[FairfieldLife] Re: SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD...

[raunchydog]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Rick Archer"  wrote:
>
> I don't have much experience with the place across from Wal-Mart, but Keith
> at the Goodyear place is an extremely nice guy, as are the guys out at Bob's
> Automotive. How many on this forum have ever been thrown out of a store and
> told never to come back? It takes two to have a disagreement, and I suspect
> that you contributed more than your share to the problem, and also, given
> the number of words you've written about this issue, that you tend to obsess
> about things to an abnormal degree.
>  

I get my tires from Goodyear, they do free tire rotations, saves a few bucks. 
Never had any problems there, Keith is always very helpful. 

Fesler sucks. I used to get a Ford Taurus serviced there. I got tired of 
getting stung with a big bill every time I walked in the door, so I switched to 
Kessel's Conoco. Steve Kessel kept my clunky old Izuzu Trooper running long 
past its life expectancy. Loved that car, four wheel drive, great in the snow, 
5 speed stick, rebuilt engine, pushing 150K on the odometer. Hated to see it 
go, comfortable like an old pair of jeans. If you're looking for a trustworthy 
mechanic and a really nice guy, I think Steve is the best. Just don't talk 
politics with him unless you want an earful of Republican talking points. 

Have you seen Fesler's lot lately? It's really dead. Not much inventory. 
Probably because of their crappy service and the economy. In contrast, I 
recently bought a Chevy Cobalt from Shottenkirk, Mt. Pleasant. Their service is 
terrific and their business is booming. I felt I really scored when my sales 
guy, Scott, let me keep the deal I had with them on the Ford Focus I traded 
in...free oil changes for the life of the car. Very cool. They pick up and 
deliver the car while I'm at work, do the oil change with a diagnostic 
print-out of any needed service or repairs. If I can get a better price, I see 
Steve. It's easy to get great service in a small town. A business lives or dies 
on its reputation. Word gets around.

I wouldn't speculate on Mike's OCD. I think he just wants us to know he's a 
nice guy who got screwed. On the other hand, he has also had a tangle or two 
with a German Shepard. Nasty dogs and nasty tire guys. What's up with that?  

> From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:fairfieldl...@yahoogroups.com]
> On Behalf Of mike_shapiro2001
> Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 5:01 PM
> To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [FairfieldLife] SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD...
>  
>   
> Please help me sort this out. I am barred from both of Fairfield's tire
> stores. This is as relevant to my inner self as anything. Has to be a karma
> thing with me. Because I have tried so hard to be extra nice to auto service
> people and usually get great really great service by giving respect where
> it's due and always tipping the mechanic. Almost never find any position
> they take with me unreasonable. These guys work for a living. But I SHALT
> NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD. Should be easy for me to remember now that I'm
> not allowed in either of Fairfield's two tire stores. But that's just so
> ironic! I'm really understanding and respectful towards mechanics and auto
> service operations. Much more so than my attitude towards doctors and
> hospitals. Generally try to keep a respectful demeanour towards everybody.
> Fairness in dealing with others is a karma thing and a point of spirituality
> with me. And I generally can't help admiring and appreciating the courteous
> diligent work offered by auto mechanics, especially in independant
> non-dealership shops, for the diverse work they do for us in a fiercley
> competitive and cost conscious environment.
> 
> But tire shops, some karmic block or something with me.
> 
> My problems started years back. I splurged on a set of 4 new tires at one of
> Fairfield's two tire stores. Low and behold, they had put on new valve stems
> that I am not exadgerating, protruded over four and a half inches from the
> wheel. So I asked respectfully why the switch from original equipment and
> the owner of store had some philosophical retort about the factory original
> valve stem lengths all being universally incorrect. So I respectfully asked
> what would happen if I were to side swipe a curb and the protruding valve
> stem break off. This second question was side tracked so I said as
> respectfully as something this final can be stated that I can't drive around
> like that. He offered to change back to original equipment size stems if I
> pay the re-mounting charge. No charge for the stems. I told him somewhat too
> less politely that I'd pay that expense somewhere else to rectify his
> incompetence. He told me to leave and not come back. So I was left with one
> of Fairfield's two tire stores accessible to me. Barred from one store but
> learned an important lesson. THOU SHALT NOT ALLLOW A TIRE CHANGE WITHOUT
> FIRST REQUESTING THAT VALVE STEM LENG

[FairfieldLife] Re: Dumb people with dogs - bites

[mike_shapiro2001]

I was bitten by a German shepherd in August of 2005 while the owner stood there 
talking to the dog in complete sentences as if the dog comprehends English.  
While the dog ran circles around me as I was walking down the sidewalk and 
stopped walking because I was afraid of exciting the dog.  She could have 
reached out and grabbed the dog by the collar at any time prior to it biting 
me, but no.  Just stood there talking to it until after I was bitten.

Then she got control after I was bitten.  And I asked her what assurance I had 
that the dog isn't rabid and she mumbled something sarcastic about its' collar 
and went away with the dog.  What followed was interesting.  I called the 
police with a complaint.  Was told that there's an ordinance that if a dog 
shows aggression repeatedly, it would be prohibited from living within the 
city.  And the policeman told me to stay local and he would seek proof from the 
dog owner that it's vaccinated.  Otherwise, I would have to go for rabies shots 
myself.  And if he didn't get back to me within 24 hours, she had produced 
proof.  He never contacted me so I assume she came up with some sort of proof.  
He had me write up a report and he would file a complaint and the dog owner 
would have to go to court about this and possibly face a fine for allowing the 
dog to run loose in the street.  About two weeks later, the lady and her 
husband stopped by my house and wanted to talk.  They seemed to be talking 
nonsense so I asked them what they wanted.  They said they wanted assurance 
that I'm ok.  Although she sure wasn't concerned when I told her I was bitten 
that day.  

Was more seriously mauled by a german shepherd when I was 12 while delivering 
papers.  Goes back alot of years...  Every morning this shepherd would charge 
at me barking aggressively and I was on my bike with this huge basket of 
papers.  Terrified.  Would drive it away with papers.  Then have to go pick up 
my papers and worry if it's coming back.  Really wanted to keep my dad's little 
shop hatchet in that basket for defense but never discussed the situation with 
my parents as perhaps I should have and was worried if I might get in trouble 
for having and using a hatchet and perhaps killing the dog.  Then one day the 
dog had its owner with him.  A customer on my route.  And the owner stood 
perhaps ten feet away and the dog charged at me.  I was afraid to try to drive 
it away with the papers and hoped it was unnecessary since the dogs owner was 
right there.  But he just stood there talking to the dog, never bothered 
reaching out to grab it or anything.  The dog chomped my thigh and I was 
defenseless because I was on my bike.  I still remember how bad it hurt but I 
slugged the dog hard enough in the eye to stun it which made my wound hurt even 
worse because his teeth pulled at the wound.  Then as the dog let go, the owner 
took control.  Perhaps for it's protection rather than mine.  No appology or 
anything.  I had to finish my paper route with bloody pants, wound still 
hurting and when I got home, both my parents had left for work.  I told my mom 
I was bitten later that day but the urgency of the moment was lost, I had some 
bandaids on at that point and nothing was done about rabies risk or anything. 
Disappointed in her when I look back, but this was a long time ago when people 
were less careful about health risks and when the framework for dog liability 
had perhaps not been well established.

So what's up with dog owners not able to just grab their dog by the collar when 
it starts showing aggression towards somebody?  And when somebody is bitten, 
why can't they at least say they're sorry it happened?  They're batting zero 
for two on this fundamental point of human decency with me.  It's like we 
humans are some lower life form unto their exalted dog, not even deserving the 
courtesy of an appology when we're bitten.  Bad enough we have to suffer the 
barking.  But mostly I find the attitudes of dog owners in human conflicts 
really scary.



--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "ShempMcGurk"  wrote:
>
> 
> 
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mike Dixon  wrote:
> >
> > Speaking as a retired UPS driver, whenever I was bit, if the dog was not 
> > current on vaccinations, it had to be impounded for ten days of observation 
> > then released to the owner at his expense.
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
> That's ridiculous.
> 
> Any dog that bites once -- unprovoked -- should be put to sleep.
> 
> How many times were you bit during your career?  Do you feel the dog was 
> provoked?  What's your stand on the issue?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > From: ShempMcGurk 
> > To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
> > Sent: Wed, February 3, 2010 4:16:36 PM
> > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Dumb people with dogs
> > 
> > Â  
> > Had the dog bit you, Bhairitu, you would have had the responsibility to 
> > ensure that the owner put that dog to sleep.
> > 
> > May sound heartl

Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: How Ayn Rand Became an American Icon

[Sal Sunshine]

On Feb 3, 2010, at 8:42 PM, lurkernomore20002000 wrote:

>> I usually have to burn through the posts, and thus I probably miss some of 
>> the subtlties, but it seems that the tone of today's posts are in great 
>> contrast to the previous days' posts where the feuding was hot and heavy.  I 
>> have a more neutral attitude towards Judy, but damn, it sure is nice to 
>> shift into a little more friendly zone. (my previous post notwithstanding)

I agree, lurk.  Knowing Judy is out until Friday, though,
I just couldn't resist. :)  I wanted to keep her from
getting bored by giving her something to brood about
while she's out in the wilderness.   So she can come
roaring back in with style. 

>> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine  wrote:
>>> 
>>> On Feb 3, 2010, at 8:41 AM, do.rflex wrote:
>>> 
 Her secretary, Barbara Weiss, said: "I came to look on her as a killer of 
 people." The workings of her cult exposed the hollowness of Rand's claims 
 to venerate free thinking and individualism. Her message was, think 
 freely, as long as it leads you into total agreement with me.
>>> 
>>> Sounds like Judy.

[FairfieldLife] Re: Dumb people with dogs

[ShempMcGurk]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mike Dixon  wrote:
>
> Speaking as a retired UPS driver, whenever I was bit, if the dog was not 
> current on vaccinations, it had to be impounded for ten days of observation 
> then released to the owner at his expense.
> 
> 


That's ridiculous.

Any dog that bites once -- unprovoked -- should be put to sleep.

How many times were you bit during your career?  Do you feel the dog was 
provoked?  What's your stand on the issue?




> 
> 
> 
> From: ShempMcGurk 
> To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wed, February 3, 2010 4:16:36 PM
> Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Dumb people with dogs
> 
>   
> Had the dog bit you, Bhairitu, you would have had the responsibility to 
> ensure that the owner put that dog to sleep.
> 
> May sound heartless of me to say that, but if the dog bites one person 
> unprovoked, it very well may bite a child and do some real damage.
> 
> If a dog bit me, I wouldn't have any hesitancy at all. I would be very Ayn 
> Randian about it and have ZERO compassion for Fido.
> 
> --- In FairfieldLife@ yahoogroups. com, Mike Dixon  wrote:
> >
> > Some dogs have excellent judgement    :)
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> >  _ _ __
> > From: Bhairitu 
> > To: FairfieldLife@ yahoogroups. com
> > Sent: Wed, February 3, 2010 12:06:01 PM
> > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Dumb people with dogs
> > 
> >   
> > I suspect that FFL dog owners are pretty responsible, rein in their pet 
> > if it looks like it wants to jump on somebody. Maybe the problem is the 
> > humans the dogs own. Yesterday there was an attack in California on 
> > some children by dogs:
> > http://latimesblogs .latimes. com/lanow/ 2010/02/five- dogs-attack- 
> > family-walking- in-fontana. html
> > 
> > I bring this up because of the synchroncity of this event as yesterday 
> > when I was walking in a local park a dog which a woman was walking and 
> > on leash suddenly attacked me trying to bite me on the arm. She was 
> > able to restrain, apologized profusely. I informed her in California 
> > the laws say the owner is liable for such attacks. Believe if I got bit, 
> > had to get a rabies shot and it made miss work deadlines the lawsuit 
> > would be to the hilt. I also suggested that when walking the dog when 
> > anyone approaches to rein it so it can't do that. I meet many dog 
> > owners on my walks who do exactly that. They don't want to take a 
> > chance. Most dogs however ignore me.
> > 
> > This is becoming a big issue in the Bay Area. San Francisco is 
> > considering raising the fines on unleashed dogs or banning them 
> > altogether in parks. The same local park where I was walking yesterday 
> > is also a wildlife refuge. There candidates for the Darwin Awards walk 
> > their dogs into the clearly marked "no dogs" refuge. Some people really 
> > have shit for brains.
> >
>

[FairfieldLife] Re: SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD ~ Fesslers

[lurkernomore20002000]

Seems a little odd to me that you would find it so funny. I think he
thought he was ordering a factory part, and instead of the factory part
they substituted a generic part.  So he trusted these  parts guys, and
they screwed him. What do you find so funny about that?


--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "wannabe_us_2" 
wrote:
>
> Mister Events,
>
> LOL!
>
> I hate to sound insensitive. But you're saying Fessler's charged you
$124 to order a part, then bought it at the Nappa parts store for $38
and delivered it to you! I've heard they're pretty ruthless over there
but I drive a Subaru and I have never been to Fessler's. Feels like I'm
missing out on a part of life here. This is just too funny for me to
sympathize! Sorry. I feel cruel like Cartmin on Southpark. My bad, but
just could not help sharing in the knee slapping humor of this!
Hilarious!
>
> Bobby.
>
>
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "fairfieldevents"
fairfieldevents@ wrote:
> >
> >
> > i have had some minor problems also. goes with the territory. are
you aware that the new orshlins hardware across from hyvee is selling
tires now too? i priced tires at both of the tire places and at
orschlins hardware. the tire places were within two dollars of each
other but orschlins hardware was $13/tire cheaper. the only extra charge
was $2/tire to dispose of the old ones which i might have had to pay
elsewhere too. seemed weird to be buying tires at the hardware store but
they have a nice little shop equipped with a high speed balancer and
changer. limited selection, maybe one style per size or maybe two. but
prompt with no problems. my tires seem fine so far.
> >
> > ps
> > don't feel bad about being barred! i am not permitted at the parts
counter of the car dealership. some years back, they bought a very nice
new $38 water pump at napa and sold it to me for $124 over their parts
counter to go. i had it installed by someone else. i had prepaid the
pump to pick up the next day. then checked the price at napa after
picking it up and was told they didn't have one for my car because it
went to the dealership yesterday. $38. the water pump was fine but i
went back because i had a something intense i needed to express about
them doing that to me. maybe five years ago and it makes me sick to
think about it to this day.
> >
>

Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD...

[Sal Sunshine]

On Feb 3, 2010, at 8:05 PM, wannabe_us_2 wrote:

> Mr Shapiro,
> 
> I think you are taking your experiences too personally in thinking it's 
> karmic.  I have experienced some of the arrogance you refer to.  Annoying to 
> be treated that way but I have not gotten barred from the place and I did my 
> share of yelling too.  I don't think every irritating event is a definition 
> of each of our karma.  Probably just the culture of the tire business here in 
> town.  They seem pretty blazay about dealing up front but I've learned to 
> expect little and just go with the flow as when traveling abroad in an 
> undeveloped country.  Sorry to hear it cost you all that money though.  Don't 
> take it personal.

I disagree with Bobby, Mike.  It's definitely your karma.
It's all over, and the die is cast.   End of story. :)
Be afraid--be very, very afraid.

Sal

[FairfieldLife] Re: SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD ~ Fesslers

[wannabe_us_2]

Mister Events,

LOL!

I hate to sound insensitive.  But you're saying Fessler's charged you $124 to 
order a part, then bought it at the Nappa parts store for $38 and delivered it 
to you!  I've heard they're pretty ruthless over there but I drive a Subaru and 
I have never been to Fessler's.  Feels like I'm missing out on a part of life 
here.  This is just too funny for me to sympathize!  Sorry.  I feel cruel like 
Cartmin on Southpark.  My bad, but just could not help sharing in the knee 
slapping humor of this!  Hilarious!

Bobby.


--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "fairfieldevents"  
wrote:
>
> 
> i have had some minor problems also. goes with the territory. are you aware 
> that the new orshlins hardware across from hyvee is selling tires now too? i 
> priced tires at both of the tire places and at orschlins hardware.  the tire 
> places were within two dollars of each other but orschlins hardware was 
> $13/tire cheaper. the only extra charge was $2/tire to dispose of the old 
> ones which i might have had to pay elsewhere too. seemed weird to be buying 
> tires at the hardware store but they have a nice little shop equipped with a 
> high speed balancer and changer. limited selection, maybe one style per size 
> or maybe two. but prompt with no problems. my tires seem fine so far.
> 
> ps
> don't feel bad about being barred!  i am not permitted at the parts counter 
> of the car dealership.  some years back, they bought a very nice new $38 
> water pump at napa and sold it to me for $124 over their parts counter to go. 
>  i had it installed by someone else.  i had prepaid the pump to pick up the 
> next day.  then checked the price at napa after picking it up and was told 
> they didn't have one for my car because it went to the dealership yesterday.  
> $38.  the water pump was fine but i went back because i had a something 
> intense i needed to express about them doing that to me. maybe five years ago 
> and it makes me sick to think about it to this day.
>

[FairfieldLife] Re: SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD / but how about Orschlins?

[fairfieldevents]

i have had some minor problems also. goes with the territory. are you aware 
that the new orshlins hardware across from hyvee is selling tires now too? i 
priced tires at both of the tire places and at orschlins hardware.  the tire 
places were within two dollars of each other but orschlins hardware was 
$13/tire cheaper. the only extra charge was $2/tire to dispose of the old ones 
which i might have had to pay elsewhere too. seemed weird to be buying tires at 
the hardware store but they have a nice little shop equipped with a high speed 
balancer and changer. limited selection, maybe one style per size or maybe two. 
but prompt with no problems. my tires seem fine so far.

ps
don't feel bad about being barred!  i am not permitted at the parts counter of 
the car dealership.  some years back, they bought a very nice new $38 water 
pump at napa and sold it to me for $124 over their parts counter to go.  i had 
it installed by someone else.  i had prepaid the pump to pick up the next day.  
then checked the price at napa after picking it up and was told they didn't 
have one for my car because it went to the dealership yesterday.  $38.  the 
water pump was fine but i went back because i had a something intense i needed 
to express about them doing that to me. maybe five years ago and it makes me 
sick to think about it to this day.

[FairfieldLife] Re: SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD...

[lurkernomore20002000]

Strange, strange. I read the story and enjoyed it very much.  I related almost 
perfectly to Mike's story.  What seems to be obsessing to one person, is just 
an attention to detail for another. Or even possibly just "living in the 
moment"  I enjoyed your story Mike. Keep posting.  We need more of this kind of 
"abnormality" as Rick calls it.

"  wrote:
>
> I don't have much experience with the place across from Wal-Mart, but Keith
> at the Goodyear place is an extremely nice guy, as are the guys out at Bob's
> Automotive. How many on this forum have ever been thrown out of a store and
> told never to come back? It takes two to have a disagreement, and I suspect
> that you contributed more than your share to the problem, and also, given
> the number of words you've written about this issue, that you tend to obsess
> about things to an abnormal degree.
>  
> From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:fairfieldl...@yahoogroups.com]
> On Behalf Of mike_shapiro2001
> Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 5:01 PM
> To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [FairfieldLife] SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD...
>  
>   
> Please help me sort this out. I am barred from both of Fairfield's tire
> stores. This is as relevant to my inner self as anything. Has to be a karma
> thing with me. Because I have tried so hard to be extra nice to auto service
> people and usually get great really great service by giving respect where
> it's due and always tipping the mechanic. Almost never find any position
> they take with me unreasonable. These guys work for a living. But I SHALT
> NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD. Should be easy for me to remember now that I'm
> not allowed in either of Fairfield's two tire stores. But that's just so
> ironic! I'm really understanding and respectful towards mechanics and auto
> service operations. Much more so than my attitude towards doctors and
> hospitals. Generally try to keep a respectful demeanour towards everybody.
> Fairness in dealing with others is a karma thing and a point of spirituality
> with me. And I generally can't help admiring and appreciating the courteous
> diligent work offered by auto mechanics, especially in independant
> non-dealership shops, for the diverse work they do for us in a fiercley
> competitive and cost conscious environment.
> 
> But tire shops, some karmic block or something with me.
> 
> My problems started years back. I splurged on a set of 4 new tires at one of
> Fairfield's two tire stores. Low and behold, they had put on new valve stems
> that I am not exadgerating, protruded over four and a half inches from the
> wheel. So I asked respectfully why the switch from original equipment and
> the owner of store had some philosophical retort about the factory original
> valve stem lengths all being universally incorrect. So I respectfully asked
> what would happen if I were to side swipe a curb and the protruding valve
> stem break off. This second question was side tracked so I said as
> respectfully as something this final can be stated that I can't drive around
> like that. He offered to change back to original equipment size stems if I
> pay the re-mounting charge. No charge for the stems. I told him somewhat too
> less politely that I'd pay that expense somewhere else to rectify his
> incompetence. He told me to leave and not come back. So I was left with one
> of Fairfield's two tire stores accessible to me. Barred from one store but
> learned an important lesson. THOU SHALT NOT ALLLOW A TIRE CHANGE WITHOUT
> FIRST REQUESTING THAT VALVE STEM LENGTH NOT BE ALTERED.
> 
> So for my next two hundred thousand miles of driving, I bought my tires at
> the alternate other tire store here in town. I'm out of town routinely and
> buying tires at some superstore would have been just as easy for me if not
> perhaps cheaper. But I honestly like supporting independent local businesses
> when possible. Five weeks back, three of my tires were seeping air slowly so
> I went to the tire store where I'm still allowed. A mechanic checked them
> out and said I had corrosion on my twelve year old aluminum wheels and one
> tire had a screw in it. He re-ground the rims and fixed the hole for sixteen
> dollars per wheel. I remember tipping him when I paid the bill. I usually
> tip mechanics seven dollars but sometimes five. How much does lunch
> typically cost around here? I don't remember which number I gave him but I
> do remember tipping him for sure. As I was leaving I went to check my
> pressures intending to set them where I like them somewhere on the way home
> when I get gas. And noticed a gash in the tread of one of the tires. Seemed
> odd that he hadn't said anything because as we all know, tire stores seem to
> like to sell us new tires when we just want our old one fixed. I went back
> in and told him I found a gash and I need a tire. I remember him asking me
> what size and it seemed to amuse him that I didn't have my tire size
> memorized. He offered me a deal if

[FairfieldLife] Re: How Ayn Rand Became an American Icon

[lurkernomore20002000]

I usually have to burn through the posts, and thus I probably miss some of the 
subtlties, but it seems that the tone of today's posts are in great contrast to 
the previous days' posts where the feuding was hot and heavy.  I have a more 
neutral attitude towards Judy, but damn, it sure is nice to shift into a little 
more friendly zone. (my previous post notwithstanding)

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine  wrote:
>
> On Feb 3, 2010, at 8:41 AM, do.rflex wrote:
> 
> > Her secretary, Barbara Weiss, said: "I came to look on her as a killer of 
> > people." The workings of her cult exposed the hollowness of Rand's claims 
> > to venerate free thinking and individualism. Her message was, think freely, 
> > as long as it leads you into total agreement with me.
> 
> Sounds like Judy.
> 
> Sal
>

[FairfieldLife] Re: Review of Avatar

[lurkernomore20002000]

I loved the movie.  Saw it twice in 3D. Had some really funny lines that
the family is getting a lot of mileage from.  I remember in my high
school years going to see these Fellini movies, that were supposed to be
so profound with hidden messages and meanings.  Really don't remember
anything about them.  But how enjoyable to go see a movie to just be
entertained, or amused, or transported some place different.  And not
have a running commentary. "Ah,he stole that from Star Wars, the low
life swine.  Ah, Fraud!  he pulled that straight out of Last of the
Mohicans.   Imposter!, that scene came from the uncut version of Blade
Runner, that real film afficanodos saw. "  The problem is that it far
exceeds anything you could do on your wildest best day.






--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "seekliberation"
 wrote:
>
> Offworld,
>
> Although I see the message behind the movie, I have to admit I agree
with you 100%. This was a stolen plot from many movies that depict some
primitave cultures that are archetype to previous movies (Dances with
Wolves, Last of the Mohicans). Absolutely no originality whatsoever,
other than the graphics themselves. I remember when 'Bladerunner' came
out, it was the first of its kind, in terms of the deep or subtle lesson
it tried to show. Same with Star Wars, Matrix (the original one only),
and several others. But as time moves on, carbon copies start being
made, and Avatar was nothing more than another carbon copy.
>
> Seekliberation
>
>
>
>
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, off_world_beings no_reply@
wrote:
> >
> >
> > Avatar was very forgetable. Its crap. I saw every next scene coming
like
> > the MASSIVE and sickly cliche it was.
> >
> > If you have seen 3d Imax on the oceans before, then even the 3d is
not
> > that great, plus it is some dumbasses idea of a fake nature, rather
than
> > ACTUAL nature, which is FAR more impressive in Imax 3d, because it
is
> > REAL, and has far more intricacy and subtlety to it.
> >
> > The story was crap, and a forgetable and stupid plot. Old hat,
nothing
> > new there. Absolutely done before many times, and cookie cutter
plot. No
> > better than some of the older Star Trek movie plots, but with good
3d.
> >
> > The Gaurdian is right: "stupid and predictable" If this gets an
Oscar
> > for anything other than good 3D graphics, then the Oscars are a
joke.
> >
> > OffWorld
> >
> > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
> >  > >
> > >
> > >
> > > MAWKISH, MAYBE. BUT AVATAR IS A PROFOUND, INSIGHTFUL, IMPORTANT
FILM
> > >
> > > CAMERON'S BLOCKBUSTER OFFERS A CHILLING METAPHOR FOR EUROPEAN
BUTCHERY
> > OF
> > > THE AMERICAS. NO WONDER THE US RIGHT HATES IT.
> > >
> > > By George Monbiot
> > > The Guardian
> > > January 11, 2010
> > >
> > >
> >
 > maybe
> >
 > maybe> > http://www.guardian  .co.uk/commentis
> > free/cifamerica/ 2010/jan/ 11/mawkish- maybe-avatar-profound-
important
> > >
> > > Avatar, James Cameron's blockbusting 3D film, is both profoundly
silly
> > and
> > > profound. It's profound because, like most films about aliens, it
is a
> > > metaphor for contact between different human cultures. But in this
> > case the
> > > metaphor is conscious and precise: this is the story of European
> > engagement
> > > with the native peoples of the Americas. It's profoundly silly
because
> > > engineering a happy ending demands a plot so stupid and
predictable
> > that it
> > > rips the heart out of the film. The fate of the native Americans
is
> > much
> > > closer to the story told in another new film, The Road, in which a
> > remnant
> > > population flees in terror as it is hunted to extinction.
> > >
> > > But this is a story no one wants to hear, because of the challenge
it
> > > presents to the way we choose to see ourselves. Europe was
massively
> > > enriched by the genocides in the Americas; the American nations
were
> > founded
> > > on them. This is a history we cannot accept.
> > >
> > > In his book American Holocaust, the US scholar David Stannard
> > documents the
> > > greatest acts of genocide the world has ever experienced. In 1492,
> > some 100
> > > million native people lived in the Americas. By the end of the
19th
> > century
> > > almost all of them had been exterminated. Many died as a result of
> > disease,
> > > but the mass extinction was also engineered.
> > >
> > > When the Spanish arrived in the Americas, they described a world
which
> > could
> > > scarcely have been more different to their own. Europe was ravaged
by
> > war,
> > > oppression, slavery, fanaticism, disease and starvation. The
> > populations
> > > they encountered were healthy, well-nourished and mostly (with
> > exceptions
> > > like the Aztecs and Incas) peaceable, democratic and egalitarian.
> > Throughout
> > 

[FairfieldLife] Re: SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD...

[wannabe_us_2]

Mr Shapiro,

I think you are taking your experiences too personally in thinking it's all 
karmic. I have experienced some of the arrogance you refer to. Annoying to be 
treated that way but I have not gotten barred from the place and I did my share 
of yelling too and I'm not naming who I was dealing with here. I don't think 
every irritating event is a definition of each of our karma. Probably just the 
culture of the tire business here in town. They seem pretty blazay about 
dealing up front.  I've learned to expect little and just go with the flow as 
when I'm traveling abroad in an undeveloped country. Sorry to hear it cost you 
all that money though. Don't take it personal. You have an amusing pros.

Bobby


--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "mike_shapiro2001"  
wrote:
>
> Please help me sort this out.  I am barred from both of Fairfield's tire 
> stores.  This is as relevant to my inner self as anything.  Has to be a karma 
> thing with me.
>
>
>

[FairfieldLife] Alex Jones Conspiracy Generator

[Bhairitu]

http://spamtheweb.com/ul/upload/030210/83444_Alex_Jones_Conspiracy_Generator.php

What conspiracy did he generate for you?

[FairfieldLife] Re: SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD...

[wannabe_us_2]

Mr Shapiro,

I think you are taking your experiences too personally in thinking it's karmic. 
 I have experienced some of the arrogance you refer to.  Annoying to be treated 
that way but I have not gotten barred from the place and I did my share of 
yelling too.  I don't think every irritating event is a definition of each of 
our karma.  Probably just the culture of the tire business here in town.  They 
seem pretty blazay about dealing up front but I've learned to expect little and 
just go with the flow as when traveling abroad in an undeveloped country.  
Sorry to hear it cost you all that money though.  Don't take it personal.

Bobby


--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "mike_shapiro2001"  
wrote:
>
> Please help me sort this out.  I am barred from both of Fairfield's tire 
> stores.  This is as relevant to my inner self as anything.  Has to be a karma 
> thing with me

Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Dumb people with dogs

[Bhairitu]

Maybe in Arizona but from the news report yesterday either the cops or 
animal control seem to decide that matter in California.  And one of the 
dogs that attacked the children yesterday was put down.

ShempMcGurk wrote:
> Had the dog bit you, Bhairitu, you would have had the responsibility to 
> ensure that the owner put that dog to sleep.
>
> May sound heartless of me to say that, but if the dog bites one person 
> unprovoked, it very well may bite a child and do some real damage.
>
> If a dog bit me, I wouldn't have any hesitancy at all.  I would be very Ayn 
> Randian about it and have ZERO compassion for Fido.
>
>   

[FairfieldLife] Re: SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD...

[mike]

i've had some problems too.  goes with the territory.  are you aware that the 
new orshlins hardware across from hyvee is selling tires now too?  i priced 
tires at all three places and orschlins hardware was $12/tire cheaper.  the 
only extra charge was $2/tire to dispose of the old ones which i might have had 
to pay elsewhere too.  seemed weird to be buying tires at the hardware store 
but they have a nice little shop equipped with a high speed balancer and 
changer.  no problems.

[FairfieldLife] Re: Interesting Physics and Cosmology

[WillyTex]

So, Nassim is making a connection between
consciousness energy and quantum mechanics
in the cosmology of the ancient Vedic
civiliztion?

> Nassim has spent most of his life 
> researching the fundamental geometry of
> hyperspace, studying a variety of fields 
> from theoretical physics, cosmology, 
> quantum mechanics, biology and chemistry 
> to anthropology and ancient civilizations... 

[FairfieldLife] Re: Question for Vaj

[WillyTex]

So, meditation has been found to relieve
stress and chronic pain?

> They give you all the tools necessary 
> for a lifetime practice, but is is 
> completely up to you to continue...

[FairfieldLife] Re: How Ayn Rand Became an American Icon

[WillyTex]

> > > Sounds like Judy.
> > > 
> > Sure does...
> >
Shemp: 
> Doesn't sound like Judy at all...
>
Sounds like Sal and John hold a
grudge against Judy for whipping
them in a fair debate. LoL!

Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Dumb people with dogs

[Mike Dixon]

Speaking as a retired UPS driver, whenever I was bit, if the dog was not 
current on vaccinations, it had to be impounded for ten days of observation 
then released to the owner at his expense.





From: ShempMcGurk 
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, February 3, 2010 4:16:36 PM
Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Dumb people with dogs

  
Had the dog bit you, Bhairitu, you would have had the responsibility to ensure 
that the owner put that dog to sleep.

May sound heartless of me to say that, but if the dog bites one person 
unprovoked, it very well may bite a child and do some real damage.

If a dog bit me, I wouldn't have any hesitancy at all. I would be very Ayn 
Randian about it and have ZERO compassion for Fido.

--- In FairfieldLife@ yahoogroups. com, Mike Dixon  wrote:
>
> Some dogs have excellent judgement    :)
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  _ _ __
> From: Bhairitu 
> To: FairfieldLife@ yahoogroups. com
> Sent: Wed, February 3, 2010 12:06:01 PM
> Subject: [FairfieldLife] Dumb people with dogs
> 
>   
> I suspect that FFL dog owners are pretty responsible, rein in their pet 
> if it looks like it wants to jump on somebody. Maybe the problem is the 
> humans the dogs own. Yesterday there was an attack in California on 
> some children by dogs:
> http://latimesblogs .latimes. com/lanow/ 2010/02/five- dogs-attack- 
> family-walking- in-fontana. html
> 
> I bring this up because of the synchroncity of this event as yesterday 
> when I was walking in a local park a dog which a woman was walking and 
> on leash suddenly attacked me trying to bite me on the arm. She was 
> able to restrain, apologized profusely. I informed her in California 
> the laws say the owner is liable for such attacks. Believe if I got bit, 
> had to get a rabies shot and it made miss work deadlines the lawsuit 
> would be to the hilt. I also suggested that when walking the dog when 
> anyone approaches to rein it so it can't do that. I meet many dog 
> owners on my walks who do exactly that. They don't want to take a 
> chance. Most dogs however ignore me.
> 
> This is becoming a big issue in the Bay Area. San Francisco is 
> considering raising the fines on unleashed dogs or banning them 
> altogether in parks. The same local park where I was walking yesterday 
> is also a wildlife refuge. There candidates for the Darwin Awards walk 
> their dogs into the clearly marked "no dogs" refuge. Some people really 
> have shit for brains.
>





  

Re: [FairfieldLife] Re:dogs & free speech

[Mike Dixon]

Leash laws are common. A dog must be on a leash when not in it's own fenced 
yard. By the way, keeping a dog on a chain outside makes them very territorial, 
aggresive and bark a lot.





From: ShempMcGurk 
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, February 3, 2010 4:10:19 PM
Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re:dogs & free speech

  


--- In FairfieldLife@ yahoogroups. com, "It's just a ride"  wrote:
>
> On Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 4:51 PM, mike_shapiro2001> So the rest of us in the
> neighborhood have to listen to the incessant barking all day long (do I have
> issues with this or what?). So the dog has more free speech than I do
> because if I chose to scream my head off at the same decibal level that Fido
> did, I would be arrested in about 5 minutes.
> 
> > >
> > > I would really like to see municipalities pass by-laws that said that all
> > pets must be kept inside the house while their owners are not there and the
> > only time pets can be outside is when the owner is outside with them.
> > >
> >
> 
> The mayor in my town is a dog lover, so dogs and cats are not allowed to be
> chained up or even left free alone outside, no matter the weather.

Wow! I didn't know there were ANY municipalities anywhere that would be 
enlightened enough to have this rule. I wrongly assumed that dog-lovers 
everywhere would put the kabbosh on any attempt to have such a law.

Would you please tell me which municipality this is? I'll then go online and 
search out the actual text of the law (most municipalities publish their 
by-laws online) so that I can forward it to my local city counsellor.

Thanks.

Dogs and
> cats must always be on a leash with the exception of being walked in
> someone's fenced-in yard or in one of the many pet parks in town. These
> parks were left fallow by people, so the town converted them to pet parks.
> 
> I don't want to revisit the old days or former places I've been where a dog
> could howl all day and night and the police could do nothing about it
> because the dog wasn't a person. A decade or more ago car alarms used to go
> off and would blare until turned off or the battery died. Sometimes car
> alarms went off with the slightest breeze. The police refused to do
> anything about an alarm that sat near my bedroom window, going off every few
> minutes on a windy night because the police could do nothing about a car
> making noise. If it were a person, they could be cited and perhaps arrested
> for disturbing the peace.
> 
> 
> -- 
> While attending a Marriage Weekend, Walter and his wife, Ann, listened to
> the instructor declare, 'It is essential that husbands and wives know the
> things that are important to each other.."
> 
> He then addressed the men,
> 'Can you name and describe your wife's favorite flower?'
> 
> Walter leaned over, touched Ann's arm gently, and whispered,
> 'Gold Medal-All-Purpose, isn't it?'
> 
> And thus began Walter's life of celibacy .
>





  

Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The American Taliban

[It's just a ride]

On Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 6:13 PM, ShempMcGurk wrote:

>
> In the days when AIDS first came a public issue (the 1980s?) the gay
> communities of places like San Franscisco indeed had "unconditionally accept
> any and all gay behavior" as policy.  The leaders of the gay communities
> were greatly resistant to having any kinds of restrictions on bath houses
> and other places where gays socialized.
>
> According to David Horowitz of frontpagemag.com, such policies directly
> led to 10s of thousands of unnecessary gay deaths.
>
>
Those men died needlessly because they didn't live in Africa.  IRRC the
government of South Africa holds that HIV/AIDS is not a virus and in many
countries in Africa raping a virgin will cure you of HIV/AIDS.

[FairfieldLife] Re: Dumb people with dogs

[ShempMcGurk]

Had the dog bit you, Bhairitu, you would have had the responsibility to ensure 
that the owner put that dog to sleep.

May sound heartless of me to say that, but if the dog bites one person 
unprovoked, it very well may bite a child and do some real damage.

If a dog bit me, I wouldn't have any hesitancy at all.  I would be very Ayn 
Randian about it and have ZERO compassion for Fido.

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mike Dixon  wrote:
>
> Some dogs have excellent judgement    :)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From: Bhairitu 
> To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wed, February 3, 2010 12:06:01 PM
> Subject: [FairfieldLife] Dumb people with dogs
> 
>   
> I suspect that FFL dog owners are pretty responsible, rein in their pet 
> if it looks like it wants to jump on somebody. Maybe the problem is the 
> humans the dogs own. Yesterday there was an attack in California on 
> some children by dogs:
> http://latimesblogs .latimes. com/lanow/ 2010/02/five- dogs-attack- 
> family-walking- in-fontana. html
> 
> I bring this up because of the synchroncity of this event as yesterday 
> when I was walking in a local park a dog which a woman was walking and 
> on leash suddenly attacked me trying to bite me on the arm. She was 
> able to restrain, apologized profusely. I informed her in California 
> the laws say the owner is liable for such attacks. Believe if I got bit, 
> had to get a rabies shot and it made miss work deadlines the lawsuit 
> would be to the hilt. I also suggested that when walking the dog when 
> anyone approaches to rein it so it can't do that. I meet many dog 
> owners on my walks who do exactly that. They don't want to take a 
> chance. Most dogs however ignore me.
> 
> This is becoming a big issue in the Bay Area. San Francisco is 
> considering raising the fines on unleashed dogs or banning them 
> altogether in parks. The same local park where I was walking yesterday 
> is also a wildlife refuge. There candidates for the Darwin Awards walk 
> their dogs into the clearly marked "no dogs" refuge. Some people really 
> have shit for brains.
>

[FairfieldLife] Post Count

[FFL PostCount]

Fairfield Life Post Counter
===
Start Date (UTC): Sat Jan 30 00:00:00 2010
End Date (UTC): Sat Feb 06 00:00:00 2010
433 messages as of (UTC) Thu Feb 04 00:13:56 2010

50 authfriend 
37 TurquoiseB 
34 curtisdeltablues 
26 ShempMcGurk 
24 WillyTex 
23 Rick Archer 
22 Hugo 
22 Bhairitu 
21 "do.rflex" 
20 Joe 
16 Vaj 
14 Sal Sunshine 
14 It's just a ride 
11 nablusoss1008 
11 Irmeli 
 9 wayback71 
 9 John 
 8 off_world_beings 
 7 raunchydog 
 6 cardemaister 
 6 Doug 
 5 m 13 
 5 Duveyoung 
 4 mainstream20016 
 4 lurkernomore20002000 
 4 Mike Dixon 
 3 BillyG 
 3 Alex Stanley 
 2 ruthsimplicity 
 2 mike_shapiro2001 
 2 azgrey 
 1 yifuxero 
 1 theawakening2012 
 1 tartbrain 
 1 shukra69 
 1 seekliberation 
 1 merlin 
 1 guyfawkes91 
 1 eustace10679 
 1 FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com

Posters: 40
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Europe Saturday: GMT 12 AM CET 1 AM EET 2 AM
For more information on Time Zones: www.worldtimezone.com 

[FairfieldLife] Re: The American Taliban

[ShempMcGurk]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "It's just a ride" 
 wrote:
>
> On Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 4:58 PM, ShempMcGurk wrote:
> 
> > Obviously, certain gay behavior as well as certain heterosexual behavior
> > most definitely should be outlawed.
> >
> > And we all know which activities I am referring to without having to go
> > into details.
> >
> > All that stupid idiot Sprigg had to do after he answered "yes" to Matthew's
> > question was to add the six words: "SOME homosexual activities should be
> > outlawed"  and he would have had Matthews, the gay community and everyone
> > else watching agree with him.
> >
> >
> Hold on here.  Have I been asleep and missed something?  I thought the gay
> "community" wanted the rest of us to unconditionally accept any and all gay
> behavior.  Isn't it a requirement that Gay Pride parades have to be
> outlandish and look more bizarre than any Mardi Gras or Carnivale parade or
> party?
>


In the days when AIDS first came a public issue (the 1980s?) the gay 
communities of places like San Franscisco indeed had "unconditionally accept 
any and all gay behavior" as policy.  The leaders of the gay communities were 
greatly resistant to having any kinds of restrictions on bath houses and other 
places where gays socialized.

According to David Horowitz of frontpagemag.com, such policies directly led to 
10s of thousands of unnecessary gay deaths.

[FairfieldLife] Re:dogs & free speech

[ShempMcGurk]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "It's just a ride" 
 wrote:
>
> On Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 4:51 PM, mike_shapiro2001> So the rest of us in the
> neighborhood have to listen to the incessant barking all day long (do I have
> issues with this or what?).  So the dog has more free speech than I do
> because if I chose to scream my head off at the same decibal level that Fido
> did, I would be arrested in about 5 minutes.
> 
> > >
> > > I would really like to see municipalities pass by-laws that said that all
> > pets must be kept inside the house while their owners are not there and the
> > only time pets can be outside is when the owner is outside with them.
> > >
> >
> 
> The mayor in my town is a dog lover, so dogs and cats are not allowed to be
> chained up or even left free alone outside, no matter the weather.




Wow!  I didn't know there were ANY municipalities anywhere that would be 
enlightened enough to have this rule.  I wrongly assumed that dog-lovers 
everywhere would put the kabbosh on any attempt to have such a law.

Would you please tell me which municipality this is?  I'll then go online and 
search out the actual text of the law (most municipalities publish their 
by-laws online) so that I can forward it to my local city counsellor.

Thanks.




  Dogs and
> cats must always be on a leash with the exception of being walked in
> someone's fenced-in yard or in one of the many pet parks in town.  These
> parks were left fallow by people, so the town converted them to pet parks.
> 
> I don't want to revisit the old days or former places I've been where a dog
> could howl all day and night and the police could do nothing about it
> because the dog wasn't a person.  A decade or more ago car alarms used to go
> off and would blare until turned off or the battery died.  Sometimes car
> alarms went off with the slightest breeze.  The police refused to do
> anything about an alarm that sat near my bedroom window, going off every few
> minutes on a windy night because the police could do nothing about a car
> making noise.  If it were a person, they could be cited and perhaps arrested
> for disturbing the peace.
> 
> 
> -- 
> While attending a Marriage Weekend, Walter and his wife, Ann, listened to
> the instructor declare, 'It is essential that husbands and wives know the
> things that are important to each other.."
> 
> He then addressed the men,
> 'Can you name and describe your wife's favorite flower?'
> 
> Walter leaned over, touched Ann's arm gently, and whispered,
> 'Gold Medal-All-Purpose, isn't it?'
> 
> And thus began Walter's life of celibacy.
>

Re: [FairfieldLife] SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD...

[It's just a ride]

On Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 5:19 PM, Rick Archer  wrote:

>
>
>  I don't have much experience with the place across from Wal-Mart, but
> Keith at the Goodyear place is an extremely nice guy, as are the guys out at
> Bob's Automotive. How many on this forum have ever been thrown out of a
> store and told never to come back? It takes two to have a disagreement, and
> I suspect that you contributed more than your share to the problem, and
> also, given the number of words you've written about this issue, that you
> tend to obsess about things to an abnormal degree.
>
>
My automobile fixit/supply/tire experiences in FF have always been very
fair, very "Hey, we all work for a living, we'll do it as inexpensively and
upfront as can be", and I've always bought tires, auto parts or had my car
serviced with out of state plates on it.  I needed 60K mile work done on my
Infiniti.  The maintenance schedule specified that the spark plugs be
platinum.  The service writer tried to talk me out of platinum spark plugs
because they're expensive.  I had to insist strongly before the guy relented
and wrote up platinum plugs.

Perhaps people treat me differently because I'm always rounding when I
purchase something or have service done in FF?   I find all the shop
keepers, Hi-Vee, Walmart and service people to be extremely helpful, honest
and friendly.  I've found contractors to be quite helpful but often quite
clueless.  Guess that comes with a state that up until recently didn't
license tradesmen.

Re: [FairfieldLife] Dumb people with dogs

[Mike Dixon]

Some dogs have excellent judgement    :)





From: Bhairitu 
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, February 3, 2010 12:06:01 PM
Subject: [FairfieldLife] Dumb people with dogs

  
I suspect that FFL dog owners are pretty responsible, rein in their pet 
if it looks like it wants to jump on somebody. Maybe the problem is the 
humans the dogs own. Yesterday there was an attack in California on 
some children by dogs:
http://latimesblogs .latimes. com/lanow/ 2010/02/five- dogs-attack- 
family-walking- in-fontana. html

I bring this up because of the synchroncity of this event as yesterday 
when I was walking in a local park a dog which a woman was walking and 
on leash suddenly attacked me trying to bite me on the arm. She was 
able to restrain, apologized profusely. I informed her in California 
the laws say the owner is liable for such attacks. Believe if I got bit, 
had to get a rabies shot and it made miss work deadlines the lawsuit 
would be to the hilt. I also suggested that when walking the dog when 
anyone approaches to rein it so it can't do that. I meet many dog 
owners on my walks who do exactly that. They don't want to take a 
chance. Most dogs however ignore me.

This is becoming a big issue in the Bay Area. San Francisco is 
considering raising the fines on unleashed dogs or banning them 
altogether in parks. The same local park where I was walking yesterday 
is also a wildlife refuge. There candidates for the Darwin Awards walk 
their dogs into the clearly marked "no dogs" refuge. Some people really 
have shit for brains.





  

Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The American Taliban

[It's just a ride]

On Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 4:58 PM, ShempMcGurk wrote:

> Obviously, certain gay behavior as well as certain heterosexual behavior
> most definitely should be outlawed.
>
> And we all know which activities I am referring to without having to go
> into details.
>
> All that stupid idiot Sprigg had to do after he answered "yes" to Matthew's
> question was to add the six words: "SOME homosexual activities should be
> outlawed"  and he would have had Matthews, the gay community and everyone
> else watching agree with him.
>
>
Hold on here.  Have I been asleep and missed something?  I thought the gay
"community" wanted the rest of us to unconditionally accept any and all gay
behavior.  Isn't it a requirement that Gay Pride parades have to be
outlandish and look more bizarre than any Mardi Gras or Carnivale parade or
party?

Re: [FairfieldLife] Re:dogs & free speech

[It's just a ride]

On Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 4:51 PM, mike_shapiro2001> So the rest of us in the
neighborhood have to listen to the incessant barking all day long (do I have
issues with this or what?).  So the dog has more free speech than I do
because if I chose to scream my head off at the same decibal level that Fido
did, I would be arrested in about 5 minutes.

> >
> > I would really like to see municipalities pass by-laws that said that all
> pets must be kept inside the house while their owners are not there and the
> only time pets can be outside is when the owner is outside with them.
> >
>

The mayor in my town is a dog lover, so dogs and cats are not allowed to be
chained up or even left free alone outside, no matter the weather.  Dogs and
cats must always be on a leash with the exception of being walked in
someone's fenced-in yard or in one of the many pet parks in town.  These
parks were left fallow by people, so the town converted them to pet parks.

I don't want to revisit the old days or former places I've been where a dog
could howl all day and night and the police could do nothing about it
because the dog wasn't a person.  A decade or more ago car alarms used to go
off and would blare until turned off or the battery died.  Sometimes car
alarms went off with the slightest breeze.  The police refused to do
anything about an alarm that sat near my bedroom window, going off every few
minutes on a windy night because the police could do nothing about a car
making noise.  If it were a person, they could be cited and perhaps arrested
for disturbing the peace.


-- 
While attending a Marriage Weekend, Walter and his wife, Ann, listened to
the instructor declare, 'It is essential that husbands and wives know the
things that are important to each other.."

He then addressed the men,
'Can you name and describe your wife's favorite flower?'

Walter leaned over, touched Ann's arm gently, and whispered,
'Gold Medal-All-Purpose, isn't it?'

And thus began Walter's life of celibacy.

RE: [FairfieldLife] SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD...

[Rick Archer]

I don't have much experience with the place across from Wal-Mart, but Keith
at the Goodyear place is an extremely nice guy, as are the guys out at Bob's
Automotive. How many on this forum have ever been thrown out of a store and
told never to come back? It takes two to have a disagreement, and I suspect
that you contributed more than your share to the problem, and also, given
the number of words you've written about this issue, that you tend to obsess
about things to an abnormal degree.
 
From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:fairfieldl...@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of mike_shapiro2001
Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 5:01 PM
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [FairfieldLife] SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD...
 
  
Please help me sort this out. I am barred from both of Fairfield's tire
stores. This is as relevant to my inner self as anything. Has to be a karma
thing with me. Because I have tried so hard to be extra nice to auto service
people and usually get great really great service by giving respect where
it's due and always tipping the mechanic. Almost never find any position
they take with me unreasonable. These guys work for a living. But I SHALT
NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD. Should be easy for me to remember now that I'm
not allowed in either of Fairfield's two tire stores. But that's just so
ironic! I'm really understanding and respectful towards mechanics and auto
service operations. Much more so than my attitude towards doctors and
hospitals. Generally try to keep a respectful demeanour towards everybody.
Fairness in dealing with others is a karma thing and a point of spirituality
with me. And I generally can't help admiring and appreciating the courteous
diligent work offered by auto mechanics, especially in independant
non-dealership shops, for the diverse work they do for us in a fiercley
competitive and cost conscious environment.

But tire shops, some karmic block or something with me.

My problems started years back. I splurged on a set of 4 new tires at one of
Fairfield's two tire stores. Low and behold, they had put on new valve stems
that I am not exadgerating, protruded over four and a half inches from the
wheel. So I asked respectfully why the switch from original equipment and
the owner of store had some philosophical retort about the factory original
valve stem lengths all being universally incorrect. So I respectfully asked
what would happen if I were to side swipe a curb and the protruding valve
stem break off. This second question was side tracked so I said as
respectfully as something this final can be stated that I can't drive around
like that. He offered to change back to original equipment size stems if I
pay the re-mounting charge. No charge for the stems. I told him somewhat too
less politely that I'd pay that expense somewhere else to rectify his
incompetence. He told me to leave and not come back. So I was left with one
of Fairfield's two tire stores accessible to me. Barred from one store but
learned an important lesson. THOU SHALT NOT ALLLOW A TIRE CHANGE WITHOUT
FIRST REQUESTING THAT VALVE STEM LENGTH NOT BE ALTERED.

So for my next two hundred thousand miles of driving, I bought my tires at
the alternate other tire store here in town. I'm out of town routinely and
buying tires at some superstore would have been just as easy for me if not
perhaps cheaper. But I honestly like supporting independent local businesses
when possible. Five weeks back, three of my tires were seeping air slowly so
I went to the tire store where I'm still allowed. A mechanic checked them
out and said I had corrosion on my twelve year old aluminum wheels and one
tire had a screw in it. He re-ground the rims and fixed the hole for sixteen
dollars per wheel. I remember tipping him when I paid the bill. I usually
tip mechanics seven dollars but sometimes five. How much does lunch
typically cost around here? I don't remember which number I gave him but I
do remember tipping him for sure. As I was leaving I went to check my
pressures intending to set them where I like them somewhere on the way home
when I get gas. And noticed a gash in the tread of one of the tires. Seemed
odd that he hadn't said anything because as we all know, tire stores seem to
like to sell us new tires when we just want our old one fixed. I went back
in and told him I found a gash and I need a tire. I remember him asking me
what size and it seemed to amuse him that I didn't have my tire size
memorized. He offered me a deal if I bought two and said he would swap out
another worst tire and rotate the two new tires to the front. Perhaps he
offered the discount since I had just paid to have these same wheels
re-mounted and balanced. I went for it. And as I drove around town, I
noticed that the car rode a little harder and perhaps just a little louder
than it had. But I wrote that off to having firm new tires with more tread.
Then started noticing that the car doesn't steer as nice out on the highway.
But thought that p

[FairfieldLife] SHALT NOT BUY TIRES IN FAIRFIELD...

[mike_shapiro2001]

Please help me sort this out.  I am barred from both of Fairfield's tire 
stores.  This is as relevant to my inner self as anything.  Has to be a karma 
thing with me.  Because I have tried so hard to be extra nice to auto service 
people and usually get great really great service by giving respect where it's 
due and always tipping the mechanic.  Almost never find any position they take 
with me unreasonable.  These guys work for a living.  But I SHALT NOT BUY TIRES 
IN FAIRFIELD.  Should be easy for me to remember now that I'm not allowed in 
either of Fairfield's two tire stores.  But that's just so ironic!  I'm really 
understanding and respectful towards mechanics and auto service operations.  
Much more so than my attitude towards doctors and hospitals.  Generally try to 
keep a respectful demeanour towards everybody.  Fairness in dealing with others 
is a karma thing and a point of spirituality with me.  And I generally can't 
help admiring and appreciating the courteous diligent work offered by auto 
mechanics, especially in independant non-dealership shops, for the diverse work 
they do for us in a fiercley competitive and cost conscious environment.

But tire shops, some karmic block or something with me.

My problems started years back.  I splurged on a set of 4 new tires at one of 
Fairfield's two tire stores.  Low and behold, they had put on new valve stems 
that I am not exadgerating, protruded over four and a half inches from the 
wheel.  So I asked respectfully why the switch from original equipment and the 
owner of store had some philosophical retort about the factory original valve 
stem lengths all being universally incorrect.  So I respectfully asked what 
would happen if I were to side swipe a curb and the protruding valve stem break 
off.  This second question was side tracked so I said as respectfully as 
something this final can be stated that I can't drive around like that.  He 
offered to change back to original equipment size stems if I pay the 
re-mounting charge.  No charge for the stems.  I told him somewhat too less 
politely that I'd pay that expense somewhere else to rectify his incompetence.  
He told me to leave and not come back.  So I was left with one of Fairfield's 
two tire stores accessible to me.  Barred from one store but learned an 
important lesson.  THOU SHALT NOT ALLLOW A TIRE CHANGE WITHOUT FIRST REQUESTING 
THAT VALVE STEM LENGTH NOT BE ALTERED.

So for my next two hundred thousand miles of driving, I bought my tires at the 
alternate other tire store here in town.  I'm out of town routinely and buying 
tires at some superstore would have been just as easy for me if not perhaps 
cheaper.  But I honestly like supporting independent local businesses when 
possible.  Five weeks back, three of my tires were seeping air slowly so I went 
to the tire store where I'm still allowed.  A mechanic checked them out and 
said I had corrosion on my twelve year old aluminum wheels and one tire had a 
screw in it.  He re-ground the rims and fixed the hole for sixteen dollars per 
wheel.  I remember tipping him when I paid the bill.  I usually tip mechanics 
seven dollars but sometimes five.  How much does lunch typically cost around 
here?  I don't remember which number I gave him but I do remember tipping him 
for sure.  As I was leaving I went to check my pressures intending to set them 
where I like them somewhere on the way home when I get gas.  And noticed a gash 
in the tread of one of the tires.  Seemed odd that he hadn't said anything 
because as we all know, tire stores seem to like to sell us new tires when we 
just want our old one fixed.  I went back in and told him I found a gash and I 
need a tire.  I remember him asking me what size and it seemed to amuse him 
that I didn't have my tire size memorized.  He offered me a deal if I bought 
two and said he would swap out another worst tire and rotate the two new tires 
to the front.  Perhaps he offered the discount since I had just paid to have 
these same wheels re-mounted and balanced.  I went for it.  And as I drove 
around town, I noticed that the car rode a little harder and perhaps just a 
little louder than it had.   But I wrote that off to having firm new tires with 
more tread.  Then started noticing that the car doesn't steer as nice out on 
the highway.  But thought that perhaps that was just a variation in my 
perception or something.  That was all five weeks back and the driveability did 
not improve.  Last week, the remaining old tire that he had serviced for 
seepage wasn't holding air again.  I went back.  Another mechanic looked at it 
and said he didn't want to fix it due to some uneven wear on the outer tread.  
So I asked for a new tire to match the brand on the front.  He noticed that the 
front tires are two sizes smaller than the back and asked me which size I 
wanted.  This was confusing.  I asked him why the other mechanic would change 
me down to a smaller tire size.  He checked with hi

[FairfieldLife] Re: The American Taliban

[ShempMcGurk]

Obviously, certain gay behavior as well as certain heterosexual behavior most 
definitely should be outlawed.

And we all know which activities I am referring to without having to go into 
details.

All that stupid idiot Sprigg had to do after he answered "yes" to Matthew's 
question was to add the six words: "SOME homosexual activities should be 
outlawed"  and he would have had Matthews, the gay community and everyone else 
watching agree with him.

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "do.rflex"  wrote:
>
> 
> 
> Not sure how many of you caught 'Hardball' last night, but the Christian 
> Right Family Research Council trotted out Peter Sprigg, another one of their 
> odious spokesbots to rail against the repeal of DADT, and at the end of the 
> piece, this little exchange happened:
> 
> -Matthews: Do you think we should outlaw gay behavior?
> 
> -Sprigg: Well, I think certainly..
> 
> -Matthews: I'm just asking, should we outlaw gay behavior?
> 
> -Sprigg: I think the Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas which 
> overturned the sodomy laws in this country was wrongly decided. I think there 
> would be a place in this country for criminal sanctions against homosexual 
> behavior.
> 
> -Matthews: So we should outlaw gay behavior?
> 
> -Sprigg: YES!
> 
> Watch: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/35206587#35206587
> 
> 
> via: http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=33951
>

[FairfieldLife] Re:dogs & free speech

[mike_shapiro2001]

OH SHEMP MCGURK!  YOU WORDED THAT SO WELL!  RELENTLESS BARKING IN CLOSE 
PROXIMITY TO HOME DEGRADES QUALITY OF LIFE MORE THAN ANYTHING.  COMPLAINED TO 
POLICE AND UNRESOLVED.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR WELL THOUGHT OUT PERSPECTIVE ON 
THIS.  TOO BAD IT WON'T MATERIALIZE.  MEDIA NURTURES AN IMBALANCED FANTASY OF A 
"WORLD FREE OF DOG RELATED PROBLEMS".  PERHAPS DUE TO THE AD BUDGETS OF DOG 
FOOD COMPANIES?  WHATEVER.  WE AS BARKING SUFFERERS ARE A POLITICALLY INCORRECT 
MAJORITY SUPRESSED BY MEDIA AGENDA WHICH IS SHAPED BY AD REVENUES.  BUT THANK 
YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR RELEVANT ANALOGIES.  YOU SO INSIGHTFULLY DEFINE THE PROBLEM 
AND IMBALANCES THAT WE ENDURE AS HUMANS.

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "ShempMcGurk"  wrote:
> 
> My issue with dogs is a free speech issue because I believe that municipal 
> ordinances provide dogs with more free speech than I do.
> 
> I'm referring to their barking and the fact that many dog owners project a 
> quality of humanism into their pets to such an extent that they think the 
> stupid mutts will be unhappy if they are treated like the dumb animals that 
> they are.  
> 
> When many pet owners leave their houses empty for the day and go to work, 
> they don't want to keep poor Fido locked up in the house all day (because 
> they, the owners, wouldn't want to be cooped up all day if it were them), 
> they will put Fido outside in the back yard.
> 
> But Fido may choose to bark his fucking head off for the entire time, 
> something that the owner is unaware of because he isn't there and, indeed, if 
> he were home wouldn't stand for himself BECAUSE IT WOULD DRIVE HIM CRAZY.
> 
> So the rest of us in the neighborhood have to listen to the incessant barking 
> all day long (do I have issues with this or what?).  So the dog has more free 
> speech than I do because if I chose to scream my head off at the same decibal 
> level that Fido did, I would be arrested in about 5 minutes.
> 
> I would really like to see municipalities pass by-laws that said that all 
> pets must be kept inside the house while their owners are not there and the 
> only time pets can be outside is when the owner is outside with them.
>

[FairfieldLife] The American Taliban

[do.rflex]

Not sure how many of you caught 'Hardball' last night, but the Christian Right 
Family Research Council trotted out Peter Sprigg, another one of their odious 
spokesbots to rail against the repeal of DADT, and at the end of the piece, 
this little exchange happened:

-Matthews: Do you think we should outlaw gay behavior?

-Sprigg: Well, I think certainly..

-Matthews: I'm just asking, should we outlaw gay behavior?

-Sprigg: I think the Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas which 
overturned the sodomy laws in this country was wrongly decided. I think there 
would be a place in this country for criminal sanctions against homosexual 
behavior.

-Matthews: So we should outlaw gay behavior?

-Sprigg: YES!

Watch: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/35206587#35206587


via: http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=33951

[FairfieldLife] Re: Question for Vaj

[azgrey]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj  wrote:
>
> 
> On Feb 3, 2010, at 1:15 PM, TurquoiseB wrote:
> 
> > Vaj, somewhere I seem to remember you mentioning
> > studies done on the use of Mindfulness to alleviate
> > chronic pain. If this is a real memory, and you know
> > of such studies, or people who are doing this, could
> > you send that info to me?
> 
> 
> I'll have to see if I have my copy of Bill Moyers PBS special Healing  
> and the Mind. One of it's episodes details the clinical work of Jon  
> Kabat-Zinn (son in law of the late Howard Zinn) at the University of  
> Massachusetts Medical School. He developed what's come to called  
> MBSR, Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction. It's often used for people  
> with chronic pain. In some places, insurance covers the 8-week  
> course. It's also very reasonable, around 400 USD I believe.
> 
> The Moyers documentary is quite good, as it shows people with really  
> bad pain working with it via this course. I'll post a link later off  
> list. Very inspiring.
> 
> I also recently posted a link to an excellent paper on MBSR (for  
> anxiety and depression) which appeared in the December Current  
> Psychiatry.
> 
> Here's a tool to find a program, wherever you live:
> 
> http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/mbsr/
> 
> http://www.mindfullivingprograms.com/whatMBSR.php
>


My interest in taking a formal course in Mindfullness was accelerated
after reading posts here on FFL by Stu (s2ness) about programs offered by
http://www.insightla.org/ 

Clicking around Insightla in the Spring of 2008 led me to the site listed
by Vaj.
http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/mbsr/

I was very pleased with the quality of the course. Quite a mixed group
enrolled, as the location for instruction was a very large Hospital/Health
Care facility very near my home. A number of the people who took
the course were there for chronic pain issues and had been referred by
physicians associated with the hospital. Fees, as I understand it, are set
by individual teachers and are commonly a sliding scale based on income. 

My appreciation for the quality of the instruction has continued to grow
over time as I investigate Theravadin Buddhism and see how Jon Kabat
-Zinn took multiple classical practices and presented them in a throughly
modern secular context. They give you all the tools necessary for a lifetime
practice, but is is completely up to you to continue. I must admit I had to
consciously suspend some of the underpinnings of meditation that had been
continually stressed by the TMO regarding "concentration." If one chooses to, 
the integration of a TM & MBSR program is quite easy. I still enjoy my TM
practice but find it impossible to recommend as the TMO is such a whacked
organization. Tis a pity. 

Opportunities abound to further and deepen the practice of the methods
learned on an MBSR course in many parts of the country. A more direct
Buddhist flavor is experienced at Spirit Rock, Deer Park, or the Cambridge 
Insight Meditation Center. 

   
  

[FairfieldLife] Re: Dumb people with dogs

[ShempMcGurk]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu  wrote:
>
> I suspect that FFL dog owners are pretty responsible, rein in their pet 
> if it looks like it wants to jump on somebody.  Maybe the problem is the 
> humans the dogs own.  Yesterday there was an attack in California on 
> some children by dogs:
> http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/02/five-dogs-attack-family-walking-in-fontana.html
> 
> I bring this up because of the synchroncity of this event as yesterday 
> when I was walking in a local park a dog which a woman was walking and 
> on leash suddenly attacked me trying to bite me on the arm.  She was 
> able to restrain, apologized profusely.  I informed her in California 
> the laws say the owner is liable for such attacks. Believe if I got bit, 
> had to get a rabies shot and it made miss work deadlines the lawsuit 
> would be to the hilt.   I also suggested that when walking the dog when 
> anyone approaches to rein it so it can't do that.  I meet many dog 
> owners on my walks who do exactly that. They don't want to take a 
> chance.  Most dogs however ignore me.
> 
> This is becoming a big issue in the Bay Area.  San Francisco is 
> considering raising the fines on unleashed dogs or banning them 
> altogether in parks.  The same local park where I was walking yesterday 
> is also a wildlife refuge.  There candidates for the Darwin Awards walk 
> their dogs into the clearly marked "no dogs" refuge.  Some people really 
> have shit for brains.
>


My issue with dogs is a free speech issue because I believe that municipal 
ordinances provide dogs with more free speech than I do.

I'm referring to their barking and the fact that many dog owners project a 
quality of humanism into their pets to such an extent that they think the 
stupid mutts will be unhappy if they are treated like the dumb animals that 
they are.  

When many pet owners leave their houses empty for the day and go to work, they 
don't want to keep poor Fido locked up in the house all day (because they, the 
owners, wouldn't want to be cooped up all day if it were them), they will put 
Fido outside in the back yard.

But Fido may choose to bark his fucking head off for the entire time, something 
that the owner is unaware of because he isn't there and, indeed, if he were 
home wouldn't stand for himself BECAUSE IT WOULD DRIVE HIM CRAZY.

So the rest of us in the neighborhood have to listen to the incessant barking 
all day long (do I have issues with this or what?).  So the dog has more free 
speech than I do because if I chose to scream my head off at the same decibal 
level that Fido did, I would be arrested in about 5 minutes.

I would really like to see municipalities pass by-laws that said that all pets 
must be kept inside the house while their owners are not there and the only 
time pets can be outside is when the owner is outside with them.

[FairfieldLife] Re: New Zealand teen auctions off her virginity

[ShempMcGurk]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine  wrote:
>
> On Feb 3, 2010, at 12:47 PM, ShempMcGurk wrote:
> 
> > That makes you a braggadocios of your membership in not one but TWO 
> > exclusive clubs:
> > 
> > 1) one of only very few humans that have actually witnessed levitation.  
> > And not just once but, according to you, many, many times.  Oh, you special 
> > person, you.
> > 
> > 2) a deflowerer of virgins.  And not just once but, according to you, many, 
> > many times because, hey, if they -- snicker, snicker -- made deflowering a 
> > pay-per-fuck you'd -- snicker, snicker -- owe more money than there is in 
> > the Bank of Monte Carlo!
> 
> Maybe you need a humor check, Shemp.
>  I guessed as soon as I saw that that Barry
> was probably kidding, and he confirmed it
> in the next post.
> 



I suspect that he wasn't kidding when he wrote it but once he sent it off, 
decided he better cover his ass by sending a second post suggesting he was 
kidding.

Hasn't deflowering virgins been a theme of his previous to this?  Correct me if 
I'm wrong, but I remember seeing other references to it, although not as 
brazenly as he did today.




> > What possesses you to need to share these special little talents of yours 
> > with us, Barry?
> 
> As he said, to try and get a rise out of some of
> the prudes.  Looks like he succeeded.
> 
> Sal
>


Better to tell John Manning that I'm a prude.  He believes I frequent 
prostitutes on a regular basis.

[FairfieldLife] Re: How Ayn Rand Became an American Icon

[ShempMcGurk]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "do.rflex"  wrote:
>
> 
> 
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine  wrote:
> >
> > On Feb 3, 2010, at 8:41 AM, do.rflex wrote:
> > 
> > > Her secretary, Barbara Weiss, said: "I came to look on her as a killer of 
> > > people." The workings of her cult exposed the hollowness of Rand's claims 
> > > to venerate free thinking and individualism. Her message was, think 
> > > freely, as long as it leads you into total agreement with me.
> > 
> > Sounds like Judy.
> > 
> > Sal
> >
> 
> Sure does...
>



Doesn't sound like Judy at all...even the selected clip above.

Firstly, Judy is different ideologically from Rand about 180 degrees.

Secondly, Judy will entertain discussions, debates, and arguments from those 
who not only have disagreed with her in the past (ie., me) but vehemently 
disagreed with her (ie, me) and yet, take a new posting solely on the basis of 
its merits and address it.

Rand would cut you off like a wayward Amish being shunned by the entire 
community, as she did to Nathaniel Brandon and his wife, Barbara.  You were, 
effectively, sentenced to Siberia.  I really don't know of any instances where 
Judy does that.

Do I have criticisms of Judy?  Yup.  But they aren't of the Ayn Rand variety, 
that's for sure.

And although I'm somewhat familiar with Rand (I've read her four novels and 
some of her non-fiction) my understanding of her "cult" (yes,  think it's fair 
to call it that) and how she interacted with it was, in one sense, similar to 
the way Maharishi dealt with people.  If you came to her with an honest 
question that demonstrated that you were ideologically opposed to her, she 
would both welcome the question and spend as much time as she could answering 
it.  No, she didn't suffer fools gladly and if she thought you had an agenda 
other than what you represented, she would cut you down immediately (she did 
that to her own detriment on national TV during the Phil Donahue Show on more 
than one occasion).

Rand had some great things to say but, sadly, she was a fanatic and those 
around her cultured a real cult mentality even eventually coming up with 
kangaroo courts and things like that.

Although I liked the themes and messages of her books, I found reading them 
tedious and boring.

[FairfieldLife] Re: Nutcases and fringe wackos are defining the GOP

[ShempMcGurk]

Let's deal with all three accusations: racist, socialist, non-U.S. citizen.

non-U.S. citizen.  A non-issue as far as I'm concerned.  Even if he wasn't, he 
certainly isn't responsible for not knowing.  Myself, I can't remember earlier 
than when I was about 4 years old.

Socialist.  Sure, he probably is...but that's not saying much coming from 
me...I think that George Bush is a socialist for being the mega-spender he was. 
 Obama is probaly 25% more socialist than George Bush.  A pox on both of them.

Racist.  The jury is still out.  The fact that he sat in the same church with 
not a garden-variety anti-Semite but a virulent anti-Semite for 20 years really 
puts a question mark on this issue with Obama and puts the onus on him to prove 
he is NOT a racist.





--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "do.rflex"  wrote:
>
> 
> Large Portion Of GOP Thinks Obama Is Racist, Socialist, Non-U.S.
> Citizen: Poll
> 
> A new poll of more than 2,000 self-identified Republican voters
> illustrates the incredible paranoia enveloping the party and the intense
> pressure drawing lawmakers further and further away from political
> moderation.
> The numbers speak for themselves -- a large portion of GOP voters think
> that President Obama is racist, socialist or a non-US citizen -- though,
> when considering them, it is important to note that a disproportionate
> percentage of respondents are from GOP strongholds in the South (42
> percent) as opposed to the Northeast (11 percent).
> 
> 
> Also note that this is a poll of self-identified Republicans, which
> means that independent Tea Party types are not included.
> 
> Nevertheless here are some of the standout figures as provided by Daily
> Kos/Research 2000  :
> 
> * 39 percent of Republicans believe Obama should be impeached, 29
> percent are not sure, 32 percent said he should not be voted out of
> office.
> 
> * 36 percent of Republicans believe Obama was not born in the United
> States, 22 percent are not sure, 42 percent think he is a natural
> citizen.
> 
> * 31 percent of Republicans believe Obama is a "Racist who hates White
> people" -- the description once adopted by Fox News's Glenn Beck. 33
> percent were not sure, and 36 percent said he was not a racist.
> 
> * 63 percent of Republicans think Obama is a socialist, 16 percent are
> not sure, 21 percent say he is not
> 
> * 24 percent of Republicans believe Obama wants "the terrorists to win,"
> 33 percent aren't sure, 43 percent said he did not want the terrorist to
> win.
> 
> * 21 percent of Republicans believe ACORN stole the 2008 election, 55
> percent are not sure, 24 percent said the community organizing group did
> not steal the election.
> 
> * 23 percent of Republicans believe that their state should secede from
> the United States, 19 percent aren't sure, 58 percent said no.
> 
> * 53 percent of Republicans said they believe Sarah Palin is more
> qualified to be president than Obama.
> 
> 
> During his appearance at the House Republican retreat last Friday, Obama
> explained that it was hard to forge bipartisan consensus when lawmakers
> were trashing his health care bill as a "Bolshevik plot".
> 
> 
> These poll numbers show that the gulf preventing bipartisan consensus
> extends well beyond health care. How does a Republican lawmaker explain
> to his or her die-hard base that it is important to work on legislation
> with a racist, socialist president who is illegally holding office only
> because of the help of ACORN?
> 
> "This is why it's becoming impossible for elected Republicans to work
> with Democrats to improve our country," said Markos Moulitsas, founder
> and publisher of Daily Kos. "They are a party beholden to conspiracy
> theorists who don't even believe Obama was born in the United States,
> and already want to impeach him despite a glaring lack of scandal or
> wrongdoing.
> 
> 
> They think Obama is racist against white people and the second coming of
> Lenin. And if any of them stray and decide to do the right thing and try
> to work in a bipartisan fashion, they suffer primaries and attacks.
> Given what their base demands -- and this poll illustrates them
> perfectly -- it's no wonder the GOP is the party of no."
> 
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/02/large-portion-of-gop-thin_n_445\
> 951.html
>

[FairfieldLife] Re: New Zealand teen auctions off her virginity

[azgrey]

George Burns - "It isn't premarital sex if you have no intention of getting 
married."


--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB  wrote:
>
> I'm kinda hoping that this trend doesn't go worldwide, or set either a
> legal precedent or a "price point," because if they make this practice
> retroactive I owe more money than I have.
> 
> New Zealand Virgin Auctions Herself For Tuition Money
> 
> WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A New Zealand teenager who says she
> auctioned her virginity online for $32,000 to raise tuition money did
> not break any laws but it might be risky for her to follow through on
> the deal, police warned Wednesday.
> 

[FairfieldLife] Dumb people with dogs

[Bhairitu]

I suspect that FFL dog owners are pretty responsible, rein in their pet 
if it looks like it wants to jump on somebody.  Maybe the problem is the 
humans the dogs own.  Yesterday there was an attack in California on 
some children by dogs:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/02/five-dogs-attack-family-walking-in-fontana.html

I bring this up because of the synchroncity of this event as yesterday 
when I was walking in a local park a dog which a woman was walking and 
on leash suddenly attacked me trying to bite me on the arm.  She was 
able to restrain, apologized profusely.  I informed her in California 
the laws say the owner is liable for such attacks. Believe if I got bit, 
had to get a rabies shot and it made miss work deadlines the lawsuit 
would be to the hilt.   I also suggested that when walking the dog when 
anyone approaches to rein it so it can't do that.  I meet many dog 
owners on my walks who do exactly that. They don't want to take a 
chance.  Most dogs however ignore me.

This is becoming a big issue in the Bay Area.  San Francisco is 
considering raising the fines on unleashed dogs or banning them 
altogether in parks.  The same local park where I was walking yesterday 
is also a wildlife refuge.  There candidates for the Darwin Awards walk 
their dogs into the clearly marked "no dogs" refuge.  Some people really 
have shit for brains.

[FairfieldLife] Re: Interesting Physics and Cosmology

[John]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Rick Archer"  wrote:
>
>   Click here: Is this universe one big
> sea of energy - are we all connected?
>  

If you look at the second clip, he was narrating a spontaneous experience of 
two siddhis which he did not know at the time.  But these experiences were 
apparently the basis of his entire theory.

This is curious subject.

[FairfieldLife] Re: How Ayn Rand Became an American Icon

[do.rflex]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine  wrote:
>
> On Feb 3, 2010, at 8:41 AM, do.rflex wrote:
> 
> > Her secretary, Barbara Weiss, said: "I came to look on her as a killer of 
> > people." The workings of her cult exposed the hollowness of Rand's claims 
> > to venerate free thinking and individualism. Her message was, think freely, 
> > as long as it leads you into total agreement with me.
> 
> Sounds like Judy.
> 
> Sal
>

Sure does...

Re: [FairfieldLife] Nutcases and fringe wackos are defining the GOP

[Sal Sunshine]

Big surprise.

Sal

Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: New Zealand teen auctions off her virginity

[Sal Sunshine]

On Feb 3, 2010, at 12:47 PM, ShempMcGurk wrote:

> That makes you a braggadocios of your membership in not one but TWO exclusive 
> clubs:
> 
> 1) one of only very few humans that have actually witnessed levitation.  And 
> not just once but, according to you, many, many times.  Oh, you special 
> person, you.
> 
> 2) a deflowerer of virgins.  And not just once but, according to you, many, 
> many times because, hey, if they -- snicker, snicker -- made deflowering a 
> pay-per-fuck you'd -- snicker, snicker -- owe more money than there is in the 
> Bank of Monte Carlo!

Maybe you need a humor check, Shemp.
 I guessed as soon as I saw that that Barry
was probably kidding, and he confirmed it
in the next post.

> What possesses you to need to share these special little talents of yours 
> with us, Barry?

As he said, to try and get a rise out of some of
the prudes.  Looks like he succeeded.

Sal

Re: [FairfieldLife] Question for Vaj

[Vaj]

On Feb 3, 2010, at 1:15 PM, TurquoiseB wrote:


Vaj, somewhere I seem to remember you mentioning
studies done on the use of Mindfulness to alleviate
chronic pain. If this is a real memory, and you know
of such studies, or people who are doing this, could
you send that info to me?



I'll have to see if I have my copy of Bill Moyers PBS special Healing  
and the Mind. One of it's episodes details the clinical work of Jon  
Kabat-Zinn (son in law of the late Howard Zinn) at the University of  
Massachusetts Medical School. He developed what's come to called  
MBSR, Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction. It's often used for people  
with chronic pain. In some places, insurance covers the 8-week  
course. It's also very reasonable, around 400 USD I believe.


The Moyers documentary is quite good, as it shows people with really  
bad pain working with it via this course. I'll post a link later off  
list. Very inspiring.


I also recently posted a link to an excellent paper on MBSR (for  
anxiety and depression) which appeared in the December Current  
Psychiatry.


Here's a tool to find a program, wherever you live:

http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/mbsr/

http://www.mindfullivingprograms.com/whatMBSR.php

Re: [FairfieldLife] How Ayn Rand Became an American Icon

[Sal Sunshine]

On Feb 3, 2010, at 8:41 AM, do.rflex wrote:

> Her secretary, Barbara Weiss, said: "I came to look on her as a killer of 
> people." The workings of her cult exposed the hollowness of Rand's claims to 
> venerate free thinking and individualism. Her message was, think freely, as 
> long as it leads you into total agreement with me.

Sounds like Judy.

Sal

[FairfieldLife] Nutcases and fringe wackos are defining the GOP

[do.rflex]

Large Portion Of GOP Thinks Obama Is Racist, Socialist, Non-U.S.
Citizen: Poll

A new poll of more than 2,000 self-identified Republican voters
illustrates the incredible paranoia enveloping the party and the intense
pressure drawing lawmakers further and further away from political
moderation.
The numbers speak for themselves -- a large portion of GOP voters think
that President Obama is racist, socialist or a non-US citizen -- though,
when considering them, it is important to note that a disproportionate
percentage of respondents are from GOP strongholds in the South (42
percent) as opposed to the Northeast (11 percent).


Also note that this is a poll of self-identified Republicans, which
means that independent Tea Party types are not included.

Nevertheless here are some of the standout figures as provided by Daily
Kos/Research 2000  :

* 39 percent of Republicans believe Obama should be impeached, 29
percent are not sure, 32 percent said he should not be voted out of
office.

* 36 percent of Republicans believe Obama was not born in the United
States, 22 percent are not sure, 42 percent think he is a natural
citizen.

* 31 percent of Republicans believe Obama is a "Racist who hates White
people" -- the description once adopted by Fox News's Glenn Beck. 33
percent were not sure, and 36 percent said he was not a racist.

* 63 percent of Republicans think Obama is a socialist, 16 percent are
not sure, 21 percent say he is not

* 24 percent of Republicans believe Obama wants "the terrorists to win,"
33 percent aren't sure, 43 percent said he did not want the terrorist to
win.

* 21 percent of Republicans believe ACORN stole the 2008 election, 55
percent are not sure, 24 percent said the community organizing group did
not steal the election.

* 23 percent of Republicans believe that their state should secede from
the United States, 19 percent aren't sure, 58 percent said no.

* 53 percent of Republicans said they believe Sarah Palin is more
qualified to be president than Obama.


During his appearance at the House Republican retreat last Friday, Obama
explained that it was hard to forge bipartisan consensus when lawmakers
were trashing his health care bill as a "Bolshevik plot".


These poll numbers show that the gulf preventing bipartisan consensus
extends well beyond health care. How does a Republican lawmaker explain
to his or her die-hard base that it is important to work on legislation
with a racist, socialist president who is illegally holding office only
because of the help of ACORN?

"This is why it's becoming impossible for elected Republicans to work
with Democrats to improve our country," said Markos Moulitsas, founder
and publisher of Daily Kos. "They are a party beholden to conspiracy
theorists who don't even believe Obama was born in the United States,
and already want to impeach him despite a glaring lack of scandal or
wrongdoing.


They think Obama is racist against white people and the second coming of
Lenin. And if any of them stray and decide to do the right thing and try
to work in a bipartisan fashion, they suffer primaries and attacks.
Given what their base demands -- and this poll illustrates them
perfectly -- it's no wonder the GOP is the party of no."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/02/large-portion-of-gop-thin_n_445\
951.html

[FairfieldLife] Re: New Zealand teen auctions off her virginity

[ShempMcGurk]

That makes you a braggadocios of your membership in not one but TWO exclusive 
clubs:

1) one of only very few humans that have actually witnessed levitation.  And 
not just once but, according to you, many, many times.  Oh, you special person, 
you.

2) a deflowerer of virgins.  And not just once but, according to you, many, 
many times because, hey, if they -- snicker, snicker -- made deflowering a 
pay-per-fuck you'd -- snicker, snicker -- owe more money than there is in the 
Bank of Monte Carlo!

What possesses you to need to share these special little talents of yours with 
us, Barry?  After all, most of us here are brainwashed cult members of a 
movement that you yourself were fortunate enough to extricate yourself from.

Is it that you think that by showing us how green the grass is on the other 
side of the TM fence you can convince us to stop doing TM because, hey, God 
knows I don't get tail like that and, hey, it must be the TM that is causing 
all those women to reject me.  And see how successful Barry is -- not just the 
ladies but Virgins! And not just ONE virgin which any man would be lucky enough 
to deflower but a whole classroom sized group of them! -- and, hey, all these 
wonderful things have happened to him only since he stopped doing TM.

We are very, very lucky to have Barry Wright amongst us.



--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB  wrote:
>
> I'm kinda hoping that this trend doesn't go worldwide, or set either a
> legal precedent or a "price point," because if they make this practice
> retroactive I owe more money than I have.
> 
> New Zealand Virgin Auctions Herself For Tuition Money
> 
> WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A New Zealand teenager who says she
> auctioned her virginity online for $32,000 to raise tuition money did
> not break any laws but it might be risky for her to follow through on
> the deal, police warned Wednesday.
> 
> The anonymous 19-year-old student offered her virginity to the highest
> bidder on the Web site under the name "Unigirl," saying she would use
> the money to pay for her tuition. She said in a post that more than
> 30,000 people had viewed her ad and more than 1,200 had made bids before
> she accepted an offer of more than New Zealand dollars 45,000 ($32,000).
> http://www.ineed.co.nz 
> 
> Unlike similar New Zealand Web sites, bidding and correspondence between
> buyers and sellers on the ineed site is private so it is not known what
> bids Unigirl's offer received.
> 
> Web site owner Ross McKenzie said the site's policy was that as long as
> an ad was legal and did not offend the general standards of society, "it
> was OK." He confirmed Unigirl was a member on the site.
> 
> Prostitution is legal in New Zealand under laws considered more liberal
> than many countries. Prostitution among consenting adults is allowed in
> brothels and on the streets, and offering sexual services in print ads
> and online is also legal.
> 
> National police spokesman Jon Neilson said no law appeared to have been
> breached.
> 
> But "we would suggest it's not a safe practice," Neilson told The
> Associated Press. "There are definitely issues of personal safety" in
> using chat rooms, social dating networks and other Internet sites that
> can be used to arrange meetings between strangers.
> 
> Unigirl, in her initial post, described herself as attractive, fit and
> healthy. She did not post a photograph of herself, and bidders did not
> appear to have a way of confirming any of the details of her posts.
> Unigirl said she was desperate for money to pay university fees.
> "I am offering my virginity by tender to the highest bidder as long as
> all personal safety aspects are observed," her ad said. "This is my
> decision made with full awareness of the circumstances and possible
> consequences."
> 
> The internet has increasingly been used for offering and arranging sex
> services, and security concerns have quickly followed.
> 
> In the United States, 23-year-old former medical student Philip Markoff
> has pleaded not guilty to killing a masseuse he met on the Craigslist
> classified advertising site, and raping a stripper and robbing another
> woman he met in the same way.
> 
> Virginity has also been offered for sale online. British newspapers
> reported last week that a 16-year-old girl in Ireland had offered to
> sell her virginity on an online classified advertising site but recanted
> after a reporter posing as a bidder identified himself as from the
> media. A 22-year-old student in San Diego says she has received bids of
> up to $3.7 million for her virginity, which is being offered for sale
> through a brothel in Nevada, CNN reported.
> 
> Last year, a Philadelphia woman was charged with promoting prostitution
> after posting an ad online offering sex for tickets to a World Series
> baseball game.
> 
> Catherine Healy of the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective, a group that
> represents sex workers on health and rights issues

[FairfieldLife] Question for Vaj

[TurquoiseB]

Vaj, somewhere I seem to remember you mentioning
studies done on the use of Mindfulness to alleviate
chronic pain. If this is a real memory, and you know
of such studies, or people who are doing this, could
you send that info to me?

This is not for me but for a new cyber-acquaintance
who has been fighting chronic pain for years, and
now all that alleviates it is Oxycotin. I think she
lives in North Carolina. 

Thanks in advance. No need to post any reply here,
unless you think others would be interested. You know
where to reach me via email. 

[FairfieldLife] Your iDon't doesn't do this

[Bhairitu]

Yesterday HTC released the source code to my Android phone, an Eris. I 
downloaded it.  So where is the iPhone source code? :-D :-D :-D

Re: [FairfieldLife] THE CORRECTOR - A graphic novel in search of graphics

[Vaj]

On Feb 3, 2010, at 4:57 AM, TurquoiseB wrote:

This idea for a graphic novel just burbled out of my subconscious  
this morning. The only problem is that I have zero drawing talent,  
and cannot illustrate it. So if anyone knows a good illustrator, I  
think it could be a best seller...in some universe. Caveat: This is  
just a "wild hair idea" of my own, and has nothing whatsoever to do  
with Fairfield Life. Any resemblance one sees in my fictional  
characters to any person, living or undead, is purely coincidental.  
And I'll stand by that, no matter who tries to correct me.





Is that the same CORRECTOR who uses her Super Coherence Ray to make  
herself INVINCIBLE and bounces like a ball (well, actually more like  
human jello)?


I know some people who really need her help.

:-)

Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Review of Avatar

[Bhairitu]

Hugo wrote:
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Hugo"  wrote:
>   
>>
>> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Rick Archer"  wrote:
>> 
>>  The fate of the native Americans is much
>> 
>>> closer to the story told in another new film, The Road, in 
>>> which a remnant population flees in terror as it is hunted to 
>>> extinction.
>>>   
>> Maybe I didn't get the point of it but The Road seemed to be
>> about the moral breakdown after a social breakdown after an environmental 
>> breakdown after a nuclear war. Dog eat dog, no 
>> winning culture at all. A fabulous yet the most unremittingly 
>> bleak book I ever read, takes all the fun out of the apocalypse.
>> It's a likely nobel prize winner though. And without giving too 
>> much away it does have a kind of redemptive ending for the 
>> hunted, which is just as well, you'd kill yourself if it didn't.
>>
>> 
>
> But then I didn't see the film, maybe they changed the emphasis
> of the story. Wouldn't be the first time Hollywood did that eh?
>
> Classic book though for sure. A must read.
>
>
>   

I read the book and then saw the film (it played in the area back in 
November).The film didn't make clear as the book did what caused the 
apocalypse.   The book dwelled  a little more on the cannibalism than 
the movie.   The movie was interesting to me as I'm familiar with a lot 
of the landscape in the film having driven through it.  It is the area 
around Mount St. Helens.   Even just driving down the freeway I-5 to 
both the right and left in that area you could see that devastation.  
Some people like the film better than the book.  Note to the eyepatch 
folks, a "screener" circulating is 80 minutes long.  The actual film is 
111 minutes.  Wait for the Blu-Ray.

Speaking of which for Coen brothers fans "A Serious Man" releases next 
week in the US on DVD and Blu-Ray.  I wanted to see this film last fall 
but never made it to "barn" which is what I call the arthouse.

[FairfieldLife] Re: New Zealand teen auctions off her virginity

[TurquoiseB]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues"  
wrote:
>
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB  wrote:
> 
> An ancient practice based on tribal superstition and the over 
> valuing of virginity. "Cherry girls" are a world wide brothel 
> scam.  The last chick I would want to be with is a virgin. Talk 
> about overrated hype! Whatever dweeb goes for this deserves to 
> pay a ton for the low quality sex. 

Actually, my "intro" below was just to get a rise 
from the prudes in our midst. :-) I've never had 
sex with a virgin and never wanted to. I agree 
with you completely...sounds overrated and more
related to some guy's power or possession 
fantasies than anything else.


> > I'm kinda hoping that this trend doesn't go worldwide, or set either a
> > legal precedent or a "price point," because if they make this practice
> > retroactive I owe more money than I have.
> > 
> > New Zealand Virgin Auctions Herself For Tuition Money
> > 
> > WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A New Zealand teenager who says she
> > auctioned her virginity online for $32,000 to raise tuition money did
> > not break any laws but it might be risky for her to follow through on
> > the deal, police warned Wednesday.
> > 
> > The anonymous 19-year-old student offered her virginity to the highest
> > bidder on the Web site under the name "Unigirl," saying she would use
> > the money to pay for her tuition. She said in a post that more than
> > 30,000 people had viewed her ad and more than 1,200 had made bids before
> > she accepted an offer of more than New Zealand dollars 45,000 ($32,000).
> > http://www.ineed.co.nz 
> > 
> > Unlike similar New Zealand Web sites, bidding and correspondence between
> > buyers and sellers on the ineed site is private so it is not known what
> > bids Unigirl's offer received.
> > 
> > Web site owner Ross McKenzie said the site's policy was that as long as
> > an ad was legal and did not offend the general standards of society, "it
> > was OK." He confirmed Unigirl was a member on the site.
> > 
> > Prostitution is legal in New Zealand under laws considered more liberal
> > than many countries. Prostitution among consenting adults is allowed in
> > brothels and on the streets, and offering sexual services in print ads
> > and online is also legal.
> > 
> > National police spokesman Jon Neilson said no law appeared to have been
> > breached.
> > 
> > But "we would suggest it's not a safe practice," Neilson told The
> > Associated Press. "There are definitely issues of personal safety" in
> > using chat rooms, social dating networks and other Internet sites that
> > can be used to arrange meetings between strangers.
> > 
> > Unigirl, in her initial post, described herself as attractive, fit and
> > healthy. She did not post a photograph of herself, and bidders did not
> > appear to have a way of confirming any of the details of her posts.
> > Unigirl said she was desperate for money to pay university fees.
> > "I am offering my virginity by tender to the highest bidder as long as
> > all personal safety aspects are observed," her ad said. "This is my
> > decision made with full awareness of the circumstances and possible
> > consequences."
> > 
> > The internet has increasingly been used for offering and arranging sex
> > services, and security concerns have quickly followed.
> > 
> > In the United States, 23-year-old former medical student Philip Markoff
> > has pleaded not guilty to killing a masseuse he met on the Craigslist
> > classified advertising site, and raping a stripper and robbing another
> > woman he met in the same way.
> > 
> > Virginity has also been offered for sale online. British newspapers
> > reported last week that a 16-year-old girl in Ireland had offered to
> > sell her virginity on an online classified advertising site but recanted
> > after a reporter posing as a bidder identified himself as from the
> > media. A 22-year-old student in San Diego says she has received bids of
> > up to $3.7 million for her virginity, which is being offered for sale
> > through a brothel in Nevada, CNN reported.
> > 
> > Last year, a Philadelphia woman was charged with promoting prostitution
> > after posting an ad online offering sex for tickets to a World Series
> > baseball game.
> > 
> > Catherine Healy of the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective, a group that
> > represents sex workers on health and rights issues, said the New Zealand
> > teenager had entered into sex work by offering herself online.
> > 
> > "The amount of money is absolutely huge – and that puts her under
> > enormous pressure to perform all sorts of acts," she said.
> > 
> > But Healy said it was also possible that the successful bidder wanted to
> > "save" the teenager and would not ask her to have sex.
> > 
> > She said the teenager would still have the right to refuse to have sex
> > with the bidder if she changed her mind, and that the bidder could claim
> > his money back.
> >
>

[FairfieldLife] Re: New Zealand teen auctions off her virginity

[curtisdeltablues]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB  wrote:

An ancient practice based on tribal superstition and the over valuing of 
virginity. "Cherry girls" are a world wide brothel scam.  The last chick I 
would want to be with is a virgin. Talk about overrated hype! Whatever dweeb 
goes for this deserves to pay a ton for the low quality sex. 


>
> I'm kinda hoping that this trend doesn't go worldwide, or set either a
> legal precedent or a "price point," because if they make this practice
> retroactive I owe more money than I have.
> 
> New Zealand Virgin Auctions Herself For Tuition Money
> 
> WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A New Zealand teenager who says she
> auctioned her virginity online for $32,000 to raise tuition money did
> not break any laws but it might be risky for her to follow through on
> the deal, police warned Wednesday.
> 
> The anonymous 19-year-old student offered her virginity to the highest
> bidder on the Web site under the name "Unigirl," saying she would use
> the money to pay for her tuition. She said in a post that more than
> 30,000 people had viewed her ad and more than 1,200 had made bids before
> she accepted an offer of more than New Zealand dollars 45,000 ($32,000).
> http://www.ineed.co.nz 
> 
> Unlike similar New Zealand Web sites, bidding and correspondence between
> buyers and sellers on the ineed site is private so it is not known what
> bids Unigirl's offer received.
> 
> Web site owner Ross McKenzie said the site's policy was that as long as
> an ad was legal and did not offend the general standards of society, "it
> was OK." He confirmed Unigirl was a member on the site.
> 
> Prostitution is legal in New Zealand under laws considered more liberal
> than many countries. Prostitution among consenting adults is allowed in
> brothels and on the streets, and offering sexual services in print ads
> and online is also legal.
> 
> National police spokesman Jon Neilson said no law appeared to have been
> breached.
> 
> But "we would suggest it's not a safe practice," Neilson told The
> Associated Press. "There are definitely issues of personal safety" in
> using chat rooms, social dating networks and other Internet sites that
> can be used to arrange meetings between strangers.
> 
> Unigirl, in her initial post, described herself as attractive, fit and
> healthy. She did not post a photograph of herself, and bidders did not
> appear to have a way of confirming any of the details of her posts.
> Unigirl said she was desperate for money to pay university fees.
> "I am offering my virginity by tender to the highest bidder as long as
> all personal safety aspects are observed," her ad said. "This is my
> decision made with full awareness of the circumstances and possible
> consequences."
> 
> The internet has increasingly been used for offering and arranging sex
> services, and security concerns have quickly followed.
> 
> In the United States, 23-year-old former medical student Philip Markoff
> has pleaded not guilty to killing a masseuse he met on the Craigslist
> classified advertising site, and raping a stripper and robbing another
> woman he met in the same way.
> 
> Virginity has also been offered for sale online. British newspapers
> reported last week that a 16-year-old girl in Ireland had offered to
> sell her virginity on an online classified advertising site but recanted
> after a reporter posing as a bidder identified himself as from the
> media. A 22-year-old student in San Diego says she has received bids of
> up to $3.7 million for her virginity, which is being offered for sale
> through a brothel in Nevada, CNN reported.
> 
> Last year, a Philadelphia woman was charged with promoting prostitution
> after posting an ad online offering sex for tickets to a World Series
> baseball game.
> 
> Catherine Healy of the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective, a group that
> represents sex workers on health and rights issues, said the New Zealand
> teenager had entered into sex work by offering herself online.
> 
> "The amount of money is absolutely huge – and that puts her under
> enormous pressure to perform all sorts of acts," she said.
> 
> But Healy said it was also possible that the successful bidder wanted to
> "save" the teenager and would not ask her to have sex.
> 
> She said the teenager would still have the right to refuse to have sex
> with the bidder if she changed her mind, and that the bidder could claim
> his money back.
>

[FairfieldLife] Re: Panspermia back in the news!

[Hugo]

Edg, you've been doing your homework. I'm impressed!


--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung  wrote:
>
> The gamma ray sources are ancient universe constructs mostly, so they're 
> usually so far away that they pose no danger to us.  Going nova is a far more 
> common event -- three of them per year in our galaxy alone, but they have to 
> be very close to us to be a risk, and the galaxy is huge, 100,000 light years 
> across that chances are low that one would be near us.  
> 
> Stars that go super-nova are far more dangerous -- being able to put out so 
> much radiation in an instant that it equals the total of the entire galaxy's 
> output from normal star radiation.  However, there are no known stars that 
> are about to go supernova that are within twenty light years of Earth, and 
> they'd have to be within ten light years to be a risk to us. Our sun is too 
> small to ever go supernova.
> 
> http://stupendous.rit.edu/richmond/answers/snrisks.txt
> http://www.springerlink.com/content/h0661351216h1326/
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova
> 
> Edg
> 
> 
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Hugo"  wrote:
> >
> > 
> > 
> > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung  wrote:
> > >
> > > The problem with panspermia is that we do not yet have any example of a 
> > > microbe that could survive the long time period in space as it travels to 
> > > another planet.  Interstellar radiation is so powerful that even if the 
> > > germ is buried very deeply inside a large comet it still is ripped apart 
> > > by the process.  We've got earthy spoors that can last thousands of years 
> > > in seed form, but they wouldn't be virile enough to do thousands of years 
> > > in space.  Even if a rock is traveling at 100,000 miles per hour, it 
> > > would take 7,000 years to travel a single light year's distance...and the 
> > > closest star is 4 light years away.  So a rock has to be going much 
> > > faster and the germs have to be much more virile than those we've got 
> > > actual samples of to study. Radiation in space can be so powerful that 
> > > even at 50,000 light years distance, some gamma ray sources can wipe out 
> > > ALL LIFE ON EARTH. Harsh, eh? 
> > 
> > 
> > It's a cruel and harsh universe, that's for sure. We're
> > so lucky not to live near any gamma ray sources. A supernova
> > could really ruin your day!
> > 
> >  
> > > Edg
> > > 
> > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Hugo"  wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Professor's alien life 'seed' theory claimed [Interstellar dust
> > > > cloud]   The remains of living matter have been found in interstellar
> > > > dust clouds
> > > > New evidence from astrobiology "overwhelmingly" supports the view that
> > > > life was seeded from outside Earth, a scientist has claimed.
> > > > Prof Chandra Wickramasinghe of Cardiff University says the first
> > > > microbes were deposited on Earth 3,800m years ago.
> > > > 
> > > > The astrobiologist has helped developed the panspermia theory which
> > > > suggests an extra-terrestrial origin for life.
> > > > 
> > > > He argues for a cycle of life as microbes find their way into comets and
> > > > "multiply and seed other planets".
> > > > 
> > > > In the article, published in the International Journal of Astrobiology,
> > > > Monday, he argues humans and indeed all life on Earth is of alien
> > > > origin, brought onto the planet by comets hitting the planet.
> > > > 
> > > > Prof Wickramasinghe, of Cardiff University's centre for astrobiology,
> > > > says there is a cyclical transfer process of life from planet to planet.
> > > > 
> > > > He believes comets hit planets and push living organic matter out into
> > > > space, some of which survives and in turn gets transferred to developing
> > > > planetary systems over a timescale of millions and millions of years,
> > > > seeding life on the newly formed planets.
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > >   [http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif][Chandra Wickramasinghe
> > > > Image: BBC]
> > > > [http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif] 
> > > > Interstellar clouds appear to be the graveyard of life not its cradle 
> > > > [right]
> > > > Professor Chandra Wickramasinge
> > > > He accepts this model still does not explain how life actually began in
> > > > the first place, but says there is no hard evidence to support the
> > > > theory that life only began in a "primordial soup" on Earth, or other
> > > > places.
> > > > 
> > > > Over the past three decades research has shown that large swathes of the
> > > > Milky Way are strewn with gigantic dust clouds full of organic
> > > > molecules, which some people have argued shows life emerging
> > > > independently from new in these clouds.
> > > > 
> > > > In his paper, he says recent interpretation of spectra readings from the
> > > > organic molecules found in interstellar clouds has indicated that they
> > > > are in fact the remains of bacteria which has been broken down,

[FairfieldLife] Re: Panspermia back in the news!

[Duveyoung]

The gamma ray sources are ancient universe constructs mostly, so they're 
usually so far away that they pose no danger to us.  Going nova is a far more 
common event -- three of them per year in our galaxy alone, but they have to be 
very close to us to be a risk, and the galaxy is huge, 100,000 light years 
across that chances are low that one would be near us.  

Stars that go super-nova are far more dangerous -- being able to put out so 
much radiation in an instant that it equals the total of the entire galaxy's 
output from normal star radiation.  However, there are no known stars that are 
about to go supernova that are within twenty light years of Earth, and they'd 
have to be within ten light years to be a risk to us. Our sun is too small to 
ever go supernova.

http://stupendous.rit.edu/richmond/answers/snrisks.txt
http://www.springerlink.com/content/h0661351216h1326/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova

Edg


--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Hugo"  wrote:
>
> 
> 
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung  wrote:
> >
> > The problem with panspermia is that we do not yet have any example of a 
> > microbe that could survive the long time period in space as it travels to 
> > another planet.  Interstellar radiation is so powerful that even if the 
> > germ is buried very deeply inside a large comet it still is ripped apart by 
> > the process.  We've got earthy spoors that can last thousands of years in 
> > seed form, but they wouldn't be virile enough to do thousands of years in 
> > space.  Even if a rock is traveling at 100,000 miles per hour, it would 
> > take 7,000 years to travel a single light year's distance...and the closest 
> > star is 4 light years away.  So a rock has to be going much faster and the 
> > germs have to be much more virile than those we've got actual samples of to 
> > study. Radiation in space can be so powerful that even at 50,000 light 
> > years distance, some gamma ray sources can wipe out ALL LIFE ON EARTH. 
> > Harsh, eh? 
> 
> 
> It's a cruel and harsh universe, that's for sure. We're
> so lucky not to live near any gamma ray sources. A supernova
> could really ruin your day!
> 
>  
> > Edg
> > 
> > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Hugo"  wrote:
> > >
> > > Professor's alien life 'seed' theory claimed [Interstellar dust
> > > cloud]   The remains of living matter have been found in interstellar
> > > dust clouds
> > > New evidence from astrobiology "overwhelmingly" supports the view that
> > > life was seeded from outside Earth, a scientist has claimed.
> > > Prof Chandra Wickramasinghe of Cardiff University says the first
> > > microbes were deposited on Earth 3,800m years ago.
> > > 
> > > The astrobiologist has helped developed the panspermia theory which
> > > suggests an extra-terrestrial origin for life.
> > > 
> > > He argues for a cycle of life as microbes find their way into comets and
> > > "multiply and seed other planets".
> > > 
> > > In the article, published in the International Journal of Astrobiology,
> > > Monday, he argues humans and indeed all life on Earth is of alien
> > > origin, brought onto the planet by comets hitting the planet.
> > > 
> > > Prof Wickramasinghe, of Cardiff University's centre for astrobiology,
> > > says there is a cyclical transfer process of life from planet to planet.
> > > 
> > > He believes comets hit planets and push living organic matter out into
> > > space, some of which survives and in turn gets transferred to developing
> > > planetary systems over a timescale of millions and millions of years,
> > > seeding life on the newly formed planets.
> > > 
> > > 
> > >   [http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif][Chandra Wickramasinghe
> > > Image: BBC]
> > > [http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif] 
> > > Interstellar clouds appear to be the graveyard of life not its cradle 
> > > [right]
> > > Professor Chandra Wickramasinge
> > > He accepts this model still does not explain how life actually began in
> > > the first place, but says there is no hard evidence to support the
> > > theory that life only began in a "primordial soup" on Earth, or other
> > > places.
> > > 
> > > Over the past three decades research has shown that large swathes of the
> > > Milky Way are strewn with gigantic dust clouds full of organic
> > > molecules, which some people have argued shows life emerging
> > > independently from new in these clouds.
> > > 
> > > In his paper, he says recent interpretation of spectra readings from the
> > > organic molecules found in interstellar clouds has indicated that they
> > > are in fact the remains of bacteria which has been broken down, rather
> > > than being built up.
> > > 
> > > "Interstellar clouds appear to be the graveyard of life not its cradle,"
> > > he said.
> > > 
> > > "Each time a new planetary system forms a few surviving microbes find
> > > their way into comets. These then multiply and seed other planets," he
> > > said

[FairfieldLife] Obama already has most legislative success of any modern president

[do.rflex]

A very productive Congress, despite what the approval ratings sayNorman
Ornstein -  January 31, 2010 - Washington Post

Obama already has the most legislative success
of any modern president -- and that includes
Ronald Reagan and Lyndon Johnson

(...even with unprecedented partisan opposition and obstructionism)






When President Obama urged lawmakers during his State of the
Union speech
  to work
with him on "restoring the public trust," he was hardly going out on a
limb.

The Congress he was addressing is one of the least popular in decades.
Barely a quarter of Americans approve of the job it's doing, according
to the latest Gallup/USA Today poll, while 58 percent said it was below
average or one of the worst ever, according to an NBC/Wall Street
Journal survey last month.
It's not hard to find reasons why Americans are down on Capitol Hill,
and why President Obama's approval rating has dropped below 50 percent
in many polls. A year into the 111th Congress, unemployment remains at
10 percent
 , and many Americans are struggling to get by -- even as
they've watched Congress bail out banks and coddle the same bankers now
salivating over massive new bonuses.


At the same time, the public has had a front-row seat to the always
messy legislative process on health care
  and other
issues, and this past year that process has been messier, more rancorous
and more partisan than at any point in modern memory.

There seems to be little to endear citizens to their legislature or to
the president trying to influence it.


It's too bad, because even with the wrench thrown in by Republican Scott
Brown's election in Massachusetts
 , this Democratic Congress is on a path to become one of
the most productive since the Great Society 89th Congress in 1965-66,
and Obama already has the most legislative success of any modern
president -- and that includes Ronald Reagan and Lyndon Johnson.


The deep dysfunction of our politics may have produced public disdain,
but it has also delivered record accomplishment.

The productivity began with the stimulus package, which was far more
than an injection of $787 billion in government spending to jump-start
the ailing economy.


More than one-third of it -- $288 billion -- came in the form of tax
cuts, making it one of the largest tax cuts in history, with sizable
credits for energy conservation and renewable-energy production as well
as home-buying and college tuition. The stimulus also promised $19
billion for the critical policy arena of health-information technology
 , and more than $1 billion to advance research on the
effectiveness of health-care treatments
 .

Education Secretary Arne Duncan has leveraged some of the stimulus money
to encourage wide-ranging reform in school districts across the country.
There were also massive investments in green technologies, clean water
and a smart grid for electricity
 , while the $70 billion or more in energy and
environmental programs was perhaps the most ambitious advancement in
these areas in modern times.


As a bonus, more than $7 billion was allotted to expand broadband and
wireless Internet access
 , a step toward the goal of universal access.

Any Congress that passed all these items separately would be considered
enormously productive. Instead, this Congress did it in one bill.


Lawmakers then added to their record by expanding children's health
insurance
  and providing stiff oversight of the TARP funds
allocated by the previous Congress.


Other accomplishments included a law to allow the FDA to regulate
tobacco
 , the largest land conservation law in nearly two
decades, a credit card holders' bill of rights
  and defense procurement reform.

The House, of course, did much more, including approving a historic
cap-and-trade bill
  and sweeping financial regulatory changes.
  And both chambers passed their versions of a health-care
overhaul.


Financial reg

[FairfieldLife] New Zealand teen auctions off her virginity

[TurquoiseB]

I'm kinda hoping that this trend doesn't go worldwide, or set either a
legal precedent or a "price point," because if they make this practice
retroactive I owe more money than I have.

New Zealand Virgin Auctions Herself For Tuition Money

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A New Zealand teenager who says she
auctioned her virginity online for $32,000 to raise tuition money did
not break any laws but it might be risky for her to follow through on
the deal, police warned Wednesday.

The anonymous 19-year-old student offered her virginity to the highest
bidder on the Web site under the name "Unigirl," saying she would use
the money to pay for her tuition. She said in a post that more than
30,000 people had viewed her ad and more than 1,200 had made bids before
she accepted an offer of more than New Zealand dollars 45,000 ($32,000).
http://www.ineed.co.nz 

Unlike similar New Zealand Web sites, bidding and correspondence between
buyers and sellers on the ineed site is private so it is not known what
bids Unigirl's offer received.

Web site owner Ross McKenzie said the site's policy was that as long as
an ad was legal and did not offend the general standards of society, "it
was OK." He confirmed Unigirl was a member on the site.

Prostitution is legal in New Zealand under laws considered more liberal
than many countries. Prostitution among consenting adults is allowed in
brothels and on the streets, and offering sexual services in print ads
and online is also legal.

National police spokesman Jon Neilson said no law appeared to have been
breached.

But "we would suggest it's not a safe practice," Neilson told The
Associated Press. "There are definitely issues of personal safety" in
using chat rooms, social dating networks and other Internet sites that
can be used to arrange meetings between strangers.

Unigirl, in her initial post, described herself as attractive, fit and
healthy. She did not post a photograph of herself, and bidders did not
appear to have a way of confirming any of the details of her posts.
Unigirl said she was desperate for money to pay university fees.
"I am offering my virginity by tender to the highest bidder as long as
all personal safety aspects are observed," her ad said. "This is my
decision made with full awareness of the circumstances and possible
consequences."

The internet has increasingly been used for offering and arranging sex
services, and security concerns have quickly followed.

In the United States, 23-year-old former medical student Philip Markoff
has pleaded not guilty to killing a masseuse he met on the Craigslist
classified advertising site, and raping a stripper and robbing another
woman he met in the same way.

Virginity has also been offered for sale online. British newspapers
reported last week that a 16-year-old girl in Ireland had offered to
sell her virginity on an online classified advertising site but recanted
after a reporter posing as a bidder identified himself as from the
media. A 22-year-old student in San Diego says she has received bids of
up to $3.7 million for her virginity, which is being offered for sale
through a brothel in Nevada, CNN reported.

Last year, a Philadelphia woman was charged with promoting prostitution
after posting an ad online offering sex for tickets to a World Series
baseball game.

Catherine Healy of the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective, a group that
represents sex workers on health and rights issues, said the New Zealand
teenager had entered into sex work by offering herself online.

"The amount of money is absolutely huge – and that puts her under
enormous pressure to perform all sorts of acts," she said.

But Healy said it was also possible that the successful bidder wanted to
"save" the teenager and would not ask her to have sex.

She said the teenager would still have the right to refuse to have sex
with the bidder if she changed her mind, and that the bidder could claim
his money back.

[FairfieldLife] Interesting Physics and Cosmology

[Rick Archer]

  Click here: Is this universe one big
sea of energy - are we all connected?
 
 
(an excerpt from the above link)
Nassim Haramein takes it even further. Instead of looking for the smallest
particle there is ( the building block of the universe) he says we should
look at the principles of division of space.
Nassim Haramein was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1962. As early as 9 years
old, Nassim was already developing the basis for a unified hyperdimensional
theory of matter and energy, which he eventually called the
"Holofractographic Universe."
Nassim has spent most of his life researching the fundamental geometry of
hyperspace, studying a variety of fields from theoretical physics,
cosmology, quantum mechanics, biology and chemistry to anthropology and
ancient civilizations. Combining this knowledge with a keen observation of
the behavior of nature, he discovered a specific geometric array that he
found to be fundamental to creation, and the foundation for his Unified
Field Theory emerged.
We live in an expanding universe - an infinitely big universe, but there
cannot be an expansion without contraction, he says.
Hence we must also live in an infinitely small universe because something
must be contracting. He goes on to ask the question: how do we fit infinity
in a finite space?
The answer, he says, is a fractal.
Haramein has discovered a whole new paradigm in physics based, not on
finding a fundamental particle, but on finding the fundamental principle of
the division of space. It is a theory based on the vacuum being packed with
an energy density, with matter being created in geometric fractals out of
the space-time manifold.
Infinity and finite system are absolutely complementary, he says
He use the Star of David within a circle to illustrate. On each vector
another boundary with another Star of David can be drawn to infinity, but
you can never exceed the original boundary as explained in this 45 part
video-series:
 

[FairfieldLife] How Ayn Rand Became an American Icon

[do.rflex]

How Ayn Rand Became an American IconThe perverse allure of a damaged
womanBy Johann Hari - Slate - Nov. 2, 2009

  [Ayn Rand. Click image to expand.]  


Ayn Rand


She announced that the world was divided between
a small minority of Supermen who are productive
and "the naked, twisted, mindless figure of the
  human Incompetent" who, like the Leninists,
try to feed off them.

He is "mud to be ground underfoot, fuel to be burned."
It is evil to show kindness to these "lice":
The "only virtue" is "selfishness."


Ayn Rand is one of America's great mysteries. She was an
amphetamine-addicted author of sub-Dan Brown potboilers, who in her
spare time wrote lavish torrents of praise for serial killers and the
Bernie Madoff-style embezzlers of her day.


She opposed democracy on the grounds that "the masses"—her
readers—were "lice" and "parasites" who scarcely deserved to live.
Yet she remains one of the most popular writers in the United States,
still selling 800,000 books a year from beyond the grave. She regularly
tops any list of books that Americans say have most influenced them.


Since the great crash of 2008, her writing has had another Benzedrine
rush, as Rush Limbaugh hails her as a prophetess. With her assertions
that government is "evil" and selfishness is "the only virtue," she is
the patron saint of the tea-partiers and the death panel doomsters.


So how did this little Russian bomb of pure immorality in a black wig
become an American icon?


Two new biographies of Rand—Goddess of the Market
  by
Jennifer Burns and Ayn Rand and the World She Made
  by Anne
Heller—try to puzzle out this question, showing how her arguments
found an echo in the darkest corners of American political life.*



But the books work best, for me, on a level I didn't expect. They are
thrilling psychological portraits of a horribly damaged woman who
deserves the one thing she spent her life raging against: compassion.

Alisa Rosenbaum (her original name) was born in the icy winter of
czarism, not long after the failed 1905 revolution ripped through her
home city of St. Petersburg. Her father was a self-made Jewish
pharmacist, while her mother was an aristocratic dilettante who loathed
her three daughters.


She would tell them she never wanted children, and she kept them only
out of duty. Alisa became a surly, friendless child. In elementary
school, her class was asked to write an essay about why being a child
was a joyous thing. She instead wrote "a scathing denunciation of
childhood," headed with a quote from Pascal: "I would prefer an
intelligent hell to a stupid paradise."

But the Rosenbaums' domestic tensions were dwarfed by the conflicts
raging outside. The worst anti-Jewish violence since the Middle Ages was
brewing, and the family was terrified of being killed by the
mobs—but it was the Bolsheviks who struck at them first. After the
1917 revolutions, her father's pharmacy was seized "in the name of the
people."


For Alisa, who had grown up surrounded by servants and nannies, the
Communists seemed at last to be the face of the masses, a terrifying
robbing horde. In a country where 5 million people died of starvation in
just two years, the Rosenbaums went hungry. Her father tried to set up
another business, but after it too was seized, he declared himself to be
"on strike."

The Rosenbaums knew their angry, outspoken daughter would not survive
under the Bolsheviks for long, so they arranged to smuggle her out to
their relatives in America.


Just before her 21st birthday, she said goodbye to her country and her
family for the last time. She was determined to live in the America she
had seen in the silent movies—the America of skyscrapers and riches
and freedom. She renamed herself Ayn Rand, a name she thought had the
hardness and purity of a Hollywood starlet.

She headed for Hollywood, where she set out to write stories that
expressed her philosophy—a body of thought she said was the polar
opposite of communism.


She announced that the world was divided between a small minority of
Supermen who are productive and "the naked, twisted, mindless figure of
the human Incompetent" who, like the Leninists, try to feed off them. He
is "mud to be ground underfoot, fuel to be burned." It is evil to show
kindness to these "lice": The "only virtue" is "selfishness."

She meant it. Her diaries from that time, while she worked as a
receptionist and an extra, lay out the Nietzschean mentality that
underpins all her later writings.


The newspapers were filled for months with stories about serial killer
called William Hickman, who kidnapped a 12-year-old girl 

[FairfieldLife] Re: Bevan's Maharaja Adhiraj Rajaraam is married with 2 daughters

[WillyTex]

> Now I know some of the things that you are basing
> your negative view of me on. And anyone else...
>
Who said I had a negative view of Hugo and Curtis?

[FairfieldLife] Re: THE CORRECTOR - Ideas for the prospective illustrator

[TurquoiseB]

I really am serious about turning this into a graphic novel, so if you
are interested in illustrating THE CORRECTOR, or know someone who might
be, here are a few ideas to give you something to start with. Please do
not think of these as "rules" or "must-haves" -- you are the artist, and
I give you free rein to illustrate the tale the way you envision it.
These are just some ideas about the way *I* envisioned it while writing
it, using random photos and graphics from the Internet because I can't
draw at all.

THE SCENE: Jersey. A bad neighborhood. At night. Nothing more needs to
be said, right? Who needs an example to envision that?

THE NARRATOR: No need to illustrate him at all. Narrators never get a
screen credit or an illustration.

THE EVILDOER: Somebody carefree, just walkin' along having a good day.
Sorta like this:
 
[http://www.clipartguide.com/_named_clipart_images/0511-0712-1916-5063_P\
ant-less_Man_Whistling_clipart_image.jpg]
http://www.clipartguide.com/_named_clipart_images/0511-0712-1916-5063_Pa\
nt-less_Man_Whistling_clipart_image.jpg


The "pantsless" thing is optional unless you think it adds value. The
important thing is the whistling and the carefreenessitude.

THE CORRECTOR: Here my concept is that we show our heroine two different
ways -- 1) the way she really is and the way that others see her, and 2)
the way she sees herself and *thinks* that others see her. When THE
EVILDOER is speaking in a frame, we see her the way he sees her and
others see her. And when THE CORRECTOR is speaking in a frame, we see
her the way she sees herself and thinks that he sees her. For example,
again just using random photos or clip art found on the Net, I'd
envision something like this for the "this is how I really appear"
illustrations. You know...a lonely person sitting in front of a
computer...so alone that they can't even find another person to take a
photo of them:

  [Judy Stein]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/photos/album/408557067/pic/2\
67727991/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=21&count=20&dir=asc


And here is how THE CORRECTOR sees herself, and thinks that the people
she "corrects" in CyberJersey see her:

  [Barry's fantasy image of Judy] 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/photos/album/408557067/pic/1\
624549388/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=21&count=20&dir=asc


Anything else is up to you.

[FairfieldLife] Re: Review of Avatar

[seekliberation]

Offworld,

Although I see the message behind the movie, I have to admit I agree with you 
100%.  This was a stolen plot from many movies that depict some primitave 
cultures that are archetype to previous movies (Dances with Wolves, Last of the 
Mohicans).  Absolutely no originality whatsoever, other than the graphics 
themselves.  I remember when 'Bladerunner' came out, it was the first of its 
kind, in terms of the deep or subtle lesson it tried to show.  Same with Star 
Wars, Matrix (the original one only), and several others.  But as time moves 
on, carbon copies start being made, and Avatar was nothing more than another 
carbon copy.

Seekliberation  




--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, off_world_beings  wrote:
>
> 
> Avatar was very forgetable. Its crap. I saw every next scene coming like
> the MASSIVE and sickly cliche it was.
> 
> If you have seen 3d Imax on the oceans before, then even the 3d is not
> that great, plus it is some dumbasses idea of a fake nature, rather than
> ACTUAL nature, which is FAR more impressive in Imax 3d, because it is
> REAL, and has far more intricacy and subtlety to it.
> 
> The story was crap, and a forgetable and stupid plot. Old hat, nothing
> new there. Absolutely done before many times, and cookie cutter plot. No
> better than some of the older Star Trek movie plots, but with good 3d.
> 
> The Gaurdian is right: "stupid and predictable" If this gets an Oscar
> for anything other than good 3D graphics, then the Oscars are a joke.
> 
> OffWorld
> 
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
>  , "Rick Archer"  wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > MAWKISH, MAYBE. BUT AVATAR IS A PROFOUND, INSIGHTFUL, IMPORTANT FILM
> >
> > CAMERON'S BLOCKBUSTER OFFERS A CHILLING METAPHOR FOR EUROPEAN BUTCHERY
> OF
> > THE AMERICAS. NO WONDER THE US RIGHT HATES IT.
> >
> > By George Monbiot
> > The Guardian
> > January 11, 2010
> >
> > 
>  maybe
>  maybe> > http://www.guardian   .co.uk/commentis
> free/cifamerica/ 2010/jan/ 11/mawkish- maybe-avatar-profound- important
> >
> > Avatar, James Cameron's blockbusting 3D film, is both profoundly silly
> and
> > profound. It's profound because, like most films about aliens, it is a
> > metaphor for contact between different human cultures. But in this
> case the
> > metaphor is conscious and precise: this is the story of European
> engagement
> > with the native peoples of the Americas. It's profoundly silly because
> > engineering a happy ending demands a plot so stupid and predictable
> that it
> > rips the heart out of the film. The fate of the native Americans is
> much
> > closer to the story told in another new film, The Road, in which a
> remnant
> > population flees in terror as it is hunted to extinction.
> >
> > But this is a story no one wants to hear, because of the challenge it
> > presents to the way we choose to see ourselves. Europe was massively
> > enriched by the genocides in the Americas; the American nations were
> founded
> > on them. This is a history we cannot accept.
> >
> > In his book American Holocaust, the US scholar David Stannard
> documents the
> > greatest acts of genocide the world has ever experienced. In 1492,
> some 100
> > million native people lived in the Americas. By the end of the 19th
> century
> > almost all of them had been exterminated. Many died as a result of
> disease,
> > but the mass extinction was also engineered.
> >
> > When the Spanish arrived in the Americas, they described a world which
> could
> > scarcely have been more different to their own. Europe was ravaged by
> war,
> > oppression, slavery, fanaticism, disease and starvation. The
> populations
> > they encountered were healthy, well-nourished and mostly (with
> exceptions
> > like the Aztecs and Incas) peaceable, democratic and egalitarian.
> Throughout
> > the Americas the earliest explorers, including Columbus, remarked on
> the
> > natives' extraordinary hospitality. The conquistadores marvelled at
> the
> > amazing roads, canals, buildings and art they found, which in some
> cases
> > outstripped anything they had seen at home. None of this stopped them
> > destroying everything and everyone they encountered.
> >
> > The butchery began with Columbus. He slaughtered the native people of
> > Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) by unimaginably
> brutal
> > means. His soldiers tore babies from their mothers and dashed their
> heads
> > against rocks. They fed their dogs on living children. On one occasion
> they
> > hung 13 Indians in honour of Christ and the 12 disciples, on a gibbet
> just
> > low enough for their toes to touch the ground, then disembowelled them
> and
> > burnt them alive. Columbus ordered all the native people to deliver a
> > certain amount of gold every three months; anyone who failed had his
> h

[FairfieldLife] THE CORRECTOR - A graphic novel in search of graphics

[TurquoiseB]

This idea for a graphic novel just burbled out of my subconscious this
morning. The only problem is that I have zero drawing talent, and cannot
illustrate it. So if anyone knows a good illustrator, I think it could
be a best seller...in some universe. Caveat: This is just a "wild hair
idea" of my own, and has nothing whatsoever to do with Fairfield Life.
Any resemblance one sees in my fictional characters to any person,
living or undead, is purely coincidental. And I'll stand by that, no
matter who tries to correct me.

THE CORRECTOR - Episode 1, "You shall admit your lies!"

THE SCENE: The dark, dank nightscape of CyberJersey. A lone figure,
dressed in a dumpy Columbo-style raincoat, stalks the lonely streets,
searching for evildoers.

NARRATOR: In a back alley of CyberJersey, out of the darkness comes THE
CORRECTOR. By day a mild-mannered and nondescript copy editor, by night
she dons her superhero costume (a raincoat that conceals her bulk,
adorned with a gleaming badge that says 'EDITOR') and fights the Good
Fight for one and all. Yes, while lesser mortals sleep, THE CORRECTOR
stalks CyberJersey looking for the disingenuous, the snarky, those with
a penchant for dishonesty, and worst of all, the LIARS.

It is her job -- nay, sacred duty -- to protect those less blessed by
knowledge of the Absolute, Real Truth Of Everything than she is by
exposing these evildoers and bringing them to justice. Her weapons are
bluff and bluster, and the Red Pen Of Truth, which she wields three to
four nights a week, until the Bad People come to take her back to the
padded room and silence her voice of truth and righeousness until the
next week.

EVILDOER: Sure is a nice night in the alleys tonight.

THE CORRECTOR: [ Leaping out from behind a dumpster. ] LIAR! It is *not*
a nice night. You are a dissembler and a liar, and your intent is to
lead the innocent astray and convince them that life is "nicer" than it
really is.

EVILDOER: WTF? Who is this loon?

THE CORRECTOR: See??!!! There is the evidence that I am right, coming
right out of your own mouth. All of this is explicitly clear, and any
intelligent person can see what you are up to and your evil intent and
you know it, so you insult me, provoking a battle.

EVILDOER: Me, provoking a battle? You called *me* a liar, bitch.

THE CORRECTOR: And you are. The evidence is clear, and now that I have
identified you as one of the evil LIARS I must protect people from, I
will point it out at least 50 times a week until you admit it. You shall
live in constant fear of correction. [ She whips out a big red pen and
waves it at him menacingly. ]

EVILDOER: What's that? A pen? What are you going to do, "strikethrough"
me to death? Draw a little squiggly circle around me telling God to
delete me? [ He laughs. ]

THE CORRECTOR: Don't you DARE laugh at me. I am THE CORRECTOR, and my
word must be obeyed. If I say that you are a liar and a dissembler and
snarky and disingenuous, you are. So there. My red pen rules the
universe. It excises from existence the likes of evildoers such as
yourself.

EVILDOER: So lady...what gives you the right to do this?

THE CORRECTOR: The right??!!! Because I'm RIGHT, you dolt. THAT gives me
the right. Besides I have the siddhi of Full Context.

EVILDOER: Full Context? I thought that was a form of martial arts
contest where the guys got to really wail on each other instead of
pulling their punches.

THE CORRECTOR: No, that's Full Contact, you idiot. This *proves* how
REEEAAALLLY REEEAAALLLY STOOPID you are, and how smart I am. If I can
correct you on a little thing like this, then how can *anything* you say
be true?

EVILDOER: Whatever. So WTF is "Full Context?"

THE CORRECTOR: That's where my point of view and opinion is better than
yours, and in fact better than anyone's point of view or opinion in the
universe.

EVILDOER: Even God's?

THE CORRECTOR: God is my bitch. He does what *I* want, not vice-versa.
You evildoers have to *realize* this, and learn to ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR
OFFENSES.

EVILDOER: Or what?

THE CORRECTOR: Or WHAT??!!! Or else I'll stalk you forever and make you
live with constant FEAR OF CORRECTION, that's what!

EVILDOER: Whatever. I'll take my chances. I still think it's a nice
night.

THE CORRECTOR: You LIE! I warned you not to do it, but you did it
anyway. It's is NOT a nice night. I have spoken, and I'm THE CORRECTOR.
I have the siddhi of Full Context, and know the Truth about people such
as you.

EVILDOER: That must make you very proud.

THE CORRECTOR: Dern tootin'. Your kind of disingenuity typically
involves little twists and leaps and sidesteps and corkscrews and
ambiguities and strategic omissions that are very difficult to untangle
and require a LOT of context to recognize, so it takes someone like me
to discern it. Someone with the siddhi of Full Context.

EVILDOER: And what do you do once you've "discerned" this?

THE CORRECTOR: I stalk you forever, of course. I will follow you around
like a dog pissing in your scent until you ha

[FairfieldLife] Re: Review of Avatar

[Hugo]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Hugo"  wrote:
>
> 
> 
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Rick Archer"  wrote:
> >
> 
> 
>  The fate of the native Americans is much
> > closer to the story told in another new film, The Road, in 
> >which a remnant population flees in terror as it is hunted to 
> > extinction.
> 
> Maybe I didn't get the point of it but The Road seemed to be
> about the moral breakdown after a social breakdown after an environmental 
> breakdown after a nuclear war. Dog eat dog, no 
> winning culture at all. A fabulous yet the most unremittingly 
> bleak book I ever read, takes all the fun out of the apocalypse.
> It's a likely nobel prize winner though. And without giving too 
> much away it does have a kind of redemptive ending for the 
> hunted, which is just as well, you'd kill yourself if it didn't.
>

But then I didn't see the film, maybe they changed the emphasis
of the story. Wouldn't be the first time Hollywood did that eh?

Classic book though for sure. A must read.

[FairfieldLife] Re: Review of Avatar

[Hugo]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Rick Archer"  wrote:
>


 The fate of the native Americans is much
> closer to the story told in another new film, The Road, in 
>which a remnant population flees in terror as it is hunted to 
> extinction.

Maybe I didn't get the point of it but The Road seemed to be
about the moral breakdown after a social breakdown after an environmental 
breakdown after a nuclear war. Dog eat dog, no 
winning culture at all. A fabulous yet the most unremittingly 
bleak book I ever read, takes all the fun out of the apocalypse.
It's a likely nobel prize winner though. And without giving too 
much away it does have a kind of redemptive ending for the 
hunted, which is just as well, you'd kill yourself if it didn't. 

[FairfieldLife] Re: Panspermia back in the news!

[Hugo]

--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung  wrote:
>
> The problem with panspermia is that we do not yet have any example of a 
> microbe that could survive the long time period in space as it travels to 
> another planet.  Interstellar radiation is so powerful that even if the germ 
> is buried very deeply inside a large comet it still is ripped apart by the 
> process.  We've got earthy spoors that can last thousands of years in seed 
> form, but they wouldn't be virile enough to do thousands of years in space.  
> Even if a rock is traveling at 100,000 miles per hour, it would take 7,000 
> years to travel a single light year's distance...and the closest star is 4 
> light years away.  So a rock has to be going much faster and the germs have 
> to be much more virile than those we've got actual samples of to study. 
> Radiation in space can be so powerful that even at 50,000 light years 
> distance, some gamma ray sources can wipe out ALL LIFE ON EARTH. Harsh, eh? 


It's a cruel and harsh universe, that's for sure. We're
so lucky not to live near any gamma ray sources. A supernova
could really ruin your day!

 
> Edg
> 
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Hugo"  wrote:
> >
> > Professor's alien life 'seed' theory claimed [Interstellar dust
> > cloud]   The remains of living matter have been found in interstellar
> > dust clouds
> > New evidence from astrobiology "overwhelmingly" supports the view that
> > life was seeded from outside Earth, a scientist has claimed.
> > Prof Chandra Wickramasinghe of Cardiff University says the first
> > microbes were deposited on Earth 3,800m years ago.
> > 
> > The astrobiologist has helped developed the panspermia theory which
> > suggests an extra-terrestrial origin for life.
> > 
> > He argues for a cycle of life as microbes find their way into comets and
> > "multiply and seed other planets".
> > 
> > In the article, published in the International Journal of Astrobiology,
> > Monday, he argues humans and indeed all life on Earth is of alien
> > origin, brought onto the planet by comets hitting the planet.
> > 
> > Prof Wickramasinghe, of Cardiff University's centre for astrobiology,
> > says there is a cyclical transfer process of life from planet to planet.
> > 
> > He believes comets hit planets and push living organic matter out into
> > space, some of which survives and in turn gets transferred to developing
> > planetary systems over a timescale of millions and millions of years,
> > seeding life on the newly formed planets.
> > 
> > 
> >   [http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif][Chandra Wickramasinghe
> > Image: BBC]
> > [http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif] 
> > Interstellar clouds appear to be the graveyard of life not its cradle 
> > [right]
> > Professor Chandra Wickramasinge
> > He accepts this model still does not explain how life actually began in
> > the first place, but says there is no hard evidence to support the
> > theory that life only began in a "primordial soup" on Earth, or other
> > places.
> > 
> > Over the past three decades research has shown that large swathes of the
> > Milky Way are strewn with gigantic dust clouds full of organic
> > molecules, which some people have argued shows life emerging
> > independently from new in these clouds.
> > 
> > In his paper, he says recent interpretation of spectra readings from the
> > organic molecules found in interstellar clouds has indicated that they
> > are in fact the remains of bacteria which has been broken down, rather
> > than being built up.
> > 
> > "Interstellar clouds appear to be the graveyard of life not its cradle,"
> > he said.
> > 
> > "Each time a new planetary system forms a few surviving microbes find
> > their way into comets. These then multiply and seed other planets," he
> > said.
> > 
> > He adds: "We are thus part of a connected chain of being that extends
> > over a large volume of the cosmos. Evidence is pointing inexorably in
> > this direction."
> > 
> > The professor and his late colleague Sir Fred Hoyle championed the
> > panspermia theory from the 1960s.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > From:
> > 
> > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/8491398.stm
> > 
> > 
> > I do hope this is true, it doesn't explain where life came from
> > originally but it
> > 
> > implies that the galaxy must be teeming with life. Be so nice to know we
> > aren't alone.
> >
>