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Cynicism Unplugged: Dealing with Society


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Cynicism Unplugged: Dealing with Society
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Moogs
Hates the Infotainment
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
 
2008-05-29, 08:25

All right, so I'm starting to reach my wits' end here. Is it just me or has the usual collection of negative events and bad news in American and the world (which have always been around), gotten so bad over the last few years that you're left wondering what there is to be optimistic about? Surely we all have worries about economic factors that aren't likely to ever turn around (as global demand skyrockets), like gas and food prices... and we all have our doubts I'm sure about the political systems that are there to serve us supposedly, and the people running them. Every year the politicians seem to become less and less trust-worthy ('cept for my homeboy Obama). Pharmaceutical companies and medical practices are now more profit-driven than they are caretaker-driven from a philosophical standpoint. You can't watch TV for 5 minutes without seeing a new drug ad, full of awful side-effects, but they peddle the crap anyway.

Everywhere you look there is regional conflict, political deception and general sense of self-interest. Obviously this is not to say there aren't good people doing positive things to improve the world, but they seem overwhelmed. I could go on about all the crazy shit we see going on in the world, but you'd have to be blind to not know what I'm talking about.

So my question is, how do you guys start to view the world with all this stuff going on? How do you keep a relatively positive outlook? Do you just take the attitude that societies and countries operate in cycles, alternating from largely positive, constructive eras to more negative, destructive ones (and it just repeats itself every 50-100 years), and so you don't care? Do you take the attitude that nothing that happens outside of your monkeysphere is within your control and so, to hell with it, you're just going to be happy with your life and hope no one crashes the party?

How do you read the headlines every day and observe behavior out in the world (everything from angry drivers and rude assholes at the checkout line, to the guy ringing the Salvation Army bell at Christmas time), and then make a determination as to how it's going to affect you our your outlook? Do you ignore it? Do you say "I have to do something to turn some part of it around, then I can feel good about things"?

I find myself scrapping to find something, anything that I can look at and say "all right... here's a sign that things will get better, that I should just shrug it all off", but it's hard. I don't like being a cynical a person, but it's hard to see what goes on out there every single day, seemingly getting worse by the month, and then turn around and say "well I'm going to be optimistic about everything." Optimism (at least in my world) has to be based on *something*. There has to be some positive force for change or collection of related stories that gives you reason to believe things may turn around soon.

I'm just not seeing it right now. I realize the news makes bucks by reporting negative stuff but some of it SO bad that they would be derelict in their duties if they didn't focus on it. I know we're never going to see stories about what the local United Way chapter accomplished this week but again those organizations always seem to tread water and not much more.

Maybe it's all pure science: the more people crammed into the planet, the less chance there is to educate everyone, the less resources there are for everyone, the more likely bad shit happens on a daily basis as a result? Condoms and assisted suicide for every citizen and every hospital?

So, how do you folks keep a positive outlook, because I am trying hard... I really am.

...into the light of a dark black night.
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Stone Of Love
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Detroit City is the place to be...maddog town gonna set you free
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2008-05-29, 08:48

I've given up! People suck, and do sucky things to each other.

Just stick to your inner circle, and everybody else be damned!

/hows that for a ray of sunshine??
//Really sick of the Frogs already and its only day 8!!

Different Strokes, for Different Folks.
And So On and So On, and Skoobie Doobie Doobie.
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2008-05-29, 08:54

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moogs View Post
So my question is, how do you guys start to view the world with all this stuff going on?
Idiocracy.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moogs View Post
How do you keep a relatively positive outlook?
I don't have a positive outlook for humanity. I hold out a hope for those few rays of intelligence and sanity that seem to spark out from various corners and I strive for a better world, but I accept that the prognosis is probably a bleak one and don't beat myself up over the foolishness around me over which I have no control.

Bored idiots breed like rabbits. Power-mongers crush souls like stepping stones. Religious nuts seek the eradication of free thought. Lazy bums pass their problems off to the next guy (or next generation). It's been the same old story for not hundreds but thousands of years and it won't be changing any time soon. Sure, we've seen advances in technology and a distribution of power away from small concentrated sources, but that's just resulted in more people being assholes. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Great platitude.

I just try to make my own little corner of the universe a bit more pleasant and livable and to make enough room, without imposing too much on others, to enjoy life in the very brief time I have available.

Now, in the key of A, everybody...
Quote:
Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best...

And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life...

If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.

And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life...

For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow.
Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin
Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow.

So always look on the bright side of death
Just before you draw your terminal breath

Life's a piece of shit
When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.
You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.

And always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the right side of life...
(Come on guys, cheer up!)
Always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the bright side of life...
(Worse things happen at sea, you know.)
Always look on the bright side of life...
(I mean - what have you got to lose?)
(You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing.
What have you lost? Nothing!)
Always look on the right side of life...

The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting.
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bassplayinMacFiend
Banging the Bottom End
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
 
2008-05-29, 08:56

My biggest ray of light is my 3 year old son. Maybe it's crazy bringing up a kid in today's world, but I'd like to think my grandparents wondered the same thing when they had my parents during WWII and ensuing atomic bomb drop.

I'm thinking nothing will change in D.C. until millions of people actually get off their ass and march in D.C. protesting against all the crap the politicians are doing for their favorite corporate interests while selling all us citizens down the river in the name of capitalism or whatever cause of the week gets pushed down our throat.

Basically, as long as we don't care enough to do something as a citizenry, they won't care enough to work in our favor. Simple as that, IMO.
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Stone Of Love
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Detroit City is the place to be...maddog town gonna set you free
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2008-05-29, 09:24

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad View Post
Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best...

And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life...

If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.

And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life...

For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow.
Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin
Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow.

So always look on the bright side of death
Just before you draw your terminal breath

Life's a piece of shit
When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.
You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.

And always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the right side of life...
(Come on guys, cheer up!)
Always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the bright side of life...
(Worse things happen at sea, you know.)
Always look on the bright side of life...
(I mean - what have you got to lose?)
(You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing.
What have you lost? Nothing!)
Always look on the right side of life...


I've been cutting a video to this song at the French Open for a sort of "goody reel". Putting all sorts of grumbling and racket throwing in!!

It's coming along nicely.

If I can get it to disc before I leave I'll post it in this thread after the tourny.

Different Strokes, for Different Folks.
And So On and So On, and Skoobie Doobie Doobie.
  quote
Yonzie
Mac Mini Maniac
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
 
2008-05-29, 11:11

It's always been this bad, if not worse. It's just technology making everyone aware of all the bad things going on, making it seem like it's gotten worse.
50 years ago, the earthquake in china would have been nothing more than a small blurb, now it's been frontpage stuff for weeks.
The same is true about all the (more-or-less) minor skirmishes in africa. Without todays pervasive communications technology, we wouldn't know much about it.
With every police chase being recorded on video and every murder announced on Fox News, of course we'll hear more about the bad stuff.

Converted 07/2005.
  quote
Mugge
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2008-05-29, 11:16

^ agree!

Things aren't all that bad.

  quote
Luca
ಠ_ರೃ
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
 
2008-05-29, 11:27

Things suck for a lot of people, but there's really nothing I can do about it. I'm just going to live my life and try to enjoy my time here.

The way I see it, I was dealt a pretty damn good hand in life. A lot of people die as children or babies, or grow up in an area full of conflict, starvation, an oppressive regime, or something equally bad. I don't think it would be right for me to waste my life and be unsatisfied with it when I'm so much better off than most people. Even the poor can be happy, so why can't I?

Oh and Brad, that Monty Python song is strangely uplifting. Makes you realize that you have to enjoy life while you can, because it's the only chance you get.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2008-05-29, 11:38

Honestly, Moogs...I turn inward. I focus on my friends and family. I long ago gave up on anyone in DC or a big stone public building - even your homeboy, the big "O" - ever "doing what was good and right". Politicians - particularly lifetime, career ones - should be looked at with disdain and suspicion, and those who actually buy into what any of them say...that's just so naive and unfathomable to me. Decades and decades of evidence, and yet people still play the game, wear the buttons, tote the signs, etc.



The world is bigger and more complex than that. And all the words and ideas of a well-meaning (but ultimately corruptible) person mean very little to me.

I focus on what I do, and what makes me happy and fulfilled. The rest tends to fall into place. I try to not make myself a bad presence, or burden, in the world. I've gotten much better with recycling and not wasting things. I've not bought whole-hog into this trendy "green" push (but I've always been quite power/garbage/electricity conscious in my own, quiet and day-to-day way, so I sleep just fine at night, thank you). I do my part as best I can, and I'm open to more things as I learn/research them (but I don't do anything because some politician or movie star bugs me about it).

I hold open doors, I smile at strangers, I say "thank you" and "please" and address seniors as "sir" and "ma'am" (no, really!). I don't play my music loud, I don't cuss in public (well maybe a little bit here, if I'm feeling saucy), I don't drive drunk, I don't piss on walls, I don't talk in movies, I don't tailgate or cut others off in traffic, I flush the toilet, I wash my hands, I'm appreciative of the small things, I'd do anything for a friend or a deserving person (and expect nothing in return, other than maybe a "thank you, Paul"), I don't engage in or promote "drama". I think my little niece and nephew are cute little monkeys and I'm happy I'm in their lives (and vice versa). I give everyone two chances (sometimes three). If a person proves to be "poison" after these 2-3 chances, they're out of my life...I don't need 'em, or their nonsense.

I don't look to others - anywhere - to "solve my problems" (what a waste of time and energy, and, unfortunately, at least two generations have now grown up on that sort of mindset, so they're permanently looking to others for "the answers"...news flash: those "others" - elected officials and celebrities - don't have a clue, trust me). I carry my own. I don't blame others for any bad, weird things that happen to me (unless, of course, they're directly and legitimately responsible, in which case they're a flaming a-hole and I'll deal with them when the time comes

At the end of the day, you, your family and your friends are all that really matters, and all you have left. Put your love and focus there (and with other good-hearted, like-minded people who won't hurt you or screw you over) and just ignore the idiots and the insanity out there.

In a nutshell?

1. Don't get above your raisin'
2. Don't live beyond your means
3. Trust, but verify

It's amazing what seems to easily "fall into place" when you stick close to those three simple things.

I try to chuckle about the weird/bad stuff more these days. Getting genuinely mad and torqued-up does me no good. About three or so years ago - after some family deaths and a few life-altering events that I'm not going to go into here - I found it quite easy to "let go"...possessions, petty concerns, drama, theatrics, etc. You learn, really quick, what (and who) is important, and why.

And you hang on to that. That's your "guiding torch" (and your anchor). And it's been a pretty nice, simple and worry-free existence since I realized all the above. The lows are never too low, and the highs feel earned and justified (but are pleasantly simple and real).

YMMV.



Believe me, it would be so easy to let "the world" just drill a hole right through me on a daily basis. I used to let it, and it kept me like and too much. But now I'm more like and and it's much better. Too bad it took me until my mid-late 30's to realize some important things. But hey...better late than never, right?

  quote
murbot
Hoonigan
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Canada
 
2008-05-29, 12:06

Things get shitty, but they usually turn themselves around. Take me for example. I got so frustrated that I ordered a Fleshlight yesterday, then for the first time in a month the wife screws the hell out of me last night.

Wait, that's actually creating more problems. She kind of "fucked" my reasoning for having to order one last night. Does she know that I ordered it, and is playing mind games with me? ARGH! Women!



(whoa, that's a lot of personal info there... ah, fuck it. *clicks submit*)
  quote
Luca
ಠ_ರೃ
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
 
2008-05-29, 12:11

Quote:
Originally Posted by murbot View Post
Things get shitty, but they usually turn themselves around. Take me for example. I got so frustrated that I ordered a Fleshlight yesterday, then for the first time in a month the wife screws the hell out of me last night.

Wait, that's actually creating more problems. She kind of "fucked" my reasoning for having to order one last night. Does she know that I ordered it, and is playing mind games with me? ARGH! Women!



(whoa, that's a lot of personal info there... ah, fuck it. *clicks submit*)
  quote
Koodari
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
 
2008-05-29, 12:20

What Paul said. There are things you can change. You can't change another person, only they themselves can do that. It's stupid, long-term, to take responsibility for something or have expectations that hinge on something you can't actually control.

That's not to say you can't have an effect on other people. Sometimes they choose to follow you. If you are the best you can be at all times, then they'll be that much better for it.
  quote
Moogs
Hates the Infotainment
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
 
2008-05-29, 12:25

Some great responses all around, for different reasons. I guess I should point out that I don't pretend I can save the world but I guess my worry is for the larger whole. We're all a part of it and can't completely detach ourselves from the nation and world at large... so if things get fucked up bad enough... I fear they begin to encroach on our little sphere of family and friends.

Hard to know whether to just enjoy life the best you can for as long as you can, be thankful for the hand you were dealt, or since you were dealt a good hand, you try to influence people and things to create a better end? I agree with much of what Paul says btw. If you make your little corner better by not being a wasteful, self-centered idiot... and in fact go out of your way to be friendly and helpful with little stuff every day... I think things would improve.

But also, like Brad, I don't hold out much hope that will ever happen on a large scale. The "pitch in and do your part" attitude died after WWII I think. A lone exception being things like neighborhood recycling programs (which of course require almost zero effort for most people but still produces a good result). I guess that's sort of the crux of the matter. People won't do anything altruistic or "right for the sake of being right" unless it's easy for them to do it.

Western societies have become a culture of shortcuts and instant gratification, but then we already knew that. In a way I'm thankful I haven't brought any kids into this world. And for those who want to I hope they'll all consider adopting at least one kid, in addition to having their own. Too many mouths to feed, not enough resources, landfills, etc.

...into the light of a dark black night.
  quote
psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2008-05-29, 12:42

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moogs View Post
I agree with much of what Paul says btw. If you make your little corner better by not being a wasteful, self-centered idiot... and in fact go out of your way to be friendly and helpful with little stuff every day... I think things would improve.
That's really all you can do, if you want to be very pragmatic and realistic about it all. Standing around with a sign and screaming to people who don't give a damn about what you have to say has just always struck me as a waste of time and energy (and, for many, it's more of a social event/gathering anyway, and less about actual "change" or "protest"). Do you think the people inside the capitol building give two honest rips about what a bunch of people carrying on outside on the Mall are talking about, in general? On balance, no. That's just true.

Their world and pursuits are so far away (and isolated) from "regular folks". So while it's a "feel-good" thing to gather with like-minded others and call for this or that, listen to some bands and play hacky-sack and smoke a joint...at the end of the day, what has honestly happened in a "big picture" way? Not much. How could it?

People/groups have screamed about stuff for decades, with no change. There are more direct, effective and efficient ways to bring about change that doesn't involve standing around like it's 1970 and chanting clichéd slogans and silly rhymes (and that goes for both sides of it all...I'm not just picking on hippies and the Left here, mind you...the other side is just as bad with their stuff).

But you make your "little corner" of the world as safe and pleasant as you can for yourself and those you care about. And, in turn, those people (hopefully) do the same. Those are achievable things that are easy-as-pie and don't cost a dime...it's just a matter of personal choices and decisions (not acting like an asshat in public, around others, showing a little courtesy, good manners and common sense, not driving like an oblivious jacktard as though you're qualifying for the Numbnut 500, etc.). Sounds small, but what if everyone - or even most people - did it? Think about how nicer it would be, driving around, going to ballgames, movies or restaurants, shopping, etc.

I think it would ease the tensions and remove some of the "edge" out there.

I'm a huge "people-watcher" and observer of interaction, behavior, etc. It's amazing how so many people are quick to anger or confrontation these days...in the Target parking lot, in line at a Subway, sitting in traffic, etc. I've certainly been guilty. But there's always one person - a triggerpoint - who starts the ball rolling toward something bad...a line-cutter, a parking-space robber, an aggressive tail-gater, etc.

Acting like an inconsiderate moron and flaming jerk pushes people's buttons. They don't like it. It comes down, IMO, to the oblivitards and idiots of society. Most of us don't go out of our way to make things difficult for others. But, I swear, some people just wake up in the morning and can't wait to be an asshole. I've known these people, so I know they're out there. Self-styled "rebels" and "against the grain" types who've just never had their idiocy properly pointed out in whatever way makes sense at the time (a conversation, constructive criticism, a royal ass-whipping, etc.).



We start reigning these folks in, things almost instantly start to improve. Think about it...one person has the power to stir stuff up or cause bad things to happen. So what about the 20 people around him/her who don't believe or think that way? There's your "call to action", when you see wrong, stupid things happening in front of you. We don't shame people enough. We reward, excuse and look the other way at bad, inappropriate behavior. And we've done it for at least 2-3 decades, and now what?

Talk about "chickens coming home to roost".

This, as if I have to paint a picture, is the outcome of an overly permissive, irresponsible, lazy, you do your thing/it's none of my business culture and mindset. We don't hold people accountable for their actions, we rarely demand excellence (or hell, even effort), we excuse and justify the most heinous of words and deeds in the name "understanding" and "not coming across as mean", we cater to the lowest common denominator in entertainment (turn on your TV at any hour if you doubt me), etc.

What in the hell did we expect, after decades of the above? What other outcomes were there possibly going to be?



A world where the shitheads, a-holes, jackballs almost rule, where the low-rent, amoral pinheads set the agenda/tone and where the lazy and professional, perpetual victims demand "more, more, more!" on the backs of those who work and try to do the right thing.

We take these huge swings, out to the furthest arcs of thinking. And then we spend years coming back the other way and don't even think about hunkering down in the middle, and maybe applying a "little of both" approach to problems and issues. It's always "this or that, only". Hardcore right or hardcore left. Too restrictive or too permissive. Ultra-conservative or ultra-liberal. If 40 years has taught us anything, it's that the extremes, on both ends, solve/fix NOTHING (and usually only make things worse).

But try wrenching the steering wheel out of the hands of those driving, either side, and see what happens...

Which leads me right back to my original point...take care of you and yours, and make your little part of the world as good and right as it can be. Hopefully others see that and take note...

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2008-05-29 at 13:12.
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BuonRotto
Not sayin', just sayin'
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Durham, NC
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2008-05-29, 12:46

How's this for cynical: I don't see the world getting worse. I see the US and its population joining the rest of the world in its problems. Gas, resources, climate, war and conflict, politics, standard of living, technology, innovation, infrastructure, economy, culture, etc., etc. are starting to level out with the rest of the developed world (and vice versa). No longer can we look down our noses at others, nor can we either legitimately claim or illegitimately pretend to be better off than others, that we're some beacon of hope or bastion of better living. With the rest of the world reaching our many dubious distinctions as a rich society, we are all going to suffer a bit.

In the end, I don't think we're going downhill. I think we are where we always were as a world. War, money, food, health, etc. are getting more extreme among people, but it's zero sum as a people. Does that make sense? Life is way better for some, way worse for others. The consequences of our actions are likewise more extreme, some have no influence, others an amazing amount. (I don't just mean world leaders either. Think about that every time you throw out the garbage.) In the end, we're running in place.

We change the technology but not the sociology.
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BuonRotto
Not sayin', just sayin'
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2008-05-29, 12:49

Quote:
Originally Posted by murbot View Post
<snip>

(whoa, that's a lot of personal info there... ah, fuck it. *clicks submit*)
I know yer pain dude. Thought I was out of the 4am wake-ups, weekends in and mid-afternoon noogies forever, but now that the lady is done with school and her stress levels have gone down... yowzer!


...and if anyone asks why I'm still bothering with anything given my outlook in my previous post, well, just read this one and you know. Society is fucked. Long live fuck!
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Koodari
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
 
2008-05-29, 12:56

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moogs View Post
Hard to know whether to just enjoy life the best you can for as long as you can, be thankful for the hand you were dealt, or since you were dealt a good hand, you try to influence people and things to create a better end?
If you are continually thankful for having been dealt a good hand, isn't that the same as being continually pissed off for being dealt a bad one?

The hand is just how the world is. Does you calling it good or bad change anything? No? Then you don't need to worry about it.
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Mugge
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2008-05-29, 13:07

Hakuna Matata

  quote
Moogs
Hates the Infotainment
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
 
2008-05-29, 13:09

Quote:
Originally Posted by BuonRotto View Post
In the end, I don't think we're going downhill. I think we are where we always were as a world. War, money, food, health, etc. are getting more extreme among people, but it's zero sum as a people. Does that make sense?

Well sort of, except some aspects of why things are bad today have no parallel in the past. For example, there have never been 6 billion and counting humans on this earth, being fed by the same global transport networks, etc. So there is a certain level of economic chaos I fear might ensue over the next decade or so as formerly poor countries become richer and richer and consume enormous amounts of resources, even beyond what the US (or the whole of Europe) typically consumes in a year... something will have to give.

The idea of a global food or oil war doesn't give me the warm fuzzies, or the thought of riots in the US someday, if price inflation gets out of control for various staples. As soon as enough people start losing their jobs or taking pay cuts and the prices jump up enough... that fear is going to bubble over into the public space somehow. Humans are not rational beings. When they're afraid they do really stupid shit to each other, and we'll be no exception if the circumstances are bad enough.

Are we all going to have to buy hand-guns and tasers just to keep people our of our homes some day down the road? I dunno but if that happens I'm not sure I want to be alive to see it. I hate that "stock the bunker and put up the surveillance cameras" attitude but I truly wonder if it may come to that. These resources are all limited and demand is only going to go up, up, up... with prices in tow. The only remedy would be... if somehow there were far less than 6, 7, 8 Billion people on the earth down the road. So it's like, OK... 1/4 of the world's population has to die in order to level off demand and reach a resource-sustainable level for everyone long term. Great...

The more I think about it the more I want to be like that guy who learns the earth is about to be pummeled by an Asteroid, so he goes to the grocery store, loads up the cart with steaks and champaign and deserts and whatever... and in the two week lead-up to impact, he has a BBQ every night, gets laid every night and generally makes himself 20-something again. Just invite your little enclave of friends over, or go to their place if it's more secure, taking a few valuables with you, and the rest be damned.

...into the light of a dark black night.
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Moogs
Hates the Infotainment
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
 
2008-05-29, 13:13

Or maybe... we pool our money and build an Aldo Nova bunker out in the mountains somewhere, with a nice stream nearby for water... stock the in-ground facilities with non-perishable provisions, weapons, meat curing barn with salts and other manly foodstuffs, and off-grid power sources... and then we can have a giant party. Until the provisions run out, then we all kill each other.

...into the light of a dark black night.
  quote
psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2008-05-29, 13:17

I think BuonRotto makes a good point. We here in the States just might be arriving late to the WTF?! party.

"Oh, so this is how it is, huh? I'll be over here in the corner, crying uncontrollably and wetting myself...somebody bring me a drink".



I don't necessarily believe that (you don't just "give it up" and concede to a yucky existence). But we've "dumb-assed" ourselves into such a condition, I agree. Certainly doesn't help that we no longer really make or produce anything (and when we do, it's a crapshoot on quality or is priced out of the range of the very people who would most enjoy or need it).

It's a complicated world. Good thing I'm not a complicated guy...it might get ugly.

  quote
Moogs
Hates the Infotainment
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
 
2008-05-29, 13:19

There can be only one answer....


only one...

Spoiler (click to toggle):


Bacon has three basic properties that make it THE solution for Americans fearing an end to the world as we'd like it. 1) It tastes AWESOME; 2) It's easy to make; 3) If you eat enough of it, often enough, it will kill you before things get really bad ™.


...into the light of a dark black night.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2008-05-29, 13:21

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moogs View Post
Or maybe... we pool our money and build an Aldo Nova bunker out in the mountains somewhere, with a nice stream nearby for water... stock the in-ground facilities with non-perishable provisions, weapons, meat curing barn with salts and other manly foodstuffs, and off-grid power sources... and then we can have a giant party. Until the provisions run out, then we all kill each other.
Sure! Only if I can be Highest Overlord Grand Chieftain for Life and Supreme Knower of All, Giver of Light El Presidente de Tycoon General Monkey and Taker of Souls and His Royal Holy Aura (I'm gonna want that on a 48k gold and platinum pinky ring, BTW, and a crown with a 14" ostrich feather).

Deal? I figure it's a fair trade-off since I've never asked to be a mod here...

  quote
Moogs
Hates the Infotainment
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
 
2008-05-29, 13:24

Yah sure... call yourself whatever you like. It's a free Bunker. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of cured meats (and boobies). It goes without saying each single man will have to round up at least one good looking, 20-30 something woman to help make the Bunker livable.

Also, if you don't pass the Quality Member Standards Board exam, you can't live in the bunker. The Board consists of a secret panel of moderating and non-moderating members -myself included of course- that will ensure the quality of this "ark's" denizens, are of the utmost quality. Trolls, Marketing Weenies (who sign up to drop hints about their products), Dirtbags, and Dewshes need not apply. You are going to have to stay home and fight it out!

See, the classism has started already and we haven't even poured the foundations yet!

...into the light of a dark black night.
  quote
Bryson
Rocket Surgeon
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The Canadark
 
2008-05-29, 13:53

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moogs View Post
There can be only one answer....


only one...
Spoiler (click to toggle):


You know the funniest thing about that is that most Americans don't even know what real bacon tastes like. The stuff they sell over this side of the pond is awful, truly awful. If you think bacon is good and you've only ever tasted North American bacon, then get yourself a bacon sandwich in the UK, and you'll probably orgasm yourself to death. Thus solving the problem, of course.

Just in case people think I'm "hatin'" on the food over here, for clarity: almost all food in North American resteraunts is better by far than it's equivalent in the UK. But bacon is the exception.


  quote
Yonzie
Mac Mini Maniac
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
 
2008-05-29, 13:58

Quote:
Originally Posted by murbot View Post
I got so frustrated that I [did something], then for the first time in a month [stuff happened].
Notice something interesting?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moogs View Post
There can be only one answer....
http://neverbashfulwithbutter.blogsp...ess-bacon.html

Last edited by Yonzie : 2008-05-29 at 14:22.
  quote
Moogs
Hates the Infotainment
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
 
2008-05-29, 14:56

I don't doubt those cookies are a paragon of awesomeness. It cannot be refuted that certain combinations of salty junk foods, when mixed with sugar and chocolate, create a high roughly equivalent to snorting a line of cocaine off of [insert beautiful actress of choice here]'s breasts while doing the horizontal mambo.

Seriously. Popcorn and chocolate, pretzels and chocolate, even potato chips can work if you have the good kettle style chips and not the processed crap. Is someone adding this to the bunker provisions list btw?


...into the light of a dark black night.
  quote
709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2008-05-29, 15:09

  quote
psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2008-05-29, 15:27

Have you guys seen Patton Oswalt's tirade about the KFC Famous Bowls?

Some NSFW language, of course.
  quote
Souflay123
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Los Angeles, Ca
Send a message via AIM to Souflay123  
2008-05-29, 16:24

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stone Of Love View Post
I've given up! People suck, and do sucky things to each other.

Just stick to your inner circle, and everybody else be damned!
I very much agree, I deal with people everyday and you would be amazed by the amount of idiots that are out there. They come to me, I explain to them coverages, and they just want to fight. I am constantly discriminated against because I am young, it is crazy I cannot even go out to eat without being treated like shit. I cant drink so that makes me less of a person, of course. I am going to vegas this weekend, and I cant really do anything b/c I am not 21. It makes me hate society more and more. I cant even stick with my inner circle because of my age...

People suck! Society sucks! and that makes my life suck alot of the time....
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