and ya see it's all reality baby, it's all experience man, d'ya get it? Come here, you wanna drag... Help's ya shake off all that logocentric angst All that 'this is right', 'that's wrong' crap man. You know we could just like love each other, and share everything.
What about bandwidth? No way man, I ain't sharing my bandwidth with none of you MF. You all talk too much. DM ----- Original Message ----- From: "Krimel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 4:54 PM Subject: Re: [MD] subject/object: pragmatism > [Krimel] > Exactly! You make a point eloquently that I have been clubfootedly > attempting to make since Day One. Welcome to the darkside my friend. I > have > withdrawn from Norrath for now. Frickin' user canceled my account. Case > and > I hope to return to virtual life someday... > > Perhaps another game? Perhaps... > > [Krimel] > Gibson, who has been uncannily right about such things, maintains > that in the not too distant future people will be unable to > distinguish time spent in the virtual world from time spent in the > "real" world. > > [Arlo] > I'm choosing my words deliberately here. > > I was hanging out in Tanaris the other evening, which lies in the > southeast corner of Kalimdor. Some call this world "Azeroth". I > wasn't really doing much, indeed, I could have had a more fruitful > evening had I been spending my time in Ironforge learning new skills, > or trading in the auction house. Or even spending time in Darnassus > with other Night Elves. But instead I find myself drawn to the > aesthetic of the Tanarian landscape. It reminds me of Cairo, or > rather, what Cairo must've been at some point in its long history. > > In any event, I wasn't doing anything more productive than fishing > for Stonescale Eel off a little pier near Steamwheedle Port. Pirate > activity to the north has shut down the shipping lanes, and the pier > is vacant except for a few other fishermen, and the occasional > traveler looking to explore uncharted territories in their personal > maps. It was here that I met Lyra, a shaman from Azuremyst. It was > with some trepidation she approached me, being somewhat lesser > experienced than I, and careful not to appear foolish or naive. > Nonetheless, the quandry she faced was overwhelming, and so humbly > she introduced herself and asked if I would be willing to lend assistance. > > Mostly because of her grace, and because I was intrigued by the > challenge she was facing, I agreed to do what I could to aid her in > her task. As we rode south from the pier into the open stretches of > desert, towards the very southern-most coast, I got to know a little > about Lyra. She has an alter-ego she calls... well, that's > unimportant. This alter-ego lives in a place she calls "Australia", > and spends her days doing IT work for a medium sized company. We talk > a bit about Midnight Oil, politics, beer and truck-trains. Happily, > with my help she is able to complete the task at hand, and recover > some goods pilfered by the local pirates. In celebration I offer her > a tankard of Dwarven Stout that has been in my pouch so long I wonder > if it's still good. She asks how my alter-ego can stand drinking the > watery pilsner associated with my alter-ego's homeland. I ask myself > the same question. > > A short while later I am surprised to hear her whisper to me again. > She wants to know if she could add me to her list of acquaintances > she looks for when things become too hard for her to handle alone. I > tell her I would be honored, that finding others who share interests, > who have fascinating tales to tell, who can offer me perspectives on > the world I am unable to get elsewhere, well that is why I was > fishing in Tanaris in the first place. > > Like other dichotomies, the distinction between "real" and "virtual" > may be clearly seen from high above, but as one descends closer and > closer to the border, one sees not an absolute line, but a blur, a > fractal-line where "apparent" distinctions become problematic. We can > attempt, of course, to continually redefine these categories as we > move down into more precise ranges of focus. But I think we'd find > that this becomes an endless task, as each time we move in from one > definition, we'd have to restart the process. Or we can step back and > realize that our grand dichotomy is useful for most activity, but > that at the heart of the matter, what is virtual is indistinguishable > from what is real. Indeed, we ask falling back to the > Brain-in-the-Box, how do we know that we are not the virtual reality > of a still greater ego? > > I may never meet the flesh-and-blood alter-ego of Lyra. Indeed, I may > never meet the flesh-and-blood alter-ego of "Krimel", or "Ian", or > "Craig". But I have fond memories of that night fishing in Tanaris, > just as I have fond memories of my days "fishing" in this reality, > the World of MOQ-craft. > > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ > > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ > Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
