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[CortJstr]

I still take extreme umbrage at the alleged cannibalism overtones of the other avatar, for shit;s sake, all I did was fill out the form at the site.

Sorry you guys have a problem with a rodent with bigger balls than you. I'll see what I can do to keep your panties from bunching up next time.

At least your sig was more appropriate than ever.

[AlohaDawg]

Dang, and I was really wanting to sex CortJstr up, too. I'm wounded.

[jough]

I swear to god I don't WANT to ban AlohaDawg, but FUCK I may have to.

Dude, I don't know how else I can say this, and I can't even believe that we have to have a rule for this, but

NO AVATARS FEATURING GENITALIA

[AlohaDawg]

I love you all.

Well, most of you. Some of you, anyhow.

Aww, who am I kidding?

My cats' breath smells like cat food.

Amen.

I'd like to point out that as we get older and further away from the insulated warmth of academia, we realize even more that life has so much actual sadness to experience that going to the effort to absorb someone else's becomes moot at best and selfserving at worst. This is not to say sad things don't happen on college campuses, by the way.

It only gets worse from here, kids. Stay in school as long as you can.

To get back on topic: I'm glad your life is looking up since leaving school - I guess what I meant to say was that in some ways, sad events and sadness in general is cumulative, and that (at least in my case) I have much more experience with things like death, sickness, heartbreak and sorrow than I did as a young person. Staying in school would not have prevented all of it, although I think there is a certain amount of cockeyed optimism and idealism to be found in most universities and I think that helps in some ways...I guess what I meant to say was that I'm old and tired. And sad because I see the world as it is now, and not as it will be once I change it.

[AlohaDawg]

Also, Aloha, I love how we we're all having a serious discussion of art and then your avatar s one that made me think of unspeakable acts of cannibalism

Wait, which one was this? Did I miss an AD avatar somewhere?

The only ones I remember are "dancin' orangutan," "a dog wearing a lei," and the squirrel thing (and now jough's m4d h4xing). Did I miss something horrible, or do dogs with leis just make you think of cannibalism?

You missed this one:

[V-Adore]

Also, Aloha, I love how we we're all having a serious discussion of art and then your avatar s one that made me think of unspeakable acts of cannibalism

Wait, which one was this? Did I miss an AD avatar somewhere?

The only ones I remember are "dancin' orangutan," "a dog wearing a lei," and the squirrel thing (and now jough's m4d h4xing). Did I miss something horrible, or do dogs with leis just make you think of cannibalism?

You missed this one:

Oh, right! Well, I thought that was cute and entirely forgot the cannibalism-related issues raised about it. So there.

Anyway -- AD, dude, this isn't worth argument. Please don't get too irritated. We will cheerfully accept your genitalia-free avatars.

[AlohaDawg]

I can't maintain righteous indignation much longer than 40 minutes or so without an angry mob behind me. I probably won't keep this current avatar around long either. It's all good.

[wombat]

Goshdarnit why do I keep forgetting that I have to read all the threads even the ones whose alleged topics don't interest me?  Agreeing with AlohaDawg that life is sad enough that I don't need to read a thread about sad artists, I skip the whole thing, and then it turns into a totally entertaining avatar argument.  

The new kid is a hoot but I miss the dog in the lei.

[side_show]

To get back on topic: I'm glad your life is looking up since leaving school - I guess what I meant to say was that in some ways, sad events and sadness in general is cumulative, and that (at least in my case) I have much more experience with things like death, sickness, heartbreak and sorrow than I did as a young person.

I have to agree with you there - that for the majority sadness and the bad things that occur are cumulative.  I think my thought process there was a little off because my life was a bit reversed - dealing with family deaths in car crashes, through suicide, etc, the mental illness of a parent and the psychological break down of my first love all in my early years.  University for me was a major turning point toward the idea that things could be better.

I think there is a certain amount of cockeyed optimism and idealism to be found in most universities and I think that helps in some ways.

Definitly.  University is a huge privledge that I wish everyone could have a chance for, if they wanted it.  I do miss school terrible.  Getting to go be with a bunch of like-minded dorks and spend my who day dreaming and making art was wonderful.

I guess what I meant to say was that I'm old and tired. And sad because I see the world as it is now, and not as it will be once I change it.

The ability to create change never ends.  The chance to directly shape the life of your forth-comming child is a huge opportunity to make the world a better place by guiding your wee one to be one of those human beings who people are happy to know.  

Working with Elders here in my community, I have a totally different perspective on aging than I did before I started.  Unlike the mainstream concept of the elderly as useless or in the way, there is, in First Nation/Metis culture, the feeling that Elders have a huge amount to share.  That thier knowledge must shape the future.  The Cree term for Elders directly translates to mean "the ones who know."  Certainly my pollyanna attitude might be, in part, comming from my youthful optimism, but I do meet and work with people daily of all ages who are agents of change.  I have seen actual, marked improvements made: I'm not talking only in a broad sense that things are looking up, but also of a clear specific improvement of the quality of life of people in my community backed up by numbers.

[V-Adore]

To get back on topic: I'm glad your life is looking up since leaving school - I guess what I meant to say was that in some ways, sad events and sadness in general is cumulative, and that (at least in my case) I have much more experience with things like death, sickness, heartbreak and sorrow than I did as a young person.

I have to agree with you there - that for the majority sadness and the bad things that occur are cumulative.  I think my thought process there was a little off because my life was a bit reversed - dealing with family deaths in car crashes, through suicide, etc, the mental illness of a parent and the psychological break down of my first love all in my early years.  University for me was a major turning point toward the idea that things could be better.

I have to agree, although I'm coming at this with far less of a weight of years. I've read a lot of literature about how the conventional model for women in my situation is that childhood is happy but middle school sees the beginning of a downward spiral of melancholy and dysfunction, peaking in college -- whereas, for me, elementary school was misery and every step up sense has been an increase in happiness, well-being, and life functionality. Not that college is entirely roses, of course, but I remain bemused at the fact that I'm slowly turning into a functional human being just when I've been told that I should really be developing bulimia and codependency.

[andalucia]

I have to agree with you there - that for the majority sadness and the bad things that occur are cumulative.  I think my thought process there was a little off because my life was a bit reversed - dealing with family deaths in car crashes, through suicide, etc, the mental illness of a parent and the psychological break down of my first love all in my early years.  University for me was a major turning point toward the idea that things could be better.

I have to agree, although I'm coming at this with far less of a weight of years. I've read a lot of literature about how the conventional model for women in my situation is that childhood is happy but middle school sees the beginning of a downward spiral of melancholy and dysfunction, peaking in college -- whereas, for me, elementary school was misery and every step up sense has been an increase in happiness, well-being, and life functionality. Not that college is entirely roses, of course, but I remain bemused at the fact that I'm slowly turning into a functional human being just when I've been told that I should really be developing bulimia and codependency.

I'm just going into university, but experienced something similar, in that everything's been more or less uphill since I was 10-12, which was when I had the cluster of bad experiences, with one family member committing suicide and another having drug problems, and me mostly just being an intelligent but very awkward kid dealing with a lot of precocious teen angst.  However in the interim I've apparently, much to my surprise, developed rudimentary social skills and found a large network of friends I actually enjoy.

[AlohaDawg]

I have to agree, although I'm coming at this with far less of a weight of years. I've read a lot of literature about how the conventional model for women in my situation is that childhood is happy but middle school sees the beginning of a downward spiral of melancholy and dysfunction, peaking in college -- whereas, for me, elementary school was misery and every step up sense has been an increase in happiness, well-being, and life functionality. Not that college is entirely roses, of course, but I remain bemused at the fact that I'm slowly turning into a functional human being just when I've been told that I should really be developing bulimia and codependency.

Middle school was horrible for me too.

I have this general model of wellness that is slowly morphing into a sort of "personal strategic plan" as I continue to mess with it. Basically, my premise is twofold: First, that each person has to have a set of values and convictions. Otherwise most actions they take and events of which they are a part lack any meaning beyond the moment. Second, that  in general, continuously working toward general wellness in 6 broad categories is necessary, and that in without a minimal level of general wellness, an individual has little chance of recognizing and taking greatest advantage of opportunities as they present themselves, thus they find themselves trapped in circumstances they feel they can't escape.

Each second that goes by increases the difficulty level for self-fueled life change, so earlier is better. It is never too late to become healthy and well, either.

[AlohaDawg]

Working with Elders here in my community, I have a totally different perspective on aging than I did before I started.  Unlike the mainstream concept of the elderly as useless or in the way, there is, in First Nation/Metis culture, the feeling that Elders have a huge amount to share.  That thier knowledge must shape the future.  The Cree term for Elders directly translates to mean "the ones who know."

Keep the pollyanna thing as long as you can, it's pure energy. Also, everyone should spend time with the Kupuna, which is the Hawaiian word for the wiser elders too. They hold the history in their heart, and it's far more meaningful than anything from a book. You should video interviews, tape them, do everything you can to capture their intonations and expressions as well as their words. Words in a book are pretty dry compared to the experience of their wisdom.

[wombat]

Each second that goes by makes increases the difficulty level for self-fueled life change, so earlier is better. It is never too late to become healthy and well, either.

The first statement is definitely true.  I hope the second is also.

What are your six categories?

[AugustWest]

Middle school was horrible for me too.

Middle school is invariably horrible for everyone.