[FairfieldLife] Re: The Bridge SE on Hulu
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: Unlike Turq, I found both the SE and US versions compelling. I think they had Kruger dial back a little on the Aspergers syndrome a bit because with all the problem we've been having with bully cops in the US the idea that a police force would allow anyone with Aspergers on the force is a bit of a stretch. And sometimes I think that people don't have a disease just more detachment than others do. I have certainly developed a bit of detachment over the years from doing sadhana. I admit to having been so turned off by the heavy-handedness, the xenophobia, and the lack of subtlety in the American version that I was unable to watch more than a couple of episodes of it. Everything that was subtle in the Danish version became gross and simplistic and dumbed-down in the US version, and I admit to having been affronted by that. I can imagine that Diane Kruger did a fine job doing an imitation of Sofia Helin, but let's face it...that's what it was. Sofia did the homework, and did the necessary prep to be able to portray someone with Aspergers and Diane did not. I liked the original series not only because it was as good a character study as I've ever seen onscreen, but because it was about one of my favorite themes -- the flawed hero or heroine. Technically, someone with highly-developed, lifetime Aspergers should be *unable* to feel empathy towards others and a sense of caring about their well-being. They gravitate to professions in which they can remain distant from other people, and *don't* gravitate to positions in which they can help them. Like being a cop. Saga Noren became a cop. And a damned good one. *Every day* she has to fight the promptings of her internal broken wiring to be able to do her job. She tracks down and captures serial killers. As I felt the original series did a good job of portraying, the *similarities* between her and the people she tracks are greater than the differences between them. Given a slightly different path in life, she could easily have become one of them. But she didn't, and therein lies the difference, and the magic. There were some season one episodes of the SE version on YouTube but they were of poor quality. It's also interesting to watch this version knowing what the real reason is behind the bridge murder and what clues are given early on. Justify is popular because Leonard wrote about how dumb many criminals are. A friend who was a police detective was full of these kind of tales. Regular TV series can often make a villain look like a genius as well as a poor shot. :-D I'm enjoying the new season of Justify as well, and agree that it's one of the better shows on American TV. Although the writing has been turned over to other people at this point, it still has a lot of that Elmore Leonard look and feel, and is just superb. There was a scene in the most recent episode in which we meet a new character -- an obvious new love interest for Raylan. Whoever this actress is, and whoever wrote the lines she got to speak as we first met her, I stand up and applaud. She went from a nobody to someone we care about and are dying to see more of in 30 seconds flat. THAT is good writing. As I've mentioned, the other character study I'm most hopeful for so far this year is HBO's True Detective, and *again* because it's about flawed heroes. Neither Woody Harrelson's character nor Matthew McConaghey's character is all that nice, but they're real *characters*, and as I wrote earlier, don't spend any time apologizing for *being* characters. They put their energies into their job, which makes them effective at it. They fight their own inner demons, but they also channel that fight and redirect it towards tracking down outer demons in the real world. Maybe it's the *familiarity* with the tortured demon mentality and the lack of fear with dealing with it that gives them an edge, and enables them to track these outer demons so well. On 01/18/2014 09:37 AM, nablusoss1008 wrote: Like all the B-films the Turq recommends The Bridge is boring. The director has a seemingly neverending fascination for syndrome's like Asberger and creates a character (Saga Norlen) that glues people to the TV giving them their own square-eyed-syndrome eagerly awaiting what next crazy thing Saga will utter. Add to that a completely non-believable story and all you are left with a big yawn.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Postcharismatic Fate of New Religious Movements.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: Weber, in an oft quoted passage, defined charisma as a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which [s/]he is set apart from ordinary [people] and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader. 1 I would suggest -- and in fact have, many times -- that a synonym for charisma in many cases is Narcissistic Personality Disorder. There is a weakness in many people and their basic *lack* of self confidence and self awareness that makes them easy prey for those who have a surfeit of it. They encounter someone who is so taken with themselves that they can literally think of nothing and no one else and they project a bunch of admirable qualities onto a disorder that is largely devoid of them. Think about the arrival on FFL of someone who is as classic an example of NPD as has ever existed. Some people saw the endless But enough talking about me...let's talk about me drivel as what it was and lost interest, and some looked at the same drivel and somehow projected greatness onto it. To this day, the most dismaying thing about my entire experience at FFL has been the fact that many people here were completely *unable* to recognize two classic psychopaths -- Ravi and Robin -- when they encountered them. Instead they admired them, became their groupies, and in one case actually created a small cult following around them. That is worrisome, especially in a group of people who claim to be sophisticated spiritual seekers who've been on the path for 20-30 years. To have spent that much time theoretically studying the psychology of enlightenment without being able to tell it from the psychology of psychopathology is shocking.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Apostasy, is a terrible thing.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: LSD still comes in tabs? How would you know that? Perhaps you read about it on MSLSD. (disclaimer for the NSA snoops: I don't know nothin' bout nothin') Actually, speaking not from experience but from a fascinating article I once read on the subject, LSD these days comes on tiny bits of paper, about a quarter the size of your little fingernail. And the reason why is ironic. It's to skirt Federal laws in the United States. In their crazed zeal to fight the war against drugs, the US government voted in some really, really dumb mandatory sentencing laws centering on the *quantity* of drugs found on a person. Thus if you have more than a certain amount of a banned substance, they can consider you a dealer and the mandatory sentencing laws come into effect. With LSD, one of the most potent psychotropic chemicals ever invented, of which 125 *micrograms* of pure stuff would give you a good trip, they decided to measure the dealer amount of the drug by weight. As a result, if you were caught today with *one sugar cube* of LSD from back in the 60s (essentially one dose), you would be sent to prison for a federally mandated twenty years. So the dealers just made the doses lighter. They put a tiny microdot of LSD onto a tiny piece of paper, and voila -- they can carry around literally thousands of doses in their pockets without ever going over the dealer amount of the drug that would invoke the mandatory sentencing laws. Go figure.
[FairfieldLife] Did God smite his only son?
[christ the redeemer] http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/01/18/christ-the-redeemer-statue-da\ maged-lightning-storm-_n_4623550.html http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/01/18/christ-the-redeemer-statue-d\ amaged-lightning-storm-_n_4623550.html Here's a Can you say WTF? article for those who believe in a God, and even believe that He had a kid once. 'Seems to me that the great patriarch in the sky must be a little pissed off about something, and letting his Old Testament face show. I mean, what's up with Him zapping a big statue of the kid, and messing up the right hand of the person His own dogma says is the right hand of God? Did Old Testament God catch Jesus whacking off with that hand? Go figure. :-) :-)
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Apostasy, is a terrible thing.
you know, I never thought about it that way before, but I guess back in the 70's and 80's, TM WAS my religion. On Sun, 1/19/14, Richard Williams pundits...@gmail.com wrote: Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Apostasy, is a terrible thing. To: Richard J. Williams FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, January 19, 2014, 3:55 AM Share: What I reject is the idea that we are defective in our core, by our very nature. I guess that makes me apostate! Well, it looks like it's settled then: MJ and the TurqoiseB were the real True Believers, whose religion was TM - - the only apostates left on the forum. It looks like nobody else on FFL ever considered TM to be their religion. You can't be apostate from something you don't believe in. Go figure. On Sat, Jan 18, 2014 at 8:14 PM, Share Long sharelon...@yahoo.com wrote: Judy, once again I think it is a matter of language choice. I would say that I need to fully realize my fundamental unity with the divine, with all of creation. Rather than that I stand in need of redemption. For me, each of these wordings has its own flavor or tone. I prefer the former wording for various reasons. It may not be how the Church would say it. But I believe it is closer to how Jesus would express it. I recognize that all of us humans need to grow. What I reject is the idea that we are defective in our core, by our very nature. I guess that makes me apostate! On Saturday, January 18, 2014 5:21 PM, authfri...@yahoo.com authfri...@yahoo.com wrote: And I never said you should believe it. Why are you repeating yourself? If you don't think you stand in need of redemption, that's fine with me. Judy, true you said Christianity but my personal experience is with Catholicism. I still think it's unhealthy to think that humans are defective by nature and I don't believe that Jesus taught that. On Saturday, January 18, 2014 3:50 PM, authfriend@... authfriend@... wrote: I do believe I said Christianity, not Catholicism, Share. I'm astonished you weren't aware that it's Christian doctrine across the board. As I said, if we weren't defective, there'd have been no need for God to send Jesus to redeem us and make us acceptable in God's sight. I'm not saying you or anybody else should believe this. It was just an aside, a reminder that this is what Christianity says. The story about the pope and the Portuguese fishing industry is apocryphal, BTW. Days of penitence, including the practice of abstaining from meat, had been established long before there was a Portuguese fishing industry important enough for a pope to be concerned about. Judy, this is where I part company with Catholicism, the belief that people are defective at their core. I don't think this is a healthy belief and I doubt that Jesus taught it. I left the Church when they said it was no longer a mortal sin to eat meat on Friday. I realized how arbitrary their rules are. Later I heard that some Pope made that rule to help the Portuguese fishing industry! On Saturday, January 18, 2014 1:51 PM, authfriend@... authfriend@... wrote: Did you not read what I wrote, Share? The distinction in terms of words is arbitrary. Shame isn't inherently toxic, and guilt isn't inherently healthy. You can redefine the words all you want, but all you're saying is that one shouldn't feel that one is fundamentally wrong, bad, defective (or at least no more so than anybody else--it's a basic doctrine of Christianity, of course, that everyone is fundamentally wrong, bad, and defective; otherwise we wouldn't need redemption). Judy, contemporary psychologists find it useful to distinguish between guilt which is healthy and shame which is toxic, where shame indicates feeling that one is fundamentally wrong, bad, defective. On Saturday, January 18, 2014 1:31 PM, authfriend@... authfriend@... wrote: It's still an arbitrary distinction, Share. Shame need not involve the sense that there's something wrong with you rather than that there was something wrong with what you did. And anyway, the sense that there's nothing wrong with you is delusionary. If there were nothing wrong with you, you wouldn't have done anything wrong in the first place. It's just a faux distinction. Psychologists don't want you to beat yourself up endlessly about what you did, and that's fine, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't feel shame at all, ever. My last sentence is what I
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Apostasy, is a terrible thing.
Judy, first of all, I very much enjoy this kind of discussion so thank you. Secondly, I think I still have some issues with my Catholic upbringing and that those are coming into play here. Yes, I realize the two languages are expressing the same principle. But as you must well know, language choice has such an effect on tone. And I think tone is what we register on the subconscious level. And the subconscious level is what affects us most strongly. So...while I agree that it's good to consider the literal and move beyond, I think it's also good to notice the feeling tone engendered in us by the literal. The redemptive wording for me connotes the idea that we have to be saved by something outside of ourselves while the unity wording suggests that we are already one with God but have not yet realized it. I think this is the fundamental reason why I embrace Eastern spirituality rather than western Catholicism. The former says that we are divine in our basic nature. I don't think Catholicism says that. I think the Church says that by nature, we are separate from God, where by nature is the key phrase. On Saturday, January 18, 2014 9:12 PM, authfri...@yahoo.com authfri...@yahoo.com wrote: But you don't seem able to see that while the language is different, it's the same fundamental idea. Redemption for Christians is the Beatific Vision, being at one with God forever. We are not born in that state; we are defective in that respect. You weren't born in the state of full realization of your fundamental unity with the divine, so you are defective in that respect. Something is missing. Obviously in both cases it's a core defect--how could unity with the Divine not be the core quality of a human being? People take words much too literally instead of looking at the principles behind them. Judy, once again I think it is a matter of language choice. I would say that I need to fully realize my fundamental unity with the divine, with all of creation. Rather than that I stand in need of redemption. For me, each of these wordings has its own flavor or tone. I prefer the former wording for various reasons. It may not be how the Church would say it. But I believe it is closer to how Jesus would express it. I recognize that all of us humans need to grow. What I reject is the idea that we are defective in our core, by our very nature. I guess that makes me apostate! On Saturday, January 18, 2014 5:21 PM, authfriend@... authfriend@... wrote: And I never said you should believe it. Why are you repeating yourself? If you don't think you stand in need of redemption, that's fine with me. Judy, true you said Christianity but my personal experience is with Catholicism. I still think it's unhealthy to think that humans are defective by nature and I don't believe that Jesus taught that. On Saturday, January 18, 2014 3:50 PM, authfriend@... authfriend@... wrote: I do believe I said Christianity, not Catholicism, Share. I'm astonished you weren't aware that it's Christian doctrine across the board. As I said, if we weren't defective, there'd have been no need for God to send Jesus to redeem us and make us acceptable in God's sight. I'm not saying you or anybody else should believe this. It was just an aside, a reminder that this is what Christianity says. The story about the pope and the Portuguese fishing industry is apocryphal, BTW. Days of penitence, including the practice of abstaining from meat, had been established long before there was a Portuguese fishing industry important enough for a pope to be concerned about. Judy, this is where I part company with Catholicism, the belief that people are defective at their core. I don't think this is a healthy belief and I doubt that Jesus taught it. I left the Church when they said it was no longer a mortal sin to eat meat on Friday. I realized how arbitrary their rules are. Later I heard that some Pope made that rule to help the Portuguese fishing industry! On Saturday, January 18, 2014 1:51 PM, authfriend@... authfriend@... wrote: Did you not read what I wrote, Share? The distinction in terms of words is arbitrary. Shame isn't inherently toxic, and guilt isn't inherently healthy. You can redefine the words all you want, but all you're saying is that one shouldn't feel that one is fundamentally wrong, bad, defective (or at least no more so than anybody else--it's a basic doctrine of Christianity, of course, that everyone is fundamentally wrong, bad, and defective; otherwise we wouldn't need redemption). Judy, contemporary psychologists find it useful to distinguish between guilt which is healthy and shame which is toxic, where shame indicates feeling that one is fundamentally wrong, bad, defective. On Saturday, January 18, 2014 1:31 PM, authfriend@... authfriend@... wrote: It's still an arbitrary distinction, Share. Shame need not involve the sense that there's
[FairfieldLife] Signposts Of Enlightenment
Celebrating 47 years of being on a kinda, sorta spiritual path this month (and a few years of being on less formal paths before that), I find myself thinking back and wondering whether I actually learned anything. One of the things that makes me wonder that is the difference with which many people who call themselves experienced spiritual seekers view certain traits in the teachers they align themselves with perceive those traits, and the way I perceive them. With this in mind, here is a list of qualities that I've heard expressed to me over the decades by people who are convinced (and often trying their best to convince me) that the teacher they study with is enlightened. * They radiate power or charisma. When you're around them, the intensity of their aura or vibe is such that people often fall under the sway of it. People speak of getting high from being around the person, and of changes in their internal state of attention that they attribute to darshan, and equate with actual changes in their personal state of consciousness. * They speak with authority. When these teachers speak or write, there is a *certainty* to what they say that many people associate with the presence of Truth. The people themselves often speak in terms of truth, suggesting that the way they see things and the way they interpret the things they see *are* truth or reality. * They seek followers. It's as if their goal in life *is* to find followers, and to convince them of the truth of what they have realized. And there is a clear demarcation between the teacher *and* the followers. You see it in the hierarchical structure of their organizations, and even in the seating arrangements of the rooms they speak in. The teacher is always in front of or in the center of a circle of other people, the obvious focus of attention, and he or she is often seated on a chair or dias raised above the level of the followers. * They feel entitled. Once these individuals have found followers, they *expect* things from them. Like attention. They *like* to be focused on, and to be complimented and told how great they are. * They present elitism as a good thing. The teachers themselves often refer to those who are lesser evolved than other people. They remind the followers that they -- because they are wise enough to have recognized how elite the teacher is -- are more evolved than this rabble, and thus have no responsibility to treat them the way they treat others in the org, meaning in the circle that has grown up around the teacher. * They have grandiose goals and think of themselves in grandiose terms. Very few of the people I've ever been told by others was enlightened wanted *only* to help a few people and live a happy life. They wanted World Peace. They wanted to enlighten every sentient being on the planet, to make sure they were living as exalted and elite a life as they are. * They unashamedly use people. The requests for the followers' time, money, energy, and attention start soon after they become followers, and never cease. The grandiose goals, after all, are far more important than the issue of whether the followers called upon to contribute to them are able to pay their rent. * They view other people as competition, and tend to turn interactions with them into battles, which they always win. In lectures, if a student either disagrees with one of the teacher's pronouncements or even just agrees with it half-heartedly, the teacher turns it into an issue of faith, and *confronts* the student until they submit, and admit how wrong they were. Thus the truth, as seen by the teacher, always prevails. * They don't deal well with doubt or criticism. Many of these teachers are *famous* for how they react to their students having doubts about the way they describe themselves, the things they teach, or their relative importance in the world. Outbursts of anger and fits of lashing out can be common, and the followers often just write these outbursts off as quirks or eccentricities, and feel that the teacher is entitled to them because, after all, they're so special. * They have firm It's my way or the highway rules. It's very much *not* a democracy. Those who allow their doubts to escalate into actual open criticism of the teacher openly are dealt with swiftly and harshly, almost always by excommunication and demonization. * They seem detached from the emotions and problems of their followers. You simply cannot imagine how often I have heard this presented as a commercial for some supposedly-enlightened spiritual teacher. I told him about the problems I was having dealing with my father dying, and he just laughed. It was *wonderful* to see how unattached he was to the petty problems that plague lesser humans. * They believe that only the most special can fully understand and appreciate them. And they often encapsulate this belief into the structure of their organizations, ensuring that only those who focus on them and accept everything
[FairfieldLife] RE: Check It Out
I didn't know there were Equiarazzi, too. Beautiful but creepy picture.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Check It Out
I saw this on Facebook and LOL'd at the nerd comment: https://www.facebook.com/IFeakingLoveScience/posts/601895143198664 https://www.facebook.com/IFeakingLoveScience/posts/601895143198664 ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, awoelfleba...@yahoo.com wrote: Look at these bats in the womb: ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, awoelflebater@... wrote: This is a fetal horse.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Religion that doesn't take itself deadly seriously
I think absent any social codes, the difference in sexual promiscuity between males and females comes down to consequences. Prior to birth control, if a female had sex with a male, she could be literally burdened with offspring. Not so for the male. Add in the greater physical strength of the male, and you have all the seeds for the difference in attitudes. The Pill greatly eliminated the risk factor of pregnancy, for women, and certainly in the West, physical strength is no longer a guarantee of greater economic power. So attitudes are changing too. Regarding the 60's, I saw a lot of sexual expression, but also a lot of conventional sex roles between men and women, simply dressed up in strange clothing and fashion.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Check It Out
I saw this pic on Facebook and LOL'd at the nerd comment: https://www.facebook.com/IFeakingLoveScience/posts/601895143198664 https://www.facebook.com/IFeakingLoveScience/posts/601895143198664
[FairfieldLife] Re: Religion that doesn't take itself deadly seriously
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, doctordumbass@... wrote: I think absent any social codes, the difference in sexual promiscuity between males and females comes down to consequences. Prior to birth control, if a female had sex with a male, she could be literally burdened with offspring. Not so for the male. Add in the greater physical strength of the male, and you have all the seeds for the difference in attitudes. The Pill greatly eliminated the risk factor of pregnancy, for women, and certainly in the West, physical strength is no longer a guarantee of greater economic power. So attitudes are changing too. Regarding the 60's, I saw a lot of sexual expression, but also a lot of conventional sex roles between men and women, simply dressed up in strange clothing and fashion. I'm sure I've commented on this rap before, but given the insight that the rapper had, it's worth doing again. I once saw a lecture given by one of my favorite authors in the field of science fiction and fantasy, Ursula K. Le Guin. Ursula -- in person -- is a tour de force. She's wonderful! In terms of her background, there are reasons why. She was raised in a household that included a father and mother who were pretty much the gods of the world of academic anthropology and sociology. She seemed to have picked up a great deal of insight into the human condition as the result of that upbringing, because her fiction works are among the most insightful I've ever encountere w.r.t. the human condition. Anyway, in this lecture, Ursula mentioned a few facts that have never since left my mind. She spoke of the sexual revolution in terms of how *short* it was. According to her, what we know of about that period was a short period of time between the invention of penicillin and the birth control pill and the appearance of a nasty virus called HLV. That was *IT*, according to this strong feminist-before-they-were-called-that. Before the invention of the Pill and penicillin, according to Ursula, sex had *at every point in human history* been a potentially fatal experience. A *huge* number of women died in childbirth, and a sizable number of other people died of STDs, some of which (like syphillis) are fatal. Then came penicillin, the first effective treatment for syphillis. And shortly thereafter came the Pill, and that was All She Wrote for many of the rules and regs of sexual behavior. Suddenly there were no more potentially fatal down sides to gettin' it on, and so people Got It On. The world changed. But then AIDS came along. And suddenly the old fears came with them. And the world changed again, but this time in a more restrictive, more fearful direction.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Postcharismatic Fate of New Religious Movements.
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: Weber, in an oft quoted passage, defined charisma as a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which [s/]he is set apart from ordinary [people] and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader. 1 I would suggest -- and in fact have, many times -- that a synonym for charisma in many cases is Narcissistic Personality Disorder. There is a weakness in many people and their basic *lack* of self confidence and self awareness that makes them easy prey for those who have a surfeit of it. They encounter someone who is so taken with themselves that they can literally think of nothing and no one else and they project a bunch of admirable qualities onto a disorder that is largely devoid of them. I find this such a limited view and one that perhaps implies you are threatened by smart, confident, strong people and therefore find a way of analyzing them that makes these characteristics appear menacing and negative. Some people on this planet are actually possessed of leadership qualities, who are stronger and more interesting and arresting than others. These people are not necessarily those whose world is focused around themselves any more than anyone else. These can be human beings who are, seemingly, naturally self-confident, look as if they were born with an ease and strength that many others do not possess. The fact that you describe these kinds of charismatic individuals as those who are so taken with themselves that they can think of nothing and no one else is abysmally short sighted, Barry. Think about the arrival on FFL of someone who is as classic an example of NPD as has ever existed. Some people saw the endless But enough talking about me...let's talk about me drivel as what it was and lost interest, and some looked at the same drivel and somehow projected greatness onto it. Now you're sounding resentful and mistaken. No one here thinks of anyone else on this forum as great in the way that you mean it/imply here. To this day, the most dismaying thing about my entire experience at FFL has been the fact that many people here were completely *unable* to recognize two classic psychopaths -- Ravi and Robin This is a very heavy-handed diagnosis from someone who is not only not an expert in any medical or psychiatric field and who lacks utter objectivity when discussing either of these individuals. It is comically obvious that you have never been pandered to by either Robin or Ravi and it pisses you off. And while both of these men have given you lots of attention in the past you didn't like the kind of attention they gave you, you simply write them off as psychopaths. -- when they encountered them. Instead they admired them, became their groupies, and in one case actually created a small cult following around them. This is Barry's attempt at farcical interlude. But Barry, you are not a funny man in the way you think you might be. Leave the humour to Bob, he does it w better than you. That is worrisome, Another attempt at generating an audience chuckle or to elicit terror, I'm not actually sure which. especially in a group of people who claim to be Alright, who are the one's guilty of claim(ing) this? Show of hands please. sophisticated spiritual seekers who've been on the path for 20-30 years. To have spent that much time theoretically studying the psychology of enlightenment without being able to tell it from the psychology of psychopathology is shocking. Well, at least we know you have the low down and the situation in hand. We'll make sure to use you as our enlightened guidepost on all things psychologically suspect that might show up here. After all, you're the guy who never falls for fakes. That was fun Barry. Let's do this again.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Religion that doesn't take itself deadly seriously
Barry Wrote: But then AIDS came along. And suddenly the old fears came with them. And the world changed again, but this time in a more restrictive, more fearful direction. I think much of the fear around AIDS has faded away and I think a lot of this has to do with the passage of time, the fact that there exist more effective HIV drugs and because many straight people still think of it as a gay disease. I think the gay disease opinion is the result of not only ignorance but of a 'holier-than-thou' attitude that these people think will somehow keep them safe from contracting the HIV virus. My observationis that the average person under the age of 30 really doesn't think about AIDS as a real threat to them.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: It's All About Football
Championship Predictions: Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The question is do the Patriots plan to stop Peyton Manning? Peyton Manning and Tom Brady square off for the 15th time, in Denver. And the San Francisco 49ers at Seattle, where Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick meet for the third time this season. Go figure. [image: Inline image 1] The Denver Post: http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_24942989/nastiest-part-football-begins-right-after-fumble The Huddle: http://www.nfl.com/nfl-playoffs/Manning-and-Bradyhttp://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-playoffs/0ap200314690/How-will-AFC-Championship-Game-alter-legacies-of-Manning-and-Brady Denver Broncos: 1st AFC West http://www.nfl.com/teams/denverbroncos/profile?team=DEN Pittsburgh Steelers: 2nd AFC North http://www.nfl.com/teams/profile?team=PIT On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 10:48 AM, Share Long sharelon...@yahoo.com wrote: yep, as the planet vibes up for various holidays and holy days, people are unstressing! On Monday, December 23, 2013 10:45 AM, Richard J. Williams pundits...@gmail.com wrote: Consider Joe Fitzgibbon, a Democratic state representative whose district includes Seattle. In the wake of Seattle's loss, Fitzgibbon popped off on Twitter in a way he'd soon regret. He deleted the tweet, but oh, guess what ... the Washington State Republican party got a screengrab, and shared it. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-cornerhttp://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/washington-representative-slams-arizona-racist-wasteland-seahawks-loss-034745758--nfl.html On 9/24/2013 1:28 PM, Richard J. Williams wrote: Around here it's it's all about football. Back in the old days, there was one important name in NCAA college football sports that really mattered : Darryl Royal. ... three national championships (1963, 1969, 1970), 11 Southwest Conference titles, and amassed a record of 167–47–5. He won more games than any other coach in Texas Longhorns football history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrell_Royal 'Power Ranking the Top 5 NFL Prospects on 2013 Longhorns Team' Bleacher Report: http://bleacherreport.com/texas-longhorns-football-power-rankinghttp://bleacherreport.com/articles/1785127-texas-football-power-ranking-the-top-5-nfl-prospects-on-2013-longhorns-team Now, it's all about Johnny Manzel. 'Johnny Manziel's astounding family history' http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/college_sports/aggies/http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/college_sports/aggies/item/Timeline-Johnny-Manziel-s-astounding-family-23035.php Around here in the old days, it was all about Roger Staubach in the NFL. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Staubach Now, it's all about Tony Romo and Peyton Manning. 'Cowboys win over Rams was one of Tony Romo’s best games' Dallas Morning News: http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/tony-romos-best-games.html/http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/2013/09/cowboys-win-over-rams-was-one-of-tony-romos-best-games.html/ 'Peyton Manning carves up Raiders as Broncos dominate' USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/denver-broncos-peyton-manninghttp://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/09/23/nfl-week-3-denver-broncos-peyton-manning-defeat-oakland-raiders/2858825/ 'Broncos, Peyton Manning are flirting with NFL history' Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/sports/broncos-peyton-manninghttp://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-broncos-peyton-manning-20130924,0,242673.story#axzz2fp4L3xZD
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Postcharismatic Fate of New Religious Movements.
More of Barry's fanatical obsession with Narcissistic Personality Disorder... The obvious, for the record: Barry isn't qualified to diagnose anyone with NPD. Not even a professional would do so without having met and examined the person--and certainly would not attempt to do so merely on the basis of their posts on an Internet forum. Not only that, but Barry repeatedly claimed that he never read the posts of the two people he demonizes here. Moreover, with regard to Robin, he gets his basic facts wrong. So his remarks here have zero credibility. Think about the arrival on FFL of someone who is as classic an example of NPD as has ever existed. Some people saw the endless But enough talking about me...let's talk about me drivel as what it was and lost interest, and some looked at the same drivel and somehow projected greatness onto it. Barry's description is so far from accurate that it's really disturbing. It's hallucinatory. Robin talked with other people about themselves, in depth, far, far more than Barry has ever done. And goodness knows Barry has been no slouch talking about himself. Robin tended to talk about himself primarily in response to others' interest (friendly or otherwise). Barry needs no such encouragement. To this day, the most dismaying thing about my entire experience at FFL has been the fact that many people here were completely *unable* to recognize two classic psychopaths -- Ravi and Robin -- when they encountered them. Instead they admired them, became their groupies, and in one case actually created a small cult following around them. That is worrisome, especially in a group of people who claim to be sophisticated spiritual seekers who've been on the path for 20-30 years. To have spent that much time theoretically studying the psychology of enlightenment without being able to tell it from the psychology of psychopathology is shocking. Nobody created any kind of cult following around Robin, nor around Ravi either. That's just insane. Being popular, even admired, is not the same as having a cult following. And to my knowledge no one here has ever claimed to be a sophisticated spiritual seeker. Nor as far as I can tell has anyone been studying the psychology of enlightenment, theoretically or otherwise. It's not clear what that might even mean (and even less clear what the psychology of psychopathology could mean). Plus which, of course, only someone who had been around Robin 30-some years ago could have a legitimate opinion about him in his supposedly enlightened state. We didn't see it here. For some reason Barry persists in thinking that Robin claimed to still be enlightened, when of course he'd done just the opposite. And Robin HIMSELF told us that he had been essentially crazy back then. To my knowledge, nobody took issue with him on that point. Bottom line, Barry is babbling incoherently. Something about Robin, and to a lesser extent about Ravi, seriously traumatized him and aggravated his own already significant psychopathology. He's always been completely unable to write rationally (let alone truthfully) about either Robin or Ravi, even now that both of them are long gone from FFL and pose no threat of competition. Barry always claims that he doesn't care what anyone thinks about him. But it's hard to see his repeated hysterical meltdowns about Robin and Ravi as anything but paranoid jealousy. Many here liked Robin and Ravi--and that seems to be what has dismayed Barry the most.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Postcharismatic Fate of New Religious Movements.
For the record, Ann, I hadn't read your response to this post of Barry's before I posted mine, despite the fact that we both made some similar points. I would suggest -- and in fact have, many times -- that a synonym for charisma in many cases is Narcissistic Personality Disorder. There is a weakness in many people and their basic *lack* of self confidence and self awareness that makes them easy prey for those who have a surfeit of it. They encounter someone who is so taken with themselves that they can literally think of nothing and no one else and they project a bunch of admirable qualities onto a disorder that is largely devoid of them. I find this such a limited view and one that perhaps implies you are threatened by smart, confident, strong people and therefore find a way of analyzing them that makes these characteristics appear menacing and negative. Some people on this planet are actually possessed of leadership qualities, who are stronger and more interesting and arresting than others. These people are not necessarily those whose world is focused around themselves any more than anyone else. These can be human beings who are, seemingly, naturally self-confident, look as if they were born with an ease and strength that many others do not possess. The fact that you describe these kinds of charismatic individuals as those who are so taken with themselves that they can think of nothing and no one else is abysmally short sighted, Barry. Think about the arrival on FFL of someone who is as classic an example of NPD as has ever existed. Some people saw the endless But enough talking about me...let's talk about me drivel as what it was and lost interest, and some looked at the same drivel and somehow projected greatness onto it. Now you're sounding resentful and mistaken. No one here thinks of anyone else on this forum as great in the way that you mean it/imply here. To this day, the most dismaying thing about my entire experience at FFL has been the fact that many people here were completely *unable* to recognize two classic psychopaths -- Ravi and Robin This is a very heavy-handed diagnosis from someone who is not only not an expert in any medical or psychiatric field and who lacks utter objectivity when discussing either of these individuals. It is comically obvious that you have never been pandered to by either Robin or Ravi and it pisses you off. And while both of these men have given you lots of attention in the past you didn't like the kind of attention they gave you, you simply write them off as psychopaths. -- when they encountered them. Instead they admired them, became their groupies, and in one case actually created a small cult following around them. This is Barry's attempt at farcical interlude. But Barry, you are not a funny man in the way you think you might be. Leave the humour to Bob, he does it w better than you. That is worrisome, Another attempt at generating an audience chuckle or to elicit terror, I'm not actually sure which. especially in a group of people who claim to be Alright, who are the one's guilty of claim(ing) this? Show of hands please. sophisticated spiritual seekers who've been on the path for 20-30 years. To have spent that much time theoretically studying the psychology of enlightenment without being able to tell it from the psychology of psychopathology is shocking. Well, at least we know you have the low down and the situation in hand. We'll make sure to use you as our enlightened guidepost on all things psychologically suspect that might show up here. After all, you're the guy who never falls for fakes. That was fun Barry. Let's do this again.
[FairfieldLife] countries where it's easy to find healthy food
one of NPR's most emailed stories... http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/01/14/262465619/where-in-the-world-is-the-best-place-for-healthy-eating?utm_medium=Emailutm_campaign=20140119utm_source=mostemailed
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Religion that doesn't take itself deadly seriously
Ann, years ago in a communications class I learned that young people in certain ways feel invincible, like they will never die. Consequently ads against drinking and driving that featured a skeleton did not have any impact. So they changed to ads saying *friends don't let friends drive drunk* and that worked because young people are very tribal. On Sunday, January 19, 2014 9:09 AM, awoelfleba...@yahoo.com awoelfleba...@yahoo.com wrote: Barry Wrote: But then AIDS came along. And suddenly the old fears came with them. And the world changed again, but this time in a more restrictive, more fearful direction. I think much of the fear around AIDS has faded away and I think a lot of this has to do with the passage of time, the fact that there exist more effective HIV drugs and because many straight people still think of it as a gay disease. I think the gay disease opinion is the result of not only ignorance but of a 'holier-than-thou' attitude that these people think will somehow keep them safe from contracting the HIV virus. My observationis that the average person under the age of 30 really doesn't think about AIDS as a real threat to them.
[FairfieldLife] HP: Windows 7 is back
Just got this email from HP: http://alex.natel.net/misc/win-7-is-back.jpg http://alex.natel.net/misc/win-7-is-back.jpg People have been bitching about Win 8 since it was in beta, and hopefully this loud corporate message from HP will get through to the idiots at MSFT. People with real computers want a proper desktop environment.
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Religion that doesn't take itself deadly seriously
Seraph, I would say that if a culture is putting women on a pedestal, look more deeply and one will find someplace where that same culture is also demonizing and or discounting the feminine. The pedestal is merely overcompensation imo. I have come to the conclusion that in general deification equals demonization. Additionally, I think it has to do with the body spirit split. We westerners tend to demonize the body, matter, the physical and deify the spiritual, the non material. Somehow when patriarchy emerged, the feminine came to be identified with the former and the masculine came to be identified with the latter and thus with higher status. All very screwy if you ask me! I do think it is a matter of biology. For example, there are chemical changes that occur in a female that cause her to bond more readily than the male. I think this is important for a woman to consider even if there is no risk of disease and even if there is no chance of pregnancy. Also and more importantly, I believe that a woman takes on a man's karma when they have intercourse. IMO this is really important for a woman to consider even if no disease and no pregnancy are guaranteed. On Saturday, January 18, 2014 9:45 PM, s3raph...@yahoo.com s3raph...@yahoo.com wrote: Marriage is for women the commonest mode of livelihood, and the total amount of undesired sex endured by women is probably greater in marriage than in prostitution. - Bertrand Russell The human race has emerged from prehistory and has developed its culture for millennia but we're still confused about sex. I mean what could be simpler? Boy meets girl. Then . . . well you know what. Why is something as elementary and essential as the attraction between the sexes still a battlefield and the source of constant disputes (the War of the Sexes)? I've sometimes wondered if the problem is equality - the idea that men and women must be regarded as equal in all respects. If we allow ourselves to generalise, men do *seem* to be more promiscuous than women; women do *seem* to be looking for a permanent partner. (Proof? Gay males have far more partners and far more sex than straight men. Lesbians have far less sex than any other group. Heterosexuals lie between those two figures.) This difference was recognised in the Victorian period when a marriage between a man and woman was assumed to be permanent (and divorces were regarded as scandalous) but at the same time there was an army of prostitutes to satisfy the novelty-seeking desires of the male population. I don't have an answer to the discrepancy - I just think we should look at the issue with wide-open eyes. Maybe it is just a result of women having being controlled by men for centuries; men who had their supremacy recognised by law. Now that that patriarchy is breaking down the differences between the sexual habits of men and women *may* vanish completely. But I certainly don't rule out the idea that such differences are rooted in biology. There are some wonderful ironies here. Is putting women on a pedestal (as happened in the 19th century with the cult of the lady an acknowledgment of women's superiority (or at least equality) or is it a cunning (probably subconscious) put down? I've quoted Malcolm Muggeridge twice before on FFL. Here it is again: It's impossible to string together three consecutive sentences about sex without making a complete hypocrite of yourself. This post must make me guilty as charged. One thing is for sure: the sexual utopia envisaged by the sixties revolutionaries has failed to materialise. On the other hand the days when a woman could die from sexual hysteria (it really did happen - see Ruskin's infatuation with Rose La Touche) are long gone! Reply
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: What I Did Today
We went to this place yesterday - they have some boots for sale. [image: Inline image 1] Cavender's Boot City [image: Inline image 2] Tony Lama, Justin, Lucchese, Laredo On Sat, Jan 18, 2014 at 6:13 PM, Richard Williams pundits...@gmail.comwrote: Today, we went to this place: [image: Inline image 2] On Sun, Dec 29, 2013 at 1:05 PM, Richard Williams pundits...@gmail.comwrote: * I read through this post, bemused by it, but I didn't notice until I'd gotten almost all the way to the end of it that part of my mind was still saying, What's a car? :-)* You probably don't even need a car over there - in fact, it would be a problem. Over, here a car is just another tool for most people. Without one, I'd be dead in the water. Some people who are rich probably drive cars just for fun and pleasure, like my neighbor, who doesn't drive these cars much - there just for shows. I inherited the Eldorado from Mom. She bought it new off the show room floor and it's been garaged it's whole life. She still had a driver's license at age 86, but hadn't driven in about ten years. So, one day I just took it - I'm using it for highway driving. I put some new tires on it and a new disc brakes. You can't get anything these days for a car like that - maybe $1500. The AC still works and it has cruise control. Also, it has a kick-ass Delco Bose sound system with CD player inside. Sweet! [image: Inline image 1] On Sun, Dec 29, 2013 at 11:54 AM, TurquoiseB turquoi...@yahoo.comwrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long wrote: noozguru et al, small country, flat land. And no snow or ice on the roads and bike paths! *Ahem. Only pussies leave their bikes at home when it snows. * * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ* On Sunday, December 29, 2013 11:11 AM, Bhairitu noozguru@... wrote: Small country, flat land. On 12/29/2013 07:43 AM, TurquoiseB wrote: Uh oh. I think I've achieved one of those milestones along the path to You know you're in danger of becoming Dutch when... consciousness. I read through this post, bemused by it, but I didn't notice until I'd gotten almost all the way to the end of it that part of my mind was still saying, What's a car? :-) http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/04/09/learning-from-the-netherlands-about-bikes/
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Postcharismatic Fate of New Religious Movements.
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend@... wrote: For the record, Ann, I hadn't read your response to this post of Barry's before I posted mine, despite the fact that we both made some similar points. I am totally aware of that. When would you ever not be your own person and have your own original thoughts? Never. So I did have a little chuckle when I read your post after posting mine and knew you had been writing away and posted yours before seeing mine. Is it narcissistic of me to say (great) minds think alike? Oh, okay, some minds think alike then. Does this make us a cult? Are we two mutual groupies? Are we psychopaths? Dear Lord, I better go engage in some self reflection and get back to you on these questions. I trust you will do the same. In the meantime, we'll allow Barry an opportunity to crow about his knowing he would have pushed our buttons and getting all smug about his devil-may-care and fuck-'em-all world attitude. We are generous enough in spirit to allow him this little indulgence, are we not? I would suggest -- and in fact have, many times -- that a synonym for charisma in many cases is Narcissistic Personality Disorder. There is a weakness in many people and their basic *lack* of self confidence and self awareness that makes them easy prey for those who have a surfeit of it. They encounter someone who is so taken with themselves that they can literally think of nothing and no one else and they project a bunch of admirable qualities onto a disorder that is largely devoid of them. I find this such a limited view and one that perhaps implies you are threatened by smart, confident, strong people and therefore find a way of analyzing them that makes these characteristics appear menacing and negative. Some people on this planet are actually possessed of leadership qualities, who are stronger and more interesting and arresting than others. These people are not necessarily those whose world is focused around themselves any more than anyone else. These can be human beings who are, seemingly, naturally self-confident, look as if they were born with an ease and strength that many others do not possess. The fact that you describe these kinds of charismatic individuals as those who are so taken with themselves that they can think of nothing and no one else is abysmally short sighted, Barry. Think about the arrival on FFL of someone who is as classic an example of NPD as has ever existed. Some people saw the endless But enough talking about me...let's talk about me drivel as what it was and lost interest, and some looked at the same drivel and somehow projected greatness onto it. Now you're sounding resentful and mistaken. No one here thinks of anyone else on this forum as great in the way that you mean it/imply here. To this day, the most dismaying thing about my entire experience at FFL has been the fact that many people here were completely *unable* to recognize two classic psychopaths -- Ravi and Robin This is a very heavy-handed diagnosis from someone who is not only not an expert in any medical or psychiatric field and who lacks utter objectivity when discussing either of these individuals. It is comically obvious that you have never been pandered to by either Robin or Ravi and it pisses you off. And while both of these men have given you lots of attention in the past you didn't like the kind of attention they gave you, you simply write them off as psychopaths. -- when they encountered them. Instead they admired them, became their groupies, and in one case actually created a small cult following around them. This is Barry's attempt at farcical interlude. But Barry, you are not a funny man in the way you think you might be. Leave the humour to Bob, he does it w better than you. That is worrisome, Another attempt at generating an audience chuckle or to elicit terror, I'm not actually sure which. especially in a group of people who claim to be Alright, who are the one's guilty of claim(ing) this? Show of hands please. sophisticated spiritual seekers who've been on the path for 20-30 years. To have spent that much time theoretically studying the psychology of enlightenment without being able to tell it from the psychology of psychopathology is shocking. Well, at least we know you have the low down and the situation in hand. We'll make sure to use you as our enlightened guidepost on all things psychologically suspect that might show up here. After all, you're the guy who never falls for fakes. That was fun Barry. Let's do this again.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Bridge SE on Hulu
On 01/19/2014 12:48 AM, TurquoiseB wrote: */I'm enjoying the new season of Justify as well, and agree that it's one of the better shows on American TV. Although the writing has been turned over to other people at this point, it still has a lot of that Elmore Leonard look and feel, and is just superb. There was a scene in the most recent episode in which we meet a new character -- an obvious new love interest for Raylan. Whoever this actress is, and whoever wrote the lines she got to speak as we first met her, I stand up and applaud. She went from a nobody to someone we care about and are dying to see more of in 30 seconds flat. THAT is good writing./* /**/You mean the Amy Smart character? /**/
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: What I Did Today
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, punditster@... wrote: We went to this place yesterday - they have some boots for sale. That's a whole lotta shit stompers in one place. I prefer shopping in smaller, boutique-y stores though. I always have people coming into my strictly English tack store asking where to buy cowboy boots because Victoria doesn't have anywhere that sells them. Next time I'll send them to Texas. Cavender's Boot City Tony Lama, Justin, Lucchese, Laredo On Sat, Jan 18, 2014 at 6:13 PM, Richard Williams punditster@... mailto:punditster@... wrote: Today, we went to this place: On Sun, Dec 29, 2013 at 1:05 PM, Richard Williams punditster@... mailto:punditster@... wrote: I read through this post, bemused by it, but I didn't notice until I'd gotten almost all the way to the end of it that part of my mind was still saying, What's a car? :-) You probably don't even need a car over there - in fact, it would be a problem. Over, here a car is just another tool for most people. Without one, I'd be dead in the water. Some people who are rich probably drive cars just for fun and pleasure, like my neighbor, who doesn't drive these cars much - there just for shows. I inherited the Eldorado from Mom. She bought it new off the show room floor and it's been garaged it's whole life. She still had a driver's license at age 86, but hadn't driven in about ten years. So, one day I just took it - I'm using it for highway driving. I put some new tires on it and a new disc brakes. You can't get anything these days for a car like that - maybe $1500. The AC still works and it has cruise control. Also, it has a kick-ass Delco Bose sound system with CD player inside. Sweet! On Sun, Dec 29, 2013 at 11:54 AM, TurquoiseB turquoiseb@... mailto:turquoiseb@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long wrote: noozguru et al, small country, flat land. And no snow or ice on the roads and bike paths! Ahem. Only pussies leave their bikes at home when it snows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ On Sunday, December 29, 2013 11:11 AM, Bhairitu noozguru@... wrote: Small country, flat land. On 12/29/2013 07:43 AM, TurquoiseB wrote: Uh oh. I think I've achieved one of those milestones along the path to You know you're in danger of becoming Dutch when... consciousness. I read through this post, bemused by it, but I didn't notice until I'd gotten almost all the way to the end of it that part of my mind was still saying, What's a car? :-) http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/04/09/learning-from-the-netherlands-about-bikes/ http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/04/09/learning-from-the-netherlands-about-bikes/
Re: [FairfieldLife] HP: Windows 7 is back
That's why I use Ubuntu Studio. :-P On 01/19/2014 08:01 AM, j_alexander_stan...@yahoo.com wrote: Just got this email from HP: http://alex.natel.net/misc/win-7-is-back.jpg People have been bitching about Win 8 since it was in beta, and hopefully this loud corporate message from HP will get through to the idiots at MSFT. People with real computers want a proper desktop environment.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Bridge SE on Hulu
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: On 01/19/2014 12:48 AM, TurquoiseB wrote: */I'm enjoying the new season of Justify as well, and agree that it's one of the better shows on American TV. Although the writing has been turned over to other people at this point, it still has a lot of that Elmore Leonard look and feel, and is just superb. There was a scene in the most recent episode in which we meet a new character -- an obvious new love interest for Raylan. Whoever this actress is, and whoever wrote the lines she got to speak as we first met her, I stand up and applaud. She went from a nobody to someone we care about and are dying to see more of in 30 seconds flat. THAT is good writing./* /**/You mean the Amy Smart character? Absolutely. She managed to *eat* the screen in her first appearance on it. In my experience, that's the result of the conjunction of good writing, good casting, and good acting.
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Apostasy, is a terrible thing.
I would agree with this. In my own life, from childhood on, the tendency to invoke metaphysical explanations steadily declined, until now everything is immediate, direct, no need for an explanation of something out-of-sight. That is for experience. As far as the rational mind is concerned, there are things unseen, but inferred by aspects of experience. Radio waves for example. We cannot see them or feel them, but there are direct experiential reasons for supposing they are there, even though an electrical engineer and a physicist might fully understand the reason this is so. For the rest of us, that the radio, when turned on, functions, is direct evidence of that even if we cannot fully understand. But if I were to say I am getting mental messages from 'enlightened beings' in the constellation of Orion, and yet the only evidence I offer is what I say, only crazy people might believe what I say. This is the difference between shared evidence and private 'evidence'. There has to be a way to connect minds via the physical world to have evidence that involves direct experience. This is basically what divides science from religion. Science by its nature cannot endorse metaphysical explanations because there is nothing to share, to point to. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, s3raphita@... wrote: Re People take words much too literally: That's my view. I think the original founders of the world religions were talking about a change in consciousness. They had an insight (ie in - sight). The unwashed masses take the words as a description of the objective world out there. As the everyday world out there doesn't match the founders' descriptions they are then forced to imagine a supernatural world were those words would apply.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hackers
The Target Corp. data breach that has hurt its sales and has made many consumers skittish about using their cards has been traced to a Russian teenager who authored the malware used in the security breach, according to a cyber-intelligence firm. [image: Inline image 1] IntelCrawler said BlackPOS first infected retailers’ systems in Australia, Canada and the U.S. It said the malware — which first carried the name of “Kaptoxa,” or potato in Russian slang, before being renamed — has been sold to cyber-criminals in Eastern Europe and other countries, including owners of underground credit-card shops. 'A nearly 17-year-old is reportedly author of malware that led to Target’s data breach' http://blogs.marketwatch.com/malware-that-led-to-targets-data-breach/http://blogs.marketwatch.com/behindthestorefront/2014/01/17/a-17-year-old-is-reportedly-author-behind-malware-that-led-to-targets-data-breach/ On Thu, Jan 16, 2014 at 11:36 AM, authfri...@yahoo.com wrote: *There were five and dime stores back when prices for the stuff they sold were that low. By the time I was shopping in Woolworth's and Newberry's in the '50s, five and dime was already way out of date due to inflation, although the term was still used by the older generation. And they had departments and regular stock that they ordered, unlike most of today's dollar stores. (Woolworth's had a terrific notions department, for instance--thread and needles and pins and yarn and hooks-and-eyes--including drawers and drawers full of Simplicity patterns for home sewers.)* *I doubt dollar stores have ever made more of a profit than five-and-dimes. In most cases the dollar stores' goods are not costlier (and many of the stores, around here at least, are quite small, much smaller than the old five-and-dimes). I don't think you're taking inflation into account; the dollar stores' business model is very different than that of the five-and-dimes.* There used to be five and dime stores too. Dollar stores probably arise out of the fact that bigger stores wanted to devote their precious shelf space to costlier hence more profitable items. It appears that Dollar Tree eliminates vendors coming in to stock the shelves so a Dollar Tree truck just delivers all the inventory. The companies who set up deals with Dollar Tree probably just send their truckload(s) to a central warehouse. This obviously eliminates a lot of cost. There also appear to be jobbers who supply the independent dollar stores in much the same way. Difference is that some of these stores will have additional items priced at more than a dollar. We just lost the nearby independent that just stocked dry goods not food like Dollar Tree. There was something said about the town council having something to do with pushing them out while a steak house went in to the location. More taxes from a steak house than a dollar store. On 01/16/2014 07:47 AM, Share Long wrote: Ann, I think dollar stores began with the idea that everything in the store cost one dollar. That idea has not been realized. Instead I think it's proved itself to be a clever marketing device to get people to come into the store and shop, thinking they're saving money. On Thursday, January 16, 2014 8:18 AM, awoelflebater@...awoelflebater@... awoelflebater@... awoelflebater@... wrote: ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sharelong60@... sharelong60@...wrote: Richard, I love the Dollar General in FF. The manager is really nice. We also have Family Dollar. But my favorite is Dollar Tree which we don't have in FF but there is one in Annapolis and I shop there when I'm visiting my family. These dollar stores are a new development in my life and I have NO idea what's going on with that! It always makes me laugh that these types of cheapo stores are called Dollar stores because any store that handles US or Canadian currency are technically dollar stores. On Wednesday, January 15, 2014 9:57 AM, Richard J. Williams punditster@... punditster@... wrote: On 1/15/2014 9:24 AM, Share Long wrote: Richard, here's my debit card adventure, a card which I NEVER use. Except I had to in order to purchase gifts cards from the grocery store here. They wouldn't let me use my credit card! That didn't seem right to me but I went along with it because I was eager to finish my Christmas shopping! I think I'm a slave to convenience. Yes, we used to use our debit card at stores and at the gas station. After reading about the the online hackers at Target and Neiman-Marcus we won't be using our debit cards there any more! Now, we just use the credit card at SAKS and get cash out of the ATM at the bank for shopping at the Dollar General, which is only a few blocks away. Go figure.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Postcharismatic Fate of New Religious Movements.
Turq, separating the NP-Disordered as a consideration is just a scale with a range and distribution of consideration around the real spiritual charismatic. The Dis-ordered may just indicate bad nurture of upbringing or some bad nature of dis-ease of genetic material otherwise and both may be independent of a charismatic life of saintly-hood as a trans-formative affective energy field in time. Bad nurture or bad nature may travel with charisma evidently as part of the story. That is only human? The OEM of the human form does come with ego included as part of the factory package on earth. That evidently can give us all a lot to talk about and I appreciate your journalistic pursuit of the subject here. -Buck in the Dome ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: Weber, in an oft quoted passage, defined charisma as a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which [s/]he is set apart from ordinary [people] and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader. 1 I would suggest -- and in fact have, many times -- that a synonym for charisma in many cases is Narcissistic Personality Disorder. There is a weakness in many people and their basic *lack* of self confidence and self awareness that makes them easy prey for those who have a surfeit of it. They encounter someone who is so taken with themselves that they can literally think of nothing and no one else and they project a bunch of admirable qualities onto a disorder that is largely devoid of them. Think about the arrival on FFL of someone who is as classic an example of NPD as has ever existed. Some people saw the endless But enough talking about me...let's talk about me drivel as what it was and lost interest, and some looked at the same drivel and somehow projected greatness onto it. To this day, the most dismaying thing about my entire experience at FFL has been the fact that many people here were completely *unable* to recognize two classic psychopaths -- Ravi and Robin -- when they encountered them. Instead they admired them, became their groupies, and in one case actually created a small cult following around them. That is worrisome, especially in a group of people who claim to be sophisticated spiritual seekers who've been on the path for 20-30 years. To have spent that much time theoretically studying the psychology of enlightenment without being able to tell it from the psychology of psychopathology is shocking.
[FairfieldLife] Would you buy a car from this guy?
More on the guy who got away with the big golden parachute from Yahoo. Mr. de Castro, who was hired away from Google, was hardly a tech superstar. He had a spotty track record at the search giant. And less than a year before he left, he was demoted from managing media and platforms to an amorphous role working on 'special projects' on a team of one. Although he was promoted back into a bigger role several months later before jumping ship for Yahoo, it was not an auspicious sign for someone who was going to help turn around Yahoo. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617453-93/fired-yahoo-coo-de-castro-made-more-than-marissa/ Still think he's not a scamster?
[FairfieldLife] RE: Signposts Of Enlightenment
Yet more of Barry's insane obsession with NPD: Granted that from what I've heard--including from Robin--this list does characterize many of his behaviors with his group 30-some years ago. However, we didn't see any of these behaviors while he was participating on FFL, which is, of course, consistent with his insistence that he was no longer enlightened. Barry didn't know Robin 30-some years ago; all he knows of Robin is what he's read by and about him on FFL. Yet he claims Robin exhibited a classic case of NPD while he was here. I wonder how Barry would explain this peculiar discrepancy. Does he even recognize it? Celebrating 47 years of being on a kinda, sorta spiritual path this month (and a few years of being on less formal paths before that), I find myself thinking back and wondering whether I actually learned anything. One of the things that makes me wonder that is the difference with which many people who call themselves experienced spiritual seekers view certain traits in the teachers they align themselves with perceive those traits, and the way I perceive them. With this in mind, here is a list of qualities that I've heard expressed to me over the decades by people who are convinced (and often trying their best to convince me) that the teacher they study with is enlightened. Just for fun, notice that Barry loses track of his presentation of the point he's trying to make after the first two items here. Those items are what one might well expect to hear from a person who believes their teacher is enlightened, as he stipulates above. But the rest are phrased increasingly negatively; they aren't qualities that someone would proudly attribute to their teacher. This is just one more sign that as obsessed with NPD as Barry is, he's unable to talk about it coherently. * They radiate power or charisma. When you're around them, the intensity of their aura or vibe is such that people often fall under the sway of it. People speak of getting high from being around the person, and of changes in their internal state of attention that they attribute to darshan, and equate with actual changes in their personal state of consciousness. * They speak with authority. When these teachers speak or write, there is a *certainty* to what they say that many people associate with the presence of Truth. The people themselves often speak in terms of truth, suggesting that the way they see things and the way they interpret the things they see *are* truth or reality. * They seek followers. It's as if their goal in life *is* to find followers, and to convince them of the truth of what they have realized. And there is a clear demarcation between the teacher *and* the followers. You see it in the hierarchical structure of their organizations, and even in the seating arrangements of the rooms they speak in. The teacher is always in front of or in the center of a circle of other people, the obvious focus of attention, and he or she is often seated on a chair or dias raised above the level of the followers. * They feel entitled. Once these individuals have found followers, they *expect* things from them. Like attention. They *like* to be focused on, and to be complimented and told how great they are. * They present elitism as a good thing. The teachers themselves often refer to those who are lesser evolved than other people. They remind the followers that they -- because they are wise enough to have recognized how elite the teacher is -- are more evolved than this rabble, and thus have no responsibility to treat them the way they treat others in the org, meaning in the circle that has grown up around the teacher. * They have grandiose goals and think of themselves in grandiose terms. Very few of the people I've ever been told by others was enlightened wanted *only* to help a few people and live a happy life. They wanted World Peace. They wanted to enlighten every sentient being on the planet, to make sure they were living as exalted and elite a life as they are. * They unashamedly use people. The requests for the followers' time, money, energy, and attention start soon after they become followers, and never cease. The grandiose goals, after all, are far more important than the issue of whether the followers called upon to contribute to them are able to pay their rent. * They view other people as competition, and tend to turn interactions with them into battles, which they always win. In lectures, if a student either disagrees with one of the teacher's pronouncements or even just agrees with it half-heartedly, the teacher turns it into an issue of faith, and *confronts* the student until they submit, and admit how wrong they were. Thus the truth, as seen by the teacher, always prevails. * They don't deal well with doubt or criticism. Many of these teachers are *famous* for how they react to their students having doubts about the way
[FairfieldLife] RE: Would you buy a car from this guy?
Of course not. Why would you think it makes him a scamster? Again, his hiring was Mayer's poor judgment as to his competence. She hired him despite his spotty record. There's no evidence he did anything wrong or dishonest. More on the guy who got away with the big golden parachute from Yahoo. Mr. de Castro, who was hired away from Google, was hardly a tech superstar. He had a spotty track record at the search giant. And less than a year before he left, he was demoted from managing media and platforms to an amorphous role working on 'special projects' on a team of one. Although he was promoted back into a bigger role several months later before jumping ship for Yahoo, it was not an auspicious sign for someone who was going to help turn around Yahoo. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617453-93/fired-yahoo-coo-de-castro-made-more-than-marissa/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617453-93/fired-yahoo-coo-de-castro-made-more-than-marissa/ Still think he's not a scamster?
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: What I Did Today
We got our boots at Cavender's and they also have denims and belts and shirts. If you ever get down here, Ann, we'll take you to see some boots - you'll go crazy over this place! We get all our hats at Paris Hatters and we get guitars at Sam Ash Music Store in San Antonio. [image: Inline image 3] Cavender's Boot City: http://www.cavenders.com/ [image: Inline image 2] Hats at Paris Hatters: http://www.parishatters.com/ [image: Inline image 1] Guitars at Sam Ash Music Store, San Antonio http://samashmusic.com/ On Sun, Jan 19, 2014 at 10:59 AM, awoelfleba...@yahoo.com wrote: ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, punditster@... wrote: We went to this place yesterday - they have some boots for sale. That's a whole lotta shit stompers in one place. I prefer shopping in smaller, boutique-y stores though. I always have people coming into my strictly English tack store asking where to buy cowboy boots because Victoria doesn't have anywhere that sells them. Next time I'll send them to Texas. [image: Inline image 1] Cavender's Boot City [image: Inline image 2] Tony Lama, Justin, Lucchese, Laredo On Sat, Jan 18, 2014 at 6:13 PM, Richard Williams punditster@... wrote: Today, we went to this place: [image: Inline image 2] On Sun, Dec 29, 2013 at 1:05 PM, Richard Williams punditster@... wrote: * I read through this post, bemused by it, but I didn't notice until I'd gotten almost all the way to the end of it that part of my mind was still saying, What's a car? :-)* You probably don't even need a car over there - in fact, it would be a problem. Over, here a car is just another tool for most people. Without one, I'd be dead in the water. Some people who are rich probably drive cars just for fun and pleasure, like my neighbor, who doesn't drive these cars much - there just for shows. I inherited the Eldorado from Mom. She bought it new off the show room floor and it's been garaged it's whole life. She still had a driver's license at age 86, but hadn't driven in about ten years. So, one day I just took it - I'm using it for highway driving. I put some new tires on it and a new disc brakes. You can't get anything these days for a car like that - maybe $1500. The AC still works and it has cruise control. Also, it has a kick-ass Delco Bose sound system with CD player inside. Sweet! [image: Inline image 1] On Sun, Dec 29, 2013 at 11:54 AM, TurquoiseB turquoiseb@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long wrote: noozguru et al, small country, flat land. And no snow or ice on the roads and bike paths! *Ahem. Only pussies leave their bikes at home when it snows. * * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ* On Sunday, December 29, 2013 11:11 AM, Bhairitu noozguru@... wrote: Small country, flat land. On 12/29/2013 07:43 AM, TurquoiseB wrote: Uh oh. I think I've achieved one of those milestones along the path to You know you're in danger of becoming Dutch when... consciousness. I read through this post, bemused by it, but I didn't notice until I'd gotten almost all the way to the end of it that part of my mind was still saying, What's a car? :-) http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/04/09/learning-from-the-netherlands-about-bikes/
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Would you buy a car from this guy?
Sorry but that is because you don't know the tech industry. A little story, back around 1980 I was out of a playing gig and doing temp work. I took a week long workshop on hiring by the state's employment agency. One of the topics was on selling one's self. I raised the question what if the person is really good at selling themselves but not really good at the job itself? The class responded yeah, what about that? The instructor was a little stumped. Fast forward to the 1990s when I'm hiring folks and watched *very carefully* when interviewing and hiring to make sure that these star candidates who put on quite a show really could do the job. There are lots of great salesmen out there who are poor producers. So I suspect that what de Castro did that would be wrong or dishonest was he was an opportunist and did whatever he could possible to get into a position he was not capable of handling. He should have been been honest enough to I'm not up to that... yet. And yes, Mayer should have been better at filtering it out but then I know how crazy stuff is in this area and the screwball poor judgment of people and execs in the tech industry. If anything good comes out of Silicon Valley it is often by accident. :-D On 01/19/2014 09:44 AM, authfri...@yahoo.com wrote: *Of course not. Why would you think it makes him a scamster? Again, his hiring was Mayer's poor judgment as to his competence. She hired him /despite/ his spotty record. There's no evidence he did anything wrong or dishonest.* * * * * More on the guy who got away with the big golden parachute from Yahoo. Mr. de Castro, who was hired away from Google, was hardly a tech superstar. He had a spotty track record at the search giant. And less than a year before he left, he was demoted from managing media and platforms to an amorphous role working on 'special projects' on a team of one. Although he was promoted back into a bigger role several months later before jumping ship for Yahoo, it was not an auspicious sign for someone who was going to help turn around Yahoo. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617453-93/fired-yahoo-coo-de-castro-made-more-than-marissa/ Still think he's not a scamster?
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Would you buy a car from this guy?
Most likely he didn't know he wasn't up to it, or thought he could get up to it if he made a big effort. If he knew he wasn't up to it, he'd have been insane to take the gig. And for all we know, he expressed his doubts to Mayer and she told him not to worry, he'd do great. For her, it was a coup to hire him away from her former employer--at least she thought it would be. You're making all kinds of assumptions about him on the basis of no evidence. Sorry but that is because you don't know the tech industry. A little story, back around 1980 I was out of a playing gig and doing temp work. I took a week long workshop on hiring by the state's employment agency. One of the topics was on selling one's self. I raised the question what if the person is really good at selling themselves but not really good at the job itself? The class responded yeah, what about that? The instructor was a little stumped. Fast forward to the 1990s when I'm hiring folks and watched very carefully when interviewing and hiring to make sure that these star candidates who put on quite a show really could do the job. There are lots of great salesmen out there who are poor producers. So I suspect that what de Castro did that would be wrong or dishonest was he was an opportunist and did whatever he could possible to get into a position he was not capable of handling. He should have been been honest enough to I'm not up to that... yet. And yes, Mayer should have been better at filtering it out but then I know how crazy stuff is in this area and the screwball poor judgment of people and execs in the tech industry. If anything good comes out of Silicon Valley it is often by accident. :-D On 01/19/2014 09:44 AM, authfriend@... mailto:authfriend@... wrote: Of course not. Why would you think it makes him a scamster? Again, his hiring was Mayer's poor judgment as to his competence. She hired him despite his spotty record. There's no evidence he did anything wrong or dishonest. More on the guy who got away with the big golden parachute from Yahoo. Mr. de Castro, who was hired away from Google, was hardly a tech superstar. He had a spotty track record at the search giant. And less than a year before he left, he was demoted from managing media and platforms to an amorphous role working on 'special projects' on a team of one. Although he was promoted back into a bigger role several months later before jumping ship for Yahoo, it was not an auspicious sign for someone who was going to help turn around Yahoo. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617453-93/fired-yahoo-coo-de-castro-made-more-than-marissa/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617453-93/fired-yahoo-coo-de-castro-made-more-than-marissa/ Still think he's not a scamster?
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Would you buy a car from this guy?
But Judy, you're also making a big assumption when you say that for all we know he expressed his doubts to Mayer and she told him not to worry! In this case, for all we know is zilch! Maybe she made him a financial offer he couldn't refuse. Maybe she had worked with him before and it had worked for them both. But maybe she wasn't the boss in their first stint as colleagues. On Sunday, January 19, 2014 12:12 PM, authfri...@yahoo.com authfri...@yahoo.com wrote: Most likely he didn't know he wasn't up to it, or thought he could get up to it if he made a big effort. If he knew he wasn't up to it, he'd have been insane to take the gig. And for all we know, he expressed his doubts to Mayer and she told him not to worry, he'd do great. For her, it was a coup to hire him away from her former employer--at least she thought it would be. You're making all kinds of assumptions about him on the basis of no evidence. Sorry but that is because you don't know the tech industry. A little story, back around 1980 I was out of a playing gig and doing temp work. I took a week long workshop on hiring by the state's employment agency. One of the topics was on selling one's self. I raised the question what if the person is really good at selling themselves but not really good at the job itself? The class responded yeah, what about that? The instructor was a little stumped. Fast forward to the 1990s when I'm hiring folks and watched very carefully when interviewing and hiring to make sure that these star candidates who put on quite a show really could do the job. There are lots of great salesmen out there who are poor producers. So I suspect that what de Castro did that would be wrong or dishonest was he was an opportunist and did whatever he could possible to get into a position he was not capable of handling. He should have been been honest enough to I'm not up to that... yet. And yes, Mayer should have been better at filtering it out but then I know how crazy stuff is in this area and the screwball poor judgment of people and execs in the tech industry. If anything good comes out of Silicon Valley it is often by accident. :-D On 01/19/2014 09:44 AM, authfriend@... wrote: Of course not. Why would you think it makes him a scamster? Again, his hiring was Mayer's poor judgment as to his competence. She hired him despite his spotty record. There's no evidence he did anything wrong or dishonest. More on the guy who got away with the big golden parachute from Yahoo. Mr. de Castro, who was hired away from Google, was hardly a tech superstar. He had a spotty track record at the search giant. And less than a year before he left, he was demoted from managing media and platforms to an amorphous role working on 'special projects' on a team of one. Although he was promoted back into a bigger role several months later before jumping ship for Yahoo, it was not an auspicious sign for someone who was going to help turn around Yahoo. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617453-93/fired-yahoo-coo-de-castro-made-more-than-marissa/ Still think he's not a scamster?
[FairfieldLife] RE: HP: Windows 7 is back
I used Ubuntu for a while, but I think for block heads like myself, it (like any Linux distro) might still be a bit too nerdy ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, noozguru@... wrote: That's why I use Ubuntu Studio. :-P On 01/19/2014 08:01 AM, j_alexander_stanley@... mailto:j_alexander_stanley@... wrote: Just got this email from HP: http://alex.natel.net/misc/win-7-is-back.jpg http://alex.natel.net/misc/win-7-is-back.jpg People have been bitching about Win 8 since it was in beta, and hopefully this loud corporate message from HP will get through to the idiots at MSFT. People with real computers want a proper desktop environment.
[FairfieldLife] 'Allah' Row in Malaysia
Does it really make a difference if a Catholic priest uses 'Allah' to address the Creator? But Muslim authorities ruled that non-Muslims cannot use the sacred word. This ruling just shows that these people are still ignorant, in spite of their faith. http://news.yahoo.com/39-allah-39-row-thrusts-malaysian-priest-spotlight-045410869.html http://news.yahoo.com/39-allah-39-row-thrusts-malaysian-priest-spotlight-045410869.html
[FairfieldLife] RE: Attack of the Neak Ta
Judy, This tradition of appeasing the gods or whatever is also practiced by some Chinese communities here in the US. When I was taking tai chi in Seattle, WA, the owner of the school always had an offering of fruits, incense, or chicken in one section of the building. Here in San Francisco, CA, I've seen two Chinese restaurants with offerings of fruits and incense on the sidewalk just outside their entrances. However, one of these two restaurants went out of business. So, there you have it.
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Would you buy a car from this guy?
But Share, For all we know indicates that I was speculating, not assuming, as Bhairitu was. Two different things. Try to get your ducks in a nice row before you start posing objections. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sharelong60@... wrote: But Judy, you're also making a big assumption when you say that for all we know he expressed his doubts to Mayer and she told him not to worry! In this case, for all we know is zilch! Maybe she made him a financial offer he couldn't refuse. Maybe she had worked with him before and it had worked for them both. But maybe she wasn't the boss in their first stint as colleagues. On Sunday, January 19, 2014 12:12 PM, authfriend@... authfriend@... wrote: Most likely he didn't know he wasn't up to it, or thought he could get up to it if he made a big effort. If he knew he wasn't up to it, he'd have been insane to take the gig. And for all we know, he expressed his doubts to Mayer and she told him not to worry, he'd do great. For her, it was a coup to hire him away from her former employer--at least she thought it would be. You're making all kinds of assumptions about him on the basis of no evidence. Sorry but that is because you don't know the tech industry. A little story, back around 1980 I was out of a playing gig and doing temp work. I took a week long workshop on hiring by the state's employment agency. One of the topics was on selling one's self. I raised the question what if the person is really good at selling themselves but not really good at the job itself? The class responded yeah, what about that? The instructor was a little stumped. Fast forward to the 1990s when I'm hiring folks and watched very carefully when interviewing and hiring to make sure that these star candidates who put on quite a show really could do the job. There are lots of great salesmen out there who are poor producers. So I suspect that what de Castro did that would be wrong or dishonest was he was an opportunist and did whatever he could possible to get into a position he was not capable of handling. He should have been been honest enough to I'm not up to that... yet. And yes, Mayer should have been better at filtering it out but then I know how crazy stuff is in this area and the screwball poor judgment of people and execs in the tech industry. If anything good comes out of Silicon Valley it is often by accident. :-D On 01/19/2014 09:44 AM, authfriend@... mailto:authfriend@... wrote: Of course not. Why would you think it makes him a scamster? Again, his hiring was Mayer's poor judgment as to his competence. She hired him despite his spotty record. There's no evidence he did anything wrong or dishonest. More on the guy who got away with the big golden parachute from Yahoo. Mr. de Castro, who was hired away from Google, was hardly a tech superstar. He had a spotty track record at the search giant. And less than a year before he left, he was demoted from managing media and platforms to an amorphous role working on 'special projects' on a team of one. Although he was promoted back into a bigger role several months later before jumping ship for Yahoo, it was not an auspicious sign for someone who was going to help turn around Yahoo. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617453-93/fired-yahoo-coo-de-castro-made-more-than-marissa/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617453-93/fired-yahoo-coo-de-castro-made-more-than-marissa/ Still think he's not a scamster?
[FairfieldLife] RE: Attack of the Neak Ta
Did you read the story I linked to? Judy, This tradition of appeasing the gods or whatever is also practiced by some Chinese communities here in the US. When I was taking tai chi in Seattle, WA, the owner of the school always had an offering of fruits, incense, or chicken in one section of the building. Here in San Francisco, CA, I've seen two Chinese restaurants with offerings of fruits and incense on the sidewalk just outside their entrances. However, one of these two restaurants went out of business. So, there you have it.
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Would you buy a car from this guy?
Judy, for all we know in this context is zilch. But by adding a detailed scenario, you give a kind of credence to what comes after the phrase. Were you in the debate club in high school or college? On Sunday, January 19, 2014 1:29 PM, authfri...@yahoo.com authfri...@yahoo.com wrote: But Share, For all we know indicates that I was speculating, not assuming, as Bhairitu was. Two different things. Try to get your ducks in a nice row before you start posing objections. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sharelong60@... wrote: But Judy, you're also making a big assumption when you say that for all we know he expressed his doubts to Mayer and she told him not to worry! In this case, for all we know is zilch! Maybe she made him a financial offer he couldn't refuse. Maybe she had worked with him before and it had worked for them both. But maybe she wasn't the boss in their first stint as colleagues. On Sunday, January 19, 2014 12:12 PM, authfriend@... authfriend@... wrote: Most likely he didn't know he wasn't up to it, or thought he could get up to it if he made a big effort. If he knew he wasn't up to it, he'd have been insane to take the gig. And for all we know, he expressed his doubts to Mayer and she told him not to worry, he'd do great. For her, it was a coup to hire him away from her former employer--at least she thought it would be. You're making all kinds of assumptions about him on the basis of no evidence. Sorry but that is because you don't know the tech industry. A little story, back around 1980 I was out of a playing gig and doing temp work. I took a week long workshop on hiring by the state's employment agency. One of the topics was on selling one's self. I raised the question what if the person is really good at selling themselves but not really good at the job itself? The class responded yeah, what about that? The instructor was a little stumped. Fast forward to the 1990s when I'm hiring folks and watched very carefully when interviewing and hiring to make sure that these star candidates who put on quite a show really could do the job. There are lots of great salesmen out there who are poor producers. So I suspect that what de Castro did that would be wrong or dishonest was he was an opportunist and did whatever he could possible to get into a position he was not capable of handling. He should have been been honest enough to I'm not up to that... yet. And yes, Mayer should have been better at filtering it out but then I know how crazy stuff is in this area and the screwball poor judgment of people and execs in the tech industry. If anything good comes out of Silicon Valley it is often by accident. :-D On 01/19/2014 09:44 AM, authfriend@... wrote: Of course not. Why would you think it makes him a scamster? Again, his hiring was Mayer's poor judgment as to his competence. She hired him despite his spotty record. There's no evidence he did anything wrong or dishonest. More on the guy who got away with the big golden parachute from Yahoo. Mr. de Castro, who was hired away from Google, was hardly a tech superstar. He had a spotty track record at the search giant. And less than a year before he left, he was demoted from managing media and platforms to an amorphous role working on 'special projects' on a team of one. Although he was promoted back into a bigger role several months later before jumping ship for Yahoo, it was not an auspicious sign for someone who was going to help turn around Yahoo. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617453-93/fired-yahoo-coo-de-castro-made-more-than-marissa/ Still think he's not a scamster?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Attack of the Neak Ta
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: Did you read the story I linked to? If not, what is WRONG with you? Do you *dare* to ignore something I consider valuable? If you actually did read it (doubtful, since you disagreed with my posting of it, or came to some other conclusion about it than I did), what is WRONG with you? Has anyone noticed how the traits of Narcissistic Personality Disordered teachers tend to perpetuate themselves among those who choose to become their cult followers? This tradition of appeasing the gods or whatever is also practiced by some Chinese communities here in the US. When I was taking tai chi in Seattle, WA, the owner of the school always had an offering of fruits, incense, or chicken in one section of the building. Here in San Francisco, CA, I've seen two Chinese restaurants with offerings of fruits and incense on the sidewalk just outside their entrances. However, one of these two restaurants went out of business. So, there you have it.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Attack of the Neak Ta
Oh, boy, I really freaked Barry out this morning, didn't I? Did you read the story I linked to? If not, what is WRONG with you? Do you *dare* to ignore something I consider valuable? If you actually did read it (doubtful, since you disagreed with my posting of it, or came to some other conclusion about it than I did), what is WRONG with you? No, stupid. He didn't disagree or come to any other conclusion. I couldn' t tell from what he said whether he'd read it, and I wanted to make a few comments, but it's a complicated story, and I didn't want to have to try to explain what it was about before making them. Has anyone noticed how the traits of Narcissistic Personality Disordered teachers tend to perpetuate themselves among those who choose to become their cult followers? BWHAHAHAHA. Says the FFL Narcissistic Personality Disorder poster boy. This tradition of appeasing the gods or whatever is also practiced by some Chinese communities here in the US. When I was taking tai chi in Seattle, WA, the owner of the school always had an offering of fruits, incense, or chicken in one section of the building. Here in San Francisco, CA, I've seen two Chinese restaurants with offerings of fruits and incense on the sidewalk just outside their entrances. However, one of these two restaurants went out of business. So, there you have it.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Religion that doesn't take itself deadly seriously
Yeah, good points. The AIDS thing is quite a mind-fuck, having a fatal, largely incurable disease, emerge in the West, in the last quarter, of a century, that saw the virtual eradication of cholera, typhus, diphtheria, polio, and many other once fatal and crippling diseases.
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Would you buy a car from this guy?
You mean you give it a kind of credence that you think will give you an opportunity to criticize and quibble, another try after having been corrected on your first mistake. No particular credence need be given to what's obviously labeled speculation. It's just a matter of allowing for various possibilities as opposed to making a firm assumption. You made a bunch of speculations yourself in your previous post. Your ducks are getting way out of line. Judy, for all we know in this context is zilch. But by adding a detailed scenario, you give a kind of credence to what comes after the phrase. Were you in the debate club in high school or college? On Sunday, January 19, 2014 1:29 PM, authfriend@... authfriend@... wrote: But Share, For all we know indicates that I was speculating, not assuming, as Bhairitu was. Two different things. Try to get your ducks in a nice row before you start posing objections. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sharelong60@... wrote: But Judy, you're also making a big assumption when you say that for all we know he expressed his doubts to Mayer and she told him not to worry! In this case, for all we know is zilch! Maybe she made him a financial offer he couldn't refuse. Maybe she had worked with him before and it had worked for them both. But maybe she wasn't the boss in their first stint as colleagues. On Sunday, January 19, 2014 12:12 PM, authfriend@... authfriend@... wrote: Most likely he didn't know he wasn't up to it, or thought he could get up to it if he made a big effort. If he knew he wasn't up to it, he'd have been insane to take the gig. And for all we know, he expressed his doubts to Mayer and she told him not to worry, he'd do great. For her, it was a coup to hire him away from her former employer--at least she thought it would be. You're making all kinds of assumptions about him on the basis of no evidence. Sorry but that is because you don't know the tech industry. A little story, back around 1980 I was out of a playing gig and doing temp work. I took a week long workshop on hiring by the state's employment agency. One of the topics was on selling one's self. I raised the question what if the person is really good at selling themselves but not really good at the job itself? The class responded yeah, what about that? The instructor was a little stumped. Fast forward to the 1990s when I'm hiring folks and watched very carefully when interviewing and hiring to make sure that these star candidates who put on quite a show really could do the job. There are lots of great salesmen out there who are poor producers. So I suspect that what de Castro did that would be wrong or dishonest was he was an opportunist and did whatever he could possible to get into a position he was not capable of handling. He should have been been honest enough to I'm not up to that... yet. And yes, Mayer should have been better at filtering it out but then I know how crazy stuff is in this area and the screwball poor judgment of people and execs in the tech industry. If anything good comes out of Silicon Valley it is often by accident. :-D On 01/19/2014 09:44 AM, authfriend@... mailto:authfriend@... wrote: Of course not. Why would you think it makes him a scamster? Again, his hiring was Mayer's poor judgment as to his competence. She hired him despite his spotty record. There's no evidence he did anything wrong or dishonest. More on the guy who got away with the big golden parachute from Yahoo. Mr. de Castro, who was hired away from Google, was hardly a tech superstar. He had a spotty track record at the search giant. And less than a year before he left, he was demoted from managing media and platforms to an amorphous role working on 'special projects' on a team of one. Although he was promoted back into a bigger role several months later before jumping ship for Yahoo, it was not an auspicious sign for someone who was going to help turn around Yahoo. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617453-93/fired-yahoo-coo-de-castro-made-more-than-marissa/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617453-93/fired-yahoo-coo-de-castro-made-more-than-marissa/ Still think he's not a scamster?
[FairfieldLife] RE: The Bridge SE on Hulu
I watched both the US and European versions. Saga nailed it, where as Sonja was not as interesting or compelling. I liked the Euro version better, but the American version had a lot to offer as well, especially Sonja's partner Marco and her boss. They didn't need to stretch into 13 episodes with additional subplots that the Euro version accomplished in 10 weeks. Such is the fate of American television, however. Liking True Detective so far.
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Would you buy a car from this guy?
This happens all the time in Sillyconned Valley. Most people leave a company to scam a job elsewhere. It is almost an idiomatic expression. That he couldn't perform is enough evidence and not surprising too. They need to learn to hire older more experienced folks but they have an aversion towards that though they didn't 20 years ago. We'll see if Marissa is even there a year from now. On 01/19/2014 10:12 AM, authfri...@yahoo.com wrote: *Most likely he didn't know he wasn't up to it, or thought he could /get/ up to it if he made a big effort. If he /knew/ he wasn't up to it, he'd have been insane to take the gig. And for all we know, he expressed his doubts to Mayer and she told him not to worry, he'd do great. For her, it was a coup to hire him away from her former employer--at least she thought it would be.* * * *You're making all kinds of assumptions about him on the basis of no evidence.* Sorry but that is because you don't know the tech industry. A little story, back around 1980 I was out of a playing gig and doing temp work. I took a week long workshop on hiring by the state's employment agency. One of the topics was on selling one's self. I raised the question what if the person is really good at selling themselves but not really good at the job itself? The class responded yeah, what about that? The instructor was a little stumped. Fast forward to the 1990s when I'm hiring folks and watched *very carefully* when interviewing and hiring to make sure that these star candidates who put on quite a show really could do the job. There are lots of great salesmen out there who are poor producers. So I suspect that what de Castro did that would be wrong or dishonest was he was an opportunist and did whatever he could possible to get into a position he was not capable of handling. He should have been been honest enough to I'm not up to that... yet. And yes, Mayer should have been better at filtering it out but then I know how crazy stuff is in this area and the screwball poor judgment of people and execs in the tech industry. If anything good comes out of Silicon Valley it is often by accident. :-D On 01/19/2014 09:44 AM, authfriend@... mailto:authfriend@... wrote: *Of course not. Why would you think it makes him a scamster? Again, his hiring was Mayer's poor judgment as to his competence. She hired him /despite/ his spotty record. There's no evidence he did anything wrong or dishonest.* * * * * More on the guy who got away with the big golden parachute from Yahoo. Mr. de Castro, who was hired away from Google, was hardly a tech superstar. He had a spotty track record at the search giant. And less than a year before he left, he was demoted from managing media and platforms to an amorphous role working on 'special projects' on a team of one. Although he was promoted back into a bigger role several months later before jumping ship for Yahoo, it was not an auspicious sign for someone who was going to help turn around Yahoo. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617453-93/fired-yahoo-coo-de-castro-made-more-than-marissa/ Still think he's not a scamster?
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: HP: Windows 7 is back
I occasionally have to try to solve Windows problems that are far more difficult to fix than Linux. Windows is no longer so user friendly. In some cases you are just SOL. Engineers who build software for Windows these days aren't very good anymore. Apparently just cheap. You might like to try Elementary OS which is a Linux distro. And no you don't have to pay just to try it: http://elementaryos.org/ On 01/19/2014 10:46 AM, cardemais...@yahoo.com wrote: I used Ubuntu for a while, but I think for block heads like myself, it (like any Linux distro) might still be a bit too nerdy ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, noozguru@... wrote: That's why I use Ubuntu Studio. :-P On 01/19/2014 08:01 AM, j_alexander_stanley@... mailto:j_alexander_stanley@... wrote: Just got this email from HP: http://alex.natel.net/misc/win-7-is-back.jpg People have been bitching about Win 8 since it was in beta, and hopefully this loud corporate message from HP will get through to the idiots at MSFT. People with real computers want a proper desktop environment.
[FairfieldLife] Advaita is about inherent freedom
A popular view of Advaita Vedanta (sometimes an accusation) is that it is Maya-vada ... the doctrine that everything is mere Maya. This is a classical misrepresentation that began with Ramanuja (11th Century head of the Sri Vaishnava-s) and continues down to today. Probably one reason for the misunderstanding is that different teachers presented alternate explanations of the Brahma Sutras. In essence, they held contrary preconceptions. Another reason is that discussions about the nature of Maya became continuous in debates between Advaita scholars. This led to the belief that “Maya talk” was the core of Advaita. The reality is that Advaita is more accurately call Brahma-vada, the teaching about Brahman. It uses the principal Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita as a threefold authoritative Vedic source. However, leading up to the 14th Century, the Yoga Sutras became an alternate source for understanding the path to realize Brahman. By the middle of the 14th-15th Century, this view so infiltrated Advaita Vedanta that the works of Shankaracharya Swami Vidyâranya (who wrote Pañchadâši and Jivanmuktiviveka) presumed that students of Advaita followed a yogic path to realize Brahman. The modern proponent of this view was Swami Vivekananda. MMY just continued that mode – which included the division of the Bhagavad Gita into three topical sections, a theme also found in Sri Aurobindo Ghose. Scholars now call this interpretation “Yogic Advaita” - an interpretation that is more about yoga and less about Advaita Vedanta. Perhaps more perplexing for those studying Advaita, the concept of “enlightenment” (so over-popularized) was borrowed from the Buddhists – and is neither Yogic nor Vedantic. The Yoga Sutras, in fact, do not even propose yoga as a goal but rather discuss the necessity for “vi-yoga” … separating, dis-uniting, dis-joining. Thus the question … “separating what from what”? In this case, separating the apparent con-fusion (fusing together) between awareness (purusha) and the field of experience (i.e. body, senses, mind). Contrary to this Yogic assumption of two orders of reality (purusha and prakriti), Shankara’s Vedanta teaches the inherent unity of Reality (Brahman). Rather than chitta-vritti-nirodha, nirvikalpa-samâdhi or Buddhist dhyana-samâpatti, Advaita points to the direct ascertainment of one’s own true nature. The purpose of such recognition is seeing directly that moksha (freedom) is already the inherent nature of human beings. It also recognizes that moksha is freedom from any experience, while realizing that like waves moving across the ocean, experience is itself nothing but Brahman.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: It's All About Football
Not a sports fan but I did have fun telling friends in Seattle that the Niners were going to show the Seahawks how to play football. (No I won't be watching the game). On 01/19/2014 07:12 AM, Richard Williams wrote: Championship Predictions: Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The question is do the Patriots plan to stop Peyton Manning? Peyton Manning and Tom Brady square off for the 15th time, in Denver. And the San Francisco 49ers at Seattle, where Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick meet for the third time this season. Go figure. Inline image 1 The Denver Post: http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_24942989/nastiest-part-football-begins-right-after-fumble The Huddle: http://www.nfl.com/nfl-playoffs/Manning-and-Brady http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-playoffs/0ap200314690/How-will-AFC-Championship-Game-alter-legacies-of-Manning-and-Brady Denver Broncos: 1st AFC West http://www.nfl.com/teams/denverbroncos/profile?team=DEN Pittsburgh Steelers: 2nd AFC North http://www.nfl.com/teams/profile?team=PIT On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 10:48 AM, Share Long sharelon...@yahoo.com mailto:sharelon...@yahoo.com wrote: yep, as the planet vibes up for various holidays and holy days, people are unstressing! On Monday, December 23, 2013 10:45 AM, Richard J. Williams pundits...@gmail.com mailto:pundits...@gmail.com wrote: Consider Joe Fitzgibbon, a Democratic state representative whose district includes Seattle. In the wake of Seattle's loss, Fitzgibbon popped off on Twitter in a way he'd soon regret. He deleted the tweet, but oh, guess what ... the Washington State Republican party got a screengrab, and shared it. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/washington-representative-slams-arizona-racist-wasteland-seahawks-loss-034745758--nfl.html On 9/24/2013 1:28 PM, Richard J. Williams wrote: Around here it's it's all about football. Back in the old days, there was one important name in NCAA college football sports that really mattered : Darryl Royal. ... three national championships (1963, 1969, 1970), 11 Southwest Conference titles, and amassed a record of 167–47–5. He won more games than any other coach in Texas Longhorns football history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrell_Royal 'Power Ranking the Top 5 NFL Prospects on 2013 Longhorns Team' Bleacher Report: http://bleacherreport.com/texas-longhorns-football-power-ranking http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1785127-texas-football-power-ranking-the-top-5-nfl-prospects-on-2013-longhorns-team Now, it's all about Johnny Manzel. 'Johnny Manziel's astounding family history' http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/college_sports/aggies/ http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/college_sports/aggies/item/Timeline-Johnny-Manziel-s-astounding-family-23035.php Around here in the old days, it was all about Roger Staubach in the NFL. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Staubach Now, it's all about Tony Romo and Peyton Manning. 'Cowboys win over Rams was one of Tony Romo’s best games' Dallas Morning News: http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/tony-romos-best-games.html/ http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/2013/09/cowboys-win-over-rams-was-one-of-tony-romos-best-games.html/ 'Peyton Manning carves up Raiders as Broncos dominate' USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/denver-broncos-peyton-manning http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/09/23/nfl-week-3-denver-broncos-peyton-manning-defeat-oakland-raiders/2858825/ 'Broncos, Peyton Manning are flirting with NFL history' Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/sports/broncos-peyton-manning http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-broncos-peyton-manning-20130924,0,242673.story#axzz2fp4L3xZD
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: The Bridge SE on Hulu
Not sure how they would have made the series work between the US and Canada. There may be a few bridges to base the story on. But it might not have generated the interest that setting it between the US and Mexico did. On 01/19/2014 12:51 PM, ultrarishi wrote: I watched both the US and European versions. Saga nailed it, where as Sonja was not as interesting or compelling. I liked the Euro version better, but the American version had a lot to offer as well, especially Sonja's partner Marco and her boss. They didn't need to stretch into 13 episodes with additional subplots that the Euro version accomplished in 10 weeks. Such is the fate of American television, however. Liking True Detective so far.
Re: [FairfieldLife] 'Allah' Row in Malaysia
I don't understand *why* the priest would want to address God Almighty by the name Allah. Christianity predates Islam by 700 years and should refer to God by His Hebraic names since Jesus was a Jew and there never have been any ties to Islam. Me thinks the priest was simply trying to be PC which came back and bit him in his ars. On Sunday, January 19, 2014 10:53 AM, jr_...@yahoo.com jr_...@yahoo.com wrote: Does it really make a difference if a Catholic priest uses 'Allah' to address the Creator? But Muslim authorities ruled that non-Muslims cannot use the sacred word. This ruling just shows that these people are still ignorant, in spite of their faith. http://news.yahoo.com/39-allah-39-row-thrusts-malaysian-priest-spotlight-045410869.html
[FairfieldLife] RE: Signposts Of Enlightenment
Yeah, but Barry did not mention Robin at all in his post, so why bring up a tangential topic? It is very difficult for spiritual teachers to avoid some of these traps because when surrounded by adoring wanna be disciples it is difficult to avoid being forced into a very strange bubble that isolates them from a more normal existence. Very few teachers even acknowledge there is this effect. Now I think that even teachers that fall off the wagon sometimes produce awakened students; more so one who does not. But what was the result of Robin's teaching, where are his enlightened students? ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend@... wrote: Yet more of Barry's insane obsession with NPD: Granted that from what I've heard--including from Robin--this list does characterize many of his behaviors with his group 30-some years ago. However, we didn't see any of these behaviors while he was participating on FFL, which is, of course, consistent with his insistence that he was no longer enlightened. Barry didn't know Robin 30-some years ago; all he knows of Robin is what he's read by and about him on FFL. Yet he claims Robin exhibited a classic case of NPD while he was here. I wonder how Barry would explain this peculiar discrepancy. Does he even recognize it? Celebrating 47 years of being on a kinda, sorta spiritual path this month (and a few years of being on less formal paths before that), I find myself thinking back and wondering whether I actually learned anything. One of the things that makes me wonder that is the difference with which many people who call themselves experienced spiritual seekers view certain traits in the teachers they align themselves with perceive those traits, and the way I perceive them. With this in mind, here is a list of qualities that I've heard expressed to me over the decades by people who are convinced (and often trying their best to convince me) that the teacher they study with is enlightened. Just for fun, notice that Barry loses track of his presentation of the point he's trying to make after the first two items here. Those items are what one might well expect to hear from a person who believes their teacher is enlightened, as he stipulates above. But the rest are phrased increasingly negatively; they aren't qualities that someone would proudly attribute to their teacher. This is just one more sign that as obsessed with NPD as Barry is, he's unable to talk about it coherently. * They radiate power or charisma. When you're around them, the intensity of their aura or vibe is such that people often fall under the sway of it. People speak of getting high from being around the person, and of changes in their internal state of attention that they attribute to darshan, and equate with actual changes in their personal state of consciousness. * They speak with authority. When these teachers speak or write, there is a *certainty* to what they say that many people associate with the presence of Truth. The people themselves often speak in terms of truth, suggesting that the way they see things and the way they interpret the things they see *are* truth or reality. * They seek followers. It's as if their goal in life *is* to find followers, and to convince them of the truth of what they have realized. And there is a clear demarcation between the teacher *and* the followers. You see it in the hierarchical structure of their organizations, and even in the seating arrangements of the rooms they speak in. The teacher is always in front of or in the center of a circle of other people, the obvious focus of attention, and he or she is often seated on a chair or dias raised above the level of the followers. * They feel entitled. Once these individuals have found followers, they *expect* things from them. Like attention. They *like* to be focused on, and to be complimented and told how great they are. * They present elitism as a good thing. The teachers themselves often refer to those who are lesser evolved than other people. They remind the followers that they -- because they are wise enough to have recognized how elite the teacher is -- are more evolved than this rabble, and thus have no responsibility to treat them the way they treat others in the org, meaning in the circle that has grown up around the teacher. * They have grandiose goals and think of themselves in grandiose terms. Very few of the people I've ever been told by others was enlightened wanted *only* to help a few people and live a happy life. They wanted World Peace. They wanted to enlighten every sentient being on the planet, to make sure they were living as exalted and elite a life as they are. * They unashamedly use people. The requests for the followers' time, money, energy, and attention start soon after they become followers, and never cease. The grandiose goals, after all, are far more important than the issue of whether the
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: It's All About Football
I am officially making this the first game of the season that I am going to watch. If asked, I don't think I could live down a statement that I read a book instead. I pray for no injuries. Luckily, in my life, I have dated enough sports fiends to know the basic rules and plays of the game, which I am going to run down to my 20-year old daughter, as she should know *something* about football, if only to participate in chit-chat.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: It's All About Football
I was just happy to see Peyton Manning kick Tom Brady's ass. I'm no fan of Denver's(can't stand anything that has to do with John Elway) but Peyton is a class act and Brady is an arrogant A-hole. On Sunday, January 19, 2014 3:34 PM, emilymae...@yahoo.com emilymae...@yahoo.com wrote: I am officially making this the first game of the season that I am going to watch. If asked, I don't think I could live down a statement that I read a book instead. I pray for no injuries. Luckily, in my life, I have dated enough sports fiends to know the basic rules and plays of the game, which I am going to run down to my 20-year old daughter, as she should know *something* about football, if only to participate in chit-chat.
[FairfieldLife] RE: 'Allah' Row in Malaysia
Re This ruling just shows that these people are still ignorant, in spite of their faith.: Ignorant *because* of their faith. The intolerance of Islam no longer surprises anyone. Thank God we've still got Sam Harris to stick it to these barbarians now that Christopher Hitchens isn't around.
[FairfieldLife] Post Count Mon 20-Jan-14 00:15:03 UTC
Fairfield Life Post Counter === Start Date (UTC): 01/18/14 00:00:00 End Date (UTC): 01/25/14 00:00:00 188 messages as of (UTC) 01/19/14 23:42:58 30 authfriend 22 Share Long 19 Richard Williams 15 dhamiltony2k5 14 emptybill 14 awoelflebater 13 Bhairitu 12 TurquoiseB 10 s3raphita 7 nablusoss1008 7 jr_esq 7 Michael Jackson 4 doctordumbass 3 j_alexander_stanley 3 anartaxius 2 Mike Dixon 2 Jason 1 ultrarishi 1 steve.sundur 1 emilymaenot 1 cardemaister Posters: 21 Saturday Morning 00:00 UTC Rollover Times = Daylight Saving Time (Summer): US Friday evening: PDT 5 PM - MDT 6 PM - CDT 7 PM - EDT 8 PM Europe Saturday: BST 1 AM CEST 2 AM EEST 3 AM Standard Time (Winter): US Friday evening: PST 4 PM - MST 5 PM - CST 6 PM - EST 7 PM Europe Saturday: GMT 12 AM CET 1 AM EET 2 AM For more information on Time Zones: www.worldtimezone.com
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: What I Did Today
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, punditster@... wrote: We got our boots at Cavender's and they also have denims and belts and shirts. If you ever get down here, Ann, we'll take you to see some boots - you'll go crazy over this place! We get all our hats at Paris Hatters and we get guitars at Sam Ash Music Store in San Antonio. Wow, they do things BIG in Texas. I'll be down to visit you and Rita and we'll have a rootin' tootin' time in our denims and shit kickers and we'll be strummin' our gee-tars. I can't wait! Cavender's Boot City: http://www.cavenders.com/ http://www.cavenders.com/ Hats at Paris Hatters: http://www.parishatters.com/ http://www.parishatters.com/ Guitars at Sam Ash Music Store, San Antonio http://samashmusic.com/ http://samashmusic.com/ On Sun, Jan 19, 2014 at 10:59 AM, awoelflebater@... mailto:awoelflebater@... wrote: ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, punditster@... wrote: We went to this place yesterday - they have some boots for sale. That's a whole lotta shit stompers in one place. I prefer shopping in smaller, boutique-y stores though. I always have people coming into my strictly English tack store asking where to buy cowboy boots because Victoria doesn't have anywhere that sells them. Next time I'll send them to Texas. Cavender's Boot City Tony Lama, Justin, Lucchese, Laredo On Sat, Jan 18, 2014 at 6:13 PM, Richard Williams punditster@... mailto:punditster@... wrote: Today, we went to this place: On Sun, Dec 29, 2013 at 1:05 PM, Richard Williams punditster@... mailto:punditster@... wrote: I read through this post, bemused by it, but I didn't notice until I'd gotten almost all the way to the end of it that part of my mind was still saying, What's a car? :-) You probably don't even need a car over there - in fact, it would be a problem. Over, here a car is just another tool for most people. Without one, I'd be dead in the water. Some people who are rich probably drive cars just for fun and pleasure, like my neighbor, who doesn't drive these cars much - there just for shows. I inherited the Eldorado from Mom. She bought it new off the show room floor and it's been garaged it's whole life. She still had a driver's license at age 86, but hadn't driven in about ten years. So, one day I just took it - I'm using it for highway driving. I put some new tires on it and a new disc brakes. You can't get anything these days for a car like that - maybe $1500. The AC still works and it has cruise control. Also, it has a kick-ass Delco Bose sound system with CD player inside. Sweet! On Sun, Dec 29, 2013 at 11:54 AM, TurquoiseB turquoiseb@... mailto:turquoiseb@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long wrote: noozguru et al, small country, flat land. And no snow or ice on the roads and bike paths! Ahem. Only pussies leave their bikes at home when it snows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMv3OB6XHvQ On Sunday, December 29, 2013 11:11 AM, Bhairitu noozguru@... wrote: Small country, flat land. On 12/29/2013 07:43 AM, TurquoiseB wrote: Uh oh. I think I've achieved one of those milestones along the path to You know you're in danger of becoming Dutch when... consciousness. I read through this post, bemused by it, but I didn't notice until I'd gotten almost all the way to the end of it that part of my mind was still saying, What's a car? :-) http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/04/09/learning-from-the-netherlands-about-bikes/ http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/04/09/learning-from-the-netherlands-about-bikes/
Re: [FairfieldLife] 'Allah' Row in Malaysia
Mike, IMO, the priest was trying to fit in with the Muslims. But it didn't work--at least for the Muslims in Malaysia. It may have been acceptable elsewhere. This is a good example of the dangers of fundamentalism in Islam or any other faith.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Attack of the Neak Ta
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: Did you read the story I linked to? If not, what is WRONG with you? Do you *dare* to ignore something I consider valuable? If you actually did read it (doubtful, since you disagreed with my posting of it, or came to some other conclusion about it than I did), what is WRONG with you? Has anyone noticed how the traits of Narcissistic Personality Disordered teachers tend to perpetuate themselves among those who choose to become their cult followers? Did that sentence in pink actually mean anything? If it did it sure eluded me. How about having another beer and trying again - this time in English. This tradition of appeasing the gods or whatever is also practiced by some Chinese communities here in the US. When I was taking tai chi in Seattle, WA, the owner of the school always had an offering of fruits, incense, or chicken in one section of the building. Here in San Francisco, CA, I've seen two Chinese restaurants with offerings of fruits and incense on the sidewalk just outside their entrances. However, one of these two restaurants went out of business. So, there you have it.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Signposts Of Enlightenment
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, anartaxius@... wrote: Yeah, but Barry did not mention Robin at all in his post, so why bring up a tangential topic? It is very difficult for spiritual teachers to avoid some of these traps because when surrounded by adoring wanna be disciples it is difficult to avoid being forced into a very strange bubble that isolates them from a more normal existence. Very few teachers even acknowledge there is this effect. Now I think that even teachers that fall off the wagon sometimes produce awakened students; more so one who does not. But what was the result of Robin's teaching, where are his enlightened students? I think this is a moot question given what we know about what Robin feels about his time enlightened and his acknowledged effect on those who chose to either become his wife, best friends or students. Robin renounced it all, made huge efforts to divest himself of what he recognized as evil and unwanted influences in his life. He ended his allegiance with those intelligences that took over his life, his actions. Other teachers have not chosen to do that so comparing Robin to other enlightened mystics or gurus is not really relevant here. Consequently to ask who his enlightened students are is like asking where Marilyn Monroe's grandchildren live. One thing I will say, however. I am a product of my time around Robin in certain ways. I have seen and experienced many things during my time around him and then banished from the group that have enriched me, made me wiser, made me stronger and made me much more loving. These are qualities which I feel I earned through fierce introspection, pain and even suffering. Consequently I treasure the appearance of these things in my life; I feel blessed or graced or lucky to have been branded, painfully, with deep enough despair to have reached the place where this understanding and vulnerability could take root within me. In this way I became enlightened. I changed. I matured. Nothing would ever be the same again. The details of why this should be so will not be stated for you here because they are too personal and there are too many on this forum who I wouldn't trust with knowing them. Suffice to say, if enlightenment is half as precious as becoming a better person through having been broken in half then it must be something. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend@... wrote: Yet more of Barry's insane obsession with NPD: Granted that from what I've heard--including from Robin--this list does characterize many of his behaviors with his group 30-some years ago. However, we didn't see any of these behaviors while he was participating on FFL, which is, of course, consistent with his insistence that he was no longer enlightened. Barry didn't know Robin 30-some years ago; all he knows of Robin is what he's read by and about him on FFL. Yet he claims Robin exhibited a classic case of NPD while he was here. I wonder how Barry would explain this peculiar discrepancy. Does he even recognize it? Celebrating 47 years of being on a kinda, sorta spiritual path this month (and a few years of being on less formal paths before that), I find myself thinking back and wondering whether I actually learned anything. One of the things that makes me wonder that is the difference with which many people who call themselves experienced spiritual seekers view certain traits in the teachers they align themselves with perceive those traits, and the way I perceive them. With this in mind, here is a list of qualities that I've heard expressed to me over the decades by people who are convinced (and often trying their best to convince me) that the teacher they study with is enlightened. Just for fun, notice that Barry loses track of his presentation of the point he's trying to make after the first two items here. Those items are what one might well expect to hear from a person who believes their teacher is enlightened, as he stipulates above. But the rest are phrased increasingly negatively; they aren't qualities that someone would proudly attribute to their teacher. This is just one more sign that as obsessed with NPD as Barry is, he's unable to talk about it coherently. * They radiate power or charisma. When you're around them, the intensity of their aura or vibe is such that people often fall under the sway of it. People speak of getting high from being around the person, and of changes in their internal state of attention that they attribute to darshan, and equate with actual changes in their personal state of consciousness. * They speak with authority. When these teachers speak or write, there is a *certainty* to what they say that many people associate with the presence of Truth. The people themselves often speak in terms of truth, suggesting that the way they see things and the way they interpret the things they see *are* truth or reality.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: It's All About Football
Fer Chrissakes Woman - HI!!
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Signposts Of Enlightenment
Do you really feel that Robin was influenced by outside intelligences? Since you had so much time with him, I value your opinion. On Mon, 1/20/14, awoelfleba...@yahoo.com awoelfleba...@yahoo.com wrote: Subject: [FairfieldLife] RE: Signposts Of Enlightenment To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, January 20, 2014, 1:46 AM ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, anartaxius@... wrote: Yeah, but Barry did not mention Robin at all in his post, so why bring up a tangential topic? It is very difficult for spiritual teachers to avoid some of these traps because when surrounded by adoring wanna be disciples it is difficult to avoid being forced into a very strange bubble that isolates them from a more normal existence. Very few teachers even acknowledge there is this effect. Now I think that even teachers that fall off the wagon sometimes produce awakened students; more so one who does not. But what was the result of Robin's teaching, where are his enlightened students? I think this is a moot question given what we know about what Robin feels about his time enlightened and his acknowledged effect on those who chose to either become his wife, best friends or students. Robin renounced it all, made huge efforts to divest himself of what he recognized as evil and unwanted influences in his life. He ended his allegiance with those intelligences that took over his life, his actions. Other teachers have not chosen to do that so comparing Robin to other enlightened mystics or gurus is not really relevant here. Consequently to ask who his enlightened students are is like asking where Marilyn Monroe's grandchildren live. One thing I will say, however. I am a product of my time around Robin in certain ways. I have seen and experienced many things during my time around him and then banished from the group that have enriched me, made me wiser, made me stronger and made me much more loving. These are qualities which I feel I earned through fierce introspection, pain and even suffering. Consequently I treasure the appearance of these things in my life; I feel blessed or graced or lucky to have been branded, painfully, with deep enough despair to have reached the place where this understanding and vulnerability could take root within me. In this way I became enlightened. I changed. I matured. Nothing would ever be the same again. The details of why this should be so will not be stated for you here because they are too personal and there are too many on this forum who I wouldn't trust with knowing them. Suffice to say, if enlightenment is half as precious as becoming a better person through having been broken in half then it must be something. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend@... wrote: Yet more of Barry's insane obsession with NPD: Granted that from what I've heard--including from Robin--this list does characterize many of his behaviors with his group 30-some years ago. However, we didn't see any of these behaviors while he was participating on FFL, which is, of course, consistent with his insistence that he was no longer enlightened. Barry didn't know Robin 30-some years ago; all he knows of Robin is what he's read by and about him on FFL. Yet he claims Robin exhibited a classic case of NPD while he was here. I wonder how Barry would explain this peculiar discrepancy. Does he even recognize it? Celebrating 47 years of being on a kinda, sorta spiritual path this month (and a few years of being on less formal paths before that), I find myself thinking back and wondering whether I actually learned anything. One of the things that makes me wonder that is the difference with which many people who call themselves experienced spiritual seekers view certain traits in the teachers they align themselves with perceive those traits, and the way I perceive them. With this in mind, here is a list of qualities that I've heard expressed to me over the decades by people who are convinced (and often trying their best to convince me) that the teacher they study with is enlightened. Just for fun, notice that Barry loses track of his presentation of the point he's trying to make after the first two items here. Those items are what one might well expect to hear from a person who believes their teacher is enlightened, as he stipulates above. But the rest are phrased increasingly negatively; they aren't qualities that someone would proudly attribute to their teacher. This is just one more sign that as obsessed with NPD as Barry is, he's unable to talk about it coherently. * They radiate power or charisma. When you're around them, the intensity of their aura or vibe is such that people often fall under the sway of it. People speak of getting high from being around the person, and of
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: It's All About Football
I thought I was posting on a Sports Forum! Ooops! ANN! The Seahawks are goin' to the Superbowl in NJ Russell Wilson is goin' up against Peyton Manning! Can you believe all the kids and the dog and the cat watched the game? In the same room? Another miracle. First game I've watched in years, I must admit and it was a good one.
[FairfieldLife] RE: Signposts Of Enlightenment
Is it not possible that *the* infallible sign of being enlightened is that you don't seek followers or power? I'm sure there have been many individuals over the centuries who have had that awakening experience and at that same moment realised that their insight would be completely misunderstood by the masses. It's striking that Guru Dev had to be tricked into taking up his position as Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math. It reminds me of Plato's thinking in The Republic. His philosophers (wisdom-lovers) would have to be persuaded against their wishes to become leaders of the community by appealing to their sense of duty. True philosophers would want to spend their time in contemplation.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: It's All About Football
Really, I thought your QB was pretty mediocre. Or maybe it was because for most the game your offensive line gave him no protection. Luckily your defense was up to the task. But the SF QB, didn't have the best game either. Good luck February 2nd! ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, emilymaenot@... wrote: I am officially making this the first game of the season that I am going to watch. If asked, I don't think I could live down a statement that I read a book instead. I pray for no injuries. Luckily, in my life, I have dated enough sports fiends to know the basic rules and plays of the game, which I am going to run down to my 20-year old daughter, as she should know *something* about football, if only to participate in chit-chat.
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Would you buy a car from this guy?
Spiritual Economy; This is extremely sound shastra to meditate and live by in life: —Are Meditators careful to live within the bounds of their circumstances, and to avoid involving themselves in business beyond their ability to manage; or in hazardous or speculative trade. Are they just in their dealings, and punctual in complying with their contracts and engagements; and in paying their debts seasonably? And where any give reasonable grounds for fear in these respects, is due care extended to them? FFL Macro key 5
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: It's All About Football
The Fairfield Meditating Community “Based on balancing labor and leisure to meditate while working together for the benefit of the community.” [-Brook Farm] FFL Macro key 7
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Signposts Of Enlightenment
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, mjackson74@... wrote: Do you really feel that Robin was influenced by outside intelligences? Since you had so much time with him, I value your opinion. Hey Michael, I like your enquiring mind. I like that you worked so hard to realize something that, unfortunately, in the end did not pan out for you. I like you as a person, as much as anyone can know or like someone here at FFL without having actually met them. I think you are smart and sincere and you are passionate. You are also a very good writer so don't sell yourself short by comparing yourself to other writers here that you say you admire. (smiley face) Therefore, I am happy to try and answer your question. Robin was definitely tuned into something beyond who he was as Robin. At the time, he thought he was enlightened and we believed this was so. Not having seen what enlightenment was I could buy it. He was a very western version of this phenomenon. He incorporated western dress, western speech, western culture (art, literature, poetry, music) into what we talked about, what we went to see in theaters and concerts. He surrounded himself with all that was current and relevant and dynamic in what we know of as 'lifestyle' in what was then the 20th century. Consequently, he seemed relevant to us on lots of levels and the added bonus was he was a realized human being. How cool was that? I am not going into all the detail that I could here because I lack the energy and the time but to answer your question I have come to know Robin on a few levels. I knew him in the 80's and I know him to some degree now. He is different in some very fundamental ways now than he was in the 80's. There are still similarities though but the similarities don't have anything to do with enlightenment - they have to do with his essential personhood as I know it to be. The trappings of what he personified or manifested back when there were so many confrontations and demonic battles and drama seems to have fallen away. I saw the regular man, the normal guy in moments back during WTS and that is what attracted me to him, not his enlightenment, not his promise to help us rid ourselves of the demonic. I simply liked the man, his brilliance, his intellect and the times when he acted like a friend. Others liked him and hung around for other reasons. I know I haven't answered your questions MJ so if you want to know more let me know. There is so much to cover that, without specifics, I find myself unable to hone in on any one thing. On Mon, 1/20/14, awoelflebater@... mailto:awoelflebater@... awoelflebater@... mailto:awoelflebater@... wrote: Subject: [FairfieldLife] RE: Signposts Of Enlightenment To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, January 20, 2014, 1:46 AM ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, anartaxius@... wrote: Yeah, but Barry did not mention Robin at all in his post, so why bring up a tangential topic? It is very difficult for spiritual teachers to avoid some of these traps because when surrounded by adoring wanna be disciples it is difficult to avoid being forced into a very strange bubble that isolates them from a more normal existence. Very few teachers even acknowledge there is this effect. Now I think that even teachers that fall off the wagon sometimes produce awakened students; more so one who does not. But what was the result of Robin's teaching, where are his enlightened students? I think this is a moot question given what we know about what Robin feels about his time enlightened and his acknowledged effect on those who chose to either become his wife, best friends or students. Robin renounced it all, made huge efforts to divest himself of what he recognized as evil and unwanted influences in his life. He ended his allegiance with those intelligences that took over his life, his actions. Other teachers have not chosen to do that so comparing Robin to other enlightened mystics or gurus is not really relevant here. Consequently to ask who his enlightened students are is like asking where Marilyn Monroe's grandchildren live. One thing I will say, however. I am a product of my time around Robin in certain ways. I have seen and experienced many things during my time around him and then banished from the group that have enriched me, made me wiser, made me stronger and made me much more loving. These are qualities which I feel I earned through fierce introspection, pain and even suffering. Consequently I treasure the appearance of these things in my life; I feel blessed or graced or lucky to have been branded, painfully, with deep enough despair to have reached the place where this understanding and vulnerability could take root within me. In this way I
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: It's All About Football
Emily, It was a good game. The 49ers played their hearts out. But the fans up there are just too loud and spirited to get a win in that stadium. Also, the Seahawks defense was very solid. Since my home team lost, I am now rooting for the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Most of the football pundits are now favoring the Seahawks to win. But you can never be too sure with Peyton Manning as the QB for the Broncos.
[FairfieldLife] RE: 'Allah' Row in Malaysia
S3, Supposedly, Islam is more tolerant than what is being practiced by some Muslim sects. But there are still many people who have not awakened to the meaning of life or reality. As such, they impose their own will on others by killing and oppression, which only reveal the evil that lurks within their hearts.
