Randomness

[DRRRK]

No, it's bad luck for the rabbit.

[Faust]

Lift has updated their website. Looks really good.

[endersgame]

i really don't like getting clothes as gifts from co-workers. i have to show up for work wearing it or else they ask me why i'm not wearing their awesome gift..

[Acid, Bitter and Sad]

Lift Étage

Lift has updated their website. Looks really good.

Lift Étage will be closed from Aug 1-19...fyi.
To be re-opened on Aug 20, revealing a new gallery space.

[YoungM]

Can someone explain to me the value of Salo and 120 Days of Sodom? I ask this honestly - I've seen the film, and read portions of the book, and no matter how hard I try, I have trouble recognizing it's worth.

However, I'm 18, I live in Texas, graduated from a public high school, and would hardly consider myself terribly cultured. Beyond that, I trust your opinions most of the time, so if anyone cares to write me a short essay on the topic, or link me to a suitable one, I would be very grateful.

Thanks for taking part in my intellectual development.

[Faust]

/\ Cause it makes one feel cool and like edgy and stuff.

I've never had a desire to watch either, YoungM, so I don't know what the point is. But maybe someone else does. Ask philip_nod, he seems to be a fan.

I am not too familiar with de Sade, but one point of value is that his writing demonstrates how human beings can get used to all kinds of unimaginably despicable things through conditioning - hence one possible answer to the question about how an enlightened country like Germany could have committed such atrocities during WWII.

[Sombre]

^On a marginally related note, something I've been wondering for some time is, why are certain things despicable, or generally negative? For example, why is promiscuity negative? Why is greed bad (in refence to the continued anti-finance sentiment)? Why is atheism bad (or religion, depending on which view you take)?

Who decides what is despicable or morally wrong? What reasons do people have for believing them? What drives our opinions on these matters?

I've done a terrible job of expressing myself here, but I suppose the general question I have is, what shapes morality for people?

[lowrey]

Lift has updated their website. Looks really good.

late pass

[beardown]

Hahaha!

This is in regard to the Obama billboard, an image that I refuse to repost.

As an educated American, I find myself being more and more embarrassed and disgusted by the ignorance and bias of my country on a regular basis.
I'm sorry...I can't find a single shred of humor in this no matter how hard I try. Generally speaking, I get a kick out of making fun of uninformed rednecks but this borders on dangerous in my opinion.
I won't get into political debates on here or discussions about free speech but I'm not afraid to point out ignorance when it's as blatant as this.

[HWith]

I think that for a start, you shouldn't mix greed and promiscuity (character traits) with religion. Religion/Christianity and it's morals and traditions are forces that condition people into thinking that those character traits are negative. But you should look into Kant and his categorical imperative, Bentham and John Stuart Mill's utilitarism and Habermas's discourse ethics. Those are different views and ways of how to decide if something is morally right or wrong. :-)

^On a marginally related note, something I've been wondering for some time is, why are certain things despicable, or generally negative? For example, why is promiscuity negative? Why is greed bad (in refence to the continued anti-finance sentiment)? Why is atheism bad (or religion, depending on which view you take)?

Who decides what is despicable or morally wrong? What reasons do people have for believing them? What drives our opinions on these matters?

I've done a terrible job of expressing myself here, but I suppose the general question I have is, what shapes morality for people?

[Faust]

late pass

ooops!

[Faust]

This is in regard to the Obama billboard, an image that I refuse to repost.

As an educated American, I find myself being more and more embarrassed and disgusted by the ignorance and bias of my country on a regular basis.
I'm sorry...I can't find a single shred of humor in this no matter how hard I try. Generally speaking, I get a kick out of making fun of uninformed rednecks but this borders on dangerous in my opinion.
I won't get into political debates on here or discussions about free speech but I'm not afraid to point out ignorance when it's as blatant as this.

Nothing to be afraid of. The fact that you even have this apprehension is a sign of how perverted this country has gotten. We look like utter barbarians to the rest of the civilized world, especially after the healthcare debate, it's amazing. The only hope is this idiocy stays confined to Fox and the entertainment industry that is in business of selling ads and that it will actually benefit American politics by keeping those people away from power.

[Peasant]

It's so driven by self-interested politicians and even more so by companies and CEO's...I find it quite scary. And the fucking media frenzy is mind blowing. It's like a reality show about a country that in a shit situation. Pop culture at disgustingly colossal proportions.
"Free" health care...it will just be one more burden on the backs of the working, middle class. Seems like we could downsize our immense military presence just a bit and pay for a large portion of it.

The billboard is ridiculous. Without doubt, Obama isn't like the others. I suppose I find some humor in the fact that there are citizens out there who can be led with such little effort. Fear mongering..it's tragic. Current national threat level, yellow. Lock your doors.

[Peasant]

Initially I came to this thread to post about a skatevideo I'm making. I know there are some shredders who lurk here.

[cjbreed]

scariest thing yet: corporate spending limit

basically stating that the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections. (based on corporate personhood)

in short, elections are for sale now more than ever. even less shockingly, its the republicans that supported this decision based on a vague notion of it being a victory for free speech. yep, the very same people that seek to censor, alter, and limit the rights of every dissenting voice in the nation now are the champions of first amendment rights, as long as it involves campaign contributions and political ads paid for by giant corporations. surprise.