Re: Towards A Virtual Williamsburg!
 

The whole thing is sad beyond words. Take care of yourself and Graham, please.

Re: Towards A Virtual Williamsburg!
 

I am terribly sorry to hear of this loss, and the others. Three people close to you within a year is beyond cruel.

Re: Towards A Virtual Williamsburg!
 

We don't say it enough, possibly because many of us feel the message is antisocial, or detrimental to societal stability, but I think it'd be worth getting this message out to overwhelmed people: There is an Option B.

If life is so crushing that you're contemplating ending it, and you're not the sort to seek medical help, I think it'd be helpful to know you could, instead of dying, attempt to start over. Break completely from where you are. Just take a life sabbatical. See some other part of the world and in doing so recall, It's huge, and there's far too much amazing stuff out there to be seen and experienced to check out early. And perhaps see how other people who aren't as fortunate go through the rituals of survival in the rest of the world. See yourself relative to everyone and everything, as opposed to your community, or just within the context of your situation, your area, your family, and the pressures those things often bring... the stresses that can build from feeling like the walls are closing in around you.

Some of those who feel desperate enough to end it all might benefit from being reminded how much can be erased by distance and radical change of context.

Maybe this is all biased, of course, the product of seeing people devolve to desperation under the weight of debt, or investigation by the authorities. "Just walk away... disappear from it" is never the first choice, but when the option is death, it's the best solution available.

Re: Towards A Virtual Williamsburg!
 

"Pride (In the Name of Love)," "Where the Streets Have No Name," and "Red Hill Mining Town" never get old. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," on the other hand, is sadly far too ironic. They located it. And it was flat and dull, and they bludgeoned us with it until our ears bled. And even in our teens, when the worst overly earnest music was tolerable to immature ears, we screamed as it appeared on MTV for the 14th time of the day: "Make it stop! Make it fucking stop! I've seen it more than 'Welcome to the fucking Jungle!"

Re: Your daddy's rich and your mama's good-looking.
 

This isn't just a firearms thing. Zero Tolerance policies are the product of zero intelligence employed in considering policy. Same Idiot-think that goes into indefensible nonsense like California's "Three Strikes" law.

People who proudly proclaim support for "Tough on crime" or "Zero tolerance" measures forfeit their right to engage in conversations about politics, business, society, etc. A person who'd apply cruel, blunt, unthinking policies to endless subjective situations doesn't rise to the level of common sense to be included in any thoughtful conversation. He/she is outside the sphere of deviance.

This sounds like shouting the obvious. It's not. These people are still engaged, when they should ignored. The person who defends the school for questioning a kid with a cap gun should not be listened to politely. He/she should be walked away from, snickered or sneered at if those measures seem necessary. The guy who professes he'd like Sheriff Joe Arpaio's policies extended nationally, or that mandatory minimums are a good policy, should not be given an audience. He should be left as close to alone as possible as quickly as possible ("Sorry. I have to get a drink. Anyone need a reload? Anyone want to come along to the bar?")

Re: Towards A Virtual Williamsburg!
 

Sure, those are all good options. Of course, let's not forget scotch.

Re: Towards A Virtual Williamsburg!
 

Mushrooms. Nothing resets the mind like those.

"Oh, wait... I forgot. This is all just a game. God... For a couple years there I'd forgotten. I'd started thinking the politics at the cracker factory were existentially important. That my slot in the hierarchy was significant apart from the resources it provided me to live my life as I want to.

Too bad I don't get to do something creative and fulfilling for a living - something people get up every morning and can't wait to do. But hey, I'm fortunate. I get paid, things are nice. And I'm lucky enough to have known it's all just a silly game... a stage."

You don't need psychedelic drugs for this realization. Almost every smart person gets to it at some point. But they do help to crystallize the comedy of reality in a very healthy and incredibly colorful way.

Hence, they are severely illegal.

Re: Suicide stuff totally bumming me out
 

You may be correct and brain damage may be worse than thought. Or I'm not remembering things. Y'all decide.

Re: Suicide stuff totally bumming me out
 

Or, I guessed the wrong song because I don't know what an "intermezzo" is.

Re: Suicide stuff totally bumming me out
 

It's a little bit of sorbet you eat between courses at a multicourse meal.

Re: Suicide stuff totally bumming me out
 

I may have used it incorrectly, but I believe that other than contextually, this explanation is basically correct.

Eta: Wikipedia (my bud) sez: "in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work."

Re: Suicide stuff totally bumming me out
 

I told you the correct song. For fucks sakes, we were engaged to be engaged before. Am I on ignore?

Re: Suicide stuff totally bumming me out
 

For atticus that is the course where he can steal his kids remains of their appetizers, cuz they'll be concentrating on the mid-dinner dessert. Tell him that and he'll get it.

Re: Suicide stuff totally bumming me out
 

In Italian, it translates (roughly) into "in between." It can be a bridge between movements or scenes, as described above, but I also has a broader application.

Frequently, between the preachy section and the teachy section of a church service, there will be a musical intermezzo.

Muggs is also correct in that it is a term used to describe the palate-cleanser or refresher between courses in a formal dinner.

Re: Suicide stuff totally bumming me out
 

I believe fringster meant refrain, but yes, let's each explain how she was wrong.