Frownland

Ja, even though I wholeheartedly embrace a lot of newer artists, I'm the same way.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

The Batlord

You were smelly?

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Frownland

Yes I was able to smell much better before I took up smoking.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

MicShazam

Hammerfall can be fun. I'm not really into them as such, but their older material does have some kind of warm, nostalgic appeal for me. My younger brother used to be very into them.

About getting into artists like I used to... Then sure, the world doesn't seem as simple as it used to when I was younger. Life is more complicated, the world is a mean place and all that... but somehow, I never lost that ability to be blown away by some new music, movie, book or whatever. I feel like my love for Dir En Grey is as strong as my love for Megadeth was back when i was a teenager. Maybe that means that I'm naive and too easily impressed, or maybe it means that I never lost sight of what is after all really amazing about life. You tell me.

The Batlord

Unless you're a depressed **** with a hateful impression of humanity in general then I don't know what to tell you. You should improve on that and learn to despise life in general or you'll be better off for it and no one wants that.

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The Batlord

I can't even remember what it feels like to smells things other than my own shit and the shit of others.

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MicShazam

I'm halfway there. I get really, really horribly depressed about once every year, but I've learned to sort of see the silver linings in things. I don't think life is all that bad. It's difficult, that's for sure. But there are a lot of good things to appreciate if you manage to push the worse aspects aside. I don't want to let the more negative side of my psyche take over. I know what happens then. There are things in the world that really are amazing, and I'm forcing myself to acknowledge that, instead of being so damn jaded and depressed all the time.

The Batlord

Have you ever considered that no one hears about the Rwandan genocide anymore? It's not because the two sides have come to an understanding or because the UN has imposed peace. The Hutus legit killed the vast majority of the Tutsis within days and a smaller amount in weeks, making any further genocide pointless, cause they won. The ten percent or less of the Tutsis still alive are alive simply because they left the country and are currently living in ****ty refugee camps. Still happy?

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MicShazam

No. I'm not saying it isn't complete ****. I'm not saying that all sorts of vile things aren't for real happening. Things that, when you realize just what it all really means, hit you hard, deep inside your soul. The world is complete **** - in many ways. The trick is to realize that it isnt' a zero sum game. No matter how terrible the world is, there' still going to be these silver linings. These moments of grace, that you can latch on to and be inspired by. I really do see the world as a scary and hopeless place in many ways, but I also manage to remind myself of ways in which life is this mazing miracle. All these things that I should be highly appreciative of, instead of succumbing to the trap of becoming a cynic who sees the world as nothing but suffering. It's a duality, and that means there's two sides.

Frownland

Open challenge to elphenor: quit being a little bitch.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.