This is great.
Laconic: Thank you, thank you.
Regular: Perhaps one day I'll write that StB rewrite, with the addition of Hatate? Maybe you'll help? Hehehe.
What are your thoughts on the "red state/blue state" dichotomy?
Laconic: Artificial -> Real.
Regular: What's always interested me about artificial divides is that over time, belief in them makes them real. I do not actually think a good amount of the red/blue dividing characteristics were much different from one another in goals (style and process, maybe), but over time, based on a belief that they were really that different, they have
become that different.
My thoughts are worried. To use a recent example, gay marriage rights finally being recognized in New York won't be respected in red states any time soon. I'm a human rights universalist, meaning that I don't think recognition of your rights should be limited by national or state borders. I worry that the red states' slowness to change won't prove more of a detriment than a tempering force in the increasing pace of global politics, and there are enough of them that the entire US might be left behind when it least needs to be.
That said, Colorado is firmly purple, since the countryside is red and the cities are blue. It balances us out pretty well here, I think. Helps that everyone here, regardless of party affiliation, is an environmentalist.
Are Democrats and Republicans in a race to the middle, or are they vastly different political parties?
Laconic: Both.
Regular: My training in American politics teaches me that they are very very different. My anarchist leanings tell me that, once more, this is an artificial divide and there is not any real difference between the two, but that even though Dems are tepidly left of center at best, they are still preferable to the corporatists and moralists that dominate the GOP. That said, the increasing lunacy of the right will distance the two parties over time (I certainly hope so, at least), and we'll see a wider chasm between them then.
Could a truly multi-party system ever exist in America and if so, under what conditions?
Laconic: Maybe.
Regular: Duverger's Law tells me that this is a natural outcome, but I wonder if it cannot be bucked. It would have to take a vast paradigm shift over a very short amount of time, though, to make people believe that breaking out of a dichotomy is viable, that their vote will not go to waste. In short, they have to believe in a multi-party system before that multi-party system exists in order to make it possible.
Do you believe that medical science can one day cure mankind of all diseases and disorders?
Laconic: Nope.
Regular: We're not that smart, and never will be. Bacteria and viruses can out-evolve us as we try to catch up, too. That said, I still hope we get close (though not close enough that we all get wiped out by a mutation of the common cold).
What events do you think have had the most impact on the development of modern culture?
Laconic: Writing, and, um...
Regular: Writing was our greatest invention. (Wheels are not useful everywhere. Writing is.) The printing press was also, naturally, a biggie. And, um, agriculture, of course. As for events and not inventions... The spread of Christianity, for better or for worse. The discovery* of the Americas, and the looting of entire continents by Europe. The world wars. And the ongoing process of globalization.
* I hate to find myself in the unpleasant position of defending Columbus on anything, but why does he get denied the 'discovery' of the Americas (which was always there) and Franklin Watson and Crick get to 'discover' the molecular structure of DNA (which was also always there)? I don't get it.What is your opinion on the separation of church and state?
Laconic: It works both ways.
Regular: It's almost always used in the context of protecting the state from "religion's corrupting influence", but I think a lot of people overlook that it also protects religion from the state's corrupting influence. A state that is also a religion unto itself is a horror that I hope we leave behind in the past soon. It is nothing but a good idea for both sides, though.
Welfare or workfare?
Laconic: Both.
Regular: Welfare, as I understand the term, shouldn't be negotiable. Everyone has a right to life, and as such the state is the duty-bearer for that bare minimum. That said, it by necessity cannot be very much. Which is where workfare steps in. Effort spent should obviously bring rewards superior to those you're just entitled to on basis of being human, after all.
Does the thought of having a family appeal to you?
Laconic: Yes.
Regular: But not in the conventional sense. I never want to be a mother, for starters. But that is not mutually exclusive to having a family. A family, to me, is having a network of loved ones, related by blood or not. (That would be kinship.) So I would count very close friends and adopted children as a family. Marriage? I'm iffy about that, and this is a massive concession from someone who used to run screaming from the idea of ever getting married.
Mankind discovers a fully sentient alien race capable of communication. What is the first thing you would ask them?
Laconic: "Do you come in peace?"
Regular: Romantic-sounding overtures like "can you give us the key to solving world hunger?" aside, knowing if we're all about to get blown up is the immediate, most practical thing to worry about.
Using the letters A, B, C, D, and F, as well as plus and minus signs as necessary, rank the quality of the United States' media.
Laconic: Hmm. It depends.
Regular: Media, or even its various mediums of it, are not monoliths in and of themselves. TV has both Al-Jazeera and Faux News on it, for one. With few exceptions, though, I give all TV a C-, because C is supposed to be average. Oversimplified dichotomies and only presenting one perspective (the US perspective, regardless of main party affiliation) do not do our national dialogue any favours. Newspapers get C+ to Bs, depending on the paper and the writers. (Some writers get As unto themselves.) Radio varies too wildly to give it one sweeping general score. This applies to the internet as well.
In your opinion, is the world becoming a better or worse place in general?
Laconic: Both, simultaneously.
Regular: It's becoming more corporatist and militant (private security, anyone?) and the gap between rich and poor gets starker with each passing day. This is bad. It's becoming more and more connected with one another. This is neutral. Ideas are easier to transmit, and alliances between isolated groups that share common interests are more possible. This is good. In other words, it's not any better or worse than the world we've had in the past. It is, however, getting massively depleted of resources, and way too quickly. By necessity, this invokes the law of scarcity, so I'm going to have to say that it is leaning towards getting worse.
Why the hell does the American academic grading system skip the letter E?
Laconic: Prejudice against vowels other than A.
How much spending money do you think I should bring to NDK? I'll only be there for a day, but you're more knowledgeable than I.
Laconic: $50.
Regular: Not because you'll be spending all that amount, but because it's just better to be prepared. Saturday brings some good deals in the dealer's room (since that's the day that most people are there), so you'll be wanting to take advantage of that. And also for emergencies.
Okay, serious question. Regardless of what kind of relationship you want to pursue with a person, what characteristic, what personality trait, do you like most in a person?
Laconic: Just one? Patience.
Regular: With patience, all other bad traits can be weeded out in time, or good traits be nurtured and grown. Honesty is a very very very close second, though; I just chose patience because not rushing into things is something I admire over being honest about things and not doing anything about it.
Why did that chicken cross the road?
Laconic: To hide from Purvis.
Why did the Purvis cross the road?
Laconic: Because he is definitely not a vegetarian.
What culture do you feel you most fit in with, whether it be a culture of the past or present, and why?
Laconic: Not very many.
Regular: As fond as I am of glossing over some things in history to make past societies look good and refraining from accentuating the negative, I cannot help but notice the distinct lack of gender equality in virtually all of them. The idea of being blamed for my own abuse, not being able to own property, and being degraded as a human being in general does not appeal to me in the least bit.
That said, ancient Sparta sounds cool. As usual, women were the expendable gender, but being able to own property and being treated like a human being for the most part is something that won't pop up in the rest of the world for a couple more centuries. But I could never get along with the glamorizing of war and murder, so... maybe modern Canada? Too bad I hate hockey. No, there's really no place or time I fit into perfectly.
Since everyone is quizzing you about themselves, I shall join in!
Laconic: Heh heh, I'm not entirely sure I should be doing this ^^' But as long as it doesn't become a fad, sure.
What's the thing you like most about me?
Laconic: The steel in your spine.
Regular: You have absolutely nothing against speaking to people to call them out on their behaviour or words. I admire that greatly.
What's the thing you like least about me?
Laconic: Self-victimization/self-centredness.
Regular: You tend to assume the worst possible meaning of words directed at you, and actively seek to find out those things. Not something I can admire very much at all.
What's your general impression of me?
Laconic: Very cool young woman. We bros.
Regular: I like you, and I like your taste in music! I just wish I wouldn't feel as if I were walking on eggshells at times around you, though. ^^'
Completely unrelated to me, have you ever tried to read Purvis's Quests? I know you've said in the past you don't like the quest format, but I'm curious if you've tried to read one all the way through out of curiosity
Laconic: A few times.
Regular: I tried to read Utsuho Quest as it came out, but I just didn't have the time to follow it. The size of the quests intimidates me and my slow computer.
What do you like most about touhou? (if you answered that already and I forgot, I'm sorry)
Laconic: Its flexibility.
Regular:
AppealOfTouhou.jpgIs Misology part of the reason you hate mafia (since it tends to devolve to "I CAN LOGICK BETTER HA HA" far more often than it should)?
Laconic: Hit it right on the nail.
Regular: Yes, exactly. Its utter pointlessness has a lot to do with it, too. In the end, all the vitriol and obsessive reading and rereading is for nothing, and nothing changes. I absolutely hate hate hate HATE getting into fights or arguments, and the only reason I ever do is when there's something I really have to stand up for (like staff forum arguments) or if something bad must be prevented from happening. Mafia, on the other hand, just reiterates itself with each passing game. I only get into arguments if I have reason to believe that it's all or nothing, and there is no second chance.
What do you think of the new color scheme?
Laconic: It's cute.
Regular: But it is also something I hope is confined to CPMC. I rather like the serious dark background instead of this for the rest of the forum.
Why do you hate drawing attention to yourself, even when it is to your detriment?
Laconic: I do not see how having everyone's attention focused on me is a good environment for me to find my own answers, ever.
Regular: I am an intuitive person. If I am in over my head, I will let it be known. But if something is happening in my own life and I decide not get help from others for it, that is almost always because having other people interfering in my affairs and getting more information on me than I would ever want them to have is not something I think is a good idea. I do not believe in the least bit in 'letting it all out', except under very specific circumstances. I also do not believe that failure to do this will end up in me exploding someday. I just grit my teeth and deal with it like a man. (Or woman, as the case may be.)
If you could selfishly demand one thing of your friends, what would it be?
Laconic: To forget about me if I am ever gone for good.
Regular: Leaving a huge hole in the hearts of people I care about would hurt them, and that's not something I'd ever want to be responsible for.
How about this?
:3
Laconic: Needs more white petals to become a Tudor rose.
You mentioned that you liked swing and jazz music. Mind sharing one or two of your favorites?
Regular: What I was just listening to on Foobar is a good place to start.
Brown Derby Jump,
The Big Swing, and a bunch of others that aren't on YouTube, probably because CPD makes a sport of putting as many innuendoes as they possibly can into one song (see: Flovilla Thatch vs The Virile Garbageman).
What is a skill you would wish to improve in the future, or start to learn altogether, in the case of not being experienced in whatever it is?
Laconic: Timing.
Regular: My internal clock is permanently haywire, and I have a very hard time keeping track of time's proper passing, as I tend to think more time has passed than it actually has, and think of a century as a "really short amount of time". I would like to be able to have a saner sense of time's passing.
What are your views on the field of psychology? Psychiatry?
Laconic: Interesting as hell.
Regular: I love them and am highly intrigued by a lot of the ideas in there. I am much more of a biological psychologist than anything else, but all of it is fascinating. Psychiatry I have no experience with it of itself, but from a distance it seems really interesting, too!
What do you think are the best/most important qualities a human being can have?
Laconic: Patience, honesty, and radical self-sacrifice.
Regular: From the other question earlier, patience is the biggie. There's nothing better than a plan that takes place over multiple generations to catch someone unawares, and a lot can happen in a century. (Do you see what I mean by having a skewed sense of time?) Honesty is its supplement, but I don't think dishonesty can pass the test of time very well, so I hope it develops from patience. And radical self-sacrifice is probably the quality I admire the most, though it is properly an action, not a trait, lived out day by day.
I am saving Purvis', Hele's, Momi's, and Solais' questions for tomorrow because it is 4 AM and I have class in a few hours' time. Will get to the rest when I return.
