Greetings and Lamentations, I AM Lord Malignance and you WILL Crouch! before me Now,
(Villains excepted if they can figure this out for themselves)
State of Villainy
Last year at this time One did a report on the State of Villainy with a recounting of our history, and hopes for the future. One was speaking of a so called "Golden Age of Villainy" where Villainy would be more approachable to a wider marketplace. A year has gone by, we have seen Villains go and Villains return, and overall the quality of our talent continues to improve. We have kept our most valuable assets, lost some potentially promising new Villains, and seen the return of the White Skull, and the addition of Agent Wraith.
There has been strife: When One left in March for the Accounting, a responsibility One must fulfill each year, there began an event known as Toxic Codependence. From this emerged the BE Age of Villainy - a time of Healing and Improvement. This however has failed, due to the actions and intentions of one Villain, who incorrectly believes that they and theirs alone are creators and sole due beneficiaries of all of Villainy. One has tried to bridge gaps in Villainy, forgiving, communicating often in ignored conversations, and apologizing for any small or perceived infraction to no avail. A weeks tribute of posts, and other kindnesses scoffed at. One has exceed courtesy and better judgement to rebuild rifts and One has failed.
The Flakk Baton: An entirely imaginary object and responsibility, once carried by another, and later by myself, has been passed on. The fictional responsibility now rests with the instigator of the stife. They are now responsible to Protect Villainy and Support it's Members, and may now take responsibility for their failures and be held accountable. One will now instead join the gallery and follow the examples that have been set by others. Other Villains, One might point out, tear down, and Lie about others for their own twisted amusements. The Flakker is Dead. Long Live the Flakker!
Innovation: Fourth Estate and Level 3 supervllains. Two options were developed this year for Villainy. An environment for creativity free from the concerns of the superhero community called "The Fourth Estate", and a class system designed to identify and collectively amalgamate villains from MetaVillains to LARPing playthugs on Facebook.
The Fourth Estate would allow Villains to find areas in the mindscape of Villainy and explore what it means to be a Villain. To develop and innovate new strategies to broaden our appeal to a wider audience.
The class system fosters the idea that it is in fact a worthwhile pursuit for Villains to play games of Seduction and Betrayal with superheroes by befriending, collecting, and then using their personal information for blackmail or for the Lulz. The plan selectively chooses to forget that this will in turn be done back to Villainy, starting with our most vulnerable members. The superheroes outnumber Villains by factors of (ballpark) 100 to 1. One doesn't bet on long odds with friends safety. It only takes one Cloud Starchaser to bring harm to people who are friends.
R.O.A.C.H.: The Potentate has ceded his waning interest in ROACH to contributors who now demonstrate the worthwhile value of the organization. May they experience every success they deserve.
Facebook Villains and the Legion of Doom: New avenues for villains exist in Facebook as they have in Twitter. New communities of villains striving also to define what it means to be Evil. What can be seen are people who put -RLSV after their name and claim full title as Villains without any effort, concept, resume, or body of work. One thinks in future, all new villains should be identified as "Henchmen" for one year of work in an established location. They call upon no battles fought, no writings, no conception of Villainy or Evil - just nerds roleplaying.
Going Forward: One does not carry the Flakk Baton any longer. One is just going to do what One wants now, and allow the BE Age to continue on it's course. In another year we'll stop and take a look at what Villainy has allowed itself to become. In the meantime, there will be more Shameless Screen Grabs, and commentary on whatever catches One's fancy. And snark, because snark is intellectual laziness.
Yes.
2 More Days Until Malignopalooza
One has prepared the Cognac and the cakes are on order. There will be celebrations throughout the Lair as Lord Malignance finishes a second year, and begins a third. There will be "roaming meetings" (department mini parties) where One will grace staff with The Presence and allow them to crouch and demonstrate respect. This has the added benefit of allowing One to mooch their party foods and bestow upon them the opportunity to make tribute. It's a win-win all around. After the Debauchery (Offsite Night Parties - don't ask), One will be taking a well deserved vacation. One will still post - it takes literally No Thought at All to post Shameless Screen Grabs of other peoples work and offer your two second opinion. It's filler until other work can be brought online, or True Value can be created.
What is a Villain
A response to a post by another Villain at another site.
In the Marketplace of Ideas, many different ideas about what Villainy is or can be are allowed and encouraged. However, and this is very, very, simple to understand: Villains create, Henchmen tear down. If you want to surround yourself w/greedy offensive liars who are self serving backstabbers, you will create nothing and remain an unknown. Even if you have been doing this for years.
What has ever been achieved by these standards? These following are specific examples by this Villain with his own application of his professed Villainous aptitudes;
1) Legion of Doom? ~1 Month along, and the Leader has been deposed. This will be a trend. Now led by a Villain with an entire history in villainy of 1.5months. This too will be a trend, as no one will stay long enough to develop character - why should they? Each one turning on each other over and over again building towards nothing but infiltration and betrayal. The enemies are outside the front door, not within - this is Villainy 101, but the infighting by liars and selfish interests keep villains from seeing this.
2) Drive Master Legend off Blogtalk Radio. He was back a week later with a larger audience. He should thank villains for helping him, by making him seem like the reasonable one. You made Master Legend seem like he was right and smart. He couldn't have done it without you.
3) Zetaman Retires. You've just given Zetajesus his second or third resurrection. Now when he says he's a martyr he can point out examples. Excellent! He's not a showboat glory hound, he really IS struggling against the odds/bad people. He's a hero! Someone put a camera on him - thanks to villains.
As to being a nerd pretending to control armies - you perhaps speak only of personal experience. One actually has an agenda and a purpose and it is not to have imaginary armies. And attention is not sought, it is only a means to an end. This may change going forward (One has gifted this resource to others generously in the past). One has preferred instead to see the work of others flourish. There has been no marketability nor desire for same from Oneself. There are no mugs, or t-shirts, no attempt to be interviewed or to lead. The whole assumption that all Villains are in it for personal fame is an invalid assumption on it's face (and transparent rhetoric at that). One doesn't desire attention or recognition, other than that it serves a purpose. That purpose has been to guide newcomers into Villainy, and to guide (not "demand" and "dictate") a greater purpose.
A purpose of fulfillment of desires. Villainy as art? Right here. Villainy as Social Statement? Right here too. Villainy as Dire Adversaries of those stupid weaklings the superheroes - making trolling a legitimate sport? Right here. Villainy as socially responsible and contributive? Right here also. Villainy as a place for people to join in community? You can't go wrong. Villainy as the supreme dickish judges of humanity upon high? We can do that too.
As to a need and use of a "Code", to state otherwise is gross ignorance of history and demonstration of weakness. There are codes to association to every organization that strives to accomplish any activity. This has ever been so in all of recorded history. Criminality, Politics, Science, Prison, Government, Secret Societies, Religions, Military and Unions as easy and applicable examples to this vocation. The only ones without codes - the true tools to be used for their sociopathic advantages are henchmen (No offense to henchmen). When you need expendable labor, you use henchmen -that's what Villains do. Henchmen can't rise beyond their station because they have the qualities of lying, treachery, backstabbing, cruelty, and a general lack of imagination. They may be managed only as purpose driven instruments for if left to their own means, they would war with each other in unprofitable games of subterfuge. They need to be used and directed, and Villains need to use them. But there are No Villains who are successful long term who do not cultivate and maintain alliances built on degrees of respect and trust. There are no businesses that do not do this. To say otherwise, is embarrassing to any who know the worlds of commerce, trade, justice, and negotiations.
If you don't think there are rules to live by, you are pretending you don't believe there are laws or codes of morals that quite frankly absolutely DO govern your life. For example, go nude. Just try it - you will find quickly how much freedom you will Not have. To pretend otherwise as if ignorant of these obvious facts, is irresponsible, naive in the extreme, and embarrassing to hear. "Every success they deserve".
-Lord Malignance
Friday, July 29, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Some Lightweight Filler to Brighten Moods
Space Core Cake [Pic]
Yep, that space core you see above is a cake, even though it looks almost exactly like the real thing. In case you’re still in doubt, here’s a picture of the cake as it is being cut.
See? Told you! Kudos to the people at Mike’s Amazing Cakes for one of the most delicious-looking piece of robotics we’ve ever seen!
Shameless Screen Grab courtesy of Geeks are Sexy from Neatorama
It's been a little Gloomy around here. Something lightweight to brighten the mood. Malignopalooza is just a couple days away, and the Lair will be preparing delicacies to celebrate.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
SciTech Saturday: Ethics of Enhancement
Greetings and Lamentations, I AM Lord Malignance and you WILL Crouch! before me Now.
(Villains excepted of course).
A great bit of fun surrounding ComiCon in San Diego this weekend, AND a ComiCon themed SciTech Saturdays Shameless Screen Grab.
First, if you can't go, and want to see some people in costume at the convention, One directs you to enjoy the pictures, articles, and videos at Geeks Are Sexy.
Today, the Ethics of Enhancement as seen in the Movie Captain America;
Captain America is not a serious scientific film. Nearly every piece of technology is furious hand-waving. Vibranium? Vita-rays? Rocket-powered propellers? The cosmic cube? Awesome, yes, but not real. These, however, are narrative tools, not attempts at hard scientific prediction and therefore not something to be critiqued. What the comic-book-tech of Captain America allows for is an exploration of the ethics of enhancement. Here, more than perhaps any other fictional film I’ve seen, Captain America displays striking balance and nuance – it gets enhancement right.
Based on your knowledge of the film and/or comics, this post may contain *spoilers*, so consider yourself warned. And if you’re looking for review of why it’s a fun movie, A.O. Scott in the NYT captures my sentiments about the film perfectly: pulpy Nazi-punching goodness. Now, on to enhancement!
There are three major factors that make the enhancement of Steve Rogers and his crimson domed antithesis, the Red Skull, unique among comic book lore. The first is that Steve Rogers was deliberately enhanced by someone. There is no accident, no crisis-as-catalyst-and-crucible event, no mystic charm, and no superhuman heritage to explain or justify Rogers’ becoming superhuman. Rogers is superhuman because Dr. Abraham Erskine develops a superhuman serum for that express purpose. Here, the science of enhancement is itself portrayed in a positive light. In what seems like every other superhero origin story, powers are acquired through scientific hubris. Be it the unintended consequences of splitting the atom, tinkering with genetics, or trying to access some heretofore unknown dimension, comic book heroes invariably arise by accident. The super serum, the vita-rays, and the outcome of the experiment on Rogers are all a scientific success. They happen precisely the way every person in the room hopes they will. Dr. Erskine is not a madman but a humble, ethical, and brilliant scientist trying to make better people. As such, he looks for the best in the humans he hopes to enhance. In short, Steve Rogers might be the only major superhero who is the result of scientific experimentation going to plan.
Second, Steve Rogers deliberately chooses to become enhanced. I had expressed my doubts about Rogers’ consent being genuine, but the film makes his determination and clarity of thought evident. Unlike many heroes, who seem to acquire their powers out of recklessness around science (Banner, Parker, Richards, I’m looking at you), Rogers very consciously decides to go through with Dr. Erskine’s procedure. He, in fact, might be one of the only heroes who ever knew he was going to be come a hero before his transformative event. That foreknowledge is critical for demonstrating that enhancement isn’t something that is only desired by egomaniacs. Rogers seeks strength and speed to defend and protect others. His body did not match how he saw his true self. Again, we see an anti-science motif of comic books turned on its head. Normally, those who seek superpowers are unworthy because they believe they deserve to be better than others, thus, the experiments go wrong. This attitude is embodied in the Red Skull, whose evil quite literally boils to the surface when he injects the super serum. However, Rogers’ reasoning is that others deserve to be protected and defended. Altruism, not egoism, is the driving force behind Rogers’ desire to become enhanced.
Third, and most important, is that enhancement in the film is not merely “functional” enhancement. That is, Rogers is not just stronger and faster. In a private moment, Dr. Erskine explains to Rogers that the serum and vita-rays affect “everything that is inside. Good becomes great. Bad becomes worse.” Erskine is not talking about physical traits here. Rogers’ “bad” traits (i.e. his laundry list of medical issues) are not aggravated by the serum, but cured. The good/bad that becomes great/worse are moral qualities and capacities of the person. Captain America is literally super-moral. His already above-average sense of moral clarity and determination to do what is right becomes amplified in the same way that the lust for power and pleasure from slaughter are magnified in the Red Skull.
Moral enhancement, a fairly recent talking point among thinkers in the bioethics community, is handled deftly in Captain America. Enhancements do not change who we are or from where we come, but serve to empower and improve traits which we already possess. For Steve Rogers, those traits are what we wish for most in our heroes: beneficence, altruism, and humility. Note, among his list of valued traits are not unwavering loyalty to national authority (despite his irritating flag fetish) or deference to some commanding power. Instead, Rogers’ own judgment causes him to defy orders at almost every turn. Why? Because Captain America’s sense of ethics is itself enhanced. He is a better human being because of Dr. Erskine’s process.
I haven’t seen a movie that was this pro-science and pro-human goodness in a long time. I may not have seen a movie that was this pro-enhancement ever. Did I mention it also involves Nazi-punching?
Follow Kyle on his personal blog, Pop Bioethics, and on facebook and twitter.
Promotional Image of Captain America via Marvel.com
(Villains excepted of course).
A great bit of fun surrounding ComiCon in San Diego this weekend, AND a ComiCon themed SciTech Saturdays Shameless Screen Grab.
First, if you can't go, and want to see some people in costume at the convention, One directs you to enjoy the pictures, articles, and videos at Geeks Are Sexy.
Today, the Ethics of Enhancement as seen in the Movie Captain America;
Captain America Gets Enhancement Right
Captain America is not a serious scientific film. Nearly every piece of technology is furious hand-waving. Vibranium? Vita-rays? Rocket-powered propellers? The cosmic cube? Awesome, yes, but not real. These, however, are narrative tools, not attempts at hard scientific prediction and therefore not something to be critiqued. What the comic-book-tech of Captain America allows for is an exploration of the ethics of enhancement. Here, more than perhaps any other fictional film I’ve seen, Captain America displays striking balance and nuance – it gets enhancement right.
Based on your knowledge of the film and/or comics, this post may contain *spoilers*, so consider yourself warned. And if you’re looking for review of why it’s a fun movie, A.O. Scott in the NYT captures my sentiments about the film perfectly: pulpy Nazi-punching goodness. Now, on to enhancement!
There are three major factors that make the enhancement of Steve Rogers and his crimson domed antithesis, the Red Skull, unique among comic book lore. The first is that Steve Rogers was deliberately enhanced by someone. There is no accident, no crisis-as-catalyst-and-crucible event, no mystic charm, and no superhuman heritage to explain or justify Rogers’ becoming superhuman. Rogers is superhuman because Dr. Abraham Erskine develops a superhuman serum for that express purpose. Here, the science of enhancement is itself portrayed in a positive light. In what seems like every other superhero origin story, powers are acquired through scientific hubris. Be it the unintended consequences of splitting the atom, tinkering with genetics, or trying to access some heretofore unknown dimension, comic book heroes invariably arise by accident. The super serum, the vita-rays, and the outcome of the experiment on Rogers are all a scientific success. They happen precisely the way every person in the room hopes they will. Dr. Erskine is not a madman but a humble, ethical, and brilliant scientist trying to make better people. As such, he looks for the best in the humans he hopes to enhance. In short, Steve Rogers might be the only major superhero who is the result of scientific experimentation going to plan.
Second, Steve Rogers deliberately chooses to become enhanced. I had expressed my doubts about Rogers’ consent being genuine, but the film makes his determination and clarity of thought evident. Unlike many heroes, who seem to acquire their powers out of recklessness around science (Banner, Parker, Richards, I’m looking at you), Rogers very consciously decides to go through with Dr. Erskine’s procedure. He, in fact, might be one of the only heroes who ever knew he was going to be come a hero before his transformative event. That foreknowledge is critical for demonstrating that enhancement isn’t something that is only desired by egomaniacs. Rogers seeks strength and speed to defend and protect others. His body did not match how he saw his true self. Again, we see an anti-science motif of comic books turned on its head. Normally, those who seek superpowers are unworthy because they believe they deserve to be better than others, thus, the experiments go wrong. This attitude is embodied in the Red Skull, whose evil quite literally boils to the surface when he injects the super serum. However, Rogers’ reasoning is that others deserve to be protected and defended. Altruism, not egoism, is the driving force behind Rogers’ desire to become enhanced.
Third, and most important, is that enhancement in the film is not merely “functional” enhancement. That is, Rogers is not just stronger and faster. In a private moment, Dr. Erskine explains to Rogers that the serum and vita-rays affect “everything that is inside. Good becomes great. Bad becomes worse.” Erskine is not talking about physical traits here. Rogers’ “bad” traits (i.e. his laundry list of medical issues) are not aggravated by the serum, but cured. The good/bad that becomes great/worse are moral qualities and capacities of the person. Captain America is literally super-moral. His already above-average sense of moral clarity and determination to do what is right becomes amplified in the same way that the lust for power and pleasure from slaughter are magnified in the Red Skull.
Moral enhancement, a fairly recent talking point among thinkers in the bioethics community, is handled deftly in Captain America. Enhancements do not change who we are or from where we come, but serve to empower and improve traits which we already possess. For Steve Rogers, those traits are what we wish for most in our heroes: beneficence, altruism, and humility. Note, among his list of valued traits are not unwavering loyalty to national authority (despite his irritating flag fetish) or deference to some commanding power. Instead, Rogers’ own judgment causes him to defy orders at almost every turn. Why? Because Captain America’s sense of ethics is itself enhanced. He is a better human being because of Dr. Erskine’s process.
I haven’t seen a movie that was this pro-science and pro-human goodness in a long time. I may not have seen a movie that was this pro-enhancement ever. Did I mention it also involves Nazi-punching?
Follow Kyle on his personal blog, Pop Bioethics, and on facebook and twitter.
Promotional Image of Captain America via Marvel.com
Confession: *Mind Control*
Greetings and Lamentations, I AM Lord Malignance and you WILL Crouch! before me Now.
(Villains excepted of course).
Every once in awhile, one is confronted by the surprising admission from someone, that One exerts *Mind Control* over people - that by my writings people have been Dictated to, or Demands upon them have been made. This has never been true, is not true now, and will never be true.
When One speaks of Villainy, it should be understood (but clearly is not) that Villainy is a nebulous space - something so large and unspecified, that each of us may only define it as we personally see it. That One declares that "Villains do indeed have honor" is because that is One's own experience and understanding of this great big thing called Villainy. Each person may also have their own understanding, and in the world of ideas, both ideas may exist simultaneously. The merits of one or any other may be analyzed, weighed and considered, and any discriminating individuals with functional prefrontal cortexes, are capable of exercising their free will and making a choice. Or choosing not to make a choice. As example; "Villains are not weak willed sheep, and ARE capable of using adult level decision making abilities". That is One's belief based on experience. It IS however an idea and One's opinion - you may believe it, or you may choose Not to believe it. Regardless of One's suggestion that Villains have this ability, it remains only a stated opinion, and does not have the ability to Dictate to anyone, and should not be felt as some kind of Demand or exercise of *Mind Control* by anyone who has basic reasoning ability.
*Send $money to Lord Malignance. Send gold, rare art, jewelry, stocks, bonds, and any items of great value*
Sorry. Just in case - you never know...
So, to Villains, villains, weakling superheroes, and readers, You should take from this the following understanding;
*I AM Lord Malignance, Dire Ruler of All within the Peril of my Iron Will. One will dominate and crush all who come before me and they will be made to Crouch! The onset Fear of my arrival is announced by the wailing and tears of superheroes and weaklings.
I AM A VILLAIN.*
That does not mean however that you must obey me (until One properly enslaves you). One even specifies at the greeting that "Villains excepted of course" - Villains are expressly given an allowance to not crouch before me. It's right up there on quite a few pages for almost 2 years now, and it can't be clearer than that. You truly ARE free to choose your own destiny. One does not Command, Dictate, Lead, Demand, or *Mentally Control* anyone. Words and ideas only have the power the reader assigns to them. If you believe that One is trying to overthrow the Potenetate because One has said so, then if you choose to believe that, then One IS. If you care to not be a feeble minded imbecile, you will look to find any evidence that this is true. Any at all. Anywhere. Ever. Like the Lie that One is/has/will join a "Tangen SuperCrew" of superheroes as their token Villain to betray Villainy. There IS no evidence of either of these things being true. They are words, and crazy ones at that. One can't even reasonably overthrow the Potentate in any way. One is not even a member of ROACH. One had never heard of the Tangen Supercrew until the accusation by a Villain was made, and reasonably why would One work to destroy something One has been working so hard to preserve? One has investigated this story thoroughly and there is no evidence. One did the same with the rumor that Superheroes were carrying guns. One had no knowledge of this, and had to find evidence by asking the superhero "Superhero" to his online face. When One found truth, even against my own previous assertions that no superhero would ever carry a gun on superhero playtime justice patrols, one made a retraction and corrected the record. As the center of the lies (Overthrow and SuperCrew), One is the authority to say that these items are both false. You are invited to find any proof anywhere and present it if you can find any.
One dares you.
Otherwise the only power here are words. One chooses by free will to not believe these words (because - let's be honest, they're lies) and feels no control over me. Because like you, One is Not controlled. One is Free. One cannot believe that functioning adults can be so very weak as to believe that they are suffering like mewling kittens under the ruthless dictatorship of my *Mental Control* and must choose to backstab through lies, frame ups, and general stupidity. If that works for you - if you can use it for your own agenda, then go with it. What you have lost by this is greater than what you will gain, if your present success is any indicator. *And you will have surrounding you, people who will know what you have done, and they in turn will talk about you.*
(Sorry, One doesn't know this for a fact, but it sounds scary awesome, so One included it. *Believe it if you Will*. )
-Lord Malignance
(Villains excepted of course).
Every once in awhile, one is confronted by the surprising admission from someone, that One exerts *Mind Control* over people - that by my writings people have been Dictated to, or Demands upon them have been made. This has never been true, is not true now, and will never be true.
When One speaks of Villainy, it should be understood (but clearly is not) that Villainy is a nebulous space - something so large and unspecified, that each of us may only define it as we personally see it. That One declares that "Villains do indeed have honor" is because that is One's own experience and understanding of this great big thing called Villainy. Each person may also have their own understanding, and in the world of ideas, both ideas may exist simultaneously. The merits of one or any other may be analyzed, weighed and considered, and any discriminating individuals with functional prefrontal cortexes, are capable of exercising their free will and making a choice. Or choosing not to make a choice. As example; "Villains are not weak willed sheep, and ARE capable of using adult level decision making abilities". That is One's belief based on experience. It IS however an idea and One's opinion - you may believe it, or you may choose Not to believe it. Regardless of One's suggestion that Villains have this ability, it remains only a stated opinion, and does not have the ability to Dictate to anyone, and should not be felt as some kind of Demand or exercise of *Mind Control* by anyone who has basic reasoning ability.
*Send $money to Lord Malignance. Send gold, rare art, jewelry, stocks, bonds, and any items of great value*
Sorry. Just in case - you never know...
So, to Villains, villains, weakling superheroes, and readers, You should take from this the following understanding;
*I AM Lord Malignance, Dire Ruler of All within the Peril of my Iron Will. One will dominate and crush all who come before me and they will be made to Crouch! The onset Fear of my arrival is announced by the wailing and tears of superheroes and weaklings.
I AM A VILLAIN.*
That does not mean however that you must obey me (until One properly enslaves you). One even specifies at the greeting that "Villains excepted of course" - Villains are expressly given an allowance to not crouch before me. It's right up there on quite a few pages for almost 2 years now, and it can't be clearer than that. You truly ARE free to choose your own destiny. One does not Command, Dictate, Lead, Demand, or *Mentally Control* anyone. Words and ideas only have the power the reader assigns to them. If you believe that One is trying to overthrow the Potenetate because One has said so, then if you choose to believe that, then One IS. If you care to not be a feeble minded imbecile, you will look to find any evidence that this is true. Any at all. Anywhere. Ever. Like the Lie that One is/has/will join a "Tangen SuperCrew" of superheroes as their token Villain to betray Villainy. There IS no evidence of either of these things being true. They are words, and crazy ones at that. One can't even reasonably overthrow the Potentate in any way. One is not even a member of ROACH. One had never heard of the Tangen Supercrew until the accusation by a Villain was made, and reasonably why would One work to destroy something One has been working so hard to preserve? One has investigated this story thoroughly and there is no evidence. One did the same with the rumor that Superheroes were carrying guns. One had no knowledge of this, and had to find evidence by asking the superhero "Superhero" to his online face. When One found truth, even against my own previous assertions that no superhero would ever carry a gun on superhero playtime justice patrols, one made a retraction and corrected the record. As the center of the lies (Overthrow and SuperCrew), One is the authority to say that these items are both false. You are invited to find any proof anywhere and present it if you can find any.
One dares you.
Otherwise the only power here are words. One chooses by free will to not believe these words (because - let's be honest, they're lies) and feels no control over me. Because like you, One is Not controlled. One is Free. One cannot believe that functioning adults can be so very weak as to believe that they are suffering like mewling kittens under the ruthless dictatorship of my *Mental Control* and must choose to backstab through lies, frame ups, and general stupidity. If that works for you - if you can use it for your own agenda, then go with it. What you have lost by this is greater than what you will gain, if your present success is any indicator. *And you will have surrounding you, people who will know what you have done, and they in turn will talk about you.*
(Sorry, One doesn't know this for a fact, but it sounds scary awesome, so One included it. *Believe it if you Will*. )
-Lord Malignance
Friday, July 22, 2011
Policy Change: The Flakk Baton 2
Greetings and Lamentations, I AM Lord Malignance and you WILL Crouch! before me Now!
(Villains excepted of course).
One took the Mighty Flakk Baton and returned it to the White Skull. It should be pointed out to the slower readers, that in fact there is no physical object that is the "Flakk Baton" it is nothing but an imaginary device. It is a very simple metaphor for the responsibilities left behind by the White Skull, that One carried in his absence. Now in his return, he bravely resists the desire to feel it's seductive power once more, and declines it's return. By our mutual disowning the responsibility to Protect Villainy and Support its Members, that responsibility now falls to Agent Beryllium, the DeFacto Leader of the Premier Villainous Organization R.O.A.C.H. She may acknowledge this or deny it. It is an imaginary thing.
The Flakker is dead (again). Long Live the Flakker.
One wishes Agent Beryllium every success in her new role, as responsible for her own actions and their consequences. You get to watch the sandbox, and have someone tear you down for trying to give every Villain an opportunity to be incredible.
No longer will she be able to claim that Lord Malignance is "DICTATING" by flakking her mistakes, or seeking to protect her from the consequences of her own provocations. Whether posting IPAddresses, tearing down other Villains (her friends no less) and calling her friends "nuts" or "dangerous", she is now responsible for her own actions. Class 3 supervillains - go make her proud. No longer will One point out flaws in dangerous and stupid plans.
Oneself in turn will take Agent Beryllium's lead and follow her example as she has behaved and behaves still. Readers of this blog will remember the Villainous lengths one has gone through to overlook her frequent petty attacks on Oneself, while all the time One has never retaliated, apologized for the only public insult (used only to stop her stream of lies), and even let go her attempted frame up for her own actions. When posters mention on this blog her treacherous behavior, One has deleted them previously, ever and only to protect her. One goes to other blogs to plead with their admins to remove harsh opinions. One emails detractors and entreats them to give her another chance, and to stop being provocative.
This is what Agent Beryllium has been complaining about apparently. Great Lord Malignance was too large, too prosperous, and not enough attention was going to her, therefore he must be torn down. This new direction will work out so much better, as she guides the BE Age of Villainy, all eyes can now be on her.
So it's a Victory for Villainy. It's exactly what she wants. And One gets to slack off and gossip for a change.
Note: When One says "Policy Change" it means only the policy that One operates under. It is only mentioned and suggested for others consideration if they choose to. One doesn't HAVE a Villainous Organization, and therefor actually has no one (except staff) reporting to me. One cannot be responsible for your ability to be mind controlled. It is Nice to think about though.
Wear scuba flippers exclusively and in all instances...
-Lord Malignance
By the way, in case anyone doesn't get this, One does not Demand. Oh, the Crouching yes, but that's only if One can actually SEE you. Otherwise, One makes suggestions. It's being insinuated that One is dictating and makes demands. Can anyone show me any example where One has ever made a demand? Because otherwise, it's just another lie being spread.
Policy Change: The Flakk Baton
You will Still be Crouching before me
Greetings and Lamentations, I AM Lord Malignance and you WILL Crouch! before me Now!
(Villains excepted, of course).
Preparing for Malignopalooza 2011, and clearing up some Villainous paperwork before the event and my eventual vacation afterwards, one thought the responsible duty was to ensure a smooth transition in Villainy, so as not to experience another "Toxic Codependence" episode.
In the history of Villainy, there have been a number of Ages. These ages roughly correspond to The Bronze Age, The Silver Age, and our current BE Age. In the earliest days of the Bronze Age the Mighty White Skull was forefront and wielded the mighty power of Flakking. Any who contested the malevolent will of Villainy, had to face his wrath. After he left, One took up this dropped baton and have carried it in his absence, in what became the Silver Age of Villainy.
One now, having taken one more insult along with the lies and treachery of the De Facto Leader of the Premier Villainous Organization in this the new BE Age, hands the responsibility back to the White Skull, with my full support and best wishes for his success. When he experiences a measure of success, One hopes that the De Facto Leader does not in turn resort to tearing him down also.
Pay attention: One Villain's success is Not a detriment to any other Villain's success. A success by one Villain is a shared success for Villainy. There is no need to tear someone else down because they contribute. You don't get to be a Prima Donna all the time. Deal with it.
It goes without saying that while gone, AFTER Malignopalooza (August 1st - mark your calendars), One will not be expecting any untowards comments posted, and if the posters get frisky, they will be beaten, and then may be deleted.
The Flakker is Dead. Long Live the Flakker!
-Lord Malignance
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Making Connections to Better Understanding.
Lessons from Sherlock Holmes Pt.I: Paying Attention to What Isn't There
Today, we begin with the first in a brief series of lessons from Sherlock Holmes on the importance of true observation, of using our senses to their fullest potential to be fully mindful as we make our decisions. The first lesson is, perhaps, the most difficult to apply on a regular basis: pay attention to what isn’t there, not just what is. Absence is just as important and just as telling as presence.
The curious incident of the dog in the nighttime: what doesn’t happen matters as much as what does
It is precisely on this distinction that Holmes bases his insight in “Silver Blaze.” When Inspector Gregory asks, “Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?" Holmes responds, “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time." But, protests the inspector, "The dog did nothing in the night-time." To which Holmes delivers the punch line: "That was the curious incident.”
For Holmes, the absence of barking is the turning point of the case: the dog must have known the intruder. Otherwise, he would have made a fuss.
For us, the absence of barking is something that is all too easy to forget. We don’t even dismiss things that aren’t there; we don’t remark on them to begin with. But often, they are just as telling and just as important—and would make just as much difference to our decisions—as their present counterparts.
How asking what isn’t there can help us make better decisions
Take, for example, a decision to buy something. Some information will be there, right up front. But some will be silent. And marketers have spent countless hours and dollars figuring out how to get you to buy what they want you to buy—and not, perhaps, what you might want to buy for yourself—by presenting the information in a highly strategic way. The tricks are endless (and each one could merit a book chapter on exploiting the irrationalities of our decision making). What you present first, where it is positioned, what it is next to: all of this will influence what you buy.
Numerous studies have illustrated that our brains are quite faulty when it comes to processing information in a way that adequately takes into account what is and isn’t there. We systematically undervalue high probabilities and overvalue low; we confirm what we want to see and discredit what we don’t—and the strategic omission of information plays into every single one of these tendencies. In other words, marketers like to exploit what’s called omission neglect: they omit, we neglect; they win, we lose.
The pantyhose study: strategic presentation of information biases judgment
An effect in isolation can be minor, and not really malicious. Take, for instance, this simple study. In 1977, Nisbett and Wilson ran a series of experiments in a shopping mall. They placed four pairs of pantyhose on a table and asked participants to choose one. In reality, the pairs were identical. However, participants overwhelmingly chose the rightmost pair – and refused to believe the experimenter when told that position might have influenced their choice. The original omission: the pairs were the same. The effect of the mindless choice (i.e., a choice that didn’t really look at the pantyhose to see that they were, in fact, the same): even when told of the omission, in essence leveling the playing field—something not often done in the real world—participants refused to believe it, clinging instead to confirming the choice they had already committed to.
Such minor effects add up and can even mask defects or information that is omitted on purpose because it might detract from the appeal of an item. Your job is to look beyond what is presented and to actually, mindfully interact with it. In a purchase: ask, what aren’t I being told that might be important, even if all the things I am being told are fantastic? Dig deeper and probe for what isn’t there. It’s likely that you actually have more information that you know (in the pantyhose example: your senses should tell you all pairs are identical, and you shouldn’t dismiss that information; in that case, what ‘isn’t there’ is actually right in front of your eyes).
Or, how about a decision to accept a date with someone, or to decide, after a date, whether to go on another one? People present themselves strategically, too. Wouldn’t you want to ask what isn’t there—both what is omitted on purpose and what may not be there at all that you might actually want—and not just focus on what is?
Non-choices are choices, too
Finally, let’s go back to that curious dog. He could have barked or not. He didn’t. One way to look at that is to say, as the inspector does, he did nothing at all. But the other is to say, as Holmes does, that’s not true. He did something. He actively chose not to bark. The result of the two lines of reasoning is identical: a silent dog. But the implications are diametrically opposed: passively doing nothing, or actively doing something.
As I wrote in my first-ever Artful Choice post, non-choices are choices, too. And they are very telling choices at that. Take the well-known default effect: more often than not, we stick to default options and don’t expend the energy to change, even if another option is in fact better for us. It’s simply easier to do nothing. But that’s doesn’t mean we’ve actually not done anything. We have. We’ve chosen, in a way, to remain silent.
Pay attention to it all. Actively engage and never just assume an absence means nothing. While it’s easier by far to assume it doesn’t, or ignore it altogether, easier doesn’t mean better, especially when it comes to your own, personal decisions.
[image credit:Sherlock Holmes revealing the murderer of the trainer, John Straker From "The Adventure of Silver Blaze" By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, originally published in Strand Magazine in 1892, Sidney Paget]
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
A Victim Cries Out For Justice
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| http://atlantarunner.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/superherotrip.jpg?w=460 |
Greetings and Lamentations, I AM Lord Malignance and you WILL Crouch! before me now.
(Villains excepted, of course)
As you know, Lord Malignance, Dire Tyrant of the Colorado Holdfast and Scourge of Villainy likes to browse the Internet and seek out stories of value to Evil. One found such a story just now. It is a tale of one set upon by many and ruthlessly attacked for being successful. The bitter hatred of frenemies tearing the other down afraid the individual might challenge the Order of Things, Discrimination, Lies, Slander, Backstabbing, and Gossip. More than anything the pervasive FEAR that all the weaknesses hidden, might be revealed, and they would be known for what they are.
It is the story of superheroes, of course,
Heroes in the Night: Hope Event This Weekend
http://heroesinthenight.blogspot.com/2011/07/hope-event-this-weekend.html?showComment=1311181123123#c313065615360631095
If you are a Villain, and just need to "get your gloat on", you will find few opportunities quite so rich and fulfilling as the posting at that link. One partook of a rich meal there and found my Evil sustained. One is sure you will too.
Bon Appetit !
-Lord Malignance
Scientific Study: Why Women Prefer Villains
Science Sides with Captain Obvious: Unsurprising Study Results
By Adrienne Crezo on Jul 20, 2011 at 5:06 am
I love scientific studies. I read study reports before reading study reports was my job, and I continued afterward just for kicks. In the piles of new innovation and breakthroughs, though, there always seem to be a few that make me wonder why the topic warranted study at all—sometimes, it seems, science sets out to confirm the obvious. Here are a few such results, in no particular order.
What’s that you say? Chicks dig the swagger? We like the dark, broody type? Yes, we know. But, in case there was doubt, a study published in the American Psychological Association journal Emotion indicates that women find men who look powerful or moody more sexually attractive than smiling men. Conversely, men in the same study find smiling women most attractive, and are least likely to find powerful- or confident-looking women appealing.
Theories about why this is true rely on data from other studies, which report that male expressions of pride accentuate masculine features that women find most drool-worthy, whereas men find amiable, happy women most enticing, aligning with the traditional role of women as “submissive and vulnerable.” It seems feminism and gender equality haven’t been around long enough to change the way our brains work. It also explains why Don Draper is dead sexy even though he’s such a jerk.
If people are talking smack about you, chances are they probably see you differently than they see others. I mean, duh, right? Think about it: you probably see between dozens and hundreds of people in a given day, but you don’t notice them all. If, however, a person is preceded by a bit of bad gossip, your brain will pick him or her out of a crowd. But why? To determine whether someone is a friend or foe, according to Science
Now.
To test this, researchers showed different images to each subject’s left and right eye at the same time, effectively pitting them against each other in a contest for the brain’s attention. The viewer has to register one image before the other; the winner is the picture with priority granted by the brain. Every picture (all of people) was given a bit of information: “threw a chair at a classmate” or “helped an elderly woman with her groceries,” or similarly negative/positive statements. The negatively noted face reached the subjects’ consciousness about half a second faster than the nice person’s face, essentially spotting a foe or rival with
So, in short: if you think a person might be worth avoiding, you can spot them in a crowd pretty quickly. This sounds pretty much like high school to me, but it’s nice that it’s been confirmed.
Huh. Really. This is one of the least surprising no-brainers in this list, I think, for no other reason than I can’t imagine a situation in which the opposite (or anything like it) might be true. But it’s not the snotty nose or hiccuping wail that makes men hightail it for the door–it’s the smell of your tears, woman.
Even if the scent isn’t detectable on a conscious level, the chemical signal of weepy eyes will temporarily send testosterone plummeting in nearby men. You can blame pheromones for this one; tears produced as a result of emotional turmoil are chemically different than, say, eyelash-in-the-eye tears. And the worst part may be that men who sniffed a woman’s sad tears were not only not attracted to her, they were also less empathetic.
Yeesh.
The study’s reverse–testing the female reaction to the emotional tears of men–hasn’t been conducted yet. It seems getting men to cry voluntarily, even for science, is not an easy task
That’s right. Scientists know that people will find their conclusions a matter of common sense. Hindsight bias is a bit like the Guess Which Number I’m Thinking Of game; you have no idea which number I’m thinking of, but when I say “42!” you think, “Ugh, I knew that!”
The brain is a place that likes to keep its contents organized. So when you learn new information, you tend to lose previous contradictory ideas that would muddy-up the works. You thought I was thinking of 17, then maybe 4, then maybe 291. But when I tell you I’ve been thinking of 42 the entire time, you toss out your old ideas about it and replace those ideas with memories graced with hindsight. You know now what I was thinking, so you knew then, too. Or so you tell yourself. You Are Not So Smart explains it like this:
You are always looking back at the person you used to be, always reconstructing the story of your life to better match the person you are today. You have needed to keep a tidy mind to navigate the world ever since you lived in jungles and on savannas. Cluttered minds got bogged down, and the bodies they controlled got eaten. Once you learn from your mistakes, or replace bad info with good, there isn’t much use in retaining the garbage, so you delete it. This deletion of your old incorrect assumptions de-clutters your mind. Sure, you are lying to yourself, but it’s for a good cause.
If hindsight bias holds true, everything on this list was news to me when I read it the first time, and in looking back, I’m replacing my previous ideas about what women like and how men react to emotional outbursts with what I know now.
But I knew that already, of course. It’s so obvious.
Image credits: g4r37h, AMC, iStockphoto, 0-26Survivor
Shameless Screen Grab courtesy of Neatorama
Science based conclusions;
Women prefer Villains, because Villains rule.
Women gossip.
Weaklings are not attractive*.
Science states the obvious.
Scientists - never afraid to pick up some easy spending money by doing a little Venkmanian Research (it keeps the lights on).
-Lord Malignance
Looking for Interns.
* One contests the conclusion drawn above w/text;
"Conversely, men in the same study find smiling women most attractive, and are least likely to find powerful- or confident-looking women appealing.
* One contests the conclusion drawn above w/text;
"Conversely, men in the same study find smiling women most attractive, and are least likely to find powerful- or confident-looking women appealing.
Theories about why this is true rely on data from other studies, which report that male expressions of pride accentuate masculine features that women find most drool-worthy, whereas men find amiable, happy women most enticing, aligning with the traditional role of women as “submissive and vulnerable.”
The conclusions drawn are subjective and do not necessarily follow the preceding research. This is known as non sequitur and is a process of formal logic. A smiling woman does not necessarily connote a woman without power or confidence. Quite the contrary, and therefore the following conclusion drawn from other research, that happy women are understood to be submissive or vulnerable is also suspect in alternative research may be found False. Realistically (and surprisingly quite a few) people do not appreciate that a Smile is confidence and happiness, and these are (in our Western culture - and these conclusions of attractiveness are always highly subjective based on culture) always considered attractive.
The conclusions drawn are subjective and do not necessarily follow the preceding research. This is known as non sequitur and is a process of formal logic. A smiling woman does not necessarily connote a woman without power or confidence. Quite the contrary, and therefore the following conclusion drawn from other research, that happy women are understood to be submissive or vulnerable is also suspect in alternative research may be found False. Realistically (and surprisingly quite a few) people do not appreciate that a Smile is confidence and happiness, and these are (in our Western culture - and these conclusions of attractiveness are always highly subjective based on culture) always considered attractive.
And baring teeth, is universally understood in all of Animalia as a challenge.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Villainy DOES Indeed Have a Code
Part of complete coverage from
Frank Sinatra's lesson in loyalty
July 17, 2011 10:03 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Bob Greene: Frank Sinatra so legendary, he's still part of pop culture years after his death
- But there was a time when his career was lagging and he frequented Patsy's in Manhattan
- The owner, Patsy Scognamillo, opened on Thanksgiving to accommodate Sinatra
- Greene: It's the people who deliver a kindness when you're down that you stay loyal to
RELATED TOPICS
Editor's note: CNN contributor Bob Greene is a best-selling author whose books include "Late Edition: A Love Story" and "Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen."
(CNN) -- Some people are so big during their lives, even death doesn't seem to entirely take them away.
So it is with Frank Sinatra. He left this earth in May of 1998, yet there is seldom a day when you don't hear his voice drifting out of a radio, seldom a week when you don't catch a flash of his face on a television screen, or read a reference to him in a newspaper or a magazine. Sinatra: The word itself signals something. Those three quick syllables: sharp, snappy, staccato. The images the name brings to mind: the Rat Pack, ring-a-ding-ding, very good years, strangers in the night. Many adored him, some despised him; few were indifferent.
In New York, especially, his voice remains omnipresent. His "New York, New York" might as well be the city's official anthem. Many times when I've visited Manhattan I have walked past what was said to be Sinatra's favorite restaurant: an unprepossessing-enough-looking Italian place on West 56th Street called Patsy's. This, Sinatra legend has it, is the spot where he could relax, where he felt most at home.
I'd never gone inside. I had imagined it as a peak-of-the-mountain place, a restaurant where only the most savvy would congregate, men and women who were at the pinnacle of their games, who had long ago learned and mastered all the angles. After all, this was where Sinatra had his regular table, wasn't it? How could mere mortals have a shot at fitting in?
This trip, I came in for dinner. And learned a lesson.
Sinatra, in his chairman-of-the-board years, in his sell-out-every-seat-in-the-concert-hall decades, did, in fact, gravitate to this place. But it wasn't because he was the biggest name in entertainment. It was because at one point in his life, he feared that he might be finished.
"My grandfather was the first member of our family to know him," said Salvatore J. Scognamillo, the current chef and co-owner of Patsy's.
The grandfather -- Pasquale "Patsy" Scognamillo -- had co-owned a restaurant nearby called the Sorrento during the first years of the 1940s. The young Sinatra was brought in one day by his boss, bandleader Tommy Dorsey. "I've got this skinny kid from Hoboken," Dorsey reportedly told Patsy Scognamillo. "Fatten him up."
Sinatra swiftly became an international singing idol whose voice and face made women and girls scream and faint; riots broke out at his concerts. Patsy, meanwhile, left the Sorrento and opened Patsy's. Both men -- the crooner and the cook -- were doing well for themselves.
But in the early 1950s, Sinatra's career crashed. He was no longer a kid. His records stopped selling. His romance with Ava Gardner was on the rocks. His record company dropped him. The winner suddenly was being widely seen as a loser, washed up.
People who follow the Sinatra story know about the eventual comeback: how he landed a role in the movie "From Here to Eternity" and won an Academy Award, how his career zoomed again, how he became the living symbol of success and swagger.
Yet in those down years, no one could have anticipated the rebirth. Sinatra was a has-been, yesterday's news.
"He would come in to the restaurant alone for lunch," Sal Scognamillo said to me. I could tell that this was a thrice-told family tale -- or a thrice-times-thrice-told tale. That didn't make it any less compelling.
"My grandfather would sit with him," Sal said. "There would be people eating lunch who would avoid making eye contact with Sinatra -- people who used to know him when he was on top. Sinatra would nod toward them and say to my grandfather: 'My fair-weather friends.'"
One November, on the day before Thanksgiving, Sinatra asked Patsy if he would make him a solo reservation for the next day. "He said he would be coming in for Thanksgiving dinner by himself," Sal said. "He said, 'Give me anything but turkey.' He didn't want to think about the holiday, but he didn't want to be alone."
The restaurant was scheduled to be closed on Thanksgiving. But Patsy didn't tell Sinatra that; he told him that he'd make the reservation for 3 p.m. He didn't want Sinatra to know that he was opening especially for him, so he invited the families of the restaurant's staff to come in for dinner, too. He cooked for Sinatra, on that solitary holiday, and it wasn't until years later that Sinatra found out.
That's where the loyalty came from. That's why Sinatra never stopped coming to the restaurant. In later years, when Patsy's would be jammed with diners hoping to get a glimpse of him, few understood why the most famous singer in the world would single out one place as his constant favorite.
It was no big secret to the Scognamillo family. They all knew. A person recalls how he is treated not when he is on top of the world, undefeated, but when he is at his lowest, thinking he will never again see the sun.
"Up those stairs, that's where Sinatra used to have his table," I heard a man say to his date as they entered the restaurant. He's still packing them in, 13 years after his death.
Who remembers a kindness that comes when kindnesses are in short supply? Who most treasures being made to feel welcome when every door seems to be slamming shut?
In the wee small hours of the morning, only the lonely.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.
Courtesy of CNN
One hears some who claim to be Villains say that there is no trust, honor, loyalty or "code" to those who aspire to work in Villainy. One has contested these false and naive beliefs, and continues to point out that with Villains, there definitely IS trust, honor, loyalty and a code.
You have but to do no more than look into the world and find many examples. In every culture throughout all of civilization there have always been Villainous Organizations, whether Secret Societies, Criminal Enterprises, or Political Cabals. You hear Omerta and laugh as state prosecutors take their organizations apart - but you forget: These same organizations come from traditions going back many hundreds of years of successful business in Evil.
One holds to these ideals. Trust is not given, it is earned. Once earned it is kept. That you may trust in this, is a Villains Honor. Likewise Friendship, too easily thought little of in social networks with acquaintances immediately given something invaluable, as if it were nothing. Friendship is not discarded unless necessary, and then only reluctantly.
Villainy has a Code of trust and honor and loyalty, a code that compels us to Defend Villainy and Support its Villains. When our Villainy goes wrong, it is the Code that compels us to stand up for what is Evil and point out what is weakness, or damaging to the work and hopes of others. To do less is cowardice, and shames us all. It makes us no better than heroes who bury their shame in fertile grounds of apathy and thus plant the seeds of future failures.
Villains also do not forget, nor forgive easily. We are rightly feared for it is Tradition that wrongs done will be avenged. A Villain's wrath will be felt, whether directly, indirectly, or both. Revenge or Vendetta, a Villain will have an accounting of slights, attacks, and backstabbings made. There are many Traditions, most are fun, while others serve to foster Respect. IF there can be no respect given, there can be no respect in return.
There are villains without these qualities. Many in fact, as they play and find their ways through channels, seeking to learn and acquire what we have and take for granted. What we have earned and has been hard fought for over years. Don't aspire to be what they are - less, so much less than our Villainy. They are distrustful creatures, always conspiring to collect the information to destroy another. Waiting to turn on each other with blackmail, and revealed secrets. How can they hope to be anything? They cannot. Without hope to create something, they are consigned to create nothing, and drag any with them down into their being nothing.
Aspire to uphold the Code, and be worthy of the benefits in entrusts; Friendship. Loyalty. Trust. Honor. Tradition. Respect. And a collaboration in the very best Evil that we can create. Something Feared, Respected, and Inclusion amongst this number sought after.
We Are Villains
-Lord Malignance
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