Posts by La Capra

32

Learning Guitar - What is a good beginner guitar - (sell me yours?)

by confusedjw in

i've been learning to play for the last 3 weeks and would like to buy myself an acoustical guitar.

i've borrowed two, one is a wonderful yamaha and the other is a fender made in china, plywood and it sounds not so good.

those of you who have gone through this - what would you recommend to me if i were your favorite poster?.

La Capra

I studied music in college and learned many instruments to get my degree. One thing that I discovered the hard way (through injury) is that of all musicians, beginners need good instruments with good action, playability and tone. Otherwise, musicians learn on a poor instrument and pick up bad habits, positions and techniques to compensate for a poor instrument. Beginners get more satisfying results and are more likely to stick with it when they start with a good instrument.

Whatever you learn to play, get a good instrument. Buy a used one from a local music store that is run by musicians that play themselves. If you change your mind, you can always sell it back and consider the "loss" as your rental cost on the instrument.

Shoshana (who had to give up playing her instrument because years playing on an inferior model caused permanent neck injuries.)

37

Famous lines from the toons? Got any?

by AK - Jeff in

.

"phineas j whoopee you're the greatest".

.

La Capra

Whimpy disguises himself as Popeye to get hamburgers. Bluto beats the crap out of Whimpy, thinking he's Popeye. Olive Oyle says, in that nasal Olive Oyle voice, "serves you right for looking like Popeye." My brothers and I saw this ancient cartoon one time and immediately adopted the phrase when something bad happened to another one of us. It is in our family lexicon. Even my mom says it every once in awhile... (You have to say it like Olive Oyle). Shoshana

9

Twenty four elders?

by Anony-Mouse in

jw
friends

i dunno if this is just me or what but.... .

i have never heard of this!

nearing 17 years...and just recently the words "twenty-four elders" has popped up 3 or 4 times.

La Capra

Six is significant because it is the number of creative days. Then they multiply everything by 1000. But aren't JWs prohibited from "numerology." Declaring a particular number as significant smacks of number worship, or something ominous or prophetic or whatever. My 24 cents. Shoshana

52

Starbucks

by Sailor Ripley in

jw
friends

i can't help it... i love the freakin' place!.

i know it's insanely expensive, has long lines and possibly, no, actually is quite obnoxious.

i don't care.

La Capra

I agree with Cyd all the way. I can't stomach their regular coffee, espressos, lattes or cappuccinos. I need at least a mocha to find their product to be a delicious way to sustain my caffeine addiction. The over-roasting for conistensy explains it. I have to add tons of stuff to it to make it palatable. I never choose Starbucks. However, some of their coffee mugs and thermoses are very nice. I have a few of those.

I'm a Peets girl myself. What a snob.

Shoshana

59

2006 WorldWide Service Report

by Midget-Sasquatch in

jw
friends

here it is scanned straight from the feb 1 2007 wt:.

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/5103/rep01dc4.jpg.

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/3761/rep02xh5.jpg.

La Capra

World population growth hovers around 1.5%-1.8% per year worldwide. Their increase remains proportional with world population growth. They must breed at the same rate and die at the same rate as everyone else. When the increases are lower than the population grwoth in any particular country, it means, ultimately, they are losing.

Fascinating statistic crunch, would love to do it, but I don't have the time.

Shoshana

44

This is so huge.

by La Capra in

jw
friends

when i was four, i believed that my life could be painfully and tortuously taken from me, in a ball of flame, crashing down from the heavens, just while i sitting down to a bowl of oatmeal in the morning.. when i was nine, i believed that my life, as i then knew it, would be drastically altered, that i would be tortured for being a jw, and after suffering for who knows how long, i would die (because i still hadn't lived up to jehovah's expectations).. when i was 13, i wanted to be a nuclear physicist-because it sounded cool, but in the meantime i believed that i would die in armageddon because i wanted to go to college, get really educated, and have a great, "worldly" life.. when i was 15, i felt guilty that i hoped armageddon would never come, because i so desperately wanted to go to college.. when i was 17, i was offered an honors early admissions in a prestigious program in a highly regarded engineering program.

my mother flat out said, "no!".

when i was 18, i scuttled semi-secretly to the local university, part-time, trying to hide my daily activities without actually lying to anyone.. when i was 19 i quit pretending and disassociated.

La Capra

I'm happy to report that I am spending the day packing up my bar exam review materials to return them to the monopolistic Barbri for a deposit refund. I will drive into San Francisco tomorrow afternoon to deliver them in person.

The worst is over. My graduating class was only 32% successful on this test.

Shoshana

44

This is so huge.

by La Capra in

jw
friends

when i was four, i believed that my life could be painfully and tortuously taken from me, in a ball of flame, crashing down from the heavens, just while i sitting down to a bowl of oatmeal in the morning.. when i was nine, i believed that my life, as i then knew it, would be drastically altered, that i would be tortured for being a jw, and after suffering for who knows how long, i would die (because i still hadn't lived up to jehovah's expectations).. when i was 13, i wanted to be a nuclear physicist-because it sounded cool, but in the meantime i believed that i would die in armageddon because i wanted to go to college, get really educated, and have a great, "worldly" life.. when i was 15, i felt guilty that i hoped armageddon would never come, because i so desperately wanted to go to college.. when i was 17, i was offered an honors early admissions in a prestigious program in a highly regarded engineering program.

my mother flat out said, "no!".

when i was 18, i scuttled semi-secretly to the local university, part-time, trying to hide my daily activities without actually lying to anyone.. when i was 19 i quit pretending and disassociated.

La Capra

Thank you everyone.

I plan to finish out teaching the school year-partly because I have several JW students that I am teaching how to think (WTBTS logic is no match for high geometry logic, I hope).

I spent most of law school clerking for the our public defender-you know, fighting for the rights of the oppressed and the accused. As my boss there told me on my last day on Thursday, "You have made a genuine difference in the lives of a lot of people, not just the clients you helped, but also their families who need them." (A hell of a lot more useful than waking someone up on a Saturday morning to hand them a 5th grade reading level tract.)

But, the area I want to practice is family law. I've had some job offers, but nothing that has set me on fire. I'm looking for a spot that will allow me the opportunity to do child advocacy, and yes, I am hoping to do some pro bono work for ex JWs with a good cause(child endangerment, abuse, parental alienation, and blood issues).

I may develop my repetoire to be an "expert" witness on JWs. I have seen so much.

This law school -becoming an attorney endeavor is the most satisfying thing I have ever accomplished. I chose it, it fit, and gosh durn it-I turned out to be pretty good at it. And besides, in my teaching career I have taught more than a thousand kids how to use the quadratic formula and how to do trigonmetry. I figure I can convince a judge or jury 'bout nearly anything.

I tell my stories for all the late teens and early twenties. A few short years of sacrifice can yield great accomplishment and rewards.

And as for the next few months? I hope to be able to take it a little easy until spring. I have been going full throttle, on all my cylinders now for four years. I really just need a tune up and a nap.

I'm going to bed now.

Shoshana

44

This is so huge.

by La Capra in

jw
friends

when i was four, i believed that my life could be painfully and tortuously taken from me, in a ball of flame, crashing down from the heavens, just while i sitting down to a bowl of oatmeal in the morning.. when i was nine, i believed that my life, as i then knew it, would be drastically altered, that i would be tortured for being a jw, and after suffering for who knows how long, i would die (because i still hadn't lived up to jehovah's expectations).. when i was 13, i wanted to be a nuclear physicist-because it sounded cool, but in the meantime i believed that i would die in armageddon because i wanted to go to college, get really educated, and have a great, "worldly" life.. when i was 15, i felt guilty that i hoped armageddon would never come, because i so desperately wanted to go to college.. when i was 17, i was offered an honors early admissions in a prestigious program in a highly regarded engineering program.

my mother flat out said, "no!".

when i was 18, i scuttled semi-secretly to the local university, part-time, trying to hide my daily activities without actually lying to anyone.. when i was 19 i quit pretending and disassociated.

La Capra

When I was four, I believed that my life could be painfully and tortuously taken from me, in a ball of flame, crashing down from the heavens, just while I sitting down to a bowl of oatmeal in the morning.

When I was nine, I believed that my life, as I then knew it, would be drastically altered, that I would be tortured for being a JW, and after suffering for who knows how long, I would die (because I still hadn't lived up to Jehovah's expectations).

When I was 13, I wanted to be a nuclear physicist-because it sounded cool, but in the meantime I believed that I would die in armageddon because I wanted to go to college, get really educated, and have a great, "worldly" life.

When I was 15, I felt guilty that I hoped armageddon would never come, because I so desperately wanted to go to college.

When I was 17, I was offered an honors early admissions in a prestigious program in a highly regarded engineering program. My mother flat out said, "NO!"

When I was 18, I scuttled semi-secretly to the local university, part-time, trying to hide my daily activities without actually lying to anyone.

When I was 19 I quit pretending and disassociated. (Thanks to my dad for sticking by me on that one.)

When I was 23 I became a high school math teacher. (Has paid the bills for 16 years, now!)

When I was 25 I bought a house. (If you could call it that)

When I was 30, I bought a second house. (This one really was a house-I still have both, though).

When I was 34, I decided to go to law school.

When I was 38, on November 17, 2006, at 18:25 PST, I learned that I PASSED THE CALIFORNIA BAR EXAM (and on the first try too!).

So,

That's La Capra, Esq. now.

I think I'll go save the world-move over Jesus, the Goat has arrived....

Shoshana (whose champagne buzz has finally worn down to a dull thump).

7

So there's this girl...

by Anony-Mouse in

jw
friends

there's this girl at our congregation.

i thought she was cute and all...but one day she actually comes up and talks to me.

i'm a shy person at the meetings, but once you get to know me, i'm plenty fun :p .

La Capra

It's easy for us to say this on this side of our twenties, but the high school years are for getting your heart ripped out. Some of the most tender memories that I visit are those surrounding those teen-aged crushes and romances. Nothing unusual to worry about here. Listen to your heart and live it-at least for now.

Shoshana

16

What are the Elders thinking? What are JW's thinking?

by Fisherman in

there was a time when most jw's solemly believed that the "end" was comming in their life time, that the preaching work was a life saving work and the most important work on earth and that the wts was god's organization, god's agency, the only channel of communication on earth.

i think that most jws today somewhat still vagely believe that now but i wonder, what is going on in the minds and hearts of the jws today?

what is everyone thinking?

La Capra

When I left, on the dint of my own determination, in 1987, the generation teaching was still going strong, and the fervor was getting stronger-for all the obvious reasons.

I didn't realize the generation teaching changed in the 90s until I started reading H20 in 1999 or 2000. However, my personal opinion is that even though the organiztion doesn't formally teach it, the imminence of the end is still deeply ingrained in the JW culture. Despite what they say at the door (like about denying they believe only JWs would survive armageddon), we know what a JW really knows they should believe. They sincerely believe they are the only ones to be saved, and that armageddon really will arrive soon (a "few" years), and that getting a college education will lock you out of the Kingdom of God.

The cognitive dissonance is raising a ruckus as the rank and file broaden their horizons while being subconsciously pummelled into guilt, anxiety, inadequacy and insecurity. When I was being raised in it, it was simply strict, controlling, manipulative, and sometimes arbitrary and cruel. Now it has become a major mind-f--k for those who sincerely pursue all the activity, study and obedience that the organization requires of them. They know what the literature "officially" teaches, and they know the disparity between that and what they are "supposed to believe."

It is sicker now than it was in the 70s and 80s. A whole different JW culture is emergent...too much to protect, not enough authority to support it.

Shoshana