mason2004

nothing further on this topic? just curious...

Amberk replied to Bladewolf, "Well my fellow hero, it would seem that the Council would be on alert status but if they feel they have driven you off or killed you, then I am certain that they are going back to what they were doing before you came in. Let's go back over the situation a moment."

The Templar and Bladewolf described in as much detail as they could of what they had seen to Amberk. He then knelt to the ground, picked up a stick nearby and began to draw a two dimentional representation of their description in the heavy dust of the floor. He said nothing but looked long and hard at his drawing, then after about ten minutes he said, "Look, there are eight boarded windows on the south side of that building on the first floor and six windows of various sides for the rest of the floors above that, three skylights, two old loading docks and two large ventilation fans on the roof. Your best tactic would be to enter through the roof. I would start on one side or the other but not in the middle, best to keep your enemies with only one direction to fight you on. You must stay close to each other and give each other support.."

Amberk looked over to Bladewolf and said, "No my young hero, I cannot stay to assist you. My time here in Faultline was long ago, there are heroes and people in trouble in Brickstown and other places on that side of the city. I will leave you with a full amount of healing items and endurance supplements that you can use as you need them."

Templar nodded to Amberk and replied, "Of course my friend, I appreciate your assistance here as it is, but I know your duty is elsewhere. Me and the young Bladewolf can solve this case I am sure." Amberk smiled and replied, "I know you two can do it. I sense there is a good aura here amongst you. I, however must go for I know that Ms. Thunderbird will be asking for my reports soon as she always does." Amberk chuckled as did the Templar. "'Tis true that Amberk, she may be tiny and beautiful, but she may be the most demanding woman I have ever met! 'Tis a good thing though. So Mote it Be!"

Amberk smiled and turned again to Bladewolf and asked, "Do you have anything else to ask of me before I leave?"

The mighty Templar sat up a bit to speak to Bladewolf when suddenly through the door hovered in a man. He had glowing red eyes; he wore a suit that looked like an amalgam of plastic or polymer and steel or steel like plating, his hair was shoulder length and was like a salt and pepper color... but it was his eyes that stood out about him... his eyes and his aura of confidence, leadership and veteran status... Templar looked up and said, "Amberk? Is that you? What are you doing here in Faultline? I thought for sure you were too busy with things in Striga?"

Amberk smiled and replied, "I got your request for help old friend. You do not think I would let my own teammate get into too much trouble do you?" Amberk smiled again. It was an empathic smile, one of those smiles you give to longtime friends or family members, one that says "I am always here for you".

Amberk helped the Templar to his feet and he dusted himself off then introduced Bladewolf, "Amberk, I'd like you to meet my new found friend Bladewolf. Bladewolf, this is Amberk of the Red Eyes, the best healer I know and am honored to be a teammate of."
Amberk extended his hand to Bladewolf and said in a gentle voice, "A true pleasure to meet you heroic Bladewolf.."

1) Feel the Wedge- The Cutting Crew
2) Dancing Queen- Abba
3) You make me feel like Dancing- The Bee Gees
4) Another Silly Love Song- Paul McCartney & Wings
5) Riders on the Storm- The Doors
6) I'm Never Ever gonna give you up- Barry White
7) Get Here- Oleta Adams
8) (They were) Flying for me- John Denver
9) The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald- Gordon Lightfoot
10) Break it to me gently- Brenda Lee

This is a really great idea.. perhaps, just for fun, we ccould play as our philosophical "heroes" might be like if they were Heroes or Villians.. think about it.. for instance if I played as Socrates, he might be a controller type with a powerful aura that could either hurt enemies or heal allies, and his main power would be somthing similar to a psychic attack since he would force his enemies to think about very esoteric subjects that would cause them great mental distresss. Since Idealism is the thought that there is such a thing as the "trancentental phenomenon of reality", would explain he incredible source of power.. etc..
Or
it could be a roleplaying thread where we are the philosphers of our choice from the past or present and are thrown into place where we can only solve the problems of that world through our debating and either agreeing or disagreeing to do something using only Philosophy as our power so to speak.. just some ideas...

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For some people nitpicking the details is the important part, though. Look at how many people quote scripture to satisfy their closed-minded lifestyles.

Think of it like this... Do you play chess to win, or do you play it to learn? Not once has a Blitzkrieg worked on me. What I've learned is that most moderately experienced players try that immediately (I have yet to go up against a grandmaster or whatever they call people who "roxxor" chess, and I hope I never do; I would get so "pwned" my currently nonexistant children would feel it; I would be forced to have children so they could feel it). So, I've learned to build a strategy to counteract it. Sometimes I win, sometimes I stalemate, and only once did I run across someone who was able to move outside his normal box of thinking and defeat me (but I fought to the last piece, dammit!).

Debate can go the same way. The point of a debate is not to determine who wins or loses the argument, because both sides feel they're equally right. However, many debate seeking to win. These individuals rarely apply anything to the actual debate and spend their time attacking their opponent.

Essentially, what I'm saying is that none of us are going to be one hundred percent right. That's what discussions like this are for. We posit our theories, our concepts, our considerations, and we leave them up to public scrutiny. We hope somebody sees what we were driving at, though we may have missed what we were initially trying to convey.

And if someone starts to nitpick, we should look into why they're nitpicking and what they're nitpicking. It shouldn't just be an impasse because we're having a failure to communicate (this is now twice I've had that problem with Devious, once between characters, and now here). It shouldn't be a conflict, either.

I know it conflicts with some things I've said previously, but I like to think we're all here in this thread because we genuinely wish to understand what's going on and the people we're conversing with.

[/ QUOTE ]

Superior post here Mr. Grey, and I concur on so much of what you just said. Here we have some very deep thoughts being expressed about the Universe, Ethics, Morals, etc.. and it is MOST REFRESHING.

I really like the Chess reference. Chess is one of those games that parallels the duality of life: Seeming easy to learn about but difficult to master. Chess emulates the point that you have to LOSE and sometime LOSE ALOT before you learn how to win. And even in that winning, you must be ready to learn, grow and change your tactics as necessary. It also reminds you to be humble, because today you might beat twenty people in a row, but tomorrow you might not win a single game.. just like life eh?

Confucius said that life is all about contradictions, and I absolutely agree...

[ QUOTE ]
Um, o-kay...you're forgiven? Don't worry about me bud, I'm not one to claw people for knowing stuff better than me.

I can't say I'd agree with being classified as a nihilist, though. Yeah, I had to look up all of those terms, and you may not have meant them by their textbook definitions, but I certainly do think there's purpose and value to humanity - and just life in general.

My logic: nature does not waste, at least from what I've seen. Stuff's just too linked not to have a purpose. Everything comes from somewhere, everything goes somewhere. Best picture of that is probably the Interconnected Flow Theorem...then again, I'd probably just bore you with that. But yes, I do think everything is connected with both itself and to some purpose. What exactly? Got me.

[/ QUOTE ]

I didnt want to offend anyone here, that is why I asked for forgiveness up front, I like many here, just want to see different perspectives.

Interconnected Flow Theorem? Hey, I wouldn't mind hearing that idea... so Nihilistic is not where you are.. and yes I didnt mean it by webster's dictionary, I meant it more buy Nitzche's definition which refers more to seeing life as disconnected with any such "higher power" or "higher truths"... so it would seem that perhaps you would buy into the Chaos Theory.
You have some very interesting thoughts.. good to hear!

Well it looks like are finally getting somewhere in the deeper, esoteric discussions that make philosophy so great.
Here is what I see so far, and I beg your forgiveness but being an amateur philosopher and former teacher, it seems to me that Devious, Mr. Grey and Monody all seem to thinking on similar lines here with the questions you are asking and the points of view you are sharing.

I sense that you three share a bit of pragmatism and nilhilism with a touch of cynicism or perhaps even agnosticism.. which is great! This is why Socrates went around asking questions. He wanted to try and understand.. as you know already, I am an existential idealist.. so my perspective is from entirely another view..

but this thread proves, I believe, the fact that any serious minded individuals who can have civil discourse can in fact have that discourse and perhaps even learn a bit from each other no matter how divergent their ideas...

the mighty Templar leaned his helmet back against the wall; with his right hand he reached into a small pouch on his belt and withdrew a small greenishis glowing crystal. He broke it in half with his hand and the green glow soon wrapped all around his body. He sighed a great sigh of relief as he rested there listening to the sheer quiet of the abandoned building.
He looked over to Bladewolf and said, "Well, let us not rush in like that again my young friend. Even this Templar can perish." He paused a moment and continued, "We now need to find out what these evil Council are doing. It may not be the quest for the Grail but it is intriguing nonetheless..."

1) Down Under- Men at Work
2) Dance Little Jean- Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
3) Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress- The Hollies
4) Forever in Blue Jeans- Neil Diamond
5) I Write the Songs- Barry Manilow
6) Over You- Daughtry
7) Since You Been Gone- Kelly Clarkson
8) Angel of the Morning- Juice Newton
9) Some Days are Diamonds- John Denver
10) Saturday Night's All Right for Fightin'- Elton John

Once more we are dealing with math and numbers and all that, but philosophy is much more than trying to understand what is real..even though that question is the number one great question when it comes to philosophical questions, but remember, at least in Western philosophies, there are two more so called great questions that go along with "What is real?" and they are, "How do you know that it is real?" and "if it is real, does it matter?"

Trying to make the argument of what is an "absolute truth" may be fun and quite engaging, but what does it matter to the human condition? Does it help to answer the great questions about what is the meaning of life?, what is our purpose here?, what comes after this life ends?.. and so forth.

Is it the dual nature of humankind that drives us absolutely crazy when talking about what is the meaning of it all? Is it our conceptions, preceptions and biases that so color our ideas that we fail to see a greater possibility? Are the differences that make us so great a species be so diverse that they actually make barriers and challenges to our human race that we aren't able to overcome?

These are the questions that we should be focusing on. The human race is an incredible (but fragile) species- arrogant, xenophobic, petulant, irrational, overemotional, ethnocentric, and sometimes indecipherable... yet, we have at times brought out the very best in us to overcome great challenges.. isn't this the reason that Socrates, Aristotle, Kant, Kiekergaard, Emerson, Confucius, Tao and so many others tried to help us make sense of it all? I think so. This is why I am a Freemason, A gnostic freethinker, who understands that wisdom is what really seperates us from the other species of this planet, and why we gaze into the universe and try to make sense of it all...

I see it this way: Whether or not we could agree about so called "absolute truths", the thing which seems to define being Alive and being Human is the sheer fact that we try to define the Universe around us in such profound esoteric terms. I consider myself an "Existential Idealist", which basically means that I see the Universe through Idealistic eyes tempered with the experiences of life that color my perceptions. I also am fully aware that as Socrates said, "I know that I know nothing" when it comes to all the knowledge of the Universe, and I know I have much still to learn.. so I listen and I ask questions and I ask more questions.
This is my journey, my path that Confucius told us we all must be willing to walk on that path that lies before us.
The answers are few, but I hope that I have found a few and learned a bit in this life.. I dont care about mathematics or what is an "absolute truth", what I care about is trying to make sense of the Universe around me with the help of those I come across in this life.. maybe that is the real purpose of living? Fascinating nonetheless.

Great thread, keep this going!!!

1) Dancing with the Mountains- John Denver
2) The Deal- Taylor Hicks
3) Angie Baby- Helen Reddy
4) Run Through the Jungle- Creedance Clearwater Revival
5) I Got A Gal In Kalamazoo- Glen Miller and his Orchestra
6) Rip it Up- Bill Haley and the Comets
7) Over It- Katherine McPhee
8) Eclipse- John Denver
9) Run Like Hell- Pink Floyd
10) Back in Black- AC/DC

Templar quickly reacted, although his young new friend had made an error in tactics, his heart and his instincts were at least in the right place, but now the matter at hand had escaleted to much worse a situation. The Templar quickly knew what he had to do.
He rushed over to where Bladewolf had landed, the gunfire strafed and punished his back, he was taking a lot of damage, but the mighty Templar simply groaned as he reached his fallen companion.
The Templar could feel his life ebbing but he had to save the young warrior and with all his energy he swept up Bladewolf with one massive arm, shifted into a full run and then lept with everything he had left. He landed awkwardly near the back of an old warehouse nearby. He busted down the boarded up door with his shoulder and settled down behind a large stack of crates. The Templar immediately used his hero intercom (that he had only learned how to use barely one month ago) and asked for emergency assistance PRONTO!
He took the cloth from his belt and put pressure on Bladewolf's wounds.

I hope there are those readers reading this thread and realizing that YES INDEED you CAN have deep, intellectual and even esoteric discussions on a board.

As I have said before. Is it any wonder why there are 5 major philosophies in the Western culture and a multitude of philosophic/mystical ideas in the Eastern culture just dedicated to trying to answer those Great Questions about Life, Living, and what it all means? I wish we could have more discussions like this in our everyday discourse rather than what hollywood star had sex with what other somebody, etc.

The Templar bowed again to Bladewolf and replied, "I would be honored to join you, perhaps we will find answers, perhaps we will find something new to understand, perhaps even, we may find a new quest. Let us go then, my sword is prepared to wield justice." The mighty Templar took his gauntlets and flexed them like a person would when cracking their knuckles, then he walked almost shoulder to shoulder with Bladewolf as they moved forward...

The mighty Templar took a quick measure of the man before him, then saw the man extend his hand and introduce himself as Bladewolf. The mighty Templar first bowed then extended his own huge gauntlet and shook the man's hand... gently... "It is a pleasure to meet you Bladewolf," his voice sounded as though part ghostly yet deep bass in tone and part regal yet humble in intonation, "I am the Masonic Templar, but please, call me Templar. What brings you here to this place? Is there something going on of a peculiar nature here?"

So you are looking for introspection? To answer the Big Questions: What is real? How do you know it is real? And does it matter if it is real? These have been the ultimate questions for all time.. this is why there are five major Philosophies in Western thought, and a plethora of philosophies and mysticisms in the Eastern thought.

It is up to each individual to come to how they see the meaning of life for themselves, then continue to grow in their lives and understanding of what it means to be alive. Just know that you may never find those answers. Socrates never did, Confucius never did, none of the great philosophers found the answers, but they did give us all some great insights that we can draw from to help make sense of it all.

Great topic! I want to hear more....

The Templar still looked into the night sky, he then saw something move across the face of the full moon. Two small stones hit the pavement near his feet and his curiousity was greatly stirred. He quickly looked back into the sky and tried to find whatever had moved so quickly across it. He targeted that movement for a moment and then did a quick mental calculation as to where the movement would end.
The Templar stood up quickly and started to move to the location he figured where the movement had ended. He first began to jog, then run and then with one mighty surge, he leaped a great leap. The mighty Templar soared skyward until he reached the apex of his jump, then altered his trajectory enough to begin his fall that would let him land on a very non-descript, squat building. He looked around to see if he could see anyone....

The mighty Templar turned to face the Lieutenant who now stood their alone. The Arachnos squad leader looked frantically for his help, but alas, there was none. He turned back only to be looking up and the huge knight. The mighty Templar looked down upon the man and spoke in a low, steady dread inducing voice, "Well, well lone spider, now what? Do you want to continue or do you want to cooperate and tell me why Arachnos is here in Faultline?"

The squadleader was visibilly shaking in his boots for not only was this knight huge but obviously not at a loss for confidence. The lieutenant could literally feel the power of the Templar eminating like standing near a giant electromagnetic source, it was like standing near the core of a nuclear reactor, and the lieutenant felt completely intimidated. With a last gesture of defiance, the lieutenant swung his rifle butt up to try and hit the mighty Templar, but the knight deftly intercepted the attack with his left hand and caught the rifle at the mid-barrel. He then squeezed with his powerful gauntlets and crushed the barrel like you or I would crush a soda can.
The mighty Templar then grabbed the man by the uniform and lifted him off the ground and asked again the same question as before, except in a more menacing voice than before, "I guess you didn't hear well Spider, WHAT is Arachnos DOING in Faultline?"

"You.. cant.. make.. me talk.. hero," the lieutenant struggled against the very strength of the knight, "so.. you.. might as well.. kill me..."

The Templar threw the man to the ground.... hard!... stood over him and replied in an angry tone, "Kill you? Hardly. Templar only kill if there is no choice left, to defend themselves or others or if the consequences and sentences of Justice call for such a thing to be done Spider. Now, LEAVE, RUN back to your masters like the coward you are! Let them know, they wont be tolerated here and tell them that we that defend Paragon City will not rest until all of you are defeated. Now GO before I change my mind frightened Spider..."

The lieutenant, wild eyed and unnerved quickly got to his feet and ran for his life. The Templar watched him go and when the man was out of sight, he sat down on the curb of the sidewalk, cleaned his sword with a rag he pulled from his belt, resheathed his sword and rested... "How does this all bring me the answers I seek? Why am I not fulfilled? Am I failing in my duty?" The mighty Templar pondered the question as he watched the night's full moon rise high in the sky...

((OOC: ALL RIGHT!! I FINALLY HAVE SOME TAKERS HERE>> THANKS ALL FOR JOINING!! I apologize for any spelling errors or other grammatical mistakes. Even though I am a former teacher, I still tend not to proofread all my work.. great posts all and thanks again for joining in. I hope you will enjoy this thread and just having fun with each other and whatever storyline you want to tell.. I appreciate it!))

Cool character and a GREAT little town in Wisconsin!

Three grenades landed near the feet of the mighty Templar and exploded; the smoking cloud of dust and debris obscured everyone's vision for a moment but then through the dust, the mighty knight had barely flinched. His silvery armor and golden helmet had not lost any luster whatsoever.

Templar focused on his attackers, pulled his hand and half Templar sword from its hilt and slowly twirled it with his right hand; in a low and menacing voice he said, "Now evil doers, it is MY TURN..." With surprising quickness and agility the mighty Templar advanced against the Arachnos squad. He twirled his sword in hand at a very impressive rate until he had closed to melee range. The squad of Arachnos fired point blank at the mighty Templar, but their ammunition seemed to just bounce harmlessly off his armor.

The Templar then stopped, planted his left foot, grabbed the hilt of his sword with both hands and used his momentum to take a mighty horizontal swing at his enemies. The result was horrific for in a moment, three of these spiderlike enforcer wannabes were writhing on the ground in serious pain from nearly being cleaved in twain, bleeding profusely from their wounds.

The might Templar then shifted his footwork deftly to the right and let the natural sweeping motion of his mighty swing bring his powerful sword around to continue his attack. He let the sword turn in his grip and regripped the hilt through his action, he then brought the sword into the full angle of his powerful backstroke and proceeded to behead another Arachnos gunner; it was as if the Templar was having a coreographed dance with his mighty sword to produce a ballet of death... it was a tremendous sight to behold.

You should recognize the song in my signature.. "The Theme of the Greatest American Hero"

The mighty Templar roamed over the streets of Faultline. He helped a few citizens rebuild some structures, rescued a lost dog and helped the PPD search for pockets of criminal activity, but it was just as before: Nothing to fire his imagination nor his soul.
Templar however did notice that he seemed very alone here. He hadn't seen another hero all day. What was going on? He wondered. Just as he tried to make sense of it all, a group of six Aracnos came around the corner.

These legions of the dark leader disturbed Templar's soul. Immediately the squad of Aracnos drew their weapons and aimed at the mighty Templar, but he stood there in absolute defiance. "I suggest" Templar spoke in a deep, foreboding voice, "you all just turn around and run back to your Spider leader before I remove you from your lives."
Templar rose up to his full seven foot seven inch height; his full suit of armor gleamed in the sunlight, his right hand easily gripped the hilt of his mighty hand and half sword as he spoke.

The six Arachnos actually paused a moment. This knight, his aura of power and the conviction in his voice made them realize that he was deadly serious and that he would be a more than formidable opponent. The Luitenant looked around at his minions and ordered, "What are you fools waiting for?? Eliminate him!!!" Then the six of them sent a barrage of ammunition towards the mighty Templar intending to end his days....