Roger

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Posts by Roger

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  107

  Can we talk? . . .

  by exwitless in

  1. social
  2. humour

  hey, this is under jokes and humor, so don't get too offended.

  i just wanted to vent about how people say things incorrectly, such as pronouncing things wrong or saying phrases wrong.

  i'll start, and if you have any to add, please feel free.

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  Roger

  Brilliant, I've thoroughly enjoyed this too. Of course, I take it all in the spirit in which it was intended.

  A few of my own; when someone says they've 'learned' someone something instead of teaching them, or 'lent' an item when they borrowed.

  Or when they 'won' someone else in a race instead of beat them.

  And what about 'pacifically' instead of specifically.

  And my point of the moment is 'less' instead of 'fewer'. Lynn Truss says she refuses to patronise supermarkets which have tills for 'ten items or less' when it should be fewer. [The rule is it's 'fewer' when there's more than one item (such as 'fewer people') but 'less' when it's a smaller amount of a single item ('less of a crowd'). It took me a little while to get the hang of, but once I did, it stick's out like a sore thumb.]

  I'm terrified now about getting this post accurate, and realise that those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, but just can't resist it. I would never correct someone I didn't know well, and make sure they always know the spirit I offer it in.

  And I LOVE prostate for prostrate, but sometimes have to correct myself before it slips out .
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  10

  My most favorite commercial ever...

  by kittyeatzjdubs in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm normally a somewhat cynical person and tend to be annoyed by commercials....but the first time i saw this commercial, i dropped what i was doing and had to watch it.

  then i had to get on the internet and find the extended version.

  i don't know if it's the music, the color, or just the beauty of it all combined, but this is the only commercial that can bring tears to my eyes everytime i watch it.. oh....and the song is ''heartbeats'' by jose gonzales.

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  Roger

  Lovely tune, that 'Heartbeats'. Nice ad too.

  This here is one of mine, certainly in the top three. It's an Australian ad for Carlton beer, and it was on TV during my time in Oz last year, so loaded with good memories too.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZslkC4y2qY

  Hope that works.
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  14

  apostafest uk?

  by pobthespazz in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  to all the folks in the uk, will anyone be organizing a fest any time this year , perhaps an apostacurry or apostachinese?

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  Roger

  I would love to go to an apostafest, and have two brothers (real brothers, not that kind) who would come too. I'm up in the north east (that's your territory, Gadget) but am prepared to travel. I've been wanting to go to one for a long time, but have only recently started posting again after a bit of a sabbatical,
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  10

  Try a few 'finger ' exercises of your own!!!

  by Gill in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do you remember the talks about meeting attendance?.

  the meetings were likened to the five fingers of the hand.

  with these five fingers, a person was able to grip their spirituality, represented by the brother giving the talk holding his bible firmly and it would be a good sign of their spiritual strength therefore that they attended all five meetings.. however, if one meeting was missed, the grip on the bible/spirituality would be weaker.

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  Roger

  I remember that analogy too, I think I was quite impressed at the time, though now I truely wonder about the relevance. I mean, can't you make an analogy mean anything? I remember one talk about 'bouncing your sack', refering to the fact you can get more, rubbish say, in a bag if you bounce it up and down. And this was used to ask if you were getting out on the ministry enough, could you do more, even if you think your 'sack is full'. I mean, what is the relevance in that?
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  11

  Over eating yes, smoking no...why?

  by Justice-One in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why does the society hate smoking so much?

  because it is "defiling" the body?

  if that is the case, what about drinking coffee, or over-eating?

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  Roger

  From a medical point of view, there's no such thing as 'safe' level of tobacco consumption, where there is for food and alcohol. I believe the WHO say that cigarettes are the only legally available product that will kill half of it's users if used in the way it is meant. So tobacco is definitely the worst of those vices.

  That's an interesting point on spiritism, I didn't realise they linked tobacco to that (but do remember the threat about drugs from the Paradise book, Crumpet. A catch-all threat, akin to the Catholic Church's love of hell).
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  22

  WERE YOU A SICK WITNESS???

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  while you were a jw, were you generally feeling ill?

  ------did you know of persons that were initially pretty healthy but got depressed and sick because they never felt they could do enough??

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  Roger

  On the topic of mental illness, we had a lot of people in the congregation who were 'bad with their nerves' (not sure if this is a British or north-eastern expression), which generally meant they were anxious, depressed or both. These people would often come to the Hall with the classic triad of neck collar, dark glasses and walking stick, which nearly always implies a psychosomatic component to their physical symptoms. In retrospect, we had a lot of quite seriously (mentally) ill too, schizophrenics and bipolar plus a whole range of other problems. I never worked out though, how much of this was induced, how much inherited and also how many ill people were attracted to the witnesses, or actually encouraged to the hall as vulnerable 'interested' ones, people who just needed some support.
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  10

  An Overdue Return

  by Roger in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  dear all,.

  hi, i'm roger, and it's been about two years since i posted on here, though i've kept an eye on the forum to keep up with the zeitgeist.

  i've been reading a lot recently, and have felt i'd like to add some points of my own, but when it's been so long i felt it difficult before making some kind of apology for my absence.

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  Roger

  Thanks for the welcome guys.
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  16

  Socially Stunted?...you betcha.

  by Lumptard in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my apologies if this has been done to death, but i was just curious how many of you feel that you have been socially crippled as a result of your association with the jws?

  granted, this probably affects people who were raised as jws more than those who chose for themselves, but i just wanted to see if anyone else has had the same experience...also, how did you work through it if you were able to?

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  Roger

  I find the social anxiety the hardest thing to deal with.

  Not really sure quite where mine came from. I know I didn't have it before I left, but then I was young and maybe going to develop it anyway. My prime suspect is the mental anguish that comes with having to leave behind your friends that you grew up with, have to stand up and justify your beliefs to grown men in a private room when you're little more than a boy yourself and then to be cold shouldered by your parents for years until the dust settles.

  I still struggle with it to this day, and it comes in waves. I'm not convinced I'll ever be free of it neither. But, I'd rather put up with this than have the blind reassurance I had as a witness.
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  11

  What will they do when the blood ban has no meaning ?

  by A Paduan in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  people will invent ways of making blood, eventually, no doubt.

  they will probably have synthetic substitutes for the short term and be able to grow or clone it off our own dna or something before too long.

  so what will the org do for martyrs and publicity then ?

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  Roger

  I would have thought it would be almost impossible for the society to abandon the blood ban, and maintain an acceptable profile to the world. Certainly colleagues of mine know witnesses ONLY for their stance on blood (and door-knocking of course). Without blood, they would be nothing.
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  10

  An Overdue Return

  by Roger in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  dear all,.

  hi, i'm roger, and it's been about two years since i posted on here, though i've kept an eye on the forum to keep up with the zeitgeist.

  i've been reading a lot recently, and have felt i'd like to add some points of my own, but when it's been so long i felt it difficult before making some kind of apology for my absence.

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  Roger

  Dear All,

  Hi, I'm Roger, and it's been about two years since I posted on here, though I've kept an eye on the forum to keep up with the zeitgeist. I've been reading a lot recently, and have felt I'd like to add some points of my own, but when it's been so long I felt it difficult before making some kind of apology for my absence. Good to see some familiar names, and an awful lot of new ones too of course.

  My own brief story will be no doubt common; brought up in the spoof-truth in the north east of england, faded and left at the age of eighteen, assisted greatly by leaving home and going to university, where I fortunately met great friends who hadn't shunned anyone and helped me start again.

  That was twelve years ago now, and I never looked back. Now, my parents are (unfortunately) still faithful, but all of my siblings have joined me on the other side. It saddens me to read of your heart-rending stories of families gone wrong, I know how lucky I am for what I have, even though my parents have yet to see the light.

  Looking forward to catching up guys,