I hate AIDS almost as much as I hate the people who post on this website.

How do these people find you, Jefferson? Are you a magnet for the socially inept?

isn't it amazing how a person can reveal so much about themselves in just one sentence? truly remarkable.

Everything gives you away.

James is filled with anger and vitriol. You can see it oozing from every pore. Look at the hate he has. Hate, hate, hate. Wait, maybe he's not socially inept. Maybe it's me he hates. That's good, right? You people should embrace him, he hates AIDS, too. You hate me James? Well, FUCK YOU! Or maybe he hates all of us. I'm so confused.
John Rensing

Kiefer, you artless sack of crap. Do the world a favor. Stop trying to write literature and just keep teaching composition and rhetoric.

Pitcher, you sexless narcissist. Grow a set of cock and balls.

Rensing, you're just a bitch with your toggle stuck on nasally whine.

To all the other lulus on this site, get a sense of humor and quit trying to defend this poor sap. He's incapable of giving you the Class V rogering you all so plainly crave.

I'm crushed. I'm going to sit in this dark room and mutter to myself. Actually, I'll laugh.
The torch seems to have been taken from my hands.
:) John Rensing

you think we are defending pitcher by being decent, tolerant, kind people???? i'm sure your comments and others could be erased easily , never to be seen again, but are they? nope, and you know why? because of the exact thing i'm talking about....tolerance. sometimes we hear and read things we don't want to hear or read, that's life. but next time you make a comment like that try thinking just for a second about the person it's directed toward and show a little compassion, if that's possible. why needlessly hurt another's feelings, regardless of whether they give a shit about your opinion or not. and was your comment supposed to be taken with a sense of humor? there are things that are said in this world that are uncalled for and just plain inappropriate. at times i wonder what the world is coming to when hateful things are said and done to kind people....but then i remember it's to teach us lessons; how to be forgiving and accepting of those who don't seem to deserve it. so next time instead of just using your head , use your heart as well.

Jefferson,
His breath feeds the plants ;)
k.

The other day I came home to find my wife watching Oprah. Oprah is second only to Dr. Phil as my most hated celebrity. Yes, she does good charity work. Yes she encourages people to read literature. But ultimately I find her to be an utterly banal soul, working an "I feel your pain" angle left over from the social climate brought on (in part) by the Clinton administration's touchy-feely politics. Oprah, it seems, cries on each show, and Oprah's guests cry and, when the director marshals the cameras audience-wise, we get to see the audience cry as well.

In many ways, I believe Oprah to be America's new church (and Dr. Phil is Jesus to her God), wherein viewers can tune in for an afternoon and feel somehow connected to what Aristotle(I think it was Aristotle) called the "catharsis of pity and fear." We are allowed to feel empathic and weep and feel better about it (in part feeling better because, perhaps, we're not so fucked up as the people on the screen).

Of course, you already know this.

I bring this up because a couple of days ago Oprah did a show on World AIDS Day, particularly showing footage of a concert in S. Africa that she seemed particularly excited about. Several times a number flashed across the screen and she urged viewers to call in. It is America's great blindness that if you throw money at a problem it will eventually go away. Sadly, what will happen (and what does happen) is when enough money is thrown at a problem, some other capitalist figures out a way to turn that money into more money, hence diverting it from the source and back into the pockets of the rich. Am I being bitter? Of course I am, but at times I find myself flabbergasted by the sheer shortsightedness of America, particularly in regards to its necessary adherence to a capitalist model.

And here's Bono singing "One World" for the 27,009th time. And everyone waves their lighters in the air and then we all hold hands and sing kum-bay-ya as the we simultaneously grab the toilet handle and flush the whole thing down the drain. Now that's poetry.

I think it's great. We Americans need more "I feel your pain". People need to be more compassionate in this world. Though the Oprah show with Bono singing "One World" for World AIDS day is cliche for you and I, perhaps it will inspire thousands of people to give their time to the cause.

Kristina:

But doesn't it create an illusory feeling of involvement? People watch Oprah, her sponsors' ads get viewed (which, from a business perspective, is the sole purpose of the show), and then she encourages the viewers to throw a dollar at some AIDS organization. The viewer feels like they have done something good (and perhaps, in a very minor way, they have), and then they can go back to their Starbucks-buying lives. But how much good is that 60 minutes of social involvement really going to do? Is it comparable to the effect that 60 minutes of advertisements have had on the same viewer? What irritates me is that its capitalist economics masquerading as self-help for the weak-minded and teary-eyed masses and in that regards I feel that the whole program is something of a big con game. Oprah and Dr. Phil are in on it and the viewers are the poor saps getting bled.

Wow that sound bitter. Maybe I need to see a counselor? :)

Best,

Christian

Christian-
Those "poor saps getting bled" did so of their own free will. No one forced them to watch or donate. Should we all walk the Mother Theresa line? Sometimes you sound almost intelligent, then you type something like that. Ironically, I can't stand Oprah and her ilk either. I would have lumped most of pitcher and his fans into a group with her. Heh. Elitists.
John Rensing.

And so everyone has all of the information.
"i believe in free speech' pitcher has attempted to block me from this site. Much to everyones chagrin I'm sure. I have had to utilize long dead e-mail address' to post but those are being used up bit by bit.
John Rensing

kristina made some really good points. however, i agree w/ christian. the show seemed so contrived, i was quickly sickened by it and turned off the tv. (sorry, jefferson, i know you despise television, but i am guilty of watching tv from time to time.) no offense to bono & u2 and the other musical geniuses, but i couldn't help thinking if the whole effort was genuine or simply a means for evil leaders such as oprah and dr. phil and their mindless followers to score points into heaven (or at least they think). i grabbed a book off a shelf the other day, and on it, said "part of the oprah reader's book club". repulsed, i put it back on the shelf.

Perhaps this won't sound very enlightened of me. It's out of line with the much admired "Truth is Beauty philosophy" (which often seems like an excuse from all types of ugliness and apathy in my opinion). But I'm not should it matters whether it's contrived or not. Each one of us convinces ourselves of a thousand lies in order to keep from being consumed with the guilt that, just by our mere American existence, we make the problem worse. Contrived or not, everything helps, even if Oprah interupts Bono mid-chorus for a commercial break. I'm sure if you asked most people dying of AIDS if they cared about our motives they would say,"No. I care about my family and their well-being. If that can be helped by the guilty consciences of the American public then so be it." Or at least, that is what I would say. Compassion is beauty.

I don't know about the "Truth is Beauty" Philosophy. Maybe it sounds as quixotic a quest as ridding the world of evil? I certainly know, from my own experience, that it's easier to point fingers than lend a helping hand. Whatever the case, I think the point is well made that there are some scam charity orgs praying upon American guilt. If you're interested in giving or lending to a cause you believe in then you can always check out charitywatch.org. They do a pretty good job of rating different non-profits.

well said, summer.

Yeah Sum, that pretty much puts it into perspective. Nice.

fuckers.

pitcher, you are a feces filled hypocrit.
summer, with that paragragh you typed you null and voided anything of beauty you could produce.
You are all wastes of basic elements and energy.
pitcher, you blocked me. After you stated you wouldn'tr do this. What lie out of your personal thousand do you tell yourself to justify this. Perhaps Christian justified it for you. For those of you that believe "Truth is beauty" try to live it. pitcher has attempted to block me from his site, much to all of your chagrin I'm sure.
Check and mate.
John Rensing

You have no idea of the outrageous beauty I am capable of producing. But since I nulled my efforts I might as well spend my time creating new e-mail addresses by which to spread my message of criticism and cheap insults. Why create anything when I can shit on what others create? You're right, John. Thanks for helping me see the light.
By the way, today is Random Acts of Kindness Day.

And so, we find our hero, having just sent the evil villian soaring off a cliff to his death, taking a moment to replenish his powers.

But wait, on closer observation, could it be? The evil nemisis can be seen clinging by his fingernails to the side of the cliff seconds away from an unsavoury death. Will the menacing villain plunge to his death? Or will he avoid his demise once again and live to execute his sinister plot?

To be continued...

Mr. Rensing, I greatly respect freedom of speech in the press and opportunities to voice opinions. It is my feeling however that the appropriateness of speaking ones mind in an online forum is distinctly different from having one’s self-created publication or public expression censored. Technology has created the opportunity and space for personal journals / forums to be accessible by the masses. This did not however change their form or the rules that govern their conduct. Were we not all separated by distance we could easily be discussing these issues over a cup of tea in Mr. Pitcher’s home. At some point he might become tired of my conduct… or yours, and ask us to leave… This would be entirely appropriate. It would not stop you or I from inviting others to our homes for own discussions. Likewise, you or I could start our own online forum… and if a visitor became tiresome or rude we could ask them to leave… if necessary we could block them from accessing the site… We could close the door of our homes so to speak. A rather peaceful action… and definitely not censorship…

And there it is, the lie. Summer, Keri, Mike, thank you. To most everyone here, I owe a debt of attitude. I annoint the way and you slip into it. I wonder if the three of you, S,K, and M see the profundity of your contradictions. Nah. pitcher, pitcher, pitcher. It is a crying shame. Now what happened to Mr. Miller.
John Rensing

Don't try hitchin' your carbuncled soul onto my wagontrain, Rensing. Personally, I think you're the worst of the bunch.

"Debt of attitude"! Brilliant! Do you mind if I use that one John? I promise I'll give you credit. You do realize that pointing out hypocrisy is hypocritical in itself. We each critize in others that which we are most guilty and ashamed of in ourselves. It's called projection. But we all knew that.
Apparently everyone with any love or admiration for the creators of this site is an asshole. I'm a beautyless hypocrit. Jeff is filled with feces. Christian is talentless. Hmmm. We all fall under your spell, or at least I do. Being a psych student, I love a bully.
But back to Christian more intersting comment. I was recently talking with some other folks about the ways which media and the government paralyze us, making us feel small, impotent, hypocritical and niave in our attempts to create change and beauty. We become embittered when we should be enraged. fighting harder. Who can tell us which of are attempts at progress will come to fruition and when, which will turn to dust? Why would we let anyone? I could not bare the day when high-risk, bull-headed, tenacious effort dies. The day when Jeff stops taking on unimaginably long cycling trips and making music with half working equipment. The day when Christian stops writing and breaking banjo strings while playing to unattentive audiences. All the things that we all do that can make us feel either powerful or ineffectual. It doesn't matter how self-serving our motives are or whether we witness the results. Put it out there!
I sound like a piece of shit motivational speaker, a logicless cheerleader. Who cares? I love those talentless, narcissistic, feces filled, bitter hpyocritics. Their presence in the world brings me joy.

Right on Summer!

I'm just some random joe-who appreciates Jeff's musings..
Until the other day, I never read the comments postings: A postive experience (for me) turned negative.

Rensing, I make no claims of knowing you..
But simply from reading the above discussion, it appears that you have a very empty life-
Multiple e-mail address's etc etc, suggests you have gone to some lengths to continue with your petty games..
You seem to revel in your role as 'shit stirrer', but you fail to see, that noone else really cares (or evidently, at least not nearly as much as you)..
What IS it you hope to achieve?

I have no life? No one cares? Look how many people post in response to what I say. Now, you where saying about empty lives?

pitcher stated that he supported differing views and would not block me from this site. He did (attempt to) block me. And his "friends" justify this. Do any of you think or do you just blank out?
John Rensing.