*promote. I really dig these tranquil landscape collages.

step 1 should have something to do with a tranquilizer.

That was rude? That was a tranquil pond of Buddhist reflection compared to my own impulse to smack the whiny git upside the head.

*googles james franco*

Harry Osborn! well he definitely knows how to play brooding, but he looks much too wholesome, i think... Crake would need to be skinnier, more asbergers-y, imho, compound-raised, chemically tranquilized... Dexter minus 10 years?

for snowman, I think it should be someone with an atmosphere of potential greatness, but fragile, and a wide range of looks, like a groomed ad-industry chameleon who loses his sense of self with the apocalypse, and devolves into a bearded hermit. Adrien Brody minus 10 years?

In reply to this comment by dag:
I think I pictured James Franco as Crake for some reason. And me for Snowman - seriously look at that bearded under-achiever visage in my profile. You could paint some children blue for the crakers.

Hah, this turned out better than I expected Still if playing Guitar Hero that way, Ritalin would probably be good for you, or valium, or xanax...Elephant tranquilizer maybe?

If that doesn't work, here are a few other ideas I could think of off the top of my head (not being a pro by any means):

-Meditate. Focusing on nothing or on something distant can drive out fear. Breath well.

-Get out your iPod and blast the music. Not hearing the engines might help.

-Or take two Dramamine and there's no chance you won't sleep. That stuff knocks you out better than horse tranquilizers.

-You doctor might be able to help with anti-anxiety medications. They're pretty safe when only used in rare situations and I'm told they work quite well, but honestly, Dramamine FTW.

-You can also look at statistics on flying if you think you can rationalize your fear away. Flying is safer than driving by a landslide, a HUGE landslide.

-Don't panic when things shake. Planes always shake. They are built for it. The wings shake to keep them safe. Don't panic when the pressure changes. Just yawn a couple times. That should balance things.

-Occasionally get up and take a walk. You can just walk to the bathroom and back if want, as to not look odd. Being on your feet can help make you feel grounded, pun intended.

-Bring a drink and a snack in your carry-on. Wait... scratch the drink, they won't allow it, just a snack of some sort. Some people are reminded they're flying by peanuts from a cart.

-Some people are also unconsciously disturbed by the smell of planes if they fear flying. Wearing some perfume or something like it might help. Smell is the sense that is most linked to memory. Wear a comforting scent or munch a comforting snack. I recommend chocolate.

-Some time, try to figure out why you fear flying. Did anyone ever tell you it's not safe? Is it just what you've heard in the news? Phobias ALL have an origin.


---===My best advice though? Two words. AUDIO BOOK.===---


Personally I LOVE flying. Seeing new perspectives of earth is a passion, so soaring above it is a delight to me. I've flown many times and I am comforted in knowing that my car is $17,000 and I've never been hurt in it, and here I am in a plane that costs MILLIONS, much spent on safety measures. I also have an irrational love of heights, odd.

Though I can't relate to fear of flying directly, I am a VERY vivid dreamer (often lucid) while I sleep. I've actually never spoken to anyone about it who can relate. Odd, I know, I'm sure there are many, but none that I've talked to. This means that nightmares are absolutely heart-stopping, so I know how to deal with irrational fear. I focus on reality. I focus on breathing and tasting the air, seeing the room, smelling the scents, and denying the fear. Actually vocalizing that the fear is irrational and chemical ONLY helps a great deal. I also confront the fear by treating it with disdain. For example, if a nightmare triggers a serious fear that makes me want to keep my eyes open and turn the lights on, I will close my eyes and force proof that it is a bogus fear. That tends to convince my mind that the fear is BS and I should stop being scared. Remember that it is CHEMICALS that cause fear in your brain. Prayer can help as well not only because I actually believe in God, but also because it focuses the mind on defeating the fear.

I do however understand real irrational terror, the PTSD kind. After a car-crash I was in (no one's fault, bad weather), I experienced it for the first and hopefully last time while riding with someone else. For that sort of fear, I have no tips. I was frozen despite my will and my heart felt like it had stopped. OK, I guess in hind sight that's not the only time. The other was 2 days before my comprehensive exam in grad school. God, that was shear panic defined.

*promote WTF was I on tranquilizers when I wrote my comments above???

That's one fast acting tranquilizer dart. Seriously it'd have to instantly drop a 600lb. charging predator flush with adrenaline. I'm extremely skeptical about this one.

Les Cowboys Fringants:Les Étoiles Filantes
From LyricWiki
This song is performed by Les Cowboys Fringants and appears on the album La Grand-Messe (2004).
http://lyricwiki.org/Les_Cowboys_Fringants:Les_%C3%89toiles_Filantes

(English translation below)

***French original
Si je m'arrête un instant
Pour te parler de ma vie
Juste comme ça tranquillement
Dans un bar rue St-Denis

J'te raconterai les souvenirs
Bien gravés dans ma mémoire
De cette époque où vieillir
Était encore bien illusoire

Quand j'agaçais les p'tites filles
Pas loin des balançoires
Et que mon sac de billes
Devenait un vrai trésor

Et ces hivers enneigés
À construire des igloos
Et rentrer les pieds g'lés
Juste à temps pour Passe-Partout

Mais au bout du ch'min dis-moi c'qui va rester
De la p'tite école et d'la cour de récré ?
Quand les avions en papier ne partent plus au vent
On se dit que l'bon temps passe finalement...

... Comme une étoile filante

Si je m'arrête un instant
Pour te parler de la vie
Je constate que bien souvent
On choisit pas mais on subit
Et que les rêves des ti-culs
S'évanouissent ou se refoulent
Dans cette réalité crue
Qui nous embarque dans le moule

La trentaine, la bedaine
Les morveux, l'hypothèque
Les bonheurs et les peines
Les bons coups et les échecs

Travailler, faire d'son mieux
En arracher, s'en sortir
Et espérer être heureux
Un peu avant de mourir

Mais au bout du ch'min dis-moi c'qui va rester
De notre p'tit passage dans ce monde effréné ?
Après avoir existé pour gagner du temps
On s'dira que que l'on était finalement

... Que des étoiles filantes

Si je m'arrête un instant
Pour te parler de ma vie
Juste comme ça tranquillement
Pas loin du Carré St-Louis

C'est qu'avec toi je suis bien
Et que j'ai pu' l'goût de m'en faire
Parce que tsé voir trop loin
C'pas mieux que r'garder en arrière

Malgré les vieilles amertumes
Et les amours qui passent
Les chums qu'on perd dans' brume
Et les idéaux qui se cassent

La vie s'accroche et renaît
Comme les printemps reviennent
Dans une bouffée d'air frais
Qui apaise les coeurs en peine

Ça fait que si à' soir t'as envie de rester
Avec moi, la nuit est douce on peut marcher
Et même si on sait ben que tout dure rien qu'un temps
J'aimerai ça que tu sois pour un moment...

... Mon étoile filante

Mais au bout du ch'min dis-moi c'qui va rester...
Mais au bout du ch'min dis-moi c'qui va rester...

... Que des étoiles filantes




***English translation
If I stop a moment
To tell you about my life
Just like that, quietly
In a bar on St-Denis

I'd tell you the memories
Well-etched into my memory
From that time when aging
Was still but illusory

When I annoyed the little girls
Not far from the swings
And my bag of marbles
Became a real treasure

And these snowy winters
Of constructing igloos
And going back inside with frozen feet
Just in time for Passe-Partout

But at the end of the road tell me what will remain
Of the little school and the playground?
When the paper planes no longer fly on the wind
We tell ourselves that the good times are finally ending...

...like a shooting star

If I stop a moment
To tell you about life
I note that quite often
We do not choose but we endure
And that the dreams of little lads
Dissipate or collapse
In this hard reality
Which casts us in the mold

The thirties, the belly
The kids, the mortgage
The pleasures and the sorrows
The strokes of luck and the failures

Working, doing one's best
And struggling, and getting out
And hoping to be happy
A little before dying

But at the end of the road tell me what will remain
Of our little passage through this mad world?
After having existed to buy some time
We'll tell ourselves that we were in the end

...but shooting stars

If I stop a moment
To tell you about my life
Just like that, quietly
Not far from St-Louis Square

It's only with you that I'm okay
And that I lost the taste to care
Because you know seeing too far ahead
Isn't better than looking backwards

Despite the old bitternesses
And the loves that pass
The friends we lose in the mists
And the ideals which fall apart

Life holds on and renews
Like the springtimes return
In a puff of fresh air
Which appeases pained hearts

So if tonight you want to stay
With me, the night is soft we can walk
And even if we know that all lasts but a time
I'd like you to be for a moment...

...My shooting star

But tell me at the end of the road what will remain...
But tell me at the end of the road what will remain...

...Just shooting stars

Sniper,

The Wall Builders site, like most Christian biased sites (and books) on the founding fathers take a lot of quotes out of context, superimposing their beliefs of God and Jesus onto others they wish were just like them. I've had this conversation a number of times, pointing to the fact that while the builders mention Jesus and God and Christianity, the emphasis is almost always on the philosophy, minus the supernatural. The founding fathers as a collective were very much deists and pantheists. Their ideas on religion are more comparable to the "God" of Einstein. *shrug* Read between the lines, man.

---

Some convenient editting:

Wall Builders quoting of Jefferson: "I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others."

His actual quote: "I am a Christian, in the only sense he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence; & believing he never claimed any other."

Wall Builders again quoting Jefferson: "I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ."

Actual quote: "A more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen; it is a document in proof that I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the Platonists, who call me infidel and themselves Christians and preachers of the gospel, while they draw all their characteristic dogmas from what its author never said nor saw."

---

Quoting out of context seems to be the bread and butter of the current America. Question everything.

In search of truth and not justification for my beliefs,
~Pool

In reply to this comment by Sniper007:
McCain is an idiot who isn't worth listening too. Nevertheless, America was absolutely founded on the Bible. It's a historical fact alluded to in the foundational documents of the American Nation. To quote from the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin:

"We the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, form a more perfect government, insure domestic tranquility and promote the general welfare: do establish this CONSTITUTION."

Furthermore, the congress in this nation agreed, and in 1983 passed public law 97-280 which recognized the fact that the Bible was instrumental in this Nations inception.

The first Continental Congress ever held in this country was opened with Judeo-Christian Prayer. http://tinyurl.com/5zs6q3

To see mountains of evidence to this effect, see http://www.wallbuilders.com/.

Rebut that with which you disagree with relevant fact and law.

McCain is an idiot who isn't worth listening too. Nevertheless, America was absolutely founded on the Bible. It's a historical fact alluded to in the foundational documents of the American Nation. To quote from the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin:

"We the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, form a more perfect government, insure domestic tranquility and promote the general welfare: do establish this CONSTITUTION."

Furthermore, the congress in this nation agreed, and in 1983 passed public law 97-280 which recognized the fact that the Bible was instrumental in this Nations inception.

The first Continental Congress ever held in this country was opened with Judeo-Christian Prayer. http://tinyurl.com/5zs6q3

To see mountains of evidence to this effect, see http://www.wallbuilders.com/.

Rebut that with which you disagree with relevant fact and law.

I think artsy CAN be good, but only when it means "original AND good music" rather than just "original music." Just because something's different doesn't mean it's good, which is a sad fact that seems to get overlooked in the pursuit of "art" and "originality." However, if you can get the art and originality and still sound fucking awesome, it's way better than just sounding good by itself, because it has way more impact.

For Japanese music, I'd STRONGLY recommend the pillows, as they're my favorite band ever in general. If you want something a little more indie, I know a lot of pretty sick bands, such as Ling Tosite Sigure/rin toshite shigure/凛として時雨 (lol just for searching convenience) that you could give a try (Ling has AWESOME guitar work, but reaaaaaaaally shrill vocals...it's kind of a tradeoff).

Japan is aight. I love the food, and I've gotten to see some great concerts (four of them, to be precise) while I've been here, but I'm headed back in one week, and am pretty much feeling it's time to do so. I need to get some work in before the semester starts so I have some money lol.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Wow you know what, I completely missed the fact you replied to my comment such fail. Hmm, listened to AKFG a while ago and wasn't really a big fan but I'll check out the rest. ... but, but artsy is good no but I agree, they need to bring some of the crazy riffage of old back, although I remember them saying in an interview somewhere around the time they released Vheissu that they felt they go too burnt on heavy music and were trying to stray away from that, or something along those lines.

Also, what's it like living in Japan?



In reply to this comment by JAPR:
the pillows, Asian Kung-fu Generation, Ellegarden, etc. I just saw Ellegarden at Kyouto Taisakusen, it was SO FUCKING GOOD. I'm not sure how to describe it other than I've never been to such an intense concert.

Yeah, I love the acoustic songs! Stare at the Sun acoustic is reallllly tight too. I wish they'd go back to their roots a bit though and stop trying to be artsy with the whole elements theme going on. Nothing good ever comes from being artsy. .____.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Which Japanese bands? I'm more or less slowly turning into a weaboo anyway

Yeah, I love Melting Point of Wax, So Strange I Remember You especially as well as virtually anything on Vheissu. I&II was fairly good, thought they captured water brilliantly, Night Diving especially with the way they conveyed dripping water, and the tranquility of deep sea diving. Fire, eh not so much. Could see they were going for a sense of chaos and distortion but just didn't feel like it came together melodically, Flame Deluge was excellent though. Agree Red Sky EP was excellent, especially their acoustic renditions, particularly Of Dust and Nations, really wish they'd do more of them.

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Yeah, I've heard a few of the songs, but haven't really gotten around to checking it out fully, for some reason. Been too busy with new releases from my favorite Japanese bands, I guess. I thought Alchemy Index vols. I and II was pretty solid, with some tight songs, but definitely not quite up to par with the other stuff. Still, "not up to par with the other stuff" still translates to "pretty damn good," so I can't really complain too much in that department.

I wish they had a music video for T&C, A Torch to End All Torches, Melting Point of Wax, or So Strange I Remember you, because it's always hard to find truly good live videos of songs like that. I was very surprised to see them release Red Sky on that EP thing, but totally dug the coupling tracks.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Heh, yeah it was a bit of a giveaway before, now it's more subtle

Reminds me, I still gotta sift that song too Pity that they never released their better songs as singles though.

Sample the album on their myspace if you want, it's not anything groundbreaking by all means but still a solid album all around. Not nearly as good as Vheissu but still, have to give them props for branching out and experimenting with different styles.

Wow you know what, I completely missed the fact you replied to my comment such fail. Hmm, listened to AKFG a while ago and wasn't really a big fan but I'll check out the rest. ... but, but artsy is good no but I agree, they need to bring some of the crazy riffage of old back, although I remember them saying in an interview somewhere around the time they released Vheissu that they felt they go too burnt on heavy music and were trying to stray away from that, or something along those lines.

Also, what's it like living in Japan?



In reply to this comment by JAPR:
the pillows, Asian Kung-fu Generation, Ellegarden, etc. I just saw Ellegarden at Kyouto Taisakusen, it was SO FUCKING GOOD. I'm not sure how to describe it other than I've never been to such an intense concert.

Yeah, I love the acoustic songs! Stare at the Sun acoustic is reallllly tight too. I wish they'd go back to their roots a bit though and stop trying to be artsy with the whole elements theme going on. Nothing good ever comes from being artsy. .____.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Which Japanese bands? I'm more or less slowly turning into a weaboo anyway

Yeah, I love Melting Point of Wax, So Strange I Remember You especially as well as virtually anything on Vheissu. I&II was fairly good, thought they captured water brilliantly, Night Diving especially with the way they conveyed dripping water, and the tranquility of deep sea diving. Fire, eh not so much. Could see they were going for a sense of chaos and distortion but just didn't feel like it came together melodically, Flame Deluge was excellent though. Agree Red Sky EP was excellent, especially their acoustic renditions, particularly Of Dust and Nations, really wish they'd do more of them.

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Yeah, I've heard a few of the songs, but haven't really gotten around to checking it out fully, for some reason. Been too busy with new releases from my favorite Japanese bands, I guess. I thought Alchemy Index vols. I and II was pretty solid, with some tight songs, but definitely not quite up to par with the other stuff. Still, "not up to par with the other stuff" still translates to "pretty damn good," so I can't really complain too much in that department.

I wish they had a music video for T&C, A Torch to End All Torches, Melting Point of Wax, or So Strange I Remember you, because it's always hard to find truly good live videos of songs like that. I was very surprised to see them release Red Sky on that EP thing, but totally dug the coupling tracks.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Heh, yeah it was a bit of a giveaway before, now it's more subtle

Reminds me, I still gotta sift that song too Pity that they never released their better songs as singles though.

Sample the album on their myspace if you want, it's not anything groundbreaking by all means but still a solid album all around. Not nearly as good as Vheissu but still, have to give them props for branching out and experimenting with different styles.

"Correlation does not equal causation", just for starters.

This is a very hard controvery to come at, from any angle, because - as it has already been pointed out here - the emotional factor is tremendously high. People need answers when something disrupts the tranquility of their lives. And doubly so when it affects the life of their offspring. The title of this video made me shoot an eyebrow in disgust, because there still is no absolute evidence saying ethyl mercury causes autism. I'd recommend a change in the title of the video submission.

Cases like autism run the gambit of being difficult to diagnose. The more medical science and psychological science advances, the more symptoms will be discovered that lead to the diagnosing of conditions such as autism. Does this mean something is causing more of these conditions? Or does it mean there's been a lot more cases of the conditions which went unnoticed before we had the means to find it?

And, of course, while we are all incredibly similar (sorry, you're not all beautiful snowflakes) there are subtle inconsistences. There will be those outliers on the Bell Curves that Ethyl Mercury might have a more significant effect on, and only time and testing will tell us why this is happening, and where it is happening. I'm not suggesting that we continue to use children as test subjects, but more in depth research needs to be done looking for a causal link. Why did it cause autism (if it did at all) in these particular children, yet not in others (like myself, and I'm sure most of the people on this site)?

Science's self-correcting error mechanisms, when seperated from overbearing emotional aspects, can help solve these issues. Human emotion, while part of our nature, can hinder such advancements and discoveries. "Losing our head" in the quest for answers won't get us any closer to the answers we want.

the pillows, Asian Kung-fu Generation, Ellegarden, etc. I just saw Ellegarden at Kyouto Taisakusen, it was SO FUCKING GOOD. I'm not sure how to describe it other than I've never been to such an intense concert.

Yeah, I love the acoustic songs! Stare at the Sun acoustic is reallllly tight too. I wish they'd go back to their roots a bit though and stop trying to be artsy with the whole elements theme going on. Nothing good ever comes from being artsy. .____.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Which Japanese bands? I'm more or less slowly turning into a weaboo anyway

Yeah, I love Melting Point of Wax, So Strange I Remember You especially as well as virtually anything on Vheissu. I&II was fairly good, thought they captured water brilliantly, Night Diving especially with the way they conveyed dripping water, and the tranquility of deep sea diving. Fire, eh not so much. Could see they were going for a sense of chaos and distortion but just didn't feel like it came together melodically, Flame Deluge was excellent though. Agree Red Sky EP was excellent, especially their acoustic renditions, particularly Of Dust and Nations, really wish they'd do more of them.

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Yeah, I've heard a few of the songs, but haven't really gotten around to checking it out fully, for some reason. Been too busy with new releases from my favorite Japanese bands, I guess. I thought Alchemy Index vols. I and II was pretty solid, with some tight songs, but definitely not quite up to par with the other stuff. Still, "not up to par with the other stuff" still translates to "pretty damn good," so I can't really complain too much in that department.

I wish they had a music video for T&C, A Torch to End All Torches, Melting Point of Wax, or So Strange I Remember you, because it's always hard to find truly good live videos of songs like that. I was very surprised to see them release Red Sky on that EP thing, but totally dug the coupling tracks.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Heh, yeah it was a bit of a giveaway before, now it's more subtle

Reminds me, I still gotta sift that song too Pity that they never released their better songs as singles though.

Sample the album on their myspace if you want, it's not anything groundbreaking by all means but still a solid album all around. Not nearly as good as Vheissu but still, have to give them props for branching out and experimenting with different styles.