Comments for the art of tea http://pepsoid.wordpress.com "If a man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty." (Japanese proverb) Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:25:03 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on In Praise of Little Old Ladies by pepsoid http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/in-praise-of-little-old-ladies/#comment-816 pepsoid Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:25:03 +0000 http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/?p=506#comment-816 We have become so, so obsessed with appearances, to the point where (if the makers of such programmes as the above are to be believed) it would seem that "looking good" is the primary source of self-esteem, personal pride, etc. I suppose TV is to blame...... We have become so, so obsessed with appearances, to the point where (if the makers of such programmes as the above are to be believed) it would seem that “looking good” is the primary source of self-esteem, personal pride, etc. I suppose TV is to blame……

]]> Comment on In Praise of Little Old Ladies by flandrumhill http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/in-praise-of-little-old-ladies/#comment-815 flandrumhill Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:39:09 +0000 http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/?p=506#comment-815 It's remarkable that 'looking' good is over rated just at a time when 'doing' good seems to have gone out of fashion. Perhaps too many people in the media have an absence of relationships in their lives based on such boring qualities as goodness, niceness and kindness. It’s remarkable that ‘looking’ good is over rated just at a time when ‘doing’ good seems to have gone out of fashion. Perhaps too many people in the media have an absence of relationships in their lives based on such boring qualities as goodness, niceness and kindness.

]]> Comment on “Hey, Idol! Can I have a pic?” by Brunon http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/2009/06/05/%e2%80%9chey-idol-can-i-have-a-pic%e2%80%9d/#comment-813 Brunon Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:37:58 +0000 http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/?p=462#comment-813 http://www.dailymotion.pl/video/x1tjnj_billy-idol-white-wedding_music - the best quality video I've ever seen. Thanks so much 4 remembering me something I've somewhere lost in my mind...BEst wishes. Brunon http://www.dailymotion.pl/video/x1tjnj_billy-idol-white-wedding_music – the best quality video I’ve ever seen. Thanks so much 4 remembering me something I’ve somewhere lost in my mind…BEst wishes. Brunon

]]> Comment on “Good” Vs “Happy” – aka The Utilitarian Quandary by pepsoid http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/%e2%80%9cgood%e2%80%9d-vs-%e2%80%9chappy%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-aka-the-utilitarian-quandary/#comment-811 pepsoid Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:17:50 +0000 http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/?p=468#comment-811 ‘Utilitarian Anarchist’ Well... I suppose, in a nutshell, and from my own perspective... Someone who believes everyone should have the *freedom* to act to the benefit of the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people...?? ‘Utilitarian Anarchist’

Well… I suppose, in a nutshell, and from my own perspective…

Someone who believes everyone should have the *freedom* to act to the benefit of the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people…??

]]> Comment on “Good” Vs “Happy” – aka The Utilitarian Quandary by Free to think, free to believe... http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/%e2%80%9cgood%e2%80%9d-vs-%e2%80%9chappy%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-aka-the-utilitarian-quandary/#comment-810 Free to think, free to believe... Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:03:57 +0000 http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/?p=468#comment-810 As a fellow who is sympathetic, or maybe more than sympathetic... and despite the long trail of comments I feel I must ask... 'Utilitarian Anarchist' - what does that mean? and how would it work? no comment re the discussion between Marx and Bakunin... As a fellow who is sympathetic, or maybe more than sympathetic… and despite the long trail of comments I feel I must ask…

‘Utilitarian Anarchist’ – what does that mean? and how would it work?

no comment re the discussion between Marx and Bakunin…

]]> Comment on “Good” Vs “Happy” – aka The Utilitarian Quandary by pepsoid http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/%e2%80%9cgood%e2%80%9d-vs-%e2%80%9chappy%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-aka-the-utilitarian-quandary/#comment-809 pepsoid Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:29:57 +0000 http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/?p=468#comment-809 Ahh well, yes, I do agree with you on the "freedom" thing... perhaps I should label myself (inasmuch as I tend to hate labels) a "Utilitarian Anarchist"? ;) Ahh well, yes, I do agree with you on the “freedom” thing… perhaps I should label myself (inasmuch as I tend to hate labels) a “Utilitarian Anarchist”? ;)

]]> Comment on “Good” Vs “Happy” – aka The Utilitarian Quandary by Free to think, free to believe... http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/%e2%80%9cgood%e2%80%9d-vs-%e2%80%9chappy%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-aka-the-utilitarian-quandary/#comment-808 Free to think, free to believe... Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:41:04 +0000 http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/?p=468#comment-808 Well yes, and there's the rub... One of the things I think that is terribly precious is our free will, limited as it may be in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, and this present utilitarian regime has further and further encroached upon it - in the name of 'our own good'... But what happens if that is something that doesn't make my choices viable - whatever they are - when they don't meaningfully harm anybody but me [ie smoking, drinking and perhaps eating... no I'm not a big chap but what if I was?] and in some ways whatever I do despite being harmless - watched everywhere and possibly having to prove I haven't been caught as a potential sex pest by way of that certificate which would allow me to work with 'vulnerable' folk and children... The ID card scheme which means that you've nothing to fear as long as you've got an alibi... and other such schemes... So I don't think utilitarianism in any way protects our freedom or sees it as a virtue whereas, from my perspective I find it highly valued within the old sacred texts - and is indeed one of the reasons I am a christian... a moral/legal code based on principles can 'oversee' our freedom and seek to protect it as a virtue... A fairly long winded answer but to be blunt - totalitarian states run on supposedly utilitarian lines made their folk feel oppressed and unhappy... We live in a society which is one of the richest and, for its wealth, unhappiest... perhaps we do need to allow folk to be themselves rather than penned into a mould which should make us 'happy'... Well yes, and there’s the rub…

One of the things I think that is terribly precious is our free will, limited as it may be in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, and this present utilitarian regime has further and further encroached upon it – in the name of ‘our own good’…

But what happens if that is something that doesn’t make my choices viable – whatever they are – when they don’t meaningfully harm anybody but me [ie smoking, drinking and perhaps eating... no I'm not a big chap but what if I was?] and in some ways whatever I do despite being harmless – watched everywhere and possibly having to prove I haven’t been caught as a potential sex pest by way of that certificate which would allow me to work with ‘vulnerable’ folk and children… The ID card scheme which means that you’ve nothing to fear as long as you’ve got an alibi… and other such schemes…

So I don’t think utilitarianism in any way protects our freedom or sees it as a virtue whereas, from my perspective I find it highly valued within the old sacred texts – and is indeed one of the reasons I am a christian… a moral/legal code based on principles can ‘oversee’ our freedom and seek to protect it as a virtue…

A fairly long winded answer but to be blunt – totalitarian states run on supposedly utilitarian lines made their folk feel oppressed and unhappy… We live in a society which is one of the richest and, for its wealth, unhappiest… perhaps we do need to allow folk to be themselves rather than penned into a mould which should make us ‘happy’…

]]> Comment on Swine Flu pt1 by pepsoid http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/swine-flu-pt1/#comment-807 pepsoid Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:48:57 +0000 http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/swine-flu-pt1/#comment-807 More working from home = getting the job efficiently done, leaving more time for idling etc... ban offices! Everyone work from home! :) More working from home = getting the job efficiently done, leaving more time for idling etc… ban offices! Everyone work from home! :)

]]> Comment on Grrr!-moment #1 : Hanging Around in Doorways by pepsoid http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/grrr-moment-1-hanging-around-in-doorways/#comment-806 pepsoid Sun, 19 Jul 2009 10:53:57 +0000 http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/?p=499#comment-806 "...a steadily diminishing sense of spatial awareness..." - I think you may have given me the title for my next blog piece! ;) “…a steadily diminishing sense of spatial awareness…”

- I think you may have given me the title for my next blog piece! ;)

]]> Comment on Grrr!-moment #1 : Hanging Around in Doorways by M http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/grrr-moment-1-hanging-around-in-doorways/#comment-805 M Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:52:37 +0000 http://pepsoid.wordpress.com/?p=499#comment-805 Similarly: Having a look around at the top (or bottom) of an escalator while people pile up behind you! Stopping dead in the street right in front of me and bending down to tie your shoelace! Those trolley case things that all businessmen have these days that they pull behind them, seemingly unaware of their existence...or at least not as aware as I am when I trip over it because they've just crossed my path and stopped, thinking that because they were out of my way, so was the stupid case...it wasn't! It all boils down to a steadily diminishing sense of spatial awareness. I've noticed its decline for some years now so I often make a point of bumping into people who display these tendencies just to prove that there are other people in existence besides themselves!!! I second your Grrr!! Similarly:

Having a look around at the top (or bottom) of an escalator while people pile up behind you!

Stopping dead in the street right in front of me and bending down to tie your shoelace!

Those trolley case things that all businessmen have these days that they pull behind them, seemingly unaware of their existence…or at least not as aware as I am when I trip over it because they’ve just crossed my path and stopped, thinking that because they were out of my way, so was the stupid case…it wasn’t!

It all boils down to a steadily diminishing sense of spatial awareness. I’ve noticed its decline for some years now so I often make a point of bumping into people who display these tendencies just to prove that there are other people in existence besides themselves!!!

I second your Grrr!!

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