blathes_to_avoid x i wish there was some warning system 030624 ... so far ferret_schiznit_hufftuffle super_sex_monkeys_make_happy_chat_all_over_the_pla orange_canteloupe afro_burger wigger ztupid_question 030624 ... god and all the rest of them too. 030624 ... x probably so but i never learn 030624 ... endless desire i am personally a huge fan of ztupid_questions. why would you want to avoid it at all? i have never missed a single one. 030624 ... e.d. ztupid_question 030624 ... x my personally personal opinion/feeling which can't be argued with because it's just my perspective is that it's obnoxious 030624 ... endless desire what i don't understand is your reasoning behind avoiding that particular blathe. it is just as pointless as this one. though, it is not as negative. and sure, i won't argue with you but i can state my opinion also. i'm sure it shocks you, x, but just because you started the blathe page doesn't mean i can't post under it too. my ideas are just as valid as yours. (and i will hear x yell at me in 5-4-3-2...) 030625 ... x it doesn't shock me at all. you already responded once and i didn't say anything like "no, you can't do that". so i have no clue what you're talking about. 030625 ... x my reasoning is that i don't like it. therefore i don't go there. people who find this blathe annoying, as they are bound to, can feel free to avoid it. pretty simple. 030625 ... endless desire oh my god you are impossible. fine. i am done. we are all clear on your rights as blatherer to state your opinion. you don't have state them every time someone disagrees with you. we all know you can say whatever the hell you want. have fun bathing in your own negativity. 030625 ... x "you don't have to state them every time someone disagrees with you" 1)no, but i can 2)you just did the same thing have fun bathing in your own puke 030625 ... endless desire oh and i ((personally)) think it is lame to put all the ferret and karl conversations in the same category as ztupid_question. honestly, it's not that bad. at least it doesn't use blather as its own personal chat room. now that's just waste of blue space ((in my opinion)). 030625 ... endless desire wow i can't believe you said that. but go ahead. it's your blatherer right. though very insensitive. but thank you. i am sure i'll have a ball. 030625 ... long_way_from_home he told me that he censored himself. i didn't understand how much he meant it. he censored his whole self and now if i found him i wouldn't know who he was. i saw him is the hall, but i told you i didn't think it really was him. it was someone different in his body. filling his shell. he wasn't the him who kissed me or the him who told me he loved me. but anyway. censorship sucks. 030625 ... x i can't believe i said that either i don't have any explanation 030625 ... adds blathes_to_avoid 030625 ... endless desire it's funny how there are some days when i really can't get things off my mine. last night i couldn't stop thinking about that. "bathing in my puke." maybe it's just because the statement left me vulnerable and defensive or maybe just because i consider blather to be my safehouse where i am not judged for what i say, either way, i couldn't get it off my mind. i just figured if i wrote something here, i wouldn't have it thrown back in my face. so you win the battle you weren't fighting. i don't really have anything to say to that except silly defensive rebutles. i just wonder if it is lonely up there on your perch where you always have the last word. if it ever gets tiresome to have to bite back so much harder than anyone bit you. i don't know, maybe i had it coming to me anyways. and yes, i will most certainly avoid this blather too. 030625 ... Dafremen dog_boot_company 030625 ... minnesota_chris ANYTHING IN ALL CAPS 030625 ... ferret lol, and i'm guessing that so far is karl? besides, we were bored, and we thought that some people just might want to read our incomprehensible conversation. it's no worse than funshiny_test_page 030625 ... youre right funshiney_test_page 030625 ... phil THE ONLY ONE YOU MUST AVOID IS TEST IT IS TRUE, AVOID IT ALL COST 030625 ... User24 avoid my test site two, it may crash your computer. 030625 ... 32 030626 ... ferret lol 030626 ... jane no i think phil is right. test site 2 didn't crash mine but with test i had to restart my computer. 030626 ... I heart blather i consider blather to be my safehouse where i am not judged for what i say ... it is just as pointless as this one ... i think it is lame ... just waste of blue space ... i just wonder if it is lonely up there on your perch where you always have the last word ... Seems like you’re getting the last word after making a bunch of judgments, while stating that you come here to not be judged and snubbing x for trying to get the last word? I also noticed how your brand of judgment is okay when noted as opinion or supplemented with a smiley face. Then, to top it off, after claim going on about how you can't understand how someone would avoid a blath, you then proclaim you'll avoid this one once it's challenges your viewpoints? damn, that's brilliant! I fucking love this place, it really brings out the best and brightest in people. I also like the little bit about having fun bathing in your own negativity. It must be wonderful to be so nice that you are empowered with special permission to insult people you feel aren't nice enough, and so positive that it's okay for you to get down on people who aren't positive enough. sure, you're nice - like a puppy! lucky there's lot's of people that find dopey antics cute and will to bend down and pet you, and don't mind when you occasionally run head first into a wall or step in your water bowl. just watch out for the flattering wolves in sheep's clothing. lot's of creep-o's looking for that succulent treat of innocence/ignorance. 030627 ... Innocent Bystander rrraow! 030627 ... pobodys nerfect wow..this blathe is starting to feel similar to my old place on the net.. 030627 ... kss hey, I wanna play! umm... "oh yeah? well, your feet stink!" aw,shucks. everyone left already. 030627 ... endless desire ouch. oh well. i'm not too offended by someone who won't even put their real name. the things i said where taken out of context and when reviewing the entire blathe i can't find any place where i added a smiley face. i can admit i was defensive and hasty. i tend to judge when i feel i am being judged in return. ((feel being the key word.)) sure, it is hypocritcal but i have already admitted i am ashamed of my own hypocrisy and i do my best. i never said that one shouldn't avoid certain blathes. i personally avoid blathes that people say will crash my computer or ones that are conversations between two people, because that is not what blather is to me. oh and obviously i have not avoided this blathe, since i read what you wrote. and obviously you did not think that i would avoid it, since you wrote it in the first place. the only thing that really bothers me out of anything that you said is that you assume that i am someone who just ignorantly smiles at the world. i hope i do not come across as that type of person, because i know my myself and i know i do not do that. i am often cheerful, but only because i am slowly begin to see the beauty in everything. i find that that is certainly a boost in my own outlook on life. i am curious about what pobody means. and i do have stinky feet. my papa has called me "stinky feet" since i was little. 030627 ... Sparticus just because a person is negative/cynical doesnt make them deep just because a person is nice/cheerful doesnt make them naive just because pettiness hurts everyone, even elitist/witty repartee just because. . . it hurts 030627 ... minnesota_chris yes, stay away from my funshiney_test_page... there's dragons there... 030627 ... silentbob loves you "i'm not too offended by someone who won't even put their real name" Now i dont want to involve myself in this argument, because the way i see it, winning internet arguments is equated with winning the special olympics. Everyone is still retarded, winners, losers, all of the above. and i say that with love, cuz ive done a few laps myself. but i would like to point out the fact that your real name is not "endless desire" i know x's real name...but i don't know yours...So.....yeah. the end. 030627 ... silentbob wow..also...ztupid_question was brought up by "so far" not x....so it doesnt appear your argument is with x at all 030627 ... silentbob and while i'm on it i might as well add to the list of blathes you should avoid: absurdity ask_silentbob ask_silent_bob ask_silentbob_more bobby silentbob and perhaps evers 030627 ... Dafremen Well while we're being self-deprecating, you might as well not check out meet_roger_dafremen, dafremen OR daf_index (party_at_dafs_house will reformat your hard drive...) 030627 ... endless desire i was going to point out the whole "so far" thing but i just assumed that was x. my name is ellyn. i have said it many times throughout my blathes. though i kind of regret doing so just incase anyone i know ((mostly my parents)) finds blather and my name. and what i meant was that when clicking on "i heart blather" there was only one blathe under it, rather than any other blathes s/he has ever written. . .it could always be that this was their first time on blather and they just felt like joining into an argument, but i doubt it really. really my involvement in all of this is pointless. all i ever wanted to say was that i enjoyed ztupid_question. that's it. i never even said i wanted to rewrite the list or take ztupid_question off or even say that x or so far was wrong. i never meant to offend or get all snotty about it. i just happen to like that blathe. it was really no big deal. 030627 ... silentbob ellyn is a really pretty name 030627 ... endless desire thanks bobby. i've always been a bit fond of it. thought it's funny how names start to sound monotonous after a while. i've just said/heard it so many times. but when i say it slowly i like it. 030627 ... pobodys nerfect endless--I like the ztupid_question page too,and I also think there's enough room for all different kinds of pages here, whether they be serious, funny, or whatever. And what I meant by my earlier comment was this--I used to post alot at a bbs(that's pretty much gone downhill). Anyway,lots of times I'd see one of the more established members start something with one of the new people for no apparent reason other than just because they were new, and then all hell would break loose. *sigh* Maybe I'm just being naieve in thinking we could all just try and get along like adults without being catty to one another... 030627 ... silentbob Yes, i was just thinking tonight how its weird to hear other people with my name, to know other people have my name, and to think of myself objectively , how others must feel while calling me by my name... when to them it is normal.. it is a weird feeling to stare at your own face and realize other people are seeing it too when you don't have to 030627 ... endless desire i always wonder how people see me. i mean, when i look at myself, my eyes travel to the faults in my face, body, etc. and i have come to realize that most people don't even take the time to realize those things anyways. and then i think about the way i look at my grandma or something. when i look at her i see someone familiar/comforting/loving, but when everyone else looks at her, they just see any old wrinkled lady. i like being new. when you are new somewhere, you have such a chance to be whoever you want. (preferably yourself). 030628 ... endless desire ((haha didn't mean to just randomly say the thing about what people see when they look at people. it was just where my mind took what we were talking about with the name thing. i guess that is a lot like what blather is about in my mind. . .what things mean to different individuals and where they take things. anywho. . .)) 030628 ... FireNRoses I've decided to join one of these debate thingies... I'm big on opinionation... but I dunno it just seems kinda stupid to keep arguing back and forth like... tho in the spirit of debate ztupid-question wasn't so awful... some of the questions were good, but endless desire you are a bit of a poo. I like negativity... i think one of you question thingies on there was waht do you like about your best friend... well mine is that he's an asshole and calls me a slut so i can beat him up... anyway that's my four cents... CIAO 030707 ... endless desire grins at being called a poo 030707 ... Dafremen This will seem like overkill until you read it, but: dog_boot_company 030708 ... x i just don't like being dissapointed aren't you all here to live up to my hopes and expectations? ;P 030708 ... endless desire of course of course and im sure all the test sites and walri_is_a_word will do just the trick. is still grinning after being called a poo 030708 ... hmmm I don't think that was really daxle 030708 ... endless desire not that i think about it, i don't think i could see daxle making a ;P face. 030708 ... daxle ah but it was 030708 ... the cheer-up kid insert_blatherskite_name_here 030709 ... FireNRoses what's wrogn with poo? 030709 ... phil I can't believe I have to read all this shit, blah I quit this page. 030709 ... endless desire poo. nothing at all. waves goodbye to phil. 030710 ... niska well, i read most of it - blathes_to_avoid is a blathe to avoid. it's not enough to just put here what blathe you would avoid? you have to start a damn argument about it? (i know, i know - i've said this before & i'll say it again - the irony...) so someone doesn't like ztupid_questions. b.f.d what more ridiculous than trying to change someone's mind about liking one page out of hundreds of thousands (well, maybe tens - i don't know, really) is the whole thing just turns into a cat-fight regarding each others rights, personalities and blathe styles. stay on topic, or don't bother arguing. also, i hate any blathe that cries out for everyone's pity, then we all have to play sleep-over, best-friend, give y'all hugs... so i ignore them. 030711 ... niska i mean no one in particular. 030711 ... endless desire just to let everyone know, i never wanted to change x's mind about ztupid_question. i was just saying my opinion, which is part of the point on blather. . . and which did relate to the whole subject. i just didn't think it was one to avoid. and i never meant to start anything at all. oh well. it's over. im not sure why it keeps being brought back up. 030711 ... niska cause it's at the top of the page. and i'm lazy. 030722 ... endless desire good enough excuse in my opinion. i figure that innocent bystander already bitched at you enough to last you the rest of your life time for not reading the whole page, so now you can go ahead do whatever the hell you want. 030722 ... recent http://blather.newdream.net/cgi/blather?recent 030723 ... blather url check http://blather.newdream.net/cgi-url/blather?recent 030723 ... blather url check 2 http://blather.newdream.net/cgi-bin/blather?recent 030723 ... me megan_and_thy_s_blather_wedding i think that's it anyway....? 040119 ... blue star thy_and_megan_s_blather_wedding 040119 ... x wow. good times. 040119 ... correction http://blather.newdream.net/t/thy_and_megan_s_blather_wedding.html 040119 ... stork daddy well in fairness to ed's side in the argument that took place above, you weren't just blathing under blathes_i_avoid, but you were proscribing advice, in which case your reasoning is very up for discussion and/or argumentation. 040119 ... lemon_soda anything by lemon_soda 040119 ... the walri advocate walri_is_a_word is *not* an avoid-page! 040119 ... somebody fucking_sabbie 040119 ... and no Im not "x" I personally can't stand people who go on and on about how everybody should have a "positive attitude". When you read between the lines, what they usually mean by this is: "Everybody who believes something different than I do is being 'negative'". Never mind that in criticism of another you are being "negative" yourself. Get over the Pollyanna thing - it's extremely unattractive... 040120 ... not Apis To who, to you? What makes you think anyone would regard your proscriptions as the words of some kind of irefutable arbiter? Try thinking a little more critically. 040120 ... just call me sanctimonious didact um...well...as a matter of fact, yes, it is unattractive to me personally. I never once stated that anyone else should take my words as a statement of true fact for themselves. But if you would like to share my opinions instead of getting your own, please feel free. I won't mind. And by the way, I want you to know I was mortally wounded by the "thinking critically" comment. *grin* 040120 ... endless desire haha this is funny...life as a young skite. i used to be so attatched to what people think of me that an argument with a skite really rocked my world and made me down. oh well. all i was ever trying to do was say i liked ztupid_questions. stork_daddy, i appreciate the support. hopefully, x no longer holds this one against me. haha 040120 ... karl the weed im not even going to talk about MY "young skite" days 040120 ... karl the weed you know whats funny? usually people who have these comments to make (specifically the more recent one by "somebody whos not x") blathe under a fake name. i mean, come on, if youre gonna say something opinionated then put your real name down. 040120 ... oldephebe yes you did - by implication, without qualification..again what makes you think anyone would regard your words as worthy of even being considered as a viable and or reasonable position, given the taint of bias and subjectivity that reeks of unreason. I think sanctimony, authentic sanctimony borne of a sincere desire address the disconcerting dearth of empathy, compassion in a culture that is so self referential, so acquisitive, so in need of evaluating one another by the percieved polarities and relative deficiencies w/r/t to a standard that see's nothing but the self. The flawed myopic self as arbiter..is neccessary. ... 040120 ... karl huh? 040120 ... oE that was not addressed to you karl..it was for pseudonym "not x" or something 040120 ... Kira Oldphebe, you did a wonderful job of alienating the average reader. And I must say I'm terribly impressed by your ability to take simple sentiments and turn them into incomprehensible self-congratulation just through the addition of large words. Good work! But I digress. Let's address this post, shall we? 1) Re: qualification. I am a human being and therefore entitled to my very own opinion about any topic. Even, yes, *horrors*, a subjective one. 2) There are many people in the world who would argue that reason should _not_ be used as a primary base for opinion. Luckily for you, I am not one of them. However, I do reserve the right to express any kind of emotion I feel like at any time, regardless of whether other people agree or not, and even if it is not rational (See "qualification" above.) Further, since you asked, here is some blathering based on "reason" instead of my own subjective and tainted viewpoint: research indicates that "negative" people are generally more in touch with reality than "positive" people and therefore tend to be more prepared and effective in a crisis situation. It could certainly be argued that "positive" people are even dangerous in some ways because they tend to act inappropriately and irrationally at times when it really matters. (If you don't like this, don't bother harrassing me about it. I didn't do this research.) 3. I agree with your second paragraph. I think this culture is less than compassionate. People probably should be nicer to one another. But isn't this just another "subjective" opinion on our part? I ask you: what gives you the right, flawed, myopic and subjective person that you are, to tell anyone how they should behave towards another? Including me? It's ok with me if you think the most important part of being a human being is having compassion towards another. This is your right. Please extend me the same courtesy by accepting that I have my own subjective opinions as well. Even when they don't match your own. (And if you will read the original post again, you will find that I never once suggested that anyone who didn't accept my viewpoint was somehow flawed or unwise. Unlike you.) 4. I want to remind another poster of something that was said earlier in this post: we are ALL using pseudonyms! However, I will happily post my real name to this one. May it do you lots of good... 5. I still stand by my dislike of the sweet and optimistic. I find them immensely irritating and unattractive. And personally, I don't really care if you don't agree. But I will never allow you to bully me into not expressing my honest and personal opinion. Cheers! 040121 ... falling_alone sigh...do aviod TEST i was tempted and found out the hard way. my computer froze 040121 ... time_warp Kira, my hat's off to you. good stuff. 040121 ... oldephebe Well I guess the average reader will opine as they see fit. Again you are imposing subjective standards on what someones vocabulary/comprehension may or not be. Hurling howling spears out of the dark and over the hedge of unqualified hubris. Again what makes you think anyone would regard youe standard as something that is worthy of consideration or that even expresses a common perception. Self congratulatory. How does that apply to what I wrote? The stench of subjectivity and facile formulations is wafting up and out of that remark. I'm getting my boltlock and sodering iron so I can sear myself to my original point. You do not win nor achieve an advantage because I do not give you permission to. Period. I'm done, as are you. 040121 ... hyena cant help herself hahahahahahahahah hahahahaahah hahahahahahaha hahahah hahaha hee.. *wheeze* god that's good... "what makes you think anyone would even be interested in hearing what you have to say?" way to be a bitch, bay-bee! "you suck, 'cause i say so." beautiful, especially since i'm pretty sure she doesn't care about your opinoin. and telling someone when they're done... man, if i were to do that, i'd know to be ready to duck... that's entertaining as all get out. thanks. 040121 ... hyena oh, oh, and i almost forgot to thank you for the extra giggles out of your determination that the point of the discussion was to "win" or "gain an advantage" rather than exchange and explain viewpoints... wheeee... that's funny... 040121 ... jimmy the fact is, you can easily avoid a blathe without bothering to write down a blathe telling everyone which blathes you're avoiding just so they can be impressed or pissed off accordingly. really it comes down to what the purpose of expression is. it differs, but one thing all expressions have in common is that they leave the individual expressing them. the individual, for whatever reason, sends their two cents off to someone or something else. now if the individual is shouting into the sky, i'd say their purpose probably differs from someone posting on a message board regularly visited by other people. so to say that you were "just" expressing yourself here is a little misleading, as it would seem to imply that an act of expression's endpoint is usually its delivery, when really its reception is what marks it as the common definition of expression. you wanted to be heard so you spoke. granted it was "just" your opinion (not that anything anyone ever says is too much more than that), but so was everyone's reaction to it. and an argument of sort took place, though not one in the usual format of an argument since the evidence was "subjective emotion" and not readily agreed upon empirical fact. you're correct that no one could argue whether or not it was your subjective opinion, but that doesn't mean they can't argue it's validity to them, or to anyone else on blather, or on the real world implications the attitudes expressed here tend to have. the problem with expressing yourself to people, is that it becomes a matter of negotiation, and subjective viewpoints have to find some way of disagreement or agreement if there is to be progress. now perhaps you never desired progress, but then what was the point of blathing under blathes_to_avoid, and not just simply writing yourself a post-it-note or avoiding them yourself? Just like you're perfectly free to express whatever's on your i'm bored shitlist du jour, other people are perfectly free to ask why. and as far as being adept at negotiating this world, i'd have to be on the side of the people who ask why and look at words as communcation rather than just accept i say so, you say so and look at words as "expression." 040121 ... Kira a.k.a...who knows what next? Jimmy - Now this is a much better argument. I must sadly concede that much of this is true - nobody posts an opinion to a public board without the conscious awareness that it will be received by other readers, and I was, in some ways, hiding behind the shield of "subjective opinion" (which does indeed result in intellectual stagnation). Although in my own defense, the original post honestly was a knee-jerk reaction and not consciously intended to be propaganda of any kind. So I will take up your challenge. Is there anyone out there who would like to argue a reasonable argument on the side of optimism? And by reasonable, I do not mean (paraphrasing here and taking out much intellectual jargon), "What makes you, anonymous blatherer, important enough to even think about intruding on any of the rest of us very smart people with your unreasoned and self-centered dreck???" If you do a good enough job, perhaps you can convince me to join the side of happiness and light. I am entirely serious here. Why should anybody be an optimist? (A clear and concise argument about this subject will win you my eternal gratitude.) P.S. Oldphebe - I will never be done until I go to that great wordboard in the sky. And maybe not even then. Sounds to me like you must have been pretty intimidated by my last post... *puts up word umbrella in anticipation of coming psuedo-intellectual posturing storm* 040121 ... oldephebe Still haven't read a single word that remotely resembles a cogent, or intelligent or even diesal objection to my words. I do not lose because I say so period. I dictate the terms of any argument or debate I participate in. Period. I do not recognize anything written here as seriously challenging my inaugeral contention. Might I suggest listening to some Sam Kinnison or Richard Pryor or even the Diceman to get a handle on how to utilize profanity effectively? You people are weak. You wouldn't last 15 minutes against some of the HARDCORE borderline sociopaths I've bumped heads with in the past. I'm talking about guys/gals who should probably be on in Lockdown, but by dint of their cognitive endowments, their sociopathic cunning they've managed to avoid the clutches of the formidable albeit corrupt and rascist and mysogynistic Philadelphia Police Dept. Weak. Your weak. Period. I'm through pratttle on mindlessly if you must, I'm moving up to higher ground. I'm gonna leave a few rolls of soft and absorbant toilet paper right here for ya now that you've moved up and out of pampers you really gotta try and hold it together better. ... 040121 ... Kira *doesn't use profanity to make arguments* 040121 ... this is the best blathe ever. this is funny shit. it's also a good example of what this place will degenerate into if people keep spraying blue piss wherever they please. when someone makes a point about stupidity and ignorance, and the first post that follows proves their point (while the person who proved the point keeps doing it and remaining ignorant of the very thing they're doing)...i can't take it. it's too rich! "i'm done! finished! i'm never coming back to this page! but i'll still post here again in five minutes!" i really wish people spent two seconds thinking about what they said before they shit it out. it'd boost blather's iq by at least fifty points. and, for good measure: optimism is stupid! people are stupid! fuck fuck fuck! shit shit shit! 040121 ... not who you think this blathe should have police tape around it. 040121 ... jimmy well first of all, i really do enjoy blathes like this. i don't think a little contention ever hurt anyone. the optimists will stay optimistic, the pessimists will be convinced it's because they're fucking idiots. that said, i'd say reasonable optimism beats outright pessimism anyday. Both in their extreme forms usually miss the mark, but i'd definetly say that optimism tempered by pessimism is better than vice versa anyday. Now to qualify those remarks, a true pessimist can't really see the good in anything, so that means whatever option they choose, it won't be the good one. They're limiting their options from the start by concentrating on what's possible from their often hasty assesment. This isn't to say that some pessimism isn't based on a long sad steady diet of disappointment, but it is to say that no pessimistic conclusion that claims all hope is lost can ever be proven more rigourously than an optimistic one that says change is right around the corner. Now which state of mind is more enjoyable? If you're eating shit either way, it's better to enjoy it, to make up a fanciful world where this has meaning or whatever you have to do, than have to sit there eating shit and knowing it the whole time. Pessimists may navigate the world better in that they survive longer, but they're miserable the whole time. A recent study of depressed people found they were more likely to estimate the outcome of various social situations. This is highly correlated with depression, but strangely not social success. The reason for that, and for the other finding that many CEOs and people who started their own company, is because success often demands continuing against unprobable odds. If the odds are 1 in 10 many would say well let's go to another table. Problem is, with risks like that, the payoff usually isn't that high. I guarantee you it isn't pessimists who are winning the lottery. I see it all the time in the example of my loser friend. Personally, he often disgust me. I don't see why anyone, man, woman, or beast would give him the time of day. But he loves himself so much that he propositions anyone and everyone and succeeds just enough to keep reinforcing the image in his mind. Do people talk abou him behind his back? Of course. But he could either sit at home and mope about his inability to tell good jokes or say the right thing, or he could go out and fake it like he does to fair success every weekend. He often leaves with pretty girls who the pessimists pegged for no gos. To really start stretching it with the metaphors, it's good to pick your pitches, but if you don't swing at all, you aren't hitting anything. That established, however, pessimism has it's benefits. It's best when on safari not to think that rustling in the bushes is the cupcake fairy there to give out sweets and backrubs. That's why I say reasonable optimism is much better than outright pessimism any way you slice it. It allows you to keep at something in which the payoff might just be around the bend. And it's enjoyable the whole time at least. All the success in the world can't cure a pessimist, whereas you can give an optimist a punch to the stomach and they'll thank you for helping them forget about their headache. Now of course blind optimism isn't healthy, but neither is blind pessimism. I don't think anyone on this sight, other than Dafremen, has ever exhibited optimism so harmful that it need be warned against. Pipedream, endless desire and the lot of them all have their downer moments, they just don't make a body of work out of it, which I for one thank them for. Now i'm just taking up your offer as devil's advocate unfortunately, as i'm a bit of a pessimist myself. But that doesn't mean that i can't see when i'm on the wrong side. Especially when i see all those happy people i think i'm better than smiling all the time and generally enjoying situations i'd feel ashamed or lost in. it does make you wonder who really has it figured out. 040121 ... jimmy i guess the real reason not to be a pessimist is because there's probably always more destruction and bad in the world than good. and yes i'm arguing rationally for delusion. if i knew the world was ending in three days, i'd probably be concentrating on all i'd lost rather than taking what i do have and grabbing on to just it. 040121 ... K no, no, no! You don't understand...you don't have to actually _think_ about what you are saying if you just sprinkle in some big words! Get with the program here, man! *apologizes for the bloody mess on the ground* Please watch your step here folks...nothing to see here, please move along...the coroner has been notified... 040121 ... jimmy so if you ever get accused of being a little delusional, you can feel better about it. as long as it's only a little. 040121 ... jimmy yeah fifty cents of meaning into four dollars worth of words. 040121 ... K Oops. That last one was for the post before Jimmy's. Sorry 'bout that... 040121 ... K Good argument. I liked it. Especially the part about the safari Cupcake Fairy. That made me laugh. And thanks for quoting research. I haven't seen that study, but it certainly sounds reasonable. I think the reason why I am generally a pessimist is because disappointment hurts so much. If you think good things are going to happen and then something bad happens instead, it's a lot more traumatic than if you expected something bad and then are proven wrong! I do agree with moderation philsophically. I just can't seem to get to it emotionally. And I still maintain that I find cheerily optimistic people totally annoying! I am a firm beliver that sometimes a spade needs to be called a spade, even if this means being "negative" about something! (But yes, there is no reason to post under this blather except to rant and rave or try to annoy people. Which is ok too sometimes.) 040121 ... jimmy yeah i agree. sometimes you have to tell them...look...you're going to drop your fucking ice cream cone because you're a stupid kid so have a backup plan. but seriously, i think we all start out as optimists, some of us can't keep with it. 040121 ... jimmy on the bright side...for a pessimist, you don't seem to blame yourself too much for what you need to say. 040121 ... K eh...nothing to blame...its just the way things are. Actually, I think I'm more of a heroic nihilist (how's that for a couple of four-dollar words?!!) Or in other words: I think the world pretty much sucks sheep doo but I get up everyday and give a good fight anyway. Pretty bleak outlook, but at least I'm not lying in bed in the fetal position with the covers pulled over my head. And I don't close the drapes when my carriage drives through the poor section of town (which way too many "positive" people do.) 040121 ... realistic optimist someone pointed me here, and i don't quite even know where to begin, so instead of addressing all of the logical fallicies and feet in the mouth, i think i'll just give a brief statement regarding optimism. there is a phenemenon in which that which a person believes will happen tends to come true. "like, if you believe 'i can't get that job,' you won't go in and fill out the application. if you believe 'i am unattractive, and nobody of the opposite sex likes me,' you are likely to spend a pretty lonely life, doing a lot of masturbating. if you think 'i am irresistably handsome and tremendously witty and attractive,' you'll have a much happier life." - robert anton wilson he goes on to relate how this type of thinking can affect people on a more sociological level, not ignoring what is happening, but attempting to frame it in a positive framework, while acting in ways which tend to help this paradigm come to fruition. i could go on and on, but i'll end my rant here. 040121 ... realistic optimist pheneomeoenoenemneomosn 040121 ... Strideo a person who prepares for success is more likely to achieve it than the person who prepares for failure. optimism isn't based how you percive reality. it is based on your attitude toward reality. in a recent radio programme i listened to, psychology researchers explained that hospital patients who considered themselves optimists were more likely to recover from chronic illnesses. they said that optimists were more likely to confront their conditions and deal with them than pessimists. Better yet, why don't I go directly to the source rather than try to recall from shakey memory. (also I can be lazy this way) ________________________________________ excerpts from theinfinitemind.com: "Next, host Dr Goodwin welcomes Dr. Martin Seligman, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and immediate past president of the American Psychological Association. Seligman has conducted ground-breaking research into the human qualities that, as a recent book dedicated to him observes, "allow people to rise to life's challenges, overcome adversity, resist illness and depression and lead happier, more successful lives." Seligman says that his research has shown that optimistic people surpass pessimists in three areas: they are better able to resist depression (clinical and general), they are better achievers (demonstrated in work, school and athletic performance) and they are generally more physically healthy. He talks about his research of team sports, and says that the manager of any given team appears to set the optimistic or pessimistic tone for the team which will determine its performance, especially in crunch situations." . . . "Next up are two experts in what might be called "applied optimism," studying how optimism fits in with all kinds of life events and activities. Dr. Lisa Aspinwall is an associate professor of psychology at The University of Utah. Dr. Christopher Peterson is a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. So is it possible that optimists are just in denial about the negative things going on in life? Aspinwall says no, studies show that optimists are actually more able to perceive and integrate negative information, modifying their behavior to avoid danger, problems and risks. Peterson talks about his studies of optimism at the racetrack. Pessimists, he found, were much more likely to make risky bets, and lose. Optimists came away the winners." ( http://www.lcmedia.com/mind298.htm ) ________________________________________ according to these sources optimists are realistic ;) ... 040121 ... magicforest i like teh blahter becuase there are dey peeples here who liek to aRGYU about teh importint thnigs!!!!11 W00T! we are going to SAVE TEH BLAHTER freom the peeple woh PISS BLUE everywhdre! HAHAHAH ahahahaHA AHA HA!!!1 BLUE PISS!!!!!1 because THEY ARE STOOPID so they DONT GET TO BLAHTER HERE!!!!!1 AND we are making this a GOOD PLACE YOU NO!! We are the like teh GODS you know???!!!11 Hahaha HEH EHH! it's stoopid 2 b a OPTAMIST because teh OPTIMASTS are like NIEEVE because everything is STOOPID WHOA THERE is a WICCAN and she has got BIG BOOBIES! BOOOOOOOBIES! BOOOOOOOBIES! Oh shit theres teh avril lavigne MARATHAWN On the Tevelision! W00000))TT!!!!!!111! peace niggas! 040121 ... endless desire wow... um, so do i have to read all of that? *holds eyedream's hand and escorts her to nearest mental institution* it's going to be okay. 040121 ... endless desire wow... um, so do i have to read all of that? *holds eyedream's hand and escorts her to nearest mental institution* it's going to be okay. 040121 ... endless desire wow... um, so do i have to read all of that? *holds eyedream's hand and escorts her to nearest mental institution* it's going to be okay. 040121 ... des um so i said that a lot of times. 040121 ... karl the weed yes indeed 040122 ... karl the weed yes indeed 040122 ... whitechocolatewalrus i shall say what i want and you shall say what you want. i will read what i want and you will read what you want. i will like what i like and you will like what you like. if there is something that i think is a terrible piece of writing that you absolutely love, my saying that i don't like it and everyone should avoid it does absolutely nothing for anyone. i will still hate it and you will still like it and then we will have a fifty page long argument/discussion about how everyone thinks they are right and someone else is wrong. everyone is right. write what you want to write. read what you want to read. avoid what you want to avoid. no one is going to stop you. 040122 ... karl the weed hear hear! 040122 ... whole E cheesus graphite_salsa 040122 ... :_) is it possible this one was so bad it was removed by the administrator. i thought such a thing was against all rules of blather super_sex_monkeys_make_happy_chat_all_over_the_pla also see www.if_this_link_works_i_am_dead.com 040202 ... Strideo Yes! avoid the blathe super_sex_monkeys_make_happy_chat_all_over_the_pla at all costs! Evil swarms of impish deamons will fly out of your monitor and devour your soul! ... 040203 ... Keil Im sorry I skipped the last coupla blathes, but has anyone made mention of these blathes being tested due to curiosity? Even when threatened with computers crashing, hardrives failing, and other catastrophies, people STILL VISIT THEM!!! WHY?????? Poo. is also laughing. 060918 ... green tshirt and do NOT, under ANY circumstances, open that box over there. 060919 what's it to you? who go blather from