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But then people might think we are violent!

We aren't?

Well, I might've been being facetious.

Revision:  Comments welcome.

Once upon a time, two Serious Minded people were in their local pub, having a few pints, and talking about the nature of Universe.

Bill pointed out that most of what we consider ,Äúmatter,Äù is made up of empty space.  ,ÄúThe distance between a nucleus, its electrons, and the nearest adjacent atom is comparatively large; why, that barstool over there shouldn't even be considered a solid!,Äù

Joe responded, ,Äúbut wait,Ķ As far as we can actually prove, that barstool might simply be a hallucination, for we're not actually seeing the barstool, we're processing electric signals in our heads generated by our optic nerves.  And all they are doing is claiming certain wavelengths of light have bounced off an object.  But what if the nerves are misfiring, which we all know happen quite often?  So, we can,Äôt really say whether or not the barstool even exists!,Äù

Just then, a man approached them and said, ,ÄúI couldn,Äôt help but overhear you two talking.  If I may, I have an experiment for you.  Purely in the interest of a Deeper Understanding of the Universe.,Äù

He then proceeded to pick up the barstool and pummel both Bill and Joe squarely about the head and torso, because they were so obviouly pretentious assholes who deserved a beatdown.

Thus, they were enlightened.

But then people might think we are violent! I think the man should sprinkle them with fairy dust and make them fly! Then they will see the error of their ways!

Where The Wild Things are = thumbs up

These aren't really my favorites, but they are good. Be warned: High literature, they are not. Oh, and some are series.

1. Cyteen, by CJ Cherryh - This book is so good! It's really long, and it's sci fi and has incredible characterisation. It centers around genetic programming, cloning, etc. and the ethics thereof, but fascinating.

2. Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, by Astrid Lindgren - I loved this book as a girl, and Ronia was my very first online screenname.

3. The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge - I grew up on Elizabeth Goudge, people. This is the stuff of my childhood.

4. A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket - I don't care what you all have to say, Snicket is the bomb.

5. Sandman: Brief Lives, by Neil Gaiman - The story of how Dream and Delirium go looking for their brother. This story is near and dear to my heart.

6. GURPS: Illuminati University - Yes, this is a RPG supplement. Sorry, is my geek showing?   Srsly, though, it's a good read, and if I was going to run a campaign, this is what it would be.

7. Jerlane, by Lynn Abbery - Plot is interesting; world building is ACE.

8. Golden Compass and sequels, by Phillip Pullman - Pretentiousness aside, interesting and fun.

9. War for the Oaks, by Emma Bull - If you like urban fantasy (and who doesn't?), read this.

10. Johnathon Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke - Alternate history: if Faerie took over England in the 14th century. My latest favorite.

What I said didn't really apply to the OP, I just realised, so it was kinda silly to put it in this thread. I like the OP, btw.

You guys seem to be preaching to people who do have 9 to 5 jobs, watch MTV, etc.

But what about the people who are already weirdos? The geeks, the goths, the freaks, the neo-pagans, the stoners. They're probably going to think this doesn't apply to them. I think we should preach to them, too. They're also a lot more likely to listen to us.

So, yeah, we should start with them.

IMO.

you can keep the goths.

ECH,
thinks they probably deserve their fate

Okay, fair enough. I don't like them much either.

Ra!

Would print it out if I had a working printer. I just found out ours doesn't work. Grr.

Well, I'll try to figure it out.

You guys seem to be preaching to people who do have 9 to 5 jobs, watch MTV, etc.

But what about the people who are already weirdos? The geeks, the goths, the freaks, the neo-pagans, the stoners. They're probably going to think this doesn't apply to them. I think we should preach to them, too. They're also a lot more likely to listen to us.

So, yeah, we should start with them.

IMO.

Well, didn't he write The Prince to impress that one dude? I could be wrong about that, though.

Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh. I liked it, anyway!

E.N.D.:  I just wanted to say hi to Athena and Aphrodite, and ask them to ponder how many followers they still have these days.

I love that part.

As for 'frozen shit', does that refer to 'stuff' or to actual frozen shit?

Sorry?

Wow, Hugh. You're really, really sure that you're right, aren't you?

*boos Hugh off the stage from the audience*

I pretty much believe that there is absolutely no point to anything and we're just kidding ourselves to believe there is. But. I'd rather kid myself and have some measure of happiness or a reasonable facsimile of that then just give up. So I force myself to believe in a future, in love, in beauty, in something other than endless space and a few short years before we rot in the ground, forgotten.

Um. Yeah. Anyway.

yeah

it would be fun if things were that cut-and-dry

Word.