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

I think a big challenge to and blessing of this place is that people who last here (and some who don't) actually care about each other and about being understood by each other. I find facebook, for example, insipid, shallow and uninteresting. Not that the people there are insipid, shallow and uninteresting -- some certainly may be -- but the culture of the site is two inches deep. Although everything that is put there is there forever, nobody cares about anything that isn't of the moment. Similarly, the conversation threads attached to news stories are all about yelling, so nothing meaningful is communicated.

But here, everybody, whether they write for the guide, for the post, for the underguide, for their own journal, or for conversation threads has a very clear desire to actually say something worth saying in a form worthy of and of a permanence associated with what they're saying. We care about what we say and we care about how we're understood and we care about what others say and we care to understand them.

This is a wonderful thing, but it also means that hasty posts, stressful days, and, yes, mental health issues can lead to misunderstandings which would be sloughed off on other sites where people have little memory or emotional investment.

There are people around here who have annoyed the H out of me at times, but if ~jwf~ (I hope he's ing) were to suddenly disappear, I'd be really upset and sad. Just this morning gandalfstwin posted a response to my journal entry, prefacing it with 'I know we've crossed swords in the past . . .' or something to that effect, and I thought 'we have?' Maybe we did, and maybe I was pissed off at him at some point, but I don't remember it.

I don't think I've come across anybody who didn't have something worthwhile to say (even warner) and I find that has been the general attitude of everyone. Certainly we've all had our times of 'stress' and we've each dealt with those times in our own way. And the present situation is probably the biggest online stresser of the decade.

I'm optimistic about hootoo. I don't have an opinion about the BBC.



Here's a link that might interest you, BTW: http://www3.telus.net/richardson-art/index.html

I had a look at that link for a moment and it was brilliant..

What I don't understand and thank god some people do, is you get these lovely ultra rational types, and yet they can't face the reality that human beings are full of contradictions - that's as clear as day to me, and so if you have a problem like mine that's clearly going to mean that those are intensified.

Sorry to not really respond to what you are writing, I shall have a good read tomorrow though.

I'm going to see whether I can get a bit more sleep now..I'm utterly exhausted because I've hardly slept in days - (and in case any of you ultra rational types are lurking, that's not self-pity...it's a *fact* of bipolar on occasion.

'What I don't understand . . .'

I expect they often haven't had to confront in real life, either in themselves or others, the extremes of the contradictions of which you speak.

I have.

Something I find interesting is that the ultra-rationals you mention are quite happy to glean pearls from psycho-medical sorts who have made great discoveries about how the healthy human brain functions by observing the often tragic functioning of a damaged or unusually developed brain -- and yet, they seem unable to realize that at any given moment they may be conversing with just such an 'unusual' person.

There is far too much ignorance of the 'normal' range of human variation. Thankfully, we (here in Canada, anyway) have made huge steps in the 'accommodation' of physical variation. We all lag, I think in our acceptance and integration of intellectual, cognitive, and emotional variation.


I've had too many s this evening. I`d better stop. I'm sorry if I've expressed myself clumsily.

Hi anhaga. Still can't manage to read your posts properly. Sorry. But lovely that you're here.

well, as it was late, I'm not sure that I was able to write them properly.

You have written them properly...from a fast perusal. The problem is all mine.

I am so sorry to see you feeling down m'dear
and so pleased that so many friends have come by
to offer their support. I think 2legs says it best,
back in post 15:

>>
From all around and about,
lost researchers coming out,
from hiding in the wardrobe,
in front they suddenly dis-robe,
Spreading far and wide,
across the inter-net-devide,
come home at last,
to sometimes dwel apon the past,
Finding turmoil and disarray,
as once more into the fray,
But like the return of the prophersised one,
We won't quickly or easily be dead and gone
<<

I mean, it even rhymes!
You know he put some effort into it.



~jwf~

It's not down. The doctors call it 'mixed state'. It's up and down at the same time.

And yes 2legs thing is wonderful. He's brilliant.

Taff