Well, Waferinos, we did it: in terms of page views, we just crossed the 2 million mark. As most of you know, we are coming up on the 10th anniversary of this blog in April, but I thought I should pause for another milestone before that.
When the blog was 1st launched, everyone laughed. "It'll never fly!" they cried, forgetting that roughly 100 years before that, people were saying the same thing at Kitty Hawk. But the Wright Brothers went aloft, and so did we. Nearly 10 years later, who's laughing?
Of course, one of the challenges we faced was the trollfoons, but like cockroaches (a perfect description of them), they were mostly crushed out of existence. Their lives, after all, are based on Hegel's "negative identity," in other words on opposition; this gives them their
raison d'etre, poor shmucks; they affirm nothing. Anyway, they are not very bright, but most of them finally migrated to other blogs, having very little success here. The dumber ones have stayed around, sadly knocking at the door, hanging on to this flimsy, tragic self-definition. There are very few of these left; all one can do is shake one's head and sigh. This is non-life masquerading as life, but chances are they'll die before they understand this. As I said, dumber than dumb.
Meanwhile, the blog evolved into the highest state of consciousness known to the blogosphere, if not the entire galaxy, and here we are, in all our glory. Wafers forever! I salute you! A toast: To the next 10 years!
mb
ps: As promised, new article to follow within the next few days.
Congratulations, Dr. Berman! Thanks for continuing to carve out your powerful niche of literate sanity on an otherwise insane planet. I'm looking forward to the next read.
ReplyDeleteDr. Berman, a few months ago I claimed here that Trump was going to be the future President of the USA, and lead us onward and downward faster than we could possibly imagine. You said you didn't think there were enough douchebags to vote for him. Well, as of right now it looks like he's got a strong chance of winning the GOP nomination. Have you changed your opinion?
ReplyDeleteDr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteI like to think I was present at or at least near the launching of this blog. In any event, congrats on the milestone and let's hope to double it in half the time. I did see that woman in the Washington Post pic. So sad what's happened to my ex-wife. I'm joking, of course, but then again I haven't seen her since 1985 so who knows?
My initial enthusiasm for the charter school I'm now working in has been dampened (can enthusiasm get damp?). The students are still splendid, but unfortunately the school is run by that most wretched of things- adults. The place is abuzz with timers: 5 minutes for pre-classwork, 10 minutes for journal writing, etc. The possibility of a teacher saying to him or herself, "Hey, this seems to be going well. I'll let the students keep working on this and do the other thing I have planned later" is nearly non-existent. Poor kids, run like cogs. Needless to say, the powers up high don't want any time for self-reflection or creative thought. As was true at the turn of the 20th century is still true today-the purpose of K-12 education is to create a docile, subservient workforce who do their job (what job?) and shut up. The teachers, of course, are all moronic but that hardly needs to be said.
And they say there's no hope! One small step for man, one giant leap for Waferkind.
ReplyDeleteIn other news:
Bolivia Encourages Science and Technology Innovation
"The event was inaugurated by President Morales, who emphasized that the nation’s future lies in its 'scientific liberation,' and through his policies Bolivia has reduced its dependence on foreign technology."
A Bolivian iPhone perhaps?
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivia-Encourages-Science-and-Technology-Innovation-20160107-0020.html
One of the more thoughtful pieces on the situation in Burns, Oregon concerning Y'all Queda and their Yeehawd.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/opinion/in-oregon-myth-mixes-with-anger.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0
MB - thank you for clearly stating your policy on not using the word "whore" in reference to women. In my experience it is quite rare that it is ever employed in such a manner without a considerable degree of misogyny behind it, and that is not something this fucked up culture of ours needs any more of. And congrats on 2,000,000 hits! If only you had that kind of traffic daily, there might be hope yet for this blighted land.
ReplyDeleteMiles - I totally agree with you comment on guns. I have a lot of experience with nearly every type of firearm, to include assault rifles when I was in the army, and it has always been my observation that the more a person wants a gun, the more reason there is to keep them away from him or her. Having a gun fetish is its own form of mental illness--as the frequently reported insanity of the guns nuts clearly demonstrates.
Gus - While I would never advise you to buy a gun for home defense, if you do so decide I would strongly encourage you to learn to use it properly. That means taking a course on proper handling and weapon security (keeping someone from taking it away from you and shooting you with it) from a sensible instructor. Also, you need to go to firearms range and practice regularly because it is not as easy as it looks (and yes, that costs money as ammunition is expensive). If you're in the country, a shotgun would probably be best (lots of stopping power at close range). If you are in the city or suburbs, a handgun would be better to lessen the chances of shooting a bystander. Consider a revolver in that instance, as it is much harder to have an accidental discharge with one. And if you can't bring down your target with six shots, it was just your day to go.
Congrats on your 2 x 10^6th hit, as well as the upcoming 10th anniversary.
ReplyDeleteApropos, there was an item in the news that reminded me of an interview of yours from years ago. I recall a story about how you once lived in a place (DC?) where people were so focused on social-climbing/narcissism/egomania that if some unfortunate individual keeled over in the lobby, the only concern would be about the corpse blocking the doorway. Well, just such an event occurred recently, and you didn't even have to go to DC to find it; this occurred in Indianapolis.
Kilroy's complaint, response go viral
"[A 57-year-old] woman nearly died from a heart attack at Kilroy's [on] New Year's Eve. When a customer complained about it on the bar's Facebook page, a manager replied - and his response has gone viral...a woman by the name of Holly Jones appears to have complained...about the experience, apparently believing the victim had overdosed [on heroin]...and getting upset that [she] was not given higher priority...".
Here's just a small sample of Jones' rant--on Facebook, mind you, for all the world to see:
"I will never go back to this location for New Year's Eve!!! After...we spent $700+...watching a dead person being wheeled out from an overdose my night has been ruined!...The manager also told us someone dying was more important then us being there making us feel like our business didn't matter, but I guess allowing a Junkie in the building to overdose on your property is more important then paying customers...!!"
There's a happy ending of sorts: the victim survived, and the manager fired back. Another brief sample, this time of the manager weighing in:
"But I completely understand why you think being intoxicated [expletive]s that didn't understand [your] bill should take priority over a human life....I especially appreciate you making your server...cry as well...but honestly, I'm glad to hear you won't be coming back...because we wouldn't want [anyone like you] returning...Happy New Year!"
Sounds like the manager's a candidate for a WAFerdom.
I decided to do a google search for images on "trollfoons" and got nothing interesting. So I did another search on "internet trollfoons" and ran across a few pics:
ReplyDeletehttp://media.cagle.com/76/2012/09/01/117968_600.jpg?ref=relatedBox
http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/facebook/000/183/379/253833_213192708712999_213192372046366_700685_2680605_n.jpg
Shades of artist James Ensor on that last one.
Here's a James Ensor:
http://jamesensor.vlaamsekunstcollectie.be/sites/default/files/imagecache/featured/fotos/kunstwerken/16770_ca_object_representations_media_117_large_5.jpg.
I saw an Ensor exhibit in Los Angeles at the J Paul Getty museum a year and a half ago.
Dr. Berman and fellow Wafers:
ReplyDeleteAnother fellow traveller has offered up his predictions for the future, No, it's not James Howard Kunstler, although he's also a fellow traveller, his predictions for 2016 are deliciously here : http://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/pretend-to-the-bitter-end/
No, I'm referring to the Archdruid himself, John Michael Greer who offers up his 2016 ideas. Quoting directly : "The simple reality remains that here in America.......the option of changing our lifestyles now, in order to decrease the burden we place on the planet and what’s left of the industrial economy—is considered unthinkable right across the political spectrum. ....Thus my core prediction for 2016 is that all the things that got worse in 2015 will keep on getting worse over the year to come....the US economy will continue to sputter and stumble as politicians and financiers try to make up for ongoing declines in real (i.e., nonfinancial) wealth by manufacturing paper wealth at an even more preposterous pace than before, and frantic jerryrigging will keep the stock market from reflecting the actual, increasingly dismal state of the economy. We’re already in a steep economic downturn, and it’s going to get worse over the year to come, but you won’t find out about that from the mainstream media, which will be full of the usual fact-free cheerleading; you’ll have to watch the rates at which the people you know are being laid off and businesses are shutting their doors instead.
Yep, our kind of guy, it's here :http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com
Ed-
ReplyDeleteI agree, he'll win the GOP nomination, but then he'll lose big to Hillary. I think my argument that ordinary douchebags outnumber hyper-douchebags still stands (unfortunately). At some pt down the line, however, the elevation of a Hitler-type demagogue to the presidency may just be within our grasp.
mb
Hola MB and Wafers,
ReplyDeleteMB-
Congratulations are in order for the blog's 2 million hits, upcoming 10th anniversary, and yr merciless trollfoon pulverization; watershed moments in the annals of human history, no doubt about it. Would it be too presumptuous to recognize these important events artistically? Perhaps a large mural? Statuary of some kind? Something grand, like George Bellows' heroic "Dempsey and Firpo"? Yes, MB, in the ring, duking it out w/a relentless trollfoon. Undoubtedly, of course, it should be titled "Belman and Trollfoon."
Miles
The Oh my! was a play on the line from The Wizard of Oz. I never said she didn't want to go out with me again and she most certainly did. I made it clear both times I've used the word that it was an unhealthy obsession with money that qualified it's use. That is its definition after all. Granted it has been used more to describe women more than men but so has douchebag. It's been my experience that being easily offended by its use usually means that person has a lot of double standards when it comes to women. In the same way that women will throw the word dick around absentmindedly but if a man drops a c bomb. You get the idea.
ReplyDeleteI was heartened to see that this isn't a politically correct blog and you're probably not aware that you cannot even use words like shit on many sites. I'll admit I was being deliberately provocative, to find out where the limits were, but I wanted to start a discussion about this as I sensed a correlation between the casualness with which the d word is thrown around and the paucity of women in here.
Another example of American institutions failing.
ReplyDeletehttp://m.truthdig.com/report/item/calls_for_gov_snyders_arrest_as_flint_poisoning_scandal_20160107
Ed: Not to worry, a GOP approved candidate will win the nomination (Bush or Rubio), Trump will run as an Independent and split the vote. The chosen one Killary has already locked down super delegates and will win the nomination. Killary will win the prez. It has been pre-ordained.
ReplyDeleteRe: Oregon. I'm waiting for the birders to take control: http://www.outsideonline.com/2046896/oregon-militias-biggest-foe-may-be-birders
Don't fret WAF-ers, when I win the Powerball lottery this weekend I'll buy us a douche-bag-free island somewhere. We'll invite all the best WAFers around ... Naomi Prins can stay in my hut :).
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2016/01/popular_history_why_are_so_many_history_books_about_men_by_men.html
ReplyDeletePastrami-
ReplyDeletePls don't talk that way abt Nomi; she's a close friend. Thanks.
Ser-
There's no way referring to women as whores is going to fly on this blog, and your excuses are feeble. You shd be apologizing, not defending. Either play by the rules or find another blog, period.
Jeff-
Thanks. You'll be glad to hear that my post already pulled a trollfoon outta the woodwork. These folks are so easy to bait, really; dumb as a bag of hammers. In any event, I agree that someone needs to paint this blog. Were that Diego Rivera were still alive!
mb
Scratch another formally culturally enriching experience off of your to do list thanks to douchebags taking selfies:
ReplyDelete"The works are so large and some so gossamer that they challenge visitors who try to capture their essence with a smartphone. The exhibition is about amazement, marvel and awe. But as droves of Renwick Gallery visitors gape at the large-scale installation art in “Wonder,” the newly reopened museum’s inaugural show, curator-in-charge Nicholas Bell is more amazed by something else: their phones.
"Thanks to a few well-placed signs announcing “Photography Encouraged,” smartphones are omnipresent when you walk into the Renwick."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-renwick-is-suddenly-instagram-famous-but-what-about-the-art/2016/01/07/07fbc6fa-b314-11e5-a76a-0b5145e8679a_story.html?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link
MB,
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the 2 million views! It is a well-deserved accomplishment, and a vital milestone for humanity. Perhaps there is hope -- slim as that may be -- for this species, after all.
Forgive my absence from the blog. In recent months I had to carefully orchestrate and conduct my escape from a rapidly Dark Aging Europe. Who would have thought it possible that that all so progressive, all so illuminated, all so ”we’ll show y’all the way” Europe would so readily embrace the resurrection of Ottoman rule and, amazingly enough, return to the Middle Ages even before the US. I never thought I’d say this, but I am a little glad to be back in Florida.
Re. the idea that wanting to own a gun is synonymous to mental illness. Well, I suspect many of those German young women who were molested or raped on New Year’s Eve in Koln’s central square would disagree with that assertion. I also suspect that many a tyrants, including Stalin, Ceausescu, to name a few would have been much less successful at terrorizing their nations for the decades they did, had they not first disarmed their respective populations. But what do I know – I only lived for 20 years under Ceausescu’s regime, and only just returned from a disintegrating Europe completely unable to defend its women from mostly male, fake-passport-toting, military-age “refugees” of questionable origin. As far as the “mental illness” part of the statement, I have been a clinical psychologist for some time, but last I checked the diagnosis manual, there was no mentioning of such gun-specific disorder... Yet, considering that many of my colleagues are licensed to concealed carry, I guess we shrinks are all mentally ill too now, aren’t we...
O&D,
Bingo!
Hello Wafers,
ReplyDeleteGreat article on Vice that Wafers working at a corporate gig will particularly enjoy. The distinction between "Engaged", "Disengaged" and "Actively Disengaged" workers is particularly acute!
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/what-is-the-point-of-your-job-389
I think that being "Engaged" however, can also be akin to being "Actively Disengaged" in the sense that hustling will make the whole shabang collapse even faster.
Kanye
Congratulations on 2 million hits! Great and look forward to upcoming article. I notice less discussion and more cutting and pasting of media articles (gee look at this article which shows americans are morons, or trump or guns bad )for what appears to be for purposes of confirmation bias here which is sad. The discussions among posters here typically where very good.
ReplyDeleteBingo--agree. I am a psychiatrist and am licensed to carry a pistol and often do so in U.S. Do so in Mexico as well. I learned early in IDF as did father before me that a firearm is a useful tool. And yes a few years ago, I did fend off a fellow attacking an elderly woman. I too am familiar with DSM and the use of guns for self defense is not a disease as afar as I can tell. Two relatives and one of their children formerly of Argentina are alive today because my cousin was adept at the use of a pistol. The world is a complex place and parroting conventional wisdom or some version of utopia not helpful in an ideal world. I would add that other shrinks and a couple of ER docs I know all carry guns.
By this point, additional evidence to support the notion that "they own you" (George Carlin) seems superfluous, but in case you were experiencing a momentary feeling of hope, try this:
ReplyDeleteA report from "The Intercept" by Zaid Jilani on the speaking engagements in recent years of the heir(ess)-presumptive to the current management at some leading financial institutions. Fees paid are given, no mention of length of speech or content, but those things hardly matter:
https://theintercept.com/2016/01/08/hillary-clinton-earned-more-from-12-speeches-to-big-banks-than-most-americans-earn-in-their-lifetime/
And, also from "The Intercept," a report by Lee Fang on the rosy profits picture for our defense industries, based on a study from November 2015 by consultancy Deloitte. In the defense and national security field, a little fear goes a long way. A graph shows the comparative spending levels for defense in major contries. We are indeed Number One (cue USA! USA! USA!)
As George told us, "If you've got some brown people in your country, tell 'em to watch the fuck out!"
https://theintercept.com/2016/01/09/weapons-gold-rush-global/
Hola MB and Wafers,
ReplyDeleteMB, Wafers-
NYT's #1 best place to visit in 2016: Mexico City. The metropolis is described as a place that "radiates energy"; a city that has it all:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/07/travel/places-to-visit.html
ps: Perhaps Bingo shoulda traveled a bit further south upon his departure from Europe.
Bingo-
I tell ya, I fell outta my chair when I checked the blog this morning. I stood up, looked up to the heavens, and yelled "Bingo's back!"
Arriba de pistolero,
Miles
Jeff-
ReplyDeleteThis eval of Mex City by the DF is spot-on, imo. It's definitely going thru a very creative period; a pleasure to visit, w/o question.
mb
"and only just returned from a disintegrating Europe completely unable to defend its women from mostly male, fake-passport-toting, military-age “refugees” of questionable origin"
ReplyDelete----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I live in Köln and the idea that there is a widespread orgy of violence here or engulfing Germany is farcical. For most of us, everything is business as usual. Schildergasse is buzzing, the trains are running, and crime is generally no worse than it has been in the 10 years I've been here.
The attacks were unfortunate, but carried out by a group of perpetrators that do not represent the whole. Also worth noting is that rape culture was not imported (as many women here have tried to remind their apparent NPD would-be saviors), and every Karnival, Fasching, Oktoberfest, Silvester, etc. we have problems. I can't imagine what good you think a firearm would be in a situation where you are spontaneously assaulted by a gang of individuals at close range. Time to come back to reality methinks.
http://youtu.be/e6PRXplf77I These liberals need ur book for Christmas
ReplyDeleteDear professor Berman,
ReplyDeleteI've read your book Why America Failed, in which you don't seem to leave much room for a leftist revival in America. What do you think of Bernie Sanders, in regard of this matter?
Thank you for answering.
I know how you feel about alienation after leaving. During the time when I was editing XY, I became so sick of writing about American dread that I tried to edit the magazine remotely from a remote village in England, and then from Iceland. Of course it didn't work, because as soon as I got there I stopped caring about the American masquerade of "non-life masquerading as life."
ReplyDeleteOn this note, have you heard about Rushkoff's upcoming book to be released on 3/1, "Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus: How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity"? He apparently will be saying that the need for 10000% corporate profit on every new thing, puts an end to any possibility of life satisfaction for any actual people -- when even a 500% profit is considered as a failure. In fact, we have a country set up for everyone to fail even if they succeed in any terms. And how would even the democrats fix that? The whole question of toxic growth is not even being discussed. But how can one get excited about that while enjoying the true luxury of being absent?