What does River see?
POSTED BY: asarian
UPDATED: Sunday, February 26, 2006 09:11
VIEWED: 6813
PAGE 3 of 4
That was hillarious.
My first thought after looking at the picture: I do see the girl, but it's obviously not a picture. If it was intended to be there, it is a stencil or something of the like.
I watched it fulled speed three or four times afterwords. It's actually Simon's shoulder. Shaped real funny though, and in the next scene you can still make out a stretched version of the dancing girl.
Nice try Asarian. Good pick up, though.
Quote:
Originally posted by EyesDriedOpen:
Now that I look at it a little closer... I think I see some plaque build up.
EDO
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ChristMoorhead:
Just so I'm understanding you correctly -- cuz when I first read your pseudo-philosophical crap I was sure you were just taking the piss -- you're actually claiming to have a master's degree from the school of hard knocks, then?
...Enough to pass judgement on the suffering of others, and finding them wanting by your standards, to condemn others of being 'pussies'? Furthermore, you feel a deep-seated need to put those others in their places, to belittle their feelings on a friendly website?
Wow. Are you ever f*cked up in the head, dude...
Sympathetically,
zoid
_________________________________________________
"I aim to misbehave." -Capt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity, a.k.a. 'the BDBOF'
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Sigh. Time to close this thread.
I have to mention, 'cause I'm in the Navy... "Go Navy, Beat Army"
Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
ChristMoorhead:
Just so I'm understanding you correctly -- cuz when I first read your pseudo-philosophical crap I was sure you were just taking the piss -- you're actually claiming to have a master's degree from the school of hard knocks, then?
...Enough to pass judgement on the suffering of others, and finding them wanting by your standards, to condemn others of being 'pussies'? Furthermore, you feel a deep-seated need to put those others in their places, to belittle their feelings on a friendly website?
Wow. Are you ever f*cked up in the head, dude...
Sympathetically,
zoid
_________________________________________________
"I aim to misbehave." -Capt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity, a.k.a. 'the BDBOF'
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Quote:
Originally posted by ThePistonEngine:
That was hillarious.
My first thought after looking at the picture: I do see the girl, but it's obviously not a picture. If it was intended to be there, it is a stencil or something of the like.
I watched it fulled speed three or four times afterwords. It's actually Simon's shoulder. Shaped real funny though, and in the next scene you can still make out a stretched version of the dancing girl.
Nice try Asarian. Good pick up, though.
Awwww. I still like what I saw better. :) Thanks for your further investigation, though.
The irony of it actually is, that this whole "dancing girl" thing turns out to be a good metaphor for how I look at life in general. Given the option to see a helmet, or a dancing girl, I want to see the latter; I choose to see the latter, rather. Really, reality is overrated. Because, quite frankly, it sucks. Until, one fine day, I was told: "You just need to look with better eyes." And so I try. I choose to see the beauty of things. And I'm neither embarrassed now, nor sad because of your findings. Tomorrow I will make a conscious effort to see the world in the exact same light. Better for the soul. There's a lot of Kaylee in me, really.
River is truly awesome; and I believe in her, and all she stands for, with all my heart. Because I need that belief. Because without River this world is simply too overwhelming for me. "Little souls, big world," as she said so beautifully.
--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam
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TPE:
Beauty makes me cry. I like to imagine a perfect world. I see castles in cloudscapes. I believe that our imaginations are the greatest gifts we possess, and that we should never allow anything to rob us of those treasures.
I have also had events transpire in my life, any one of which would have killed lesser men. But rather than allow those "harsh realities of the world beat him into oblivion", I have refused to surrender. As a consequence, I find myself better prepared to recognize the moments of beauty that Life occasionally unfolds before our very eyes, and better able to accept them with an open heart.
So, I say, "Keep on dreaming. Keep on living a chivalrous life, and having a pervasive sense of joyous playfulness in your life." Don't be a weakling, and allow the child within you to be emotionally abused by 'the world'...
The school of hard knocks teaches humility, compassion, and an overwhelming appreciation of even the simplest pleasures (i.e., your wife's smile, the smell of your children's hair as you hug them). Anyone who spits on the suffering of others by calling it 'whining' hasn't learned their lesson well enough.
Respectfully,
zoid
P.S.
That which does not kill you... Frequently leaves you irreparably broken, to stoically live out your days with diminished physical capacity and in constant pain. But nothing can break my spirit, nor my sense of wonder at the amazing beauty all around me. Maybe I and others like me are just better connected to Life than those who give up.
P.P.S.
I know it serves "the needs of the military" to induce such psychological programming upon its members; but I'd seriously consider taking my mind back from the programmers, at some point. You don't have to integrate all that crap to be a good soldier. You can make a conscious choice to retain your humanity. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt...
_________________________________________________
"I aim to misbehave." -Capt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity, a.k.a. 'the BDBOF'
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Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
TPE:
Beauty makes me cry. I like to imagine a perfect world. I see castles in cloudscapes. I believe that our imaginations are the greatest gifts we possess, and that we should never allow anything to rob us of those treasures.
I have also had events transpire in my life, any one of which would have killed lesser men. But rather than allow those "harsh realities of the world beat him into oblivion", I have refused to surrender. As a consequence, I find myself better prepared to recognize the moments of beauty that Life occasionally unfolds before our very eyes, and better able to accept them with an open heart.
So, I say, "Keep on dreaming. Keep on living a chivalrous life, and having a pervasive sense of joyous playfulness in your life." Don't be a weakling, and allow the child within you to be emotionally abused by 'the world'...
The school of hard knocks teaches humility, compassion, and an overwhelming appreciation of even the simplest pleasures (i.e., your wife's smile, the smell of your children's hair as you hug them). Anyone who spits on the suffering of others by calling it 'whining' hasn't learned their lesson well enough.
Respectfully,
zoid
P.S.
That which does not kill you... Frequently leaves you irreparably broken, to stoically live out your days with diminished physical capacity and in constant pain. But nothing can break my spirit, nor my sense of wonder at the amazing beauty all around me. Maybe I and others like me are just better connected to Life than those who give up.
P.P.S.
I know it serves "the needs of the military" to induce such psychological programming upon its members; but I'd seriously consider taking my mind back from the programmers, at some point. You don't have to integrate all that crap to be a good soldier. You can make a conscious choice to retain your humanity. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt...
_________________________________________________
"I aim to misbehave." -Capt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity, a.k.a. 'the BDBOF'
I'm TPE? If so, are you referring to my response about the picture or me replying to ChristMooreHead?
If the latter...I believe you misunderstand my post. I wasn't agreeing or disagreeing with you or Christ. My "Go Navy, Beat Army" was simply a prod because he's a soldier and I'm a sailor. A freindly kick in the balls, if you will.
I certainly did not mean to imply that you were wrong in anything you said.
If you were talking about me unvieling the mystery of the Dancing River, I was simply being analytical. Like most people here, I too see the beauty of Firefly.
As for your comments on the military, I do not know your experience with the military and I am simply an Academy student, but refering to the training as pyschological programming, though true in some respects, is fairly misguided. Of course, I'm recieving vastly different training than enlisted.
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ThePistonEngine (aka, "TPE", for short):
I was simply responding to your quoting my entire post, in which my intent was to pull CM off of asarian, rather than just watch asarian get mugged in public. To that, you curtly replied, "Sigh. Time to close this thread."
So my second post was meant to say, "No... Just time to treat others with the same respect we'd demand for ourselves." Bullies get my dander up. I even let his first shot at asarian go, cuz like I said, I thought he was joking. I mean, it had to be a joke, right? Publicly ridiculing a guy because he sees a dancer in a face shield, a bird in tea leaves, or a rabbit in a cloud?
Telling asarian that he's got too romantic a world view? Where does anybody get off doing that?
Incredible.
As to the military thang: Good luck with the Academy. I'm sure I don't need to remind you that River's Academy experience turned out to be somewhat more mind-altering than she originally anticipated.
The military mindset gets given to you in a big dose at boot/basic (at least in my day). But then it continues to insinuate its way into your mental processes on pretty much a daily basis the whole time you're 'in'. And, sorry to say, it's the same with officers, just with a different focus. That's why so many former members have a hard time adjusting to civilian life when they finally do get out. You've been programmed so thoroughly to think a certain way, a particular slant, that former members frequently finds themselves at odds with 'the real world'. Not so much non-functional, as just out-of-synch with the way average J. Citizens view the world.
You gotta be really self-aware, but the game can be beaten; at least to a greater extent than if you just let them mold your head like so much putty. And if your core belief is: "I am willing to sacrifice any and every aspect of my being for my family's safety and well-being, and for the families of all Americans", then you'll be a good soldier, even if you don't allow the head games to become an integral part of your psychological makeup. It ain't about politics, ain't about 'my country right or wrong'. Leave all that to the politicians and the acting community. It's about you, willingly risking your ass to protect your family and the families of other common men, from those who would kill/subjugate them.
But like I said, the ways the military gets into your head is very subtle, and is subtly different for different classes of warrior, depending on whether they want you to throw yourself at a heavily fortified position, carpet bomb an enemy position, or turn a key and push a button while buried beneath a Mid-American wheat field or beneath the Indian Ocean... As Book might say, "They'll come at you sideways. Sidle up and smile." Just never become deadened to the fact that they're doing it, everyday, in every way, and you should be alright.
Good luck and Godspeed.
Sincerely,
zoid
_________________________________________________
"I aim to misbehave." -Capt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity, a.k.a. 'the BDBOF'
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Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
ThePistonEngine (aka, "TPE", for short):
...
But like I said, the ways the military gets into your head is very subtle, and is subtly different for different classes of warrior, depending on whether they want you to throw yourself at a heavily fortified position, carpet bomb an enemy position, or turn a key and push a button while buried beneath a Mid-American wheat field or beneath the Indian Ocean... As Book might say, "They'll come at you sideways. Sidle up and smile." Just never become deadened to the fact that they're doing it, everyday, in every way, and you should be alright.
Good luck and Godspeed.
Sincerely,
zoid
_________________________________________________
"I aim to misbehave." -Capt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity, a.k.a. 'the BDBOF'
I understand completely. As I said, my experiance is somewhat limited, but I do not see it the same way you do. Yes, the military does "program" people with a certain mindset that allows them to do things that most people would crap their pants at doing.
But, at least as an officer, we are taught to think through all the consequences and ethics of our decisions. Carpet bombing, though it killed millions of people in ww2, would almost never be considered today.
But I do see your point. For the weak minded, the rigid conformity, selfless brotherhood, and strict disclipline may become too much of a person, and they will have trouble adapting. Killing people and seeing buddies killed probably goes someways towards changing a body. However, I see it as a function of the person, not of the training and indoctrination.
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Wow, I guess you told me.
Have you ever:
Used your teeth as wire strippers?
Given yourself stitches?
Made improvised munitions with no base supplies?
Pissed in a canteen?
Gone a month without bathing?
If so, you MIGHT just be a !HOOAH MOTHERF*CKER!
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And what's with the whole competativeness between services? Aint we all fighting for the same thing?
Have you ever:
Used your teeth as wire strippers?
Given yourself stitches?
Made improvised munitions with no base supplies?
Pissed in a canteen?
Gone a month without bathing?
If so, you MIGHT just be a !HOOAH MOTHERF*CKER!
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