site banner
PaperclipPerfector  4d ago (text post)   2596 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 25, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Did anyone parent's play Tom Lehrer in the house growing up? I just read that he passed away at 97.

Weirdly, despite my dad being a pretty devout Catholic, he was a big fan of The Vatican Rag. I remember him singing it on more than one occasion.

I happened on this performance good decade ago now, and been a fan since. Hard to choose a favorite, maybe Lobachevsky and Smut (love the "For filth (I'm glad to say) is in the mind of the beholder" line). Not surprised at your dad at all, I normally would not be a fan, his heritage and subversive themes, but the songs are too consistently catchy and funny not to override my bias completely.

What heritage?

He was Jewish, I'm positive.

Why would his being Jewish prevent you from being a fan?

Listening to his dunking on Wernher von Braun was enough for me to know he's a shithead.

Well, hate for Wernher von Braun is a thing of its time. It's not quite "you had to be there", because if you were right there you didn't live long enough to hate, but maybe "you had to get news from outside the blast radius of there"? Even non-shitheads can become somewhat hostile after word gets out that "half off at Woolworth's" might now mean the other halves of the babies were still in their prams.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats