Hmmm

Joined

• started 13 topics
• posted 789 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Hmmm

• 
  14

  Help When Help Is Requested

  by Guest 77 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am writing this post in light of what sharon roe's said in her closing comments to the news-register, " if you're hurting,she says,get help.

  if you see someone hurting, reach out.

  i don't often write lengthy letters, but after reading sharon's letter, i was compelled to share a letter that i had written to an elder who took it upon himself to say that i was not repentant and this led to my expulsion.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Hmmm

  Bravo.

  Almost five years... don't suppose you've ever recieved any sort of reply?

  Hmmm
• 
  12

  May 16th 2002, Where are you going to be?

  by D8TA in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i'll be in line for star wars episode ii: attack of the clones.. i was 7 when star wars came out.

  but saw it a month after it was released.

  but for empire strikes back, return of the jedi and the phantom menace...i got in opening day.. uuugh!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Hmmm

  I'm leery of responding to you since I don't know if you're expecting a response or just thinking out loud like last time? I'll assume that you're thinking out loud, but since I'm still mad at Lucas for that b.s. he passed off as a "new" movie, I'll go ahead and list some... I say some... of the similarities between the two, anyway.

  That is too funny! I was leery (great minds think alike?) of even posting the question because you're famous for holding on to silly things and I didn't want it to end up in an argument. But then I figured, "It's a geeky Star Wars question. How in the world can it turn into an argument?" I'd hoped that the olive branch that I'd offered (in the post to which you allude) would have been accepted, though I couldn't tell because the post wasn't answered. I should have known you'd take a cheap pot shot at me. It's a very good ploy, actually; it allows you to snipe, but play martyr if I take the bait. Kudos to you!

  Now, the way I see it, we've both taken a pot shot. If you'd like to let it end at that, great! Otherwise, I'd be willing to continue it privately. My email is open. If you insist on keeping it public, then might I suggest the A&D forum?

  On to the geek-fest!

  The Jedi master's initial role is as an ambassador to negotiate some treaty or disagreement. ("Obi Wan... you're our only hope!!!)

  Good catch. I'd kind of forgotten how Obi-Wan got dragged into it all. However, the role of Jedi in the galaxy is one of Ambassador--it's probably their chief role in the Old Republic. It only makes sense that you'd see them doing Ambassadorial stuff. Because of their demi-godlike powers, they also play the role of Sheriff, so you'd expect to see them duke it out with some bad guys, too. Then again, since Jedi are almost extinct at this time, and the survivors are in hiding, she probably shouldn'd be expecting him to offer much ambassadorial help. But....

  The negotiations are less than successful and a princess, in distress, is in need of salvation.

  True

  Assistance from strangers on desolate outposts; contacts with dubious characters in bars.

  True, but it's pretty standard adventure fare.

  A Jedi finds a boy in whom he senses a strong flow of the force.

  True, but...

  The boy is a "natural" pilot.

  True, but...

  The boy decides the fight between good and bad in the end by destroying the mother ship of the bad guys.

  True, but...

  The Jedi-master dies in a lightsaber fight against a formidable former "good" Jedi who uses the dark side of the force.

  I disagree. If you're referring to Darth Maul, he was never a "good" Jedi. He was Sith from the beginning. Even if it were so, I'd say "True, but..."

  An award ceremony at the end of the movie.

  True.

  The comparisons go on and on and on. I was so pissed walking out of there I almost asked for my money back. Lucas pulled a fast one and laughed his ass off all the way to the bank, and that's a shame. Twenty years between the two movies and virtually no improvements, no growth in the story, and the look of outer space is better on Star Trek: Next Generation.

  But... Lucas was drawing parallels between the lives of the two protagonists in the two series. I think that's why you see so many similarities. I don't think he's in any way re-packaging the first movie and selling it again. I think he knows exactly where the story is going. I think it was by no means an accident that a young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi on an ambassadorial mission watches his mentor killed by one of the two Sith in the Galaxy. Then years later His student--Maul's replacement--starts on the road to his redemption by killing Ben on his last mission.

  The entire Star Wars story (six movies when finished) will be about the Messiah-like Anakin Skywalker and his quest to rid the galaxy of the Sith. Lucas didn't think the studios would allow him to make an entire fantasy/sci-fi series (IIRC, he originally planned nine movies) so when they threw him a bone after the success of American Graffiti, he made the one that he thought would be successful enough to justify more. Because of that, we don't even meet the REAL hero of his story--well, we meet him but we don't know it.

  I think the story IS growing, but growing by drawing the parallels between Anakin and his son, Luke. Luke's journey is ultimately to redeem Anakin, which by doing so, helps Anakin finish his own journey.

  I didn't like TPM that much, either, because of Jar-Jar Binks. But I hate Ewoks, too. Anyway, I don't claim that SW is Shakespeare, and it's not incredibly original, either. But Lucas knew that when he made it. He wanted to make the type of swashbuckling adventure movie (what we today would call a B-movie) that he grew up seeing at the Saturday Matinee. Still, I think there's a lot more going on under the hood than first glances would indicate.

  BTW, I think Lucas said his original plan was to have the entire series finished by 1987 or so. I remember thinking what a pity it was that the system wouldn't be around long enough for him to do so, and wondered if someone in the new system could finish it.

  Hmmm
• 
  12

  May 16th 2002, Where are you going to be?

  by D8TA in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i'll be in line for star wars episode ii: attack of the clones.. i was 7 when star wars came out.

  but saw it a month after it was released.

  but for empire strikes back, return of the jedi and the phantom menace...i got in opening day.. uuugh!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Hmmm

  teejay,

  If you don't mind me asking, how is PM in many ways a remake of ANH?
• 
  65

  Meet my Lil Man:)

  by mommy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey all.

  i just got home from the hospital earlier this evening, but i wanted to post a few pics of my lil man for you.

  i can't believe he is finally here!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Hmmm

  Congratulations. Ya done good!

  hmmm
• 
  18

  Whats the cruelest thing a JW has eva done to you

  by VioletAnai in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i think the most thoughtless thing they eva did to me...and it's rather embarrassing...is when i was still a jw at 14.. i'd just had an operation to remove a cyst and my left ovary due to polycystic ovarian syndrome.

  so i'm sitting at the district convention and i get up to go and have lunch with my mum cause i was sitting with an sister a little older than me - in her 20's.

  so i start walking across the oval and there's people everywhere and i'm getting a few looks, but hey, i was a paranoid teen, they made me agoraphobic, so i didn't think too much of it.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Hmmm

  The cruelest?

  Some elder I didn't even know held my arms against my chest so they couldn't move. Then he dunked me under water until I was unable to breath. When he let me up he said something like "Congratulations, brother."

  Hmmm
• 
  40

  Experiences: How you know it ain't the 'truth'

  by LDH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  please post your experiences here for any lurkers to read.

  when i was a teenager, there was a young lady early 20's who had moved into our cong.

  she had a newborn son and had just married her worldly boyfriend, the father of the baby.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Hmmm

  Let's see.... each Awake! issue has a circulation of what, 10 million or more? I wonder if the authors of that little perastroika (or glasnost, or Smirnoff, whatever it's called) book, with a circulation of probably a few thousand, would like to own a piece of a multi-gazillion dollar publishing empire. This kind of blatant plagiarism is illegal, and could be highly lucrative for the victim.

  Hmmm
• 
  41

  Get Out More / Questionaire.

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  is it true that americans are the least travelled people in the world?

  if that is the case, its hardly surprising when you read all the dire warnings contained inside a us passport.

  also, i am told that americans regard the rest of the world as a very dangerous place to be.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Hmmm

  Born and raised in the US. I'm still young enough that most of my travelling is ahead of me.

  So far I've only been to:

  Canada

  England (London and the Plymouth countryside)

  France (Paris sightseeing whirlwind tour)

  I think I stuck my toe into Mexico, once, just to say I'd done it.

  I've probably made trips to 12 different states in the US (not counting driving through one state to get to another).

  I agree that travel helps break down many of the cultural barriers we might unknowingly erect around ourselves. Americans are at a disadvantage in this regard. Most get two weeks of vacation a year, at most, and our jobs usually frown on us taking those two weeks at the same time. That and monetary considerations makes it pretty difficult to travel to another country.

  In terms of travelling to Europe, where you can expect to be exposed to a number of different cultures, not many Americans can swing it. The US as a whole has a decent standard of living, but we're not all rich. It's a considerable expense just to get across the pond. Europeans can take a two-week bus tour of Europe that covers ten countries. Americans can spend two weeks on a bus and travel through ten states--but they're still in the US.

  I'm not sure that Americans think it's really all that dangerous to travel to most European countries. The State Department often releases travel warnings for some South American countries, though. Except for the tourist spots, you probably wont see Americans just wandering around El Salvador.

  My next travel target is back to France on the way Spain. Depending on my work schedule, I'm hoping to go there this fall or next spring. Then I'd like to see Athens, Italy and the beautiful Greek city of Rome.

  Hmmm
• 
  21

  When Leaving - what did you find hardest to do??

  by lydia in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when you left the borg.... what things did you find hardest to do again ( or for the first time?)?.

  was it celebrating the holidays for the first time, or talking to a "worldly person"?.

  how long till it began to feel normal?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Hmmm

  Lose my virginity

  Hmmm
• 
  29

  cheer me up

  by flower in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know its shamelessly and selfish to post but i'm really depressed.

  someone pls try to cheer me up?

  tell me a joke or something?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Hmmm

  I usually get performance anxiety when women expect me to perform on command (which probably explains why I can't keep a girlfriend) but I'll give it a shot.

  Skeeter and Jeb just LOVE to hunt, but all the prime hunting areas near them are too crowded with other hunters, and all the game has been scared away.

  Skeeter hears about a piece of land that's supposed to have the best hunting in the state. The only problem is, it's owned by an old preacher who is famous as the orneriest, most miserable person around.

  Well, hunting season is drawing to a close, so Skeeter and Jeb decide to try to convince the old guy to let them hunt on his land. They leave work early Friday afternoon and get packed for a long weekend.

  Bright and early Saturday morning they hit the road. They drive across the state and get to the old preacher's county early in the afternoon. They stop and ask directions a few times, and each time they're warned that they're wasting their time; the old man NEVER let's anyone hunt on his land.

  But skeeter and Jeb don't want to give up now, so they drive up the long, winding dirt road to the old preacher's shack. On the way they pass signs that read: NO TRESSPASSING and POACHERS WILL BE SHOT.

  They finally pull up in front of a dilapidated old shack with no electricity, a sagging roof, and pigs and chickens in the dusty yard.

  Skeeter says, "Wait here, Jeb. I'll go talk to him and see if the guy will let us hunt on his land for the weekend."

  Skeeter walks up the creaking wooden steps and knocks on the door.

  An ancient man, who is 100 if he's a day, answers the door looking forlorn.

  "Pardon me, sir," says Skeeter, "but my friend and I have driven clear across the state because we heard that you have the best hunting land around. You're famous for your generosity, and we were hoping you'd see fit to allow us to camp out on your land this weekend. We wouldn't be any trouble, and we'd be glad to pay you for the privilege."

  "Got no use for money," the preacher snaps. Skeeter pauses, trying to think of what to say next, when the old man looks up at him, the eyes of a tortured man peering up from beneath bushy eyebrows. "Tell you what," the old man says, "you can hunt on my land this weekend, if you do me a favor."

  "Name it," Skeeter replies.

  "You see that old mule over there?"

  Skeeter looks off to the side of the porch and sees the sorriest, mangiest excuse for a mule he's ever seen. It's half-starved, sway-backed, and there are patches of fur missing from its coat. The poor wretched creature doesn't even have the energy to swat the flies that are tormenting it.

  "That's Bessie," the preacher says. "I've had her since she was just a (whatever baby mules are called). Well she's up in years now. Got arthuritus, blind, no appetite. She's in nothin' but pain now, and really ought to be put out of her misery. But I just can't bring myself to do it. She and my other friends here," he says, indicating the animals scattered around the property, "are my only friends."

  "You want me to put her down for you?" asks Skeeter.

  "If you'd be so kind," replies the preacher.

  "I'd be happy to, sir."

  "Just let me get inside so I don't have to watch." The old man turns, tears in his eyes, whispers one final farewell to Bessie, and goes inside his lonely little shack.

  Now Skeeter is famous as a prankster, and he figures this would be a good time to pull one over an Jeb. He waits till the preacher is well inside, then he stomps off the porch, kicking up dust and cussing up a storm. He gets back into his pickup truck and slams the door.

  "He said no, didn't he?" asks Jeb.

  "That crazy old coot! I begged and pleaded with him! I told him that we drove all night to get here! I told him we'd pay him! Nothing I said made any difference to him," he fumes.

  Skeeter rants on for a few more minutes, then says, "Well I'll show that miserable old badger!" He grabs his hunting rifle from the gun rack behind his seat, wheels, aims at Bessie the mule, and fires.

  BANG!

  He watches Bessie keel over from a clean shot through the neck, and tries to keep from laughing and giving away the joke.

  BANG!
  BANG!

  "I got two of his pigs," Jeb says. "Let's get outta here!"

  Thank you. Thank you. I'll be here all week. Try the veal.
  Hmmm
• 
  15

  What should I do?

  by Shimmer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just got a call from a very sweet sister from the kingdom hall, telling me that i am her householder for her talk tomorrow night.

  i have not been to a meeting since november.

  i have managed to avoid elder's calls.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Hmmm

  I agree with Expat. This sweet sister is probably being used by the elders to try to pull you back in.

  If you'd feel bad not calling her back, then call and lie through your teeth. That might sound bad, but you're just like her--an actor merely playing a part.

  Whatever you do, don't go back, and don't tell her the truth.

  Hmmm