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Post by OziRiS on Mar 5, 2015 11:48:35 GMT
I was simply toying with article ideas. I've hit a dry spell, and so I'm testing the waters for whatever comes. And I like your idea, so I'm just trying to provoke some thought as to where that could go. There's potential in the topic you've chosen. On one hand people ignore facts staring them right in the face in order to stick with the history they know and on the other hand people make up "facts" to fit with the history they want. |
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Post by ironhold on Mar 7, 2015 22:40:22 GMT
The Reporting Name Game[] Back during a little period of history known as the Cold War, NATO faced a quandary. The Soviet Union had a habit of simply using basic codes when naming their military hardware, such as “[manufacturer abbreviation] + [model number from that manufacturer]” for most of their aircraft. NATO needed a way to help service members quickly distinguish between units for the sake of accurate reporting. Thus, a series of nicknames was devised for each Soviet unit whose name was based on the code system. Each category of unit received its own letter (such as “F” for fighter planes), and all names for such units began with that letter (like the MiG-19 Farmer). (For more information and lists of names, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_reporting_name .) A lot of long-time fans of the G. I. Joe franchise have ties to the military, and so get enough Joe fans together and you’ll eventually have discussions of real-world military topics, especially in regards to how things are handled in the assorted works of fiction. Such was the case in the early 2000s when Devil’s Due Publishing had the rights to produce G. I. Joe comic books. Well, in due time, we (I was an active participant on the site) wound up having a discussion about real-world Soviet aircraft; I don’t recall what started it, but we were on a tangent. Things came screeching to a halt when the board’s filter pinged on two of the reporting names. You see, most of your better internet forums and other such online exchanges will have a filter in place intended to block out any words that are considered “offensive” or “vulgar”. When the names in question were decided upon, they meant rather mundane things; one was once a common synonym for “rooster”, while the other was a piece of British slang referring to bits of firewood. But English, like most other languages, evolves in time; not only do new words get created while old words fall by the wayside, existing words can find themselves with new “popular” meanings. In this case, the words in question had come to mean crude things, and so the filter was set up to screen them out… regardless of context, which in this case was “the original, non-offensive meanings”. In the years since, I’ve seen other filters do strange things in the name of “keeping things clean”. For a few boards, for example, the filter would parse individual words to see if an “offensive” word was located inside of the larger word; if it found one, it would engage normal censor protocols, whatever they are. In one extreme incident, a moderator took it upon himself to manually alter the list of prohibited words to include words that, by themselves, were completely innocent; while the words themselves may have been innocent, he rather strongly disapproved of the context in which they came up (re: he wasn’t an unbiased authority figure) and so decided to deliberately disrupt any form of conversation about topics he didn’t want to deal with. Folks, tempting though it may be, we can’t always block out the world. Yes, there are things out there which may offend or injure. But there are things that are mundane or even benevolent. Internet filters are “dumb” in that they can only do exactly what they are programmed to do. We humans, however, can distinguish good from bad for ourselves with simply an appropriate level of guidance. Don’t be so quick to reject the “bad” that you reject the “good” as well.
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Post by mrfatso on Mar 8, 2015 8:19:25 GMT
The Reporting Name Game[] Back during a little period of history known as the Cold War, NATO faced a quandary. The Soviet Union had a habit of simply using basic codes when naming their military hardware, such as “[manufacturer abbreviation] + [model number from that manufacturer]” for most of their aircraft. NATO needed a way to help service members quickly distinguish between units for the sake of accurate reporting. Thus, a series of nicknames was devised for each Soviet unit whose name was based on the code system. Each category of unit received its own letter (such as “F” for fighter planes), and all names for such units began with that letter (like the MiG-19 Farmer). (For more information and lists of names, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_reporting_name .) A lot of long-time fans of the G. I. Joe franchise have ties to the military, and so get enough Joe fans together and you’ll eventually have discussions of real-world military topics, especially in regards to how things are handled in the assorted works of fiction. Such was the case in the early 2000s when Devil’s Due Publishing had the rights to produce G. I. Joe comic books. Well, in due time, we (I was an active participant on the site) wound up having a discussion about real-world Soviet aircraft; I don’t recall what started it, but we were on a tangent. Things came screeching to a halt when the board’s filter pinged on two of the reporting names. You see, most of your better internet forums and other such online exchanges will have a filter in place intended to block out any words that are considered “offensive” or “vulgar”. When the names in question were decided upon, they meant rather mundane things; one was once a common synonym for “rooster”, while the other was a piece of British slang referring to bits of firewood. But English, like most other languages, evolves in time; not only do new words get created while old words fall by the wayside, existing words can find themselves with new “popular” meanings. In this case, the words in question had come to mean crude things, and so the filter was set up to screen them out… regardless of context, which in this case was “the original, non-offensive meanings”. In the years since, I’ve seen other filters do strange things in the name of “keeping things clean”. For a few boards, for example, the filter would parse individual words to see if an “offensive” word was located inside of the larger word; if it found one, it would engage normal censor protocols, whatever they are. In one extreme incident, a moderator took it upon himself to manually alter the list of prohibited words to include words that, by themselves, were completely innocent; while the words themselves may have been innocent, he rather strongly disapproved of the context in which they came up (re: he wasn’t an unbiased authority figure) and so decided to deliberately disrupt any form of conversation about topics he didn’t want to deal with. Folks, tempting though it may be, we can’t always block out the world. Yes, there are things out there which may offend or injure. But there are things that are mundane or even benevolent. Internet filters are “dumb” in that they can only do exactly what they are programmed to do. We humans, however, can distinguish good from bad for ourselves with simply an appropriate level of guidance. Don’t be so quick to reject the “bad” that you reject the “good” as well. Just one small point the bundle of firewood is not a slang, but rather the original meaning of the word in question. Another example is the Scunthorpe problem, where AOL blocked the name of a British town of thems of thousands of people., meaning for example it's Town Council websites could not be accessed via their platform. |
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Post by ironhold on Mar 11, 2015 20:37:29 GMT
A few days ago, I stumbled upon a little "psychological evaluation" game on LinkedIn. The idea is that you look at a word find puzzle and type the first word you see.
Most people were finding words like "professional", "self", "founder", and "redefine".
When I did a closer examination, I also found words like "vile", "loo", and "belie".
While some of these words likely were put in to give a few "negative" words for balance, I would imagine that a number of them were just flukes. For example, if you follow the word "control" as it goes down, you'll see that the letters "o" and "c" follow the "l". As such, we also have "color" (running vertically) using those two letters and the final three from "control".
To someone who's big into finding answers for things and over-analysis, however, I could see such a situation as giving them fits because, to them, there just has to be an explanation behind the inclusion of each individual word.
So now I'm looking to do a column on people over-analyzing things.
I want to do one set of examples showing real-life examples of people over-analyzing matters, like the much-circulated "hypothesis" that Shaggy and Scooby Doo are supposedly marijuana addicts (the first live-action Scooby-Doo film made fun of this at every opportunity).
I also want to do one where "over-analyzing" things proved the right course of action, thereby allowing a discussion on moderation and picking one's battles.
Any examples I can use?
Thanks.
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Post by the light works on Mar 11, 2015 21:35:36 GMT
Once there was a farmer who had two horses, and wanted to be able to tell them apart. so he cut the mane off of one horse, but it grew back. so then he cut the tail of the other horse, but that grew back. finally he asked an engineer friend for advice. the engineer suggested he measure the horses. and that's how he determined the brown horse was 2 centimeters taller than the black horse.
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Post by ironhold on Mar 12, 2015 1:45:26 GMT
Trying to remember the details of a story I once heard.
During WWII, a Seventh-Day Adventist got drafted for the military. Due to his "conscientious objector" status, he was made a medic. As such, he got teased a lot by his fellow Marines.
When his unit took part in the invasion of a Pacific island, he risked life and limb to go out into the firefight and personally retrieve wounded individuals. In the process, he lost the small Bible he carried with him.
A few hours later, it was returned to him. Some of the same Marines who had made fun of him were so impressed with his courage that they went out looking for it.
Anyone remember the story?
Thanks.
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Post by ironhold on Mar 16, 2015 18:23:18 GMT
Just need to find a title for this one.
**
The summer of 2014 brought a rather apt installment of the famous “Dork Tower” comic series. (http://www.dorktower.com/2014/07/18/the-real-world-dork-tower-18-07-14/ )
Matt, one of the series regulars, is reading comic books when his girlfriend Kayleigh starts to lecture him about his needing to spend more time in the “real world”. Matt responds by watching the nightly news… and is so horrified by what he sees that he goes right straight back to an even bigger stack of comics.
And why wouldn’t he?
As I’ve mentioned before, one of the more comforting aspects of certain fictional works is the paradigm. The good guys win. The bad guys lose. Justice prevails. Evil never prospers for long. The heroes may face a struggle, but you can generally rest assured that they’ll win. To quote “Nancy” (http://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2015/01/21 ): “I love comic books. They are perfect. There’s always a hero, adventure, fun, and a happy ending!”
Now compare that to the real world.
Crime. Poverty. Wildfires. Death. Mayhem. Corruption. Greed. Hatred. Ignorance. Disease. War. Vapid celebrities who are famous simply for being famous. That’s just the news feed on the MSN home page.
I’ll understand if you feel like crying.
One of the more common complaints I hear in regards to “escapist” fiction is that it’s supposedly entirely too easy for a person to permanently lose themselves in it. But what these same people often overlook is the fact that staying entirely in the real world can be just as bad. Stress. Despair. Burnout. Fear. Loss of hope. All of these things and more can overwhelm a person if they don’t have an outlet.
Believe me. I know. I’ve been there.
I know what it’s like to look at the world and not know what’s going on. I know what it’s like to be confused. I know what it is to question what the future holds.
But I also know what it’s like to see Fire Convoy thwart the Destrongers. I know what it’s like to see Wolverine plow through a whole host of Sentinels. I know what it’s like to see Batman outwit The Riddler.
You see folks, “escapism” can be a good thing at times. In the short term, escape can be a respite from the woes of the world, a chance to keep from being drained by negative emotions and fear about the future. “But in the long term?” some may ask.
“What can this escapism give us in the long term?”
Heroes.
As I noted back in “Yesterday’s Heroes” (12 September 2014): “The heroes of yesterday provide the motivation and impetus for the heroes of tomorrow.”
Well folks, those heroes don’t have to be real. Yes, the best thing for an individual is to have a real-life hero right in front of them, such as a hard-working parent or virtuous grandparent. And in fact, such everyday heroes deserve praise as well. But some people aren’t that lucky. Pulp and celluloid may be the best they have.
After “Guardians of the Galaxy” premiered, a single message had social media abuzz. The individual who wrote the message had recently taken their younger brother to see the film. The brother, who falls on the autistic spectrum, lit up when he realized that the character Drax, like himself, could not comprehend metaphors. Even if the Drax character was never meant to be such, the brother spent the next week in high spirits because he now believed that even someone with autism could be a superhero. Folks, something like that is priceless.
Ladies and gentlemen, heroes serve a purpose.
It doesn’t matter how they come to us.
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Post by OziRiS on Mar 16, 2015 18:39:00 GMT
Well written. And I think your title is in your second to last line.
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Post by the light works on Mar 16, 2015 18:53:05 GMT
Well written. And I think your title is in your second to last line. I'm inclined to agree. |
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Post by ironhold on Mar 16, 2015 19:33:32 GMT
Thank you.
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Post by wvengineer on Mar 17, 2015 0:40:56 GMT
Trying to remember the details of a story I once heard. During WWII, a Seventh-Day Adventist got drafted for the military. Due to his "conscientious objector" status, he was made a medic. As such, he got teased a lot by his fellow Marines. When his unit took part in the invasion of a Pacific island, he risked life and limb to go out into the firefight and personally retrieve wounded individuals. In the process, he lost the small Bible he carried with him. A few hours later, it was returned to him. Some of the same Marines who had made fun of him were so impressed with his courage that they went out looking for it. Anyone remember the story? Thanks. I thought for a bit that the story was going to turn into he had it in his pocket when he got shot only to have it stop the bullet, saving his life. When asked about it by his squad mates, he says "Man, nothing get's though Isaiah and I mean nothing." Yeah old joke. |
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Post by silverdragon on Mar 18, 2015 7:53:00 GMT
So maybe separate the two and treat them as differing subjects?
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Post by ironhold on Mar 22, 2015 1:58:38 GMT
Hoping that I properly summed it all up despite the limited word count. A Team of OneIn the past I’ve heard people question just how much one single person can accomplish. I’ve also heard people posit that coincidences and lucky breaks are flukes and even impossible in larger scales. But folks, they happen. It was October 6th, 1973. The people of Israel were celebrating Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Hebrew calendar. As such, Israel’s citizen army was enjoying what for most was a holiday. For this reason, the forces of Egypt and Syria attacked on this day, as it would take 24 – 48 hours for the reservists to be ready for deployment and so it would literally be days before the regular Israeli military could count on reinforcements. This was critical, as the Syrian force’s main advantage was raw numbers; the plan called for, in essence, the use of new Soviet anti-aircraft missiles to clear away Israel’s air superiority and then overwhelm the unassisted ground forces. What they did not count on, however, was a lone reservist reporting on his own volition. At the time, Zvika Greengold was a 21-year-old lieutenant. Lt. Greengold was on vacation ahead of attending a training course and so was unattached to any unit. When the news reported that war had begun, he immediately made his own way to Nafakh, the headquarters of two defending Israeli armored brigades. Although there was no tank for him to command, he was still able to assist in readying other tanks for battle. The Israelis were using British-made Centurion tanks, which did not die so easily; once the fallen crew members were attended to and the damage fixed, the Centurions which had been sent back to Nafakh were once more rotated out to the rapidly-moving front. In time, Lt. Greengold went out with one of these tanks. As head of the new “Zivka Force”, he was tasked with halting any Syrian incursions along the Tapline, a stretch of road that ran along a key oil pipeline… and a place he was familiar with due to his having trained there. To the Israeli forces in the sector, news of Team Zivka’s mobilization was a massive boost to morale, as they were led to believe that the reservists were arriving; few people, not even high command, realized that Team Zivka was effectively just one tank (Zivka losing contact with his partner tank due to the latter having a bad radio), and he went out of his way to hide this fact. To the Syrians, Team Zivka was an impenetrable wall. He had been informed that no Israeli forces remained in that sector, and so he could presume that anything he encountered was hostile. Using his knowledge of the terrain and the Centurion’s full abilities, he zigzagged between the terrain, felling Syrian combat vehicles with such ease and in such numbers that the Syrians pulled back in fear of having found a force too large to handle. Yes folks, Lt. Greengold and his crew single-handedly blunted an entire enemy offensive. Lt. Greengold would later be burned and injured when he participated in an early counter-offensive, but even with his injuries he continued fighting and helped save Nafakh from Syrian armor. It was only after fatigue took hold that he was taken out of the battle. With 20 confirmed tank kills and possibly others, Lt. Greengold – one man, in the right place at the right time – helped save a nation. Don’t let it be said that no one person can do anything big all by themselves. Sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zvika_GreengoldMoynahan, Brian. “The Loose Cannon of Yom Kippur.” Forgotten Soldiers. Quercus, 2007. |
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Post by tom1b on Mar 22, 2015 4:45:12 GMT
Trying to remember the details of a story I once heard. During WWII, a Seventh-Day Adventist got drafted for the military. Due to his "conscientious objector" status, he was made a medic. As such, he got teased a lot by his fellow Marines. When his unit took part in the invasion of a Pacific island, he risked life and limb to go out into the firefight and personally retrieve wounded individuals. In the process, he lost the small Bible he carried with him. A few hours later, it was returned to him. Some of the same Marines who had made fun of him were so impressed with his courage that they went out looking for it. Anyone remember the story? Thanks. Official Cittation Congressional Medal of Honor Society |
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Post by OziRiS on Mar 22, 2015 14:18:33 GMT
Trying to remember the details of a story I once heard. During WWII, a Seventh-Day Adventist got drafted for the military. Due to his "conscientious objector" status, he was made a medic. As such, he got teased a lot by his fellow Marines. When his unit took part in the invasion of a Pacific island, he risked life and limb to go out into the firefight and personally retrieve wounded individuals. In the process, he lost the small Bible he carried with him. A few hours later, it was returned to him. Some of the same Marines who had made fun of him were so impressed with his courage that they went out looking for it. Anyone remember the story? Thanks. Official Cittation Congressional Medal of Honor SocietyJust read the story. Thank you for sharing that. If only all religious fanatics would let their fanaticism manifest the way this man did, the world would be a very different and much better place. And yes, if you believe your life is unimportant, as long as you're doing the work of whatever god you pray to, you're a fanatic. However, as Desmond T. Doss proved, fanaticism doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. |
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Post by the light works on Mar 22, 2015 14:33:20 GMT
More atrocities have been committed in the name of God than for any other excuse - however, more people have committed outstanding acts of courage and compassion in the name of God than for any other reason.
that has something to do with religion being the oldest human motivation. - but it also has to do with religion being a powerful motivator - whether for good or for evil.
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Post by silverdragon on Mar 23, 2015 8:51:15 GMT
Or to be multi-faithful, whatever name is used, and having seen decades of people fight over "Which knee you go down on", being catholic or protestant, I can much agree that God doesnt bloody care what knee you go down on, by the books that have been written about him, nor does he want you to just go kill anyone who cant pronounce his name the way you do...
Jesus, Joshua, same name, allah, god, same person different name, my name is SilverDragon, some places call me that damned dragon, some places know me as Brian, Bwian (I am Bwian) and some know me by KC, My real name?... it has been mentioned on this board somewhere.
But I am still the same bloody awkward minded git you all know....
So are we all just fighting over the damnd way you spoell his (or her) name?...
Do we deserve to die for that?...
And are some people so that way inclined they refuse to kill anyone else for that?...
NOT invoking Godwins law, but the last "World war" was over the Arian race, and how religion and pure racism can make a political party a world dominator.
Good thing it was stopped.
Should peope have refused to kill for that reason?....
Well, we needed all we could get, but if you cant pull the trigger....
Well, there are places for people like that.
Like I did, far behind any line on a map, keeping the Aircraft flying with all their equipment attached and working right...
Doesnt even come into it if I would pull the trigger or not, I just think it would be a perfect job for a "I cant kill anyone" person....
Most of the aircraft I was working on were for detection and bombing the hell out of war machines, so, if its an ammunition dump or a rocket factory, it reduces their ability to fight and kill, so I am working for the greater good of mankind by stopping THEM kill anyone?....
There are places where you can fit in if you have objections.
Medic?...
PERFECT.
Not only did he not kill anyone, it was his job to go deal with the wounded and prevent them dieing.....
All in all, you dont need religion.
But if you have it, wherever you may go, may Your god go with you.
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Post by OziRiS on Mar 23, 2015 13:01:14 GMT
More atrocities have been committed in the name of God than for any other excuse I like that you called it "an excuse" and not "a reason", because that's what it is most of the time. An excuse. Very few wars in the history of the world have actually been fought over what name you call your deity by, but it's been used as an excuse by those in power to get acceptance and support from the people. The crusades are often used as an example of how religion "was the reason for war". Nothing could be further from the truth. The crusades were all about power, land and money. "In the name of God" was just the battle cry used to get the fighting men on board, so yes, for the people actually wielding the swords, religion was the reason for what they were doing. But the reason behind why they were convinced to do it in the first place was that someone who wanted more power, land and money used their religious beliefs to get them to fight for him. It's no different with islamic extremists today. The original power grab is just so far back in history that everyone has forgotten why they started fighting in the first place and now think it's because Allah wants them to. |
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Post by the light works on Mar 23, 2015 13:59:27 GMT
More atrocities have been committed in the name of God than for any other excuse I like that you called it "an excuse" and not "a reason", because that's what it is most of the time. An excuse. Very few wars in the history of the world have actually been fought over what name you call your deity by, but it's been used as an excuse by those in power to get acceptance and support from the people. The crusades are often used as an example of how religion "was the reason for war". Nothing could be further from the truth. The crusades were all about power, land and money. "In the name of God" was just the battle cry used to get the fighting men on board, so yes, for the people actually wielding the swords, religion was the reason for what they were doing. But the reason behind why they were convinced to do it in the first place was that someone who wanted more power, land and money used their religious beliefs to get them to fight for him. It's no different with islamic extremists today. The original power grab is just so far back in history that everyone has forgotten why they started fighting in the first place and now think it's because Allah wants them to. Land, power, money, and getting enthusiastic youngsters out of the country so they wouldn't start thinking ambitious thoughts. |
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Post by ironhold on May 2, 2015 2:57:21 GMT
I have the seeds for a column and the angle I want to take (how even fictional heroes can inspire real-life actions), but I've got writers block when it comes to getting from A to B. Thanks. ** "Yuke! Tiger Mask"Once upon a time, out in Japan, there was a popular manga (re: comic book) series known as “Tiger Mask”. The series followed Naoto Date, who rose from being an orphan to being one of the most (in)famous professional wrestlers of his day. Under the name Tiger Mask, he worked as a “heel” (re: villain), terrorizing wrestling promotions all over America. Upon returning to Japan, however, he had a change of heart when he realized that a young orphan from the same orphanage where he grew up wanted to be a villain just like he was. At that point, Date became a hero, both in person and in the ring. As part of it, Date gave half his earnings from his wrestling matches to the orphanage. His change of heart earned him the wrath of several wrestlers who were evil both in and out of the ring, and so he would spend much of his career fending off assailants. [1] The original comic book series only lasted about three years. However, it proved to be an instant sensation, spawning a television series, a sequel (which also had its own television adaptation), movies, and video games. In the 1980s, the wrestling promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling even licensed the Tiger Mask character, with a total of five individuals donning the mask over the past 30+ years. But in late 2010 and early 2011, the franchise also spawned something else entirely. It started on Christmas 2010 when someone donated 10 leather knapsacks (worth several hundred dollars each) to a children’s home. The name on the envelope? Naoto Date. Other donations soon followed. Gift certificates. Toys. One cash donation worth $2,400 US. Another cash donation worth $1,200 US, with a note saying that “There are ‘Tiger Masks’ all over the country.” [2] Soon, another gift arrived, supposedly from folk hero Momotaro, who claimed to have been moved by the efforts of Naoto Date. Another vintage cartoon character, Jo Yabuki, was credited with a donation as well. These were on top of further donations that included backpacks and food. [3] [ [1] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Mask[2] www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/11/us-japan-donations-idUSTRE70A20720110111[3] news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/11/gifts-from-comic-heroes-help-japans-orphans/?iref=allsearch |
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