quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
“Everyone says that they need a friend like Sam, but they forget that they should try to be like Sam”.

Sam was the true hero of the entire series. Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf, and the rest were pussies in comparison.

Sam should wear a Trident, Green Beret, and a Winged Dagger.

The feeling that best describes my mood is total disappointment.
It makes me sick to watch how our society of sheep has been so "dumbed down" in every area.
It saddens me to see what is happening now and how things will fail in the future as every thing now is being handed over to the younger generations and what they are doing with that power.
It sure won't be a rainbow world for them or there children. They won't see the light till they are under Chinese control.

I try to maintain my perspective by copious reading of SIGforum.

News? SIGforum.
Guns? SIGforum.
Glocks? SIGforum.
Cats? SIGforum.
Photography? SIGforum.

I also reject the reality foisted on me by the media and I replace it with the reality of SIGforum.

Am I being insular? Perhaps, but I'd rather that than by into the horseshit being peddled bu the media.

Watch some video of the Ukrainians standing in front of incoming tanks. Simply inspiration.

In times when I am apt to despiar, I find that remembering the teachings of Joseph Campbell helps.

He said "Find a place where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain."

But, more importantly, this:

The warrior’s approach
is to say “yes” to life:
“yea” to it all.

Participate joyfully
in the sorrows of the world.

We cannot cure the world of sorrows,
but we can choose to live in joy.

When we talk about
settling the world’s problems,
we’re barking up the wrong tree.

The world is perfect. It’s a mess.
It has always been a mess.

We are not going to change it.

Our job is to straighten out
our own lives

^^^

I do my best to keep my stuff straight.

Then I help those around me that are trying to keep theirs straight.

I am not about wandering around looking to straighten out the mess of anyone not working on their own. I'll help where I can, but I am not doing it for someone who won't do for themselves. (unable to do, is an exception).

The universe does not care if I am happy or sad, so I'm gonna be happy, since the universe does not care, it will not interfere. If I am sad, the universe won't even hand me a box of tissues. So what good does any sadness do, the mess is still gonna be the mess.

quote:

Sam was the true hero of the entire series. Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf, and the rest were pussies in comparison.

Sam should wear a Trident, Green Beret, and a Winged Dagger.

I actually think Sam and Bilbo (young Bilbo) had a lot of the same character qualities. But - no doubt that Frodo was a wuss.

Maybe, it's because of what has happened to my personal life but I've come around to believe that every cloud does have a silver lining.

Covid was a bad thing but as a result, parents started to see the indoctrination their children was undergoing. People who may have been neutral got to see the ridiculousness of mask mandates, vaccine mandates, etc.

Russia invading Ukraine is a bad thing. But, now, Germany and other European countries seeing as how America doesn't have a leader to lead the free world has stepped up. Americans may start thinking maybe shutting down US fossil fuel production may not be such a good thing after all. People are seeing in the Ukranians what it is like to love freedom and be willing to die for it. It's a good wake-up call that we may be faced with that decision one day in the face of domestic tyranny. The anti-gunners are seeing it's a good thing for civilians to have guns, even automatic weapons issued by the government.
The situation is still on the cusp and can go either way between better or worse but, at least, the world has the chance to be better.

Trump losing re-election was a bad thing. But, even setting aside that the current situation wouldn't have happened if he was re-elected, would you imagine how much more flack and shit-slinging he would have had to endure with year two of Covid, high inflation, any hiccups in the Afghanistan withdrawal, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine? Now, people would have to be deaf, dumb, blind, or dead to not know the shit show they allowed by having Biden and Kamala in the White House.

This too shall end, and it will get better.

Putin has reportedly sent 400 mercenaries to kill the Ukrainian President. What would it cost to put a bounty on Putin?

That is your contribution to this thread?

A couple of things have helped keep me sane over the last couple of years: I stopped watching/reading the news, dumped social media, and delete most of the articles and videos people send me. I know folks mean well, but my reservoir of outrage is completely dried up.

Any news worth knowing I learn about on Sigforum or hear about from my kids.

Trump's fault.

My father told me the other day, he asked his wife (a democrat) how she liked the gas prices? She replied that they're Trump's fault.

This is an otherwise smart woman.

It goes to show you that even if you beat people over the head with reality, they refuse to see it.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:
This is an otherwise smart woman.

I wouldn't count on that.

Can you be completely detached from reality when it comes to politics and still be considered intelligent?

I ask this with sincerity because cas’s situation is nearly identical to a family member of mine.

Yes that's the really scary part. If she were some low IQ dullard it would be understandable, almost excusable.

All the joy has left this country.
It sure does seem like it, I haven’t had much spring in my step since the beginning of COVID leading to so many follow-on disasters.

Maybe things will turn around.
I shot sporting clays for the first time and now go just about every weekend.
That has brought a bit of joy back into my life.

Laughed for the first time in a long time this evening when Greg Kelly played this clip.
We have joyful times we can think back on.

For the first time in my life I am happy oil is skyrocketing (the higher it goes, the more money I make). My 401K choices I made last year are giving me record performance and may allow me to retire early if it lasts through this year. Nothing really bothers me when I can finally see retirement as a reality in the near future.

Now, I may die before then or I could lose all my money, but for now I am not bothered by the world events. I probably have only 20 years of good life left and I am going to enjoy it as much as I can. I am not worried about things out of my control, I will manipulate those in my control and be as happy as I can until I die. I hope the same for the rest here, life is too short and the older I get the more people I know that are passing. Live while you can.

There is certainly a malaise on the land, but there are a few hopeful signs. Many of the totally over the top covid-19 restrictions and other nonsense are beginning to go away. That's good and will help. I'm hopeful that a decisive Republican victory will put the brakes on some of Biden's destructive policies. If there is a decisive victory, it's not going to result in a 180 degree turn around, but it should slow the descent into hell that Biden seems to be determined to take us.

As for me personally, I do find myself sometimes too sucked into the events of the world and I allow it affect my mood. So of late I have made an effort to pay more attention to other things. My children and grandchildren (all 6 of them) are doing well, so I focus on that. When your family is doing well, life is always good.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
“Everyone says that they need a friend like Sam, but they forget that they should try to be like Sam”.

Redstone, Damn. It’s so interesting that you would post that LOTR clip just now. Minutes ago I having a conversation with my mom about how friendships like Sam and Frodo don’t actually exist. The timing is just incredible.

This is one of my favorite moments in any movie. Tolkien's words ring true today as they did a generation ago.