The 'Anything Goes' Thread

Talk about what's on your mind. BUT, be mindful of others feelings, we wouldn't want this thread to get deleted, would we? Just remember, anything goes, this is my thread and you can talk about anything you want.

I'll begin, I wish that the veteran users of this forum were still here. I don't understand how you can be very interested in the Matrix, and yet nowhere to be found in a site where you posted a thousand times when the third movie finally comes out. Did they all get matrixed out? I just don't understand.

Secondly, how can we be so censored when the movies we are talking about display all forms of vulgarity? Sex (lots of it), drugs, violence, and just about any adult issue you can think of. I know the mods call this a 'family friendly' site, but the movies are clearly not.

I'm not upset, I think the mods pretty much let us have free will here. The above thoughts are just thoughts I've been having recently.

I have a little something to vent :)

I would like to discuss the state of the detroit lions football team this year. While they are certainly better than the last 2 or 3 years, they just aren't where they should be.

I'm not gonna get very detailed with the demographics of it, don't want it to sound like I'm speaking french, so for the sake of others, I shall speak in general.

First I will start with the coach, about the only bright thing in the whole da*n mess. Hes a good coach, well worth the money we spent to bring him here this year. He is a michigan native, played at michigan, and has been very successful in his other coaching ventures (hell anybody who could do what he did in SF during that free agency sh*t is amazing). I like his attitude, I like his gameplan/philosophy, and I like where he is taking this team (if not next year, the year after will finally see us return to the playoffs, hell maybe even win a division). But, you can't do things overnight, so this is his "building" year, and I don't fault him for that. With free agency, salary caps, and younger and younger "kids" coming into the league, it's more times a "growing" process than it is a "we have it in place RIGHT NOW DAY ONE!" Also, the coach has brought some excellent coaches with him. Some former coaches, others former veterans (i.e. tom rathman, charles haley) who have also done a nice job of coaching.

Now, onto the quarterback. It is admittadly only his second year, but he is not showing (with maybe the exception of the last 3 games, 2 wins, 1 loss) the second year growth he should be. Hell, he should be flat out DOMINATING with his skill level, but its missing. He isn't making smart decisions, he is getting the ball out of there too early, and he is not running when he should be. While he is the least sacked quarterback in the league, that can be partially attribued to the aforementioned getting rid of the ball too quickly.

The running game: well, with our two main guys out for the season, I have to give credit to the two guys who came in (AFTER PRESEASON NO LESS) and have been able to adapt to the system. Hell one is a thousand yard rusher. And while the running game stinks (and has since the departure of the great one), I give them credit for their effort given the time situation. However, effort doesn't win ballgames.

The passing game: maybe somebody should show these guys a dictionary and what the word "wide reciever" means in terms of football.... it means you catch the ball, that is YOUR JOB. The drops this year have been inexcusable (fully catchable balls that hit them in the hand, we have the most drops in the league by a WIDE margin) Now I understand the occasional bad pass or where you're so wide open you don't catch it... but please... 8, 9 TEN drops a game??? There is no excuse when the quarterback throws you a beautiful ball and you're in position to make the catch. Hell the general consensus in the NFL is that if you get even ONE hand on it, you should catch it, period. My guys are getting hit in the numbers and watching it drop as if it were on fire and would burn them if touched... catch the da*n ball.

The defense: can't really complain here too much. Dre Bly has easily earned the money we paid to get him here this year. He is leading the pro bowl voting, and is making Sportscenter's top 10 his own on a weekly basis. Some of the linebackers and secondary are reaching career highs for tackles, and with the exception of a few "big plays" given up, they haven't played too badly (I know we're 4-8, but if the defense holds em to 6 points, and you can't get a touchdown in 15 tries, don't blame them). The front four (especially with the rotated couple guys) are EASILY the most dominant front four in the league this year. They're fast and huge and good at their job... pretty much all you need. They will be a staple for years to come. As for the secondary... well, injuries plagued them probably the worst (except maybe the recievers) and we have brought in guys in like week 5 (yes, FIVE) and had them playing that sunday. They have stepped it up for what they're given the opportunity to do (remember, if they were that good, they'd be starters, not sitting at home mid-season waiting for us to call). So the defense, because of the record and lack of national viewing, is underated.

Special Teams: well, they've been spectacular, so many fumbles forced and never give up good field position. Punter is awesome, Hanson is a "gimme" and detroit always seems to have excellent return men. (i.e. mel gray, glen mylburn, desmond howard, eddie drummond) So I cannot really complain much about them, they've shown up every week, and are a big reason we have 4 victories.

Finally I will address the injury situation. This IS NOT an excuse. Injuries happen ll the time, it's the nature of the game... HOWEVER:

Even players and coaches on OTHER teams have said they have NEVER in their ENTIRE LIVES OF FOOTBALL, seen the injury bug hit a team (in one season) like it has hit detroit. We have 3 starting recievers [including #2 overall pick] out for season, 2 starting backs out (one for season, one still out), 1 starting tight end out, THREE starting CORNERBACKS (a must) out for the season, 2 STARTING SAFETIES out for the season. Our punt/kick returner out for a couple weeks yet. not to mention about 10 OTHER guys who got BROUGHT IN (early weeks to mid season no less) to REPLACE the injuries in the first place (about 7 gone for season, about 3 or 4 just week to week). Now as I said this is no excuse... but 11/12 out of 22 starting positions is crazy... hell even our PUNTER was out a few weeks. Add the 10 or 15 more non-starters/replacements... it's just nuts. And while i can't really gripe as it being an excuse, I can complain about the long term effects. When charles rogers, one of the best 10 recievers in the next 3 years, gets here next year, it was supposed to be his SEVENTEETH professional football game (it takes time), not his sixth. It diminishing the comfort factor for not only various members of the team, but how about the most obvious, the quarterback! Next year they were supposed to be a second year tandam. Now it's QB's 3rd year and WR kinda second.... these relationships are CRUCIAL to a successfull team. The offensive line gets NO time with the man who WILL be the starter next year, and the cornerbacks lose a year of experience against pro quarterbacks (lets not forget it was a YOUNG secondary at the start of the year, now were old)

Now I will never strain from them. They are my team and I am loyal to them (never turn your back on your childhood team, let alone one that HAS had success in your life, and oh yeah.... never break up with someone who gave you 10 years of barry sanders :) ). They are young, they are rebuilding, and it will be a year or two. I look forward to their success in the future, and I look forward to ford field becoming (it's already about 6th or 7th) the loudest and most disruptive place for opposition to have to come play (you wouldn't know they only won 4 games by being at a game, trust me, I go, their nutz, even when we lose). I just felt like the football gods are looking down and POINTING right at us, saying "not this year, f*cks". Anyway I'm sure Im about the only person who feels this way about the lions :) There are others as passionate but this is a matrix forum, not a nfl forum.

Thanks for the thread V!!! I been wanting to get that out for a couple weeks now, and the only guy who would even listens lives in Kentucky :) and my father works too much. I like to let him relax on weekends and whatnot, he doesn't need my psychobabble about the team (even though he loves em too). He has a much simpler perspective, which is "hey, it happens, what can ya do, we'll see next week (or year)". But surely there are things to be figured out from discussing it (not here necessarily i mean in general) hell maybe if more people like coaches and trainers were TALKING about why so many injuries, they could develop a better offseason regiment and training camp routine (nevermind I'm not gonna get into a rant about that). So thanks again V, I do feel better.

Also, if anybody found anything confusing about this post or would like me to be more specific about a certain part, just lemme know. I could get very specific about alot of the things I said, just didn't want to bore people with INTIMATE details or statistics... I realize this is still a matrix forum :) I just couldn't refuse the offer to rant about anything I wanted because this has bothered me all year.

I have exactly one hour and 10 minutes to waste, so I think I'll talk about my eating habits.

Somewhere during the summer I stopped eating too much, and I lost so much weight that none of my clothes fit at all. My pants were literally falling off. So I got some clothes since then, but the rest of my wardrobe is lying dormant at the moment. I'm trying to gain some weight.

This is what I've consumed today:

1 cup of coffee (with milk, creamer, and hot chocolate mix)
2 diet cokes
14 chocolate covered cherries
2 salads (with three cheese ranch dressing, lots of shredded cheese, and one crouton in each bite)
six chicken nuggets with honey and brown sugar barbque sauce
some cheese ruffles

And I think that's it. Terrible eating, but I'm thinking if I continue, I should bulk up a bit. I know that's really lame that I posted this, but like I said, I'm wasting time until my husband gets home.

boy i knew that football post would pull a crowd :) I wouldn't be two worried about not being able to gain weight... you should have it as bad as me (not bad, but weird):

I can easily consume:

4 cheeseburgers
1 supersize fry
6 nuggets

One sitting, or:

an entire box of kraft macaroni and cheese (try it, 7.5 oz ain't easy :) )

One sitting, or:

a sandwich and a half and some chips

ALL DAY

Either way, gorge or content with a little, i never lose or gain weight... perhaps this doesn't seem that odd, but I noticed I forgot to mention that I only weigh about 120 lbs.

The last time something like this thread happened, that thread was locked, wasn't it?

I don't think the mods will mind one thread in thousands, especially lately, and she did put it in the lounge... smart. And besides, that football post (in it's simplicity) was pure genious :) they could never remove that. Nothing wrong with a little "detroit lions talk" right in the middle of a matrix forum lol

Well, when I was pregnant I went from 105 lbs. to 165 lbs. in nine months. It's taken almost two years to be 115 lbs. But, when I was pregnant I quit smoking the day I found out, so that probably lowered my metabolism. Plus I ate all the time. I didn't look too pretty at that time. And I look like I'm dying in the pictures I have with the new baby. Blood shot eyes and so much swelling in my ankles, I was a balloon. Oh man, I would like to burn those pictures, but instead they are in the baby book.

All i can say to that is:

"I'm glad you like football so much" lol :) 60 lbs does seem like alot, especially being so small to start, but I know nothing of these things, the first time I was supposed to have a kid but it was determined otherwise. :) boy... that felt good to say too ehehehe, but not as good as the football thing :) SHAMELESS SHAMELESS PLUGGING, and we're still on page one :)

Oh my. Try not to call women that name, we don't want the thread to close. But that is sad. All I know about it is that women who make that decision end up regretting it for the rest of their life. I used to talk to women about it at the babycenter forums.

I don't know much about football, but because you're a Gemini, I can understand your need to over analyze it and how your dad doesn't want to hear all the details. Only Geminis want to fuss over detail.

You know, I kind of like this thread. It's 12:20 a.m. eastern time as I write this, and I'm feeling a great sense of freedom as I just reached my twentieth year of life, however, I really like this forum. I've had the astute pleasure of meeting people like, you, Valasher, and HomoUniversalis. I think it's people that make the forum, and some of the people the compell me to stay are few and far between.
I worry a little too much what others might think, because being new to an area bothers me at first, because I have an innate desire to be accepted by all. It seems to be an unending cycle where I screw something up or open my mouth (need I mention my adverse protests against MMORPGs and monthly fees)and everyone clears the room when a post has my name on it. Then I usually come to the conclusion that people are people and nothing can ever change that: You can please some people some of the time but you can please everybody all of the time. It probably points to the fact that I have the problem. Then again, it is late her, I am at work, and I'm very very tired.

Also, I get a little weary of others slamming people who come on and slam the Matrix Revolutions for being something along the lines of a lackluster effort of a sequel that is nothing short of a trainwreck in the middle of an intersection. Then the large ammounts of posts come where 18,000+ users tell him he's dumb and he doesn't belong here. I haven't really gotten a chance to see where it says that people who disagree with a latter part of the matrix isn't allowed to post on a forum. It kind of seems counterproductive to the flourishing of opinions and the heated debates that so make a forum get more and more traffic and necessery. I suppose also I should state at this time I, in no way, feel that any of the matrix movies were bad, I was just citing an example. It's probably my greatest wish where two people with opposing opinions could sit down and argue something out, but argue isn't assumed to be something short of a fight where people pull at each other's feelings til someone kicks and screams and slings mud til they're burried.

There's so much going through my head right now, but since I'm on the topic of fanaticism...I'll move on to bush-ites (i.e. people that worship the false idol that is president of the united states, watch out patriot II is coming for me). I hate the fact that so many people who object to it, get a reaction that is nothing short of a silencing, and the more I learn about real history and not the made up garbage in public school text books, I find that every generation has to fight for its freedom. And i'm not talking like G.I. Joe is out in Iraq right now waging a war, I'm talking about speaking out and being heard. People who raised a ruckus and said NO, not in my town, and got beat down, shot at, and condemned for beliefs, and beware to the buyer of the generation that doesn't fight, for we may lose and not have democracy anymore. I think it really sucks that people are so close-minded about other countries in America. I hate when I sit in a soc. class or a history class and some girl blurts out "WEll why should we care about Belgium? All we do is send them lots of stuff." And you have to sit and think, its what we don't know that can harm us. I hate how so many people make it out to be a religion, we just can't condemn president bush for this war. It's a war crime, its unconstitutional, its heaven forbid a shame. Then I really have to sit and think "Well yeah, you can say that here, but why aren't you out there spilling your blood, and doing all that grunt work?" They can sit there and get huffy all they want, but they just send troops and push buttons, they're not out there fighting. DO you see W. with a gun and a bowie knife searching loaded fields of depleted uranium where poor little kids are suffering from looking for land mines? No he just shows up for thanksgiving.
An-...ooo shift's over...I think I'll post more tomorrow. I'm just happy I'm not a teenager anymore :-D

Well, I don't dislike you Solid_Snake. And I do seem to get linked to people like HomoUniversalis, Midas, and I think even Terikan. But I try to keep the site interesting when it's having a bad day. I hate paying for server fees, too. It's like, isn't your damn game making enough money to keep the servers running? Just take it out of the pockets of the nerds who invented the damn thing.

I appreciate every movie the Wachowski's have made. I even really liked Bound. It is their story, not mine. I don't pretend to know how it should have been. I'm glad they didn't answer everything the way I expected or I wouldn't be here now.

And what do you think about Bush's trip to Baghdad unannounced? Do you think it made him look brave or wonderful as the media claims?

Originally posted by superman_0351
I have a little something to vent :)

I would like to discuss the state of the detroit lions football team this year. While they are certainly better than the last 2 or 3 years, they just aren't where they should be.


Sorry that I didn't read your whole post, but I agree. A possible solution? The glorious return of Barry Sanders, the most extraordinary running back to ever play football. He's only 35, and with sitting 4 seasons out, that means he has 3-4 more years of at least decent football left in him. Bring back Barry, Herman Moore, Brett Perriman and Johnny Morton dammit, the Lions can win it with them and a decent QB.

Originally posted by DPD
Sorry that I didn't read your whole post, but I agree. A possible solution? The glorious return of Barry Sanders, the most extraordinary running back to ever play football. He's only 35, and with sitting 4 seasons out, that means he has 3-4 more years of at least decent football left in him. Bring back Barry, Herman Moore, Brett Perriman and Johnny Morton dammit, the Lions can win it with them and a decent QB.

Johnny morton is possibly (with the exception of driving barry away [it was part him, but the lions also]) the stupidest thing weve ever done. Possibly one of my top 10 "throw it in his direction and he will catch it" players ever... ...spoken like a true lions fan :).

And V I apologize for the reference to a chick like that, I will edit the post.

If people can keep this thread going the way it's going at the moment then I sure as hell don't mind one bit :). As soon as it starts to turn into a one line reply fest, I'll take measures though. As it stands, it looks like a nice place to vent some feelings and frustrations.

Well i'd like to vent something

Women i think the guys will agree with me

Why are they so NOT understandable i mean no man can ever understand what women want.

And this thread was started by a woman so maybe she can explain us guys why it is just that

Blessed Be

NXA

I think women want to talk and be heard mostly. But it seems like an awful lot of them think of themselves as princesses, and want a prince charming to come along and sweep them off their feet. I didn't grow up hearing "daddy's little princess", so I never felt that way. But I think a lot of girls never get out of that fantasy until they either have children or get to a certain age. Hence the shows Joe Millionare, and The Bachelor, and all those stupid romantic/money shows.

If you want to know what a woman wants, ask her :) no not really that doesn't work, but I have found "paying attention" to be somewhat effective. And don't just pay attention to the one you're with, pay attention to them ALL... watch em, listen to em, hell, downright study them in their natural environment :) Paying attention in various ways will not unlock all the answers to the mystery that is woman (GOD itself probably ponders ehehe), but it will help... at least in my case. (this is a suggestion :) it is in no way a proven method to better understand women)

and an add on to my johnnie morton post* - and we forgot chris spielman, stephen boyd, willie clay, ryan mcneil, chris claiborne, and other defensive players.

thanks but everytime i pay attention to them al some girl who thinks i like HER goes Phuh you player whats with them i mean you can't do anything right. I mean i listen to them and they go like AAAH your such a good FRIEND and i don't want THAT


Blessed Be
Cheers
NXA

I think all women are eventually and inevitably driven by the need to reproduce, and protect their offspring.
I think all men are eventually and inevitably driven by the need to reproduce, and protect their offspring and their wife/girlfriend.

And I think you need a new avatar, Valasher. Seriously. I don't mean to insult you.. But seriously, please ask for one at the multimedia place... You need a moving one...

what do women want? easy... everything. i'll quote chris rock for this one:

"life's like a sale, and women wanna get the most sh*t before it ends."

i know that's not completely true, but it's pretty damn funny if you ask me. as for the princess thing, don't get me started on that. i haven't heard of many real princesses who sleep around as much as our modern-day ones. i'm not implying that all of them do, but it's not uncommon, at least where i live.

superman, how many yards you think barry could've rushed for in a season if he would have had emmitt smith's o-line? i'm leaning towards 2500-2600...don't know about you

Well I also know that women want what they can't have. Play hard to get, don't be rude or anything, but just don't say too much and act like you're better than her, and she'll start to try to get to you. You see? But you really can't give in. You have to act like you don't need her and you could care less if she was around. But at the same time, when she speaks listen, just don't say too much back. It will make you mysterious. Sounds good, eh?

AND I LIKE MY AVATAR. I made it myself, and it is what I want at the moment. My moving one is kept safe on my hard drive, no worries.

WOW thanks val thats something i can work with



Cheers

NXA

I'm not going to flame or attack you on this, but I can see where both sides could debate this easily..."battle of the sexes" as they call it. I really never subscribed to it. I think it has to begin with a choice and end with a drastic change. Yes, as genders there are +/- situatoins, but it doesn't pay to differentiate women from men like we're two completely different races. My advice to you (from a guy's perspective) is do exactly what Valasher says about listening! It's inherent, because it's key. Also, I've found that in the beginning, (this varies person to person) but some like to test you in little ways. It's kind of like test driving a honda or a lincoln continental. Should you break down too quickly, how are you ever going to last? Standing the test of time I think really shows how much a relationship is...and don't always expect women to be the ones who bust you out of your shell, sometimes they have their own shells too, and your honesty is what's important. Yeah its tough, yeah it totally ****en blows, but if anything I think life stands up and tells you flat out anything worth having around or keeping takes maintenance and a lot of fighting....

To valasher - I didn't mean to group you together or insinuate you hate me. I was just venting. I just mean people like you, HomoUniveralis and the like, make me feel at home, like I belong and it gives me a sense of 'home' here. I was just thanking those in particular....

As for 'W.?' I can't wait til later next year...he's not brave..he just signs approvals and pushes the button to make other people do his dirty work...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Solid_Snake
but it doesn't pay to differentiate women from men like we're two completely different races. (Quote)


...FYI....They ARE two completely different races....and that, my friends, is a good thing......

Originally posted by bLindsAge
Originally posted by Solid_Snake
but it doesn't pay to differentiate women from men like we're two completely different races.


...FYI....They ARE two completely different races....and that, my friends, is a good thing......



If they wouldn't be different they would be how can i say this ALL GAY so you are right

Cheers

NXA

Well, actually we aren't two different races. But we do things differently, and think things differently. I'm getting this from two places:

1. A woman's brain hemispheres (left and right) have up to 70% more connections than a man's. But that doesn't make women better, it makes them better at multitasking (and yes, experiments have been done to prove this), better at explaining their emotions, and a little quicker to grow up. But men are much better at focusing all their thoughts at getting a task done, much more logical due to the easiness in which they separate their thoughts from their feelings, and better at being the disciplinarian while the mother is the codependent. Anyway, we need each other.

2. Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. It's a book, and it may or may not be accurate, but I find much of it to be true. A man does not need help in figuring something out until he has exhausted all his resources trying to solve the problem himself, but only then does he want help if he ASKS for it. Women solve problems by talking about it with other women, and help is appreciated more when not asked for. This is just part of the book.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Valasher
[B]Well, actually we aren't two different races. But we do things differently, and think things differently. [QUOTE]

...obviously...but I left it "races" to keep the connection with the previous post.

I believe it is the appreciation of the differences (perspectives, likes, dislikes, etc...) that causes (or allows for) the attachements that we develop. I don't need someone like myself....I spend too much time with me to begin with...

Okey we are two of the same race BUT you state a few differences

now you will have to say things to make up for this mistake because you say 2 different things in one hand you say They aren't different races and then you state differences between them and that men are from mars and women from venus


I can only say to close this thing about men and women cause it started with ME and my venting WE are different and theres nothing to do about that otherwise we couldn't be making kids.

so let's vent out other things otherwise a MOD would close this thing as said by one



Cheers

Blessed be NXA

Well, you might find me misspelling a word or two, but for the most part I never had trouble with it. My dad lost my scrap book, but before he did, I used to look at it over and over. When I was four, I went to a private Christian kindergarten/daycare school in Memphis, TN. I saw sentences I wrote when I was four: Can you hop over your horse? and What goes up when the rain comes down? (an umbrella). But how did I write that and understand it at 4, I'll never know. But I always used phonics without knowing what they were to figure out the spelling. But it just came natural (nah-churr-all).

I would say that if your girlfriends son excells in some things but not in others, that the only thing you can do is help him work on the things he isn't good at. Because it does help to be able to spell properly and to express yourself through writing correctly. But if he excells in the other areas, positive reinforcement is the best thing. There are a bazillion ways to learn just one thing, the job of the teacher is to try one way, and then try another, and another, and another, until they get it.

I tutor a ten year old, and she was having trouble in math. So I've been using money as an example in decimals. She thought that .01 was a larger quantity than .10, because of the hundreths placement of the 1. But then I said, is one cent larger than ten cents? And she got it. Money is the best way to teach math like that, because that's usually where we end up using it as an adult if we don't have a job that requires it (accounting, physics, architecture, woodworking, etc...).

The entire education system is losing it. A lot of teachers come into where I work and I talk with them about how things are going. The parents aren't fulfilling their duties to prepare their children to go to school, and they seem to not care. I also coach high school water polo, and although it's the sport where kids have the highest average GPA in this area, some of the common sense stuff that I've taken for granted since elementary school they just do not know. Even many of my own friends still come to me if they are writing a letter for promotion, or a project proposal or something like that. How they passed high school English, I will never know. I don't want to downplay the importance of Math, Science, or any other subjects, but being able to write a good letter or essay is very important once you get out into the working world. It isn't completely the fault of the parents or the kids or the teachers, it's a combination of the three. Parents should take a more active role when concerning their childrens' education, and teachers should try and find better ways to connect what the students are learning with things that will actually interest them. Unfortunately, I see things getting worse before they'll get any better.

You are absolutely right. All three, the teachers, THE STUDENT, and the parents, need to take responsibilty to have the best possible outcome. Teachers have too many students to give each much attention in whatever the need help in, the students don't want to learn anything except what's the latest fashion, and the parents are too busy at work and trying to juggle all the unnecessary bull**** of life to help thier kids with homework. And the things that are being taught, most parents over the age of 35 never even learned. But you are right about it being each persons responsibility together.

Yeah, what I couldn't really say in my post, you summed up perfectly. It's all about relating the material to the students in ways that will keep them interested. And although some teachers get it working well, many do not. Hopefully we'll be able to stop worrying about the latest things all the time, and become more focused on the future not only for ourselves, but our children and peers as well. Way to put it in the perfect words, Valasher.

Society is going down the pot. The whole world is being drowned in Political Correctness. Think about it. School try to "show" that they are Multi-Culteral . i understand that in some areas, it's good with many races and religions but my school is manily white christians. The point is, they "show" that they are multi-culteral but iof they were, then they would express the cultures of the majorities wouldn't they? nope, only covering the obvious like Easter & christmas. Surely, the majorities would get annoyed by this,.

Political Correctness works in Practise. Be nice to everyone. Everyone is equal. But sadly, this is not the case. People are different, with their own views, and feelings. i agree that people whoud be equal but we are not. the PC people try to satisfy the needs of the few with Asylem seekers getting "rights" that I do not have. I am a member of a mojority group, yet "my" rights are not reconized because I am the member of a majority group. Asylem seekers get free cable, free acomadation, free transport yet I do not get this. Everyone is trying to please everyone yet this is impossible becasue everyone has differing views. School stop filming of childrens natvity plays because SOME parents don't want there childrens filmed. Yet some do, so there is no way to please everyone without annoying others.

some more later.....it's late :)

So more acceptance and less free stuff for minorities? Is that what you want?

Originally posted by Ragnarpk 88
Society is going down the pot. The whole world is being drowned in Political Correctness. Think about it. School try to "show" that they are Multi-Culteral . i understand that in some areas, it's good with many races and religions but my school is manily white christians. The point is, they "show" that they are multi-culteral but iof they were, then they would express the cultures of the majorities wouldn't they? nope, only covering the obvious like Easter & christmas. Surely, the majorities would get annoyed by this,.



Man believe me i'm with you on this. I was brought up at a school where the majority aren't any religion really but Christianity was the only thing taught. It's a type of cultural conditioning that helps to alienate white people from other races and i think it's one of the most disgusting things i can imagine.

I've ranted a lot about this. It's basically to keep the sheep dumb i'm sure of it. I'd love to know how different my life would of turned out (i'm 24) if i had of learnt about Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism etc in school, or at least had the OPPORTUNITY to do this.

I've been getting more and more wound up as i've wrote this, i think that some of the so called 'politicians' should take instant steps to do something about this, it can never be said in words how important it is just have that opportunity. The ability to let a kid decide for themselves, to have a choice.

(calms down)

Originally posted by Eon dreamhacker
Man believe me i'm with you on this. I was brought up at a school where the majority aren't any religion really but Christianity was the only thing taught. It's a type of cultural conditioning that helps to alienate white people from other races and i think it's one of the most disgusting things i can imagine.

I've ranted a lot about this. It's basically to keep the sheep dumb i'm sure of it. I'd love to know how different my life would of turned out (i'm 24) if i had of learnt about Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism etc in school, or at least had the OPPORTUNITY to do this.

I've been getting more and more wound up as i've wrote this, i think that some of the so called 'politicians' should take instant steps to do something about this, it can never be said in words how important it is just have that opportunity. The ability to let a kid decide for themselves, to have a choice.

(calms down)

Hahaha...trying to get politicians to do anything about the current situation is like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall. You can hammer away and hammer away and hammer away, but it's just not gonna happen, like telling a certain someone not to spam, but that's another story altogether. There are levels of corruption so high in US government, I don't even wanna know what actually goes on. I figure, realistically, I probably won't be successful to the extent where I'd actually need to worry about this stuff, so I just carry on. Not oblivious, but not really concerned either, as there's nothing I can do personally to change things. I was afforded the choice to make my own decisions, and I am thankful for that. However, I don't think that it's everyone's cup of tea. Will my kids have this choice? Most likely, as I'm still in the process of making up my own mind, and I'm currently about to begin reading into Buddhism a little bit, just to see what it's like. Great to see other people's point of view on this matter as well. Thanks for commenting everyone.

well this is interesting stuff to say the least.

just tried to read through everything and although I don't have anything to vent off, i'm just responding to certain posts.

Val,
weight thing.....just don't eat whatever to gain weight.....after all .....u are what u eat. So try to get in the "food pyramid" and daily recommendations...hehe. I'm just health conscious. (And why ppl smoke.......i'll never get....sorry).
Also....i like your insights on the whole understaning women issue. I personally think that MOST of the women want that whole "prince charming"..... come take me away on a horse to a nice castle. Nothing wrong w/ that....but life is not so pretty always and so I have no respect for or take interest in materialistic women.

And ya....what's up w/ the ppl leaving MM? I guess some ppl have been on it too long.

I guess Solid_snake...and to others who might feel that they are not being "accepted". I think its just amusing how some ppl catch feelings and/or get emotional on forums sites like these. Its just a community of thoughts and ideas shared by others, so don't take it personally. As I'm already out of college, I still take into account that some of the posts here are by a younger age group as some of them have absolutely no thought process behind them........lol.

On to the school/culture/religion. Eon...dpd.....good thoughts.
Coming from a different country and culture (one of eastern and not to be so specific) and then starting a whole new way of life from grade school in US has definitely opened up mind early on. I'm glad to be have brought up in such a way whereby my thinking is not so ignorant for a lack of better word.

I think religion is important but not as important as the case is with our world now where there are global conflicts in which human life is of no value. I thought the schools I attended were not bad in terms of the culture issues and I went to a predominantly Caucasian school.

(Well i guess I will vent off a bit :p)
On a final thought on all this.....its quite amazing how much ppl concentrate on religion/God and have world wars over it when there is no substantial proof/existence of such force. Now science doesn't explain everything but our world and physcial way of life is based upon it.

(Just as how the word "mankind" has evolved to generalize both genders, i use it in the same manner here.)

IMO:
It's easy for a man to live a good life based on knowing that he will be rewarded for it in the "afterlife" or "heaven" if you will. But it takes even a greater man to live such a life knowing that he may not get anything in return and will become part of the universal dust.

And I end with a quote from another great movie:
"Every man dies, not every man really lives" --Braveheart

Hate to spoil your fun.. But theres already a thread for this... It's called "Anything"...

Jetfire, Everything that has a beginning has an end.

Yes, but this is MY anything thread.

Supaman, it seems to open the mind a bit more when you are exposed to such differences at a younger age. The way your childhood is (provided it wasn't terrible) is how you feel comforable later in life, I'm thinking.

Originally posted by Jetfire
Hate to spoil your fun.. But theres already a thread for this... It's called "Anything"...


but this thread is much more intelligent, don't you think? ;)

Whats that supposed to mean Valasher? I suppose your right Smith_Fan... But an "Anything goes thread" can't be intelligent.. It's anything.. The topics change every 2 or 3 minutes usually.. lol :D But if you meant the posts are better, longer and of a higher quality... Then I agree 100%.

Originally posted by supaman
I'm glad to be have brought up in such a way whereby my thinking is not so ignorant for a lack of better word.

Unfortunately, I can't think of a better word either. I'm pretty ignorant myself, but I just say, at least I realize it and I'm consciously working to change that.

I thought the schools I attended were not bad in terms of the culture issues and I went to a predominantly Caucasian school.

I don't want to be an ass, but was it predominantly Caucasian or white? I happen to think there's a difference, but that's just my opinion.

its quite amazing how much ppl concentrate on religion/God and have world wars over it when there is no substantial proof/existence of such force. Now science doesn't explain everything but our world and physcial way of life is based upon it.

Granted that I don't know the whole story, or claim to, but many of these religious wars seem hyprocritical to me. Many religions place importance on not only acceptance of their chosen God, but on the acceptance of their fellow man(kind). To fight someone because of conflicting opinions is somewhat senseless to me, but apparently enough people see it as a reason. We can't just accept that people differ in a great deal of things, and that these differences could be expected, and that they are not necessarily bad things? Unfortunate, to say the least.

IMO:
But it takes even a greater man to live such a life knowing that he may not get anything in return and will become part of the universal dust.

I try to do that, and it is difficult, but no one said that life would be easy. However, I don't claim to be a great man. I actually don't see myself as a good person at all, just one human being trying to understand the world and people around me. If, in the opinion of enough people, I am regarded as a good man, then I guess I've acted in accordance with what they define "good" as. Does is really make me a good person though? That's what I've been wondering lately.

And I end with a quote from another great movie:
"Every man dies, not every man really lives" --Braveheart

Great quote, better movie. I enjoyed reading and thinking about your responses, thank you for posting.

Originally posted by Terikan in the Questions and Support section. (http://www.matrixmania.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9292)

No, we shouldn't. That's like telling people to be nice to thieves, murderers, rapists, or terrorists. I'm sure this bozo tried this to everyone who posted in that thread, and I'm sure he tried it on mine, but he's just a talentless loser who got lucky. End of story. I'm not a nice person. If I had wealth I would simply commit my life to visiting people like this in real life.

He's what's wrong with the world. Ignorant, immature, and immoral. I can think of no worse qualities someone can possess all at the same time. Yet these people virtually fill up the world. What you see when you talk to most people is a blatant lie. I talk to a lot of people in my line of work. I'd say at least 75% of them lie to me at least once during my conversation with them.

Not to rant about my job, but I've learned a lot about people. How completely stupid they are almost all of the time. Their inability to follow simple instructions without several repetitions. The lack of any ability to take responsibility for their actions. The way people will grasp for control in any place they can get it, because they don't know how to exert it over their own life.

This is most people. They don't care about others, only about fulfilling whatever urge happens to hit them that very moment. It's their world, and they are the star of the grand production. Step aside fellow man, I'm comin' through!

Yeah, screw this guy, him and his overpopulated group of viruses.

I read this and had to put it up in the Lounge, as everyone may not frequent the Questions and Support section. Wonderfully put, Terikan. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that things will be changing anytime soon.

Note: Italicized portions are to denote high merit.

DPD caucasian is just another term for white.

As for what some of you are saying about our school systems (i'm assuming that we're talking about American here) i would have to agree and dissagree. I am a sophomore in high school. I live in a pretty rich town in Massachusetts and we're supposed to have an amazing educational system.

1) intelligent kids- These kids are smart and clever. They adapt well to situations, are very intuitive, and have lots of common sense. They aren't always bound to the system and find ways to voice their opinions. Like me, they are able to do 15 minutes of homework a night and still get straight A's simply because most of the work given in schools nowadays is common sense and if you have good writing skills and organiziation (mentally and physically) it makes life alot easier.

2) the hard workers- These kids are quite dumb. If you left them in the middle of the city with 20 bucks, instead of getting a cab to get home they would probably buy lunch and then eventually be shot by some druggie guy who thought you were trying to steal his weed. These kids put in 2-4 hours of homework every night, essentially relearning everything that they where taught during the day in an attempt to keep it all stored in their heads. They get positive aid from their parents and teachers and while they may not be that bright, they eventually get the grades.

3) the slackers- These kids just don't put effort into anything. Ussually coming from an extremely rich family they rely on money to get them through life. the don't put any effort into anything. All that they care about is when the next videogame comes out or if their new shirt makes them look fat. These people will eventually find themselves quite screwed in life...once the money runs out.

As far as athletics go, i find that it is the smart, intuitive kids who dominate most sports. The hardworkers dont have time, and the slackers are too lazy. Also, it seems that many people don't realize how much your mind gets involved in games. I'm 6'1'' 155 lbs and participate in a physical activity atleast 6 times a week for a few hours, but if my mind wasn't able to keep up i might as well be 4'8'' 210 lbs. On night's when im tired i simply don't perform as well as when i have energy.

Most of my teachers are pretty smart. They find diverse ways to teach us the curriculum and can keep us in a positive learning environment. These classes are usually a bit harder but most students leave with a smile on their faces. Then there are the lazy teachers. I think that these people should seriously be ashamed of themselves. I live in a very competitive world where i am expected to get into a good university. I find it extremely hard to do so when my teacher is a fat 30 year old man who tells the class to sit down, shut up, and do the work assigned on the blackboard (lucky these teachers dont usually last long) but the way that a teacher composes him or herself really affects the way that students learn. I think that subconsciously if you like the teacher then you aspire to be more like him or her and as a result you absorb more information.

My parents are two of the smartest people i know. PhD's in law and engineering. They were straight A students all through school and graduated at the top of the class. They are always riding my back about grades. They arent strict, i have no curfew, i can drive anywhere i want, and they don't bother me about my personal life. Hell, they dont even really mind if i come home smashed, as long as they know that i wasnt driving. But when it comes to grades they really pick up the slack. One grade bellow a B equals a night of hell at my house, even if its just a quiz. I usually wind up saying that i hate them and i cant wait to get the sh*t out of the house and leave them forever but in the end i guess its positive in the end. they just want whats best for me

to be honest i have absolutely no clue as to what this post has to do with anything but i just felt like venting and i guess that that is what this thread is all about :) thanks guys

I am the first kind of student you mentioned neuro. And I tutor a girl who is half the second and half the third.

I think if you get Hell over a B that you're parents are a little freakish, but yes they want what's best for you. They're lucky to have such a bright kid.

And you can't equate money to how lazy or motivated people are. There are lazy rich people and lazy poor people. And there are also shades of grey...

thanks val, i think that most people here are generally in the first category. the matrix definitely isn't for the weak of mind!
As for my parents...i dont know...they are really freakish about grades but they give me more freedom than my friends so i guess it balances out in the end.

as far as lazy rich people and motived rich people go i see where you're coming from. its just that coming from a rich town i get quite a few snobbish people who think that the family wealth will get them through life.. i guess that its their loss in the end

The safest route I guess is to be happy with the people around you not the things around you. I find this hard as an artist. No, I don't paint or draw much anymore, but when I look at the world I try to see the beauty in things. But things don't matter, they are just something to pass the time. I guess the same could be said for people. What other reason would we have to conform other than human interaction? And what's so great about it? I don't know, but I know that it is crucial to development. If you have a baby and don't spend any time with it, it will never learn and the brain mass relatively stays the same. But things are something to be manipulated and to appreciate too, so long as it isn't the only appreciation you show. I finally realize what being an artist is now in life, rather than earlier. A work of art doesn't have to be a painting, it can be the way you arrange your furniture, or the way you display the things you love. Or, it could be your taste in objects. Either way, when you feel the need to create and do, that in itself can make you happy. I think the people who are inactive are also unhappy, they just don't know any better. And yes, people with money can be snobbish. That's true. But we have had friends with more money than us who treat their things like crap and don't decorate their house, and they come to our house and say, "Wow, how did you get all this nice stuff?" and it's really just that we take care of our stuff and make the most out of what we have. We literally never have any money, lol. Do you see what I'm trying to say?

I must agree, education is going down the toilet nowadays. However, from my experience, I believe that part of the problem is not only responsibilities of the teachers, student, and parents, but funding for education. Where I live, it seems that the school is always getting budget cutbacks.

These budget cutbacks are evident in many ways. The first, and undoubtedly the most noticeable, is overpopulation. Our school has around 2,500 students and 115 teachers/faculty/security. The school was built to accomodate something like 1500 students, back in the 1960's. Classes are enormous - my smallest class having about 24 students. My other classes have nearly 30, and my band class has 125 students (Yes, 125 students, in one large room, with no air conditioning or windows). The hallways are obstacle courses, and they had to extend passing times between classes to 10 minutes because of this. They also took money from the band/orchestra, so we are bombarded on a monthly basis with fund raisers for the band. There are also several other financial problems, which I don't feel like going into at the moment.

Recently, there was a vote held about building another high school. It was denied, of course, because people didn't want their taxes increased. On top of this, the student population of my school is projected to reach 2,800 next year.

One more thing I would like to vent about though is gym class. This goes back to money for education... Thousands of dollars are spent on gym equipment and maitenance, etc. each year in schools. Now, don't get me wrong, Gym is a fun class and I do enjoy it, but sports have no place within a public school. Perhaps in private schools, but not public schools. If gym was cut out, this money could go to bigger and better things. There is simply no reason to have gym. There is a very, VERY rare chance that one child may grow up to make something of himself with sports. However, this miniscule chance does not justify throwing money out the window. Going to gym class for 45 minutes or so for one semester is not going to get you in shape either, or make you a much better athlete. I've yet to find one concrete perk to having gym class, other than allowing kids to have a very expensive free period (which again, I don't mind much... it's just my common sense speaking here). Nobody cares about sports after high school. I could care less if you were the star quarterback for your high school. Unless you're one of the few lucky people in this world, you being the star high school quarterback is not going to bring home a pay check when you're older. So why then, do we waste so much money on gym?

i'm very down right now and i'm under alot of stress because next week i have mid-term tests to worry about plus the fact i might not pass some of my classes (and in the case of my parents that is not a good thing for my health *or my hopes of doing anything fun over summer vacation*)
plus another chat board i go to is down and i dont know if it will be back online (but i seriously doubt anybody even cares i'm only doing this to vent off som steam)
since i doubt anybody is even reading these i'll just speak my mind: i hate everybody at my school exept my friends(which is almoast everybody in band and chior) because the other people i have to listen to are these "gangstaz" that openly brag about who smoked the largest joint at lunch, or what pisses me off the moast in my art class there is one of the moast beautiful girls in the school who also openly discusses drug use and whow many times she made out last year. plus usualy i want to be left alone (i'm not a goth i'm just comfortable being alone) but that can't happen because the other kids that i can't stand (granted i tollerate ALOT of people) fell as if they should talk to me as if i'm thier best friend and they like to comment on my stuff giving me empty complements like "that's pimp fool" whin i know that they are only doing it because they are board and want to see what i would brag about just so later on they could use it to insult me later on.
i realize i am taking up too much room on this thread so i guess i'll leave it from there (i'm done venting anyway) thank for ignoring this post so far

Originally posted by Valasher
The safest route I guess is to be happy with the people around you not the things around you. I find this hard as an artist. No, I don't paint or draw much anymore, but when I look at the world I try to see the beauty in things. But things don't matter, they are just something to pass the time. I guess the same could be said for people. What other reason would we have to conform other than human interaction? And what's so great about it? I don't know, but I know that it is crucial to development. If you have a baby and don't spend any time with it, it will never learn and the brain mass relatively stays the same. But things are something to be manipulated and to appreciate too, so long as it isn't the only appreciation you show. I finally realize what being an artist is now in life, rather than earlier. A work of art doesn't have to be a painting, it can be the way you arrange your furniture, or the way you display the things you love. Or, it could be your taste in objects. Either way, when you feel the need to create and do, that in itself can make you happy. I think the people who are inactive are also unhappy, they just don't know any better. And yes, people with money can be snobbish. That's true. But we have had friends with more money than us who treat their things like crap and don't decorate their house, and they come to our house and say, "Wow, how did you get all this nice stuff?" and it's really just that we take care of our stuff and make the most out of what we have. We literally never have any money, lol. Do you see what I'm trying to say?

yeah, i get it :)

Originally posted by Deus Ex Machina
i'm very down right now and i'm under alot of stress because next week i have mid-term tests to worry about plus the fact i might not pass some of my classes (and in the case of my parents that is not a good thing for my health *or my hopes of doing anything fun over summer vacation*)
plus another chat board i go to is down and i dont know if it will be back online (but i seriously doubt anybody even cares i'm only doing this to vent off som steam)
since i doubt anybody is even reading these i'll just speak my mind: i hate everybody at my school exept my friends(which is almoast everybody in band and chior) because the other people i have to listen to are these "gangstaz" that openly brag about who smoked the largest joint at lunch, or what pisses me off the moast in my art class there is one of the moast beautiful girls in the school who also openly discusses drug use and whow many times she made out last year. plus usualy i want to be left alone (i'm not a goth i'm just comfortable being alone) but that can't happen because the other kids that i can't stand (granted i tollerate ALOT of people) fell as if they should talk to me as if i'm thier best friend and they like to comment on my stuff giving me empty complements like "that's pimp fool" whin i know that they are only doing it because they are board and want to see what i would brag about just so later on they could use it to insult me later on.
i realize i am taking up too much room on this thread so i guess i'll leave it from there (i'm done venting anyway) thank for ignoring this post so far

dude its all good :) people are just *******s sometimes, but theres really nothing you can do about it. Just play along a little you know? shoot the breeze and then whenever you can...do your own thing. Do you have a bestfriend, or a girlfriend? they really take up alot of your positive time and youll find yourself happy and comfortable alot of the time. Dont try and be something youre not. instead, try and let people accept you for who you are. and if they dont like it then go kung fu on their asses :) and theres always the chat boards too

hey thanks i fell beter now (i took out my anger/depression whilst drawing and listining to cool music)
but again i;m just tired of everybody i see everyday. that doesent count anybody on this chat board i atleast can have an intelligent conversation with you.

On Caucasian being another term for white. In most dictionaries Caucasian refers to people whose ancestry is from the region of the Caucasus Region, which includes Armenia, Azerbijan, Georgia, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the surrouding area. My lineage is not from this area, so I consider myself white. I don't see it fit that I label myself as something that I'm not. Caucasian seems to be the term which has been adapted as a form of political correctness. If I am wrong someone please correct me.

I live in a pretty rich town in Massachusetts and we're supposed to have an amazing educational system.
Consider yourself very lucky then. I'm glad you are receiving the opportunity to be given a good education, rather than having to earn one.

3) the slackers- These kids just don't put effort into anything. Ussually coming from an extremely rich family they rely on money to get them through life. the don't put any effort into anything. All that they care about is when the next videogame comes out or if their new shirt makes them look fat. These people will eventually find themselves quite screwed in life...once the money runs out.
Now I fit into this category, but not completely as you describe it. You're point of view is based on the affluent community from which you are derived. A slacker can also be described as someone who has awesome potential but does not apply themself (me). I was in an accelerated learning program when I was younger and constantly pushed by my parents. I was also constantly compared to my older sister who was a straight "A" student and graduated from UC Berkeley. This was too much for me and the constant pushing made me aloof, and not wanting to be the smart kid anymore. Now I was like group 1, doing 15 minutes of homework a night and still pulling a 3.5 GPA, but I could have gotten a 4.0 with proper application of my skills. And of course, labeling someone a slacker depends on a certian set of standards that differ from person to person. Also, money is only as important as you make it in life. Living by necessity is something I've grown up with, so this is clearly an area where I must differ with you.

As far as athletics go, i find that it is the smart, intuitive kids who dominate most sports. The hardworkers dont have time, and the slackers are too lazy...On night's when im tired i simply don't perform as well as when i have energy.

Actually where I live, the smart, intuitive kids aren't always the most successful ones in sports, so I guess that must depend on demographics and where you come from. Here, there are kids from all three of those categories that find ways to excel in athletics. Especially in inner-city schools, where the main concern with many of the best athletes is that their grades are high enough to avoid academic probation and be able to play on the team. I'm not going to say I dominated, but as someone who was undersized in an area where I played some very good water polo players who are now have Division I scholarships, 2 years of being an All-League selection against some of these players isn't bad.

Then there are the lazy teachers. I think that these people should seriously be ashamed of themselves. I live in a very competitive world where i am expected to get into a good university.

As a high school coach, I often communicate with some of these so-called lazy teachers, and had some of them myself as a student. It isn't that they are lazy people, it's that the kids in the area don't care. Once again, I have personal experience with this. With students being constantly and blatantly disrespectful, it begins to eat away at one's soul, and I don't blame them for just doing enough to get their paychecks. The students who really want to learn the material will, and those who don't will not. The students help make the teacher just like the teachers help improve the students. Teachers like that may not last long in your area, but actually that's preparing you for college. You often get a professor who doesn't even show up to class because he's out researching. The TA, who is a grad student working on their masters comes in, gives you an assignment, and tells you to do it. I'm not saying that teachers shouldn't actually teach in high school, the ones that did were definitely more beneficial to me than the ones who forced us to learn the material on our own. However, as a student you should be prepared for both, as everyone's teaching methods differ.

My parents are two of the smartest people i know. PhD's in law and engineering. They were straight A students all through school and graduated at the top of the class. They are always riding my back about grades. They arent strict, i have no curfew, i can drive anywhere i want, and they don't bother me about my personal life. Hell, they dont even really mind if i come home smashed, as long as they know that i wasnt driving.

You are lucky to have such successful parents. Not jealous, I'm just saying that not everyone's parents are more educated than their children throughout their child's high school and college life. Now from what you wrote earlier about athletics, I'm assuming that you're an athlete. I don't really care whether you come home smashed or not, or that your parents don't really mind either. But, if you do that during the season(s) of the sport(s) you play, you are not necessarily placing yourself into that top category. By placing drugs (anything other than food that affects the way your mind and body work) into yourself during a season, you are limiting your athletic potential and thus putting yourself and/or your team in a lesser position to win and succeed. I know most schools (at least locally) require students to sign something saying that they will be drug and alcohol free throughout the season. If you get smashed during the season, you are also violating what is basically a contract that you signed as well as letting down your team.

Please do not take this as a personal attack, and I realize that you said you didn't necessarily know what relevance had pertaining to the thread. I do not mean to attack you, but rather point out some things for future reference, outside of your current experiences. What you posted helped me learn a little more as well, and I hope that's what this post is giving you.

ThereIsNoMatrix:

I understand this as in high school I was part of a student body of 2400 crammed into a school built for 1300 students. Average class sizes were 35, which was also the maximum class size, and the smallest class I was ever in was 28 students (AP Calculus my senior year). I agree that there is a major lack of funding and the county I live in is in debt right now. Guess where they are cutting costs? That's right, the education system.

I can't relate with regard to the gym class. Sports teach teamwork and communication, which are both invaluable in the workplace. Also, youth obesity is at an all-time high in the nation right now. Gym class in school, at least to some extent, promotes physical activity. As for sports having no place in public schools, that is absolutely preposterous. Just because a private school is funded by donations and tuition from students' parents does not mean their children should be the only ones that get to play sports. Public school students should have the same opportunity to play sports as private school students. To deny them that opportunity would be to discriminate based on their economic status. If no one cares about sports after high school, are you saying that there shouldn't be sports in publically funded colleges and universities as well. Some of the people and teammates kids have become lifetime friends, and they are getting exercise and, if they are being coached correctly, are learning healthy living techniques as well to keep themselves in shape, which can be applied throughout their lifetimes.

Deus Ex Machina, yes I know how it feels to be alone all the time. Books really help, because that way you're never bored and you have something to 1. Draw your mind away from being alone and 2. You don't look stupid being alone if you're reading a book. So don't worry about highschool, pretty soon it will all be over and the intelligent people have more fun in adulthood. Trust me...

BiggStankDogg, That was beautiful. I love the way you worded it, it felt like watching an episode of the Sopranos, I was just drawn into that world. It is hard to get away with any schemes involving others, because it's only a very small percentage of people who have the... street smarts to know to keep their mouth shut. "Who's the rat?!" You know, people don't know how to keep thier mouths shut. Anyway, it reminded me of the mafia, but we've got our own schemes going.

We have walked out with hundreds of yards of fabric as a 'baby blanket' from a store in small doses, like whenever I need fabric for curtains or to recover something. And with books when we look like such a normal and nice couple at the store. It has to be done in small doses, and with a kid, you can just say, "OH my god, I was going to pay for that, but I'm just so tired running after this kid all day, I totally didn't notice that I forgot to pay..." etcetera...

Since I wrote my last post in haste, let me rephrase what I said about gym...

Once again, I like gym class... It's just that I see it as expendable. It's true that obesity is a big problem, but in my opinion, gym does little to promote physical activity (outside of class, that is). The 45 minutes of gym one does a day, for 4 months, is not going to make much of a difference itself. Although SOME may begin exercising due to taking the class, I have yet to see many people do this. Even so, if this is the only reason for gym, then it can easily be cut from the budget along with those new textbooks and computers.

Disregard what I said about not having gym in public schools, yet still allowing it in private schools. I wrote before I thought there :). As for sports in college - This I don't really mind, as many people care about college sports. However, it's not a big deal if "Jane Vernon Central High School" won the SmallTown Area High School Football Championship. No one really cares...

My school is big on sports. There's got to be a lot of cash going into maintaining the equipment - showers, locker rooms, basketball courts, football stadiums, exercise equipment, etc... Teamwork and communication can be achieved in other ways. Kids screw off in gym most of the time anyways... Why should we stop at gym? Why not a class devoted to playing video games? Or a class devoted to watching Simpsons episodes? It does no more good than screwing around for an entire class period in a nice, big gym. There's other places for sports - there's several organizations outside of school in my little town to play football, baseball, and any other sport you can think of.

Another thing that irritates me is when these kids that play on the teams get released early from school. They get to go play baseball or run around a track field while I get to sit there in class. I play guitar outside of school, yet I don't get excused to go play some Ozzy tunes. I also play baseball in an organization outside of school, yet I still don't get excused early. Meanwhile, they're throwing a football as I'm trying to pay attention to the English Sub who subbed for our Algebra teacher last week, and Chemistry teacher the week before.

Ah well, I'm done complaining for one day. By the way DPD, excellent signature!

I'm pretty sure it's federal law that PE is one of the classes required to be taken in high school by the Federal Government. Not that the Fed had their sh*t together, but schools have to do what they say. Where I went to school gym wasn't really serious, but I played basketball or whatever I could to stay active. If staying fit is stressed within the household of the students, they would be more likely to participate in gym. Also, there are classes like weight training that not only football players take where kids are motivated to get into shape.

One reason why players are released from school early is because the games are often as overused facilities and that's the only time they can play. Also, if JV and Varsity girls and boys all have games to play, it's nice to get the kids home before, say, 9pm. Of course, it may be different where you live, but I'm in an urban/suburban setting with very little school funding, low parental involvement, and that often uses community facilities as game sites. Also, even though they do get out of class early, athletes are responsible for all coursework that they miss due to ahtletic competition. I know there are exceptions made to this rule, but from my experience, this has always been expected of myself and the students that I coach.

The parents of the children care about athletes, whether it be their love for the sport, notalgia, or a myriad of other reasons. Many people like to see the game at the high school level, because there is rampant corruption at the professional levels, and unfortunately, in the college game as well. High school sports are more "pure" in this sense, and although the level of play may not be as high, there's something to be said for getting to see the game played in it's purest essence. There are people in some areas that care very much about high school sports, and I guess it just depends on where you are at. I don't agree with doing away with the system, but I'd definitely say it needs revamping. Good points and insight, thanks for the comment on my sig.

*DPD*

Aye, revamping the system would be good too. And seeing how it is federal law to include PE, there's not much you can do about it. I just find it interesting how certain areas of schools which are more important would get budget cutbacks, yet all this money is spent on gym. Ah well, this is just how I feel about it... then again, what do I know :D.

Time for me to go watch some Simpsons episodes...

ThereIsNoMatrix, I once had a half an hour walk to the bus stop (during a breif period going to a new highschool for about three months), and at first it was killing me to walk for a half hour there and a half hour back every day. But I kept my headphones on and did it anyway, and after about two and a half weeks of doing it, I suddenly had way more energy and felt like a kid again. So maybe if the kid is active the entire P.E. period, then it would do their body good. And I always hated P.E. and sports, but I do like exercise now.

Nice replies everyone!!

So lot of elements come in to play with all these things, and I think generally the community and government try to keep everyone happy........and that's why they have town meetings.

ThereIsNoMatrix,
I understand your reasoning, but we defnintely need extra curricular activities and PE in the schools. As the development of mind is important so is the body's. And u already covered the obesity levels in US. And just as mentioned before, physical activities can also sharpen the mind. So why haven't u joined some afterschool music program (or maybe even start your own club) and then u can also get to skip school early sometimes ;).
(Considering your situation allows u to). (BTW....if u can't take care of yourself....how can u take care of others....keeping yourself healthy and fit is just as importan and there should be a balance of body and mind....lol.....damn....sound like a monk.)

DeusEx,
I can understand your frustrations, as me and my cousins didn't exactly fit in with everyone due to our ethnicity. And peer pressure is defenitely a big factor around those times. But u should get to pick your friends based on how u are and vice versa. So if u don't like some company....brush it off like Nuero said....and then do your own things as well. Be positive buddy!!

BSD........whoa!!! haha.....yes....nicely put. Maybe u can write episodes for sopranos or similar shows like that. Understand your competition needs, but I hope u're the better for it from your ordeal. And its good that u're keeping it in perpective (flaming as opposed to getting in ppls faces). Cuz all it takes is to be ignorant in the wrong place at the wrong time........and then u get what u asked for....lol. Keep it on the safe side ;).

I'm back and this is what I said b4 and my contiuation...

Society is going down the pot. The whole world is being drowned in Political Correctness. Think about it. School try to "show" that they are Multi-Culteral . i understand that in some areas, it's good with many races and religions but my school is manily white christians. The point is, they "show" that they are multi-culteral but iof they were, then they would express the cultures of the majorities wouldn't they? nope, only covering the obvious like Easter & christmas. Surely, the majorities would get annoyed by this,.

Political Correctness works in Practise. Be nice to everyone. Everyone is equal. But sadly, this is not the case. People are different, with their own views, and feelings. i agree that people whoud be equal but we are not. the PC people try to satisfy the needs of the few with Asylem seekers getting "rights" that I do not have. I am a member of a mojority group, yet "my" rights are not reconized because I am the member of a majority group. Asylem seekers get free cable, free acomadation, free transport yet I do not get this. Everyone is trying to please everyone yet this is impossible becasue everyone has differing views. School stop filming of childrens natvity plays because SOME parents don't want there childrens filmed. Yet some do, so there is no way to please everyone without annoying others.

Yet, i do not mean that we should remove the stuff we give to the asylem seekers, I just feel that the European Court Of Human Rights should make it's mind up. At the moment, non-workers and criminals get there rights reconized while the defense systems like police are not. i just feel that they should swap it aroun otherwise Anachry will spread. Asylem seekers should be covered logically rather than slowly. If sum1 from Congo comke here, we should not give them 12 months to find out they are lying we should sort in a week. i understand that congo is a "bad" country yet if they wanted to escape persecution they would go to the net safe country like Nigeria or sumthing. Not England, a good million miles away. They come here cause they get all the free stuff. If we didn't offer it, only the real persecuted people would come. Then we'll be sorted I feel.

PC is drowning the world. If the school didn't show other religions then a PC person would say that it wasn't repersenting them enough. Someone will complain becasue that is human nature, to moan about something , and if compensation is included we'll definitly argue. Why not show them all equally? Surporting them differently and treating people differently becasue they are different is simply drawing the different races apart. It also destroys the equallity of PC that it promotes becasue it isn't equal.

And this is where our version of PC falls down. If it treated people the same, then someone would complain., becasue people complain. A relgious minority would feel that they are not being surported enough. And so PC focuses it's energies on that minority making sure they are happy, until another complains and they'll help that one. It'll never end.

Except the majorities, (usualy white ppl) do not get repersented becasue they are the majority. They're voice is not heard, so perhaps it is no wonder that gand crimes (especially in white predominant areas) is up. They teens need a voice and now one cares.

Okay....I've done a essay about this. I'll post that up another day.

Supaman- Hey no harm done, it's best phrased that way because the last time I read that post, I almost had to laugh out loud at my insecurity. Like I said before...sometimes it gets the better of me. I suppose in a very general sense, it is my desire to know more than a handful of people personally as they know me or I them. The thought entices me to a level that I wish to know: "Is everyone out there really like me? Do they even feel what I do, or perhaps even think the same way?"

I think perhaps some people feel that way because they:

A) Can't see my face or hear my voice, so maybe on a cold computer screen that eminates a common interest on a board, you may be accepted, and everybody will talk to you like it's an old episode of cheers...everybody knows your screen name...so to speak

B) Hope to be accepted, because being in that zone feels very delightful inside. It's almost like getting a pure natural high. Maybe someone can relate to the level of the boy or girl someone liked in high school that they finally got to dance with.

On to the PC topic...

Man, if only I had $100.00 for every time someone has brought up this topic here where I'm at. It never ends, someone has to bring it up to being a thing that works "in theory." I can honestly say that there are just a few things that annoy me about it...
The idea that our nationalities come first before our title as "Americans." I don't mean any disrespect on race, ethnicity, or background, but why does where we're from put such a heavier burden on the country I live in or serve? It seems to almost border on "Ew...I'm american...let's put that last..." If everyone wanted to play that hardball, then maybe we should just drop the American and keep our nationalities first, let the country just be a passing ground, because in all rights the only ones deserving of a title of "American" got packed in little ****ty ground spaces called "Reserves."
I also dislike when groups that gather because of common belief or feeling get together and stop a town from decorating for christmas. Yes, I understand there is a huge melting pot that is our culture of America, but these groups seem to target areas that have never had a problem, but one person does and then its Armeggedon for the 10 gauge PVC baby jesus. I mean, I guess the question comes down to it: What ever happened to sepparation of church and state? More importantly, I noticed a trend that people seem less and less patriotic... I'm reminded of a current affair going on in the states that a man factored out of the mormon church because he believed in polygamy, was ordered by the court not to teach that belief to his daughter. The man is now making appeals to stop that. I mean, honestly, what a mess...Next thing we'll have a government that segregates us and puts us in cages of states because we all believe so differently...

I just hate the way some voices are so silenced in this country...thsi is the part where the music goes "Dun dun DUNT" from reading rainbow and I reccommend some books :D

Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen

Who Built America: Working People and the Nation's Economy, Politics, Culture, and Society by by Nelson Lichtenstein (Editor), Susan Strasser, Roy Rosenzweig (Editor), Stephen Brier (Editor), Joshua Brown

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn (Author).

so here goes: dun dun Dunt!

Ah yes, the frustrations of feeling like an outcast...I know these all too well. The college I attend I absolutely loathe. We have some faculty that are so inured to the fact they are going to lose their job if they open their mouth, they say the dumbest things. If you're not an absolute thin and smiling person, you're the brick of meat no one wants to touch at the christmas party...
I think people wake up and realize past high school, the B.S. doesn't end...when you get a job or go elsewhere, it carries on to greater lengths. You have the jocks, the preps, the dock martins, the greasers, the everything...whatever profiled catagory you remember hearing in your classroom. It doesn't stop, and that's the worst bottom line I can think of.

...But I don't believe its the absolute end. Deus Ex, try channeling your negative energy into a positive one. I know that sounds like an absolute bull**** answer from one of the faculty or friends you hate, but its too true. Do something creative with it, because if you don't you'll end up like the dark lord of mordor...a lidless eye that watches and wants to coat the world in darkness...I've been there and its not a fun experience, your mind torments you with thoughts you never thought capable of your being. Something that even Rockstar wouldn't put in their GTA games.

Failing? That seems to be all I'm good at in college. Parents? God damn it, I hate (i'm not using this lightly either) those parents that think they ****ed up their lives because they never ended up going to college, so their son or daughter will absolutely not fail because it is their job to pick up where they left off. And you can see these people all the time...all they talk about is what classes their taking, their GPA or how many credits they have...ask them the content or quality of what they're learning and I guarantee you'll get a blank stare in return. I've been sittin in this ******* college for a damn long time before it hit me hard. My father is just like this, he's to blame. He did what he wanted to (getting back to the content issue at hand) and then he quit doing what he wanted to do because he thought I'd settle for his passion and not go to college, because college is everything, right? So what does he ask me about?

So How's School going son?

-"Not so bad dad, why do you ask?"

Well i was talking to so and so about their fine young strapping *insert compliment here* and I realized that you're completely lazy, and you've slacked off *insert mind numbing rhetoric about grades and GPA and credits being all that matters in life.* And then...*insert where he's footing a little bit of the bill while you're hashing out all the hours at work you can to stay above the financial aid waters...*

-"Dad, I really wish you'd talk to me more about the content of my education than grad-"

"Well FINE I'll stay the hell out of your sordid little college life and what you do, be secretive all you want, and when grades come around I want to see them..."

-"Did you happen to check the idea that I might not care because all you enforce is the credits and GPA?"

"*Now insert more rhetoric about how lame my life is and how i need to stop being a complete bum and make life worth living...otherwise i lay awake at night twisted in a knot because i want to know your future is going right...*"

And after that's over all you hear is the dead silence of agony and yes, he does lay awake all night pondering such a thought and then the son of Big Boss lays in his bed and wonders if his problems with education cause a neurotic problem in his father that very well may be his undoing...Yeah...you wish it was ****ing gone, because that's all that matters is a slip of paper...no longer does it matter on how well you can hammer something together or what you know...it seems to be put forth of who you know and what chapter you came from....

Gah, I'm sorry, I had to vent...
-Snake

School systems work the way they were meant to, but in a lot of ways could use major improvements. Such as... the government's funding. Why do all schools get different amounts of money? That doesn't make anything fair. It just makes it so that you pay for an education, not earn one. So what if you're not a genius and make a 1600 on the S.A.T.s? Does that mean that you don't have the capacity to learn? No, it just means that only the people who do good on tests get a paid way into college. Why isn't there a system set up where you earn your education by learning? Such as, if you have the capacity for it, then you are able to learn it and for free. Especially college. College should be harder than it is, and should be free. Not easier and more expensive. But you won't see me attending any elite colleges. I don't see the point. I don't see the point in fraternities and sororities. I just plain don't like the ugly ass midwestern poofy haired people at the college I'm going to attend soon. Registration was a nightmare.

I just think that if education was free, and you were able to go as far as you can go, that people would be much better suited to do what they really want to do in life. Maybe I really want to wash floors at a supermarket for the rest of my life, should I be ashamed of that and have to say, "Well, I'm just doing this because I can't afford an education...". No, I should be proud to be a busboy or a dishwasher or a waiter or a hatcheck girl or any of these other jobs that get such a bad reputation. I think I could be happy at a job serving other people, it would be down to earth and very nice to do something to help others. All day every day, happiness. But it would be happier still if there weren't unhappy people as your boss, because managers at Walmart aren't generally the happiest people. Meh...

What amazes me about school systems is they have a "required" level which after completed you don't have to do anything else on that topic for entire high school career. Example:

A school has *basic geometry and *algebra I and aside from that other math classes are optional. Now, when you get to your first algebra class in math... it's like... speaking french. What about the GAP? Now I understand some people don't even want to GO to college BUT, shouldn't the mandatory math (or whatever level) be just a notch or two below college, so even who people choosing not to go, are at least educated enough to be ABLE to go? I mean, what does it say when we send people into our world at 18, when they couldn't do college work at 19? This perhaps is a silly suggestion, just seems that freshman year is kinda like 13th grade.... now the gap from 10th to 11th and 11th to 12th is NOTHING compared to the jump from 12 to 13th (freshman college)... just doesn't make sense to me.

Editors note*- I know there are like 10000 exceptions and "what ifs" and "buts". I realize I didn't get very indepth or specific, it was a "general" observation of what happens "in general", not on a case by case basis.

I don't think college level classes are all that hard until your second or third year. I am only guessing. I was thinking about going into biochemistry, but that would be very hard and I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a lab...

Well I am not going to start about the educational system of the US, because I don't know a thing about it, or want to know a thing about it.

Instead I'll just ask a question, I'll hope you'll answer me honestly, and withtou joking (too much).

"What is the light in your life?"

My family, the ones living in the same dwelling as me...

Couldn't agree more Val.

Loved ones (family, friends, etc...).

Originally posted by superman_0351
Now I understand some people don't even want to GO to college...

You speak the truth, and I think that for these people they should have life skills classes, actually, they should be required for all students. Things like: cooking, balancing a checkbook, effective budgeting and money management, time management, and child care should be taught in schools as well. And for those who have no interest in school during or after high school, they should be able to get into apprenticeship programs and such as experience in their field while still in high school. I don't have any master plan made up, and realize that this is all probably pretty unrealistic, but these are common things that people do throughout their lifetimes. IF the parents don't teach these things to their children, and many dont, then who will? I understand that this doesn't apply in all areas, but where I live it seems as if interest in furthering education is on the decline and these people will need these skills after they graduate, or don't graduate for that matter.

Light of my life? I have no children...and I'm no philanthropist...I'd have to say the light in my life varies from day to day, hour to hour...or else I'd be too bored...there are constants...but what do you do when they piss you off beyond all recognition?
I look foreward to a lot of things that light me up: Work, for one...I enjoy my job...it's a completely intrinsic thing...I think Valasher made a comment about it. Maybe I sound a little crazy...but life is my light...

DPD, I totally agree with the life skills classes.

That is why when I was in high school, I took computer classes (just basic word processor, spreadsheet, and database usage), typing (very helpful in finding jobs), and accounting. I also took a cooking class, but learned nothing, I still hate to cook. But I couldn't understand why these classes weren't mandatory.

oops...i forgot the light in my life.

One major thing in my life is being able to lay my head down under a roof most nights on a comfortable bed. The other, and most important, is my time spent at the beach, be it with the people I care most about in the world or alone.

well, i have a major hate on for my boss at the moment. yesterday he made me feel really stupid. i work at a food shop called wendys (in australia, not like the US ones) and i was doing an order for 4 hotdogs with cheese, which can take a while to make cos you have to heat up the rolls and put the cheese on the and sauce...anyways, my boss comes up to me and says, 'astrid, ill do these hotdogs, because you will take too long.' now, i have worked at this place for 2 years now (one of the longest to be there out of everyone), and i think i know how to make a hotdog. i know that we were busy at the time, and we all wanted to get through all our customers, but the way he said it to me really insulted me and made me feel like he did not have enough confidence in me to be able to take care of a big order. i felt like turning around and saying 'rack off! i know how to do this'. and everyone else there saw how pi$$Ed off i was. sometimes he can be so bloody condesending and patronising! argh!!! he talks to me sometimes like im some trainee, which i find really rude.
this may sound like a really little thing to you, but it really annoyed me, and i had to get it off my chest.

First off yeah bud, that sucks, Boss' might be the most stereotyped profession on the planet, but it might also be the most accurate :)But, I posted because:

I too forgot the light of my life. I think the obvious ones don't count i.e. family (except kids), friends, etc (wife or hubby i suppose is close enough to qualify). I mean ...they count, but they are the "well... yeah!" ones, and don't leave much room for anything else... so.... I'm gonna be a little more shallow: :)

I'm gonna say football, and not any football; the 3 hours that the Detroit Lions play; and not all Lions games, but the one's on Sunday at 1pm... (there are a couple at 4 and thanksgiving day). It's is the ONLY 3 hours of the week (except sleep) I feel completely relaxed and at peace. It's sunday, so there is absolutely no business aspect I would have to worry about (pay a bill, take a creditor call, go to the post office) Wonderful... no mail, no professional calls, and the biggest newspaper as humanly possible. It is also (1 to 4pm) the ONLY time I can have a beer at 1 in the afternoon without somebody (and they ALWAYS DO) saying "isn't it a little early"... hey... if im drinking it, it aint too early... if i can buy it in the store at this time, it aint too early... sheesh... And then of course, for alot of men, watching the game is some of the smartest hours we get during the week :) one of the few things where we don't just know like... a little bit, but most intense fans know EVERYTHING (yes we do lmao). And there are fewer things where the outcome of something you love so much can either depress you for a week, or reward you with pure joy for a week :) So to sum up:

1. Sunday, left alone (unless you work but I tell my job, no sunday during football season)

2. No mail, no calls, newspaper.

3. No haggling over beer.

4. I actually know what I'm talking about.

5. Can keep me high for a week depending.

6. and in my case, everybody knows "from 1 to 4pm on sundays, nobody f*ck with that guy"... (they don't even call my cellphone).

I know it's shallow, but I get more thinking done, and make more decisions, and feel so "amazingly comfortable" in those 3 hours than maybe all damn week. That is why it's the light, because as they say "go towards the light" (cleache i know) but as soon as the game ends, I am going towards the light which is my next game. It's like...... clear, pure, peaceful truth....


P.S. As they say "life is the series of moments between lions games" :)

i forgot the light of my life as well...i didn't want to put it in with my post (see above) as that was a depressing post and this is happy....

heaps of things light me up, but heres the really good ones:
when my friends send me random "good night, sleep tite' sms messages just before i go to sleep.
when i wake up in the morning and remember im on holidays
when my closest friends told me that i was like a sister to them
the message my mum wrote to me in my christmas card last year, i was so touched by it.
when my brother tells me an utterly stupid joke that isn't even funny, but we laugh anyway cos its so stupid
when my dad gets home from work and give me a hug like he has ever since i was a little girl.

you know, all these little things.

also, i would like to share a little anecsote that my friend sent to me today....

life. it starts with a laugh, grows with a kiss, and ends with a tear. it is more precious than anything in the entire world. when you were born, you were crying and everyone else around you was smiling. live your life so that when you die, everyone around you is crying, and you are the one smiling.

Well, I am never depressed, nor will I ever be very happy.

My light in my life?

It was when I first realised I wasn't alone in the world, that there were others that were much worse of than me. That very moment, I changed from a boy into me.

Whether that is a good or a bad thing I leave up to you.

Fnord Fnord,

Homo Universalis

this is really not that interesting but it really annoys me when people are fussy.

like when people say i hate someting like food and they havent even tried it...

example- i had sushi and told my friends they all went 'euggh' a lot and it really annoyed me cos they said that they also had never had it the yjust thought it didnt sound very nice.
But if you ecer get the chance and uve never had it before have it cos its actually realy nice- a bit hard to eat, but delicious none the less.

i hate stereotypical people too, so there you go my little rant on my 'soap box' as my RE teacher would say.

ahh i feel relieved, like when youve just been on the loo!

Blaise
:)

Blaise, glad you could vent in this thread. I like sushi, I don't love it and couldn't eat it for every meal, but I like the california roll especially. :)

Ok....then....not counting the "obvious ones", then the light of my life would be........

hmmm.....I'd have to say working out for me then. For whatever time I'm working out.....I'm totally relaxed...listening to my music (all types). And just have small chats between rests w/ others working out about just random stuff.

I don't think about anything else, and it just feels good physcially and mentally as well.

I haven't been to the doctor for the longest.....and frankly have never really gotten sick either .....and so I keep exercising in one form or another.

(Maybe.........I'm UNBREAKABLE.....lol ;) )

Okay, so this afternoon I'm going to yet another funeral. Four months before I met my husband his father died of MS, but had been sick for over ten years. I just never did get to meet him. After we met his grandmother had a stroke and had to move here from Colorado and lives in a nursing home as she never fully recovered, plus she's too heavy and required assistance in using the toilet. Since then her husband died of lung cancer, my husband's other grandfather died of a massive stroke, and now his great grandmother died even though she was 88 and seemed very healthy and even still worked everyday and took vacations like there was no tomorrow. And my grandparents are the unhealthy ones, but they are still here. So my poor husband is watching his family go away, it was such a small family to begin with. I had never been to a funeral before all these deaths, and I don't really like them. Terrible music, a preacher who mispronounces the family name, and his family keeps going back for more... why? Why do they keep going to the same funeral home? I hope I don't have a funeral ever. I would just like to be cremated and if the family wants to get together to remember me, then they should do it at their houses, not at some stupid funeral parlor. I love that show Six Feet Under, but I hate dealing with the real funeral parlors. It also ticks me off that people make thier living off the dead, something just seems wrong about the whole situation. Honor the person, not the body, but if my son died, I think I would probably be very protective of his body, because it's all I would have left.

True.....I don't like that idea either.....making money off the dead...but as I went through such an event .....I learned that it takes some effort and time to prepare the body for viewing, etc....

So in that sense, I guess no one would do it for free. And since everyone is busy with their lives.....the perservement of the body buys some time for the ppl to get to the funeral to pay their respects.

But it is definitely an intense time, but like u mentioned......in my culture we do just that. There's a mourning period of an exact amount of days (forget how many) that we go to the family's house and pray/remember the person.

My thoughts/prayers go out to you and your family.

Last night I got a package from my grandma in Wyoming and she sent me Fudge and Mexican Wedding Cookies. I've tried to make them before and they were good, but they weren't grandma good. They are the best I've ever had, and definitely a light during the holiday season. I guess they're better because, "Cookies need love like everything does."

Last night I also bought a new cell phone, since the LCD on my other one was cracked. Things are going pretty alright today so far.

Originally posted by Valasher
I'll begin, I wish that the veteran users of this forum were still here. I don't understand how you can be very interested in the Matrix, and yet nowhere to be found in a site where you posted a thousand times when the third movie finally comes out. Did they all get matrixed out? I just don't understand.

.


ok, lets get with the venting.
i wont go into why the other vets left, because that is one long, and gnarly S.O.B story.
but the reason i left was because, i am competitive by nature, and as soon as i got to top poster i realized i am VERY competitive, and dont think its healthy to spend so much time on a forum.
i still visit occaisionally to check up on my old friends that are still here.

Wow, THE top poster stopped by my thread. I think it may take another year to get to 3000+ posts because there's hardly much left to say. Thanks for dropping by Iamatwin! And thanks for giving us a little more information on where the vets have gone.

yay! i could be wrong but did imatwin return?
oh well i am so pissed right now for the following bit of irony:
i've been trying to fix up my old nintendo 64 so i could re-play the legend of zelda acarina of time, well i got the n64 to work but the controler that i have for it is very very bad so for the last three weeks i've been trying to get a controler that works, well i got one from a friend and i was so happy untill... i put the controler in the slot and i turned on the n64 and for about 20 seaconds my n64 worked thin the power went out(not my whole house just the n64) and now i cant turn it back on so now i'm even madder because i have to find a new power cable for it to see if that would make it work.

Aren't there some N64 emulators online? You could just play it on the computer (I LOVE that game, too).

i almoast don't trust downloading anything anymore the last time i downloaded a program like that it so very fu(ked up my computer. it apperantly messed up internet explorer and whinever a pop-up came on it frose my computer and alot of pop-ups happened because it also installed a pop-up generator of some sorts
so my dad uninstalled ie and he installed netscape (which i am finding to be infanetly better) and now every once in a while i still get a ie pop-up but the page doesent show up and it comes with a do you want to keep running scripts on your computer message so it's easy but annoying to close them and it doesent freeze up my computer.

not only that but i dont have enough memory on my computer to download anything anyway it's all used on amv's (anime music videos) but i will eventually delete alot of them

Well, I don't download very much. Just certain things, but emulators and roms are very small files and I've never had any problems with them. I also have Norton System Works this year to help fix any computer errors, but I have errors on my computer with or without downloading anything.

I used to have symantec, but I have McAfee these days, the yearly updates for Symantec, where you had to pay each new year was just a little off the top.


Anyway, I just posted a new rule here, and I suggest everyone takes a look at it!:

http://www.matrixmania.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8256



Matthew 7:12,

Homo Universalis

Originally posted by Deus Ex Machina
yay! i could be wrong but did imatwin return?
oh well i am so pissed right now for the following bit of irony:
i've been trying to fix up my old nintendo 64 so i could re-play the legend of zelda acarina of time, well i got the n64 to work but the controler that i have for it is very very bad so for the last three weeks i've been trying to get a controler that works, well i got one from a friend and i was so happy untill... i put the controler in the slot and i turned on the n64 and for about 20 seaconds my n64 worked thin the power went out(not my whole house just the n64) and now i cant turn it back on so now i'm even madder because i have to find a new power cable for it to see if that would make it work.


Hey, just out of curiousity, do you own a gamecube? IF not you may want to think about checking an Electronics Boutique and buying one, because right now if you do, you get a disc that has the original Legend of Zelda, Zelda II, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and I'm not sure but I think one thing else on all one disc free with your game cube....had I known about that I woulda held off, but instead I got my free windwaker and bought the ocarina of time disc that came with it....but yeah you may want to check that out...you can still probably get those discs if you notify your local game store (as far as trade-ins, etc....) then you can pick one up and play it on your GC. It's not so bad.....Sorry that probably pissed you off more but that's an option, friend!

Just out of curiousity (meaning I have a question to pose) and yes, I know there's a christmas thread, but so many people put so many different sideswiping views I'm going to put it in the 'anything goes' thread because it's going to have about two weeks of life left in it....

For those of you that have lights in their life (people that make the light specifically) , for this christmas (and any for that matter) have you ever tried to overwork at your job, do everything possible to get them stuff they need, but go a little over the top so they feel just as lit up as you do when they're around you? Maybe you don't feel that inadequate feeling I do, but this year I"ve been working tons of hours past my fall semester in order to take care of my parents (yes I know I seem a liittle hypocritical by going back on my dad, but there's a lot more there that you don't know, its kinda like I showed you all a spec of evil in a large lovely sea) and my girlfirend. My mom I already bought a cell phone so anywhere they are (parents or her specifically) they can be gotten ahold of.

However, we watch a lot of television. So for my dad (who consequently on the worth scale blows everything else that is the light in my life away) I'm getting him a 52" HDTV from RCA this year...or try to, there's a lot of other stuff he needed; like a chainsaw and I didn't want any thing that would break down after one use (like that old homelite from sears) so I got him a STIHL 250 (025 old model #) which is like top of the line chainsaw...and some serious $$$. On top of that I'm getting mom and dad a dvd/vcr combo and if I can get away with all that I'd like to get my girlfriend a decent cd player (probably a wammo wal*mart 100.00 model), she's into swords like me but she's more into hadafang, that sword arwen had that hugo weaving (elrond) used in the Fellowship of the Ring so I'm getting that for her too. So all be told, thats' not much, but I think altogether I have almost 2 grand stuck in a budget (Yes i'm a dork, I budget my xmas shopping). But, the problem is I really want to do this. I have a problem with my planning, I have this golden idea of what it should be, and it irks me to no end when I have to go lesser or cheaper or what have you...

I think the most jovial thing I can remember about staying up late at the plant was Valasher in the chat kept having this "Go home and sleep you dumb *(#*(" because I can remember at least three to four instances of me logging in, saying hello then "hold on I have a page" rebuttled with Valasher: "you're STILL at that plant?" haha. I've been hammering near 20 - 24 hour shifts, averaging 70 hours a week with only gettnig 40 hrs at 10.50 and then double time at 15.75. So this week coming I really have to hammer it out. I've gotten everything except the big screen RCA HDTV. Now failing to mention the why behind it, now I feel I should digress and get to that point: cable is switching to digital/hdtv and if you don't have the tv, they're going to charge people 45 bucks a month for the box to give you the signal, and our cable is going up to aroudn 60 bucks a month...that's a little over a 100 for cable...in year's time they'd have that tv i'm striving so hard to buy them....So now I've vented and I'm curious, have any of you sat where I'm sitting right now?

Finally........they got the sucker!!

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/14/sprj.irq.main/index.html

Some good news hopefully for the troops and their families around this time of the year.

One down .....one to go!

Yes, we did catch that f*cker :)

V sorry to hear about the death

My vent for the day is gonna come before it even happens. The Lions game just started, and even I have to throw out the "any given sunday" crap because they are playing the best team in the league (best record anyway) at their house. We haven't won on the road since 2000.... So, dammit, I can't believe we lost today. Check back around 4:30, I'll confirm :)

Originally posted by Solid_Snake
Hey, just out of curiousity, do you own a gamecube? IF not you may want to think about checking an Electronics Boutique and buying one, because right now if you do, you get a disc that has the original Legend of Zelda, Zelda II, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and I'm not sure but I think one thing else on all one disc free with your game cube....had I known about that I woulda held off, but instead I got my free windwaker and bought the ocarina of time disc that came with it....but yeah