Posts by Palimpsest

37

Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes

by scotsman in

jw
friends

i'm hardly the biggest fan but i thought this was genuinely funny.

he held a mirror up to the overpaid botoxed schmucks and some of them found it funny.

but i'm hearing there's a bit of a criticism.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvhxzp2spla.

Palimpsest

and the disaster that follows

What disaster? Even Gervais says the U.S. version is superior in many ways. I know that's sacrilege and all, but...

I don't understand why people feel like it's an either/or. They're different shows. They needn't always be weighed against each other. It was always intended to be loosely-based, not a carbon copy. I'm beginning to think the national sport of England is Dunder-Mifflin hating. ;)

Also: Matt LeBlanc? Really? I'm sorry.

I was surprised to find out that he really suffered from life long depression.

The best comics usually do.

18

"The Simpsons" - Is Ned Flanders based on a Jehovah's Witness? Did you have one?

by Witness 007 in

a self serving, self rightoues, judgemental fool who's favourite swear word is "fudge" did you know any "flanders" types at the kingdom hall.

we had a special pioneer who would mention "the wonders of jehovah's creation"...while we were cleaning the kingdom hall toilets!!!

.

Palimpsest

Total Simpsons nerd here. I believe it's said in one of the DVD commentaries that much of his character development came from early writer Jeff Martin, whose father was a (Baptist, I believe?) preacher. He wrote the first Flanders episodes and has talked a lot about him in interviews. The intent of Flanders was to give Homer a rival he could never live up to -- Flanders lives the perfect American life, while Homer lives the average one. The unrelenting moral "do-gooder-ness" of Flanders contrasts with Homer's total lack of care for anyone else. Flanders always gets ahead, Homer always falls behind. Flanders is a pillar of the community, Homer occasionally gets arrested. And so on.

I've personally always found Flanders to be one of the most likeable characters on the show. His only major flaw is being too kind to others. For a notoriously atheist show (which I love!), I think they do a beautiful job of turning him into a character you end up appreciating instead of just mocking.

(Okay, I am SUCH a Simpsons fan stereotype. I took a casual question and got all nerdy with it. Sorry, neighborinos! ;))

69

Seriously Considering A Billboard Ad?

by laverite in

jw
friends

a full billboard ad in my area along a busy heavily travelled highway would cost about $500.

would probably get lots of attention and maybe even a news article, who knows.

$500 is cheap and easily affordable.

Palimpsest

A thought, for what it's worth:

There's an understanding in social psychology that, when a group feels threatened or attacked by outsiders, that fear pushes them deeper in. To JWs, seeing public attacks against them fulfills End Times prophecy, which in turn makes the JW platform seem more credible. They were told this would happen, and -- hey, look, it is! The GB must be right!

If you look at some more dramatic examples -- Jonestown, Branch Davidians, FLDS, and so on -- it's all of that criticism over time that makes the groups stronger and more isolated. It's a great tactic for keeping people in.

So if the goal is to get active JWs to reconsider, is it more likely that it will backfire? And if the goal is to educate others, is it worth the risks? Those are some questions to ask.

37

Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes

by scotsman in

jw
friends

i'm hardly the biggest fan but i thought this was genuinely funny.

he held a mirror up to the overpaid botoxed schmucks and some of them found it funny.

but i'm hearing there's a bit of a criticism.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvhxzp2spla.

Palimpsest

The Office (not the dreadful American remake) was one of the best comedy shows ever.

Wow, it took a whole seven posts to get to the tired U.S. Office pot-shot that's obligatory in any Internet discussion of Gervais or the show! I'm impressed. ;)

In any case: Ricky Gervais is the single most underutilized person in Hollywood. We don't deserve talent like that in America if we don't appreciate it like we should.

He's no Robin Williams.

And we're all better for it.

9

129 million Americans have preexisting health conditions

by designs in

if you have a medical insurance policy chances are you can't switch to another provider or can't get coverage period.

when your insurance provider raises premiums this year 30%-60% and you have reached the highest level of deductible what are your plans to address your family's medical needs.. in the national debate of health care what solutions do you see as practical.

how can the current federal policy be ratified or improved over time to address this national crisis..

Palimpsest

I have absolutely no clue why a picture of Mose Schrute accompanies the above article, but that just made my day.

56

If you could ask one question to an active JW to get them to open their mind about their beliefs, what would it be?

by Franklin Massey in

jw
friends

this question was posed to me by a poster named ice cream.

i don't know my answer yet.

it's one of those, "if you could have just one wish.." kind of questions.

Palimpsest

Today's question for them would be:

"How is it that the Governing Body tells you to trust in modern science to help save your life through bloodless surgery, yet you refuse to believe in science about virtually anything else?"

I guess it would depend on my mood and what was bothering me on that particular day. Today, I'm thinking about the whole "the world is 6,000 years old" thing and just shaking my head.

32

Jonny, the WTB&TS, and hacking

by MeanMrMustard in

jw
friends

this is my first thread at jwn.

i have posted only a few times on other threads.

i am a third generation jw turned ex-jw, inactive for six years.

Palimpsest

Eh, "Johnny" just screams false flag to me. Maybe from Brooklyn, sure, or just as likely some zealous elder/wannabe Bethelite with nothing better to do. (Or, uh...the people behind that site. Ahem.)

Remember that cheesy Sandra Bullock movie The Net? Johnny's conspiracy theory is like a wisely discarded subplot from that. You log on to Facebook one night via screechy dial-up, you post an innocent remark about missing the TMS to stay home and watch the game, and -- BAM! -- a bunch of Brooklyn goosesteppers show up at your door and take you off to a bunker in Wallkill for Chinese water torture. And then someone from Six Screens shows up and tries to break you out, but just as you're beginning to trust them, you realize...they're actually working for the GB. Oh. My. God. And then there's a car chase with an explosion at the end. Very, very intense. Plus all that sexual tension between Johnny and the kindly young, single, attractive (once her glasses come off, naturally) Bethelite named Kate, the only one who sees the anti-religion superhero lurking inside of him. When he finds her...he finds himself.

We should pitch this to someone. It's at least equally believable as his story.

33

Shocking if True: Muslim Inbreeding

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://goldismoney2.com/showthread.php?9030-muslim-inbreeding.

i read a brief muslim apologia piece on this and found it to be weak.

if these numbers are really true, it is shocking.

Palimpsest

The reality is that cousin marriage was very common the 1600s and 1700s in America, and it didn't really start to taper off until the 1800s. Anyone who's done even the slightest bit of genealogical research in colonial New England or Virginia, for example, knows you can't get away from it. Even among the upper-class Boston Brahmins, it was fairly routine. So the Americans who get creeped out and think, "Well, I'm not inbred" might want to rethink that one...

In any case, bohm gets it right. This is one of the classic accusations thrown at any "scary" group on the rise. And I have to say that if there's any country in the world with a clear agenda against Muslims right now, it's Denmark.

Also, I'm probably not going to get my information on this subject from a gold and silver forum...

32

Jonny, the WTB&TS, and hacking

by MeanMrMustard in

jw
friends

this is my first thread at jwn.

i have posted only a few times on other threads.

i am a third generation jw turned ex-jw, inactive for six years.

Palimpsest

Yeah, his technical "wisdom" did not impress me in any way. And I hate the misuse of the term "hacking."

My IP address for example shows my neighborhood

My primary IP address isn't even in my area code. Hell, it's not even in my state. And I tend to post on boards from home, work, and my phone, so I'm all over the place. I really don't think most people understand how IPs work. The whole "We've got your IP and we're gonna git you!" thing just doesn't work in the real world. Everyone can relax. ;)

More importantly: I could give a **** if the WTBTS were to ever watch what I do on-line. I watch what they do in public, so I feel like I still have the upperhand.

9

What does Atheists, Agonostics and 99.97% of religion have in common?

by jam in

what is the one true religion?

whichever religion is selected,.

all the other religions believe that your religion is wrong.. therfore, the the universal agreement among all religion.

Palimpsest

peacefulpete, I'm aware that the Bahá'í Faith does have rules and expectations regarding theology and personal behavior, but my larger point was that theirs is a faith that incorporates tenets and embraces prophets from many other faiths.

Also, I'm not sure why you're using the past tense for the Society of Friends. Their faith has evolved quite a bit from the 1600s, which seems to be the period you're citing, and the FGC, FUM, and other mainstream Friends conferences today are so open to "outside" views that they even have entire programming available for agnostic and atheist members. What you're describing is not the Society of today.

Either way, my point wasn't to say that they're all lovey-dovey and everyone should go run and join them. My point is simply that not all religions are close-minded.