Friday, May 8, 2009

I'm a Tool of Scientology!













This is too funny for words.

Above is a screenshot from the Recovery page on my website McMan's Depression and Bipolar Web taken just a few minutes ago.

No, you are not seeing things. In the lower right hand corner, you are viewing an advertisement for the Church of Scientology. Like nearly everyone who operates a website or a blog these days, I employ Google Ads to help pay the rent. I do not - nor have I ever - solicited advertising. Rather, Google automatically loads advertisements that its various algorithms decide is a good fit for the page.

Apparently, the Google algorithm determined that I am a friend of Scientology.

In a similar fashion, HealthCentral loads ads into the top banner portion of my mcmanweb pages. At the time of this writing, for this particular page, an ad for Ensure is on display. Across another page right now is an ad for Prisiq, which looks like this:







Various antipsychiatry bloggers such as Philip Dawdy of Furious Seasons periodically (and tediously) attempt to discredit my writing based on the fact that I happen to carry these ads on my site.

Apparently I am a tool of Big Pharma.

But no, the conspiracy is even more evil and far-reaching. I'm also a tool of Scientology!

Okay, okay. I confess. It was me you saw on the Grassy Knoll one day in late November. Whew! It's a relief to get that out of my system. In the meantime, don't forget to support my sponsors ...

15 comments:

Gina Pera said...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Thanks for the laugh, John.

I always suspected you were a Tool of Ensure, but now I know for sure!

John McManamy said...

Hey, Gina. I've been busted. Okay, I'll 'fess up. If you read all my blog pieces and website articles backward, they spell "Ensure."

And note, I always use "ensure" in a sentence rather than "insure," except when I use "insure."

The plot thickens. :)

Anonymous said...

I don't know whose "tool" you are, John, but you're certainly a someone's tool and, therefore, highly suspect.....

Great little piece. Funny and self-deprecating. Charming.

Anonymous said...

LOL. First paragraph in I thought, "Philip Dawdy's gonna have your ass."

Don't worry. He has other fish to fry.

Like your blog.

John McManamy said...

Hey, David. Check out the baseball cap in the picture of me toward the top right. What does that sinister "B" stand for?

Do you realize that the "B" became inoperative in 1958, the year the Soviets launched Sputnik?

How did I ever let this happen to me? :)

John McManamy said...

Hey, Anonymous. Glad you like my blog. As for Dawdy and my ass - nah, too easy. :)

Louise said...

Oh God, how creepy! I can't believe Scientologists even TOUCHED your blog! I think you need to give it a wipe-down with bleach for good measure. Cooties!

John McManamy said...

Aaargh! Cooties! I think I need to bathe MYSELF in bleach. :)

Katherine Stone said...

I did notice the Dianetics ad on your blog the other day, and I turned my head to the side and pricked up my ears like a confused dog would. I feel better now. ;-) And don't worry, I'm a tool of Big Pharma too. And I don't even HAVE ads on my blog. Whatever.

John McManamy said...

Hey, Katherine. There's a technical term for not being able to believe what you are seeing. I experienced this every day during the 8 years that George Bush was President. :)

It took me a full 10 seconds for the realization to dawn that I was looking at a Scientology ad. On my site? What next? A lifetime achievement award from the antipsychiatry crowd?

Anyway, to change the subject, I'll be devoting a short special blog piece tomorrow to your Mother's Day project.

Readers: Katherine has a great blog, Postpartum Progress, with the web's best info on the topic. For Mother's Day, she has something special planned. Please check it out:

http://postpartumprogress.typepad.com/

princessttm said...

Irony lives on....
too funny...

Sophie in the Moonlight said...

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On my Personal Interests section in my blog's profile I actually wrote "Proving Tom Cruise is a Total Idiot" I got such a kick out of this.

Thanks for ending my day with a giggle. (:

John McManamy said...

Hi, Princessttm. Yes! Irony lives! And I'm loving this - my personal best irony moment of all time!

John McManamy said...

Hi, Sophie. Tom Cruise already beat you to proving Tom Cruise is a total idiot. Now here's a real challenge - try to prove that Tom Cruise is smart. I know - Mission Impossible ...

Very much enjoyed your piece today in Postpartum Progress. Let's keep in touch -

Anonymous said...

This was a comment for the wiki discussion page on scientology but I got cold feet and am posting here ha. 'I can see how this started. Probably as a joke. Im flabbergasted. If people can believe this then all hope is lost. It explains alot in the world. It explains how the political system has lasted so long in Britain (until now anyway..when people have just woken up when it suited them or when they had too). People are jsut sitting ducks waiting to be eaten. I'm getting into the cult business..easy pickings, lots of dosh. I will call it..hmm..lets see...the great bretheren of the infernal, sorry, eternal light...yes..summing like that. ha People pay to get higher up the organisation ladder..yes..I see it all..ha. Why didnt I think of this before. Not so much scrutiny as politics..yes..'