The Older I Become, the Less LIFE, as we know it, Makes Sense to Me. Do you feel the same as I? Like Vonnegut, do you yearn for life on Saturn, someday?

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, ThLT said:

flooding of coastal cities (Bangkok being one of these), displacement of populations,

Surprised property prices in BK aren't falling.

Looks like nobody really believes it will flood (more than it always did).

[ThLT]

Just now, BritManToo said:

Surprised property prices in BK aren't falling.

Looks like nobody really believes it will flood (more than it always did).

Real estate agents usually aren't scientists.

[thaibeachlovers]

Just now, ThLT said:

"World population" is important, but there are other things mainly: irreversible destruction of ecosystems, flooding of coastal cities (Bangkok being one of these), displacement of populations, pandemics caused by unhygienic conditions, unlivable conditions of heat/cold (resulting in further displacement of populations), etc. etc. 

IMO most of those are caused by humans exceeding the carrying capacity of the area on which they live.

If there were less of us those problems might not have happened.

Eg, As I understand it, Bangkok is being flooded NOT because of sea level rise, but because of humans pumping too much water out from underneath it and the land is sinking.

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, ThLT said:

pandemics caused by unhygienic conditions, 

All the recent 'pandemics' (if it's worth calling them that) seem to come from Chinese eating 'dirty food'.

Nothing to do with unhygienic conditions.

[Rampant Rabbit]

On 7/29/2021 at 12:22 AM, GammaGlobulin said:

what is the point of life?

Why does there  have to be  a  point, that is  the main problem you are  facing in yourself. Be thankful you  had the experience of existance, there is  no  point. Point is  a  human construct.

[thaibeachlovers]

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Surprised property prices in BK aren't falling.

Looks like nobody really believes it will flood (more than it always did).

Bkk apparently flooded more last century than what it does now. Bernard Trink reported wading through the floods and he was doing so a very long time ago.

Edited July 30, 2021 by thaibeachlovers

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, ThLT said:

Real estate agents usually aren't scientists.

How about the bankers and financial institutions lending the money to buy the properties?

All of whom seem to earn far more money than politically owned 'scientists'.

[ThLT]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO most of those are caused by humans exceeding the carrying capacity of the area on which they live.

If there were less of us those problems might not have happened.

Eg, As I understand it, Bangkok is being flooded NOT because of sea level rise, but because of humans pumping too much water out from underneath it and the land is sinking.

Oh, thanks for your unqualified input Mr. "I'm Enjoying Warmer Weather On Beaches."

[ThLT]

Just now, BritManToo said:

How about the bankers and financial institutions lending the money to buy the properties?

All of whom seem to earn far more money than politically owned 'scientists'.

Bankers are definitely not scientists. Even not that good at finance either. Do you even remember the 2008 financial crisis??

[Rampant Rabbit]

On 7/29/2021 at 3:47 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

For that I received when i was young?

So I should go out and bully people then? That was my life when young. Children can be really horrible. Teachers too.

 

Anyway, as an adult I gained many skills and qualifications, but no one wants me to pass them on, so they will die with me.

 

BTW, the bullying never stopped, but that'll show me for wanting to be a nurse and help people. Nursing is full of bullying managers, like you would not believe. Some of the patients are pretty awful too.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Just be  not so gentle when inserting their catheters????

[thaibeachlovers]

Just now, ThLT said:

Oh, thanks for your unqualified input Mr. "I'm Enjoying Warmer Weather On Beaches."

It's definitely warmer than usual. Grass is growing well and the daffodils came out 2 months ahead of normal.

[ThLT]

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

All the recent 'pandemics' (if it's worth calling them that) seem to come from Chinese eating 'dirty food'.

Nothing to do with unhygienic conditions.

Wow, you contradict yourself even in just two sentences. ????

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, ThLT said:

Bankers are definitely not scientists. Even not that good at finance either. Do you even remember the 2008 financial crisis??

I remember it well. It was great for tourists as the baht fell steeply against the pound, but prices remained the same. Easy to move around Bkk without the traffic jams.

[ThLT]

6 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Bkk apparently flooded more last century than what it does now. Bernard Trink reported wading through the floods and he was doing so a very long time ago.

"Apparently"?

Can you give your source on this?

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, ThLT said:

Wow, you contradict yourself even in just two sentences. ????

Not really, COVID, SARs, Mad cow ....... to name a few, have all been a bit disappointing in the pandemic department. Now a real pandemic would be something like "I am Legend", or "World War Z"

I'm guessing if Londoners suddenly developed a taste for sewer rat, we'd create similar disease problems in the UK.

 

If there are no rotting corpses lying in the streets, and no bulldozers burying people in mass graves, it ain't worthy of the 'pandemic' title IMHO. 

Edited July 30, 2021 by BritManToo

[ThLT]

Just now, BritManToo said:

Not really, COVID, SARs, Mad cow ....... to name a few, have all been a bit disappointing in the pandemic department. Now a real pandemic would be something like "I am Legend", or "World War Z"

 

If there are no rotting corpses lying in the streets, and no bulldozers burying people in mass graves, it ain't worthy of the 'pandemic' title IMHO. 

When "a real pandemic" is based on being compared to the movies "'I Am Legend' or 'World War Z'"—or the criteria being "rotting corpses" and "bulldozers"—it's a sign the discussion is not a serious one, and also time for me to leave the discussion. ????

[BritManToo]

4 minutes ago, ThLT said:

"Apparently"?

Can you give your source on this?

How about great flood of 1942, some nice photos.

The Great Flood of 1942 | 2Bangkok.com

Edited July 30, 2021 by BritManToo

[ThLT]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

How about great flood of 1942, some nice photos.

The Great Flood of 1942 | 2Bangkok.com

Yup, get ready for more of those, and more often.

[nobodysfriend]

4 minutes ago, ThLT said:

When "a real pandemic" is based on being compared to the movies "'I Am Legend' or 'World War Z'"—or the criteria being "rotting corpses" and "bulldozers"—it's a sign the discussion is not a serious one, and also time for me to leave the discussion. ????

Me 2 ...

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, ThLT said:

Yup, get ready for more of those, and more often.

Thought you were gone?

[ThLT]

Just now, BritManToo said:

Thought you were gone?

Finishing up a few open tabs. Replying to quoted posts at the same time.

[Al BB]

23 hours ago, Exploring Thailand said:

Sounds like you've become very introverted with the years. What would the younger you advise right now? I'm sure it wouldn't involve blowing your head off with a gun. Maybe try to find yourself a small goal, or a big one, and take a step towards that, then another one. 

 

Rather that thinking too much about would you should do, just do something. If that doesn't work out, try something else.

I'm not from USA, but I always remember JFK 's comment.... .."Think not what your country can do for you, but what you can for your country"

[MayBeNow]

Man, this was a fun and entertaining read, from all sides, thanks all.

[RickG16]

Get a grip

[CALSinCM]

On 7/29/2021 at 1:10 AM, GammaGlobulin said:

Sorry. But, what I meant was, the older we become, especially as we grow older away from our original roots, then the more we might question traditional justifications for being alive....unless....

 

We finally understand that our only reason and justification for living is to pay back, in some positive way, for that which we have received when we were young.

 

I have plenty to pay back for.  So many kindnesses extended to me during my life.

 

As we age, the tougher it gets, simply because we rarely engage in the things that we once loved to do, such has humping and flirting, and combing our hair, which is not so easy to comb when you might not have any hair.

 

Yet, no matter how old we might be, there is no doubt that we can pay back, and doing this is probably the only thing that makes life liveable.

 

Regarding Vonnegut, as far as I know, he lost his mind towards the end of his life, so sad, really.

 

The worst fate for a writer is to lose his mind.

And, so, no doubt this is why Hemingway used his gun.

 

Some people say, Hemingway was crazy to do this.  I do not agree.

 

=============

 

During this pandemic, I truly believe that we have much more time on our hands, and that we can use this time to do some paying back for the many rewards we have received when we were young.

 

It is not always easy to find a way to contribute.

If someone asked you to contribute, then you would.

 

But, it is not so easy to become proactive and expend energy in order to seek out ways to contribute, during these days.

 

 

Perhaps someone needs to keep a eye on you?  Hate to see you "Hemingway" yourself.  You'd be better off to Vonnegut yourself, find the absurdities in life and poke fun at them.

Life has its seasons.  Even you.  Your spring your summer your fall and your winter.  Your birth your youth your ageing your sickness and your death.

So it's not actually change which has brought you to this existential moment in your life where you stand staring in the mirror and for once you see yourself clearly without the makeup, or the fabrications, or the social constructs, or the years of marketing (propaganda) telling you what you should be - and you see "you" with crystal clarity - and it scared the living **** out of you.

It usually comes in the form of a mid-life crisis.  But it could also be said that it happens at the point of change at each season of your life.  Childhood moving into young adulthood - usually a time of joy and celebration; young adulthood moving into middle age - for some a mid-life crisis, for others a redefinition of what's important; adulthood moving into old age - at time where people should go stark raving mad and start looking for the shotgun, but interestingly enough for most people its a time of acceptance and reflection and another downshift of life's gears. Many people if they have the means an energy find this is a good time to "give back" or perhaps "pay forward." (Often difficult to do in Thailand as those running the show don't understand the concept of community service and completely mistrust foreigners seeking to volunteer and give freely of your time).  Also at this point you either accept the inevitable or you pretend it's not coming.  You are going to die.  No way around it.  Gonna happen.  That's a pretty heavy concept to dwell on.  Every period of change in life has a period of transition, and in that period of transition is the seeds of acceptance for your new mode of life.  And if you can't accept it.  "Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad."  Grasping onto the past or grasping onto how things could have (should have) been will make you a very unhappy camper.

Sounds like you've hit a "Transition Point" and now are looking for ways to accept the inevitable.  My suggestion.  Get rid of your Vonnegut and Henningway collection, then do something like 'give back' as it will get you out of your own head.  Or seek other ways to "get out of your own head."  Giving back is one way to do it.  Something as simple as taking up a hobby and becoming very good at a new skill may be other ways. 

From the song: That All There Is, Peggy Lee

I know what you must be saying to yourselves
"If that's the way she feels about it, why doesn't she just end it all?"
Oh, no. Not me
I'm not ready for that final disappointment
Cause I know just as well as I'm standing here talking to you
And when that final moment comes and I'm breathing my last breath,
I'll be saying to myself

[Chorus]
Is that all there is?
Is that all there is?
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
Let's break out the booze and have a ball
If that's all there is

Best of luck.

[CALSinCM]

From Vonnegut's Wiki page:

 

In a 2006 Rolling Stone interview, Vonnegut sardonically stated that he would sue the Brown & Williamson tobacco company, the maker of the Pall Mall-branded cigarettes he had been smoking since he was around 12 or 14 years old, for false advertising:

"And do you know why? Because I'm 83 years old. The lying bastards! On the package Brown & Williamson promised to kill me!"

So classic Vonnegut!

[nobodysfriend]

11 minutes ago, CALSinCM said:

Perhaps someone needs to keep a eye on you?  Hate to see you "Hemingway" yourself.  You'd be better off to Vonnegut yourself, find the absurdities in life and poke fun at them.

Life has its seasons.  Even you.  Your spring your summer your fall and your winter.  Your birth your youth your ageing your sickness and your death.

So it's not actually change which has brought you to this existential moment in your life where you stand staring in the mirror and for once you see yourself clearly without the makeup, or the fabrications, or the social constructs, or the years of marketing (propaganda) telling you what you should be - and you see "you" with crystal clarity - and it scared the living **** out of you.

It usually comes in the form of a mid-life crisis.  But it could also be said that it happens at the point of change at each season of your life.  Childhood moving into young adulthood - usually a time of joy and celebration; young adulthood moving into middle age - for some a mid-life crisis, for others a redefinition of what's important; adulthood moving into old age - at time where people should go stark raving mad and start looking for the shotgun, but interestingly enough for most people its a time of acceptance and reflection and another downshift of life's gears. Many people if they have the means an energy find this is a good time to "give back" or perhaps "pay forward." (Often difficult to do in Thailand as those running the show don't understand the concept of community service and completely mistrust foreigners seeking to volunteer and give freely of your time).  Also at this point you either accept the inevitable or you pretend it's not coming.  You are going to die.  No way around it.  Gonna happen.  That's a pretty heavy concept to dwell on.  Every period of change in life has a period of transition, and in that period of transition is the seeds of acceptance for your new mode of life.  And if you can't accept it.  "Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad."  Grasping onto the past or grasping onto how things could have (should have) been will make you a very unhappy camper.

Sounds like you've hit a "Transition Point" and now are looking for ways to accept the inevitable.  My suggestion.  Get rid of your Vonnegut and Henningway collection, then do something like 'give back' as it will get you out of your own head.  Or seek other ways to "get out of your own head."  Giving back is one way to do it.  Something as simple as taking up a hobby and becoming very good at a new skill may be other ways. 

From the song: That All There Is, Peggy Lee

I know what you must be saying to yourselves
"If that's the way she feels about it, why doesn't she just end it all?"
Oh, no. Not me
I'm not ready for that final disappointment
Cause I know just as well as I'm standing here talking to you
And when that final moment comes and I'm breathing my last breath,
I'll be saying to myself

[Chorus]
Is that all there is?
Is that all there is?
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
Let's break out the booze and have a ball
If that's all there is

Best of luck.

Wise words ... thanks .

[MayBeNow]

I remember the moment in school when we were showed letters, and the magic of making words with it. I felt very excited. I started reading the newspaper at 7 or 8, i was the first to grab it at 16.00 as it arrived. I went straight to the foreign news section.

 

Now i am 45, havent seen the tv news in 13 years, didnt read a newspaper in as long. Corporate media, MSM as its called is drive by alarmism, by stoking up fears. People will watch the alarmist news because they are afraid. Bad news sells much better then good news. More viewers means higher profits. Alarmism is profitable. Be it climate change, covid, (perceived) racism, a 'dangerous' middle eastern 'madman' 'war on drugs', 'terrorism' etc..

 

Once the alarmist wheels are set in motion it hardly can be stopped anymore. The alarmist news industry (media, 'scientists', politicians etc..) produces so much 'facts' that they inundate and bury any sane rational approach.

The sad effect of alarmism is that it is self enforcing. Generations are brought up believing the alarmist views, and fighting the Great Dangers. While in reality the dangers are not that great.

 

Its rather amusing to have come to the conclusion we are all being played by the puppeteers. I dont mind it, i just partake little.

Edited July 30, 2021 by MayBeNow

[CALSinCM]

1 hour ago, ThLT said:

Real estate agents usually aren't scientists.

Insurance underwriters and the bean counters at title companies are 'scientists' in the sense of economics, statistics, and risk management. 

If the polar icecaps were melting and the oceans set to flood all the beaches and lowlands (like Bangkok) worldwide, you would not be able to purchase the land - it would become worthless and it would become uninsurable.  Just try obtain financing no less to obtain title on a piece of land guaranteed to be underwater by 2030!  And yet?  Who has bought beachfront property lately.  Al Gore.  The Obama's.  Yep the people telling you the ocean floods are coming. 

The gullibility of average non-thinking people is simply incredible.  But it does make the rich ever richer. 

[tlandtday]

I think many here if given the chance would currently volunteer to colonize another planet as this one is so screwed up.  It should be abundantly clear that the system is broken that the wrong people have been governing this planet for far too long.