Damn, see?! Here I am thinkin' alla time that my less-than-clever observations have a kernel of truth embedded in the of manure. Your GF Sluice, sounded to me like she had a sense of humor about herself even though ego wouldn't let her enjoy the "her" from the past's, letter she wrote. Hell, that's a natural response for anyone....(have you ever read some of the shit hatched from the mind behind the pen that others have saved??

I have a few ranting letters that I ain't too proud of that others have saved for ammunition or I-told-you-so's. You have to remind others and yourself that the person who wrote that is dynamic and chaotic....NOT static.

Fundamentally people's personalities/temperaments don't change much after maybe 12 years old and loved ones tend to remember you as you were.

Your GF read a reminder of the little girl who is still lurking there....maybe it scared her or pissed her off-Ego baby, it's a motherfucker!!

Since the inception of the sarcasm button I don't think I recall seeing anyone use it....It's akin to a utensil in the kitchen drawer you see every time you open it, but never use.

Personally, I like to think that I can be the sweetest asshole on the block...cause I KNOW I'll never be able stop with the asshole!!!

(especially if I went completely sober!)

http://lyrics.wikia.com/Dan_Mangan:So_Much_For_Everyone.

As much as i'd like to go

To places i've never known,

Scared shitless to leave home,

And i don't want to go alone.

I miss the rewarding gaze

Of a friend from my younger days,

Didn't mind 'bout my selfish ways,

As he died i was miles away.

I hope he remembers how,

As i do when i look back now,

Though he'd bark at the slightest sound,

Would not bite for he knew not how.

And sometimes it's more than clear,

When morning comes early here,

And i know that the day is near,

Wasted days make for wasted years.

Now i'm vicious with appetite,

Sobering half a mind,

Dripping with stolen wine,

Awoken by something i dreamt.

Harboured by everything i have been witnessing.

Postcards and daydreaming

Get less embarrassing.

After the day is done,

I will be on the run -

So much for everyone, so much for everyone.

The showdown is endless here,

Under the burning sun.

As eyes roll toward me now,

I will drop my gun.

@shinyblurry:

Your characterization of bible literalists as "idiots" and people with "sheep-like" credulity and the "so-called" faithful, not-withstanding, I will agree that a disagreement on origins doesn't necessarily make someone less Christian. It doesn't say anywhere in the bible that you must agree on a literal interpretation of Genesis to follow Jesus Christ.

Calling the literal interpretation of Genesis a "quasi-heretical" doctrine of "19th century upstarts" is completely ridiculous, though. Almost as ridiculous as quoting Origen and Augustrine and claiming they represented the majority viewpoint of the early church. If you think the early church didn't believe in a literal Genesis, how do you explain Ephraim the syrian, or Basil of Caesarea? What about Ambrose of Milan, who was the mentor of Augustine? They all believed in a young earth, as did many others throughout the centuries.

Let us not also forget that Christ Himself was a bible literalist, who spoke about the narrative in the Old Testament, including Genesis, as literal history, and literally fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah.


Could you perhaps refer me to some documents wherein St. Ephrem or St. Basil averred that the literal interpretation of the Bible is primary? Ephrem appears to have struck a middle ground between literalism and pure metaphorical interpretation, and St. Basil was a student of Origen's writings. Granted, St. Basil assiduously avoided the bizarre flights of fancy that plagued some of the Christian writers in the 4th century, but he was hardly a literalist in a strict sense--the literal sense was only one important sense in which to take the sacred writings.

If you want to support your point, a particular reference to Genesis will do best.

As far as Ambrose goes, it stretches the truth to say that he was a "mentor" of Augustine. Certainly, Augustine speaks rather highly of Ambrose in the Confessions. But Augustine writes with rather rose-colored glasses. A sober-minded approach to the life of Ambrose reveals that he was as much a political animal as he was spiritual. And even in the Confessions it is not recorded that Ambrose paid much attention to Augustine. If I recall correctly, Augustine doesn't record a single word that Ambrose said to Augustine outside of a public sermon in which Augustine was a member of the congregation.

In regards to Christianity, there is a mimimum requirement of belief, such as that Jesus was raised from the dead, to be a Christian.


In the traditional sense, certainly. There are other senses by which one might claim to be Christian--pointing out the tradition from which one derives one's moral compass, for instance. In this sense, many atheists can probably claim to be Christian atheists, rather than, e.g., Muslim atheists.

Simple observation shows most people, probably near the 99.9 percent mark, to be liars. There is no claim in Christianity that Christians are perfect. Far from it. Jesus was the only perfect man to ever live. Christians still sin, but hopefully they sin much less than usual. Christians living sanctified lives are comparitively rare, unfortunately. When you consider that half of the American church does not believe in a literal Holy Spirit or Satan, it isn't surprising.


Do they sin much less than usual? I haven't seen any sign of it. The statistics don't seem to bear it out. Nor does my personal experience. Of the best and most morally astute people I know, only one was Christian. The rest were Buddhist, Muslim, or Pagan.

In Christianity, it is to know God personally. Christianity is about Jesus Christ and nothing else. If you subtract Jesus, you don't have anything. You automatically get a new state of being; when you accept Christ you are a new creature, and you receive the Holy Spirit. You also have your sins forgiven and obtain eternal life.


To worship and devote yourself to a single God, like Jesus Christ, has a specific term in Hinduism--bhakhti yoga. It is the path of love and devotion.

No matter which god you pursue with this ardent and holy love, you will achieve the same result--sanctification, rebirth, and the descending dove of the Holy Spirit.

The forgiveness of sins is a psychological projection. Eternal life is yours regardless of what any god says.


Which spirit? Satan can make you feel ecstacy and love; it wouldn't be a very good deception if it wasn't deceiving. The question you should ask is, where is this coming from, and who gave me a spirit in the first place?

As far as intolerance goes, Jesus made it clear:

John 14:6

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Those are His words, not mine. A Christian is only telling you what He said, which is that you will face judgment for your sins. If you reject Jesus, you are telling God you want to stand trial for your sins on your own merit. If you are rejecting Jesus, it's for a reason that has nothing to do with anything you have written here.


As far as deception goes, I will quote to you the Gospels, Luke 11:17-19: 'But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges.'

How can a demon bring holy ecstasy? How can a devil cast out division and hatred, and bring in such divine love?

And with regard to intolerance, it's almost entirely pointless to quote to me the first apocryphon of John--the so-called Gospel of John. I'm well aware of what it says. I've spent a lot of time considering it. That's why I think it's incorrect.

It does no good at all to suggest that it's someone else who's being intolerant. On the one hand, it looks like you're blame-shifting, too much the coward to take responsibility for the statement. On the other hand, you are providing no reason to think that the quotation provides any authority whatsoever, and undermining your position by your own indolence.

>> ^criticalthud:

Drugs that are psycho-actives - like pot, lsd, dmt, psylocybin, MDMA,(and, coincidnetally, caffeine) allow the brain to make associations that aren't typically apparent while sober.
Yes! Some would say instrumental in our evolution and important for our future.

yes another WAR in the name of PROFIT
Quite supported by the rather large industries of alcohol, tobacco, and private prisons.

But there is another issue here. Drugs that are psycho-actives - like pot, lsd, dmt, psylocybin, MDMA,(and, coincidnetally, caffeine) allow the brain to make associations that aren't typically apparent while sober. In other words, you start seeing things differently...from a different perspective. You begin to question.

And questioning is a very dangerous thing to the ruling elite.

My friend who grew up in Nigeria just posted this in the comments when I posted this to facebook:

"I posted it last night also. Then it had just about 10k views. Now, it has 11M !! Wow the power of social media. Which brings me to a sobering thought. Whether we like it or not this video is a propaganda tool. Before yesterday, I knew very little about Kony. Today, I find myself hating him. I don't even know enough to hold an objective position. And I'm sure I'm not alone on this. Of course kidnapping and slaughtering children is awful!!! But having lived the first half of my life in Nigeria, a political environment closer to Uganda's than the US', I know the evil is often committed by both rebel guerillas and government troops. But, it's usually the govts that have the luxury of relationship with the west to encourage development of videos like this. So I'm not saying Kony is a saint. I hope he gets caught and prosecuted. I'm just catching myself from the gullibility of falling for a propaganda video. However well intentioned. Hopefully others will do the same."

And here's my response:

"I couldn't agree with you more. Well said and, even more importantly, we considered. Gives you a sense of the power of the medium -- especially when it's combined with social networking! I couldn't get through my first attempt to sit through this, but got to the point that he introduces Kony to his son. There is definitely some extreme bias here (isn't that the case with all documentaries, if not all cinema or media for that matter?) Your point is a good one and it just further underscores my deep belief that there needs to be some form of widespread campaign to teach people how to "read" and "interpret media -- that is, see it and read between the lines (as you have). Otherwise, we (audiences) are mere chattel to the modern day propagandists armed with nothing than a handi-cam and a youtube account."

It's a little slow, but stay with it for an interesting first hand account of a visit to an oil refinery in India, and observations of the managers and workers there. Lee also visited a nearby the pier where massive container ships dock with a manager named Jitesh.




"A few moments pass as we all stood, just watching.

Out of the silence, Jitesh says to me “Do you see what we are doing here Mr. Lee?”

I asked “What’s that, Jitesh?”

He replied, with an unexpected, sobering tone: “We are destroying future generations for now, and forever.”






Full transcript of the uninterrupted essay is here:
http://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/earthmatters/2012/02/20/oil-executive-sons-testimony-prince-rupert-northern-gateway-pipeline

My guess is they let him go because she was able to determine, by looking at his eyes, and listening to the lack of slurring in his words, etc., that he was sober enough to pass through the checkpoint.

If he did not give the impression of sobriety, they would not have allowed him to continue, and would have eventually administered a field test.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has an answer to that, in the publication 4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, Dec 2009. For a population of 21.9 million, we have 129 per 100,000 in prison, the 12th highest prison rate out of 30 OECD countries, which I calculate to be about 28,000 people in prison in 2008. The article actually mentions the U.S., and compares the two countries.

Speaking of impounded cars, in general if you are over the limit for drink driving here your car is left parked at the check point and you have to arrange a sober driver to pick it up, or in minor cases you pick it up yourself the next day once you're sober. Having never done this, I'm not sure about the exact details...
>> ^longde:

Some people just won't get it until it's their child under a police baton.
How many people in Australia are in jail or prison? [...] And then the impounded vehicles provide a profit. After fines are paid to the city along, with 30 days in storage fees, a vehicle typically produces $2,000 in revenue, sometimes more if it is not claimed and then auctioned.

[...]

The Boulder City police department just wants to ensure that patrons visiting Hoover Dam are sober.

I went to high school in B.C. The cops used to put a mannequin in a patrol car en route from Vegas to deter speeders. Eventually, they realized a traffic light was more effective.

I'm pretty sure in Kansas, he'd lose his license. And I'm not really sure I even disagree with it.

Most people are dangerous enough behind the wheel when sober. So, unlike most jobs (where it's legally permissible to demand tests without probable cause), there is actual value in random alcohol/drug testing for drivers. Not to mention that waiting for "probable cause" for alcohol testing is, in many cases, too late. Your probable cause is someone having a wreck.

In the interest of keeping the discussion going, I've compiled

A List of Popular Myths:

Anthropogenic Global Warming
Sober Welfare Recipients
Gluten Allergies
Spirituality Without Religion
Hard-Working Single Fathers
The Female Orgasm
Autism
Inherent Gayness
Trickle-Down Economics
Holland
Republicans Who Are Not Racist

I'll be happy to add anything I missed.

http://videosift.com/video/Never-Sober-Up-While-Getting-A-Tattoo

Upvote. Few sober people black out from playing dubstep.