And for all the rabid left-wing partisans suggesting that Patterico and I "forged" the records: If this is a viable possibility, why does Glenn Greenwald not offer it himself?
Perhaps because he knows something you do not
Yeah, like perhaps he knows that insinuating things one has no real evidence of is a stupid thing to do.
Thank you for reminding me of that. You know, this is just perfect too:
You want to hear something scary? The other day, a guy says to me, "You know who's got some really fresh ideas and moral courage? Dick Gephardt." True story.
After that, Ace can basically kill a puppy and I'll defend him. And Fontana, are you going to defend Fiend Folio? Other than the frogs that live in limbo, it was pretty week.
Oddly, I didn't even remember I had FF until I saw the cover on Wikipedia, but I'm sure there was nothing but nerdy goodness in there. Except for the flumph.
The evidence appears incontrovertible. But I blame the treasonous New York Times. Call it a typo. That's it. A typo.
>like the undead stuff in FF.
The undead guys with the silver swords? They were the weakest of the weak. And wasn't there some other souped-up skeleton creature? The eye of fear and flame or some such? Pitiful. And to think this came from Charles Stross. I stand by my approval for astral frogs, however.
I don't see what's so bad about Ace askin' to confirm the guy's level of fluency. We all know they don't teach good speakin' in them funny fur'n skools. And jeez, he's only got an American boyfriend. Ain't no way he done lurnd some American.
Also, there is nothing wrong with the FF. No book is so bad that a good DM can't come up with something creative. Heck, that's what D20's all about. If it weren't, we'd never have the redneck tree stats. OK, so maybe "creative" is just another word for "that never, ever should have been expressed," and I just wanted to link to the redneck tree.
Ace of Spades can be pretty funny as well as very far off the deep end. My first forays into online message boards was a place frequented by several people who have gone on to bigger and better, including Ace, David Neiwert and David Ehrenstein. Some of Ace's non-political discussions were so funny that I was glad my office was somewhat isolated -- fewer people to hear me laugh.
FF also had the goblins that healed when they were struck for damage, and were damaged by being healed . . . IIRC the FF was originally designed by a group of players in the UK.
I think the Charlie Stross connection is explained here (which, I must admit, I didn't know about until googling Gythyanki just now).
Okay, sorry to barge into an unread thread...but did anyone notice one of Ace's commenters just put out some very private data about Greenwald? This is getting less funny by the minute!
The anti-Greenwald mob is scary. They've got themselves incredibly excited, and they believe that they've destroyed Greenwald's blog career forever. I read something like 30-50 comments on several threads and there was scarcely a sane one in the bunch. This is Dan Rather all over again for them, and they really believe that you can destroy Greenwald's substantive points without even noting them, if you can prove sock-puppetry.
I assume that they're all consenting adults, but they have the feel of HS kids mobbing a queer. Greenwald ended up with 500-600 posts on his thread, and the single-mindedness of the sock-puppet-obsessives was fearful.
This is their invasion of Lebanon. They're destroying terrorists just like the Israelis.
And for all the rabid left-wing partisans suggesting that Patterico and I "forged" the records: If this is a viable possibility, why does Glenn Greenwald not offer it himself?
Perhaps because he knows something you do not
Yeah, like perhaps he knows that insinuating things one has no real evidence of is a stupid thing to do.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 8:38 PM
Crap, fucked up the italicization. Oh well, First two paragraphs = Ace, not me.
Posted by bitchphd | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 8:43 PM
a variety of silly voices
Yeah that post does not stop giving. I'm especially fond of "But I think we both know... he cannot pass for a native speaker -- Can he?!!"
Posted by Clownæsthesiologist | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 8:48 PM
It's like a very bad Columbo episode.
'Exchush me, shweethart- we know your boyfriend, he can't pash for a native shpeaker, don't we?'
Posted by winna | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 9:28 PM
Ace earns a permanent pass on the basis of the following:
"If there's one Democratic candidate who knows how many hit dice a Gelatinous Cube has, it's Dennis Kucinich"
Posted by baa | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 9:39 PM
Ace really said that? And more importantly, *did* Kucinich?
Posted by FL | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 9:43 PM
That's a bona fide ace quote, yes. As for Dennis, he strikes me as more of a Fiend Folio DM...
Posted by baa | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 9:47 PM
On second thought, it's not surprising-- Kucinich quaffed the potion of gaseous form pretty early in the campaign.
Thanks, I'll be here all week.
Posted by FL | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 9:47 PM
Baa, you have a serious grudge against the FF. What's the deal?
Posted by FL | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 9:49 PM
Holy shit.
Posted by FL | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 9:51 PM
Dick Gephardt has a +5 Ring of Protectionism. Sweet.
Posted by FL | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 9:52 PM
Thank you for reminding me of that. You know, this is just perfect too:
You want to hear something scary? The other day, a guy says to me, "You know who's got some really fresh ideas and moral courage? Dick Gephardt." True story.
After that, Ace can basically kill a puppy and I'll defend him. And Fontana, are you going to defend Fiend Folio? Other than the frogs that live in limbo, it was pretty week.
Posted by baa | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 9:55 PM
Classy way he handles Braun.
Posted by LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 9:57 PM
And now I feel like a goof because ace already ID'd Kucinich as a FF type.
Posted by baa | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 9:59 PM
baa, you surely did not just misspell "weak."
Oddly, I didn't even remember I had FF until I saw the cover on Wikipedia, but I'm sure there was nothing but nerdy goodness in there. Except for the flumph.
Posted by FL | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 10:05 PM
Also, some googling reveals that a lot of people like the undead stuff in FF.
Posted by FL | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 10:13 PM
Labs, this is the internet. If you google you will also find that lots of people enjoy dressing up as squirrels to have sex.
Posted by LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 10:19 PM
>baa, you surely did not just misspell "weak."
The evidence appears incontrovertible. But I blame the treasonous New York Times. Call it a typo. That's it. A typo.
>like the undead stuff in FF.
The undead guys with the silver swords? They were the weakest of the weak. And wasn't there some other souped-up skeleton creature? The eye of fear and flame or some such? Pitiful. And to think this came from Charles Stross. I stand by my approval for astral frogs, however.
Posted by Anonymous | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 10:22 PM
all doing so in perfect, unaccented, idiomatic English,...
Does he actually think that people who speak English with a foreign accent type it with one too?
Posted by ettinauer | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 10:26 PM
Mais oui!
Posted by LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 10:28 PM
Is this the comment thread that people point to when your loved ones wonder what happened?
I point to this both as supporting evidence and as a hint about the madness toward which we're headed. (NB the names.)
Posted by FL | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 10:31 PM
Hey, one of those guys has built into his alias a Dalek incinerating a smiley face! That's bitchin!
(18 was me, of course).
Posted by baa | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 10:36 PM
can somebody tell me what exactly is the point of having mites and snyads and xvarts?
Beats me, pal. Sorry.
Posted by teofilo | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 10:37 PM
Does he actually think that people who speak English with a foreign accent type it with one too?
In his Tom Clancy novels, the foreign characters always italicize their foreign words.
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 07-20-06 10:58 PM
I don't see what's so bad about Ace askin' to confirm the guy's level of fluency. We all know they don't teach good speakin' in them funny fur'n skools. And jeez, he's only got an American boyfriend. Ain't no way he done lurnd some American.
Also, there is nothing wrong with the FF. No book is so bad that a good DM can't come up with something creative. Heck, that's what D20's all about. If it weren't, we'd never have the redneck tree stats. OK, so maybe "creative" is just another word for "that never, ever should have been expressed," and I just wanted to link to the redneck tree.
Posted by Robust McManlyPants | Link to this comment | 07-21-06 1:29 AM
Will no one acknowledge the pwnage that was 17?
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 07-21-06 5:41 AM
Wait. Charles Stross wrote the Fiend Folio? That doesn't seem right.
Posted by Chopper | Link to this comment | 07-21-06 8:14 AM
Ace of Spades can be pretty funny as well as very far off the deep end. My first forays into online message boards was a place frequented by several people who have gone on to bigger and better, including Ace, David Neiwert and David Ehrenstein. Some of Ace's non-political discussions were so funny that I was glad my office was somewhat isolated -- fewer people to hear me laugh.
Posted by Dantheman | Link to this comment | 07-21-06 8:42 AM
The link in 10 truly deserves its "Holy Shit", not a "Holy Shit!"
Posted by washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 07-21-06 10:29 AM
FF also had the goblins that healed when they were struck for damage, and were damaged by being healed . . . IIRC the FF was originally designed by a group of players in the UK.
I think the Charlie Stross connection is explained here (which, I must admit, I didn't know about until googling Gythyanki just now).
Posted by NickS | Link to this comment | 07-21-06 10:56 AM
Okay, sorry to barge into an unread thread...but did anyone notice one of Ace's commenters just put out some very private data about Greenwald? This is getting less funny by the minute!
Posted by Rah | Link to this comment | 07-21-06 5:41 PM
The anti-Greenwald mob is scary. They've got themselves incredibly excited, and they believe that they've destroyed Greenwald's blog career forever. I read something like 30-50 comments on several threads and there was scarcely a sane one in the bunch. This is Dan Rather all over again for them, and they really believe that you can destroy Greenwald's substantive points without even noting them, if you can prove sock-puppetry.
I assume that they're all consenting adults, but they have the feel of HS kids mobbing a queer. Greenwald ended up with 500-600 posts on his thread, and the single-mindedness of the sock-puppet-obsessives was fearful.
This is their invasion of Lebanon. They're destroying terrorists just like the Israelis.
Posted by John Emerson | Link to this comment | 07-21-06 9:09 PM
So was China Mieville somehow involved in the Fiend Folio, or did he just write all his stories with a FF open next to him?
Posted by Tom Scudder | Link to this comment | 07-22-06 3:38 PM
31, 32: Fuckers. Hopefully he ignores the whole thing.
Posted by LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 07-22-06 3:50 PM