Jim the Pleb Made Me Do It

[bovarchist]

She drags him behind the reception desk and Benny Hill music plays.

Walter, she's not the boss of you. Bitches like her only respect one thing and one thing only: Strength. As that's not an option for you, you'll have to improvise. By improvise I mean break the glass on the vending machine, smear yourself with orange Cheese Doodle powder like guy- on-the-internet war paint, jump up on the counter, drop trou in front of her and dangle Ego Jr. and his sad grey luggage right in her face and then drop a hot steaming corn-pocked shit right on the formica. Then woop like an injun and run out the door and right into the pool. Especially if there's no water in it.

Wow...Christmas pageant flashback...

[katamari Damassi]

EBW. Restoring my faith in humanity one tweet at a time.
How the fuck did she not see all this before though?

Why am I not able to see these tweets? I don't even have you/anyone on ignore.

I gave EBW some shit when she was attacking Vacula(not that I think I even appeared on her radar)but if she can turn it around then I say brava!

[AndrewV69]

Add Spiral (Engrenages) and The Killing (Forbrydelsen). I kind of like the idea of the slymepit becoming more of a tv/film/book-club.

Someone started a book and movies thread on another part of the forum. I could probably cut and paste my list there, and add anything new. I also have a list of 'the most fucked up and disgusting movies of all time' which some here may find interesting :P

/wave

I would be interested in that list. Purely from an anthropological perspective you understand, not because I am depraved or fucked up like those people over there.

*cough*

[Walter Ego]

Walter, I didn't like it when others called you a "stalker" without showing evidence, but this here is just bullshit, and if I thought from watching your video that you possessed even one molecule of self-initiative, I would assume you were here just to provide examples of our misogyny. Fuck you.

Everything I've said in my posts and videos is in essence true. The boxer story is in essence true though I don't know how I'd prove it. I don't think there is any real misogyny on the pit. Before you judge my character first show me the courtesy of listening to the podcast I recorded with Reap linked in my sig or, better yet, talk to me directly on Skype. My Skype ID is buddhaglass. I'll talk, voice to voice, to you or anyone from the Pit. I have nothing to hide.

[Tribble]

Laden reviews PZ Myers new book.
http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2013/ ... y-atheist/

Atheists come in many varieties. For example, they can be angry like Greta Christina, or they can be Friendly, like Hemant Mehta, or they can be Positive, like all the Atheists in Minnesota. PZ Myers, it turns out, is The Happy Atheist, and all the other Atheists should be happy that he’s about to publish a book by that name.

The Happy Atheist is more of an anthology of essays than a tome. PZ Myers, mainly on his blog, Pharyngula, writes about biology with emphases on evolution and development, social justice with an emphasis on feminism, politics with an emphasis on secularism, and Atheism with an emphasis on the perils and problems of religion, religions, and religiosity and the positive aspects of non-belief. The essays on the Happy Atheist draw mainly from the second two of these categories, with emphasis on the last.

To many people, including, I think, people first thinking about non-belief, Agnosticism, and Atheism — walking away from a cultural background that involves faith — is troubling. When we want to be funny we can say that the meaning of life if “42″ but really, that is a serious question that probably troubles people leaving their religion more than many others, because religion took care of that sort of thing for you. For many, being an Atheist is philosophically hard, even if they are strongly drawn towards non-belief. This is where PZ Myers’ writing excels and is tremendously important; his views on how to be a “Happy Atheist” clarify and inspire.

If you read PZ’s blog you will recognize the themes, and in some cases, the stories, in this book, but rest assured this is NOT a collection of Pharyngula blog posts. On his Blog, PZ does an admirable job, putting us other bloggers to shame, with the level of refinement of his writing. I assume he’s just plain good at first drafts. So, this book is not simply a set of more advanced and refined drafts of his blog posts either. These essays actually have a different feel to them. I sense that PZ wrote most of these essays in a different place, perhaps using different software, maybe with a different mix of caffeinated beverages, at a different time of day, and using different prompts, than he usually uses for his blog. Don’t get me wrong, this book is the real PZ Myers, and if you are a fan you won’t be surprised or disappointed. But, most importantly, if you are a regular reader of his blog, you will want to explore these essays because they are not his blog, they are his book.

I haven’t seen what the final product is going to look like, as I’ve only got a proof copy. But hopefully it will be a pretty little book that will make an excellent summer read when it comes out in August, and a totally appropriate stocking stuffer later on in the year!

That has got to be one of the most idiotic reviews I've ever read...

[justinvacula]

John Loftus of Skeptic Ink Network reviews PZ Myers' upcoming book:

1/5 stars:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R30LW6Z14W ... deID=&tag=

This review is about the pre-published "Uncorrected Galleys" of this book sent to me because I requested a copy as an Amazon Vine Voice Reviewer. As such, I must review this book once I requested it. I wish I hadn't requested it since I don't want to antagonize PZ Myers (someone I'd like to consider a friend someday) but I cannot do anything less than to write an honest review.

The book is titled "The Happy Atheist" and contains 34 chapters. I think a more fitting title would have been, "The Laughing Atheist." In the first chapter PZ Myers writes: "I'm an atheist swimming is a sea of superstition, surrounded by well-meaning, good people with whom I share a culture and similar concerns, and there's only one thing I can do. I have to laugh....I laugh because they do goofy, foolish things in the name of their god. But also because I hope that a little raucous hilarity will wake a few of them from their surreal lives...That's what this book is about: the folly of faith, the absurdity of apologetics, and I hope the joys of reality, as seen through the focusing lenses of humor as well as the more traditional ones of science and reason." (pp. 3- 9)

It's a book of ridicule with some science and reason thrown in for good measure. He's a great writer, no doubt, and he can make us laugh at superstition. So this is quintessential Myers. It's typically what he does best.

That being said, I have some problems with it. In the first place, I did a little research and found that nearly half of the chapters can be found almost word for word as blog posts of his with the same title. No doubt there are a few others. Some of them have probably been given a different title, like chapter 13) "Happy Easter!" which was originally a blog post of his titled "Sunday Sacrilege: The Silliest Story Ever Told." I have been a semi-casual reader of PZ Myers's blogs and after reading through this book there was nothing new for me. So I for one, am disappointed.

Almost word for word, sometimes with a different intro or ending, and perhaps a few other very small changes, here are the chapters, er blog posts, that I found online with the same titles:

4) The Great Desecration
11) The Top Ten Reasons Religion is Like Pornography
13) Happy Easter is from a post which was originally titled "Sunday Sacrilege: The Silliest Story Ever Told."
17) Imagine No Heaven
18) Daughters of Eve
19) Prometheus's Sin
20) So Alone
21) One Nation Free of Gods
22) An Embryo is Not a Person
23) The Courtier's Reply
28) We're Happier out of a Straightjacket Than in One
31) The Active Hand
32) The Proper Reverence Due Those Who Have Gone Before
33) Niobrara
34) We Stand Awed at the Heights Our People Have Achieved.

If someone is putting out a series of blog posts as published book for a price, readers would want to know so they can make an informed choice before laying down the required money to read it. A publisher would most definitely want to know. They surely paid him a huge advance, probably in the thousands of dollars. Did they know?

Second, this is not what I would call a researched book. He's mostly writing about letters and emails and blog posts that he's read. He's not writing anything that scholars would be interested in reading. He doesn't refer the reader to any books for further reading, nor does he offer any footnotes. When he does refer to a quote he doesn't tell us where it can be found, so we can't check the context of the quote.

Third, not very many of his chapters are within his area of expertise. For PZ his expertise is in the field of evolutionary developmental biology. PZ however, writes about, well, nearly anything he finds ridiculous. He usually doesn't even refer to experts in other fields of study when speaking on those topics. The fact is that PZ's expertise in one area doesn't transfer into the areas of politics, economics, philosophy, ethics, or a number of others.

Fourth, he didn't expand on his original posts even when they required it. Take for instance his chapter on "The Courtier's Reply." It's nothing more than his most famous blog post. The amazing thing is that his post has received an immense amount of commentary. This would have been the perfect time to deal with his detractors, and yet he chose to do nothing more than merely copy his original blog post word for word.

Fifth, this book isn't organized in any meaningful way, just one disjointed chapter after another. At least he could have organized the book by arranging it under different topical headlines.

So I got to wondering who would want to buy his book? Not any scholars nor believers, that's for sure. It's pretty clear to me he's not trying to reason with believers. Instead he's holding them up for ridicule to the watching atheist crowd. Why would they buy it? I can't think of a reason. It's for atheists, mostly young atheists, who want to laugh at the ridiculousness of religious faith. It's for his fans who might want a hard copy of his writings. It's for atheists who want to see what PZ considers to be his most important writings. It's for people who haven't read much of his blog too. If you fit into one or more of these categories then by all means buy it. Buy up lots of copies and hand them out to people who share your outlook. As I said, he's a great writer and very funny.

PZ is reaching a demographic that is somewhat of an uninformed one, an impressionable one, a largely angry one. This demographic will usually, more often than not, accept what an authority figure says if he says it with a cocksure attitude of certainty and humor. Given PZ's popularity and humor his efforts are successful among this demographic. He is rallying the troops. Apparently it's working for some people even though it doesn't work for me.

[Aneris]

...[comments on Greg Laden reviews early copy of PZ Myers' misnamed book "Happy Atheist"]...

He's angling to return to FTB.

They apparently didn't kick him that far when PZ Myers is sending him an early copy of his masterpiece. They probably only removed him, as it would have looked fishy at the time to just kick Thunderf00t. But with dwindling blog hits, perhaps it's a good idea to spice things up a bit. Drama = $$$ and Laden seems to be a perfect candidate to do the dirty work for Black Zvan.

[Mykeru]

Hell yeah. Stupid bitches, getting traumatized just from seeing a foot-long meat truncheon prairie-dogging outta some guy's underwear (which he's righteously decided to use as outerwear today, fuck you very much).

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7381/9145 ... 67818f.jpg

[ConcentratedH2O, OM]

Walter, I didn't like it when others called you a "stalker" without showing evidence, but this here is just bullshit, and if I thought from watching your video that you possessed even one molecule of self-initiative, I would assume you were here just to provide examples of our misogyny. Fuck you.

Everything I've said in my posts and videos is in essence true. The boxer story is in essence true though I don't know how I'd prove it. I don't think there is any real misogyny on the pit. Before you judge my character first show me the courtesy of listening to the podcast I recorded with Reap linked in my sig or, better yet, talk to me directly on Skype. My Skype ID is buddhaglass. I'll talk, voice to voice, to you or anyone from the Pit. I have nothing to hide.

Don't worry, I don't doubt you have a thoroughly intimidating cock. The issue I have is that denouncing the "bitch" who was offended by the sight of it, unfettered and prancing around her motel lobby, will be problematic for the Pit and sounds like something an Oolon would say here: setting us up for a nice quotemine.

[BarnOwl]

Stephanie has an angry.

http://www.freezepage.com/1372290062IEJZWMVBHW

[katamari Damassi]

Laden reviews PZ Myers new book.
http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2013/ ... y-atheist/

Atheists come in many varieties. For example, they can be angry like Greta Christina, or they can be Friendly, like Hemant Mehta, or they can be Positive, like all the Atheists in Minnesota. PZ Myers, it turns out, is The Happy Atheist, and all the other Atheists should be happy that he’s about to publish a book by that name.

The Happy Atheist is more of an anthology of essays than a tome. PZ Myers, mainly on his blog, Pharyngula, writes about biology with emphases on evolution and development, social justice with an emphasis on feminism, politics with an emphasis on secularism, and Atheism with an emphasis on the perils and problems of religion, religions, and religiosity and the positive aspects of non-belief. The essays on the Happy Atheist draw mainly from the second two of these categories, with emphasis on the last.

To many people, including, I think, people first thinking about non-belief, Agnosticism, and Atheism — walking away from a cultural background that involves faith — is troubling. When we want to be funny we can say that the meaning of life if “42″ but really, that is a serious question that probably troubles people leaving their religion more than many others, because religion took care of that sort of thing for you. For many, being an Atheist is philosophically hard, even if they are strongly drawn towards non-belief. This is where PZ Myers’ writing excels and is tremendously important; his views on how to be a “Happy Atheist” clarify and inspire.

If you read PZ’s blog you will recognize the themes, and in some cases, the stories, in this book, but rest assured this is NOT a collection of Pharyngula blog posts. On his Blog, PZ does an admirable job, putting us other bloggers to shame, with the level of refinement of his writing. I assume he’s just plain good at first drafts. So, this book is not simply a set of more advanced and refined drafts of his blog posts either. These essays actually have a different feel to them. I sense that PZ wrote most of these essays in a different place, perhaps using different software, maybe with a different mix of caffeinated beverages, at a different time of day, and using different prompts, than he usually uses for his blog. Don’t get me wrong, this book is the real PZ Myers, and if you are a fan you won’t be surprised or disappointed. But, most importantly, if you are a regular reader of his blog, you will want to explore these essays because they are not his blog, they are his book.

I haven’t seen what the final product is going to look like, as I’ve only got a proof copy. But hopefully it will be a pretty little book that will make an excellent summer read when it comes out in August, and a totally appropriate stocking stuffer later on in the year!

That has got to be one of the most idiotic reviews I've ever read...

"The refinement of his writing."
BWAHA HA HA HA!
He's so refined when he's calling people "assholes".

[mordacious1]

It took PZ this long to copy/paste his blog into book form? What an asshat.

[Walter Ego]

Don't worry, I don't doubt you have a thoroughly intimidating cock. The issue I have is that denouncing the "bitch" who was offended by the sight of it, unfettered and prancing around her motel lobby, will be problematic for the Pit and sounds like something an Oolon would say here: setting us up for a nice quotemine.

I have no control over the satire impaired. Sorry about that.

[Walter Ego]

Hell yeah. Stupid bitches, getting traumatized just from seeing a foot-long meat truncheon prairie-dogging outta some guy's underwear (which he's righteously decided to use as outerwear today, fuck you very much).

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7381/9145 ... 67818f.jpg

That image traumatized even me.

[Aneris]

His book, The Happy Atheist, is a collection of topics taken from the author's blog. And, as the name would imply, Myers is coming from a place of humor.

http://i.imgur.com/vj1N1Oy.jpg

[BarnOwl]

Also, Boehner and Dewhurst can go choke on their respective disappoints.

[Tribble]

Almost half his book is recycled material? We're talking someone who left Jonah Lehrer in the dust...

[Metalogic42]

John Loftus of Skeptic Ink Network reviews PZ Myers' upcoming book:

1/5 stars:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R30LW6Z14W ... deID=&tag=

*snip*

Holy. Shit. It's even worse than I thought it would be.

[Aneris]

Anyway, Greg Laden really didn’t like my post the other day about Ron Lindsay. You can tell because of what he said about me personally:

[...] A word of advice for JT: You know that thing that people say, that if you act like a feminist the feminists will sleep with you? Its a joke. It does not really happen. You can stop now, JT. [...]

Oh snap! He’s on to me. Here I’ve been giving the impression that I empathize with harassment and inequality, not just because I give a damn about justice and fairness in general, but also because I have friends in the movement like Stephanie Zvan [...] What if my fiancee finds out? [...]

That came across awkward... no I don't want to go there. I've soon need to go to sleep and don't want to have nightmares. Here is the link... Greg Laden won’t have sex with me.

[JAB]

That's weird... I just went over to Amazon to look at the reviews for Laden's book and there hasn't been a new review since March and that was a one star. I thought Laden would have required PZ give him a good review on Amazon in return for a good review of PZ's magnum copypasta. Maybe PZ is holding out until Laden has a chance to put this review on Amazon before the back scratching is consumated.

[Kareem]

Stephanie has an angry.

http://www.freezepage.com/1372290062IEJZWMVBHW

Svan and Benson have to be the oldest 5 year olds in the movement.

[JAB]

That came across awkward... no I don't want to go there. I've soon need to go to sleep and don't want to have nightmares. Here is the link... Greg Laden won’t have sex with me.

Maybe it's time to bring back a nick name for Zvan that she didn't like at the time but may like better than being called Laden's wife... back before fftbs when she had Laden's back in his comment section at scienceblogs she was called his "sidekick". I don't think she liked it though.

[Mykeru]

Apologies to B3ta...

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5514/9145 ... 8c2898.jpg

P.S. Peez is a lazy mother fucker.

[AndrewV69]

In other news.

I was really expected to find that "Saddlebacking" was just something like "shit the godless made up about the godly" for giggles.

Nope.

It really appears that this "fuck me in the ass for Jesus" business has some truth behind it. I suppose I should be shocked.

Another argument for sex ed aimed at teens? This and this and this is sinful. You must abstain! However this and this is not. And for the latter, lube and a condom is really just a good idea.

OK ... back to our regularly scheduled programme?

[Mykeru]

Stephanie has an angry.

http://www.freezepage.com/1372290062IEJZWMVBHW

Svan and Benson have to be the oldest 5 year olds in the movement.

Oh my, people have to make sure Steffy is well treated?

Fuck you, Manatee.

[Lsuoma]

It took PZ this long to copy/paste his blog into book form? What an asshat.

Looks to me like he prolly got an advance, then sat on his planet-sized keister until the publishers decided they wanted their money back, said to himself "Oh, fuck!" and chose the old copy/paste gambit.

[Southern]

In other news.

I was really expected to find that "Saddlebacking" was just something like "shit the godless made up about the godly" for giggles.

Nope.

It really appears that this "fuck me in the ass for Jesus" business has some truth behind it. I suppose I should be shocked.

Another argument for sex ed aimed at teens? This and this and this is sinful. You must abstain! However this and this is not. And for the latter, lube and a condom is really just a good idea.

OK ... back to our regularly scheduled programme?

THAT is a dictionary Poe, then. But, hey, PZ Myers doesn't like dictionaries, and if PZ Myers, a renowned feminist book author width a five stars review from Greg Laden says it, then dictionaries must be worthless.

[AndrewV69]

Stephanie has an angry.

http://www.freezepage.com/1372290062IEJZWMVBHW

this woman is controlling this man’s behavior by having sex with him.

Hi, I am a MRA and I endorse this statement as representing the true and unvarnished state of affairs. Whenever some woman tried to spew some bullshit about teh Menze opressing women just remember that the real state of affairs is the opposite.

Men are lead around by their dicks and it is always the woman's fault.

/quotemineing for fun and profit

[another lurker]

Add Spiral (Engrenages) and The Killing (Forbrydelsen). I kind of like the idea of the slymepit becoming more of a tv/film/book-club.

Someone started a book and movies thread on another part of the forum. I could probably cut and paste my list there, and add anything new. I also have a list of 'the most fucked up and disgusting movies of all time' which some here may find interesting :P

/wave

I would be interested in that list. Purely from an anthropological perspective you understand, not because I am depraved or fucked up like those people over there.

*cough*

I'll work on it this week. I have the list archived somewhere, just have to unpack it. I got the list from this cool lady blogger, you'd probably like her - so I am also trying to find the blog atm.

[AndrewV69]

In other news.

I was really expected to find that "Saddlebacking" was just something like "shit the godless made up about the godly" for giggles.

Nope.

It really appears that this "fuck me in the ass for Jesus" business has some truth behind it. I suppose I should be shocked.

Another argument for sex ed aimed at teens? This and this and this is sinful. You must abstain! However this and this is not. And for the latter, lube and a condom is really just a good idea.

OK ... back to our regularly scheduled programme?

THAT is a dictionary Poe, then. But, hey, PZ Myers doesn't like dictionaries, and if PZ Myers, a renowned feminist book author width a five stars review from Greg Laden says it, then dictionaries must be worthless.

Is this a POE? I suppose it could be but how do you explain the number of times the question comes up in places like Yahoo Answers, various boards and the like? I am convinced that this is a thing, but I am also open to proof that shows me I am mistaken.

http://www.sexinchrist.com/index.html

“If you’re going to have anal sex, why not just have regular sex?”

This is a good question: If you’re going to have sexual contact before marriage, why not just go the whole nine yards and have regular sex? There are many good reasons for having anal sex instead. The first reason is practical: having conventional vaginal intercourse can lead to unwanted pregnancies. While it’s true that the Lord bade us to “be fruitful and multiply,” (Gen 1:22) the Bible also counsels that “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” (Ecl. 3:1) Pregnancy outside of wedlock can have dire and life-altering consequences for all those involved. Having anal sex allows you to greatly reduce this risk.

Second, for a young woman who has never engaged in sexual intercourse, having anal sex allows her to preserve her virginity (i.e., maintain an intact hymen) until marriage. There is no greater gift that a bride can give than to offer her pure, unsullied maidenhead to her husband on their wedding night.

Finally, anal sex allows both partners to save the most intimate and powerful sexual act, that of face-to-face vaginal intercourse, for their mates in marriage. This type of sexual relationship represents the most powerful union between a man and a woman, and so it rightfully should be reserved for one’s life partner. Fortunately, you can engage in anal sex prior to marriage and still be able to share the deeper, more meaningful act of consecrated love through vaginal intercourse with your wedded spouse.

Not to mention places where the author expresses dismay that the above is considered acceptable and affirms that it is sinful and nothing is allowed before the wedding?

[ConcentratedH2O, OM]

John Loftus of Skeptic Ink Network reviews PZ Myers' upcoming book:

1/5 stars:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R30LW6Z14W ... deID=&tag=

*snip*

Holy. Shit. It's even worse than I thought it would be.

No, no, no. This is waaay better than I had hoped for. Meyers has just thrown a few of his blogposts together for his book? Fan-fucking-tastic.

[Gumby]

\
Between 10 and 20 people read the other forums.... It can't be worse than the constant unfunny photoshops.

Or your constant attempts to be angry and edgy. Which are even less successful than the following crappy shop.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd24 ... 881e6d.png

[Mykeru]

Stephanie has an angry.

http://www.freezepage.com/1372290062IEJZWMVBHW

this woman is controlling this man’s behavior by having sex with him.

Hi, I am a MRA and I endorse this statement as representing the true and unvarnished state of affairs. Whenever some woman tried to spew some bullshit about teh Menze opressing women just remember that the real state of affairs is the opposite.

Men are lead around by their dicks and it is always the woman's fault.

/quotemineing for fun and profit

mgtowpoo.gif

(25.53 KiB) Downloaded 230 times

[Karmakin]

John Loftus of Skeptic Ink Network reviews PZ Myers' upcoming book:

1/5 stars:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R30LW6Z14W ... deID=&tag=

*snip*

Holy. Shit. It's even worse than I thought it would be.

Looks like his book is just a tome of harassment of religious folks, by their standards.

[Southern]

Is this a POE? I suppose it could be but how do you explain the number of times the question comes up in places like Yahoo Answers, various boards and the like? I am convinced that this is a thing, but I am also open to proof that shows me I am mistaken.

From what I unterstand, a Poe is a belief that you can't really tell if it's truth or parody/trolling. Isn't that what Poe's Law is about?

[KiwiInOz]

John Loftus of Skeptic Ink Network reviews PZ Myers' upcoming book:

1/5 stars:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R30LW6Z14W ... deID=&tag=

This review is about the pre-published "Uncorrected Galleys" of this book sent to me because I requested a copy as an Amazon Vine Voice Reviewer. As such, I must review this book once I requested it. I wish I hadn't requested it since I don't want to antagonize PZ Myers (someone I'd like to consider a friend someday) but I cannot do anything less than to write an honest review.

The book is titled "The Happy Atheist" and contains 34 chapters. I think a more fitting title would have been, "The Laughing Atheist." In the first chapter PZ Myers writes: "I'm an atheist swimming is a sea of superstition, surrounded by well-meaning, good people with whom I share a culture and similar concerns, and there's only one thing I can do. I have to laugh....I laugh because they do goofy, foolish things in the name of their god. But also because I hope that a little raucous hilarity will wake a few of them from their surreal lives...That's what this book is about: the folly of faith, the absurdity of apologetics, and I hope the joys of reality, as seen through the focusing lenses of humor as well as the more traditional ones of science and reason." (pp. 3- 9)

It's a book of ridicule with some science and reason thrown in for good measure. He's a great writer, no doubt, and he can make us laugh at superstition. So this is quintessential Myers. It's typically what he does best.

That being said, I have some problems with it. In the first place, I did a little research and found that nearly half of the chapters can be found almost word for word as blog posts of his with the same title. No doubt there are a few others. Some of them have probably been given a different title, like chapter 13) "Happy Easter!" which was originally a blog post of his titled "Sunday Sacrilege: The Silliest Story Ever Told." I have been a semi-casual reader of PZ Myers's blogs and after reading through this book there was nothing new for me. So I for one, am disappointed.

Almost word for word, sometimes with a different intro or ending, and perhaps a few other very small changes, here are the chapters, er blog posts, that I found online with the same titles:

4) The Great Desecration
11) The Top Ten Reasons Religion is Like Pornography
13) Happy Easter is from a post which was originally titled "Sunday Sacrilege: The Silliest Story Ever Told."
17) Imagine No Heaven
18) Daughters of Eve
19) Prometheus's Sin
20) So Alone
21) One Nation Free of Gods
22) An Embryo is Not a Person
23) The Courtier's Reply
28) We're Happier out of a Straightjacket Than in One
31) The Active Hand
32) The Proper Reverence Due Those Who Have Gone Before
33) Niobrara
34) We Stand Awed at the Heights Our People Have Achieved.

If someone is putting out a series of blog posts as published book for a price, readers would want to know so they can make an informed choice before laying down the required money to read it. A publisher would most definitely want to know. They surely paid him a huge advance, probably in the thousands of dollars. Did they know?

Second, this is not what I would call a researched book. He's mostly writing about letters and emails and blog posts that he's read. He's not writing anything that scholars would be interested in reading. He doesn't refer the reader to any books for further reading, nor does he offer any footnotes. When he does refer to a quote he doesn't tell us where it can be found, so we can't check the context of the quote.

Third, not very many of his chapters are within his area of expertise. For PZ his expertise is in the field of evolutionary developmental biology. PZ however, writes about, well, nearly anything he finds ridiculous. He usually doesn't even refer to experts in other fields of study when speaking on those topics. The fact is that PZ's expertise in one area doesn't transfer into the areas of politics, economics, philosophy, ethics, or a number of others.

Fourth, he didn't expand on his original posts even when they required it. Take for instance his chapter on "The Courtier's Reply." It's nothing more than his most famous blog post. The amazing thing is that his post has received an immense amount of commentary. This would have been the perfect time to deal with his detractors, and yet he chose to do nothing more than merely copy his original blog post word for word.

Fifth, this book isn't organized in any meaningful way, just one disjointed chapter after another. At least he could have organized the book by arranging it under different topical headlines.

So I got to wondering who would want to buy his book? Not any scholars nor believers, that's for sure. It's pretty clear to me he's not trying to reason with believers. Instead he's holding them up for ridicule to the watching atheist crowd. Why would they buy it? I can't think of a reason. It's for atheists, mostly young atheists, who want to laugh at the ridiculousness of religious faith. It's for his fans who might want a hard copy of his writings. It's for atheists who want to see what PZ considers to be his most important writings. It's for people who haven't read much of his blog too. If you fit into one or more of these categories then by all means buy it. Buy up lots of copies and hand them out to people who share your outlook. As I said, he's a great writer and very funny.

PZ is reaching a demographic that is somewhat of an uninformed one, an impressionable one, a largely angry one. This demographic will usually, more often than not, accept what an authority figure says if he says it with a cocksure attitude of certainty and humor. Given PZ's popularity and humor his efforts are successful among this demographic. He is rallying the troops. Apparently it's working for some people even though it doesn't work for me.

Damn ReGretta virus strikes again. He had to (mostly) compile his blog posts rather than write new material. No wonder it has taken so long.

[Scented Nectar]

Thank you to whoever mentioned paint.net and the colormatch add-on a while back.

That was me, and you're welcome. Your morph was lol-inducing! Nice work.

Thanks. I downloaded a ton of plugins for paint.net, and I'm gradually exploring them. The program's a keeper. :)

[AndrewV69]

Is this a POE? I suppose it could be but how do you explain the number of times the question comes up in places like Yahoo Answers, various boards and the like? I am convinced that this is a thing, but I am also open to proof that shows me I am mistaken.

From what I unterstand, a Poe is a belief that you can't really tell if it's truth or parody/trolling. Isn't that what Poe's Law is about?

That matches my understanding also. However, one issue is that I am frequently at a disadvantage in discerning normative social interactions and their ilk.

Sometimes, I am at a complete loss. The signals are there but I am unable to interpret them. So I consult and go with the consensus.

(think of someone who has to infer from the position of the light rather than the colour to determine whether to stop, prepare to stop or go).

[rpguest]

Damn ReGretta virus strikes again. He had to (mostly) compile his blog posts rather than write new material. No wonder it has taken so long.

imagine how many more years it would have taken to do something original?

[ERV]

Ive joked about just printing off my paper and 7 years of ERV posts, stapling them together, and calling it my dissertation.

That wasnt supposed to be writing advice to PZ.

[Parody Accountant]

Ok... artsy fartsy photoshop crap time! (1 of 3)

http://i.imgur.com/gXyOaab.png

Perhaps too obscure of a reference?

[Parody Accountant]

(2 of 3)
http://i.imgur.com/2ZoQg1m.png

Just as this music video crests, he seems to accept his fate.

[Parody Accountant]

inb4 c-c-c-c-c-combo breaker :hand:

[Parody Accountant]

(3 of 3)

http://i.imgur.com/tuekFJC.png

Slymepit. If I was a stone, this is how I'd be rolling.

[Southern]

Ive joked about just printing off my paper and 7 years of ERV posts, stapling them together, and calling it my dissertation.

That wasnt supposed to be writing advice to PZ.

You did it again, didn't you, Ms. Smith? Making PZ Myers look like a fool with your ill-intentioned writing advices. But you will be unmasked, eventually, when Greta Christina finally gets some time and energy to do it! Then, you will fall! Any moment now!

...

...

[mikelf]

Ok... artsy fartsy photoshop crap time! (1 of 3)

http://i.imgur.com/gXyOaab.png

Perhaps too obscure of a reference?

Ha! I was just listening to some Blondie on the commute home tonight and was planning to crank some Ramones on the way back in tomorrow morning.

[ConcentratedH2O, OM]

Ok... artsy fartsy photoshop crap time! (1 of 3)

[img]http://i.imgur.com/gXyOaab.pngmg]

Perhaps too obscure of a reference?

Ha! I was just listening to some Blondie on the commute home tonight and was planning to crank some Ramones on the way back in tomorrow morning.

Mikelf! Welcome back!

[Parody Accountant]

Ok... artsy fartsy photoshop crap time! (1 of 3)

http://i.imgur.com/gXyOaab.png

Perhaps too obscure of a reference?

Ha! I was just listening to some Blondie on the commute home tonight and was planning to crank some Ramones on the way back in tomorrow morning.

53rd and 3rd, Beat on the Brat. Those two Ramones songs will always fuck me right up :) . First 4 Ramones albums are nearly perfect. I'll take early blondie (pre-heart of ass) any day.

[welch]

Stephanie has an angry.

http://www.freezepage.com/1372290062IEJZWMVBHW

She's a bad motherfucker on her home turf.

[Wonderist]

FTB-dudebro-chill-girls-.png

FTB shamelessly promoting rape culture

(215.44 KiB) Downloaded 177 times

Just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating hypocrisy, I checked the link, and it indeed leads to this game (URL disabled with spaces) http ://www.playwartune. com/a?entrypt=wt-aff_w1---@73--w1-100029-2227155-1512245200

[katamari Damassi]

Ok... artsy fartsy photoshop crap time! (1 of 3)

http://i.imgur.com/gXyOaab.png

Perhaps too obscure of a reference?

Ha! I was just listening to some Blondie on the commute home tonight and was planning to crank some Ramones on the way back in tomorrow morning.

53rd and 3rd, Beat on the Brat. Those two Ramones songs will always fuck me right up :) . First 4 Ramones albums are nearly perfect. I'll take early blondie (pre-heart of ass) any day.

I got the CBGB's reference, but what is the second one? I see 2001, but there's elements I'm missing.

[Parody Accountant]

I got the CBGB's reference, but what is the second one? I see 2001, but there's elements I'm missing.

It's actually not 2001 (though I guess that the aesthetics are similar on purpose).

[youtube]u5CVsCnxyXg[/youtube]

Radiohead's video for 'No Surprises' - An unnerving lofi video of the singer ... well, singing ... while wearing a goldfish bowl helmet that's slowly filling up.

See 1:40-1:55-ish mark for the goosebumps moment. (Assuming you lot are also vulnerable to that goosebump feeling when art really hits home. Maybe it's just me.)

[AndrewV69]

Latest Ally Fogg is up:

What do men see when they see Page 3?
http://freethoughtblogs.com/hetpat/2013 ... ee-page-3/


And, Judgy Bitch has a question:

Oh, what the fuck! Can any of these retards READ? SCOTUS did NOT strike down The Voting Rights Act! What is all this ridiculous hysteria about?
http://judgybitch.com/2013/06/26/oh-wha ... a-about-2/

[ConcentratedH2O, OM]

I got the CBGB's reference, but what is the second one? I see 2001, but there's elements I'm missing.

It's actually not 2001 (though I guess that the aesthetics are similar on purpose).

[youtube]u5CVsCnxyXgyoutube]

Radiohead's video for 'No Surprises' - An unnerving lofi video of the singer ... well, singing ... while wearing a goldfish bowl helmet that's slowly filling up.

See 1:40-1:55-ish mark for the goosebumps moment. (Assuming you lot are also vulnerable to that goosebump feeling when art really hits home. Maybe it's just me.)

What's that ye say, sir? "Art", sir? No sir, I don't rightly know what "art" is, sir. Yes sir, I would like you to spend two of yer precious hours to teach me, sir. I don'ts deserve it, sir, no. No, I don'ts. Yer a right godly bloke and no mistake, sir. What's a Grecian Urn, sir? Don't rightly know, sir, maybe two bob a week, sir?

Pretentious cunt.

[Bhurzum]

See 1:40-1:55-ish mark for the goosebumps moment. (Assuming you lot are also vulnerable to that goosebump feeling when art really hits home. Maybe it's just me.)

You've probably already seen this but...

[youtube]gsMF729LPK0[/youtube]

Nothing particularly "artsy" about it but the video/song combo is pretty cool.

[Parody Accountant]

Pretentious cunt.

:)

[CommanderTuvok]

http://i.imgur.com/t6XXoLY.jpg

[16bitheretic]

So, um, been gone a few months thanks to real life stuff happening....what's up people?

I'm really out of the loop, but then I listened to that Brave Hero podcast with David Silverman, the more shit changes the more it stays the same...

[Metalogic42]

See 1:40-1:55-ish mark for the goosebumps moment. (Assuming you lot are also vulnerable to that goosebump feeling when art really hits home. Maybe it's just me.)

Here's a few songs that give me that feeling:

[Parody Accountant]

See 1:40-1:55-ish mark for the goosebumps moment. (Assuming you lot are also vulnerable to that goosebump feeling when art really hits home. Maybe it's just me.)

You've probably already seen this but...

[youtube]gsMF729LPK0[/youtube]

Nothing particularly "artsy" about it but the video/song combo is pretty cool.

I actually don't really care for Radiohead / Thom Yorke all that much. There are some moments of brilliance to be sure. However, I had not seen that vid, and I appreciate it.