or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
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"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
February 02, 2005
Welcome Weirdos!
This website has an open door policy. All are welcome: cranks, eccentrics, malcontents, queer ducks, oddballs, deviants, kooks, heteroclites, freakazoids, and so on. It could hardly be otherwise, since I may personally belong to some or all of these categories.
One particular oddball just commented on a long ago post here. (I'm referring to Norman, not Fazal Majid or Anna. Neither of them are oddballs; Fazal is an eccentric, while I believe Anna is a combination malcontent/kook.) Norman argues that the "so-called Armenian genocide" was not a genocide at all. In fact, "518,000 documented Ottoman Muslims... were directly slaughtered by Armenians."
And who knows? Perhaps he is right. I will start investigating this just as soon as there is a scientific breakthrough extending the human life span to nine million years. Until then, however, I will have to take a pass.
Posted at February 2, 2005 05:33 AM | TrackBackYou gotta love that need to cry genocide whenever the political agenda requires it. And I always love the argument, the genocide against my people is worse than the genocide we perpetrated against yours.
I hope your welcome extends even unto materialistic atheists.
Posted by: Alexis at February 2, 2005 08:36 AMMy genocide pales in comparison to your genocide? It reminds me of the povery boasting routine.
After a meal of not enough cold poison, our father used to slash us to sleep with a breadknife.
You were lucky to have cold poison. Our father. . .
And so on.
Posted by: Harry at February 2, 2005 10:36 AMAlexis,
Our welcome is especially warm to the materialistic atheists, because we know they (we?) have a tendency toward glumness. Fortunately, the sour cream coffee cake we offer seems to clear that right up.
Harry,
We used to DREAM of cold poison.
Posted by: Jonathan Schwarz at February 2, 2005 12:59 PMApparently all sorts of genocide denials are a form of obsessive compulsive thing. Here this guy thinks he should put a 2,000 word comment on the Armenian "so-called" (nice...) Genocide article which was written several months ago. I can imagine him galloping around the Internet looking for "so-called Genocide" dragons to kill but he can't find any so he starts attacking dinosaur skeletons. Or something. I am a weirdo, you know, so nothing I say will probably make any sense.
Posted by: Anna in Cairo at February 2, 2005 01:15 PMChrist, I've had to listen to this sort of shit all day from a co-worker. Would you ever guess that Thomas Jefferson was worse than Adolf Hitler? He owned slaves. But not only that, he contributed many contradictory ideas about liberty, which made him a hypocrite, thus sealing his fate vis-a-vis old Adolf, who at least was consistent. To even enter into these kinds of discussions--what was worse, the holocaust or slavery?--is of course to jeaopardize one's own humanity, but alas I find myself arguing the difference between personal morality and social contributions, and proposing that we take what we can in instances when the two enter into conflict. Most people contribute something. Nevertheless I continue to benefit from the ever-effluent wisdom of my peers: Marx was a racist, Orwell a eurocentrist--all reductionism in its most glorious expression.
Posted by: Ryan at February 2, 2005 05:06 PMSpeaking of Adolf and the Armenians, is it not true, as I have read more than once, that Adolf was inspired by what happened to them? As I recall the quote, it was something like, "Who remembers the slaughter of the Armenians now?" Of course, the Armenians still remember, and the Turks still deny it, apparently. Same as it ever was.
Posted by: mistah charley at February 3, 2005 08:14 AM
