Skeptical

A good writer is always an avid reader. You can write without reading, but you won't be a good writer. Ever heard of an author that can't tell you his/her favorite books? Chances are it'll be a list that never ends. OT, I just finished Brave New World, and I can see why it's a classic. Next, on to David Foster Wallace - Infinite Jest.

Lowest part of the house, surround myself with as much mass as possible, primarily padded by a mattress to avoid the shock wave. Assuming that there was only one explosion in sight. If more, there's little enough chance to live a life worth living.

I've had a bit of a hard time accepting the premise, but when you get down to it, it's a pretty interesting question. I would want somewhere outside, (without mosquitoes, but in such a way as to not disturb the ecology), and a library including a printing press that can print any book ever written, along with writing materials and the ability to conference and share ideas with the greatest dead minds. Food is an interest as well, although seeing as that's a pleasure of the flesh as much of the mind, would it be considered food in any meaningful way? Really, I'm fascinated by the idea of being able to continue developing my intellect long after my physical form has failed me. As a militant atheist, however, I'll settle for a comfortable hole with a tree planted over me, and a party in celebration of my life.

It's hard to even refer to it as a component, let alone a "cornerstone." Capitalism allows anyone to make money off of an idea. When you go to the dollar store, most of that garbage is just a rip-off of something else; they don't even bother trying to fight it. It's just like piracy - take down one source a few more pop up. Pharmaceutical companies make money off of the research that is done in publicly funded universities. Shouldn't the taxpayers get a piece of the profit? Professors can copyright ideas that they use in the classroom. What do you think Socrates or Plato would have though of people pretending that knowledge can be owned? EDIT: Sorry, I was working in the wrong tab and missed that I had already posted.

Lol. The law doesn't matter when the corporations decide that they want something to be stopped. It's all crap: they can't round up the millions of people that torrent, and there will be hell to pay if they try. People are willing to put up with a lot, but everyone has to draw the line somewhere.

The Army of The Republic, by Stuart Archer Cohen. -->http://www.amazon.com/Army-Republic-Stuart-Archer-Cohen/dp/0312383770 Another dystopian novel is Cory Doctorow's Little Brother And you can get the e-book (and audio, I think) for free: he's just an awesome guy. http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/ Both are among my favorite books.

:thumbup:

A friend lent me Hawx. Not as good as I would've expected, and I'm now glad that I didn't shell out any cash for it.

^ Well said.

^What about now, though? An Android OS means that you get a good phone, with a superior OS, and can have a plan on whatever network you care. It's just marketing hype that gets everyone all excited.

According to her, approximately 12. She elaborated on the answer for quite a while, but I stopped listening.

I hate Apple... not quite as much as I hate Microsoft, but they're certainly up there. The iPhone is just another smartphone that they've managed to get everyone drooling over. "NEW" "IMPROVED" "BETTER" and throughout it all, an undertone of the classic marketing promise that this will make you happy/beautiful/smart/popular/strong/unique. Although I suppose that I own an HP computer, so perhaps my frustration is hypocritical. This however, is a point that I'm sure I sit far to the extreme on. Curse you, cynicism for denying me the pleasures of consumption. <_<

Probably vomit. I mean, it's hard to realistically stop that.

Look at it this way though - I think it's reasonable to say that without the constant bombing of japan and the Dresden firebombing, there's no way the allies could have won the war. I see it as necessary to topple an evil regime, and save far more lives than they took. In the modern world, civilians are the same as combatants: the guy that built that predator drone missile is just as guilty as the brainwashed teenager that's using it to kill children. The guy with an AK-47 can use it however he feels: we're all people, and sorting each other into groups just makes it easier to kill. War is abhorrent in all of it's forms.

Printing press. What's good for mankind is good for me. Nothing else can hold a candle to that invention, except possibly for certain primitive weapons, fire, and shipbuilding.

Sometimes when I feel more violent and wound up than usual, it's fun to blast some Bring Me The Horizon along with my usual Otep and Slipknot. Same way I listen to I Set My Friends on Fire when I feel like laughing. Metal is dead. The genre has died and morphed into something else. We just happen to call it metal, so people need to deal with it.

My little sister was watching Disney channel, so I set up a bunch of speakers all around her (hidden from view) and when another [bleep]ty video of Hannah Montana came on, I played a collection of carefully selected song clips from the works of My Ruin: It seems youre sucked into a scene of what the latest rage is Force fed MTV The new disease that is contagious Videos that cost a million bucks With fakes degrading ladies Can I be a fan of you Baby My dark places make me feel ugly My lips are glossed but my heart is weak I'm diseased As seen on TV Please forgive me For not being pretty or sexy But god never blessed me Here's what youll find next time you undress me She pretty much freaked out and started screaming. Apparently she didn't understand exactly why I had chosen those clips, and I really have no idea about why I needed to blast them at full volume. Maybe tomorrow I'll try it with Justin Beiber.

Depending on your current level of indoctrination and understanding of health: PaleoNu Mark's Daily Apple However, Paleo can be rough if you don't have parental support... mine haven't been very helpful, so I've been forced to try my best without any real meat.

The crashes were pretty bad. I mean, the route didn't seem too bad to me, but I certainly acknowledge that I wasn't riding at the time. Honestly, I don't really care whether or not Lance wins: he still has more wins (by far) than anyone else, he's got loads of money, and is very well-known and respected. I have no idea why he's coming back to race [again./i]

I can't see multiplayer being anything too great, but I did love the second one.... the first one a bit less.

Sleep now in the fire - Rage Against The Machine

Even though the movies have, in my opinion, all been a disappointment when compared to the books, I am looking forward to watching this: in two parts, it should be significantly better. Although when the books are so much longer, I'm not sure how much of an improvement it will really be.

Faranheit 9/11 Capitalism: A love story American Pie Presents: Beta House Food Inc. (rather disappointing)

I feel no sense of duty to my country: instead, my loyalty belongs to my friends, family, and our shared humanity.

So, essentially, they're doing something that everyone should be doing, but isn't? I suppose that they still deserve my support though.