DesDownunder's Blog

*looks around* *shrugs*I know you can't be calling me a nice guy.*growls*That's not very nice of you at all.I'm a piece of shit and hate all...oh look, butterflies. Weeeeeeee*takes off chasing the beautiful winged creatures*Jason R.

see Jason I was right. Only nice guys at AD.If you weren't nice you would not have chased the butterfly because they were beautiful.If you were really evil you would have captured them and torn their wings off and watched their blooded bodies writhe as they die a horrible death, then ground them into the ground with your heel.But no, you danced gaily around the hillside going weeeeeeeee, with the butterflies.Yep! Another awesomely nice dude, is our Jason.

You guys are beautiful, and I thank the deitys for it.*gets overly sentimental and canters off looking for butterflies*

Thanks Camy.you too are an Awesomely loving Emu type Dude.

Good post, Des. Fortunately, there are many good people on this planet. It is too bad that they are sometimes difficult to spot, but they are there. They volunteer in thrift shops, they deliver meals to the housebound, they visit sick people in the hospital, they work with abused women and children, they provide victim services and counselling, they build houses that are given away, they bag sand in floods, rescue farm animals and pets from bad owners. They are all around, and the beauty, and sadness, is that they are so difficult to spot and seek no recognition.

Yes Trab you are right, thay are hard to find, but when you need them they do seem to pop up.Thanks Trab you are one of our trusted Awesome loving dudes.

I don't quite know what to say here. I mean, I'm still young (that's not to say you're old) and don't have the experiences you guys have. All I know is that a butterfly is really beautiful. That's all. Thank you.Hehe. Kidding.The world isn't perfect without its imperfections. That's all I know. Yes, some crimes are heinous. We don't condone them. But we wouldn't know that a perfect world is without them if we don't know they happen. I don't exactly know how to express myself that much on this, but I think bad things are necessary to know the good.

Umm...Des...for the record. I don't do anything gaily.*thinks about it for a moment*Well...maybe a few things gaily. But that's it.Jason R.

I don't quite know what to say here. I mean, I'm still young (that's not to say you're old) and don't have the experiences you guys have. All I know is that a butterfly is really beautiful. That's all. Thank you.Hehe. Kidding.The world isn't perfect without its imperfections. That's all I know. Yes, some crimes are heinous. We don't condone them. But we wouldn't know that a perfect world is without them if we don't know they happen. I don't exactly know how to express myself that much on this, but I think bad things are necessary to know the good.

RADsteven, You are expressing yourself quite well. Age (I admit I am old but young at heart), what aging has shown me is that bad things exist whether they are necessary or not. This means that we don't have to worry about the bad things being necessary, there will always be bad things happening somewhere. However the world is neither perfect or imperfect, it just, is. We are the ones who judge it one way or the other.We are the ones who apply ideals of perfection.I didn't actually mention any idea for a perfect world in my post, but if you interpret my statement about, Peace and love not being scary thoughts, as intention for a perfect world then I am somewhat flattered and can understand your concerns.My message, if you like to think of it as a message, is that one of the things we can do about bad things, is to not ignore them, but to see them and do what we can about them. This does not mean we make the world perfect. It means we will not be ignoring those things we can contribute to making life happy, whether that be our lives or other peoples.In any case it would hopefully mean we will not add to the horror that so often surrounds us all.These things I believe, would be good.The reference for knowing what is good in this context is happiness that does no harm. (I am not saying it is always easy. Worthwhile, but not easy.)RADsteven, you have shown yourself to be an Awesome thinking Dude. And yes, butterflies are beautiful.

I was thinking this was getting a bit syrupy and wondering why, when it struck me. No Raccoon. No bitter with the sweet, no sharp with the smooth, no caustic wit to pierce the pleasant bubble that's forming here.Enjoy. It won't last long! Cole

I was thinking this was getting a bit syrupy and wondering why, when it struck me. No Raccoon. No bitter with the sweet, no sharp with the smooth, no caustic wit to pierce the pleasant bubble that's forming here.Enjoy. It won't last long! Cole

It is not how long it lasts that is important, it is enough that it existed at all."Run, run boy. Tell the world that once, there was a place called Camelot!" Cole Parker, our awesomely astute dude.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I miss the little fellow. The Raccoon that is, all my shoes are clean and I think the rabies cleared up as well.Wibby, come back please and destroy all the good will and love we have.Jason R.

I must admit to waiting with interest for the Raccoon's remarks.

Time's up. Raccoon's Here.First, I want to commend Des for having good intentions. The world is a better place because of people like him.Second, certain communities have a higher percentage of decent folk: AD being one of them in spite of myself.Third, I want to reaffirm the general observation that people suck and that's the rule rather than the exception. Des, as it is often said, let me remind you that "no good deed goes unpunished" and also remind you that the road to Hell needs paving, and what better to do it with than "good intentions"Racoon does very, very, very nice things for a select group of people but that's a rare and far-apart thing.

Wibby has arrived. Hooray!I am flattered at your remark that "The world is a better place because of people like" me.I'm not certain I agree, but thanks Wibby. As I was falling off cloud 9, you know the one with the silver lining, I was aware of a euphoric vertigo as I then realised that it was sort of a back-handed compliment because you also say, "good deeds get punished" and "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.""No good deed goes unpunished." is a nice piece of near-sophistry albeit with a relevance as a metaphor for, consequence of taking an action thought to be good.The road to Hell does not of course exist for me, as I don't believe in Hell, being an atheist, but again the symbolism behind the phrase is relevant.Both of these are really metaphors for pointing out that the consequence of action, is to pay a price for having acted or having intentions, good or bad. Karma, if you like.Then we come to your observation that people, as a rule, suck. Why do you think that is?I actually don?t disagree with you, but I think we can set an example that they can either accept or deny. It is up to them.I do note however, that whenever I am loving and happy, the world seems to laugh with me rather than at me.The dark side is not hard to find. The good can take somewhat more effort.But I firmly believe that if we go out and assume some degree of goodness, we will find it, even spread it around a little.In fact Wibby I think that is what you are doing under the guise of being a hard nose mischievous but cute Raccoon. You remind us to be careful, when we try to find that goodness. And we need that just as much as we need the message to dare to love, to dare to seek peace and happiness, (without harm.) Wibby I think you might appreciate this quote:Aldous Huxley: At least two thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity, idealism, dogmatism and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religious or political idols. When good people do nothing, Evil takes over.This quote is also interesting::Albert Einstein: The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. Personally Wibby, I thank you for being an awesome admonisher type dude, who reminds us to take care of the realities around us. You often do it with a cynicism that would have done Diogenes proud, and you are certainly entertaining. Now if we just get you to see that that is worthy of the love and respect we have for you. with affection and respect.

Dearest Des, Are you trying to prove that people suck, by doing so in an upwards direction?I certainly agree that we are the richer for getting pearls of racoon droppings strewn our way, but maybe they're coincidentally and not deliberately bestowed upon us?

Trab, I don't have a choice here, my position demands that I believe in Wibby's goodness and desire to do good, even if he does not subscribe to that assessment. Also he doesn't have to believe in it either, but I maintain his actions and words speak otherwise.No I am not trying to prove people suck, Only that I agree wiith Wibby's observation.Where I differ perhaps is that I believe in goodness being a natural part of us that if we abandon or ignore, causes us to assume we suck.I don't think Wibby has abondoned or ignores his goodness as his posts all have merit in alerting us to dangers or a different view of things.

Hey Des, a few things:1. You say you don't believe in Hell. Obviously you have never been to Detroit. Or flown through JFK. Or been through immigration at Pudong International in Shanghai. I can assure you Hell DOES exist.2. The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. -- Amen and thanks for sharing that quote. It is true.3. I am not a cynic. That is simply untrue. I am a PROFESSIONAL Cynic. Your apology is accepted.-- WibbyPS: Don't sell yourself short.

Hey Des, a few things:1. You say you don't believe in Hell. Obviously you have never been to Detroit. Or flown through JFK. Or been through immigration at Pudong International in Shanghai. I can assure you Hell DOES exist.2. The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. -- Amen and thanks for sharing that quote. It is true.3. I am not a cynic. That is simply untrue. I am a PROFESSIONAL Cynic. Your apology is accepted.-- WibbyPS: Don't sell yourself short.

1. These places may indeed be hellish, but are the roads to them paved with good intentions? (You forgot to mention Adelaide but that is understandable because hell here is so well concealed.) 2. Yes! We share a respect for that truth. 3. And I never meant for you to be thought of as anything else but professional in your cynicism, hence the reference to Diogenes. My humble apology is given if you took my meaning otherwise. PS: I am not for sale; my love is free for all. (Put whatever meaning you wish to that. ) I really would like to thank all of you for your comments and thoughts to this entry; you guys are truly AwesomeDudes.I must of course, lest he feel forgotten, mention THE AwesomeDude himself, without whom these blogs and forums would not exist.Thanks Mike.

I thought I was the only one who makes corn-syrupy posts regularly. Gasp. A while back, I was having a really crappy day, a lot of things, and lo and behold, a total stranger (a checker) gave me this really nice smile and comments. (Cute, she really should have a boyfriend.)What's my point? You run into random acts of kindness, or even ppl who will go out of their way to help, whether friends or ppl you've never met before.As long as there are a few of them, I can put up with most of the small-minded ones. "You gotta keep / chasin' that butterfly / oh ye-ah, my, my." -- The Verve

Back in 70s when the peace and love culture of the 60s started to break down and go down the gurgler, I remember that someone (can't remember who) stated that if just some small percent of the Earth's population practised transcendental meditation, then the effect on humanity would be the same as if everyone did it. There needs to be a balance maintained between the opposites.I guess then, we can see, when a few people believe we are all basically bad, that too can have a far-reaching effect.Negative attitudes can be overcome, sometimes with effort and difficulty. However, bouncy, happy people who have maintained that wonderful exuberance of youth, can and do make the rest of us feel happy, even if just for a moment. As the awesome Blue dude's experience would suggest, "Laugh and the world laughs with you." "A smile is a curve that sets a lot of things straight." Uh Oh! Okay perhaps we won't go there. I doubt very much if any amount of smiling is going to make me straight. Why would I want to be straight when I am happy and gay?