In the USA, there is much brouhaha concerning a federal grant for over $700,000 toward the development of computer software that writes jokes. The fundamental mechanics of humor are exploited by both pioneering comedians and the hacks who haunt what LaVey called “the dismal world of comedy clubs.” (“‘T’ Ain’t Funny, McGee,” Satan Speaks!) Yet consistently successful humor is the still-elusive holy grail of artificial intelligence, which grows ever closer to replacing the most productive aspects of your average human. By automating not only human tasks, but personalities, we can highlight and more freely enjoy the truly unique elements of […]
humor
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The inimitable Robin Williams, whose work ranged from frenzied stand-up comedy to acting roles brimming with pathos, has died at the age of 63, an apparent suicide. Satanists frown upon any self-destructive act, but many of us will surely regret the death of this outstanding creator. Williams will be missed, but lives on through his incandescent nonsense and profound characterizations. “One cannot have a true sense of humor without an equal sense of the profound. The familiar cliche of the clown whose heart is breaking holds great validity.” —Anton Szandor LaVey, “‘T’ain’t Funny, McGee,” from Satan Speaks! —Warlock M. Mandrake […]
Over the past five decades Satanism as formulated by Anton Szandor LaVey has been filtering into the consciousness of the general populace. When the Church of Satan burst into the global media in 1966, something new had been added to the contemporary zeitgeist—knowledge that there were people who embraced Satan as a positive figure of liberty and individualism in an above-ground organization. Inevitably, having gotten wider notice, those who use humor to comment upon human activities found new fodder in the ideas and aesthetics projected by Dr. LaVey, especially after the documentary Satanis: The Devil’s Mass was released. We Satanists […]