satori001

Krys I started a thread in the Politics forum before I saw this one. Yours was first. My apologies.

Yeah! Nuke the sun!

I think that "weather" sent the hurricane. I know many dismiss "weather" as superstition, promoted by TV people who believe in "meteorology." I personally think "weather" is directly responsible for tornadoes and hurricanes, as well as "snow." Call me naive, but I think if it weren't for the sun heating vast oceans of air and water around the globe, bathing this Earth in light, warming and cooling us daily as it spins upon its axis (the axis of evil?), and in seasons as it revolves around the hot, bright yellow star, we wouldn't be seeing this "weather." Maybe someone should put a stop to it. Couldn't the government do something?

Getting back to the 3rd world, over 300 people were killed in a stampede in Iraq, when worshippers heading to some shrine were panicked by rumors of a suicide bomber in their midst. There may be more casualties in Iraq from that single incident than from all of Katrina. Are these tragedies ultimately insignificant to a population of 6 billion?

krys, if they have any sense they'll think like you do. I've never been to Holland to see them. Some of those North Atlantic storms can be pretty fierce, but I wonder if the storm surges are comparable. On a side note, I hope Evan and his family are okay. Given his line of work, he's probably too busy with the recovery to get on line.

I was cleaning my garage today and found a box from yesteryear, and within it a copy of the Way Magazine, the Sept/Oct 1985 issue, entitled "Rock of Ages Review." On the cover is a close-up of Mrs. Wierwille, looking like a million bucks. Almost exactly 20 years ago.

It's good to be safe and dry tonight. A lot of people are still clinging to life in the dark, right now, surrounded by rising water, snakes, and worse. New Orleans and the surrounding area look like Indonesia after the tsunami, from the vantage of a news chopper. What strikes me is how vulnerable we are in this country to a catastrophic event. We're so accustomed to low casualties we're taken by surprise when something like this comes along. And they do come along. There will be another cat 5 hurricane, another 9.2 quake, another terrorist massacre, another war, another monster blizzard... another asteroid. There's a Buffet song with the line: "I don't know where I'm-a gonna go when da vol-cano blow." We're all living on a fault-line of one kind or another. Some take precautions, some throw caution to the wind. Plenty don't pay any attention at all. I was in NO in the late nineties. A tour guide explained to my group, with some sense of urgency, that Katrina was coming and exactly what would happen when she did. She said NO was "on borrowed time." If we asked what more preparations might have been made, we were probably told there is only so much any city can afford to do. I guess the country can better afford the 20+ billion to underwrite re-building than any one location can afford to spend a billion or so to prevent the disaster, or at least soften the blow. Or maybe that's the logic. I hear there are only two corporations big enough to take on the job of rebuilding so much of the damaged infrastructure. One of them is a major French corporation. The other, Halliburton. The conspiracy theories are already flying. Living on the fault line, in the shadow of Vesuvius, has lots of little advantages, until that day.

I've been thinking of having my own hearing checked. The "what?" stuff is familiar.

I finally got around to seeing the DVD. Seems to me the message was, "Live life on your terms," whatever the cost. Maggie was willing to endure all kinds of pain, as long as she had hope. When hope was lost, the pain of living became pointless suffering. The euthanasia scene was odd, with Freeman peeking around the corner, but I was glad the movie let its heroine go, rather than linger through an awful death. Freeman's acting was fine, but I'm trying to remember anything great about it. He's done much better work. There were some scenes he appeared a little self-aware, as if they slid because Eastwood didn't want to make him re-do it. Who knows? Maggie's character was heroic. Her life and death had a redemptive power over Eastwood's character, redemption he couldn't find at his church, and which the priest couldn't possibly grasp. Had Freeman's character gone to Vegas, Maggie might not have been hurt. The chair would have been upright. That was the point, right? Yet Freeman's character refused any responsibility, when Eastwood turned on him, and rightly so. How could either of the men have forseen it? And who was truly guilty? The "Blue Bear," who hit Maggie not once but twice with cheap shots. We never did learn why Eastwood's daughter hated him, or why Freeman felt obliged to tell her Eastwood's story.

I picked up a Zucchero album in the early 90s and really enjoyed it. His other stuff didn't do much for me, but I'll give this a listen. Thanks for the recommend.

Let me know how you liked it, or didn't.

Originally posted by Oakspear: Holy wowburgers satori, do you really think that there's anybody out there THAT freakin' stupid?Not if you put it that way, no. But it wouldn't take much to make a compelling "suggestion." And I doubt that I possess even a fraction of that kind of influence. We all have that kind of influence (if we only knew it). A suggestion can be more effective than any command. Your posts are suggestive, and that was clearly (IMHO) your intent. I don't think you were trying to get GS'ers to crash the funeral. I think you were trying to get TWI to think it could happen. I think you were tweaking them just a little. But the suggestions were there, and I wouldn't put it past at least a few people out there to consider it.

Okay Tom. A family walks into a talent agency. It's a father, mother, son, daughter and dog. The father says to the talent agent, "We have a really amazing act. You should represent us." The agent says, "Sorry, I don't represent family acts. They're a little too cute." The mother says, "Sir, if you just see our act, we know you would want to represent us." The agent says, "OK. OK. I'll take a look..." Oh, wait. I was thinking of The Aristocrats. Sorry. -- Primer is about these four bright, MIT-engineer-type guys who work on their inventions in a 2 car garage belonging to one of them. Somewhere along the line, a "machine" is invented that can transport objects or people ahead in time. Not years or months, but hours or days. Their thoughts turn to the possibilities... You will enjoy it.

I was aware of the scriptural buildup Oakspear. But lines like "Naturally, I'm not advocating this, gee, that would be trespassing. And that would be bad" and "I'm not suggesting this, mind you, my opinions notwithstanding..." imply just the opposite of their literal meanings. And while you wouldn't be there, like Robert Preston playing Harold Hill, you might just encourage a few yahoos to try it, and "that would be bad."

This sort of insinuated hyperbole serves what purpose?Remember how TWI's crack (smoking) legal team used tongue-in-cheek posts about peeing in the Fountain of Living Waters to block unauthorized access to the Way Weeds for similar purposes? When the woman dies, have a memorial if you're moved to. Have it at some local eatery where non-family can gather and reminisce, and the family is welcomed. Curse The Way, damn The Way, the 1st Amendment lives on. But find a better time and place than the occasion of Mrs. Wierwille's passing for it. On that day above almost any other, she is a mother, not your martyr.

I can't think of anything gained as a result of the ministry's scriptural instruction, in doctrine or practice. Maybe I will later. laleo, you mentioned the kindness of many people in The Way, and I think that had a great influence over me. Though The Way's leadership couldn't be depended upon to grasp "kindness," many Way believers found it to be a very simple concept, in thought and in deed. Their examples were my teachers. I recall those examples often enough, I think, to make a small difference.

I just rented Primer on DVD. I have to think about this one some more, but it was one hell of a good movie. I recommend being ready to fast-reverse, and have the closed captioning on because the dialogue is occasionally challenging. You will find the time-line a little confusing. Don't get too hung up on it, but take the time to replay scenes for clarification. I'm still not sure where the movie's title comes in. I predict laleo, Zixar, raf and Pamsandiego will like this film, among others. Just a hunch. "PRIMER is the headiest, most singular science-fiction movie since Kubrick made 2001." -Esquire AWARDS and NOMINATIONS 2004 Sundance Film Festival: Grand Jury Prize 2004 Sundance Film Festival: Alfred P. Sloan Prize (for a film dealing with science and technology) 2004 Nantucket Film Festival: Best Writer/Director 2004 Gotham Awards Nomination: Best Feature 2005 London International Festival of Science Fiction: Best Feature 2005 Independent Spirit Award Nomination: Best Feature 2005 Independent Spirit Award Nomination: Best Director 2005 Independent Spirit Award Nomination: Best First Screenplay 2005 Independent Spirit Award Nomination: Best Debut Performance (David Sullivan) CRITICAL ACCLAIM "An ingenious movie about the perils of ingenuity. Invigorating. Like 'Pi' or 'Memento', 'Primer' is the kind of movie likely to inspire both imitators and cultists. Carruth has invented something fascinating." -A.O Scott, The New York Times -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Anybody who claims they fully understand what's going on in Primer after seeing it just once is either a savant or a liar. That's hardly a problem, though, since the experience of watching Primer is so intensely pleasurable that you'll want to see it several times, not so much to figure it out (that's a fringe benefit) as to revel in its striking composition and wry sense of humor.” -Mike D'Angelo, ESQUIRE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The year's most effective science fiction film. 'Primer' is a reminder that the best sci-fi action requires you to think." -Jason Silverman, Wired -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Finally, a piece of clockwork science fiction that works. This smart, committed genre exercise well deserves its Sundance Grand Jury Prize." -New York Magazine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "One of the more inventive, tantalizing and ingeniously directed indies of the past few years." -John Anderson, Newsday -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Evidence of a unique and unified vision. Every shot has the surprise and intensity of a new idea.” -Amy Taubin, Film Comment read more -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Riveting. Radically independent.” -David Ansen, Newsweek -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shane Carruth is 2004's no-budget, cinematic Cinderella story -Las Vegas City Life read more -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “PRIMER is the minimalist 2001 for the post – Bill Gates generation!” -Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Fascinatingly obtuse. Unfolds in the manner of Robert Altman or Stanley Kubrick. PRIMER is a sci-fi film that can play convincingly even to a theoretical physicist.” -Cinefantastique -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMER HAS BEEN FEATURED AT THE FOLLOWING FILM FESTIVALS: Sundance Film Festival New Zealand Film Festival Venice Film Festival (Italy) Nantucket Film Festival Seattle Film Festival Lake Placid Film Festival Edinburgh International Film Festival (Scotland) Atlanta Film Festival Waterfront Film Festival CineVegas Film Festival Kansas International Film Festival Boston Film Festival San Diego Film Festival Mill Valley Film Festival Chicago Film Festival Denver Film Festival Hawaii Film Festival Adelaide Film Festival (Australia) London International Festival of Science Fiction Williamstown Film Festival Ankara International Film Festival (Turkey) Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival

The Aristocrats is an inside "joke" among comedians. It is a practical joke, using the form of a standard joke as its vehicle. The infinitely, inevitably mutable text of the joke is not intended to be funny. The "humor" is in the victimization and subsequent reaction of the audience. Like any practical joke, the spirit can be light-hearted or black-hearted, depending on the practical joker. This movie presents 100 or so practical jokers. I think the movie will probably be the same, a practical joke on its audience, and the suckers who pay the admission (possibly myself included) will be its hapless foils, especially those who leave convinced it was "absolutely brilliant" and tell all their friends to see it. A friend of mine is a member of the Friars Club. He knows some of the comics in the movie. He said if I wanted to see it, he'd go along. I dunno. I'm tempted. Raf, if you want to join us, give me a call next time you're in Dubuque. We'll meet you there.

I guess I wasn't really thinking of "the hope," as much as my ship coming in. A giant pie, with a sail on it. A pie on the sea, then.One improvement is how handy I became with figures of speech, but I digress. I've always had the sense that esoteric, metaphysical knowledge (a la PFAL's "keys") would come along to help me save the world, and of course myself in the bargain. A pipe dream to be sure, and I don't know the first thing about plumbing, but there were so many "witnesses" to the contrary that I persuaded myself to eschew common sense, embrace skewed logic, and give it a try. Words like "hope" had much more immediate significance to me. I agree it's a happier existence to live for this life, and let the next take care of itself.

I may be better for having gotten a certain zeal for pie out of my system. Before discovering The Way, I believed in pie. Not just any pie. The "Pie in the Sky." Along came The Way, and it promised me the Pie in the Sky, By and By. How did I know they meant, figuratively speaking, a pie in the face? Well, my appetite for pie has sure diminished considerably thanks to The Way. Sure, I still read the occasional self-help manual or cosmic revelation, but I don't go out of my way for them any longer. I'm therefore a much better person than I once was, because I didn't throw the entire baby out with the bathwater, I feel I can have my cake and eat it too, right here on terra firma. I'm a much improved individual. Thank The Way!

See it? Like it? Get it? Me: No; couldn't say; no... well yes and no.

Thanks Bob. That makes it much easier. See that little field directly to the right of *Display Name? It ain't there in my edit profile screen. Pawtucket can access and use it (apparently), but I can't.

I'm using iPodder. iTunes makes my PC crash. Don't know why. It also insists on converting my hundreds of wma tune files to something else. Some of these software engineers need to be beaten with sticks.

Well done Bob. I do not have this.

Paw says some of us can. I wanna. I wanna. I wanna.