The Cleopatra Controversy Fri Dec 25 2020 at 0:37:47 A specter is haunting the Internet -- the specter of manufactured controversy. Every day, there's something new guaranteed to rustle a few jimmies in at least some segments of the online hoi polloi. I like to pretend that I am immune to this sort of thing because I've understood for a long time that, in the words of the great Eric Bischoff, controversy creates cash. Generally speaking, I practice what we might call meta-outrage, where I reserve my opprobrium and vitriol not so much for the topics of ragebait articles but rather their very existence or at least the manner in which they are compiled. Today, however, I found the perfect intersection of content and form that had me scrambling for my don't-kill-people meds.