Discussion Forum

Ahh…….the search for God.
Have you found God?
No.
I haven't either.

Do I want to find him?
No.
Why?
Because I don't want to disturb his age-old game of hide and seek, that's why.
Let the bearded old man have his fun.

Lets take a look at some FASCINATING God-related stuff.



Two of the best-known attempts to prove the existence of God were made during the Middle Ages.
In the 11th century Anselm of Canterbury used what is called the ontological argument for the existence of God. (Ontology is a difficult philosophical study of being.) Anselm defined God as the most perfect being conceivable.
I'm here, Anselm! You was born in the wrong century, matey.


The argument of St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century is called the cosmological argument. Thomas said that the world is not self-explanatory.
It requires a reason or cause for its existence - in other words, 'God'.
Following the philosopher Aristotle, Thomas noted that there are in the world change, causality, dependency, degrees of excellence, and varieties of design.
All of these together, and the world itself, require a first cause.


In India, the school of Vedanta Hinduism turns the whole matter of proof upside down.
It insists that God is the only reality, and the world is only an appearance. If anything demands proof, it is not God but the world of perception.


In ancient Egypt, important God's were 'Nut' and 'Hathor' - goddesses of the sky and of joy.
'Ptah' was the god of master artist and craftsman; 'Thoth', the moon-god, who was also scribe of the gods and the inventor of writing, and 'Khnemu', who fashioned men and women on a potter's wheel.
Sometimes Khnemu got it terrible wrong, as is the case when he added too much clay to his little potter's wheel and created Vanessa Feltz.

In Norse mythology 'Bragi' was the [string]god of poetry.
Bragi was revered for his wisdom, his eloquence, his ability to compose and recite, and his knowledge of poetry.
Also, he occasionally wrote a few spoof snippets but his Northern European sense of humour left a lot to be desired.


Ambrosia is the honey-flavoured, mythical food of ancient Greek and Roman gods. Ambrosia is the Greek word for immortality and was supposed to give immortality to mortals and gods alike when they ate it. It is produced in Devon and comes in little tubs that kids eat at school.

The ancient Egyptian God 'Min' was usually portrayed as a man with an erect phallus, holding a whip in his right-hand.
He wore a headdress of two plumes with a streamer down the back.
Min was later outshone - in the phallus stakes, that is - by his handsome second cousin, Max.


'Hathor' and 'Nereus' are asteroids expected to pass close to Earth sometime around the year 2065. They are of interest to scientists for the opportunity to study the projected effect that a collision or near-collision would have on life on Earth.
Their names derive from Gods of the ancient world: in Egyptian mythology, Hathor was a sky goddess; in Greek mythology, Nereus was a sea god.



TO BE CONTINUED . . .

I know a man from Cairo, I met him on Fez Book.

Why are smiley faces happy?

Hello, Victor.

This is a FASCINATING question that requires an answer ..of sorts....

Where did the 'Smiley Face' come from?
Mars?
Uranus?
No, the answer was much clsoer to home....

Typographical emoticons were published in 1881 by the U.S. satirical magazine Puck.
In 1912 Ambrose Bierce proposed "an improvement in punctuation" - the snigger point, or note of cachinnation: it is written thus \___/! and presents a smiling mouth. It is to be appended, with the full stop (or exclamation mark as Bierce's later example used), to every jocular or ironical sentence".

The 'Happy face' was first introduced to popular culture in 1958 when the WMCA radio station in New York ran a competition for the most popular radio show at the time, 'Cousin Brucie'. Listeners who answered their phone 'WMCA Good Guys!', were rewarded with a 'Good Guys!' sweatshirt that incorporated a happy face into its design.

American commercial artist Harvey Ball was employed by an advertising company to create a happy face, around December 1963, for a subsidiary of the State Mutual insurance company.
Harvey, not a man to waste ink, initially drew just the smile. Pondering the result, he realized that if you turned the button upside down, it became & a frown!
He added two eyes, which you could also turn upside down - but then it meant 'I'm standing on my head!' - a more ambiguous socio-political message. He made the thing yellow to give it a sunshiny look, and State Mutual printed up 100.
The buttons were a big hit, the company began handing them out by the thousands, and the rest you know.
Mr. Ball's total take: his $45 art fee.

The smiley face craze, though not the smiley itself, was the work of two brothers in Philadelphia, Bernard and Murray Spain, who were in the business of making would-be fad items. They were casting about for some peace symbol-like item with more general appeal, and recalled the smiley faces that had been floating around for years in the advertising business.

French journalist Franklin Loufrani registered the iconic smiley face image as a trademark in France in 1971 (despite the undeniable proof of its much earlier existence), and he created "The Smiley Licensing Corporation, Ltd." to sell, license, and advertise the smiley face image in the United Kingdom and Europe. In 2001 the name of Loufrani's company was changed to SmileyWorld, which has managed to register the symbol in over 100 countries (not including the USA) for 25 classes of goods and services.


The 'smiley' is the printable version of characters 1 and 2 of (black and white versions) of code-page 437 (1981) of the first IBM PC and all subsequent PC compatible computers.

Unicode smiley characters are as follows:
0x263a White Smiling Face
0x263b Black Smiling Face

Unicode also contains the "sad" face:
0x2639 White Frowning Face



But why the smile?

Maybe the originator of the 'Smiley' based it on the Sussex Spaniel:
a rare breed of sporting dog known for its rich golden liver colour and keen sense of smell; coat is flat, silky, long, and feathery in parts; ears are long, large, and hang down in a lobe shape, eyes have a soft expression and are large and hazel-coloured.
Serves as a good sporting companion to a hunter on foot who is hunting a variety of game. Also enjoys chasing after insects and butterflies. Licks its own shit.

But most importantly: it appears to smilewhen excited.

Was the smiley a graphic representation of the dog?
Maybe, maybe not.

Another possibility is 'Petrushka': the main character of Russian folk puppet shows.
The character was first noted in 17th-century accounts and remained popular well into the 20th century. He was typically depicted as a smiling young boy with a large, hooked nose and often was humpbacked.

Is pug-ugly 'Petrushka' related to Bayern Munich and France footballer Franck Ribery?
Maybe, maybe not.

A mystery, perhaps, to be delved into in the FASCINATING THREAD another day....



TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Obviously a very deep subject.

Still not sure why it is smiling as opposed to being listless or such.

They seem to be used a bit recklessly by some and communicate happiness in a numb inert manner similar to Nancy Pelosi smiling.

Perhasps they should be rationed to increase their currency.

This really is truly fascinating.

Some FASCINATING Trouser related information….


'Khalsa' was founded as a military brotherhood late in the 17th century, when Sikhs were being persecuted by Muslims. Now the dominant Sikh order, it admits both men and women. Initiates agree to wear uncut hair (and beards for men), a comb, short trousers, a steel bracelet, and a double-edge dagger.
They also avoid tobacco and liquor.
Not fond of going down the pub then.

'Pantaloon' was a stock character of the 16th-century Italian commedia dell'arte.
He was a cunning and greedy, yet often deceived Venetian merchant. He was typically dressed in a tight-fitting red vest, red breeches and stockings, a pleated black cassock, slippers, and a soft brimless hat. His mask was gaunt and swarthy with a large hooked nose, and he had a disorderly grey goatee. Later versions of the character sometimes wore long trousers known as pantaloons (hence the term 'pants').
The once popular commedia dell'arte was dropped due to the fact that they were, ironically, pants.


Captain John Rackham was called 'Calico Jack' for the striped trousers he wore. He was a pirate captain for two years between 1718 and 1720. In this short time he plundered many ships and said 'Yarrgh! Avst, me hearties!' many, many times.
Among Rackham's crew were two women - Anne Bonny and Mary Read. They are the only female pirates on record.
Rackham was hanged in Port Royal on 17th November 1720. Mystery still surrounds what happened to his trousers. . .


At the beginning of the 19th century, the passion for ancient motifs in women's dress was on the wane. This was partly a result of the ban on the importation of Indian cotton muslin that Napoleon had imposed in an effort to revive the French silk industry.
In menswear, breeches and riding boots had been replaced by long, wide trousers by 1815.
In England during the early 19th century, men's clothing was dominated by the influence of George Bryan (Beau) Brummell, who popularised the complicated cravat and the idea of simple but well-tailored garments.
Later, Brummell ceased being interested in well-tailored garments and started wearing a shiny turquoise shell-suit instead. He also changed his name to 'Kev'.


Fanny Kemble (1809 -93) was a popular English actress, playwright, poet, and writer.
Her memoirscontain much information about the stage and social history of the 1800s, including life on her slave-owning husband's plantation in Georgia.
In 1849 Kemble's husband was granted a divorce, and she returned to the United States, where she settled in Massachusetts. It was during this period that she is credited with having been one of the first to wear the clothing later famous as "bloomers" (loose trousers gathered at the ankles and worn with a knee-length skirt).
She was, quite literally, the most famous Fanny in bloomers; Paris Hilton naturally being the most famous fanny without bloomers. . .


Upon his election as pope on 16th October 1978, Pope John Paul became the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.
He was also the first pope to wear trousers under his vestments.
Previous Popes went 'au naturale' or simply tied an altar boy to their nether regions.


TO BE CONTINUED . . .

I'd just like to say that I find this all rather fascinating.

For the man about town in search of fascination, this is surely the last word in fascination.

For the urbane fascination-seeker, this is the place to be.

If you write the word fascinating on a strip of paper and make a Mobius strip of it it becomes even more fascinating.

Some fascinating facts about Möbius strips.

A Möbius strip is formed by taking a strip of paper putting a twist in it and fastening the ends. this gives a three dimensional object with only one edge and one face. This can be shown by rotating the strip whilst drawing on the face or tracing the edge with a finger.

It was discovered by German mathematician August Möbius, and introduce the umlaut to a wider audience. Möbius would only work in August because of his name.

Möbius strips are used for conveyer belts to ensure even wear.

Cutting a mobius strip down the centre line results in two interlocked circles. Cutting it one third of the way towards the edge gives two separate circles, one of which is a mobius strip.

Adding three twists instead of one will result in three interlocking rings when cut down the centre line.

The Möbius strip features in a small rhyme taught to first year physicists:
Flippity Floppity Flip
A mouse walks the Möbius strip
The strip revolves
The mouse disolves
On a chronodimensional trip

This rhyme, it turns out, means nothing, but was written by Frederick Winsor as part of a compilation called Mother Goose for the Space Age Child.

Fascinating.

Iain

That was FASCINATING, Iain B.
Truly.
The only thing that makes FASCINATING more FASCINATING is shared FASCINATION!


Ears.
Left ear. Right ear. The final frontier.

'Ere are some FASCINATING Ear related goodies. . .


The ear has two important, but different, functions: hearing and sensing the body's equilibrium, or balance. The mechanisms for these processes are located within a hollow space in the skull's temporal bone.
The three parts of the outer ear are the auricle (also called the pinna), the external auditory meatus (or ear canal), and the tympanic membrane (or eardrum).
When sound waves strike the outer surface of the eardrum, it vibrates.
These vibrations are mechanically transmitted through the middle ear by the 'ossicles'.
The 'ossicles' are broken into the following:

'Themalleus', or hammer, receives the initial vibrations from the eardrum. It then passes them to the 'incus', or anvil. The 'stapes', or stirrup then relays the vibrations to a membrane that covers the opening into the inner ear.
You should never stick anything smaller than your elbow in your ear. . . unless you have a homeless mouse that would fit snugly in there.


French physician Prosper Ménière first described 'Ménière Disease' in mid-1800s.
It is a recurrent and generally progressive group of symptoms that include loss of hearing, ringing in the ears, dizziness, and a full sensation or pressure in the ears.
The cause is excessive earwax build-up and sometimes affected by letting a little mouse live inside your head.

The Scottish Fold is a breed of short haired cat known for its round-eyed, wistful expression and its small, rounded ears, the tips of which fold over to completely cover the ear opening.
The modern breed is descended from a mutant kitten born on Scottish farm in 1960s. This kitten probably came from outer space.

It is said that the mythological king Midas once judged a musical contest between Pan and Apollo.
He awarded the prize to Pan, and in revenge Apollo gave him a pair of ass's ears.
Midas hid his ass's ears under a cap, but his barber discovered the secret. The barber longed to tell but was afraid of the king.
Finally he dug a hole in the ground and whispered into it:
"King Midas has ass' ears."
A reed grew from this hole, and when the wind blew the reed whispered the secret to everyone.
Imagine how the pa pipes would have sounded if the barber had said: "King Midas has arse ears". . .

The Agouti is one of several species of rodents belonging to the family 'Dasyproctidae'. It is native to American tropical regions. It has a large body, small ears, vestigial tail, slender feet with long, hoof-like claws. The Agouti's wiry fur varies from black to reddish brown. It is herbivorous. They live in burrows and are eaten by Indians - but they tend to prefer a nice curry, though.


Forms of Corporal Punishment over the centuries have included: cutting off the hands of thieves, whipping and flogging, branding with hot irons, amputating ears, tongues, and noses. Also popular 'techniques' were eye-gouging, deprivation of food and water, locking in a sweat-box, and stoning that fell short of death.
A recent development has included making people watch Simon Cowell produced shite telly shows . . . and somehow making people squander their worldly possessions phoning up psychic tarot card hot-lines.



TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Drink.
Drinking is not only a pleasurable experience but also one required for basic existence.
Probably.

Here is some FASCINATING Drink related stuff.


The characteristic fizz and sparkle of soft drinks is the result of carbonation - the dissolving carbon dioxide in the soft drinks during processing.
The term 'soft' drink was originated to distinguish non-alcoholic beverages from hard liquor, or spirits.
Being 'soft' has nothing to do with them being gay, even though soft drinks are extremely gay and can often be seen wanking to Attitude Magazine.


Drinks vending machines have been around a long time. According to the ancient mathematician Hero of Alexandria, Egyptian temples in about 215 BC had devices from which one could get a squirt of holy water for a few small coins.
Today's vending machines, however, have their origins in coin-operated dispensers of tobacco and snuff in 18th-century England, and later in the American colonies.
These were called 'honour boxes', because when a coin was inserted the top opened, laying bare the supply. Customers were on their honour to take their entitled amount and then close the lid so that the next person could pay.
That sounds really nice and polite.


The 'House of David' is a dwindling communal religious colony in Benton Harbour, Michigan, founded 1903 by Benjamin Franklin Purnell (known as 'King Ben').
Members do not smoke, drink, or eat meat, and males wear beards.
The ban on females having beards is most welcome.


Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world - despite not being the drink favoured by such lovely people as Jesus Budda and Chinamen.
Coffee trees are tropical evergreens of the genus 'Coffea' of the family' Rubiaceae'. Although there are at least 60 species, only two are of major commercial importance.
Varieties of the species C. arabica, the coffee shrub of Arabia, provide the bulk of the world's coffee.
Coffee trees begin to bear fruit when 3 to 5 years old and may continue to bear well for another 10 to 15 years.
Instant coffees - from which a beverage is made by dissolving a powder in hot water - were invented in the early 1900s.


But I hate coffee. Hate it, hate it, hate it!
Unless its got lvoely cream in it.

Argggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This has to continue, all this drinking shite....


TO BE CONTINUED . . .

More FASCINATING drink related drivel. . .

Elephants drink by drawing water half-way up their trunk and then squirting it down their throat. An elephant can draw in corn and other grain and blow it into his mouth in the same way.


The British custom of afternoon tea was originated in about 1840 by the duchess of Bedford.
The oldest tea ritual is probably the Japanese tea ceremony, which dates to the 12th century. Tea drinking developed into a highly formalized social function, and in the 16th century a tea master named Senno Rikyu laid down rules for the ceremony.
This fine tradition is continued to this very day by fat fuckers who write stuff on spoof forum threads.


'Koala' is an aboriginal word meaning "it does not drink," though these animals do drink when ill.
Koalas are tree-dwelling marsupials with a home range of 14 to 15 eucalyptus trees. One tree will be an animal's favourite. They feed exclusively on specific eucalyptus leaves, which provide sufficient moisture. An exceptionally long intestine and special liver mechanism cope with the harsh oils and tannin in the leaves.


It would be quite a feat for a person to drink 64 glasses of water every day, but in effect that is just what some sponges do. They filter that much water through their bodies every 24 hours, absorbing oxygen from the water and feeding on waterborne food particles.
Then they are killed and used to wipe peoples backsides in showers.


The popular Mexican-originated drink 'Tequila' is distilled primarily from a cactus like plant known as 'Agave Tequilana Weberi'.
The invention of fermented beverages from grain has been attributed to both the Sumerians and the Egyptians.
The Babylonians are thought to have made at least 16 types of beer from barley, wheat, and honey by 4000 BC. In South America, for centuries before the arrival of conquerors from Spain, the ancient Incas enjoyed drinking a corn-based beer.
There are ancient references to millet beers in China and Japan, and the similar African beer is a traditional beverage of Zaire and neighbouring countries.


When discussing alcoholic drinks, the term 'proof' is often used to indicate the percentage of ethyl alcohol in the beverage.
In the United States each degree of proof represents 0.5 percent alcohol.
Liquor that is 50 percent alcohol is termed 100 proof.
In the UK, 50 percent alcohol is equivalent to 114.12 United States proof.
British proof is expressed as degrees over or under proof (that is, over or under 50 percent alcohol), while United States proof is expressed in direct proof figures.
The metric Gay-Lussac system simply states the percentage by volume of alcohol in distilled liquor.
Better off just sticking with a nice cup of tea and a couple of chocolate biscuits instead of having to bother your little head with this shit.




TO BE CONTINUED . . . PROBABLY . . .

Fascinating Dr.Watson, fascinating.

But do the signs at the side of the road saying 'soft verges' indicate that they are gay (or should it be vergers).

Today I want to share a FASCINATING email I received.
Maybe you got this too?
Only you know...becasue you Are you.
Aren't you?
I'll let you decide that.


Anyway's, here is that FASCINATING email (with telephone numbers disguised):



Dear Beneficiary:


I am writing to confirm the fact if you are (DEAD) or (ALIVE) and failure to reply back in the next 24hrs simply means what Mr Jude Betsy said was right that you are dead. Mr Jude Betsy has agreed to pay the needed charge fee valued of $98.00 dollars required for the Bond Stamp Duty Fee of your consignment box , but we have not gotten the money from him yet as we want to find out if you are DEAD or not, so if you are still (ALIVE) you are advice in your own best interest to reply back,

The only money you will pay to our office here is just $98.00 for the paper works, Take note of this now, so we can stop further communication with Mr Jude Betsy and deliver the (Consignment Box) to your door step being the original benefactor of the $2.5 Million US Dollars.


BELOW IS THE PAYMENT INFOMATION YOU WILL USE TO SEND THE $98.00 TO OUR CASHIER NAME THROUGH WESTERN UNION.

Receivers Name===== MR. AZUBIKE GODWIN
Address:==========XX/X Midombo Expway Cotonou-Benin
Country============Benin Republic
City===============Cotonou
Text question=======Best Colour?
Text answers======= Yellow
Amount============$98.00usd
MTCN Number=======?
You must send us the details provided by Western Union immediately you made the payment of $98usd.

Senders Name=======
Sender Address======
Sender Country======
MTCN==============

Beside if you fail to comply with the needed $98.00 Dollars required there's no way we can deliver the consignment box to your country.

Looking forward to hear from you if you are still ALIVE, reply back for fast action so that your delivery will commence upon receipt of your payment.


Best Regards,
Dr.Igweze Chinyere
DIRECTOR DHL COURIER SERVICE.
COMPANY BENIN REPUBLIC.
CELL PHONE: +229 XXXXX XXXXXX
TEL/FAX ( +229) XXXXXXXXXXX
Address: XX/X Midombo Expway Cotonou-Benin






One of the weirdest and most FASCINATING emails I've yet received.


TO BE CONTINUED .... sometime soon....