well it's more a desire for self-sufficiency which comes from a combination of wanting to 'work to live' not 'live to work', an increasing desire to be part of the solution to fixing the world's ills rather than continuing to contribute to making them worse, and as a consequence, a refusal to be part of the system that I see as exacerbating the problems.

I wanted to comment on your post last night, moonlit, but I got sucked into a discussion about the erm.. something on one of the later Buffy episodes elsewhere (caught myself just in time then!) and by the time I got back, there were deep thoughts about the state of the world all over the board. And I felt inadequately prepared to respond. I still am, but on the upside, I’m more awake now :)

I think I understand and sympathise with the heart of your points.

I do meaningless paper pushing work. Really. It’s what I’m good at. I’ve the skills and talents to do it well, but in the big picture scheme of things? It doesn’t contribute. I work in an industry that created a need for itself through bureaucracy and legislation and fear-rattling, and my contribution to the mechanics of what they do it so far being pointless I can’t look it in the eye or I don’t think I could look me in the eye afterwards.

I think what appeals to me about what I termed a subsistence existence (which really is just a pipedream in modern society anyway) was the idea that I can’t fix the world ills. I don’t feel like I can even make the smallest difference. So the idea of reducing down my sphere of influence to just me, and a house in the middle of nowhere, with not much to be responsible for and no capacity to effect others negatively, is pretty attractive.

Or you know, pretty much what you said :)

OK so some people are already writing essays on Buffy but honey they're not COMPULSORY essays, they are COMPULSIVE essays, which is different

Zoe, I honestly don't know if you're agreeing with me, or chiding me. I'm not even sure if that was directed at me. But given my exposure to ME fandom, I think I understand compulsive, compulsory and the fine line that separates them.

This is just a little discussion board for a soon-to-be-gone TV show and its low-rated spinoffs, I'm just throwing out hypotheticals. Sorry.

Personally, I'm not sure how much weight to give this comment. It's not the first time Caroma has said this sort of thing. For example:

Caroma "All Ogle, No Cash -- It's Not Just Annoying, It's Un-American" Mar 29, 2003 12:18:08 pm EST

...plus sundry other things about not being able to take discussions here seriously, e.g.

Caroma "All Ogle, No Cash -- It's Not Just Annoying, It's Un-American" Mar 30, 2003 12:54:02 am EST

For me, it doesn't pose the question, "is serious consideration of Joss's shows valid?" so much as, "why does Caroma always feel compelled to post something of this nature when the discussion gets a bit more intense?".

But that's just me.

Zoe, I honestly don't know if you're agreeing with me, or chiding me. I'm not even sure if that was directed at me. But given my exposure to ME fandom, I think I understand compulsive, compulsory and the fine line that separates them.

{pause to think}

OK.

Edit: < /acting like I'm in a chatroom >
and over editing.

I agree, Fiona. I find it not a little annoying when someone sparks off a debate on what is, let's not forget, the most serious subject of the day, then retreats into "Dude, chill, it's a flippin' TV show!" when they get argued back against.

OK, OK, I shouldn't post before I have my tea. But I'll leave now. Show stuff only. Sorry, so very sorry.

Hi Fiona.

I think I can see Caroma trying to explain her position vis a vis American political media. She was regrouping herself (I think). There are many Americans on the board and they all recieve much the same media message, like with the BBC in the UK. The advantage for conversation here in the Buffista board is that not all the media messages are the same. She has to support her President, of course she does. The it's just a TV show is fair because although this is an internet forum we are hosting a TV show.

patting themselves on the back at how clever and enlightened they are like nobody's ever thought of these ideas before,

When I see US TV show which rip of ancient beliefs and philosophies I have the exact same reaction IJS.

Edit: and genres

Sorry Caroma, but you're doing it too.

The TV here seems to think she outranks the internet, which is bugging me because I'm on both.

And I'm yet to figure out what the internet is actually FOR because pandering to TV show it aint'. Talking to family is nice, but I'd rather be F2F...

But like I said, Caroma, we do take you seriously, so you have a good shot at changing the groupthink if you come from the right angle. And retreating to the show threads is just what I used to do when I pushed Natter too far on my own topics. It's a good place to regroup and remind everyone why they like you in the first place.

Going back a long ways -- meara, it could be that your TiVo is not finding Destinos for two reasons: you may have deleted or never listed the channel from "Channels I Receive" (line up changes happen frequently on my stupid cable system) or else it could be that there are no episodes scheduled in the ten-day window because of pre-emptions/special holiday shows/fund-raising/whatever. Put in a Wishlist for "Destinos" and see if it pops up at some day in the future.

I do think a lot of suburbs could be successfully retrofit for public transit with buses, trackless trolleys, and light rail (many abandoned RR paths out there still). The key is to have them run frequently enough to make them easy and reliable, and that takes funding, and the willingness not to break even. We subsidize driving to a great extent and rarely think twice about whether keeping the roads repaired, eliminating tolls, paying for extra transit police, et cetera are government by its actions encouraging car use.

FWIW, I do own a car, but it is rarely used more than two or three days a week for non-commuting. But then I very deliberately and at great cost chose a location (in Somerville) with access to buses and subways, so that I can commute by public transit. My 5 mile trip typically takes 45-60 minutes... but, 1) by car would be nearly as long, given rush hour predictable mishegas and 2) 20-25 minutes of that can be a healthful walk through a pleasant neighborhood and 3) I get to read during the bus and/or subway trip portions which reclaims that portion of time in a pleasant manner.

But also note: my town is specifically cited in the Streetcar Suburbs book as a "model suburb" that in the late 1800s was built up to take advantage of public transit, with streetcars on nearly all the major roads. My house, built in 1900, never had a garage or driveway because nobody expected to need one.