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Hang With Friends

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Location: Earth
Members: 808
Latest Activity: 3 hours ago

Come on in, pull up a chair!

Picture yourself spending some time with congenial friends, sharing your lives and pictures from your cell phones." They're curious about that cool game, song, movie, camping trip, art show, or other event that fascinated you. You talk about all kinds of stuff, poetry, styles, personal achievements, relationships, and bad days. You can share your inner child, and laugh together. They sympathetically listen to your feelings about serious topics like politics or climate change, even when they don't agree.

Personal validation comes from paying attention to one another, giving more than you get. Everyone respects you and themselves, despite our amazing range of personal tastes and interests. They'll tell you they don't agree with an idea or behavior without implying you're a bad person or somehow deficient. It's an "I'm OK, You're OK" kind of fellowship, where nobody tries to make himself look better by picking on somebody else.

Nobody here is into mind games. A discussion started with a loaded guilt-throwing question will be deleted.

This group is not intended to compete with other groups on topics they cover but to "fill in the cracks." Whenever a discussion dwells at length on a topic for which there's an existing group, we urge you to provide members a link to that group to continue along their tangent.

A comment is a shout-out, which will get lost in a few days, because the comment wall is just a random stack.

Please start a discussion to share stories, photos, and videos. Replies will pop up in your "latest activity" and a conversation can develop from the feelings and thoughts you contributed. Groups are built on discussions.

Discussion Forum

Facebook

Started by Ruth Anthony-Gardner. Last reply by Joan Denoo 4 hours ago. 4 Replies 2 Likes

This captures my opinion of Facebook. AN is so much better.Continue

Tags: Facebook

A tribute to my father

Started by Brent Feeney. Last reply by Debra Stevenson yesterday. 12 Replies 1 Like

So, I guess most of you here know that my dad died back in January of complications of Parkinson's disease. There have been times that have been rough since then, but I'd think it's all part of the process, so to speak.Today was Remembrance Sunday…Continue

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Comment by Joan Denoo on March 22, 2013 at 2:24am: sk8eycat, I like what you wrote and your experience. I know the fog will lift at some point and I will say "why did I make such a deal out of this; it is only ....!"

I looked up Judith Hayes and read only a little bit and like what I read. Sorry to learn of her suicide and its impact on you. I look forward to looking into more of what she had to say.

Comment by sk8eycat on March 22, 2013 at 1:43am: Joan, I'm not stupid, either, but I'm not exactly highly educated, and I have never *grokked* the meme concept, either. I have read The God Delusion three times, and reread certain sections more times than that, and I still don't understand a lot of what Dawkins is trying to say.

I have had a long-standing problem with a lot of writers in the field...they use another language that I call Academish, and I don't understand it.

That's why I was so delighted when I first found Judith Hayes (The Happy Heretic) online about 12 years ago. She "spoke" my language, and clearly explained many of the contradictions and nonsense in religions, particularly xianity. We actually became friends...email and phone...and I was invited to come visit, but I never had the oppportunity.

And that's why I was so hurt and angry when she killled herself last year. I miss her dreadfully. I don't know if her columns are still archived online, I haven't looked, but she always made sense...she didn't use vague terms like "meme," ...until she kinda went off the rails when her husband died. You might find her books (she wrote 2) at half.com. You can search by author.

Comment by Joan Denoo on March 22, 2013 at 1:00am: Let me see if I can get a little clearer on what I am trying to learn about meme. I read Dawkins' book and what Dennett had to say. I read the Wiki articles and still I don't get a feel for a meme. I know I am not stupid, even as I feel stupid in this case. Perhaps it is my lack of a sense of humor, in that case I will just enjoy what others create.

There is another aspect of this, too. It is I agree wholeheartedly with what Ruth describes as poo, or a virus that atheists spread, unintentionally. When I write or read something critical, I wonder if it is a virus.

Things I write about religion are my true thoughts based on my experiences. I am biased and I know that, but there are so many outrageous stories religious tell each other, i.e. that woman who describes how god kept her oil bottle full, Oh! I get shutters.

Well, I don't want to dwell on this too long, and what I am really trying to discover is how to use a meme to expose stupidity while not spreading poo all over the place.

Please feel free to alert me when I do such a thing. Kind of like what Dogly did for me today!. It hurt when I read it, but he told me the truth and I love him for that.

Comment by Ruth Anthony-Gardner on March 21, 2013 at 10:29pm: Joan you asked for examples of memes. It's like asking for examples of photographs or words, there are so many.

Waving to say "hello" is a nonverbal meme.

The shape of a knife is a meme embodied physically. It can be copied and reproduced.

Any melody you like or don't like is a meme. The ones that are earworms are more successful in one way, propagating without your intent.

Tinkerbelle is a meme, as are all other fictional characters.

The name Joan is a meme.

Purses of all sorts are memes, as are all varieties of architecture, and of guitars, hairstyles and of vehicles.

Anything that can be imitated, remembered, thought about, communicated, and reproduced is a meme. A meme is a unit of culture.

Internet memes are only a small subset of memes. That use of the word "meme" is derivative and narrow.

BTW, Flying Atheist, thanks for the hilarious samples, especially the last one.

Comment by The Flying Atheist on March 21, 2013 at 10:07pm: Joan, without getting too detailed (which I'm probably not even knowledgeable enough to do) may I suggest you start by reading the Wikipedia article on Memes. It's a very general and easily understood primer on the topic. And also the more specific Internet meme article, also on Wikipedia.

Here are just a few typical internet memes. They are often related to current events or are just silly or very sarcastic in nature.

Comment by Joan Denoo on March 21, 2013 at 9:14pm: OK you people with a firm understanding what memes are and how they work, how about giving us non-understanding people some examples of a really good meme that does its job. I think it will take just two or three to get us going.

I don't intend to be mean with my memes, but I want to cut to the core of the issues I care about. Any coaches out there willing to help us make mastery of memes?

Comment by Joan Denoo on March 21, 2013 at 9:08pm: sk8eycat, read your comment, "I feel stupid for whining about my cat's condition...and selfish...when some of you are undergoing much worse medical and family problems."
I am not aware of any limits of better than or worse than any situations that we write to each other. I figure Hang with Friends means writing about whatever is on our minds.
When you express concern about your cat falling so far, it is an experience that I can relate to and feel compassion for you and your beloved pet. I know the feeling.
When you wrote, "(I'm also terrified of the cost; I don't get my Social InSecurity deposit till next week...isn't that tacky?)"
Expressing concern about the cost of taking good care of your cat is another thing I can relate to. I have a hunch your vet will work with you on paying the costs. People generally understand unexpected expenses can create some serious problems, as with those on pensions. I think any good professional will work with you and may even reduce prices for you. Some even barter.
As to others of us who have different problems and conflicts in our lives, I see no need to worry about that. I can only speak for myself, but I find this a safe place to vent and even rant when I know for a fact those responses are not the best way to manage conflicts and problems. However, we need a place to vent all that pent-up emotion. This is also a place where we can get new perspectives on what happens to us.

Comment by Patricia on March 21, 2013 at 6:00pm: No idea....I can't seem to ''get'' what memes are, or what the word means.

Comment by Joan Denoo on March 21, 2013 at 5:01pm: Patricia, "Cheeses Christ" "Our Grate Lord".

Now, is this what one would call a meme? I'm going to get the hang of memes yet. .... even though I am lousy at such cleverness.

Comment by Joan Denoo on March 21, 2013 at 4:58pm: Steph, this breed of cat looks so interesting, and the one of a kind among one of a kind is funny.

"Scottish Fold Cat Breed Traits

The Scottish Fold's folded ears are produced by a dominant gene that affects the cartilage of the ears, causing the ears to fold forward and downward, giving the head a rounded appearance. Since the gene is dominant, all Scottish Fold cats must have at least one folded ear parent to have folded ears themselves. When a Fold is bred to a straight-eared cat, approximately 50 percent of the kittens will have folded ears, although the number of Folds in any given litter can vary greatly."

http://www.petfinder.com/cat-breeds/Scottish-Fold