Michael

"The wheel of fortune turns round incessantly, and who can say to himself, I shall to-day be uppermost?" ~ Confucius (551-478 BC)

"Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you?" ~ Gen. Patton (1885-1945)

Has anyone else noticed the double meaning of clicking on "Submit" when posting in this thread?

"Ambition is so powerful a passion in the human breast, that however high we reach we are never satisfied." ~ Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)

"Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and behold, all was emptiness and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun." ~ Ecclesiastes (ca. 250 BC)

"How quickly the glory of the world passes away!" ~ Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

"Laughter is nothing else but a sudden glory arising from some sudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the infirmity of others, or with our own formerly." ~ Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

Reminds me of when I was a kid and there was a prank in which you bet the victim you can can punch him more softly than he can punch you. You let him punch first, and of course he brings his fist right up to you, and very, very gently, so soft you can barely feel it, nudges you with it. When it's your turn, you wind up and smack him as hard as you can while shouting "I LOSE!"

Whoever locks the thread will win.

Reminds me of the old riddle: Q.: How many feminists does it take to change a lightbulb? A.: That's not funny.

(At the risk of stating the obvious:) Black, or at least dark, socks with your shined dress shoes, which should not have run-down heels, nor holes in the soles. Everything clean, nothing torn, including hands and fingernails. Go git 'em!

Slay them wherever you find them. Drive them out of the places from which they drove you. Idolatry is worse than carnage. Q 2:192-3 When the sacred months are over slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them._ Q 9:5 "Seek out your enemies relentlessly." (Surah 4:103-) "Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends." (Surah 5:51) "...make war on the leaders of unbelief...Make war on them: God will chastise them at your hands and humble them. He will grant you victory over them..." (Surah 9:12-) "Fight against such as those to whom the Scriptures were given [Jews and Christians]...until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued." (Surah 9:27-) "It is He who has sent forth His apostle with guidance and the true Faith [islam] to make it triumphant over all religions, however much the idolaters [non-Muslims] may dislike it." (Surah 9:31-) "Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them." (Surah 9:121-) "Muhammad is God's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another." (Surah 48:29) "When you meet the unbelievers in jihad [holy war], chop off their heads. And when you have brought them low, bind your prisoners rigorously. Then set them free or take ransom from them until the war is ended." (Koran, 47:40) "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and his messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be to be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet and genitals cut off, or to be expelled out of the land. Such will be their humiliation in the world, and in the next world they will face an awful horror." (Koran, 5:33-34) "When we decide to destroy a population, we send a definite order to them who have the good things in life and yet sin. So that Allah's word is proven true against them, then we destroy them utterly." (Koran, 17:16-17) "In order that Allah may separate the pure from the impure, put all the impure ones [all non-Muslims] one on top of another in a heap and cast them into hell. They will have been the ones to have lost." (Koran, 8:37) "How many were the populations we utterly destroyed because of their sins, setting up in their place other peoples." (Koran, 21:11) "Remember Allah inspired the angels: I am with you. Give firmness to the believers. I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: you smite them above their necks and smite all their fingertips off of them." (Koran, 8:12) And by the way: Fight for the sake of God those that fight against you, but do not attack them first. God does not love the aggressors. Q 2:191 Damn fine print!

Don't forget your friends here, Dust. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm

What were they talking about and might it have upset him?

An ample menu accompanies http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8104895460192722351

When the cow is out to pasture, copy and paste your message onto a Word document, which will check your spelling and improve your mooooooooooood when you paste it back here.

Then you say, "I'm an EMT, and I think you have an acute case of apophasis. Or maybe it's paralipsis. Anyway, I'd have it looked at and taken care of soon if I were you."

Right. Some of us suffer from what has tactfully been called "the mania for imparting information." Welcome to our codependents' support group!

Yeah, sure they did. :wink:

My friend, I was not doubting the truth of your story. I was referring to the story in the link I posted, which your story reminded me of. The story in the link I posted is the one I took for true when I heard it before I encountered it in a number of mutations on the internet. The story you posted I took for true and still do.

I heard a version of this http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blballs.htm story and believed it for years. Maybe it happened once.

Aw, shucks, 'twarn't nothin'.

But do you realize how hard I studied to prepare my response? Do you think http://www.cozy.org/yes.html was easy?

And what am I, chopped liver?

Yes, yes, and yes.