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

Thought I'd stop in and say hello. Although you seem to be quite the lurker you also seem to end up on many of my somewhat 'controversial' threads - which I always appreciate. A rational and intelligent input is always very welcome!

I don't actually mean to ever be 'controversial'. It's just that certain topics interest me. You know what I mean?

I have seen (by lurking myself!) that you are also a friend of Ben. Me too, or at least I hope Ben sees me as a friend. We have a few hootoo friends in common, at least, and I always enjoy talking with her, especially when she occasionally does the msn thing with me.

Well, that's all really. A greeting and just letting you know how much I appreciate your input.

az

Good morning/afternoon, Az!

The way I look at 'being controversial' is that it's just another name for trying to get people to explore their premises, and to make an assessment as to whether they're consistent with an integrated value system. Nothing wrong with that as long as the controversial one is doing the same thing at the same time. Seems to me that you do that.

I just read your link in the homophobia thread, am having coffee and seething at the final line-- Bush's statement that the job of the president is to drive us towards the ideal.

Which ideal? Fundamental religious ideals of a loving and smiting God who should be feared and groveled to? Or the ideal of a democracy based in a state which allows for its citizens to have the inalienable right to pursue happiness, to live free of arbitrary discrimination, to equal opportunity...... arrrrrgh!

Sorry for the rant. I'm in the midst of a personal challenge, trying to figure out just why it wouldn't be better overall for something terrible and final to happen to prevent Bush making a bad job worse. Haven't gotten that far with a creative solution yet. *sigh*

Sometimes I think that maybe the good that'll come out of his reign is that he'll direct so much horror and destruction upon the world that Americans FINALLY, even if it's only out of guilt, *get it* that's it's no more justifiable for us to impose The American Way of worshiping material goods and global dominance through brute force than it would be for someone else to force us to give up our 'freedom'.

Are you American? Sorry, I'm never sure where hootoo people live.

On the 'born again Bush' thread I started I was so amazed and shocked that Alec kept trying to say we were making all this up! It made me seriously worry that many or even most Americans see things this way.

As if they are so placated with cable tv, cheap petrol and junk food that they don't ever take a good look around to see what is REALLY happening in their country!

I come from Canada and, quite frankly, one of the reasons I moved to Europe fourteen years ago was to get away from the 'noisy neighbours'. I very sadly watched my country become engulfed in 'American' standards and viewpoints . . . I felt like I no longer belonged there to be honest. Canada used to be such a wonderful country to live in. And it still *is*, I know. Especially compared to many other countries. I mean, it has one of the best social health care systems on the planet and, well, Canadians *are* very nice people, non-nationalistic and all that. I just felt like I would feel more at home in Europe. And I was right. I've never felt so 'at home' any place as I do here in Spain.

Not that I am anti-American. In fact, every single American person I know (and I know a lot) are totally anti-Bush, anti-war and anti-whatever-else-nonsense-sh*t he is trying to push through as law.

But there remains this very scary and massive bunch of mid-western Christians . . .

The scariest thing being that nobody is taking them seriously!

Also, if Bush wangled the vote last time to get elected, then what assurance is there that he won't just do this again?

az

Alec and I both live in south Florida, USA. My take on his posts was not that he thinks people are trying to make things up, but rather that the issues are far more complex than the writer of the article makes it appear. I didn't care for the black-and-white portrayal of fundamental Christians OR Enlightenment either, no middle way, with the inherent assumption that fundamentalism is just *wrong*. The whole idea of a Christian-based government gives me the creepy crawlies, but it's a bit irresponsible to represent it in that way. I took it as if Alec was pointing out that it's no better to respond to an emotional appeal to enlightenment than to God's will interpreted by Bush.

The area I live in is very different from much of the rest of the country. It's extremely transient with a huge population of people of many diverse backgrounds. Our local economy is mostly based in tourism and the service industry. Miami has a good bit of agriculture and import/export. Residents here really have no choice but to interact closely with others who have divergent cultures, lifestyles, and ideas. It's really hard to live here and think there's only one way to function as a society.

Definitely not all, but many Americans just plain haven't been exposed to alternative viewpoints. Many people believe that they're well informed because they watch the same news channel on tv every day. Many people believe that our war-mongering is the only way to protect us from an invasion of Moslems who would send us right back into the dark ages given half a chance. Bush has been very effective at terrorizing our nation. That fear has been played on heavily, and it's not only middle America where it's taken hold. I've run across a number of intelligent, informed people who will vote Bush because they're afraid that he's the only one who'll be able to maintain security, even though they're apalled at the way he's managed his office.

There is no assurance at all that next November's election will reflect the will of those who vote. Last I heard (and things might have changed since then) it was decided that Florida would not be a state that would figure out a way to affix a printer to the electronic polling stations so people could verify that their vote went through as intended. Very scary, indeed.

It's the nature of people you *would* meet that they're anti-Bush, anti-war, and interested in becoming part of a global community that gives a shit about their neighbors. Their world extends farther than the latest Reality TV show that invades the living room.

Fair enough, but Alex also replied to my four other links (after he wrote off the Guardian one) in the same manner. Like it was all just over the top fantasy and nothing to worry about.

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Oh, I don't don't know about that. Everything I read about laws being changed, etc are all about the Christian right taking over.

I also know about the fear-mongering.

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Yes, I know, which is why I start all these threads. I am trying to create some more public awareness, knowing that many h2g2 users are from the US.

I am trying to create some discussion. Some awareness. I am really scared about what the US is doing. Look at one of its effects here recently in Spain, the Madrid bombings (and yes, that was also the fault of the ex-president for dragging Spain into a war that 94% of the population didn't want).

Bush wants perpetual war. He f**king hears God talking to him and giving him orders! How nuts in the head to you have to be to think you are the recipient of God's Word???

There is a total madman running the the United States of America, and nobody seems to notice. Yes, I know they are all mad somehow (who the hell would want to be president if they weren't at least a bit crazy?) but this is too much.

Bush is no different from Osama, except he has bigger weapons. They both want exactly the same thing. But you see, the rest of the world doesn't want this. Europe doesn't want this, for sure.

Meanwhile, I like hearing your opinions. Keep them coming. Because I want to know more about how Americans really feel. My take is that this massive Christian middle America population is the scariest thing going because so many of them have *no* idea of the reality of the situation. As long as they have their cable tv, fast food, cheap gas, etc. It really scares me.

az

If you want to know what Alec was really getting at, maybe go to his space and tell him how you interpreted his words and ask for clarification. I have a feeling that he'll surprise you. Sometimes his brevity and dry sense of humor aren't totally clear. I don't know what he thinks, have just seen this sort of misunderstanding go out of control before.

The interesting thing about that vast middle America is that, given the way our government is supposed to work, if they're the ones voting, and that's what they want, they have as much right as anyone to try to make the changes they believe are needed.

Education truly isn't a priority in this country. Passing tests is. Thinking isn't valued, having an acceptable answer is. If there are enough people here who believe that God gave all the answers and His Word is the final authority, and they're willing to vote that way, well, I guess we'll have to see how things fall out. I guess if millions think that the Pope is a direct conduit to the will of God then there's no reason Bush shouldn't be too. The one seems no more bizarre to me than the other.

What do you think Europe is going to do about it if Bush continues on his current path?

Oh, I've had nice chats with Alec before and, yes, will go and ask him about what he meant. Off-thread.

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Believe it or not, I don't have a political bone in my body, so it's weird that I keep ending up in these political debates. Since I am probably not well-informed enough to make an intelligent comment really. I guess it is the human rights issues I go on about more, which ends up being political. And well, okay, I did start that thread about born-again Bush because he truly scares the f**kity out of me.

I'll have a think and get back to you. Right now I have to sprawl on my sofa with my cats because I have spent the past four days with quite serious back pain. OUch. Which may also be why I'm maybe not making as much sense as I would like to be doing at the moment . . .

Oh well.

az

I've never been politically driven either, hate the whole screwed up mess, to be honest. I used to very successfully avoid it all, but the events of the last few years finally caused me to choose the lesser evil and take a stance.

Az-- don't forget, when I opinionate I'm just one rather eccentric person, and am not representative of most Americans. I haven't watched TV for years and most of my news comes from internet and public radio. Everythng I say comes through my own filter.

Hope your back is mending and the cats aren't bouncing on your tummy. I have a wicked lil cat who's decided to gift me with hairballs recently. She's never done that before, so I bought the hairball-control food in hopes that the yarking will cease. If not I'm afraid I'm gonna have to shave her, which is certain to be an interesting experience.

I am happy to report that the old back is feeling *almost* normal again (which means, only somewhat painful). Because of my compressed disk I am never totally painfree, but this past week really has been a doozy! The other day I bought a Pilates dvd and will start doing that soon to try and build up stomach and back strength.

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I could say the same, except that I'm probably not representative of most humans!

However, after the Madrid bombings I found myself suddenly reading three different newspapers and opinionating like mad here because many people had a very unclear idea of Spain's reasons for voting out Bush's buddy Aznar. I suddenly became 'h2g2's correspondent in Spain' which felt quite weird. But it meant I was also passing on the real opinions of the Spanish people, not just mouthing off as usual.

I think with the way things are going now it is impossible to remain totally apolitical.

az

Glad your back is normalizing! Pilates is a great program to strenthen the middle. I have tapes here that I need to start working with, too. Discipline..... *sigh*

This weekend we'll be having the Sea and Air Show, which is a HUGE extravaganza. Since 9/11 they've booted out the flying troupes from other countries and turned it into a McDonalds-sponsored military show with thanks on the beach and armed forces recruiting efforts everywhere. I miss the Canadian Snowbirds. They're such fabulous pilots.

My friends all meet here at my place and we walk down to the beach, mingle with the seething masses and spend the day drinking beer and hopefully not getting too sunburned. I'm very curious to experience it this year. I've always loved precision flying, and the spectacle of the beach and the road totally packed with people, the endless rows of food vendors, the ocean cluttered with literally thousands of boats is pretty overwhelming. I have a feeling I'm going to find it upsetting when the fighters come roaring in from the west. It shakes everything, the sound fills your mind so you can't even think. I'm not able to experience the thrill of that any more without thinking of the people whom we've 'liberated', who've had that experience come into their lives as a surprise and who don't know what's going to be the next target of destruction.

Oh, I cannot deal at all with the sound of fighter planes. There is a huge American airbase stationed in Càdiz, about an hour's drive from here. Last year, when the war started, without any warning, a whole whack of them flew screaming overhead (presumably on their way to base) and I had the worst panic attack ever! I had to stop myself from 'hitting the dirt!' but I was left shaking for quite awhile afterwards.

And last November while out walking by the river with a friend visiting from Canada we realised there was an airshow going on. Again, I was suddenly overwhelmed with fear and had to take a tranquilizer (never leave home without them!) and hold onto my friend David's hand until we were able to walk 'out of range' of where the pilots were flying.

So, obviously, airshows are not for me!

Though when I lived in Toronto I did enjoy the flyby of Concorde during the annual airshow, which did three very graceful circles around the CN Tower, which I could watch from my balcony on the 26th floor.

A few years ago here, when they were testing whether they could use Seville as a Concorde connection (unbeknownst to me) I was out riding my bike along the river and suddenly THERE IT WAS coming in for a landing directly over my head! I *wanted* to look, but ended up covering my head with my arms and shaking like a leaf until it had passed over.

Heck, I can't even deal with the sound of helicopters overhead. It has sometimes made me wonder if in a previous life I had lived in Nazi Germany. Though apparently this is also a usual nightmare for people who have suffered childhood physical and sexual abuse (which is me) that they have a real *thing* about Nazis.

Usually I'd be all for anything that included hanging around outside drinking beer with friends in the sun - well, anything *but* airshows. Hence, I have never seen the Snowbirds except on television.

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Um, yes. Well, I have gone so far as to buy the Pilates dvd, so I am hoping to find some discipline somewhere . . .

az

Sorry for the long hiatus. I've been having a problem with spooks in my 'puter, nothing was working right. Finally had my trusted guru come over to exorcize the machine and he found 131 viruses spawning in its guts.

We had the Snowbirds this year at the airshow and they were fabulous, as usual.

How's the discipline and pilates coming along 4 weeks later? Is your powerhouse developed yet? I've taken to swimming in the mornings again after my back started screeching at me--I'm sure you're too well aware of that feeling that if you turn or bend too suddenly you're gonna be stuck there for the forseeable future. Hopefully I've headed that off at the pass, though the twinges are still poinging periodically. *sigh* Now, onward towards sveltness through a new, improved plan of acting like thin people, since all the dieting I was attempting wasn't working. If only I could just grow 6 inches taller-- all my troubles would just *POOF* into midair.

Hope all is well with you!

Nice to hear from you!

131 viruses??? I sometimes wonder if I have picked stuff up that my anti-virus thingy doesn't catch as weirdness occasionally happens. Anyhow, it's good you got that sorted out.

As for Pilates and, um, discipline . . .

Meanwhile, what does 'acting like thin people' involve? Diets also never work for me. In fact, the only thing that seems to work is to fall in love, which these days seems just about as possible as growing six inches.

Have you seen my new photo gallery? F119314?thread=421977

Feel free to join us, if you like.

Well, I just got up so must go make some now.

az

Finally home on a day off after a frenzied week of non-stop activity. I'm feeling inspired and artistic this morning, am looking forward to *finally* finishing the painting I've been working on for almost 2 months now, and was totally enchanted by the snippets I saw of 'A Bug's Life' and 'Finding Nemo'. I want to make some photos that have that kinda 3-D, hyper-reality effect that the new animation gives to images. Not too sure exactly *how* I'm gonna do it, but that's never stopped me before

I dropped a link in your photo journal to one of my Yahoo photo albums http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/britta_mog/album?.dir=/My+Photos&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/bc/britta_mog/lst%3f.dir=/ . You can pick whichever me that suits you. You've really managed to collect quite a gaggle of researchers! Very cool!

Acting like thin people involves playing the role of a thin person, pretty consistently, rather than depriving myself of all the things that tempt me. I've been observing thin people, started with the obvious (They eat MUCH smaller portions than I do, and they chew. A lot. They also seem to take smaller amounts of food in each bite. Also, besides the fact that they are more active on a regular basis, they fidget. Where I'm happy to stand still and serene, they tend to walk around more, and they fidget, even when they're sitting down. I notice that they always seem to have something bouncing-- a leg jittering, or tapping a beat with their hands. So now while I'm at work waiting for a victim I bop around a lot. Nobody has yet asked me if I forgot to take my medication, so I guess it seems relatively normal to others. I've also been keeping my evenings booked up so I don't have the time to sit around and graze while I'm doing my usual things at home.

Now must go out and work on the garden for a while before the sun gets overhead. We had a great, extended coolish-spell (for south Florida) but last week summer descended upon us with all of it's humid glory. The next 3 months will be very like living in a steam room.

I have just put up two photos of you in the gallery. Hope you don't mind that I commented on what a stunningly beautiful woman you are! Well, because you are. But somehow it didn't surprise me that the outside matched the inside, if you know what I mean.

Yes, that makes sense about 'thin people'. Though most that I know who constantly 'forget to eat' also smoke like fiends and drink TONS of coffee. Hence the fidgety thingy.

As I have said, this mostly works for me when I am in love. Having all those butterflies in my tummy make me feel 'full' all the time. Otherwise I am not the sort to 'forget to eat'.

It's getting hot there? It has very suddenly got very HOT here in the past couple of days. Last week I was still sleeping with a duvet on my bed. Now it is suddenly 40º and if I keep the balcony doors open I can sleep comfortably with just a light sheet over top, though this is mostly not even necessary. And all the cats have deserted me! In winter they all cuddle up next to me in bed but now they are laying flat out on the floor like little cat rugs with their limbs sprawled out.

Do you have a web-site of your artwork? I'd love to see some.

az

I wish MY wicked lil pussy would decide to abandon me right now. She *deliberately* jumps on my lap and sheds prickly, sticky hairs onto my sweaty self when I'm not running the A/C. I prefer to leave the apartment open, but for the next 3 months it's just not reasonable.

I also very rarely forget to eat. *sigh* Being in love is one way, and when I get totally involved in creative stuff I sometimes hear the sound of my stomach rumbling. Since I'm not currently expending any effort at all towards the in-love-zone I guess I need to fall into my work. The only problem with that is that one of my greatest muses is Vino, and she arrives with plenty of calories.

I've got some of my paintings here http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/britta_mog/lst?.dir=/ and there are also some of my photoshop things from a couple years ago in the Chinese New Year album. If you have a favorite photo of yourself that you'd like to have digitally altered into something artsy I'd be honored to do so for you.

Shall check out your link now. As for the great muse Vino - don't ask! She arrives not only with plenty of calories but also the promise of helping me get through the day . . . (yes, I know it's not a good thing but there are also worse things).

az

Very interesting site - lots of good stuff. Now please don't ask me to make any sort of 'intelligent' comment about anything - I am totally crap at that, especially when it comes to anyone's artwork, be it paintings, poetry, what-have-you. I cannot say a thing.

Except to say I wouldn't say I liked it if I didn't.

I noticed some other hootoo people here and there. Have you been here a long time?

az

In the beginning......
Aug 24, 2000

Having happened on this guide in a random movement through the cosmos, it seemed a good place to stop for a towel check. So, here I am, prepared to fearlessly push buttons and go where no sane deity has gone before. Tally Ho! As a wise man once said, it's quite easy if you don't know how. That's the important bit--be not at all sure how you're doing it. I feel confident that the vastness of my ignorance will make this expedition a breeze! And we're off--the wispy strains of an accordion playing the chicken dance soulfully in the background......

That was my initial response to h2g2. I've been hootooing for almost 4 years now, found it through AltaVista's babbelfish, made that journal entry, and never looked back. I was quite a terror when I first started, bounced into all sorts of threads kinda role-playing MoG (feather boas and all) whether it was appropriate or not. I also had a passion for popping up unexpected and uninvited on other people's personal spaces with weirdness and . I learned MUCH later that I'd caused quite a furor when I opened the Magnolia Thunderpussy page because at that time we were able to put our own photos on our pages and I had the Magnolia Thunderpussy pic eating up a huge chunk of screen space. Fortunately, after much blundering about, I've become a more 'respectable' citizen. I have to admit, though, that it was truly great fun to function as one of the local nutters.

Don't worry about intelligent commentary on my stuff. People tend to react to my paintings emotionally, either love 'em or hate 'em. They're big and vivid and kinda overwhelming in real life, but I don't know that they're especially skillfully done. Even my mother is completely baffled by them. When I last told her I was working on something new she asked if it was another of those tortured-looking people.

So, what's new with you?

I've been having a rather interesting couple of weeks. Unfortunately or otherwise, not stuff I want to talk about 'publicly' But interesting nonetheless.

I may have even found the much need motivation to shift a few kilos.

Well, since I am having a rather lazy Saturday afternoon, after a pleasant morning of being out and about doing errandy stuff (I love Saturday mornings!) I will go have another look at your work.

hasta prontito,
az