Baraminologists deny 'hoax' charges, threaten legal action

So, is that, like, a metahoax, or something?

Right...this reads like a hoax hoax.

I still say that Lee & Thicke are hoaxers. If they had really intended to complete their study, they wouldn't have announced a publication date that came after the Rapture. If they're good Christians, they'll be caught up in the air before they can finish. If they aren't, they'll be too busy with the Tribulation to finish.

Meanwhile, hijack a merry Christmas from the Christians, who hijacked Saturnalia from the Romans, and various other pagan solstice festivals from various other folks.

John Harshman said: I still say that Lee & Thicke are hoaxers.

Hey, it isn't Dr. Boli's fault. He merely accepted an ad. Since the ad doesn't actually solicit money, it can't be considered fraud.

This is why I read The Pagan's Thumb.

Sounds like the potential plot for Terry Gilliam's next film. Maybe we can get Premise Media to sign on as a co-producer, while the ultimate producing authority lies in the hands of Gilliam, Eric Idle or John Cleese.

Aren't you taking this thing more seriously than it should be?

Dr. Boli's celebrated magazine is simply a joke, for instance read his bio:

"Today, at the age of 226, Dr. Boli still edits the maga­zine personally, at a time of life when other men might be con­sidering an honorable retirement. As a concession, however, to his advancing years, he no longer writes every word of the magazine himself. At present he writes every other word, the intervening words being supplied by a well-known agency."

The answer of the authors sound more like a line from South Park, than something a self-appointed scientist would say: "satanic atheistic communistic Islamofascist spawn of hell,"

It's just a joke, nothing to be taken seriously.

SexComb said: Aren't you taking this thing more seriously than it should be?

It's just a joke, nothing to be taken seriously.

SexComb, someone is certainly taking something too seriously. For my part, I'll be strapping on my Christmas sensibilitometer and creeping about the house making "zoop zoop" noises to check for fluctuations in the gravitas field

This reads like those UFO reports from the 60's...

Sounds like these doughty researchers are being libelled, and should take full use of England's libel laws, which seem to have been created (not evolved) specifically for this purpose. I therefore humbly suggest they enlist my lawyer.

SexComb said: Aren't you taking this thing more seriously than it should be? Dr. Boli's celebrated magazine is simply a joke, for instance read his bio: "Today, at the age of 226, Dr. Boli still edits the maga­zine personally, at a time of life when other men might be con­sidering an honorable retirement. As a concession, however, to his advancing years, he no longer writes every word of the magazine himself. At present he writes every other word, the intervening words being supplied by a well-known agency." The answer of the authors sound more like a line from South Park, than something a self-appointed scientist would say: "satanic atheistic communistic Islamofascist spawn of hell," It's just a joke, nothing to be taken seriously.

John Kwok said: Sounds like he could be a Gallifreyan Time Lord in disguise

"Chaos, Gaia, and Eros arose spontaneously from nothing."

I don't know about Gaia, but I've certainly experienced both Chaos and Eros arising spontaneously from nothing. Sometimes together.

No! Please don't send me back to the 70's! Anything but that!

(Of course, the 70's also gave us Dark Side of the Moon and Close to the Edge...)

fnxtr said: No! Please don't send me back to the 70's! Anything but that! (Of course, the 70's also gave us Dark Side of the Moon and Close to the Edge...)

Stanton said:

John Kwok said: Sounds like he could be a Gallifreyan Time Lord in disguise

Don't make me use the Omega Sanction on you and trap you in the "Life that is Death in Disco"

Recently Dr. Boli has heard rumors to the effect that “H. Albertus Boli” is really a pseudonym for the well-known writer Christopher Bailey. Dr. Boli refuses either to confirm or to deny these rumors, since to do so would be to lend them a dignity of which they are wholly undeserving. He would merely ask the rumormongers what makes them so certain that “Christopher Bailey” is not a pseudonym for H. Albertus Boli.

I don’t know about Gaia, but I’ve certainly experienced both Chaos and Eros arising spontaneously from nothing. Sometimes together.

Stanton said:

fnxtr said: No! Please don't send me back to the 70's! Anything but that! (Of course, the 70's also gave us Dark Side of the Moon and Close to the Edge...)

And Disco Inferno

Butch Pansy said:

Stanton said:

fnxtr said: No! Please don't send me back to the 70's! Anything but that! (Of course, the 70's also gave us Dark Side of the Moon and Close to the Edge...)

And Disco Inferno

...the Talking Heads, the B52s, Roxy Music, the Nuns, the Avengers, the Dead Kennedys, the Butthole Surfers, Foetus, Cluster, Kraftwerk, the Ramones...a wide and wonderful decade!!!one11!

John Kwok said: You're forgetting The Police, The Clash, Dire Straits, Elton John, Billy Joel, The Eagles, and the Boss, Bruce Springsteen:

Butch Pansy said:

Stanton said:

fnxtr said: No! Please don't send me back to the 70's! Anything but that! (Of course, the 70's also gave us Dark Side of the Moon and Close to the Edge...)

And Disco Inferno

...the Talking Heads, the B52s, Roxy Music, the Nuns, the Avengers, the Dead Kennedys, the Butthole Surfers, Foetus, Cluster, Kraftwerk, the Ramones...a wide and wonderful decade!!!one11!

Chritmans? My New Year's resolution (which I'll probably break by 1/2/10) is to use spel chekcer.

This isn't the no-name decade, it's the noughties!

Wheels said: This isn't the no-name decade, it's the noughties!

Frank J said:

John Kwok said: You're forgetting The Police, The Clash, Dire Straits, Elton John, Billy Joel, The Eagles, and the Boss, Bruce Springsteen:

Butch Pansy said:

Stanton said:

fnxtr said: No! Please don't send me back to the 70's! Anything but that! (Of course, the 70's also gave us Dark Side of the Moon and Close to the Edge...)

And Disco Inferno

...the Talking Heads, the B52s, Roxy Music, the Nuns, the Avengers, the Dead Kennedys, the Butthole Surfers, Foetus, Cluster, Kraftwerk, the Ramones...a wide and wonderful decade!!!one11!

That sounds more like 70s and 80s. Anyway, as the no-name decade comes to an end I'm still lost in the 50s. For Chritmans I received my 3rd copy (one is an LP) of "Kind of Blue." This one has bonus tracks that I don't have on CD or at all, though.

The Wrong Reverend said:

“But a true scientist follows the facts wherever they lead him, as long as they do not lead him outside the pages of Genesis.”

There are simply no words to describe how utterly insane this is, so I won't waste any more.

“But a true scientist follows the facts wherever they lead him, as long as they do not lead him outside the pages of Genesis.”

Am - trying -to . . . shit, no, still ROFLMAO!

DS said: The Wrong Reverend said: “But a true scientist follows the facts wherever they lead him, as long as they do not lead him outside the pages of Genesis.” There are simply no words to describe how utterly insane this is, so I won't waste any more.

John Kwok said: And before I forget, David Bowie, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, Hall & Oates, Emerson Lake Palmer....

Stanton said:

John Kwok said: And before I forget, David Bowie, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, Hall & Oates, Emerson Lake Palmer....

*banishes John to the Life That Is Death on The Lawrence Welk Show*

RBH said:

Stanton said:

John Kwok said: And before I forget, David Bowie, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, Hall & Oates, Emerson Lake Palmer....

*banishes John to the Life That Is Death on The Lawrence Welk Show*

Aw, man, that's the musical equivalent of Godwin's Law.

Stanton said:

John Kwok said: And before I forget, David Bowie, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, Hall & Oates, Emerson Lake Palmer....

*banishes John to the Life That Is Death on The Lawrence Welk Show*

Stanton said:

RBH said:

Stanton said:

John Kwok said: And before I forget, David Bowie, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, Hall & Oates, Emerson Lake Palmer....

*banishes John to the Life That Is Death on The Lawrence Welk Show*

Aw, man, that's the musical equivalent of Godwin's Law.

No: The Musical Godwin's Law is when you accuse your opponent of liking or even having a positive opinion of Britney Spear's "Crossroads"

Wow that is one mixed bag there, John Kwok. I suppose you'd have The Village People and King Crimson together on your mix tape?

fnxtr said: Wow that is one mixed bag there, John Kwok. I suppose you'd have The Village People and King Crimson together on your mix tape?

fnxtr said: Wow that is one mixed bag there, John Kwok. I suppose you'd have The Village People and King Crimson together on your mix tape?

Frank J said:

fnxtr said: Wow that is one mixed bag there, John Kwok. I suppose you'd have The Village People and King Crimson together on your mix tape?

You'll love my mixed bag. Although most of the "kinds" (gotta work in in "baraminology" somewhere) I like predates the 70s, it includes jazz, rock, pop, even country. But I still have a fondness for some of the "Philly sound" of the 70s and the occasional song after that. My tape might include Fletcher Henderson, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Chuck Berry, Frank Sinatra, O'Jays, Patsy Cline, even one or 2 Beatles' songs.

Looks like John's taste is a bit more eclectic than mine, but since Lawrence Welk was mentioned, the song "Calcutta" always takes me back to the first time I heard it - on a plane in 1961.

For whatever reason, my ears just prefer songs recorded over 40-50 years ago. New recordings of old songs tend to hurt my ears me even more than new songs.

I'm also fascinated by the "evolution" of 20th century popular (non-classical) music, whether or not I even like the particular styles. For example I don't have that "inordinate fondness for Beatles" but I'm fascinated with how rapidly their music "evolved" in just a few years.

I recently got into a bad and, through the magic of buying most of their albums, watched them evolve from early 80s thrash metal to breakthrough success and acclaim as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Wheels said: I recently got into a bad and, through the magic of buying most of their albums, watched them evolve from early 80s thrash metal to breakthrough success and acclaim as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Heh. I just started getting into big band, even wrote one that the local guys/gals are going to play in the new year. Otherwise I really don't go back much further than The Yardbirds. Well, until you go back to Stravinsky, that is. :-) Oh, and one of the highlights of winter for me, too, is "nutcracker".

Frank J, have you heard the remake of "Constantinople" by They Might Be Giants?

Late to the party as always, /me recently discovered that he could re-create his lost classic Roy Acuff album from 1950 by buying the tunes piecemeal from Amazon at USD0.99 per. Certainly beats finding the vinyl on the web somewhere at a classic auction price.

Speaking of kinds and evolution, Roddy Frame's recent stuff is as appealing as the Aztec Camera corpus from the earlier geologic stratum discussed above.

fnxtr said: Heh. I just started getting into big band, even wrote one that the local guys/gals are going to play in the new year. Otherwise I really don't go back much further than The Yardbirds. Well, until you go back to Stravinsky, that is. :-) Oh, and one of the highlights of winter for me, too, is "nutcracker". Frank J, have you heard the remake of "Constantinople" by They Might Be Giants?

Frank J said:

Wheels said: I recently got into a bad and, through the magic of buying most of their albums, watched them evolve from early 80s thrash metal to breakthrough success and acclaim as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Hmm, maybe John is not the king of eclectic after all. Thanks to the magic of Christmas, I like some songs by TSO. And Band Aid, Bruce Springteen, The Ronettes, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Burl Ives, Bing Crosby. From "Charlie Brown" (Vince Guaraldi Trio) to Charles Brown ("Merry Christmas Baby," "Please Come Home for Christmas") I can listen to them year-round.

Congratulations, Comrade Panda. It is hereby understood that you have been declared a winner in the First Centennial Carnival of the Liberals: Century of the Nihilist Edition Carnival.

Your honor has been duly noted in the records and we thank you for choosing to donate your prize money to the Obama for Life Re-Election Committee. Your contribution of one million dollars will go far towards tilting the Supreme Court in the proper direction. Obama appreciates your affection and wants you to know that he loves you and is very, very proud of you.

All Hail Obama! Obama for Life!

And a merry Christmas to you, too, oh defender of the faith.

Frank J, have you heard the remake of “Constantinople” by They Might Be Giants?

— fnxtr

Ditto for Dan Fogelberg’s tale of Auld Lang Syne:

— John Kwok

Frank J said:

Frank J, have you heard the remake of “Constantinople” by They Might Be Giants?

— fnxtr

No, but in googling I see that it is the same as "Istanbul (not Constantinople)." The melody has been familiar for decades but only a few years ago did I hear the Four Lads’ version.

Ditto for Dan Fogelberg’s tale of Auld Lang Syne:

— John Kwok

Same here. Sadly, Fogelberg, and Michael Brecker, who plays the soprano sax solo at the end, both passed on in 2007.

Doctor Biobrain said: Congratulations, Comrade Panda. It is hereby understood that you have been declared a winner in the First Centennial Carnival of the Liberals: Century of the Nihilist Edition Carnival.

Dan said:

Doctor Biobrain said: Congratulations, Comrade Panda. It is hereby understood that you have been declared a winner in the First Centennial Carnival of the Liberals: Century of the Nihilist Edition Carnival.

One of the strangest things about the evolution vs. creation "debate" is that some see it as a matter of liberal ideology (evolution) vs. conservative ideology (creationism), whereas it's actually a matter of evidence (evolution) vs. ideology (creationism).

Dan said:

Doctor Biobrain said: Congratulations, Comrade Panda. It is hereby understood that you have been declared a winner in the First Centennial Carnival of the Liberals: Century of the Nihilist Edition Carnival.

One of the strangest things about the evolution vs. creation "debate" is that some see it as a matter of liberal ideology (evolution) vs. conservative ideology (creationism), whereas it's actually a matter of evidence (evolution) vs. ideology (creationism).

(With apologies for taking this thread further off-topic and deeper into musical meanderings.) Frank J, your playlist chimes pretty well with some parts of my musical world. I can't resist tossing in a few things I've been listening to: the Kruger Brothers' "The Suite - Vol 1," Elis Regina and Antonio Carlos Jobim's, "Elis and Tom," and Lockjaw Davis' big band record, "Trane Whistle." I suspect any of these will make your day.

What ever happened to Spike Jones? :)

One of the strangest things about the evolution vs. creation “debate” is that some see it as a matter of liberal ideology (evolution) vs. conservative ideology (creationism), whereas it’s actually a matter of evidence (evolution) vs. ideology (creationism).

— Dan

RBH said: What ever happened to Spike Jones? :)

Jack Benny said: "Here, Ed, let me help you up." Ed the Guard said: "Wait a moment, I'm counting the dead gophers... I've been meaning to ask you, Mr Benny; who installed your alarm?" Jack said "Spike Jones"

Frank J said:

One of the strangest things about the evolution vs. creation “debate” is that some see it as a matter of liberal ideology (evolution) vs. conservative ideology (creationism), whereas it’s actually a matter of evidence (evolution) vs. ideology (creationism).

— Dan

If anything, those who demand that creationism (or ID or "strengths and weaknesses") be taught in science class at taxpayers' expense have a rather "liberal" ideology. I'm not the only one who sees it that way. Rick Santorum wrote an editorial years ago whining about "evolution only" education, and calling it "illiberal" in the editorial's title. Teaching only that science that has earned the right to be taught was not "liberal" enough for "conservative" (actually authoritarian) senator. A real conservative would say to let students learn anti-evolution pseudoscience on their own time, and on their parents' dime.

RBH said: What ever happened to Spike Jones? :)

Mike Elzinga said: “As the sun pulls away from the shore and our boat sinks slowly in the west, we approach the island of Lulu - spelled backwards, Ulul. Ah, in the distance we hear Spike Jones and his Wacky Wacketeers!”

RBH said:

Mike Elzinga said: “As the sun pulls away from the shore and our boat sinks slowly in the west, we approach the island of Lulu - spelled backwards, Ulul. Ah, in the distance we hear Spike Jones and his Wacky Wacketeers!”

Audio only. I actually remember hearing that in the late 1940s. Scary how long ago that was.

The Vancouver suburb of Richmond is built on Lulu Island. True fact.

... and yes, I meant "Istanbul". Sorry.

fnxtr said: ... and yes, I meant "Istanbul". Sorry.

That’s nobody’s business but the Turks’.

— Stanton

Thanks for the George Gee link, John.