genessa's Profile

This is a brilliant statement by a lucid mind: Stephen Fry on political correctness.

genessa comments on Oct 13, 2018:

he IS brilliant, and heartful. i agree with him. i have explored the problem of pc myself and i hope you will forgive me if i link to my writing on the subject; also pardon me if the page, which needs a little work, doesn't display as well as it might. meanwhile i will say here that pc has its place, but not the place most folks assume it does. pc is for folks who legitimately don't know it's not okay to hurt (i said hurt, not offend) others. these people need to be told not to call names and speak thoughtlessly. for everyone else, pc is not necessary; a simple reminder to be mindful that other people actually exist and have thoughts and feelings will suffice. okay here is what i wrote some years ago: http://sh1.webring.com/people/wg/genessa/pc.htm g

More Republican voter suppression, this time in North Dakota. [mavenroundtable.io]

genessa comments on Oct 13, 2018:

that's their game plan. they know they're wildly unpopular. they know more americans feel other than they do than as they do. they also know that the only way they can win is to cheat; they've known this at least since nixon's day. voter suppression is their game plan because it's the only plan they have that could possibly work. actually representing their constituents (rather than trying to convince their constituents of the errors of their ways, and at any rate stealing elections regardless of what the constituents think or want) would never even occur to them. g

I'm indescribably happy that it's finally getting cold again.

genessa comments on Oct 13, 2018:

lucky! i run warm myself, but don't like either extreme, and i do tend to get pneumonia when the weather turns. my perfectly outdoor temperature: 65 with no wind or 60 with a strong wind. g

Accept whatever changes that life throws at you because the day will come when there are no ...

genessa comments on Oct 13, 2018:

no. that's bad advice. accept whatever changes? WHATEVER changes? no, that's how nations become naziified. accept some changes. fight like hell against others, whether it be for oneself or for others, and do it passionately and don't wait, because life is short, which is what you mean to say about no more changes, right? be selective. don't generalize about changes. not all changes are equal. g

Always remember, you may not be able to reach what's in front of you, until you let go of what's ...

genessa comments on Oct 13, 2018:

i'm glad you said MAY not rather than WILL not, because some things should NOT be forgotten. we build our futures upon our pasts to a large extent, from getting jobs based on our work experience to responding to situations based on our life experience. harping on the past is harmful but forgetting it entirely is no better. g

A statement I've often heard from the Theists is that Human Morality comes only and directly from ...

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

some of us are more ethical than others, and my observation tells me that theists find more ways to justify bad behavior than atheists. g

How is it that people who report seeing ghosts are often able to identify the ghost by what they are...

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

apparently! the cotton boll IS a living organism. i am not sure what kind of spiritual status we can attribute to polyester, though. g

About half an hour ago I was confronted, upon opening my front door, with 2 of the Faithfools from ...

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

i have never been bothered by jw where i live now, but mormons were very rude to me when i wouldn't open the door in nagoya, japan. i told them, truthfully, that i was naked. they called me names. i called their superior and reported them. they never came back. i didn't get dressed again until i had to, either. g

Does anyone know what these are? They have the texture of old man balls.

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

they look like turnips. g

The Distance between Egypt and Israel is about 613 Km, but it took Moses and the Israelites 40 years...

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

oy vass they farblonget! g

Most creationists do not believe in evolution and natural selection.

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

one of the main purposes of religion is to reinforce the concept of us vs. them. if everyone has a common enemy, whoever is in control can keep that control by stoking the fear of the "them." that's why my religion is right and yours is wrong! oh wait, i don't have one. oops. g

Can someone be both an atheist and spiritual?

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

if you define spirituality as a deep connection with the world around you, then yes you can, but i wonder why you need a name like spirituality, which can mean other, less natural things, to describe that. if you define spirituality with a sense that there is something with agency, even if not a worship-hungry deity, controlling or creating or taking a crap on the world, depending on how you view things, then you probably could not correctly define yourself as an atheist. there is no rulebook for atheism as it's not a religion or a belief system. but it does have a definition -- and even on that not everyone agrees. i think it boils down to two contenders, which are not mutually exclusive: 1. you don't believe there are any gods. 2. you believe there are no gods. as long as you fit into one or both of those descriptions, you can correctly call yourself an atheist and anything that doesn't conflict with whichever description you've chosen is not a dealbreaker. g

Anyone in NYC care to get together Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday evening?

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

i'm envious. i used to live in brooklyn and work and play in the city. now i'm in the midwest and it's... different. if you have any time to kill, please hop on the merry-go-round in central park for me! g

Being ginger.

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

i was not born ginger but i have occasionally ginged. once right after a bout with the bottle (no, not booze -- hair color!) i was walking through st. stephen's green in dublin and approached a cop with a question (i was a little lost). he noted my american accent and my red hair and commented that he was so happy to meet me because he just KNEW i was an irish-american -- he could tell by my hair! (i'm not even a little bit irish, though i have an affinity for the land, the people and the music.) he could not be dissuaded from his belief. g

Anti-vaxxer ‘warrior mom’: If vaccines are so great, ‘why aren’t they mentioned in the ...

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

donald trump is not mentioned in the bible. oh wait, it depends on which bible, right? the bible of my people doesn't mention him, only a special prosecutor whose title was ha-satan (the prosecutor). my understanding is that the christian bible mentions trump, not by name but clearly enough. i wonder how the warrior mom feels about that? hard to say, isn't it? but of course she mustn't drive or take public transportation because none of that is in anyone's bible. she'd better turn off her computer too. g

I got a text fundraising for republicans.

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

why do you hope it's not rude? of course it's rude, as well it should be! sometimes rudeness is the only appropriate response to lies, and of course what you received was a big fat lie. you responded perfectly appropriately. g

How can I upgrade my levels quickly 😪

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

the levels are to reward participation. so participate... at your own pace. you shouldn't participate for the points. you should participate for the pleasure of and interest in participation. just cramming any old thing into the forums for the purpose of gaining points will gain you a bit of contempt from most participants; being truly interested in the posts you make and on which you comment will likely win you some pals and maybe even friends. then the points will sneak up on you -)) g

Hi everyone just a little story this time I work in a activity center and the instructors act more ...

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

well... on the one hand they sound silly, but on the other hand, you're judging them, too. maybe it was indiscreet of you to mention to that one woman that you found her on a dating site. that was potentially embarrassing to her. you are probably right not to give them a lot of personal info as they do sound quite immature, but if they're going their jobs, and not interfering with your doing your job, it's not affecting you, right? (may i make a request, and i do not mean this to hurt your feelings, but could you divide your story up into sentences? i had to read it a couple of times to follow it. thanks.) g

How do you feel after hosting people?

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

it is bound to be exhausting no matter how gracious the guest is, but she really SHOULD have offered to help out with some of the work, whether or not you were feeling well. g

I’m not here to debate my beliefs. I am here to meet someone compatible.

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

how will you know who is or isn't compatible if you're not open to dialogue? i know you said debate, but you can't control how people react to your posts, or to your comments on posts, and sometimes debates happen. maybe a compatible woman wants to see how you handle yourself in such situations. maybe she wants to know about your beliefs, which means putting them forward, which means risking controversy. it is possible to engage in what could be called debates without being pugnacious (although you can't necessarily control how pugnacious others get) but it doesn't have to be all about your religious (or political) beliefs. we have all kinds of topics here. g

Is the solution to "hate speech" more speech or less speech?

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

why would either more or less speech be the solution, assuming there was even a solution? haters will always hate. to make the situation better, do two things: 1. tolerate hate speech less (which is NOT the same thing as less speech!) and 2. teach, by example, acceptance and love, which reduce, not eliminate, hate speech. g

My foul mood just got worse.

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

i think it's more widespread than just you, but i don't know for sure because i have not been in the job market for decades. that's not because i am happily employed; i'm disabled. before i was officially declared so, i found it difficult to get jobs, not because i am unqualified, but because -- they always said -- i am OVERqualified. i don't see why that's a problem. if i were hiring someone, and an overqualified applicant came my way, i'd grab him/her so fast.... why not hire the best you can get, right? but my understanding is that the job market is tight, regardless. you need a game plan. figure out why you're not selected (it could be as simple as that there are too many applicants and they liked someone else, nothing to do with you, or it could be something you're doing or not doing -- i can't tell from here!) and then adjust and keep trying. wish i had something more encouraging to say, but without knowing what career you're pursuing, where you've tried and what's been happening, i can say no more. g

I feel lonely and lost. I wonder if it's because I stopped believing in Regions?

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

since there was no god even when you believed there was one, you should not feel lonelier now than before, but i understand feelings are hard to control. think of it this way: you are free to find out what's real in the world, and it's a big world. you need not feel lonely in it! you may even find some friends here :-)) g

Why on earth has no one (to my knowledge) yet invented the term "sprankle"? It's so simple.

genessa comments on Oct 12, 2018:

maybe it's too trippy :-)) g

So is this a real search for information, or just another weak attempt to create controversy?

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

i don't visit quora. you might accidentally find a correct answer there but i wouldn't hold my breath. g

Can I talk about my feelings for a bit?

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

i feel for you, but no, i did not go through it. i didn't have to leave any church, for example. i was raised in a secular jewish family and i came to the realization, age 15, that there were no gods. this was a surprise but not a shock. it didn't even seem worthy of announcing -- i mean,to whom? who would care whether or not i believed in a god? my life didn't change on account of that. g

Before bed, here's a better picture (imo) of Aldous on the left (she's an accountcat), and Nugget on...

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

cutie patooties! g

I guess this is an old person's rant, but why is the news not available in written form instead of ...

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

oh and it's available in print online too. you may have to pay for some of it. others, not. but be careful. don't believe everything you read. (and again i ask, what makes you think news is not available online in print?) g

I guess this is an old person's rant, but why is the news not available in written form instead of ...

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

in what way is it not available in written form? believe it or not, there are a whole lot of newspapers in print in the united states and i am guessing in other countries too. subscribe to one or more and you'll have your news in print. g

Have always wondered why 42

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

if you could find the question you'd understand the answer. g

New here. How do posts work? What do people post about?

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

you just made a post. that's how they work. people post in all the topics you see listed, so feel free to snoop around. g

"Jimi Hendrix, Experience." 1969. (poster)

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

hmm, i have seen posters of him but not that one. interesting. g

Why are humans so slow to learn?

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

we're not slow to learn. we're not learning. there's a difference. g

"1492 The teachers told the children that this was when their continent was discovered by human ...

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

he hits the nail on the head (apart from saying "continent" when in fact in 1492 columbus "discovered" a caribbean island -- but what the hey! teachers DO make out like it was the us of a! g

Life doesn't suck.

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

waiting for that upload.... g

A watched clock boils twice a day. MixedMetaphors

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

my two favorites are (from a dorm neighbor when i was in college a million years ago) "that just drives me up a bat!" and (more recently, and said on purpose) "it's not rocket surgery." g

Anyone else desperately craving sushi?

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

always! i hope you find it superb. and if you do, please upload me some sashimi. g

Where do you get most of your meals?

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

as they say on facebook, it's complicated. for breakfast i usually pop a mom's meal or optage meal into the microwave, sometimes adding vegetables if i find what comes with the meal insufficient. for lunch if i am at adult daycare (my alzheimer's-afflicted guy won't go unless i go, so i bring my computer and i'm the vj) i eat the kosher lunch that is provided; if i remember to check their menu and know in advance that they're serving a burger or a dog, i make a salad at home and bring it, because i don't eat the rolls they provide, and i don't want to go hungry. for dinner i almost always cook something from scratch. sometimes i use a mom's meal as a base and add lots of stuff. g

Does historical studies influence a person to walk against beliefs?

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

i don't understand the question. there are no gods. the likelihood of there being any gods is so small as to be moot. what has history got to do with it? there is a history of people believing in gods, a whole bunch of 'em. so? there is a history of people sticking their wet fingers into electrical outlets too. meanwhile, everyone has beliefs. i believe i am alive. i might not be -- i might be someone else's dream. but the likelihood of this being the case is not only teensy but it's irrelevant to how i live my life. so for all intents and purposes, i believe i am alive. it's not a religious belief and i don't pray to myself (though i occasionally do yell at myself) but it's still a belief. g

One of the questions on this site when I signed up was if I believe in God or gods, and then it ...

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

after messing around with calling himself various labels, including humanist and rationalist, which are fine labels, except he was using them to avoid calling himself an atheist, isaac asimov had this to say: “I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I've been an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually unrespectable to say one was an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that one didn't have. Somehow, it was better to say one was a humanist or an agnostic. I finally decided that I'm a creature of emotion as well as of reason. Emotionally, I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time.” since 99.999999999 percent is closer to 100 than to 99, my level of certainty, as i suspect from the above asimov's was, is 100. i don't mind rounding up under the circumstances! g

I don't watch tv.

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

i do. i like learning about the universe on the science channel when it's not busy with robot wars. i like some british television that i can see on pbs, along with nature shows and nova and ken burns documentaries and american masters and, every couple of weeks, a full-length opera, not to mention weekly music shows like austin city limits. i can't afford to go out and see opera live. i can't afford to go to concerts live. i like intelligent analysis of the news from rachel maddow and lawrence o'donnell. i like watching some old favorites in syndication. i like when bob ross paints happy little clouds. i'll be watching an interview with jimmy carter next week. i don't think it's a point either of pride or of shame to watch tv. i don't understand why it's a point of pride not to. you now, having a tv doesn't absolutely require one to watch roseanne reruns all day long. one can be selective. g

Melania Trump in a recent interview said she may be the most bullied person in the world.

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

who is bullying her? the donald? maybe she doesn't know what "bully" means. g

The Myers-Briggs Personality Test Is Bullshit - But I took one anyway.

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

oh yes, definitely bullshit, and yet it gets promoted.... g

Friendly reminder: Make sure you get your flu shot this year.

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

ptsd here, also a bit immune-system compromised (no, not hiv or anything like that). besides, it's too late -- i already have it, or something like it! but it's a good idea for most people, especially if they go out among others, which i mostly don't. keep the herd immunity strong. g

What's one thing you own that is unlikely anyone will realize the purpose of?

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

i have a metal parrot and a metal crocodile. they may not at first glance appear also to be, respectively, a bottle opener and a nutcracker. g

Learning to take criticism, especially of ones looks, is a lot harder than it should be.

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

meanness is at a premium these days, as is extreme defensiveness, to name just two elements creating this sad situation. g

Who remembers Ding Dongs????

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

i was trying to forget them! hostess is the WORST! i grew up pre-hostess with tastykakes. g

Did you play with one of these?

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

yeah i think i had one like that! these days i'm lucky if i can get my hands on a miniature wooden dreidel! g

When we were kids when you had to makeshift something it was called Jerry rig never really looked ...

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

jerry-rigged is a distortion of jury-rigged. i am not sure what people call it now (i missed mcgyvered and i think i am glad lol). g

Resonate with anyone else?

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

not really, though i understand it will with many. i have already done most of those things, if they even needed to be done (can't stop doing what one never did). i don't expect to grow happy. i have always worn curiosity and laughter. they do help. g

I'm hoping that people here are more open minded than self described atheists.

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

well, i agree with everything you said at the end. i can't agree or disagree with your experiences, described in the middle, because they are your experiences; they certainly aren't mine. and i most certainly disagree with your assessment of self-described atheists. first of all, am i supposed to wait for someone else to describe me? second of all, i am (self-described again lol) quite open-minded (but you know, there IS that description of the person who is so open-minded that thoughts go in and come out without stopping anywhere in between). maybe you need to be more open-minded about atheists. g

Miriam Makeba "Amampondo" [youtube.com]

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

i saw her in concert, with harry belafonte, sonny terry and brownie mcgee, when i was about 11. wonderful! i have a song of hers in my head i can't identify. all i can say is it's in three-four time, not really a waltz, and it sways. g

Why blame "god" for natural disasters ? Its only nature after all

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

because people are fools. g

Christian Prophet: Hurricane Michael was created by Democrats in ‘retaliation’ for Kavanaugh’s...

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

i wonder which it is -- we're a violent mob so scary that rand paul's wife has to sleep with a gun by her bed, or we're ominpotent and can cause bad weather, and no guns would be effective against us? i don't get it. am i a goddess or not? inquiring minds need to know! g

Alex Jones.

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

he should, have been treated worse. he wasn't silenced for his opinions. he was (incompletely) silenced because he was libelous and slanderous, he spread lies, he attacked families who were already suffering from the loss of a child, and those weren't his opinions -- he said he was just an "entertainer." if those are really his opinions, he is insane on top of everything else. by the way, freedom of speech has limits. you don't yell "fire" in a crowded movie theatre unless there actually IS a fire, and private entities such as facebook and twitter have the right to make their own rules. so yeah, more than fairly. g

As we settle into fall I'm thinking of christmas.

genessa comments on Oct 11, 2018:

i never had to deal with santa, being raised in a secular jewish family. santa always seemed silly to me. i don't even think i knew that some people actually believed santa was real; it was, to me, just a silly story that christians were into. but yeah, i suppose it does predispose folks to believe any old crap. g

TV or not?