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I tend to try and keep things pretty simple. e-prime for me is just anothert tool in the kit to use when it suits or serves some purpose to me. I tend to agree along the lines of Rat and Rza, more than anything it is a way to cross-check my own thinking.

When I start getting worked up about something, when those intense feelings start to rise in discussions and debates, that to me is trigger to start applying some simple concepts of e-prime to make sure I'm not rolling down the slippery slope. The basis to me is to start eliminating the word "is" in my own thoughts, if not so much in what I'm actually saying. To me it simply helps keep some objective oversite.

*applause* to you Rat

My opinion, should be stickied to top of every sub-forum with !MUST READ! in the title

Maybe you should consider bringing Martha Stuart onboard. She would have to have many tips on redecorating one's prison cell.

I know, I know ... just wasn't taking it that seriously I guess. I'm all for the open heart approach to people and realising that there is value in any person I encounter if I choose to see it. On the other hand, I tend to opt to not get involved in others' dramas simply for my own personal comfort. If I believe that all the shit that comes my way is all part of the grand awakening, then it is that way for others as well. Let them tend to their own dramas and learn their own lessons.

I thought option #2 was quite balanced, "Fuck 'em, it's their karma, let them sort it out"

the brown noise of

and your point?

With regards to the following post, I would choose which ever viewpoint most satisfied me at the particular moment:

1. Fuck 'em, they're animals anyway

2. Fuck 'em, it's their karma, let them sort it out

3. Fuck 'em, they didn't give me advance warning so I could order pizza and call a few mates over to watch

I hear you RWHN ... I'm living a comfortable life now surrounded by corporate suits and the mod-cons of life. Funny, I still don't wear a suit and have my hair cut like a throw back to 1800's China, but I get away with it ... anyway, different story....

The complacency is there. The feeling of urgency, that sweet tinge of desperation that was always with me is gone. And for the most part, the angst has gone with it. For another part, that feeling of need to "do right" by the world, to help get things on a better course is gone as well.

When it comes to the rest of the world, I couldn't give a rat's ass. Let 'em drown in their own shit and if it affects my world, I'll deal with it when it happens. To me there's just to much shit going on for me to loose sleep over it. I do still watch the news, but generally just for the entertainment value of watching the absurdities of mankind.

When it comes to my life surroundings, I'm comfy and I like it that way. I did all the living day to day without food or electricity because I couldn't pay the bills. I've lived in pest infested, dives because I couldn't afford better, hell I even lived under a boardwalk for awhile in Florida. I've coem a long way and put up with a lot of corporate bullshit to get the lifestyle I have now. I'm not feeling guilty for it.

Where my drive still exists is within myself. I am not complacent with "who I am" in the very broad sense of the term. I guess to use the BIP metaphor, I am still actively engaged in re-decorating my personal BIP to suit. It's all internal though, nothing about the trappings of the exterior.

wow ... lots happening ... trying to read thru this and get some real work done at the same time

just another thought on the idea of fictionalising the BIP so that it comes from an anonymous author in 1st person ... the parts that seem preachy, coming from another inmate or from a prison guard, etc ...  would still use the words "You", but would have a slight removea from the actual reader as being directed at the writer, not the reader. There is a subtle line that can walked where the changing from the "you" to the "me" as both meaning the writer can allow the reader to identify with the author and at the same time allow a level of seperation in the "preachy" bits.

anyway, trying to do some real work that I get paid for ...

Hey all, interesting convo since my post. I've been a bit busy the last few days and not around for much foruming.

I used to write a fair bit, but long ago. Most of what I write now is for ritual purpose or guided meditations/trance work. Personally, I think the BIP project is missing some metaphysical aspects, but then you've got a lot of barstools around here. I'd be happy to contribute a bit here and there if you think anything is worth taking. Nothing strikes me just now, but maybe I as continue to poke around here I'll get a wild inspiration.

I don't really see any consistent framework across some of these metaphors. This kind of prison thing and this modern warfare/IED/shrapnel thing ... kind of hard to find a cohesive frame to fit


Cram, I like you're ideas of "go forward" and would be willing to help identify what I thought were "preachy" bits. What's the deal with the wiki? i've never really used one except for reading


LMNO, ... is that PI in reference to Private Investigator?? done that work before ... worst shitty job I have ever had!

I guess that's what I liked about it so much. Extreme over the top stupidity, a piss-take, but such a  plausible one in the face of today's trends. It hit close to home and that was awesome to me.

"Language had devolved into a mixture of hillbilly, valley girl, and inner-city gansta. Joe could understand them, but when he spoke he sounded pompous and faggy to them."

...damn well done I thought

"Sorry for the inconvenience"


nuff sed ...

i saw it and i couldn't stand it. It just seemed like a lot of weird product placement and stupid jokes. It had a good concept but i think it was taken to too much of an extreme.

dunno ... i figured extreme was what it was about

i wasn't expecting anything close to a serious take, so the complete over-the-top idiocy was on the money for me. i couldn't really expect high-brow comedy in a movie called "Idiocracy"

Take it, leave it, whatever ,Ķ some thoughts from one reader of the BIP.

I guess more than anything else, it seemed ,Äúpreachy,Äù. Serious and dark observations, opinions and arguments that all seemed to be directed AT the reader and most of time delivered from what felt like the top of a soap box. At times the message was along the lines of ,Äúyou,Äôre on your own pal, wise up and see the prison you,Äôre in,Äù or become and suffer the consequences of being a part of the MACHINE. Fair enough and although stark and bleak, the over-all metaphor of the prison is well developed. When the message turns to one of ,Äúwise up or we,Äôre coming to get you,Äù, this just seems to close to the fire and brimstone preaching, again just felt like I was being berated from a pulpit at times.

My personal opinion would be that as a ,Äúrevisit to Discordia,Äù it misses the mark on the serious/humorous element that (I feel) is central to Discordianism. What has drawn me to Discordianism as a ,Äúdefault reality grid,Äù is the laugh. It is a fun way to view the universe we live in. The original PD says to the reader, ,Äúcome and view the world this way, suspend your disbelief and have a laugh with me,Äù. The BIP creates a rather stark reality grid for the reader and any real laughs are had at the reader,Äôs expense. While this may be the intent, it,Äôs not an effective method for getting people to buy-in.

What I saw as I was reading it was the basis for a kind of journal, a prison journal written and left behind to be discovered by the next inmate. The journal is told in first person and builds the reality grid of BIP as our anonymous journal author learns his ropes around the prison he found himself in. Stories and anecdotes relate key learnings and discoveries about the nature of the prison and its inhabitants with other characters portraying certain archetypes or personality classes for interaction lessons. The jail authority being the ,ÄúMachine,Äù, while appearing all encompassing it actually represents the twisted, corrupt failings of the endeavors of man and conformity. The affects of disinformation could be relayed in the interactions of prison inmates and guards. While not mythical in any sense, a pantheon or host of characters could be useful in delivering material. All this leads up to the eventual awakening and escape of the journal author, leaving behind a guide for the next hapless prisoner.

Anyway, just my thoughts ,Ķ

Congrats over-all on getting a group of Discordians together to get anything done.

BTW, favorite line of the text is page 18 ,Ķ ,ÄúTherefore we exist because something is a lying cheating bastard.,Äù Love this concept and was the one decent laugh in the whole text. Not only is this a decent chuckle, but as the ,Äúsomething,Äù is very easily linked to the eastern philosophy of the ,Äúillusion of separation,Äù, it,Äôs a metaphysically correct statement as well. 

I'm probably coming pretty late to this movie, but has anyone seen Idiocracy?
http://imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

I just watched this the other night after seeing a review on one of the movie shows. It didn;t rate very well with the show hosts, but I was thankful for the info anyway and did a little digging until I found a copy.

Cheesy and over the top, but I thought brilliant! A fun mock-up of where the dumbing-down of today's society could be headed. When the guy says he got his law degree at Cosco and only got in because his father was alumni ... I was pissing myself.

Just wondering, anyone else seen this? Like it? Dislike it? I heard it did not rate well in the USA.

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