Chit-Chat: On Tuesdays Oryx and Triforce think it's Wednesday

Kanzler said:

But I do think life is interesting, with interesting dialogue and interesting events.

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No one's saying it's not, just that the interesting parts of life are separated by hours of boring things that are never shown on TV, or only shown on TV to make a funny joke about them. No one's showing an entire episode of a high school kid working on homework on their own silently at a table, but high school kids do homework at least half an hour a night so it would make sense to show it. But it's not funny or interesting so they don't...but real high school kids have to live through it, thus making the ratio of boring to not boring higher in real life than sitcoms and other tv shows.

Kouzan said:

If more sitcoms were reality, then even mid-class people with average paying jobs could afford high end apartments and go to coffeehouses/restaurants almost every day like the cast of Seinfield or Friends. That would be nice actually.

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have you ever watched roseanne? i feel like it's one of the only sitcoms in the world that actually portrays lower middle class lifestyle and the struggles they face.

Arago said:

have you ever watched roseanne? i feel like it's one of the only sitcoms in the world that actually portrays lower middle class lifestyle and the struggles they face.

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Actually, if you go back a little bit further in TV history you can find a lot of great sitcoms that represent that same ideal: The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy, All In The Family, and Good Times all portray that message, and are just as great as Roseanne in my opinion. You should check them out sometime, they're all classics (:

Kanzler said:

Anyways if you're worried about intrusive thoughts, Pinkie-Dawn, it might be a good idea to take a look at Buddhism and their ways of handling unhelpful thoughts. I don't mean to proselytize but they do have really good ways of dealing with thoughts that are truly unhelpful - as in when brooding or worrying about them doesn't do anything.

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Lately I've been rather interested in Tibetan Buddhism, particularly with the turmoil about a decade or two ago with the Panchen Lama. I like how the concepts of emanations and different buddhas and bodhisattvas and lines of incarnations tying into a philosophy of selflessness and love and compassion. I find that attractive in a religion, what with how much I lean towards atheism to begin with.

elheroeoscuro said:

Actually, if you go back a little bit further in TV history you can find a lot of great sitcoms that represent that same ideal: The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy, All In The Family, and Good Times all portray that message, and are just as great as Roseanne in my opinion. You should check them out sometime, they're all classics (:

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all in the family's a good one, and so is good times! there's another one that i can't quite remember the name of that was a good one as well. i never saw the honeymooners. i didn't know i love lucy was about middle class, but it probably is. my mom was obsessed with it. it was like her absolute favorite thing ever.

Alex said:

Lately I've been rather interested in Tibetan Buddhism, particularly with the turmoil about a decade or two ago with the Panchen Lama. I like how the concepts of emanations and different buddhas and bodhisattvas and lines of incarnations tying into a philosophy of selflessness and love and compassion. I find that attractive in a religion, what with how much I lean towards atheism to begin with.

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You can be atheist and Buddhist. Atheism just means without gods. Buddhism, franky, doesn't have much place for gods.

Arago said:

have you ever watched roseanne? i feel like it's one of the only sitcoms in the world that actually portrays lower middle class lifestyle and the struggles they face.

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I've heard of it, but never seen it. Funny thing is I was just googling "realistic sitcom" for something relevant to this topic and Roseanne is considered one of the most realistic sitcoms ever by a lot of people. (Well based on several forum discussions lol.)

Kanzler said:

You can be atheist and Buddhist. Atheism just means without gods. Buddhism, franky, doesn't have much place for gods.

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Yes, isn't that great? :D

I did read that often to find the incarnations of the Dalai and Panchen Lamas they consult a lake guardian by the name of Pelden Lhamo, which in some sense is considered a goddess, being one of the Eight Guardians of the Law. I myself have a feeling that that sort of spirit could just be a human that decided not to reincarnate and may be a little crafty at communicating with qi.

So I guess I can switch my view of it to keep it atheistic, although some may argue. :P

Kanzler said:

You can be atheist and Buddhist. Atheism just means without gods. Buddhism, franky, doesn't have much place for gods.

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Are you Buddhist? Sorry I didn't read through all of your posts here. I think I'm Atheist (right now I still identify as Agnostic), but I do have spiritual beliefs separate from religious ones, particularly about what happens after you die - and I believe in a nirvana type system and reincarnation as well. I checked out Buddhism, but it seems pretty restrictive.

Kouzan said:

I've heard of it, but never seen it. Funny thing is I was just googling "realistic sitcom" for something relevant to this topic and Roseanne is considered one of the most realistic sitcoms ever by a lot of people. (Well based on several forum discussions lol.)

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I highly suggest you check it out. If you're not too keen on starting the series from beginning to end, but still check it out, I suggest checking out an episode called The Dark Ages. It's not the best, but it's definitely a stand out episode.

Could we please not talk about atheism here? I get really uncomfortable when talking to them, and it's best that I don't know your beliefs, so I could be more comfortable with chatting with you guys. Blame youtube, 4chan, and reddit for this trust issue.

Arago said:

I highly suggest you check it out. If you're not too keen on starting the series from beginning to end, but still check it out, I suggest checking out an episode called The Dark Ages. It's not the best, but it's definitely a stand out episode.

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Definitely will give it a watch cause I really have not much else to do. :P

I personally I indentify as Catholic. Really mainly/only cause I've been one all my life and can't see myself atm being anything else.And I can't see how somethings so wonderful weren't made by some sort of god. (And science obviously.) I do understand why some people don't believe in a god/God and respect that. I do think the whole nirvana concept of Buddhism is pretty neat.

Kouzan said:

Definitely will give it a watch cause I really have not much else to do. :P

I personally I indentify as Catholic. Really mainly/only cause I've been one all my life and can't see myself atm being anything else.And I can't see how somethings so wonderful weren't made by some sort of god. (And science obviously.) I do understand why some people don't believe in a god/God and respect that. I do think the whole nirvana concept of Buddhism is pretty neat.

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They have pretty much every episode on YouTube so it's super easy to find.

I believe in the all-consuming power of chocolate chip cannolis and deep-fried flautas.

Arago said:

Are you Buddhist? Sorry I didn't read through all of your posts here. I think I'm Atheist (right now I still identify as Agnostic), but I do have spiritual beliefs separate from religious ones, particularly about what happens after you die - and I believe in a nirvana type system and reincarnation as well. I checked out Buddhism, but it seems pretty restrictive.

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What do you find restrictive about Buddhism? It seems really restrictive for monks, but it can be practised by lay people as well. I don't so much believe in nirvana as I do work towards it. If I attain it that will be belief enough.

I don't think Buddhism is very open to the belief in souls, as that would go against the teaching of "selflessness" in the world. Buddhism, as I interpret it, treats the ego as a fiction, and the soul is a pretty ego-centric concept (think about it, it's a "self" that floats through lives, a consciousness that migrates from this body to another). There is no "you", and "you" will not be reborn as "you" once you die, etc etc.

Ugh it can get really confusing so I won't go into any more detail unless you or somebody else asks for it. The tl;dr is that "reincarnation" as we normally think of it (transferring souls) isn't how it's conceptualized in Buddhism.

EDIT: And yeah, I don't really "get" Tibetan Buddhism. I don't see how they can reconcile the rebirth of somebody's consciousness who happens to be better than you and gets to rule over a territory with the concept that there is no permanent "self". I see it as a very doctrine-oriented school of Buddhism that happened to be influenced by other deistic ideas over the years.

Kanzler said:

What do you find restrictive about Buddhism? It seems really restrictive for monks, but it can be practised by lay people as well. I don't so much believe in nirvana as I do work towards it. If I attain it that will be belief enough.

I don't think Buddhism is very open to the belief in souls, as that would go against the teaching of "selflessness" in the world. Buddhism, as I interpret it, treats the ego as a fiction, and the soul is a pretty ego-centric concept (think about it, it's a "self" that floats through lives, a consciousness that migrates from this body to another). There is no "you", and "you" will not be reborn as "you" once you die, etc etc.

Ugh it can get really confusing so I won't go into any more detail unless you or somebody else asks for it. The tl;dr is that "reincarnation" as we normally think of it (transferring souls) isn't how it's conceptualized in Buddhism.

EDIT: And yeah, I don't really "get" Tibetan Buddhism. I don't see how they can reconcile the rebirth of somebody's consciousness who happens to be better than you and gets to rule over a territory with the concept that there is no permanent "self". I see it as a very doctrine-oriented school of Buddhism that happened to be influenced by other deistic ideas over the years.

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Maybe you're right, but I still like the idea. I guess I find it a good way to lead by example, but that's probably unfounded. :>

It's good that I don't have to believe in an invisible man to find my own happiness in regard to things like death that cause a lot of people to cling to religion to begin with. It's a scary thought, but with the idea that you just start over and over again with a larger goal of nirvana at hand, I'm rather content. :3

Oryx said:

I believe in the all-consuming power of chocolate chip cannolis and deep-fried flautas.

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Now this is something I can definitely stand for.

G.U.Y. said:

GET THE HELL OUT

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Uh, yeah, how about "NO".

Donna was amazing.

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No...just...no. Not even a little bit.

She's overconfident, self-righteous, and arrogant. She treats Eric terribly at times (then again, everyone treats Eric terribly), she takes too much pride in her "independence", she thinks everything men do is inherently oppressive, she approaches any comment on femininity (positive or negative) with open hostility, and she's also a massive hypocrite as evidenced when she gives Eric crap for going out on two dates while they were broken up, yet at that same time she slept with Casey Kelso. She's also not even sexy, despite the show's claims otherwise.

Donna is the worst.

So was Kelso.

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Kelso is an unfunny, narcissistic, bumbling dumbass most of the time all of the time. Just like his actor.

I hated Hide..or whatever his name was. No real reason other than I hate people like him.

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Hyde was one of the better characters of the show. I could relate to him given his acerbic wit, deadpan sarcasm, his hatred for the man and big business, and his awesome taste in music. He also frequently does what I always daydream of doing: calling people out on their BS. The only bad thing about Hyde was that his actor's portrayal of him at times felt overly forced.



Now that I think about it, most of the people on That 70's Show are terrible. The only ones I feel any sympathy towards are Hyde, Fez, and Eric, especially Eric considering he's treated like crap by virtually everyone. I have to admire his will, because if I was put through even half of the crap he has to put up with, I would've gone postal.

Oh, god, I hated Donna.

Hyde was the ♥♥♥♥ though. Oh, and Red.

"Dumbass"

CarcharOdin said:

Donna is the worst.

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I think you're just jealous of her pure awesomeness.

But seriously, I get the points your making. I guess I just like characters when I relate to them..but Donna is awesome.

I'll just leave this here.