We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Many Americans live for hours in virtual realities at least part of the time. You might be amazed to learn that many Americans without enough to do spend over an hour daily playing computer simulation games. It's sickening and pathetic when you think about it.
Nothing against games themselves because chess and checkers are also war simulations, but there is a mental difference between chess and Sim City. Or is there? Movies and fiction are virtual realities too. So are gas fireplaces and the Pokemon Go fad.
What prompted this survey is that a friend's parents recently moved to The Villages in Florida. This place is 100% phony, to the point of being creepy. The people are real, but in a fake place. It is as fake as Disney World, but people go to Disney for a day or two to try to enjoy the fakery, not to live in it. Many resorts are experiences in fake realities.
Many of my pals enjoy fake hunts. They plant 30 pheasants in a hayfield then send the dogs after them. It's a fake hunt, a virtual hunt. Those "flying mattresses" have never even flown before in their lives. I am not saying that it is not fun, but it is a fake hunting experience.
I started playing Ingress, which was the precursor to Pokemon Go. It gets me walking/biking around which is much better than sitting behind a desk all day.
There is also a social component which is interesting.
Who knows, maybe we are living in the Matrix and our entire life is a simulation...
Or on a grander scale, maybe our entire universe is a simulation...
People revile computer games now. In my youth it was television, a generation before that it was comic books.
When my parents were children it was radio.
All were seen as "stunting development", "waste of time", "turning people into zombies", "making children stupid".
No doubt the first passtime that didn't result in food on the table, dead competing tribesmen, or pregnant women in your own tribe was seen by the stone age tribesmen as being "bad" as well.
It must be something in our psyche that tells us that anything that's not productive in a direct way, doesn't put food on the table or otherwise directly advances the interests of the tribe is bad and one should be ashamed of enjoying it.
Ever since Obama was elected, I've been living in hell. Today he banned the Pledge of Allegiance by Executive Order. Unreal! Why doesn't he just move to a country celebrating Communism, Islam and BLM. Get outta here before he destroys everything our forefathers gave their lives for.
The federal Department of Education is also moving to take over the process of accreditation of the nation's law schools, which is presently done by the American Bar Association, on the grounds that the ABA is accrediting law schools that are not in the best interest of the "consumer."
Understand that when the federal government decides what law schools are accredited and which are not, it then dictates what is taught and can punish any law school that teaches something the government doesn't like.
re Many Americans live for hours in virtual realities at least part of the time. You might be amazed to learn that many Americans without enough to do spend over an hour daily playing computer simulation games. It's sickening and pathetic when you think about it.
Well, I find that I frequently stare at symbols scribbled on pieces of a dead tree for hours on end that cause me to have vivid hallucinations. Or, I suppose you could call it reading.
I think its fantastic that we have achieved a state of affluence that allows such levels of leisure.
With three kids under 8 my personal time is very limited these days. But, I still try to watch a film once a week, read novels, view amusing stuff on the web (including blogs like this), and follow one college football team. If I find a tv series I like, then I enjoy watching it. I like to stare at my bonsai and trim a few branches. Totally mindless, but I could do it for hours. I used to play video games occasionally, even with my wife sometimes. I still play simple ones with the kids. They're fun; I just can't let the kids get addicted to them, which can happen very easily.
I like to fish and OK has 200 lakes, only two of which are natural. Is that a fantasy? I think baiting deer with grain is fake hunting. The same with compound bows.
A list like this quickly starts to blend into a list of hobbies. Are hobbies a waste of time?
Regarding The Village, a quick view shows it to be similar to life as described by MF writers to me. Social gatherings, outdoor sports, exercise, manicured lawns, viewing art, live entertainment, adult education.
A critical view of a list like this quickly starts to turn into snobbery. When you think your activities are better than another person's simply because they are, then you're a snob.
My fake, escapist, virtual reality: I like to pretend that the hours I spend at work provide value to the customer, value to my employer, and that I am recognized for this. Then I wake up and realize that I am actually in yet another redundant and unproductive meeting.
