| Subject: Chat with samantha.sterling@gmail.com |
| From: "samantha.sterling@gmail.com" <samantha.sterling@gmail.com> |
6:04 PM samantha.sterling: congrats on your recruitment of dr. cole. i'm assuming he is some sort of left wing political person. also congrats on the laundry. clean underwear is nice.
6:06 PM me: don't congrat me on the laundry yet, that's still in the planning/feasibility thought experiment/war game phase and has yet to be instigated
got distracted
samantha.sterling: ah.
6:07 PM me: in my defense, it's just that I've been writing and stuff
although I really do intend to play computer games this evening.
samantha.sterling: you don't have to justify yourself to me. i know you're always doing something of major importance
me: I keep telling people about how I'm going to play computer games, but then I can't bring myself to do it for some reason
6:08 PM I used to do it all the time but psychologically, I'm impotent in that sense
samantha.sterling: what about freedom force? you discovered it and then didn't play it?
me: but this time
I downloaded it last night and played it for a few minutes but then went back to writing
6:09 PM but I really am excited about the prospect of playing it for some substantial length of time later this evening
6:10 PM I still have some h left over, so I'm thinking if I use that beforehand, I will be able to play the game without going back to writing
I have trouble with recreation, you see
anyway, you still sick?
samantha.sterling: somewhat
to a lesser extent
me: I like that sentence
samantha.sterling: it's now mostly a head cold with annoying congestion
6:11 PM me: I love the term "extent"
samantha.sterling: oh?
me: oh!
anyway, I'll try to tone down the eccentricity. What else is new with you?
samantha.sterling: don't turn down the eccentricity
me: very well
6:12 PM samantha.sterling: why do you have issues with recreation?
me: well, I didn't use to
6:14 PM but for a while now I've found it difficult to watch a movie or play a game, compelled to write or more especially to work on the project
whereas I used to play strategy-oriented computer games all the time
6:15 PM samantha.sterling: does this bother you?
me: a bit
6:16 PM because I need to do things that allow me to put such things away from the forefront of my thoughts
samantha.sterling: brb phone
me: the second "things" referring to project, work, related concepts
word
6:21 PM samantha.sterling: everyone needs down time, away from work
although good writers tend to be compulsive about writing, and better ones even more so
6:27 PM me: well, I may have to disagree with you there
you probably consider me a good writer and i think so too
and I didn't get compulsive until fairly recently
I was, in fact, extraordinarily lazy
samantha.sterling: so what changed?
6:28 PM me: spent seriously an estimated average of perhaps an hour a day working for the last six years
well, despite my laziness
6:29 PM I was able to climb to a certain point where it became clear that I had the option of actually doing something that went beyond me just writing in order to avoid real work
6:30 PM so at that point, insomuch as that i had achieved this largely despite my own lack of effort
it was clear that with actual effort, i could get to a much higher point
and thus be in a position to actually do something of great benefit
6:31 PM then, i considered that most males in the family before me had actively done things for the benefit of humanity, largely by fighting in appropriate wars
6:32 PM and also considered that a great number of people past and present have done thing of similar benefit
6:33 PM samantha.sterling: do you think you'll be able to have a middle ground somewhere? you know, like be able to write at a reasonable pace and still enjoy the recreational activities?
me: certainly
samantha.sterling: so i just caught you at a strange time
6:34 PM me: I'm about to reach the point where the project will proceed on its own
I'm assembling a sub-network that will serve as a legislative body of sorts to do everything I've been doing
6:35 PM whereas the main network will grow and maintain itself on its own in certain respects
that was the most important aspect, to construct this in such a way as to make it a sort of an organism
6:36 PM samantha.sterling: it'll still be your baby though
6:37 PM me: yeah, and i'll retain control over it to a certain extent as long as I'm around in case I've failed to think it through properly and something goes awry
I'm having Stein, the programmer, retain a sort of backdoor by which I could, say, destroy it if necessary
samantha.sterling: well of course, you must retain that
6:38 PM me: but I don't see that as being necessary
samantha.sterling: i hope not
6:39 PM me: the bloggers I've chosen to start the network are all extraordinarily intellectually honest and competent
6:40 PM and will thus make appropriate choices regarding whom to bring in
and the network is designed to vastly minimize any negative effects that would come from certain douchebags making their way in down the line
samantha.sterling: do you have board meetings and stuff?
6:41 PM me: no, and will intentionally avoid any such things at least on a formal basis
6:42 PM I'm not going to incorporate any sort of structures of that nature until such time as I've had a chance to consider whether or not they function as they're supposed to
6:43 PM samantha.sterling: have you actually met any of the bloggers?
me: particularly insomuch as that structures were designed for an entirely different environment than the one that exists now
yeah, I've met Allison Kilkenny
most of them live elsewhere
6:44 PM spoken to Juan Cole, Michael Hastings, and Charles Johnson by phone
samantha.sterling: seems reasonable
me: but physical meetings are unnecessary to determine if someone is appropriate for the project
also, seen Johnson and Cole on TV
6:45 PM and they've all seen me
samantha.sterling: i would assume seeing them on tv would be enough
me: also, Hastings
Hastings in particular will be second-in-command as he best understands what I'm trying to do
6:46 PM I told him about the secret long-term intent as he seemed receptive, and he understands the necessity of that
6:47 PM whereas even the others, no matter how otherwise talented and intelligent they are, probably would be inclined to think I'm nuts
samantha.sterling: haha indeed
6:48 PM me: but Hastings had spent enough time working for Newsweek to know how bad it's gotten, and, more importantly, he's young and understanding of what the internet allows us to do now, and how little of its potential has been explored
samantha.sterling: sounds like a bit of a man crush to me
6:50 PM me: also, I imagine that being in Iraq for so long and being about to go back to Afghanistan, he's had the opportunity to really see and experience the results of poor media operations and what they facilitate, and to remember that the media is not a fun game for the benefit of those of us who work in it but rather a fundamental engine that determines how many people are going to die
yeah, hes' pretty handsome and dreamy
samantha.sterling: haha
i do know a bit about media
6:51 PM me: right, how long were you with MTV?
also
samantha.sterling: no i'm not talking about mtv. i'm talking about my BA in film, and my MA in media theory
6:52 PM me: right, but you've seen how it works, which is also useful
samantha.sterling: yeah i was being sarcastic
i know a shitload about media
which is why i find your project fascinating
me: would you be interested in joining the legislative network?
6:53 PM it would not require any commitment whatsoever
you would determine whether and how much input to provide
and you could decide not to participate whatsoever and it would not negatively effect the network
6:54 PM samantha.sterling: i'm sorta surprised that you didn't ask me sooner
me: while at the same time it would help for you to simply "vote" on proposed "legislation"
didn't want to pressure you into my various schemes before we'd even gone on a date
it would be like feeling you up before dessert
except not really
samantha.sterling: why not? even if we don't hit it off romantically, you're certainly a good person to know
6:55 PM me: right, it would make sense for you to participate regardless
6:56 PM so, you'd be interested, then?
samantha.sterling: yes i'm interested
me: good, I'll put you down, then
the network won't be launched for a while
6:57 PM probably a month or two
samantha.sterling: just let me know when you want me to do something
me: will do
6:58 PM at any rate, I've already been using you as a sounding board insomuch as that I've told you stuff that I haven't told even some of the more prominent participants
so you've already been helping
samantha.sterling: fantastic
i feel special
me: YOU ARE SPECIAL
samantha.sterling: aw thanks
6:59 PM me: and you're prettier than Juan Cole and Charles Johnson combined
not Michael Hastings, though
samantha.sterling: ha
we can't all be michael hastings
me: that's right, prettier than Juan Cole
samantha.sterling: eh, i'll take it
me: PLEASE DON'T TELL ANYONE I SAID THAT
7:00 PM DON'T TELL JUAN COLE I DON'T WANT TO LOSE HIM AS A FRIEND
speaking of which, he's a bit pompous
samantha.sterling: you will have to bribe me to keep you secret safe
me: fucking professors
you got it
samantha.sterling: not all professors are pompous
me: I know
samantha.sterling: my dad was a professor at one time
7:01 PM me: but those that are are pompous in a particular manner
my uncle, who is the most modest men I've ever met and also among the most capable, is a professor of classical Greek rhetoric and ethics, as well as journalism
7:02 PM taught journalism to post-Soviet republics in mid-90s, actually
as they were in particular need of it
samantha.sterling: go n
on
me: also taught at venice
but is based at Kansas University
samantha.sterling: why kansas?
7:03 PM me: he's from there
which is not a good answer
but that's the only reason he has
samantha.sterling: it's a semi-ok answer
me: dos not have ambition, really
samantha.sterling: clearly he has some ambition
me: again, he's very modest
there's ambition and then there's ambition
he's also a Christian
7:04 PM samantha.sterling: ah
well that explains everything
7:05 PM you realize that i'm jewish, right?
me: I figured
he's the person I generally cite when I am accused of hating all Christians
samantha.sterling: i hate broad generalizations
me: which I am routinely accused of lately
7:06 PM samantha.sterling: yes, it seems that way
me: I was also accused of anti-Semitism a few months back
by a guy who secretly wrote for a white nationalist outlet
samantha.sterling: in what context?
7:07 PM me: my second book attacks a lot of columnists with Jewish last names
Friedman, Cohen, Krauthammer, Peretz
samantha.sterling: that third one sounds german
7:08 PM me: and the guy who made the accusation has been shown to be a white nationalist by myself and Charles Johnson and is thus looking for a distraction
yeah, that's Charles Krauthammer
he's Jewish, though, presumably German origin
samantha.sterling: he's no jew
charles?
not a jew
me: no, he's Jewish
7:09 PM samantha.sterling: what?!?!
me: attends temple and everything
although he calls himself a
"secularist"
samantha.sterling: well charles is not a jewish name
me: yeah, I know
samantha.sterling: he's only jewish if his mother is jewish
me: his mother is Jewish
7:10 PM they just didn't name him something particularly Jewish-sounding
samantha.sterling: odd
well whatever
me: anyway, the guy's trying to paint me as anti-Semitic due to me going up against several Jews
7:11 PM although of course the people I cite as being the best of columnists/bloggers
in that same book, are Glenn Greenwald and Juan Cole
(speaking of not-very-Jewish first names)
samantha.sterling: yeah really
although my uncle is named john and he's jewish
7:12 PM me: yeah, that's a pretty crappy Jewish first name
Juan is still worse
samantha.sterling: could be worse...christopher or mary
me: how about Jesus?
samantha.sterling: or jesus for that matter
me: although I guess
that's not worse
since it was a Jewish name
samantha.sterling: yes he was a jew
well actually
it wasn't
7:13 PM his name wasn't really jesus
me: his mom was Jewish and his dad was YHWH, which is pretty Jewish
I know
samantha.sterling: yes i'm sure you do
7:14 PM me: perhaps, in addition to serving on the legislature, you would be interested in also serving in my "cabinet"?
you're clearly capable of being an asset to this operation in other methods
7:15 PM samantha.sterling: what would be my duties as a cabinet member exactly?
me: insomuch as that you understand a lot about the media and have more specific knowledge about certain aspects than I do
would depend
by "cabinet" member, I mean that you would work directly with me on certain aspects of the operation
7:16 PM basiclaly
you would provide me with advice
tell me when I'm doing something stupid
samantha.sterling: i can do that
me: let me know any ideas you have on anything
speak to people on my behalf
the latter, in particular
7:17 PM I need someone who understands everything about the operation if they are to speak to people about it, particularly prospective bloggers
7:18 PM I was going to have Mirna do that but she's better equipped to handle legal aspects and otherwise serve as my legal counsel
and she doesn't really understand the fundamentals
samantha.sterling: i see
me: and at any rate is a mercenary and doesn't believe in duty
7:19 PM samantha.sterling: ha
before i speak to anyone on your behalf, i'd like to meet you
me: whereas you understand everything already and volunteer for things
7:20 PM so you're both extraordinarily intelligent and erudite as well as possessed of civic virtue, which is lacking among most everyone in Williamsburg
not that Williamsburg has anything to do with anything, I'm just irritated by the mentality here
samantha.sterling: thank you.
and clearly.
you need to get out of there
7:21 PM me: I've had very little success in recruiting anyone here
samantha.sterling: i'm a bit surprised, actually
7:22 PM me: I wrote a couple of articles for Bushwick BK when I still did a column for them, fucking BAWWWWWVILLE, USA over here
just bitchy little comments, criticism from failed would-be writers
samantha.sterling: brb mick wants his dinner
me: word
7:24 PM samantha.sterling: i'm actually gonna eat now too, be back in a little while
me: enjoy
8:24 PM samantha.sterling: i'm back
8:25 PM me: oh hai thar
8:26 PM samantha.sterling: what's going on
me: I'm trying to all out some bloggers
one of whom has been gunning for me
he writes for The Examiner
and I just noticed that he's left ridiculous comments on some of my old pieces
two so far
both dealing with Charles Krauthammer
8:27 PM Charles "Christopher WASPshire" Krauthammer
samantha.sterling: haha
me: whom I know from the polo club
anywa
y
I sent him an e-mail the other day asking if he'd like to have a little debate about Krauthammer
he hasn't responded yet
I'm going to give him another day
8:28 PM and then write a nice big piece about this fellow which will be the top result for his name forever
then there's this other guy
8:29 PM whom I just e-mailed to see if he'd like to explain himself regarding this
http://trueslant.com/barrettbrown/2010/03/31/the-conscience-of-a-conservative-lol/
among other things, he misrepresented a Fox News press release
8:30 PM also, about to give the First Result on Google For the Rest of Your Life Treatment to some fellow who has decided that Project PM is an attempt to control all information
samantha.sterling: this guy is a jackass
me: yes
8:32 PM samantha.sterling: i too think that photosynthesis is highly important
me: that's what attracted me to you
samantha.sterling: naturally
8:34 PM me: my ex-con friend from Brooklyn keeps sending me e-mails like "hey whats goin on son"
instead of calling me to hang out
samantha.sterling: why does this bother you?
me: it's stupid, he wants to hang out but instead of calling me he sends me an e-mail
8:35 PM samantha.sterling: some people prefer to correspond that way
me: then he asks me why I never hang out
samantha.sterling: haha
me: I taught him how to use e-mail, which was a mistake
samantha.sterling: apparently
why don't you tell him to just call you
8:36 PM me: also my friend Caleb set up his little social networking sites for him
put his favorite film as "Hannah and Her Three Sisters"
samantha.sterling: hahahahahaha
me: heroes: David Bowie
samantha.sterling: nice. i love david bowie.
but i'm a heterosexual woman
me: he is a big black guy who did six years for armed robbery
samantha.sterling: of course he is
8:37 PM me: and thus we made his facebook page as ironic as possible
his profile pic is currently me
I did tell him
samantha.sterling: and what was his reaction?
me: "You should try calling me sometime instead of sending me e-mails that I'm not going to get until sometime later, dumbass."
I just wrote it, no reaction yet
8:38 PM his reaction will probably be to send me an e-mail asking if I want to meet him at a bar in ten minutes
samantha.sterling: how did you meet this dude to being with?
me: at a bar
8:39 PM let him move into my room a couple weeks later as he was being fucked over at this ex-con center
where they put them to work for some small amount of money
got him a much better job
samantha.sterling: doing what?
me: New York should be giving me the money to rehabilitate people
8:40 PM first job was picking up trash off fucking Broadway in the middle of summer for less than minimum wage
got him a job at a BBQ place where a lot of my friends worked at upon arrival before getting real jobs
samantha.sterling: ah
me: as a chef
samantha.sterling: that was nice of you
8:41 PM me: well, also, I was recruiting gangster-types for my brick-and-mortar secret army back then
8:42 PM I took him with me to go scare this douchebag criminal editor who owed me $5,000 and was trying to hide from me
samantha.sterling: i can borrow him to scare the shit out of my upstairs neighbors
me: at his fucking dojo
sure
8:43 PM he came in handy several times, always on a defensive basis with the exception of the editor thing
8:44 PM but I moved out of that neighborhood so don't need him for that anymore
samantha.sterling: i could use some assistance. i've already called the cops on them once, and i fucking hate cops....
me: what do they do?
8:45 PM samantha.sterling: yell at each other, throw things and basically annoy the shit out of me. it sounds like they're constantly moving furniture and dropping thousand pound weights right over my head. the ceiling is pretty thick so the fact that i can hear them yell is crazy
8:46 PM i called the cops the day it was going on at 630 in the am
i am NOT a morning person
8:47 PM me: sounds like my old apartment, unfortunately
there's something I can do
are these white people?
samantha.sterling: sort of....the girl looks latina but has a jewish name (totally weird) and her supposed husband is black
she owns her apartment
me: would you imagine that they have internet access?
samantha.sterling: yes
me: okay
8:48 PM I'll take care of it if I come by your place sometime
or
if you can get a picture of them
the more amusing the better
samantha.sterling: how? what would you do?
me: I can do it with that
8:49 PM I have this tactic I use against certain people
usually people who owed me money
whereby I write an amusing article on them for Encyclopedia Dramatica
where I have carte blanche or however you would spell it
to use the site for my own purposes
8:50 PM by virtue of having been with them on and off for a while and thus being in with the very mean females who run it
8:51 PM basically, write an article pointing out all of the things that a person would not like to be made public
with private citizens and even sometimes moderately-known citizens, this article becomes the top Google search result for the person's name
forever, and until such time as I take it down
samantha.sterling: i hope i never get on your bad side
8:52 PM me: I don't use it against personal enemies or anything
business only, as well as favors for friends
only had to do it a couple of times
8:53 PM one of the occasions involved a fellow who thought that by having moved to Guatemala, he was out of the reach of myself and other of his creditors
I was able to paralyze him professionally for about six months until he finally gave in
samantha.sterling: wow
impressive
8:54 PM me: as he worked as an internet entrepreneur, which is to say he was especially vulnerable to being discredited via Google
8:55 PM see, this is one of those things that is only now being widely understood
the Encyclopedia Dramatica folks understood it a long time ago, though
they've destroyed a lot of lives and altered thousands more
fascinating people, the ones who run it
samantha.sterling: they must be
me: they hang out in this IRC chat room
8:56 PM there was this one incident
in which one of them posed as a young girl
was hit on by a twenty-something douchebag Christian conservative
she was posing as a 13-year-old
8:57 PM the fellow wanted her to send naked pics, mess around with a female friend, send him their underwear, eventually meet them all for sex
samantha.sterling: so he was exposed
me: oh, yeah
lost his dream, to join the Coast Guard
samantha.sterling: but i would imagine a lot of the time, they ruin the lives of people who don't deserve it
me: was arrested
8:58 PM they do, which is why I left
they still respect me though and let me use the site for whatever needs doing
there's basically different factions over there
just as with Anonymous and 4chan
9:00 PM but I wrote for them a lot years ago, secretly, as this was when I knew there was something happening in terms of social power being turned on its head but still just had an inkling
mostly I did political figures
samantha.sterling: must have been fun
me: but there are others who write for it purely out of mendacity
and no one's really running it
9:01 PM the actual owner is a female who used to work for the FBI in some capacity
most of the "leaders" are based in San Francisco
some are hackers, most aren't
9:02 PM anyway, they did indeed attack a lot of people who deserved it and fucked up their lives, but the whole entity is in constant flux in terms of the mentality
before Chris Hansen and all that
9:03 PM we did the same thing, I called it "pedo-baiting"
samantha.sterling: but that's merely a part of what that website does
me: I used the procedure as an experiment into possible methods of blackmailing Christian conservative leaders and high ativists
9:04 PM yeah, often it just does cute little articles on internet phenomena, shitty video games, etc
it's officially a wiki
9:05 PM anyway, I posed a girl, tricked a guy into calling "me," actually a New York police precinct station
then explained that I could screencap the conversation and they could use that exact time of his call to trace him
and forced him to express his love of Mudkips
9:06 PM a Mudkip being a particularly adorable Pokemon character
samantha.sterling: ah
me: I wouldn't have done anything to him anyway
I wouldn't be comfortable narcing on a private citizen over that
9:07 PM but I was testing the feasibility of potentially having a group of people troll chat rooms where one would find a large concentration of fascists
samantha.sterling: that wouldn't be hard to do
me: and then quickly and reliably put them in a position whereby I'd have effective control over them
9:08 PM basically, this is what CIA and KGB used to do in a low-tech form in order to "recruit" double agents
using whorehouses and whatnot
9:09 PM but I abandoned the plan, even though I could justify it in some respects, I would have been very uncomfortable doing anything of the sort
samantha.sterling: those poor prostitutes
they take so much shit
me: the KGB and CIA ones?
samantha.sterling: all of them
me: true
then they get arrested
9:10 PM samantha.sterling: it should be legal
me: you know in the U.S. a prostitute is more likely to have sex with a cop than be arrested by one?
far more likely
samantha.sterling: i believe that
me: they are exploited
it's true, been shown by a number of studies
samantha.sterling: ever known a prostitute?
9:11 PM me: a cop is the only person I'd be totally comfortable doing any of these things to, wouldn't give it a second thought
yeah, I know one now
and have known several in the past, here and in Mexico and Africa
samantha.sterling: what's she like?
9:12 PM the one here
me: the one I know now I don't hang out with anymore because she's atypically psycho
a lot of them one feels sorry for, this one is just a terrible person
although she clearly is the result of psycho parents
samantha.sterling: why do they do it? for drug money?
9:13 PM me: not this one
samantha.sterling: then why/
me: she doesn't have a particularly good reason, she's unusual insomuch as that she doesn't really drink and only smokes pot
I met her originally when I was renting out a room
and then she came over a few months later
9:14 PM was funny because
at this point I was still heavily addicted to heroin
and she was down on me for that
but then borrowed $10 from me
after which she asked if I would steal anything from her if she let me come over
never paid the $10 back
9:15 PM so, here I was, the junkie, lending her money that she wouldn't pay back
which is itself junkie behavior
samantha.sterling: it certainly is. why didn't you just offer a trade? you know, the $10 for a bj?
me: she's also a model, occasionally
9:16 PM I'm not opposed to prostitution and actually don't see it as necessarily exploitive if the prostitute is of sound emotional stability, but I would not hire one
for one thing, I don't need to
9:17 PM second, I don't want a blowjob from some crazy girl
third, blowjobs are overrated
samantha.sterling: is that so?
me: 4th, I was happy to help her out with ten bucks anyway
9:18 PM 5th, I enjoyed the irony of some chick criticizing me as a junkie and then borrowing money from me
samantha.sterling: i see the humor in that
what did she need the money for?
9:19 PM me: just train fare
but she's really psycho
9:20 PM so psycho that even I won't hang out with her anymore, and I was hanging out with a lot of psychos particularly recently up until moving back in with ol' Mirna here
9:21 PM samantha.sterling: for you to characterize someone as pyscho, i would imagine that they would be batshit crazy
me: yep
Project PM was initially funded by drug money, of course
samantha.sterling: nothing wrong with that
9:22 PM me: by which I mean I was funded in part by drug money, which I needed in order to be able to concentrate on doing a few things in preparation rather than spending my time doing nonsense writing just to support myself
I know. The British Empire was funded largely by drug money in the 19th century
Opium Wars and whatnot
9:23 PM samantha.sterling: practically everything is funded by something that someone somewhere considers immoral
me: even if I didn't need the money, I still would have involved myself in the drug trade just as a sort of historical joke
9:24 PM samantha.sterling: do you think you'll ever totally quit heroin?
me: yeah
I've gone for years without doing it in the past
just do it if it becomes convenient, and even then i quit after a while
samantha.sterling: does your family know?
9:25 PM me: last time I quit, had the stuff being sold out of the apartment, which is a good test of willpower
nope
I'm an only child, aside from half-siblings
I don't want my mom worrying over anything
she had to raise me without child support for the most part
9:26 PM and basically sacrificed the remainder of her youth to pay for me going to private schools as soon as was possible
which was unnecessary, but still
9:27 PM she had a rough time of it insomuch as that I was constantly being arrested, suspended, etc.
samantha.sterling: but not for drugs
what were you being arrested for?
me: for drugs; she knows I've done drugs
samantha.sterling: ah just not heroin
me: she doesn't know the extent and that I've done heroin off and on
right
9:28 PM she found a journals I had written regarding the impeachment hearings while on LSD and freaked the fuck out
even summoned my dad for that particular family meeting
my dad who used to do coke at Studio 54, incidentally
samantha.sterling: hilarious
although i'm sure she didn't think so
me: yeah, it was retarded
9:29 PM I think Mirna was there, too
I usually brought her in to defend me, way before she'd even thought of going to law school
samantha.sterling: what kind of lawyer is she?
me: I hung out with a lot of girls and usually took the tact of pointing out that all of these girls whom my mom believed could do no wrong were doing more drugs than I
9:30 PM and had in many cases introduced me to drugs
she's with this big firm that's representing hundreds of firefighters and whatnot who claim to have gotten sick due to 9/11 cleanup
but she wants to do entertainment law
I'm her only client thus far
9:31 PM but I've offered her a role in Project PM, which would be to her benefit
insomuch as that she'd be able to interact with a lot of prominent commentators
9:32 PM of course, now she's about to go hang out with this Dot Com fellow and all of his TV buddies like Jimmie Fallon and whoever else
samantha.sterling: oh yes, i forgot about dot com
me: so she may have that covered
I'm hoping to recruit some of them
samantha.sterling: good luck with that
me: already got Jamie Kilstein, who's a comedian, tours with Garofalo
9:33 PM samantha.sterling: i'm not sure they'll be on the same page
me: yeah, I know
but they may know smarter comedians
samantha.sterling: good point
me: stand-up is the lowest form of humor
samantha.sterling: btw i meant to ask you
me: dependent on crowd dynamics
9:34 PM samantha.sterling: does mirna think that tracy morgan is actually a bigot?
me: I don't know
probably
she doesn't know what she's talking about, though
samantha.sterling: hmm
fair enough
9:35 PM i have several gay friends so i get very upset with gay jokes
me: I haven't seen the video she took yet
samantha.sterling: do let me know
me: so don't know if these were of that nature of what
the thing is
insomuch as that he was in like an
East Village comedy club
9:36 PM I'd imagine that if these were actually anti-gay sentiments, we would have all heard about this
not necessarily, of course
samantha.sterling: if he was seriously offensive maybe
9:37 PM me: but I'd be surprised if the guy really had some problem with gays and even more so if he was in the habit of expressing that
samantha.sterling: i would be surprised too
but you never know
me: god damnit I hate my keyboard
fucking slightly touched one of thes esoteric buttons on the side and it shoots me off this gmail and into something else
9:38 PM could have lost work if I'd been working on this page
anywho
samantha.sterling: stupid keyboard
me: I KNOW
http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Douglas_L_Payne_Jr
9:39 PM this is the fellow who went down in flames over the imaginary 13-year-old girl
or, one of them, rather
there were others - all conservative Christians
9:40 PM samantha.sterling: hmm. i don't appreciate my people being drawn into this
Douglas Payne is a pedophile who currently lives in his parent's basement. He hangs out on Meebo chat looking for 13 year old girls to pick up so he can fulfill his sexual fantasies. He is stupid enough to think that a 13 year old girl would be interested in him and is joining the Coast Guard so he can hang out with a bunch of fags, suck a bunch of cocks, and try to drown Cubans who are swimming into the country in hopes of shitty wages and/or perpetrating moar terrorist attacks in collaboration with the Jews. Some argue Doug may be a full-on member of NAMBLA as well.
otherwise, hilarious
9:41 PM me: there are a lot of sort of in-jokes at ED
among them, the JEWS DID WTC meme
samantha.sterling: it's horrible
me: which is a satire on conspiracy theories regarding jewish involvement in 9/11
samantha.sterling: of which there was none
don't get me started on that
9:42 PM i may not believe in god, but i'll defend my people if provoked
me: CNN actually showed one of their pages which had an animated giant Hasidic Jew knocking down the towers
they thought it was serious
samantha.sterling: ugh
me: most of it was written by jews
9:43 PM The admins are mostly Jewish, female
samantha.sterling: then they should know much MUCH better
me: who?
samantha.sterling: the jewish admins
me: well, their intent was to mock the conspiracy theories by way of over-the-top things like that
samantha.sterling: i understand that
but the point is
9:44 PM me: on the whole, their judgement is pretty bad regarding a lot of things
samantha.sterling: that most people will not understand it
most people hate jews anyway
me: which is partly why I left
most people?
samantha.sterling: ok not most people
but many
9:45 PM me: there's certainly far more anti-semitism than there is racism/culturalism against other groups
samantha.sterling: it's insane really, considering there are less than 20 million of us worldwide
me: yep
Jews are often the first to be targeted when things go bad
even in Asia, now
samantha.sterling: i didn't know that
9:46 PM but i'm not surprised
it pisses me off
me: just recently saw that some conspiracy book about Jews is a hot seller in China
samantha.sterling: insanity
what did we do now?
9:47 PM i mean, aside from killing jesus and all that
9:48 PM me: not sure exactly, seems to be usual economic stuff about controlling the world and whatnot
just saw a brief thing about it
Economist, I think
samantha.sterling: crazy chinese
they have enough to worry about
9:49 PM without bringing the jews into it
me: that's generally true for all ant-Semites
and it tends to be times of economic malaise when they go off the handel
as everyone looks for simple answers and convenient targets
9:50 PM samantha.sterling: it depends on which anti-semitic group you're talking to
they all have different reasons
me: there was that famous exchange between some Japanese leader and Hitler
samantha.sterling: some are always mad
me: before World War II
when the Jap fascist was asked what he thought about German fascism
9:51 PM and he said "I like it very much, and I would like to adopt it but we can't because we don't have any Jews"
samantha.sterling: he missed the point
me: which is to say he recognized that the fuel of fascism was having an "other" to depict as the enemy
samantha.sterling: yes
9:52 PM me: just as Palinism now requires a various collection of "others"
of course, not all Palin-backers are racist
but there is a major subtext going on here
that comes out occasionally
9:53 PM when they refer to Obama as "The Kenyan," for instance
samantha.sterling: it's totally ridiculous
i fucking hate palin
me: or make a point to list his midle name
samantha.sterling: she should have some accident on a hunting trip
that's horrible
i shouldn't have said tha
t
9:54 PM me: the difference is that a Palin backer would stick with that and write it publicly in some blog comment
or a blog post
samantha.sterling: true
9:55 PM me: at any rate, we should be better than them
samantha.sterling: and we are
me: god damnit
samantha.sterling: your keyboard is mad at you
me: this time I clicked a totally different button
or didn't even click it
9:56 PM these are extra buttons that I need only touch slightly
for me to be sent on some mysterious trip across the internet
samantha.sterling: what kind of computer are you using?
9:57 PM me: Toshiba laptop
newish
samantha.sterling: and it has a crazy keyboard huh
9:59 PM me: moderately crazy, yes
ha
I have successfully used politeness as a weapon several times in the past week
including this evening, now
10:00 PM last week it was some goober who wrote me an e-mail because he was mad that I bashed the Catholic Church
samantha.sterling: what's that thing about getting more flies with honey than vinegar
me: it's that
samantha.sterling: ah
yes well there you go
me: You dear sir are a true idiot, and a lost idiot at that.
W. Terry Scoggins
770-318-9082
10:01 PM Mr. Scoggins-
What did you hope to accomplish by this e-mail?
Regards,
Barrett Brown
samantha.sterling: ooh he's from atlanta
me: Probably the same thing you tried to accomplish with your article about God. But after thinking about it, I apologize for calling you an idiot. That was wrong. Your article attacking God was also wrong. You lead people down the wrong path with your lack understanding.
Again, I apologize for my knee-jerk reaction of name calling.
Mr. Scoggins-
I appreciate the apology, although it is unnecessary, as I understand that you view me as someone who does harm to society by way of perpetuating ideas that you deem to have a negative effect on those who read them, and anger is a noble sentiment in such a case. I understand that you mean well; I hope you will understand that I also mean well, even if you think I am completely wrong.
Regards,
Barrett Brown
and then it goes on, with me showing him he's wrong about assertions he makes about me letting Islam off the hook while attacking Christianity
10:02 PM a lot of people don't understand that politeness will never fail
samantha.sterling: doesn't this stuff make you want to bang your head against the wall sometimes?
10:03 PM me: nope
it is fuel
fuel can be used for both good and bad purposes
samantha.sterling: absolutely
10:04 PM me: there is a lyric from "Anarchy in the U.K."
"I use the enemy"
not a particularly brilliant lyric
but worth remembering
samantha.sterling: sex pistols?
me: yep
10:06 PM to the extent that one can take one's enemy's dishonesty or maliciousness and benefit from it in an effort to advance one's honest and well-meaning efforts, one turns terrible people into assets
samantha.sterling: yes i understood
me: I know, just expanding on it
samantha.sterling: thanks :)
10:07 PM me: these people are absolute cowards
samantha.sterling: i would think that most of the people you deal with are cowards
10:08 PM most of the conservatives, i mean
me: often they will attack me to some extent, then I will ask them to engage in an actual back-and-forth with the stipulation that they post the entire debate on their own blog or whatever instead of refusing to link to me and only posting summaries of what I actually said
they will never do it
10:09 PM samantha.sterling: assholes
10:13 PM me: it's not necessarily that they're assholes
bu
but
the nature of online political debate and commentary is such that
if you make a mistake, it's instantly available forever
10:14 PM so it's a high-risk activity
10:15 PM so many are more comfortable remaining insulated in their little bubbles
samantha.sterling: where's the fun in that
me: they don't want to get trapped into having to answer any clever questions
samantha.sterling: ok so they're cowards
10:16 PM me: it's fun for them to not be humiliated in such a way as that it will exist forever as the top result for their name
every time I press the "publish" button I'm potentially ending my career
10:17 PM if I make one substantial mistake, a whole bunch of people are going to make sure everyone knows about it
samantha.sterling: but it's not like you're a politician
me: there's a loose network of people who really hate me as I used to debate on a couple of blog comment sections before I was known
samantha.sterling: there will always be people who are going to hate you
10:18 PM me: they go around writing stuff about me that's totally untrue, such as that I "hate all Christians"
if I ever get something wrong, they'll actually have something on me
and they'll make sure that everyone knows about it
samantha.sterling: but you can't spend your life worrying about what ifs
besides
me: I don't worry about it
10:19 PM samantha.sterling: everything blows over
me: just giving the devils their due
it's a risky industry
this Jeff Goldstein fellow, for instance
was a very up-and-coming conservative blogger
10:20 PM who could have been the top conservative commentator in the country, or among them
were it not for his emotional douchebaggery and his penchant for trying to be a tough guy
10:21 PM http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/2902.html
now all of the shit he pulled - his most embarrassing moments - will always haunt him
his kid will know about it when he grows up
samantha.sterling: that picture is hilarious
10:22 PM me: his wife has certainly seen it and no doubt respects him far less
it will always be there, forever
I actually feel sorry for him
even though he's written a great deal of nonsense about me
and his little camp followers are among the most ridiculous stalkers I've ever had
but seriously, think about that
10:23 PM he started out well
samantha.sterling: shit happesn
happens
me: because he was more clever than most other conservative commentators and had a way with words
samantha.sterling: he fucked it up for himself
me: but then he does a bunch of stupud shit
10:24 PM and before blogs, that stupid shit wouldn't have been public
as newspapers don't allow for that
and it certainly wouldn't be forever accessible; it would be forgotten
did you know Larry King was arrested for fraud in the '70s?
10:25 PM if blogs had existed back then, he would never have had his show
samantha.sterling: nope, but i'm not surprised. that fucker has had more wives than henry viii
me: well, at least he didn't kill them
samantha.sterling: true
but still
you can't trust a man with that many exes
me: so good for him
I know
my dad, for instance
10:26 PM his new wife doesn't know he's been married more than one
once
samantha.sterling: how many times has he been married?"
me: probably doesn't know that he has other kids
samantha.sterling: and why doesn't she know?
me: let's see
I think this is #4
she doesn't know because he didn't tell her
I told her
10:27 PM so she knows now, I guess
samantha.sterling: oh shit
do you speak to him often?
me: anyway, these are the 4 I know about
yes
I do now
he wouldn't see me when I was a kid
to get back at my mom
he's tried to reform since then
10:28 PM he actually called when I was six and they'd just gotten divorced and told me he wouldn't see me anymore because my mom was being mean to him
samantha.sterling: that's crazy
me: yeah, he has no morals
10:29 PM samantha.sterling: i'm not really sure what to say to that
10:31 PM me: it doesn't bother me, but it did back then
anyway, he later joined a pentacostal church
samantha.sterling: oh jesus
10:32 PM me: like many people who are constantly failing in marriages and who have no morals
and who are racist and homophobic
the worst thing is that he embarrasses me in public by behaving badly towards service industry types
10:33 PM which is the surest sign of bad character
samantha.sterling: it doesn't bode well
me: the whole thing is pretty embarrassing, actually, my bad
anywho
10:34 PM samantha.sterling: it's interesting to learn about your background
but i understand if you don't feel like talking about it
me: again, it's not a big deal
I'd just prefer to have had a more noble father
10:35 PM samantha.sterling: your mom sounds great
me: she's noble, at the very leasy
but she's kind of neurotic and nutty
made me do a lot of mystical nonsense when I was a kid
samantha.sterling: it had to come from somewhere
mystical nonsense? like what?
me: not all of it was nonsense, though
10:36 PM we meditated together when I was 7 and afterwards, which was beneficial
and recording dreams isn't particularly crazy
samantha.sterling: i wouldn't call any of that mystical
or nonsense
me: but interpreting them with guide books is nonsense
10:37 PM and she told me I was an indigo child
samantha.sterling: what the hell is that?
me: indigo children are supposed to be beings whose souls originate from other planes of existence and who are possessed of certain extra wisdom and who are here to change human society
10:38 PM samantha.sterling: hmm
part of that seems to make sense
me: by serving as social and political leaders
which part?
samantha.sterling: the second part
10:39 PM me: ah, I see
10:40 PM but lots of New Age mothers were telling their sons that same thing back at that point, and I don't many of them launching their own self-perpetuating revolutionary movements
10:41 PM this is what's called a false hit
or some similar term
samantha.sterling: well their moms were wrong
yours was right
or lucky
me: lucky
I'm pretty sure my soul is not actually alien in origin
samantha.sterling: agreed
10:42 PM that sounds like some scientologist shit
me: or otherwise derives from some different dimension where are stocked all of the super-revolutionary souls
lol scientology
worst people in the world
the leaders, anyway
and their operatives
samantha.sterling: yes they're horrible
me: got at least one on my case
10:43 PM and the fellow I'm consulting with
who's anonymous by necessity
they're trying to find him and destroy his life as he launched the anti-Scientology movement back in 1998
samantha.sterling: hahahah
me: sorry
2008
10:44 PM they can't find him, though
even I don't know his real name and I'm working with him
samantha.sterling: tell him i want to join the movement
me: incidentally
and this is extraordinarily secret
this can't be mentioned even to close friends and family
10:45 PM samantha.sterling: ok
me: and I'm telling you simply because you've agreed to serve in some high capacity
Project PM is connected to Anonymous
largely through this person
10:46 PM who essentially leads the "good" faction of Anonymous
I'm not sure if you're familiar with Anonymous
samantha.sterling: is that it?!! i thought you were going to tell me who killed jfk or something
me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(group)
samantha.sterling: yes i know about anonymous
10:47 PM me: ok
Anyway
the reason this is particularly secret
is that it would be used to discredit the network and myself
and also would immediately prompt the Church of Scientology to come after me
10:48 PM and they're very good at that
samantha.sterling: well we can't have that now, can we
10:49 PM me: and they wouldn't have to be good to find out that I'm a former drug addict, dealer, have active warrants in Texas for probation violation, and otherwise am not a traditional leader
also
Anonymous can best be used by us if they're doing so, uh, anonymously
10:50 PM as that which they'll be doing will be illegal, as usual
samantha.sterling: you don't have to worry
your secret is safe with me
and mick
10:51 PM me: anyway, of course, we would not be using anything close to Anonymous so much as a small faction of it, and only more to the extent that more can be convinced that there are giggles to be had
and we haven't decided on a specific course of action yet
10:52 PM It's actually not a particularly huge secret anyway
insomuh as that I've written favorably about Anonymous and unfavorably about the CoS
10:53 PM and at least one CoS operative has responded by trying to discredit me via Huffington Post and True/Slant
10:54 PM so, even though CoS intel itself probably doesn't care about me at all
samantha.sterling: i think cos has bigger fish to fry, honestly
me: yeah
which is why they've done nothing except have this one guy leave bizarre and threatening comments on my articles
10:55 PM but they have a habit
of going after journalists
such as recently, with reporters for the St. Petersburg Times or whatever it's called
10:56 PM and if they knew that a contributor for Vanity Fair et all was collaborating with the fellow who launched Chanology and runs all of the sites and put out the youtube video that recruited everyone to attack, first of all they'd put that out there
and I'm not sure how that would play
10:57 PM in terms of my career options
as Anonymous is regarded in different ways, of course
10:58 PM also, CoS has a tendency to go after people even if the people in question are not particularly big fish
samantha.sterling: you live in a strange world
me: they actually compile huge files on rather minor people who protest against them, for instane
10:59 PM well, the world got very strange over the past decade
samantha.sterling: yes that's true
me: you should read some William Gibson
samantha.sterling: i've not heard of him
11:00 PM what would you recommend?
me: Neuromancer
Virtual Light
actually, all of them
Neuromancer first, though
samantha.sterling: alright, i'll put it on the list
11:01 PM me: it was written in 1982
first use of the term "cyberspace"
samantha.sterling: fascinating
me: introduced a great number of concepts that came into existence later
including groups like 4chan and Anonymous
samantha.sterling: wow
really ahead of his time
me: and Encyclopedia Dramatica
yeah
11:02 PM as I mentioned, I think
Project PM
ostensibly stands for Purge Media
but secretly stands for Panther Moderns
11:03 PM which is a group of techno-fetishist agitators, hackers, anti-media people
who play a role in Neuromancer
samantha.sterling: makes good sense
me: Originally the project was known as Project 3Jane
11:04 PM which is another character from Neuromancer
anyway, the book made a large impression on ,me
samantha.sterling: obviously
me: I left several clues regarding that over the past couple of months
samantha.sterling: i'll order it next time i get books
me: you should
11:05 PM samantha.sterling: i will!
me: okay!
I should get to work
samantha.sterling: no computer games? no laundry?
me: I've got some techno-fetishist agitation to do in conjunction with various hackers
11:06 PM well
I will play some computer games later
will do laundry tomorrow
it's just that the techno-fetishist agitation is so demanding
samantha.sterling: damn techno-fetishist agitation
11:07 PM me: tell me about it
I mean
as you said
I've worked pretty hard to turn my life into a science fiction thriller
11:08 PM wait, that's not what you said
anyway
samantha.sterling: nope, but that's ok
get to work
me: word
11:09 PM sorry to be so self-dramatizing, it's just that you've caught me at a strange time
11:10 PM samantha.sterling: i realize that, and i think i'm pretty lucky to have done so
me: very well
samantha.sterling: it's endlessly entertaining
me: yeah, I know zomglol
11:11 PM samantha.sterling: what is that, btw
me: just wacky internet speak
omg=oh my god
samantha.sterling: and the z?
me: zomg= more comical version
11:12 PM samantha.sterling: ah
i just couldn't figure where the z came into place. guess i'm out of touch
me: I have a friend, we type lololoololl and stuff to each other throughout the day
mostly out of satisfaction and amusement
samantha.sterling: why not
me: exactly
11:14 PM samantha.sterling: i'm probably going to pass out soon anyway. i didn't take a nap today
11:18 PM me: enjoy
samantha.sterling: thanks you too. if anything outrageous happens, you know where to find me
11:22 PM me: in CYBERSPACE
samantha.sterling: indeed
or you can call, text, fax
11:23 PM send me a telegram
do they do that anymore?
me: hmmm
11:26 PM I'd bet that telegrams are still used in some third world nations simply because the infrastructure is still in place and net infrastructure is rather shoddy
samantha.sterling: yeah you're probably right about that
11:27 PM me: Tanzania has two capitals
out of sheer incompetence
samantha.sterling: hahahaha
me: Dar es Salaam was capital for a while, but lots of blacks wanted it moved to the interior city of Dodoma because Dar es Salaam has too many Arabs and Indians and whatnot
so they started the process
11:28 PM and then sort of lost interest
this began around mid-'90s
samantha.sterling: what fools
me: fun fact for the evening
actually, Tanzania is wonderful country and the people are very good-natured
11:29 PM samantha.sterling: mickey is not impressed. he says, i shit on your two capitals, tanzania
me: it's just that the English forgot to tell them a bunch of stuff about the 20th century before they left
11:30 PM still, considering it's an artificial nation with so many ethnic groups and such
it's pretty admirable that there was basically no ethnic violence or anything of the sort
much less a civil war
11:31 PM unlike certain other countries I could name COUGH COUGH U.S. COUGH
samantha.sterling: yeah we're pretty fucked up here
stupid south
me: also, COUGH COUGH EVERY OTHER COUNTRY IN AFRICA SNEEZE
yep
should have burned Atlanta twice
sorry, Richmond
11:32 PM samantha.sterling: do you watch the daily show?
me: Thadeus Stephens
read about him
nope, don't have TV
used to watch it sometimes, though
samantha.sterling: oh christ
me: I don't mean to not own a TV
it's not like lifestyle thing
samantha.sterling: good, you're not one of THOSE
me: I just don't currently have one
samantha.sterling: anti-tv people
me: no
11:33 PM I briefly wrote for TV, after all
and have been on the worst TV channel
samantha.sterling: yes of course
me: but I left most of my stuff behind when I moved because I prefer to run light
samantha.sterling: i think i would go more than a bit mad without my tv
11:34 PM i would have ten hour long conversations with my cat
me: well, there
there's so much on the internet that it makes TV obsolete
samantha.sterling: not entirely
11:35 PM not yet, anyway
me: all of the well-done things tend to be on the internet, too
Office
whatever else
samantha.sterling: not always right away
i don't remember where i was going with this
i'll let you get back to work
11:40 PM me: ummmm
11:41 PM I think that reddit inadvertently gave me administrator status
samantha.sterling: are you going to take advantage of their error?
11:46 PM me: I'm not sure what capabilities this allows me yet
Although it does seem to provide me with certain info
11:47 PM for instance
next to certain people's user names it says
(suspected shill account; 84.92% certain)
or whatever other percentage
samantha.sterling: what does that mean?
11:48 PM me: not entirely sure, but may refer to practice of it being used to upvote stuff from same user
11:49 PM samantha.sterling: you must further investigate your new powers
me: perhaps it's a test
11:50 PM samantha.sterling: hmm
unlikely
but possible
11:51 PM me: unlikely indeed
11:52 PM also exists the possibility that I was purposefully given admin powers
as I use my real name
samantha.sterling: perhaps you should just email someone and ask
that's what i would do
11:53 PM me: wait a second
11:54 PM oh
today's april fools
everyone is an admin
samantha.sterling: ah
me: should be interesting
11:55 PM I need to be reminded of this damned holiday
samantha.sterling: yeah well it's not technically april 1st yet
11:56 PM me: not in our time zone