tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post8610159406624825386..comments2023-04-03T22:30:04.509-07:00Comments on P-04 Referent talks: Jade GoodyPascal [P-04referent]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-19048550535364550912009-05-03T11:56:00.000-07:002009-05-03T11:56:00.000-07:00OK, thank you. Good to know.OK, thank you. Good to know.Eolake Stobblehousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07126147415891586345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-6446197031826098782009-05-03T11:43:00.000-07:002009-05-03T11:43:00.000-07:00Johnny, I got a copy in the mail of your comment b...<I>Johnny, I got a copy in the mail of your comment before you removed it. I can address your position on my blog, unless you'd rather I don't?<br /><br />If you wish, you can also write an open mail to me, which I could put on the blog and answer. My gmail address is eolake.</I> <br /><br /> That's okay, never mind. It wasn't really anything to do with you just something that happened that day which made me feel a little less charitable toward my fellow man.Johnnie Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18220503304597959440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-33908010646035944772009-05-01T00:23:00.000-07:002009-05-01T00:23:00.000-07:00"I got a copy in the mail of your comment before y...<I>"I got a copy in the mail of your comment before you removed it."</I> <br />A rather common occurrence.<br />But, as the popular saying goes, "only imbeciles never change their minds". ;-)<br /><br />Still, The Dickster may be intelligent therefore, but he's still far behind some "geniuses" I know. ;-)<br />Among Lebanon's politicians, is probably the smartest man in the Universe, based on that criterium!<br /><br />Nice effort anyway, Joe. :-)<br /><br />P.S.: Honesty demands that I confess, I'm notably older than my esteemed colleague Dr Howser.<br />In body, at any rate...<br />He's probably more mature mentally than I am. :o)Pascal [P-04referent]https://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-68608494162013681082009-04-30T09:35:00.000-07:002009-04-30T09:35:00.000-07:00Johnny, I got a copy in the mail of your comment b...Johnny, I got a copy in the mail of your comment before you removed it. I can address your position on my blog, unless you'd rather I don't?<br /><br />If you wish, you can also write an open mail to me, which I could put on the blog and answer. My gmail address is eolake.Eolake Stobblehousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07126147415891586345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-18763267616428199482009-04-30T08:23:00.000-07:002009-04-30T08:23:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Johnnie Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18220503304597959440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-19011771301453803382009-04-28T06:24:00.000-07:002009-04-28T06:24:00.000-07:00I hadn't seen THAT one coming??? :-O
Unforgivable!...<I>I hadn't seen THAT one coming??? :-O<br />Unforgivable!</I> <br /><br /> Ah, but you are Lebanon's very own Doogie Howser! ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-29341640374334402832009-04-27T21:01:00.000-07:002009-04-27T21:01:00.000-07:00Joe, come on! No matter what some extremist femini...Joe, come on! No matter what some extremist feminists say, a man's more than just a dick.<br />There's a whole body of interesting applications installed around it! ;-)<br /><br /><I>"their emotions (more powerful than those of humans) - almost destroyed their society!"</I> <br />And here is where my deep ignorance of the Star Trek universe finally shows.<br />I love it, but it's seldom easy to watch. In Lebanon, when you start watching TV, you're never sure you'll get to finish your program without the juice dying on you.<br />Never a dull moment! :-P<br /><br /><I>"I think after a seven-year drought the sex would be pretty mind-blowing! ;-)"</I> <br />Well, I'm sure we can reach reasonably mind-blowing quality with a little more quantity! :-)<br />I've heard of nuns who had more fun than that! (No, I can't give you their addresses.)<br /><br /><I>"Oh, no, wait. I meant to say my crack is smoking!"</I> <br />I hadn't seen THAT one coming??? :-O<br />Unforgivable!<br /><br /><I>"Thanks everybody, I'm here all week."</I> <br />I'll be buying a season ticket! :-)Pascal [P-04referent]https://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-17167617650271164662009-04-27T15:56:00.000-07:002009-04-27T15:56:00.000-07:00I figured I was on the outs. I think that it was ...I figured I was on the outs. I think that it was actually a bit of a misunderstanding but I made it worse by trying to explain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-29492948160654693852009-04-27T10:50:00.000-07:002009-04-27T10:50:00.000-07:00Aha, that wasn't a Domai list, that was just my pe...Aha, that wasn't a Domai list, that was just my personal one. I removed some people who hadn't written in a while. You could just have asked me. You're back now.Eolake Stobblehousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07126147415891586345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-14748840856398306562009-04-27T10:37:00.000-07:002009-04-27T10:37:00.000-07:00but their phobia of all emotions
An understanda...<I>but their phobia of all emotions</I> <br /><br /> An understandable phobia in their case - their emotions (more powerful than those of humans) - almost destroyed their society!<br /><br /><I>makes them allergic to the very thought of sex (a rather religious attitude, no? ;-)</I> <br /><br /> I dunno, Doc, I think after a seven-year drought the sex would be pretty mind-blowing! ;-)<br /><br /><I>Would probably be similar to smoking crack.</I> <br /><br /> Hey look, everybody, I'm smoking crack! Oh, no, wait. I meant to say my crack is smoking! ha ha ha Thanks everybody, I'm here all week.<br /><br /><br /><I>Is it the newsletter? What address did you use?</I> <br /><br /> It wasn't the newsletter. A dog's age ago you added me to some list, the people you send things like "great letters" and stuff like that. I was using joe_a_dick@hotmail.com at the time.<br /><br /><I>Nah, you just behave like one sometimes. </I> <br /><br /> Well, right back at ya! :-) ...There are bound to be occasional clashes. At least you aren't one of those douches who censor comments on their blogs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-31769796671034205892009-04-27T04:04:00.000-07:002009-04-27T04:04:00.000-07:00Nah, you just behave like one sometimes.
Is it t...Nah, you just behave like one sometimes. <br /><br />Is it the newsletter? What address did you use?Eolake Stobblehousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07126147415891586345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-41347854652839723132009-04-27T03:29:00.000-07:002009-04-27T03:29:00.000-07:00I still have joe_a_dick@hotmail.com going, but my ...I still have joe_a_dick@hotmail.com going, but my new Joe Dick blooger account is with joesadick@hotmail.com. I think Eolake would approve of that one as he has said more than once that I <I>am</I> a dick!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-38478953324847485252009-04-26T21:24:00.000-07:002009-04-26T21:24:00.000-07:00"Proof? You want proof? You can't HANDLE the proof..."Proof? You want proof? You can't HANDLE the proof!" ;-)<br /><br />Just kidding. I *did* say there CAN be no proof.<br />A belief is simply a hypothesis, namely here "a non-scientific hypothesis". Which, strictly speaking, designates a hypothesis which we cannot possibly attempt to disprove. OR to prove, either. We can't know. But does this mean we shouldn't <I>suppose</I>? Methinks that's a negatory.<br /><br />I'll just have to settle for uncertainty. Which, in a way, is awesome. I'll stay curious and intrigued my whole life about at least one thing.<br />And THEN, then I'll know, one way or the other. While I sure hope to enjoy life for a good long while, I feel that death would be a riveting (oops! poor choice of words for the Release) final journey of exploration. And in fact, that perhaps the end is just another beginning.<br />(<A HREF="http://stripamatic.com/~crowley/magellan/fanfic/02sweet-maya.html" REL="nofollow">See here</A> for a small example. Scroll right down to the final line. Then, eventually, read from the top. :-)<br />Note: to enjoy this fanfic even more, you'd better read the whole webcomic first. Or at least the page linked to at the top.<br /><br />Should we CHOOSE to remain without beliefs, without hunches, hypotheses, about anything that's not yet within the scope of scientific scrutiny? Probably not. That would be against the pioneer mentality of our greatest scientists. We must only know and remember, always, that these are not proven, just suppositions, intuitions.<br />I was always very poor with "mandatory full acceptance" demanded in our religion classes. Calleth me a bad seed.<br /><br />Science has, in fact, studied, if not God, the "religious phenomenon" in Homo sapiens. Neuro-bio-physiology seems to indicate that indeed, there is "a God-shaped void inside of us". [Which of course is no proof of any "intelligent design"!]<br />Our brains are hard-wired for religious-type beliefs, and all that ensues in well-known behaviors and emotional circuits. More or less depending on human diversity and education, of course. We -in general- are practically designed to believe in things transcendant, supernatural, and related to us. This is why every human society in space and time has had some religion or another. <B><I>"If God didn't exist, we'd have to invent Him."</I> - (Voltaire)</B> Which, clearly, we did. Most of us, or all of us, depending on your own attitude to local Faith.<br /><br />Alas, we cannot deduce the shape of God, in negative, from that of the "void" within us, because it's notoriously blurry and vague. All the explanations I was fed, about God being the mandatory source of morals, decency and Good, were low-grade baloney. You don't NEED to chant the name of Jesus, Moses, Muhammad, Krishna, Doumbala... to be a very decent guy. And it's certainly not SUFFICIENT to make you a decent person, either!!!!!!!!<br />There are abominable criminals in every known human society. Religion isn't a <B>fool</B>-proof prevention at all.<br /><br />Not only are we prepared to believe in mysteriously superior, counter-logical phenomenons or intelligent entities routinely violating the known laws of Nature, not only do we have a scientifically established NEED to believe in some clearly illogical things, but in fact it's been found that "the more irrational, the more it's likely to work". Like, say, the dead resurrecting, a virgin having a child, humans with way too many body parts, with heads of animals or other cross-species mixtures, metamorphosis regardless of mass conservation and genetics, descending from The Skies or ascending there to dwell on the clouds, a BDSM mega-resort under the Earth crust for those who were naughty, a fat guy in red delivering gifts at the end of the year (yes, Santa can be considered like a religious-type belief for kids)...<br /><br />Santa's a poor religious belief, technically, but only because it's notoriously open to counter-proof. Not God. God is invisible, immaterial, untouchable, everywhere... the perfect secret agent! With license to kill. Believe, and tremble.<br />Still, the media and movie industry are doing a great job at promoting our childhood superstitions.<br /><br />A typical example of non-scientific beliefs is the statement "there is a Sea Serpent". (Or, if you're more traditionally Celtic, a Loch Ness beast.) If it is one day witnessed, sure, it's proven. But NOT finding it for centuries still cannot prove it doesn't exist! Therefore, it's not a scientific hypothesis. Unlike that statement: "The electrostatic attraction force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance." Now THAT can be verified, and either confirmed or debunked.<br /><br />Me, I just found that atheists stating "I believe there IS no God" is just as non-scientific. Since everybody has to either find their own answers, or choose to lets some guru/prophet/great Kahuna think in their place, well, I just followed my deep anarchist tendancies.<br />My guess is, probably nobody has all the answers, but maybe nobody is capable of such a feat in reverse to have it ALL wrong. I mean, consider for a second the fervor of Trekkies, or X-Men fans, like some religious fervor. (Sometimes it gets rather plausible, doesn't it?) Well, we KNOW it's all imaginary stories, but "there's something to it". Mutant-o-phobia in X-Men is an allegory for the very real phenomenon of racism. "Blacks run faster, box harder, and have bigger dicks", sounds familiar? And the Legacy Virus in the same series is clearly (even officially) symbolic of Aids. First it was a disease of muties, then it started hitting "normal humans" as well!<br />When you consider the incidences on our daily life, there IS "something to it". At least, some food for thought.<br /><br />So just don't throw the baby with the bath water. Religions have something to teach us. At the very least, something to teach us about ourselves. A bit like Disco.<br />Not that I could explain what Disco taught me. :-)<br />The very existence of religions, and their characteristics, need to be acknowledged for the sake of our self-understanding. And maybe some day we'll find more than we had planned. Never underestimate the cosmic-scale power of serendipity!<br /><br />BTW, does anything fly on planet Vulcan? Not imagination, that's for sure.<br />The minds of Vulcans are amazing when it comes to intelligence, but their phobia of all emotions makes them allergic to the very thought of sex (a rather religious attitude, no? ;-), and this I cannot approve! I <B>believe</B> that sex is great. And nothing you can say will ever change my mind, so there. BLAH-BLAH-BLAH, I'M NOT LISTENING!<br /><br /><I>"Until then I don't need anyone blowing smoke up my equisitely toned ass."</I> <br />Hmmm... Are you SURE? This might me an enjoyable experience to some.<br />Especially opium smoke. Would probably be similar to smoking crack.<br />A pretty missie blowing ganja smoke up MY rather handsome ass, now that's something I might consider, mon. Don't diss it until you've tried it. "In the name of all that is holy!"<br /><br />What do you mean about showing Jimbo "proof"?<br />FYI, the Vatican has released an official note:<br /><B>Lying in bed with another person, and saying:<br />"Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!"<br />Will NOT be considered praying,<br />No matter how eagerly you say it.</B> <br /><br /><I>"Hmm... Chicken with rice!"</I> <br />My Mom makes a delicious ginger chicken with rice! Recipe courtesy of an old Vietnamese friend.<br /><br />About the Domai mail : I'll slip in a good word for you with the Big Guy. Thou hast not pleaded in vain. I have connections, you know.<br />Say, you sure you haven't changed e-mails? You've vanished from my followers list. (So now, there IS no list anymore! ;-)Pascal [P-04referent]https://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-65186185201521689422009-04-26T05:14:00.000-07:002009-04-26T05:14:00.000-07:00Show me a little proof - or even the hint of the b...<I>Show me a little proof - or even the hint of the beginning of a proof - for any of the supernatural claims of any religion that has ever existed and maybe I will consider thinking about changing my mind on that.</I> <br /><br /> Jimbo, if you were a chick, I'd be all over you like white on rice!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-51378289834456519542009-04-26T05:13:00.000-07:002009-04-26T05:13:00.000-07:00Me, I believe in stuff like the existence of an im...<I>Me, I believe in stuff like the existence of an immortal soul, or that this Universe is, somehow, more than just a cold hard empty prison of infinite pointlessness for us to wander aimlessly while sighing in angst. You know, the "philosophical" kind of religious belief.</I> <br /> But where is the <I>proof</I>? As a rational, thinking person you should need a better explanation than that. Plus our own fears shouldn't be used to say "Because I fear a cold, meaningless, random universe, therefore it must have meaning." Kind of lame, Doc. I too expect better of you than that. This would not fly on the planet Vulcan.<br /><br /><I>Atheist "beliefs" ALSO failed to convince me with their taking opposite counterpart to everything religions believe in. Too simplistic, too "reverse psychology" for me.</I> <br /> There's nothing of reverse pscyhology in it, P-04. What we're talking about here is proof. Real, physical, tangible <I>evidence</I>. I'd love to have some kind of life after death, but there's no proof for it and no proof of a soul. We'll never know till we're dead. Until then I don't need anyone blowing smoke up my equisitely toned ass. If I wanted that I'd be at home with a pack of cigarettes and a short length of hose.<br /><br />P.S. I no longer get any Domai mail, I guess I've been cut off! Now I finally have a <I>reason</I> to cry myself to sleep at night! ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-76297349019387985982009-04-26T00:41:00.000-07:002009-04-26T00:41:00.000-07:00Joey,
Yer fancy-shmancy deep philosophy is too com...Joey,<br />Yer fancy-shmancy deep philosophy is too complicated for my noggin, see? I'm a simple guy, don't mess with my head, awright? Easy now, just put the big book down and walk away without sudden moves, yeah? An' nobody gets hurt between da ears.<br />Besides, I've never read about this Bartholomew Samson in the Bible, so I'll have to consider his Prophecies apocryphal. C'thulhu F'taghn, klaatu barada dickjo! Amen.<br /><br />Jimbo,<br />Panic not, my brother. Perhaps I should've been more specific : I have beliefs <I>of a religious nature</I>. About the things that religions generally self-appoint themselves to explaining. I have strictly personal spiritual opinions and conclusions, markedly different from all the irrational that legitimately worries you. A bit like a non-catholic Descartes. (Descartes based his whole world view on doubt, skepticism... and then hurriedly went back to explaining how the classic religious God explained everything, and animals were just flesh machines/automatons with no souls!)<br />And yes, they are called beliefs because they cannot be proven. I *know* I can never be sure that I'm not mistaken. (How's that for worrying to you?)<br /><br />Anything you can detect, you can hope to affect, so that would definitely contradict the notion of God. This intrinsic undemonstrability also slams Pandora's box wide open (with a roundhouse Chuck Norris Bib Bang kick©) to persuading people with pretty much any naive theory you can come up with. Because there's no proof that any one theory is less outlandish than the rest, except for blind belief bolted to one's guts.<br />Me, I believe in stuff like the existence of an immortal soul, or that this Universe is, somehow, more than just a cold hard empty prison of infinite pointlessness for us to wander aimlessly while sighing in angst. You know, the "philosophical" kind of religious belief.<br />Oh, and also the notion of Good, which isn't always a brute mass of solid certainties and clear choices. :-) As I've said.<br /><br />It's a moral choice, an attitude that satisfies my need for some answers. Atheist "beliefs" ALSO failed to convince me with their taking opposite counterpart to everything religions believe in. Too simplistic, too "reverse psychology" for me.<br />But don't expect to bring me on my knees beating my chest and bowing in shivers to something that an exalted guy's speeches are supposed to make me see, or pretend to see (in an <I>Emperor's new clothes</I> syndrome). Too many cults do the same.<br />My "raw intellect" could only be satisfied by thinking for myself.<br />The second you start thinking logically, you're a lost cause for the Clergies. Their job is to think for you.<br /><br />Do I consider that I know better than all the heirs of millenia-old spiritual tradition institutions? Well, when I see how thick, narrow and grossly moronic these people too often are, like the Vatican about anything sexual and reproduction, or the cover-up of inside paedophilia, or Al-Azhar about women's rights and religious freedom, or those beastly fanatics nicknamed "the Hindu Talibans", or fundamentalist Sharia, etc... then by all means that's a 'yes'. I consider that it's way too easy to have more sense than those jerks.<br />I don't think I'm especially smart because of it. I just think they're so stupid, that I'd have to be even dumber to consider them references for what I'll believe in. It's all relative. ;-)<br /><br />Doubt? Uncertainty? They're healthy! I've encountered in my life several people who genuinely believed to know "everything, or nearly", to have the Cosmos all figured out. Generally thanks to one word: "God". Or Allah, Jehovah, Yahve, Brahma, Buddha, Wotan, Odin, Zeus, Huitzilopochtli, Lug, whatever.<br />Well, these people always, and very promptly, struck me as being very limited, ignorant, and stubbornly clinging to their beloved crass thickness : <I>"It IS this way, and I'm not listening to anything you say of the contrary. Or to your pointless questions about why innocent newborns would be sick with Aids and condemned in advance. Original Sin, here's your answer! They and all of us deserve it anyway. HAH!"</I> They're also very prompt to start yelling in order to subdue you into silence with their "charisma". ):-P<br />My scientifc observation, is that the more intensely people become "religious", the less they use their grey matter to think. Not for me, thank you very much. I'll... "just say No"! ;-)<br />"Opium of the people"? Given the clear signs in those who abuse its use, I'd say Yes.<br />Bigotry: a very dangerous mind-rotting addiction.<br />I'm allergic to bigotry. Literally. It always gives me physical reactions of discomfort. Like nausea.<br />Liver and eggplant too, but that's for another discussion...<br /><br />Anon,<br />(You know, I'd <I>love</I> to be able to call you by a friendlier name. Cosmic harmony and all that blah-blah.)<br />My net connection is too slow for movies 5 minites long or more. Fortunately, I still vividly recall that classic starring Kevin Costner. (Just this week I watched <I>Dances with the Wolves</I> again. :-)<br />I know when I'm beaten. I'd love to brag that my "teacher" was uglier than yours -or your example- but I'd be lying. :o)<br /><br />And let us not forget that lying is a Sin on the Main List, therefore equivalent in gravity and eternal damnation to Murder, premarital sex, disobeying your parents, not going to Church on Sundays, shoplifting, playing <I>Grand Theft Auto</I> (virtual sin is officially accountable), and looking at your filthy rich neighbor's Ferrari Testarossa wishing you had one too.<br />All major soul-destroyers. Fortunately, wanking only makes you blind, and taking it up the ass is merely a "confusion", unlike fucking goats which is an "abomination".<br /><br />(sigh) It's all so complicated. Especially if you want to follow every Holy Book Mobile, just to ride on the safe side.<br />And let us not forget the headbanging dilemmas every time one Book tells you that all the other ones are false and lures sent by the Devil.<br /><br />Now you understand why I chose to just listen to my sense and conscience? :-)<br />At least, there's only one of me.<br />Except for the voices in my head.<br /><br />You're wrong, there are no voices in your head.<br /><br />Really? Gee, thanks. BTW, who are you?<br /><br />Nobody. I'm certainly not talking from inside your head.<br /><br />You sure?<br /><br />Positive.<br /><br />Wow. What a relief.Pascal [P-04referent]https://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-7553473943581050102009-04-24T13:53:00.000-07:002009-04-24T13:53:00.000-07:00(Sufficed to see the gut belly he carried around!)...<I>(Sufficed to see the gut belly he carried around!) </I>He reminds me of the evil Bishop from 1990's Robin Hood Prince of Thieves:<br /><br />http://tiny.cc/JVCQf <br /><br />Skip ahead to 4:48.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-54202909135596506982009-04-24T13:24:00.000-07:002009-04-24T13:24:00.000-07:00I do have religious beliefs, yes.That's too bad. ...<I>I do have religious beliefs, yes.</I>That's too bad. Based on your comments here and on Monsieur Stobblehouse's blog I would have figured you to be too rational for that nonsense.<br /><br />Show me a little proof - or even the hint of the beginning of a proof - for any of the supernatural claims of any religion that has ever existed and maybe I will consider thinking about changing my mind on that. Basically if the existence of any deity were ever proved, it would cease to be supernatural.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com