The Grand Theatre of Freaks

[Jin]

I second the nomination of Colbert's book. It didn't win the Stephen Colbert Award for the Literary Excellence for nothing.

Other than that, I don't know what you like. You're asking for fiction I'm assuming, as most people do, but I haven't read any fiction in a while. I've been too occupied with reading the works of ancient historians and biographers. I also picked up Machiavelli's The Prince the other day. It's quite a good read. On that note I recommend Suetonius's Lives of the Caesars. It's hilarious. While most historians and biographers focus on political and military careers, Suetonius focuses on sex, diet, sex, humourous quirks, sex, witty retorts, disposition and sex.

[Chez Daja]

Stephen King and Dean Koontz are great for if you're into psychological horror. Very interesting stuff there.

I suggest Stephen King: The Mist.

As for good horror books, their aren't many these days, but I recently finished The Texas Chainsaw Massacre by Stephen Hand... It was pretty modern and an entertaining read for sure.

Sorry I can't be of much help, I've read almost the entire library down the road, so I mix names up accidentally if I don't fully remember who they are.

[ChloChloAriadne]

Ooh. I'm not sure what you've read, Squish, so I can't really say..

One thing I WILL reccomend.. And I think I've actually discussed this with you before, "Gothic Hospital" by Gary Crew, and Aussie Author. He doesn't so much write gothic novels as he includes them in his own work and has a curious fascination with them, but nevertheless one of my favourite Australian authors.. About the closest thing to 'gothic' available in Australian literature =P This book.. Is truly AMAZING. It gave me this odd feeling, and when I finished reading it it felt like it was all a dream and I immediately had to read it again. I even read it in one sitting because I almost felt.. Afraid to put it down. ><. A really eerie thing..

If you like it, pick up "The Lacemaker's Daughter". Feels like that book was made for me.. It's so.. Perfect. ALthough an odd, kind of rushed ending ><. Nevertheless, try it. GOod stuff.

Was going to say The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld.. But I think you'd hate it, haha. So nevermind.

If you want a good laugh? Not usually my type of thing, but I seriously enjoyed "Chart Throb" by Ben Elton.. Might sound like crap.. But I think you'd enjoy it, to tell the truth.

For something seriously twisted, kinda funny and a bit sad, the new book "Blind Faith" by Ben Elton. Fantastic.

For a good scare? "Cell" or "It [hehe]" by Stephen King.

As far as [decent] drama goes..

Mk, you should have ALREADY read these two, and I might just have to bite you if you haven't, but "Interview with The Vampire" by Ann Rice [it's better than the movie, and that's fantastic] and Bram Stoker's Dracula. No other Dracula! Bram Stoker! =o=o.

Now, incase you want manga.. "The Dreaming" by Queenie Chan is a good trilogy, horror/drama with lots of pretty Victorian dresses, set in the Aussie outback. =P. Also, "Vampire Game" by *forgets author's name* is quite good.


There ^^. Hope I've been of some help.

[Dimi]

Wow, didn't expect so many replies. Sorry about the whole genre confusion on what I like reading. I'm a hardcore horror and mystery reader. Followed by fantasy, action, and comedy. I like some sci-fi books. It depends on what it is though. I'm not really into space all that much for some reason. But pretty much anything but western. ><

@Benny Lava: Stephen Colbert's I Am America (and so can you!) sounds interesting. I like how people have humorous views on stuff like religion. Its good to read stuff like that instead of having things to be so serious all the time. I'll definitely see if the library has that.

@Tacitus: haha, You read my mind. I like books based on sex. >< Especially if its humorous. I'll also see about the other book. Although I'm not a huge history reader, that one you mentioned sounds actually pretty nice.

@Chez: I'm a huge fan of King's works. I enjoyed reading his books like Salem's Lot and Pet Cemetery. I have yet to read the Mist though. That's something I have to buy instead or borrowing.

@Gobble Vamp: Yeah, we've discussed this before once or twice maybe on MSN. This is another book that I need to check out. You have good taste in a lot of things. So that's another "must get".

[Furore]

On to another topic, I've been in the reading mood for quite sometime. I'm thinking of going to the bookstore or the library this weekend and getting some books to read. Anyone have any recommendations on what I should get?

Hope I'm not too late.

Anyways I also recommend Stephen King. Other classics of his I don't recall seeing here include Carrie, The Shining, It, Needful Things and Skeleton Crew (just off the top of my head which is sort of scrambled).

Like your Spy type themed books? Give Len Deighton's Berlin Game, Mexico Set and London Match a shot. I'm not normally a fan of these types of books, but this little trilogy left me somewhat amazed.

Fantasy? Well R.A. Salvatore is my fave author. But then I also love the books of one David Eddings. I simply love the 'The Belgiriad' books. And most others.

A little philosophy? I've read countless books by countless authors. Current one now is Henry George's 'the land question'. (Yeah it does have no caps on the cover). Some stuff in it I'd eat up happily. Most of it? No...
I wouldn't recommend it for most folks...

For fun?
Zen by Peter Oldmeadow. Very concise, not very detailed, but then I don't have to think while reading.

[Momo Mastermind]

Okay, so I'm really at a crucial part of... umm... work, life, etc... right now and I just wanted to get everyone's take on something... okay hold on, let me take a deep breath

...

Okay, well I'm under a lot of stress right now and usually I'm okay with it, I mean, I don't handle it well but I don't usually get this bad. I just wanted to get everyone's take on this current situation- if you don't feel like saying anything, then that's fine; lol.

Well at work currently it's a mess- the entire building is moving and all of the processes are changing and blah blah blah.

Okay, first let me set it up so you know my work situation. I won't use names so I'll just use generalizations.

I work for company A. Company B has a contract with my company to document, receive, send, prepare, organize, etc... tests for teachers to take all around the country. That is my job, the contractual agreement. Well I was informed [secretly, it's not well known yet] that Company B will end the contract with Company A therefor I would either be 1. Laid-off or 2. Sent to a new department. I LOVE my job, what I do and everything [what I do not love is my supervisor and such].

Because of this, I sent my resume out to other companies because I have an apartment, bills, loans, etc... to pay off and I really can't have a surprise "hey you, you're fired!!!!" comming out of nowhere. Ridiculously fast, I got a response from a company, we will call this Company C. They want to hire me on for a little more than I make now. The only downside to this is that I can NOT be late to work, they have VERY strict details such as that. I MUST wear business clothes to work every day, not business casual but business [tie, dress shirt, shoes, pants, etc...] and I don't like that but whatever, it's soemthing I can deal with...

wait, there's more.

There are two contacts I most regularly work with in Company B that I really like and they're extremely nice. We will call they Am and Ju. Am and Ju try to force company A to treat my coworker and I with extremely fair treatment [because they don't regularly do that] and they REALLY depend on us to get this contractual project done and over with before it expires, to go off on a good note. Well, Company C wants me to start on April 16th and that is much before the contract ends. I would essentially be dicking over Am and Ju, completely. There's more; I put them down as my two highest business references on Company C's application, and Company C hasn't contacted them yet. I am afraid they will give me a bad reference since I'm essentially leaving when they need me most but I can't stay here wil the 50% chance of getting fired, it's just not an option. I also have to deal with my supervisor treating me like shit in the meantime and my time is soon comming to where I MUST give me two weeks or else I will be giving them less than 2 weeks and I don't want to do that because this would be a bad mark on my resume knowing I didn't give them sufficient warning.

Jesus this sucks, then ontop of it all there's a whole legal matter with a hospital and doctors and... gah!

I'm done Input would be great but ignoring this too isn't a bad option

-fizzle-

[Sinister]

Well you seemed to already have assessed the situation. I suspect you are looking for one of us to condone an action that you have already decided upon.

I suggest explaining your situation to your contacts. That will atleast clear the air and make you feel a little lighter. The main issues here are ethics and morals. Both of which are highly subjective and open to liberal interpretations.

Use the one that allows you to survive. In the end, what is it that you want to end up with? A better paying job? A clear conscience?

The undesirable situations are temporary and should not factor at all. You're getting caught up in the how. Focus on what it is you want out of this situation. From there it's just as your old physics teacher said. The quickest path between two points is a straight line. Don't complicate things by calculating all the traps and toils. Just soar towards where you want to go and try your best not to fall.



As for the book discussion, I'm sure I'm much too late, but schoolwork has been strangling my attention span.

Let me see. I would certainly reccomend Isaac Asimov for the Sci-fi lover.(specifically Caves of Steel or I, Robot[the foundation series is also a winner]) But the holy grail of Sci-fi has to be Frank Herbert's Dune. It is the Lord of the Rings of Sci-fi.

Horror...Hrm... It's been a while since I've read a book that actually scared me. And that's what every horror fan seeks. The last was a book called "The Dark" Can't remember the author and I can't find it on the net... Weird... H.P. Lovecraft is my personal standard. The Statement of Randolph Carter(cheesy as it may be) gave me pretty harsh nightmares.

Mystery... Nero Wolfe series (by Rex Stout) Sherlock Holmes(Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) Hercule Poirot(Agatha Christie) Darkly Dreaming Dexter(Can't remember)

Fantasy:

The Dark is Rising series(Cooper)



Most of my reads are non-fiction factual histories and other philosophical works. But I do make occasion to read the odd fiction.


-Sin

[Furore]

Momo the choice is in your hands, BUT make sure you don't **** over your colleagues, aye?
In the large scheme of things, money does have an importance of sorts, but there are other things more valuable. Like good human relationships. It depends on the person, but that's how I see it.

If you go for the job, make sure to give those guys a heads up and do your best to help them out anyway.

[Dimi]

Okay, so over the weekend which I was too lazy to post at the time, I went to the bookstore on Saturday and bought a few books. I actually did write a list of some of the books you guys had mentioned to me. They didn't even have half of them. >< Gothic Hospital was something I could order online from Amazon and they ones they didn't have. So I might do that. I only got to books though which were "Carrie" and "Skeleton Crew". So you weren't too late man.

I've seen the movie Carrie. Both the first and the sequel. The sequel was crap but the first one was good. I wonder if there is any differences between the movie and the book. Does anyone know if there was a movie made for King's Skeleton Crew? The name sounds like it was one. Then again, its Stephen King and like half of his novels are turned into movies.

An odd vision just came in my head. Actually, it comes whenever I browse this thread. "The Grand Theatre Of Freaks" has a ring to it don't you think? Like I get this circus image in my head filled with circus freaks and its a cool image. I was thinking maybe we can do something with that theme if that's okay Sinister. Like some sort of RP? Or make up a quiz or something?

[Chez Daja]

An odd vision just came in my head. Actually, it comes whenever I browse this thread. "The Grand Theatre Of Freaks" has a ring to it don't you think? Like I get this circus image in my head filled with circus freaks and its a cool image. I was thinking maybe we can do something with that theme if that's okay Sinister. Like some sort of RP? Or make up a quiz or something?

Hahaha, yeah, when I first saw this thread, that's the impression I got, too. I'm not even kidding. Strange minds think alike, Fishie.

Also, the book The Mist may not have been availble to you anyway, Fishie. I never find it at my local library. I don't know why, but I can never find it anywhere. It's becoming an annoyance. It's a great book, Silent Hill and Jacob's Ladder type of great.

[Jin]

Sinister will probably appreciate this. I recently bought the book of Chuang Tzu; for those who don't know, he was pretty much responsible for bringing Taoism into the fold back in the 4th c. BC or so. I haven't started reading it yet, but I love short Chinese stories and that's basically what the book is, so I'm anticipating greatness. Along with that I picked up a few more books by ancient Roman authors - Tacitus' Histories, the letters of Pliny the Younger and an interesting work by Pliny the Elder which is essentially a Roman encyclopedia, with topics ranging from Astronomy to Zoology to Medicine. Aside from that, I bought Romance of the Three kingdoms, which any Dynasty Warriors fan will recognize as the historical novel that the game was based on. They're ugly books (2 textbook sized yellow books), but regardless, I am a happy camper right now.

[Sinister]

Chuang-tzu? Tell me how you like it? When I started in Taoism I found it infinitely more useful than the TTC. Teaching by parable is far more effective to the eager learner. The TTC is meant to be picked up and thought about daily. That is it's purpose. Far from being a work of speculation, Chuang-tzu's classic is more of a statement of Taoism in action.


@ everyone else.


I am SO sorry. I've neglected this club for no particular reason. I was thrilled and proud to see it stand on it's own, however.

Poor bro, I hope everything goes well for him. But he had the right Idea, this place is a circus of all the unusual mutants "not even considered for mass production". I got the image when I started this place and I was so happy to see the people that filled it and stayed with it were true individuals in every way and proud of it. My thanks.


So on that note, I ask:

If you are so extraordinary, as I know you all are, and this world is filled with the mundane, how would you change it to make it more original? Don't worry about realism, tell it like it is...


-Sin

[Furore]

Damn, Dimi's out for now...
And Froggie. Must be that time of the TFF year again...

If you are so extraordinary, as I know you all are, and this world is filled with the mundane, how would you change it to make it more original? Don't worry about realism, tell it like it is...

Change it, change it...
I don't think I should bother trying honestly. Unless some sort of dictator was forcing people to conform or something...
But as it is, personal freedoms are fairly high in my little corner and that makes me a little happier. Less boring, I guess. Even the worst examples of people who sacrifice individuality to follow some trend or something tend to have at least one odd thing they do. It's only human.

And if they don't? Well, there are more than enough to counter these rare few...

[Jin]

@Sinister: As soon as I read it, I'll tell you how I like it. So many other things to read first though, so give me a bit. I've read a few of his stories in a different book and I really enjoyed those, so I imagine I'll enjoy it.

On to the topic, do you really think this world is mundane? I would argue that. Ever hear that phrase "stranger than fiction"? It honestly is. This world is bizarre, humans especially. Taking one look at history, it becomes evident that humanity, left to their own devices, is more interesting than the most compelling work of fiction. People try to buy into the mundane, to fit in, but the mundane of one era is the oddity in the next. I mean, a person that acted completely normal in the eyes of a 17th century aristocrat would be considered quite unique today. It's all relative, mate.

[Sinister]

@Sinister: As soon as I read it, I'll tell you how I like it. So many other things to read first though, so give me a bit. I've read a few of his stories in a different book and I really enjoyed those, so I imagine I'll enjoy it.

On to the topic, do you really think this world is mundane? I would argue that. Ever hear that phrase "stranger than fiction"? It honestly is. This world is bizarre, humans especially. Taking one look at history, it becomes evident that humanity, left to their own devices, is more interesting than the most compelling work of fiction. People try to buy into the mundane, to fit in, but the mundane of one era is the oddity in the next. I mean, a person that acted completely normal in the eyes of a 17th century aristocrat would be considered quite unique today. It's all relative, mate.

You remind me of a Sherlock Holmes story that began with a similar argument between Sherlock and Watson. Sherlock contending that reality IS bizarre and Watson contending the opposite saying that: "The crudest of writers could invent nothing more crude." Prophetically, Watson lost that particular argument, rather colorfully.

I just think facets of daily life could be more...original.

-Sin

[Momo Mastermind]

Hmmn. I think [oh jesus here I go with the most commonly used phrase evAr] that life is what you make of it. It's sad, isn't it? That something we hear a lot is actually true. I do really believe that though, for the most part. Of course life is mundane in the light of repetative boring tasks, but if you look at it a different way, then perhaps your life in general will change as well. Waking up every day to go to work, doing the same tasks, then comming home is rather boring. But what do you think about while you're at work, and what kind of activities do you do outside of work? Do you meet new people every day? I think it's really exciting to meet new people and listen to the stories they tell... although a lot of people now adays are as shallow as the ocean is deep.

As for the question of what changes I would make, they would just be how I view things. Otherwise, it's true, the world is an extremely strange, wonderful, and dangerous place to begin with. I use to really hate how boring everything seemed, but now I really do stand by my observation that if things were to get any more "unique" or "original" then we would be in for an ass whooping

[Sinister]

Hmmn. I think [oh jesus here I go with the most commonly used phrase evAr] that life is what you make of it. It's sad, isn't it? That something we hear a lot is actually true. I do really believe that though, for the most part. Of course life is mundane in the light of repetative boring tasks, but if you look at it a different way, then perhaps your life in general will change as well. Waking up every day to go to work, doing the same tasks, then comming home is rather boring. But what do you think about while you're at work, and what kind of activities do you do outside of work? Do you meet new people every day? I think it's really exciting to meet new people and listen to the stories they tell... although a lot of people now adays are as shallow as the ocean is deep.

As for the question of what changes I would make, they would just be how I view things. Otherwise, it's true, the world is an extremely strange, wonderful, and dangerous place to begin with. I use to really hate how boring everything seemed, but now I really do stand by my observation that if things were to get any more "unique" or "original" then we would be in for an ass whooping

There is an ancient eastern curse that goes: "May you and your lot live in interesting times."

I suppose my rant on how the world is unoriginal is from my perspective. It is what I make of it, and for the last two years...well, I'm still doing the same thing I've always been doing. I suppose I make the mistake of calling the world unoriginal when what I mean is that MY world, as it stands, is getting too unoriginal for me. What was it Hunter Thompson said? "It never got weird enough for me." That is my perspective at the moment.

If I could change anything? I suppose I would make the varied locales of the world...Japan, Australia, the poles, tropics...more easily accessible.


-Sin

[Govinda]

Hah. 'It never got weird enough for me.' He was certainly weird enough for the rest of us; he blew his head off on his garden lawn in his 60s, as far as I know, because he wasn't famous anymore, and all he really was known for was a giant pile of drug-fueled classic ramble about Las Vegas.

Which demonstrates neatly the point about each person viewing the world and their reality differently from the next. I am almost certain that other people don't look at a tree and often see it not as a tree, but some alien creation. Have you ever noticed how downright weird trees look, even when they've got leaves?

My reality's interesting enough, because if it gets boring or sad, my brain likes to populate it with imaginary sights and sounds that interest and scare me. If things get boring, I write and make new interesting people in new interesting places and make them do fun things to distract myself. I sit on the bus and stare out of the window, but what I see really is any story set to the music I'm listening to, and it's vivid and real and fun.

However. That's just my little, obscured view. The world as a whole I think is quite boring. I don't classify things like war and starvation as interesting, because they give people nothing to do other than struggle and kill one another. They're plagues and blights, not things which make the You Are A Human On Earth! experience any more captivating for me.

So, for my change, I'd get rid of them. Bye bye bad stuff. Install administrations capable of satisfying the wants of their people, and keeping bad guys out. I know this is impossible, but Sinister voted to move continents around, so I guess artistic licence is okay here.

Bad things gone...and then we see what humans can really do. Imagine it. Making things that don't end up as guns. Radical new worldview where people are NICE to one another on a global scale; not on a personal scale all the time, however, because that is more impossible than moving Japan across the Pacific. And less interesting.

A world without war or shortage. Happy siesta filled with new people and the stories they've got to tell. That's what I'd change.

Since that's not going to happen, I'll content myself with private imagination and repeats of Recent Interesting Conversations with my three Actually Interesting Friends, and maybe even you guys (should you be so lucky, internet fiends ).



Wishing you back with health and haste, Fishie love.

[Sinister]

Ignoring your careless slight at my fellow Kentuckian and Johnny Depp's best friend , Thomson also said "I'd feel very trapped in this world if I knew that I couldn't commit suicide at any minute." And true enough, I accept the world I live in only with the knowledge that I could reject it at any moment I deem necessary.

But, however far fetched my wish was, I think you made better use of yours. Indeed the world would be...if not more interesting, better.


-Sin

[Jin]

So, for my change, I'd get rid of them. Bye bye bad stuff. Install administrations capable of satisfying the wants of their people, and keeping bad guys out. I know this is impossible, but Sinister voted to move continents around, so I guess artistic licence is okay here.

Borrrrrrrrrring.

That would be nice but so much less interesting I think. As a historian, I thrive on conflict and to live without it is like poison to me. It's funny how there's a connection between historians and lawyers. I suddenly feel like I need to take a shower.

In other news, Romance of the Three Kingdoms is an awesome book. Yup. I honestly don't have much to say.

[Govinda]

Here's a question then: why do things have to be bad to be considered 'interesting'? Does things being nice and stable really just mean stagnance; or is it in itself the true, interesting happiness we're all trying to pin down? What makes hardship, global or personal, make life seem more alive?

We, being as we are, are 'interesting' people. But we don't have particularly bad lives, do we? We don't go around starting fights every day. The thing that unites most of us is that we're chasing something the rest aren't; we're not bad, or despotic; so why does the world need to be that way to be interesting if we don't? Or is it that we're not really interesting?

You've got me thinking now, you stinking historian, you. And looking at your sig is making me want to sit in a box above the stadium in Rome and be fed grapes whilst watching men get eaten by pissed off tigers. I always thought that if I was going to be a rich daughter in any historical society, I'd pick the Roman times, and be a general's daughter. Such lovely dresses, nice foods, the language...not famed for their history of women's rights, no, but then again nobody is up until 1960-odd. So yeah. Me and my servants and dresses in ancient Rome. Please don't tell me how the reality would be, I like my little dream, haha.

[Sinister]

True, the object of this is to find a way to make the world more unique. But honestly, more conflict does not always equal unique and it almost never equals better. If we have more of one thing than of another...we're back to having a standard boring state of affairs. Wouldn't you agree?

Truly, the world, which is usually in a state of flux, is unique in itself. Things are always changing. That's part of charm and it's tragedy.

-Sin

[Jin]

Here's a question then: why do things have to be bad to be considered 'interesting'? Does things being nice and stable really just mean stagnance; or is it in itself the true, interesting happiness we're all trying to pin down? What makes hardship, global or personal, make life seem more alive?

Have you ever watched a movie or even read a book that involved no conflicts at all? No? That's because everyone knows it would be boring and no one would watch/read it.

Human nature is based on conflict. It's how we grow. Humans are like muscles. If they're never strained, they stay undeveloped and useless.

Human existence is a paradox, really. You mentioned the goal of finding a form of peace that we can stay interested in. Our main goal as individuals is to find peace, but as soon as we do, we no longer have a goal and life becomes uninteresting. Have you ever played a game that has no plot whatsoever and is completely free roaming? To enjoy yourself in it, you make up your own goals, your own objectives; once you can no longer think of conflicts to challange yourself with, you get bored and stop playing. I believe the same to be true of life: if we were ever to find the peace you are referring to, there would be nothing left for us. Luckily I don't believe it's possible to find said peace, so no worries. =)

This is all theoretical mind you, obviously.

If we have more of one thing than of another...we're back to having a standard boring state of affairs. Wouldn't you agree?

No. It's not the balance, but the act of balancing that's interesting. To me at any rate.

[OceanEyes28]

Conflict is important in any story, I completely agree.

However, I don't think most of us need a conflict on a violent global scale to be entertained. I'm perfectly willing to have those things soothed and eliminated.

In my very humble opinion, character conflict is quite enough for my taste. Let three or ten people fall in love with each other and see how at peace you are.

That's not to say I don't find our violent history interesting. It certainly is. But if I have to choose between a peaceful world and a new story about international conflict, I think I have my mind made up.

Or you know, at least let's decide things with a game of Twister or water balloons or something. The military would be huge.

[Jin]

Oh no, you misunderstand. The conflicts I'm speaking of do not have to be global or violent. Individual conflicts of a less than chaotic nature absolutely count towards what I was getting at. Someone made a comment earlier, Pablo I believe, about how we all consider ourselves unique, yet have suffered no life threatening conflicts necessarily. This is true, but every one of us here, I'm sure has had to deal with conflicts that we have found extrenuous, be it relationships, schooling, work or what have you. The aforementioned conflicts have made you all who you are today and as it's been established that you're all interesting, I rest my case. Har har.

[OceanEyes28]

Haha very well, I concede, dear sir.

Eliminating valuable conflict scenarios completely would not be on my list of improvements. They are important to the acting community and so are important to me.

I never actually answered the original question, I just fiddled with your answers. I'd say... well, I'd keep the Twister/water balloon idea. If I could make violence a last resort in everyone's mind, that would be a step in the right direction. And then I'd make planes and cars run on hair clippings and used tea leaves and I'd see whoever I wanted whenever I wanted.

I would make everyone's life interesting by hanging out with them, so there. Or maybe it's that everyone else would make my life interesting. OR MAYBE YOU ALREADY DO!

[Polk]

I would make everyone's life interesting by hanging out with them, so there. Or maybe it's that everyone else would make my life interesting. OR MAYBE YOU ALREADY DO!

You're a regular Mother Theresa, aren't you?

Like Tacitus was saying, history and conflict go hand in hand. Without conflict, the world wouldn't be where it is today. What if the American Colonists never contested British rule? What if the South never seceded from the Union? Whether we like it or not, conflict is part of our nature as human beings, and it's extremely hard to avoid. We may want to avoid war at all costs, but the other side could desperately want it. If they strike first (Pearl Harbor, anybody?), what are we supposed to do, just sit there and go "Oh, you guys..." and concede?

Also, I'd prefer a Scrabble-off.

[Sinister]

Have you ever watched a movie or even read a book that involved no conflicts at all? No? That's because everyone knows it would be boring and no one would watch/read it.

Human nature is based on conflict. It's how we grow. Humans are like muscles. If they're never strained, they stay undeveloped and useless.

Human existence is a paradox, really. You mentioned the goal of finding a form of peace that we can stay interested in. Our main goal as individuals is to find peace, but as soon as we do, we no longer have a goal and life becomes uninteresting. Have you ever played a game that has no plot whatsoever and is completely free roaming? To enjoy yourself in it, you make up your own goals, your own objectives; once you can no longer think of conflicts to challange yourself with, you get bored and stop playing. I believe the same to be true of life: if we were ever to find the peace you are referring to, there would be nothing left for us. Luckily I don't believe it's possible to find said peace, so no worries. =)

This is all theoretical mind you, obviously.


No. It's not the balance, but the act of balancing that's interesting. To me at any rate.

Ah, yes, but I said that in my post. However the Balancing act, itself, is incidental. Though it's oscillations may be impressive to behold, the goal is still balance.

Besides constant change can still be balanced. Though there is a war on somewhere, there is always tranquility somewhere too. In the end, the mix is important. If everywhere were at war or at peace, the lack of balance would not last or be extremely unpleasant.

[Furore]

Blaaahhhh there's always balance. It's like a longass straw 'balancing' on something that huge that regardless of which way the straw goes it won't fall off.

True balance would be boring, it would make everything more predictable. But the balance we seem to always have is never perfect, yet it still works. I like it more or less to be honest. It's those people dedicated to making supports to keep the straw in the one position who are annoying.

Look at the tides, predictable in some ways, but never completely. They can always find a way to surprise. Just my input. I'm now going to stop balancing my straw and making waves with my water and just drink the damned thing. ^^

[Jin]

I see what you're saying, Sinister. I guess the problem is what our definition of balance is. I was thinking of balance in a personal sense; a man being completely at peace, for example. But now that you bring up that more broad form of balance, I have to agree. Once again I turn to history and find myself withdrawing a bit of my earlier point: conflict all the time, from a historical perspective is a tad boring I suppose. I suppose a better way to put it then is to say that balanced conflict is necessary to be interesting, or conflict in adittion to change.

You keep me on my feet, sir.