.... what's the bloody point...

I trust that you're going to further elaborate?

now, given that i have no idea what it is that has caused you to ask this question... but for me i was reminded of part of "the point" a couple of nights ago while on a dry lake bed in Primm, Nevada. I was buggying across the playa as the sun set behind the mountains in front of me... and i saw the shadow of the mountain come down the valley towards me. So i turned my kite around... and actually raced the shadow of a mountain across the playa for 5 minutes. It overtook me at one point causing my shadow to blend into the grey of the mountain's shadow... until i caught a gust and my shadow reappeared in front of the mountains. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

My point: Get out. There's "points" all over the place. Beauty surrounds us if you are in the mindset to see it.

This probably has nothing to do with what you are talking about... but i just thought i'd share.

I couldn't agree with you more Rob. I feel that way myself these days.

Wow, Loren, that is amazing.

Bloody Point

Okay, that was good.

Agreed

And hey, there's plenty out there. Every time I play music I get the point. Last week I had a great jazz concert in a lovely space with a famous trumpeter (Jeff Jarvis). The band really clicked, I had a kick-ass duet with the band director (Superbone Meets the Bad Man), we had the best audience size ever, and everyone was really stoked about it. It was a blast and a wonderful night.

I also don't know if this is what you're getting at, but that's my thought. Perhaps you just posted that to get us talking about it?

I also don't know if this is what you're getting at, but that's my thought. Perhaps you just posted that to get us talking about it?

True..
For me, the point is driving.
Picking a small road, and hitting the pedal.
Getting out of the city, driving thru towns that have less population than my subdivision. Driving slow enough to take a gander of the mom & pop stores the fields, the forgotten barns.
Not having any worries nor responsebilities (eh, however you spell it.. ) and just seeing the country. (No matter where you live.)

That is the whole bloody point for me. That makes it all worth-while.

Me.

I can tell you the day I stopped being an optimist and became a realist (everyone else would say pessimist), but there's no point.

No bloody point, either, despite the picture.

So i turned my kite around... and actually raced the shadow of a mountain across the playa for 5 minutes.

So my spanish is poor, but I recall "playa" is "beach". What else does it mean?

the flat-floored bottom of an undrained desert basin that becomes at times a shallow lake

Didn't occur to me that it was co-opted as an english word. Oops.

(Of course, due to netsuck I can't hit m-w.com now anyhow)

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So my spanish is poor, but I recall "playa" is "beach". What else does it mean?

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One of the homeboys from Compton but I had a hard time working that meaning into his story.

Hey baby! Don't hate the playa' , hate the game.

[obligatory religious answer]

For me, the point (bloody or otherwise) is to worship and honor my Creator, both now and in eternity.

[/obligatory religious answer]

Seriously though, it’s not just a “religious” thing for me; honoring God is the very real focus of my life and what I strive for daily. Perhaps not a popular answer, but it is mine.

maybe it's me, but I thought for most of us here, the little machine known as an Empeg is the point.

or maybe it is just the music...

what's the bloody point

It's a concept album by Harry Neillsen,
It's a large theatre in Dublin,
It's the very best way to ask for a steak in France,
But is it anything else , in particular, that's getting to you to-day, before I log out?

It's the very best way to ask for a steak in France

Mmm, nice.

And we are as the lilies of the field, Rob: the question should not be "What is the point?" but rather "Why do we irrationally expect that there must be a point?". Is being human not amazing enough as it is?

Peter

Is being human not amazing enough as it is?

Agreed. Sometimes there is no point. It just is.

It just is

....the best of all possible worlds - as Kris Kristofferson put it.

Is being human not amazing enough as it is?

I don't agree. Without a point, none of what we do matters. Life might be a temporary experience, but this experience doesn’t even amount to a memory when it’s over. Our value sums to ‘0’; we ultimately affect nothing.

Without a point there is no reason to adhere to any standard of morals other than what makes this experience most happy for the individual. However, most people would not attempt to adhere to a “whatever makes me happy must be moral” model of ethics.

If all religion is as depressing as living your life for another being with whom you have no interaction, then I'm glad I gave it up long ago.

....the best of all possible worlds - as Kris Kristofferson put it.

Not sure how he worked that out -- it would be nice if oak trees bore onion bhajis instead of those crap acorn things, for instance, and if evolution hadn't left us with all these xenophobic tribal tendencies -- but perhaps he just meant "the only world we can know about".

Peter

I don't agree. Without a point, none of what we do matters. Life might be a temporary experience, but this experience doesn’t even amount to a memory when it’s over. Our value sums to ‘0’; we ultimately affect nothing.

Yup, with you so far, except of course that we do continue existing in other peoples' memories, and through whatever other ways we affect the world (housebuilding, pollution of rivers, playwrighting, whatever).

Without a point there is no reason to adhere to any standard of morals other than what makes this experience most happy for the individual. However, most people would not attempt to adhere to a “whatever makes me happy must be moral” model of ethics.

I think this misses the whole "other people" angle. There's still a reason to adhere to a standard of morals for their sake -- they are all, after all, human beings too. I think a lot of people attempt to adhere to a "whatever makes humankind in general happy must be moral" model of ethics. IIRC this is called Kantian ethics, although it's probably considerably more widely known as "Star Trek II" ethics, and probably more people still come up with it independently of either Kant or Kirk.

Peter

those crap acorn things

The onion bhajees here in Yorkshire don't look remotely like those computers the BBC foisted on the education system - nor a Commodore, nor a ZX81.

Talking of Zenophobic tribal tendencies, and I only quote:
"The BBC in Northern Ireland in any news report alternate Derry and Londonderry to ensure that they don't upset either community - They also keep a note, so that they alternate which one they start with. If they don't, they are inundated with calls -from a Radio5 phone-in

If all religion is as depressing as living your life for another being with whom you have no interaction, then I'm glad I gave it up long ago.

Well Christanity at least is living your life for another being, though it is far from depressing and there is interaction, though it isn't on the physical level.

To address the “physical level” question, I should note that I'm not a very "experience" driven person and I'm not the type to get very emotional during worship. Yet there is no doubt in my mind (which of course is where many would claim the concept of “God” resides in its entirety) that I commune with Him daily. There is a clear hand that is always working through my life, molding me into a better person and giving strength when I falter. It’s hard to even put into words the relationship I have with my Creator, yet it is as real a relationship as I have with my wife or anyone else.

As for it being depressing, the evidence in my life suggests otherwise. I am a very happy individual, and the further I get along in life the more joyful I become. I attribute this to the work of the Spirit in my life, though I’m sure skeptics have their explanations as well. But most importantly, we were designed in God’s likeness, and ultimately what He desires is best for us as, whatever we think we might prefer. That is why serving him is, at least in my experience, far from depressing.

Well said, Jeff.

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If all religion is as depressing as living your life for another being with whom you have no interaction, then I'm glad I gave it up long ago.

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So you're divorced, then, Bitt?