Well. I'm here.

you sound like an ass, and this place is what you make it, waste of time or not.

You rant? Terrible pun.

[QUOTE=Crow;947974]Now what?

Normally I feel like forums are a waste of time, but for some reason I felt like joining this one. Maybe it's just boredom. Anyway, I'm here. Consider yourself forewarned.

Oh yeah, a little about myself. Of course I've written some stuff. I don't write much anymore though. My grammar skills have likely suffered during this time.

I also like making movies and watching movies. They mostly suck, but we had a hell of a good time making them. Well...most of them. Not the first one. I tried making another film recently and I gave up. I've become too much of a perfectionist and I couldn't just make a stupid movie with my friends that people would laugh at. I started taking film making VERY seriously. So I gave up on that [U][I][B][SIZE=5][COLOR=Magenta]and ended up eventually dropping out of high school a semester shy of graduation.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B][/I][/U] So now I just sit around listening to music and looking at interesting stuff on the web. Hopefully this forum will be one of the more interesting wastes of time.

I watched Fight Club once a while back and initially thought it was a great movie, but it wasn't until I watched it a second time that it made any real sense to me. [COLOR=magenta][SIZE=1][FONT="Arial Black"][U][I][B]I've become sort of a philosopher in the past years and so I embrace[/B][/I][/U][/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] Chuck Palahniuk's writings with open arms. I haven't read much of it yet, but so far it seems just as fascinating, if not more so, than the movie Fight Club that directed me to Chuck's work.

While I highly respect Fight Club, my current favorite movie is Apocalypse Now. Never have the words in a movie so resonated in me. It is such an excellent movie that it is beyond words. For some reason I feel like Fight Club and Apocalypse Now are sort of companion movies in my head. They go together well.

I rant. Enough about me. I have now officially introduced myself. I am Crow. Well, not really, but that is what you can refer to me as.[/QUOTE]

Ridiculous. Those two things cannot go together!

Otherwise, welcome.

I just had two hard boiled eggs

I blew my nose and saw morey called this guy an ass.

Welcome to the Cult.

It's about time you got here. There is a Filmmakers group. and a Writing Workshop and all sorts of other things around here. Click around on the links at the top of the page and click around in the USERCP area. The group memberships are near the bottom of the column on the left.

Just jump right into the threads. Don't worry about justifying or qualifying your comments. Just let 'em fly.

Oh and if you send me $5 I'll send you the info you must have in order to not get scammed and tricked by people around here.

And this is exactly why forums are a waste of time. I hope for a little intelligent coversation and all I get are insults. You people from imdb or something? C'mon. Have a little respect and maturity.

How does my not having a high school education negate being a philosopher? Philosophy is not science, it's the search for truth. I didn't come here to get picked on like some sort of schoolyard kid. I know when I've been made unwelcome. Thanks for your time. I'm outta here.

EDIT: I appreciate the last comment. I was perhaps a little naive in my understanding of this place. I suppose I know I need to respect that others can say what they want too, but I don't sense a constructive environment. Maybe I expect too much.

P.S. Barca boy. You thought I intended a pun? If I made one then it was not knowingly, so it cannot be a bad pun. Geez. Talk about jumping on every word.

One of those people is a bitter person and one of them is 16 years old. Don't take it too hard.

Yes. That happens to be a problem I have. I take things too seriously.

You're as welcome as you want to be.

Consider it trial by fire and cast off what does not interest you. There are some wonderful people here and the site has many resources that could be of use to you.

If you want to stay, I am certain you can find things here that are not a waste of time and others that are. It really is all in perspective.

[QUOTE=Crow;948079]And this is exactly why forums are a waste of time. I hope for a little intelligent coversation and all I get are insults. You people from imdb or something? C'mon. Have a little respect and maturity.

How does my not having a high school education negate being a philosopher? Philosophy is not science, it's the search for truth. I didn't come here to get picked on like some sort of schoolyard kid. I know when I've been made unwelcome. Thanks for your time. I'm outta here.

EDIT: I appreciate the last comment. I was perhaps a little naive in my understanding of this place. I suppose I know I need to respect that others can say what they want too, but I don't sense a constructive environment. Maybe I expect too much.

P.S. Barca boy. You thought I intended a pun? If I made one then it was not knowingly, so it cannot be a bad pun. Geez. Talk about jumping on every word.[/QUOTE]

I think it had to do with you saying how you're a philosopher which most people take to be a smart person but then you said you dropped out of high school with only a semester left which most people take to be a retard move

Don't go just yet. If you enjoy reading the posts here, keep doing it. Then throw your two cents in every once in a while. I'm glad I didn't know there was a designated place for new members to introduce themselves, because it seems that alot of new members just get hazed here and I'm sure its discouraging. Jump into a current thread and let's converse.

I say welcome!!

I think this new members getting hazed is a bunch of bullshit
it's just everyone doing and saying the same things they'd say to anyone else when they say stupid shit whether they've been here 4 years or 4 days

[QUOTE=Crow;948079] I suppose I know I need to respect that others can say what they want too, but I don't sense a constructive environment. Maybe I expect too much.
[/QUOTE]

One of the nice things about the Cult is that it is loosely moderated when it comes to what we say. This is good for the people who have been here a while but puts new folks off. Some people are not as welcoming as they should be to new members. Especially when they are posting in the New Member Welcome Forum. In General Discussion, okay tear people a new asshole, but here I feel it's inappropriate and rude. This is just my opinion of course.

There are cool people here. Very cool people. Even the assholes are cool after awhile actually.

Anyways, welcome, best of luck. Don't kill yourself or write poetry over all this or anything.

I dropped out because of the overly analytical Bible classes. This is not public school we are talking about. I used to be top of my class. One class in particular sort of "broke me." We would analyze the Bible and study it for hours. Now I believe in God and I'm sort of a Christian(don't kill me for this), but it went beyond ridiculous. After that I lost a lot of initiative.

It was a dumbass move to drop out of high school, but there were other factors in play. If I seem like sort of an ass, then that's probably why I felt so alienated at school. If you don't have friends, it's hard to stay motivated to succeed.

As far as philosophy goes. I don't consider myself extremely intelligent. I just want to know the truth, and that counts as philosphy in my book.

"I think this new members getting hazed is a bunch of bullshit
it's just everyone doing and saying the same things they'd say to anyone else when they say stupid shit whether they've been here 4 years or 4 days"

I'm inclined to agree. I've been to a lot of slimy forums, and so I suppose I've come to expect this kind of thing, which could come of as a bad attitude on my part.

[QUOTE=rkdaley;948087]One of the nice things about the Cult is that it is loosely moderated when it comes to what we say. This is good for the people who have been here a while but puts new folks off. Some people are not as welcoming as they should be to new members. Especially when they are posting in the New Member Welcome Forum. In General Discussion, okay tear people a new asshole, but here I feel it's inappropriate and rude. This is just my opinion of course.

There are cool people here. Very cool people. Even the assholes are cool after awhile actually.

Anyways, welcome, best of luck. Don't kill yourself or write poetry over all this or anything.[/QUOTE]

Wouldn't consider it. Suicide is for the weak. Poetry, yeah I can understand it, but I'm not that into it.

And I thank you for the welcome. It is exactly what I did post here for.

[QUOTE=Crow;948088]I dropped out because of the overly analytical Bible classes. This is not public school we are talking about. I used to be top of my class. One class in particular sort of "broke me." We would analyze the Bible and study it for hours. Now I believe in God and I'm sort of a Christian(don't kill me for this), but it went beyond ridiculous. After that I lost a lot of initiative.

It was a dumbass move to drop out of high school, but there were other factors in play. If I seem like sort of an ass, then that's probably why I felt so alienated at school. If you don't have friends, it's hard to stay motivated to succeed.

As far as philosophy goes. I don't consider myself extremely intelligent. I just want to know the truth, and that counts as philosphy in my book.

"I think this new members getting hazed is a bunch of bullshit
it's just everyone doing and saying the same things they'd say to anyone else when they say stupid shit whether they've been here 4 years or 4 days"

I'm inclined to agree. I've been to a lot of slimy forums, and so I supposed I've come to expect this kind of thing, which could come of as a bad attitude on my part.[/QUOTE]

I did the same exact thing, went to a small private religious school. when I looked up halfway through the year and realized I was the only senior in the entire school I left and went to a public school to graduate. dropping out that short of finishing seems very bone-headed, but hey to each there own, welcome aboard

[QUOTE=Crow;948089]Wouldn't consider it. Suicide is for the weak. Poetry, yeah I can understand it, but I'm not that into it.[/QUOTE]

Oh well, I guess I won't see the headline "Hazed Cultist Hangs"

Maybe the next guy. There's always the next guy...

[QUOTE=karbunkle;948090]I did the same exact thing, went to a small private religious school. when I looked up halfway through the year and realized I was the only senior in the entire school I left and went to a public school to graduate. dropping out that short of finishing seems very bone-headed, but hey to each there own, welcome aboard[/QUOTE]

Thanks.

[QUOTE=karbunkle;948090]I did the same exact thing, went to a small private religious school. when I looked up halfway through the year and realized I was the only senior in the entire school I left and went to a public school to graduate. dropping out that short of finishing seems very bone-headed, but hey to each there own, welcome aboard[/QUOTE]

You went to religious school? I thought you went to Hot Dog School? Huh, ya learn sumpin' everyday.

you don't need to go to school to learn hot dogs
just throw a bunch of pig parts in a blender then stick it in a condom and cook it

[QUOTE=karbunkle;948094]you don't need to go to school to learn hot dogs
just throw a bunch of pig parts in a blender then stick it in a condom and cook it[/QUOTE]

You're kidding me right? People COOK hotdogs? gross.

and then they send em through a 15 minute brine shower!
goddamn i don't miss that crap one bit!

. .
__

this thread blows. crow, you suck. just kidding

This place is just like any social setting: all types are here. this is a good, solid thing. for perspective, for vibrancy. a lot of people cannot understand why anyone would jump out of school at the last semester. high schools want graduates; they will help you. maybe try a different school. it's not like me and dropped out in 9th grade, and then in 10th grade. and then in 11th. finally moved to Arkansas from Washington to finish my school, though i had to take summer school and two correspondence courses in order just to procure a statement--an allocution--saying i didnt give up. not that i cared what others thought about me but rather i wanted to know that i went through with it. maybe school isnt a goal that WE set out to procure on our own, as family kind of pushes us toward it (if the family loves you, at all), but we do set our own limits and desires. why not try to figure out what you are willing to take and still complete what you started. it's more for you than anyone else, my opinion.

robert's right, that there are a number of special programs here, even for writers and filmmakers. take advantage of them. why not ? as for going off the handle and getting too emotional too quickly, dont sweat the small stuff: being a writer or a director, you need a little humility, a thick skin. it comes with the for of art. dont take everything so seriously. sometimes, it's just wit being thrown around, for fun love and a few laughs. i took some heavy hits when I joined the cult. you get out of it what you put into it. don’t be so quick to give up. robert’s right: there are some very good people here. most of them, for that matter. and that certainly includes nathanial (karb)

as for the pun ... it was a joke because cuck's new novel is titled Rant and that novel has gotten a whole lot of attention lately. will release in about four weeks.

anyway, welcome to the cult. look around.
kabol

[right].[/right]

[QUOTE=JKabol;948100]. .
__

this thread blows. crow, you suck. just kidding

This place is just like any social setting: all types are here. this is a good, solid thing. for perspective, for vibrancy. a lot of people cannot understand why anyone would jump out of school at the last semester. high schools want graduates; they will help you. maybe try a different school. it's not like me and dropped out in 9th grade, and then in 10th grade. and then in 11th. finally moved to Arkansas from Washington to finish my school, though i had to take summer school and two correspondence courses in order just to procure a statement--an allocution--saying i didnt give up. not that i cared what others thought about me but rather i wanted to know that i went through with it. maybe school isnt a goal that WE set out to procure on our own, as family kind of pushes us toward it (if the family loves you, at all), but we do set our own limits and desires. why not try to figure out what you are willing to take and still complete what you started. it's more for you than anyone else, my opinion.

robert's right, that there are a number of special programs here, even for writers and filmmakers. take advantage of them. why not ? as for going off the handle and getting too emotional too quickly, dont sweat the small stuff: being a writer or a director, you need a little humility, a thick skin. it comes with the for of art. dont take everything so seriously. sometimes, it's just wit being thrown around, for fun love and a few laughs. i took some heavy hits when I joined the cult. you get out of it what you put into it. don’t be so quick to give up. robert’s right: there are some very good people here. most of them, for that matter. and that certainly includes nathanial (karb)

as for the pun ... it was a joke because cuck's new novel is titled Rant and that novel has gotten a whole lot of attention lately. will release in about four weeks.

anyway, welcome to the cult. look around.
kabol

[right].[/right][/QUOTE]

Ah, can't believe I forgot about Rant. As you can tell, I'm relatively new to the author himself besides Fight Club the movie.

When I called forums a waste of time I hope it didn't come off as just a bash of this forum or just an unwillingness to interact. It's just that forums are a representation of time spent on the internet among people who are also on the internet, as opposed to actually participating in life.

I actually just finished all my G.E.D. tests, so at least I'll be able to go to college. Part of my lack of initiative has been a lack of real direction. I used to have a lot of ideas for potential careers, but I never really figured out what I wanted to do. There were other reasons I left private school too though. There were financial issues. I've got three brothers whom my parents also feel highly obligated to give Christian schooling, which is really a pretty good idea.

I also hope I don't come off as an emotional nut case. I'm really just an average guy who tries to think things through as reasonably as I can, and when people seem irrational, it bothers me a little more than it should.

For now I won't run away from this forum like a little girl. Apparently I reacted too quickly too personally to the first comments I got. I don't spend a lot of time on forums for the same reason I don't socialize a lot in real life. I guess I can't take a little heat. But trust me. I'm normally very patient with people. It was just a little jarring at first. I'll keep on for now. At the least maybe this place will get me writing again.

[QUOTE=JKabol;948100]as for the pun ... it was a joke because cuck's new novel is titled Rant and that novel has gotten a whole lot of attention lately. will release in about four weeks.[right].[/right][/QUOTE]

Ahahah... he said "Cuck." What a dillhole.

oh. youre still here :gives: ...

all's good, brother. a GED is great, a very useful way to get into college. my problem with high school was the constant gang activity that i unknowingly gravitated toward. if id stayed in tactown (tacoma, wa.), who knows where id be today. a janitor, maybe selling crack. maybe not. whatever.

yeah, this place has the best format for writing, especially striving new shining attempting writers. a great way to polish yourself, with time and hard work. and thick skin (a part of the hard-working clause). when i started writing, i never knew i had an aptitude for it. my own school transcripts never once suggested it. makes me believe that anyone can be a wordsworth. with effort and discipline. ive been at it since jan of oh-four and i still dont know what im doing. but even great writers like will baer and craig clevenger will tell you that when you begin your career, the first thing you need to know is that you dont know what youre doing. period. learn as you go along and feel through the dark. and read your ass off. everything that youre not, read it. and never forget to read for enjoyment.

as for the community, remember that what connects us all is that most of us are pretty well read. ive not met many people here who have not read all of chucks books, even though it is so very seldom that we even talk about the man himself. a great novel i read at the first of this month was The Road by Cormac McCarthy, a fucking fantastic short novel that was just optioned by Oprah's book club so there are inexpensive paperbacks everywhere.. cop a copy when you can, to see what badass lit can really be. ive seen words by a few authors whove found the work speechless. as for chuck, i love to the bone marrow the novels Survivor and Invisible Monsters, but all of his work fascinates me, to pieces.. fun reading.

when time allows, you may find yourself searching out craig clevenger and will christopher baer and stephen grahm jones. maybe even mark richard and amy hempel. denis johnson, so many more... you'll find that most of us are connected via wit and lit. remember, a forum is just another form of communicating. a number of us have gone out of our way to meet and hang out with one another, cause the forums just werent enough. i have not met a cultist that has no life. Robert is probably one of the coolest cats ive ever met, christ and ethan are very close. though we met via the cult, online, the world is too small. ill know ethan til the day i die, even if we dont converse regularly. there are good people here. welcome to the community. look around. read the existing threads, especially keeping a keen eye out for the classic threads--theyre priceless..
kabol

[right].[/right]

[QUOTE=Jill's Tit;948108]Ahahah... he said "Cuck." What a dillhole. :D[/QUOTE]:eek: id prefer if youd keep your dill outta my hole, thank you

[QUOTE=JKabol;948111]:eek: id prefer if youd keep your dill outta my hole, thank you

;)[/QUOTE]

Pshhh, your hole is so cavernous, I wouldn't wanna stick my dill in it anyway.

Last night was like throwing a sausage down a well.

A VERY CAVERNOUS WELL.

[QUOTE=JKabol;948109]oh. youre still here :gives: ...

all's good, brother. a GED is great, a very useful way to get into college. my problem with high school was the constant gang activity that i unknowingly gravitated toward. if id stayed in tactown (tacoma, wa.), who knows where id be today. a janitor, maybe selling crack. maybe not. whatever.

yeah, this place has the best format for writing, especially striving new shining attempting writers. a great way to polish yourself, with time and hard work. and thick skin (a part of the hard-working clause). when i started writing, i never knew i had an aptitude for it. my own school transcripts never once suggested it. makes me believe that anyone can be a wordsworth. with effort and discipline. ive been at it since jan of oh-four and i still dont know what im doing. but even great writers like will baer and craig clevenger will tell you that when you begin your career, the first thing you need to know is that you dont know what youre doing. period. learn as you go along and feel through the dark. and read your ass off. everything that youre not, read it. and never forget to read for enjoyment.

as for the community, remember that what connects us all is that most of us are pretty well read. ive not met many people here who have not read all of chucks books, even though it is so very seldom that we even talk about the man himself. a great novel i read at the first of this month was The Road by Cormac McCarthy, a fucking fantastic short novel that was just optioned by Oprah's book club so there are inexpensive paperbacks everywhere.. cop a copy when you can, to see what badass lit can really be. ive seen words by a few authors whove found the work speechless. as for chuck, i love to the bone marrow the novels Survivor and Invisible Monsters, but all of his work fascinates me, to pieces.. fun reading.

when time allows, you may find yourself searching out craig clevenger and will christopher baer and stephen grahm jones. maybe even mark richard and amy hempel. denis johnson, so many more... you'll find that most of us are connected via wit and lit. remember, a forum is just another form of communicating. a number of us have gone out of our way to meet and hang out with one another, cause the forums just werent enough. i have not met a cultist that has no life. Robert is probably one of the coolest cats ive ever met, christ and ethan are very close. though we met via the cult, online, the world is too small. ill know ethan til the day i die, even if we dont converse regularly. there are good people here. welcome to the community. look around. read the existing threads, especially keeping a keen eye out for the classic threads--theyre priceless..
kabol

[right].[/right][/QUOTE]

Thanks for the words. I'll keep em in mind.

Ok, lets try this again I made a small joke about Rant and ended up offending you, sorry, next time I will go to bed instead of posting at 4 in the morning.

Welcome (waves olive branch).

Ya, me too. Sorry dude. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or put you off. I am a very school oriented person, and to me, becoming a self enlightened philosopher requires at least a high school diploma. After reading what your school was like, it sounds like a drag. I apologize. I don't want to cause trouble for someone new. Daley is right. Don't listen to me.

*also waves olive branch tied to a white flag*

Welcome!

I wasn't hazing you i just read your bit and thought this guys an ass, which doesn't really mean anything, i guess your pretty sensitive.

Good advice:

Whatever you do, don't spend time and energy trying to defend your past posts. It will lead you nowhere.

Don't accuse people here of being "narrow-minded," "ignorant" or "arrogant." People will assume that you are all those things.

Avoid getting upset because the people here don't seem to like you. It's not that we don't like you, it's that you're taking things too literally, too seriously or without a sense of irony.

When people appear to be ganging up on you, don't try to "take them all on." It's not a battle, so don't bait people by being obnoxious.

Don't condescend without making it funny.

Have some lobster.

Well hey, I don't mean to be a problem here. I don't like to think of myself as sensitive really, but heck, maybe I am. Anyways, no big deal. Let's just forget about this and move on. Text can breed misunderstanding and that's why I've always felt it's better to talk to people in person if you're gonna at all. So I'm not gonna be much of a regular here or anything, but if I happen to write anything, sure, I'll drop by and get some feedback.

It's fine, you need thick skin to be a regular. We have some moronic newcomer appear on the forums every once in a while who'll take everything so personally that they become everyone's victims, simply because their behaviour begs for it. You seem smart, so post smart. Most new members never post again after they realize that other users aren't going to kiss their ass forever. It's nothing personal.

[QUOTE=LeHaHi;948174]becoming a self enlightened philosopher requires at least a high school diploma.[/QUOTE]

So I'm not allowed to philosophize because I didn't want to go to school?

[QUOTE=Nightrious;948291]So I'm not allowed to philosophize because I didn't want to go to school?[/QUOTE]

uhg. No...that's not what I mean. Like Nate said, [I]usually,[/I] if you drop out of school, that's a pretty dumb thing to do, but there are cases where sometimes you need to, like this guy. Anyone can philosophize. But if you didn't go to school, people might not take you seriously. You know how I feel about school. Of course, there probably are plenty of great philosophers who dropped out of high school. I just don't think it's a good move. Sorry.

Well put.

welcome.

yeah thats what i meant too.

I can respect how difficult it is to get through high school with many challenges. I dropped out in the 10th grade and then moved out of the house. I decided to go back for my junior year and then started taking night classes to catch up. I was able to stick it out and graduate but I am glad I did & with my class.

Of course, I don't really talk to any of those people any more. Contrary to what many counselors said at the time, high school wasn't the best 4 years of my life. I cried tears of joy when I walked the stage. I've never been so happy to have something behind me.

I know what you mean synnove; I've got six weeks left now, and it's been hard as hell making it through, especially this last year.

I was quite pleased to get out of there too, a friend from then found me recently and shared that she felt like we'd all been on a raft together and then split apart, and i really didn't get that and kind of thought maybe she's you know unstable now. I've had way more eventful four year stretches than that one.

Grade school was much better for me. I was the genius kid then. They called me "rocket scientist." A lot's changed since then. There were no cliques. Then high school came and the subcultures began. I never liked them. All my friends ditched me for them. I made a few new friends, but I never really integrated into a group. There's always an outsider or two in each class setting I think. I just happened to be the one for this generation.

From what I'm hearing though, it gets better later if you "hang in there."

I know a lot of people who finished school and couldn't be trusted to philosophize their way out of an empty bag. Like this one guy in my class, who made me read his poem about whether this glass was half empty or half full and the ending was pretty much, 'There is no fucking glass get on with it'. Naff!

[QUOTE=chimney scott;948335]I know what you mean synnove; I've got six weeks left now, and it's been hard as hell making it through, especially this last year.[/QUOTE]

gee, Chiminey I always thought you were older since you are considering moving abroad to study, fair play to you, at least you dont have to be 21 to drink in Ireland.

[QUOTE=188416;948417]I know a lot of people who finished school and couldn't be trusted to philosophize their way out of an empty bag. Like this one guy in my class, who made me read his poem about whether this glass was half empty or half full and the ending was pretty much, 'There is no fucking glass get on with it'. Naff![/QUOTE]
philosophers are nothing but know-it-alls anyway.

<-----graduated at nineteen and a half years of age. i was not and still to this day am not a social creature. I was the dumbest kid. intellectually, a late bloomer. ill bloom any day now. my mom said so

kabol

[QUOTE=Crow;948320]Well put.[/QUOTE]
Depends on what "philosophizing" means. If you mean sitting around and thinking about life, then yes, anyone can philosophize. But if you want to read and comment critically on the works and thoughts of other philosophers, add your own thoughts, write your own treatises, familiarize yourself with obscure concepts like negation, the Absolute, alienation, relation, transcendence, categorization, intellectualism, anti-essentialism, and many others, then you're better off spending as much time as possible in the classroom. It will make your life far easier and more enjoyable.
Don't bother calling yourself a philosopher. The term has many connotations, some of them negative. Students of philosophy don't necessarily call themselves philosophers and will ridicule you for it, and most other people will just think you're pretentious. Stick to being a "thinker", it's far less controversial and probably more accurate.