[Narz]

Is no one else happy about what's going on right now?

This economic crisis is going to transform the American culture for the better. It is inevitable.

Peak urban/suburban sprawl is coming. Peak WalMart will soon follow peak miles-driven-per-year. Smaller houses. Tighter communities. "Trash" turned into treasure. In the meantime we have a few extra years to rack our brains for holistic solutions to peak oil. Without challenge, man cannot truly be alive.

The only wild card are the viability of alternative energies & climate change.

When I first started posting here I was frightened. Now I'm two years older, have an infant daughter & financially, little to show for my travels & various jobs (but more experience & self-knowledge). I feel like I've turned a corner in the last few months, it's hard to explain but I feel it. I'm getting in touch with my inner confidence that 29 years of BS from the world hasn't been able to squash.

While some folks hunker in their bunkers, others will prosper (in all senses of the word). I plan to be one of them.

One thing I've noticed about the doomers over two years is that they are notoriously bad at making predictions. Timing is an essential art. Those who read the "news" are getting in touch with selected partially-truth about yesterday & using it to obsess about tomorrow. But when you're not in touch with the here & now how could you possibly know what's coming tomorrow (especially if your filter is tightly pulled down over your senses & you only allow yourself information that supports what you most fear and/or desire)? Lack of a good sense of timing shows lack of wide perspective/knowledge & lack of presence.

Mankind (in the 1st world) is like a numbed out teenager who finally has to leave home & realizes the world is more difficult & more beautiful than he ever imagined. I only have direct experience with the 1980's, 1990's and this decade. I believe that the years to come will be much more rewarding that today. Mental illness will decrease overall, though many, without their drugs of choice (TV, $1 bacon-cheeseburgers, cheap booze, etc.) will suffer immensely & not be ready for what's to come. Many people will not rise to the occasion but the ones that will will remake the world.

Fuck movies about the "NWO" with their creepy music. Fuck Alex Jones. Fuck Roccman & Matt Savinar arguing over who gets to sleep on the top bunk of the bunker. Fuck "OMG, this is it!" threads. Fuck complaining about the latest trends is waste & dedidance. And fuck political masturbation. There are more important things than who's president. Like the way you think, what you do to keep yourself well whatever the winds may bring (or however high the tides may flood), how you treat your loved ones.

On a long enough time scale we're all "doomed". So might as well enjoy life. I think alot of people get addicted to these forums because they want to feel that sense of aliveness, excitement, being on the edge of death that we all need (especially men). There are better ways than masturbating to doomer porn. Go get a runner's high. Go help out in your community. Plant a garden, etc. (if I don't have one by next Spring that I commit to & stay with until harvest time I request to be banned from these forums for life).

Whether you think the NWO or big business or the oil magnates are the most powerful forces on Earth, you're wrong. There is something else. Call it "God" or "the Holy Spirit" or call it something more atheistic if you prefer but it's there. And it's not random. Random doesn't exist. Some might call the universe neutral to our intentions, uncaring whether we live or die. I have claimed this many times, deeming it a beautiful & pure thing. Maybe I was right, maybe it's true. But I'm not sure. Sometimes I feel very lucky.

Post here if you're not scared.

[Ludi]

I'm generally not able to whip up much actual fear in myself over anything. I'm concerned about the present and the future, but not really "scared" if that makes sense.

[jasonraymondson]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Narz', 'I')s no one else happy about what's going on right now? This economic crisis is going to transform the American culture for the better. It is inevitable.

Peak urban/suburban sprawl is coming. Peak WalMart will soon follow peak miles-driven-per-year. Smaller houses. Tighter communities. "Trash" turned into treasure. In the meantime we have a few extra years to rack our brains for holistic solutions to peak oil. Without challenge, man cannot truly be alive. The only wild card are the viability of alternative energies & climate change.

When I first started posting here I was frightened. Now I'm two years older, have an infant daughter & financially, little to show for my travels & various jobs (but more experience & self-knowledge). I feel like I've turned a corner in the last few months, it's hard to explain but I feel it. I'm getting in touch with my inner confidence that 29 years of BS from the world hasn't been able to squash.

While some folks hunker in their bunkers, others will prosper (in all senses of the word). I plan to be one of them.

One thing I've noticed about the doomers over two years is that they are notoriously bad at making predictions. Timing is an essential art. Those who read the "news" are getting in touch with selected partially-truth about yesterday & using it to obsess about tomorrow. But when you're not in touch with the here & now how could you possibly know what's coming tomorrow (especially if your filter is tightly pulled down over your senses & you only allow yourself information that supports what you most fear and/or desire)? Lack of a good sense of timing shows lack of wide perspective/knowledge & lack of presence.

Mankind (in the 1st world) is like a numbed out teenager who finally has to leave home & realizes the world is more difficult & more beautiful than he ever imagined. I only have direct experience with the 1980's, 1990's and this decade. I believe that the years to come will be much more rewarding that today. Mental illness will decrease overall, though many, without their drugs of choice (TV, $1 bacon-cheeseburgers, cheap booze, etc.) will suffer immensely & not be ready for what's to come. Many people will not rise to the occasion but the ones that will will remake the world.

Fark movies about the "NWO" with their creepy music. Fark Alex Jones. Fark Roccman & Matt Savinar arguing over who gets to sleep on the top bunk of the bunker. Fark "OMG, this is it!" threads. Fark complaining about the latest trends is waste & dedidance. And Fark political masturbation. There are more important things than who's president. Like the way you think, what you do to keep yourself well whatever the winds may bring (or however high the tides may flood), how you treat your loved ones.

On a long enough time scale we're all "doomed." So might as well enjoy life. I think alot of people get addicted to these forums because they want to feel that sense of aliveness, excitement, being on the edge of death that we all need (especially men). There are better ways than masturbating to doomer porn. Go get a runner's high. Go help out in your community. Plant a garden, etc. (if I don't have one by next Spring that I commit to & stay with until harvest time I request to be banned from these forums for life).

Whether you think the NWO or big business or the oil magnates are the most powerful forces on Earth, you're wrong. There is something else. Call it "God" or "the Holy Spirit" or call it something more atheistic if you prefer but it's there. And it's not random. Random doesn't exist. Some might call the universe neutral to our intentions, uncaring whether we live or die. I have claimed this many times, deeming it a beautiful & pure thing. Maybe I was right, maybe it's true. But I'm not sure. Sometimes I feel very lucky.
Post here if you're not scared.

[mercurygirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Narz', 'P')ost here if you're not scared.

[Loki]

An interesting perspective, Narz. Are you sure you're on the right forum? www.rainbowsandpuppydogtails.com is thata way --->

Seriously, I think you're right about the (mostly) positive changes that American society might undergo as a response to the changing economic environment. I don't think these are a given, but it's certainly within the realm of possibility that we'll see declining sprawl, closer-knit families, less combustion of fossil fuels, a lessening of population pressures, more living within our means, etc. I doubt very much there will be less alcoholism or drug abuse (see Russia's example), but that's a minor quibble.

So it may be that American culture will be positively affected. What worries me more than the "collective" (over which I have zero control) is my own personal fate. I am a selfish American after all, and ain't no one else looking out for my sorry ass. I was out of work much of last year, and it was very stressful. The job market sucked then, and it's only gotten worse. I already grow a garden, I already work in my community, but none of that will mean squat if I get evicted because I can't pay the rent.

I'm also not looking terribly forward to a decline in my already meager lifestyle. My only options at this point would be to sell my 20 year old truck (thereby limiting my employment and education options) and to have to move out of my <500sf apt and get roommates. The latter would definitely suck---my last roommates stole change from me and regularly woke me up at 3 in the morning when I had to be at work at 8am. Don't mind giving up internet, or driving less, or no longer eating out, but roommates....ach, fate worse than death.

Just a douse of reality on your sunshine. There now, don't you feel better?

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Narz', ' ')Fark Roccman & Matt Savinar arguing over who gets to sleep on the top bunk of the bunker.

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Narz', '.')..There is something else. Call it "God" or "the Holy Spirit" or call it something more atheistic if you prefer but it's there. And it's not random. Random doesn't exist.

[Narz]

Loki, do you have any family or friends you could team up with?

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mercurygirl', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Narz', 'P')ost here if you're not scared.

[Loki]

The universe is certainly not random. It may have some randomness to it, or it may just be too complex for humans to understand. But completely random....no.

Doesn't mean what we call 'Mother Nature' gives two shiites about us, though. Our personal suffering means nothing to the universe. We are the ant underfoot.

All the more reason to live it up while we can, I suppose.

Narz, yes, I have family I could turn to. But my family is fairly small and almost all blue collar----should the SHTF, they'd probably be in as much trouble as me.

[Narz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Loki', 'T')he universe is certainly not random. It may have some randomness to it, or it may just be too complex for humans to understand. But completely random....no.

Doesn't mean what we call 'Mother Nature' gives two shiites about us, though. Our personal suffering means nothing to the universe. We are the ant underfoot.

[Loki]

The only point of my ant underfoot metaphor is to suggest that it's rather foolish to rely on God, Mother Nature, or anything else to provide for you. The gods don't give a shit about you---your survival is your own problem. Ain't no Big Nanny up in the sky gonna take care of anyone---just ask the factory farmed chicken how well Mother Nature is taking care of her.

Yes, an economic meltdown may bring me closer to my family. That may very well have a net benefit, I don't know yet. But living with my mother, and my uncle, and my aunt, and my cousins, and all their kids, well, honestly, that don't appeal all that much. Just don't. Nothing against any of them, but put two bugs in a bottle and shake it up real good, and you're gonna have a fight. Besides, I'm a loner. Always have been. Always will be.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'G')enerally the materialistic view of "living it up" is generally pretty depressing deep down (hard liquor, hookers, fancy electronics, etc.).

[Bigfoot3814]

Well glad to know you're not as much of a tinfoil head as some other people 'round here Narz.

I'm about to get a little bit Dr. Phil up in this mother, so just bear with me...

I'll definitely agree with you when you say that the economic crisis, which I happen to be rooting for right now, will affect American culture for the better. Call it 'tough love', but what we're looking at right now is a society that for the most part has never really been made to suffer in any way. Take a look at PETA's latest ad campaign.

http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/2497 ... usttd6.jpg

Here's a group of people who have no idea what the hell it means to go through hard times, and I think all of them and all of us could use a good smack in the head.

People are going to extreme political and financial lengths for the sake of preserving THE LIFESTYLE TO WHICH THEY'RE ACCUSTOMED. Now I don't know about you people, but I don't look around at the nice things that I have and think about what's going to happen to me if they weren't there anymore. I'm still me whether I'm here or jumping trains.

Do yourself a favor and have some faith in yourself and believe that humanity wants to go on! I'm talking to you about the only person you control, and that's you. Get some guts! We're gonna be tough and we're gonna get through it and come out better than we went in.

I'm 17 years old, people. Let me at it! I'm not scared!

[HEADER_RACK]

Oh I'm ecstatic over the fall and am looking forward to it. I have no doubt that we as people will come out of this a lot better than we went in. Problem is most people don't start to move up until they have hit absolute rock bottom. Look at any alcoholic or drug addict for an example and really that's what most of this society is, addicts of one thing or another.
I don't prep for the days of society climbing it's way back up to be better than it was. I prep for the days it slides down to rock bottom and stays there for awhile before it picks itself back up, and we have a long way to go before we hit rock bottom.

[wisconsin_cur]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('HEADER_RACK', 'O')h I'm ecstatic over the fall and am looking forward to it. I have no doubt that we as people will come out of this a lot better than we went in. Problem is most people don't start to move up until they have hit absolute rock bottom. Look at any alcoholic or drug addict for an example and really that's what most of this society is, addicts of one thing or another.
I don't prep for the days of society climbing it's way back up to be better than it was. I prep for the days it slides down to rock bottom and stays there for awhile before it picks itself back up, and we have a long way to go before we hit rock bottom.

[Narz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Loki', 'T')he only point of my ant underfoot metaphor is to suggest that it's rather foolish to rely on God, Mother Nature, or anything else to provide for you.

[Narz]

BTW, Bigfoot, another reason I believe this financial crash will be/is a good thing is that it will damage the meat industry.

If Obama or McCain cut out their (the meat & dairy industries) massive subsides we'd really see some positive change (ecologically, morally & health wise). For that alone I'd vote for Ron Paul over either Obama or McCain.

Anyway, here's the frst PETA ad I've ever liked (even though Jenna Jameson isn't particularly my cup of tea) :

[mercurygirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')ature is complete because it does not serve itself.

[Narz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shannymara', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Narz', 'A')nd condoms can (and do) break. It's possible I have an almost ten year old son from a particular NYC escort (I asked her if she was on birth control & she said no, I couldn't believe it, maybe I was her first trick).

[wisconsin_cur]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mercurygirl', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')ature is complete because it does not serve itself.

[Bigfoot3814]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Narz', 'B')TW, Bigfoot, another reason I believe this financial crash will be/is a good thing is that it will damage the meat industry.