Category: Uncategorized

The virtue of failure

Mike McDaniel, the 49ers run-game coordinator, explains how the various failures of the coaches on the Mike Shanahan tree has led to their astonishing success this year, with heavy influences on three of the four NFL teams still in contention:

“Our greatest strength has been our weakness, where our longest tenure at a place has been three years,” McDaniel says in August. “And we’ve had to do it with not always elite players. Some of the biggest shortcomings, the worst things that can happen to a coach, is the system that’s set up for failure. How do you get jobs? You win. People that win in the same place, those people get promoted. Well, often times those people—there are compounding variables for success. And they won because, Tom Brady, for instance.”

He continued: “What getting fired but still being the league allows you to do is you have so many different things where you have to figure out a way to make sh– work. And that has made us night-and-day a thousand times better; the best years we’ve ever coached have been the years where we had to scratch and claw for everything. To lose a ton and stay in the NFL—that was the perfect storm for us to expand and innovate.”

It reminds me of Mike Cernovich’s advice to me: scratch and claw. Reinforce success and abandon failure. Eventually, you’ll be able to refine your approach to find something that not only works, but succeeds.

The scholar of Middle Earth

Christopher Tolkien, the great champion of his father’s literary estate, has died at 95:

It is with great sadness that we can confirm that Tolkien’s son and literary executor Christopher Tolkien has died aged 95.

Christopher was born in Leeds, United Kingdom, on 21 November 1924. After a childhood in Oxford, he joined the RAF during the Second World War and was stationed to South Africa. After the war, he finished his studies and became a lecturer in Old and Middle English as well as Old Icelandic at the University of Oxford. After his father’s death in 1973, he became the literary executor of the Tolkien Estate and went on to edit and publish his father’s unpublished material starting with The Silmarillion in 1977 and ending with The Fall of Gondolin in 2018.

Upon hearing the news, Tolkien Society Chair, Shaun Gunner, said:

All of us in the Tolkien Society will share in the sadness at the news of Christopher Tolkien’s death, and we send our condolences to Baillie, Simon, Adam, Rachel and the whole Tolkien family at this difficult time. Christopher’s commitment to his father’s works have seen dozens of publications released, and his own work as an academic in Oxford demonstrates his ability and skill as a scholar. Millions of people around the world will be forever grateful to Christopher for bringing us The Silmarillion, The Children of Húrin, The History of Middle-earth series and many others. We have lost a titan and he will be sorely missed.

Tolkien scholar Dr Dimitra Fimi reflected on Christopher’s academic contribution:

Tolkien studies would never be what it is today without Christopher Tolkien’s contribution. From editing The Silmarillion to the mammoth task of giving us the History of Middle-earth series, he revealed his father’s grand vision of a rich and complex mythology. He gave us a window into Tolkien’s creative process, and he provided scholarly commentary that enriched our understanding of Middle-earth. He was Middle-earth’s cartographer and first scholar.

The Tolkien Society sends its deepest condolences to the Tolkien family.

Christopher Tolkien was the very model of the ideal literary executor. He not only protected his father’s legacy, but substantially added to it through his editing and publishing of the source material that were the foundation for his father’s landmark books. He was a good and faithful servant to his father and Middle Earth fandom, and both Christians and Tolkien fans can rejoice at the thought of the proud approbation with which his father will have welcomed him to his reward.

Very few sons of great men are worthy of them; as the son of a very successful man myself, I can testify to the soul-crushing burden paternal success tends to impose upon a young man, especially a young man of ambition. But through his embrace of a difficult role to which he was literally born, Christopher Tolkien undoubtedly proved himself worthy of his great father.

The Grey Havens

Must. Preserve. Delusion. Bubble.

It’s always interesting to see how Gammas are able to stubbornly deny any facts that contradict their personal narrative. As always, few things cause them to burn with rage like the knowledge that others are considerably smarter than they are.

Hey Voxxy poo, quick question, how do you justify the fact in your head that you’re a 150 IQ supergenius but then know that a complete moron like Owen says hes within 3 IQ points of you? I mean, Owen is a legitimate flat earther at this point and has never been a smart guy, except to the dumbest of people that buy all flavors of bullshit. Doesnt it kinda hurt your brand as ‘high IQ guy’ to also have another self confessed high IQ guy next to you that’s very much obviously not high IQ? I’m not saying Owen is stupid, hes probably average give or take a bit. Just wondering your thoughts on that!

First, I don’t justify anything at all. My IQ was measured at a high level as a child in studies at Harvard. After taking the IOWA tests in elementary school I was placed into an elite state math program. In fifth grade I was excused from most of my classes and was permitted to spend most of the school day in the library since I already knew all the material. I was in the 99th percentile for both the PSAT and the SAT back when they were aptitude tests rather than achievement tests. And I was both a National Merit Finalist and a member of Mensa, and was offered free rides at many universities.

Second, a 150 IQ does not make one a supergenius. I have known three people with IQs in excess of 170 very well, and I would not consider any of them to be geniuses, let alone supergeniuses. My best friend also has a very slightly higher IQ than me and he is not a genius either. More importantly, IQ is only a proxy measure for cognitive capacity, whereas genius is a description of genuine intellectual accomplishment worthy of historical note. Martin van Creveld is a genius. Prince was a genius. I have not yet accomplished anything I would consider to be worthy of the term.

And third, Owen is obviously quite intelligent. No one who is that rhetorically quick and effective is not. His ability to distill a complex dialectic argument down to a two-word rhetorical nuke, and to do so instantly, is almost unmatched in my experience. The fact that he is quite willing to entertain even the most outlandish theories is a sign of intelligence and curiosity; absolutely no intelligence is required to blindly accept the mainstream narrative despite the various anomalies that can be observed.

Ihateowenbenjamin is also back. He can’t figure out why I never email him back, but that doesn’t hinder his ability to practice armchair psychiatry. Notice, again, the desperate gamma need to believe that someone is not considerably smarter than he is, as well as the projection of his obsession with his own perceived intelligence.

Hey loser,

I saw you posted some of my email on your blog. Funny that you NEVER respond to any points brought up by anyone. It is always just sarcastic remarks to your idiotic followers about how smart you are. Why do you never respond?

Try responding to this. You talk daily about your lawsuit against Patreon, yet have NEVER said what it is about. WHY are you suing Patreon? Because Owen got kicked off? Clearly that is not enough reason to sue them… Are you denying that Owen broke TOS? How would you know if Owen broke TOS or not since you claim to almost never watch videos anyways?

Also you frequently mention that you were a “National Merit Semifinalist” or something along those lines. Please direct me to some proof of this! A picture, a link, a list, etc.

Also, comment on if you have ever considered that you may have Narcissistic Personality Disorder? You fit all the criteria. I guarantee you have this disorder. Your IQ is nowhere near 150 by the way!

But yea. it is clear you are a fraud. You never respond to any legitimate criticism. You have been caught lying on multiple occasions. in your mind you will deny this because of your personality disorder, you find ways to justify your lies.

Respond. Bet you can’t.

I have never said a single word about a “lawsuit” against Patreon, much less “my” lawsuit against them. I do not have any cause or standing to sue Patreon, since I have never been a user of their site. Nor, to the best of my knowledge, are there at present any lawsuits against Patreon; some of the recent changes to their terms of use were intended to impose lawsuits in the place of the previously selected alternative forms of dispute resolution. I am neither a lawyer nor a litigant, I am merely a humble philosopher and dark lord who occasionally finds some small amusement in reading corporate terms and policies and contemplating their vagaries.

Another certain Gamma tell is the inability to distinguish “can’t” from “won’t”.

What did I tell you?

Did I not say that Patreon was going to change its terms of use again before the end of February?

From: The Patreon team
Subject: Updates to our policies
Date: 16 January 2020

As part of our ongoing commitment to privacy and to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), we are updating our Privacy Policy. We are also taking this opportunity to update our Terms of Use and Benefit Guidelines.

Now how could I know that? Here is another prediction. They will change them again before the end of March….

The descent into barbarism

Import the third-worlders, then relax and enjoy the inevitable child rape that accompanies the descent into third-world society.

The child sexual abuse scandal that rocked a central city in the United Kingdom when it erupted four years ago appears to be worse than originally believed. New figures by the National Crime Agency (NCA) put the number of children believed to have been sexually exploited in the town of Rotherham over 16-year period at an astonishing 1,510 – up from the 1,400 figure identified in a 2014 report.

At least 1,300 were female, detectives said Tuesday, the BBC reported.

A previous report commissioned by the Rotherham Council in 2014, found that at least 1,400 children – “a conservative estimate” – had been sexually exploited in the South Yorkshire city between 1997 and 2013.

According to the 2014 report, children as young as 11 were “raped by multiple perpetrators, abducted, trafficked to other cities in England, beaten and intimidated.”

Police said the victims were plied with drugs and alcohol before being abused at parties, in taxis or in back rooms. The vast majority of the victims were white British girls ages 11 to 19.

That faint sound you hear is the sweet, sweet sound of helicopters in the distance. Believe it or not, time has proven that even the economic and technological retardation of communism is morally and materially superior to the sociocidal neo-liberal world order.

And even the most savagely brutal forms of nationalism are morally and materially superior to the philosophical absurdities of equality, immigration, and open borders.

Shut up and write

A Selenoth fan would really like me to finish the extended edition of A Sea of Skulls:

Please Vox, for the love of all that is Good and Beautiful and True, PLEASE try and find the time to complete TSoS extended edition. I have read (ahgmm.. “listened”) to AToB 3 times and read ASoS once. This is quality stuff that serves as a gateway to many truths people would otherwise never be exposed to. If I could be so bold as to give you feedback from my time in Selenoth, it would look like this:

I first listen to A Magic Broken, then AToB, then the Last Witch King Collection, then read Summa Elvetica, then most recently read ASoS. I’ll spare you any fan boy text walls but I have to explain what I love as well as what don’t understand so far. I listen a A Wardog’s Coin weekly on my daily commutes. It is a wonderfully balanced tale that never gets old and would be the first thing I recommend to a new reader.

You said on a Darkstream once that you didn’t expect the strong response to Lodi. He is hands down my favorite character. Maybe this was overly influenced by my reading A Magic Broken first, but I LOVED his story line in AToB and was left wanting much more in ASoS. Lodi is without a doubt the first character you would pick if you needed a buddy in a good ole-fashioned brawl. Ironically, a Big Bear, if you will.

I really don’t understand the importance of Severa and her character arc. At first I assumed it was because she was a strong female personality so most likely I just didn’t relate to her. But after the second and third pass at AToB, I can say with confidence that Fjotra is one of my top three favorite characters so Severa remains an enigma to me because I’m not sure what I want from, or even for her going forward. My shot in the dark prediction is that Severa actually personifies you in a way, born into more privelege than most but the powers, that be take her father, and life forces her to unforeseen places. Still, assuming that to be the case I don’t understand her place in the story.

Again, thanks for all you do and please forgive me for carrying on so long. God bless and keep crushing! I pray that you will not grow weary of the path laid before you. God equips those He calls. Conflict may be the air we breathe but no one is having more fun than us!

Believe me, I would very much like to finish ASOS and move on to the next book in the series. But my time is finite, and so every time I need to hunt down someone’s failed credit card or respond to someone else’s deplatforming, or deal with someone who has failed to utilize a coupon during the allotted time is a distraction from even starting to write anything. That doesn’t mean those things don’t need to be done, but it’s not possible to do them while getting into the right frame of mind. I wish I could simply switch gears at will, but apparently I don’t work like that.

I appreciate that people enjoy my work as much as they do, indeed, the overall response to the Arts of Dark and Light has significantly exceeded not only my expectations, but even my hopes. I do find it a little strange, however, when the some of the very people who really want me to finish various works don’t seem to grasp the obvious consequences of asking me to deal with various other things that often have nothing to do with me.

Anyhow, I am determined to finish it during the first half of this year. The extended delay is on me, not anyone or anything else, and I’m neither excusing nor rationalizing my tardiness. But I am not apologizing for it either, because I’m absolutely not going to allow the quality to decline just so I can call it complete and get it off my plate. To the contrary, I am determined to make the remaining sections better than the previous parts.

But Selenoth fans should be pleased to know a) Chuck Dixon is working on the six-issue comic of the Legion-Goblin battle and b) there is serious film/TV interest in ATOB.

UPDATE: After thinking about it and talking with Spacebunny, I’m going to put myself on an alternate-day schedule for the Darkstreams until ASOS is done. That should do the trick.

Convergence in Chicago

A CFO and Corporate Cancer reader observes that Google thinks the best places to work in Chicago are the most converged:

I read the book — great book, by the way — and I heartily agree with the convergence model. As a result, my radar is up now to spot the signs. I’ve been a CFO for over thirty years, and I’ve seen the business world taken over by this mindset as well as an increasing voracity for quick riches above serving core customer constituencies.

For example, please find Google’s Best Places to Work in Chicago. What is most interesting about the companies listed are the little, square icons summarizing the “perks” at the bottom of each summary. Notice how many have “Full-time Diversity Team” or other such monikers. If they were listed on the exchanges, I’d be shorting them today.

Thanks again for writing the book.

He is, of course, quite welcome. I’m just pleased to see that corporate executives are reading the book and looking for signs of convergence in their organizations.

It’s not the “mental health”

These people are, as we are told, sick. But it’s not the mental health of Hollywood, but rather the complete lack of moral health, that is at the root of the problem.

As a seeming epidemic of suicides pummel the entertainment world, leaders and companies are responding with innovative answers to help erase the stigma around mental illness and provide help: “I’ve seen the pain and devastation it causes.”

In January 2017, 51-year-old U.K.-based locations manager Michael Harm —whose credits included the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise — took his own life in a London hotel room. Shortly before, Harm sent a note to a friend in the industry describing his work as “one of the loneliest jobs on a film,” one that came with “no HR,” and urged more care on film sets.

In the three years since, a tragic procession of suicides have shaken the film, television and music industries, including those of host and chef Anthony Bourdain, manager Jill Messick, comic Brody Stevens, Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, The Prodigy frontman Keith Flint and DJ Avicii. This year opened with news that Ugly Betty creator Silvio Horta, 45, had taken his own life.

It will not surprise me to learn that less than half of these “suicides” actually involved the individual taking his own life. We’re already well past the point of statistical improbability.

An introduction to Q

The Q phenomenon is going mainstream:

Who is Q? What is Q? And, perhaps most importantly, why is Q?  Q and the ever-growing worldwide movement it’s inspired have been the objects of fascination, mockery and hatred, but of surprisingly little serious analysis.

Q first appeared in October 2017 on an anonymous online forum called 4Chan, posting messages that implied top-clearance knowledge of upcoming events. More than 3,000 messages later, Q has created a disturbing, multi-faceted portrait of a global crime syndicate that operates with impunity. Q’s followers in the QAnon community faithfully analyze every detail of Q’s drops, which are compiled here and here.

The mainstream media has published hundreds of articles attacking Q as an insane rightwing conspiracy, particularly after President Trump seemed to publicly confirm his connection to it.  At a North Carolina rally in 2019, Trump made a point of drawing attention to a baby wearing a onesie with a big Q.

In recent weeks, the tempo of Trump’s spotlighting of Q has accelerated, with the President retweeting Q followers twenty times in one day. Trump has featured Q fans in his ads and deployed one of Q’s signature phrases (“These people are sick”) at his rallies. The President’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has also retweeted Q followers.

Q has noted that the media never asks Trump the obvious question: What do you think of Q? To Q followers, the reason they don’t ask is obvious. They’re afraid of the answer.

In the meantime, Q’s influence continues to spread.

If you’re still blackpilling Q at this point, you might as well start wearing an “I’m with Her” Clinton 2016 shirt.

Only a complete bowtie tries to run the “I’m JUST concerned that it could be a TRAP! What if someone makes us look FOOLISH?”

Just shut up already.

The god-emperor is invincible

Even CNN is throwing in the towel. Van Jones is without hope:

As a progressive, to see those two [Warren and Sanders] have that level of vitriol was very dispiriting. And I want to say that tonight for me was dispiriting. Democrats got to do better than what we saw tonight. There was nothing I saw tonight that would be able to take Donald Trump out, and I want to see a Democrat in the White House as soon as possible.

It doesn’t matter who the Wall Street-Devil Mouse-Hollywood-Academia alliance line up behind. Trumpslide 2020 is in the cards and on the way.