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LadyofShalott's avatar

‘Nothing is written’...Your ‘bearded lady’ reference made me think of Norah Vincent, the libertarian US journalist whose 2006 book ‘Self Made Man’ retells her experience of living as a man for 18 months. Disguised as a man, she pursued male activities including dating women. Vincent was a lesbian, so this may not have been too challenging; however, living as a man ultimately was. The mental strain of maintaining a false identity eventually caused a depressive breakdown. She ended her life by assisted suicide at a clinic in Switzerland. From living as a man, she had concluded that women were privileged, and that men ‘were suffering’ and ‘needed each other more than anything else.’ She also refused to believe in transgenderism, calling it ‘the death of the self and the soul’. Be careful how you handle fate.

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Hunky Haggis's avatar

Thanks Morgoth. Your article just reinforces my belief that we have to return to our spiritual roots to survive. That there are some things intangible that can't be put on a spreadsheet; like your first kiss, looking at a beautiful church, painting, watching a thunderstorm pass overhead at night, with the window open and a cup of tea. These things can't be sorted alphabetically in column A on an excel spreadsheet to work out how to sell a product to a certain demographic; they're intangible.

I was thinking of something, the cycle of things (stick with me on this). As a Scotsman, I play a bit of golf. Golf started in Scotland, a shepherd decided it would be a good idea to bring a stick and ball with him whilst he was with his sheep.

This idea grew, and became the game we know.

It started off as an "art", something you had a knack of doing. Then some of the fundamentals and basic laws of the game were discovered and developed. The technology of the sticks and balls developed.

The game became about 50% "knack/natural gift" and 50% "technology". The "Golden Years" of golf were the '60s and '70s when, my favourite golfer, Jack Nicklaus dominated the game. His swing wasn't "conventional" but he is regarded as the best player of all time as his strength of will (Faustian Spirit) got him through.

As the technology developed and mobile phones and golf apps became available to the masses, we are now at a point where the ideal angles of the body and club have been worked out, so that, an average player with a mobile phone and the latest golf clubs, can develop his swing to wherw he can now hit the ball as far as, or further, than Jack Nicklaus at his peak.

Now, the "great copiers" the Asians, have factory lines of children with mobile phones at driving ranges developing their cut-and-paste swings. Where the individuality and magic has been condensed down to angles, torque and clubhead speed.

What I'm trying to say is that Western Man invents something, it goes through a magical, "Golden Age" period, the subjects mystique is turned into centimetres, metres, kilograms, degrees etc. the magic goes, and it descends into corporate materialism with a substandard, plastic version developed in the Far East, stripped of all secrets and magic.

Anyone else have similar thoughts? Or do I just have too much time on my hands lol.

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