I was a JW until my early 20's, at which point I realized that I had alternatives. And ultimately, I discovered I wasn't really interested in religion.

But like someone mentioned above, I have nothing against them. My mother and younger brother are baptized, door-to-door types, and in a lot of ways I'm proud of them. I think if you're going to do the religion thing, you should do it - like anything in life - with your whole heart.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 7:17 AM on May 22, 2007

So like, I knew this guy, his parents disowned him because he didn't want to join their Church of the Controlled.

There are some JWs who take blood, and they are not kicked out if they do - there is a strong "act on your conscience" rule that takes place when it comes to things like family or personal health. They encourage members of the congregation to follow their conscience in accordance to what they believe.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 7:26 AM on May 22, 2007

Wow, Eric. Trying to make a point much?

From what I understand, they sold their part of the company, and expected someone they considered to be a friend not to phase them out like a bad marketing slogan.

Maybe legally, technically, and whateverally, Paul was in the right. Maybe it makes business sense to take the focus away from Derek and Heather - symbols of a company that catered to what some might consider a cliquish community - and put... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 8:58 PM on May 21, 2007

There are spiral scout meetings at the pagan sanctuary I visit, and my daughter loves going. The meetings aren't overtly religious, because the concept of 'pagan' covers so many different views, so instead there's a strong focus on nature and humanism.

A typical meeting could consist of having snacks (usually things like fruit, milk, etcetera), making dreamcatchers or learning a native-american tribal dance, or even something as traditionally secular as having the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 1:26 PM on January 31, 2006

All of Eternal's posts thus far have been pretty on-the-mark, intuitive and not at all pretentious. What is it about people who speak in a factual and logical manner that gets on the nerves of others? I mean, is it that you wish you could be so coherent?

I've never seen such good defenses of what love should involve; that being, the willingness to do for others that which you may not enjoy doing, solely for their sake.

And... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 6:10 PM on June 12, 2004

I read it, and while I wasn't offended, I didn't think any of it was funny.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 2:03 PM on June 12, 2004

Offering songs or services (poetry/stories, hand-written letters and art, web-design, community, you name it) for a gmail account. misty at incandesce dot net if you have an extra invite lying around. Thank you. :(
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 7:05 PM on June 10, 2004

As soon as I get invites, I will shower them on MeFites like fresh summer rain.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 3:34 PM on June 11, 2004

The girl at the very top of that page is holding a dildo.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 10:07 PM on June 10, 2004

Uh, wow. I'm going to have freaky dreams tonight, I know it.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 10:01 PM on June 10, 2004

"Dreamed about Ray Charles last night and he could see just fine, you know
I asked him for a lullaby, he said 'Honey I don't sing no more
no more, no more, no more, Ray don't sing no more.'"
Joan Osborne, "Spider Web"

Beautiful man, beautiful musician. Rest in peace.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 9:31 PM on June 10, 2004

I covered the guy's mouth up and kept watching his eyes, and heard ba ba. I moved my finger away and it immediately sounded like da da (the moment I saw his lips.) I hear da da even if the guy is on my peripheral, and have to close my eyes or turn my head completely to hear the ba-s.

How freeeeeeeeeeeeaky.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 7:59 PM on April 16, 2004

There are plenty of good reasons to hate Bush, but this is a very weak one. I mean come on, where's the outcry against John Stewart, or any of the late night talk show hosts? They joke about this kind of stuff all the time.

Jon Stewart isn't the President. As it has been historically noted, the President is held to a higher standard of behavior than you or I, or yes, even a TV comedian.

+

Under no... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 6:01 PM on April 11, 2004

Apparently this has been happening for a while, but usually for research purposes.

That said, awwwwww. Something about chicks, bunnies, kittens and baby monkeys gets me right. Here.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 11:11 AM on April 10, 2004

Why do they all start hailing Hitler when they get to the other side? What sort of Nazi flash puzzle is this anyhow?
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 4:51 PM on April 8, 2004

Similar puzzle in a MUD I play at with three couples stuck on an island. None of the men trust the other husbands with their wives; goal is to get them all over to the other riverbank. There's always a bit of an insidious undertone to this puzzle, eh? Infidelity, murder (fox+chicken), child abuse. I think the little red-haired girl in this one is also a convicted felon.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 10:10 PM on April 8, 2004

Aww, hob beat me to it.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 10:03 PM on April 8, 2004

...No pun intended. Really.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 10:04 PM on April 8, 2004

This is like arresting two teenagers for fooling around, which is probably what she'd be doing if she didn't have a computer. More a thing for her parents to be concerned about, than an obviously underworked police staff.

Has the war on child pornography become the war on drugs when I wasn't looking?
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 2:38 PM on April 3, 2004

But if you're secure in knowing that porn involving 15-year-olds is inherently bad, then the linked story makes perfect sense.

IMHO, it needs to be taken into account that the internet's become a new and valid method of human interaction. Before computers came along, 15-year-olds were in their parents' basements showing each other the same things that the internet makes terribly convenient to send via digital image now.

I... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 4:29 PM on April 3, 2004

The little girl is a criminal not because she hurt anybody, but because she tempted some[one] else, who might go out and molest a child. The system to some degree presumes guilt. Or am I wrong?

Utterly flawed. In that respect:

- Rape victims should assume partial guilt (they already do in many cases, in every way *except* legally) for having dressed "provocatively,"

- Movie and video... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 5:36 PM on April 3, 2004

She knowingly committed a criminal act, it seems to me. Every teenager knows that explicitly sexual pictures of people their age are illegal; she was banking on their rarity to increase their value to others.

I doubt every teenager knows (or knew) that trading photos of themselves with people their age is illegal, or even that they could get in trouble, should that person receiving the pictures be an adult. Child porn has always,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 8:48 AM on April 5, 2004

Someone's been watching too much Waterworld.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 10:30 AM on April 4, 2004

but on the nightly news, it dangerously gravitates towards violence porn, where ratings and pleasing advertisers trumps common sense or good taste.

I personally prefer news that doesn't have sugar-coating on it just so it goes down better. If these are supposedly our links to what's happening in the world, why shouldn't they actually convey what's happening in the world? I say less good taste in the media, and more raw truth. As it stands, media... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 12:02 PM on April 3, 2004

I think kaibutsu was suggesting that there's always a larger cause than, "He was just born bad." Murderers don't pop out of the womb strapped with handguns, y'know.

on preview, what biscotti said.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 2:33 PM on April 3, 2004

I've never understood why my laces come untied, and have unconsciously blamed it on the shoes or the laces themselves. Now I know that I am lace deficient, this should straighten it up right away!

What a prime link, anastasiav. Thanks!
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 5:08 AM on April 3, 2004

...uh.

I thought it was a hoot. Remarkably well-done flash, a completely random sing-along that alternately makes me groan and... well, sing along.

I know it's nothing new, but the clock on the wall in the background is so sleek, I wanna lick it.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 7:10 AM on March 31, 2004

Don't forget deviantART and epilogue.net.

Feel free to post links to other places, I am personally always looking for this sort of thing.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 5:10 AM on March 31, 2004

skallas, I love you.

I am one of the people who seriously almost got 'veritas - aequitas' tattooed on some part of her body, not to mention having the whole prayer bit at the end memorized. I kept expecting to see Boondock Saints on the list, and was disappointed. It's the one movie I've ever watched more than a handful of times. Just an incredible movie, from beginning to end. Willem Defoe was great.

Also, Equilibrium wasn't that bad,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 8:46 PM on March 28, 2004

roryc: The first time I saw Brazil, I was stoned.

Coincidentally, that's also the first and only time I understood the movie. It's been all greek to me since.

That said, it's a gorgeous movie, great stream-of-consciousness stuff, reportedly the precursor to 12 Monkeys, much like people claim the Matrix expanded upon the premise of Serial Experiments Lain.

p.s. A Bronx Tale was awesome.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 7:56 PM on March 29, 2004

Speaking as a woman who lactated, breast milk freaked -me- out. Imagine, living all of your life with perfectly leakless breasts, and then one day, they sprout fountains of milk. Breast pads, accidents that left my shirts and the bed soaking wet, it was not a pleasant experience.

Despite the contingent of people yammering about how, if I truly loved my child, I'd breast feed her, I switched to formula. I think the guilt of statements like that from family, friends,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 12:16 AM on March 26, 2004

LowDog>> I especially love a glass of it in the morning, with my processed pig flesh and unfertilized chicken embryos. Mm mm m.

amber>> while I was recuperating from three days of an agonizing "induced labor," these women came around and all but bullied me into breast feeding. They were, to put it kindly, the PETA-meets-NRA of breastfeeding. I believe they were representatives of that group there. That said, they didn't point out that the first... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 7:01 AM on March 26, 2004

many paint breastfeeding supporters as "bullies" to bolster their position.

No, actually, they were just bullies. There would have been a difference between women who sat down and, in an intellectual manner, described to me the benefits of breast feeding versus formula feeding.

They did not ask to enter my room, they knocked and then walked in. They did not leave a number or address to a support group, in fact, they... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 2:12 PM on March 26, 2004

Wow, kablam. Don't know you, buddy, but I have to say the proof is fairly conclusive that you're retarded. Please trade in your MeFi license for a yellow helmet and short-bus pass post haste.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 1:10 PM on March 26, 2004

clever>>

Great point you bring up. I've had past group discussions in a class about the effect of tragedies on a large population, and historically, the most horrifying tragedies have in some way allowed (or paved the way for) further tragedy, mostly because mass emotion is stupid yet powerful. Someone probably said that much better than I.

A nation who experiences a disaster of some kind is a malleable nation. 9/11 allowed some things... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 12:56 AM on March 25, 2004

So I've analyzed all of the bitterness that people such as Karyn and now this guy is getting, because it just doesn't mesh with the natural instinct we develop from the moment we're born (for most of us) to help other people.

I hate to say it, but this sort of bitterness seems rooted in the feeling of "If I can't get anything for free, why should this guy?" Which seems a justifiable emotion, superficially, but beneath it all is just kind of spiteful and...... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 7:21 PM on March 22, 2004

Well, I admittedly understand the thought that he might just be scamming or being somehow dishonest. That doesn't seem to be the biggest issue for most protesters, though.

The SaveKaryn chick was much more forthcoming with where the money was going, meticulously detailed even. She had what, two (or three) jobs? And was selling off all of her crap/keeping people entertained with various commentary, blah blah blah. She received the same disdain tenfold. I couldn't... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 8:29 PM on March 22, 2004

He has a promising future composing music for the next release of DDR.

*found herself thinking, 'up up back back left up back' two seconds in*
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 7:55 PM on March 22, 2004

Perhaps the point of the game is for her to fake it well enough for him to get off (by clicking the blue button.)

This is a game?
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 1:02 AM on March 22, 2004

tech:

Let's say a man rapes and kills my 4-year old daughter. Heaven help me for even breathing the words, but let's say he does.

Let's say I then track that man down and kill him.

I was justified, right? Although I will still have to go to trial, because vigilantism is illegal. However, I'm pretty sure any intelligent jury of my peers will rule that I was at least crazy with grief, and justified in killing the fucker,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 6:00 PM on March 19, 2004

The first pick-up line I ever remebering being subjected to:

"Do you know what the queers are doing to the soil?"

I still remember being bummed out about losing my Beelzebubba tape when I moved from Virginia back to Philadelphia, my first home.

How truly sad.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 10:23 PM on March 11, 2004

trout just about summed it up.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 7:01 PM on March 7, 2004

Where is my cat/bunny apocalypse?
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 11:23 AM on March 7, 2004

This movie and the reactions to it are reminiscent of any great controversial debates, wherein one camp insists on detailing the truth of the matter in as gory a manner as possible, and the other cries foul for attempts of emotional manipulation.

We've fallen into this habit, for the sake of our sanity, of justifying atrocities and being able to live with them by dressing them up in some manner. Even our most realistic portrayals of some truly horrific crimes always... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 9:26 AM on February 24, 2004

Ugh. Just... ugh.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 12:21 PM on February 3, 2004

There was no wrestling move to speak of. The guy got his glasses knocked off/kinda shoved over. *Security* took Andrew (the kid who was protesting) down. There was no Al Franken ass-kicking or vice versa.

Spin Gone Wild.

Yes, I know a bunch of LaRouchies personally, and they tend to video tape everything. If you're a LaRouchie, that's pretty much all the protection you have.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 1:56 PM on January 29, 2004

And you guys are accepting that Orwellian/Huxleyan/Dickian world with nary a protest!

Some of us have gotten past the apathetic a.k.a. "sitting on your ass and crying in despair" phase, thanks.

If you were in Philadelphia 'round 10th and Market and saw a bunch of crazy kids protesting, passing out leaflets, singing "Jesu Meine Freude" and engaging the passersby in discussions about physics, humanity and the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 5:45 PM on January 17, 2004

Belatedly (and briefly), using derogatory language as an illustration of what's being said is a perfectly valid way of bringing light to it. It's a literary tactic, and a powerful one at that. From the reaction in-thread, those words hold quite a bit of power, and the fact that they still exist and are being used means that something's wrong. Cowering away from them certainly isn't going to help.

Political correctness is last thing we need, if we want to be aware of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 5:54 PM on January 11, 2004

This is really amusing. Thus far, he's been called an idiot because he accidentally deleted something (I've done it, call it a finger twitch) and was upset that he couldn't retrieve it; because he's not using the sort of terminology that someone who undoubtedly works in the computer field would use and-- oh, I love this,

He's not a Mac guy, he never will be, and he feels like he's been left out of the party.

That's hysterical!... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 5:16 PM on January 11, 2004

"Sarina" means Goddess in Arabic.
posted to MetaFilter by precocious at 4:59 PM on January 11, 2004