Walsingham

Canto, if I understand your point, you're heading in a line I was thinking about. Science can tell you why things happen, and knowing the causes of things makes you happy. But science can't do all the things religion can. As you may have noticed from my sig I was lucky enough to do a bit of freerange historical research on the Italian campaign recently. In the course of this I was struck by the extent to which men in tehir diaries and letters drew on their conceptions of God for strength. Doing so permitted them to execute attacks, and endure conditions that defy description here. Going back to this topic, I think that science can go a long way, and I stand by my previous statements supporting it. However, removing religion entirely would be to needlessly deprive ourselves. Religion can inspire, and has inspired many great scientists, because it eleveates our surroundings to the status of the divine, and not mere ashes that can be ignored. It has also proved capable of sustaining researchers enduring harsh or straightened circumstances. But most importantly, religion is usually a cultural focus of morality. Science deprived of morality is a beast, capable of any depravity.

Gott in himmel! That's a motherload of Beetface!

It's your fault. You wouldn't let that scientist have your hand.

Cause nature NEVER ever picks on us.

Whereas obviously hurting people for their hair colour is fine.

Wait, how is this related to science? Science quite definitely (in the form of the selfish gene) argues in favour of ruthless competition including murder etc.

I agree with that there hockey player.

I'm far more concerned about people who can't roll their tongues.

Please don't wait until there's war with Iran. It's not going to happen! Even if there was a spare reserve of treasure and troops there would be no point. As for any argument that says Iraq can't achieve peace... I choose to believe that such negativity is nonsense. Where there is sufficient strategic determination anything is possible.

People just seem to have this inescapable urge to be bigoted.

I'm hungry. mod me a ham on rye.

Gentlemen, let's tone down the bigotry regarding America. If they're so rubbish at building things how come they're the only country to have gone to the Moon? And Dunniteowl, putting a can of gasoline in there isn't stupid. They probably expected us to be using atomics or something by now. Then we'd damn well NEED the gasoline.

You know it's true. I'm listening to Fat Boy Slim's The Rockafeller Skank, and your avatar DOES dance in time to it. He dances pretty good.

Hello Hilde. Haven't noticed you in a while. My point was not that the Coalition isn't getting desperate. My point was that we aren't the only ones. Moreover that it's a mistake to assume that any opponent is superhuman and invulnerable no matter what you do or what happens.

If any of you have ever grown a beard you'll know that sudden slightly panicky claustrophobic feeling you get when you want to shave it all off. I just had that about my whole body. A sudden moment of pure "AAAAAGH! I'm covered in hair! Get it off me!" Too much coffee.

Le Tigre http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05FFckxLG5Y...ted&search= I'm now ordering the album. Nuts and squirrels to the fascists who say Youtube is bad.

I suspect it was basic misunderstanding about how damp concrete gets.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6759273.stm Sadly, it seems you'd get a lot of mush.

Silence is a mod or a character you made? Assuming the latter, what was the "theme"? Sadly I am not talented enough to write a mod. Silence was the name of a character I used. The idea struck me of.... ~ The scream emanating from the cattle sheds made Elminster and the new Keeper of the Tomes, Ulraunt, wince in unison. Rain, in cold a constant drizzle draped over them like cloaks. "She shouldn't be here," Repeated Ulraunt peevishly. "She didn't bring a book. No good will come of it" Elminster chewed the callus on the end of one finger and glowered at him. "There are rules and there are rules, Keeper. You cannot tell me you'd have let that poor woman die on your doorstep?" "Yes, well, precisely," Continued Ulraunt, undeterred, but was interrupted by the form of a serving girl catapulting out of the stable in a startling haze of candlelight. "Come quick, sirs! It's getting worse." Elminster pushed his way into the enclosed space, to see the local midwife holding the hand of the woman who seemed fairly cracked by pain and anguish. Her left hand gripped the nearby manger with such force that she had snapped part of it off. With each spasm her features became wilder, and more intense but equally more distant. "It's a bad sign, having a woman in here dying like this. No good will come of it," Ulraunt stated from the back, being universally ignored. Suddenly, with a final surge, obscured by a flurry of activity by the women, the noise rose to a crescendo and then there was nothing. Elminster's shoulders fell, and he turned to walk away, expressionlessly. Ulraunt seemed unnaturally relieved. The midwife's voice broke their private reveries on the threshold. "It's a girl," She said, almost wonderingly, and it was. Held in the light of the candles, mired by blood, was a tiny infant. The child's skin was the cold pure white of marble, and her eyes were the rich black of an animal's. As Elminster came forward the eyes regarded him from a face of absolute calm. He smiled, and reached down to place his little finger in the babe's hand, marvelling at the unexpected grip. "She must have a name, sir," the midwife insisted, staring down at her with the universal care a certain type of woman projects towards all babies. At which cue, the serving girl, still appalled by the scene, tugged a blanket diffidently over the mother's sightless features. "She must have a name, or she'll come a wrong 'un." Elminster's expression was hard to read. It was neither wholly happy or wholly sad, as he stared into the eyes of this unnaturally quiet and self-possessed child. "Silence," he finally said. "You can't call a baby, Silence," Interjected Ulraunt, laughing bitterly. "It is what she is. It is who she is. Silence can mean many things good or bad. It can mean everything and it can mean nothing. When she is old enough she will decide for herself what it means," Growled the old wizard. Ulraunt, peering over the midwife's shoulder, shivered briefly. "No good will come of it." ~ Silence grew up, gaining strength and vigour, but remaining completely cold. Infected on the one hand by the general air of Candlekeep she became playful and enjoyed obscure humour. On the other hand she eventually learned of the way here mother had been initially denied care by the Keeper, and as she neared adolescence, came to despise both the guards who slavishly had kept her waiting in deference to rules, and the swines who had been responsible for her being there in the first place. Was it some lord, or angel, or bandits who were responsible? No matter. Unable to forgive either group, lawful or chaotic the child became savagely self-reliant. ~ I tried to play the character as being generally quite selfish and thereby evil. Completely focussed on survival. But equally capable of random outbursts of kindness, particularly to children, and women in distress. Made for an interesting time. Silence eventually (spoiler regarding the end of the game) I've always wanted tow rite BG3 where the character follows on after Silence, and takes orders from her, becoming her true servant, changes her nature, or perhaps aiming to supplant her.

For Pity's sake, man! Don't do it!

I wish I could agree with that. But after hundreds of years of bitter hatred there will only be peace when one or the other is wiped out. You mean the way the Scots, Welsh and English have? Don't forget that for hundreds of years we were pretty much the same. The damn Scots kept trying to give England to the French!

Nu-uh. I told them that I had a cold, and it was passing (true), and I even told them what medications I had in the last seven days (some Day Nurse yesterday and Night Nurse last night: nothing today). You aren't meant to give blood if you are a dirty infected zombie. Which I clearly am not. How odd. I distinctly recall being turned down the first time because I was blowing my nose. They said blood transfusions go to very weak people as a rule, and the last thing they need is a random virus to beat.

Steady now, dear. Not in front of the members.

I'm not replaying BG until I can think of another character who will be as interesting as Silence.

I would agree that there are a lot of games that are essentially a tactical combat engine with a storyline stitching together the battles, like FOT. FOT caught flak rather unfairly due to this fact. Certainly for myself I like an RPG to include deeper girly issues like feelings, guilt, redemption, and jokes about Monty Python. I suppose that strictly speaking you are playing a role by taking on any avatar. However I think that for true immersion your avatar needs to be dynamic, reflecting your actions and choices. I think it is this freedom to form the nature of your character, their friends, and general style which more than compensates in my mind for any restrictions on plot. This s why for me Oblivion is no more interesting than Far Cry as a roleplaying game.