h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As everybody and their Granny by now has heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder, in these darkening days, has anybody any ideas of how to make people happy? Its one of my favourite pastimes. Is it also true you can't be good to others as well as being good to yourself? I think, personally, you can. What do you think?
Hxx

Trying to be nice to others and to yourself, is one of the universally difficult tasks which we earthlings try to accomplish.

You can try and make people happy and constantly try to 'do good' but ultimately there is always going to be a sense of self motivation in it. There is no truely selfless act.

However a good tickle and a wet fish always make people happy or a rather good gargle-blaster also helps

Stuart

I'm not ticklish. therefore, I get to be evil to other poeple who are, tee hee
Hxx

being selfish or selfless do seem to be mutually exclusive.
but I suppose if the selfless part is very simple
(using the tickling stick) and the selfish part is very big
(recieving the tickle) then thats a good balance?

we crossed, that must be lucky..or unlucky?

I read yesterday that if you eat spinach once a week it makes you happier......

Interesting, I find chocolate works too, but thats more than once a week.

Lucky, very lucky. Or maybe its like black cats, nobody knows, or can make up their mind. But I say its lucky!

being nice is slightly over-rated. being nasty has its benefits, and hey, you can always pretend you are nice to people you find attractive until you have slept with them...oh no, I was trying to conceal my rampant chauvenism...dear Gods :O)
Sorry for anyone with a sarcasm bypass, I didn't mean 'much' of that...

cool, I'll go bet my life savings on something!

Hello,
I guess it depends.. who do you want to make happy? A phone call to someone whom you havn't been in contact with for a while, compliments, a hug, take someone to the cinema... if you want to make me happy, you can do my homework. Nothing would make me happier than someone who knocked on the door in the purpose to do my maths.
Oh, and of course you can be good to yourself as the same time you are good to others. I think that when you are being good to other people, that makes you feel better, and then you are good to yourself. Simple..

Online,
xXx

nice IS over-rated.
but most nice people cant help it and same goes for nasty

Agree with you there..
in one way you can feel sorry for the nice people, because surely nast people have more fun.

vakuum
>x<

Oh and should "dont" have an apostraphe in it?

I'm must be a really sad person then. I like being nice to people, it's fun. Sometimes it is good to be nice for no reason. One of the universal truthes is that what goes around comes around. I've been helped by strangers & friends many times, and try to do the same when the op. arises.

Of course, being human, sometimes I just can't help being evil now & again.

H&K
Z

spot the journo!

There is differet kinds of being nice and being nasty, though...
I don't mind helping people, I do that quite often, but I think there is a difference between not being able to say "no" to people, and to be a nice person.
It's like Freud's 3 personality stages : try to stay in the middle, and think about yourself at the same time that you're thinking about others. Then I think you'd be able to be nice to people at the same time that you are nice to yourself.. then you feel good, and when you feel good it's easier to be good.
What I meant about being nasty, is not that it is cool to be a mean and hearless person. But it might be fun to throw a snowball at people every now and then...

I shall use that as my maxim for the day (without the snowballs bit

Brechts "The good Woman of Sezhuan (I think thats how you spell it) Is about the problems of being good to others as well as to yourself, and how Shen Tai completely failed, and had to dress herself up as an evil cousin to do so!
As for being nice, I was just trying to cheer myself up by making other people happy. Sigh.

I think we crossed again my lovely! My maxim for the day is don't skip cøass to check your email, damn...
Hxx