Bible stories may not be factual - but they are nonetheless true

Word comments on Apr 7, 2020:

@brentan Have I not posted, where you have seen, the video I like that explains the garden story from a myth point of view? I have posted the video several times in discussions. The explanation gives the garden story from original language which is different from the English translations. This ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 8, 2020:

@Word Yes the maybe should perhaps have been left out. It is just that I like people to be free to judge themselves, and not to assert things myself.

Bible stories may not be factual - but they are nonetheless true

Fernapple comments on Apr 7, 2020:

Yes a lot of the Bible should be read metaphorically. There are however several problems with reading it all that way. Firstly, Any book can be read metaphorically, and a lot of them, like Winnie The Pooh, are far better. Secondly. Since it is possible to Cherry pick anything you want from...

Fernapple replies on Apr 7, 2020:

@brentan Many people find it hard to understand the Bible and books like it from the past , because the teaching of history today is generally so bad that very few people have any apreciation of historical context. The many people who have the idea that book copists in the past had a modern view of acedemic accuracy, and that they copied faithfully. Where in fact giving it a new spin, to fit your sponsors views was seen as the highest of skills, and new interpritations were seen as inspired. While plagiarization was not a crime but also a much admired skill.

Bible stories may not be factual - but they are nonetheless true

Word comments on Apr 7, 2020:

@brentan Have I not posted, where you have seen, the video I like that explains the garden story from a myth point of view? I have posted the video several times in discussions. The explanation gives the garden story from original language which is different from the English translations. This ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 7, 2020:

@brentan It was very good and well worth looking up, it makes clear the pitfalls of the metaphorical view. And shows how, 'maybe' the Hebrew original was distorted to fit Christian theology. Here it is. https://agnostic.com/group/ReligiousNaturalism/post/441368/continued-from-my-other-post-about-cognition-or-the-mental-action-cognition-the-mental-action

Bible stories may not be factual - but they are nonetheless true

skado comments on Apr 6, 2020:

I guess there are a lot of people who have never encountered the concept of allegory.

Fernapple replies on Apr 7, 2020:

Good we can begin our debate again, this is the coment I placed at the top. Yes a lot of the Bible should be read metaphorically. There are however several problems with reading it all that way. Firstly, Any book can be read metaphorically, and a lot of them, like Winnie The Pooh, are far better. Secondly. Since it is possible to Cherry pick anything you want from a mess like the bible, to support any view you like, even if taken literally, it becomes truly meaningless if taken metaphorically. Yet that does not stop people using it as a higher authority to support their own inventions, which is the main problem with 'holy' books. The metaphorical view, is, to use a metaphor, 'Gods gift' , to the fundamentalists, and the corner stone of their anti-humanism. Thirdly. Many of the more honest metaphorical interpretations are truly evil, even more so than the literal. Ruth for example which metaphorically says, that women are only happy and successful if they are subservient. Fourth. It make a nonsense of the bible as literature, and the understanding of it as such. Since it was written by many different authors over a long period and for many different reasons, it therefore almost certainly includes a lot of different genre, some of which should not be taken metaphorically. At least, some metaphor, (Genesis ) political propaganda, ( eg. Kings, Exodus, Chronicles) some imaginative fiction, ( eg. Ruth, Job ) some attempts at genuine law writing, ( eg. leviticus ), Religious propaganda, (eg. Isaiah ) some forgeries and attempts at deliberate deception, ( I would say all the NT, or at least Paul ), poetry ( Psalms, ) etc. etc. The metaphorical view is as narrow and fundamentalist as the totally literal. Fifth. It has been rewritten mistranslated so many times, that any original metaphors are lost , yet that does not stop people making the mistake of thinking they can possess the original metaphors, or concluding that they can prove certain metaphorical views, and that that metaphor was the intention of the originators. Typical of this is that the author Bridget Spain , presents the usual fall from grace, original sin, Christian view of the creation myth, which was created to justify the blood sacrifice of Christ, but is without a doubt completely at odds with the original Hebrew reading of it.

Mark Kokzuckerberg strikes again.

Paracosm comments on Apr 7, 2020:

That seems rather childish. Perhaps you should look into a more meaningful way of addressing the issue. Like a class action lawsuit for religious discrimination.

Fernapple replies on Apr 7, 2020:

@Allamanda Translation ?

HOW CAN PEOPLE WHO HAVE GROWN UP IN A TECHNOLOGICAL WESTERN NATION BELIEVE 5G PHOBE SERVICE COULD ...

anglophone comments on Apr 7, 2020:

It is a sad comment on the culpable stupidity of the those who are willfully ignorant. Their refusal to learn sometimes ends up killing other people.

Fernapple replies on Apr 7, 2020:

In some ways it is very much the failing of the education system. For so long governments have promoted education as only, a means to ascend the narrow conventional employment ladder. For the vast majority of people therefore, who have no ambitions to ascend that ladder beyond the lower levels, or even any expectations of employment, plus those with unconventional ambitions, it is seen as simply pointless. While the really important benefits of education, that it can make you a happier and more fullfilled human being, better able to use the benefits of leisure, and a better member of society with a better understanding of the world in which you live, plus an immunity to pseudo education and expliotation by commercial, religious and political cults and institutions, go mainly neglected, both in the education system and its promotion. Why you would think that those commercial religious and political institutions had a vested interest in keeping people ignorant.

Why is this app called “Agnostic”?

Emanuele comments on Apr 7, 2020:

I have had my fill of these type of repetitive posts !

Fernapple replies on Apr 7, 2020:

I look for the funny comments that follow.

Why is this app called “Agnostic”?

Gareth comments on Apr 6, 2020:

I take it that you are open-minded about the existence of unicorns then?

Fernapple replies on Apr 6, 2020:

Look, I put cakes out in the garden for the unicorns every night, and every morning they are gone.

We may all need a cheer up, and as we have perhaps been getting enough opinions, I just thought that...

FearlessFly comments on Apr 6, 2020:

I resemble those remarks ! :O :P . . . I have seen her before.

Fernapple replies on Apr 6, 2020:

We all resemble those remarks, or we would not be on here commenting. But some of us do it with style.

These Two Guys Belong in a Rubber Room: [facebook.com]

Haemish1 comments on Apr 6, 2020:

But somehow they get time on TV? 🤦‍♂️

Fernapple replies on Apr 6, 2020:

The truth can be boring, I think they only want people who are entertaining on TV. Though some peoples idea of entertainment !

This Coronavirus is a walk in the park compared to epidemics faced by our ancestors.

Fernapple comments on Apr 6, 2020:

Yes it is not quite as bad as some other diseases. But you have to compare like with like, which you can not do, because the figures for corona virus, (so far) are for a disease where modern quarantine understanding and disease control measures have been applied. Most of that did not exist in many ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 6, 2020:

@WilliamFleming But I said nothing about treatment.

COVID-19 threatens to rip apart Southern states in a way that isn't happening anywhere else

WilliamFleming comments on Apr 5, 2020:

You would think that a person of Paul Krugman’s education and stature would use his position to foster unity, along with mutual respect and cooperation, especially in a time of crisis. Krugman has a long history of hostility toward conservatives and southerners. If you look at the maps ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 6, 2020:

The blue states are most likely only affected worse so far, because they have more transport ( international ) links and more population, it will just take longer to peak in the south. Thats just silly of him.

"Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.

Freedompath comments on Apr 6, 2020:

That’s scary!

Fernapple replies on Apr 6, 2020:

No its not, its hopeful.

The Americans defying Palm Sunday quarantines: "Satan's trying to keep us apart"

Joanne comments on Apr 5, 2020:

Seems to me that Satan is trying to keep them alive. Well, that makes sense. In the bible it is their god that does all the killing, not Satan.

Fernapple replies on Apr 5, 2020:

@of-the-mountain Interesting question. In one sense that may be true. In that the original use of satan in the old testament is as a noun, in other words, 'a satan'. Satan being a word which roughly translates as adversary, with perhaps a legal edge, like 'council for the prosecution'. One of the earliest uses being during the plagues of Egypt, when god sends a 'satan' to deliver the plagues. Notice that 'the' satan is an obedient servant of god. The bible even uses the word to describe King David as a satan to the enemies of Israel. He then evolves through the chapters, becoming gods drinking buddy in Job, helping him to torture Job, until in the end he becomes the tempter of christ in the wilderness, possibly. But that depends on how you translate names, and therefore it could be said, and is said, that there is no satan in the bible because there are many, it being a title not a name. There is certainly no satan in the garden of eden, the snake is just a talking snake. Just shows what a lot of inconsistant twadle you are dealing with.

I see that today the UK has had more new cases and more new deaths than either Italy or Spain.

Fernapple comments on Apr 5, 2020:

Yet Sweden is aiming for a higher death toll.

Fernapple replies on Apr 5, 2020:

@Petter They are trying to get to herd immunity more quickly. I think, because some people don't think that slowing the spread will reduce the death rate, in fact just the oposite in the long run. If you go for a fast spread therefore you get a smaller percentage of your population infected and killed, because you reach herd immunity quickly at a lower percentage, while slowing the spread means that the disease covers the population more completely, because diseases with a lower infection rate tend to infect the population more completely according to some models. The question is whether your health services can cope.

This landed on me today.

Emerald comments on Apr 5, 2020:

I work in a hospital and I heart this more than coffee and chocolate. This is brilliant and I would gladly buy the author a beer.

Fernapple replies on Apr 5, 2020:

Respect.

Trump says 'nobody' could've predicted a pandemic like coronavirus.

anglophone comments on Apr 5, 2020:

The Tangerine Tantrum is severely allergic to any opinions that differ from his own.

Fernapple replies on Apr 5, 2020:

He has opinoins ! I thought he just made it up as he went along.

So Sir Keir Starmer is the new labour leader.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Post office ?

Fernapple replies on Apr 5, 2020:

@OwlInASack Yes I forgot the war crimes. I have always been wary of people who try to charm their way to power, charm is like guns, it is something you reach for when you know you can not win the argument or prove your case, but intend to win anyway, at any price. It is trite to compare people to the nazis, but he took the same route to power, if you stand for nothing and have no priciples, then you can tell everyone that you agree with them , and make that illusion last long enough, until its too late, for people to go back. and take away the power they have mistakenly given you.

You may not listen to this in a jiffy, but at least you will know what a jiffy is. [youtube.com]

whiskywoman comments on Apr 4, 2020:

I love this stuff

Fernapple replies on Apr 5, 2020:

I love people who love this stuff. People who acquire knowledge do so because they take an interest, and they take an interest beacuse the care, and the true measure of a person is how much they care.

So Sir Keir Starmer is the new labour leader.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Post office ?

Fernapple replies on Apr 5, 2020:

@Lorajay, @OwlInASack If I remember right, he was the one who, in a country with a housing shortage, gave a tax relief to his wealthy pals with second homes, gave the world a new word for lying, and covered up his attachment to a religious movement until he was out of office.

So Sir Keir Starmer is the new labour leader.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Post office ?

Fernapple replies on Apr 5, 2020:

@Lorajay Sad that it takes Amazon to do it.

Never ruin an apology with an excuse. – Benjamin Franklin

Freedompath comments on Apr 4, 2020:

I do agree with this, but sometimes I feel it necessary to explain why I ‘ran off the rails!’

Fernapple replies on Apr 5, 2020:

Yes, the why may add something for the recipient.

Spring break aftermath in florida

VictoriaNotes comments on Apr 4, 2020:

For clarification, this is an image from a 2013 blog. https://thisweekontheisland.blogspot.com/2013/03/this-week-on-island-03172013.html

Fernapple replies on Apr 4, 2020:

And how does he know that it was kids.

So when does the U.S. overtake Italy in deaths due to COVID-19?

WilliamFleming comments on Apr 4, 2020:

What’s the point? Why does it matter? We have five times the population of Italy so it’s not a meaningful comparison.

Fernapple replies on Apr 4, 2020:

@1of5 No . If you want to compare rate of increase independant of actual population size. Then you have to quote figures per-million, percentages, or some other number factored by a common denominator, William has Maths on his side.

Why do you trust science ?

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

You got something better ?

Fernapple replies on Apr 4, 2020:

@FearlessFly "I'm not answering your question, but I'm telling you how difficult the why question is. You have to know what it is that you're permitted to understand and allow to be understood and known, and what it is you're not." Richard Feynman Though my question was not about differing sorts of truth, but only the methods for getting there.

So Sir Keir Starmer is the new labour leader.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Post office ?

Fernapple replies on Apr 4, 2020:

@Petter I think even the US has a post office.

Is anyone else drinking way more than usual, and constantly surprised what day it is?

PondartIncbendog comments on Apr 3, 2020:

I've been retired for twenty years. I never know what year it is.

Fernapple replies on Apr 4, 2020:

So how do you know its twenty ?

So Sir Keir Starmer is the new labour leader.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Post office ?

Fernapple replies on Apr 4, 2020:

@Petter Yep.

So Sir Keir Starmer is the new labour leader.

Fernapple comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Post office ?

Fernapple replies on Apr 4, 2020:

@Petter Just about every country in the world has a postal service, save one.

I am a man of modest means.

Storm1752 comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Except for the immense wealth OF this country, would you have what you have? Isn't the extent of your 'wealth' derived from this overall wealth? In other words, if this was a poorer country, wouldn't YOU be poorer as well? I think most people on this planet should be richer. It's only because some...

Fernapple replies on Apr 4, 2020:

@Allamanda Yes that is true, but does that not add even more to the complexity ?

I am a man of modest means.

FearlessFly comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Although I'm in favor of higher degree of re-distribution of wealth . . . S/He who dies with the most toys wins :P Good luck changing that . . .

Fernapple replies on Apr 4, 2020:

Those who die with the most toys, have wasted their lives collecting toys.

I am a man of modest means.

Storm1752 comments on Apr 4, 2020:

Except for the immense wealth OF this country, would you have what you have? Isn't the extent of your 'wealth' derived from this overall wealth? In other words, if this was a poorer country, wouldn't YOU be poorer as well? I think most people on this planet should be richer. It's only because some...

Fernapple replies on Apr 4, 2020:

That is very true. But there is also the point that accumilating weath beyond what we need is the main cause of damage to the environment. Someone once said that most of our problems could be solved, if people were happy to eat three bowls of gruel per day and spent their spare time lying in an insulated box. On the other hand it is only countries with a certain level of wealth, who can afford the spare resources to worry about the environment. Its complex.

In this very international group, and globalized world of ours, what are the comfort foods you go to...

Paracosm comments on Apr 3, 2020:

Nachos are my go to stress food. I would really like to eat chocolate and cookies but I haven't found any recipes that are sugar-free/low-carb that I think taste good yet.

Fernapple replies on Apr 4, 2020:

Have you tried Carob as a chocolate substitute, it does not need as much sugar because it is not as bitter.

More wildflowers seen on my visit to Portugal.

dede18 comments on Apr 3, 2020:

I keep being amazed by the orchid species that just grow in the wild, in Mediterranean climate! and that same Oxalis makes an absolute pest of itself here in my sandy soil, it’s a world traveller :-) I have an idea for you to research re. that last one ... it strongly brings to mind Tritonia, ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 4, 2020:

Yes that was only one type of orchid, I did see five or six at least. Thank you for the tip.

More wildflowers seen on my visit to Portugal.

tinkercreek comments on Apr 3, 2020:

The last bunch, were they fragrant? The petals are identical to one I have in my garden, but solid yellow, with a lovely lily fragrance.

Fernapple replies on Apr 3, 2020:

Can't remember a smell no.

I am concerned about shoes and people tracking the virus all over their house after a trip to ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Gloves are more likely, and more important.

Fernapple replies on Apr 3, 2020:

@AnneWimsey That much the same as me.

"Let it be considered that what is more wholesome than any particular belief is integrity of belief,...

brentan comments on Apr 2, 2020:

That reminds me of Jordan Peterson saying that while he isn't sure that there is a god, he *behaves* as if there is one.

Fernapple replies on Apr 3, 2020:

Then I hope that he understands that he has a big problem with religion. Because if there is a god, then what is it that god going to hate, if hate it does, more than religion. Or in other words that people set up their own views and prejdices in its name, and use its name to enforce their own prefered injustices and try to remake god in their own image telling it what it should be.

I know, it's spring! But when I lived in the North, autumn was my favorite season.

Cast1es comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Very colorful ! First to respond , but no extra points , aggain !

Fernapple replies on Apr 3, 2020:

@Floriduhartist Sorry, no I meant comment not post, I was reffering to Cast1es, talking about points.

They created war so Americans would learn geography!!!

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Failed.

Fernapple replies on Apr 2, 2020:

@1of5 Not really, some of us still can't read a map.

I know, it's spring! But when I lived in the North, autumn was my favorite season.

Cast1es comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Very colorful ! First to respond , but no extra points , aggain !

Fernapple replies on Apr 2, 2020:

I have seen you post that twice now, but both times there was someone below you.

I am concerned about shoes and people tracking the virus all over their house after a trip to ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Gloves are more likely, and more important.

Fernapple replies on Apr 2, 2020:

@MsAl Main reason I wear gloves is to keep my hands warm, its cold out.

I am concerned about shoes and people tracking the virus all over their house after a trip to ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Gloves are more likely, and more important.

Fernapple replies on Apr 2, 2020:

@MsAl A. If gloves make absolutely no difference. Why are they included in hospital PPE wear ? B. What relevance does any of this have to a comment about what you should remove on entering the house anyway.

“The tyranny of a prince in a oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of...

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Or the uneducated citizens prejudices.

Fernapple replies on Apr 2, 2020:

@Marionville I certainly would not define that as education. That is why I take that possition because the usual definition, as used by our institutions, which includes such large masses of pseudo-education is actually an attack on true learning. Not just because it sometimes promotes falsehoods, which it does, but because even more that great mass of pseudo-education blocks up the works. Since people can spend a lifetime in the study of none subjects, such as theology, and say that it is education, this blinds many, especially the young, to the degree to which they are being deprived of education. You can not see the hill of gold if the mountain of dross in the way is bigger, leading many to believe that they have recieved an education when in fact they have been cheated. ( I had another word in mind there, but switched it to dross since you are a lady.) So that you can leave school, uni. etc., without ever having been shown a basic understanding of science, philosophy, or how to question things such as religion, and therefore believe that understanding such things is pointless because. "I have had an education, and if such things were important they would have been included, and they were not , therefore they are not important."

“The tyranny of a prince in a oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of...

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Or the uneducated citizens prejudices.

Fernapple replies on Apr 2, 2020:

@Marionville No, if you are educated you do not have prejudices, you may however have a pseudo- education such as that provided by most schools and universities and still have them. What you say is true only in so far as it proves that our institutions are not concerned with education.

I am concerned about shoes and people tracking the virus all over their house after a trip to ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 2, 2020:

Gloves are more likely, and more important.

Fernapple replies on Apr 2, 2020:

@MsAl A. I do know how to remove gloves properly, and how to wash and decontaminate them in the same way as hands. B. Wearing gloves does not also prevent you from washing your hands, but it does give protection for the hands when you can't wash them. C. Most stores in Britain do not provide for outside hand washing. D. They act as a reminder not to touch your face, as does a mask.

Modern humans, Neanderthals share a tangled genetic history, study affirms: [phys.org]

callmedubious comments on Apr 2, 2020:

some ppl test quite hi for neanderthal DNA. having served in the navy & RCAF i can remember guys that had so much hair on their bodies that that they could have survived cold temps naked.

Fernapple replies on Apr 2, 2020:

@Lorajay Mothers always do, but this confirms you may be objectively correct.

Modern humans, Neanderthals share a tangled genetic history, study affirms: [phys.org]

callmedubious comments on Apr 2, 2020:

some ppl test quite hi for neanderthal DNA. having served in the navy & RCAF i can remember guys that had so much hair on their bodies that that they could have survived cold temps naked.

Fernapple replies on Apr 2, 2020:

There is some evidence that the gene for thick body hair on male humans, also codes for higher than average inteligence. I only like to point this out because I would make a good bear skin rug. LOL

The power and the glory, and the wide spaces, we will have them back again.

dede18 comments on Apr 1, 2020:

I couldn’t figure out where this performance took place ... help me out, please? It states that it is the Vienna Philharmonic, so am guessing Vienna?

Fernapple replies on Apr 2, 2020:

I would guess the same, it was my second choice because the first video featured the Pope very heavily in the the audience, so I choked on that one.

I look like a bandit. Will people trust me with my face covered?

starwatcher-al comments on Apr 1, 2020:

And finally we can go into a bank with a mask on.

Fernapple replies on Apr 1, 2020:

I am planning to do that tomorrow, will let you know how I get on. LOL

Just think of all the things we can be doing!

JackPedigo comments on Mar 31, 2020:

What happened to Agnostic? Seems like that's where we (I ) spend most of our time.

Fernapple replies on Apr 1, 2020:

@Allamanda Two half hours a day, but that's not a fraction of my normal time! I have to escape somewhere. I think the trouble is you have been away from England so long that you have forgoten what the word 'Dismal' truly means. LOL

Monday, death projections @100,000.

Fernapple comments on Apr 1, 2020:

I think its called a Pyrrhic victory. I will be if the Trump manages to persuade a good number of voters that he is the hero of the day, who defeated the virus, and gets himself elected again. ( PS There are some good real estate deals to be had in Europe now. )

Fernapple replies on Apr 1, 2020:

@AnneWimsey Better choice and not so far.

April 1st, no joke social distancing now for 2 weeks.

Marionville comments on Apr 1, 2020:

I think you’d better try to not be too sick of it at this early stage...because it’s going to continue for some time by all information that we are hearing. It will become the new norm for us in no time and we will fall into a new routine, restrictive though that will necessarily be. Most of ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 1, 2020:

I love the phrase. "adept at adapting" I think that is almost a classic tautology, and I can't wait to find a reason to use it myself as often as possible. Could not agree with you more. Those of us who have a garden are so lucky, it would be almost unendurable for me without. Unfortunately I have read all my new books and am now forced to reread my old ones, but there is nothing wrong with that really.

More wildflowers.

tinkercreek comments on Apr 1, 2020:

Such an attractive plant and lovely blossom, with all that detail!

Fernapple replies on Apr 1, 2020:

The overall effect is soft and modest, which is no bad thing, but close up they are very impressive.

Just think of all the things we can be doing!

JackPedigo comments on Mar 31, 2020:

What happened to Agnostic? Seems like that's where we (I ) spend most of our time.

Fernapple replies on Apr 1, 2020:

I have noticed the big surge in activity. Good its helping to keep me down to my normal level of insanity.

"The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.

Robecology comments on Mar 31, 2020:

I don't think Trump or most of the #religulous are bad people. I just feel they've been deluded by "alternative facts". Kellyane Conway might have been on to something when she said, in Trump's first few months (haven't seen her much lately) is that "we have alternative facts". "Alternative ...

Fernapple replies on Apr 1, 2020:

To a certain degree that is true. But it is also true that you get to reality and the true facts best, by working at it. By fact checking, by considering your sources, and by making the effort required to adjust your world view in the face of contradictory facts, even when doing so hurts. The problem with people who believe in false assumtions, is not always that they are stupid, or lack brain functions if you like, but that they are lazy. Though that laziness may not be entirely their fault either, since they are the victims of educational, commercial, religious and political systems, all of whom want to sell their products, and all of whom know that the best way to sell anything, is to appeal to our basic natural instincts, of which laziness and moral cowardliness, are two of the most powerful and widespread. "Buy our product and you don't need to worry or try. " Being the best sales pitch ever. In the case of the religious, political and commercial institutions that may be understandable, though certainly not forgivable. But it is a terrible thing without any mitigation that our education systems do not teach the true value of making the big effort, to all the population and to the highest degree, however great the mountains of opposition the other three may put in the way.

Einsteins blossomed. I cut a bouquet for linda to take to her office.....

RussRAB comments on Mar 31, 2020:

I very much like the yellow and orange together and the small blue flowers add a beautiful accent. What are the blue ones?

Fernapple replies on Apr 1, 2020:

I think that they are Scillia.

More wildflowers.

dede18 comments on Mar 31, 2020:

they're very pretty! brought Scilla to mind. The leaves, as well as the flowers, also bear great resemblance to Chlorogalum, a native in California so I went to google it, and both grow from a bulb. they are in the same family, that's why I found so many similarities. Order: Asparagales Family:...

Fernapple replies on Mar 31, 2020:

Lovely i may follow those leads.

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to ...

Marionville comments on Mar 31, 2020:

The law is a blunt instrument, and at times ....as we well know, it can be “an ass”, if it is not interpreted appropriately or proportionally.

Fernapple replies on Mar 31, 2020:

@Freedompath And few of the poor would even know how to rate a bedsheet.

More wildflowers.

Redheadedgammy comments on Mar 31, 2020:

It's a beautiful flower. I wonder if it would grow here in clay soil Texas???

Fernapple replies on Mar 31, 2020:

I think it likes a free draining soil but the Texas climate should be no problem, and it is not hard to build a raised bed.

More wildflowers.

RussRAB comments on Mar 31, 2020:

It's a pretty flower with lots of buds yet to open. It must be in bloom a long time. I'm wondering if the leaves are the dark green strap like leaves in the third photo. If so, the plant appears to resemble a Yucca as Cast1es said.

Fernapple replies on Mar 31, 2020:

Yes those are the leaves, although I do not think they are related to Yuccas. The leases are soft and spineless.

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to ...

Marionville comments on Mar 31, 2020:

The law is a blunt instrument, and at times ....as we well know, it can be “an ass”, if it is not interpreted appropriately or proportionally.

Fernapple replies on Mar 31, 2020:

Even where it does not need interpretation, few of the rich want to sleep under bridges.

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to ...

Marionville comments on Mar 31, 2020:

Cannot access the article.

Fernapple replies on Mar 31, 2020:

Sorry but it seems you are sorted out. Thanks be Cutiebeauty.

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to ...

Cutiebeauty comments on Mar 31, 2020:

But the rich don't beg or sleep under bridges... It's a law against the poor...

Fernapple replies on Mar 31, 2020:

You got it.

We should ALL be wearing masks if they are available and abundant. [medium.com]

Geoffrey51 comments on Mar 31, 2020:

So are mask wearers wearing them so they don’t catch it or in a more philanthropic sense in that they don’t pass it on.

Fernapple replies on Mar 31, 2020:

The two are not mutually exclusive, quite the oposite.

Would it be possible please to fix or improve the Bold and Italic features so they are easier to use...

Cutiebeauty comments on Mar 30, 2020:

I've had no *problems * with these **features **. Can you give an example?

Fernapple replies on Mar 31, 2020:

@Cutiebeauty Thanks, you learn somthing every **day** . *Probably shan't use it much though.*

Would it be possible please to fix or improve the Bold and Italic features so they are easier to use...

kmaz comments on Mar 31, 2020:

I guess while I'm at it, and indent option might also be good (this also would help delineate what is a quotation of something).

Fernapple replies on Mar 31, 2020:

"."

This is perhaps the most famous medical plant of all time, though everyone may not recognize it ...

RussRAB comments on Mar 30, 2020:

Very interesting. I watched a Harry Potter marathon over the weekend while staying inside due to this coronavirus. The scene with the Mandrake plants had the roots looking like babies that screamed very loud although no one went mad (perhaps because of the ear plugs). I had thought the plant and the...

Fernapple replies on Mar 30, 2020:

That's OK, I thought it was fun, I hope that nobody minds the little guessing game.

This is perhaps the most famous medical plant of all time, though everyone may not recognize it ...

freeofgod comments on Mar 30, 2020:

I know that plant. I used to grow them. Can't think of the name.

Fernapple replies on Mar 30, 2020:

Just click the link given and all will be clear, sorry but it seemed like a fun game to play, I do hope people take it in the spirit intended.

This is perhaps the most famous medical plant of all time, though everyone may not recognize it ...

Robecology comments on Mar 30, 2020:

Famous to you in the UK...but to most of us...I hadn't heard of it until now. I even googled "famous medicinal plants" first to see if any looked like what you showed...I found this https://www.healthline.com/health/most-powerful-medicinal-plants#chamomile

Fernapple replies on Mar 30, 2020:

Famous in myth and legend only perhaps. I do not think it is much used today. Just click the link given and all will be clear.

Unbelievable.

Surfpirate comments on Mar 30, 2020:

The same childlike behavior is found throughout these religious groups, even if they get sick and make others sick, they will chalk it up to god's strange and mysterious ways of punishing humanity. It's why religion has always been the enemy of science and logic.

Fernapple replies on Mar 30, 2020:

If you win, its gods help, and if you lose it gods instruction. Either way the brain washers win.

I photographed this plant while walking in the mountains of North Cyprus, it seemed to be quite ...

Allamanda comments on Mar 30, 2020:

Fascinating, the connections! I'd forgotten most of that since a childhood interest in herbalism.

Fernapple replies on Mar 30, 2020:

That's the great thing about plants and gardening, they connect you to nearly everything else in human culture, history and nature.

I thought this orders on spirituality

Geoffrey51 comments on Mar 30, 2020:

It sounds like New Age rhetoric from the 90’s

Fernapple replies on Mar 30, 2020:

Seventies.

From a friend: Henri du Pont So I thought I would throw up a little history lesson for everyone on ...

seenoevil9620 comments on Mar 29, 2020:

It's like night and day ....... One was ready and did a stand up job / the other has caused the situation to get way out of control and needs to PAY THE PRICE in November !!

Fernapple replies on Mar 30, 2020:

Unless it gives him an excuse to delay the election. ( That was one of Hitlers tricks.)

Villages, can you answer me please what it is about them, that makes them so appealing, especially ...

Coffeo comments on Mar 28, 2020:

These are very nice. I think no.4 would be improved with less foreground, though. :)

Fernapple replies on Mar 30, 2020:

@Coffeo Interesting, I don't do much on Facebook, so I don't bother to really keep up to date with it. I found a much nicer social media site that takes up most of the time available for that sort of thing. Wish that I could remember the name of it, ignostic.com, ognostic.com, ugnostic.com, something like that anyway.

As usual Shane Dowling makes some interesting observations.

anglophone comments on Mar 29, 2020:

My immune system is sufficiently strong as to represent risk to me. I do not wish it to be any stronger!

Fernapple replies on Mar 30, 2020:

That is very true, an over strong immune system could make the virus more dangerous. There is some evidence that when people infected with viruses die and when they spread the virus, it can be because of an overly strong reaction by a highly active immune system. Most of the symptoms are cause not directly by the virous but by the immune reaction to it. There is some evidence that people who say that they never get colds and flu are people with weak immune systems.

'We're keeping an eye on those holes you keep digging' - Your Neighbors.

dede18 comments on Mar 29, 2020:

all depends! he better ask himself whether he’s been naughty or nice :-) I can think of someone in the White House who’d make wonderful fertilizer, he’s so full of sh*t !

Fernapple replies on Mar 29, 2020:

Well, he is old, unfit, in denial about the risks and not socially isolated. So you never know you may get your wish. Now I think that would be called irony.

The Corona virus is NOT a nice little practice run for dealing with Climate Change.

FearlessFly comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Climate change does NOT happen so quickly as a pandemic.

Fernapple replies on Mar 29, 2020:

@FearlessFly No they are not, one and the same, but they do have at least two important features in common. Firstly. That, both are made far worse, and probably created by overpopulation. And secondly. That they can both,grow towards disaster exponentially, and since many people are quite without any understanding of exponential growth, either by instinct or by education, it is almost impossible to get a common understanding of the problems widespread through the community.

European women routinely go topless at the beach and elsewhere, just like guys.

Novelty comments on Mar 28, 2020:

I don’t understand the boob taboo, getting horny for a woman because of cup size is like getting excited over a guys 5:00pm shaving shadow. Like a guys butt indicates health vigor and overall strength I imagine the same can be said for guys looking at female butts, but boobs?! I’ll never ...

Fernapple replies on Mar 29, 2020:

Its more a social convention than real. People just like to live up to the stereotype.

"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and...

brentan comments on Mar 28, 2020:

I think the problem is that the powers-that-be don't want to run an economy on educated citizens. So the society is constructed to have lots of ignorant people doing tough work for little remuneration. In the last few decades, they've done all they can to remove any form of expertise that would give...

Fernapple replies on Mar 29, 2020:

And the human buying machine for, cheap easy to produce shabby goods, that educated people would not want.

Villages, can you answer me please what it is about them, that makes them so appealing, especially ...

fishline79 comments on Mar 26, 2020:

Fernapple esp. Can't find the pix of Trenchon but this is my second home in Menorca, Spain. The town of Alaior.

Fernapple replies on Mar 29, 2020:

Wow! wonderful. I really like number tree.

Villages, can you answer me please what it is about them, that makes them so appealing, especially ...

Coffeo comments on Mar 28, 2020:

These are very nice. I think no.4 would be improved with less foreground, though. :)

Fernapple replies on Mar 29, 2020:

Yes, I must try that. I used to do Facebook , and they like you to use a square format, so I got stuck in the habit. But it does not seem to matter on this site.

The village garden club has managed the area around the village pump now on and off for several ...

Jolanta comments on Mar 28, 2020:

They still can manage it as long as only one person does it at a time

Fernapple replies on Mar 29, 2020:

Yes I am sure. But I think that the social interaction was a lot of the fun.

Trump is continuing his self centered vindictive actions.

Cutiebeauty comments on Mar 28, 2020:

Competition is supposed to lower prices... Sounds more like an auction... 😡

Fernapple replies on Mar 29, 2020:

That's competition between suppliers, not between buyers.

"Good memories are our second chance at happiness" - Elizabeth II

brentan comments on Mar 27, 2020:

I think she is right. It works for me, even though I have bad memories of stupid things I've done that make me cringe at times.

Fernapple replies on Mar 28, 2020:

@brentan Quite.

It is a mistake to speak of a bad choice in love, since, as soon as a choice exists, it can only be ...

Freedompath comments on Mar 27, 2020:

I must be loosing it...this one is not ‘coming in!’

Fernapple replies on Mar 28, 2020:

I think that he means that if you are truly in love, then there is only one choice.

"Good memories are our second chance at happiness" - Elizabeth II

callmedubious comments on Mar 27, 2020:

bad memories are an eternal curse. Me.

Fernapple replies on Mar 27, 2020:

@Marionville You are very lucky.

"Good memories are our second chance at happiness" - Elizabeth II

brentan comments on Mar 27, 2020:

I think she is right. It works for me, even though I have bad memories of stupid things I've done that make me cringe at times.

Fernapple replies on Mar 27, 2020:

Yes someone posted a question no here a few days ago asking, what was your most cringe worth moment. You have to pick JUST one !!!!!

"Good memories are our second chance at happiness" - Elizabeth II

callmedubious comments on Mar 27, 2020:

bad memories are an eternal curse. Me.

Fernapple replies on Mar 27, 2020:

@Marionville No.

I just received a big portion of my work for the summer.

Cast1es comments on Mar 26, 2020:

Don't wood chips attract termites ?

Fernapple replies on Mar 26, 2020:

And possibly Honey Fungus.

Villages, can you answer me please what it is about them, that makes them so appealing, especially ...

fishline79 comments on Mar 25, 2020:

They are removed in time.

Fernapple replies on Mar 26, 2020:

Great photos. Where is the second one plaese ?

Villages, can you answer me please what it is about them, that makes them so appealing, especially ...

Jnei comments on Mar 25, 2020:

I suspect a large part of their charm is that they've grown up organically, with buildings from different eras added wherever they'd fit. We humans are chaotic creatures; I think that appeals to most of us far more than the carefully-planned and orderly urban environment.

Fernapple replies on Mar 25, 2020:

Yes I agree with you, I think you hit the nail square on the head.

Villages, can you answer me please what it is about them, that makes them so appealing, especially ...

Robecology comments on Mar 25, 2020:

Whether we live in dense, crowded urban areas or areas far more remote and "country" than imaged...the idyllic settings of neatly groomed homes in village settings (as in your images) just gives many of us that "ahhhh" feeling. I think it's similar to being at the beach...time seems to slow ...

Fernapple replies on Mar 25, 2020:

Looks great. Bet it even looks good in a storm.

We really need to flatten this curve y’all, because if it spikes, there won’t be enough Darwin ...

Cutiebeauty comments on Mar 25, 2020:

What exactly is a Darwin award? I thought Darwin was intelligent!

Fernapple replies on Mar 25, 2020:

@Druvius Thank you. that is probably more accurate than my memory.

We really need to flatten this curve y’all, because if it spikes, there won’t be enough Darwin ...

Cutiebeauty comments on Mar 25, 2020:

What exactly is a Darwin award? I thought Darwin was intelligent!

Fernapple replies on Mar 25, 2020:

If you look at the picture, you will get the picture, as they say.

We really need to flatten this curve y’all, because if it spikes, there won’t be enough Darwin ...

Cutiebeauty comments on Mar 25, 2020:

What exactly is a Darwin award? I thought Darwin was intelligent!

Fernapple replies on Mar 25, 2020:

@Druvius One of my favourites was the man who, watered the plants in his hanging baskets on his twentieth story balcony, while standing on a wheeled serving trolley. Or. The estate agent who demonstrated the strength of the glass in the windows of high rise appartments by shoulder barging them. Unfortunatly one day the fitters had not got round to putting the glass in.

Well folks we’re officially in lockdown here in the U.

Athena comments on Mar 23, 2020:

I know there are some people here who refuse to "like" any comments that include profanity. Well... I find the behaviour of these little fuckers profane. Selfish fucking, cocksmoking bastards, all of them. Stay the fuck home! It's making those of us who give a shit about other people, have ...

Fernapple replies on Mar 24, 2020:

OK I will give you a like, not only because I agree, but also on principle.

"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear" ...

JackPedigo comments on Mar 23, 2020:

Even if it is lies and BS like the religious are always doing??

Fernapple replies on Mar 24, 2020:

Generally the point of religion is to tell the gulible what they want to hear.

Haven't been on for awhile.

Apunzelle comments on Mar 22, 2020:

Where are you getting that statistic?

Fernapple replies on Mar 22, 2020:

That was my thought too.

Knowing all the science behind what makes a piano work will not make you a pianist.

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2020:

Yes but science is a spiritual practice, perhaps the most spiritual of all things.

Fernapple replies on Mar 22, 2020:

@skado Yes sorry about the conflict between passages. I meant science gives nothing material to the individual. For the spirituality of science, I can not recommend too highly that you read Ursula Goodenough, The Sacred Depths Of Nature. It is also the seminal work on Religious Naturalism itself, so a must read if your group is so named. Also, Flowering Earth, by Donald Culross Peatie, perhaps one of the most spiritual books I ever read, if you can still find it, it is old. Though the actual science is way out of date, but that does not matter.

Uplifting Stories Emerging From the Coronavirus Pandemic

Petter comments on Mar 21, 2020:

People are great. Unfortunately some of them metamorphosise into politicians, lawyers and estate agents! .... ..... not to mention evangelists, especially of the TV variety.

Fernapple replies on Mar 21, 2020:

You forgot evangelists.