Do you suffer INTELLECTUAL STARVATION? (page 5)

eclipse

I'm prejudiced against needlepoint because I was a custom picture framer for many years and absolutely despised framing them as gifts.
Watching people count the rows with a toothpick made my spleen hurt. I'm reactionary when it comes to OCD!
But, yes--it relaxes people and gives them an outlet of sorts.
But, do I really have to like it??
I think crocheting is more productive of "useful" creations.
If somebody gave me a needlepoint of "Footprints" I'd have to stifle the urge to drag them into a closet and put a plastic bag over their head.
Maybe I need to eat more ice cream!

I hope you are not mad at me for wanting to give you a hug lol I think that is the funniest thing you have written about yourself... cog is right, that poem is barfable! cog (and yes, I like to dance around with my smilies all over my posts! ) I agree that we should not be spendthrift or stagnant with our intellect, but having hobbies that we enjoy is what life is about! There are so many types of people with different personalities... I think we should be more accepting of their differences and just live and let live. I was joking about JWd being a useless passtime, I do not think it is either...I have learned so much from being here from so many people... Thank you for another provactive thread that makes one think!

compound complex

Dear Friends,

These responses have been incredibly beneficial to me - especially those acknowledging the necessity of respite for our ever-churning, -mulling brains. Yet the quest for knowledge and sharing it with others [here we are - doing just that] continues to burn within us.
It's clear to me that we're talking far more than mere intellectual pursuits; the heart and soul and love of the posters on JWD rises so nobly above the simple complexities of the brain. Knowledge puffs up, love builds up.
Each of us finds his or her own path. Ain't it grand, though, that during our trek on today's information highway - in whatever form we find said information - our individual paths so frequently cross?

Thank you Terry!

CoCo

BizzyBee

I think of JWD as a moveable smorgasboard of conversations. But beware! As the old saying goes:

"People with small minds talk about other people. People with average minds talk about events. People with great minds talk about ideas."

hillary_step

I was walking through our local Mall yesterday and happened upon an amateur fashion show. It was a rather dismal affair with fourteen year old models, most with their calves blotched by mosquito stings, strutting awkwardly to the sound of some of the most awful music that I have ever heard. Three or four people and the models mothers were milling around hoping for something to happen that would break the embarrasment in half. No such luck.

As the music changed from bad to worse even the PA seemed to be weeping with shame and crackled fiendishly, I noticed the lyrics of song being repeated again and again. I always thought John Denver wrote some of the worst lines in the songwriters domain. Lets face it, "Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy" is hardly Steinbeck, but no, he has been bettered in a worse sort of way. This songs main hook was repetition of the line :

"What I like about you is the way you dance". Oh God.

What has to do with the thread. I am not sure, but I needed to write this anyway. Thanks for the opportunity Terry.

By the way Terry, should your question not have read :

"Do you suffer INTELLECTUAL STARVATION you lazy Wanker?" ;)

HS

Open mind

Great thread Terry and everyone who's contributed!

I think I'm going to change my name to Forrest Gump.

JWD is like a box of chocolates....

Forrest Gump is how I feel intellectually a lot of times. I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer (for one thing, I'm always talking in cliches, analogies & metaphors ) but I love the journey! Living, loving & learning along the way. (Seeker4, I want your job!! ;-) )

I'd like to take a quick moment to pay a compliment to Tyrone. That was the best piece I've read by you yet!! (If you feel you've got better, please PM me and point me to the threads.)

And I'd like to respond to a couple statements you made, Tyrone. You said:

"Honestly, can anyone say they are happy, or even satisfied?"

also,

"I have often felt that the elimination of pain in the world should be one of the objectives of the human race. Anyone would agree that seems a worthy goal, but history has shown pain to be a great teacher."

I'm still wading through a book Nvrgnbk recommended called: "Guns, Germs & Steel, The Fate of Human Societies" by Jared Diamond. It's a pretty matter-of-fact, piece of non-fiction that won a Pullitzer prize. It's an overview of all of human history and pre-history. It's definitely not a work of philosophy or self-help by any means. But as I'm reading through it I can't help but appreciate how freakin' lucky I am compared to the vast majority of humans who have preceded me. I don't even give a thought, on many days, to the nuts and bolts of where my food comes from. Now, granted, people can easily argue that a lot of the freedoms and luxuries I enjoy are at the expense of people living in squallor. And I don't want to de-rail this thread with a discussion of economics and politics. But, for better or worse, I am DAMN LUCKY compared to the vast majority of humanity that's ever lived. I am happy to be able to have the leisure to even consider this question you raised, which I'll repeat now:

"Honestly, can anyone say they are happy, or even satisfied?"

I'm happy to be alive, relatively healthy and living in in a developed country in the 21st Century. Having my basic needs met, though, is certainly not enough. It doesn't satisfy my desire for meaning & purpose (which will probably never be satisfied, to go along with the jist of your post). There are a zillion injustices, questions, etc. that beg to be addressed. And don't get me wrong, I loved your post. I'm not trying to preach at you and say "YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL". I'm not. Honest. This is just what jumped out at me when I read that question.

To everyone else:

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!

*drools on bib. wipes*

Open Mind

MadTiger

Excellent post.

I will use it as a personal reminder.

BizzyBee

"What I like about you is the way you dance". Oh God.
What has to do with the thread. I am not sure, but I needed to write this anyway. Thanks for the opportunity Terry.
By the way, should your question not have read :
"Do you suffer INTELLECTUAL STARVATION you lazy Wanker?" ;)
HS

Perhaps the analogy could be carried a bit further: For what possible reason should a person be starved of nutrition if they are sitting in a kitchen with a well-stocked pantry, full fridge and all the appliances needed to prepare a meal? Can't be bothered to cook? "Just hook me up to an IV, so I can sit here and watch the way you dance."

Lazy wanker.

fedorE

(removed)

Gregor

I think my "stomach" has shrank. In the past I've impressed myself with the number of 700 page historical tomes I have consumed and enjoyed. Recently I bought 3 more that are thick as bricks but have only digested a couple hundred pages of the one I chose to start with and now it has been setting there for a week uncracked, the bookmark sticking out like a tongue giving me the raspberry. The other two await me like distasteful chores I have been putting off. The day I invested almost $90.00 in them I had a terrific appetite. Oh, well, they are not like fresh produce, they will keep until I get my craving back.

Blueblades

No!

Do you suffer INTELLECTUAL STARVATION?

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