[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by Giligan

They're not superior, per se. On the contrary, the art of reading a book has quietly started on its way out, since the advent of other forms of media in the past decade or so. Within another decade, the book as entertainment will have less niche appeal than an opera does now. Which is partly why, now, some persons have difficulty doing large amounts of reading, as they're more accustomed to visual entertainment. We prefer to see ancient artifacts in museums, as opposed to reading of them in books; we prefer to watch war films, than read a book on WWII; we prefer to watch 300, than read a historical account of the Battle of Thermopylae. And now we have the internet and photo-realistic games to boot. How long can the obsolete paper-and-cardboard assemblies of tradition hold out?


And history books are totally dull. Well, can be.

Originally Posted by Jelena

I've definitely cut down on reading because of my adventure gaming. I'll never stop reading though, I'm sure since I love it too much. And I believe that books in the form they have now will continue to exist for a long, long time.

I agree, I'll never stop reading books in dead tree format. Even though I haven't had much time to read recently outside of games. But I loved doing the internship in the archive, because it always smelled of old books there.

Originally Posted by RLacey

I hate to break it to you, but older people do sing in (and conduct) choirs too .

Yup, they do indeed. In fact, I am the youngest person in my choir. Keck, we have past members to mourn on All Soul's day. They're mostly seniors, with some younger people there. But lots of old people. We'll sing in Church on Christmas.

Originally Posted by Giligan

...Which is why I listen to rap.



Wise of you. We brought everything with us on the tour boat, including (but not limited to): full wardrobes, medical equipment, and arsenals.

Yeah, I like to listen to people talking too...usually while sitting in the train, with nothing else to do. I should feel guilty, I guess, but really, sometimes I can't help it. Some people just talk too damn loud. But it's a great source of inspiration.

Originally Posted by Melanie68

EEEEEK! I have so much I want to get done before Christmas (and I need to shove present shopping in there).

Dear (Research) God, please let everything work the first or second time. Thank you! Your humble servant, Mel.

Oh damn! I still have to compile the pages of the Shirtless Calendar before 2008 is here!

Originally Posted by RLacey

Not in any of the choirs that I sing in (or conduct) at the moment.

And for what it's worth, the frilly collar ("ruff") tends not to be worn by older people anyway, and the white gown/dress ("surplus"; normally worn on top of a "cassock") tends to be worn by specifically church choirs. At college we were gowns (yay for Oxford being weird and giving you a gown of some description before you graduate).

Originally Posted by Hammerite

I haven't spake to Jaz in a while.
Hi!

Hey there, lil' Brother! *hugs*

Originally Posted by RLacey

Is she around at the moment? I thought she was off playing Jade Empire...

Nah, I finished that a while ago. Sky is awesome.

I was busy playing Icewind Dale II with the IWD 2 NPC project. This was the second time I had ever played the game, and the first time I completed it. I got stumped for four days due to a stupid script not executing in the Magma Chamber...or rather, considering this bug was the reason I hadn't completed the game the last time I played it, I should rather say I got stumped for four years. Back then I wasn't familiar with the Infinity Explorer, and didn't know there were places I could ask for help. But these days I know how those things work, and I found the right scripts and got them to execute properly, by retriggering them manually.

Originally Posted by RLacey

Yes, my brethren, in these things it is that we have to look, individually and personally, at our condition and our estate, both towards God and towards man. If the pestilence is to lay hold on us, it is not and will not be for the national sins, but for OUR OWN. Get rid of the idea, I beseech you, of dilating publicly about the PUBLIC virtue, but rather give yourselves privately to a private examination of your own virtues. Do not write or speak in abstract terms about the sins of the people, but reflect how far your own sins are in them involved.

- WJE Bennett, God's Judgement in the Pestlience (1849)

Originally Posted by RLacey

we can hardly expect God to wirthdraw His chastisement unless we correct the sins for which He chastised us, and therefore unless we find out what particular sins have brought the evil on us. For it is mere cant and hypocrisy, my friends, to tell God, in a general way, that we believe He is punishing us for our sins, and then to avoid carefully confessing any particular sin, and to get angry with any one who tells us boldly which sin God is punishing us for. But so goes the world. Every one is ready to say "Oh! yes, we are all great sinners, miserably sinners!" and then if you charge them with any particuar sin, they bridle up and deny that sin fiercely enough, and all sins one by one, confessing themselves great sinners, and yet saying that they don't know what sins they have committed.

- Charles Kingsley, First Sermon on the Cholera (1849)

Originally Posted by RLacey

When they saw human beings dying by thousands of the pestilence, they all got frightened, and proclaimed a Fast, and confessed their sins and promised repentance in the general way. But did they repent of and confess those sins which had caused the cholera?- Ibid.

Hmmm...this sounds like something we read in Anglistics class in university.

Originally Posted by Jat316sob

PANA-MA-A

Oh wie schön ist Panama! Wo die Luft nach Bananen riecht!



-