Update for Everyone VII: Insert Something Philosophical Sounding Here

[John Dule]

Good thread. On my end, almost done with my first year at UC Berkeley and I've got three finals over the next three days, plus an interview for a writing tutor job in the fall. Of course, I'm just going to post on here all day instead of, you know, preparing for any of this.

[John Dule]

Good thread. On my end, almost done with my first year at UC Berkeley and I've got three finals over the next three days, plus an interview for a writing tutor job in the fall. Of course, I'm just going to post on here all day instead of, you know, preparing for any of this.

What I like about you is that, especially for a new poster with less than a thousand posts, is that you “get” Atlas. That’s a key quality when it comes to separating the wheat from the chaff (or the migrant kids from their parents).

Welcome aboard. Once you’re here you can never leave.

Thanks! Yeah, I've used forums like this before, just never political ones. I really needed an outlet for my trash political opinions/banter after my old movie-watching site died off.

[John Dule]

Put my two best friends on their planes back to China and Mexico today. Teared up a little bit at the airport, won't lie. I've become closer to those two over the course of my one year at Uni than almost any other friends I've ever had. I'll see one of them again in the fall, but the other is back in China for good. Really going to miss him.

[John Dule]

One of my best friends is in Hong Kong right now. He sent me some videos of the protests last night; he was really right in the middle of it all. He's also managed to somehow have six gay hookups in two weeks already, and all this while working part-time and taking classes.

[John Dule]

this society (even on the political right) seems to be turning more and more away from Him every day.

We can only hope.

[John Dule]

My microeconomics class that I took at my old community college just ended. I had really been freaking out over the third test in the class; I knew I didn't do very well on it and I was worried it would drag me down to a lower GPA. Turns out I got an 84% on it (much higher than the 75 or so I feared I'd gotten), but the whole test was curved, meaning that I ended up with a 96. Not only that, but my professor took me aside on the second to last day and literally told me I didn't have to show up for the final because it wasn't cumulative and she knew I understood the material. Really amazing how fast all that turned around. One day I was afraid I'd get a C on the test and a B-something in the class; now I've got a guaranteed A and four weeks off. Hallelujah.

[John Dule]

I've been accepted as a staff writer for my university's (only) non-partisan news publication! I'll be writing for the "world" section. Unfortunately I won't be able to post any of my articles on here, as that would jeopardize my anonymity, but I think I'll have a good time with it.

[John Dule]

I've been accepted as a staff writer for my university's (only) non-partisan news publication! I'll be writing for the "world" section. Unfortunately I won't be able to post any of my articles on here, as that would jeopardize my anonymity, but I think I'll have a good time with it.

Congratulations! I recently started writing for a small Catholic opinion website and it really is a good feeling to see your writing get out there in muh marketplace of ideas.

Can you share the general subject matter of some of your pieces (region of the world, specific event (if any) that they're about, etc.) with us, even if not the articles themselves?

You can PM me if you want to read the articles and I'll send you the text. I trust you bubby

[John Dule]

I literally, and I mean *LITERALLY* almost died from indigestion. It made me realize the fragility of life. I'm going to be an uber diet nazi from now on and possibly find religion again. I'll see you all later. If I don't post again in a while, please remember me.

Nothing like the inevitability of death to get people to enthusiastically delude themselves.

[John Dule]

holy fdck!!!! my local home depot is destroyed!!! less than two miles away

Ample looting opportunities...

[John Dule]

Decided to bite the bullet and start crowdfunding for laser hair removal. PM me if you want the link.

That is an extremely weird sensation. I'm getting it done around my back after a surgery I had. It's uncomfortable but not painful.

In other news, yesterday was my birthday. My parents got me a very cool Au-H2O t-shirt.

[John Dule]

I've been accepted as a staff writer for my university's (only) non-partisan news publication! I'll be writing for the "world" section. Unfortunately I won't be able to post any of my articles on here, as that would jeopardize my anonymity, but I think I'll have a good time with it.

An update: This has been going really well. My first article was selected for print in the biannual publication, and my second (which I just completed) has been chosen for an article exchange with the McGill University International Review. I'm really starting to think that arguing with people online has sharpened my writing skills.

[John Dule]

I've been accepted as a staff writer for my university's (only) non-partisan news publication! I'll be writing for the "world" section. Unfortunately I won't be able to post any of my articles on here, as that would jeopardize my anonymity, but I think I'll have a good time with it.

An update: This has been going really well. My first article was selected for print in the biannual publication, and my second (which I just completed) has been chosen for an article exchange with the McGill University International Review. I'm really starting to think that arguing with people online has sharpened my writing skills.

Congrats! I’d love to see ‘em.

Nathan asked to see them too... I'm considering it, though it would compromise my anonymity on this site. I'll get back to you on that.

[John Dule]

That moment when you spend two days hammering out a CS project that your partners did absolutely jacks**t on

[John Dule]

My best friend is going through an emotional breakdown right now. After two years of emotionless Grindr hookups, he's worrying that he'll die alone and wants to find a guy who he can settle down with. However, due to his offensive sense of humor, he's kind of a pariah in the extremely PC Berkeley gay community. He's cried himself to sleep every night for the past week. I wish I could be there for him but I've got an essay due at midnight.

It's times like this that I feel really thankful for my girlfriend. She's the only woman I've ever met who can laugh at just about everything and never seems to take offense. It's such a liberating feeling being with her; I don't have to censor myself and we can make a ton of racist jokes about each other and genuinely laugh about it. She's getting dinner with my friend tonight to cheer him up. I never thought I'd meet anyone like her. Guys, find someone who you can laugh with. That matters so much more than anything else.

[John Dule]

Guys, find someone who you can laugh with. That matters so much more than anything else.

"I would rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle."

Well he was crying in the basement of a co-op, so by that standard I'm still much better off.

[John Dule]

Holy s**t, I got an A in my quantitative methods class. My GPA is back up to a solid 3.9.

[John Dule]

Going to Mexico tomorrow with my girlfriend and our friend. Should be interesting. I haven't traveled outside of the country in years.

[John Dule]

Going to Mexico tomorrow with my girlfriend and our friend. Should be interesting. I haven't traveled outside of the country in years.

I am the tallest person in this country.

[John Dule]

We definitely need the wall.

[John Dule]

I seriously do not understand why the majority of Atlas users tolerate me, a bag of dirt who every once in a while posts either a dogsh!t take or a quip that takes the brain processing power of an almond to come up with.

S**tposting is a human right.

[John Dule]

I've been pretty sick these past few days, hence my increased time on this forum. My girlfriend made me hot soup and tea, and we spent the day studying and relaxing together. I don't know what I did to deserve her, but I love her so much.

Her parents are caught in the middle of the Coronavirus outbreak right now and I don't know what to do to distract her/make her feel at ease. Hopefully I'll feel better soon so I can return the favor to her.

[John Dule]

I had a dream that opebo was unbanned. Acutely unpleasant.

who dat

[John Dule]

After a brief period of immense disappointment, I am over the results tonight and intend to spend the rest of my time this primary season working on my novel and accepting the inevitability of four more years of Agent Orange. Less stress that way.

What's your novel about? That is, if you're comfortable telling.

[John Dule]

Oh, I'm f**king jazzed to share, believe me. It's called Only Darkness, and it's a sci-fi war novel and political critique. By that, I mean that the main antagonistic force is an authoritarian federation based heavily on the British Empire and Bush-era America, especially in the foreign policy department. The message I'm hoping to go for is that a righteous person's duty is to question unrighteous authority, and that love and loyalty to family should always trump loyalty to country especially when the country in question has degraded rapidly into a dictatorship.

So basically a dramatization of world events transplanted into a spacefaring setting. Also, have I mentioned my opposition to neoconservatism today?

So do the villains justify their deeds using the same philosophy as Bush did? "You're with us or against us," "We'll be greeted as liberators," "We're the world's police," and all the moral superiority that comes with that? That sounds interesting. Villainous sci-fi dictatorships all too often play off of Rome or Nazi Germany, so it's good to hear a different take on that. Anyway, best of luck. I've always thought that sci-fi was the best venue for political/philosophical commentary, even if the genre doesn't always live up to its potential.