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

great page
not sure I'm ready to leap into the thread yet as its been over 10 years since I've read anything except The Man in the High Castle (which I reread every so often)
I'll have a look at the website first
I notice you're into religious debate
2 good places for that on hootoo are the Freedom from Faith Foundation and 'The God' thread (which has a much longer proper name)
Pretty much anything goes except personal attacks on people
If you're interested I can post links for them
Myself I'm an atheist most of the time ocasionally agnostic

Hey Blackberry Cat. I once knew someone called Schrodinger's Cat.

PKD: When a friend found out all my PKD books had been stolen she gave me her Castle. I have it somewhere. I wish I could find things. My place is small and, unfortunately, much room is taken up by ceramics which I cart home from work. I am constantly rearranging things and thus losing them.

I doubt if anyone really wants to leap into the PKD thread. I reckon it might be an opportunity for some of us to dig out our paperbacks and slowly read through them while chatting. Also the initiating question left quite a bit of room for rambling. Some people might want to go on at length and in details. Some others might just want to chat their way through. I reckon both are just fine.

Oh good Lord, the religious debate. I've gotten myself premodded twice. I am premodded as I speak. I just dont want to be battered anymore. Only a month ago I had everything at my fingertips. Now I can't even remember the Church Fathers. It's like something reached down my throat and pulled my heart out.

As for personal attacks: well that all depends on which person you are. Nothing stopped other people from attacking me personally. Thanks for the good will though. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Ani.

I can't find space for all my books, that despite having got rid of loads when I moved cities not quite 2 years ago
of course the fact I can't walk past a 2nd hand bookshop without going in and buying something doesn't help

I'll take a look at the website when I get home (I'm pretending to work at the moment ) and maybe think about what to post

hootoo isn't too bad, the only time I got moderated was for posting some poems (breach of copyright so I suppose the BBC might get in trouble), but get a feel for the place first and think about it

Thanks Cat. You're right. I should at least go and see what the pages are like, before extending my decision to them. Hootoo seems OK. I just seem to be one of those who the ctmb descended upon. Many people over there get away with absolutely outrageous things. Others seem to get premodded for relatively minor things. I have 'discussed' this with the ctmb mods, but a person has to know when she is licked. I'm licked.

I'm tracking down people and information on the eastern churches at present with a view to studying ikons. One of the (very young) posters here is Serbian Orthodox and has given me some excellent websites. My own view is that if I can keep my ears open and my mouth shut, I'll be OK. I really would much rather be happy than right about things. If people need someone to defend (their) principles then let them find someone else. Maybe Buffy Ste Marie is right. If we all just stop fighting, there won't be any wars. Ani.

yes, even if I feel strongly about something I try not to insult people
a) its rude
b) its not going to convince them of my point of view anyway

Yes, one tries not to insult. However, one just can't talk to some people. I am learning to 'leave it.' Ani.

Well yes, I'm a lot more careful about which debates I join in. If certain people are involved I'll leave them well alone as they will end up as slanging matches. Even if I'm not involved you can say goodbye to any real exchange of views when that sort of thing starts up.

Quite. I am glad you understand. I have been feeling isolated and misunderstood of late, since I was premodded at the CTMB. Actually quite a bit more than premodding happened. I was bullied badly. It stung.

Sometimes you just have to admit you're beat.

One of my pottery students told me that the single most encouraging thing I had shown her is when to give up.

I have learned the principle of disinterested love. Don't ask me to explain. It is something which Thomas Merton raises in his book 'The 7 Storey Mountain.' Disinterested love is the core of faith. Another of my pottery students told me that the single most encouraging thing I had shown her is the faith that the next pot will come and therefore it is OK to give up on the current one (if it is failing).

One of the things which annoys me about politically correct society is the reluctance to admit the word 'failure' into the lexicon. According to Melville, failure is the true test of greatness. Ani.

In that case I must be heading for truly great things
1 of the uglier things I've seen on hootoo is a couple of researchers who have a vendetta against Adelaide
I disagree with her about a lot of things but we've always managed to talk reasonably
Like most people though get her annoyed and she'll probably say something without thinking it through and then they all jump on it, not very pleasant

Adelaide is cool. I was jumped on this morning. I jumped back. I reckon, if someone is going to jump on me, they better be right. (They rarely are) As usual this person would argue not the facts and chose to escalate.

Much of what I say can be interpreted to be off-topic by those who have a straightforward (read simplistic) approach to discussions. The outcome of such 'straightforward' approaches is exclusionary. That is what I take issue with.

I sniffed out the board politics early on. Just aint going there. Sorry too much on my plate. I would rather be happy. (Please God?) Ani.

Yes, Adelaide is and a decent person
I'm glad shes amongst my friends here however much we may disagree on some things
I saw the bit about topic drift. It occurs all the time and people only object when its about something they are not interested in. I wouldn't take it too seriously, I'm sure Teaswill has been *guilty* of it herself a few times

Thanks for understanding in a very tactful way.

I updated my space. It has some music now and a bunch more links. Today, I made two entries in the Guide to Canadian English: 'buddy' and 'hoser.' Next I would like to fumble my way through starting my journal. I will read a few of the other journals first, though. Ani.

off to look