Earl Grey

People ignore numbers in favor of feelings. Presentation and packaging wins hearts and minds, numbers scare people off because numbers are associated with thinking.

*Memento Mori

This will make The X-Files look funny in hindsight, perhaps, much like how Jurassic Park doesn't seem like the same thing after feathers became the accurate depiction of dinosaurs.

This reminds me of an old member, Wells, who really enjoyed this kind of thing and would have loved to be part of this discussion. I haven't personally had any encounters with UFOs as far as I remember, though there is an eerie consistency in the above information you've linked.

I agree; in our time, particularly for western countries, subtlety may not be effective for conveying a message. Like I mentioned when referencing the film The Platform, there is a line saying that they can't be subtle with the symbol of the revolution towards the end. In an age where people are shouting at each other, scrolling on to the next comment and making their own voice be heard, you have to give sound bites and be loud just to get people to notice you. Rarely will you have people sit and think after being exhausted by filtering. This film is a product of the current zeitgeist, and until we transition into a more reserved and reflective world, I don't see too many English-speaking films ready to embrace subtlety. One criticism I will add is that this is more caricature of what everyone is going through, because in spite of my shared view that there is madness around us, there exists very human elements as well with which reminds me of the old British television movie Threads. There is a big difference, however, between sugarcoating and total nihilism and cynicism, which was what I felt a little too hyerbolic (and was likely the point) in Don't Look Up. I believe that regardless of facts, personal values and priority take precedent, such as the obsession with toxic positivity and agreeableness, political ambition, business and money, and all-around selfishness get in the way of people thinking rationally, not to mention the fight or flight response when danger is abound. It's worth mentioning that all these values are contrary to Daoist values and virtues, such as avoiding ambition and embracing truth rather than sugarcoating something to sound more appealing to the ear. I'll give a few examples regarding facts and danger with several increasingly stressful scenarios personally: In the Peace Corps: Dogs The Chinese Communist Party These examples are exactly what is happening with covid and climate change, and I won't go into those details because the movie as a metaphor was adequate enough, while covid is what is already happening around us and in this board too. So facts mean very little to people if they don't align with their values, and one strong message about the film is that our priories are skewed. Look at the response to the pandemic and where we've come to a point that people are engaging in the current trending Ponzi scam, NFTs. Trying to be a Prometheus figure or someone who returns to Plato's allegorical Cave will burst people's bubbles because humans as a species don't like change. There may be curiosity, but without security nets or familiarity, outsiders and new ideas makes them wary. Either it threatens their lives or their way of living, even if it could actually improve their lives, and even then, many don't want their lives "improved" because techies, colonialists, and missionaries seem more interested in their vision rather than the other people's values. If you want people to embrace truth, especially your truth, facts won't change their mind. They will embrace it as theirs if you are one of them and make them feel like you are one of them rather than dismissing them. But we can't really spend too much time trying to pander to people like the news anchors catering to their audience and sponsors in a life-threatening situation, so sugarcoating ain't gonna do much if the ship is sinking, unless you show you do have a lifeboat and rations to get out and live.

Okay, so I watched it and here are a few thoughts: 1) Reminds me of the premise of the old Simpson's episode "Bart's Comet" and had the characters in the film manage to be dumber than the adults in South Park. 2) The movie is about as subtle as Axl Rose smashing his guitar on stage. Sure, the movie was preachy and the parallels to climate change were deliberate, but the execution left me with the impression that unlike Idiocracy, which I feel is better overall, this film is all head and no heart, whereas Idiocracy had a lot of heart because the message wasn't being hammered in as hard. Another film, The Platform, had no subtlety whatsoever, and the problem with preaching is that the message potentially gets dismissed by the audience since the characters and plot don't seem real or relatable, which in turn makes them apathetic and hostile to the message. 3) Coincidentally, I wrote and published a short story with a similar premise around September of last year I think, but I tend to keep my writing reserved only for people I chat with privately here. The film wasn't something I'd encourage people to watch as much as Idiocracy, though I wouldn't tell them to avoid it either. Spoiler-heavy comments may follow in another post later.

The Great I AM

Okay, given a few people we know in common also love Idiocracy, then yes, I will give it a watch this weekend!

Discuss it here later? Or just wink knowing we're part of a club who know the message?

Yeah, I heard you the first time for this part above. Fair enough. I'm reminded of a comedy comic that came out a few years ago, Planet of the Nerds, where three guys from 1988 wake up in 2019 and they have varying reactions, since one is the definitive 80s jock from teen movies of the era, another is black, and the other is a closeted gay, whereas their antagonist who accidentally froze them shows nerds are not necessarily good people and the bullying they got didn't necessarily lead to them becoming the bitter tech barons of today. Worth a read if you want the link. The connection to choosing to fight and wake up in the future again is this: are you in any way afraid or excited about how the world could either be better or worse when you theoretically wake up? I personally would rather be back in the past because the world was a little easier to make sense of even as a latchkey kid playing street hockey with a stack of those AOL free trial discs as our puck. Should you wake up in a future state from your cryo sleep, I wish you the best of luck there and hope you make good on your investment, and not end up like Guy Pierce in Prometheus.

None of these are good to me, sorry. Sorry, I can only recommend Lomax and Lin, ad the first one has some ethical issues and her knowledge is actually dubious. The latter I have never encountered, but a quick search shows underwhelming practices put together for the sake of marketing.

Fragrant qigong, or Flying Phoenix Neigong as taught by Rudi, or more Flying Phoenix as part of the greater Doo Wai systems. It's for when a person deletes their post. Nope, not wrong. Unfortunately, this forum and its opposite end of the political spectrum, OD, is more for casual discussion rather than serious research, which is more aligned with what we do at AG. This forum is more casual conversations from people who enjoy some ideas and misunderstanding, and some serious people who pop in to help. OD is more textual study, with some people and their dubious translations or understanding. AG is not a casual place at all, though I believe it may be too quiet for some since it's more instructional and people get right to the point.

I did parkour when I lived in L.A. Fine people they are; very welcoming to traceurs of all ages and ability at PKLA, which led to the group Parkour Generations (I think) and their performance on America's Best Dance Crew. Of course, living in L.A. I did some industry work too, but ended up doing more voiceover than film, and didn't do theater. Yes. I am not afraid of my own death, but I don't want to die because it will affect my loved ones--namely, my dogs, who are basically my daughters, and my cats. Then of course, my own students who have not finished learning everything I teach, and a few more stories I haven't finished writing yet. So yes, my own death doesn't faze me, it just inconveniences me. To quote one of my favorite video games, Metal Gear Solid 4: "I'm not immortal, I just don't fear death." I don't totally agree. Maybe grasping for outcomes is the attachment issue rather than fear of death. Given I've had a few brushes myself with it from car accidents to taking a piss unknowingly in the middle of a minefield in northern Sri Lanka and nearly falling down a mountain during a storm... Have you registered for this? Was it worth it for you or anyone you know? Does it give you any confidence or how does it make you feel trying this?

[redacted by author]

Sounds more like a “student” of the teacher opened an account to promote himself the teacher using a niche forum like this to advertise.

Drunken Taoist podcast. https://thedrunkentaoist.com/

I will nudge Sifu Terry to address this when he can. We will also post this in the AG thread where it will be visible for non-members.

Post this in the zen bear PPJ where the main FP thread is.

Go straight for Rudi’s neigong because it’s one-on-one compared to lectures and videos from Damo. Much more engaging that way and more practical, though some people insist that theory is important, which is fine, but it makes more sense AFTER practice, which Rudi will second. Dolic is someone you would need to talk with rather than go to his webpage as he is one of the most genuine, awakened, and gentle people I’ve met and I’d rather learn from him whatever he teaches than from someone else with a name or possibly more in-demand skill. To put it another way about Dolic, the well-known and superior fighter Erl Montaigne’s own students went to Dolic after Erl passed.

There is a big difference between interest in an old topic and necroposting for the sake of verbal diarrhea that is consistent with the same posts being made across every thread with absolutely no rhyme or reason. Such is the state of community and discussion here now, which as @freeform aptly characterized in another necropost thread recently, is like “a guy who goes into every room in a party and farts into them.”

Nope.

What’s with all the necroposting?

I mean hey, there are dudes in sororities already.

Regional accent and transliteration of the same word Ami/Ame.