jp1692

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Posts by jp1692

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  20

  Who Are You?

  by compound complex in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have made repeated attempts to move on with my life despite your decision to plague my every thought and move.

  i cannot move forward.

  a change of venue, that of diet, even new clothes have afforded me a frivolous and temporary elevation of spirits.

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  jp1692

  Thanks, CoCo.
  
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  73

  Punctuation within and without quotation marks

  by compound complex in

  1. social
  2. physical

  http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/quotes.asp .

  would someone please make this link clickable?.

  cc.

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  jp1692

  Humbled: Do your students ever have impediments to clear writing because they can’t identify a thought or a feeling?

  Only all the time!

  That's really the challenge: to learn how to articulate and express those elusive and/or hard to define thoughts and feelings.

  Heck, it's hard enough to write clearly when I know what I'm thinking and feeling! ... LOL
  
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  20

  Who Are You?

  by compound complex in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have made repeated attempts to move on with my life despite your decision to plague my every thought and move.

  i cannot move forward.

  a change of venue, that of diet, even new clothes have afforded me a frivolous and temporary elevation of spirits.

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  jp1692

  Yeah, there's always that ...

  I often wish that my experience as a cult member was farther in the rear-view mirror than it is. Or to put it differently: I can't wait to be an ex-ex-JW.

  For me at least, it's hard because I have two children who I love very much that are still in the cult. I imagine it'd be easier for me to let it go if they were out and we had a good, healthy relationship. But we do not.
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  20

  Who Are You?

  by compound complex in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have made repeated attempts to move on with my life despite your decision to plague my every thought and move.

  i cannot move forward.

  a change of venue, that of diet, even new clothes have afforded me a frivolous and temporary elevation of spirits.

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  jp1692

  CoCo, your words sound like you're describing the black dog of depression.

  Perhaps I'm just recognizing someone I know all too well.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCrniLQGYc
  
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  8

  Toronto CityNews - Online obit hijacked by religious propaganda: family

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  cristina howorun spoke to one woman who says her father’s online memorial was hijacked by posts trying to recruit new members to a faith her father had no connection to.. news video at this link:.

  http://toronto.citynews.ca/video/2018/03/14/online-obit-hijacked-by-religious-propaganda-family/.

  (you have to endure two ads to get to the broadcast).

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  jp1692

  Shameful
  
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  131

  Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

  by jukief in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  by evolution or by creation?

  by evolution or by creation?

  "the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

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  jp1692

  SBF: What if he makes it so [suffering] never happened in the first place?

  Then why not just prevent it "in the first place"?

  What would be the point to ALLOW something, then UNDO it so it was like it never happened to the extent that those that experienced it were completely unaware that it had ever happened?

  Also, that ignores the fact that--even if this absurd proposition were possible--the individuals that suffered the first time through (this is really getting ridiculous) still would have suffered and felt pain and anguish at one point in time. Having it wiped from their minds might make them unable to recall it, but they still would have experienced it once. At THAT particular time this "GOD" would have been culpable for allowing something that he could have prevented, but didn't.

  Saying, "It's okay, I'll fix it later and they'll never remember," doesn't undo the damage done even if those that felt it before can't recall it later.
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  20

  Did you learn how to debate in school (or elsewhere)?

  by compound complex in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  last night i was taking another look at the term "dialectics":.

  the art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions: discussion; debate; logical reasoning; etc.. the dialectical method is, at base, a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to establish the truth through reasoned arguments.. while i intend to do further research on my own, what is your own experience regarding preparation for debate, the do's and don'ts, maintaining your cool, .

  i ask, in part, because i observe that some online debaters present facts and figures and use sound reasoning while maintaining their decorum; many do not.. thank you..

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  jp1692

  The Dialogues of Plato are a good place to start, particularly his Euthyphro.
  
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  73

  Punctuation within and without quotation marks

  by compound complex in

  1. social
  2. physical

  http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/quotes.asp .

  would someone please make this link clickable?.

  cc.

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  jp1692

  Lately I've been discussing with some of my 9th and 11th grade students the role of punctuation in written communication.
  

  It's interesting to see the wheels turning in their brains when they realize the significance of the fact that punctuation is ONLY a feature of writing. You'd think they'd know that, but it's generally not explicitly taught, and -- if it ever was -- it was so long ago for them that they've forgotten.

  For most people, punctuation is just one of those things that is "there." In my experience, most high school students are proficient with only the most basic aspects of punctuation: how to begin and end a sentence. That's it. Beyond that, it's all guess work for them.

  En dash, em dash, semicolon ... forget it!
  

  Furthermore, since a lot of "the rules" of punctuation are little more than conventions (which often vary from place to place and over time), most people just wing it -- if they even give it much thought at all.

  I'm pretty good at these kinds of things and I still have to look a lot of it up. And I kind of hate that because -- even though I recognize the importance in clear, understandable writing -- it breaks the flow.
  

  Knowing that CoCo (who is an acknowledged Jedi/Zen master in these areas) will probably be reading this post, I find myself very self-conscious of every aspect of my punctuation, grammar and syntax! LOL

  BTW: Yes, I'm aware I did not use an Oxford comma in the previous sentence. I've never been a fan. I'm not a pedantic prig about it, I just don't like it much. As long as people are consistent with their usage (or lack thereof), I don't really care.

  It all comes down to two things:

  1. Does it make sense?
  2. Does it have style?

  Everything else is just filler.

  YMMV

  PS: I kind of hate that I can't do a proper em dash on this forum when I use my laptop to post. Oddly enough, it works fine when I post on my phone but not when I use my laptop. The idiosyncrasies of software and technology only further complicate punctuation matters.
  

  Go figure!
  
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  8

  Old Bethelities

  by new boy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my book is going to my editor this week.

  just a few lose ends to deal with.. does anyone here knows what has happen to any of the following ex-bethelities and hopefully ex-jehovah's witnesses.

  mark bivins.

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  jp1692

  I know Mark Bivins.
  
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  34

  Growing a beard

  by Coded Logic in

  1. social
  2. physical

  i've always been currious as to how i would look with a beard so i've finally committed to doing it.

  over the next 30 days i'm going to grow out a full chin to ear beard.. .

  ps:  any suggestions or advice on how to grow a beard would be much appreciated!.

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  jp1692

  I like "long stubble" or a "circle beard" (which most people call a goatee where I live).