saintbletch

So you posted the Gervais link because you disagreed with it? Help me understand? Do you think that leprechauns secretly run the world from bunkers hidden at the end of rainbows? You answer my question (incompletely) about elephant logging, but duck the one about leprechauns. Why? Still waiting on the questions of the commercial logging... Still waiting for you to provide data about religious violence related to games... Also, you are spending your life, debating with someone on an Internet forum. About religion and politics. Because you like football. Don't you think that's odd? Did you decide to do this because of a book you read? Or do you hear voices telling you to do it? Tell a close friend that doesn't use the Internet or support football, about your 11,000 (31 years remember) contributions on here. Then tell them how odd you find religion. See what they say. Because, there are some really strange ways to live one's life, but the way you've chosen to live yours is downright weird. (Mine too BTW) Fish.Gun.Barrel.

I didn't ask about logging. I asked about commercial logging. And I'm still waiting. So you're backtracking on Gervais now? You're happy to spout a selection of tweets from Gervais as if these convey, completely, his stance on religion. Yet, now you go on to admit that you lack sufficient knowledge about 'everything he's ever said'. You therefore don't know whether he's gone on to contradict his position, or even had a change of heart and become pro-religious. Perhaps it would have been better not to have brought it up, if you're not certain of your facts. It's good to see what I'm dealing with though Look at the banning orders in this document (Table 1).... https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/248740/Football_Arrest_BO_Statistics_2012-13.pdf Name me 17 other religions that have had fewer, more, less or greater than the mean number of banning orders (occurring on either a Weekday OR Weekend) for acts of violence or intimidation related to a GAME. So, you believe that leprechauns secretly rule the world from nerve centres hidden at the end of meteorological phenomena? (it's great fun debating like this!)

Answer the question about commercial logging first, Sour Mash. So, you agree with everything Gervais has ever said? Wow. (It's easy this)

It's as if the colours that man is wearing have taken on some sort of, special ritual meaning. It doesn't look like a cold day, yet he is wearing a scarf. If I said to that man "Are you a Sunderland fan?", what would his reaction be, do you suppose? And assuming that his reaction was negative, what would had programmed him to feel that way? Is there some form of book that he's read that told him to behave that way? Is there some form of 'man in the sky' that is influencing the man in the picture's actions. Perhaps he gets his instructions from an Internet forum? Perhaps he's bound himself to other similar people because he feels stronger together? I wonder how he might start to defend his behaviour, if challenged? That he doesn't like the colour red, perhaps? There's some weird sorts. And let's not forget, this man is behaving in this way because of a game. A game. It's worth saying that again. A game. I must admit organised religion is not for me. I find it odd and strange, and sometimes a little creepy, but I see now that there are other types of behaviour that are equally difficult to defend with logic. Thanks for helping me see that, KRG.

And the commercial logging?

I knew I could count on you to bring high-brow cultural references to answer Sour Mash's tangential questions, 3B. Ta. With all his complex questions, we just need an assault course and it would be like an episode of the Cretin Factor.

Talk to Turkish, about that. BTW, I don't know anyone who can recall all the prime numbers under 10,000,000. I'm not sure what that has to do with anything, but I'm trying to ape your debating style. So, you do think they are the same? We're making progress. I'd tend to agree, but I wouldn't go as far as you by saying they are the same. Similar certainly. But the same, no, not quite. Talking of men in the Sky. This man's flesh was once put to use by a football club, but this man's flesh has long since rotted into dust. How odd. Talking of another man in the sky. This man is long dead too. Yet some people regularly come together and sing his name. Do they think he can hear them, do you think? There's some really odd behaviour. So, you think that elephants should be put to use for commercial logging?

I'm not a believer, and I don't often find myself agreeing with you, but I do agree that there are a lot of odd beliefs and rituals out there. That's f'sure. Some do good, some do bad. Some involve peaceful worship, but others, especially where different factions have formed over time, pathetically turn to violence to prove and express their level of devotedness. Islam is certainly one of the major belief systems that falls into this category, but let's not kid ourselves. There are thousands of belief systems around the world that express themselves through odd rituals, and that each turns a blind eye to violence, chauvinism and intimidation. I'm not prepared to name them, because I don't think it's helpful to do so at this time, but we all know who they are. Like all organised religions, it appears to me that they also need their 'Gods' and their 'Devils' - the good and the bad, the white and the black. Because, without the contrast of those on the 'other' side, they wouldn't be able to define themselves. The most disturbing thing about the teachings of such fractured religions, is that they seem to only be able to describe or even identify themselves by how they differ from other factions on the other side of the schism! It's pathetic. And they do all this in the name of their Gods - who, were it possible for us to speak with them, would surely distance themselves from the behaviour of their 'devotees'. After all, it's just a game. I've even heard that some of the followers (that are either borderline mentally ill, or so pathetically weak that they bow to cultural/community pressure) take to the Internet to prove their devotedness. Some such Internet worshipers have made as many as 11,365 contributions to Internet forums - weakly ascribing to unscientific concepts such as luck, prejudice and discrimination - pathetically allowing the emotional quality of their week to rest on the fortunes of 11 disciples' efforts to move encased air around a patch of grass. Some of these 'posters' as they are known, will spend large tracts of their day, alone, in front of a keyboard, where they invest time fashioning a digital avatar that they send into this virtual world to represent their deepest thoughts, needs and desires. In their twisted minds, these avatars (which we should remember do not actually exist) can become all that they are not - a sort of mental crutch for their deficiencies in the real world. These avatars can say all that their real self is unable or unwilling to. The 'posts' that these oddballs make are similar to prayers to some. It takes faith to send some form of virtual message into the ether, without knowing if anyone will 'listen' and respond. But that lack of real-world feedback, doesn't stop these devotees from feverishly sharing their innermost thoughts with a hard disk drive. If these zealots limited themselves to one prayer/post per day, do you realise that it would take over 31 years to rack up 11,365 posts? Each one made, to the unknowing and unseeing 'God' in the sky without any physical confirmation whatsoever that anyone 'real' has seen it. You can't dispute their faith, I guess. I would love to see one of these weirdos try to explain their odd behaviour to, say, an integrated British Muslim as he unfolded his mat a few times a day to pray. What on earth would that British Muslim think of such superstitious and strange behaviour? Still, live and let live I say. I guess one man's weird is another man's wonderful. In the spirit of satire #JeSuisCharlie.

Bigot?

Just for the record 3B, if Titan's Belch is supposed to be some hilarious word pun for my proud name, then I should point out that I never started that thread. I think you're getting it confused with an even more hilarious fun with words thread.

I knew I'd seen it suggested that the brothers' radicalisation started after the West's actions in Iraq. Credit to Jonnyboy.

I'm sure I've seen a post on this thread that suggested a causal link. I'll try to dig that out. It'd be wrong to suggest that his experiences directly led to the horrible events of yesterday, but according to The Independent (which cites Associated Press as its source), the younger brother had become radicalised (my words not theirs) following the actions of "The West" in Iraq... A link to the article is here, but there is not too much extra information. A similar suggested link is in The Express. Again, the full article is here. This piece is from the NY Times, and is a little more expansive. The full article is here. I've chosen to embolden that text, not the NYT. So, to your question about how the West's involvement led to the killing of cartoonists, I'd suggest there is the start of a link right there. It's worth repeating that it'd be wrong to suggest the West's involvement had a direct link to yesterday's attack, but it would have to be ignorance of the highest order to completely rule it out.

Oh God, here we go again. "Bear, you're so funny" "Bear, can you write a bit where Christian copulates with a 32lb Carp? Only I can't get wood unless I think about fishing" "Bear, could you type the next chapter whilst gauging your own core body temperature using the middle digit of your left hand?" "Bear....where....is....the....next....chapt....er....I've...been...up....all......night....practicing....trantric....masturbation....and...need....to...know....if....Christian....has....shown...her....the...room...yet....hurry....up....I...need....to....leave....for....work." "Bear, I just came. I really love you." Also lou, if you're as keen a language analyst as me (who isn't?), then you'll enjoy Bearsy's lexical transformation. It's almost as if, in real life, he's really an intelligent, talented writer, who comes on here and pretends to write like a 4 year old with a blue Smartie addiction, and occasionally forgets the 'voice' he's supposed to be using. Look out for all the plurals, that was Bearsy 2012's shtick.

Jeff's right lou. If you were left wondering how the Bear won the TMS vote in all the best categories (I'm not bitter), then read his 50 Shades of Grey review. It's moderately funny, in an ill-educated, poorly conjugated, childish sort of way. But the giggling masses on here (who read it with one hand - if you know what I mean) found it very funny. This meant that overnight, Bear became some sort of TMS Noddy Holder or Roy Wood, forever dining out on a previous moment of glory. Every TMS Awards season the PRS cheque comes in as people sing along with the chorus - and Bear doesn't even need to post in TMS anymore to win. As I said, I'm over it though.

From won pompous arse to another, Jeff, if your going to be on people's cases for what they type, then you'll have to type correct yourselve. Which is why I try not to point out grammar and spelling issues on here, because I'd hate to set myself up as some sort of paragon of penmanship, only to have my own errors pointed out to me. Toke is the exception of course, because a) he's my son and b) Toke's a ****.

Depends on the size of the boy, I guess.

It's possible. Ask Brian. Good to see grammar policing checks at the Muppet Show border, Jeff. Keep up the good work. BTW, is it Mason's? Surely, it's just Masons. Unless it's the may of the Masons. If it is, perhaps it should then be May instead? Or, it could be a May well that belongs to a single Mason. Not that I know what a May well is - perhaps it's a deep shaft through which fluid can be coaxed, but only during May? (I've got one of those, BTW). Of course, you might more accurately refer to them as 'masons - if you're still keen to get an apostrophe involved. *Because no matter how much of a pompous arse you are, there's always a more pompous arse waiting in the wings. x

You did, Bear. To be fair, you did. Nice foundation you're wearing, BTW. What shade is that? I don't want to put anything in 3B's mouth - let alone words, but I think he was using "blonde" in the same way he might have suggested you were from Essex. I also note with interest, that you didn't dispute getting completely nailed by 3B. It was just the slight against your hair colour you were concerned about.

That's really quite funny, Toke.

Timeout B3. Time . Bloody. Out. 3B. Firstly my code tags have always been code tags, not quotes. I'm not like you youngsters that rush into things in haste, instead I prefer to measure twice and cut once, and in doing so hopefully bore the **** out of someone somewhere. Secondly, I would love you to coax a hyphen or a backspace into the last sentence you wrote, so I can see what you're accusing me of. So, was it "myself nomination" or "my self-nomination". If the latter, did you really nominate yourself for LVP? That's like forum self-harming. I'd have voted for you in "fallen comrade", but I can't remember who you are. And to think we used to be forum lovers! P.S. You completely nailed brazen, blonde lou there.

Per my post above, these are the "official" responses to Questions 12. 12 -> Comments (What's on your mind?) Unique votes in the category are: -> Thank the Lord that I can fix these results by adding in ALL of the PM votes that I received. -> Nothing -> There is very rarely anything at all on my mind -> Bletch word cloud thing award for word clouds -> An After Eight or a York Fruit ? -> and the present moment provides no manner of exception to this rule. -> Its been a great year mongboarding and i got the feeling next year will be even better. -> kara tointon -> Ive ate too many sprouts -> Boobs -> Emma Willis -> Still can't believe I'm up for Loki... -> baby oil. Results for this category are: # Votes Voted for -- ----- --------- 1 1 Ive ate too many sprouts 1 1 Nothing 1 1 Bletch word cloud thing award for word clouds 1 1 An After Eight or a York Fruit ? 1 1 Thank the Lord that I can fix these results by adding in ALL of the PM votes that I received. 1 1 There is very rarely anything at all on my mind 1 1 and the present moment provides no manner of exception to this rule. 1 1 Its been a great year mongboarding and i got the feeling next year will be even better. 1 1 kara tointon 1 1 Emma Willis 1 1 Boobs 1 1 Still can't believe I'm up for Loki... 1 1 baby oil.

Mods, "Purple violet. Purple violet. Repeat, Purple violet.". FW Dolly, because you're a mate I'll give you a heads up. Like Roswell and Area 51, Question 12 has never and will never exist. It contained a response from a certain poster that, well, let's just say that a few of us would be apologising to David Icke, wearing purple shell suits and sending conciliatory PMs to pap. I'll not say any more, and the fact that including Question 12 in my answers would have pushed the post length over some magical 10,000 characters has NOTHING to do with it. By the way, what sort of pedant are you that you check the question numbers (rhet.)? I bet you're the sort of pedant that also spotted the anomaly with the voting in question 8 too. A word to the wise. Edit your post or your family will be at your funeral believing that you zipped yourself into a travel bag in your own bath in some form of failed act of auto erotic asphyxiation.

You do know that Muppetry Bronze is a euphemism round these parts, don't you Gay Boot? As is "I'm just off to the loo to stretch my muppetry bronze". Or "Baby-oiled or not, I'm just not sure that even the baby kettlebell will fit up my muppetry bronze, Turkish". Either way, a huge congratulations on coming second of the losers - behind a word bore and a bear that a) cannot conjugate verbs correctly and b) only ever posts in TMS now when he's collecting awards. You must be so proud, but some of us set ourselves higher standards.

You're welcome, but does that mean that you voted for yourself, Halo? I hope you are the only voter that did.

Come and have a look at what you could have won... But congratulations on the award you did win, Shit Urk - or Shit - Can I call you Shit?. And look who's here to present it... x