Studio8 - Uniting the Arts

In case anybody cares, the missing thread is in the Dumpster.

It's a bunch of trash and so that's where it belongs.

I will delete it soon.

If you want to read it, you can go there and read it for a while longer until I delete it.

Here's the deal.... the internet isn't real. That's my statement about the whole thing.

Whoever wants to participate in this website is welcome to participate. If you don't want to, don't. It's that simple. If you want to leave, go ahead. If you want to stay, great.

If you don't like someone's posts, don't read them.

I'll figure out how to upgrade this software one day and hopefully there will be an "ignore" feature so you can put the names of the people whose posts you don't like on the "ignore" list and you won't even see their posts.

Thanks to all for your insights and participation. But just know, the internet is not real. It's just text on a screen. It really is meaningless. That's my take on it.

Have a great Sunday!

This is my statement

I spoke to doreen moments ago

she said that she was going to dump the thread

I said that I was registering a MILD protest

(this is the way that doreen and I settle things, we talk)

I thought that the thread was ridiculous too and got into some odd areas

but I also thought that it was very instructive, so although it was a bit embarrassing to all involved and it was an absurd premise anyway and the whole thread went askew, I thought it was a most revealing and real one.

Read it quick.

Some candid observations (wish me luck): We all need to chill a bit (except for you Arcadia, of course!) and grow a little thicker skin. It never ceases to amaze me how some of these discussions spin so far out into left field sometimes. Holy sheep dip Batman.

We're a creative and artistic bunch and passionate about life and what we do, and I think this site has inspired us to create some compelling art and writing. Those passions are bound to carry over and conflict at times in our interactions here. There's no way to insure that everyone is perfectly composed and polite at all times. And is that even something we'd really want? Some of the least satisfying sites I've been to are sites where you can't even say "shit". I respect those sites, but they don't get my motor running like this place.

We're just not going to agree on everything. Won't happen. That said, there's no intrinsic right for anyone to act like a complete ass either. Attack the premise, not the author, in general. As much as I'm not a big fan of hurling labels, if they apply to a situation and possibly help illuminate it, then I suppose I can tolerate them, up to a point. For example, it would probably be fair to tag me a "hypocrite" if I was acting hypocritically, and it was clear either from context or by explanation the reason(s) for such a tag. That's all a bit subjective, admittedly.

We should also simply recognize that there are strong and diverse personalities in play here, and factor that into our perception and give them as wide a berth as possible. That alone would help quite a bit. And I don't think we should get all bent out of shape when someone posts a controversial idea. Who wants a watered-down site like that? If you think an idea is full of shit, then attack the idea mercilessly and as impersonally as possible. I think LR's Mailer analogy is pretty good. If he were still around and posting here, I'm sure he'd probably annoy the hell out of me at times, but I'm sure he'd also contribute some great lit. Anyway, just some thoughts. Take 'em with the usual salt grain..

Good thoughts, Nazz!

I still would like to reiterate that this internet world is not real. All we have is text and it's too easy to read between the lines, over react and misinterpret.

Next time anybody has a problem with me, I hope they will email me or pm me and ask me for my phone number.

I'd much rather talk on the phone to a real person than type on this stupid machine. Seriously. Sometimes I hate this machine. There's the potential for misinterpretation which we've seen over and over.

And the dramas are too much for me. The conflicts are too difficult for me. If we were sitting together in a room in REAL life, 99% of the conflicts online would NEVER happen.

I'm not too fond of dramatic public exits either. As I said, if people want to post here? Great!. If they don't? That's their business. *shrug* ... no big deal



PS to Nazz - By the way, I hope you don't think that this site is "sanitized" just because I dumped the thread into the Dumpster to be deleted. To me, we DID it, we experienced it, no sanitation and we said SHIT all we wanted to. But it's over now. In real life, we don't keep video tapes of our family squabbles to watch them later. Yanno? No need to keep a history of such nonsense. We learned from it and we move on.

I think you've about summed it up here, mark

why didn't I think of saying that?

your theory of 'false sanitization' is classic

art is dirty business

do you know what amazes me about you, nazz?

it's your ability to see the big picture

your metier is vistas

hey Nazz, are you saying that I already have enough thick skin? are you a dermatologist or what??

(I´m joking, of course! )

peace to all!!!! (I´ll continue reading "Dimensión socioambiental de la realidad")

Doreen.. I don't mind that the thread is gone. No big deal, really. I was only a bit player in it anyway. The only thing that still bothers me is the loss of Mark. I'll definitely miss him if he decides to stay gone. He's one of the first people I talked to on LK, along with Mars and Kreddible Trout.

L-Rod: I take that as a high compliment. Thank you.

Arcadia: ..."are you a dermatologist or what?" That's too funny! Just about fell off my chair laughing.. Thanks! Ya got me!

Nazz - Wireman has left this site several times. This isn't the first time. The fact that he made a public announcement may be the first time but hey, he's emailed me and called me and left before and said he wasn't ever coming back but then he comes back. It's because the internet is stupid. It's just text. People read into it whatever they feel at the time. How many people have you seen make grand public dramatic exits at AC? I've seen quite a few myself! How many made public announcements that they were leaving Litkicks and never coming back? I remember several. I can't count the number of public exits people have made on the internet since I've been participating. I wrote poetry about it 8-10 years ago. It was one of the very first things I noticed about the internet. "I'm done! I"m not going to do this any more! I'm leaving!" ... geesh. Why do they feel it's necessary to announce it? Just go if you want. Sighhh... I'll miss Wireman, too, if he doesn't come back to this site, but I suspect he will and we'll see him on the internet elsewhere in the meantime. And yanno what? I can't expend the energy worried about why when a simple phone call would suffice so that we could talk about it as friends. It's the internet, Nazz. The internet isn't real. It's just text.

Going to the store. Getting ready for my trip tomorrow. Peace n love and happiness. (I'm an old hippie, what can I say? )

this is a statement that I posted several years ago
it might be salient considering the recent exchanges here

I have not involved myself greatly with procedural matters here at Studio Eight.
I spend most of my time reading and writing. It's not of great concern to me when
this person can't get along with that person or when someone's feelings get hurt
because they can dish it out but they can't take it. My attitude is if you can't run with
the big dogs, then stay on the porch.

I'm a man and I have pretty thick skin. I also hold in my heart the Christian principle
that offense is something that can't be given, only taken.

But doreen is a woman and a sensitive one. She wants everything to be nice. She wants
the pictures on the walls to be straight and the floors to be clean and all the guests to treat
each other politely.

Myself, I don't mind seeing a little spit fly. I think that there would be no literature or theater without conflict.
In fact I think conflict is one of the best ways to solve problems.

Well LR, I think you're definitely overstating that whole "sensitive" business here. Sounds a bit oversimplified. But I like some of your other thoughts here.

I guess I just don't understand the severity of some of the reactions to some recent posts, unless there's more going on here than I realize. I mean, in General Discussion, if it is to be an open forum, it seems to me that even if someone mouths some poorly-conceived jackass of an opinion, what's the use in taking it as a highly personal affront? Maybe I've become blind or naive in some way on this question, but I still don't get it. What am I missing? I must be missing something (I hate that).

nazz,

I think you have a pretty good grip on the picture here.

Yes, there are emotions and unseen things at work.

I'm sure if we saw all the private communications with all parties involved it would look like a different scene.

I know I've registered my share of 'poorly-conceived jackass opinions'. But I'm not the only one who has done that. And I'm with you. I think everybody should have the right to make a jackass of themselves. Only the very free can do it.

I think the salient point of my quoted post is: Offense is never given, only taken.