A lot of us owe a debt of gratitude to Demented. As far as I'm concerned, he's the OG of this conspiracy forum thing. Yeah, I know others were around before he launched Maniac Nebula, but he's the first one I can put a face to. I knew about Above Top Secret before I knew of Maniac Nebula, but it was a faceless place for him. I didn't know the members too well, and I was just learning the basics of conspiracy theory.
Maniac Nebula started off as a splinter site. A few guys already knew each other, and newcomers were intimidated to join. They weren't sure if they'd fit in. It wound up being a good site, though. I wanted to talk to Noobs, here. Something similar is going on with this place. Conspiracy sites come and go. Above Top Secret bit the dust about five months ago. There's a site called IsItDownRightNow and it seemed a lot of people were surprised that ATS disappeared. There were comments left, and it seems there was no warning. I had been off the site for years, so I hardly cared. Someone also commented that someone else ought to re-launch the site. I've given it thought.
So Demented started Maniac Nebula years ago. When I first joined, I said to myself, "I want to do this someday! I want to have my own myBB site!" More than a decade passed, and he ya' have Sheeple Gateway. You'll notice, if ya' look in the member list, Demented was the first guy to join. Where is Maniac Nebula now? It's still there, but it's more of a blog, now. Demented says he has a secret myBB forum somewhere, and I believe him. I just never asked to join.
That's the way things roll in these conspiracy circles. Did you watch the Stonecutters episode of the Simpsons? Mr Burns is a big honcho in the Real World, but in the Hidden Cabal of the Stonecutters' secret society, he was a bottom-of-the-rung nobody. I'm not saying Demented is a nobody, here, but he was content to be "just one of the guys". I made Madam Cassandra and Pumpkin my first two mods. Demented didn't want it. He had too much on his plate.
Last year, Demented asked his mods to write short essays on who we were supporting for president. I'm a cynical guy, and my take on things is below. Before I paste my response below, I wanted to mention something about the way conspiracy forums work. They're like 1st Round picks from the NFL. Some of them go on to be Hall of Famers. Some of them turn out to be busts. Most of them have a solid career of a few years. Well, some conspiracy forums truly make the grade and last ten years or more. Some peter out. Some are solid, but there's always something better. The original Maniac Nebula myBB site came and went. It was great! Members learn how to launch their own sites. You've probably heard of The Refugees, which folded in 2021. The guys that launched The Refugees later launched Refugees Tavern which folded a few weeks ago. There was a site called Give Me Gossip, and that was popular for a hot minute. I've been asked to launch my own version of it. There was That Other Place, and nobody likes to talk about it. The owner was quite sadistic, and he made people grovel. Then he'd kick 'em out anyway.
The key is learning to do this on your own. That's when you start to have true human dignity. Think about being a kid and the places you were driven by your parents. Sure, they drove you to visit Santa Claus in a local mall, or they drove you to a Six Flags park. That's nice, and you can't ask for more. They also drove you to some distant great aunt's house, and you had to sit down and shut up for hours while they chatted about old times. They drove you to the dentist and the doctor. You wanted no part of it! They drove you to funerals where you had to pretend to mourn relatives you never even met. When I turned sixteen, I was given a total piece of shit car. I loved it, though, and I explained it to someone in my real life that way. Launching my own myBB site gave me liberation. It gave me the ability to drive on my own. I'm not dependent on parents, and I'm not depended on Demented. Like I said, we owe him a lot of gratitude.
-- Homer Cocktail
here's what I wrote in March of last year:
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3-20-2024
Hello Maniacs,
Site Operator, Demented, asked me and the other mods to weigh in on the 2024 election. I’ve done that.
“Remember it’s not about voting harder, it’s about voting smarter. Know who you’re voting for today and what they stand for. Vote your conscious! Make sure that you can still look yourself in the mirror after you cast your vote …”
— Jesse “the Body” Ventura
Take these wise words from a former Minnesota governor to heart. I’ve voted in many presidential elections. I voted for a Democrat one time, and I voted for a Replublican one time. Ralph Nader dubbed the failed, corrupt two-party system we have as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. I voted for him twice.
One of my favorite Simpsons episodes is Treehouse of Horror VII. Rigellian aliens, Kodos and Kang, are running for president. Kang wins and enslaves humanity. Soon after, “Don’t Blame Me – I Voted For Kodos” bumper stickers and yard signs become popular. The humor and moral of the story is that humanity was going to be enslaved no matter what. Kodos would’ve enslaved humanity just the same.
If you haven’t heard these words, I’d like to share them:
kakistocracy (noun) – government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state
plutocracy (noun) – government of the rich, by the rich, for the rich
oligarchy (noun) – a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution
Our system has evolved into an outward kakistocracy, but a hidden plutocracy. It is an oligarchy where less than one hundred people control half of the world’s wealth. Long ago, there were a couple of political comedies which became prophetic. In 1985’s Brewster’s Millions, “None of the Above” was a strong voting option. Fast forward to last month when Nikki Haley lost to “None of These Candidates” in Nevada. In 1992’s Distinguished Gentleman, Eddie Murphy’s character ran on the slogan “the name you know” and mislead the public on the way to victory. Eight short years later, George W Bush accomplished the same thing.
When people talk to me about modern politics, I think about World Wrestling Entertainment. It’s scripted. We watch wrestling. Two guys are duking it out. One guy gets the upper hand, then the referee is distracted by something outside the ring. While his back is turned, the momentum flips a one eighty as someone enters the ring with a folding chair and slams it against the back of the wrestler pounding the other one making him fall to the mat. The intruder with the chair skips out, the referee turns his attention back to the fighters, and the guy who got smacked with the chair is pinned by a limp opponent.
So my advice for this election season? Vote for who you want to! Vote for someone who makes you feel good! Besides Ralph Nader, I voted for Tina Fey! That’s right! In the 2004 election, two buddies from Yale’s Skull and Bones were the finalists. Greg Palast and others believed the 2000 election was rigged, and it was happening again. I happen to think Tina Fey would’ve made a good president so I wrote her in. That’s what my conscious told me to do! I didn’t have it in me to vote for Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dum. I didn’t want to vote for Kang or Kodos. The only thing I would urge you to do is consider that it’s all a farce, now. Please don’t go to work tomorrow telling a coworker, “That wrestling match was bullshit! Max Blue was getting his ass kicked when one of his buddies saved him with that folding chair! Totally against the rules!”
I once believed wrestling was real, and I still do. Those guys are genuine athletes. I don’t believe it’s organic and spontaneous like I used to, though. I believed democracy was real. Now? I feel like Puff the Magic Dragon when Jackie Draper went away. Green scales fell like rain! And they haven’t stopped falling this whole millennium.
Sincerely,
Homer Cocktail
Maniac Nebula started off as a splinter site. A few guys already knew each other, and newcomers were intimidated to join. They weren't sure if they'd fit in. It wound up being a good site, though. I wanted to talk to Noobs, here. Something similar is going on with this place. Conspiracy sites come and go. Above Top Secret bit the dust about five months ago. There's a site called IsItDownRightNow and it seemed a lot of people were surprised that ATS disappeared. There were comments left, and it seems there was no warning. I had been off the site for years, so I hardly cared. Someone also commented that someone else ought to re-launch the site. I've given it thought.
So Demented started Maniac Nebula years ago. When I first joined, I said to myself, "I want to do this someday! I want to have my own myBB site!" More than a decade passed, and he ya' have Sheeple Gateway. You'll notice, if ya' look in the member list, Demented was the first guy to join. Where is Maniac Nebula now? It's still there, but it's more of a blog, now. Demented says he has a secret myBB forum somewhere, and I believe him. I just never asked to join.
That's the way things roll in these conspiracy circles. Did you watch the Stonecutters episode of the Simpsons? Mr Burns is a big honcho in the Real World, but in the Hidden Cabal of the Stonecutters' secret society, he was a bottom-of-the-rung nobody. I'm not saying Demented is a nobody, here, but he was content to be "just one of the guys". I made Madam Cassandra and Pumpkin my first two mods. Demented didn't want it. He had too much on his plate.
Last year, Demented asked his mods to write short essays on who we were supporting for president. I'm a cynical guy, and my take on things is below. Before I paste my response below, I wanted to mention something about the way conspiracy forums work. They're like 1st Round picks from the NFL. Some of them go on to be Hall of Famers. Some of them turn out to be busts. Most of them have a solid career of a few years. Well, some conspiracy forums truly make the grade and last ten years or more. Some peter out. Some are solid, but there's always something better. The original Maniac Nebula myBB site came and went. It was great! Members learn how to launch their own sites. You've probably heard of The Refugees, which folded in 2021. The guys that launched The Refugees later launched Refugees Tavern which folded a few weeks ago. There was a site called Give Me Gossip, and that was popular for a hot minute. I've been asked to launch my own version of it. There was That Other Place, and nobody likes to talk about it. The owner was quite sadistic, and he made people grovel. Then he'd kick 'em out anyway.
The key is learning to do this on your own. That's when you start to have true human dignity. Think about being a kid and the places you were driven by your parents. Sure, they drove you to visit Santa Claus in a local mall, or they drove you to a Six Flags park. That's nice, and you can't ask for more. They also drove you to some distant great aunt's house, and you had to sit down and shut up for hours while they chatted about old times. They drove you to the dentist and the doctor. You wanted no part of it! They drove you to funerals where you had to pretend to mourn relatives you never even met. When I turned sixteen, I was given a total piece of shit car. I loved it, though, and I explained it to someone in my real life that way. Launching my own myBB site gave me liberation. It gave me the ability to drive on my own. I'm not dependent on parents, and I'm not depended on Demented. Like I said, we owe him a lot of gratitude.
-- Homer Cocktail
here's what I wrote in March of last year:
=================
=================
=================
3-20-2024
Hello Maniacs,
Site Operator, Demented, asked me and the other mods to weigh in on the 2024 election. I’ve done that.
“Remember it’s not about voting harder, it’s about voting smarter. Know who you’re voting for today and what they stand for. Vote your conscious! Make sure that you can still look yourself in the mirror after you cast your vote …”
— Jesse “the Body” Ventura
Take these wise words from a former Minnesota governor to heart. I’ve voted in many presidential elections. I voted for a Democrat one time, and I voted for a Replublican one time. Ralph Nader dubbed the failed, corrupt two-party system we have as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. I voted for him twice.
One of my favorite Simpsons episodes is Treehouse of Horror VII. Rigellian aliens, Kodos and Kang, are running for president. Kang wins and enslaves humanity. Soon after, “Don’t Blame Me – I Voted For Kodos” bumper stickers and yard signs become popular. The humor and moral of the story is that humanity was going to be enslaved no matter what. Kodos would’ve enslaved humanity just the same.
If you haven’t heard these words, I’d like to share them:
kakistocracy (noun) – government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state
plutocracy (noun) – government of the rich, by the rich, for the rich
oligarchy (noun) – a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution
Our system has evolved into an outward kakistocracy, but a hidden plutocracy. It is an oligarchy where less than one hundred people control half of the world’s wealth. Long ago, there were a couple of political comedies which became prophetic. In 1985’s Brewster’s Millions, “None of the Above” was a strong voting option. Fast forward to last month when Nikki Haley lost to “None of These Candidates” in Nevada. In 1992’s Distinguished Gentleman, Eddie Murphy’s character ran on the slogan “the name you know” and mislead the public on the way to victory. Eight short years later, George W Bush accomplished the same thing.
When people talk to me about modern politics, I think about World Wrestling Entertainment. It’s scripted. We watch wrestling. Two guys are duking it out. One guy gets the upper hand, then the referee is distracted by something outside the ring. While his back is turned, the momentum flips a one eighty as someone enters the ring with a folding chair and slams it against the back of the wrestler pounding the other one making him fall to the mat. The intruder with the chair skips out, the referee turns his attention back to the fighters, and the guy who got smacked with the chair is pinned by a limp opponent.
So my advice for this election season? Vote for who you want to! Vote for someone who makes you feel good! Besides Ralph Nader, I voted for Tina Fey! That’s right! In the 2004 election, two buddies from Yale’s Skull and Bones were the finalists. Greg Palast and others believed the 2000 election was rigged, and it was happening again. I happen to think Tina Fey would’ve made a good president so I wrote her in. That’s what my conscious told me to do! I didn’t have it in me to vote for Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dum. I didn’t want to vote for Kang or Kodos. The only thing I would urge you to do is consider that it’s all a farce, now. Please don’t go to work tomorrow telling a coworker, “That wrestling match was bullshit! Max Blue was getting his ass kicked when one of his buddies saved him with that folding chair! Totally against the rules!”
I once believed wrestling was real, and I still do. Those guys are genuine athletes. I don’t believe it’s organic and spontaneous like I used to, though. I believed democracy was real. Now? I feel like Puff the Magic Dragon when Jackie Draper went away. Green scales fell like rain! And they haven’t stopped falling this whole millennium.
Sincerely,
Homer Cocktail
trying to figure things out ...