WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW?

it was an overerection

welcome to middle school

Only now? When you see people trying solely to refute other peoples' statements without bringing in new viewpoints and ideas, you can be sure time is wasted. You can at least enjoy the act of putting people into place, or imagining it so.

That's what happens when you want to "discuss" one single statement. Okay, two. And have someone constraint any discuss to not directly related topics.

First: People shouldn't act like an ass. Offending people and then not truly apologizing.

Second: Don't demean people by using terms as an insult that actually describe a condition some people live in.


However, I don't think that abondoning the terms completely would help at all. I tend to rarely use insults aggressively. I practically only use them when I do not intend to harm someone. It's easier to hurt people with actual statements rather than some cut-off insults.

Would not using these terms change how I treat someone? Or even a group of people?
I still stand by the fact that it should be more important that people learn that just because someone has a special condition, mental or whatever, it does not cut down on him being a person, a great one even. If you treat all groups of persons well, it doesn't matter anymore if you choose a wrong term every now and then.

Intelligence, for example, is both a real factor as well as a completely different perceived value. Even possibly positive values can be negatively applied. And there is a reason especially intelligent children are usuallly only discovered by chance, because the perceived intelligence is "good grades, good behaviour" as opposed to a different thinking pattern and being unchallenged (resulting to similiar problems as overchallanged). But that really wasn't the point now, now was it?

If we can use the terms understanding what they are, we will stray away from many of them naturally, and it also makes it possible to use them without any intended insult. Anyone mentioning dumb here was interpreted as someone insulting and demeaning this person, for example. Which isn't necessarily true, even if it's used like that more often than not.

Hell, I've been treated link a smartass and a dumbass at the same time at school.
Depending on the air and my general condition I can have trouble to form even one sentence, or find simple words whereas I do fairly well despite that and very well when I'm feeling alright. I could just lay down on the table I'm sitting on the other hand most of the time, especially before I started wearing a breathing mask. No matter knowing about it, they still thought I just slept way too little (and asked every single fucking time : D. It's still 10 hours, sorry.)
So some treat me like I'm some kind of genius and know anything and everything and learn anything and everything by glancing over it, and some just think I'm a stupid sleepyhead who can't even think straight.
Still, can't say I'm offended by any of that, because they have no insight into the issues. It's more amusing than anything else.

You can't protect people from wrongly used terms, and you can't protect people from others being an ass. All you can do is help people grow both in giving and taking. It's one thing to insult, and another to be insulted.
Call me cruel, but both parties need to work together. Especially when dealing with difficult issues, you need to be able to be more forgiving, because most people will hit your weaknesses without even noticing or wanting that.
Telling them to not use terms won't help at all, because people want reasons.
Why is exactly this particulary term bad? If that is bad, isn't 80% of other insults bad as well? If 80% is bad, what can they use while being more specific and not using the same ones over and over. And do you honestly think that people think hard about what insults to use when they are angry? They may still end up doing it without thinking even if they know and understand.
I do not believe that even half of these people intend to insult the groups that are implied in the terms they use.
I don't believe in god and I still use "oh my god" and the like just the same, simply as a matter of habit.

You can still be against using the terms, but give at least some credit to the intent behind. A fist without any bad feelings is still a fist in your face, but you shouldn't ignore the motivation completely. It's one great step in terms of understanding if you don't have them.

If you still repeat your same sentiments, then I'll take my leave. I probably will anyway, don't have much more to add to these two statements anyhow. And anything related is derailing, right? ;)

Already mentioned I do it the same way .. but really, people deal with anger in all kinds of ways. And many simply don't. Yes, they should be able to still it, but you know how it goes.

I came here to say that there's a world of difference between calling somebody "dumb" and calling somebody "retarded". When I was in elementary school, "retarded" was used to admonish children in the special needs class who had disabilities like Down's syndrome, or even kids who didn't have learning disabilities like cerebral palsy. That's a pretty low blow if you ask me.

but instead I'll just say SNAP, I think Hotel Valentine is possibly one of Cibo Matto's finest works. It doesn't quite reach the heights of Viva! La Woman, but I really love it. Best album I bought this year.

I choose to skip the part of the denouement where a thousand thousand slimy things step in to act as though the whole conflict was just a sign that people 'care too much'.

as if that's even a thing.

author=Yellow Magic
I didn't like the album very much... :(

I really enjoyed the theme of it, and a few of the lyrics (and Check Out pretty much in its entirety) are the sort of thing I'd like to hang on to and see if they have something interesting in them. the dreamy tone was really nice, too, but that's more or less a given with Cibo Matto.

I will say that Mfn is no Birthday Cake, and Deja Vu isn't quite Sugar Water, but it's been twenty years and I don't feel fair comparing the two like that. it's a damn fine album, and it's fit particularly well with something I'm puzzling out right now, and so I'm happy with it.

I played the flute for a while as a kid - It gets easier to get a sound to come out of it, it's more about the lips/face (called "embouchure") than it is about exact positioning? I'd say. - if you can make a bottle hum/whistle by blowing over the top then you can play the flute (assuming western concert flute, no idea about the wooden/bamboo type, I assume it's pretty similar though).

As for breathing, the usual wisdom, if I recall right is to try "breathing from" the abdomen/diaphragm rather than your chest/rib muscles (this is kinda innacurate because all breathing uses the diaphragm - but it refers more to where you are forcing the air from and how the breath expands your lungs/chest/abdomen). Point being you can store more air for longer if you breathe "abdominally" rather than shallowly.

Also when in doubt; youtube tutorials.

PS - I personally found the ocarina impenetrable, weird hand positions and incoherent notes/tone quality all over the place.

Well, when I said positioning I meant the position of my lips. I just can't quite get it right, when I do produce a sound it seems too... uh, windy or breathy, I suppose you could say. I've only managed to get a very clear, good sound like, two or three times so far.

As for breathing, I really do try to do that, but my body just seems to find abdominal breathing more difficult. Possibly because I'm more used to taking shallower breaths? I suppose I could do some breathing exercises...

Thanks for the advice!
You had a problem with the ocarina's hand positions? The hand positions always seemed fine to me, even when I was first starting out with it. I will admit the higher notes can be a bit.. rough. Though I can agree with you on the notes/tone quality part.

@Linkis I have been looking at YOutube for tutorials and such, They've been my main source of info for blowing into the flute and such.
though I STILL have problems.... rrrrggghhh
also, you talkin about pianotm?

Edit: I think I just probably need to practice more and try to get better breath control. I guess I'll be doing that then. Probably the breath control thing first considering that it's rather hard to find the sweet spot when you're running out of breath every 5 seconds. Though this does raise the question: how come I have no problems with running out of air or getting dizzy/light-headed when I play the ocarina, yet I do with the flute? I understand I need more breath for the flute, but it's such a stark contrast between the two... I can hold a note on the ocarina for a pretty long while, but on the flute I can go maybe... 5 seconds?

author=mawk
I like 'chump', 'chucklefuck', and 'schmendrick' lately. they're all just really, really fun to say.

now I want to watch The Last Unicorn again.

Similar to whistling? No wonder I can't quite get it, I've never been able to whistle. I'll try blowing across a glass bottle later and see how well I do with that, who knows, maybe it'll be good practice!

Also, how long's it been since you played the flute? Do you/can you still play it? Just curious.