Tippaporn

Another fine Alex Harvey track, St James Infirmary Blues, is with Leslie Harvey and taken from the '64 album The Blues. Recorded at Studio Rahlstedt, Hamburg, Germany, 8~10 May '64. His pained lyrics are divine.

Well, I can't let a Sunday go to waste without a single offer of a tune so here goes. I really enjoy Alex Harvey's early stuff. Not so much his glam rock material. Without question he's an exceptional vocalist. Here he is with his Soul Band on a mighty fine rendition of Willie Dixon's Hoochie Coochie Man in Hamburg, Germany, on 2nd September '63. The guitar solo rips!

As long as there exists a single instance of growth without pain then that becomes all the proof one needs to know that pain is not a requirement for growth. Of course we can think of endless examples of growth without pain. I'd venture to say that it is more the rule than the exception. Now that's not to say that pain does not or cannot serve as a catalyst for growth. It can indeed. Yet all pain and all misery eventually leads to a better, say more evolved, place. It cannot do otherwise. Hence I would say you are correct to view pain as a positive. Perhaps I should qualify that end result as 'an ultimate positive.' But in no way would I ever recommend someone deliberately seek pain because it would eventually lead to growth. It is true, though, that some folks hold martyrdom in high regard and place great value on it. Not I. People getting attached to material things, and even non-material things, which can then cause pain when a separation occurs is due to certain beliefs. Sometimes one feels pain when something is "lost" and at other times a "loss" brings no pain at all. The beliefs behind the emotions must then be examined. As to whether your spiritual self would create a painful situation for you so that you may evolve, I believe, using your terms, your spiritual self would never dream up scenarios of pain and force them upon you for your own good. Again, using your terms, your spiritual self I assume would be much more "evolved" than your much, much lower evolved earthly self <sarc> and so, being that much wiser, and certainly wise enough to know that pain is not a requirement of growth, would instead create an absolutely pleasant situation for you to grow. Why not? If it can force you to learn through pain then why can't it force you to learn through pleasure? Aside from that, I don't believe your spiritual self would ever force an experience upon you, even if it were able to do so, which it can not. The rule here is absolute free will which implies that there is no other entity which can create for you. Influence you? Absolutely. Force you? That runs contrary to free will, which is one of the unalterable aspects of all realities. We may disagree, however, in how we view the self. We talk as if there are definitive divisions between portions of ourselves but in reality there are none. I would disagree that we have a spiritual self that is apart from our earthly self. The common image of our earthly self is much maligned in my opinion. There is nothing whatsoever subpar about who we see in the mirror. It is not under any terms lesser in any way. If it appears to be then that is due only to the beliefs one chooses to harbour.

Ask yourself a simple question. Does all growth come through pain? If the answer is "No" then that is evidence that pain is not a requirement of growth. Now answer another simple question for yourself. If I could choose growth with pain or growth without pain which would I choose? Now ask yourself, do we really disagree?

If evolution is synonymous with growth then that does not require pain. Ideally, growth happens without pain.

Then please do enlighten me, VincentRJ. Or at least humour me. How does the methodology of science prove that the Theory of Evolution is fact and truth?

One other point, which i've made as recently as above. I don't believe anyone here would attempt to be so ludicrous as to suggest that subjective reality does not exist. So if we can all agree to accept the existence of subjective reality then by what physical, objective technology would we be able to probe and test subjective reality according to the methodology science currently limits itself to? If I may make a prediction I would say that there isn't a single disciple of science here who can even begin to answer that question.

Supporters of science now playing defense? What to expect next in this world? LOL From my perspective it has been science who has critised, blamed and ridiculed mercilessly those of faith and labeled them as ignorant in the lowest sense of the term.

Has anyone ever noticed when ordinary, common folk, just like anyone here, become rich and famous everyone flocks to hear their sage advice on all of life's issues? It's the same principle at work. People tend to cede their own authority to anyone who claims, or is perceived to have authority.

Anyone who has ever had to make something work in practical terms, which is all of us , understands that there are ideas that give intended, and desired, results and there are ideas which produce opposite results. In my opinion the world is in the process of attempting to implement a slew of ideas, both old and new, which don't work. We are witnessing the disastrous effects of those poor ideas. To my way of thinking, the challenges which humankind has taken upon itself require an awakening of sorts. The vogue term The Great Awakening has been coined to describe that great portion of humanity which is becoming aware of the hidden machinations of governments and others in esteemed positions and the deleterious effects this self-serving chicanery is having on the rest of humanity. In my view there is required an even greater awakening if, as a species, we are to overcome and survive the challenges we've set forth for ourselves. That type of awakening involves an awareness of how we create the reality in which we find ourselves in. We all know that avoiding a problem doesn't make it go away but only makes it worse. I expect the insanity of the world to get worse, and at an ever quickening pace. Too often people are willing to change their ideas only when the pain of their current ideas becomes intolerable.

I agree with you on the point that science is, sadly, being exploited and thus corrupted for political and monetary ends. In both of my examples there assuredly exists a correct party. I disagree with your evaluation of what I refer to as a scientific fairy tale. It's not disagreement, really, as I believe you misunderstand the term as I use it. Evolution, as it is presently understood and defined, is an example of a scientific fairy tale. It is no more true than the Bible's story of the world being created in literally 7 days. So the term in the sense that I mean it is not akin to a false interpretation of 'real' science. BTW, I am not scientifically illiterate. I took biology, chemistry and physics classes in high school.

I agree 100% with your post, mauGR1. I also agree 100% with your taste in the music you had posted on Blasts From The Past a while back. To put the dilemma between the (basically) two opposing factions here on this thread as succinctly as I can is to say that the error science makes is to completely ignore subjective reality. Or at least in denying it any validity and having any influence or role in the creation of objective reality. It is an error so gross in my estimation that it is laughable. I believe that science has adopted the stance of pure objectivity in order to avoid the potential of polluting, thus discrediting, any of their objective findings with "feelings" and other subjectivity. Science demanded that it set itself apart from Religion. Religion dealt directly with subjective reality, even to the point of, at times, ignoring objective reality (to their fault). So science deals strictly with objective reality, and thus ignores subjective reality. They've gone to the exact opposite extreme of religion in that sense. Neither stance is the solution, in my opinion. Agreeing with your statement that the existence of God (or other preferable term or other concept similarly symbolic in nature) can never be scientifically proven I'll add to it that there are many aspects of our dear and familiar reality which cannot be scientifically proven. Science adamantly refuses to accept the idea that other realities exist which are not physical (objective) in nature. So long as they stubbornly cling to the idea that only objective reality exists they will never be able to prove so many of life's "mysteries" in their terms and using their methodologies. And I'll say, too, that there is harm in that.

Unfortunately, for those who have gone all in on their faith in the omnipotence of science now have the additional problem these days of sorting out "true" science from "false" science. As an example, you have scientists claiming a regimen including Ivermectin is a valid and successful remedy against Covid-19 and then you have other scientists declaring the exact opposite, that it's harmful. You have scientists claiming that climate change is real and other scientists claiming climate change is bunk. Apparently even within their own ranks they're having an intolerable difficulty agreeing on what reality is. The situation is deliciously burlesque in my humble opinion.

A grain harvester was my first impression as well. I would hate to own that and put it to actual use given what I imagine to be a ludicrous amount of time needed to clean the damn thing. Were I to read Thai I might make sense of this clue.

No, I mean exactly that . . . a scientific fairy tale. Yes, science is full of "speculative theories" and many of them are, in truth, nothing more than fairy tales. And it would be true to say that despite their grounding in a concocted blend of fact and imagination these "speculative theories" are accepted and believed as fact by those ardent and faithful, yes the term faithful is the appropriate term, followers of science. P.S. And again, lest anyone accuse me of being anti-science, I should mention that much of what science has uncovered is obviously beyond question quite valid. And I cheer that expansion of knowledge. Yet there is much that is still very much in the realm of the unknown where science likes to dabble in professing to "know" that which, if they were to be honest, they actually know less than next to nothing. Perhaps it's due to ego. Or perhaps it's due to needing to hold on dearly to their faith that only science can supply all of the answers to all of the questions of life. But I do tend to especially rail against those instances where the acolytes of science pretend to be all-knowing such that they go around declaring unequivocally what is possible and what is not possible, and what is real and what is not real.

Nice video, too.

Good morning, Skeptic 7. A classic response from a staunch representative of the contingent of folks who ridicule religious fairy tales whilst devoutly subscribing to scientific fairy tales with utmost veneration. LOL

Beautiful stuff there, Sunmaster. What was the inspiration? Was the art done whilst clearing your mind? And what about the symbolism?

Long story as to how I got here to post these pics but as we all know, one thing leads to another to another to another and before I know it here I am. I took these pics about 5 years back somewhere at a petrol station between Korat and Khon Kaen on my way to our house in Huai Mek. It's a fantastic piece of farm equipment but I don't know what it is. Can anyone here identify it? Edit: FYI, checking to make sure the links work I found that one needs to click on the arrow icon at the top right of each link.

Sorry to be the bearer of sad tidings if you hadn't yet known, bannork.

A few more shots needed to get all of the detail.

Seen at a petrol station between Korat and Khon Kaen. A true piece of farm equipment art.

The Allman Brothers Richard "Dickey" Betts with Let Nature sing off of his solo '74 Highway Call album.

Grinderswitch with Pickin' The Blues off of their '75 Macon Tracks album.

Asleep At The Wheel with a live version of Route 66, originally off of their '76 Wheelin' And Dealin' LP.