Hello, and thanks for visiting my new blog, The Serenity of Reason. You might well be asking, why does the world need another blog? Well, I guess the world really doesn't need it. But I think there are folks "out there" who will be happy it is here.
The main premise of the blog is that "reason" is sorely lacking in the world today and that the world would be a much better place if reason were applied to everything we do. Capiche?
Hope so, but let me clarify things a bit. The definition of "reason" that I am using is the second one listed at Webster's Dictionary online, as follows (link):
2 a (1) : the power of comprehending, inferring, or thinking especially in orderly rational ways : INTELLIGENCE (2) : proper exercise of the mind (3) : SANITY b : the sum of the intellectual powers
In other words, we should base our decisions on what is rational. We should "believe" (hate that word, more on that later) only in those things with a solid, reasonable basis backing them up. That means, no faith! Faith is what some turn to when they have no evidence. I reject faith as a useful means of gathering knowledge.
Living an existence based in reason promotes, among other things, serenity -- hence the name of this blog. I hope you will join me in sharing your thoughts and issues -- and commenting on the posts here.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
42 comments:
sounds like a great idea 2 me!
Thanks Barbie (short for Barbarian)! Err, I mean coreyd, fcc would get super-confused with Barbie, wouldn't he?
Moving is always a bitch. You never know how much stuff you have accumulated until you move. I guess I could make a go of it here. It sure is brighter here.
Here is where the Mike of Freethinkers Paradise emerges from the cocoon as dragonfly...
Free at last!
Well, hel-loooo!
I was going to suggest that bawdy get to pick what thread we moved to once we got to 1000 on the other site. But this is better.
bawdy, do you prefer I call you "bawdyscot"? I only use bawdy because it's shorter. like, I'm sometimes tempted to call you bs, but I wouldn't want to be misconstrued.:)
Two out of three of you know my real name, but I think I'm going to keep using bev.
I have to admit that I haven't read the actual post yet, but I wanted to check in. Love the title!
Gotta run for now... but I'll be back.
Quick question: The last few posts on freethinkers, were you all able to get through without a code?
bawdy..."consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds" ... a favorite quote.
I have an older son who never understood tough love either...until he was older.
Bev is here. How wonderful to have the bigot of the US military warrior class join us...
Bev,
Bawdy is fine; I'm used to it. And no I didn't need a code either. Seems like the old site saw the handwriting on the wall, huh?
Mike,
I could swear you are high. Tough love? Dragonfly? Do dragonflies even use cocoons?
mike, at your age, why do you feel a need to do the petty name-calling? seriously.
Checking in on this thread too. *waving* Hi folks! Oh, and the quote is "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." It's from Emerson.
Emerson!
I sold my boat dragonfly...this weekend... so I decided it is a good name to use.
Dragonfly was a sailboat with a yellow hull and very fast. Much fun, etc...but he guy paid me twice what I paid for it. It was in so-so shape when I bought it. I love working on boats...and sailing them.
Welcome ceroill! Were you a lurker over at Freethinker's Paradise, or are you brand new?
And I like the new moniker, Mike. My wife and I enjoy sitting in the backyard down here in Texas and watching the dragonflies buzz about. It brings us peace - call it the "serenity of nature"!
barbie, eh? i could live with that grumble grumble grumble NOT!
cute though.
i just gotta say csm, i'm really digging the new pad! even the word verification thingy is easier 2 read! tell me, did you get help coordinatin' your colors? looks great... :-)
_____________
can someone please remind me bout html? is there supposed 2 be a slash inside the brackets? it's been SO long...
csm, not a lurker as such, I just didn't post as much as some there. I guess you managed to miss most of mine. I coulda sworn we'd met a few times there. Oh well. Nice place here.
As long as we're giving compliments to csm, I also really like your "favorite blogs" (can't remember if that's what you call it). I've checked out a few. So far, they've been excellent.
hey ceroill,
are you from tn? more importantly, didja post at freethinkers under a different name, say a rather short palindrome that could be confused w/ bombs over bagdad?
csm, D'oh! Of course, it should have occurred to me! Yes, that's me. Bob is my actual name, this one is a screen name I use sometimes when Bob is too common to use on a site. I should have said this earlier. Sorry for any confusion.
*waving again* Hi guys, it's me, Bob. There. Reintroduction made.
Just had a slightly odd experience over at Freethinker's. A post went through without 'an error' occuring, and it asking me to type in the code. Makes me wonder a bit.
Now for my next quotation:
The wit makes fun of other persons; the satirist makes fun of the world; the humorist makes fun of himself, but in so doing, he identifies himself with people--that is, people everywhere, not for the purpose of taking them apart, but simply revealing their true nature. James Thurber
hi bob! (it was the *wave* that gave it away! :-D)
i'm thinking leados is making some changes on their security code. their word verification has been on & off, back & forth for my last 6 posts there, and each time it comes back up, there are minor changes to the text on screen.
notice (next time it asks ya 2 verify) the "error occurred" statement is no longer at the top of the screen when ya try 2 post?
maybe they fixed the bug?
p.s. GREAT quote! can i still be a witty humorist, though?
_____
mike,
dragonfly is a cool name. : )
corey, of course you can! Another one on that subject I like is from the British comedy team from the 50s and 60s, Flanders and Swann: "It is said that the purpose of satire is to strip away the veneer of comforting illusion and cozy half truth, and ours as I see it is to put it back again."
LOVE James Thurber! Seriously LOVE James Thurber.
As long as we're discussing Bob's name, I thought the bombs over baghdad comment by coreyd was pretty witty.
I wrote a few comments on the other site just now. Just thought I'd come here and say good-night.
Taking a break from the dodgers game cuz it ain't going my way. Maybe csm's.
Already had my fair share of karma with the Red Sox win over the Yankees.
I've had time to read the actual post now. Thanks, csm, for doing this. I feel like Al Gore is running for President.
Is the blue name a google acct?
nite-nite
Glad that most everyone seems to like the site. I hope it keeps the flavor of Freethinker's and anyone who has comments, suggestions, or criticisms that they would rather send me off the blog, just e-mail to serenityofreason@yahoo.com
And yes, Bev, your game did go better for me. Still a Pirates fan - even though they are constant also-rans.
This is not quite right, but the other blog might be going, so I wrote a last post to Bob for a terrific story he wrote, but it's taking a looooong time to load.
I'm going to post it here, even though that's a little tacky. If anyone wants to read the story, you'll find it on the other blog.
For Bob, in response to your story:
Bob, I really want to help you get published. It won't mean you'll get paid right away. You can start by simply submitted stories to better and fewer local venues. Then once you get published, as you get published in more wide-spread publications, you can start to submit to the one you'd like to be associated with. (Forgive the preposition ending the sentence.)
You have to kind of wait for them to actually pay you, but you should at least start submitting.
LOVED the grammar lesson!
Please note that "y'all" is probably the second word I spoke in my life (after "NO!") haha
And I may be the only other one who has pointed out to a group publicly how difficult it would be to pronounce the true contradiction of "am not."
Does it bother you when people use a superlative with "unique"?
My guess is that you spell words in the Anglo form because you learned a lot of your vocabulary via reading. Since a lot of what your folks gave you to read was probably of the highest quality, many books were probably kids' classics of British origin.
Gray or grey? GREY!
Please think about trying to get published. I think writing is probably your bliss. And, for whatever my opinion is worth, yes, I find your basic style to be very engaging.
Let me know if you want any more pointers.
Are you still associated with Vandie in any way?
Bev, saw and replied at the other place to your post, so I won't repeat here all that I wrote there. Thanks so much for your encouragement and compliments.
csm, this place seems to be up and running. Looking good.
Anybody know contact info for any of the folks from the old site that left when it stagnated? If so, send along the new site and let's see if we can get them re-engaged.
After noticing an illustration in the entrance, I was tempted to enter a link. Somehow, though the connection between the Constitution and Reason appears obvious to me, there are many Americans who appear to find Reason unconstitutional. Personally, when it comes down to a choice between the Reasonable and the current flavor of Constitutional, I'm inclined towards the reasonable. And so I submit to temptation,
http://www.usconstitution.net/constnot.html
My word verifications are zwivp & ybywlv.
That is a GREAT link derF. I'm gonna spend a lot of time there reading thru the information. Thanks!
It has been said that I could screw-up a wet dream.
I had a little difficulty learning how to post links at the old site. Does anyone have any suggestions?
at the other site, i'd just cut & paste the address from the address bar at the top o' da screen to da comment box and post away. i haven't quite figured this site out for posting links yet.
don't know if you were typing your url's, but sometimes i noticed addresses that needed a "." b4 da com or net or whatever. not from you, i don't think.
maybe the computers are racist! they seem to prefer hearing it straight from another 'puters mouth..
This blog seems to be designed for comments and not commentary and is a little more difficult to work with.
For those interested I am reprinting a book I wrote on PTSD and Nam...called "Flashback"...it is being reprinted by iUniverse and should be listed by Barnes and Nobel and Amazon... My old publisher went belly up in Canada.
I agree, nice link!
Fausta..its going to be more difficult to stream through this blog then the old one once we begin racking up the comments?!
I agree, dragonfly, but I hope we don't ever need to get thousands of comments on a single thread - I'll just start up a new one.
I do wish I could figure out a way to get the "Leave your comment" box down at the bottom instead of up at the top... no luck yet.
Good luck with that.
You need to know a little HTML in order to post a link in a comment here. That involves using the tags as referenced right below the comments box. This link shows examples of coding the "a" tag to include a link. Sorry this is a bit technical...
On the last thread we chatted some about Veterans...PTSD, etc. This website I am recommending to you will give you more information.
www.geocities.com/dave_barker_amvet/index.html#Exposed
speaking of ptsd...
...nightline did a bit.
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3255345&page=1
there's video on the right side of the page, but i'd like 2 see the actual nightline segment also.
Bawdy...very interesting peice. Back to the Future with BF Skinner and "Learning and Extinction Curves"...extincting unwanted stimuli via VR is certainly a very real possibility.
However, how long will it last (for the individual using the concept)? PTSD is known to come back later in life. It will take time to really know that answer.
Some vets have worked their whole lives and been excellent performers in their fields to retire and be revisited by PTSD.
A good friend of mine who was a WWII POW went through exactly that scenerio.
Just a follow. The nice thing about DOD and VA doctors and hospitals is that they are like God. If you have a service connected injury...injured or wounded and they fix your injury...they can say you are healed and have a "0%" disability. That does not happen to civilians.
Post a Comment