Topics

1

High Weirdness / Not Quite Instant Karma

« on: August 28, 2019, 01:02:10 am »

Thief's car stolen while he robbed store across the street

As per the article:

“A man in Washington who called police to report that his car had been stolen wound up behind bars himself when police discovered he had allegedly been robbing a store across the street when his vehicle was taken.”

Here's a link: https://abcnews.go.com/US/mans-car-stolen-robbed-store-street/story?id=65213007&cid=clicksource_4380645_null_card_hed

2

High Weirdness / NRA Chief Wanted Security of Gated Community after Parkland HS Mass Shooting

« on: August 13, 2019, 06:03:29 am »

Report: NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre Tried to Have the Nonprofit Buy Him a $6 Million Mansion After Parkland Shooting

As per the article:

“... LaPierre told the NRA that he needed to live in a more secure place after the shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead. The house they landed on was a 10,000-square-foot estate with its own courtyard and a marble fireplace. LaPierre and his wife toured the property, and they later negotiated furnishings, asked to keep the previous owner’s golf cart, and even complained in an email about the size of one of the closets. LaPierre also tried to get the NRA to purchase two cars for him, according to the Post.”

Here's the link: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/08/nra-chief-wayne-lapierre-mansion-deal.html

I thought Wayne LaPierre was the Grand Poobah of “Good Guys with a Gun.” Surely, he of all people, knows how to lock and load. Doesn't he own, at least, one AR-15, or AK-47, and a closet full of 9mms? Surely he owns, at least, one M1911 .45 caliber in good working order. And, doesn't he have Concealed Carry Permits from just about every jurisdiction in the country?

I'm sorry, but I just don't understand what is going on here. I mean, it can't possibly be true that Mr. Wayne LaPierre, the Chief Executive and Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association, is really just another loudmouthed, fucking pussy who doesn't know how to protect himself, can it? 

3

High Weirdness / Chernobyl Entrepreneurship

« on: August 11, 2019, 09:47:43 pm »

Chernobyl Vodka Made from Contaminated Grain Around Nuclear Disaster Area Goes on Sale

As per the article:

'A team of scientists have unveiled a vodka which has been produced using grains and water from the Chernobyl exclusion zone, which they claim is completely safe to drink.

Professor Jim Smith, from the University of Portsmouth in South England, assured that the ATOMIK drink is no more dangerous than any other alcoholic drink.

The drink is the first consumer product to have come out of the forbidden zone in the Ukraine since the nuclear catastrophe occurred in Ukraine in 1986.

Smith went as far as to say he believes the team has produced the "most important bottle of spirit in the world" as they plan to give 75 percent of the profits back to communities who are still affected by the Chernobyl disaster after more than 33 years.'

Here's the link: https://www.newsweek.com/chernobyl-vodka-atomik-exclusion-zone-nuclear-1453223

4

High Weirdness / Colombian bishop hopes holy water will curb city's crime

« on: July 14, 2019, 12:42:36 am »

As per the article:

“A Catholic bishop in Colombia hopes holy water will curb violence in a city struggling with crime and corruption.

Rubén Darío Jaramillo Montoya traveled on a fire truck to some of Buenaventura's most crime-ridden neighborhoods on Saturday, sprinkling water that he had blessed in an attempt to thwart drug trafficking gangs and other illegal groups.”

Here's the link: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/colombian-bishop-hopes-holy-water-curb-citys-crime-64316213?cid=clicksource_4380645_null_headlines_hed

Now, the fire engine in the article's photograph is a clearly “pumper.” But, the article states the bishop was “sprinkling water that he had blessed.” So, I have to ask: Wouldn't blessing the water in the pumper's tank, and then spraying it around the city have been more effective? Or, is this a quality versus quantity thing?

I also have to ask: Why don't we see holy water being sprayed out of fire engines in any of the modern era vampire movies? To me, it seems like a no-brainer for vampire crowd control.   

And lastly: Do we Discordian's have a good holy water equivalent?

5

Aneristic Illusions / Seb Gorka Punked By Caller Claiming To Be Publisher of 'Dipsh*t Magazine'

« on: July 12, 2019, 05:42:07 pm »

Oh, this was way too easy. Sebastian Gorka's ego is so easily stroked...

Here's the link: https://crooksandliars.com/2019/07/seb-gorka-punked-caller-claiming-be

6

High Weirdness / A traffic stop turns up whiskey, a gun, a rattlesnake and uranium

« on: July 12, 2019, 01:18:23 am »

When police officers pulled over Stephen Jennings in Guthrie, Oklahoma, on June 26, they searched the car and got a lot more than they bargained for.

As per the article:

'Jennings was pulled over about 11 a.m. after an officer noticed that his car tags were expired, police say. He alerted the officers that there were a few other issues likely to arise: There was a gun in the vehicle, for starters.

His passenger, Rachael Rivera, was charged with possession of a firearm after a former felony conviction.

Then, police said, the officers found that the car had been reported stolen and began to dig a little deeper.

And their discoveries: one bottle of Kentucky Deluxe whiskey and one rattlesnake.

"So now he's got a rattlesnake, a stolen vehicle, firearm and somebody under arrest," Guthrie Police Sgt. Anthony Gibbs told CNN affiliate KFOR.

Then they found one more thing: a canister of radioactive powdered uranium.'

Here's the link: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/11/us/rattlesnake-uranium-oklahoma-trnd/index.html

I have no idea how easy it is to get ones hands on “radioactive powdered uranium.” But, I would hope it's not as easy as it appears to be in this case. 

7

Principia Discussion / Discordian Blessings and WMDs

« on: July 11, 2019, 01:04:38 am »

I'm perfectly comfortable with casting curses, but Discordian blessings are not my area of expertise. I suspect Q. G. Pennyworth is the resident expert on such matters. Anyway, I read the following article, and wondered what the Discordian position is on this important issue:

Russian Orthodox Church considers a ban on blessing weapons of mass destruction

'MOSCOW (RNS) — Early one evening in May 2018, days before the annual parade celebrating the Soviet victory in World War II, a convoy of military trucks carrying long-range nuclear weapons trundled to a halt on the Russian capital’s ring road.

As police officers stood guard, two Russian Orthodox priests wearing cassocks and holding Bibles climbed out of a vehicle and began sprinkling holy water on the stationary Topol and Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Since relations between Russia and the West plummeted after the Kremlin’s seizure of Crimea in 2014, such scenes have become common here. Priests have sanctified S-400 surface-to-air missiles, nuclear submarines, tanks and fighter jets. Several years ago, a priest in Russia’s far east explained that weapons, including nuclear missiles, were “perceived as a means of protection and salvation.”

But the practice could soon be a thing of the past. Last month, a Russian Orthodox Church committee on ecclesiastical law recommended that clergy concentrate on blessing soldiers, rather than weapons.

“One can talk about the blessing of a warrior on military duty in defense of the fatherland,” said Savva Tutunov, a bishop of the Moscow Patriarchate. “At the end of the corresponding ritual, the personal weapon is also blessed — precisely because it is connected to the individual person who is receiving the blessing. By the same reasoning, weapons of mass destruction should not be sanctified.”

Not everyone agrees with the committee’s proposal, which still has to be approved by Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.'

Here's the link: https://religionnews.com/2019/07/09/russian-orthodox-church-considers-a-ban-on-blessing-weapons-of-mass-destruction/

An inquiring mind wants to know.

8

Techmology and Scientism / If aliens call, what should we do? Scientists want your opinion.

« on: July 07, 2019, 05:12:49 am »

What To Do in the Event of an Alien Call?

As per the article:

“In the age of fake news, researchers worry conspiracy theories would abound before we could figure out how — or if — to reply to an alien message.

The answer to this question could affect all of our lives more than nearly any other policy decision out there: How, if it all, should humanity respond if we get a message from an alien civilization?

And yet politicians and scientists have never bothered to get our input on it.
 
At long last, that’s changing. A group of researchers in the UK this week released the first major survey on the question. The responses could help inform an international protocol for responding to first contact.”
 
Here's the link: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/7/6/20680228/aliens-survey-seti-meti-scientists-extraterrestrial-message

I'm all for hiding behind the curtains, not answering the door, and waiting for them to go away.

Please Note:

Alien contact was discussed, earlier this year, in “The aliens haven't contacted us because” thread, as per this link: https://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php/topic,38575.0.html. I started a new thread because now we're getting Officially Sciencey about it.

9

Techmology and Scientism / A math equation that predicts the end of humanity

« on: July 05, 2019, 06:02:59 pm »

How much longer till we all die off? 760 years, give or take.

As per the article:

'The most mind-boggling controversy in the contemporary philosophy of science is the “doomsday argument,” a claim that a mathematical formula can predict how long the human race will survive. It gives us even odds that our species will meet its end within the next 760 years.

The doomsday argument doesn’t tell what’s going to kill us — it just gives the date (very, very approximately).

When I first came across this idea, I thought it was absurd. A prediction must be founded on data, not math! That is by no means an uncommon reaction. One critic, physicist Eric J. Lerner, branded doomsday “pseudo-science, a mere manipulation of numbers.”'

Here's the link: https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/6/28/18760585/doomsday-argument-calculation-prediction-j-richard-gott

Gott, the creator of the prediction technique, calls it  “the Copernican method.” 

That's a damn good name to build a marketing campaign around, and I would normally dismiss something like this out of hand, except for the lulz possibilities. But, Gott did get his prediction technique published in the prestigious journal Nature.

10

High Weirdness / Alien Abduction Historical Marker Dedication

« on: July 01, 2019, 12:35:42 am »

The legend of Pascagoula’s alien abduction now has a permanent spot in the city

As per the article:

“More than 45 years ago, two Mississippi Coast men, Calvin Parker and Charles Hickson, claimed they were abducted and examined by aliens in a UFO and returned to the banks of the Pascagoula River that same night.
 
The story reached the press the next day, in October 1973, and soon brought national attention to Pascagoula.

The city now has a permanent reminder of the extraterrestrial tale after officials on Saturday dedicated a historical marker next to the Lighthouse Park boat launches. The plaque describes the account and notes it is one of the best-documented cases of an alien abduction, with two witnesses.”

Here's the link: https://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/jackson-county/article231901653.html

I realize Mississippi has been a dull place since the Civil War ended, but still …

11

High Weirdness / Jarheads Grounded Over Irregular Flight Pattern

« on: November 07, 2018, 09:27:46 pm »

Marine Corps aviators grounded amid investigation into phallic flight pattern

As per the article:

'Two Marine Corps aviators have been grounded while they're being investigated "for flying a pattern resembling an obscene image" over Southern California, according to a military spokesman.

The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said last month that a "T-34C aircraft assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, flew an irregular flight pattern over the Salton Sea that resembled a phallic image."'

Here's a link: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marine-corps-aviators-grounded-phallic-flight-pattern/

The article, however, provides no hard evidence of the alleged deed.

12

High Weirdness / A Gurgling Mud Pool Is Creeping Across SoCal

« on: November 05, 2018, 01:01:03 am »

A Gurgling Mud Pool Is Creeping Across Southern California Like a Geologic Poltergeist

As per the article:

“A mysterious, bubbling mud geyser is on the move in Southern California, flitting dangerously close to railroad tracks, Highway 111 and some very expensive optic cables, like a geologic poltergeist, according to news sources.

Even stranger, this puzzling geyser — dubbed the "Slow One" — is in the same neighborhood as the source of the so-called "Big One," the giant earthquake that is expected to shake things up where the North American and Pacific tectonic plates rub together to form the San Andreas Fault.”

Here's the link: https://www.livescience.com/63998-mud-pool-creeping-across-california.html

Here's another link with better photos: https://weather.com/news/news/2018-11-01-california-mud-geyser-moving


I predict someone will make a disaster movie based upon this phenomena in the near future. But, of course, they'll jazz it up a bit. Perhaps they'll add sharks, or something with tentacles.

13

High Weirdness / Erroneous Media Reports About Chickens and Halloween Costumes

« on: October 31, 2018, 10:51:44 pm »

As per the official CDC Newsroom Release:

“Despite news reports to the contrary, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not warned people against dressing chickens in Halloween costumes.”

Here's the link: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/s1025-chicken-halloween.html

I can't think up stuff as silly as this.

14

High Weirdness / Is This Really Necessary?

« on: October 23, 2018, 11:12:02 pm »

Titanic II resumes construction after financial holdup, plans to finally set sail in 2022

As per the article:

“Blue Star Line never let go.

The Titanic II is set to make its two-week maiden voyage in 2022, and construction of the replica recently resumed after a financial dispute held up the $500 million project for several years.

The ship, which will feature the same cabin layout as the original, will sail from Dubai to Southampton, England and then on to New York, tracing the North Atlantic route of its doomed namesake, which sunk on April 12,1912, less than three hours after sideswiping an iceberg.”

Here's a link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2018/10/22/titanic-ii-sail-original-ships-fateful-route-2022-maiden-voyage/1725540002/

15

High Weirdness / Bad Neighbors

« on: October 20, 2018, 03:28:00 am »

Tennessee Man Attacked Son With Chainsaw, Lost leg When son ran him Over With Lawnmower: Police

As per the article:

“A Tennessee man attacked by his chainsaw wielding father ran over the older man's leg with a lawnmower while defending himself, police said.

Officers were called to a home in Bristol, Tennessee, on June 28, and found Douglas Ferguson, 76, with head and leg injuries, according to a press release from the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office cited by the Bristol Herald Courier.

After investigating the incident, police believe that Ferguson attempted to attack his son with a running chainsaw while he was mowing the lawn.”

Here's a link: https://www.newsweek.com/tennessee-man-has-leg-amputated-after-failed-chainsaw-attack-son-1168744

This happened a while back, but I only read about it the other day.

And here I thought some of my neighbors were cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. The crazy lady across the street, who was recently evicted for constantly fighting with her husband and her boyfriend, has nothing on this family!