Matthew who?

Apparently, I was challenged by some functional illiterate who demanded that I address some unstated complaint by 5:30 today, or I will "forever be cast as having no credibility." , and accusing me of hiding some "skeletons".

Those skeletons aren't mine, they're the department's, and really, they're right out in plain sight. I do have a few bones of my own in my office, but they're all fossilized, and tens of millions of years old — I have an alibi!

I think I'll let that deadline slide on by.


Holy crap. This Matthew guy has finally spelled out the shocking revelation, the horrific skeleton in my closet, the disturbing fact that he was demanding I admit.

Brace yourselves. My credibility is going to be a shambles after this.

The horrible, terrible, no good wicked fact that I've concealed is … that I'm going to be in the Expelled movie!

Seriously. That's it.

The tidbit was that PZ was in the movie. This was news to me and hence reported as such. I'm a bit surprised that it did not come out during the escapades in January but c'est la vie I guess.

Wow. That is some world-class stupid. It's been all over Pharyngula, but perhaps he doesn't read this site; but it's also been all over the Expelled movie site. We've been talking about this since around August, and now, in the last weeks of February, a small squeaky voice pipes up to say, "I got you now Myers, you're in that movie, ha haaaa!", and the sad little gomer acts as if he's made an astonishing discovery.

Tags

More like this

The producers of Expelled have spent a couple of days sweating over damage control, I guess. They've shut down or delayed all the pending screenings of their movie, and now they've issued a remarkably dishonest press release. The mendacity is astonishing in its scope; somebody tell me, is this "…
Randy Olson doesn't like you. He says some very harsh things about the science blogs readership on the Skepticality podcast — you guys are all just so darn mean to him. This is all very unfortunate, because he does have some good things to say, but he's also taking disagreement very personally, and…
(How do I know that it is a bad idea to say anything about this. Oh well. Here goes.) ScienceBlogs regulars will know that last week there was a tiny incident involving a prescreening of the movie Expelled! -- a documentary starring Ben Stein purporting to expose the exclusion of pro-Intelligent…
The New York Times has weighed in, and they contacted the producers of Expelled…and what do you know, they're still scrambling to find a credible story. They haven't succeeded yet. Mark Mathis, a producer of the film who attended the screening, said that "of course" he had recognized Dr. Dawkins,…

He's probably just in a bad mood because his favourite cartoon channel keeps showing that unfeasibly offensive and holocaust-supprting "Wacky Races" program.

I want to own fossils too. That sounds SO COOL!

I LOVE it when little lap dogs fake being tough and run around yipping some threats thinking they found a bad bone on you. It makes them think they are big and strong.

Give it a kick!

I'd quit linking to the guy. He admits in his post that he was very happy with the increase in readership the last time around -- he's just poking at a big fish and hoping for some free advertising/increased visibility because of it.

On an entirely unrelated note, please someone buy this man a spellcheck.

By Chuck Morrison (not verified) on 19 Feb 2008 #permalink

My comment will probably get moderated(deleted) so I'll post it here. Also I agree with #4, he's loving it when his readership literally explodes because of the Pharyngulites.

--
Maybe you should try reading the founding documents for yourself and see how devoid of religion, god, and your precious jesus they really are. Go read them all. When you can come back here and tell me with a straight face that the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence all read like a chick tract or a Sunday school sermonette, you can start tossing around bullshit about there being no separation of church and state. The fact of the matter is that these documents lack a religious tone. The constitution lacks the word God completely. In our Bill of Rights, there is mention of a God but it is in a more deistic sense, definitely not the Abrahamic God.

The founders of this nation knew that we didn't stand a chance if we left it up to religions to get along, or to control the government. The simple truth is that religions don't get along, you all hate each other. You see each other as infidels. 60,000 denominations of Christians in the world, and you all think the other people down the street are doing it wrong, and they're the ones going to hell. You're told to "love thy neighbor" but you can't, cause their Southern Baptist, or Lutheran, or Methodist, or Catholic, or Presbyterian. You're all batshit insane. I'm fucking elated that your kind are kept in check by the 1st amendment. Your 1600 year old book has no relevance to modern day life, so STFU and read (actually read them Matthew) some modern texts and maybe you'll learn something you Dolt.

"when his readership literally explodes"

ARRRRRGH.

OK, I did not sleep so I know I could be lost here, but is this guy saying he has something on PZ that, if PZ does not fess-up by 5:30, he is going to release it to the world and forever ruin the reputation of PZ?

Now my half-sleeping brain can't get the images of PZ, a squid, and a reach-around, out of it...

"when his readership literally explodes"

ARRRRRGH

We can only hope.

Matthew is a great illustration of the obsessive focus on a set of arcane 'truths', defended against all evidence and propped up with a circular reasoning and misunderstood 'factoids' like the full title of Origin, that drives a lot of contemporary right-wing thought--somehow the John Birch society went metastatic and spread through the U.S. body politic to the point where its insanity is now an accepted form of discourse. It's a fascinating kind of mental malfunction --Xtian paranoia with commies under the bed and conspiring scientists out to destroy civilization has gone mainstream. Who could deny its attraction for armchair macho warriors eager to display their heroic qualities? It's way more entertaining than any kind of reasonable discussion could possibly be. Hence (obviously) its success in 'news' programming and talk radio. Sadly, and frighteningly, many people do it the disservice of taking it seriously.

By Bryson Brown (not verified) on 19 Feb 2008 #permalink

This guy looks like he needs to meet John A. Davison, post-haste.

By wÓÒ† (not verified) on 19 Feb 2008 #permalink

This guy looks like he needs to meet John A. Davison, post-haste.

I'm almost wondering if this guy is John A. Davidson using a "cunning" disguise. The writing style seems similar to me and the paranoia is certainly there. Anyone else got any thoughts?

By Lilly de Lure (not verified) on 19 Feb 2008 #permalink

*LMAO*

He says YOU need to meet HIS deadline, for something that HE has a problem with?

I'd counter. I'd give him until the same amount of time to read and assimilate Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style" and DQ Mcinerny's "Being Logical", then to clearly state his complaint and provide an argument to back it up, lest he be forever considered an irrelevant wacko and complete waste of time.

To paraphrase Milhouse Van Houten: ridicule is a form of attention.

Dunc said:

ridicule is a form of attention.

True, but given how much (and how entertainingly) they scream and yell whenever they receive it I'm guessing it's the kind cdesign proponentsists least enjoy.

So let's sock it to 'em.

By Lilly de Lure (not verified) on 19 Feb 2008 #permalink

zero @ 5: In our Bill of Rights, there is mention of a God but it is in a more deistic sense, definitely not the Abrahamic God.

Huh? Are you perhaps referring to the "creator" allusion in the Declaration of Independence?

Bryson Brown @ 10: It's a fascinating kind of mental malfunction --Xtian paranoia with commies under the bed and conspiring scientists out to destroy civilization has gone mainstream.

I've heard it speculated that the Fox show "X Files" was launched with exactly that sort of subversive goal in mind - and that "24" serves the same function regarding the Constitution (as well as leading the way to mainstream commercialization of torture porn). [For the record: I have never seen a second of either show.]

By Pierce R. Butler (not verified) on 19 Feb 2008 #permalink

I have a deadline that all of you should send me $1000 each by midnight tonight, or I will be very cross with the whole bunch of yah...

Give him until 4:00 to back off, and if he doesn't, tell him you will curse him with bad luck.

Then, when he inevitably misses his bus or drops his toast on the floor or something, you can take credit for it.

@Grand Moff Texan:

Canadian.

#16: BIG DOH! You caught my mid-morning haze brainfart! I was indeed intending to refer to the Declaration of Independence:

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Curse the few fleeting hours of rest I get every night, and curse my neglect to proofread.

Want fossils? Some lovely, cheap, pocket-and-jewelry-sized specimens are on eBay today... to start your search, use, say, "orthoceras," or "fossil amber," "fossil stone," or "fossil coral." You get the idea.

By speedwell (not verified) on 19 Feb 2008 #permalink

I do have a few bones of my own in my office

You probably also have a few bones of your own in your body, unless you have finally achieved that long-desired dream of cephalopodicity.

To paraphrase Milhouse Van Houten: ridicule is a form of attention.

Do also realize that Milhouse Van Houten is a milksop who has a fatal allergy to dairy products.

Ashamed to be Canadian today. This guy's an idiot - I didn't realize these morons lived so close to home.

Maybe an intelligent designed lightning bolt will come
down and skeletonize him. Can he can dance around in his
bones. Freaking ossified retard!

Not that it means anything, but the Constitution does have the flowery "Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven." Too bad the term "Common Era" did not exist back then. I'm sure they would have used it instead.

Maybe an intelligent designed lightning bolt will come
down and skeletonize him. Can he can dance around in his
bones. Freaking ossified retard!

How's he going to get us?
"Skeleton power"?

What kind of an idiot would issue an ultimatum and not include a time zone?

Although he is an idiot, he did say:

Prof. PZ Myers,you have until 5:30 pm (your local time) to fess up to these accusations and explain yourself.

I have a fossil coral, a single large (>1") polyp mounted on a ring. I call it "The Eye." Oh noes! It won't stop looking at me!!1!!!

Fiery red, I presume.

Re #29:

Not that it means anything, but the Constitution does have the flowery "Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven."

but is immediately followed by the more secular, "...
and of the independence of the United States of America the twelfth."

I often wish that the US had adopted that as our official year numbering system and dropped the A.D. system.

What the...? Is that silly little Gomer afraid of punctuation or something? I mean, he doesn't even make an attempt to use a period or a comma.

Now, I am waiting on the edge of my seat for this grand revelation that will embarrass and discredit PZ. My guess is that it's a picture of PZ eating calamari.

A few years back, while working for a Ministry of Education, I got a letter from an individual who took a strong stance against teaching evolution in science classes. At the end of the letter he wrote: "If I don't hear back from you, I'll assume you agree with my position".

Seems like these vindictive folks are functionally illogical as well as illiterate.

By David Denning (not verified) on 19 Feb 2008 #permalink

My friend Kris said, the other day when he went to the store, he came out to find a note next to the Darwin-Fish on his car that said, "I am praying for you, signed Tammy."

See people?... these people care about us!

How's he going to get us? "Skeleton power"?

Quick, put out a call for He-Man!

The horrible, terrible, no good wicked fact that I've concealed is ... that I'm going to be in the Expelled movie!

For about twenty seconds, I was incapacitated by laughter. I'm still giggling.

Put in a call to M. Munigent- The Ray Bradbury story entitled: "Skeleton."

Sorry PZ,

Matty is one our versions of the Canadian "Teh Stupid" on the Intertoobes, or is that our version uv Da Cana'Duh "Teh Stupid" on duh Intertubes?

Oh well, just take comfort in the fact that Teh Stupid is not confined to the USA, it's everywhere.

Not that it means anything, but the Constitution does have the flowery "Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven."

but is immediately followed by the more secular, "...and of the independence of the United States of America the twelfth."

I often wish that the US had adopted that as our official year numbering system and dropped the A.D. system.

Yes. "In the Year of the Republic...", Roman-style. I've thought about using it myself, except that no one would know what I was talking about.

The "Common Era" kludge is very unsatisfying to me, since it's disingenuous -- you're still using Christian dating, just calling it something else. But it does have the virtue of being international, and established.

Then there's always the Atomic Age or Space Age as a starting point...

David @ 36, when I test new email addresses, I always write "let me know if you don't receive this email". But then I'm twisted like that.

The tidbit was that PZ was in the movie. This was news to me and hence reported as such. I'm a bit surprised that it did not come out during the escapades in January but c'est la vie I guess.

EPIC ROFL!

John Derbyshire had nice things to say about PZ - and again blasted Ben Stein - in the National Review online. An honest conservative.

http://tinyurl.com/2j2xy3

Monday, February 18, 2008

Ben Stein's Decline (cont.) [John Derbyshire]

The Ben Stein creationist movie comes out in April, I learn. There
have been some previews, and some interesting stories arising
therefrom. This v-e-r-y interesting one from biologist P.Z. Myers,
for example. The moral of Myers' story is: If creationists invite you
to be interviewed for one of their movies, ask for a LOT of money.
They have plenty.

He linked to this post:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/08/im_gonna_be_a_movie_star.php

By Martin Ross (not verified) on 19 Feb 2008 #permalink

Be careful PZ, he may soon go so far as to announce where you work, or what you do your research on, or, perish the thought, he may even have the audacity to announce ON THIS VERY SITE that you run a blog called Pharyngula.

Watch out, man. He might figure out what PZ stands for, and then he'll know your true name and have power over you!

By October Memaid (not verified) on 19 Feb 2008 #permalink

I think that you're all unfairly criticizing the guy. Obviously, God inserted those "PZ is in Expelled" references onto Pharyngula and the Expelled website at around 5:31pm today, to test this guy's faith.

By ChimericMouse (not verified) on 19 Feb 2008 #permalink

John Derbyshire had nice things to say about PZ - and again blasted Ben Stein - in the National Review online. An honest conservative.

Derbyshire is vile. Sure, he might accept evolution, but he also treats women as disposable property (once they've passed their acceptable breeding age of 16 or so) and is amazingly homophobic. He's still a worthless ass.

Watch out, man. He might figure out what PZ stands for, and then he'll know your true name and have power over you!

What kind of power is he going to use? "Skeleton power"?

"...but he sure seems hell-bent on making sure that his readers don't go to see it with an open mind!

And we think that we know why.

Paul is one of the stars in the film EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed. He's probably remembering all of the things that he said on camera...

When the film comes out in April - we think that he's going to have some explaining to do - and his handlers at Big Science aren't going to be very happy..."

--------

LMAO! Yeah, your handlers at Big Science (I never tire of that moniker) are going to be some pissed when they find out you are one of the Stars of that film. They might fire you or send you into exile.

And for dog's sake, don't encourage your readers to view it with an open mind!

LMAO I say!

Big Science, the fine folks who brought you Big Vaccination, Big Crop Yields, Big Refrigeration, Big Shelter, and of course, Big Doubled Life Expectancy.

Those bastards.

Big Science, the fine folks who brought you Big Vaccination, Big Crop Yields, Big Refrigeration, Big Shelter, and of course, Big Doubled Life Expectancy.

One of my friends, when I was living in Minnesota, was shocked to find, upon a trip to Norway, that Norwegians didn't eat lutefisk. I was like, "Duh, they got refrigeration!"

Big Science, the fine folks who brought you Big Vaccination, Big Crop Yields, Big Refrigeration, Big Shelter, and of course, Big Doubled Life Expectancy.

All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?

:p

Oh dear, I am utterly embarrassed to share citizenship with this peabrained git.
Funny you should mention Romans, they would have put Matthew
(AKA Lion Chow) to good use.

By T. Bruce McNeely (not verified) on 19 Feb 2008 #permalink

I'm embarrassed for that fool.

...WAit. No I'm not. *Points* HAHAHAHA WHAT A RETARD!

Now that we've got annual tree-ring, ice-core and coral chronologies going back over 10,000 years or so, we could pick a starting date that correlates with something interesting, like the end of the last Ice Age. Try to pin down the date of (say) the last draining of Lake Agassiz, and switch from BC/AD (or BCE/CE) to HY (Holocene Year). Rub the YECs' noses in it, because they think the world was created in something like HY 4000.

By John Scanlon, FCD (not verified) on 20 Feb 2008 #permalink

"when his readership literally explodes"

ARRRRRGH.

Nothing wrong with that useage. The word literally here means "without exaggeration" and the word explodes here means "to increase sharply and uncontrollably" and it is understood to refer to the readership in respect to number.

By Nomen Nescio (not verified) on 21 Feb 2008 #permalink