UK readers?

[Plasmacaster]

Oh your too kind!

How's it going Plas dude?

not bad thanks

Watching Derren Brown at the moment. This episode rules!

 

[Pengy]

not bad thanks

Watching Derren Brown at the moment. This episode rules!

The annoying thing about him is.....how the hell does he do it!

 

[Plasmacaster]

The annoying thing about him is.....how the hell does he do it!

I think a lot of it is observation. If you watch human nature and study it under a microscope, or you watch people in general you notice various universal traits. I think he's very good at watching people and acting on the information he already has. I also think he's mnemonic, meaning he has perfect memory. Usually its when someone has photographic memory (like me) and works on perfecting it. I mean my head is like a big filing cabinet, stuff goes in all the time, its not ever neatly filed away but at least I don't lose anything. A mnemonic has the entire thing sorted, filed and catagorised so that whenever you want you can just pick the relevant information. The rest.... I wouldn't know.

 

[Pengy]

Yeah, a large part of it has got to be to do with watching people, and picking up on body language.

Lets try it, i'll think of a number, and you try to guess it.

 

[Plasmacaster]

Yeah, a large part of it has got to be to do with watching people, and picking up on body language.

Lets try it, i'll think of a number, and you try to guess it.

Is it 37?

 

[Pengy]

Is it 37?

Damn, man, thats spooky.....i was thinking 184, but changed it to 37! wooo

 

[Plasmacaster]

Damn, man, thats spooky.....i was thinking 184, but changed it to 37! wooo

Creepy. Now if you were to say, pick a number between 10 and 100, where both numbers have to be odd and neither can be the same, the usual guess is 37. Try it out. Fool your friends

 

[Marsipanne]

Derren Brown is coool. I like the scientific stuff at the beginning, where they say it's based on observation and psychology and things like that. Passing it off as magic is really quite sad nowadays. They know people are going to try and figure out how he does it regardless--nobody really believes that it's magic.

 

[mark197205]

Derren Brown is coool. I like the scientific stuff at the beginning, where they say it's based on observation and psychology and things like that. Passing it off as magic is really quite sad nowadays. They know people are going to try and figure out how he does it regardless--nobody really believes that it's magic.

Marsi!!
LTNS, how have you been?

 

[Marsipanne]

I've been cool. I've just moved house, so it's all been a bit mad!

 

[mark197205]

I've been cool. I've just moved house, so it's all been a bit mad!

Im glad to know your doing ok, been kind of wondering when I would see you again, I've missed your hyper-ness around the place
Does this mean you will be back with us a bit more now you have moved?

 

[Plasmacaster]

I've been cool. I've just moved house, so it's all been a bit mad!

MARSI!!!!!!!!

Been ages since I've seen you! How're you doing hun? (except the moving house bit obviously)

 

[Marsipanne]

Ha! Be prepared for hyper-ness overload. I commented to my friends the other day that I haven't had a major looks-crush for ages!! Is this a change in my personality or just a lack of majorly good-looking guys??? I think it's the latter, sadly. BUT, I've been overdosing on reading romance, and forcing other people to read it. Some of my acquaintance-friends people have been quite shocked, because I read rather trashy bodice-rippers. She said to me: "I expected you to read a book, like, THAT thick full of words I wouldn't understand. I didn't expect YOU to read this kind of stuff!" Apparently, I must appear rather literary snob-kind or whatever! I do speak weird though.

Gawd, that's a semi-rant already!

 

[Plasmacaster]

Ha! Be prepared for hyper-ness overload. I commented to my friends the other day that I haven't had a major looks-crush for ages!! Is this a change in my personality or just a lack of majorly good-looking guys??? I think it's the latter, sadly. BUT, I've been overdosing on reading romance, and forcing other people to read it. Some of my acquaintance-friends people have been quite shocked, because I read rather trashy bodice-rippers. She said to me: "I expected you to read a book, like, THAT thick full of words I wouldn't understand. I didn't expect YOU to read this kind of stuff!" Apparently, I must appear rather literary snob-kind or whatever! I do speak weird though.

Gawd, that's a semi-rant already!

is it a rantette?

Mybe just a mini rant? Micro rant? Rant-in-a-can?

 

[Marsipanne]

How about 'Marsism'?
Wow, just one consonant away from Marxism. Though I don't think that I'm Marxist. I'm all for atheism and secularisation etc. but the whole thing about workers unite seems to baffle me, rather. I mean, my Dad used to be a Red Army captain kind of person (not the military type, more of the cultural revolutionary type) but he wasn't actually communist. None of my family are actually Party members. Mind you, I'm no expert on Marxism. I know a brief smattering of the content in das Kapital.

I've been listening to 'frontier psychiatry' by the Avalanches on loop recently. That's a hilarious song!!!

 

[Plasmacaster]

How about 'Marsism'?
Wow, just one consonant away from Marxism. Though I don't think that I'm Marxist. I'm all for atheism and secularisation etc. but the whole thing about workers unite seems to baffle me, rather. I mean, my Dad used to be a Red Army captain kind of person (not the military type, more of the cultural revolutionary type) but he wasn't actually communist. None of my family are actually Party members. Mind you, I'm no expert on Marxism. I know a brief smattering of the content in das Kapital.

I've been listening to 'frontier psychiatry' by the Avalanches on loop recently. That's a hilarious song!!!

The album is pretty good too. Its actually one long mix of which Frontier Psychiatrist is track 13. I've got the music video too. Both are pretty cool

Marxism's 'workers unite' theme is essentially down to the role that the workers play in the world. Normally the Workers/proletariat have very little control in the world because those in power are traditionally the rich factory owners and the like. They have a vested interest in not letting the workers gain power so the proletariat is usually controlled with a mix of religion, media and enforcement through the police or army. So the only choice left for the proletariat if they want to have any control of their own lives is to rise up and use the fact that there are more workers than enforcers, factory owners etc... and take control for themselves.

Not sure I believe all of it, but it does make a good point about control.

 

[Marsipanne]

The album is pretty good too. Its actually one long mix of which Frontier Psychiatrist is track 13. I've got the music video too. Both are pretty cool

Marxism's 'workers unite' theme is essentially down to the role that the workers play in the world. Normally the Workers/proletariat have very little control in the world because those in power are traditionally the rich factory owners and the like. They have a vested interest in not letting the workers gain power so the proletariat is usually controlled with a mix of religion, media and enforcement through the police or army. So the only choice left for the proletariat if they want to have any control of their own lives is to rise up and use the fact that there are more workers than enforcers, factory owners etc... and take control for themselves.

Not sure I believe all of it, but it does make a good point about control.

Yeah.. you know, both capitalism and communism have huge problems. Both will cause a lot of suffering. You know what's really bugging me now? The textiles imports boundaries for China. They had them for ages, and then for about half a year now they've gone down because they went out of date. Of course, the imports increased into UK, Europe, USA by like 600% or some ridiculous amount. Might be a bit more than that. But it's HUGE. Now because the competition is getting too stiff, they want to reimpose tariffs so that China can't import as much. You know? It's rampant exporting of goods that made UK, USA etc. so successful! Because they had products they could sell on the international market successfully. It's a bit unfair to stop other countries from rising.

I was reading an article in Newsweek which kinda hinted that China is full of nationalist propaganda (not the party, more like anti-Japanese stuff) and that that's why there are the demonstrations. To be honest, even though I lived 3 years of my life in China (of which I can remember none of) and I do not watch Chinese news and I am influenced very little by Chinese 'propaganda', I'd join in those demonstrations. I don't think the government needs propaganda to make people in China nationalist. I think we're just born and bred that way, regardless of where we grow up. Most of my Chinese friends would do the same. I mean, I have nothing against the Japanese people themselves (otherwise I wouldn't buy so much manga!) but the government's attitude towards their war crimes is unacceptable.

 

[mark197205]

Good evening Marsi

 

[Plasmacaster]

Yeah.. you know, both capitalism and communism have huge problems. Both will cause a lot of suffering. You know what's really bugging me now? The textiles imports boundaries for China. They had them for ages, and then for about half a year now they've gone down because they went out of date. Of course, the imports increased into UK, Europe, USA by like 600% or some ridiculous amount. Might be a bit more than that. But it's HUGE. Now because the competition is getting too stiff, they want to reimpose tariffs so that China can't import as much. You know? It's rampant exporting of goods that made UK, USA etc. so successful! Because they had products they could sell on the international market successfully. It's a bit unfair to stop other countries from rising.

I was reading an article in Newsweek which kinda hinted that China is full of nationalist propaganda (not the party, more like anti-Japanese stuff) and that that's why there are the demonstrations. To be honest, even though I lived 3 years of my life in China (of which I can remember none of) and I do not watch Chinese news and I am influenced very little by Chinese 'propaganda', I'd join in those demonstrations. I don't think the government needs propaganda to make people in China nationalist. I think we're just born and bred that way, regardless of where we grow up. Most of my Chinese friends would do the same. I mean, I have nothing against the Japanese people themselves (otherwise I wouldn't buy so much manga!) but the government's attitude towards their war crimes is unacceptable.

One thing that always bugs me is how recently 'democracy' is considered the only way that freedom can be had. They're saying that its the only method of government that allows for an individual. This is only the view of people who have no idea of how other governmental systems work. People say that communism is corrupt, well yeah, that's human nature. Do you think that democracy isn't corrupt? the only systems that democracy is better than is Anarchy and Dictatorship. And that's only because they are usually too severe.

Personally I think its pretty hypocritical of any government to condemn another country for glossing over the atrocities commited in war. I doubt there is a single country that hasn't. I know China has done some things its not proud of, I know the UK has too. Japan admittedly performed some pretty serious war crimes I mean they tortured their prisoners to a terrible degree. They're probably a lot more serious than the majority of things that countries have done (with the exceptions of the 'civilised' european countries like Spain, the UK and Italy) but the only reason that japan is unable to do the same as the other countries is because of the world we currently live in with the global media.

Its a good thing that Japan can't gloss over their history, but we shouldn't hold the view that all other countries are innocent of such things.

 

[zukethecuke]

One thing that always bugs me is how recently 'democracy' is considered the only way that freedom can be had. They're saying that its the only method of government that allows for an individual. This is only the view of people who have no idea of how other governmental systems work. People say that communism is corrupt, well yeah, that's human nature. Do you think that democracy isn't corrupt? the only systems that democracy is better than is Anarchy and Dictatorship. And that's only because they are usually too severe.
.

Don't confuse a system of government (direct democracy, democratic republic, consitutional monarchy, absolute monarchy/dictatorship, oligarchy, et cetera) with the economic system (capitalism, regulated capitalism, socialism, communism). A democracy may be capitalist or communist, as might a dictatorship. Some make better marriages than others, but you do need to distinguish.

 

[Marsipanne]

Good evening Marsi

morning mark

I never stay on one site long enough to have proper convos with people. I tend to wander round the net doing google news searches. I'm becoming obsessed with google news. It's so good!

 

[Marsipanne]

Don't confuse a system of government (direct democracy, democratic republic, consitutional monarchy, absolute monarchy/dictatorship, oligarchy, et cetera) with the economic system (capitalism, regulated capitalism, socialism, communism). A democracy may be capitalist or communist, as might a dictatorship. Some make better marriages than others, but you do need to distinguish.

You know, China IS trying to be more democratic, but it's trying to make it Chinese communist style democracy, which may seem a little odd to some people. I know too little about this kind of thing to make a reasonable comment, but it sounds like an interesting idea. I remember Marx writing about the stages of communism. One of the stages explicitly stated the requirement of there being a dictator to preside over the conversion to communism.

Yeah, and re. the Japanese attitudes to war crimes. Junichiro Koizumi has officially apologised for them, but it seems like lip service when he goes and visits the shrines of the war dead, including those who are war criminals. And when the government-issued history textbooks view the death of 300,000 with ambiguity. Iris Chang recently committed suicide, having researched about the Rape of Nanjing. The comment by one Japanese official was that this showed that she was wrong, and that the Japanese were right all along. I mean, patriotism is all right, but to that degree? When you're blatantly denying the truth?? There is no question that hundreds of thousands were brutally murdered in the most disgusting ways imaginable in Nanjing. I read fantasy novels, and they can get pretty imaginative when it comes to killing and torture. Still, when I read an article in a newspaper about Nanjing, I was absolutely shocked. I found it hard to believe that ordinary soldiers could do this, not some mad rampaging lunatic.

China hasn't treated this subject well though. It's to the government's shame that it was an American-Chinese who first wrote about Nanjing. It's a rather odd subject in China. It's something everybody feels very strongly about, but nothing has been definitively written about. I think that there is some sort of shame about how the Chinese soldiers failed to protect the people of Nanjing. But even thinking about what went on there and in various other places in China during the Japanese occupation makes me shudder. 30 million dead is not a small number. That's half the British population!!

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. A couple of months ago a manga got banned because it depicted the rape of nanjing. They're definitely trying to keep the younger generations from knowing too much of what they did.

 

[Plasmacaster]

You know, China IS trying to be more democratic, but it's trying to make it Chinese communist style democracy, which may seem a little odd to some people. I know too little about this kind of thing to make a reasonable comment, but it sounds like an interesting idea. I remember Marx writing about the stages of communism. One of the stages explicitly stated the requirement of there being a dictator to preside over the conversion to communism.

Yeah, and re. the Japanese attitudes to war crimes. Junichiro Koizumi has officially apologised for them, but it seems like lip service when he goes and visits the shrines of the war dead, including those who are war criminals. And when the government-issued history textbooks view the death of 300,000 with ambiguity. Iris Chang recently committed suicide, having researched about the Rape of Nanjing. The comment by one Japanese official was that this showed that she was wrong, and that the Japanese were right all along. I mean, patriotism is all right, but to that degree? When you're blatantly denying the truth?? There is no question that hundreds of thousands were brutally murdered in the most disgusting ways imaginable in Nanjing. I read fantasy novels, and they can get pretty imaginative when it comes to killing and torture. Still, when I read an article in a newspaper about Nanjing, I was absolutely shocked. I found it hard to believe that ordinary soldiers could do this, not some mad rampaging lunatic.

China hasn't treated this subject well though. It's to the government's shame that it was an American-Chinese who first wrote about Nanjing. It's a rather odd subject in China. It's something everybody feels very strongly about, but nothing has been definitively written about. I think that there is some sort of shame about how the Chinese soldiers failed to protect the people of Nanjing. But even thinking about what went on there and in various other places in China during the Japanese occupation makes me shudder. 30 million dead is not a small number. That's half the British population!!

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. A couple of months ago a manga got banned because it depicted the rape of nanjing. They're definitely trying to keep the younger generations from knowing too much of what they did.

Its been a very long time since I was shocked at how inhumane humans can be. I think there would have to be something really truly amazingly bad to shock me again. I've read about nanjing too by the way.

Just don't blow this out of proportion. There have been a lot of horrific events in the past and its wrong to assume that this sort of thing will never happen again. What with the enslavement of the africans, the way the English dealt with indian rebels, the spanish inquisition, the crusades, rome's bloodsports etc... hunamity has many things that we're good at and I think the best one is causing each other pain and suffering.

Have we moved on since WW2? Take a look at the way that Iraqi prisoners were treated, defying the geneva conventions or their treatment down at guantanamo bay. Right now there are people being tortured across the world.

And if we're talking bodycounts, 400,000 children die per hour from starvation every day of every year and yet millions are spent on developing weapons. That's 6400,000 children so far today.

As long as humans act like bickering children living in the past rather than the now then we will only know misery.

 

[mark197205]

morning mark

I never stay on one site long enough to have proper convos with people. I tend to wander round the net doing google news searches. I'm becoming obsessed with google news. It's so good!

LOL
No wonder we never see you very much anymore

 

[Marsipanne]

LOL
No wonder we never see you very much anymore

I'm very bad at posting on one message board! My first entertainment priority is to read lots and lots of book. Which I do! I usually read a book a day when i'm not so busy and 3 a week otherwise