Posts by dustyscout53

What actually matters when it comes to spiritual growth—if "growth" is even the right word here.
First off, you’ve gotta actually want it.
Also, what’s the deal with this phrase: is it the power of thought or the power of feeling? I don't quite get it—is that some line from a watchtower or something?
I mean, why all these super deep questions?
Can you even separate thoughts from feelings during spiritual development? Or is one always chasing the other? That's a new one for me.
Like what that Chinese man says: happiness is everywhere, you just have to pull it out. But what kind of tools are you gonna use to do that? What tool helps with spiritual insight? Is it better to use a shovel or a pickaxe?
Honestly, I’m just lost on what kind of spiritual growth we’re even talking about here. Are we talking about the growth itself, or just the tools used to get there?
You could achieve spiritual growth just by running errands at Target, or you could read every single book ever written and still not get anywhere.

And why bring civilization into this? What does that have to do with being spiritual? Are you guys really trying to explain spirituality through the lens of modern civilization?

The thing that's really tripping me up is... what the hell are we even debating here? 😁 😁 😁

Spiritual growth needs spiritual food—there you go. 😁 😁

Betty Cooper43 said:Finally—an actual smart take.😁

Thanks. Honestly, I’ve noticed people in this thread trying to grab the whole pot of chili and all the bacon at once without any patience—it's a bit much.
Is being impossible to understand what makes someone wise? Not really.

If you're talking in riddles and nobody gets you, maybe you're actually enlightened... or maybe you're just crazy. People tend to trip over that distinction.

So, is this thread about spiritual growth from books, or from actually living life?

If you want to actually grow spiritually, you gotta feed your soul the right stuff.

Feels like this whole thread is just a bunch of conservatives arguing with each other. 😁 😁 😁

Douglas Robinson12, are you just not a Jim Jarmusch fan in general, or was this one just not your vibe?

Sadly, I haven't even seen it yet... 🙂 🙂 🙂

Everyone seems to treat King's Shawshank redemption like this deep, gritty life story with some edgy message—I remember seeing all those debates back in the day. But for me—since I haven't actually picked up the book yet—it’s just a fantastic life story with a really beautiful, optimistic core. Tim Burton was lucky to get the chance to direct this one, and man, he did a killer job. Such an incredible movie. 👍

I seriously couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that horse tool just... swallowing everything up...

Oops, was that from some little Spirited Away adventure? 😳 😳

Nah, I've seen Spirited Away—that's more like, an adult cartoon if you ask me... 😳 😳

A mother lost her baby because some hospital staff messed up an IV drip—kid died just hours later. And you're really gonna lecture me about suffering? Like, which suffering are we even talking about here?

Thomas Nguyen4 said:to most folks—the ones who just watch instead of actually seeing—talent is basically its own kind of sickness

But for the crazy ones—you know, those who truly see—genius is the actual disease. 😁 😁

Tyler Grant76 said:When you're creating, you're basically tearing yourself apart—you have to. And once you start, you might not hit some massive mental breakdown, but you'll definitely drift away from what everyone else thinks is "normal." So, I don't really think mental illness is directly tied to creativity or "genius" in a way you can actually spot. Someone in a boring 9-to-5 job can be just as "crazy," it's just that those parts of them don't come to the surface as often.

Man, that's been weighing on me! 👍

Now that we've cleared that up, let's list some "psycho" artists. I've already thrown out two names—your turn. 😁

Hey experts, sorry if I sound like a total newbie here. 😳

So, here's what's on my mind... Have any cultures actually viewed people with neurodivergence as being directly touched by God? You know—like treating autism as some kind of "sacred" condition or something?

Also, I'm curious about the upside—take IBM, for example. Since Vincent van Gogh struggled with his mental health, and they've recently suggested Michelangelo might have had mild autism, and even Albert Einstein gets brought up in these talks... it makes you think about that "genius" factor.

Basically, how much of that brilliance is actually tied to their condition? And is there a specific term for those positive traits associated with neurodivergence?

Do you guys get where I'm coming from? 😁 😁

Henry Anderson47 said:Yeah, it's actually pretty decent.

Sorry if this sounds a bit condescending, but honestly, the answer is pretty simple.

It exists—and it isn't bad at all. It was released on Betamax and DVD, and the American translation goes like: ???

😛 🙂

kozz said:Man, this book is killer. Seriously—it's such a great read.

Basically, the whole LA quartet just moved over to our side—funny how that works, right?

Let's go!
Sweet. 👍
Bet there's some version of that out in my neck of the woods too—right?

kozz said:Wasn't there already a movie version of that a few years back? Blue Origin hanging out with Kurt Russell.

Is that movie even hitting theaters here? I have my doubts—probably not, right? 😢
Dark Blue? A sequel to Deep Blue.😁 😁

Richard Hernandez13 said:I've read Black Dahlia—huge props to whoever turned that into a decent screenplay.

Is it actually any good though? Is there an American translation available? Jose Miller3, I read the translation, not the original.

Anyway, Black Dahlia is the first one in the L.A. Quartet, so here's the breakdown:

Black Dahlia 1987 Although it's the slowest narrative of the L.A. Quartet, Black Dahlia was a watershed novel for Ellroy. In Black Dahlia, his prose is more economic and his portrayal of police officers less apologetic. If you have never read James Ellroy, Black Dahlia is a great place to start.

The Big Nowhere 1988 Ellroy takes on homophobia in the 50's. Every novel leading up to the Big Nowhere, seems experimental in contrast. With this book, Ellroy seemed to have found his stride writing layered plots and employing multiple perspectives. It worked so well for him that he continued to write three more great novels in this style. In my opinion, this is Ellroy's first classic.

L.A. Confidential 1990 Inspiration for the eponymous film. This is the most comic novel in the L.A. Quartet, parodying everyone from the L.A. mob to Walt Disney. Written in the same fast-paced style as The Big Nowhere, the story is worthy of Hammett.

White Jazz 1992 The conclusion of the L.A. Quartet. When his editor asked Ellroy to shorten his 900 page work to 350, Ellroy did so by eliminating the verbs. Stylistically, it's the strangest prose Ellroy's writing, but it's characters and stories are as rich as any in the Quartet.

I watched Brown's Requiem once—pretty sure it came out right after L.A. Confidential, but I can't quite remember. Honestly, it was so intense I ended up turning it off halfway through. 😁 😁

Finished reading L.A. Confidential about a week or two ago. James Ellroy basically said it himself—the movie is damn good, but the book is even better. Not that he’s being humble, but honestly, why would he be?

Hanson and his buddy screenwriter—who was actually a pro fisherman before surviving a brutal storm and deciding to write scripts instead 😁—really pulled it off. I mean, let's face it, you can't turn a book like this into a movie without some seriously bold changes.

A few differences between the flick and the book (don't read this if you haven't seen the movie):

Ed Exley's father is ALIVE in the book! He isn't killed at all. Rollo Tomasi is just something the writers threw in. And Dudley doesn't kill Great V. in the book. 😁
Stensland is actually a combination of two different characters from the book. In the book, Stensland ends up in the electric chair—which was actually Ed Exley's doing.
That one gay actor also doesn't exist in the book. Another script tweak right there.
Plus, Great V. marries the younger daughter of that DA. And get this—early in his career, Great V. was a total alcoholic and drug user, and one night while waiting for a heist, he accidentally killed two innocent people. Everything was covered up, he quit drinking, and started sending anonymous checks to the victims' families every month. ruggedjack46 had a file on that.
Man, there's so much more in the book... it's wild. 😁
Ed Exley lived with a Mexican woman for a couple of years.
There are at least ten major characters who aren't even mentioned in the book. And that final showdown? Doesn't happen in the book at all. 😁

Even with all those changes, they actually managed to capture the essence of the book. Mad respect to them! 👍

The book is 500 pages, so it takes a bit to get through (though the font is huge 😁 😁), and if you really want to wrap your head around it, you'd have to map out all the characters and read it a few times. For instance, there's this super important character—the unstable son of Exley's father's partner, who turns out to be a serial killer—but he's totally gone in the movie. Him, the father, the partner... all wiped. 😁 😁

Great V. dies a hero, stopping Mickey Cohen from breaking out of prison! 😲

By the way, Bloody Christmas actually happened. And Stompato was a real guy, and he was definitely seeing Ian Turner.

Anyway, folks. Sorry if I misspelled anyone's name.

Noah Myers8 said:uh, so... how does a tough guy like you handle needles?😁

It’s not really about being scared of shots—I just prefer playing around with different meds instead. 😁 😁 😁 😁

Anyway, let's not get into that... 😳 🙂

Noah Myers8 said:Yeah, my eyes are totally trashed from averaging like 2.6 posts a day😁

waso, maybe it’s allergies—even though I don't think I'm an allergy person. If it is, am I just talking nonsense? And if it's allergies, what's the move? Is there any actual help or do I just wait for pollen season to die down?

Honestly, this whole thing has me a little spooked because I've been feeling pretty terrible lately—like, a few days ago I was just walking out of Target and completely collapsed on the floor. My body is definitely not at 100% right now.😢

There's definitely help—you can just take antihistamines when it hits. Though, you really should probably get tested to be sure. Not sure if there are other options besides those skin injections, and honestly, you won't catch me getting those! 😁 😁 😁

As for collapsing at the grocery store... I have no idea. That would be one weird allergy. 😁 😁

I mean, there's this whole group of people called doctors... 😉

Oh, and about the eye thing and the forum—maybe you aren't spending enough time here? Maybe that's why your eyes are shot (if you'll excuse the phrasing). 😁 😁

Maybe I'm just rambling here—but I used to deal with this nasty conjunctivitis almost every single year around summer time—until it finally clicked that it was actually just allergies.

Just think about it... does it only happen in the summer, or maybe during spring or fall when pollen counts are through the roof? 😛

Jose Chase2 said:Anyone else remember this flick? I’ve seen it a hundred times and it still cracks me up every single time. That scene where Michael Caine just absolutely lays into Martin Short while he has to stay quiet? Pure gold. Such a legend of a movie!

😁 😁 😁 👍

Steve Martin's character is such a piece of work. Seriously, what a bottom-feeder—between that creepy old lady scam and the whole fake disability thing, just total trash...

That part where he gets pummeled is seriously hilarious. 👍

Man, what an ego trip this thread turned into. Mickey did a solid job quoting Ram—honestly, that goes for pretty much everyone here. Only Paliti actually said something useful about the movie, so props to her. 👍 😁 😁

I really thought we were gonna talk about the film itself, though. Kind of a bummer. 🙂 🙂 🙂