I read this book about 18 years ago (in between loading people onto a stagecoach in Tucson...long story) and loved it; as a pre-teen and teenager, reading Adams was a mind-expanding experience, for which I am very grateful...too bad he kicked it so young (and too bad the HHGTTG movie sucked).
I have never gotten around to reading Long Dark Teatime of the Soul...is it any good, in relation to Holistic Detective Agency?
I am about ready to upgrade my 20G ipod (for my 45G and growing music library), but I can't find anything remotely priced close to iPods for the space:price that Apple can do...any ideas out there?
Yeah, but don't worry about it...if this is a global phenonemon, you can safely increase your daily calorie intake by 50 micrograms every century or so! Maybe that's why vampires and elves are always so svelte...
Touche'...so a better analogy may be "Hey, my flaming bag of AIDS-tainted shit is covered in bark scorpions! Where are my killer bees I paid so dearly to be stung by?"
Actually, wouldn't it be theft if you paid for a license (bag of apples) and were instead given a worthless counterfeit (bag of flaming AIDS-tainted shit covered in killer bees)?
Wouldn't it be great if the new Kansas school board required bibles to have a sticker that stated "Supernaturalism is just a theory, and as with all theories..."?
Not really any school in particular, I read some Dalai Lama, D.T. Suzuki, Tich Nhat Hahn, Jack Kornfield...I really liked a lot of it, D.T. Suzuki's descriptions of subjective reality had a Descartian feel that was very interesting...but, for example, the way the Dalai Lama was 'selected' (as well as his successor, who is imprisoned in Tibet I believe), and the general 'other-wordliness' (out of body) feel a lot of the lessons had, almost like a hybrid with Hinduism, just left a bad taste in my mouth.
But doesn't all happen according to His design? Doesn't cancer grow because he wants it to be? Didn't he create AIDS to punish gays? Isn't a child getting hit by a bus all 'part of His plan'?
So why would evil be part of the plan? Why would one pray (for some action or response, not for praising's sake), when He already knows what you will and will not get? And why, o why, did he choose to make me an atheist and condemn me to hell for my wicked, wicked rational mind?
Buddhists...OK, how about reincarnation? I studied Buddhism for a year or so as my last desperate clingings to some religious practice (and still believe in a lot of the internal searching and mind-quieting parts), but once I got to the reincarnation part, it all rolled off the cliff, and I am now a card-carrying atheist.
I'm not an expert, but Unitarianism seems to be more of a general philosphy or linking-group for different creeds of the faithful, does that make it a religion in-and-of itself? not sure....
Wouldn't you agree that although a D&D freak may take obsession pretty far, they still are able to discern reality from entertainment (except for Tom Hanks, of course)? It's one thing to obsess over fiction, but once you embrace that fiction as reality, build your life around it, and work to promote this delusional state to others, that's when it crosses the line from entertainment to near-madness (but sanctioned madness, which seems to make it OK).
Being "damned to hell" is the choice of the human, not God
But doesn't He make the rules? Back to the Fat Tony analogy (complete with Fat Tony accent this time): "Youse have da choice if youse wants ta pony up da cash dis month...but if youse don't, your little store is gonna burn down, capiche? (gives mobster man-kiss on cheeks)". Yeah, I have the choice, but Fat Tony has made it very compelling for me to see things his way, irregardless of how I actually feel in my heart about giving money to him.
I think you would agree with me when I say that I prefer being able to reject God than being forced to accept Him
Totally agree with that, but again, based on the premise laid out by Christianity, God made the rules and he seemed to have stacked the odds a bit in his favor, much like a taunting schoolchild would hang a piece of bacon over the head of a starving animal. He gives us freedom of thought, but makes the default state "eternity in Hell", which can only be excepted by "accepts Me as savior". What if I was born alone (don't ask how) on a desert island? I've never heard of this God chap, so, cruelly, I am condemned to Hades...feel free to replace "born on island" with "raised Hindu", "died as a baby", "born disabled without mental capacity to understand the concepts of God/salvation/etc", and so on.
Saying that He gives one the choice of belief does not change the (theoretical) fact that He, a loving, caring parent, DECIDED WILLFULLY to condemn me, a dyed-in-the-wool atheist, to eternal torment in a fiery pit of HIS design and purpose because I would not, even with a lifetime to decide, go against all of the logic that He (again, theoretically) gave me, and proclaim allegiance with an invisible, all-powerful being who, in a circular arguement, is trying really hard to either 1. see me in a lot of pain for a very long time, 2. prove that I feel more strongly about not being burned alive forever than lying to myself about how I feel about imaginary frields, or 3. is just really, really cruel, in a cosmic prankster kind of way.
But if in questioning him, should one find little or no reason to continue believing in him, said skeptic is damned to hell, yes? Doesn't that sound a bit like coerced belief (false idols and all that)? Akin to Fat Tony telling you that you don't have to pay him 50% of your profits, but if you don't, he can't guarantee that your coffee shop won't accidentally get burned to the ground...
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In soviet russia, ...ah, fuck it.
I read this book about 18 years ago (in between loading people onto a stagecoach in Tucson...long story) and loved it; as a pre-teen and teenager, reading Adams was a mind-expanding experience, for which I am very grateful...too bad he kicked it so young (and too bad the HHGTTG movie sucked).
I have never gotten around to reading Long Dark Teatime of the Soul...is it any good, in relation to Holistic Detective Agency?
Yes, the moral of that story is "if you're going to commit a gruesome crime, donate early, donate often"
1. In Soviet Russia, a Beowulf cluster of our grit-covered Natalie Portman overlords, to whom all your base belong, welcomes you.
2. Cowboyneal blows kdawson while jon katz films
3. Profit!!!
Either no automatic updates, or in some cases The Black Screen of Despair
I am about ready to upgrade my 20G ipod (for my 45G and growing music library), but I can't find anything remotely priced close to iPods for the space:price that Apple can do...any ideas out there?
Yeah, but don't worry about it...if this is a global phenonemon, you can safely increase your daily calorie intake by 50 micrograms every century or so! Maybe that's why vampires and elves are always so svelte...
Yeah, and if Jobs and Woz hadn't built Lisa, where would the Birkenstock industry be today?
Touche'...so a better analogy may be "Hey, my flaming bag of AIDS-tainted shit is covered in bark scorpions! Where are my killer bees I paid so dearly to be stung by?"
Actually, wouldn't it be theft if you paid for a license (bag of apples) and were instead given a worthless counterfeit (bag of flaming AIDS-tainted shit covered in killer bees)?
Wouldn't it be great if the new Kansas school board required bibles to have a sticker that stated "Supernaturalism is just a theory, and as with all theories..."?
flash forward to 2015: "Look at the clean shave on that guy...I smell TERRORIST!!!"
Sweet...Ctl+Alt+Shift "ENOLAGAY", and we're outta there!
yeah, instead of having to sudo to call my girlfriend...what a pain.
Not really any school in particular, I read some Dalai Lama, D.T. Suzuki, Tich Nhat Hahn, Jack Kornfield...I really liked a lot of it, D.T. Suzuki's descriptions of subjective reality had a Descartian feel that was very interesting...but, for example, the way the Dalai Lama was 'selected' (as well as his successor, who is imprisoned in Tibet I believe), and the general 'other-wordliness' (out of body) feel a lot of the lessons had, almost like a hybrid with Hinduism, just left a bad taste in my mouth.
Please, for the love of all that is good, admit that you are just kidding, 'kay?
But doesn't all happen according to His design? Doesn't cancer grow because he wants it to be? Didn't he create AIDS to punish gays? Isn't a child getting hit by a bus all 'part of His plan'?
So why would evil be part of the plan? Why would one pray (for some action or response, not for praising's sake), when He already knows what you will and will not get? And why, o why, did he choose to make me an atheist and condemn me to hell for my wicked, wicked rational mind?
Buddhists...OK, how about reincarnation? I studied Buddhism for a year or so as my last desperate clingings to some religious practice (and still believe in a lot of the internal searching and mind-quieting parts), but once I got to the reincarnation part, it all rolled off the cliff, and I am now a card-carrying atheist.
I'm not an expert, but Unitarianism seems to be more of a general philosphy or linking-group for different creeds of the faithful, does that make it a religion in-and-of itself? not sure....
Wouldn't you agree that although a D&D freak may take obsession pretty far, they still are able to discern reality from entertainment (except for Tom Hanks, of course)? It's one thing to obsess over fiction, but once you embrace that fiction as reality, build your life around it, and work to promote this delusional state to others, that's when it crosses the line from entertainment to near-madness (but sanctioned madness, which seems to make it OK).
Wouldn't be surprising, given the history of his interference with history...
So, Sturgeon is saying he killed 8.5 people, but he didn't kill Nina, Reiser did, but Sturgeon and Nina broke up because he was into S&M?
Yeah!!! Tech schools should use this case as a recruiting tool: "Still Think Programming is Boring? Think Again...!!!"
Being "damned to hell" is the choice of the human, not God
But doesn't He make the rules? Back to the Fat Tony analogy (complete with Fat Tony accent this time): "Youse have da choice if youse wants ta pony up da cash dis month...but if youse don't, your little store is gonna burn down, capiche? (gives mobster man-kiss on cheeks)". Yeah, I have the choice, but Fat Tony has made it very compelling for me to see things his way, irregardless of how I actually feel in my heart about giving money to him.
I think you would agree with me when I say that I prefer being able to reject God than being forced to accept Him
Totally agree with that, but again, based on the premise laid out by Christianity, God made the rules and he seemed to have stacked the odds a bit in his favor, much like a taunting schoolchild would hang a piece of bacon over the head of a starving animal. He gives us freedom of thought, but makes the default state "eternity in Hell", which can only be excepted by "accepts Me as savior". What if I was born alone (don't ask how) on a desert island? I've never heard of this God chap, so, cruelly, I am condemned to Hades...feel free to replace "born on island" with "raised Hindu", "died as a baby", "born disabled without mental capacity to understand the concepts of God/salvation/etc", and so on.
Saying that He gives one the choice of belief does not change the (theoretical) fact that He, a loving, caring parent, DECIDED WILLFULLY to condemn me, a dyed-in-the-wool atheist, to eternal torment in a fiery pit of HIS design and purpose because I would not, even with a lifetime to decide, go against all of the logic that He (again, theoretically) gave me, and proclaim allegiance with an invisible, all-powerful being who, in a circular arguement, is trying really hard to either 1. see me in a lot of pain for a very long time, 2. prove that I feel more strongly about not being burned alive forever than lying to myself about how I feel about imaginary frields, or 3. is just really, really cruel, in a cosmic prankster kind of way.
No, but he'll force me to be with HIM! And he's, you know...I don't know, he looks at me funny sometimes...
That sounds like half of a Monty Python cartoon...the second half being that the sign opens its eyes and gobbles your car up once you pass too close.
But if in questioning him, should one find little or no reason to continue believing in him, said skeptic is damned to hell, yes? Doesn't that sound a bit like coerced belief (false idols and all that)? Akin to Fat Tony telling you that you don't have to pay him 50% of your profits, but if you don't, he can't guarantee that your coffee shop won't accidentally get burned to the ground...