My ears heard Creed, but somehow my brain heard Live. Not that Geo's critique would have been much different if it really had been Live he was trashing.

I know what you mean about Tom Cruise. I have the same reaction to Keanu Reeves and Samuel L Jackson. I can enjoy a given movie, but I never forget that that guy is SAM JACKSON or TOM CRUISE. Unlike someone like Gary Oldman who's been in more movies that I realized because his own personality disappears into the character.

Robert - It takes a very special kind of person to apologize in such a public way.

I asked my Russian-born co-worker to translate the intro but she said she couldn't understand much of it, the languages are apparently too different. The whole thing ended in an interesting discussion about bilingualism.

Glad you've shaken hands. Humor or not, FWIW I often catch myself doing the same sort of thing without any attempt at humor. Both the "I'm not SAYIN', I'm just sayin'" stunt, and pre-excusing things. When I catch myself trying to qualify a statement like that, it's a huge warning flag, and I stop right there. Well, most of the time. Okay, frequently.

As a skeptic, it's hypocritical for me to try putting something unsupported out there, however much I want to. Sometimes it's VERY hard to hold back, rather like...well...deliberately quitting when you're nearly there, if you'll put your mind in the gutter. :) But it's also unfair to the other party in the conversation, who deserves honesty and due diligence from me. What kind of understanding will they walk away with if it incorporates shaky facts and emotional appeals?

So it goes, I think, with pre-excusing things. When I'm sounding enough like an ass to notice it myself, I'm probably being one. Doesn't make me an ass, just a typical human capable of the occasional bit of assness. But even when I'm pretty damn sure I'm right, I could be wrong, so I'm not afraid to triple-check when I get a flag like that. And if I'm absolutely sure, then as Geo suggests, own the statement. If I've REALLY got nothing to apologize for, then I shouldn't weaken my argument by trying; think Hitchens.

And now for something completely different: Should I be disturbed that I sorta want to see the dragon sketches? I'm thinking "absolutely", but I'm also thinking "album cover".

Thanks Robert. I appreciate you taking the time to comment and explain.

Sorry if I over-reacted.

And- so as to not misrepresent anything- the mental illness I referred to was a horrendously trying "relationship" [huge godzilla irony quotes there...] and not a diagnosed condition. I would never want to equate the consequences of my lack of judgment to someone with a genuine disability.

Thanks

Geo

Dear listeners of the Geologic Podcast,

I am the author of the e-mail which Geo discussed
to some length at the end of Podcast 246. I would
like to take the time to publicly apologize to all
listeners for coming across as an ass.

I would like to start off by saying that the tone of my letter to George was - in fact - totally misunderstood. Where sarcasm and humor was attempted, genuine hatred and conspiratorial thinking against the atheist/skeptic community - of which I consider myself a part of - was
sensed. Where familiarity was meant - an "in your face" arrogance was heard. For this - I am very sorry, and I meant no harm to any organization, particularly the JREF, who are idols of mine in combatting worldwide woo and educating the populace in critical thinking. I guess this was an example of Poe's law hard at work as well as a few cultural and linguistic divides between author and recipient. Mea culpa.

Furthermore, I admit that my judgment of selected
familiarity in the letter was clouded - perhaps due to Geo's own tone during the show, and the very fact that the podcast so actively makes one feel a part of the "in crowd". Attempting to recreate a similar approach, I was reminded to let the professionals do what they do best, and not try to imitate and notice that you're out of your league.

Secondly, I would like to extend my apologies to
Geo personally, for any implication that his funniness is in any way correlated to mental well-being. I was unaware of any conditions of his, and if my comments in any way have caused harm, either to George or to his family and/or friends, I deeply regret it.


Best regards,

/Robert

You spoke of being an emotional wreak and having a mental state that led to illness ['mental unstability' & 'fucking emotional wreak'] because of love.

I hope we're all forgiving and understanding why people would be that way and it's not a joking matter.

Hang in there.

I wonder how many sketches of Geo fucking a dragon you guys will get now! #fuckthatguy Great show as always! Will an English translation of the "on language" intro be available?

~Dan

I couldn't agree more about Brad Bird. The Incredibles wasn't panned by any means, but I can't understand why it isn't as liked as (I think) it oughta be. And Iron Giant is almost painful for me to watch; it's kind of a swan song for a dead genre. Glad to see he's got some good gigs.

I don't have much to add other than that I appreciate all that you do. I'm sure that people like me (those who appreciate the time and effort you put into the podcast and who listen every week) far outnumber your thoughtless critics. I hope you keep putting the podcast out until episode 1000 despite these soulsuckers :-)