…and this is a 
I got many excellent and informed suggestions on how to handle the death threats a certain deranged spammer has been making here, and I've acted on them. I gathered together all of the crazy posts he made over the course of one evening, and printed them out in very small print — it made for a small 61 page book, which would be impressive if it weren't so repetitive and vapid. I took it down to the local police station, along with what little we know about Markuze's addresses, IP numbers, email, and phone numbers, and plopped it down in front of a police officer.
He was amazed. He said they occasionally get to handle internet threats, but it's usually a few rude remarks texted via cell phone by an angry teenager. The sustained lunacy of Markuze has set a new standard for crazy in Morris, Minnesota. So Dennis has accomplished something in his life at last.
It is now entirely in the hands of law enforcement, and all further complaints will wend their ponderous way through official channels. Our local police will talk to the Montreal police and alert them to the loon on a hair trigger in their midst, and will also alert national law agencies; I hope Mr Markuze has no plans to travel to the US at any time in the near future, because he may have some difficulties at the border.
But we're all done. Please go back to ignoring his ravings, and I'll go back to quietly deleting them.
Comments
Posted by: AJ Milne | September 18, 2009 3:02 PM
Sweet. I finally get to use the 'Nostradamus quatrains' I'd composed for Thread Nine. You have no idea how much it was killing me to have to hold 'em.
Posted by: MrFire | September 18, 2009 3:02 PM
Glad they took it seriously.
Posted by: The Science Pundit | September 18, 2009 3:04 PM
It's sad that it's come to this. Hopefully it will end here. :-|
Posted by: Policy Merchant | September 18, 2009 3:04 PM
Good. This guy is certifiably nuts.
Posted by: PZ Myers
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September 18, 2009 3:12 PM
Semi-seriously. The testimony of that pile of papers produced by one night of his obsessive copy-and-pasting is hard to ignore, but it mainly says that he's nuts. They're going to have to rely on the Montreal police to determine if he is dangerous.
Posted by: Pharyngulette | September 18, 2009 3:14 PM
I've been holding off on making this comment, because I didn't want to encourage the nutter, but... I've been trying to wrap my head around the, ahem, logic that goes into posting hundreds of creepy iterations of "I'm going to kill you because you (IMHO) blasphemed, you fu*kers".
How are 61 pages of threats meant to swing us vicious sinners around to Dennis' enlightened and saved lifestyle (presumably with happy anthropomorphised forest animals gallivanting around him in a joyous throng and birds a-twittering on his outstretched index finger)?
Posted by: Jadehawk, OM | September 18, 2009 3:15 PM
well, that's at least something. i do hope montreal will take this sreiously. at the very least, the guy needs some psychiatric help
Posted by: Jorge | September 18, 2009 3:21 PM
Hadn't seen him/her/it on USENET in a bit. Wondered where he/she/it was dropping his/her/its brand of crazy these days.
He hasn't been missed as the reichtard birthers, etc have been fleshing out USENET nuttery for the last couple of weeks.
Posted by: Ibis3 | September 18, 2009 3:23 PM
As someone mentioned in the prior thread, it would surprise me very much if Montreal police did not take it seriously enough to assess this guy and his mental state in person. They've had to deal with more than their fair share of violent crazy.
Posted by: Patti | September 18, 2009 3:24 PM
I'm glad your police department is taking this seriously, and hope to see swift and decisive action on the part of the Montreal police who will have the nasty job of dealing with this lunatic. I'm ashamed that a fellow countryman of mine is behaving so badly toward you...but not surprised to learn he's from Quebec.
Posted by: anon | September 18, 2009 3:26 PM
You`ve done the exact right thing in reporting his threats to the police.
Every once in a while, touch base with the assigned detective and ask what`s been going on with your case.
Posted by: SC, OM | September 18, 2009 3:27 PM
J'arkuze!
Posted by: Capital Dan
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September 18, 2009 3:30 PM
Maybe we should pray for Dennis. I mean, does anyone really know how to summon the Forgotten Ones?
Do you think they like bundt cake?
Posted by: jsclary | September 18, 2009 3:30 PM
@Pharyngulette
See, I picture him with the Woodland Critters from South Park...
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 3:35 PM
Hmmm, what was that ?
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 3:39 PM
lol!!!!
Posted by: daveau | September 18, 2009 3:40 PM
Completely obliterating the previous high mark set in 1989 by a couple of over-lubricated frat boys who went on a cow-tipping spree.
Really, PZ, I'm glad you took some action on this. He really is a danger to himself, if not you and your family.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | September 18, 2009 3:44 PM
I wonder if I'll ever get my FINISHED
Posted by: Gyeong Hwa Pak | September 18, 2009 3:44 PM
So he's still going to be posting gibberish? That sucks.
Posted by: Capital Dan
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September 18, 2009 3:44 PM
I'm glad that knowledge of Makuze's disturbing and threatening antics now extends beyond Pharyngula and the interwebs.
The guy needs serious help before he hurts himself or someone else.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | September 18, 2009 3:45 PM
1. You're assuming he wants "us" to change
2. You're trying to reason out an obviously insane person's thought process.
Posted by: JoshS, Official SpokesGay | September 18, 2009 3:51 PM
@Rev BigDumbChimp - Ha! I too was wondering when you'd get your FINISHED. It's not nice to tease and then not deliver. Let me know if you can find a source for a DONE FOR. I've been looking for mine.
Posted by: Silič O'Nopolitanopoulos, Färschdbischuf Beesknees aus Ulm und Klein Elguth, Elector Pharynguline.
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September 18, 2009 3:52 PM
SC,OM wins.
Oh look! Shouldn't be too hard for the RCMP to pick on the loon if he's busy in the internet café still.
61 pages? Sheeeesssh.
From the sidebar. I wish I'd lived in an age where I coulda competed with Spencer Tracy (as if, but - fuck - do I ever have a crush on that woman).
Posted by: justin | September 18, 2009 3:55 PM
Is this "dave mabusa" guy the same one?
Posted by: raven | September 18, 2009 3:56 PM
The trend here in the USA has been to pick up obviously deranged and potentially violent people and have them evaluated in a secure pschiatric lockup.
For the last few years, there has been a constant background of shooters going out and massacring people. One of the latest was the guy in Pittsburgh who killed 3 cops because he thought Obama was going to take his guns away. And Sondini who shot up a women's exercise class.
Near here, someone threatened to shoot up a university. The police put his name in a database. He was arrested while trying to buy a rifle.
The police know that if someone does go off, they are going to have to deal with it anyway and with a bunch of loaded firearms at the same time.
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
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September 18, 2009 3:56 PM
+1 to SC, OM.
Posted by: PaleGreenPantsWithNobodyInsideThem | September 18, 2009 3:56 PM
DOOMED!
OHNOES!
Posted by: Numad | September 18, 2009 3:56 PM
"I'm ashamed that a fellow countryman of mine is behaving so badly toward you...but not surprised to learn he's from Quebec."
What. The. Hell.
Posted by: QrazyQat | September 18, 2009 3:57 PM
From the sidebar. I wish I'd lived in an age where I coulda competed with Spencer Tracy (as if, but - fuck - do I ever have a crush on that woman).
My favorite line from The African Queen, after prim and proper Rosie has ... aah, spent the night... with Charley: "Dear....what is your first name?"
Posted by: Mike Wagner | September 18, 2009 4:00 PM
@Patti #10
What point are you trying to make by saying you're not surprised he's from Quebec?
Is it the fact that Quebec has reversed itself from being a highly religious province in a generation, to being one that is walking away from religion in droves?
Or just that they put cheese and gravy on french fries? (Which is delicious, by the way)
I've lived in PEI and Ontario, and both places have their share of whackjobs. Heck, now that I'm back on PEI I feel like I've gone back in time 20 years, and looking around I never realized just how many churches there are. It seems like there's one for every 100 people. I'm sure that's an exaggeration, and it's just the placement of them that makes them so visible, but it's disturbing nonetheless. Especially knowing that just within my own blood relatives there's a few Jesus-freaks that aren't running on a full tank.
Posted by: Victor | September 18, 2009 4:00 PM
"Is this "dave mabusa" guy the same one?"
Yeah, that's him. He uses variations on the name Dave Mabus. I guess since it confuses him he must think it confuses everyone else. He'll be done in 10 minutes when the coffee shop kicks him out.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | September 18, 2009 4:01 PM
yep
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
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September 18, 2009 4:02 PM
I was under the impression that the Canadian nutters were primarily in Alberta.
I've often (well, sometimes...okay, occasionally...all right, once or twice) wondered if Victoria had married someone named Wolfgang or Maximilian, would a Canadian province still have been named for him?
Posted by: Justin | September 18, 2009 4:03 PM
I figured so. He does appear to be a tad nuts.
Posted by: Martin | September 18, 2009 4:04 PM
Gotta love how he cannot resist digging himself deeper!
Posted by: Bunk | September 18, 2009 4:05 PM
It's a shame that Cthulhu won't eat just a few select nutters. Oh what a wonderful place that would be. Actually, wishing that makes me feel a little scummy myself. I take it back.
I take the same attitude toward religion as PZ on a local forum quite often. I'll clarify, just in case PZ feels I misrepresent his position. What I mean is I give it respect only if it deserves some, which isn't very often. I do it anonymously to keep the nutters from threatening me and/or my family. You have my utmost respect, PZ, for doing it out in the open. We all should, but I don't have the cajones.
I'm glad you've brought this guy to the attention of the authorities. I hope they can find out who he is. The ratio of extreme nutjobs to outspoken rational persons is not encouraging, in my opinion. I worry about all the famous "new atheists." I also worry about President Obama.
That's enough worry today. Now for some beer.
Posted by: PaleGreenPantsWithNobodyInsideThem | September 18, 2009 4:06 PM
...should read...POLICE WONT SAVE YOU, PZ, FROM ME.
See me after class.
Posted by: Raybees | September 18, 2009 4:08 PM
Wow, this D.M. guy almost has me convinced. Maybe, just maybe, if he repeats his post just one... more... time... that'll be the sway point, and it'll all make sense to me.
'Scuse me while I brace myself for the epiphany...
Posted by: Victor | September 18, 2009 4:08 PM
It is funny that in a post about him making criminal threats, he makes more criminal threats. He'll laugh about it himself once he realizes it.
Posted by: SkepTech | September 18, 2009 4:09 PM
Let me guess: tongue-in-cheek cheap shot ?
Posted by: Steve_C | September 18, 2009 4:11 PM
The Police are knocking on Videotron's door soon.
Maybe Mabus will get the psychological help he needs.
Posted by: Owlmirror | September 18, 2009 4:12 PM
I wonder if it might help to moderate comments from Eastern Canada.
Can you filter comments to enter your moderation queue, by IP address, using a regular expression?
For example: ^72\.12\.[12]*[0-9]*[0-9]\.[12]*[0-9]*[0-9]
( Or even just ^72\.12 )
Legitimate comments can have their IP addresses whitelisted.
Illegitimate comments can be added to the evidence file.
You might also try filtering on users who comment with names that begin with "pz":
[Pp][Zz].*
And:
[Dd][Aa][Vv].*[Mm][Aa][Bb].*
Again, this may catch some legit comments, but it might be worth it.
You could also do something like that with those damn spam comments.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | September 18, 2009 4:14 PM
I'm ready for beer.
Posted by: Owlmirror | September 18, 2009 4:15 PM
Er, that second IP regex should have been: ^72\.12\.
Don't want to cast too wide a net, eh?
Posted by: Brownian, Most Vicious & Petty of Pharyngulites
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September 18, 2009 4:15 PM
I'd be offended, if it weren't true. We'd finally gotten rid of that "A" grade douchebag, Ezra Levant, though it seems this place keeps pulling him back, like a black hole of stupid.
Probably not, as there are no provinces named after him anyways.
Now, his daughter Princess Louise Caroline Alberta on the other hand...
Posted by: Yubal
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September 18, 2009 4:16 PM
Marbuse? Dr. Marbuse??
Anyone still know the good old Fritz Lang movies?
...was also a pretty loony character in the cinemas.
from wikipedia:
Posted by: VolcanoMan | September 18, 2009 4:17 PM
On behalf of Montrealers (I've adopted the city as my second home), I apologise for this nonsense. We Canadians do have many truly insane people, just like any other country; it's just a shame one of them made you their personal obsession. Some people just aren't mature enough to handle the internet.
Posted by: Doug Little | September 18, 2009 4:17 PM
Someones got a rendezvous with the CRAZY TRAIN
Posted by: Yubal
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September 18, 2009 4:18 PM
( -2x "r" )
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 4:22 PM
Here is a list of school shootings in Canada. And one of mass murders.
If you see a pattern, let me know.
Well, to be fair, Québec has a church on every corner. But they are empty.
As far as I can tell, it is a named mentioned by Nostradamus, the man supposedly responsible to announce the end of times.
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 4:23 PM
By the way, DM, are you aware that thisistheend.com is only a marketing stunt ?
And are you downtown right now ?
Posted by: Owlmirror | September 18, 2009 4:28 PM
Also, given how repetitive the spam is (regardless of whether it is machine generated or human generated), you might also consider just grabbing a representative string from a comment that gets through (such as a URL, say) and using that as something to filter on for any subsequent comments.
Posted by: catta | September 18, 2009 4:29 PM
Well done, that pair of pants -- while you're at it, could you teach him about caps and redundancy and such? I guess we've all given up on trying to get the content to make sense...
Also, glad this is being looked into. Let's hope he finally gets the help he so desperately needs.
Posted by: LanceR, JSG | September 18, 2009 4:30 PM
Don't get me wrong, I loves me some crazy babbling, but the sheer repetitive drone is just obnoxious. A little variety would be nice. Maybe a little "Obumma HUSSEIN" nonsense just for spice?
Why don't we ever get any GOOD trolls anymore? "Zathrus just can't have nice trolls. Very sad."
Posted by: Interrobang | September 18, 2009 4:31 PM
He should change his first name. Somehow, Je M'abuse works... Keep us informed, PZ, we await with bated breath to see what the gendarmerie have to say.
Posted by: What | September 18, 2009 4:31 PM
Stay safe PZ!
Some of you may want to consider whether the language you use on this blog may provoke people like this. Freedom of speech is not without its consequences. Would a little civility be too much to ask when it comes to PZ's safety?
Posted by: speedwell | September 18, 2009 4:33 PM
What, we all know you're a concern troll. Just stop. Would a little civility be a little too much to ask?
Posted by: Discombobulated | September 18, 2009 4:33 PM
PZ, since he's actually actively posting right now, and presumably you could get an idea of his most active hours from his posting history, I hope you take the opportunity to update the local police (to pass on to the Montreal police) his current IP while he's active, so maybe they can even catch him in the act at the cafe or wherever.
Good luck.
Posted by: PaleGreenPantsWithNobodyInsideThem | September 18, 2009 4:34 PM
Freedom of speech is not the right of a free man, but the mark of one. PZ is one of the freest men I know.
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 4:34 PM
What, what ?
Posted by: truebutnotuseful | September 18, 2009 4:34 PM
We? Who is "we?" Are you Legion, Crazy Dave?
Posted by: Raybees | September 18, 2009 4:34 PM
Obligatory at this point, I'd say...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE
Posted by: phantomreader42 | September 18, 2009 4:40 PM
Yeah, What, you're right, this is all OUR fault for using naughty words. That poor, poor genocidal psychopath, how dare people use bad words in his presence? OBVIOUSLY that's the whole reason for all evil in the world, the fact that people dare say "fuck" on the fucking internet.
What, either get psyciatric help or die in a fucking fire. You're tedious, stupid, and a general waste of skin. You have nothing worthwhile to say, so fuck off.
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 4:43 PM
BTW, What, DM's craziness on the Internet began 15 years ago... I guess it's our fault...
So, if I ever get insulted on the intertoobz, I should get on a killing spree? Mkay...
Posted by: phantomreader42 | September 18, 2009 4:44 PM
Random quote:
Posted by: What | September 18, 2009 4:44 PM
The language one uses when anonymous.
Posted by: catta | September 18, 2009 4:45 PM
Presumably, it's the same "we" that "stopped" the JREF challenge. And by "stop", he means "it continues as planned, undeterred by his rantings". He uses words strangely sometimes, including "proof", "prediction", "we". And, well, also the entirety of the past, present and future tense.
And just to make it absolutely clear, he has nothing whatsoever to do with Dr. Mabuse or any other lovely Fritz Lang movie. Let's not build any associations like that, I'd like to continue enjoying those films thankyouverymuch.
What I wonder about, though... don't all the Nostradummy people insist that "Hister = Hitler"? The man obviously had severe problems with spelling. With his track record, it's pretty likely he wrote "Mabus" and meant "Mewengwe". Or "Smith". Or "Finkelstein". How can they be so sure?
Posted by: Brownian, Most Vicious & Petty of Pharyngulites
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September 18, 2009 4:45 PM
Are you fucking kidding? Seriously?
If you're not kidding (and FSM fucking help us if you're not), perchance you might be a little more specific as to what kind of psycho-provoking 'language' you're referring to. Bad words, or just criticism of religion in general?
Please notice that the lunatic Markuze decries 'blasphemy', not foul language (and indeed engages in the latter himself.)
Then pull the stick out of your ass.
Posted by: AJ Milne | September 18, 2009 4:47 PM
Also irresistibly a propos....
Oh, and re the 'language, people' concern, I dunno. Loose empirical observations 'round here would seem to suggest that if anything's gonna set people off, there's nothin' like sanctimonious concern trolling for that, on balance...
(/Not that I'd ever suggest that 'What' is somehow responsible to become 'Where' on such a basis... I mean, what kinda asshole would prescribe behaviour for others he happens to want anyway on the basis that 'it's safer fer everyone, what with all the nutters'? I mean, fuuuck... that'd just be vomit-inducing, y'know?)
Posted by: Capital Dan
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September 18, 2009 4:47 PM
Keep going, Mabus/Markuze/sick person. You're building one hell of a case against yourself. I'm pretty sure there will be a knock upon your door in the very near future. I do hope you'll go quietly and get the help you so desperately need.
Posted by: What | September 18, 2009 4:48 PM
I invite all of you to use your real names and provide your addresses so that you can appreciate the risks PZ takes in standing up to religious loons.
Posted by: Brownian, Most Vicious & Petty of Pharyngulites
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September 18, 2009 4:48 PM
Uh, in person Anthony Karosas sounds a fuckuvalot like Brownian.
Again, I implore you to either pull that stick out or jam it deeper. It ain't doing anybody any good where it is.
Posted by: Pareidolius | September 18, 2009 4:49 PM
He called PZ "deluded fucker"
To swear and rant must give him succor
This soon will end, this IP dance
When mounties come, he'll shit his pants
And from hell's heart he wants to stab us
How sad to be this little Mabus
-Nostradumbass
The Sextrains of Nostradumbass, Vol. VI
Posted by: truebutnotuseful | September 18, 2009 4:50 PM
catta wrote:
It's like the crazies who say "if you take Mabus, remove the 'A', flip the 'M' into a 'W', and add an 'H' to the end, it becomes W. Bush!"
Oh noes! The end is upon us!!!1one
Posted by: Art | September 18, 2009 4:51 PM
Ironically, I suspect that Nostradamus predicted this outcome when he mentioned that the Beatles, he includes insects, would write a pop song about a "Fool on the Hill". It sends shivers up my spine to think that both Minnesota and Canada have hills and that Canada has both hills and a fool. Truly a visionary and a prophet.
This certainly qualifies as proving prophecy and ESP, and that closely reading quatrains on hills causes brain damage. Damn bus. It would, but for the cowardly discontinuing the Tandi challenge, kind of like the Randi but offered by your local Radio Shack, require them to provide you a lifetime supply of of dead batteries. Claims redeemable at the dumpster behind the stores.
Posted by: Knockgoats | September 18, 2009 4:55 PM
The language one uses when anonymous. - What
Well in your case, that seems to mean language of extraordinary pomposity. Was that what you meant?
Posted by: phantomreader42 | September 18, 2009 4:57 PM
So, What, you're on a personal crusade against anonymity, while you yourself are anonymous. If you really don't see anything wrong with that, you're completely brain-dead. But then, you're a concern troll who blames bad language for the actions of delusional psychopaths. Of COURSE you're completely barin-dead.
Posted by: Epicurus | September 18, 2009 4:58 PM
Wow. Just wow. And the little psycho thinks that bombarding your comments section with the same spam is going to "take down" Pharyngula? Hahahahah...for Cthulu's sake. If you kill us, we come back STRONGER!!! Srsly, good luck to the landlord, and pray the criminal justice system works. This guy does sound like a nut, the question is whether he is all hot air or a man of action. I can just see the banner headline "Crazy Canadian Gunned Down at Border"...I actually feel sorry for him, kind of. Mommy just didn't love him enough.....
Posted by: catta | September 18, 2009 4:58 PM
Okay, I think I get it. So Dennis is right in principle, only it's They Might Be Giants instead of Depeche Mode, a snake with a leg rather than a six legged lamb and Nostradamus meant "plumber", not "king". But in principle, he's right.
...aaah! It's all true! Run for the hills!!!
Right, that was fun for a few seconds. But still not a good excuse for death threats.
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 5:00 PM
Ok, then, it means one should restrain his speech in order to remain safe. How is this freedom of speech ?
Posted by: truebutnotuseful | September 18, 2009 5:01 PM
What wrote:
Is something the matter, What? You sound a bit concerned.
Posted by: Doug Little | September 18, 2009 5:01 PM
Hey, What
I am using my real name and always have. If some batshit insane person wants to look me up that's just fine with me.
Lets hope there's video footage of this fucker getting taken down by the cops.
Posted by: Paul Lundgren | September 18, 2009 5:04 PM
@Patti 10:
Mental illness is no joking matter. If you're being serious, please elaborate, because I don't get the connection.Posted by: Nerd of Redhead, OM
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September 18, 2009 5:07 PM
What, lead the way, or shut the fuck up.
Posted by: HeyBunk | September 18, 2009 5:07 PM
Hey, bunk - "cajones" = drawers (as in dresser, not the fun kind); I think the word you're looking for "cojones" (these are the fun bits). I have now officially validated my 2 years of goofing off in Spanish class, the syllabus of which did not include one of these words...
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
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September 18, 2009 5:07 PM
Your concern is noted. Now fuck off.
Posted by: Mike Wagner | September 18, 2009 5:08 PM
#81
I do use my real name. And in the past when whackos in other forums threatened my life I was happy to provide my address. These days there are other people in the house with me so I just offer to meet the whackos somewhere else.
I have more chance of being killed in a car accident than by an internet whackjob, and when they make all kinds of threats in a forum and then retreat when challenged to carry them out, they move on to bother other people.
Because really, they're almost always just cowards who delight in harassing people. The really dangerous people I've seen in the past don't tell you they're coming to get you. They just come after you. Haven't had one of those yet :)
Posted by: Mavid Dumbass | September 18, 2009 5:08 PM
I'm pulling my pork on this site called *Pharyngula*
and on the article on me you FAIL to mention that I'm a deluded fucker
________________________________________________________
btw, this has been sent TO ME from the internet -
AND BY THE POLICE AND FBI AS WELL!!!:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/97/252849242_373d779ccd.jpg
____________________________________________________________
"However, I'd like to consider another aspect that is rarely discussed: that I am completely off-the-wall bonkers. Zoo-boingo nuts, even. I make about as much sense as a cat pushing a watermelon up a hill."
Goofy, eh?
((Courtesy of Benny the Icepick, speaking on behalf of Mavid Dumbass))
Posted by: Natalie | September 18, 2009 5:11 PM
What, I have a story for you.
I used to be a rather active editor and administrator of a certain popular online encyclopedia.* I followed that online community's civility policy to the letter. I rarely, if ever, swore during discussions. I also use my real first name, and mention the city I live in and college I attended in my profile.
One day I came across an odd little piece of vandalism. Reverting it and warning the individual made me the target of a bizarre person who is obsessed with an actor* best known for playing the man of steel.* (Not the paralyzed one, the other one.)
This particular crazed individual began stalking me online. Granted, I don't have a unique nickname that I use for every site, so they were mostly restricted to sending me emails through said encyclopedia's interface. I ignored this person and they went away.
I ended up being interviewed about this encyclopedia by a newspaper of record and gave my full name. This individual came across the article after someone mentioned it on my profile and began spamming administrators at my college with ridiculous claims.
Thankfully for me, I attended a small college where practically every student was on a first name basis with the faculty and administration. The administrators who received these harrassing emails contacted me for clarification and attempted to help me. Had I been attending a larger school, I can't be sure I would have received the same treatment.
The point of this story is that neither language, civility, nor anonymity have any bearing on whether or not a crazy person will take a fancy to you and start stalking, harrassing, or threatening you.
* I've declined to use the specific names for all of these starred bits because this person resurfaced once when I mentioned their behavior on a message board. I can only assume s/he googles some specific terms and finds relevant posts. Hence I've chosen not to use the likely terms and would be much obliged if anyone who chooses to reply do the same. This person is more annoying that dangerous, but still - there's already one crazy person clogging up the tubes here.
Posted by: JJR | September 18, 2009 5:11 PM
More on the presumed origins of this loon's nom-de-guerre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Mabuse
I've only seen _Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse_; Watched the same weekend I watched _M_....
Posted by: ckitching | September 18, 2009 5:15 PM
It's clearly this. Whoever would put that much heart attack potential into one dish is clearly insane. Tastes great, but you just know you're shortening your life with each mouthful.On the other hand, perhaps this is the future murder weapon. He'll bury PZ in fries, cheese curds, and then drown him in gravy. It'll look like he just died of a natural heart attack! Is anything like poutine mentioned in those Nostradamus predictions?
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
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September 18, 2009 5:15 PM
As I told someone else who wanted to know real names, my real name is Augustus Pickelheimer-Buttmunch* so I prefer to use a pseudonym.
Actually, I am someone famous for anonymity. As Napoleon put it so well: "Fame is fleeting but obscurity is forever."
*Or is it Buttmunch-Pickelheimer, I can never remember these things.
Posted by: Fraser | September 18, 2009 5:16 PM
Oudegracht 362, Utrecht, Nederland. Bring it on, you fucking turd.
Actually, that probably doesn't count, because of the pond and stuff. Well, I did my best.
Posted by: catta | September 18, 2009 5:17 PM
No, JJR, damn it! NO. It has nothing to do with Dr Mabuse.
"Mabus" is a name mentioned in of of Nostradamus' Quatrains.
Just your random loony bullshit. Now stop dragging Fritz Lang into it. Grr.
Posted by: bonelessjesus | September 18, 2009 5:19 PM
Hope you have a loaded gun P.Z. If not, you can drive down to Kentucky and I would be happy to loan you one. Better yet, just send dave mab my way.
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 5:24 PM
As catta said, it comes from here.
Posted by: Pierce R. Butler | September 18, 2009 5:25 PM
Nice try, DM, but no matter how many times you repeat it, "VAGUE, eh?" just doesn't have the panache to join "PYGMIES + DWARFS", lesbians masturbating with Bibles, or even bacon on the list of Pharyngula catchphrases.
What @ # 56: Would a little civility be too much to ask when it comes to PZ's safety?
Not to worry: if Mabus sets foot in Morris, possibly even in Minnestoa, it's already been arranged that he will be run over.
Art @ # 75: It sends shivers up my spine to think that both Minnesota and Canada have hills and that Canada has both hills and a fool.
Minnesota has at least one fool, though they've cleverly arranged to send her southeastwards for most of the year, to a place where it's hoped she'll at least learn how to spell "Michelle".
Posted by: Capital Dan
|
September 18, 2009 5:26 PM
Wait. Dennis is a Nostradamus freak?
That explains a lot.
Posted by: blueelm | September 18, 2009 5:29 PM
I'm glad the police are taking this seriously. I would be too afraid, but then I'm timid. I was thinking about it and I'm actually really glad that there are people like you who are brave enough to attract crazies like DM. I hope you are well and his harrassment comes to an end. To the people who say PZ should tone it down... think about what that would mean to people like me who have spent most of their lives too afraid to speak up at all?
Posted by: Paul Lundgren | September 18, 2009 5:35 PM
Like Hardees Thickburgers.Posted by: catta | September 18, 2009 5:39 PM
Yeah, Nostradamus is pretty much what Dennis' life revolves around. He tried to win the JREF challenge by spamming his "zomg Nostradamus predicted 9/11, that's paranormal, I win" stuff all over; initially, some people on the boards he hit were trying to reason with him. He didn't so much respond as react, and everyone gave up eventually.
Then he went even more batshit insane and claimed he was being cheated out of the JREF prize money because he had clearly provided proof of something paranormal. After that, his crusade against everything potentially skeptical of his, er, gift of interpretation became a single spam fest. Which is why these threats of violence are an even freakier change; it used to be possible to argue with him to a certain extent. His frustration has turned him into an insult-flinging spam machine over time. This latest wave is just another escalation.
Reading the fragments of his "reasoning" is an experience. He somehow connects Depeche Mode to 9/11, drags multi-legged lambs into it and somehow thinks retrofitting past events to Nostradamus is ironclad proof of... whatever it is he's trying to prove.
Posted by: LanceR, JSG
|
September 18, 2009 5:43 PM
Be careful, Catta. I made the same point over at scienceblogs.com/denialism/ and DM called me a "Blaspheming Liar".
Or was that a lying blasphemer?
Either way, be careful... he might be listening!
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 5:43 PM
It's even worse if you consider that the likeliest moment you're gonna eat it is when you come out of bar at 3 a.m. Drunk and full, you may end up passing out on a snowbank...
Posted by: Monado, FCD | September 18, 2009 5:47 PM
If you need to drop a note to the police closer to the insane one, here's the website for
* the RCMP or GRC (la Gendarmerie royale du Canada )
* the The Sûreté du Québec, a.k.a the provincial police; but in Quebec they're styled the "national police."
* the Montreal police service (Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, English page)
Posted by: catta | September 18, 2009 5:49 PM
Oh no, not a blaspheming liar! Not that! How could you stand it? *admiring glance*
Seriously though, if his reading comprehension so far is anything to go by, he'll just be off to Madagascar to harrass random lemurs. Not that that's okay by me, but I'm not too worried.
Posted by: Brownian, Most Vicious & Petty of Pharyngulites
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September 18, 2009 5:49 PM
Indeed. In fact, I know of at least one hill in Canada upon which multiple fools congregate.
Posted by: AJ Milne | September 18, 2009 5:52 PM
I spend a fair bit of time in Quebec. A reasonable amount of it, on and off, in the sorts of places you could get poutine, if you were of a mind to do so. But I've only actually eaten it once.
I was relatively sober, at the time... and now that I think of it, perhaps this is the problem--this is why it really didn't work for me.
(/Note to self: next time, in the interests of researching this properly, get drunker first.)
Posted by: garth | September 18, 2009 5:53 PM
sometimes I get a little jealous of PZ. the worst that ever happened to me was a crank in the letters to the editor pages of my local paper called me an "anarchist" who should be thrown in jail.
my crime, but the way, was calling W a "cad". Really!
Posted by: Nony | September 18, 2009 6:13 PM
Is anyone else filing complaints against this guy? I'm sure Randi has enough reason to do so as well.
Posted by: Brownian, Most Vicious & Petty of Pharyngulites
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September 18, 2009 6:15 PM
Oddly enough (or not, given our proclivity for salty, fatty foods), poutine is a favourite out here in the wild wild west, though most purists would sneer at our grated cheddar rather than curd cheese version. It's stellar when garnished with green onions or chives, and if you cut in a spicy chicken breast it'll keep you going for at least another three pints.
When I was living in Kampala, Uganda for a brief time back in 1999, there was a pub that served it--a server confessed that the owner was indeed a Canadian expat). I never did try the African version, as even the most cursory visitor to East Africa knows the quintessential pub grub is nyama choma with chumvi and pili pili.
Posted by: DB | September 18, 2009 6:18 PM
I realize I may be poking a hornets nest here but curiosity just got the better of me can someone please clarify what exactly this guys problem is with PZ? Has he ever actually laid out his objections and not just posted odd cryptic spam?
At first I thought due to the whole "blasphemy" thing and the "atheists are the cause of 911" stuff that he was a religious nut and his apparent anger at PZ was about crackergate. Now it seems he is more angry at the JREF I get why he is mad at them, at least there's a motivation their (albeit a crazy one) but where does PZ tie into any of this? What has PZ said/done that has made him a focus of this guys ire enough to be deserving of death threats? Or is this just par for the course and he posts these kind of angry death threat filled hate spams everywhere?
Posted by: kamaka | September 18, 2009 6:18 PM
The only thing I can feel for this guy is compassion...imagine (you can't, really) how awful it must be, being stuck in his horrible feedback loop.
I doubt this guy will be some kind of news to the authorities in his locale; he's likely a misery machine, creating stress and discomfort everywhere he goes. (Particularly for his family, though they've likely given up). He must behave some of the time, though, or the staff at the internet cafes would kill the WiFi as soon as they saw him coming.
I've dealt with mental illness in the family, and it is beyond unpleasant. I would call it "living hell".
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 6:24 PM
Maybe, but it could also be a consequence of bad poutine making. It is an art mastered by few. The most common mistakes, especially in Montreal, are using :
-grated mozzarella instead of cheddar curds
-using bbq sauce instead of whatever is called the real one
Posted by: R. Schauer | September 18, 2009 6:30 PM
dav mab
The RCMP will hunt you down just for something to do. They have good hackers...you will be hacked. There are only so many ip numbers and they all lead to you. Au revoir
Posted by: Shadow
|
September 18, 2009 6:31 PM
Captain Dan @13:
Instead of the Forgotten Ones, how about the Hounds of Tindalos?
Posted by: catta | September 18, 2009 6:33 PM
Not sure myself, DB, though I don't think it's much of a hornet's nest considering how far removed from reality this guy is. The skeptic and atheist communities overlap a great deal of course. My guess is that he started out posting his rants absolutely everywhere after the JREF people got tired of playing with him (at some point, he used a line something like 'I posted this on every single forum on the internet!"), and people on atheist forums were very combative; in his rants he's namechecked not only Randi and PZ, but also Dawkins and Phil Plait.
He also appears to have gotten the idea into his head that paranormal/supernatural and atheism are mutually exclusive, and since he's absolutely sure that he has proof of the supernatural, atheists are the enemy. It's slightly bizarre, but that appears to be his main motivation.
Posted by: R. Schauer | September 18, 2009 6:34 PM
DB
I think he one of gawd's helpers. Only he's way more liability than helper.
Posted by: Brownian, Most Vicious & Petty of Pharyngulites
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September 18, 2009 6:35 PM
Yup. Google "David Mabus" and you'll see the same cut 'n' paste jobs on all sorts of skeptics' and atheists' blogs.
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 6:38 PM
Yeah, it's getting everywhere!! Even India!
There was a paper in French by a Montreal journalist recently about poutine in India. But when they received their order, it was more like a plate of fries and a bowl of melted cheez-whiz. They dipped the fries in... The guy that his to fellow Indians were not that impressed...
Posted by: cousinavi | September 18, 2009 6:38 PM
Yankee PUSSY!
Angry beavers at twelve paces!
/'popularity draws death threats. don't even pretend you're surprised. you love this shit.
Posted by: catta | September 18, 2009 6:39 PM
Score! That's the first time a troll has told me to shut up rather than the other way around. That's my evening made, I'll go have a beer. Cheers!
Posted by: THER IS LIKE TONS OF SPAM EVRYWHERS PZ! | September 18, 2009 6:40 PM
Here:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/12/the_courtiers_reply.php
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/06/obama_and_nerd_cred.php
Well, okay, maybe not tons...
But I'm a pedant.
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 6:44 PM
Wow, way to screw up a sentence!
The guy and his Indian friends were not that impressed...
Posted by: Brownian, Most Vicious & Petty of Pharyngulites
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September 18, 2009 6:45 PM
And here in Alberta, land of the exceptionally idiotic conservatives (actual quote by Health and Wellness Minister Ron Liepert: "I don't spend a lot of time studying stuff") they're closing psychiatric beds in favour of "community care", which is Tory-speak for "We're closing hospital beds. Where the patients go isn't my concern. Now fuck off, I've got steak to jam down my fat gullet."
Look forward to the ranks of the homeless swelling with psychiatric patients at a major urban core near you.
Posted by: IT SEEEEMS THE POST ABOV MINE B4 WAS ALSO SPAM | September 18, 2009 6:46 PM
Deluded fucker? I think it is #124 who is deluded. As for fucker, we'll have to ask the Trophy Wife.
Posted by: Jessa | September 18, 2009 6:46 PM
Wait. This guy's a Nostradamus fan and he uses "Mabus" as a 'nym? Isn't "Mabus" the name that Nostradamus called the third antichrist? It's pretty rich that someone would use that name while calling someone a blasphemer. But then again, consistency is not exactly a trait found in lunatics.
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 6:46 PM
Hey, Dennis, where are you exactly ? I'm heading downtown to get me a large poutine with sausages and I wanna make sure I don't run into you by accident...
Posted by: cousinavi | September 18, 2009 6:48 PM
On further reflection, being the lightning rod (for all the juice) must suck more than a little bit.
/zap
Posted by: Brownian, Most Vicious & Petty of Pharyngulites
|
September 18, 2009 6:49 PM
To be fair, neither does Dennis Markuze.
Posted by: catta | September 18, 2009 6:52 PM
But he could so very easily -- all he'd have to do is read his own posting history.
Wait, I see the problem now...
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 6:53 PM
Well, that's exactly what they did over here some time ago. See the results...
Posted by: MikeS29 | September 18, 2009 6:55 PM
Pharyngullette@6
Reminds me of:
http://www.adultswim.com/video/?episodeID=8a25c39217632d58011764768290005a
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 6:58 PM
Ha! ha! ha! You mean, like this ?
Posted by: What | September 18, 2009 6:59 PM
This site does note bode well for atheism. Enjoy your shared pathology. Stay safe PZ. Your sycophants are the ones I would be most concerned about.
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 7:02 PM
And what do you bode well for ?
Posted by: IF BELEEFIN NO GOD IZ PATHOLOGY THEN UR GOD WANTS TO PUNISH THOSE WITH MENTAL PROBLEMS | September 18, 2009 7:03 PM
Or it could be that belief in God is the mental problem?????
Posted by: kamaka | September 18, 2009 7:04 PM
Your sycophants are the ones I would be most concerned about.
What
At least you're on the right thread!
Sycophant, minion, blah, blah, blah...
Posted by: JoshS, Official SpokesGay | September 18, 2009 7:07 PM
Kamaka, don't forget about the sundry queers, brown-nosers, and hangers-on. Oh, and also bacon.
Posted by: AFTER BIG OIL, BIG PHARMA AND BIG AG COMES BIG SHITS | September 18, 2009 7:07 PM
PZ, you're finally a conspiracy!
Posted by: a_ray_in_dilbert_space
|
September 18, 2009 7:08 PM
Dennis, Do yourself a favor and go get help. There are medicines you can take to control the voices. There are people you can talk to who can help. There are prosthetic devices you can use to compensate for your tiny, tiny little tadger.
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 7:09 PM
Do What and DM know each other ?
Posted by: BACON? I WANTS BACON! | September 18, 2009 7:10 PM
Shouting name man hungry. Markuze trolls nothing but bone. Need flesh.
Posted by: a_ray_in_dilbert_space
|
September 18, 2009 7:13 PM
Dennis, It must have been hard all those years to hear over and over, "Is it in?"
Posted by: LOOKS HOW VAGUES I IS | September 18, 2009 7:13 PM
Could I be more inconspicuous?
Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | September 18, 2009 7:13 PM
Yes.
Nostradamus then went on to say "Mabus will then soon die".
...But everyone already knows that "Mabus" is just short for "Massachusetts Bush", don't we.
Posted by: kamaka | September 18, 2009 7:15 PM
@ JoshS
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katknits/2788256520/
Posted by: Scott | September 18, 2009 7:16 PM
"What a strange person!"
I hear Nostradumas stole all his predictions by reading Criswell's columns. Criswell was pissed when he found out 'cause he had to make up all new columns afterwards...
Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | September 18, 2009 7:19 PM
Sure, why not? Would be fun. After all, who needs a sun when we've got a communist party?
<sing song="The East Is Red" stanza="3" volume="max">
Gongcha-andaaang xiang ta-aiyaaang,
Zhaodao na-a-li-i naaa-li-i liaaang...
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
|
September 18, 2009 7:19 PM
Concern troll is concerned.
Posted by: AND MARKUZE FLEW UP TO THE SKY TO TURN IT OFF AND... | September 18, 2009 7:19 PM
Alas for him! Warmer and warmer grew the air. Those arms, that had seemed to uphold him, relaxed. His wings wavered, dropped. He fluttered his young hands vainly-he was falling-and in that terror he remembered. The heat of the sun had melted the wax from his wings; the feathers were falling, one by one, like snowflakes; and there was none to help.
He fell like a leaf tossed down by the wind, down, down, with one cry that overtook PZ far away. When he returned and sought high and low for the poor boy, he saw nothing but the birdlike feathers afloat on the water, and he knew that Dennis was drowned.
Posted by: kamaka | September 18, 2009 7:20 PM
Though, personally, I prefer THIS:
http://samchristhai.blogspot.com/2009/07/octopus-on-stick.html
Posted by: Ichthyic | September 18, 2009 7:24 PM
Some of you may want to consider whether the language you use on this blog may provoke people like this. Freedom of speech is not without its consequences. Would a little civility be too much to ask when it comes to PZ's safety?
Holy crap.
concern troll is concerned... AGAIN.
Posted by: BdN | September 18, 2009 7:24 PM
Well, Dennis, I'm leaving home right now, so stay exactly where you are. Except if you are at La Belle Province. Then go.
Posted by: Scott | September 18, 2009 7:25 PM
Oh, my. Nostradomas painted those himself?
And look at those electric lights! NOSTRADOMAS INVENTED ELECTRICITY!
Little known fact: Nostradomas predicted that Mae West would be elected to the presidency, and would then go on a trip to the moon with George Liberace. He also predicted that there would be an outbreak of mass cannibalism and the end of planet Earth on August 18, 1999. OMG FOR TRUE!
Posted by: NOSTRADAMUS AIMS, HE SHOOTS, AND HE MISSES! FORSOME REASON HE COULDN@T QUITE DIRECT HIS PISS ALONG T | September 18, 2009 7:27 PM
However, the piss did make it to the 20th Century where it splashed over the head of one David Markuze during his Christening.
Posted by: NOSTRADAMUS AIMS, HE SHOOTS, AND HE MISSES! | September 18, 2009 7:31 PM
FOR SOME REASON HE COULDN'T QUITE DIRECT HIS PISS ALONG THE REQUIRED GEODESIC IN ORDER TO REACH THE 21ST CENTURY!
However, the piss did make it to the 20th Century where it splashed over the head of one David Markuze during his Christening.
(#164 is full of fail and is clearly not me.)
Posted by: Brian X | September 18, 2009 7:34 PM
Dennis:
Go take a long swim in the Saint-Laurent and don't come up. There aren't meds enough in the world to cure what's wrong with you.
Posted by: Ragutis | September 18, 2009 7:34 PM
Note to Montreal law enforcement: Markuze is the guy that's literally foaming at the mouth.
I know, I know... I always thought it was just a figure of speech too.
Posted by: CONCERN TROLL I'M REALLY VERY CONCERNED DONCHA KNOW | September 18, 2009 7:37 PM
Issues!
I have issues!
So many burning issues!
I really can't wait
Before I herniate!
Epically bad poem #3946.
Posted by: BUT BUT BUT... WHY WON'T THE ATHEISTS PLAY WITH ME MOMMY? | September 18, 2009 7:40 PM
Mommy: I think Dennis sweetie pie, it's because you're being a twat.
Posted by: SSDD | September 18, 2009 7:43 PM
Professor Myers:
Would you use deadly force to defend yourself and your loved ones against this person?
Posted by: Krystalline Apostate | September 18, 2009 7:45 PM
This entire thread was predicted in the writings of Nostradumbass.
Posted by: AJ Milne | September 18, 2009 7:46 PM
... well, wow, man, what were you expecting with language like that...
Cad. My word. See, 'Whuuuuh?' back there is dead on, man. Those sorts of ribald, uncouth utterances are sure to bring out the crazies, mark my words. Why, in my day...
Yeah. Anyway. As to the bad poutine theory, I guess this is possible, but I think unlikely. Curds and gravy, as I recall, the way Montcalm would have intended, I'm sure... And I have occasionally sneaked one off of a neighbouring plate subsequently, and it usually seems to have been roughly the same affair, making roughly the same impression.
So I'm still pretty sure it's the more beer first thing. And I'll get right on checking that out.
Posted by: Lynna | September 18, 2009 7:47 PM
It occurs to me, PZ, that you may need to provide not just recent examples of the DM threats, but also examples of his earlier stuff. The police may want examples that demonstrate the pattern of escalation.
Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | September 18, 2009 7:47 PM
I would first of all use a bulletproof vest if I were sufficiently afraid.
Because, SSDD, you are the only person in the world who's guaranteed to draw faster than all evildoers.
Posted by: PZ Myers
|
September 18, 2009 7:49 PM
Would the commenter who is using the name field to post all-caps commentary PLEASE KNOCK IT OFF. You are breaking the informal rule here against morphing, and are complicating comment management. Honestly, I've got a lot of work keeping the comments policed right now, and you are not making it easier.
If you will not pick a single user name and stick with it, I'll have to ban your ip address. The #1 sin for commenters here is to make me work harder, and you are violating that rule.
Posted by: wright | September 18, 2009 7:58 PM
PZ, your response to Mr. Markuze is reasoned, calm and appropriate. I'll keep your example in mind if me or anyone else I know is subject to such harassment.
Posted by: Nominal Egg | September 18, 2009 8:14 PM
As an ignorant Yank, I'm curious:
What kind of gravy is used with fries & cheese?
Posted by: JoshS, Official SpokesGay | September 18, 2009 8:15 PM
@kamaka, #146
Poll: lesbians beat out bacon
Posted by: JoshS, Official SpokesGay | September 18, 2009 8:17 PM
Damn it. Why can't SB use normal html for links? Here's your treat, kamaka:
http://www.noapologiespress.com/newnews/baconlesbianpoll.html
Posted by: jsoutofbiblepgs
|
September 18, 2009 8:18 PM
There sure is a lot of attention being given to DM here. I'm glad to keep posted on PZ's safety (and others), but maybe we shouldn't give him all the attention and notoriety that he so desperately craves. Let's ignore him except for updates from PZ.
Posted by: MikeMa | September 18, 2009 8:31 PM
PZ,
Glad you took some action against the Canadian loon.
Lesbian/Bacon
Can't figure how we got to this but that poll Josh posted is great. Well done and infinitely more interesting than the northern ranting.
Posted by: Ichthyic | September 18, 2009 8:32 PM
Poll: lesbians beat out bacon
BLASPHEMY!!!
:P
Posted by: Duckbilled Platypus | September 18, 2009 8:34 PM
With all respect, isn't it time to close off this thread? He has been dealt with as best as could. We all know that we're only feeding the troll with this.
Creationists are the better choice to pick on, anyway, especially since we can't file harassment complaints against them (although if I was from the U.S. I'd definitely investigate my possibilities).
Posted by: Nerd of Redhead, OM
|
September 18, 2009 8:39 PM
Close a thread before a thousand posts? Sacrilege!
Posted by: AJ Milne | September 18, 2009 8:42 PM
I'm... not sure how I feel about this... It's a bit like that Betty and Veronica thing... Betty's a cute blonde, nice person, really... Veronica's a hot brunette, rich... that's got advantages, let's face it... geez...
But it does amuse me that in this thread strangely afflicted with French Canadian bar cuisine, that there should be this poll, and that in this poll, mayonnaise should come in third...
Look: don't tell anyone. We don't need the trouble, up here. I'm sitting in a bar in Ottawa, next to an already slightly drunk French hockey team, the Sens/Habs game is on... trouble could come from this.
Oh, and as to the gravy in poutine, I always sorta assumed it was chicken... kinda tastes like chicken*, but honestly, I'm hardly the poutine aficionado, I guess.
(/*But let's face it: everything does.)
Posted by: kamaka | September 18, 2009 8:49 PM
@ JoshS,
Mayonnaise came in a distant third,
Apparently, the lesbianbaconpoll is all messed up.
1) Lesbians
2) Bacon
3) Handcuffs and feathers
4) Chocolate syrup and whipped cream
5) Water-soluble lube in quantity
Mayo is not even on the list.
My list is not preferential, it's ordered.
Posted by: chrisD | September 18, 2009 8:50 PM
AJ, we all know Archie was gay, hence his non-committal to either Veronica or Bettie. Sure you could say he was trying to nail them both, but then there's that one scene with those three guys he had to beat off... here
Posted by: Stanton | September 18, 2009 8:52 PM
All this talk of bacon and poutine has got me to thinking: would it be possible to serve poutine in that bacon goblet?
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
|
September 18, 2009 8:54 PM
Next we'll hear about people who eat french fries (or chips if we're British) with mayonnaise. The mind boggles.
Posted by: Richard Smith | September 18, 2009 9:00 PM
Nominal Egg (#168):
I believe it's usually a beef-based gravy. Some might use chicken-based, though. At the discretion of the cook, I guess.
Posted by: kamaka | September 18, 2009 9:01 PM
Next we'll hear about people who eat french fries (or chips if we're British) with mayonnaise.
Round these parts, it's common practice to dip pizza in ranch dressing.
The mind boggles.
Posted by: AJ Milne | September 18, 2009 9:03 PM
Ummmmm...
No. There are things the outside world simply need not know. Yes, there are things that happen here... Unnatural things... And I have seen them... I have see it all through the yellow windows of the evening... ummm...
Rain? But that makes no sense...
(Looks up the lyric...)
Oh. Close enough.
Anyway. It must end here. And now. It must go no further. For you are correct: these things, they should not be.
(/And as to Archie--damn. It explains so much.)
Posted by: LeeLeeOne | September 18, 2009 9:04 PM
I would like to celebrate that the potential victim was willing to head warnings and recognize that the "fold" may contain anomalies, and recognizing that concerns may be LEGIT!
Celebrate ! good times. Come On!
Hey, don't hate me because I put the song in your head!
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
|
September 18, 2009 9:06 PM
No worries. We hate you for completely different reasons.
Posted by: Rorschach | September 18, 2009 9:07 PM
Is there any other way?
I introduced the ex to mayo with fries one day, which was an alien concept to her, and that's one of the few traditions she has kept ever since...:-)
Germans btw do tend to eat fries "red-white" , which is with ketchup and mayo.
Beats bacon any day LOL !!
Posted by: JoshS, Official SpokesGay | September 18, 2009 9:10 PM
Wait - there's actually someone against eating French Fries with mayonnaise? Dude, not cool. If you haven't tried it, it's the only way to eat fried potatoes. Fuck vinegar. Ketchup, eat me raw. Gimme Hellmann's.
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
|
September 18, 2009 9:14 PM
Actually I do eat fries with mayonnaise. I learned about that french fry condiment in Belgium. Grosses out my wife, so it's got its hazards, but that's the way I prefer my fries.
Posted by: Gruesome Rob | September 18, 2009 9:24 PM
Better than my wife. She'll dip fries in Frosties.
Posted by: MikeMa | September 18, 2009 9:25 PM
Mayonnaise is an okay fries dip but tartar sauce is tops. Used to be a Long John Silver (or some fish place) and a McDonald side by side near PSU and we'd go for MikeyDs fries and LJS's tartar sauce. Weird memory.
Posted by: rrt | September 18, 2009 9:32 PM
Hey you! Over there! Hey, that's too much mayonnaise!
Posted by: chrisD | September 18, 2009 9:40 PM
I prefer my fries with a little Heinz 57 sauce. Also prefer it on my mashed potatoes, which always garners some queer looks from family at Thanksgiving. I bring my own bottle along with me to Grandma's house, that doesn't help.
Posted by: Gillian | September 18, 2009 9:44 PM
61 Pages? It's obvious! Add in a forward and a couple of cheap illustrations, and it turns out he's been using the same format as the writers of cheap romance and western pulp novelettes. You had to fit the writing into exactly 61 pages so that the printing could be done on 64 (including the title page and the 2 pages of subscription info at the back).
So they should be looking for a frustrated author of cheesy Dr/Nurse sludge.
Posted by: ricklend | September 18, 2009 9:45 PM
Obviously, you did the right thing, PZ, informing the police about the crazy guy in order to protect yourself and your family, and for perhaps getting the offender help (probably not likely).
Posted by: nobody | September 18, 2009 9:53 PM
maybe you've blocked out a canadian but you haven't blocked out me. thanks for posting your office location available at http://www.morris.umn.edu/academics/biology/faculty/
i will happily kill you myself on monday you satanic piece of shit.
Posted by: F | September 18, 2009 9:59 PM
@ "nobody"
Fuck off, you deranged fuckwit.
@PZ
Nice one, centurion.
Posted by: Nerd of Redhead, OM
|
September 18, 2009 10:00 PM
Ah, isn't the mad troll cute. PZ doesn't believe in satan, who is just as imaginary as your deity. He doesn't believe in imaginary deities, since there is no physical evidence for either one. Unlike you, which makes you a delusional insane fool by definition....Posted by: a_ray_in_dilbert_space
|
September 18, 2009 10:02 PM
nobody, Whoa, jump down, get back. It's amazing how brave anonymous cowards can be on the intertubes, huh? Do you have any clue how pathetic a turd you are?
Posted by: Ichthyic | September 18, 2009 10:04 PM
I prefer my fries with a little Heinz 57 sauce.
my favorite is cooked slow in olive oil with a hint of garlic, rubbed with fresh rosemary, and salt.
who needs sauce?
Posted by: 386sx, Esq. | September 18, 2009 10:08 PM
Don't cook your fries with too high of a heat folks. They will not be crunchy. They will actually be soggy with too high of heat, counterintuitive though that may seem.
Posted by: 386sx, Esq. | September 18, 2009 10:14 PM
I can't believe nobody said mustard yet...
Posted by: chrisD | September 18, 2009 10:17 PM
I'll have to try that next time. With a little Heinz 57 sauce to give it an extra culinary flare.
/*also likes to ruin a good Porterhouse with some A-1*/
Posted by: truebutnotuseful | September 18, 2009 10:18 PM
In the Mormon corridor (Utah & Idaho) they serve fries with 'fry sauce,' a blend of ketchup and mayonnaise. A lot of Utahans don't seem to realize it's a regional thing and are surprised when they get ketchup with fries at restaurants outside the Morridor.
Posted by: Bone Oboe | September 18, 2009 10:29 PM
On topic: May the Troll Police fly swift and sure.
On the French fry/chips "off topic" that's developing:
Crinkle cut fries with a bit of seasoning salt, and crumbled feta cheese. Personal preference dictates/obviates choice of dipping sauces.
Posted by: F | September 18, 2009 10:47 PM
@What (or is that, a twat?)
"I invite all of you to use your real names and provide your addresses so that you can appreciate the risks PZ takes in standing up to religious loons."
I'm thinking PZ would say something or set rules regarding these things if he were concerned. You may notice that he is far more concerned with morphing and all caps.
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/09/update_on_dennis_markuze.php#comment-1948210
Posted by: debg | September 18, 2009 11:09 PM
Nominal egg: I have only ever seen beef-based gravy as a part of poutine... beef gravy and cheese curds... damn, I miss Canada.
Posted by: j | September 18, 2009 11:14 PM
Morphing was a problem with folks stealing others' monikers yesterday. Fortunately, everything seems fine today.
Posted by: Pierce R. Butler | September 18, 2009 11:23 PM
... lesbians beat out bacon.
What a tantalizing image those four words bring to mind!
Posted by: Bride of Shrek OM | September 18, 2009 11:53 PM
I read somewhere the single greatest cause of house fires in the UK was pissants coming home at 2 am, deciding to put the chip pan on then falling asleep.
..there's danger in them there dreaded fries.
PS I'm putting my hand up for the mayo & ketchup brigade. Mr Shrek's German side of the family got me hooked.
Posted by: Korbl | September 19, 2009 12:13 AM
Glad to occasionally hear stories of a government office doing it's job and not bungling. We need to hear this stuff more often.
Posted by: Sven DiMilo | September 19, 2009 12:17 AM
the fuck?
Posted by: Aquaria | September 19, 2009 12:20 AM
Don't cook your fries with too high of a heat folks. They will not be crunchy. They will actually be soggy with too high of heat, counterintuitive though that may seem.
Have you tried blanching them, then deep frying? This is how McDonald's gets that great texture with their fries. I tried this when I had to make fries at a cookout, and they turned out so well that, ever since then, people have asked me to make fries for them. The irony is that I'm so severely allergic to potatoes that someone must cut them up for me, and I have to handle the cooking with mitts on.
And then I don't even get to eat them!
Posted by: Ediacaran | September 19, 2009 12:27 AM
@25, Raven writes: "The trend here in the USA has been to pick up obviously deranged and potentially violent people and have them evaluated in a secure [psychiatric] lockup."
Clearly, you don't live in Texas. In Texas, they vote 'em into office, and when they're almost done trashing the state and setting record deficits, the GOP sends them off as a candidate at the Federal level. And we all know how well that works out.
Since Texas can't have multiple governors, and there are a multitude of right wingnuts, occasionally some have to be satisfied with titles like Vice Chair of the Texas GOP or Representative or Senator. http://www.tfn.org/site/DocServer/SORR_06_ReportWEB.pdf?docID=222
Posted by: BMS | September 19, 2009 12:27 AM
Crinkle fries dipped in bleu cheese dressing.
With lots of salt.
Mmm, mmm.
Posted by: WMDKitty | September 19, 2009 12:29 AM
For some reason, this thread made me hungry.
@PZ, way to go -- internet threats (and bullying, for that matter) are serious business, and I hope this Mabus guy is locked away for a good long time.
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
|
September 19, 2009 12:31 AM
Aquaria,
How do you blanch the potatoes? Just plunge the cut fries into boiling water for ten seconds?
Posted by: Doo Shabag | September 19, 2009 12:47 AM
Ketchup mixed with hot sauce. Sometimes regular tobasco, sometimes the jalapeno kind, sometimes something really spicy. Also good - ketchup mixed with mustard. Also, old bay sprinkled on top, then straight ketchup. And I vote for the tartar sauce option too. So many delicious ways to eat fries.
Posted by: F | September 19, 2009 12:49 AM
Aquaria @212
Absolutely - that is the best way to go. And wow, I feel for you. I've never heard of a potato allergy, but it sounds horrible.
'Tis Himself @ 216
It is basically a two-stage frying process. You deep-fry them until they just start to get a bit yellow. Just enough so that, if you were to leave them sit around, they wouldn't start to oxidize and turn funny colors. So let them sit, at least until they are cold. Then back to the fryer with 'em!
Posted by: JohnnieCanuck
|
September 19, 2009 12:49 AM
Tis...
Blanching as done at McDonalds in the '60s was to put the washed and drained chips in the same frier 'fat' but at a lower temperature setting. There would be much frothing for the allotted time and then the baskets would be set aside to cool. Part of the reason was to allow the correct amount of fat to soak into the centre of the fry.
Enough would be made in the morning to cover the predicted sales for the day. Any unused blanched baskets were put in the walk-in cooler for use the next day. The blanched potatoes don't turn that pink grey colour and were left at room temp until closing.
Progress caught up with on site preparation when they started blanching and freezing the potatoes at a central location and shipping them out to all the stores.
Baker's #1 potatoes were what we used. Don't take every last bit of peel off, for better flavour. At least that's what they told us.
Posted by: Rick R | September 19, 2009 12:52 AM
Hmmmmm, how best to cook french fries? It's a scientific question, so I went to the peer-reviewed literature-
Q: I have problems with homemade French fries being flimsy and not crispy when I prepare them in my deep fryer. Kim Anderson, Lakeland, FL
A: Generally, when you're frying anything, the most important thing to be aware of is the oil temperature. If the oil's too hot, then the fries will burn on the outside before cooking through on the inside; if it's too cold, they'll absorb too much oil and get soggy, not crispy.
To get that fluffy-on-the-inside-crispy-on-the-outside texture in your fries, you have a couple of options. First, you could cut the fries extra-thinly (like shoestring fries), so there's less inside to worry about. Or, if you have your heart set on thicker fries, the best way to cook them is Belgian-style: meaning twice-fried. First fry them at a lower temperature (about 325 degrees F) to cook the insides; then fry them at a higher temperature (about 375 degrees F) to crisp up the outsides. This also gives you the cook-ahead advantage — blanched (meaning once-cooked) fries can be held for up to a day and fried up when you're ready to serve them.
When you fry, be sure not to crowd the oil — the more food you add to the oil, the lower the temperature gets — cook in small batches. And, of course, for safety's sake, never fill the pot more than halfway.
- Food Network Kitchens
Posted by: The Pint | September 19, 2009 12:59 AM
Waffle fries with malt vinegar, a bit of crumbled feta & truffle salt, or alternately a good hot sauce, extra sharp cheddar and a dash of sea salt. Heaven. Never much cared for heavier condiments like ketchup or mayo. Although to be fair, I have yet to try the duckfat-fried french fries over at Hot Doug's on the northwest side of Chicago - I have heard they are rather delectable.
Posted by: Aquaria | September 19, 2009 1:06 AM
Tis:
It's probably about 10 seconds, but I'm not a "time" chef for most things. I'm a "how it looks" chef. I pretty much know how blanched stuff is supposed to look, but have the husband check the consistency by taste for me, to make sure the fries have the necessary crisp-tender consistency (Tip: Use about 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar per pound of taters for this particular use). Then I put them in the freezer for about 10-20 minutes. If I have time, I dunk them in ice water for about 10-20 minutes, blanch them again freeze them, then deep fry them.
I also blanch with a bit of sugar in the water, probably 1/2 a teaspoon for a few gallons. And I try to use a bit (maybe 1/4 cup) of lard or tallow in the oil. The animal fat tends to make the fries turn out better, for some reason.
And too much heat is murder, as mentioned up thread. 325 is pretty much the standard temp I've seen for this.
Posted by: eric | September 19, 2009 1:07 AM
If the cops can show up at FSMdude's house over a frackin cracker, they surely should spend some time checking in on Dennis Markuze.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mbT3OtOzro
Posted by: Doo Shabag | September 19, 2009 1:47 AM
@eric
Wow, that's messed up. The video is 10 minutes, and I see there is a part 2. Three minutes in, love the way he pronounces "wafer" . . . Is there a write up of this anywhere? I found a couple of articles, but nothing about police going to his house.
Posted by: Nominal Egg | September 19, 2009 1:58 AM
That sounds freakin' good! For some reason, I was imagining a biscuits-and-gravy type of stuff.Note to self: Visit Canada
Posted by: Nominal Egg | September 19, 2009 2:05 AM
I think someone's been reading Homer:
"Nobody threatened me on the Internet!"
(Of course, the commenter calling itself "nobody" is clearly a coward)
Posted by: Nostradamus | September 19, 2009 2:29 AM
Somewhere in the New World
Near one of the Great Lakes
An epic failure of sanity
breaks the brain of a man
Posted by: Nostradamus | September 19, 2009 2:33 AM
He rants and screams and curses
sounding like a syphilitic sailor
and shakes his tiny fist
calling down doom -- in vain.
Posted by: Nostradamus | September 19, 2009 2:40 AM
My friend the doctor of witchcraft
told me what to say. He said:
“Oo! Hui! Oo! Ah! Ah! Ting!
Tang! Voila! Voila! Bing! Bang!”
Posted by: Nostradamus | September 19, 2009 2:44 AM
The riddle of the ages
What do you get when you
multiply six by nine?
The answer is forty-two
Posted by: Skippy the Skeptic | September 19, 2009 2:46 AM
Dennis, buddy, your meds won't help if you don't take them :-3
Posted by: Nostradamus | September 19, 2009 2:49 AM
The crazed one gibbers and gabbles
vomiting forth nonsense again and again.
Does his brain not see how broken it is?
Only time will tell.
Posted by: Andy | September 19, 2009 2:57 AM
Sorry, but I'm new here. I was informed about this from a someone who spotted a trend.
Is this the same guy who has been posting diatribes about how Barak Obama is the Anti-Christ? If it is, he's been trolling our forum all week. The guy who keeps ranting how he is going to assassinate the "President, Barak Obama, the Evil One who was fortold"? (sic)
I sure hope the Secret Service are onto this this fucker, because he needs to be put away fast.
Posted by: Nostradamus | September 19, 2009 3:06 AM
Repeatedly shake the container
of love-apples which have been puréed.
At first naught shall happen
Then there will be a great flow.
Posted by: Gyeong Hwa Pak | September 19, 2009 3:08 AM
I feel pity for this man
Who is entrapped in his own mind.
Where fiery tales has leached
only to robbed him of his kind.
He knows not of our good health
for his senses has been erased.
He is driven by his hate
for which his heart it does replace.
Driven out by an old tale
and an apocalyptic lore
which serves to control his thoughts
in which his will becomes no more.
So he roams the night cafes
which all sense would then have deplored.
And sends wishes of death and sorrow,
to those who will reject his lore.
All because an ancient fairytale
do we now all wish "NO MORE!"
Oh I hope Cuttlefish don't mind that I'm stealing his thing. lol
Posted by: Nostradamus | September 19, 2009 3:15 AM
The lord and king of poets
is not a jealous god
But challenge him not to a face-off
for his face-tentacles are claw'd
Posted by: Jparenti | September 19, 2009 3:23 AM
Ah, shit. I didn't know the history of this guy, and replied to him by posting a smartass comment on the worm science fair project thread.
After a little research on him, I humbly apologize for feeding the troll and promise to pay more attention in the future. I assumed he was a harmless idiot, not a scary insane person.
Posted by: Nostradamus | September 19, 2009 3:28 AM
The cage rises like a mountain
Indeed a dome of thunder.
Now the chanting rises:
“Two men enter, one man leaves”
Posted by: gwen | September 19, 2009 4:00 AM
Now, can they do something about David Mabus?? He has half the bricks missing from his stack. He doesn't even TRY to hide his name. I think he is the most infamous troll on the internet! Can someone mainline him some meds PLEASE!! Psychotrophic preferably!
Posted by: Roameo | September 19, 2009 4:01 AM
this vile spam he's honour bound
to send us through the wires
he's taken to heart the fox news theme
of message multipliers
from depeche mode to deadly threats
he'll hardly change his style
and at each change, his nom de plume
gets fed to my killfile.
I doubt cuttlefish is at any risk of being knocked off his throne. but this is fun
Posted by: gwen | September 19, 2009 4:04 AM
aha!! that idiot David Mabus IS Dennis Markuze!! It is beginning to make sense!!!
Posted by: Gyeong Hwa Pak | September 19, 2009 4:08 AM
@ Gwen
I don't think any civilian should try to convince this guy to take his meds. His ups and downs are getting more sporadic, not the type you'd want to approach. A good thing he's on police profiles now. You should have been here when he started to issue individual death threats to commentators. It was more annoying than scary though.
IMO, straightjacket then meds. lol
Posted by: Matt Penfold | September 19, 2009 4:15 AM
Mayo is good with chips, but if you add crushed garlic it becomes even better.
Posted by: Ichthyic | September 19, 2009 4:24 AM
... lesbians beat out bacon.
hmmmm....
outed lesbians beat bacon.
better.
Posted by: CW | September 19, 2009 4:33 AM
And geography. Hister is another name for the Danube/Donau River, as Nostradamus makes clear:
Posted by: AnonymousNut | September 19, 2009 5:21 AM
John Sterns is diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder (a co-diagnosis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder), chronic depression and chronic anxiety. He describes a lifetime of fighting demons ...
I. I hear voices (“auditory hallucinations”, technically). They come from all directions and fill my mind with hateful, self-destructive demands. One comes from above the crown of my head and commands, “You must die”. Another rests on my left shoulder and says, “You should be dead”. A third whispers insidiously into my left ear, “Kill yourself”.
But the most persistent and long-standing of my voices, which began when I was eight years old, pounds on my left shoulder like a jackhammer, repeating, “I hate myself. I hate myself. I hate myself. I hate myself. I hate myself. I hate myself. I hate myself. I hate myself.” It never ends. My response to this particular voice was to develop a permanent cringe in my right shoulder. I am now spending thousands of dollars to correct compressed discs in my neck that have caused me chronic pain for nearly 30 years.
Before my treatment, hospitalisations and incarcerations, these voices were all separate and distinct, with individual sounds, tones, rhythms and pitches. Now they are one voice--my voice. Once a chorus, they have become a soloist, though attacking me with the same message. Treatment has meant that I have finally found a “self”, a “me”, after four decades. But the me I’ve discovered is now my enemy.
II. Not all voices are demonic. I once met a man who heard happy voices. I was walking down the hall of the locked ward in the hospital’s inpatient facility (“Club Head”, we called it) and a young man with dark curly hair approached me, staring into space, smiling, giggling, laughing. He turned his head to whisper to someone who was obviously not there. We passed each other and I heard him chuckle and say, “That’s very funny.” I knew he wasn’t talking to me–I hadn’t said or done anything–and I knew he was psychotic (I recognised the symptoms). At dinner that night I asked my roommate about the young man. “Oh, that’s Kevin," he answered. "He hears happy voices.”
I immediately hated Kevin. I have been tormented with psychosis and delusions since I was four years old. To meet someone decades later who apparently relished the very same symptoms that have haunted me all of my life felt unfair, an abomination. I avoided Kevin. When I did run into him I wished him the worst voices--the kind that would finally push him over the edge. I wanted him to fall into the endless pit of suffering and pain where I have spent nearly every day of the last 40 years. This is wrong, I know, but I do not yet understand how to be both crazy and compassionate.
III. During one hospital stay, we were encouraged to use art to express how we felt about ourselves, our illnesses, our pasts and futures. As a child I hated art classes. I was a disaster: my chronic anxiety led to constant sweating, which caused paints, pens, crayons and coloured papers to smear my young face, hands and clothing. The result was often a sickly green-grey mess, a melted miasma. By the third grade I received a free pass from all art classes through the remainder of my school years.
Art therapy required me to sit around a table with seven other inmates and a social worker, and stare at a blank piece of paper and a torn box of broken crayons. I didn’t want to draw anything. In fact, I didn’t want to think about my illness--not my past, my present and certainly not my future. After an hour the social worker announced that art therapy was done and we had to hand in our work. I turned in my blank sheet of paper and walked to the cafeteria for lunch. I told myself I had made an existential statement. Blank was as good as it gets.
The next day brought another art therapy session and once again I turned in a blank sheet of white paper. That afternoon I was called to meet with the social worker who guarded the art therapy class.
“John,” she began ominously, “you are failing art therapy.”
I misheard her, clearly. How can one fail art therapy?
“Unless you make more of an effort,” she continued gravely, “you will not pass. You will not be released.”
The conversation was obviously over.
I returned to my bedroom and considered this exchange. Being called a failure did not surprise me. I am a failure--that I already knew. It was the "You will not be released" part that grabbed my attention. I wanted to be released. Club Head has its advantages: shelter, a bed, meals and the suspension of disbelief for all the problems I've caused, the troubles I face, and the remorse, disappoinment, disgust and fear I will feel for hurting others. But I missed my wife and son, so I resolved to make more of an effort during art therapy over the next few days.
So I draw. And draw, and draw some more. Colours fill the pages and I am the most prolific crazy art-therapy inmate ever to grace the hospital floor. Over the next two days I draw and colour geometric shapes, which I had calculated would be safely "meaningful". My favourite drawing was a rough outline of the state of Alaska that I call “All-I-Ask-Ya”. It has the city “Nome” plotted on the map.
But at the end of each class, I felt sad. The drawings meant nothing to me. I was not using art to express myself. I didn't even know what that meant.
After three days I was told that I had passed art therapy and would be moved to the open ward. A victory. I didn’t tell them that I still had auditory, visual and kinesthetic hallucinations, paranoid delusions and daily thoughts of suicide. That would mess things up.
(John Sterns lives with his family in California, takes five psychotropic medications daily and works as the marketing manager for a leading American commercial real-estate brokerage firm.)
Posted by: John Morales | September 19, 2009 5:30 AM
AnonymousNut, fascinating!
Did you source it from here?
Posted by: AnonymousNut | September 19, 2009 5:49 AM
Yes. I thought maybe this thread needed some balance.
I have type One Bipolar disorder. Life can be pretty rough when your brain is broken.
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
|
September 19, 2009 6:01 AM
McDonalds adds lard to their deep-frying oil to give a "beefy" flavor to their fries.
Thank you, Aquaria, for divulging your secret receipe for making french fries (or pommes frites if you're in Guyane Française).
Posted by: Jeff S | September 19, 2009 6:14 AM
This world would be a better place if there was a lot less crazy.
Posted by: Rorschach | September 19, 2009 6:18 AM
Or Germany.
Posted by: John Morales | September 19, 2009 6:29 AM
[meta]
AnonymousNut,
Yikes.
I can't imagine how hard it must be to disregard your feelings and perceptions and consciously apply your intellect to try to sort out what's real, on an ongoing basis.
Posted by: Major Kong | September 19, 2009 7:05 AM
I've found that duck fat makes for the best tasting french fries.
Posted by: Louis | September 19, 2009 7:06 AM
AnonymousNut:
You have both my profound sympathies and admiration. I know it's a side issue to this thread, and this Mabus character clearly needs help*, but prejudice and stigma about mental health must be challenged. Good on you.
Louis
*Incarceration, hospitalisation, visits from Mounties/Cops etc can all be part of that help. Law enforcement coupled to an informed and compassionate healthcare system is not an oxymoron.
Posted by: SEF | September 19, 2009 7:16 AM
Arrr! They'll be needin' a different kind o' treasure map to be a-findin' all the scurviest nuts among the land-lubbers afore they be runnin' amok.
Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | September 19, 2009 7:32 AM
Go the whole way and make potatoes à la Sarladaise: in slices, fried in duck fat and with lots of herbs. Delicious! Snacktacular! Available in supermarkets here in Paris, frozen.
It does. You made a typo or something, and SB is merciless.
Posted by: Louis | September 19, 2009 7:59 AM
@ JeffS #252:
So we'll just round up anyone who has had an incidence of clinical depression, anyone who is a "bit odd", gay people and hysterical women (for 'twas not so long ago that these "conditions" were deemed "CRAZY") and do what? How do we lessen the "crazy" in the world? Concentration camps? Maybe just drugging "crazy" people into insensibility and keeping them out of the way of "normal" people?
Even if I don't take your comment as having that implication, which let's be frank it quite probably doesn't, the world would be a better place with less crazy? Less Byron? Less Jimi Hendrix? Less Stephen Fry? Les Van Gogh? Less..... you get my point.
Define "crazy"? For every Marcuze/Mabus making an arse of himself on the web (and generally being a law breaking, death threat making pain in the backside) there are quite literally hundreds of thousands of people suffering in relative silence. Suffering in a stew comprised of healthcare systems that are only just realising the extent and seriousness of mental illness (this applies pretty much internationally) and are woefully ill-equipped/under funded for dealing with the problem, medical technology and clinical techniques in their relative infancy compared to therapies for other diseases, a healthy dose of social stigma*, and finally the very piece of "equipment" they need to rely on to get themselves out of this predicament (their brain) is the very thing that is functioning in a very unhelpful manner.
These people are your friends and neighbours. Your family and loved ones. Your coworkers, the people you pass in the street. These people are "crazy". Millions of them. Millions more have episodes of "crazy" at some point in their lives. Yet more millions suffer undiagnosed. Even more millions suffer under the illusion that their "crazy" is actually "normal". Just like their is no platonic ideal of "health" there is no platonic ideal of "mental health". No one is healthy, we are all varying degrees of sick. Or perhaps no one is sick, we are all varying degrees of healthy. Either way there is no grand chasm separating the two, only a gradual spectrum.
"Crazy" is bred into us. Taking just bipolar disorder as an example, there is a wealth of data demonstrating its multigenetic basis. A propensity to bipolar disorder is at least as inherited (and heritable) a trait as a propensity for type two diabetes mellitus (for example). Both diseases have a strong heritable component, both diseases are strongly affected by environment. Both diseases exhibit a wide spectrum of severity.
Modern psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience effortlessly cast great doubt on our preconceptions about the mind and mental health. How do you know you are not "crazy"? Try give me an answer that a crazy person cannot or would not give me.
Louis
* Don't believe me? One tiny, trivial, simple demonstration: when was the last time you heard anyone call someone a "cancer patient" (or some cognate thereof) as an insult? When was the last time time you heard anyone call someone a "nutter" (or some cognate thereof) as an insult?
Posted by: Nicolas Keller | September 19, 2009 8:22 AM
@46 yubal
thats exactly why i first called poe on him.
Posted by: John Morales | September 19, 2009 8:58 AM
Louis,
I'm reminded of Xenocide, by Orson Scott Card¹.
Specifically Han Qing-jao, who, though a genius, is bound through OCD by machinations of the power-that-be.
To transcend one's genetic legacy speaks of the superhuman.
--
¹ before he went off the rails! :(
Posted by: MikeMa | September 19, 2009 9:37 AM
Louis,
You may have gone a wee bit over the top based on JeffS' wish for a saner world. It was a simple reaction to the Canadian loon who is threatening PZ and others. He skimmed the surface as many of us did when using the term crazy. You dove deep into the very complex world of clinical crazy while we were just referring to the obvious insanity that is DM.
There is no doubt that many of the quirks we carelessly label as crazy might range from interesting and creative to cruel and dangerous. That is one big umbrella and there are not many here capable of sorting out, at the removed distance of the internet, what is actually going on around that remote keyboard. DM appears to have dangerous crazy. In this time of our world, that is enough to react as PZ and many of us did - to wish him and those like him gone.
Posted by: Louis | September 19, 2009 10:05 AM
@ John Morales #261:
I'm not sure it's possible to transcend, I'm very sure it's possible to manage, to ameliorate, to cope. But to go beyond the physical cards one has been dealt? Not so sure. It's certainly possible to act in a way, to interact with one's environment in such a way, that no discernible handicap exists. Mind you I suspect we mean the same thing and I'm just playing with words. ;-)
In fact some people would argue that specific mental "illnesses" (hypomania, cyclothymia for example) can be a distinct advantage. Using bipolar disorder* again as an example I'll get the obvious caveat right out the way now: Clearly, this is a) not universally the case for one person, nor b) universally the case for all people. By which I mean that an individual with bipolar disorder is not always going to find their illness to be beneficial to them, and not all individuals with bipolar disorder will find their illness to be beneficial to them in any way.
I've seen reams of testimony from people with bipolar disorder who tout the joys of hypomania. The hours of superb productivity, the creativity, the rapidity of thought, the (to use Kay Redfield Jamison's term) exuberance. We would genuinely be without/still waiting for many of our most treasured works of art and scientific ideas without the existence of hypomania.
Don't worry, I'm not heading rapidly off down the Star Child route! I don't believe mental illness grants superpowers or makes one an X Man style superhuman mutant. I'm just mentioning that mental illness is not always "bad".
Tragically, I have also seen reams of testimony from people whose lives have been destroyed. Families torn apart by suicide. People who have dealt with stigma, even hatred, upon their admission of having the disease. Lives ended. Potential unrealised. I'm just mentioning that mental illness is not always "good".
This is why I want to know what "less crazy" would entail. For example, for a variety of reasons much too long to go into in any great detail, it isn't always obvious that "crazy" is always bad (as mentioned above). To paraphrase one of Bill Hicks' comments on drugs: If you want to get rid of crazy then you better go home and throw out a lot of your good albums because those guys were real fucking nuts!
Linking this to a theme from another thread (the merits of curiosity, and the funding of art and science etc, i.e. that we don't know in advance those things which are going to be good/fruitful) and a more generally Pharyngula friendly theme of genes and evolution: We don't (yet) know that those genes/geneplexes which are "responsible for" (forgive the leaden shorthand) various mental illnesses are not vital to other aspects of our functioning. Genes/geneplexes which influence tendencies for intellect and creativity, for example, are likely casualties of a genetic/eugenic war on mental illness. Until we progress to a point where we are engineering genes for novel function and can do so confidently predicting no adverse consequences (Your breath. Don't hold it)
Ach! I seem to have leapt onto my high hobby horse and am riding around tilting at both giants and windmills! And mixing metaphors without a licence! Mind you, anything that contributes strongly to the global burden of disease in the way mental illness does is not to be lightly dismissed.
Louis
*It's the one I'm most familiar with, hence why I keep referring to it, I'm working on a drug treatment for it at the moment and have read around the subject quite a bit. For anyone who is seriously interested, Kay Redfield Jamison's "Manic Depressive Illness: Bipolar Disorder and Recurrent Depression" is a stand out review of what is known about the disease. It's big, pricy-ish and technical, but stunningly useful. Even to a synthetic chemist/medicinal chemist like me. Everyone should own a copy! ;-)
Posted by: F | September 19, 2009 10:20 AM
Anonymous Nut:
More power to you. I know plenty of people with bipolar disorders, schizoaffective disorder, and various syndromes of schizophrenia. It can be rough, especially when doctors can't find the right combination of meds that will help without breaking your mind in some other way (if at all).
Louis:
There is "crazy", and there are mental disorders, and these are sometimes overlapping magisteria, to steal a phrase. Most of the people with brain issues do want it to stop, or mostly stop. Nothing wrong with that. And I'm not entirely sure Jeff is conflating these two things. Your point is well-taken, though.
Posted by: Louis | September 19, 2009 10:25 AM
@ MikeMa #260:
A wee bit over the top? A WEE BIT? FUCK YOU! I went a SHITLOAD over the top! ;-)
Sorry, couldn't resist!
Yeah, you're probably right, and I certainly don't disagree that less Mabus at Pharyngula is a Good Thing (TM). I have a real and persistent annoyance at the knee-jerk "nutter" label, and the attitudes behind it, though. Mabus/Markuze needs help. Part of that help, I have no doubt, will involve some species of law enforcement sitting on him relatively heavily and perhaps even sectioning him (with the aid of doctors + social workers etc) for a while.
"The world would be a better place with less crazy." "A saner world would be a better place." These are things I can't agree with, however casually tossed off the fingers onto a Pharyngula thread. They don't even pass a casual first examination, let alone anything detailed. Less crazy in the world =/= less Mabus at Pharyngula.
Louis
Posted by: debg | September 19, 2009 10:29 AM
This is as good a place as any to ask this:
It's obvious that mental health disorders are common throughout our species (my brother suffers from OCD and bi-polar disorder, my sister from SAD and depression, my uncle from bi-polar disorder) with a strong hereditary factor. My question is, is there any explanation offered through evolution/natural selection as to why this is?
Posted by: Louis | September 19, 2009 10:43 AM
Just to clarify:
JeffS, sorry if I came over all harsh about what I am (relatively) sure was a throw away remark. Casually expressed, casually meant. Blame it on too many Dog's Noses last night (see Stanley the Barnacle thread for details). Or rather the lack of too many Dog's Noses, or something! Itchy trigger finger syndrome has been caused by me sitting at this sodding desk trying to do some sodding work whilst distracting myself with Pharyngula. Mea culpa.
I have thrown around the "nutter" epithet, and similar insults, myself. Frequently. I'm FAR from innocent. I've casually used terms like crazy etc all over the shop. I definitely cannot criticise from any position of superiority, moral or otherwise. Mean maxima culpa.
None of that takes away from the points I was trying to make, but just maybe they didn't need to be made quite that forcefully.
Louis
Posted by: Susan | September 19, 2009 11:06 AM
My French friend claims that the very best pommes frites served in the finest French restaurants are fried in a special mixture of horse and sheep fat. For some (legal) reason, you can't get that here.Posted by: co | September 19, 2009 11:28 AM
Stephen Fry's "Secret Life of a Manic Depressive" documentary on BBC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nXgZlvjkAo
I must warn you that you'll likely watch all 11 parts (nearly two hours).
Posted by: BdN | September 19, 2009 12:33 PM
Nominal Egg:
Well, even if, as Richard Smith pointed out, beef-based gravy is sometimes used, AJ Milne is right : the "real" one is made with chicken (or turkey, sometimes veal...). Beef is just too heavy. And it definitely needs pepper. But there are plenty of variations. For example, Au Pied de Cochon adds foie gras, while La Banquise serves up to 25 different kinds, including Poutine Pizza.
The most popular ones are italian poutine, smoked-meat poutine and, of course, poutine with bacon!!!
Posted by: BdN | September 19, 2009 12:41 PM
Forgot : La Banquise's poutine clinched the fourth spot on the Travel & Leisure magazine "Global Top 5 Best Snacks Under $5", along with soup noodles from Hong Kong and duck-fat fries from Chicago.
And the Sens got beaten up by Montreal...
Posted by: Nemo | September 19, 2009 12:50 PM
Sure, nothing easier. Like the rest of the body, the brain is not designed, but cobbled together out of spare parts. There's a lot of natural variation, and no standard template. Sanity is defined only by consensus. Some people just deviate more from the average than others.
Posted by: BdN | September 19, 2009 1:02 PM
And there are plenty of studies about this subject. Just google "evolutionary origins of mental illness".
Posted by: jwelch@bynkii.com | September 19, 2009 1:03 PM
Aww, aren't squab cute when they screech and shit all over them selves.
Posted by: john C. Welch | September 19, 2009 1:06 PM
Autofill FAIL! Doh!
Posted by: Doo Shabag | September 19, 2009 1:16 PM
@Nemo
I don't think it is quite that simple - I'd go further and say that, in the case of multigenic disorders, the individual genes are likely to have some selective pressure in their favor and it is only in combination that they become "problematic". We see this even in single gene disorders like sickle cell anemia - where one copy of the gene confers some level of malaria resistence, while having two copies causes the disease.
And I put problematic in quotes, because it is hard to say if there was an advantage to having some percentage of the population with these disorders in the past. And there is probably some advantage to having some people with mild forms of some mental disorders today.
I don't recall where I heard about it, but there was a study recently of chimps. Apparently every troop has some antisocial members who hang out at the periphery and seem somewhat depressed - I don't recall all of the details. At any rate, the scientists took all of the antisocial chimps away from the troop to see what would happen. Within a short period of time, a month or so iirc, all of the remaining chimps were dead. The theory is that these antisocial members serve as a form of sentry - they sleep poorly and are more likely to notice predators and other threats to the troop. Without them, the troop can not survive.
Posted by: Policy Merchant | September 19, 2009 2:04 PM
How long has Markuze been spamming blogs and forums with his nonsensical ramblings anyways?
Posted by: BdN | September 19, 2009 2:10 PM
The first ones I saw were 1995, so around 14 years. But he didn't make death threats back then.
Posted by: Louis | September 19, 2009 2:57 PM
@ Debg #264:
I take it you mean "why do mental disorders persist and are common in our species?" or something like that?
I'll establish my more pluralist credentials right away by saying that there doesn't need to be any "why?" in the sense of "for what purpose?". These diseases could easily be artefacts of genes/geneplexes that do have some adaptive benefit (i.e. things that produce phenotypes of high intellect, creativity, extrovert tendencies etc) but are not "selected for" themselves. The flip side of that coin is that, for example hypomania, could genuinely serve a useful adaptive purpose (increased productivity, exuberance etc) we are after all a social species.
There's also a good body of evidence that shows these diseases, and certainly the severity of them, are tied to seasonal changes. So again, a series of regulatory genes/geneplexes that deal with other apparently unrelated bodily functions seem to be involved in the disease.
To take one example, there is some evidence to suggest that migrant populations have a higher incidence of bipolar disorder (and I mean ALL migrant populations here, what are now "white anglo-saxon Americans" were once migrants to the American continent. This is not quasi-racism hidden behind some clever or not so clever scientific façade). The risk taking, challenging behaviour associated with mania/hypomania being something that intrepid, first immigrants would have positively benefited from. However, I think that looking at these diseases/causes of these diseases simply as potential adaptations is likely to be a red herring though.
"Why" in the sense of "why do they persist?", again, they might persist as consequences of genes/geneplexes that code for other phenotypes that do have an adaptive benefit. Speaking purely hypothetically let's imagine that the geneplex that produces (in the absence of other contributory factors) high intellect gives someone a 1 in 100 chance of developing bipolar disorder. Considering the survival advantages of high intellect, it's easy to see how the disease might persist. Also, there could be a sexual selection element. Outgoing, extroverted, exuberant people tend to do well in the grand business of getting laid! Again, it's a complex phenomenon that is definitely in need of more study. I'm also running from memory here, so forgive my vague answers and gaps in knowledge.
Sorry if this is a bit long and vague, but it's a huge topic and I can't really do it justice in a single post. I'd recommend the Kay Redfield Jamison book I mention upthread for the technical/clinical look at bipolar disorder and her other more accessible books for a personal/social view of the disease. Other than that I can't think of anything that you can't google in 20 seconds for the general topic.
Louis
Posted by: davem | September 19, 2009 3:08 PM
The best way with chips (French fries to you lot) is with garlic mayonnaise. Slightly better than cheese, in my humble opinion. Cheese is good, though, but should be grated over the chips, and then put under a grill. But the big killer is that you must eat them with a bacon roll. Scrumptilicious. Served by lesbians, natch.
Posted by: Pharyngulette | September 19, 2009 4:42 PM
Why is it that when I sit and browse through these threads for a while, I find myself opening new tabs and searching for bacon-based meals, or fried-potatoes and other high-fat recipes, hmmm?
Evil. You people are evil.
Posted by: Sgt. Obvious | September 19, 2009 5:26 PM
For those of you who don't follow PZ's twitter, for whatever reason, there's a brief series of posts that seem very appropriate here:
I confess to playing an evil game. I sometimes tweak my spam filters to hit up common words in Dennis Markuze's comments...
...and then I watch the comments database as he frantically posts and posts, trying to figure out what is tripping the trigger.
Then I kill the range of IP addresses for the internet cafe he's sitting at...I can make him get up and move to a new cafe.
It's like having a psychotic and rather stupid remote-controlled puppet.
By the way, it takes him on average 2 minutes to compose a spam post. He does it in roughly half-hour sessions at each IP.
Posted by: SQB (fuck death)
|
September 19, 2009 5:30 PM
That's evil. I like it.
Posted by: Rolan le Gargéac | September 19, 2009 5:50 PM
R. Schauer #114
No they won't. The RCMP are overweight, over imaged, testosterone filled pillocks. The real police may pay attention but I doubt it.
Posted by: MikeM | September 20, 2009 3:38 AM
Dammit, I go away from the computer for Furlough Friday (I had a great bike ride with my work-buddy Phil... Yay!), and miss the party completely.
Damn, damn, damn. Blame our Republican governor.
You did the right thing, PZ.
Look nervously over your shoulder, Markuze. Keep looking. Nope, not doin' it enough.
You're gonna get caught, Markuze. I think you're way too dumb to get away with this. You know you can be charged with hundreds of counts now, right? Good! So... Was that last door closing just a cab, or was it the door on a police car? Hard to tell, ain't it, dimbulb?
Posted by: F | September 20, 2009 4:37 AM
"pzdim"
OK. How exactly are you going to accomplish this thing? Can we also have a list of everything you plan on shutting down, or on which you shall be pulling said plug? You know - a full exposition of this plan, all in one place, just so we can understand we're dealing with.
'Cause I really haven't seen any of this "all over the internet". And so far, what I've seen, even if it were posted all over the internet, is not going to shut websites and communities down. Will these posts, once they are all in the proper locations, form a sort of meta-incantation? There is much amusement made of calling Cthulhu, but you - perhaps you mean to immanentize the eschaton?
I'm listening.
Posted by: AnonymousNut | September 20, 2009 5:27 AM
Thank you to those people who posted positive replies to my input.
Although I too was annoyed and a maybe a bit reactionary regarding DM's trolling here (my bad) I also know enough to feel some empathy with his personal distress. I hope he gets to a stage where, even if he feels this board is wrong, he can maybe ignore it, or if he must post, do so more calmly and without being attacked by forum groupies, like some form of circling and rather bored piranhas.
I actually post here a bit under a different alias, so it may be a bit strange for folks to interact with someone who admits to a major psychiatric disorder (type one bipolar affective disorder, with rapid cycling, plus generalised anxiety disorder, following on from early onset PTSD to add a few labels) but still posts normal and non-troll stuff, er, I hope.
PZ does a great and very brave job in espousing the truth as he sees it. I agree with most of what he says and I admire him, his views and especially his courage very much (e-hug here). Being something of a target for nutters, let alone rabid fools who in their heart of hearts know they are wrong in their beliefs and are scared shitless of losing their moral compass and facing oblivion, is way beyond my poor degree of social bravery...except in person. Funnily enough, like many mentally ill people, I am pretty fearless when my family is confronted.
Losing one's faith late in life must be so terrifying....and we, as a non-theistic bunch, have really done rather little in helping people make that leap of un-faith.
Douglas Adam's talking about his nice garden without the fairies does not cut it when someone who loved a god and had some hope is finally persuaded that the universe may well be a great deal more uncaring.
Add mental health issues to that equation (or do they often interact?) and life can be rather more painful than is worth bearing at times.
Rambling here, but, to those who espouse what this board stands for...three cheers. For those who are revolted or worse, scared to their core. Buck up, worse things happen at sea. ;-)
Or in the minds of poor sods like me, who battle demons that are truly false.
Hell can be a relief, so fuck off with your threats of fire and brimstone.
Posted by: morgantj
|
March 30, 2010 3:33 PM
He has been dropping some garbage on my site too. Thanks for reporting him to the authorities.
Posted by: Bing
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April 9, 2010 9:16 PM
This turd blossom has been strewing his leavings all over my site. It's like he does nothing else.
Pathetic.
HJ
Posted by: theflyingtrilobite
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April 11, 2010 11:17 AM
At least he's getting some culture. He keeps spamming my atheist-science-art blog.
Posted by: skepticaljew
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April 24, 2010 5:31 PM
I have just "discovered" this lunatic, as he has been repeatedly posting his mouth-diarrhea about "the really SHARP END OF OCCAM’S RAZOR" on my blog ever since I made the mistake of replying to him on John Loftus’s blog Debunking Christianity, not knowing at the time that he has been posting the very same discharge all over the Web for at least a year. Since then, I have done some Googling and discovered from pages like this one that I am one among a quite sizable number of victims. Apparently, he is proud of his formulation, since he just keeps pasting it up! Does anyone know of a way to block a specific person from posting on one's blog on Blogger.com?
Posted by: mariellegk
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May 16, 2010 11:38 AM
He's been on to my blog, brightnepenthe.com, and that of several friends, including friends' blogs which don't even deal with atheism. PZ did you ever hear anything further? Because he's not just posting from Canada, he's also posting from a US based ISP.
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Posted by: StevoR
|
January 4, 2011 9:45 AM
And Dennis Markuze is still threateneing people with death & extermination on the net today - for example here :
& again here :
http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2011/01/tf-im-gonna-take-you-by-surprise-and-make-you-realize.html?cid=6a00d8341c582a53ef0148c74ca979970c#comment-6a00d8341c582a53ef0148c74ca979970c
Just in case anyone's wondering if this is stillgoing on &/or you need more examples. Given Flying sardines is an Aussie I don't think there's any serious danger.