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BRAINGLE FAMILY ROOM-46

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shawneeo

Posts: 7951

Posted: 08:16PM Feb 1, 2012

haha, we think the same! I keep wondering how we're going to PAY for having so many very warm days during winter this far!

Life... can be so many things... how can anyone ever think they are RIGHT? HAhahahahahahaha!!!!!

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RGW4

Posts: 1082

Posted: 08:52PM Feb 1, 2012

We're going pay for the warm weather and lack of rain by having water rates go up again. Just wish I could find something to drink other than water... hmmm, let me think about this while sipping my beer.

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. -Albert Einstein-

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jaycr

Posts: 2192

Posted: 01:15PM Feb 7, 2012

It would seem that Mitt Romney has taken over Braingle ads for me today, in MN it is caucus day.

It's not what you know, it's what people think you know.

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idiot_original

Posts: 2893

Posted: 05:46PM Feb 7, 2012

Thankfully it's no longer Sarah Palin ... i get tired of having to type in smarmy epithets and give them addresses of other people i know

Human intelligence has peaked, and is declining. For proof, see Speaker of House

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jaycr

Posts: 2192

Posted: 06:26PM Feb 7, 2012

The only person who still wants Sarah Palin in the race is Tina Fey.

It's not what you know, it's what people think you know.

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snappytom

Posts: 4349

Posted: 07:28PM Feb 7, 2012

How could anyone seriously call their son NEWT?

NEWT!!!!

Reminds me of something out of a Monty Python skit!

Snappy Snappy Snap..Snap Snap Snap Snap!

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jaycr

Posts: 2192

Posted: 07:35PM Feb 7, 2012

The knights that say, "Newt".

It's not what you know, it's what people think you know.

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snappytom

Posts: 4349

Posted: 07:35PM Feb 7, 2012

Yes! Yes! That's the one!

Snappy Snappy Snap..Snap Snap Snap Snap!

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xxxamberxxx

Posts: 34

Posted: 10:25AM Feb 8, 2012

And in the holy grail .

Live for the moment. Don't worry about the past. You make your own futrure.

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shawneeo

Posts: 7951

Posted: 05:52PM Feb 8, 2012

Is it short for Newton? Not that Newton is so much better, but at least it's shared with Sir Isaac Newton, and Fig Newtons! Nothing's wrong with that!

Newt and Mitt... is "Mitt" better? Is it short for Mitten? Is he one of The Three Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens?

Life... can be so many things... how can anyone ever think they are RIGHT? HAhahahahahahaha!!!!!

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jaycr

Posts: 2192

Posted: 06:18PM Feb 8, 2012

Newt is short for Newton

Mitt is short for Mittstake

It's not what you know, it's what people think you know.

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snappytom

Posts: 4349

Posted: 08:23PM Feb 8, 2012

Yeah...I like that "Mitten" . Never thought of that!

Haha! Mittstake!!! Woohoo! We are on a roll!

Snappy Snappy Snap..Snap Snap Snap Snap!

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Starchaser

Posts: 39

Posted: 10:36PM Feb 8, 2012

Life as a Chained Elephant

Heres what it says for those who won't click links.

The bull African elephant is the most formidable land mammal on planet earth. The largest on record towered over thirteen feet at the shoulder and tipped the scales at 24,000 pounds. If you've ever seen one up close, I mean really seen one, you know how awe-inspiring the sight is.

In a word, they're unstoppable.

Or so it would seem.

Now, imagine for a minute that we're at a circus. A baby elephant is led in to be trained for a life in the big top. A gentle looking man with wrinkles carved deep in his face walks in. His job is simple: tame the animal. He quickly ties one of the creature's legs to a thick wooden beam sunk into the ground.

Only one, that's all it takes.

For weeks the animal tugs and strains at the rope. But it's too thick and wrapped too tightly around its leg to be broken. It holds fast because, even though it's strong, the animal isn't yet fully grown. If it were, it would snap the rope and bring the beam down with it.

During the first few days the animal struggles fiercely, until it slumps to the ground with exhaustion. The rope slices raw wounds into its hide. With each passing day it struggles less and less, gives up sooner.

Soon, days drift into weeks and, finally, one day the baby elephant's resolve fractures. It stops straining against the rope altogether. Its spirit fades. It learns that trying to break free is useless. It's a prisoner.

More importantly, it forgets that it's an elephant.

Finally, the old man cuts the rope and the elephant's real training begins. At the end of each day it's returned to a corner of the circus grounds and leashed with a cord no thicker than the old man's pinkie to a simple tent peg shoved into loose gravel.

And there it's returned, day after day after day. The elephant grows to full size–a full seven tons–yet as the sun sets it returns to the same small corner and is leashed to the same small stake. Though it's a powerful creature and could easily pull up the spike and walk away, it never again strains against the cord. The memories of the past are still fresh.

It's forgotten it's the most powerful animal on earth.

We humans have a way of tying down unstoppable forces. Certain things need to be kept in line or harnessed for something else–entertainment, industry, or consumption. Wild equals dangerous, and that's why most of the world prefers animals in cages to the unharnessed truth.

I know the analogy is obvious, but let me just say it. We have a lot in common with the elephant, you and I do. We possess a formidable something inside of us called creativity. Art. It's a dangerous thing, a wonderful thing...an unstoppable thing that can change everything.

But many of us have been staked to the ground and told "Go this far and no farther." LIke the elephant we've forgotten that we have what it takes to simply pluck the damn thing out of the ground and show the world precisely how wrong they've got things.

We've forgotten that we're a true force to be reckoned with. The idea of it is so long past for some reading this that it's more like a shimmering mirage in the distance, a ghost of a memory.

Today, look down at your foot. Shake it and watch the string flop around. Tug at the peg in the ground. Realize that the thing holding you back from writing your book or living your life isn't what's really holding you back.

It's that you've been tamed.

It's that you've forgotten who you really are.

Maybe now's a good time to start remembering.

*Thanks to my friend Chris Wilcox for the inspiration and helping me to remember. This post is dedicated to you.

This is my signature. However, my signature is nowhere around here. Strange, is it not.

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RGW4

Posts: 1082

Posted: 12:08AM Feb 9, 2012

That was interesting and an inspiring reading starchaser. Thank you.

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. -Albert Einstein-

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Starchaser

Posts: 39

Posted: 02:21AM Feb 9, 2012

I thought so too (hence having posted it). You are welcome, sir.

This is my signature. However, my signature is nowhere around here. Strange, is it not.

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idiot_original

Posts: 2893

Posted: 02:29AM Feb 9, 2012

Newt newt twit in a suit. nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more!
Monty Python comes in handy.

oh yes, re the chained elephant..

sadly, the story reminds me of mans arrogance in the world of beasts he should consider his equal.
i find it sad and abhorrant

---This message was edited on 02:32AM Feb 9, 2012---

Human intelligence has peaked, and is declining. For proof, see Speaker of House

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Starchaser

Posts: 39

Posted: 12:56PM Feb 9, 2012

I find that sad, too. At the rate we think at, the beasts are becoming our equals. It is just sick when people value animal life over human life, and that is starting to happen. You weren't even compelled to respond to the actual meaning of my post, which is so powerful a meaning I actually posted it, instead you were compelled to make a small post about animal rights. That makes me sick. It makes me seriously worried.

Anyway before you go thinking I'm some sadistic animal-hater, let me draw out how we're being taught things work versus how things actually work.

How we are taught things work: Animals are our equals. It is our responsibility to show them love and compassion, and treat them like human beings. If you have enough food for both you and your dog, you should feed the both of you. But if you only have enough food for one, you should feed your dog. Animals are our gods. We must show them respect and love. Everything bad that ever happens is our fault, so we have to make up for it now.

How things actually work: We were made to rule over the animals. It is our responsibility to take care of them. If you have enough food for both you and your dog, you should feed the both of you. But if you only have enough food for one, you should feed yourself. A human life is far more important than any other animal's life. It's not megalomania or animal cruelty, it's the hard truth. We are much more important than the animals. Consider the situation that if your dog dies, people will be sad. But if you die, there will be more animals and even people that wind up dying because you weren't there to take care of them. And to make the argument that "you" might be someone who is cruel to animals does not justify killing yourself, because you personally are not that kind of person (I certainly hope) and that kind of person has a chance to turn around. Everyone has a chance to change, even if it doesn't seem like it.

I hope that covers it. I don't usually post in forums, but I have been a little bit lately... I don't know they kind of seem like an extension of chat. I'm probably going to be a bit too busy to be in both so I'll probably just be in chat most of the time. I hope I helped someone and didn't offend anyone. If I did offend anyone please accept my deepest apologies. I don't change my mind about anything but I'm sorry if I said it in an offensive manner. Starchaser out.

---This message was edited on 12:59PM Feb 9, 2012---

This is my signature. However, my signature is nowhere around here. Strange, is it not.

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snappytom

Posts: 4349

Posted: 01:01AM Feb 10, 2012

I think it is interesting what you say Stachaser.
I am not sure I agree with you completely but I can see where you are coming from.

You could actually have the same argument about feeding the starving of Ethiopia, for example. Like the me and my dog example you gave. If I only have food for one, I should feed myself and not give any to the Ethiopians for if I die, what will they do without me? So it is better if they die...and I stay alive.

Snappy Snappy Snap..Snap Snap Snap Snap!

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idiot_original

Posts: 2893

Posted: 04:54AM Feb 10, 2012

i am afraid he may agree with that, snappy.
best to let those who depend on you to die knowing you might one day share than actually share and let them learn to expect it of you.

personally, i'd feed my cat first, and those with the "dominance over animals" sickness last

by their own self definition, they aren't our equals.

---This message was edited on 04:58AM Feb 10, 2012---

Human intelligence has peaked, and is declining. For proof, see Speaker of House

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GreenApples27