"Ex-favourite"?!

[Viropher]

I'm going to preface this by saying I'm basically just addressing Eth, and anyone else misguided enough to find a personal post purely about myself in any way interesting or worth reading*. So if you don’t know who I am, or indeed if you don’t particularly care, don’t feel like you’re missing out on something if you don’t read this – I suppose, though, on reflection, that those of you who don’t care won’t have read this far, so I need hardly mention you, you cold bastards.

So, anyway! I “stopped by” the board a couple of times since posting, but I didn’t have anything to say, so I didn’t post any new messages. But old man Eth complained, so here’s another post…
     Let’s see. I took a year out of college, you might remember, to live with my girlfriend down in Cork. I was there for a couple of months, but I couldn’t get a job, and I started to get on more and more badly with one the people we were living with, and basically it was getting kind of shitty as a result of this, so I moved back home to Galway at Christmas, so as not to be pissing about in Cork, distracting my girlfriend from her work and contributing to an atmosphere of tension in the house. Also I was buying most of the shit even though I didn’t have work. Wah-wah.
    So now I’m in Galway, doing voluntary work four days a week in a community centre – playing games with kids and helping them with their homework. I spend the night in on or two of my friends’ houses in town (my own house is out in Spiddal, fifteen miles out of town, and “work” finishes after the last bus goes), smoking every now and then, and when I’m at home I read or play my Gamecube or PS2. Life is very uneventful, hence my lack of anything to say for myself. Yesterday my father threw shit at me and tried to kick me, but I just pushed him over and he calmed down. Considering how volatile he can be, I’m relieved to realise I’m stronger than he is these days. That was pretty exciting.
    And that all, really. I got a bunch of music just there, Jelly Roll Morton, Ry Cooder, Charles Mingus, Leadbelly, Emmet Ray, Kenny Sultan, Jon Martyn, Brad Mehldau, that’s all pretty sweet. I’m playing the slightly embarrassing Final Fantasy X 2 (it’s all about getting clothes, no really), Golden Sun 2, I’m looking forward to getting Shadow of the Colossus and the release of Zelda Twilight Princess. I just finished reading the Land of Mist by Arthur Conan Doyle, which is a really sad story, because it’s a cringe-worthily blatant propaganda story for Spiritualists (i.e. people who claim they can communicate with the dead), people he fell in with after losing a son in the first World War.
    That’s my only other development (have I mentioned it before?) – I think I’ve developed a phobia of my own death, or something. Not about any “thing” in particular, just every now and then I’m sort of filled with the feeling that I’ll die and disappear one day, and that everything’s totally futile, and then I spend a few minutes feeling very strange inside and then it passes. Heh.
    Now, is that good enough for you? I’ll continue popping bye, but I really don’t feel like that much energy or incentive or whathaveyou to post, so I may not say much. Don’t take it personally or anything, I’m just generally bad at staying in contact with people not in my line of sight. I don’t ring or write to anyone here (i.e. in Ireland) when I’m in Scotland, and vice versa.

So… can I be your favourite again? Old-time favourite? I quite enjoyed that, Eth, you seem like such a decent chap, so much so that you’re deserving of that very phrase (“decent chap”), which I think is a good one, needing to be saved for when it’s specifically needed.

Also, watch the Colbert Report. It’s the best non-cartoon-based satire I’ve seen America produce since the Legendary Journeys of Hercules. Which was made in New Zealand anyway. Still, go Bruce Campbell, am I right? …Don’t, don’t answer that.

*Though I doubt this group could possibly contain more than one or perhaps even two people, I thought I’d post here rather than just send an e-mail to Eth, just so you wouldn’t feel left out. Isn’t that nice. What? You wouldn’t have known? I’m just doing this to pander to my own shameful egotism? Trying to convince myself I still belong here? Fie, fie!

[FreakyM]

lol internet

[Eth]

  Oh yes, very nice.  Very nice indeed.  Though it's spelled "favorite," this being an American forum! 

  I understand how it is; I'm rather a hermit myself.  I was just... overwhelmed...  The Triumphant Return of Viropher, followed by a bleak, echoing silence.  I wept sore, I don't mind telling you. 

  I'm sure that your video game isn't nearly as embarassing as mine: Animal Crossing.  Sort of like The Sims, only with funny, bobble-headed animals.  It's just so... rich...  underneath the cute exterior. 

  Anyway, my three sons, two of whom are in school.  Baby has a deformed head, so wears a red helmet to slowly mold his cranium into the desired shape (or at least somerthing reasonably symmetrical).  The wife, taking care of the wee ones, and me, working at the bookstore (six years of my life!) and studying animation at the Art Instititute of Portland. 

  So, yeah, sorry about the outburst there, and thanks for the kind words.  Heh, "good chap."  You are now restored unto my good graces.  Don't let your old man push you around, wot?  Stop by every month or so, though, so the younger generation doesn't grow up never knowing you existed!

[Viropher]

Poor thing... Another one of your children has autism, doesn't he? It's very admirable, I feel, to carry the burden of  difficult (meaning "requiring extra care") children as good-naturedly as you do, though I suppose the desire to comes naturally. What would Kant say about that, eh, the miserable bastard?

Now there's a question, albeit a fairly childish one... I wonder when all the people who come here get up in their respective time zones? I only have "work" in the afternoons, so I get up at a leisurely ten in the morning, though this earns me looks of scorn in the house. We have dogs, you see, who have trained my parents to wake up at six thirty every day.

And as for Animal Crossing, I'm told by a friend of mine in Dublin that it's a very good game. Isn't their some nice gimmick about time, it's set to your own or something? So every hour in-game is a real hour, and if you play it at night it's night-time in the game or something? That sounds sweet. And games which are ostensibly for children are often very good indeed - I loved Pikmin, for instance, which my Japanese flatmate in Saint Andrews last year was surprised to discover, as it was his little sister's favourite.

You heard me? FAVOURITE!

[Eth]

  Nah, instead of mentally ill, this new one's hideously deformed.     Damfino what Kant would say about anything; I haven't read any Kant yet.  Of the philosophers, Aristotle's next on my list, though of the Greeks, Homer's on my plate right now, so Aristotle'll (I'm glad I only had to type "Aristotle'll", instead of say it!) have to wait.  I started the Iliad recently, but I got temporarily distracted by Michael Moorecock's "Elric" series.  I'll be back to Homer in a few more days.  Plus, the Bible.  Ugh.  Two chapters per day, holding my nose the whole time.  It's got its good bits, but a lot of it is repetitious and dull.  How many ways can you sacrifice a goat (Leviticus), how many men between the ages of 25 and 50 lived in this tribe, that tribe, the other tribe (Numbers).  Hoooo...

  I usually get up around 8:30 or 9:30 AM, and go to bed around 1:00 AM, much to my wife's annoyance.  She seems to think that because I sleep late, I've slept a lot, which simply isn't true. 

  Yeah, it's a neat little game.  It's winter, so there isn't much in the way of insect life about, and my nocturnal schedule means it's hard for me to get any shopping in, as the store in town closes before I get off work.  But the snow doesn't interfere with my paleontology hobby, which is nice.  I just wish I could engage in a bit more interaction with the townsfolk.  I'm trying to spark up a romance with this cute chipmunk, but it's difficult.  I've taken to sending her clothes, which at least has got me into her good graces.  Wish me luck! 

  I'm surprised that many kids could even get into Pikmin.  My son finds it to be quite difficult, though maybe an older child could handle it.  Yeah, yeah, I hear you.  I myself have had a hard time not writing "armour" lately, due to all the Warhammer books I've been reading lately.  (Shakes head)  Warhammer: could it lead to the revitili(s)ation of the British Empire? 

[Guesst]

...studying animation at the Art Instititute of Portland. 

Ugh. Sorrt to chime in here, but ugh. I attended the Art Institute of Colorado studying animation too and all I can say is get out. I don't know how long you've been there, but AI is a money consuming monster who only cares about using you to gleen more cash from student loans and etc. If you really want to do animation make a portfollio. AI has no connections in the industry and their degree is worth less than the paper it's printed on.

While I was there they pulled on the teachers aside for a huge meeting and they all came back singing the same song.  "Student's need to perform better so they will get a good job so our degree can be worth something." Excuse me? You want me to make your degree worth something. What am I paying you for then? Tell you what, I said, when you start paying me to attend classes so that I don't have to work full time while going to school then I'll work for you, or at least stop raising my student rates every other semester. Buh-bye.

Have I gone off on this bitter tyrade before?

I don't know where you are in your education, and I hope that you've either not wasted too much time there or wasted enough that you're just a skip away from finishing, but AI was the most expensive and time consuming mistake of my life to date. Pulling out they told me I owed them $2200 for fees and tuition they'd charged me that government grants and loans didn't pay for, telling me that if I stayed that my last semester they'd clear it up for me. Loan sharks don't get to do that sort of thing!

(I'm glad I only had to type "Aristotle'll", instead of say it!)

Say it outloud some time. it's like yodeling.

AR-IST-OTT-LE'LL-L-L-L-L-L-L-L!

[Eth]

  Eh, differant Art Institutes are different.  The main reason I'm here is to learn to use fancy new technology and to meet ("network" if you must) with people in the industry, which I seem to be doing, so I have no complaints.  Nearly all of my profs are professionals in the entertainment field, so I am reasonably satisfied so far.  But no, you haven't gone on this rant yet.  I have no interest in their degree as such (already have a BA, so who cares?); as soon as I can get a good job, I'm out of here.  Did they really raise your tuition??  Mine was frozen upon entry...  Sounds like a nasty place.  I've had some doubts about AIP, but so far it seems to be okay, and there's no comparable program elsewhere nearby, so it's my best shot. 

[Sedodes]

Oh Viropher, sweet Virpoher.  Come back to us.  I miss you and your psuedo-apathy.

Seriously, I had a lot of stuff to write (much of it insults) but can't remember.  Damn my girlfriend's email for distracting me!  Had I not gotten well nookied I'd be slightly less disinterested...

[Viropher]

Good God, man, keep that nookie shit to yourself - I hope the people here either don't care or have sex on a frequent enough basis to assume it doesn't warrant posting about it on an internet discussion board. What would your girlfriend say?
    Ha! Not that I mean that to be offensive right there, but I was raised Catholic, man. We keep that stuff behind closed doors. :-)
    ...You see there? My desire to not cause offence is so great that I've even used an emoticon. I feel dirty.

And Eth... Aristotle is the best of the ancient Greek philosophers, although that doesn't mean everything he says is right, of course (and I'm not even talking about the more blatant stuff like "natural slaves"). I did a semester of classics last year, and I think it definitely helps (though to what precise extent I'm not certain) to have at least a rough knowledge of ancient Greece / Athens as far as interpretation of bizarre statements go.
    And have you any Ovid? Sleazy pick-up books, woo!
    Then, on the subject of philosophy generally, my favourite philosopher thus far has been Adam Smith - get a copy of The Theory of Moral Sentiments, if you can the version edited by D.D. Raphael, which is out of print but you can probably get from www.abebooks.co.uk

[Sedodes]

...or have sex on a frequent enough basis...

Viropher, this is an internet discussion board.  About a game that's over a decade old.

What would your girlfriend say?

"Our sex life is worthy of mention to your geek friends?  Wow, do I ever feel special."  With scads of sarcasm no less.

Ha! Not that I mean that to be offensive right there, but I was raised Catholic, man. We keep that stuff behind closed doors. :-)

Well, for one you were RAISED Catholic... but any of us with the barest semblance of a memory will remember your distaste for organized religion (likely stemming from your upbringing) which, to an extent, invalidates you citing the antiquated dogma of Catholicism.  While I will agree that discussing my sex life online is generally out of place, it was pertinent to explaining the situation.  Without going into a rant about theories regarding an association between violence and the general stigma about sexual expression in the U.S., I personally don't find it a subject which should be forcibly avoided.

...You see there? My desire to not cause offence is so great that I've even used an emoticon. I feel dirty.

See my signature, Viropher?  Was it ever like that when you were "active?"  No, it wasn't.  I for one can't blame you for your emoticon; that smiley likely saved you from some backlash though ironically none of it would've been from me.  Sarcasm is a lost art here... these miserable sots have gone soft.  Yet another reason I beckon your return (though I still remember your locking of MY sarcastic topic thanks to Lukipela's board history topic).

And Eth... Aristotle is the best of the ancient Greek philosophers, although that doesn't mean everything he says is right, of course (and I'm not even talking about the more blatant stuff like "natural slaves"). I did a semester of classics last year, and I think it definitely helps (though to what precise extent I'm not certain) to have at least a rough knowledge of ancient Greece / Athens as far as interpretation of bizarre statements go.

What about Socrates?  Well, what he's credited with, anyway... you've got to hand it to a guy who defines his windom in terms of his awareness of his ignorance.

Then, on the subject of philosophy generally, my favourite philosopher thus far has been Adam Smith - get a copy of The Theory of Moral Sentiments, if you can the version edited by D.D. Raphael, which is out of print but you can probably get from www.abebooks.co.uk

Ahhh yes, I remember now.  I was going to damn you for slamming Kant.  Yes, I've graduated from existentialism to transcendental idealism and abandoned Nietzsche is favour of Kant.  Insofar as Smith is concerned, I personally find it somewhat disturbing that someone credited more predominently as an economist than a philosopher is your favourite, Viropher.  Though I haven't read The Theory of Moral Sentiements, I did read Wealth of Nations, and found it interesting but not particularly earht-shattering.

[fluffy_banana]

See my signature, Viropher?  Was it ever like that when you were "active?"  No, it wasn't.  I for one can't blame you for your emoticon; that smiley likely saved you from some backlash though ironically none of it would've been from me.  Sarcasm is a lost art here... these miserable sots have gone soft.  Yet another reason I beckon your return (though I still remember your locking of MY sarcastic topic thanks to Lukipela's board history topic).

Oh, yes. I totally agree. I'm never sarcastic around here.

[Viropher]

You know what, ASB? Thank you - thank you because even though I thought your post was slightly more vitriolic than it needed to be, I know you were exercising constraint. I've noticed you seemed a lot more relaxed these days, and I certainly don't want to cause any petty, well-worded arguments, so thank you for your consideration.
   As for Smith - come on, now. The Wealth of Nations is well known because it basically invented economics, it's not reasonable to expect it to change how you see the world or anything. And I'm sure you don't find it "disturbing", because the fact that he was involved in economics as well as philosophy is totally irrelevant, not because they're too different fields but because if you read his philosophical work you'd find it perfectly interesting and unconnected with his work in economics. You only say it's disturbing (in my view) because you've got a penchant for the dramatic. Please don't bother with it here, though, because philosophy is important to me and I find it hurtful that you'd use phrasing which seems to question my opinions simply because you're used to addressing me in an argumentative fashion.

Now, we're all friends, ha? I only mentioned Catholicism as a joke, to lighten my tone because I didn't want to seem confrontational. Self-deprecation is a wonderful thing, something I employ in conversation on a regular basis - humility, as I see, being a very important trait. Please, for the love of God, don't quote some post I made months ago to show that I can be egotistical, because everyone screws up sometimes, and people tend to improve at one rate or another over time anyway.

Again, I appreciate whatever effort you make to not be enraged or offended by anything I say, even this sentence, which, although it could conceivably be construed as condescending, is I assure you meant in the utmost spirit of diplomacy and indeed sincere friendliness.

[Viropher]

Furthermore, as a more or less needless post script regarding Socrates - his attitude toward knowledge/ignorance may have been admirable, but virtually all of the views ascribed to him by Plato (most certainly all those which I have studied) are wrong, from the immortality of the soul, to innate knowledge (although this is a complex issue in terms of its "wrongness", as Chomsky would tell you), to his rather extreme take on civic duties. Wilful acceptance of an unjust execution, anyone? Oh dear.

...And as yet another post script, I just looked at a list of my most recent posts (how narcissistic is that? Very. Although, of course, I wasn't doing it in an actually self-admiring fashion. I hope.) I've said some pretty insulting stuff. Woo. Every page seems to be a load of vitriol and one "manners are important" post. Ha! I'm glad I said that thing in my above post about people changing over time, eh? Damn. Now we just have to wait for a few days until I prove myself a hypocrite... But wait! I said people have bad days! I wonder if that'll cover me in future...

P.P.P.S. I even said "Dutch people are so boringly polite" (note: I was joking at the time)! How's that for running rings around myself? Is being polite good or bad?! We need answers! Oh, wait, I'm addressing myself. Cripes. Well, if I wanted to be pedantic I could say it depends on context.
    Incidentally, I can't sleep. I've had my fun, and now O think it's time me and Morphius (pretention) had a bit of a round two.

[Sedodes]

Yes, I'll admit my post was intended to be slightly on the confrontational side.  But I always enjoyed our "witty" arguments far more than our boring, pinky-out-while-sipping-tea agreements.  For better or for worse, it seems that neither of us are sincerely interested in investing the elitism required to maintain our prior "exhuberance."  I suppose we'll just be boring sots now.

As I've said elsewhere it's not so much that I'm more "relaxed," merely that there's many fewer "triggers" on the board these days.  I do find that I have much less of the old seething, stone-crushing rage these days.  Discovering one's niche in life tends to remove a lot of the stress of slowly grinding against "the rest of the world" like tectonic plates.  That said...


RE:  Smith

Actually, I find quite a few parallels between his work as an economist and his philosophical opinions (insofar as I understand them, in any case -- I fancy myself as being adequately versed in both economics and philosophy, though admittedly moreso than adequate in the former to an extent which my flavour the later).  Perhaps "disturbing" was a bit on the dramatic side, but it was certainly surprising and wasn't meant to be as overtly argumentative as you may have thought.  I'd always considered you to be much more of the "consider the source" mindset than the "objective merit" method of thinking (not to speak ill of either, mind you) and as a result thought Smith's economics-influenced way of thinking might raise red flags for you.


RE:  Socrates

Where Plato's views and Socrates' diverged is a point of some contention, and I won't defend any of either's aside from saying that all philisophical outlooks have value to an (arguably) "equal" extent depending on societal, political, and economic climates of the time.  I'd also like to mention that as you pointed out everyone changes -- let's just hope that the lot of us don't change our minds AFTER accepting something as permanent as an unjust execution 


RE:  Ego, Humility, and Narcissism

Are ultimately constructed by the receiver of the message, not the sender.  As such, the attempt to encode messages or actions as either is irrelevant.  Be yourself.  Someone somewhere will "get it."

[Viropher]

Very roughly, Smith said we understand the actions and motivations of others according to a (sub)conscious process whereby we imagine ourselves in their position, or their position as we imagine it. I don't see what this has to do with economics, frankly. He talks about the very basic mechanics of how we perform ethical calculations. I tell you what, go read the Theory of Moral Sentiments, it's not that long and may even be on the internet somewhere, then come back and we'll discuss it. Stop trying to play the expert game all the time!