ryyannon

Well, now that that's settled, someone should get back to The Shortest Thread Ever to make sure that no one's been posting in it...

It sounds like Burns has Battle Fatigue: how many times can a film-maker jump through the same thematic hoop? As for WWII not being 'the good fight' - What Burns does do is dispell the notion that WW II was the "Good" war; a necessary war, for sure - I'll just pretend I've misunderstood what I've just read here. Either that, or accept a level of nihilism that will allow me to blow my brains out (or even better, yours) without the slightest thought or remorse: idiot's delight. Onto Iraq, Afghanistan....and beyond - you really can't help but draw comparisons between WW II which touched directly almost every American and the current mess in Iraq that affects so few of us in any direct or personal way.... suffice to say that the 'current mess that affects so few of us' is part of a larger picture that affects all of us - and will continue to do so - until we make some difficult and what may prove to be definitive moral choices.... difficult for us today because they are necessarily based on an 'old fashioned' system of morality (Oh man, not that again - I thought it was all dead and buried - that we had finally got rid of it) rather than offering the warm and fuzzy comfort of moral equivalency that we've all grown to know and love. At the end of the day, one has to look no further than RWG itself, where the very existence of the forum has been subordinated to the idea of not hurting people's feelings, as in, 'hey if you want to contribute something that will permit us to pay the bills, that's fine...and if you don't, well that's fine too...just as long as we don't have to draw any lines in the sand and can still keep singing Kumbaya together' (ever notice how it's always the same contributors and choir?)

I tink we got a wiiiiiner here...

Who says white guys can't dance?

Dear Forum Member Vacuum: In the future, please be more careful in your choice of words concerning your membership status and financial contributions to this forum. We no longer tolerate the use of words like 'VIP', since they suggest an artificial and potentially insulting differentiation between the diverse and equally valuable specimens of homo sapiens sapiens who frequent RWG. We'd also thank you not even to allude to 'upgrading' your membership, since this can also be emotionally painful to those who have not done so. We are currently working on a classification-scheme in which all those who frequent RWG - members, non-members, scammers, lurkers, GAF, Customs, Homeland Security and FBI agents, serial watch-molesters as well as those who've arrived here by accident after a particularly sloppy Google search - will be referred to by the all-inclusive term of 'Comrade Replica Watch Collector Person.' Since we also believe in the free exchange of information on the Internet, please be aware that any contribution you make for the hosting of this forum will be returned to you with an additional bonus of twelve (12) percent interest per annum, calculated on the length of time you deposit your (censored) - we no longer permit the mere mention of (censored) - here with us. Under this new system, the more (censored) you contribute, the more (censored) you'll get back! In the not-to-distant future, we're even working on a plan to pay you for visiting our forum; whether this will be on a page-per-view and/or length-of-time-logged-in basis remains to be determined: our faithful Administrator and moderators have all taken second, and in some instances, third jobs to be able to make this forum the most profitable and least insulting Internet experience possible for its Comrade Members. Yours truly, RWG: a not-for-profit charitable institution serving replica watch collector persons worldwide.

Pug-Wallah, Memsahib...

Hits bottom, keeps digging.

Thanks for explaining the nature of the Internet for me, Mezzanine - I'm not sure I would ever have got it otherwise. You've also opened my eyes to what a wonker I am, since I contribute financially to practically every blog and forum that I regularly read to show my appreciation for the time and thought that has gone into it. I don't consider this 'paying for information' in any way, but the natural reflex of wanting to give back for something so freely offered. Just as on RWG, there is no pressure to contribute on any of these - and even less so, since 'supporting members' are never mentioned as such. None the less, I notice that people regularly hit the Tip Jar, the PayPal window or the owner's Wish List. A real Community of Wonkers, I guess, compared to the sterling cut-and-run types who'll use a forum for years without contributing anything to keep it going: if it sinks, too bad, you just move on to another place. Hey, it's the Internet, right? Information should be free: who ever said you had to pay for it? /snarkiness off.

Speaking personally, I never needed any particular perspective on the site's finances to feel that I should contribute to maintaining the forum's online existence. I mean, do you need to understand physics to feel compelled to start bailing once your boat is in danger of sinking?

Now that we're beginning to think creatively here, what about the idea of a rep watch rummage sale, with the proceeds going to RWG? Meaning that, many members have tons of reps cluttering up the bottom of their underwear and sock drawers which they no longer wear or particularly even want (the reps, not the socks and underwear). If people were to drag them out and post them at an attractive price, it could be a great way of raising some liquidities for RWG (not excluding the odd bottle of good wine or spirits for the Admin.). Hmm...

Aren't you being a bit rash here, Vickey? I believe it's traditionally ten percent of one's income - as in the Latin Decima, the Old English teogo

A perfectly natural question which logically, only Fordzilla himself would be authorized to answer. Nevertheless, it's possible that: - Blade is paying him huge amounts of money and/or the RWG watches which were never delivered to post exclusively on RWG1. That said, he posts very infrequently, and never about watches, and only began posting again a little more than month or so ago. My feeling is that like many of the old crew, and despite an occasional look back, he's moved on. - Fordzilla doesn't really exist, and is merely one of the many identities of johnnyboy. As far as I'm concerned - and to use the world of the Silver Screen in a series of metaphors - I'm just an errand boy here, sent not by grocery clerks but by my own volition; and as for understanding any of the rest, It's Chinatown. Lastly, let's not forget the important thing: the life of a young girl whom none of us know, but to whom some of us reached out as if we did... transcending our own cliques, quarrels, fevers of acquisition and general indifference to anyone outside our immediate field of vision or circles of interest. Such actions are important parts of what make us human and distinguish us from the insects - or as much about the insects as we actually know.

Latest update: some very good news posted by Fordzilla today on RWG1: Do our fleeting moments of prayer and positive energy directed for this young stranger's recovery have any effect? As pessimistic as I am about many things, I've great confidence in the power of the human spirit - particularly when used in positive ways. I was touched by the humility of Fordzilla's request, just as I'm touched by the responses from our members. Whatever the outcome, goodness will always make a difference...

As can be guys. But personally, I didn't feel snubbed, just fascinated - perhaps much in the same way that Darwin might have been on Easter Island. Anyway, these girls were beyond snubbing: they were a phenomenon unto themselves, in the world but not of it; something separate, autonomous, detached. Now that I see the scene again, I'm sure that they were observing everyone else in the same way as I was observing them: with a sense of wonder and fascination, but with no real desire to close the distance. To do so would have been as likely as Queen Elizabeth entering a Pie Eating Contest: like her, and since their birth, their very identities and existence were predicated upon maintaining it.

The poor woman: I wonder if she ever was.... All of which makes me think of what I saw this afternoon sitting on the terrace of a caf

Interesting read: I myself worked for the IHT some years ago - and lasted about six weeks before they booted me out. It's still my prefered newspaper, however: I'm not one to carry a grudge. As for contraceptive grain, it does work - and very well indeed - so well, in fact, that the nasty little pest-elimination lobbies have prevented it from being used. Not feeding pigeons is no solution either: they keep breeding, and with their incredible abilities of survival, manage to hang on for years on a starvation diet. This makes for seriously unhappy pigeons -and perhaps even a few Mad Max-type individuals such as the one who ransaked your place. The end result is a population that's neither totally dead nor totally alive: the 'flying rat' stereotype with a seriously-diminished immunity system. For any sentient being - as we humans are wont to consider ourselves - the question comes down to whether we want to look the other way while a whole class of animals live totally miserable lives, or whether a population of well-fed and happy birds is not preferable to the more subtle psychic pollution caused by ignoring the slow and painful degenerescence of this same population. And here, I could draw some (far-fetched, many would say) comparisons with the mechanisms which are used to marginalize human populations prior to definitively eliminating them, but that's a whole other line of reasoning and/or meditation. Suffice to close with a cryptic, "As above, so below" - and vice-versa.

Not a nature show addict at all - although I'll watch just about anything at four in the morning.... The films on Alex were on ARTE, the French/German equivalent of PBS - as was a three-part series on the intelligence of birds in general. There's one (threatened) species of Jay that is able to understand that its reflection in a mirror is indeed a reflection of itself - a feat shared only with one species of primates (monkeys). My own House Pigeon regularly climbs onto my shoulder at night to see what the hell I'm doing on the laptop - and then walks down my arm and onto the keyboard to get a better look at all the dancing letters and animated smileys. Birds are a real trip - just when I've decided to get back with the program (ie, sanity) one of them pulls something that totally blows me out. I do believe that if weren't for my obsession with the pigeons, I'd have checked out of this world long ago....

Dunyoni!! to'xtatib turingo Gromulak! Varkiclaflo'i cu culno lo angila, Q'qharbs, loma-l

I've seen some amazing film documentaries about Alex - a very clever bird - who would discuss what he wanted for dinner, whether he was even hungry or not, and anything else that happened to be on his mind.... In terms of sheer communicativity, a cut above many of my own university students.

I'd love to meet up with you, Manny! Don't hesitate to let me know when you'll be here....

What great publicity for Cheese Doritos! It's easy to imagine a very funny and endearing ad campaign built around this guy - I wonder if Frito-Lay will have the cojones to commission one? Nah, it will have to be a committee decision, so no way. That is one funny vid: if you look closely, you can see him turn his head to the right to see if the store guy is around...

Did he eat his salmon raw?

Why am I not surprised? It figures.