Adversity strengthens

[Borg Refinery]

Not really, it's difficult to judge the mood of a post. Well done is often said in a sarcastic way.

..shut up flanders.



(jk..couldn't resist )

[Barry]

Personally I would change religious to political in that quote.

As he was a major adherent to the Catholics, I'm sure he knew of what he spoke.

[Barry]

I think Barry has completely missed the point of what I wrote and perceived it as some kind of attack and gone off on one, oh well. More power to his elbow.

Not really, it's difficult to judge the mood of a post. Well done is often said in a sarcastic way.

[Borg Refinery]

Personally I would change religious to political in that quote.

It applies to many things papa.



I think you might like these ones -



"If they [Plato and Aristotle] wrote about politics it was as if to lay down rules for a madhouse.



And if they pretended to treat it as something really important it was because they knew that the madmen they were talking to believed themselves to be kings and emperors. They humored these beliefs in order to calm down their madness with as little harm as possible."



― Blaise Pascal, Pensées



"It would therefore be a good thing for us to obey laws and customs because they are laws: to know that there is no right and just law to be brought in, that we know nothing about it and should consequently only follow those already accepted. In this way we should never give them up. But the people are not amenable to this doctrine, and thus, believing that truth can be found and resides in laws and customs, they believe them and take their antiquity as a proof of their truth (and not just of their authority, without truth). Thus they obey them but are liable to revolt as soon as they are shown to be worth nothing, which can happen with all laws if they are looked at from a certain point of view."

― Blaise Pascal

[papasmurf]

That's a great quote.



I think Barry has completely missed the point of what I wrote and perceived it as some kind of attack and gone off on one, oh well. More power to his elbow.

Personally I would change religious to political in that quote.

[Borg Refinery]

We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart.

The eternal silence of these infinite spaces fills me with dread.

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.

Blaise Pascal

That's a great quote.



I think Barry has completely missed the point of what I wrote and perceived it as some kind of attack and gone off on one, oh well. More power to his elbow.

[papasmurf]

I had never heard of Blaise Pascal. I've just Googled him to have a look at his Wikipedia page.

I wasn't sure what made him a great philosopher, nor am I certain that there is any such thing as a great philosopher.

I suppose I should feel castigated, but I don't. 🖕

We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart.

The eternal silence of these infinite spaces fills me with dread.

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.

Blaise Pascal

[Barry]

Seeing as really great philosophers like Blaise Pascal devoted their whole lives to God, and would never dare to think such a thing, I don't see how you can say this. In a lot of ways, he points to the perfection of God and points to the multitudes of fallibilities in men and their flawed systems, and his own flaws too. But even non-Christian philosophers (good ones anyway) tend to point to their own heavily flawed nature. What's Socrates' most famous quote again...



Edit (2nd):



As well as that Socrates quote, have this one;



"To make light of philosophy is to be a true philosopher" - B Pascal



Well done Barry & Papa.

I had never heard of Blaise Pascal. I've just Googled him to have a look at his Wikipedia page.

I wasn't sure what made him a great philosopher, nor am I certain that there is any such thing as a great philosopher.

I suppose I should feel castigated, but I don't. 🖕

[Borg Refinery]

Awesome stuff.



The jazz and ballet stuff is pretty cool. Most kids probably don't even know what jazz is these days, let alone at 10.



"She's going to be bullied something rotten in secondary school, I just know it."



Nah. You can always go 'Uncle Buck' on the school and the bullies.



"I'm the Psycho grandpa who designs weapons and stuff.. just saying, watch it folks. I'll end ya if you mess with my own."

[johnofgwent]

Madam is charming. You are a lucky fellow.



One day when the world is ready, I will tell the story of when my grandson's school sang Myfanwy at St David's Hall Cardiff.



And the grandson fell asleep.



He is a fine boy, but with a tendency to be a bit casual on matters.

Cheers !



Madam is also one of the a very few with a validated claim to the throne of Hywel Dda whose grandad knows how to make a biological weapon.



Unfortunately two others with the same heritage and back ancestry are rabid welsh nationalists but hey they have no viking DNA



I for one can't wait for Plaid to declare UDI and try to depose Charlie Lug Nuts and Camilla's claim over the land west of Offa's dyke and reinstate the "rightful owner"

[johnofgwent]

Glad to hear she's doing well. I think the lockdown will not stop kids being kids. No matter how hard HM govt tries to regulate human behaviour, kids remain an uncontrollable, irrepressible constant.  



On a random note, I saw a star wars space opera reenactment by some kids many years ago, I thought they cracked luke skywalkers voice really well (whiney kid voice eh) and javva the hut (if that's his name, whatevs) with the big body suit prop. But yeah I can only usually only suffer plays like cats & dogs etc - on stage if they're by kids.

Well, madam has now reached grade 2 in ballet, and grade 1 in tap and Jazz. And all but one of those exams was a distinction.



it's a funny thing, I was never really interested until she started getting good at it, but now I'm hooked. Mind you, when your grand-daughter is the one out front with no safety net, no visual clues and no other performer in her line of sight, with only the tiny marks on the stage floor and the music to go by, AND she has to delay her actions so the "mexican wave" of the canes being swapped from one side to the other passes as one smooth "wave" action from one side of the V formation of dancers on stage to the front and then through her to the other ....



It's not easy. But she does make it look utterly effortless.



And she's good at maths. And I mean scary.



She's going to be bullied something rotten in secondary school, I just know it.

[Borchester]

Madam's doing OK these days.



This was her musical theatre group rehearsing for "Guys And Dolls" and some other stuff the week before this lockdown started



She's in the bottom row third from the left at 1 min 56, but to show what she's capable of,  two minutes 46 seconds in.... **SHE** Choreographed that routine HERSELF. She's ten in August...



Oh yeah, the stage dog... Alfie Bow i think it's called. One of two the woman who runs the group owns, and no stranger to the stage, having taken leading roles in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "Annie" .... (!!)

Madam is charming. You are a lucky fellow.



One day when the world is ready, I will tell the story of when my grandson's school sang Myfanwy at St David's Hall Cardiff.



And the grandson fell asleep.



He is a fine boy, but with a tendency to be a bit casual on matters.

[johnofgwent]

Nice - was the dog part of the timed routine or just by luck  

Alfie has free run of the practice rooms and generally joins in wherever the feeling takes him

[Borg Refinery]

Glad to hear she's doing well. I think the lockdown will not stop kids being kids. No matter how hard HM govt tries to regulate human behaviour, kids remain an uncontrollable, irrepressible constant.  



On a random note, I saw a star wars space opera reenactment by some kids many years ago, I thought they cracked luke skywalkers voice really well (whiney kid voice eh) and javva the hut (if that's his name, whatevs) with the big body suit prop. But yeah I can only usually only suffer plays like cats & dogs etc - on stage if they're by kids.

[Javert]

Madam's doing OK these days.



This was her musical theatre group rehearsing for "Guys And Dolls" and some other stuff the week before this lockdown started



She's in the bottom row third from the left at 1 min 56, but to show what she's capable of,  two minutes 46 seconds in.... **SHE** Choreographed that routine HERSELF. She's ten in August...



Oh yeah, the stage dog... Alfie Bow i think it's called. One of two the woman who runs the group owns, and no stranger to the stage, having taken leading roles in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "Annie" .... (!!)

Nice - was the dog part of the timed routine or just by luck