Osamu Dazai from No Longer Human
If it failed I had no choice but to hang myself, a resolve which was tantamount to a bet on the existence of God.
Unless, of course, suicide is still a sin.
Am I what they call an egoist? Or am I the opposite, a man of excessively weak spirit? I really don't know myself, but since I seem in either case to be a mass of vices, I drop steadily, inevitably, into unhappiness, and I have no specific plan to stave off my descent.
Who does?
There's something about you that smells a little of a Christian priest. I find it offensive.
Who doesn't?
I never could think of prostitutes as human beings or even as women. They seemed more like imbeciles or lunatics. But in their arms I felt absolute security. I could sleep soundly. It was pathetic how utterly devoid of greed they really were. And perhaps because they felt for me something like an affinity for their kind, these prostitutes always showed me a natural friendliness which never became oppressive. Friendliness with no ulterior motive, friendliness stripped of high-pressure salesmanship, for someone who might never come again. Some nights I saw these imbecile, lunatic prostitutes with the halo of Mary.
Any prostitutes here? You're up.
What frightened me was the logic of the world; in it lay the foretaste of something incalculably powerful. Its mechanism was incomprehensible, and I could not possibly remain closeted in that windowless, bone-chilling room. Though outside lay the sea of irrationality, it was far more agreeable to swim in its waters until presently I drowned.
Of course, you're world might be different.
I simply don’t understand. I have not the remotest clue what the nature or extent of my neighbor’s woes can be. Practical troubles, griefs that can be assuaged if only there is enough to eat— these may be the most intense of all burning hells, horrible enough to blast to smithereens my ten misfortunes, but that is precisely what I don’t understand: if my neighbors manage to survive without killing themselves, without going mad, maintaining an interest in political parties, not yielding to despair, resolutely pursuing the fight for existence, can their griefs really be genuine? Am I wrong in thinking that these people have become such complete egoists and are so convinced of the normality of their way of life that they have never once doubted themselves?
Pick one:
1] Resolved: he's right
2] Resolved: he's wrong
Quote of the day
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iambiguous
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Re: Quote of the day
My favorite Norman Jewison film
A Soldier's Story
Master Sergeant Vernon Waters: You know the damage one ignorant Negro can do? We were in France in the first war; we'd won decorations. But the white boys had told all them French gals that we had tails. Then they found this ignorant colored soldier, paid him to tie a tail to his ass and run around half-naked, making monkey sounds. Put him on the big round table in the Cafe Napoleon, put a reed in his hand, crown on his head, blanket on his shoulders, and made him eat *bananas* in front of all them Frenchies. Oh, how the white boys danced that night... passed out leaflets with that boy's picture on it. Called him Moonshine, King of the Monkeys. And when we slit his throat, you know that fool asked us what he had done wrong?
Any ignorant Negroes here?
How about any ignorant Northern Europeans? What should we call you?
C.J. Memphis: Any man ain't sure where he belong, gotta' be in a whole lotta pain.
Said the ignorant Negro?
Drill Sergeant: [a group of soldiers are doing calisthenics when Captain Davenport drives by in a jeep. Everyone stops and stares in astonishment] Alright, soldiers, let's get back to those exercises! Haven't you seen a colored officer before?
GI: No, sir! Have you?
True story: My basic training drill sargent was a Negro.
Private Wilkie: Is it true, sir, that when they found him, his stripes and insignia were still on the uniform?
Captain Davenport: Yes.
Private Wilkie: Something's wrong, ain't it, sir? I mean, those Klan boys, they can't stand to see us in these uniforms. They usually take the stripes and stuff off before they lynch us.
Hmm, he thought, is that coming back around again? In, say, the red states?
Master Sergeant Vernon Waters: Them Nazis ain't all crazy. Whole lot of people just can't seem to fit in to where things seem to be going. Like you, CJ. See, the Black race can't afford you no more. There used to be a time, we'd see someone like you singin', clownin', yassuh-bossin'... and we wouldn't do anything. Folks liked that. You were good. Homey kind of n*****. When they needed somebody to mistreat, call a name or two, they paraded you. Reminded them of the good old days. Not no more. The day of the Geechee is gone, boy. And you're going with it.
Literally as it turned out.
Private First Class Peterson: CJ was sleeping when I came in. It's Waters. Can't y'all see that? You know, I seen 'em before. We had 'em in Alabama. White man give him a small-ass job as a servant and when the boss ain't looking, that old copy-cat n***** act like he the new boss. Shouting, ordering people around. You see, arresting CJ, that'll get Waters another stripe. Next, it'll be you or you. You see, he can't look good unless he's standing on you. Cobb told him CJ was in here all evening. Waters didn't even listen, did he? Turning somebody in. "Well, look what I done, Captain-boss." Only reason he's in the Army is 'cause they know he'll do what they tell him to. I've seen this kind of fool before. Somebody's gonna kill him one of these days.
In fact, that's scripted here. Right, Private First Class Peterson?
A Soldier's Story
Master Sergeant Vernon Waters: You know the damage one ignorant Negro can do? We were in France in the first war; we'd won decorations. But the white boys had told all them French gals that we had tails. Then they found this ignorant colored soldier, paid him to tie a tail to his ass and run around half-naked, making monkey sounds. Put him on the big round table in the Cafe Napoleon, put a reed in his hand, crown on his head, blanket on his shoulders, and made him eat *bananas* in front of all them Frenchies. Oh, how the white boys danced that night... passed out leaflets with that boy's picture on it. Called him Moonshine, King of the Monkeys. And when we slit his throat, you know that fool asked us what he had done wrong?
Any ignorant Negroes here?
How about any ignorant Northern Europeans? What should we call you?
C.J. Memphis: Any man ain't sure where he belong, gotta' be in a whole lotta pain.
Said the ignorant Negro?
Drill Sergeant: [a group of soldiers are doing calisthenics when Captain Davenport drives by in a jeep. Everyone stops and stares in astonishment] Alright, soldiers, let's get back to those exercises! Haven't you seen a colored officer before?
GI: No, sir! Have you?
True story: My basic training drill sargent was a Negro.
Private Wilkie: Is it true, sir, that when they found him, his stripes and insignia were still on the uniform?
Captain Davenport: Yes.
Private Wilkie: Something's wrong, ain't it, sir? I mean, those Klan boys, they can't stand to see us in these uniforms. They usually take the stripes and stuff off before they lynch us.
Hmm, he thought, is that coming back around again? In, say, the red states?
Master Sergeant Vernon Waters: Them Nazis ain't all crazy. Whole lot of people just can't seem to fit in to where things seem to be going. Like you, CJ. See, the Black race can't afford you no more. There used to be a time, we'd see someone like you singin', clownin', yassuh-bossin'... and we wouldn't do anything. Folks liked that. You were good. Homey kind of n*****. When they needed somebody to mistreat, call a name or two, they paraded you. Reminded them of the good old days. Not no more. The day of the Geechee is gone, boy. And you're going with it.
Literally as it turned out.
Private First Class Peterson: CJ was sleeping when I came in. It's Waters. Can't y'all see that? You know, I seen 'em before. We had 'em in Alabama. White man give him a small-ass job as a servant and when the boss ain't looking, that old copy-cat n***** act like he the new boss. Shouting, ordering people around. You see, arresting CJ, that'll get Waters another stripe. Next, it'll be you or you. You see, he can't look good unless he's standing on you. Cobb told him CJ was in here all evening. Waters didn't even listen, did he? Turning somebody in. "Well, look what I done, Captain-boss." Only reason he's in the Army is 'cause they know he'll do what they tell him to. I've seen this kind of fool before. Somebody's gonna kill him one of these days.
In fact, that's scripted here. Right, Private First Class Peterson?
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iambiguous
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Re: Quote of the day
Emma Donoghue from Room
Everyone's got a different story.
Let's explain that. And, no, not just philosophically.
It’s called mind over matter. If we don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” When a bit of me hurts, I always mind.
Next up: it hurts a lot.
A lot of the world seems to repeat itself.
I taught it that.
Ma's still nodding. You're the one who matters, though. Just you.
I shake my head till it's wobbling because there's no just me.
I taught him that.
I don’t know why hurting means getting better.
Good point. So, what's it say about that in the Bible? Or Wikipedia?
What started Baby Jesus growing in Mary's tummy was an angel zoomed down, like a ghost but a really cool one with feathers. Mary was all surprised, she said, "How can this be?" and then, "OK let it be." When Baby Jesus popped out of her vagina on Christmas she put him in a manger but not for the cows to chew, only to warm him up with their blowing because he was magic.
You know, if Mary had a vagina.
Everyone's got a different story.
Let's explain that. And, no, not just philosophically.
It’s called mind over matter. If we don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” When a bit of me hurts, I always mind.
Next up: it hurts a lot.
A lot of the world seems to repeat itself.
I taught it that.
Ma's still nodding. You're the one who matters, though. Just you.
I shake my head till it's wobbling because there's no just me.
I taught him that.
I don’t know why hurting means getting better.
Good point. So, what's it say about that in the Bible? Or Wikipedia?
What started Baby Jesus growing in Mary's tummy was an angel zoomed down, like a ghost but a really cool one with feathers. Mary was all surprised, she said, "How can this be?" and then, "OK let it be." When Baby Jesus popped out of her vagina on Christmas she put him in a manger but not for the cows to chew, only to warm him up with their blowing because he was magic.
You know, if Mary had a vagina.
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iambiguous
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Re: Quote of the day
Harold S. Kushner from When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Pain is the price we pay for being alive. Dead cells—our hair, our fingernails—can’t feel pain; they cannot feel anything. When we understand that, our question will change from, “Why do we have to feel pain?” to “What do we do with our pain so that it becomes meaningful and not just pointless empty suffering?
God's will!
We can't pray that God make our lives free of problems; this won't happen, and it is probably just as well. We can't ask Him to make us and those we love immune to diseases, because He can't do that.
You know, not actually being omnipotent.
I don’t know why one person gets sick, and another does not, but I can only assume that some natural laws which we don’t understand are at work. I cannot believe that God “sends” illness to a specific person for a specific reason. I don’t believe in a God who has a weekly quota of malignant tumors to distribute, and consults His computer to find out who deserves one most or who could handle it best.
Of course, he is among the minority here.
If we think of life as a kind of Olympic games, some of life's crises are sprints. They require maximum emotional concentration for a short time. Then they are over, and life returns to normal. But other crises are distance events. They ask us to maintain our concentration over a much longer period of time, and that can be a lot harder.
A hell of a lot longer.
God does not cause our misfortunes.
It's still the Commies and the terrorists, right?
The Talmud, the compilation of discussions of Jewish Law which I have quoted earlier in this book, gives examples of bad prayers, improper prayers, which one should not utter. If a woman is pregnant, neither she nor her husband should pray, “May God grant that this child be a boy” (nor, for that matter, may they pray that it be a girl). The sex of the child is determined at conception, and God cannot be invoked to change it.
Of course all the other Gods might beg to differ.
Pain is the price we pay for being alive. Dead cells—our hair, our fingernails—can’t feel pain; they cannot feel anything. When we understand that, our question will change from, “Why do we have to feel pain?” to “What do we do with our pain so that it becomes meaningful and not just pointless empty suffering?
God's will!
We can't pray that God make our lives free of problems; this won't happen, and it is probably just as well. We can't ask Him to make us and those we love immune to diseases, because He can't do that.
You know, not actually being omnipotent.
I don’t know why one person gets sick, and another does not, but I can only assume that some natural laws which we don’t understand are at work. I cannot believe that God “sends” illness to a specific person for a specific reason. I don’t believe in a God who has a weekly quota of malignant tumors to distribute, and consults His computer to find out who deserves one most or who could handle it best.
Of course, he is among the minority here.
If we think of life as a kind of Olympic games, some of life's crises are sprints. They require maximum emotional concentration for a short time. Then they are over, and life returns to normal. But other crises are distance events. They ask us to maintain our concentration over a much longer period of time, and that can be a lot harder.
A hell of a lot longer.
God does not cause our misfortunes.
It's still the Commies and the terrorists, right?
The Talmud, the compilation of discussions of Jewish Law which I have quoted earlier in this book, gives examples of bad prayers, improper prayers, which one should not utter. If a woman is pregnant, neither she nor her husband should pray, “May God grant that this child be a boy” (nor, for that matter, may they pray that it be a girl). The sex of the child is determined at conception, and God cannot be invoked to change it.
Of course all the other Gods might beg to differ.
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iambiguous
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Re: Quote of the day
Suicide...
“The debate was wearing me out. Once you've posed that question, it won't go away. I think many people kill themselves simply to stop the debate about whether they will or they won't. Anything I thought or did was immediately drawn into the debate. Made a stupid remark—why not kill myself? Missed the bus—better put an end to it all.” Susanna Kaysen
Or: No one gets [let alone agrees with] you here?
“Committing suicide essentially said to friends and loved ones and the world at large that you were the only thing that mattered, that your problems were hopeless that you deserved to escape from them and to hell with everyone else.
Suicide was nothing more than a way to look in the eye of the people who loved you and say, 'My pain is paramount and I want it to end. The pain you will feel when I am gone, and the guilt you will experience at not having been able to stop me, do not matter to me. I am willing for you to suffer for the rest of your life so that I can take the easy way out of mine'”. Christine Warren
Let's explore why this may well be bullshit.
“It's better to have a gay life of it than to commit suicide.” Vincent Willem van Gogh
Tell that to his ear.
“Suicide seemed to me the greatest kind of freedom, a release from everything, from a life that had been ruined a long time ago.” Natascha Kampusch
Me? It's just comforting to know that it's an option.
“Looking at suicide—the sheer numbers, the pain leading up to it, and the suffering left behind—is harrowing. For every moment of exuberance in the science, or in the success of governments, there is a matching and terrible reality of the deaths themselves: the young deaths, the violent deaths, the unnecessary deaths ” Kay Redfield Jamison
Not only that but, according to some, they are all bound for Hell. Or, instead, are there loopholes here too?
“Sons of suicides seldom do well.” Kurt Vonnegut
Then this part...
"Since the 1950s, typically males die from suicide three to five times more often than females." wiki
Well, here in America anyway.
“The debate was wearing me out. Once you've posed that question, it won't go away. I think many people kill themselves simply to stop the debate about whether they will or they won't. Anything I thought or did was immediately drawn into the debate. Made a stupid remark—why not kill myself? Missed the bus—better put an end to it all.” Susanna Kaysen
Or: No one gets [let alone agrees with] you here?
“Committing suicide essentially said to friends and loved ones and the world at large that you were the only thing that mattered, that your problems were hopeless that you deserved to escape from them and to hell with everyone else.
Suicide was nothing more than a way to look in the eye of the people who loved you and say, 'My pain is paramount and I want it to end. The pain you will feel when I am gone, and the guilt you will experience at not having been able to stop me, do not matter to me. I am willing for you to suffer for the rest of your life so that I can take the easy way out of mine'”. Christine Warren
Let's explore why this may well be bullshit.
“It's better to have a gay life of it than to commit suicide.” Vincent Willem van Gogh
Tell that to his ear.
“Suicide seemed to me the greatest kind of freedom, a release from everything, from a life that had been ruined a long time ago.” Natascha Kampusch
Me? It's just comforting to know that it's an option.
“Looking at suicide—the sheer numbers, the pain leading up to it, and the suffering left behind—is harrowing. For every moment of exuberance in the science, or in the success of governments, there is a matching and terrible reality of the deaths themselves: the young deaths, the violent deaths, the unnecessary deaths ” Kay Redfield Jamison
Not only that but, according to some, they are all bound for Hell. Or, instead, are there loopholes here too?
“Sons of suicides seldom do well.” Kurt Vonnegut
Then this part...
"Since the 1950s, typically males die from suicide three to five times more often than females." wiki
Well, here in America anyway.
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iambiguous
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Re: Quote of the day
Closer...
Alice: No one will ever love you as much as I do. Why isn't love enough?
How about the fact that men are programmed biologically to fuck anything that moves?
Alice: How can one man be so endlessly disappointing?
Dan: That's my charm.
And, no doubt, he almost means it.
Anna: I don't want trouble.
Dan: I'm not trouble.
Anna: You're taken.
Dan: I've got to see you.
Anna: Tough.
Dan: You...kissed me!
Anna: What are you - twelve?
And the winner is, well, not Dan,
Larry: So Anna tells me your bloke wrote a book. Any good?
Alice: Of course.
Larry: It's about you isn't it?
Alice: Some of me.
Larry: Oh? What did he leave out?
Alice: The truth.
This from Jane Jones.
To wit...
Larry: I want you to tell me your name. Please.
[throws down a note]
Alice: Thank you. My name is Jane.
Larry: Your real name.
[throws down another note]
Alice: Thank you. My real name is Jane.
Larry: Careful.
[throws down another note]
Alice: Thank you. Still Jane.
Larry: I've about got another 500 quid here. Why don't I just give you all this money, and you tell me what your real name is, Alice.
[throws down the rest of his money]
Alice: I promise.
[picks up some of the money]
Alice: Thank you. My real name...is plain...Jane Jones.
He should have asked to see her passport.
Larry: You still pissing about on the Net?
Dan: Not recently.
Larry: I wanted to kill you.
Dan: I thought you wanted to fuck me.
Remember that?
Alice: No one will ever love you as much as I do. Why isn't love enough?
How about the fact that men are programmed biologically to fuck anything that moves?
Alice: How can one man be so endlessly disappointing?
Dan: That's my charm.
And, no doubt, he almost means it.
Anna: I don't want trouble.
Dan: I'm not trouble.
Anna: You're taken.
Dan: I've got to see you.
Anna: Tough.
Dan: You...kissed me!
Anna: What are you - twelve?
And the winner is, well, not Dan,
Larry: So Anna tells me your bloke wrote a book. Any good?
Alice: Of course.
Larry: It's about you isn't it?
Alice: Some of me.
Larry: Oh? What did he leave out?
Alice: The truth.
This from Jane Jones.
To wit...
Larry: I want you to tell me your name. Please.
[throws down a note]
Alice: Thank you. My name is Jane.
Larry: Your real name.
[throws down another note]
Alice: Thank you. My real name is Jane.
Larry: Careful.
[throws down another note]
Alice: Thank you. Still Jane.
Larry: I've about got another 500 quid here. Why don't I just give you all this money, and you tell me what your real name is, Alice.
[throws down the rest of his money]
Alice: I promise.
[picks up some of the money]
Alice: Thank you. My real name...is plain...Jane Jones.
He should have asked to see her passport.
Larry: You still pissing about on the Net?
Dan: Not recently.
Larry: I wanted to kill you.
Dan: I thought you wanted to fuck me.
Remember that?
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iambiguous
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Re: Quote of the day
Nihilism...
“I want to end my life like a human being: in Intensive Care, high on morphine, surrounded by cripplingly expensive doctors and brutal, relentless life-support machines." Greg Egan
Obamacare some call it.
“Am I to leave this world as a man who shies away from all conclusions?” Franz Kafka
Take them to the grave if you wish.
“Human race spoilers: we go extinct and none of this shit matters at all. So just enjoy yourself.” T.J. Kirk
Ain't that what we're doing here?
“What is causing this mysterious perpetual air of inconvenience to slowly engulf the evening. It is not merely emptiness but an awakening in itself about nothingness.
Leave behind what was never yours and accept the fact that momentary pleasures and hideous treasures will perish too soon; so will your pride be snatched away by nothing. Mathematicians often say an instance tends to infinity. But, in actual sense, is anything even close to infinity?
Nullify yourself and disappear into zero, for that is what we call the beginning; the beginning of the end.” Ranjani Ramachandran
Fit yourself in there somewhere.
“The nihilist looks around at everything and comes to terms with what seems to be obvious. The sun is one tiny dying star in an enormous universe. One day the sun will burn out or explode, destroying us all. The earth is a molten rock that could either be blown up by nuclear weapons or an erratic comet. We are one of the seven billion nameless faceless ones currently living on this rock. What does our existence matter to this rock floating around a dying star within the expanse of an enormous universe?
Not much." Jon Morrison
Being optimistic, of course.
“I often wonder and imagine
What lies just beyond the fringe
Of the human experience;
What is it that we do not see?” Justin Wetch
And why does it even matter?
“I want to end my life like a human being: in Intensive Care, high on morphine, surrounded by cripplingly expensive doctors and brutal, relentless life-support machines." Greg Egan
Obamacare some call it.
“Am I to leave this world as a man who shies away from all conclusions?” Franz Kafka
Take them to the grave if you wish.
“Human race spoilers: we go extinct and none of this shit matters at all. So just enjoy yourself.” T.J. Kirk
Ain't that what we're doing here?
“What is causing this mysterious perpetual air of inconvenience to slowly engulf the evening. It is not merely emptiness but an awakening in itself about nothingness.
Leave behind what was never yours and accept the fact that momentary pleasures and hideous treasures will perish too soon; so will your pride be snatched away by nothing. Mathematicians often say an instance tends to infinity. But, in actual sense, is anything even close to infinity?
Nullify yourself and disappear into zero, for that is what we call the beginning; the beginning of the end.” Ranjani Ramachandran
Fit yourself in there somewhere.
“The nihilist looks around at everything and comes to terms with what seems to be obvious. The sun is one tiny dying star in an enormous universe. One day the sun will burn out or explode, destroying us all. The earth is a molten rock that could either be blown up by nuclear weapons or an erratic comet. We are one of the seven billion nameless faceless ones currently living on this rock. What does our existence matter to this rock floating around a dying star within the expanse of an enormous universe?
Not much." Jon Morrison
Being optimistic, of course.
“I often wonder and imagine
What lies just beyond the fringe
Of the human experience;
What is it that we do not see?” Justin Wetch
And why does it even matter?
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iambiguous
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Re: Quote of the day
God...
“Stop asking God to bless what you're doing. Find out what God's doing. It's already blessed.” Bono
And how hard can that be?
“And when your soul, the flame, the spark, meets with the divine fuel that is so pure and so strong, it results in immense enlightenment: the enlightenment of God. Light upon light, Noorun Alaa Noor.” Zain Hashmi
Next up: he insists that this is true.
“I have to believe much in God because I have lost my faith in man.” José Rizal
And, sure, this might happen to you.
“I regard the afterlife to be a fairy story for people that are afraid of the dark.” Stephen Hawking
And now?
“I could not believe in a God that would challenge faith like this.” Jonathan Safran Foer
Another smartass who will bite the dust.
“Was there ever a more horrible blasphemy than the statement that all the knowledge of God is confined to this or that book? How dare men call God infinite, and yet try to compress Him within the covers of a little book!” Vivekananda
The fools!
“Stop asking God to bless what you're doing. Find out what God's doing. It's already blessed.” Bono
And how hard can that be?
“And when your soul, the flame, the spark, meets with the divine fuel that is so pure and so strong, it results in immense enlightenment: the enlightenment of God. Light upon light, Noorun Alaa Noor.” Zain Hashmi
Next up: he insists that this is true.
“I have to believe much in God because I have lost my faith in man.” José Rizal
And, sure, this might happen to you.
“I regard the afterlife to be a fairy story for people that are afraid of the dark.” Stephen Hawking
And now?
“I could not believe in a God that would challenge faith like this.” Jonathan Safran Foer
Another smartass who will bite the dust.
“Was there ever a more horrible blasphemy than the statement that all the knowledge of God is confined to this or that book? How dare men call God infinite, and yet try to compress Him within the covers of a little book!” Vivekananda
The fools!
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iambiguous
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Re: Quote of the day
Grizzly Man
Werner Herzog: And what haunts me, is that in all the faces of all the bears that Treadwell ever filmed, I discover no kinship, no understanding, no mercy. I see only the overwhelming indifference of nature. To me, there is no such thing as a secret world of the bears. And this blank stare speaks only of a half-bored interest in food. But for Timothy Treadwell, this bear was a friend, a savior.
Next up: the overwhelming indifference of God.
Werner Herzog: I believe the common denominator of the universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility, and murder.
Next up: the common denominator of the mutiverse.
David Letterman: We're not going to open a newspaper one day and read about you being eaten by a bear, are we?
Good question?
Sam Egli: That bear, I think, that day, decided that he had either had enough of Tim Treadwell or that something clicked in that bear's head that he thought 'Hey, you know, he might be good to eat.'
I guess we'll never really know for sure.
Sam Egli: My opinion, I think Treadwell thought these bears were big, scary looking, harmless creatures that he could go up and pet and sing to, and they would bond as children of the universe or some odd. I think he lost sight of what was really going on.
I guess we'll never really know for sure.
Timothy Treadwell: We're gonna need more rain. We need more rain! Downey is hungry! Tabitha's hungry! Melissa is eating her babies!
And the rains came as I recall.
Werner Herzog: And what haunts me, is that in all the faces of all the bears that Treadwell ever filmed, I discover no kinship, no understanding, no mercy. I see only the overwhelming indifference of nature. To me, there is no such thing as a secret world of the bears. And this blank stare speaks only of a half-bored interest in food. But for Timothy Treadwell, this bear was a friend, a savior.
Next up: the overwhelming indifference of God.
Werner Herzog: I believe the common denominator of the universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility, and murder.
Next up: the common denominator of the mutiverse.
David Letterman: We're not going to open a newspaper one day and read about you being eaten by a bear, are we?
Good question?
Sam Egli: That bear, I think, that day, decided that he had either had enough of Tim Treadwell or that something clicked in that bear's head that he thought 'Hey, you know, he might be good to eat.'
I guess we'll never really know for sure.
Sam Egli: My opinion, I think Treadwell thought these bears were big, scary looking, harmless creatures that he could go up and pet and sing to, and they would bond as children of the universe or some odd. I think he lost sight of what was really going on.
I guess we'll never really know for sure.
Timothy Treadwell: We're gonna need more rain. We need more rain! Downey is hungry! Tabitha's hungry! Melissa is eating her babies!
And the rains came as I recall.
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iambiguous
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Re: Quote of the day
Absurd...
“What's absurd is reducing workplace productivity by using precious fossil fuels to excessively cool an office building so that men wearing ornamental jackets will feel more comfortable.” John Green
Of course, on Wall Street it would be absurd not to.
“The CDC could recommend condomless sex with camels, and some people would go out and fuck desert horses. Try not to get sand in your vagina.” Jarod Kintz
Wonkers!
“It's not easy to be the best. But it helps if you're willing to buy your own trophies.” Jarod Kintz
Or get the taxpayers to.
“I'm writing a new book: How To Not Be Seen By Invisible Entities. The book only appears to be blank, but that's because it has to be read with interdimensional eyes, and I help you achieve those in chapter three.” Jarod Kintz
With the assistance of Roydop, I'm told.
“I love Shark Week, where all kids under 12 swim for free.” josh stern
Absurd enough for you?
“The search for meaning is as meaningless as the meaning itself.” Abhaidev
Meaning what exactly?
“What's absurd is reducing workplace productivity by using precious fossil fuels to excessively cool an office building so that men wearing ornamental jackets will feel more comfortable.” John Green
Of course, on Wall Street it would be absurd not to.
“The CDC could recommend condomless sex with camels, and some people would go out and fuck desert horses. Try not to get sand in your vagina.” Jarod Kintz
Wonkers!
“It's not easy to be the best. But it helps if you're willing to buy your own trophies.” Jarod Kintz
Or get the taxpayers to.
“I'm writing a new book: How To Not Be Seen By Invisible Entities. The book only appears to be blank, but that's because it has to be read with interdimensional eyes, and I help you achieve those in chapter three.” Jarod Kintz
With the assistance of Roydop, I'm told.
“I love Shark Week, where all kids under 12 swim for free.” josh stern
Absurd enough for you?
“The search for meaning is as meaningless as the meaning itself.” Abhaidev
Meaning what exactly?
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iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
Philosophy...
“I started my life with a single absolute: that the world was mine to shape in the image of my highest values and never to be given up to a lesser standard, no matter how long or hard the struggle.” Ayn Rand
Your challenge: to actually believe that.
“We have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Indeed only by myth-making, only by becoming 'sub-creator' and inventing stories, can Man aspire to the state of perfection that he knew before the Fall. Our myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily towards the true harbour, while materialistic 'progress' leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the power of evil.” J.R.R. Tolkien
Where's Astro Cat when we need her?
“Expect everything, I always say, and the unexpected never happens.” Norton Juster
Next up: expecting nothing at all.
“Man is a mystery. It needs to be unravelled, and if you spend your whole life unravelling it, don't say that you've wasted time. I am studying that mystery because I want to be a human being.” Fyodor Dostoevsky
A true human being. And, no, not just underground.
“The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” Thomas Jefferson
On this side of the grave as it were.
“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.” Carl Sagan
Yes, this apparently did comfort him.
“I started my life with a single absolute: that the world was mine to shape in the image of my highest values and never to be given up to a lesser standard, no matter how long or hard the struggle.” Ayn Rand
Your challenge: to actually believe that.
“We have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Indeed only by myth-making, only by becoming 'sub-creator' and inventing stories, can Man aspire to the state of perfection that he knew before the Fall. Our myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily towards the true harbour, while materialistic 'progress' leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the power of evil.” J.R.R. Tolkien
Where's Astro Cat when we need her?
“Expect everything, I always say, and the unexpected never happens.” Norton Juster
Next up: expecting nothing at all.
“Man is a mystery. It needs to be unravelled, and if you spend your whole life unravelling it, don't say that you've wasted time. I am studying that mystery because I want to be a human being.” Fyodor Dostoevsky
A true human being. And, no, not just underground.
“The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” Thomas Jefferson
On this side of the grave as it were.
“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.” Carl Sagan
Yes, this apparently did comfort him.
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
The Ice Storm
[first lines]
Train Conductor: Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This train, originating from New York's Grand Central Station, is back in service. Next stop will be New Canaan, Connecticut. New Canaan, Connecticut next stop.
Paul Hood: [narration] In issue 141 of the Fantastic Four, published in November, 1973, Reed Richards had to use his anti-matter weapon on his own son, who Aannihilus has turned into the Human Atom Bomb. It was a typical predicament for the Fantastic Four, because they weren't like other superheroes. They were more like a family. And the more power they had, the more harm they could do to each other without even knowing it. That was the meaning of the Fantastic Four: that a family is like your own personal anti-matter. Your family is the void you emerge from, and the place you return to when you die. And that's the paradox - the closer you're drawn back in, the deeper into the void you go.
Depending, of course, on just how gullible you are.
Ben Hood: Well, it's great that we can all be together. And this Thanksgiving, no yelling, no hysteria, especially with grandpa not here, although we miss him. So let's do it right and Wendy, why don't you say grace. You used to love to say grace. Remember?
Wendy Hood: Dear Lord, thank you for this Thanksgiving holiday. And for all the material possessions we have and enjoy. And for letting us white people kill all the Indians and steal their tribal lands. And stuff ourselves like pigs, even though children in Asia are being napalmed.
Ben Hood: Okay, okay. Jesus! Enough, alright? Paul, roll?
Paul Hood: Thank you.
Ben Hood: Can I have the gravy?
Repeat as necessary.
Philip Edwards: Sometimes the shepherd needs the comfort of the sheep.
Elena Hood: I'm going to try hard not to understand the implications of that.
Indeed, that is suggestive!
Philip Edwards: Perhaps you find in books what I try to find in people.
Elena Hood: That sounds vaguely like an insult.
Philip Edwards: Oh, my, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way at all. Perhaps I meant it simply as a - a provocation.
Next up: the key party.
Ben Hood: We were golfing. You know, golfing, to me, is something I'm supposed to enjoy. And I was on the goddamn golf team in college, so it's something one would assume I'd do well. I used to do well. But basically, these days, golfing for me is like hoeing... or plowing. It's like farming. And George Clair has obviously, in the mere two years since he's been with the firm, he's obviously been taking secret lessons with a golf pro. And I bet the entirety of his disposable income has been dedicated to humiliating me on the golf course. That guy talks nonstop throughout the entirety of the misery of the miserable 18 holes...
Janey Carver: Ben.
Ben Hood: On topics that are the supposed domain of my department.
Janey Carver: Ben.
Ben Hood: Yeah?
Janey Carver: You're boring me. I have a husband. I don't particularly feel the need for another.
Ben Hood: You have a point there. That's a very good point. We're having an affair. Right. An explicitly sexual relationship. Your needs, my needs. You're absolutely right.
Janey Carver: You better get dressed. The boys will be home soon.
Ben Hood: Gotcha.
Actually, he didn't much get her at all.
Wendy Hood: Are you watching this?
Paul Hood: Watching what?
Wendy Hood: Nixon, dufus, its incredible, he should be shot.
Ben Hood: Hey. Drop the political assassination stuff please.
How about now though?
[first lines]
Train Conductor: Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This train, originating from New York's Grand Central Station, is back in service. Next stop will be New Canaan, Connecticut. New Canaan, Connecticut next stop.
Paul Hood: [narration] In issue 141 of the Fantastic Four, published in November, 1973, Reed Richards had to use his anti-matter weapon on his own son, who Aannihilus has turned into the Human Atom Bomb. It was a typical predicament for the Fantastic Four, because they weren't like other superheroes. They were more like a family. And the more power they had, the more harm they could do to each other without even knowing it. That was the meaning of the Fantastic Four: that a family is like your own personal anti-matter. Your family is the void you emerge from, and the place you return to when you die. And that's the paradox - the closer you're drawn back in, the deeper into the void you go.
Depending, of course, on just how gullible you are.
Ben Hood: Well, it's great that we can all be together. And this Thanksgiving, no yelling, no hysteria, especially with grandpa not here, although we miss him. So let's do it right and Wendy, why don't you say grace. You used to love to say grace. Remember?
Wendy Hood: Dear Lord, thank you for this Thanksgiving holiday. And for all the material possessions we have and enjoy. And for letting us white people kill all the Indians and steal their tribal lands. And stuff ourselves like pigs, even though children in Asia are being napalmed.
Ben Hood: Okay, okay. Jesus! Enough, alright? Paul, roll?
Paul Hood: Thank you.
Ben Hood: Can I have the gravy?
Repeat as necessary.
Philip Edwards: Sometimes the shepherd needs the comfort of the sheep.
Elena Hood: I'm going to try hard not to understand the implications of that.
Indeed, that is suggestive!
Philip Edwards: Perhaps you find in books what I try to find in people.
Elena Hood: That sounds vaguely like an insult.
Philip Edwards: Oh, my, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way at all. Perhaps I meant it simply as a - a provocation.
Next up: the key party.
Ben Hood: We were golfing. You know, golfing, to me, is something I'm supposed to enjoy. And I was on the goddamn golf team in college, so it's something one would assume I'd do well. I used to do well. But basically, these days, golfing for me is like hoeing... or plowing. It's like farming. And George Clair has obviously, in the mere two years since he's been with the firm, he's obviously been taking secret lessons with a golf pro. And I bet the entirety of his disposable income has been dedicated to humiliating me on the golf course. That guy talks nonstop throughout the entirety of the misery of the miserable 18 holes...
Janey Carver: Ben.
Ben Hood: On topics that are the supposed domain of my department.
Janey Carver: Ben.
Ben Hood: Yeah?
Janey Carver: You're boring me. I have a husband. I don't particularly feel the need for another.
Ben Hood: You have a point there. That's a very good point. We're having an affair. Right. An explicitly sexual relationship. Your needs, my needs. You're absolutely right.
Janey Carver: You better get dressed. The boys will be home soon.
Ben Hood: Gotcha.
Actually, he didn't much get her at all.
Wendy Hood: Are you watching this?
Paul Hood: Watching what?
Wendy Hood: Nixon, dufus, its incredible, he should be shot.
Ben Hood: Hey. Drop the political assassination stuff please.
How about now though?
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
Harold S. Kushner from When Bad Things Happen to Good People
We may not ever understand why we suffer or be able to control the forces that cause our suffering, but we can have a lot to say about what suffering does to us, and what sort of people we become because of it. Pain makes some people bitter and envious. It makes others sensitive and compassionate. It is the result, not the cause, of pain that makes some experiences of pain meaningful and others empty and destructive.
Of course! What else could it be?
I am not sure prayer puts us in touch with God the way many people think it does--that we approach God as a supplicant, a beggar asking for favors, or as a customer presenting Him with a shopping list and asking what it will cost. Prayer is not primarily a matter of asking God to change things. If we come to understand what prayer can and should be, and rid ourselves of some unrealistic expectations, we will be better able to call on prayer, and on God, when we need them most.
Of course! What else could it be?
"The Israelites got out of Egypt, but Pharoah and his army chased after them. They got to the Red Sea and they couldn’t cross it. The Egyptian army was getting closer. So Moses got on his walkie-talkie, the Israeli air force bombed the Egyptians, and the Israeli navy built a pontoon bridge so the people could cross.” The mother was shocked. “Is that the way they taught you the story?” “Well, no,” the boy admitted, “but if I told it to you the way they told it to us, you’d never believe it.”
Good point?
Bad things do happen to good people in this world, but it is not God who wills it. God would like people to get what they deserve in life, but He cannot always arrange it. Forced to choose between a good God who is not totally powerful, or a powerful God who is not totally good, the author of the Book of Job chooses to believe in God's goodness.” Harold S. Kushner
And he knows this how? Well, he believes it. Why? Because he needs to believe it in order to keep God loving, just and merciful.
The Bible, after all, repeatedly speaks of God as the special protector of the poor, the widow, and the orphan, without raising the question of how it happened that they became poor, widowed, or orphaned in the first place.
Yeah, what about that.
...for all those people who wanted to go on believing, but whose anger at God made it hard for them to hold on to their faith and be comforted by religion.
Join the club?
We may not ever understand why we suffer or be able to control the forces that cause our suffering, but we can have a lot to say about what suffering does to us, and what sort of people we become because of it. Pain makes some people bitter and envious. It makes others sensitive and compassionate. It is the result, not the cause, of pain that makes some experiences of pain meaningful and others empty and destructive.
Of course! What else could it be?
I am not sure prayer puts us in touch with God the way many people think it does--that we approach God as a supplicant, a beggar asking for favors, or as a customer presenting Him with a shopping list and asking what it will cost. Prayer is not primarily a matter of asking God to change things. If we come to understand what prayer can and should be, and rid ourselves of some unrealistic expectations, we will be better able to call on prayer, and on God, when we need them most.
Of course! What else could it be?
"The Israelites got out of Egypt, but Pharoah and his army chased after them. They got to the Red Sea and they couldn’t cross it. The Egyptian army was getting closer. So Moses got on his walkie-talkie, the Israeli air force bombed the Egyptians, and the Israeli navy built a pontoon bridge so the people could cross.” The mother was shocked. “Is that the way they taught you the story?” “Well, no,” the boy admitted, “but if I told it to you the way they told it to us, you’d never believe it.”
Good point?
Bad things do happen to good people in this world, but it is not God who wills it. God would like people to get what they deserve in life, but He cannot always arrange it. Forced to choose between a good God who is not totally powerful, or a powerful God who is not totally good, the author of the Book of Job chooses to believe in God's goodness.” Harold S. Kushner
And he knows this how? Well, he believes it. Why? Because he needs to believe it in order to keep God loving, just and merciful.
The Bible, after all, repeatedly speaks of God as the special protector of the poor, the widow, and the orphan, without raising the question of how it happened that they became poor, widowed, or orphaned in the first place.
Yeah, what about that.
...for all those people who wanted to go on believing, but whose anger at God made it hard for them to hold on to their faith and be comforted by religion.
Join the club?
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
Despair...
“Her eyes are grey. Her hair is straggly and wet. Her fingers are stubby. The nails are chewed and broken. Her teeth are crooked, jagged things. There is a vacancy in her gaze, a feeling of absence when you are near her that is impossible to put into words. Her sigil is the hooked ring. One day her hook will catch your heart. Describing her, we articulate what she is and why she is: when hope is past, she is there. She is in a thousand thousand waiting rooms and empty streets, in grey concrete buildings and anonymous hotels. She is on the other side of every mirror. When the eyes that look back at you know you too well, and no longer care for what they see, they are her eyes. She stands and waits, and in her posture the pain no longer tells you to live, and in her presence joy is unimaginable.” Neil Gaiman
And then she started posting here...
“Dying, she thought, is the only way out of what is happening to me.” Gregg Olsen
One way or another as it were.
“Real terror is a crippling experience. You sweat so much that your skin goes all wrinkly like when you've been in the bath all afternoon. And then the scent of your sweat changes. It smells like cat pee, no doubt from the adrenalin. However hard you wash, it won't come off. It smothers you, as your muscles become frozen with acid and your mind paralysed by despair.” Tahir Shah
Again, in other words.
“We make people special to us, believing that they can save us. When one thing doesn’t work, we look somewhere else to be saved. We rarely question the concept, itself. Sometimes, we don’t look to another person to save us but to money, acknowledgement, a title, a cause, a notion of ourselves. None of it can save us. We travel the path in different ways; some are polite, some are ruthless, some are clever, some are instinctive. In the end, it all leads to the same despairing place. In the unsuspecting quiet moments, there it is; a sense of peace and a feeling that everything is fine without searching for anything to be saved by.” Donna Goddard
Thank God for philosophy?
“Despair wishes their hope diminishes.” Sherina Gandia
Empathy let's call it.
“Most of us were fortunate enough to be born with the Blue pill until the Red pill eventually found us.” Kayo K.
Next up: you take them both.
No, really. What then?
“Her eyes are grey. Her hair is straggly and wet. Her fingers are stubby. The nails are chewed and broken. Her teeth are crooked, jagged things. There is a vacancy in her gaze, a feeling of absence when you are near her that is impossible to put into words. Her sigil is the hooked ring. One day her hook will catch your heart. Describing her, we articulate what she is and why she is: when hope is past, she is there. She is in a thousand thousand waiting rooms and empty streets, in grey concrete buildings and anonymous hotels. She is on the other side of every mirror. When the eyes that look back at you know you too well, and no longer care for what they see, they are her eyes. She stands and waits, and in her posture the pain no longer tells you to live, and in her presence joy is unimaginable.” Neil Gaiman
And then she started posting here...
“Dying, she thought, is the only way out of what is happening to me.” Gregg Olsen
One way or another as it were.
“Real terror is a crippling experience. You sweat so much that your skin goes all wrinkly like when you've been in the bath all afternoon. And then the scent of your sweat changes. It smells like cat pee, no doubt from the adrenalin. However hard you wash, it won't come off. It smothers you, as your muscles become frozen with acid and your mind paralysed by despair.” Tahir Shah
Again, in other words.
“We make people special to us, believing that they can save us. When one thing doesn’t work, we look somewhere else to be saved. We rarely question the concept, itself. Sometimes, we don’t look to another person to save us but to money, acknowledgement, a title, a cause, a notion of ourselves. None of it can save us. We travel the path in different ways; some are polite, some are ruthless, some are clever, some are instinctive. In the end, it all leads to the same despairing place. In the unsuspecting quiet moments, there it is; a sense of peace and a feeling that everything is fine without searching for anything to be saved by.” Donna Goddard
Thank God for philosophy?
“Despair wishes their hope diminishes.” Sherina Gandia
Empathy let's call it.
“Most of us were fortunate enough to be born with the Blue pill until the Red pill eventually found us.” Kayo K.
Next up: you take them both.
No, really. What then?
-
iambiguous
- Posts: 11317
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:23 pm
Re: Quote of the day
A Soldier's Story
Captain Davenport: Who gave you the right to judge? To decide who is fit to be a negro, and who is not? Who?
Besides, that's Satyr's job now. And, so far, none are fit to be, well, you tell me.
Master Sergeant Vernon Waters: And if it wasn't for you Southern niggers, white folks wouldn't think we was all fools.
Private First Class Peterson: Well, where are you from? England?
Actually, I don't think he was.
Master Sergeant Vernon Waters: They still... hate you! THEY STILL HATE YOU!!
Don't believe it? Start here: https://knowthyself.forumotion.net/
Colonel Nivens: I've been commanding colored troops all my life, Davenport. The worst thing you can do, in this part of the country, is pay too much attention to the death of a negro under mysterious circumstances. Especially a soldier. People get itchy. Uneasy. White folk in the town, colored at the fort, keep turning this thing over. Sooner or later, you're bound to have an explosion.
Ah, the real world. In that part of the country.
Master Sergeant Vernon Waters: You're in the Army. Colored folks always talkin' about what they'll do if the white man give 'em a chance. You get it, and what do you do with it? You wind up drunk on guard duty. I don't blame the white man. Why the hell should he put colored and white together? You can't even guard your own quarters.
He did fuck up. Though that's hardly a racial thing.
Corporal Ellis: I hope we get to fight soon, sir. Next, they'll have us picking this year's cotton crop.
Captain Davenport: Don't worry, Corporal. They don't grow much cotton in Germany.
Especially in the death camps.
Captain Davenport: Who gave you the right to judge? To decide who is fit to be a negro, and who is not? Who?
Besides, that's Satyr's job now. And, so far, none are fit to be, well, you tell me.
Master Sergeant Vernon Waters: And if it wasn't for you Southern niggers, white folks wouldn't think we was all fools.
Private First Class Peterson: Well, where are you from? England?
Actually, I don't think he was.
Master Sergeant Vernon Waters: They still... hate you! THEY STILL HATE YOU!!
Don't believe it? Start here: https://knowthyself.forumotion.net/
Colonel Nivens: I've been commanding colored troops all my life, Davenport. The worst thing you can do, in this part of the country, is pay too much attention to the death of a negro under mysterious circumstances. Especially a soldier. People get itchy. Uneasy. White folk in the town, colored at the fort, keep turning this thing over. Sooner or later, you're bound to have an explosion.
Ah, the real world. In that part of the country.
Master Sergeant Vernon Waters: You're in the Army. Colored folks always talkin' about what they'll do if the white man give 'em a chance. You get it, and what do you do with it? You wind up drunk on guard duty. I don't blame the white man. Why the hell should he put colored and white together? You can't even guard your own quarters.
He did fuck up. Though that's hardly a racial thing.
Corporal Ellis: I hope we get to fight soon, sir. Next, they'll have us picking this year's cotton crop.
Captain Davenport: Don't worry, Corporal. They don't grow much cotton in Germany.
Especially in the death camps.