OFMIM.
And, as always, yer ‘umble servant is ‘ere to ‘elp you through it.
We start this week off with a dissection of Freudian analysis. (Yes, I know, you’re hungover and grumpy, I’ll try to keep this as painless as possible.)
Sigmund Freud, you may recall, was the crank whose theories about the unconscious mind have plagued the (pseudo)science of psychology ever since his day. Upon close examination of his actual case studies, it turns out that the most celebrated psychoanalyst who ever lived, was in fact a giant fraud.
Why do I bring this up on this particular Monday?
Because of late I have had to deal with far more nonsense derived from the works of Sigmund Fraud than any sane man should have to deal with.
One of those derivations, as it happens, is the “science” of Dianetics. If you want a really good belly-laugh, check out this old propaganda video:
The reason why Dianetics is a direct descendant of Sigmund Freud’s more crackpot theories is because, well, it actually is.
L. Ron Hubbard originally presented Dianetics as some sort of marvelous “bolt from the blue” breakthrough in treating mental disorders and health issues of all kinds, and claimed that through the heuristic methods that he had assembled, with a direct focus on practical applications rather than dry theoretical exercises, he could effectively treat any manner of illness of virtually any kind. The results promised to be spectacular for any patient; Hubbard claimed that he could give his patients perfect memory, perfect eyesight, and perfect physical health.
It was all balderdash, of course. Every single time that LRH’s wildest claims were put to the test, it turned out that they could not be substantiated.
But LRH’s “big idea” actually derives from an older form of psychoanalytic treatment called abreaction therapy, which is in turn based on old ideas of Sigmund Freud’s.
That fact alone should be enough to make most people run screaming in the opposite direction. However, the fact is that some techniques within abreaction therapy actually do work, and that talking through your traumas and problems and anxieties with a sympathetic but objective outside observer is no bad thing.
As is always the case with such things, evil cloaks its most nefarious aspects in a light dusting of the truth. It is only when you look deeper that you realise that, if something looks like it’s seriously off, it probably is seriously off.
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On a related note – here is one of the best sketches about psychologists and psychiatrists that you will ever see:
It’s scary how accurate that portrayal is. Anyone who has ever dated a psychologist knows that females of the species literally cannot turn off that part of their brains – and that this does not actually make them particularly happy or fulfilled as individuals, as a general rule.
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While we’re on the subject of female psychologists, it is worth noting that, if you are a red-blooded bloke (like me, and every single man jack of my readers), and you fancy dating a woman from Eastern Europe, you need to be prepared for the fact that women over there are absolutely obsessed with psychology.
I have hinted at this a time or ten before here, but the fact of the matter is that Ukrainian and Russian women have some bizarre obsession with learning about how the human mind works – or rather, of trying to, because there is simply so much garbage out there being taught as Gospel in universities and clinics around the world.
The women of Eastern Europe, for all of their wonderful feminine qualities, are particularly susceptible to a lot of nonsense concerning psychology. They consume books and videos and lectures on the subject without end. I remember quite vividly going to a bookstore in Moscow near Red Square and seeing a small gathering of honestly quite attractive women sitting there in some sort of study session, while their group leader – also highly attractive, but then, she is Russian, so she would be – walked them through a number of exercises.
As far as I could see, from the perspective of an outside observer, it all seemed like a giant faff involving women doing what women do – talking a lot about their FEEEEELZ. But then, I’m a bloke, I would say that.
As one of my readers put it, Eastern European women are nuts about psychology, and meanwhile their Western sisters cannot even spell the word. Just goes to show you that the benefits of dating outside of the West do come at a high price.
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If there is any justice in the Universe, then Karl Marx is writhing in eternal torment in the deepest, hottest, most horrific dungeon of Hell right now:
It is true that Communism has killed over 100 million people – that has been beyond dispute since the publication of The Black Book of Communism.
It is also true that killing Communists is a great service to the world.
Just sayin’.
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The very best of British comedy from yesteryear – which is about a billion times better than anything the Pommie bastards can manage these days:
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Oh, and speaking of Pommie bastards:
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One more great old-school Pommie Bastard comedy clip, once again from A Bit of Fry and Laurie:
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Cerno’s new movie is out, and it is already causing quite a bit of ass-pain among the liberaltards:
Go watch it if you get a chance.
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I didn’t go dig out that old clip – again – just for the hell of it, actually. The “NO POOFTERS” rule should have been applied, hard, to American “football”. Unfortunately, it was not, and we now have to deal with “male cheerleaders” and finger-wagging Superbowl ads (again, for like the fifth year running):
Now I know why I hate Pepsi so much – and it’s not just because their signature product tastes like chemical waste flavoured with high fructose corn syrup (which, if you think about it, IS chemical waste in the first place).
Jesus H. Christ on a bicycle… you’d think that the idiots who run the NFL these days would figure out that their core audience does not want to be lectured constantly about the “virtues” of diversity and tolerance. Instead, they’re just pissing all over their own audience with abandon.
And those “male cheerleaders” from earlier? I’m not sure what they are less of – cheerleaders, or males.
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Today’s badass long read – everything you ever wanted to know about the Roman legions:
The green recruits who were successfully enlisted as legionaries had to go through a training period of 4 months. During this training ambit, each soldier was given the unenviable task of marching 29 km (18 miles) in five hours with regular steps, and then 35 km (21.7 miles) in five hours with faster steps – all the while carrying a backpack that weighed 45 lbs (20.5 kg). This weight was intentionally allotted for increasing the endurance level of a Roman legionary and thus added to the overall weight of the panoply worn by the soldiers in their full gear (the weight of the lorica segmentata armor alone might have gone beyond 20 lbs). As expected, the ‘slowpokes’ were severely beaten by centurions and officers with their staffs. Interestingly enough, many of the similar ‘regimens’ are preserved through our modern military culture – with elite forces of some countries trained via the rigorous boot camp methods.
In any case, after the strenuous marching scope was perfected by the legionaries, they were then drilled in battlefield maneuvers (including the hollow square, wedge, and the famed testudoformations) and signaling. Finally, they were trained in weapons handling and in some cases also swimming. Interestingly, the faux swords and shields used in practices were made of wood and wicker, but they weighed twice the mass of their actual counterparts – so as to acclimatize the Roman legionary with fatigue and weariness that could happen in the heat of the battle.
That should give you some idea of just how disciplined and tough the Roman legions were – which is why they were so fearsome in combat.
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Classic TOP GEAR clip showing Captain Slow maxing out the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport:
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One of my personal favourite episodes of the classic late-90s sitcom Becker:
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Our beloved and dreaded Supreme Dark Lord (PBUH) has been absolutely killing it of late with his Darkstreams:
There will apparently be a debate between His Voxness and J. F. Gariepy coming up, which is great to hear. Mr. Gariepy may well be an atheist, an evolutionist, and a Frenchman – so he has three huge flaws working against him – but Vox respects and likes him, and since I trust our Supreme Dark Lord (PBUH) like I trust my own right arm, that’s good enough for me.
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It would appear that the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl with a late 4th-quarter touchdown, and like pretty much anyone else who is not ‘Murcan”, I have absolutely no bloody clue what any of that means.
I do, however, understand what it means when people talk about the fact that nobody, but nobody, has ever won 6 Super Bowl championships.
So there’s that.
I’m also told, reliably, that it is The Done Thing to hate the New England Patriots. Since I don’t watch sportzball, outside of tennis, I have no idea whether this is a hard requirement for me. So I don’t follow it.
Congratulations to Tom Brady nonetheless. The dude has a Brazilian supermodel wife, who is still gorgeous even today, three adorable kids, and six Super Bowl rings. In my books, that is an awesome dude.
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Pics from Power Line and other places:
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Dog of the week – the border collie:
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Gym idiots time, again:
It cannot be said often enough – I HATE HALF-REPPERS, especially on squats.
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And now for a gym beast to help cure that gains-destroying cancer:
ATG with that much weight on his back… RESPECT.
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Guess what happens when two elite-level muay thai fighters get really pissed off and decide to just beat the living shit out of each other:
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Longtime Readers know well that Buakaw Banchamek gets HUGE respect and props from me for his sheer power, skill, style, and technique. He is not, by any means, the greatest Thai boxer alive today – in large measure because he does not fight Thai champions and has no real track record in any of the top Thai stadiums. He fights in foreign tournaments these days, with very different rules from regular muay thai contests. But he is still an absolute beast:
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#HeavyMetalIsTheLaw
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Instathot of the week is some Asian(-ish) chick named Danni, who looks FAR worse without makeup than she does with it:
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