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Minionman · 10-09-2005, 03:43 PM

[wcip]Angel · (This post was last modified: 10-09-2005, 04:05 PM by [wcip]Angel.)

"2005 - The Year Nature Struck Back"
Coming to a cinema near you!

Tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes. What the hell is happening?

Mithrandir · 10-09-2005, 05:25 PM

God is angry that the NFC North is going to be won by a sub-500 team.

Griselda · (This post was last modified: 10-10-2005, 01:00 AM by Griselda.)

reconsidered. edited.

-Gris

Any1 · (This post was last modified: 10-09-2005, 10:05 PM by Any1.)

Twenty-thousand plus people dead in the space of a minute. I'm sure many tens of thousands more lost everything, without any realistic possibility of getting it back.

I had to stop reading the accounts of rescuers outside of collapsed schools listening to the cries of help from children trapped under the rubble. It's just too horrible to imagine.

I'll donate to the Red Cross/Crescent tomorrow.

Mithrandir,

I know you're kidding, but your comment is probably pushing the bounds of good taste.

Artega · 10-09-2005, 11:02 PM

Mithrandir,Oct 9 2005, 01:25 PM Wrote:God is angry that the NFC North is going to be won by a sub-500 team.
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That explains so much about my life... ^_^

Occhidiangela · (This post was last modified: 10-10-2005, 06:32 PM by Occhidiangela.)

Any1,Oct 9 2005, 04:02 PM Wrote:Â Mithrandir,

I know you're kidding, but your comment is probably pushing the bounds of good taste.
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Any1, your reaction to Mithy's joke, in re taste thresholds, is baseless. His joke is a typical example of the combined humorous devices of free association and discontinuous seque. This style is very common these days. His joke is, NFL season being in process, very appropriate and a wryly ironic lampoon of what people tend to focus on. Nothing is too serious to try to lighten with laughter. Nothing. I've been laughing at death for most of my adult life.

Laughter, as Heinlein so clearly points out in Stranger in a Strange land, is one of our ways of dealing with empathetic pain.

Had you not acknowledged that you are sure Mithy is kidding, I'd have had to play a Bill Maher "Get Over Yourself" card, so thanks at least for that. :D

Occhi

Any1 · 10-10-2005, 10:41 PM

Occhidiangela,Oct 10 2005, 06:28 PM Wrote:Any1, your reaction to Mithy's joke, in re taste thresholds, is baseless.  His joke is a typical example of the combined humorous devices of free association and discontinuous seque.  This style is very common these days.  His joke is, NFL season being in process, very appropriate and a wryly ironic lampoon of what people tend to focus on.  Nothing is too serious to try to lighten with laughter.  Nothing.  I've been laughing at death for most of my adult life.

Laughter, as Heinlein so clearly points out in Stranger in a Strange land, is one of our ways of dealing with empathetic pain.

Had you not acknowledged that you are sure Mithy is kidding, I'd have had to play a Bill Maher "Get Over Yourself" card, so thanks at least for that.  :D

Occhi
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Well "baseless" is a matter of opinion. It doesn't hurt to be a little more sensitive, since people from all over read this board. I hate to think someone (member or guest) from India or Pakistan, with some personal stake in the situation, reading this and thinking we're trivializing such a tragedy (again I know Mithrandir is not doing so). Sometimes appearances are everything. This brand of humor wouldn't have gone off as well in the aftermath of Katrina, don't you think?

Roland · 10-11-2005, 01:48 AM

Any1,Oct 10 2005, 05:41 PM Wrote:This brand of humor wouldn't have gone off as well in the aftermath of Katrina, don't you think?

Actually, I think he was including Katrina in the overall scope of disasters that has struck, thereby encompassing all tragedies. Otherwise, the whole "God" part is rather pointless. So, yes, I think it would have gone off just as well. I, personally, got a good chuckle out of it. AFTER I got a good dose of reality and sympathy for those who are affected. There is no shame in trying to lighten a poor situation. Without laughter, there is no happiness. Without happiness, there is no hope. Mayhap looking at it in that light will give you a bit broader perspective.

For the record, I agree with both Any1 and Occhi. Any1, you are doing good by trying to look out for the feelings of others. But as Occhi pointed out, everything can be taken too seriously.

Occhidiangela · 10-11-2005, 02:38 PM

Any1,Oct 10 2005, 04:41 PM Wrote:This brand of humor wouldn't have gone off as well in the aftermath of Katrina, don't you think?
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Sure it would have, and it did.

Among the overwrought hand wringers and victim cultists, gallows humor never goes over well. Among people with a bit of real life experience and perspective, jokes about disasters evince a grin, a wince, even an "oooh, harsh" type of response, but not the crybaby response that you seem to presume.

Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien make good livings telling such jokes, as to Chris Rock, David Leterman, Don Imus, George Carlin, et al.

The oversensitive approach is negative and pointless. If you can't find a way to laugh, even when the laugh comes with a wince and a groan, you are the one with problems. As noted above in the Heinlein comment, laughter can be a good coping mechanism for dealing with empathetic pain. I don't think anyone who read the news or saw the wide area disaster on TV didn't feel some empathy for the way Katrina turned a whole lot of people's world upside down in one short day.

"There but for the Grace of God," (and my living above sea level,) and all that sort of thing.

Occhi

Ashock · 10-11-2005, 03:33 PM

Any1,Oct 10 2005, 03:41 PM Wrote:Well "baseless" is a matter of opinion.  It doesn't hurt to be a little more sensitive, since people from all over read this board.  I hate to think someone (member or guest) from India or Pakistan, with some personal stake in the situation, reading this and thinking we're trivializing such a tragedy (again I know Mithrandir is not doing so).  Sometimes appearances are everything.  This brand of humor wouldn't have gone off as well in the aftermath of Katrina, don't you think?
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Typical attitude of certain types today. It's all about appearances and empty statements. No wonder the world is so f#@$$@ up.

-A

Occhidiangela · 10-11-2005, 03:48 PM

Ashock,Oct 11 2005, 09:33 AM Wrote:No wonder the world is so f#@$$@ up.
-A
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Oh, I thought that was due to the semi-millenial realignment of the Van Allen belts. I really need to stay better informed. :D

I also hear that whale mating is the root cause of tsunamis, a marine version of the Butterfly Effect known by some marine biologists (or was it a drunken Marine?) as the Cetacean Samba. When a whale surfaces to expel a flume from the dorsal nasal opening, it is the cetacean equivalent to a cigarette after whoopee.

For those interested in more detail, see Actual Facts About Whales

Occhi

kandrathe · 10-11-2005, 03:53 PM

[wcip]Angel,Oct 9 2005, 11:04 AM Wrote:"2005 - The Year Nature Struck Back"
Coming to a cinema near you!

Tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes. What the hell is happening?
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Oh, good. Whew! I thought it was due to my deep earth resonance and weather control experiments. That Tesla was sure a genius! Ok, back to the lab...

kandrathe · 10-11-2005, 04:03 PM

Ashock,Oct 11 2005, 10:33 AM Wrote:Typical attitude of certain types today. It's all about appearances and empty statements. No wonder the world is so f#@$$@ up.
-A
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As with the past disasters, in "Real Life" the best I can do right now is dig deep into my pockets and send off another Franklin. There are many, many, large population centers located on coast lines, flood plains, fault lines, or in the shadows of volcanoes. The earth shivers and many people die, it is the way of the world and has been since before historical records were kept.

I do the socially responsible thing and live in an area that is geologically stable, well above sea level, and marginally habitable due to frigid winters.

Artega · 10-11-2005, 04:42 PM

While it probably isn't practical, I'm always slightly amused by the fact that when severe natural disasters strike a large city, people seem to belligerently ignore them and rebuild instead of taking a hint and moving a little :)

kandrathe · 10-11-2005, 05:05 PM

Artega,Oct 11 2005, 11:42 AM Wrote:While it probably isn't practical, I'm always slightly amused by the fact that when severe natural disasters strike a large city, people seem to belligerently ignore them and rebuild instead of taking a hint and moving a little :)
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Yeah. I'm not so much amused as dismayed. Who ever was the bright bulb who thought that double decker freeways over the fault lines in Oakland was a good idea?

It's not just where we build, but also how. It's interesting to see, even at the local level, the drive of politicians to increase density to jack up tax revenues. I'm aghast at times to see such poor urban planning, poor engineering, and the resignation of cities with their almost zero capacity for dealing with catastophe. Part of the problem is historic, and no amount of expert engineering can protect a new or old building that is build on soil that is prone to liquifaction. But, most of the problem is economic. Say you were able to say, "Hey, this whole 1 mile section of LA is build on poor soil and if an earthquake hits its all going to sink." What would be done? My guess is nothing, and in the aftermath, the developers would buy the land and redevelop it and sell it to the next victims of bad planning and foresight.

So, yes. Yet another disaster, and once again the authorities are caught with pants around their ankles.

Artega · 10-11-2005, 06:14 PM

I always get a chuckle out of the way people act surprised. Like when Andrew came by and just stomped the crap out of Florida, people acted surprised. Why?

Occhidiangela · 10-11-2005, 09:30 PM

Artega,Oct 11 2005, 12:14 PM Wrote:I always get a chuckle out of the way people act surprised.  Like when Andrew came by and just stomped the crap out of Florida, people acted surprised.  Why?
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"It won't happen to me" syndrome. Same deal with unexpected pregnancies, catching the clap, overdosing on speed, and car accidents where non-seat belted folks get maimed and killed.

Occhi

jahcs · (This post was last modified: 10-11-2005, 10:58 PM by jahcs.)

Artega,Oct 11 2005, 08:42 AM Wrote:While it probably isn't practical, I'm always slightly amused by the fact that when severe natural disasters strike a large city, people seem to belligerently ignore them and rebuild instead of taking a hint and moving a little :)
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Many folks leave the responsibility to a higher power, the President, God, etc. They are given a chance to rebuild, even money or charity relief to help, they just aren't told where to go - instead of looking for a new place themselves.

A few famous quotes I am reminded of but can't remember who said them:

"God helps those who help themselves."
"The harder I work the more luck I seem to have."

EDIT: What really gets me is when disasters strike the same area over and over and over again. "It's not if but when" tends to happen sooner rather than later in some areas.

Minionman · 10-12-2005, 12:00 AM

Sounds like all those Mt. St. Helens descriptions also. Volcanoes throughout the world have exploded in the past, scientists were saying that something big could happen, and a bunch of people were worried about going back up to their houses.

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