Four more boys have today been rescued from the cave complex in northern Thailand where a youth football team became trapped two weeks ago, leaving just four teammates and their coach stuck underground for at least another day.
The first of today’s rescued Wild Boar FC players, whose identities have not yet been confirmed, was seen being carried out on a stretcher shortly before 5pm local time, a few hours after the mission entered its second day.
Boys number six and seven were brought out little over an hour later, with boy number eight spotted being taken out at about 7.40pm local time.
They were all carried out on stretchers and into ambulances before being airlifted to the Chiang Rai Pranukroh Hospital, where the four players rescued on Sunday are recovering.
The fact that they got the weakest boys out first is a very promising sign that all 12, plus the coach, are going to survive the arduous experience. It’s really an incredible story.
Just a note for future reference; you may or may not feel the need to make a clarification now. In your latest Darkstream, I am the new Marvel supervillain, around the 34:45 mark you mention the backers will receive all 24 digital editions of Alt Hero and Avalon.
The crowdfunding campaign as you know lists this for the $15 digital reader and all levels above that: “This is to receive the first six volumes of Alt★Hero and the first three volumes of Alt★Hero: Avalon in digital format when they are complete.”
I always understood this to be 9 digital editions for $15 which is a helluva deal. However, now I’m questioning if those volumes were originally 48 pages and were each split in two, would it then be 12 volumes and 6 volumes for a total of 18? That is to the point of almost being overly generous; 24 editions for $15 would truly be preposterous.
Anyhow the best news I heard all day was that Dixon has already written 12 editions of Avalon.
I had originally envisioned 48-page digital volumes before discovering, post-campaign, that we could produce affordable 24-page print editions. So, each volume is now two issues. I also neglected to update the $15 Digital Reader reward to reflect the fact that three more volumes (six more issues) of Chuck Dixon’s Avalon were funded. But it was always my intention to provide the Digital Reader backers with all the volumes that were funded by the campaign.
So, to be clear, all Alt★Hero backers will be receiving the first 12 digital issues of Alt★Hero as well as the first 12 digital issues of Chuck Dixon’s Avalon for free. Preposterous deal or not, the entire Arkhaven team is deeply appreciative of the support Alt★Hero has received, and continues to receive, from the backers and newer supporters of the comics. The foundation we are collectively building is going to be strong enough to support an Arkhaven Comics Universe that will, in time, be capable of taking on both the Marvel and DC empires successfully. But we proceed judiciously, one step at a time.
However, I did misspeak about Mr. Dixon’s progress on writing the scripts for CDA and the usual volume/issue confusion is to blame. Mr. Dixon has actually finished the scripts for the first six ISSUES. CDA #1 will be completed tomorrow and will be going out to backers this week, CDA #2 is illustrated and is now being colored, and Frank Fosco is illustrating CDA #3 now. AH #2 will be available in gold logo print edition next week and AH#3 is being colored.
In non-comics news, Wardogs Inc. #3: Metal Monsters will be out this week and Jack Posobiec’s 4D Warfare will be out later this month as will John C. Wright’s Nowhither: The Drowned World.
Saving Eve adapted my 7 Signs of an Intellectual Charlatan and adapted them to help detect religious charlatans.
One of my favorite bloggers to follow is Vox Day.
I follow him not necessarily because I care what he is talking about. I follow him to learn how to analyze anything.
In my reckoning, the most valuable video/post Vox ever produced is called “7 Signs of an Intellectual Charlatan.” The video is well worth watching in its entirety.
Identifying charlatans is a skill that is woefully lacking among the Body of Christ today. And I am indebted to Vox for pointing out the core patterns of charlatanry. In retrospect, it seems obvious. But until it was pointed out to me, I didn’t quite know how to tell whether I was being duped or not.
So with the aim of equipping fellow believers to avoid the craftiness of false teachers, I’d like to share some observations on how Vox’s Charlatan framework applies specifically to deception in the church.
The 7 Signs of a Religious Charlatan
Uses imprecise biblical terms
Does not accurately quote the Scriptures
Uses theological jargon to answer simple questions
Uses systematic theology and catechisms to justify his answers
Quotes Bible teachers and theologians rather than the Scriptures
Ignores the context
Talks about the value of “theological training” instead of knowing the Scriptures
Read the rationales behind the seven signs there. But they are a few of the reasons that I don’t read or pay any attention to most theologians. Unlike Thomas Aquinas and CS Lewis, the vast majority of them are, at the very least, intellectually inconsistent, and most of them strike me as downright shady. I can reliably identify some level of obvious nonsense or bafflegarble in the first chapter of any theologian I read; in the case of some, such as John Piper, it’s usually in the first paragraph.
In my opinion, most theologians are rather like psychologists, disordered individuals who seek answers to their problems in credentials and authorities, who are inclined to rearrange the facts and ignore the logic in order to suit their preconceived notions. I can’t tell you how many times someone has recommended one theologian or another to me as “really wise” or “truly full of the Spirit”, only to see immediately in their work that they are either a) a rambling restater of the obvious or b) a spiritual con artist.
My position on matters theological is straightforward. No one knows what’s truly going on and our ability to comprehend the truth is limited. If even the Apostle Paul only saw as though through a glass, darkly, then we shouldn’t expect or claim to do any better. Also, most people are idiots, so it should not be a surprise that so much of our Sunday School theology is idiotic and incoherent.
Sunday School Teacher: God loves everyone! The Bible: God hates the wicked with a passion. (Psalm 11:5)
Sunday School Teacher: God knows everything! The Bible: Only the Father knows the day and the hour. (Matthew 24:36)
I mean, how logically deficient do you have to be in order to not be able to comprehend the way in which that teaching of divine omniscience necessarily and completely rules out the divinity of Jesus Christ? The theological blathering that will be generated in response to that previous sentence should suffice to explain why I pay no attention to theologians or theology enthusiasts.
To absolutely no one’s surprise, Teresa May tried to sell out her nation to the EU despite the clear results of the Brexit referendum. Her cabinet is falling apart and so should her Prime Ministership in very short order.
David Davis QUITS in protest at Theresa May’s soft Brexit plans leaving government in chaos.
He walked out 48 hours after the PM’s crunch Chequers summit – which culminated in Mr Davis and six other Brexiteer Cabinet ministers losing their two-year battle for a clean break from Brussels.
Allies of Mr Davis said he decided to quit because he felt the PM’s proposals for a common rulebook with the EU and plans to keep Britain tied to 40 years of EU laws broke the Tory manifesto and Mrs May’s own red lines on leaving.
Brexit Office minister Steve Baker also quit last night. His ministerial colleague Suella Braverman was said to also be considering her position.
Sarah O’Grady, wife of Mr Davis’s chief of staff Stewart Jackson, said Mr Davis wanted to “honour manifesto promises to Britons”.
She added: “DD decided he couldn’t sellout his own country.”
I’m no expert on British politics, but I expect Boris Johnson to follow suit soon, at which point May’s Tory government should collapse. That’s why May should never have been permitted to serve as Prime Minister in the first place.
May actually showed the plans to Angela Merkel before her own cabinet. She’s done. Both May and Merkel must go, for the good of their respective nations.
Or, as you might suspect, the lack thereof. So, back in February, before we found our current colorist, I was contacting different colorists to see what our options are. Ethan van Sciver recommended a gentleman by the name of Bill Baumann, and I quite liked his approach to coloring so I contacted him. For some inexplicable reason, that email was posted on Twitter today.
I contacted Mr. Baumann to ask how this extraordinarily unprofessional publication of my email to him had come to be in the possession of Corey Hodgdon, and he didn’t see fit to explain himself. But Spacebunny did bring the following Facebook post to my attention; it appears that Mr. Baumann is foolishly attempting to ingratiate himself with the SJWs in the comics industry. Who knows, perhaps they will even reward him for behaving in this manner.
Of course, like all SJWs, Baumann is lying. I never said anything about being in the forefront of either Gamergate or Comicsgate; I never mentioned anything about Comicsgate and I’m not involved in it anyhow. And while I am, of course, the Leader of GamerGate, I did not see fit to mention that. I didn’t brag about anything, but I did give Mr. Baumann an accurate idea of who I am and Arkhaven stands for. The pretense that he didn’t know anything about me until he Googled it after our conversation is entirely false. I warned him that both the project and I were considered to be controversial by some in the comics industry and even told him that we had no problem with him using a pen name; he assured me that he had no problem working with us at all.
As for his over-inflated rates, he must be quite a bit cheaper these days, because the rates he quoted me didn’t seem unreasonable at all for a top-flight colorist. In fact, I was planning to take him up on coloring some covers until discovering how hopelessly unprofessional he is today. So, in order to set the record straight, here is the complete email exchange between Mr. Baumann and me, redacting only his telephone number and email address.
On 2/9/2018 5:39 AM, Bill Baumann wrote: Heya Vox, Thanks for the kind words. We’re going to get along a whole lot better if you call me Moose! My dance card is pretty full these days, but I could probably fit in some covers, depending on what kind of deadlines we’re looking at. I’m in Iowa, I think seven hours behind you. You can usually catch me before I go into the office at 730am, or after 5pm local time. And I’m almost always free on the weekend. Feel free to give me a shout whenever it’s convenient for you. [telephone # redacted] Moose-
On Feb 9, 2018, at 8:08 AM, Vox wrote:
Hey Moose,
Great talking to you this morning! I’m delighted to hear you may have some interest in working with us. Here are some examples of Cliff Cosmic’s work – we encourage the use of pen names – as well as what the colorists have done with it. This is his first pro work, so he’s very inexperienced, but I tend to like his style. I’ll be curious to know what you make of his potential and if you’d be willing to work with him.
As I mentioned in our conversation, I’d like to know your page rates for interiors and covers, as well as what interior scenario is of the most interest to you.
Best regards,
Vox
On 2/9/2018 6:45 PM, Bill Baumann wrote: Hey Vox, I really enjoyed our talk this morning. You’ve got some exciting things going on, and I look forward to being a part of it all. I definitely like Cliff’s work. It’s a little rough here and there, but he really has potential. The animation style coloring on the first piece is the type of look that I’d go for, more hard-edged coloring on the figures, which a painted style/look for the backgrounds. I did something similar in the past, and it turned out really sweet. I’ll quote you my DC page rates, which is $250 for a cover, $150 for an interior page. I think I’d rather just stick with a flat rate, if that’s okay with you. I think it would be less hassle for everyone. Would this be a monthly book? The standard 22 pages? Moose-
On Feb 9, 2018, at 11:51 AM, Vox wrote:
Hey Moose,
I’m glad to hear you think Cliff’s work is sound. It will be a more or less monthly book, assuming Cliff can maintain his pace. We usually do 23 pages.
We don’t have the budget yet to meet those rates on the interiors, but I will definitely want to buy a cover or two from you. And that’s good to know for when we plan our summer Kickstarter. Given that we haven’t gone to print yet and we don’t know what our sales range will be yet, it’s probably too soon for us to be working with top notch guys like you and Ethan.
But we’ll get there soon, I think.
Thanks very much,
Vox
On 2/9/2018 7:16 PM, Bill Baumann wrote: Sounds good. I’ll be here when you need me. M-
Her 2020 candidacy, anyhow. Hilary Clinton’s 2016 campaign was one of the most amusing I’ve ever seen. But I think a reprise would be even funnier.
The messages convey a sense of urgency, and are coming with increasing frequency. They are short, focused reactions to the latest “outrage” committed by President Trump.
Some end by asking for money, some urge participation in protests. All read as if they are sent from the official headquarters of the resistance.
Hillary Clinton is up to something.
Five times in the last month alone, she sent e-mails touting her super PAC’s role in combating President Trump. Most seized on headline events, such as the family-separation issue at the southern border…. And the day after Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, Clinton introduced a newly minted resistance partner. Called Demand Justice, it promises to protect “reproductive rights, voting rights and access to health care” by keeping Senate Democrats united in opposing any conservative Trump nominee.
The instant, in-house nature of Demand Justice was reflected by the name of its executive director: Brian Fallon, Clinton’s campaign press secretary. In truth, Fallon’s role doesn’t tell us something we didn’t know. Onward Together, formed in May of 2017, is a Clinton 2020 campaign vehicle in waiting.
Run, Hilary, run! Do it for the glory of the God-Emperor! Don’t forget to check out the back.
The story of the Thai soccer team trapped 800 meters underground is pretty incredible. Two of the boys are now out, so here’s to hoping the rescuers are able to safely extricate the rest of the team.
First two members of Thai soccer team are OUT of the cave: Official reveals news after threat of rain forced divers to begin mission to rescue children and coach from flooded tunnels
The first two schoolboys were rescued safely after divers executed a carefully constructed rescue mission
The treacherous rescue operation to save 12 young Thai footballers from a flooded cave begun this morning
Eighteen divers have been sent in to complete the mission as officials said Sunday was ‘D-Day’ for rescue
The young footballers and their coach have been trapped in flooded caves in northern Thailand for 16 days
As soon as the boys exit the cave they will be airlifted by helicopter or driven by ambulance to local hospital
A Thai Navy SEAL has already died bringing in oxygen and other supplies. It’s good to know his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
The discussion on dysgenics and failure migration, which naturally circled back to the conceptual distinction between posterity and the proposition nation, was usefully clarifying for several readers.
Garuna said: The true America really is dead. Just look at all the “nationalists” here pushing the proposition nation meme.
lynnjynh9315 added: I think this is Vox’s point: American identity is dead. Even without non-whites, there will still be Anglo-America, Scots-America, German-America, Scand-America, Cajun-America, etc. This is the source of the problem. Even whites are not homogeneous. The United States is dead, it’s just a matter of what new nations the fragments will form into. No one group is going to win it all.
Both observations are correct. That has been my consistent theme since 2004.
Tibetan religious tradition has it that when the Dalai Lama dies, the Buddha of Compassion leaves his body and incarnates in the body of a young child. The monks immediately go out in search of this blessed child, and when they find him – as they inevitably do – he is tested by a group of high lamas and enthroned as the reincarnation of his successor.
Imagine, however, if the lamas refused to recognize that the Dalai Lama was, in fact, dead. Suppose that instead of going in search of the Buddha’s new carnal home, they hooked the corpse up to a life support machine and waited patiently for the Holy One to awake and rise up. It’s not hard to see that they would be doomed to disappointment, and furthermore, would fail to find the next Dalai Lama as well.
This is precisely our dilemma today, for America, as envisioned by the Founding Fathers, is dead. By every measure, large and small, the original vision of limited government by, for and of the people has been folded, spindled and mutilated beyond recognition. When one reads the Constitution, one simply marvels at the distinct difference between its words and our present reality.
It’s more than a little amusing that the SJWs in comics who hate the Alt-Right so much don’t even have the courage to actually address the real Alt-Right in their attacks on it. They prefer to go after the likes of Ethan van Sciver and Diversity & Comics and call relative moderates like them “Alt-Right” because they are so afraid of us that they don’t even dare to directly engage.
Dusty Good@DangerDusty News flash for the Alt-Right comix trolls. The industry/hobby/craft doesn’t want or need you. You’re not welcome here. The cosplay girls won’t fuck you, the pros absolutely hate you, your fellow fans despise you. Go ahead and continue to circle jerk each other on KS.
Dusty Good@DangerDusty Oh we raised $300,000 on KS! We’re legit! Nobody worth a shit cares. Even the KKK has financial backing … in fact I bet that’s the driving force behind the crowd funding!
Dusty Good@DangerDusty Love making the Alt-Right trolls dance. They can’t help themselves; they’re idiots. They don’t realize that the more they respond, the more they retweet and tag, the bigger my reach grows. @EthanVanSciver and @DiversityAndCmx goons are the best PR free can buy!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Dusty Good@DangerDusty Looks like Audio Henchmen is coming back full time. They may fire me from the site. But I still own the rights to my podcast and I’ve got a contract. Who wants to hear me melt a mic against the Alt-Right comic fans?
Dusty Good @DangerDusty A podcast for all those folks in CYBERland feeling FROGgy and anyone who likes to hear me flap my JAWs about all you rule BREAKERS. BEWARE. The ALT-RIGHT need not apply. We plan on practicing freedom of speech to its fullest extent.
These sad little gamma males have absolutely no idea what is going to hit them soon. The bigger his reach grows? He has all of 440 followers on Twitter. And while I’m pleased that Cyberfrog and Jawbreakers have managed to replicate Alt★Hero’s crowdfunding success, and in doing so, prove that it was not a fluke, that is literally the first and smallest step that Arkhaven has taken in our combined arms offensive on the SJW-held territory of the comics industry.
We know the pros at Marvel and DC hate us. We don’t care. We don’t want the fat cosplay girls, we have real models. We know the SJW comics media won’t cover us. We don’t need the coverage. We know SJWs in the mainstream media will write hit pieces about us. We don’t talk to them. We know Disney and Warner Bros won’t work with us. We don’t want to work with them. We’re not here to join an SJW-infested industry that is dying by more than 10 percent every year, we’re here to replace it with something new, better, and more entertaining.
Two weeks ago I signed an agreement with a movie producer. We’ve since had a number of meetings with various organizations and I can state with some confidence that we will be skipping the whole “option” phase and go directly to making the movies and/or television shows ourselves in partnership with people who know what they are doing. Some of these scenarios involve crowdfunding and backer participation, others do not. We are also discussing the creation of a major new comics imprint with one or two partners and are in the process of completing Chuck Dixon’s Avalon #1, after which we will launch our comic store campaign with the assistance of the VFM and the Dark Legion.
There is more, of course, but that will do for now. And now, for the punchline. To absolutely no one’s surprise, it took all of one week for Brave Sir Dusty to bravely sacrifice his principles, take his nuts off the chopping block, and beg for his job back.
Dusty Good@DangerDusty I’m better than this and bigger than this, so I apologise to @EthanVanSciver and @DiversityAndCmx for my childish and unprofessional comments and any shade that was thrown on @ComicCrusaders because of my social media posts.
Dusty Good@Dusty Good I have requested my previous position back with @ComicCrusaders and if accepted will make sure that an incident like this never happens again.
20 years ago, when faced with adversity or challenge, I may have given up. I did many times. Raised by a gamma and public school, I was taught too much backward bullshit.
Then I started reading Vox Popoli.
This week I had a serious medical situation. The thought to feel sorry for myself never crossed my mind. Business, family, friends, projects. I was seriously still trying to get out of bed to take on the world. I kept asking myself: okay, how will I work around this? What can I accomplish?
Between eviscerating his enemies and leaving their charred bones on the battlefield, the Dark Lord of the Evil Legion of Evil occasionally makes time to inspire people too. The horror!
I have always felt that we Dark Lords are woefully underestimated. I mean, consider Sauron, for example. Has anyone ever given any thought to how charismatic he must have been, how inspiring, to not only convince whole kingdoms, whole races, to support his vision for Middle Earth, but even convince some of his most avowed enemies to abandon their fellows and throw in with him?
