Rev Roger, Sermon #61: Speed Freaks.

[AFK]

I liked it.  More of it is a good thing.  My ranter has been broken for months, otherwise I'd contribute more myself. 

[hunter s.durden]

Wow.  This one flopped.

Two hours was enough time to tell?
Me thinks not.

Seeing as how the board has changed into a graphic arts/23 skiddoo thing,

This is true, though.

[Suu]

I really like this one too...I just didn't have a point to add to it other than the typical .

And RHWN I agree, my ranter is le broke. I started one last week that was going great, then it turned into a spiel about ADHD children and I lost my rhythm before attracting the worm. 

[Mangrove]

TGRR - good stuff. Reminds me a lot of the book, 'Lapham Rising' which I read recently. The book is basically this rant, extended into a story about a man seeking to topple his pretentious, overblown, profligate neighbour.

One point which especially stuck in my mind was that historically, people who had a lot of money and did really dumb shit were widely ridiculed. However, it seems that instead of reviling them, the general populace aspires to join their ranks.

If you're into reading novels, then this could  be right up your alley in terms of subject matter (eg: blistering, unrelenting rage and the creative use of revenge).

[Darth Cupcake]

Mang--you are absolutely correct about people wanting to be rich and stupid rather than intelligent. I've read some interesting studies about how people no longer want their president to be someone better than they are (what?!) but instead prefer someone they would want to have a beer with.

Like we should want to be FRIENDS with the people in charge, instead of having them be smarter, better trained, better educated, etc, than we are.

A fun book that I read, but that raises interesting points, was "Snobbery: The American Version." (http://www.amazon.com/Snobbery-American-Version-Joseph-Epstein/dp/0618340734/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-9293605-4414532?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189011094&sr=1-1 for a quick blurb on it) I can't recall if it covered this "Rich Idiot" syndrome, but I am 98% certain that it did. It's pretty hilarious, though, either way.

But yes, you are correct. When we aspire to become the Paris Hiltons of the world, instead of reviling them, then there is something pretty flawed going on here.

[Cramulus]

I, for one, would rather be filthy rich than filthy smart.

[Mangrove]

thanks for the link DC. will check that out.

i did see a book a few weeks ago. cannot remember the title or author but it raised an interesting and related side point. it was about how 'luxury designer status items' were no longer any of those things anymore.

once upon a time, if you had money you could show off by purchasing a hand crafted, high quality item for a large sum from a family run company that had a reputation for great products. rich people bought 'em, poor people did not.

of course, all these items are mass produced, low quality, still pricey and available in your local mall.

personally, i couldn't give a damn about 'status' or 'designer' items. [if you saw (a) me (b) where i live and (c) how i live.....you'd know this to be the case]. however, many items that were once considered 'status' items aren't even that anymore. they're just the same cheap shit but sold out of an expensive outlet. then there's the people who will buy knock-off 'coach' or 'luis vuitton' bags so they can trick other people into believing that they did pay the full price for the cheap shit.

there's gotta be something wrong there. the psychology is:

"I am not rich, nor do I have any particular status. I would like to purchase this item which I believe will accord me with status. However, it is very expensive, even though it's just an ordinary item made in a factory by a large corporation. Therefore I will buy a counterfeit version so that people will think that I have that kind of money and that's good enough for me. Of course, when I go home, dinner will still be Diet Coke and Cheetos, but they don't have to know that."

[LMNO]

Have you heard the term "house poor", Mang?

Applicable here.

[AFK]

Jonesin to be the Joneses.  Seems like it never ends. 

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Now, obviously, this doesn't apply to everyone.  There's still a few mutants out there.  Mutants who are SICK enough, DEPRAVED enough to see the HUMOR in these hideous times.  Are you ready for that?  Are you ready to LAUGH YOUR ASS OFF every time the DUMBFUCKS around you toss another right away?  Every time they SPIT IN THE FACE OF THEIR FOREFATHERS?

This paragraph seems like a new-ish direction for you, Rog... It implies that there is a chance of FUN, a chance for SLACK.  And there's still time.  Maybe.

Of course there is.

Do you think I'd bother hollering if I didn't think that?

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I liked it.  More of it is a good thing.  My ranter has been broken for months, otherwise I'd contribute more myself. 

So was mine.  But then I remembered about fun, and got all pissed off.

[Triple Zero]

Seeing as how the board has changed into a graphic arts/23 skiddoo thing,

This is true, though.

pff bullshit

there's waves and cycles

this board isn't "going" anywhere, nor is it "changing into" anything, it never has and never* will be.

also, it's large enough to have more than one kind of "thing", and i don't know where you get the idea that presence of one thing indicates the other should be absent.

does this board have tunnel vision? can we only do one thing at a time? of course not, if only for the simple fact that i can't do what most of you guys are doing, so i'm doing something else already.

but. yeah, PDcom is dead again lol

( * = probably. because you never know )

[B_M_W]

Seeing as how the board has changed into a graphic arts/23 skiddoo thing,

This is true, though.

pff bullshit

there's waves and cycles

this board isn't "going" anywhere, nor is it "changing into" anything, it never has and never* will be.

also, it's large enough to have more than one kind of "thing", and i don't know where you get the idea that presence of one thing indicates the other should be absent.

does this board have tunnel vision? can we only do one thing at a time? of course not, if only for the simple fact that i can't do what most of you guys are doing, so i'm doing something else already.

but. yeah, PDcom is dead again lol

( * = probably. because you never know )

I've been talking forum drama cycle hypothesis for years now.

[Mangrove]

Have you heard the term "house poor", Mang?

Applicable here.

actually, no. haven't heard that expression before.

[LMNO]

In cas you can't tell, it means that you have a house, but it's more than you can afford, so you basically have a very expensive shell that you can't furnish, you eat ramen noodles, and eventually go bankrupt, even though you "own a house."