I did a google search of "Ming the Merciless" and found there are more than one blogger/internet surfer using the name. Aside from me, there is a guy in California and another in Switzerland who call ourselves, Ming the Merciless.But who is Ming the Merciless? The name came from a fictional character in a scifi comic strip called, Flash Gordon, which was first published in 1935. Ming the Merciless was an extraterrestrial villain from the planet, Mongo and the main nemesis of the hero, Flash Gordon. Ming the Merciless has an underground ice palace, Ice Station Earth, set deep beneath Antarctica. With his arsenal of laser weapons (that was so 1930s, before WMD became the word of choice) and an army of drone robots, Ming the Merciless set out to conquer Earth but his plan was foiled by Flash Gordon.
This photo, a semi coming out party for me, was taken inside a relatively empty subway train -- nobody was sitting within view of my camera. The reason my face is not totally visible in the photo is because I was told (and have read) that blogging can be a career suicide, especially if too much information is revealed. Besides, I fancy myself as the International Man of Mystery. Yeah baby!!
If you have an alter ego, who would you be?
19 comments:
I hadn't wanted to mention it but I'm really a sleek captain of industry with a razor sharp mind who blogs about an ordinary life just for the sheer hell of it...Seriously!
I think you're dead right about the anonymity but I've read nothing here that would threaten your career.
Angela
hehehe, that's a great portrait indeed.
Alter-ego.. what a question you asked me! ...I have one per night... ^^
Just kidding!
Hey what's wrong with that post or railing or whatever... is it bended or just because the photo?
I share your trepidation and have a partly-anonymous presence. "Partly" because on a couple of lists, my real name is linked to the blog. I just try to stay mindful of this and try not to say something TOO inane!:-)
Ahhh! Ming the Merciless unveiled -- partially, that is. Cool! Cool subway shot, too!
Paz (who's got to go watch Flash Gordon one of these days)
I had wondered about the term Mind the Merciless. Since I'm both a girl and a comic strip ignorant one I was unaware of the historical Ming. Now I will think of you as Ming the Merciful for I feel you are quite the opposite of the guy whose moniker you claimed for your blogger name.
And I, like you, prefer to stay as anonymous as possible in cyberspace.
clever idea, and an entertaining background.
My alter ego? Ming the Merciless...
Back in the late 80s, I was stupid/naive enough to use my REAL FULL name in some internet discussions and today, these comments reside in the cyber world for all to read. What I said as a pimply faced teenager was dumb and embarrassing but there is not way for me to delete it.
So, I'm hesitant to use my real name here because 20 years down the road, when I'm a regular dirty ole man, I don't want to be embarrassed of what I wrote today.
Lesson learned.
Oh yes, those old comments come back to haunt you.
Did you know that the Sci Fi channel is making a new Flash Gordon due later this year. Should be interesting to see what they have done to your alter ego.
moi j'ai mon double devant moi tout les jours, comme je travaille avec mon frere et on se ressemble ;o)
me I have my double in front of me the every day, as I work with my brother and one resembles oneself; O)
The Emperor Ming: "Pathetic earthlings. Hurling your bodies out into the void, without the slightest inkling of who or what is out here. If you had known anything about the true nature of the universe, anything at all, you would've hidden from it in terror."
Thanks for the warning, Ming!
So, did you attempt to make contact with the other Ming's? What are they up to? :)
Well it's nice to know you're a MAN at least...I had falsely assumed for some odd reason you were a girl!
angela - Sleek captain-huh? Very impressive. :-)
dsole - The rail is indeed curved. This is a new train. Everything has smooth curves from the windows to the chairs.
z - I made the same mistake of using my real name in some posts in the late 80s. Wish I could take back what I wrote.
paz - Thanks!! Tell me how you like Flash Gordon. P/S. I'm cuter than the movie version of Ming the Merciless. Much cuter. :-)
annie - Thanks!! But I can be really evil. Hehehehe!! I dare friends to do stupid stunts all the time. And they always get into trouble.
chris & deb - There are three Mings already. You guys can be Batman and Catwoman.
john - Thanks for the info. I will watch out for it.
olivier - You have a twin brother??
isabella - Hehehe! :-)
per stromsjo - No, I didn't contact the other Mings.
kuanyin - The last time I check, I'm still a boy. :-)
haha.. now you know why i am called the keropok man? LOL...
dont think keropok man is some super hero. shhh about my real name yah. haha.. only the privilege one knows! (which is quite a number of people)
Yeah, yeah! All that stuff about Ice Palaces and lasers! I've always known it was really you. By the way, Hitler was so worried when he heard about my birth that he made two attempts on my life.
Tks for the advice on anonymity. I almost overexposed myself yesterday-tried to photograph the cafe in a mirror in front of the counter....later seeing that I had taken a super self protrait of me looking serious about the shutter button.
Good policy. And its nice to have a secret...
btw, we have our own Ming the Merciless in Northern Ireland (David Ford is the leader of one of our political parties, and indeed the resemblance to the original Ming is spooky), see bottom left hand section at:
http://www.portadownnews.com/27Jan03.htm
I didn't know what Ming the Merciless means. I learned now. :)
why be anon. I'm certainly who I appear to be... :)
Cool shots Ming.
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