Re: a comment on Or Outward by MacFrantic	MacFrantic 172.190.155.209	9-Apr-06/6:27 PM
Visual rhythm. I didn't want the aesthetics of the poem to be thrown off even a little bit. I had to sacrifice a bit of grammar to do so. Last I checked, intentional grammar flaws aren't frowned upon.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	Dovina 12.72.34.176	9-Apr-06/6:24 PM
Most recently, discussing April Fools's Day.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	zodiac 209.193.18.201	9-Apr-06/6:23 PM
Oh. Okay. Then what have you been doing your last half-dozen posts?
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	Dovina 12.72.34.176	9-Apr-06/6:21 PM
I do not mean to bring spiritual experience into it either. On that I agree with him.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	zodiac 209.193.18.201	9-Apr-06/6:20 PM
Then why not leave him out of this part? He'd be the first to admit that spiritual experience is not his territory, beyond the suggestion that it's probably and most-simply a psychological phenomenon.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	Dovina 12.72.34.176	9-Apr-06/6:19 PM
At least he admits it!
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	Dovina 12.72.34.176	9-Apr-06/6:16 PM
That's his opinion. Mine is that I may consider reasons for our existence beyond our own minds, beyond psychology.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	zodiac 209.193.18.201	9-Apr-06/6:13 PM
Um, I do. Because he's only relevant in the way I've already pointed out. Namely, that asking "why are we here?" is a psychological phenomenon, roughly equivalent with having dreams about possessing a bold black moustache.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	Dovina 12.72.34.176	9-Apr-06/6:11 PM
I grant you permission to ask. But I see no reason to omit his opoinions.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	zodiac 209.193.18.201	9-Apr-06/6:07 PM
Oh. Well I'd like to ask that you don't mention him anymore in this context. He's only relevant in the way I've already pointed out.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	zodiac 209.193.18.201	9-Apr-06/6:06 PM
Don't be silly. I know why I'm in Alaska. I also know (as well as anyone knows) why I'm a human being on the planet Earth in 2006. The desire for "a reason" for existence presumes God. You shouldn't be so surprised at finding God at the end of that goose-hunt.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	ALChemy 24.74.100.11	9-Apr-06/6:02 PM
So we and everything else are here for no good reason. I see. Considering the miserable places you've got yourself into in the last couple years, maybe you should start asking that question. The scorching desert and in subzero Alaska.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	Dovina 12.72.34.176	9-Apr-06/6:02 PM
I did not abuse Occam, I simply mean something different, when I ask, "why are we here?"
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	zodiac 209.193.18.201	9-Apr-06/5:59 PM
NOTE: Occam says the question "why are we here?" is likely just a psychological phenomenon and a result of our explainable, evolutionary, question-asking tendencies. If you're going to abuse Occam, at least abuse him right. Now carry on with your nonsense.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	Dovina 12.72.34.176	9-Apr-06/5:51 PM
I want the poem to march along with the pounding waves, but I don't want it to rhyme. I think rhyming could give it a sing-song sound, not in keeping with a battle. Thanks for the comment though.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	Dovina 12.72.34.176	9-Apr-06/5:41 PM
Now that zodiac has stepped aside, allow me to take up the question, “Why are we here?” which I have asked many times. My childhood answer was simple – because God put us here for His pleasure. Occam says my childhood answer is simple and satisfying, but that it may not be true in view of other answers that science may someday provide. If that is true, there may be no reason for our being here other than the result of nature, however that comes to be known. For me to ask why I am here is like a chicken asking why it is in a cage, provided with all it needs until its timely death. That answer is in the mind of intelligence the chicken cannot comprehend. Likewise, if we are here for a reason, it is beyond our ability to understand, unless our maker decides to tell.
Re: Semaphores from the Chaos by cyan9	zodiac 209.193.18.201	9-Apr-06/4:42 PM
Semaphores.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	zodiac 209.193.18.201	9-Apr-06/4:37 PM
Oh, I see. I've never in my life asked the question "Why are we here?" so I'm probably not the one to talk about this with.
Re: a comment on A Fool's Errand by ALChemy	ALChemy 24.74.100.11	9-Apr-06/3:57 PM
Some folks are stubborn donkeys that just stand there and don't care and others are kicking at the carrot dangler with their hind legs to spite him. I won't name names though.
Re: a comment on The Battle of Fort Bragg by Dovina	Dovina 12.72.34.87	9-Apr-06/3:22 PM
Guess I missed that one. See my comment there.