If you are a regular reader, you will have noted: No more Iraq ranting, no more USA bashing, no more looking at Iran’s fledgling democracy, no more accusing of Israel, no more support for Palestine. It’s over and out. Burnt out. I’m going down the drain like everybody else. A boorish *ignoramus*, cynical and bitter. It was no use. Think global and act local my ass. I’ve said it before, somewhere. Those who think local and act global have the power to bomb foreign nations they couldn’t even find on a map, and people who read the news are frustrated by the lack of any change. Anger alone will not change the world. But it hurts just the same. So I think I’ll think local and act local. There’s little use in reading the newspapers if all you can do is have it forced down your throat.
I guess I’m glad I don’t have any kids, or I’d feel compelled to fight for a better world for my kids. Since I have none, your kids can have it.
I think I’ve gone full circle: Learning to code, learning about free software, engaging in the perpetual struggle for less copyright and less patents, for FreeCulture, eventually trying to change things in preparation for the World Summit on the Information Society, slowly realizing how futile it was, how I would have to dedicate a life to it, turning away from active Emacs development, being swamped with spam, no longer reading the Emacs newsgroups, no longer reading the Emacs mailing-lists, working less on Oddmuse, no more excitement for social software, reading more books and finally starting to play role-playing games again. Back to homo ludens.
World Summit on the Information Society
Goodbye cruel world. I’m back to *cultiver notre jardin* (Candide).
My first issue of Dungeon magazine arrived today! 😄
#RPG #Life
(Please contact me if you want to remove your comment.)
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Hmmm. Well.. What can I say. It is a depressing state of affairs.
– NoufalIbrahim 2007-03-09 06:00 UTC
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Totally. And there comes a time where even ranting on your blog is no longer good enough. 🙂
– Alex Schroeder 2007-03-09 10:25 UTC
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Oh I dunno. There’s always room for a good rant 🙂
I remember what a friend of mine said, a long time ago: “Emotions are tidal”.
It’s impossible to stay angry all the time, to be happy all the time, to care, all the time. We need to step back emotionally and rediscover the things that make us care, happy, angry or whatever. Ain’t nothing wrong with that, my friend.
Beside which, RPGs are good for the soul 🙂 🙂 🙂
– GreyWulf 2007-03-09 10:34 UTC
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Das klingt ja recht pessimistisch. Das geht sicher wieder vorrueber.
Am Nahen und Mittleren Osten habe ich schon lange das Interesse verloren. Die Fanatiker und Mitschreier dort befinden sich im europaeischen Vergleich in der Zeit des 30 jaehrigen Krieges, und da haben sie noch einen langen Weg zu gehen. Und fuer Argumente sind sie ja nicht zugaenglich, wenn sie die Religion ueber alles stellen.
Wie sieht es mit free software, copyright, Patente etc. aus? Da tritt auch ein groessere Pause ein??? Dann bleiben neben der Arbeit noch die Spiele und da hast du viel Freude, wie ich dem blog entnehme. Nur kann ich da nicht mithalten, weil mich das so gar nicht anspricht.
Wie waer’s mit einem Tapetenwechsel, einen Kurzbesuch in Brasilien? Eine westliche und doch eigene Kultur****
– Helmut Schroeder 2007-03-12 01:44 UTC
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Don’t feel guilty or anything, this is not a wasted effort, you see, it ain’t a circle, it’s a spiral – you’re becoming better with each cycle.
– TheSheep 2007-03-13 08:43 UTC
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Agreed. It’s the Community:InvolvementCycle. 🙂
– LionKimbro 2007-03-13 18:53 UTC
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Good point. I’m glad to see that I’m not alone! 🙂
– Alex Schroeder 2007-03-13 20:53 UTC
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I was hoping April Fool’s had come early this year. 🙂 See EmacsWiki:2005-04-01.
PS. The “Matching Pages” search works great.
– AaronHawley 2007-03-15 15:13 UTC
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Scharfzüngige Liste von Gründen keine Zeitung zu lesen von SuShee.
– Alex Schroeder 2007-03-17 11:07 UTC
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“I guess I’m glad I don’t have any kids, or I’d feel compelled to fight for a better world for my kids. Since I have none, your kids can have it.”
If you had kids, and were worried about their future, it wouldn’t be by way of politics. You can’t change politics, You’ve made this whole post about exactly that. If you had kids, and, knowing that changing the world vial politics is futile, you’d be an idiot to try to change the world via politics. Politics is always just liars vying for power. Instead, focus on doing that which is productive, which is in your specialty.
– [Muirzow](http://bjoax2tdeyuf7vxmc7zq7amka2ijuhpr5bjn24krew4klkg6dacc5uyd.onion/Muirzow's%20Ear.txt) 2019-12-17 08:28 UTC
http://bjoax2tdeyuf7vxmc7zq7amka2ijuhpr5bjn24krew4klkg6dacc5uyd.onion/Muirzow's%20Ear.txt
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I disagree with your assessment of politics.
– Alex Schroeder 2019-12-17 08:29 UTC
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Years later…
Now that the world knows that the USA lost the war in Afghanistan, will the extrajudicial killings using drones finally stop? Or is that murdering just going to continue until a new enemy is found?
The conversation I had with my wife, yesterday:
Did you hear about Afghanistan?
Sure did! They renamed the radio station to Voice of Shariah!
Ugh. That bad?
Sure, now that the USA has lost in Afghanistan…
Lost in Afghanistan‽
Sure! They pulled out of Vietnam and the North Vietnamese took over. They pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban took over. That looks like losing the war to me.
…
I wonder why there is no Afghan Body Count website. Somebody did it for Iraq (and they are in need of funds!) – something I always felt valuable. How much better the argument when you can say “ Documented civilian deaths from violence 185,831 – 208,964” and compare that to whatever excuses and predictions where made back then. And to think of what the consequences should be.
I am reminded of a post I made way back:
I must apologize to the two or three people that came here in 2005 or 2006, reading my rants about foreign affairs. It all changed in 2007 … I still think it’s very important. But I’ve decided I no longer give a shit and decided to spend some years away from the daily news and the false hope of apparent change. – Homo Ludens
– Alex 2021-08-16 18:55 UTC