jackalope

Re: The cranky thread I count two people citing quotations that bash specific political ideals. Worldmaker was bashing conservatives, Thrakazog was bashing liberals, and I was bashing capitalism and war. Both liberals and conservatives support both.

Re: The cranky thread "I might repeat to myself slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound - if I can remember any of the damn things." - Dorothy Parker I'm done. That was fun.

Re: The cranky thread "It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read a book of quotations." - Winston Churchill

Re: The cranky thread "Where love rules, there is no will to power, and where power predominates, love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other." - Carl Jung

Re: The cranky thread "The illusion of freedom in America will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way, and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theatre." - Frank Zappa

Re: The cranky thread "You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake." - Jeannette Rankin

Re: The cranky thread "Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind...War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today." - John F. Kennedy

Re: The cranky thread "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stomping on a human face -- forever." - George Orwell

Re: The cranky thread "[Colonial rule] is thus revealed in its most loathsome aspects. It is seen nakedly as existing by terrorism, as recruited by hunger, as denying the most fundamental rights of political and social freedom. It is the perfect fruit of capitalism. The capitalist system came into this world covered with mud and blood, and dirt. It has its origin in the forcible theft of the common lands, the property of all, and the sanctification of that theft by laws made by robbers to legalise their robbery. At every stage of its progress it has been nourished upon the unpaid toil of the workers, and its state machinery is ever oiled with the blood of the poor." - James Connoly

Re: The cranky thread "When it is said that we disturb people too much by the words pacifism and anarchism, I can only think that people need to be disturbed, that their consciences need to be aroused, that they do indeed need to look into their work, and study new techniques of love and poverty and suffering for each other. Of course the remedies are drastic, but then too the evil is a terrible one and we are all involved, we are all guilty, and most certainly we are all going to suffer." - Dorothy Day

Re: "You're not a REAL Hero!"

Re: "You're not a REAL Hero!" Yes, that was one of my points, that there is a different standard for superheros than regular heroes. If Bulletproof guy is only entering into fights he knows he can't lose, then his motives are entirely suspect. Maybe he's just showing off. He's most likely just being a public menace. Were talking about a guy in a costume, right? A crimefighter, out there presenting himself as a crimefighter. Playing the role of a hero. But if he is only willing to fight crime that can't fight back, then how can he be heroic? Isn't that cowardly? He's presenting himself as a superhero, and superheros do not back down from risk. A superhero witha risk aversion complex is a posuer.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings I just noticed gewing's new signature: Life is too short to listen to jackalope. Much like when Thrak used a modified version of my icon as his own, I sort of wonder what the point of this is. Free advertising for me? I don't get it. Obviously he's still very upset with me, which means I got to him pretty good, which was my intent, and this sig of his is really a lot like walking around with a big sign saying "Jackalope burned me good and I can't let it go." I feel sorry for him, and I'm kind of surprised he doesn't get how wounded this makes him look. He must be kind of soft, not used to getting his feelings hurt. Either that or he's really sensitive. At any rate his Kung Fu was weak, and he wasn't worth the bother. Oh, by the way, he's absolutely right. Considering the almost infinite number of things you could be doing right now rather than reading this, there probably isn't anyway to justify spending however much time it's taken you to get this far reading this. But really, if you cared about making productive use of your time, you wouldn't be reading a thread for random musings, would you?

Re: "You're not a REAL Hero!" Risk and sacrifice do necessarily mean "physical harm". Example: Bob is poor, uneducated white trash, and he has just moved into a new school district. During his second class, he strikes up a conversation with Marsha, one of the cool popular kids. He tells some jokes and is funny, and she decides he's okay. At lunch, several of the rich, popular kids begin teasing Bob about his JC Penny's jeans and off-brand sneakers. It's your standard social dominance game, they are expressing their superiority to Bob. Marsha, who is friends with and part of the rich, popular kid clique, decides to stand up for Bob. She confronts the ringleader of the mean kids, and points out that none of them bought their clothes, and that just because they have rich parents doesn't mean they are better people. Marsha is a hero. She has done something exceptional (bucking social convention), she has done in out of a noble intent and motive (achieve social justice), and she has done so despite the risk to her own social standing. Like wise, a doctor who sacrifices his time and energy and gives the entirety of his life to helping heal people is a hero. He has done something extraordinary, out of noble intent, and has made a sacrifice. Several people have mentioned Invulnerable Man and that he is not risking himself by facing physical danger. These people are correct. Invulnerable Man is not heroic for battling evil in a physical way. If there is no risk to himself, then he is not risking anything, and therefore not heroic. Superheros, because of their powers, require Supervillians and truly extraordinary challenges to be heros. But because they can overcome these SUPER challenges, they are SUPER Heros. The acts that make mere mortal men heroic and run of the mill daily encounters for superheros. I may have already mentioned this, but someone like Spider-Man is not a hero because he stops robbers and muggers - those types present no challeneg to him - but because he battles menaces that CAN kill him, like Doc Ock and Green Goblin. Even Spidey himself doesn't consider foiling a bank job heroic, he consider such activities more along the lines of "excercise", "having fun", "releaving stress" and the like.

Re: "You're not a REAL Hero!"

Re: "You're not a REAL Hero!" Then there's the whole Extra-Dimensional Movement to the "Microverse" combined with a Transdimensional NND attack. That's not only vicious, it's darn near impossible to attack back. I mean really, who carries around transdimensional weapons that can attack into the "Microverse"? I mean, the Atom used that method of attack for years and years without fail before Deathstroke the Terminator finally put some points into one (a laser pointer).

Re: The Human Polygraph

Re: The Human Polygraph Yeah, sorry to break it to you. Avengers #502. It was a good death, the sort Clint deserved. Just the right mix of heroism, poor decision making, and stupid bad luck that was the hallmark of his career. The quote is his last words before his death.

Re: The Human Polygraph Um. Well, I was going to add something but instead I'll just say Ditto to what Kristopher said.

Re: Alpha Male Contest I was also thinking you could by PRE with an "Only To Determine Alpha Male" lim, but buying rep Alpha Male would be perfect, since it already adds dice to PRE checks. I'll check out that rep system.

Re: Help Me Build A Super-Spy Team

Re: Alpha Male Contest

Re: Help Me Build A Super-Spy Team Goodman says this is wrong. Goodman says end your stats on 3 and 8 to take advantage of rounding. DO AS GOODMAN SAYS!!! DO AS GOODMAN SAYS!!! DO AS GOODMAN SAYS!!! DO AS GOODMAN SAYS!!! DO AS GOODMAN SAYS!!! DO AS GOODMAN SAYS!!! DO AS GOODMAN SAYS!!! ::smack::: Sorry. Got carried away there. As a GM I'd want Vague and Unclear (-1/2) tossed in there. As a person who uses the Tarot on occasion, I'd demand it. Otherwise, great character. May I use her?

Re: "You're not a REAL Hero!" Ah...well, yes, but if we're going to introduce cultural relativism into our definition of heroism, then by some measures some Nazis are heroes in some sense, some PLO terrorists are heroes in some sense, Pol Pot is a hero some sense, John Wayne Gacy is a hero in some sense, etc. Still, it is worth considering different cultural conceptions of heroism, even one's that are incompatible with the mores of our own culture. Trickster heroes are like this, heroes whose heroic acts are also frequently criminal acts or transgressions of taboos. Trickster heroes are never popular with the "establishment", but are celebrated by the disenfranchised for their fearlessness in the face of the establishment.

Re: "You're not a REAL Hero!" 2. A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life: soldiers and nurses who were heroes in an unpopular war. Got it covered. It can be, is, and it's generally accepted as true. A frontline infantry man is generally seen as more heroic than a radar operator miles from combat. Never said it was. This: "Human being arent born decent we are genetically predisposed to being cruel, evil, greedy, and destructive. It takes a better person then your average human to be just decent." is cynicism. And yet, calling trivial acts of common deceny heroic doesn't devalue truly heroic acts that involve genuine risk and sacrafice? I think it does.