diff --git a/lib/rb/lib/thrift/deprecation.rb b/lib/rb/lib/thrift/deprecation.rb
index b3fd12e..e170f57 100644
--- a/lib/rb/lib/thrift/deprecation.rb
+++ b/lib/rb/lib/thrift/deprecation.rb
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@
   # Wraps the given methods to print a warning and call the real method
   # Example:
   #   deprecate! :readAll => :read_all
+  #--
+  # Yeah, this is ugly, passing a string to module_eval, but unfortunately
+  # using a block removes the ability to pass blocks to the defined method
+  # and breaks spec
   def deprecate!(methods)
     return unless Thrift::DEPRECATION
     methods.each_pair do |old, new|
diff --git a/lib/rb/lib/thrift/exceptions.rb b/lib/rb/lib/thrift/exceptions.rb
index efaa805..4dddce0 100644
--- a/lib/rb/lib/thrift/exceptions.rb
+++ b/lib/rb/lib/thrift/exceptions.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 module Thrift
   class Exception < StandardError
     def initialize(message)
-      super(message)
+      super
       @message = message
     end
 
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
     attr_reader :type
 
     def initialize(type=UNKNOWN, message=nil)
-      super(message)
+      super
       @type = type
     end