littlemissattila.new.mu.nu

January 14, 2006

Wow. Are They Doing It On Purpose?

Few Democrats or analysts said they thought that Judge Alito's nomination could ever be blocked. "It may be a mistake to think that their failure demonstrates that they necessarily did something wrong," said Richard H. Fallon, a professor of constitutional law at Harvard Law School. "As long as most of the pubic will settle for evasive or uninformative answers, maybe there was nothing that they could have done to get Alito to make a major error."

Amazing. Apparently, Ruth Bader Ginsberg just appeared on the Supreme Court one day, like Venus on the half-shell. Or Fallon had a dream in which she answered the sorts of questions Alito didn't.

Or, most likely: nominees appointed by Democrats should be rubber-stamped no matter how ideologically extreme they are, whereas Republicans' nominees must be grilled.

The "Ginsberg rule," in other words, only applies to nominees who are "within the judicial mainstream." And the mainstream is, of course, leftist.

Paging Alice in Wonderland . . .

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January 13, 2006

The Best Way to Deprogram Yourself

. . . is never to join the cult in the first place. There is a Yahoo group set up specifically to answer questions people might have about the R.L. Hymers "church." It's even open to members of the cult who might wonder what they're getting into—or how to get out.

The former Hymerites' experience spans at least two decades of the cult's existence. (I should say, "the cults' existence," since Bob Hymers keeps changing the name of his group. His cults were/are, in order: Maranatha Chapel, The Open Door Community Churches, The Fundamentalist Army, and now the Baptist Tabernacle, aka "oh, a church near the Staples Center.")

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1 This is hot off the wires and I thought you might enjoy this JOYFUL story. Posted on Fri, Jan. 13, 2006 Laura Bush sees woman president in future DEB RIECHMANNAssociated PressWASHINGTON - Laura Bush predicted on Friday that the United States soon will have a female president - a Republican, and maybe even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "I think it will happen for sure," Mrs. Bush said about a woman in the Oval Office. She made the comment in a CNN interview broadcast on Friday, the day before she leaves for Liberia to attend the inauguration of the first female president in Africa. "I think it will happen probably in the next few terms of the presidency in the United States," Mrs. Bush said. Rice has said she has no desire to be president when President Bush's second term expires, but Mrs. Bush said: "I'd love to see her run. She's terrific." Mrs. Bush leaves Saturday night for Africa where she will visit Ghana and Nigeria to promote education and AIDS treatment after leading the U.S. delegation attending the swearing-in of Liberia's President-elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on Monday in Monrovia. Rice is part of the delegation, as is one of the president's daughters, Barbara, who worked recently at a pediatric AIDS hospital in South Africa. "She's interested in the policy surrounding AIDS and what we can do in our country and in other countries around the world to really stop AIDS," Mrs. Bush said. During the 13-minute interview in the Map Room of the White House, Mrs. Bush talked about how she and the president try to comfort the families of fallen U.S. troops by saying that their service in the armed forces is helping to establish a stable democracy in the Middle East. In another gesture of consolation, Mrs. Bush said that on Thursday she called to offer encouragement to the wife of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, Martha-Ann Bomgardner, who left her husband's testy Senate confirmation hearing in tears, eliciting sympathy from senators of both parties. "I think it's very important for the Senate to have a very civil and respectful hearing for anyone that has been nominated for the Supreme Court or for the other jobs that require Senate confirmation," Mrs. Bush said. "But on the other hand, my family has been in politics for a long time and I think you do develop a thick skin. Does it ever not hurt? You know, not really."

Posted by: Crystal Dueker at January 14, 2006 05:32 AM (PzHr9)

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Naturally, the Old Man Stopped by Today.

(No, I'm not in biker chick mode: I mean my father.)

He feels that the quality of my blogging has degenerated drasticallly since my Blogspot days, and that all this stuff about my uterus and whatever meds I'm on is not very interesting. He'd like me to 1) get back to writing about politics, and 2) be funny again.

I feel like Woody Allen, here.

Dad, thanks for your input. I'm afraid that I weigh the wishes of readers who stop in multiple times a week just a bit more heavily than parents who show up every few months whether they need to or not.

However, there is one dirty little secret in the world of media that you should probably know about: publishers generally outrank editors. In other words, the people who make business decisions have more clout than those who make creative decisions. This can create ruptures in the theoretical wall between advertising and editorial.

So at present, I'm doing what I like. Buy an ad or hit my tip jar, and your opinion will might become meaningful.

Might.

Sheesh. He is really one of the two Most Annoying People in the World.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 10:54 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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1 I love my dad dearly, but when he started in with the editorial comments on my blog, I had to set him as firmly in his place as I could, while still remaining on good terms. My blog. My thoughts. It's not for "show". It's who I am.

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 14, 2006 07:25 AM (xdX36)

2 Why would a uterus not be interesting? Just about every one of us has spent time in one. I suspect his reaction is actually more like "Eww, icky girl stuff!" than he'd perhaps care to admit.

Posted by: CGHill at January 14, 2006 07:39 AM (tEfsQ)

3 Parents shouldn't know a blogger's web address. It's a lot like them hanging around when you are with your friends. Parents should only know how to turn a computer on and access their email account. That would be a good business idea for a new browser...Of course you can always put your site on the "restricted web sites" list on a MS OS....they'd never figure out how to get it off.

Posted by: Darrell at January 14, 2006 09:54 AM (tORqo)

4 Remember that piece from The Onion about a guy's mother discovering his blog? And, of course, right after he'd been blogging about buying dope? It was pretty funny. But I shouldn't go off on him. Not even here. [Sigh.]

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 14, 2006 11:07 AM (/y+/O)

5 It's all done with love...

Posted by: Darrell at January 14, 2006 12:43 PM (cUMtc)

6 Whatever happen to "thy shalt honor thy father and thy mother" hmmmmm. .. It is the duty of a parent to annoy their children. okay, my 16 yr old daughter can at time annoy the crap outta me, then she brings home straight "A's" on her full load of AP classes...!;-})

Posted by: Marvin at January 16, 2006 02:08 PM (LKYQX)

7 Oh, I'm aware that it's a commandment. I just wonder if God ran out of space, because I'm certain there were supposed to be some qualifiers on there, but the tablet wasn't large enough to hold them. [sigh]

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 16, 2006 02:53 PM (/y+/O)

8 Depends upon the meaning of the word "honor". I believe it is possible to honor one's parents without necessarily permitting them to meddle in your affairs once you're an adult. I specifically do not believe that verse requires that one permit them to run roughshod over one's life, long after they should have let go. And in the case of an abusive parent, the best way to honor them may in some cases be to put a whole lot of distance, both physical and if necessary emotional, between you and them.

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 16, 2006 11:05 PM (xdX36)

9 Oh, he's not abusive. Just silly sometimes, and often annoying. Amazingly insensitive on occasion. He just caught me at a bad time; normally, it would slide right off me. I realized recently that at this point either of my parents will pretty much put up with any shit I want to shovel at them, but if I spend the next 10-20 years shovelling shit, no one will be happy--including me. So although I stand up to them when necessary, I try not to be mean about it, and I stay away from the constant "joking" put-downs I'm capable of throwing at my dad. Neither my father nor my mother are unlimited resources, as my husband has been trying to point out to me for years.

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 17, 2006 03:39 AM (/y+/O)

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Let's Say I Overheard This

Blogger: Hi, Dad. How are you?

Blogger's Father: Passive-aggressive.

Blogger: No; I meant, what's new?

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Blog Business

1) Someone should pick up my left-hand premium slot ("Little Miss Attila Gold"). This particular position has been very successful in the past for clients such as Americans for Rice and Conservative Thinking.

2) I'm making arrangements for my trip to DC, so please "renew" your "subscription" by hitting my tip jar (the Paypal button at left). Your cash donations will help to pay for:

• a red-eye flight to the East Coast;

• peanut butter, jelly and bread, hidden away in my hotel room to keep me from wasting away in the nation's foremost Fat Metropolis;

• one overpriced gin and tonic at the hotel (I'm trying to make my budget realistic).

If you're conservative, I'm going to D.C. to help the cause. If you're a liberal, I'm going to "fight from the inside." Either way, the world will be a better place with me covering CPAC. Gas prices will be lower, birds will sing, and your spouse will be available for nearly nonstop sex.

Thanks.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:38 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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Your Mouth Says Diplomacy,

but your eyes say military action.

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What a Fascinating Notion.

Goldstein's covering the confirmation hearings, and he's on more drugs than usual.

It's not like my uterus has ever done me any good, other than garner strange praise from OB-GYNs, who get oddly enthusiastic about my reproductive organs, despite the fact that I've never truly exploited their potential.

So the uterus-as-accessory idea might be the way to go.

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January 12, 2006

After Nearly Three Years

. . . this was rather lovely.

And it's early in the day.

Glenn was gentle; I think he knew it was my first time.

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Robbo

. . . has some ideas for how to bring some depth and intelligence to the Alito confirmation hearings.

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1 Dear Miss Atila, this is from the Americans for Dr. Rice group. I am posting it to share information with you and your readers. I hope this is ok, and that you celebrate free speech as much as I do. Americans for Dr. Rice leaves for a trip to Iowa this weekend. Your readers in Iowa a might enjoy coming to this event. Here is the message I am sending out on behalf of our new spokeswoman in DC, Jessie Jane Duff. This trip to Iowa will give us a chance to speak directly with the people of Des Moines about our nationwide effort instead of drowning by the power of the mass media in Iowa. That was one of the motives to advertise our TV ad promoting Condoleezza Rice as our next president on the ABC show, "Commander in Chief", to get our message out to the audience. The group purchased ads on ABC in Des Moines for 2 weeks on television. That is also why we paid for radio ads in Des Moines for over 6 weeks on WHO, to plant the seeds of this great vision for our nation's future. Here is the list of our events this weekend. On Sunday, January 15, there will be a public meeting at the Quality Inn on the 2nd floor, Room 208 in downtown Des Moines starting at 2pm. This is part of informing Iowa voters about the Americans for Dr. Rice grassroots effort for 2008. Since we have a booth at the Iowa Caucus on January 16, this meeting will be a venue for those who are not coming to the Caucus at the HyVee Events Center downtown on Monday. Our speaker, Jessie Jane Duff will provide the pubic with a chance to collect information about the Draft Condi 2008 movement, ask questions, and get a bumper stickers or a campaign buttons. On January 16, a press conference will be held at 9AM with the Americans for Dr. Rice spokeswoman Jessie Jane Duff at the podium. Martin Luther King's birthday is a day to honor the success of minority representation in local governments, state governments, and for those holding national positions of power, like Secretary Condoleezza Rice, who help create policy for leaders on both sides of the aisle. In Iowa, we celebrate the recent election of Ross Wilburn as the first black mayor of Iowa City. There are now 3 black mayors serving in Iowa, including LaMetta Wynn and Reagan Banks. On this wonderful day, we will speak about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and why we believe she is the most qualified and strongest leader for our nation in 2008. This is a horserace, and we are betting on the filly with the best legs. this note was written on behalf of Jessie Jane Duff the new leader for Americansforrice.com

Posted by: Crystal Dueker at January 12, 2006 09:32 AM (PzHr9)

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Visually Bitchin' Websites

What are your favorites? I've got someone putting together a bare-bones site for me—so Spartan, in fact, that we may make it a single page in the beginning.

This is strictly for Joy McCann, mild-mannered copyeditor and fact-checker, rather than Little Miss Attila. (And, yes: the business is staying under my own name for the time being. Long story.)

I'd like the final design to use a little gray, but also feature some saturated color. Any favorite sites that highlight interesting shades of orange, purple, green, or blue?

Because I like to demand the impossible, I want it to be as dignified as my business card, but a bit edgier (hence the polychromatic splashes).

As you know, the links in my comments section sometimes don't work, so you might want to place the full URL there--and/or give me a name, so I can Google the site or blog you're discussing.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 01:07 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 Green? I do green.

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 12, 2006 07:03 AM (xdX36)

2 Web media isn't print, and rarely translates well from a 2x4.5 piece of stiffened paper (not too badly the other way, but that's because good web design uses stricter rules than your business card). I seriously hope you were more specific as to the design of the site with the person that is building it, or that the person has the experience to make it work. As for color suggestions, I've found this site a good place to start figuring out visuals. Try Meyerweb. Look around, he's got different layouts on different pages. Considering who he is, that shouldn't be too surprising. Also look through the pages under the Resources heading. After all, if you're gonna lift web design ideas, you might as well start with the guys who have been doing this for as long as there's been a web...

Posted by: screwball at January 12, 2006 07:42 AM (1oT80)

3 PS> That first was a general observation. Please don't take it personally; I've had experience with clients who could not get that idea through their heads (didn't help that their dignified business cards had elements that could not translate into the site they wanted). It's become a pet-peeve, of which I have many.

Posted by: screwball at January 12, 2006 07:58 AM (1oT80)

4 Well, that's more or less my point: if it were paper, I'd have a better idea of what to do. I don't use saturated colors on my print collateral, but I feel my website is going to demand it.

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 12, 2006 09:19 AM (/y+/O)

5 http://www.badkittyartstudio.com too both I did myself and am playing with them, but the general reaction to my gray backgrowunds was Ick....by my customer base. Anyway, I like your site, and love the content, I'll be marking you in my fav's to check you out again soon. Take care, Heather

Posted by: hmbt at January 12, 2006 08:53 PM (CSBtB)

6 Thank you. Of course, I'm not responsible for the visuals . . .

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 12, 2006 09:58 PM (/y+/O)

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January 11, 2006

Okay. I'm Officially Worried.

Volokh has weighed in on the "troll law."

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Is It Possible

. . . that Boner of Zion is a self-hating Jew? Just askin'.

The extra IQ points and inch of penis . . . are nice, but overallÂ—meh.

No freakin' ethnic pride.

Circa 1955, one of my mother's college-era boyfriends pointed out that she was "too smart not to be Jewish." She was flattered at the time, but the first time I heard about this I was OUTRAGED!*

Now I think it's freakin' hilarious.

* Has Goldstein copyrighted this? I should check.

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Insty

. . . links to his/the InstaWife's podcast interview of Evan Coyne Maloney, the thinking teenybopper's heartthrob.

The topics? Maloney's masterwork, Brainwashing 101, which I've seen separate digests of for two consecutive years at The Liberty Film Festival, and Dead Meat, On the Fence Films' damning—and darkly hilarious—piece on Canadian health care. Stuart Browning took the lead on Dead Meat, upstaging Maloney for a change and proving that the talent at On the Fence is evenly distributed. (It was also shown at the Liberty Film Festival; please click the "On the Fence" link above to see portions of either movie.)

I'd listen to the podcast, but I'm a Luddite and afraid that technology will hurt me or bring space aliens to earth or something. Also, I'm boycotting Glenn until he links me.

UPDATE: See? He couldn't handle the pressure! I withheld my 400+ hits a day until he gave in.

(Thank you, Glenn.)

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The Blessings Never Cease

1) Goldstein appears to have given up all those big words.

2) He's now writing about The Rockford Files, which was the best. Show. Ever.

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Back in the Saddle Again

I spent yesterday at my blue-collar job—the home-renovation gig—applying artistic finishes to various surfaces and manipulating my boss into giving me advice about the colors I intend to use in my hall bathroom.

My breakfast-while-carpooling solution: 1) I finally shelled out a whole four dollars for a mult-compartment plastic vacuum bottle at my local supermarket. I make instant oatmeal in the bottom compartment, and use the small top compartment for "fruit compote" that consists of microwaved canned fruit cocktail. The thermos has no metal or glass in it, so I don't know how effective it would be for, say, soup. But it only has to keep the oatmeal warm for an hour or so, until I'm on the freeway with my friends. It's perfect, and it isn't even marketed as a "food thermos"; it thinks it's for coffee in the main compartment and oatmeal in the little one. But even the apparently-superfluous drinking cup part works; it serves as a clean place to set the bottom of the compote container while I eat oatmeal out of the main compartment.
2) A supermarket blueberry bagel, made into a cream-cheese sandwich and cut in half, is a nice little carb boost. I packed it along so I wouldn't be subject to the temptation to order from Noah Bagels when we got to Manhatten Beach. Half of it, I ate during my mid-morning break; the other half, I consumed on the way home to overcome the temptations of Starbucks Stop #2. (I am on-board with Starbucks Stop #1, but that's four dollars by the time I've put a tip in the jar. That's all I'm willing to spend these days.)

I made myself, through sheer force of will, attend my publishing group meeting last night because I said I'd give a short presentation and I wanted to honor that promise. Naturally, I heard the most interesting keynote presentation there that I've witnessed in my two years with these people, and I got the names of two hot prospects for my editing business.

That improved my mood enormously, and at the end of the day, after checking my e-mail, I curled up in my clothes to sleep in my computer nest here on the loveseat in by the dining room. When I woke up, I got into bed and crashed without so much as taking my bra off; I was tired.

I'm a pretty happy camper this morning. Sleep is the most fabulous invention in human history—so much better than the wheel, it isn't even funny.

So, on-duty here for a few hours with some computer tasks and housework, and then it's off to the doctor for a checkup. Client A at my editing business is up in the afternoon.

I'm that happy kind of busy.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 06:35 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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January 10, 2006

I Wish You Guys Weren't So Obsessed

. . . with Robert L. Hymers; you're embarassing yourselves.

Here's a nice little meditative essay on a tract R.L. Hymers wrote regarding the dangers of Halloween.

"We're not laughing with death," the author declares. "We're laughing at it.

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January 09, 2006

R.L. Hymers Update

For those who have been tracking the process as I explore my "cult" years, there's information at the livejournal of a gentleman named Doxa that may prove illuminating. It appears that Bob Hymers' group, the Baptist Tabernacle, has become even more twisted as time has gone by.

You might turn the volume down on your computer before you go, if you find—as I do—that music is hard to read to if it contains words. (Of course, it could be that I'm the only baby boomer who cannot cope with background music in that way. I can live with that.)

• Doxa on the Hymerites' clumsy "outreach"; we discover that cell phones are the work of the devil;

• A friend of Doxa's finds out that clothes make the woman;

• Doxa strategizes about how to politely make Ileana Hymers go away.

Virginia Woolf: "I thought about how unpleasant it was to be locked out. Then I thought about how much worse it was to be locked in."

[I'm paraphrasing, but I believe I'm awfully close. Anyone who wants to find the quotation in Room of One's Own should fact-check my ass, here. Thanks.]

Posted by: Attila Girl at 02:10 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Long Poems

The Rubaiyat kicked my ass; I could never remember what order the verses are in.

I had The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock at one time, but I'd have to study it again to get the various parts in their proper order and recite the whole thing.

The Highwayman was a standoff; I had it for all intents and purposes, but not quite at the recitation level; I'd always stumble a bit.

And, of course, I still have at least a couple of Shakepearean speeches; I can do Hamlet's soliliquy or Antony's oration from Julius Ceasar without sweating.

But Xanadu is mine until I die. I found out the other day when Attila the Hub was testing his new phone and told me to "talk, and keep talking."

He waited for me to take a breath after "ancestral voices prophesying war," and then broke in to joke about how much Kubla's men had accomplished that day. This was his way of telling me the phone worked, and he didn't need to hear the rest. So I hung up and finished the rest myself, under my breath.

Ask to hear it when I'm on my deathbed, and you'll get an earful.

But don't ask me for my friends' phone numbers, okay? Those are in the phone, where they belong.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 01:20 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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1 Don't forget "His ineffable effable Effanineffable Deep and inscrutable singular Name: The Naming of Cats

Posted by: Sissy Willis at January 09, 2006 01:50 PM (mrcD4)

2 Gak. It doesn't work. Try this.

Posted by: Sissy Willis at January 09, 2006 01:51 PM (mrcD4)

3 I hate it when that happens. One more try, and then I'm out of here

Posted by: Sissy Willis at January 09, 2006 01:52 PM (mrcD4)

4 Sorry, Sissy: sometimes the links in my comments section go a little kerflooey. I tried to fix that second one. I'll tinker a bit more with it, if time permits. In the meantime, everyone get out their volume of the playful T.S. Eliot. You know the one.

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 09, 2006 02:46 PM (/y+/O)

5 Let us go then, you and I, Where Alph the sacred river runs, To hear the mermaids singing each to each Ancestral voices prophesying war.

Posted by: John Enright at January 09, 2006 07:52 PM (xeTPg)

6 Here is one of my favorite poems. It is called "The Kiss." It is by Siegfried Sassoon. To these I turn, in these I trust-- Brother Lead and Sister Steel. To his blind power, I make appeal, I guard her beauty clean from rust. He spins and burns and loves the air And splits a skull to win my praise; But up the nobly marching days, She glitters naked, cold and fair. Sweet Sister, grant your soldier this: That in good fury he may feel The body where he sets his heel Quail from your downward darting kiss.

Posted by: Stuart Fullerton at January 10, 2006 08:10 AM (REXOp)

7 Nine times the space that measures day and night To mortal men, he, with his horrid crew, Lay vanquished, rolling in the fiery gulf, Confounded, though immortal. But his doom Reserved him to more wrath; for now the thought Both of lost happiness and lasting pain Torments him: round he throws his baleful eyes, That witnessed huge affliction and dismay, Mixed with obdurate pride and steadfast hate. At once, as far as Angels ken, he views The dismal situation waste and wild. A dungeon horrible, on all sides round, As one great furnace flamed; yet from those flames No light; but rather darkness visible Served only to discover sights of woe, Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace And rest can never dwell, hope never comes That comes to all, but torture without end Still urges, and a fiery deluge, fed With ever-burning sulphur unconsumed...

Posted by: beautifulatrocities at January 10, 2006 05:50 PM (RNTjX)

8 Beautiful Atrocities-- Where is that one from? Milton?

Posted by: Stuart Fullerton at January 10, 2006 09:19 PM (Hx7bU)

9 Let us go then, you and me, While the evening is spread out against the sea, Like a patient etherized and awaiting major surgery...

Posted by: triticale at January 10, 2006 09:44 PM (jpY/G)

10 And all I remember from Hamlet's soliliquy is the part about "enterpritheth of great pith and moment in thith regard their currentth turn awry" with which I brought down the house in Senior English class. We got to listen to a recording of a dozen actors reading it. Most said pith, like our text, a couple said pitch, only Olivier read it as Bacon or Lord Whoever originally wrote it.

Posted by: triticale at January 10, 2006 09:49 PM (jpY/G)

11 Nine times the space that measures day and night ...Paradise Lost by John Milton.

Posted by: Darrell at January 10, 2006 10:36 PM (SKxhO)

12 I had always thought it was pitch, but it's obviously a word we no longer use. I know the meaning is importance, but I never studied Elizabethan English--nor worked Renaissance Faire--so I'm fuzzy on the pronunciation.

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 10, 2006 10:45 PM (/y+/O)

13 I think I actually worked this into a poem I wrote, back when I was in that line of "work"-- In the room the women dwell, Harping on Vanessa Bell.

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 10, 2006 10:46 PM (/y+/O)

14 I never write poetry, altho I wrote a country song that was supposed to make me rich if Dolly Parton sang it: Those days are over now, I should just kill myself, Abandoned like a dirty Kleenex that you used, I sit & watch TV, eating compulsively, I just sit here Dunkin Donuts Over You...

Posted by: beautifulatrocities at January 10, 2006 11:10 PM (RNTjX)

15 Now that's art!

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 11, 2006 06:11 AM (/y+/O)

16 Now that's poetry, Baby.

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 11, 2006 02:36 PM (/y+/O)

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Has Anyone Out There Ever Known

. . . a member of MENSA who was actually smart?

Just curious.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:08 AM | Comments (15) | Add Comment
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1 Several.

Posted by: Kathy K at January 09, 2006 05:51 AM (QE9f0)

2 Hello?

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 09, 2006 07:15 AM (xdX36)

3 Is this a trick question? Is this about whether "smart" means something other than intelligence, such as "ability to make good choices" or "ability to socialize in a witty and entertaining manner", or "coming to the same conclusions as the group, given the same data set"? I'm loaded for bear.

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 09, 2006 09:14 AM (B2X7i)

4 I'm guessing she doesn't mean "good at taking tests"; most likely, she is asking whether anyone has ever met a member of MENSA who has a lick of common sense. In which case, my answer would have to be "No."

Posted by: MrSpkr at January 09, 2006 09:52 AM (CEsbr)

5 Would the "common" part of common sense then be something along the lines of "coming to the same conclusions as the group"? As I've heard tell, good sense is neither terribly common, nor does what pass for "common sense" often make a whole lot of sense. Of course, being good at taking intelligence tests has nothing whatsoever to do with innate intelligence, right?

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 09, 2006 11:41 AM (B2X7i)

6 no, but I know lots of smart people who refuse to join MENSA.

Posted by: caltechgirl at January 09, 2006 11:55 AM (/vgMZ)

7 Well, DC, if you're in it, then my question is answered, and the organization is redeemed in my eyes. I grew up in Los Angeles and went to Santa Monica High and just never had trouble meeting people who were really smart, so there would have been no purpose for a club like that. And I've only known two people who were MENSA members; they were both a bit dim. I therefore have had a sense for years that most MENSA-ites were drawn to it because of insecurities. So I was actually curious.

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 09, 2006 12:49 PM (/y+/O)

8 My experience with Mensa members has been they joined the organization because their intelligence was not otherwise readily noticeable.

Posted by: tommy at January 09, 2006 02:23 PM (Qmfgc)

9 Ah. So we're talking about dorks and geeks who would function as the butt of endless jokes from the "cool" crowd or otherwise labor in obscurity, were it not for their ability to join an exclusive organization? First, that would tend to skew the membership pool toward those needing to prove something, despite their other shortcomings, no? Having said that however, there does appear to be no small amount of resentment amongst some portions of the ineligible 97.9% of the population in the face of said proof. Being "cool" is never quite compensation enough for being average or worse in intelligence. And having proof of one's hyperintelligence is never quite compensation enough for being laughed at for one's social faux pas. I can tell you that many highly intelligent people find it difficult to relate to "normal" people. For them, Mensa was formed as a refuge where they could hang with people more like themselves, where they would feel less "wierd". For some, it's an epiphany. My father was labeled "dumb" and "slow" as a child. He carried that belief through much of his life, choosing career paths and making life decisions accordingly. He never fit in as a child, always last to be picked for the team, etc. However, together with his brother, he concocted and pulled off some tremendous practical jokes on the bullies. It wasn't until his forties that he began to question the conventional wisdom. When he finally took a proctored intelligence test, he scored in the 99.9th percentile (enough to qualify for the Triple Sigma Society, which most Mensans could never join). This was revolutionary to him! He joined Mensa because he had just discovered why he never fit in, and who it was he really fit in with. I cannot express here what it means to rarely be understood, to rarely see anyone else's bulb light up when you explain your thoughts, to rarely find someone who thinks about the things you think of. It can make for a very distorted self-image. For those, Mensa can become a clear mirror that goes a long way toward building a healthy self-image. I was a teen at the time, and as his child, I also easily qualified. Mensa gatherings were always places of fascinating conversation, but I let my membership lapse after high school. Later, I found my peers amongst my fellow engineering students, and now amongst high-level bloggers as well. Unfortunately being a Mensan has been turned into a stamp of scorn and derision by some. Which is really too bad, all things considered.

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 09, 2006 03:57 PM (B2X7i)

10 Well, there is me. So I guess, no. My proctor committed suicide a few days after my test. I guess I should thank you. I hadn't thought about that for twenty years. I should light a candle for him and say a prayer...

Posted by: Darrell at January 09, 2006 09:51 PM (ASgV5)

11 I like to think I'm actually smart; I joined MENSA in high school because I could. I didn't really stick to it - I had enough social problems without staying in a group that nurtured instead of corrected those problems. I went through a lot of emotional trouble when I was young because of my intelligence; I never fit in. I actually like my current job (US Army, MI) because I can find other people like me, who are searching for structure and intelligence together. I hope my kids don't face the discrimination and hatred I did in school; I believe that my wife is actually smarter than I, except for a problem with math/logic tied to a slight learning disability. Smart kids are the last unprotected minority in schools; everyone else can claim some sort of lack, but smart kids are put on little pedastals by instructors. It just makes them better targets for the masses. Sorry about the bitterness; my school years were hell. The 99th percentile in SAT, ACT, and over 160 on IQ have done nothing to ease that pain. SGT Dave

Posted by: SGT Dave at January 09, 2006 11:25 PM (blfs0)

12 I always want to go into Sarah Conner mode: "Listen; I didn't ask for this 'honor,' and I don't want it." I'll forgive it if I ever see some money from it.

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 10, 2006 01:04 AM (/y+/O)

13 Miss Attila, the money part played a role for me, too. I got invite letters from Mensa for many years without responding to them. Then, in my mid-20's in college, I finally decided I was curious enough to look into it. I met with the local rep who'd sent me a letter. He said I was in on the strength of my entrance exam test scores (ACT). I asked what the purpose of the group was. His reply contained the same things mentioned here. I met him on campus, where he was a university employee. A professor? a researcher? I'd wondered what position he held. I was directed to a huge hulking industrial-type building with something like *Sanitation Engineering* on its door. He was a janitor. It brought to mind all my own experiences with not fitting in, both at school and later on the job. How those of us who skirt the *genius* level are said to belong to a group that can find life more difficult than many clear *geniuses,* because we're both more apt to question authority, and more *well-rounded.* With so many diverse interests and talents and skills, it can be much harder to find a career path than for someone whose stratospheric mental relationship with math, say, has them clearly and cleanly pointed in one happy direction all their life. The less-endowed lump us together with what I think of as *true genius,* especially when we exceed that arbitrary 140 threshold. But IMO, there is a difference. I have never doubted that I'm happier right where I am. Other commenters have spoken so well to the grief this position puts us through, I won't expound on it. Except to say, yeah, I've been there, and it sure influences my feelings about bullying and social-status bullshit to this day. I can say that being raised by a scientist father and a gifted, science writer mother, I had intellectual companionship at home that stood me in good stead as I grew up. Lucky. Somehow, in my early teens, I tapped into better social skills than I'd had. I've moved, oh, say parallel to the *cool crowd* in many ways ever since. But it comes and goes, and I still commit those social blunders left and right. Being so isolated from others the last 15 years has really exacerbated it, it's undone what progress I'd made. Are there smart people in Mensa? Hell yes. *Book smart* and *common sense,* both. Are there people who join because of social inadequacies? Hell yes. And more power to them. I hope they can all find some social comfort rather than hanging out in the cold like usual. We are social creatures and it hurts us to be cast aside. Are there wannabes who aren't really all that smart? Hell yes. My favorite example is George Trepal, the Florida "Mensa Murderer" sentenced to death in 1991 for killing neighbor Peggy Carr quite viciously, by spiking her Coca Cola with thallium nitrate. Others associated with the case sometimes called Trepal a "genius" because he was a Mensa member. His IQ was a puny 130, though. The errors he made in his efforts to get away with murder were really dumb, just like other criminals tend to be. No common sense. Still, he almost pulled it off. I don't disrespect a 130 IQ, BTW. That's a smart person. I disrespect people who set themselves up as better than others because they're smart, and people who think they're smarter than they are. I like reality, and I respect those who take care to perceive it clearly. Back to where I was in the mid-1980's, standing in front of that hulking building with the Mensa sanitation engineer on a beautiful Florida morning...Did I join? They wanted $30 from me. ?!? The university'd hoodwinked this student about the level of financial support they'd provide the incoming 4.0 folks they were recruiting. Unlike the football team, I was living on chicken wings, kool-aid and rice - and not enough of it. $30 was a fortune. And I was comfortable enough with my social standing, my self-worth, so forth, not to feel much need to join anyway. So I kept my $30, sent them my verbal regards, wished the gentleman a nice day, and went on my way.

Posted by: k at January 10, 2006 06:42 AM (M7kiy)

14 Recall that the most intelligent and insightful character in the Dilbert comic strip is not the engineers, certainly not the management, but the garbage guy.

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 10, 2006 03:51 PM (B2X7i)

15 my mensa-ness is totally tempered by my blonditude. yeah. I'm a member. Does it mean anything? No, not really. I've never even been to a meeting.

Posted by: prairie biker at January 10, 2006 04:15 PM (vzn5W)

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January 08, 2006

The Zen of Blonde Jokes

Jeff has a great one.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:30 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 15 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Has anyone followed it to the end, or does it eventually loop back on itself? The measure of blondness is how many links you follow before you "get" it.

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 09, 2006 09:20 AM (B2X7i)

2 I suspect they planned it out in advance, and the original loop is intact somewhere. Jeff and I linked after the fact (well, at least I did). It took me two clicks to know, but I kept going because I was curious about who else had participated in the original loop. However, I didn't have the patience to map that out and figure out who participated in that first wave. It's one of the cleverest things I've ever seen, though: quite the elaborate joke.

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 09, 2006 12:42 PM (/y+/O)

3 Well I've added one more strand to the web.

Posted by: Desert Cat at January 09, 2006 07:01 PM (xdX36)

4 Okay. I give up. Is this some sort of secret Mensa test?

Posted by: k at January 09, 2006 08:16 PM (6krEN)

5 No, it's just a sort of reader-participation joke in which--after however many clicks--you realize that YOU'RE the blonde. (Speaking for myself, of course.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 09, 2006 11:10 PM (/y+/O)

6 Lookit! Lookit lookit, Blogmom! I finally figured it out ALL BY MYSELF! first time! and THEN then THEN i made a FUNNY! *sigh* but how could you know since I've never done it all by myself before?

Posted by: k at January 10, 2006 03:39 PM (6krEN)

7 Oh, I'm sorry. The problem with having a literal-minded streak is that you tend to anticipate the same in others. Can you imagine how many years it took you-know-who to deliver jokes so that I wouldn't look up at him and earnestly explain whatever-it-was that he'd supposedly misunderstood? I can only compiiment you on your martini-dry delivery!

Posted by: Attila Girl at January 10, 2006 10:52 PM (/y+/O)

8 I have a feeling that you-know-who found those earnest explanations endearing, no end.

Posted by: k at January 11, 2006 04:21 AM (ywZa8)

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