Athlone McGinnis Appreciation Thread

[Excelsior]

:clap2:

I do wonder where he finds all that stuff. It must be magic

Appreciate the props, guys.

 

[Dusty]

 

[Timoteo]

The world simply isn't ready for you Athlone. Keep doing what you do...

 

[Quintus Curtius]

Bumping this.

Just read this thoughtful and nuanced comment on the "game vs. money" debate. It never gets old because it's always relevant.

Excelsior is a writer of penetrating insight, and it would be a crime for him to stop writing.

A voice that is sorely needed.

 

[debeguiled]

His articles on ROK are one of the reasons I sought out the forum.

The shades of night were falling fast,
As through an Alpine village passed
A youth, who bore, 'mid snow and ice,
A banner with the strange device,
Excelsior!

His brow was sad; his eye beneath,
Flashed like a falchion from its sheath,
And like a silver clarion rung
The accents of that unknown tongue,
Excelsior!

In happy homes he saw the light
Of household fires gleam warm and bright;
Above, the spectral glaciers shone,
And from his lips escaped a groan,
Excelsior!

"Try not the Pass!" the old man said;
"Dark lowers the tempest overhead,
The roaring torrent is deep and wide!"
And loud that clarion voice replied,
Excelsior!

"Oh stay," the maiden said, "and rest
Thy weary head upon this breast! "
A tear stood in his bright blue eye,
But still he answered, with a sigh,
Excelsior!

"Beware the pine-tree's withered branch!
Beware the awful avalanche!"
This was the peasant's last Good-night,
A voice replied, far up the height,
Excelsior!

At break of day, as heavenward
The pious monks of Saint Bernard
Uttered the oft-repeated prayer,
A voice cried through the startled air,
Excelsior!

A traveller, by the faithful hound,
Half-buried in the snow was found,
Still grasping in his hand of ice
That banner with the strange device,
Excelsior!

There in the twilight cold and gray,
Lifeless, but beautiful, he lay,
And from the sky, serene and far,
A voice fell like a falling star,
Excelsior!

 

[Quintus Curtius]

Another bezel of wisdom in the jeweled ring:

https://www.rooshvforum.com/thread-44508-post-1518429.html#pid1518429

 

[Steady Hands]

RE: Excelsior Appreciation Thread

Through illustrating the female fantasy of the 'Effortless Alpha', Excelsior offers a compelling explanation for why -- in almost all cases -- it is critical to respect the first rule of game club, namely (a) You do not talk about pickup, and even more importantly (b) that you...

Do not talk about pickup with women

If women want men that are not creepy (ie. want to have sex or at least be friends with them) and game teaches you how to be with women (ie. not creepy). Then isn't game exactly what these people are calling for. Are we not their saviors?

No, because the very act of teaching someone to better approach women is considered "creepy". You're being far too objective here-what you say makes sense logically, but women are not thinking in a strictly logical fashion when they engage in this kind of shaming language. It is their emotions that drive them.

Women want effortless attraction. They want a guy who is very attractive to them without any evidence that he's putting much effort into being that way. They very much value the romanticism of the "it just happened" kind of meeting, the idea that the guy was just there being himself and he was just right and he just happened to want her.

This is why media designed to appeal to women doesn't feature male leads who seem to consciously plan to meet the female characters. Romance/adult novels (read: chick porn) feature extremely attractive men who, more often than not, are just kind of there. There is no attempt to show the development of these men into the very attractive specimens they become, or the mistakes they make in growing and getting there. They just are.

The "Disney Princess" movie models also reads this way, and does much to shape the perception of young women as they grow. The Prince does not game the Princess-he's just there, he's naturally charming, and he wants her. She has no idea how he became a prince or what he goes through to keep that title and maintain his authority, and that stuff rarely features in the story. He's just there and he's perfect for her-The End.

In female fantasy, the ideal male just is. She could care less about the effort it takes for that man to become what he is, as long as he just is.

The fact that many guys put in an effort to build that attraction and become that better man kills the ideal of organic attraction that most women want to maintain. The fact that something like "game" exists at all is even more damaging because it implies that there are some concrete formulas and methods that produce better results than others, killing the notion of "magical love" that they'd much prefer to cling to.

In the end, this all comes down to feelings. Women "feel" uncomfortable with inorganic models of sexual attraction. Game promotes an inorganic model of attraction by telling them that there is a formula that can increase a man's appeal and that a woman can be drawn with practice and perfection of this formula. Therefore, game makes women feel uncomfortable.

"Creepy" is the catch-all label used by women for that which makes them feel uncomfortable. Hence, game is creepy.

Women also do not like the idea of losing control. Girls want the ability to choose winners and losers in the sexual marketplace-this is, in their mind, their prerogative and right.

When those winners (alpha males and guys who are just generally successful with women) and losers (dudes who don't see much sexual success) start gathering on forums likes these in mass and begin discussing and actually codifying how to do things, they begin to undermine that power women would like to keep.

It also becomes harder to tell which guys fit the "effortless attraction" model they idealize and spend most of their youth dreaming about and which guys merely look the part after a lot of effort. Girls would, generally, prefer to be able to make this distinction themselves, separating the more organic "naturals" from the others who had to work at it or are merely putting on a well practiced cover for weaknesses in their game that girls would otherwise readily see.
With "game", men take some of this ability and choice away from them.

To men, this may not seem like a bad thing since men are merely trying to give women more of what they want.

The problem is that women do not want men making this decision and taking things out of their hands. This is a threat to the feminine imperative and a challenge to the romanticized organic model I described above, so women subconsciously shy away from it.

The feminine imperative calls for control over the direction of the sexual marketplace, and male cooperation and focused effort to improve their standing in said marketplace does nothing to help this aim.

The standard response, therefore, is to shame those who participate in those discussions. The term "creepy" is a good way to do that, and it fits since the whole idea makes women uncomfortable as well (creepy = "I don't like the feeling he/it gives me").

Of course, this feminine imperative creates a dilemma for men who try to abide by it. If they put in effort and that effort is seen, that's creepy. If they don't put in effort and they're not naturals (very few men are), they are still creepy. Lose-lose.

This isn't a good place for men to be, but women generally don't care. They simply can't.

 

[debeguiled]

A.M./Ex seems like he is outgrowing this place, which is his business, but selfishly I think it is too bad.

His articles at ROK are one of the main reasons I signed up here in the first place.

Hope he hangs around, will understand if he doesn't, grateful for his thoughts, and wish him well either way.

 

[PuppetMaster]

A.M./Ex seems like he is outgrowing this place, which is his business, but selfishly I think it is too bad.

His articles at ROK are one of the main reasons I signed up here in the first place.

Hope he hangs around, will understand if he doesn't, grateful for his thoughts, and wish him well either way.

How is he outgrowing this place?

 

[brick tamland]

I think debeguiled derives his assessment from Excelsior's own statement that his time here is nearly up. That was in the London bridge Muslim terror thread which got quite tense due to a feud with a couple of other members.

The guy's been around forever and being about 25 years old now, he's got a bright future. He's made a big mark here. Hopefully the forum is still big enough for him and a couple of others to not feel as if they have diminishing influence on setting the forum's agenda and tenor.

 

[All or Nothing]

 

[Atlanta Man]

To Athlone McGinnis I say money, power, and women to you my young friend! Long Live Athlone!

 

[Thomas More]

I think debeguiled derives his assessment from Excelsior's own statement that his time here is nearly up. That was in the London bridge Muslim terror thread which got quite tense due to a feud with a couple of other members.

The guy's been around forever and being about 25 years old now, he's got a bright future. He's made a big mark here. Hopefully the forum is still big enough for him and a couple of others to not feel as if they have diminishing influence on setting the forum's agenda and tenor.

I don't understand feuding at that level. I love this place, but I don't always agree with everybody. I occasionally will have one back and forth where I post something, another disagrees with me strongly, and I either don't respond, or I respond once then drop it.
I'm not the internet police. I don't have to convince everybody to agree with me on everything. A lot of high value members have gotten banned or have quit because they can't stand people posting opinions they disagree with.

I hope Excelsior cools down and lets his beef go, and stays around. As this thread shows, he's obviously valued.

 

[Excelsior]

I don't understand feuding at that level. I love this place, but I don't always agree with everybody. I occasionally will have one back and forth where I post something, another disagrees with me strongly, and I either don't respond, or I respond once then drop it.
I'm not the internet police. I don't have to convince everybody to agree with me on everything. A lot of high value members have gotten banned or have quit because they can't stand people posting opinions they disagree with.

I hope Excelsior cools down and lets his beef go, and stays around. As this thread shows, he's obviously valued.

I've had plenty of strong disagreements with members here over the years.

What I'm talking about today goes well beyond that. This isn't just a few differences of opinion, it's fundamental shifts in perspective that have totally altered the character of the community. The result is a place that is not only harder to recognize, but much harder for me to enjoyably be a part of. The kinds of ideas and attitudes that are slowly becoming tolerable and mainstream here are not ideas I can coexist with. The people who adhere to them are, generally, not folks I can peaceably coexist with absent a lot of conflict (conflict which is not productive). And, after years of biting the bullet and shutting up about some of these shifts, I'm at a point where I can't comfortably cabin myself to a few threads and ignore the broader shifts any longer.

It's important as a man to know yourself, and that involves knowing where to be and when to be there. When the differences between yourself and the character of a place reach that level (such that your recent engagements are increasingly becoming more burden than pleasure) and you understand that your tolerance for some of these changes is low (and your ability to alter them is just about zero), it's time to move on. That time is now for me.

As I said in the other thread, if this community ever finds its way back to anything even resembling what it once was, I'd love a chance to become a regular part of it again. Today's not that day and I can't tell you when that day will come (if it comes), so this will be my last post for the foreseeable future. I will log in from time to time to check messages and keep in touch with certain members, so PM if you want to communicate. Otherwise, good luck with the community going forward.

 

[2Wycked]

This is very sad news, indeed. But not unexpected.

I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments expressed by Excelsior. As always, eloquent and measured in his opinions.

All the best, my friend.

 

[kosko]

RVF just lost a pillar. The structure is not as sound today as it was yesterday.

 

[Nemencine]

I received the signal flares.

Logging in just to pay my sincere respect. You will be missed, Excelsior/Athlone McGinnis.

 

[TravelerKai]

Good to see you are still alive and well too Nemencine. You know at least Athlone will take a PM. Your brothers here miss you like crazy and had no idea if you are dead or not. Please hit a nigga up sometime! Same goes for you too Jariel if you just so happen to be seeing this.

 

[Baldwin81]

The
Black
Hotness
Thread

Thank you AM/Excelsior. Best wishes to you.

 

[kirdiesel]

I try to "stay in my lane" here in order not to get to the point you are at today. Always loved your input bro and ill be in touch by PM and maybe we can catch up in NYC when I get back!!!