WordWolf

"You can't keep playing Parises Squares like you're twenty-one years old. One of these days you're going to fall and break your neck... and I won't be able to heal that so easily." "Actually... I wasn't playing Parises Squares..." "Mmm... Worf's calisthenic program again..." "No..." "Oh? What were you doing?" "I was trying to feed Spot." "Data's cat?" "I told Data I'd feed it while he was away. All I remember is setting down the food... and then a hissing ball of fur came out of nowhere. I hate cats."

Sorry- can't find it from the lines provided. That may simply mean it was never posted online, or it was, and no links ANYWHERE point to the site (which is pretty rare.)

Ah! This is when Quark caused a drunken Klingon-the head of a House- to fall on his own dagger.... which became "I killed him in single combat"- making him the rightful heir to what became known as "the House of Quark". The second quote was Grillka, Kozak's widow. Interesting episode.

I've been watching JKR's comments about him since Book 5's release. She's quick to confirm DD's death, but has absolutely refused to confirm Sirius' death- and has done things like change the question she chose to answer- "Is Sirius dead?" became "Do you like Sirius?" and so on. She's also gone out of her way to say that DD's death must be accepted and fans must move on- but she never volunteers anything about Sirius' "death" that isn't directly related to the question- even if it means changing the question..... Why the coyness- which is remarkable when contrasted with her candor concerning DD?

["You were slow-witted and ill-informed. Oh, that notwithstanding, I hope we can keep the bond of peace in Christ between us." Bumpy, show me your faith without your works all you want. I'll show you my faith BY my works. (James 2:18.) If you're going to throw insults around-let me know if you need a list of the ones already in this thread-don't expect that to have no effect on "the bond of peace in Christ" with those you insulted. That's like slapping someone's face and expecting them to just forget it.] [i'm sure she does. And the triangle had three sides. Relevance?] [And the square had four sides. Relevance?] [As I've told one other poster, you are not our teacher, we are not your students, this is not your classroom, and you are not qualified to assign us homework. You are one poster, one voice, in a public forum. You may consider this a marketplace, like the Agora. Each of us has a voice. Each of us speaks. You speak. You made a rather outrageous claim. It may be true, it may not be true. Rather than SUPPORT your claim, you said "Oh, I made an outrageous claim that is definitely true. The burden of proof is on you to prove it didn't happen." Excuse you- YOU made the outrageous claim- it is for YOU to SUPPORT it. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof." If you expect to be given respect as an equal here, then you need to follow the common rules of messageboards, which are hardly unique to the GSC. If you make a claim-and you made one here- you must SUPPORT your claim, not pretend it's not your job to support it. If you don't want to support a claim, DON'T MAKE THE CLAIM. There's plenty of things I don't post because I don't feel like supporting them. So what I DO post, I can-and do-support. So, Bumpy, unless you're lacking in common internet manners, AND an arrogant prig, you have 2 choices. You can support your claim, or you can apologize and withdraw your claim. Alternately, you can legitimize the position that you're an arrogant prig who just makes up claims out of thin air and expects people to just believe them, and use any of a number of responses ("I refuse to support my claim", "Your mother!" "Anyone who expects me to support my claim is a fool", "I know what I believe *storms off*" "*stops posting for a month, then resumes, hoping everyone's forgotten*"). You're free to do that- but it WILL send a message, and probably NOT the one you MEANT to post.]

Here's what I think. (And this is coming from someone who had an elaborate theory that showed it was almost obvious that Trevor was the Half-Blood Prince, so make of it what you will.) Sirius Black went through a one-way portal to the Lands of the Dead, the Underworld, the Netherworld, Erebus, Pluto's realm, etc. Three characters were fascinated by that portal- Neville, Harry, Luna. They're united by having all seen someone die- and also by having been exposed to sap from Neville's mimbulus mimbletonia plant. (The Hogwarts Express ride in, Book 5, just before Cho Chang walks in.) There may be a link to either-or both-connections. The characters all THINK Sirius died. However, none of them work in the Dept of Mysteries, where this was being studied. Only Broderick Bode was an OotP member who DID work there, and he "conveniently" dies in Book 5 (strangled by Devil's Snare in St Mungo's long-term care ward, same area as the Longbottoms and Lockheart.) So, I don't consider them to be reliable as to whether or not Sirius Black died upon passage through the Veil/Arch. A lot of Harry's journey has paralleled the Hero's Journey of the monomyth. In that journey, part of it includes the descent into the Netherworld to rescue a loved one. Orpheus did it, Hercules did it, and so on. Harry hasn't done it-yet. If Sirius IS alive, he's trapped and needs a rescue. (Otherwise, he'd have escaped already.) If so, who would go, what would they need, and when would it happen? Here's how I call it. (With a little help from a few friends also good at mythology.) Obviously, it would be in Book 7. (I predicted that before Book 6 came out. Not enough suspense is built up otherwise.) Those who would go: Harry, of course, Neville, for reasons I'll explain in a moment, and Luna Lovegood, who has no fear of death, and BLEW UP PLUTO in the Dept of Mysteries, Book 5. (Coincidence? Maybe....) All 3 have seen someone die, were exposed to mimbulus mimbletonia sap, and are underestimated. When would it happen? Any date when the barriers between the dead and the living are reputed to thin. Could be Halloween-that's always significant in HP, and in Book 2, Harry crossed a veil and interacted with the dead on Halloween. (Nearly-Headless Nick's Deathday Party.) Could be New Year's Eve, the crossing of the year barrier. I think it will be April 30, at dusk. That's Walpurgis Night. I know JKR knows the term, because she once said the Death Eaters were originally known as the Knights of Walpurgis. There's a number of legends concerning Walpurgisnacht, but the one she's probably most familiar with is that the barrier between the dead and living falls from dusk to dawn. That's mentioned in Bram Stoker's "Dracula's Guest", which I read as a kid, and I'm confident she read it too-since she's Scottish, and so is Stoker. So, dusk to dawn, April 30-May 1. Who goes? The 3 I mentioned. What do they need? Could be a few items. Traditionally, a coin of the lowest denomination is needed, if Charon's Ferry is used. (The lowest denomination because the rich and the poor all face death, and that's why pennies were left on people's eyes.) Whether or not it's needed, I expect 2 items to be absolutely needed. JKR specified that Book 5 was so big because she needed to include things to be mentioned later. Almost none of them were used in Book 6-therefore, they will be used in Book 7. I say 2 items will be needed. The broken mirror Harry was given by Sirius, and the mimbulus mimbletonia plant. The broken mirror, because she promised it will be used, and be useful, but not like it's expected. That suggests to me that it can't be used to communicate, but will be used. I came across a reference that a broken mirror can be used to trap a soul, and I think it will be used to "capture" Sirius to bring him back. I say the mimbulus mimbletonia, because we're hit over the head with it all of Book 5. It's the only Gryffindor password ALL YEAR. It shows up in several scenes, and Neville's ALWAYS carrying it. The 3 have been exposed to its sap. It's from Assyria, same as the Gilgamesh legends, where a water-plant comes up in Gilgamesh's searches for immortality. It makes a crooning sound, and releases sap. So, WHERE is it used? Has to be someplace where there's a crossover into the lands of the dead, someplace where there's a crossroads of some kind. Could be Egypt, could be Assyria, could be someplace local. Probably a cave-the crossroads of the surface world with underground. So, is it a portal that's safe to use? Well, I think it will be difficult to use. It will only open during specific times- like the dates I mentioned, from dusk to dawn- and only with the proper "key". That could be any item, but I think it will be a SOUND-key, and thus the "crooning" of the mimbulus mimbletonia. They'll have until the first rays of dawn to rescue Sirius, have an adventure, Luna will stop pursuit, and there will be last-minute drama. For all I know, they may end up on the same side of the barrier as Wormtail, Severus Snape and Voldemort. If so, there will be a fight, and both Wormtail and Severus Snape will have a chance to discharge their debts to Harry by helping disable Voldemort, leaving him trapped there when dawn begins. That would leave Voldemort trapped and conscious in the lands of the dead, possibly a prisoner. Personally, I see Harry and Voldy in a shoving match at the portal just before the first rays of dawn strike, and Harry shoves Voldy back in just as Harry's pulled clear by Wormtail and Severus. That would fulfill The Prophecy, literally- "either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..." So Voldy would "die", literally at Harry's "hand". Then again, it's possible the Voldy fight doesn't take place there at all. Personally, when I found out that the term "Deathly Hallows" appeared in the title of Book 7, I all but considered that CONFIRMATION. It will either refer to a PLACE or a TIME. I expect either to refer to the place/time I mentioned above. Oh, and Sirius will be fatigued from his experiences, and thus not a factor until Voldy's defeated and we look to the future. That's what I say.

The person posting SHOULD look it up to ensure more, and more accurate, quotes. Anyone ELSE who looks it up has excused themself from guessing that round- and should NOT post any clues or quotes unless the poster has vanished and isn't posting anymore. Generally, at least one quote for every 24 hours is a good idea, and not starting with an incredibly obvious quote that EVERYONE would get. That's a suggestion, not a rule. That means the cartoon ("the animated series") is excluded, but the original series ("TOS"),Next Generation (NextGen or "TNG"), Deep Space 9 ("DS9"), Voyager ("VOY") and Enterprise ("ENT") are not. Please note that not so many people saw Enterprise, more saw Voyager, more saw Deep Space 9, and TOS and TNG are pretty much universal. (But all of them are open for posting.) If people are stuck after a few quotes, a clue is not necessarily a bad idea. Hm. There's a few possible people who may have said that. From TNG, could have been Tasha Yar, but I doubt it's TNG. Doesn't sound like the 2 later shows to me. Sounds distinctly like Deep Space 9. Most likely, Major Kira Nerys. (Also possible is Jedzia Dax.) Who'd she say it to? Hm. Could be Quark. Could be Gul Dukat. Could be someone else, but I think those are the most likely suspects. But what the context is, I've no idea yet.

[Will someone explain the difference between recommending a program, where the contents and program are entirely optional- and things like driving and leaving one's home, which are unavoidable but risks in them can be minimized? Apparently, he's the kind of slug that can't tell the difference between the two, or is willing to try to muddy the waters in a sad attempt to blow smoke and obscure the gaping deficiences in the program he's trying so ardently to defend. "That the program be not blamed! Confuse the issues! Blur the distinctions!"]

[by your standard, then, Jim Jones and David Koresh were also "worth their salt"- since they "came under the gun from folks who have other opinions", and died for their religions. For the rest of us, the question is: are complaints levelled against ministers WITH CAUSE, or is the minister BLAMELESS? If a minister is twisting the arm of someone to pay to enter a program that gives them a nervous breakdown, most of us would consider the victim to have a complaint WITH CAUSE. Of course, some of us, if we like the program, will instead circle the wagons and blame the victim instead. Hm. Many of us already saw that with ONE organization.... and we're watching it play out again right in front of our eyes right on this messageboard.] [You've been doing a great imitation of that final judge....] [And also some amazing danger, pitfalls, predators, traps out there for Christians.] [Run 'em all thru Momentus- let God sort 'em out!Or maybe obey Hebrews 5:14 and recognize the differences yourself. Hebrews 5:14 (New American Standard Bible) "But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." Don't let a little thing like God's Word slow down advertising your program, Sparky...] [On the other hand, there's plenty of risks, stumbling, and falling that is NOT for the mature growth of Christians. Want to experience risks, stumbling, and falling? Fill your pockets with money, then go to New Orleans at the height of Mardi Gras, then Rio during Carnival, and wind up the trip in Las Vegas. You'll experience a lot of risk, stumbling, and falling, all of it far outside of any bubble you were in. You'll also have a HECK of a lot more fun than a weekend of being locked in a room with people yelling at you. And there's no guarantee you won't grow a lot more than the yelling thing. (No guarantee you won't catch a venereal disease either, but if you want a REAL stumblingblock to your flesh, it sounds like one of the more interesting ones.) So, "take action"- buy your plane tickets, and "trust in God above all else. Go for it-God will be with you." Hey- let's apply that advice CONSISTENTLY, if we're going to apply it.]

It's great that this is NOT your experience with Momentus. HOWEVER, we've heard from some other people, and your experience, while not isolated, is not universal, either. A lot of people came out of is as more arrogant than when they entered. Some people *cough* JAL *cough* are still pushing it as THE answer for people, even if they're pushing it one-on-one. And as quoted, some people's idea of "responding to feedback" and "dialogue" is "attack the dissenter." We have eyewitnesses. Some people *cough* JAL **cough* have, and continue to treat Momentus as some sort of initiation rite. Those who haven't taken it are "other" and are inferior in some way, shape or form. Might I recommend putting a finer magnifying glass on the situation? While not everyone's had these experiences, enough HAVE that you should be able to find them without difficulty....

Correct! And I'm glad someone got it early. This is one of the episodes where I can't find the entire script posted online, so I was going to be limited in what I could quote. Go, Pam!

*begins doing random ST searches* Oh, I know which one I want! "If you guys screw up, I'm the one who gets buried in the desert."

Some links on Momentus.... http://www.empirenet.com/~messiah7/rec_momterri.htm http://www.empirenet.com/~messiah7/mom_momcofield.htm http://www.empirenet.com/~messiah7/rec_mombarton.htm http://www.empirenet.com/~messiah7/rec_momenrobins.htm And a previous thread on it, called "Momentus." http://www.greasespotcafe.com/ipb/index.php?showtopic=4424

Someone asked about Momentus....

Here's a quick primer. Here's some stuff off previous posts on Momentus. "These folks are NOT mental health professionals. Their group identifies itself with being a "Christian" based organization. By going the route of religion, they avoid the entire academic approach and operate under the flag of Christianity. The fact of the matter is they are an offshoot of a group called "Lifespring" which makes no pretense of being Christian....and "Lifespring" is an offshoot of the original "EST" training from the 70's. The founder of Momentus was actually an instructor with "Lifespring", who quit and started his own thing (sound familiar?)...only when he started up Momentus, he put a thin veneer of Christian jargon into the training. The Momentus training is almost identical to the Lifespring training... The question that should be asked is are the techniques used by Momentus biblical? I see NOTHING in the bible that even hints at this type of experience. Can you see Jesus asking you to sign a hold harmless agreement?...or putting you through sleep deprivation and then screaming at you and ordering you to punch a pillow screaming, "mommy, mommy"??? If a person finds value in Momentus...that's their decision....but let's be honest about it....this is new age psycho therapy...and definitely not Christian in nature. I realize that if a Christian takes Momentus, they can internalize their belief systems into the training...but that's only because of what they bring into the training themselves...The same could be said of the experience of an Ozzy Osbourne concert." "my only "experience" with momentus was all it took to convince me i wanted nothing to do with it. i was having lunch with john lynn (something we used to do once a year when he was in the area), and he brought it up to me. this was before any of the bad press, etc. so i asked him to tell me about it. he responded by saying "you'll have to take the class to find out," the same kind of bs we used to say when telling someone to take pfal. i knew right then i'd never have anything to do with it." "She and her husband invited me to a dinner with two x-twi who were now "trainers" in Momentus (people who apparently sit in the back of the class and take notes & stuff.) I told all concerned, sure I would like to get together with them but I was not going to take Momentus, nor did I want to go to a dinner promoting it. We got to dinner and about 10 minutes into it, the dinner became a platform to push me and my spouse into taking the class. We left. Later, when the friend of mine tried to push me into the class for about the 12th time and I told her, "NO," she told me I was sick just like Crxig Mxrtindale. Now, this girl had never been in TWI and all she knew of it was from me, who was her friend. And some SPLINTER people, to whom I had introduced her, while I was checking them out myself. So, were they bashing me because I declined a class they promoted? I dunno. Because my friend never knew, met or heard Crxig teach -- she had no personal experience of him at all. Yet, she was comparing me to Crxig because I was uninterested in another "class". All I knew was, I was just getting over where the first class I took (PFAL) had taken me. This girl, when I asked her what version of the Bible she had, said, "green." She did not even know it was King James. This same girl, began to tell me how lousy of a Christian I was, when she graduated from Momentus, the very next week. I couldn't believe I was the one who introduced her to the avenue that led her to this. I wrote her a note about the "novice Christian" and if she still felt this way about me in five years, to come back and tell me. Otherwise, I was going to blow her off like the freshly born-again person, one might have the misfortune of sitting next to on a long plane ride. Over zealous, critical and annoying. She pushed Momentus at me again." "I knew two couples that were friends of mine. Both couples became insufferable to be around for about a month after taking Momentus. One guy actually said, "If you see the changes in my life.... and would like these same changes ...blah blah blah.." I told him that he was had become one of the least humble people that I had ever been around. The other couple couldn't seem to keep their word - even though they told me that that was a big deal in Momentus." "Ya know what I find rather curious re: Momentus and their near rabid insistance that whatever negative effects that you endured while taking their course, it is your doing, your responsibility, etc., ... ... whereas any positive results that you enjoyed as a result of Momentus, they will not contradict you if you give Momentus the praise and credit for said positive results. ... Ie., they don't mind taking the credit, but they do mind taking the criticism." "She said they teamed her up with a partner, then told her if she quit, the partner could not continue in Momentus training. So, YOU were responsible for the other person being unable to finish the class. She said although they had Bible verses on the wall and played LOUD good Christian music, little of it had to do with God. She said she was asked to stand and tell something about herself and whe she was finished she was screamed at that she was lying. This was to get to "her truth" about herself so she could find the real her. She was taught that OTHERS people's perceptions of you are WHO you really are. And almost anything you find wrong with another person goes back to your childhood. This way of thinking became very annoying and helped to push us toward the end of our friendship. For instance, we would be driving and someone would cut me off and I would get angry. And she would constantly tell me, "who are you really mad at? Your father?" This became her way with everything. The CLASS was a “weekend” and the girl I knew was gone, and this kind-of robotic know-it-all woman then existed. She judged everyone and thought if she got people to be "honest" she could help them. Even at work, she would flow all her information through her NEW found filter. She lost her job. I got her an interview at my company, to help her out. ON THE INTERVIEW, this woman with a maters degree begins to PUSH the Mometus class to MY BOSS. And then began to critique her, bringing up some things I told her in confidence as MY FRIEND." "I will say this anytime you have sleep deprivation, loud music and people screaming at you it's going to affect you somehow. I put my whole heart into it like I had been taught to do with everything, and boy it was hell. Granted some sins I had comitted had come out which I suppose in essence is good, but I know there was a better way. Shall we say a more Christ-like way? I didn't end up in the hospital as some did but I did end up striking out physically to others which was not my nature. And how devilish is this .... about I assert? Who in the hell was I to judge anyone and thats exactly what it encouraged. Yes it is true that we are not to lie but does that mean we go around and spew our thoughts all over the place? I was told by my husband after Momentus during one of our little chats that he desired to have sex with our church leaders wife. Now did I need that tidbit of truth? I should say not. I know from the experience it led to a lot of disobedience from we women in the church. Also a lot of false prophesy was going around at that time...yuck! So was Momentus evil? I will not speak for others but I wouldn't take it again and you can put that as my ephitat on my gravestone....for those who took it." "..But instead of an honest dialogue, I got the "haves and have nots" treatment...you remember that one don't you? It's when the whole group exchanges those "knowing looks" with each other and then proceed to avoid answering any questions...I was told "just take the training and you'll see for yourself." Reminded me too much of "just take pfal and you'll see for yourself"...it became obvious to me that either you were an enlightened "Momentus grad", or you were a schmuck...you had to do this to "really" be a part of the group, before they would accept you... Sorry...that sealed it for me. I voted for individuality instead...told them I wasn't interested and they turned into rattlesnakes towards me...and I WAS told that if I wasn't willing to confess my secret sins to other people, that I "had something to hide"..." "CES promoted Momentus very heavily in the late 90's after the Board took the class and got tremendous breakthroughs in their own life. However, they backed off when they were told about others taking the class and having severe problems and reactions. My experience with those guys is that they tend to jump on the bandwagon rather quickly if it's something that's beneficial to them without really weighing the consequences. Also, the promotion was faulty. People were told it would change their lives, that if you wanted to experience breakthroughs and get real about your life, you needed to take this. I even heard of people thinking that it would be like marriage counseling. God help them. There was a subtle undercurrent of, you've got to take this to be more godly, like us. Nothing obvious, like TWI, and nobody bullied anyone into taking it, but for people who were involved with TWI, some of the old mindsets would pop up in those situations." "In a way Momentus seems to me like "Rodeo School" was with TWI. Same thing with "You gotta go to Gartmore..." and how the whole Chris Geer thing was at one time after POP. This was before CG was declared to be "SATAN," Now folks don't want to be associated with him. Is he "satan" because of HIS satanic ways, or because "leadership" declared him to be? People were RIDING 2000 POUND BULLS because "leadership" said it was the thing to do. It was like you weren't cool if you didn't go to rodeo school. If you didn't do well at LEAD you were "not Corps material." We HICH-HIKED hundreds of MILES across the country and "NOBODY questioned" the basic sanity of that. If you didn't go WOW, want to go WOW or "go Corps" you were "less than" as a believer. Years later, after "all that" is over... "you gotta do "Momentus???"" "Momentus is/was clearly a rite of initiation, a tribal ordeal, basically a hazing, for some (or many) of its graduates. The emotional maturity of those individuals is questionable, if only because of that view. To use a sports analogy, it's a tryout to see who makes the first string and who warms the bench. Does "Athletes of the Spirit" sound familiar? Same attitude. To use a military analogy, it's boot camp, where they break you and then rebuild you. (I've never been to boot camp, but testimony abounds.) That view would be consistent with the steroidally competitive personalities among certain TWI leadership." "Oh yeah...I found it rather interesting when they all "ganged up on me"...trying to convince me that I should share all my "secret sins" with them...I figured that they got suckered into sharing THEIR secret sins during the Momentus training and now they were looking for someone stupid enough to follow their lead...No thanks...one cult experience was enough for me. All of you Christians out there...would Jesus make you sign a "hold harmless" clause before he started "training" you???" "About 7 years ago, I was approached by some former twiers, all of them connected with CES...their mission was to recruit me into the next Momentus training...they lauded it to the sky..."better than pfal...greatest thing since sliced bread...life changing...you just GOTTA do it"...that's all I heard from these folks... Of course, my bull.... meter started redlining...so I went onto the internet and checked out everything I could find about Momentus...found out that it was an "offshoot" of LifeSpring which was an "offshoot" of the old EST training...had nothing to do with Christianity until the Momentus folks decided to paint a thin veneer of "bible words" on it and gave it a different name... In all honesty, I listened to the pros and the cons...weighed it all out and decided..."Are you kidding me?...no chance I'm gonna take that thing" I even attended the Momentus "public explanation" meeting...or whatever they called it...at the end of the meeting they asked if anyone had any questions...nobody did...until I started talking...I asked them about "LifeSpring", I asked them to explain the points made by the anti-Momentus folks from the internet...I was quickly "hushed up" and taken to a room alone. I guess they didn't want the other "newbies" to hear what I was saying... The interesting part of this whole process, was that the folks from CES who were trying to recruit me, were as sweet and kind to me as you can imagine...until I informed them that I was not interested in taking Momentus...then they showed their true colors...One woman screamed at me...yes, she screamed..."WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO HIDE?"...they became very hostile towards me...of course, that only reinforced my decision to not take Momentus. In fact, when I got home that night, I called JAL on the phone to let him know what I thought of Momentus and his connection to it...we "discussed" the matter for about an hour on the phone. Neither of us had changed our opinion by the end of the conversation... ...and all those CES/Momentus folks who were singing the praises of Momentus?...within a year of taking it...EVERY ONE of their lives were in shambles. One guy in particular...he insisted on confessing to his wife that he had had an affair with another woman 5 years earlier...he told me that because of the Momentus training, he knew that he had to "get honest" with her about this...shortly after his confession, his wife left him and took all the kids with her...his life went into the toilet. Let me see if I understand the Momentus way of thinking, from this example...The guy decided that to ease his own guilty conscience, he would burden his wife with this devasting information...that way, they would become closer because of the pure honesty of it all... ...I think maybe they should have thrown HIM out of the "lifeboat" first. "Your life will change over the period of a weekend if you take our training"...Sorry, life just doesn't work that way."

I have 2 responses, both from the heart. A) It's about fricking TIME someone at ces/stfi actually FEEL SOMETHING when hearing about lives being ruined, and doctrine that did damage- that THEY PUSHED. THEIR doctrines and THEIR practices are hurting people. Not EVERY person-but does that excuse them? Are those who ARE hurt "disposable"? What we've heard so far is SPIN CONTROL. "Our doctrine is correct." "By my book." "Join our group if you really want to know what we teach." All of that has all the warmth of an infomercial. If they care about the PEOPLE more than they care about the organization, some hurt feelings are the LEAST we can expect from this. Then again, it's not like Momentus grads actually are experts in trying to not-hurt people, or to fix what they break in a way that doesn't hurt OTHERS more in exchange for making themselves feel justified. B) Aw, you were caught damaging people's lives, or ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH, and people said some things about you for your laziness or incompetence.... Cry me a river. You volunteered to LEAD. That means you put THEM as paramount, not YOU, not the ORGANIZATION. Every reaction so far seems to be "save the organization!" rather than "save the people!" And the calls for compassion are for compassion towards THE LEADERS, aka THE ONES THAT CAUSED THE PROBLEMS, and not THE PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN HURT. There's something seriously UNCHRISTIAN and MERCANTILE about how this ORGANIZATION is run. And it strikes a few of us as FAMILIAR. "Save the organization-the people are disposable." "The leaders are always right." "Know something bad? Better keep it hidden in the lockbox." They were carefully taught those lessons ONCE, and it doesnt sound like they've travelled very far from them. There's been some cosmetic changes, but God help the Christians! Once again, it's a roll of the dice- a flip of the coin. Heads, they help you grow, tails, they traumatize you and run your life.

That, apparently, must include the end, when he addressed the GSC crowd specifically and said Thank you for playing, and have a nice day.

This is when the Enterprise grabbed the Romulan cloaking device- after administering the Vulcan Death Grip to Kirk, isn't it?

Well, Sharon? Your turn....

Since I looked it up, I can confirm this was it. Your turn, QT. Pick a movie, then post a quote.

Ok, you've got me there...

*checks* But...but...on the GSC, I AM one of the younger guys......

I'm under the impression that it's supposed to be a compliment, albeit crudely put, as well. The context I'm familiar with-which, apparently, is different from what the women here seem to have heard it, is USUALLY from a guy closer in age to the women he's applying it to. The reason it's supposed to be a compliment of some sort is that it challenges the societal notion that there is a single image of beauty for women, and that image is locked into a young women of a specific age and a specific body type, and as soon as she's had a child, she's no longer attractive or anything like that. Sort of how the song "Baby Got Back" keeps getting cited as a song glorifying an alternate standard of beauty than the rail-thin anorexic magazine-cover model. Also crudely put, but I keep hearing that whenever the song is brought up. No, I'd hardly call it an anthem of empowerment, but I don't speak for everyone. So, in other words, the guy finds the woman attractive, and the fact that she's had kids doesn't change that. Not that she's old enough to be HIS mom or something. That's the context I USUALLY hear that about. On the other hand, that's not what some of the women here have heard, and "ew."

Ok, let's see. Firefox AddOns.... Adblock Plus is lots of fun. Between that and the popup blocker, it's amazing what I don't see.... CacheIt allows you to view the cache of a page. Handy if you don't want to access the page directly-or it's down. Dr.Web antivirus LinkChecker is for the truly cautious. Don't trust a link? Have it scanned for viruses before you even access it. Fasterfox allows tweaks for speed. Flashblock switches all Flash to a button to download, guaranteeing that annoying animation ads just remain a button. RedirectRemover speeds linking by jumping to the page at the end, skipping proxies in-between. That should be it for what I think EVERYONE would want, and is currently available. Others will have their own favourites.

I didn't find it necessary to add a skin. I'll want to doublecheck any Add-ons I recommend are still being offered, so let me get back to you on this one. (I don't think BugMeNot is being offered anymore, for example.) And no, I won't recommend all the ones I use, just the ones I think a lot of people would like.