# A thought for Excalibre **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 15, 2006, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782 "2006-06-15T06:17:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/121 "2006-06-16T04:00:54Z")
One thing that I admire about **Roger** is that he is able to take an interest in people who approach a subject from a viewpoint different from his own. In general, he hasn’t appeared to be hostile to questions or label them as “ill-formed” and demonstrating nothing but “ignorance.” Maybe it’s the natural teacher within, but sometimes he _does_ put up with the fools that each of us can be from time to time _if we are seriously interested in learning_. Maybe someday, **Excalibre** will consider the option of actually “suffering fools gladly.” He may miss the high that the hostility and vitriol bring, but it works much better at fighting ignorance. **Smeghead** , you said it exactly right in your post. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/122 "2006-06-16T04:39:48Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] Oh, god, of course the plots have horrible problems. Goblet of Fire was awful in places. But I just consider it what I call “candy reading” - entertaining and cute without much depth. It’s for kiddies!! I love the Phantom Tollbooth, too, but not much depth there, either! [/QUOTE] I’m sure they’re great in that capacity, and I’m not trying to slag the books, although judging by the movies, they’re probably not for me. But “greatest books of their time?” They’d have to be about a thousand times better than the movies just to make the short list. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/123 "2006-06-16T04:45:29Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] It’s for kiddies!! I love the Phantom Tollbooth, too, but not much depth there, either! [/QUOTE] Milo will run over you with his toy car for that remark! The Phantom Tollbooth will NOT BE MOCKED! (Otherwise, I’ve completely lost track of this thread…but **Anaamika** , did you realize your mayonaisse has passed its expiration date? Just sayin…ooh, olives!) ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/124 "2006-06-16T04:47:21Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] I’m sure they’re great in that capacity, and I’m not trying to slag the books, although judging by the movies, they’re probably not for me. But “greatest books of their time?” They’d have to be about a thousand times better than the movies just to make the short list. [/QUOTE] Well, with the weirdness inherent in the Canon, it’s possible… Moby Dick was ‘lost’ and then ‘rediscovered’, after all. But it’s still highly unlikely IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/125 "2006-06-16T04:49:34Z")
[QUOTE=Dijon Warlock] Milo will run over you with his toy car for that remark! The Phantom Tollbooth will NOT BE MOCKED! (Otherwise, I’ve completely lost track of this thread…but **Anaamika** , did you realize your mayonaisse has passed its expiration date? Just sayin…ooh, olives!) [/QUOTE] Olives? In my fridge? Disgusting. I hope you didn’t eat them, cause they’re probably really old. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/126 "2006-06-16T04:53:02Z")
Oh, and I loved PT. Don’t get me wrong! I absolutely adore it. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/127 "2006-06-16T04:57:18Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] Oh, and I loved PT. [/QUOTE] Was that the Revell PT-109 or the Monogram PT-212? ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/128 "2006-06-16T04:58:15Z")
[QUOTE=you with the face] Here’s a Kleenex, honey. Don’t ask me why I came up here just to add that. It just seemed like the right thing to do. [/QUOTE] It’s 'cause you have a face, you…you _face-haver_! Proud of yerself, aincha? Quit lording it over the rest of us poor faceless souls. It’s not our fault! “In the beginning, God created Us in His own image, and then he ripped our faces off…except for YOU!” –_in the Bible, somewhere toward the back._ Why can’t you leave us in peace? ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/129 "2006-06-16T05:02:31Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] Oh, and I loved PT. Don’t get me wrong! I absolutely adore it. [/QUOTE] I didn’t get you wrong. PT is awesome. I first read it when I was 10 years old, and have loved it ever since. My other “coolest book I’ve ever read” memory from that year was “The Dark is Rising” by Susan Cooper. Holy smoke, that weirded me out! Loved it, loved it, loved it! (looks around) This isn’t _at all_ what the thread is about, is it…? ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/130 "2006-06-16T05:06:09Z")
[QUOTE=Frank] In my mind. I’ll elaborate, just to make sure I completely kill your joke. 🙂 [/QUOTE] spoilsport. (parenthetically, where’s the ob;igatory “why wuz **roger** suspended u li-brul jerxs?” ) ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/131 "2006-06-16T05:12:32Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Was that the Revell PT-109 or the Monogram PT-212? [/QUOTE] _::Whacks **tomndebb** in the head with a bottle of [Testors Green Metal Flake](http://www.testors.com/catalog_item.asp?itemNbr=1400).::_ ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/132 "2006-06-16T05:24:49Z")
Not _literally_, mind you…just joking about the model thing… I should probably shut up now. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/133 "2006-06-16T05:55:09Z")
So, **Excalibre** , that is all you got? All you have by way of a cite for my alleged propensity for self-abasement by constantly flattering and sucking up to my intellectual superiors is three threads in which I make complimentary remarks about **Liberal** (and btw, I said there was one thread where I “vigorously defended” him; I didn’t say there was only one thread where I ever mentioned him), plus one where I said **Shodan** would smack you down like the pipsqueak you are? Pretty scant evidence, I’d say. Now, I’m sure you’ll trot out your old saw about how I tried to suck up to you with the compliments I made about your own intelligence when I made the mistake of trying to bury the hatchet with you, but that was only an attempt on my part to illustrate that I was willing to let bygones be bygones and that I could still appreciate your good qualities. That you chose to view it as an attempt to suck up to you says more about you than it does about me. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/134 "2006-06-16T13:43:45Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] If not that, then just incredibly whiney, as that thread happened nine months ago and you’re still going on about it. [/QUOTE] Here’s the thing about your flames, though – there is something so inherently evil, so completely vicious, that they tend to stick with one long after they should, like green peppers or bad chili. I think it’s mostly the way that when you’ve decided on your own particular odd version of the “facts”, you tend to stick with them despite all evidence to the contrary. And then you attack your opponents’ psychological well-being, often without basis. It’s particularly galling. I still have a bad taste in my mouth over that stupid cat thread. Now don’t get me wrong – there’s something oddly admirable about that. It takes true talent to get under people’s skin like that. Truly, I sit in awe of your Evil Supernatural Power. But like all Evil Supernatural Powers, you need to learn to use it judiciously. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/135 "2006-06-16T14:16:23Z")
**Excalibre** can be a nasty individual when he wants to be. He likes to pick fights and he enjoys hating people. At the same time, he is a witty and knowledgeable poster. He has great writing skills. I am one of the posters he decided to hate\* but I still believe he is a valuable poster. I asked him why he does not like me and his explanation was that I am too nice. He seems to have determined his hatred for me in the Cow thread, as I was not mean enough to Ms. Cow. He challenged me on something, not knowing his rep I gave back a quick and pithy answer and we started flaming each other. Considering I am a lightweight on this board when it comes to debating and I guess I do espouse the “can’t we all just get a long” point of view, I at least understand that his point is valid to his frame of reference. My primary areas of interest and his do not overlap. Therefore, we mostly avoid each other anyway. **Excalibre** , I do not have any hatred for you, I hope that even if you continue to dislike me, we can be civil to each other at least. Regardless of your opinion of me, I think you are a good poster overall. For the record, I not only respect **FinnAgain** as a poster, I actually like him very much. Therefore, I guess this is one more reason for **Excalibre** to dislike me. **Smeghead** , a minor clarification, **Excalibre** actually started the debate with me before I even made the offhand (and ill-thought) remark about the next in-joke. He was actually upset, that I was asking Ms. Cow to come back and learn. He just wanted her to leave. Jim - Before you ask me to cite his hatred for me, I have to warn you he elucidated his feelings about me off board, so I cannot link to them, I do not think he will deny them however. It included wishful thinking of bodily harm to me, but simply in a black humor style. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/136 "2006-06-16T14:31:05Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] I find it fascinating that you’re basing your entire appraisal of me upon one single incident; [/quote] I’m not basing it on one incident. I thought it was interesting you called a literary opinion ignorant without knowing what I’ve read, so I searched on you and ‘ignorant’ and ‘ignorance’ and got 150 hits. I posted those results in my first post in this thread. > [@Excalibre](#): > > It’s way too much effort to try to argue an aesthetic opinion, frankly. Or perhaps it’s stupid. Perhaps your own highly valued opinion is actually no better than anybody else’s. > [@](#): > > Frankly, your opinion that Harry Potter constitutes the greatest literature of our era is _stupid_. I’m sorry if you find that condescending. I assure you that I didn’t mean to condescend at all; I meant to insult you. You can’t insult me, I know I’m stupid and ignorant. I know you also said that literature has some objective standard and _Harry Potter_ doesn’t meet it. You know what? [You’re demonstrably ignorant](http://www.k-state.edu/english/nelp/rowling/#lit_crit). You may not be a woman, but you’re some kinda bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/137 "2006-06-16T15:28:31Z")
[QUOTE=bup] I’m not basing it on one incident. I thought it was interesting you called a literary opinion ignorant without knowing what I’ve read, so I searched on you and ‘ignorant’ and ‘ignorance’ and got 150 hits. I posted those results in my first post in this thread. [/quote] You’ve proven that I’ve used a particular word numerous times. Congratulations. I’m not sure why you feel that’s something to crow about. > [@](#): > > You can’t insult me, I know I’m stupid and ignorant. I know you also said that literature has some objective standard and _Harry Potter_ doesn’t meet it. You know what? [You’re demonstrably ignorant](http://www.k-state.edu/english/nelp/rowling/#lit_crit). So the fact that a book has been written about by literary critics proves that it’s great literature and, as you claimed, the greatest literature of our time? Out of curiosity, what are you smoking? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/138 "2006-06-16T16:02:18Z")
[QUOTE=dnooman] WHOOSH dumbass! The “black” part was a joke. Who doesn’t know the meaning of that tired phrase? So sorry you didn’t get it. [/QUOTE] IMHO “WHOOSH” = “I am being a Troll”. :mad: And sorry **Excalibre** , your post to **bup** about Harry Potter \*was \* condesending. Many dudes seem to think “literature must be dense, dark & hard to understand to be great”. Not so at all. I happen to think Huckleberry Finn is the greatest work of literature for _it’s_ era, and it is enjoyable, easy to read, and \*on the surface \* aimed at kids also. Not that I am saying the I think Harry Potter is \*great \* Lit myself (or that Rowling is as deep or can write anywhere near as well as Twain), but certainly **bup** ’s _opinion_ of it is a reasonable stand to take- hardly “ignorant”. And your \*opinion \* just plain sounds elitist- like the kind of person that thinks Joyce’s Ulysses is _great_ because he can’t understand it. :rolleyes: 😛 (Note, it’s _crap._- IMHO) ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/139 "2006-06-16T16:02:23Z")
So **Excalibre** , do you hate me too? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782/140 "2006-06-16T16:15:13Z")
[QUOTE=bup] I know you also said that literature has some objective standard and _Harry Potter_ doesn’t meet it. You know what? [You’re demonstrably ignorant](http://www.k-state.edu/english/nelp/rowling/#lit_crit). [/QUOTE] Would you consider The DaVinci Code to be one of the greatest works of our generation? I’ve not read it, but the consensus on this board seems to be that it’s a vaguely interesting story that is very poorly written. However, I’m sure you could find hundreds, if not thousands, of literary critiques of it. I believe that’s called an [argumentum ad populum](http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/mathew/logic.html#populum). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thought-for-excalibre/360782.md?page=8)