Monday, July 8, 2013

Pure Rank Speculation and Emotional Despondancy

But that's all I got to keep me company right now that Althouse has kicked me to the curb.
When Are The Comments Coming Back?

Its possible that Althouse is creating a condition by which she can later say ... 'look what you said about me, you are not welcome at my kingdom ... go some other place you right winger, where there will only be weeping, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Ritmo, Inga and Garage and all the liberals in the kingdom of Althouse, but you yourselves thrown out.'

Maybe, the lack of Althouse air is doing something to me. I'm not myself. Maybe I'm delirious, gregarious and maybe even nefarious. I need to get a hold of myself. I thought I heard the whispering voice of Field of Dreams... but that movie is like from a time when there was no internet, so people needed to hear a whispering voice from the sky.

What I would do right now for a string of Betamax monologue. You know how many times I walk right past them w/o even giving them a quick look?

He was the last commenter before the doors where shut, padlocked, barricaded, dog warned.

I couldn't be bothered reading Betamax, I was too good for that.


Now look at me. One moment I'm defiant and despondent the next and back to defiance reliance on a mix metaphor ... the red sox are playing in half an hour, hurry up and finish this shit already.

Hey, That's exactly what I've been meaning to say really ... We haven't got a long time professor. Don't take too long.

32 comments:

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

from Palladian: 7/8/13, 9:05 AM published email to Meade.

To Pogo and "emailing commenter",

Nothing that either of you wrote hurt me in any way. There's a great difference between disagreement and attack. That both of you feel remorse over something that you wrote demonstrates that you need not feel remorse over anything you wrote. The living and thriving mind lives and thrives in ambiguity, and uncertainty, and disagreement, and strife. THAT'S what I liked about the comments at Althouse, and about great Althouse herself, and that's what would be a terrible shame to lose. Let us live freely in writing, together, once again.


If I've ever said anything offensive to Palladian I want to unreservedly undeservedly and wholeheartedly apologize. And I promise not to do it again in the future.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Looks like Althouse commenter Henry is thinking of starting a blog of his own... it appears to be in an embryonic stage.

Please let me take a moment here to pat myself in the back for finally finding use for the word embryonic.

Never interacted much with Henry but I look forward to sharing with him, should he go ahead and start blogging.

Chip Ahoy said...

Lem, relax.

Would you care to see something real life that is strange? There I was minding my own beeswax when I looked up and noticed on the t.v. the guy testifying about hearing Zimmerman scream and they kept showing Martin's father for reaction shots, but he gave no visible reaction in those moments, just presented steely reserve, apparently, if not equanimity, he gave nothing to read, but I was struck, struck I tell you, how a bald man can suddenly grow such impressive hair so fast. No photochopping, that's a screengrab.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

LOL

That is just too funny.

Trooper York said...

Don't worry Lem. I am sure you will be on the list of approved commenters.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I don't know. There are some issues of personal dignity and pride I have to work out first... that's in the event I'm even asked back.

chickelit said...

Troop is right. You are golden, Lem. And Troop is likely banished, though Prof. Althouse should treat him like Prof. Kingsfield treated Hart in "Paper Chase:"

[after getting kicked out of class by Professor Kingsfield]
Hart: You... are a SON OF A BITCH, Kingsfield.
Kingsfield: Mr. Hart! That is the most intelligent thing you've said all day. You may take your seat.

edutcher said...

I started thinking about all the time spent commenting and realized how big the blocks were.

At least now I'm getting other stuff done.

(in between cloudbursts)

The Dude said...

betamax was awesome - what a way with words that robot has.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Good. I don't want to tell you what to do ed, but, maybe you should follow your instincts on this. Freeman's idea of getting our own blogs is working out just fine for me. You are welcomed here. I intend to keep this blog up on topics that interest me and I will link stories from Althouse from time to time. Nothing is set in stone.

Icepick said...

Please let me take a moment here to pat myself in the back for finally finding use for the word embryonic.

Congratulations, old boy, you've finally done it!

Icepick said...

Ladies, just remember that your huge hair can have a strong impact on those around you.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Correction - it was not Freeman that suggested we comment on our own blogs. It was Althouse. Still, its working out just fine for me.
I slept in my car one time and I survived.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Yea... he slowed down... way down, enough to have a conversation with me one night. That was very nice of him.

edutcher said...

I agree 1000%.

Keep up the fire, looks like you're having fun.

Trooper York said...

They would never invite me back. Also Trooper York will never return there.

The true test of all of this bullshit is if she invites Inga to participate. I notice they highlighted a lickspittle comment of hers from email. If Inga comes back than it is clear that it is simply the fact that she has shown her true colors as a left wing feminazi who will brook no opposition. Which tied to her bitter jealousy of Dr Helen made her lose her mind.

Trooper York said...

If you start a blog Ed I would be happy to comment there too.

chickelit said...

@edutcher: Good to see you here!

edutcher said...

Thanks, guys.

I have been thinking about it.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

If you start a blog Ed I would be happy to comment there too.

Dittos for me Ed. You link to me and I'll link back to you.

chickelit said...

Suppose that her comments never came back? I suspect that Althouse is busy sifting and winnowing, sorting the wit from the chafe in her crop of commenters.

Perhaps she's trying out different ways of monetizing her blog. The Amazon thing was one way, but I think many of her lefty commenters were offended by the crass commercialism which Meade wholeheartedly embraced. Maybe she's planning on following the sullivanistic route of paid subscription next. She's already got his style of comment policy in place.

Who knows?

Are you wit or chafe?

Icepick said...

I wouldn't be so certain about the wit or chafe thing, or the desire to cull out lots and lots of people, especially old-timers. I really do think it is just a few commenters that they want to cull, and would be thrilled if Mary just crawled back into her hole.

I mean, I have reason to suspect I would be invited back to commenting when/if the time comes. If they'll take psychotic riff-raff like me, they'll take damned near anyone.

(Example of my riff-raff/psycho status: In a comment elsewhere yesterday I told most of the people at that blog that they should fuck themselves with chainsaws. The comment concerned the recent BLS Employment Report. I am not known for either restraint or subtlety.)

Icepick said...

I do think the gay marriage stuff battered Alhouse pretty heavily. I don't think enough people consider her personal interest in that case (one of her sons is gay, which is not a secret), and some of the rough language (including my own) probably hurt a bit.

On the flip side of that, I don't think she completely realizes how that changes her actions & reactions, either. She's certainly been gloating a bit about the gay marriage decisions, and it hasn't been pretty. And the fact that she doesn't seem to realize (or refuses to acknowledge) that she's gloating just pisses people off even more.

And then the Spooge Stooge thing happened.... Well, whatever, I saw that (a) that was going to go to a bad place and skipped most of it and (b) didn't really care about the topic that much.

But these kinds of dust-ups happen every few years to internet communities. I remember some pretty rough stuff from my Usenet days and some of the early web-based comment boards about, of all things, computer chess. Most of the people involved on those boards would have made Hannibal Lecter back slowly out of the room. Ah, I almost miss those days ....

Icepick said...

I'm trying to remember some of the bigger dust-ups. Not counting the times Mary has reared her ugly self, I think can remember three big ones before this.

The first big one I remember involved Sippican Cottage. He was a mainstay in the early years. And then, SOMETHING HAPPENED. I was never certain what it was because I believe I was only reading Althouse intermittently at the time. In any event, he decided that he had had enough, that he didn't like how things were going (perhaps he didn't like how he was responding to stuff), so he went back and deleted all of his old comments. They certainly numbered in the hundreds, and probably in the thousands. Yikes.

Then there was the Trooper York Rebellion. I recall that it was short and violent, and that some thirty-six million or so commenters died from violence and attendant famine. (Or maybe that was the An Shi Rebellion in China. It's hard to keep all this stuff straight.) I had stopped reading the blog for a few days, so I STILL don't know what the Hell that was about.

And wasn't there another big brouhaha about a year or so ago? Or am I imagining that one? I must be imagining it, as I can't think of who the Hell was involved in it.

And there were minor actions, like Ruth Ann Adams (God bless her and hers, I really do respect her) going away after having been the Official Althouse Historian for a while. (I'm sure she could tell us more about the earlier era.)

Basically, it was time. These things are like sunspot cycles or Kondratiev waves: You might think you're going avoid getting swamped, but even if you do, the damned undertow will get you instead.

edutcher said...

Funny you mention same sex marriage and her one son.

I always tried to be diplomatic and keep it objective when I commented on the subject and was really taken aback when she got nasty with me personally.

WRT the DOMA rulings and the idea those that disagreed were "losers" and should give it up, the fact we didn't back off our disagreement (think I said this over at EBL) really stung her, as did the splooge stooge thing, where a lot of guys said, "This is about grievances in the law, not victimhood"; and that also blew up in her face.

Trooper York said...

Ed she was really out of line with the way she went after your repeatedly. And you one of her biggest fans.

But you are in good company as she has turned on Intapundit as well.

Trooper York said...

We like to call it the Boxer Rebellion because we all do our posting in our underwear. Just sayn'

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

icepick, What is this Thoughtcrime you speak? Meadhouse has always been at war with Eastasia.

Anonymous said...

Lem,

Loved Bouncing the Late Nite Ping Pong Ball with You. My Previous Message Got Swallowed by the Internet Gremlins, but the Gist of it was Thank You.

-b3k

Icepick said...

The twin Supreme Court rulings really took me aback. They said that the Federal Congress can't define marriage in the DOMA case. In the California case, they effectively said that neither the states nor the people in the states can define marriage either. (This was done backhandedly by claiming that no one had standing in the case because the state of California wouldn't take up the matter. Whatever.)

I guess that leaves only the courts. I'm sure that is going to settle matters just as effectively as abortion has been settled. You never hear anyone complaining about abortion be legal any more....

Icepick said...

To people with my background one should say, "Five Star has always been at war with Gumby's." When I meet someone that understands that, I know I've met someone with a common background.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

I am almost positive that "emailing commenter" is wyosis, who I would be very happy to see pop up in one of these post-Althouse blogs.

She was always gracious and lovely to everyone (except she did get exasperated with Inga occasionally; who didn't) including of course Palladian, and I recall her saying something similarly apologetic to him in one of the DOMA threads, even though I highly doubt she has ever said anything remotely unkind.