Old legend back into fight!
So many times, it happens too fast...you trade your passion for glory. Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past, you must fight just to keep them alive.
Age 43, Male
Software Engineer
Somewhere in Nevada...
Somewhere in California..
Joined on 11/29/05
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Comments
U no it ;-)
Always my favorite blog posts! If you're looking for another book to check out, I recommend Food Fix, which covers a lot of the issues with the current state of our food system. It also lists a lot of resources for places where you can get food delivered from regenerative farms, which might be a good resource right now when the mainstream food delivery services have fewer and fewer open delivery windows.
Adding Food Fix to the queue! Might take me longer to get to it without my commute, but I plan to start listening to audio while working out once my watch arrives.
Awesome artistry as always, though I wouldn't have taken church for the kind of place you'd be doolin' at. Sounds unexpectedly... chill. Nice prints too. Nice prize! Nice printer!! Seems like life overall, covid or no, is pretty nice?
I think Dr. Seuss played a pretty big part in my early authoring aspirations, though I've never really delved into his story... seems like there's always some kind of darkness behind most of the people who make it creatively. At least the ones you read about. The ones who stand out. Intriguing selection overall there, this sharable reading material.
Regarding Mormonism, I actually ran into a Mormon exchange student of sorts on the train a few months back, a dude my age from the US trying to spread the faith here in Sweden; practicing at the local church. He'd only been here a couple months but mastered the language surprisingly well, and spent all his commuting time speaking to people who, I assume, seemed somewhat out of place; possibly susceptible to new beliefs. Admirable discipline. Long story short I now have a translated copy of the Book of Mormon to read through when time allows it.
Hope it's a bit easier reading material than the Bible. but garnering new perspectives on familiar faiths is always fascinating so... yeah. Seemed worth a note here. Y'all are really all over the world now.
Thanks man! Life is pretty good overall. COVID has made my life more chill (no commute, more time with the fam).
Yeah, there are missionaries from the church pretty much everywhere nowadays (except mainland China where it's illegal to preach religion). COVID is making a lot of them have to go home temporarily though. The people, in-general, are very nice, good citizens, happy, etc. Almost in an eerie/too-good-to-be-true way sometimes.
I relate to your meeting with the dude on the train. I served a 2 year mission like that guy, but in Italy. I would talk to people everywhere, on the street, trains, buses, flights, etc. It was a stressful but really important part of my life. He was probably really happy to give you the BoM. Unfortunately, it seems, you might not like it cuz it is A LOT like the Bible. A lot of it is copied directly FROM the Bible!
There are some cool philosophical parts though. If you ever talk to them again, ask them for the "Doctrine and Covenants" though, that's where you start to see more of what makes Mormonism unique. :-)
It's crazy how much talking to natives all day and living in the country will do for one's ability to speak a language!
Same same. It's not all bad after all! Bit worried about interacting with my parents though, 77 y/o, if only there weren't all these risk groups we're all commonly in contact with after all...
Yet I hear Christianity is growing pretty big in China too, it's intriguing how these things work, the harsher the circumstance the more prone to belief people seem to be. Mmm, he was indeed very nice, not overly enthusiastic though, not pushy, maybe he'd adapted a more Scandinavian approach, people generally aren't as expressive over here. :) Not as common to speak to strangers either, but when your American it's acceptable. How did people react during your time in Italy? Do you feel like you managed to bring people into the faith? Seems like a great way to learn overall, about cultures, about people, how to speak and interact and carry yourself.
Ooh, well it seemed a bit shorter at least... the bits I had most trouble getting through in the aforementioned book were the ones with names, entire families and their families and friends and their families... not the easiest reading if, I assume, you're not entirely devoted to it already. I believe this particular dude's back in the US by now, but will do, if I run into any others.
Ah just realized that was probably where you learned all that Italian you mentioned above too? Did you practice beforehand? Any more since? It's definitely so much easier to learn that way. You don't just catch the grammar but mannerisms and everything. Lived a few years in Spanish-speaking countries and it was definitely the same there, even without constant interaction, you catch the nuances in such a different way.
Yeah, we're staying away from my older in-laws... which is not an entirely bad thing... ;-)
Re: China - The human spirit really bucks at oppression and curiosity is a strong pull. I imagine China will go through a religious sprout if communism ever loses its grip. Then they'll descend into the same "pit of scientific despair" the rest of the world is in...
Sounds like a good missionary. I hated the feeling of "desperation" that I got from some missionaries. It took so much courage for me to talk to strangers at first. By the end of the 2 years it was way easier. Probably good for me overall to confront some of that anxiety.
Italians are SUPER friendly, but very NOT interested in changing from Catholicism (as you would imagine with the church HQ being in Rome). Catholicism isn't just a religion there though, it's the culture and legit family members will disown you if you convert to another religion. So converts were really rare (this is typical in Europe, but 10x worse in Italy). I was a little obsessed with conversion numbers on my mission (probably 6-8 people joined that I knew personally), but now I feel a little bad about having pressured people. I wish I would have focused more on relationships and really getting to know the people for who they were, without an ulterior motive in mind. Oh well, even with a bit of regret, I still loved my time there and love the Italian people.
You go to a "Training Center" for 2 months (for foreign language missions) - where you're immersed in the language and the "lessons" you'll be teaching about the church. My wife also served a mission in Italy, so we still speak it as a secret language that our kids don't know. I just read that Italian book I mentioned in my post, so I feel like I've kept it up pretty well overall (esp. considering it's been 20 years!)
Haha well all good when that's possible. :) I currently reside with my parents...
That might be true. There's already a lot of religious awakening behind closed doors supposedly, but maybe not with all social groups/classes. I wonder what happened with their own ones though, Confucianism and Taoism, suddenly it seems everything's forbidden. But the influences must still be there.
Definitely. :)
I can imagine. XD They're pretty expressive too. How common was it to get chased away/shouted out/hit in the head with something? But oh, didn't know it was so deeply ingrained in the family tree too. Though I know they're all religious by nature I somehow imagined Italians might be a bit less strict than other nations with regard to that faith. I get the impression they don't feel as bound by laws or covenants overall, but I guess religion's the one exception then. Their true law and order. Mmm, its a strange balance though, you know anyone who believes intently in something believes it's in everyone's best interest as well to believe the same thing they believe, so even friends and family trying to convert you with your own best interest in mind... it can get a little taxing. I have the most respect for those who work within whatever religion they work in by simply doing good rather than attempting to change people though, and I assume it's the method that has the potential to change people the most as well. When they lead by example, and you see the benefits of a faith first-hand. Anyway good to hear it wasn't all verbal assault and reckoning over there. :)
That's awesome. :) These training centers, do they teach basically all languages out here except for Chinese then? The entire common lingual knowledge of humankind collectively available on home ground?
I never had anyone be super rude/violent, most would just say "not interested" or "I'm running late" or ignore us if they weren't interested.
Oh, Italians, in general, are super lax about PRACTICING Catholicism, they rarely go to church and don't think too much about obeying the commandments etc. It's more of a cultural thing, which is much deeper than just the practice.
I agree, the drive to "help" others see the world the same exact way you see it, to believe and act the same way you behave and act (while it has some social benefits, esp. in certain cases like war/military), overall seems a bit much to me. I used to think it was the most natural thing in the world to want to help others get the same joy you experience, but now I believe each person has their own journey and deserves respect and the space to walk that path according to their own beliefs. I don't need someone else to believe what I believe to make me feel good about my own beliefs (anymore).
Yeah, the training centers teach pretty much every major language (there are some rare obscure ones they don't ofc). They even teach Mandarin and Cantonese because of non-mainland-China locations where those languages are spoken. I have a friend who served Mandarin speaking in Australia for example. But the church is hardly the only organization teaching a big array of languages in the world, but their methods are pretty unique because the content is so mixed with rote memorization of religious phrases/teachings.
Nice people hmm.
That makes sense, though strange that the culture's so deeply tied to Catholicism in particular, not more so whatever cultural habits/references they have linked to it. Anyway...
Well said. I'd hope most people get that perspective after they've come to a certain point in their journey, seems like a great show of progress to realize how different we are, or at least how circumstances lead us to so different outlooks and paths. It's nice to have like-minded people around as a sense of familiarity/belonging, then again even the most polar opposites seem drawn to each other too.
Interesting. There are definitely plenty of institutions centered on the arts of communication out three, but I wonder if even any one country has the same amount of variety... any one smaller country, I should say, like say Sweden. It's fascinating that a private enterprise would have as vast a reach. True too, very different themes...
Wandaboy
bomtoons back into the game biz for one last heist :D
BoMToons
Sometimes that's the way it feels. I really liked the Rick and Morty "heist" episode recently. Also, whenever I get back to working with old friends, this line from Ocean's 11 always comes to mind:
Basher: "Terrific. It'll be nice working with proper villains again."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpqUMtQw8fo