Displaying 361 To 390 Of 955 Comments Writing Responsibly for Other Universes Hmm. That would mean there are stories you are not telling then? It’s a legitimate fear. Like I said, do we make it happen or are we describing what has already happened? But think how terrible it would be for those character to never have their stories told. When I am building a world, and populating it, and figuring out the course of history and plot, I hate it when I suddenly “figure out” that a character is going to die. I hesitate to describe it as the way a mother would feel about giving birth to a child in order to give it up for live sacrifice. Incidentally, a fan of mine saw the article (I have no idea how) and just emailed me that I had ruined a particular ongoing storyline on my site, by spoiling a couple plot points. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 20, 2011 @ 1:27 am After *those* two articles? Lady, you have nothing to be envious about. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 19, 2011 @ 8:48 pm Oh, I write these days for several reasons. The first, but not most important, reason that occurs during the process, is to get it out of my head. The second reason is the pure fascination with the concepts that are coming to me. The main reason is to tell these stories RIGHT. And the last reason is to make sure they are heard by others. I once heard a couple women discussing their muses, how one muse was lazy and would not come around unless everything was just right, and the other’s muse was “very robust” and nothing could distract her while she was writing. My muses are a gang from East LA who jump out of bushes and alleys to beat the crap out of me at any given moment. I have a wonderful life. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 19, 2011 @ 8:47 pm Loving Vonnegut can be difficult, but liking him is easy. Try Stanislaw Lem. After reading one of his novels, I honestly had no idea what had happened, or to who. I’ve read some “Polish science fiction” since then, and either the entire country has something inherently wrong with it, or they are all emulating Lem. I suspect the latter, because I don’t want to condemn an entire country. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 19, 2011 @ 8:42 pm On the west coast, we see a lot of Oregon and Washington cheese. I did not see much California cheese while living in Palm Springs. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 19, 2011 @ 12:00 am My parents decided to leave California (supposedly) because Reagan ended a program that provided medical assistance to kids who were handicapped. I was in leg braces up to that time, to correct the fact that I walked with my feet facing each other. My little brother had feet where the bones did not develop until later, so he had to wear special shoes to prevent him from touching his toes to his heel, while his foot was flat on the floor. According to my mother, Reagan at the same time dedicated parks and highways to some of his cronies who were under investigation for various scandals. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 11:58 pm Proud To Be Liberal By Brian Elroy McKinley The only problem with this is about the comment about “card-carrying Communist”. I am not a Communist (although Communism, the actual framework originally proposed, does have some good points), but I have to wonder what is wrong with Communists. Much like, when I was a kid and heard people using gay as an epithet, what was wrong with gay people. Incidentally, the kids using the word also did not know what it meant. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 4:44 pm For Pepe and Great Lardini — Canada’s OTHER game and its long love affair with baseball There’s nothing like a live hockey game! I swear the University of Michigan hockey referees still have my picture up in their offices. They’d never had a fan ask how they did on their last drug test before. And yes, you could hear me at the other end of the rink, over the announcer. The Wolverine players were laughing their butts off. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 20, 2011 @ 1:01 am When I went to school, in a small farming community in Northern Michigan (not scholastic central, obviously), the school was mandated to teach state history for one quarter of 7th grade. Since all of the schools were on semesters, that left one quarter unfilled. That quarter was spent teaching some very basic information. We learned how to fill out a W-2. We learned how to balance a checkbook. We learned how to fill out a job application, using actual applications from area businesses. We learned how to fill out a 1040-EZ (the “easy” tax reporting form, for those of you in other countries). I was amazed to find out that class was not universal. It is certainly not taught today. I think a large part of the problem is that politicians have stuck their thumbs into the curriculum. From what a friend of mine told me about a visit to his son’s middle-school science class, the teachers can’t teach these days, because they are not allowed to. They teach the kids how to parrot facts and to take the standardized tests, because according to the politicians, that is their job. As long as facts are up for debate, and opinions can be legislated, this is the state of our education. Regarding the Texas State Board of Education and their gerrymandering of textbooks, the strange thing is not that they did so, but that they waited so long to take advantage of the power they gave themselves. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 2:22 pm Arianna’s Republican Hattrick (or Toyboy) While the reporting is good, and linking the information together is good, I really hope we can do better in the other areas than what I see here. This is bashing. I am seriously disappointed. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 8:57 pm I preferred Lisa. The least dysfunctional Simpson. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 5:39 pm I prefer to say that my zero-thought generator just fired up. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 5:38 pm I have to admit there have been times when I have seen screennames that I was pretty sure that the user did not know what it meant. The one that made me almost cry was the guy GoebbelGoebbel, with an avi of a cartoon turkey. I mean, WTF? » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 5:25 pm I doubt I will ever think of ChrisR266 as male. One of the first comments I saw when I came here was you correcting someone else (it might have been funksands) about your gender. I try not to make assumptions about gender. It’s happened to me a few times online as well. I had to correct a few people about other things that they made assumptions about, too. When I started posting on HuffPo, there were a few people who assumed that I was straight. I have had to make the point several times to people that I am not legally able to get married, and if I was I would be marrying another man. I still think it is odd how many women propose to me, however. Still trying to understand that one (well, not really, just trying to figure a way to get them to stop). » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 1:09 pm At HuffPo, because I used my Gmail account to log in, I was using my real name. It didn’t bother me to do so, although it is only the second time I have done so. However, I am more than my legal name. The various usernames I have used over the years are all expressions of more important sides of myself. I have never used a username as something to hide behind. There have been many times, in response to a rather abusive troll who has made direct threats, that I have published my home address and my real name. We all know they are not going to show up, trolls are allergic to sunlight and most of them are too fragile to cross the street by themselves. I’ve long held the position that if anyone wants to know something about me, all they have to do is ask. I’ll answer any question, and that is a warning. Because a lot of people don’t want the answer to the question, they want *their* answer to the question. But some of the monikers I have used are MythBlade, XonImmortal, DabblerX, ClockworkXon, BigBossOne (from my Sysop days), Foxblade, CPOSnarky, and Greystone. As avatars, I have used mainly self-made art, although on HP I was using a screen-shot of myself on webcam, taken right after I dyed my beard purple. It confused a lot of people. My avatar right now is one of the designs I have made for a series of steampunk-inspired tattoos. It is the double-Mars symbol, done as gears and other mechanical items. I’ve also had pride flags, a notice that Joe Solomonese doesn’t speak for me, a Navy rank insignia, and many others. My point is that the Internet *can* be anonymous, but it doesn’t have to be. Monikers and aliases can be just as revealing as your legal name. For me the Internet is about self-expression and something tells me there is a lot more to JMBrodie than your legal name or your picture. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 12:59 pm Thank you for that great sentiment. That concept really made my day. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 19, 2011 @ 9:23 pm I’m sorry. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 6:09 pm It’s amazing the things kids will internalize. Especially things that they don’t understand. There was a lot that I did not understand about my sister for a long time, not the least because of the dishonesty and silence about a lot of things. It took me a long time to give up my guilt over her. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 4:46 pm Thank you for understanding. It means a lot. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 2:24 pm I think one of the most basic wishes anyone could have for their lives is to be remembered. Perhaps Alicia was not mature enough to be cognizant of any wishes, other than to be held, be warm, be fed… but at least I can do this much. Thank you. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 12:35 pm Thank you. I am working on it. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 12:34 pm In a way, I am glad that Alicia did not have the traditional funeral common to my family. My maternal family did not celebrate the life of the deceased. They went to the memorial service, went to the cemetery, then back to the church to eat a meal provided by the Ladies Auxiliary, and then rushed over to the deceased’s home to fight over who was entitled to what possessions. So thank you, my friend, for showing me something positive about it. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 12:33 pm I agree with and understand everything that has been said by you and everyone else in response to my comment. I am also not dissing deygirl. I just got worried when I saw the post, because I remember when, on FA, the most popular discussion was the “Tribe Refugee” thread that was mostly bashing the old Tribe site. I stated then that I was not a “Tribe Refugee”. I was a Tribe survivor. I just wanted a word of caution, I was not making an accusation or being a doom-sayer. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 2:12 am Community moderators did not work out so well, either. And I really resented having to sign up for Twitter or Facebook in order to get to level 2 on the other badges. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 12:27 am Was that while Arriana was still recovering from anesthesia? » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 12:26 am I really hope that everyone doesn’t get offended by this, but I am throwing this out, just in hopes of avoiding an outcome I have seen before. I was a member of Tribes, just before it was (temporarily?) sold to Coca-Cola. A lot of crappy things were being done, all in the name of “cleaning the site up for kids” or something. A lot of things happened, groups were deleted, posts were censored, photos deleted, etc. A bunch of people pooled their resources and founded a new site, Free Association. FA was okay, but for over a year the main focus of the site was how terrible Tribes Admin had been by changing everything that everybody liked, and stifled free speech and free assembly and the exchange of ideas… FA wound up failing miserably (my opinion, anyway) becoming more repressive and indulging in petty politics far more than Tribes had done. My point is this: Okay, we’ve left HP. Yes, it’s bad. Now it’s time to move past that, and go in the direction we want to go in. If we want to be a HP-bashing site, well, okay. Be honest about it, at the very least. If you want to be better than Ariana’s ATM-in-a-box, then drop the bashing and get on with the job at hand. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 12:15 am Friday Music Thread–The Woodwinds–Flutes and Reeds That’s the kind of jazz I like! It must have been a thrill to watch (or listen) to him progress as a musician over the years. And you can tell people proudly, “I knew him back when he sucked!” 😉 » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 5:15 pm I am sure there will screams of outrage. Seriously, I like the panpipes, despite Carson’s critiques of the hype. From what I can see and surmise on my own, it takes a lot of skill to play those well. I also like the oboe, as well as the non-traditional (or non-Western) woodwinds – they send chills up and down my spine. Kitaro used quite a few of those instruments in his compositions, and I never heard a Kitaro composition that I didn’t love. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 5:10 pm Very cool. Thanks for sharing. I’m going to search for some more of that. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 5:07 pm I made it a bit farther in the Boy Scouts, but it was pretty dysfunctional. I got tired of the arrogance and intolerance pretty fast. I have to admit that I tried. When I left, I was owed five or six merit badges that I had paid for. » Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 18, 2011 @ 11:50 pmComments Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit
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