it's reading stuff like this that makes me regret not having cable. Although with this situation past, I don't see the need to ever have cable again. Vonnegut on the Daily Show? Doesn't get much better than that. I love all of his books, but I think I'd have to say that my two favorites are Cat's Cradle and Breakfast of Champions, with Bluebeard coming in as a close runner up.
I heard him speak after the release of Foma, Wampeter, and Granfaloons (sp?). It was cool to hear his words in his own voice. And I have no idea how I didn't see the Twain resemblance before.
Cognitive_Dissident
JoinedPosts by Cognitive_Dissident
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Vonnegut on Daily Show
by joelbear inkurt vonnegut is definitely one of my heroes.
he was only on for like 8 minutes but i was totally enthralled.. my favorites of his are galapagos, cat's cradle and welcome to the monkey house.
incredible insight on the human condition.
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Cognitive_Dissident
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LIAR
by talesin inim a liar, ooh, im a liar.
but if youll give me another chance i swear ill never lie to you again.
i lie you, i feel good, i am a liar, yeah.
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Cognitive_Dissident
wow, completely killed that topic.
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Help! Spanish language materials needed for potential WTS convert
by M.J. inanyone have any suggestions on effective spanish language audio/video/web materials to deter a spanish-speaking christian lady from continuing her study with the jws?
the jws have been visiting her for 3 or 4 months, but the indoctrination has not yet kicked in, apparently.
according to my sources, she "loves jesus" but was hurt by some people in her local church.
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Cognitive_Dissident
available on amazon - Crisis de Conciencia/Crisis of Conscience
also available in spanishAcercandose A los Testigos de Jehova Con Amor / Approaching Jehovah's Witnesses in Love20 Inquietantes Preguntas Para los Testigos de Jehova / 20 Important Questions for Jehovah's Witnesses
Historias, Doctrinas y Herejias de los Testigos de Jehova / Histories, Doctrines and Heresies of the Jehovah's Witnesses
I couldn't find anything in video or audio format about the seedy underbelly of WTBTS, maybe someone else will have a little more luck or know where to look. Good luck!
Cog (edited to remove those two titles, as I saw they are published by the Christian Literature Crusade, and are most likely pushing an agenda of their own.) -
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Help! Spanish language materials needed for potential WTS convert
by M.J. inanyone have any suggestions on effective spanish language audio/video/web materials to deter a spanish-speaking christian lady from continuing her study with the jws?
the jws have been visiting her for 3 or 4 months, but the indoctrination has not yet kicked in, apparently.
according to my sources, she "loves jesus" but was hurt by some people in her local church.
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Cognitive_Dissident
m.j. - I did find one website that has good information on the witnesses blood policy and their involvement with the UN. It is http://www.geocities.com/tjqaa/.
And another page that breaks down the changes and hypocrisies of the blood policy, http://www.ajwrb.org/foreign/abstain-port.shtml(sorry, that one is in portugese, not spanish). This is the address of the page on the UN and the Society's status as an NGO - http://www.geocities.com/tjqaa/un3.html. More on the UN and NGO status - http://www.geocities.com/tjqaa/un.html.
I'm going to do some more searching online and see if I can find a site where you can order a video or cassette or maybe watch or listen to something online.
More coming...
Cog -
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How do you interact on the board?
by Fe2O3Girl inhow do you use the board?
do you bother reading people's posts when you start a topic, and acknowledge their response?.
do you read all the posts on a thread when you post to see if someone has added more details, or already posted what you would have said?
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Cognitive_Dissident
Hey, so what's the topic here? Ha, just kidding. I kill me.
Do you bother reading people's posts when you start a topic, and acknowledge their response? I haven't started too many topics, ok one, but I did check on it and respond.
Do you read all the posts on a thread when you post to see if someone has added more details, or already posted what you would have said? Or just respond to the original post and ignore the rest? Yes to the first, no to the second.
Are you an old thread reviver, bringing 3 year old threads back to the top? Nope.
Do you feel it is very important to type a response to a troll that made one post three days ago and hasn't said anything since? Not if it's old, but if it's fresh I like to throw my two cents in.
Do you find that you get very little feedback to your posts, or that you are generally a thread killer? So far I feel like I've gotten good feedback from the posts I've made. And I'm sure at some point I'll completely kill a thread, although I haven't done it yet. I'm still pretty new, though, so I'm sure it's bound to happen.
and Tetrapod - I'm a big fan of your writing, your posts were my first introduction to Dawkins, of whom I now have slight knowledge of, as opposed to the none I had before. -
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defd, Re: Leaving JW's and reading the Bible daily
by DazedAndConfused inthe other day you created a thread with this question: .
does anyone who left jehovahs organization, still read the bible daily?
honestly do you?
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Cognitive_Dissident
seems like a case of projection gone awry - coming here to rail on the "unbelievers" in order to quiet the uneasiness inside, and hope that it goes away. I wonder if he's actually trying to convince himself, because it should be apparent by now that he's not convincing anyone else.
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defd, Re: Leaving JW's and reading the Bible daily
by DazedAndConfused inthe other day you created a thread with this question: .
does anyone who left jehovahs organization, still read the bible daily?
honestly do you?
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Cognitive_Dissident
: Nowhere can I find it in the Bible were you are required to read the Bible daily. Can you give me the scripture, as I must have missed it?
the following is the scripture that comes to mind when we were told to read the bible daily at the meetings. (The quote is from the NWT, haven't picked up a different translation yet, though I have one or two in mind)
Psalms 1:1,2 -
"(1)Happy is the man that has not walked in the
counsel of the wicked ones,
And in the way of sinners has not stood,
And in the seat of ridiculers has not sat. (which is also relevant to this discussion)
(2)But his delight is in the law of Jehovah,
And in his law he reads
in an undertone day and night. "
Even in this scripture, it is not a command. It is an observation, not an imperative, and one that is very open to interpretation - unless someone feels he has the absolute definitions of "happy", "walked", "counsel", "wicked", "sinners", "ridiculers", "law of Jehovah", and "law", and also feels that it should all be taken very literally.
I am still waiting for an answer to the question I asked you earlier, defd. I actually asked you quite a few questions, all of which you completely ignored, but the main one, again, was this -
Defd, I want to ask you an honest question. Why do you visit this discussion board? I honestly would like to know.
(edited to fix the highlighting, since nothing that I wanted to be was) -
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LIAR
by talesin inim a liar, ooh, im a liar.
but if youll give me another chance i swear ill never lie to you again.
i lie you, i feel good, i am a liar, yeah.
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Cognitive_Dissident
I had to add this song too: Misery is the River of the World, by Tom Waits - in my opinion one of the most gifted lyricists of the last twenty-five years. And his music is amazing as well. Come to think of it, I want to have his babies. You know, if that sort of thing were kosher. And yes, I mean that if having Tom Waits' babies was a thing fit to be eaten by Jews, then I would do it. Holy crap, I need to get more sleep.
Here are the lyrics
Misery's the River of the World
Misery's the River of the World
The higher that the monkey can climb
The more he shows his tail
Call no man happy 'til he dies
There's no milk at the bottom of the pail
God builds a church
The devil builds a chapel
Like the thistles that are growing
'round the thrunk of a tree
All the good in the world
You can put inside a thimble
And still have room for you and me
If there's one thing you can say
About Mankind
There's nothing kind about man
You can drive out nature with a pitch fork
But it always comes roaring back again
Misery's the River of the World
Misery's the River of the World
Misery's the River of the World
For want of a bird
The sky was last
For want of a nail
A shoe was last
For want of a life
The knife was last
For want of a toy
A child was last
Misery's the River of the World
Misery's the River of the World
Everybody Row! Everybody Row!
Misery's the River of the World
Misery's the River of the World
Everybody Row! Everybody Row! -
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LIAR
by talesin inim a liar, ooh, im a liar.
but if youll give me another chance i swear ill never lie to you again.
i lie you, i feel good, i am a liar, yeah.
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Cognitive_Dissident
my #1 all time favorite song to absolutely crank till my ears bleed when I'm incredibly pissed off or need to vent some serious steam is Killing in the Name Of, by Rage Against the Machine. I don't have time to get the full lyrics as I'm about to leave for class, but the last two minutes of the song consists of a really hard Rage groove with Zach de la Rocha singing/screaming:
F**k you I won't do whatcha tell me!
F**k you I won't do whatcha tell me!
F**k you I won't do whatcha tell me!
F**k you I won't do whatcha tell me!
and finally
Motherf**ker!!!
that song really brings out the rebellious side in me that is usually hidden beneath a thick layer of self-deprecating intellectualism and sarcasm. I wonder why? -
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defd, Re: Leaving JW's and reading the Bible daily
by DazedAndConfused inthe other day you created a thread with this question: .
does anyone who left jehovahs organization, still read the bible daily?
honestly do you?
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Cognitive_Dissident
Defd, I want to ask you an honest question. Why do you visit this discussion board? I honestly would like to know. Because by the tone of your post that started this thread, it does not seem as if you've got much of an open mind toward any belief, or lack thereof, which does not coincide exactly with what you perceive to be a mandate from God, to do things a very specific way. This is more than a little ironic, since you are an active member of a discussion board that is made up of people who the religion you're defending has cast off, and view as beneath contempt.
Do you post here with the intention of getting some to realize what you consider to be the "error in their ways"? Do you ask questions with the honest intention of listening, with an open mind, to their replies; or are you simply asking questions to try to "teach" us, and "realign" our thinking? Because it seems very much like you are employing the field service tactic (which I'm sure we all used to use) of asking your "householder"(us) questions, and then only listening for answers that fall within the narrow scope of "acceptable", or "sheep-like", responses; completely ignoring and being unwilling to try to truly understand someone else's point of view, and accept it as just as valid as your own.
You are obviously brave enough to frequent an "apostate" discussion board, so why not take the next step and let go of the need to judge others based on your beliefs. The world's a much nicer place when you don't have to worry about "helping" people "see" that they're wrong.
Please let me know, as I am curious to hear your answer.
Cog