a cross between a rabbit and some kind of rodent. If a sex-toy exists in his design, it's only in your own warped mind."
Commenter 1: "Well, it doesn't really matter what Pikachu looks like. The fact that these claims are leveled against him in the first place are proof enough of what he's supposed to be."
That popping sound you just heard? That was the aneurysm in Commenter 2's mind.
All things being considered, this is a rather effective tactic to completely invalidate an intelligent counterargument. Too bad it's COMPLETELY BOGUS. The best way to counteract it is to request proof, then attempt to enjoy the part where the other party either dismisses any evidence to the contrary outright and/or attempts to paint you as the aggressor. The real tragedy here is not that anecdotal evidence is worse than no evidence at all - at least a profound lack of evidence can't masquerade as significant evidence - it's that so many seem so willing to accept it at face value.
At least we can take some degree of solace in the knowledge that people don't post anything like that to Wikipedia anymore, right?
*browses site quickly*
...ohgodddammit...
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
AOL Buys Bebo, Craps All Over Users
Originaly posted on 06/12/2009:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/aol-buys-bebo-for-750-million/
Meanwhile, in the world of social networking, AOL has taken a giant step in the wrong direction.
I sure wish somebody would give an adequate definition of a "proper social network", as so many people seem to have it embedded in their thick skulls that "sharing photos" and "authoring original content" - two of the biggest selling points of Internet 2.0 services - are mutually exclusive from a "proper" social network. This reeks of Victorian-era elitism, where every person's life - and, indeed, their achievements - are pooh-poohed by freakishly financially endowed trust fund babies who haven't taken the silver spoon out of their mouths long enough to care what they do to the peasants working below them. Steve Case - a man who built an ISP from the ground up in an era that tried to hoist CompuServe and Prodigy on the poor, unsuspecting masses - would be PISSED were he not resting comfortably on the laurels of his creation and bound by law from further "interference" in his company's business.
http://www.peopleconnectionblog.com/2008/11/06/hometown-has-been-shutdown
It seems that America Online should change its name to Corporate America Online, as it's now less about catering to your average schmuck than to corporate schmucks. In fact, one of the first actions after the merger with Bebo, a business that did so poorly that it only scored $15 million one time in round-one venture? Pixnay, a popular Internet portal for camwhores and professional camwhores alike, closed its doors (ask me about grammatically-incorrect clods running ANY portion of a corporation's PR department another day). For being a corporation founded in the ideals of serving its regular clientele both quickly and efficiently, it's sure doing an awful lot to piss them off by spotaneously removing personal content that violates no policies whatsoever. Perhaps I could compete by putting up a single server, a "donate or die" button, and putting up a large "NO GUARANTEES" text at the top of the page. This issue - the net neutrality of businesses that have it in their charter that they're run "for the good of the community" - makes me feel so strongly that I even bothered to reply to the blog post about Pixnay, though I sincerely doubt anyone with any brains will bother reading the comment - or even allow it to reach the general public (read the content below).
Perhaps AOL has finally hit that point where its continued operation is no longer in its members' best interests.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/aol-buys-bebo-for-750-million/
Meanwhile, in the world of social networking, AOL has taken a giant step in the wrong direction.
AOL’s intention, they told press in a briefing call this morning, is to marry AIM and ICQ with a proper social network.
I sure wish somebody would give an adequate definition of a "proper social network", as so many people seem to have it embedded in their thick skulls that "sharing photos" and "authoring original content" - two of the biggest selling points of Internet 2.0 services - are mutually exclusive from a "proper" social network. This reeks of Victorian-era elitism, where every person's life - and, indeed, their achievements - are pooh-poohed by freakishly financially endowed trust fund babies who haven't taken the silver spoon out of their mouths long enough to care what they do to the peasants working below them. Steve Case - a man who built an ISP from the ground up in an era that tried to hoist CompuServe and Prodigy on the poor, unsuspecting masses - would be PISSED were he not resting comfortably on the laurels of his creation and bound by law from further "interference" in his company's business.
http://www.peopleconnectionblog.com/2008/11/06/hometown-has-been-shutdown
It seems that America Online should change its name to Corporate America Online, as it's now less about catering to your average schmuck than to corporate schmucks. In fact, one of the first actions after the merger with Bebo, a business that did so poorly that it only scored $15 million one time in round-one venture? Pixnay, a popular Internet portal for camwhores and professional camwhores alike, closed its doors (ask me about grammatically-incorrect clods running ANY portion of a corporation's PR department another day). For being a corporation founded in the ideals of serving its regular clientele both quickly and efficiently, it's sure doing an awful lot to piss them off by spotaneously removing personal content that violates no policies whatsoever. Perhaps I could compete by putting up a single server, a "donate or die" button, and putting up a large "NO GUARANTEES" text at the top of the page. This issue - the net neutrality of businesses that have it in their charter that they're run "for the good of the community" - makes me feel so strongly that I even bothered to reply to the blog post about Pixnay, though I sincerely doubt anyone with any brains will bother reading the comment - or even allow it to reach the general public (read the content below).
You're running an EXTREMELY slipshod business that you're ignoring every customer issue that comes along. I can't say that this hasn't been par for the course for AOL since version 3.x or so, but with the introduction of Bebo it's just gotten worse. I, for one, won't miss you when you're filing for Chapter 11. Customer service does NOT involve "what a stallion does to a mare."
Perhaps AOL has finally hit that point where its continued operation is no longer in its members' best interests.
RIP Michael Jackson; You Shall Be Missed
Originally posted on 06/26/2009:
And so it is, that another of our great pop stars has fallen from the bonds of this world. Perhaps things are better this way, but - to blatantly rip off Utada Hikaru - "I've been having these weird thoughts lately; like: is any of this for real, or not?" My mind has not suffered these affronts well, and I felt it would be a good idea to let my true feelings be known for once in my life. This is me; it's uncensored, it's real, and it's grit. It's what's on my mind, and not something you can freely deny without experiencing my life firsthand.
This angers me greatly, and I don't know why. It seems like I've lost all sense of right and wrong, of what exists as justice. Since the passing of my childhood memories - I know they're larger than life, and rarely are the real people as beautiful, as... pure, as they are in my dreams - I feel lost in this world. For the first time in the long time, I feel alone. And it's the worst feeling I've ever known. I feel things like the passing of my idols quite acutely, and I'm not sure how to continue to cope with their losses as time marches on. Perhaps the only thing I can be certain of in uncertain times is that things will change. For better or worse, things will invariably change.
It's worse for me on some level, because I have this little dark side. Like before Michael died, I secretly wished for it to happen. And it's not the first time. I know it's irrational, I know there's no logic, no rhyme nor reason to it. But it frightens me to have this happen so frequently. It's almost like - if you believe in a grand designer - he's telling me to shut the hell up and enjoy life for what it's worth. For life is far too fleeting to be taken seriously. And that scares me, because that's the point where the line of reality is blurred by madness. And yet, what scares me more, is the question that plagues my mind. I know it's selfish, I know it's arrogant, but what if I'm responsible? What if all these evils, all this pain and suffering, is because of me? I push the thoughts aside to try to live with others, but they're always there. And that side frightens me more than any guns, knives, bombs, plagues, or monsters ever could.
All I want to know is whether others suffer this same malign thought process, or if I'm truly alone in it.
And the loneliness is the scariest thing of all.
It just sucks when I go through these phases. I'm confident I'll come out of them, but sometimes I don't know that I really want to, like I see the world better when I'm like this.
As it really is, unfair and fleeting; almost pristine in its ruthlessness.
And I don't know that I can survive in it without giving myself over to that same ruthlessness; nor can I imagine what it'd do to me to be that unforgiving. I don't know that I even want to imagine it.
It's funny. I've only really cried twice in my life. The first was about a month ago, when I realized my grandmother was gone. She was my closest link to the world as it should be, and that was two years ago. The second was today, just minutes ago. It's like I have a conscious realization that bits of my life are falling away, and I don't know that I can fill that hole with anything anymore.
C: "Death is a natural part of life."
Perhaps watching his "in memoriam" series isn't the best of treatments. Or perhaps it is. There's something to be said for wakes; for celebrating the achievements of one's life, rather than the futility of his death.
R: "I think he's gone, but certainly not forgotten. He may have been accused of some evil things, but he also did a lot of good in the world. Let's remember the good he did and forgive him the bad as - for better or worse - human nature."
And so it is, that another of our great pop stars has fallen from the bonds of this world. Perhaps things are better this way, but - to blatantly rip off Utada Hikaru - "I've been having these weird thoughts lately; like: is any of this for real, or not?" My mind has not suffered these affronts well, and I felt it would be a good idea to let my true feelings be known for once in my life. This is me; it's uncensored, it's real, and it's grit. It's what's on my mind, and not something you can freely deny without experiencing my life firsthand.
This angers me greatly, and I don't know why. It seems like I've lost all sense of right and wrong, of what exists as justice. Since the passing of my childhood memories - I know they're larger than life, and rarely are the real people as beautiful, as... pure, as they are in my dreams - I feel lost in this world. For the first time in the long time, I feel alone. And it's the worst feeling I've ever known. I feel things like the passing of my idols quite acutely, and I'm not sure how to continue to cope with their losses as time marches on. Perhaps the only thing I can be certain of in uncertain times is that things will change. For better or worse, things will invariably change.
It's worse for me on some level, because I have this little dark side. Like before Michael died, I secretly wished for it to happen. And it's not the first time. I know it's irrational, I know there's no logic, no rhyme nor reason to it. But it frightens me to have this happen so frequently. It's almost like - if you believe in a grand designer - he's telling me to shut the hell up and enjoy life for what it's worth. For life is far too fleeting to be taken seriously. And that scares me, because that's the point where the line of reality is blurred by madness. And yet, what scares me more, is the question that plagues my mind. I know it's selfish, I know it's arrogant, but what if I'm responsible? What if all these evils, all this pain and suffering, is because of me? I push the thoughts aside to try to live with others, but they're always there. And that side frightens me more than any guns, knives, bombs, plagues, or monsters ever could.
All I want to know is whether others suffer this same malign thought process, or if I'm truly alone in it.
And the loneliness is the scariest thing of all.
It just sucks when I go through these phases. I'm confident I'll come out of them, but sometimes I don't know that I really want to, like I see the world better when I'm like this.
As it really is, unfair and fleeting; almost pristine in its ruthlessness.
And I don't know that I can survive in it without giving myself over to that same ruthlessness; nor can I imagine what it'd do to me to be that unforgiving. I don't know that I even want to imagine it.
It's funny. I've only really cried twice in my life. The first was about a month ago, when I realized my grandmother was gone. She was my closest link to the world as it should be, and that was two years ago. The second was today, just minutes ago. It's like I have a conscious realization that bits of my life are falling away, and I don't know that I can fill that hole with anything anymore.
C: "Death is a natural part of life."
Perhaps watching his "in memoriam" series isn't the best of treatments. Or perhaps it is. There's something to be said for wakes; for celebrating the achievements of one's life, rather than the futility of his death.
R: "I think he's gone, but certainly not forgotten. He may have been accused of some evil things, but he also did a lot of good in the world. Let's remember the good he did and forgive him the bad as - for better or worse - human nature."
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