First Question

[John_Silver]

TheJackel:

Honestly, don't let an article, yet to be penned, perplex you. I shouldn't want you to be perplexed at all. And thank you for your input. The article, once written, is predominately for Believers who see Atheists (or free-thinkers or existentialists or whatever they should like to be called) as "the root of all evil". And to enable them to see a bit more of a human side. I speak as one who once saw an Atheist as a near-machine, incapable of feeling and with no rational reason to feel.

I do hope this has satisfied your rather sudden, straub-tailed anxiety. But I truly appreciate the in-depth reply. It renders a good deal of insight.

John

[John_Silver]

Please read the last chapter of Albert Camus' "The Myth of Sisyphus". I still cannot read it without crying (in a good way). Camus is my favorite existentialist writer. I would love to know your thoughts. It's really short.

Loved it! I'll give you my reaction shortly. Got a meeting to go to. Thanks for that, Alp.

[AlP]

Please read the last chapter of Albert Camus' "The Myth of Sisyphus". I still cannot read it without crying (in a good way). Camus is my favorite existentialist writer. I would love to know your thoughts. It's really short.

Loved it! I'll give you my reaction shortly. Got a meeting to go to. Thanks for that, Alp.

Oh I forgot I asked you to read that. No need for a review or anything. Really like / dislike is fine but I am interested to know why you liked it.

[John_Silver]

Oh I forgot I asked you to read that. No need for a review or anything. Really like / dislike is fine but I am interested to know why you liked it.

Well because of this:

Where would his torture be, indeed, if at every step the hope of succeeding upheld him? The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is tragic only at the rare moments when it becomes conscious.

That is me. As an artist and musician I exist as a separate person. The hope is that someone will like my art and my music. But I know, from experience, no amount of praise or recognition truly grants me any real fulfillment. I go on "rolling the rock up the mountain" knowing full well that it will end up at the bottom again. For me, it is my Faith that grants me any real peace. But as an artist I continue to play this game.

I imagine the story spoke to me differently than it did you? What do you think?

John

[John_Silver]

Incidentally, Alp, the truth captured in the story is the reason I wrote this song:

Go to http://www.30shekels.com and click on the music button up top. On the right of the page you will find "World Ablaze" which speaks to this endless circle we are touching on.

John

[AlP]

I imagine the story spoke to me differently than it did you? What do you think?

Yeah eternally rolling the rock up the mountain only to have it roll back down is a metaphor for the pointlessness of some lives. But Sisyphus sees beauty in the absurdity itself and makes it his own. That is his revolt.

[AlP]

Incidentally, Alp, the truth captured in the story is the reason I wrote this song:

Go to http://www.30shekels.com and click on the music button up top. On the right of the page you will find "World Ablaze" which speaks to this endless circle we are touching on.

John

I enjoyed both the songs =). Just two of you make them? You must record each instrument individually and then mix them together? I'm not a musician so I don't really understand how that works.

[John_Silver]

I enjoyed both the songs =). Just two of you make them? You must record each instrument individually and then mix them together? I'm not a musician so I don't really understand how that works.

Thanks!

Yes, just the two of us. Once the song is written, we start with a click track (metronome). Then the drums get laid down on another track. After that, the drums are played back and on another track we lay the bass down. Then piano, guitars and so on laying the vocals down last. Same with the orchestral piece I composed. I got my hands on some sophisticated sampling software that has recorded notes of every instrument in a full orchestra and sampled each note from each instrument 36 times. In other words, when I press a key, that note comes out sounding fat and bad-ass! Like you were standing in an auditorium. Then I lay each down using the method described above.

It keeps me out of trouble.

John

[Ultima22689]

I've been gone for the past several days but from what i've read I hope you have a long stay John and I hope you luck in your article.  

You've reminded me that theist can be just as if not more logical than atheists and I hope more like minded theist like yourself become more of an identity. I've only met one other like yourself and that was my old teacher in highschool, he taught our religion class in a catholic all male school but he took a professor's approach to it and taught the class from a non biased point of view and he quickly became my favorite teacher.

Anyone else on here ever looked forward to going to religion class at a catholic private school? XD

[John_Silver]

Ultima, Thanks! Your words are healing.

In truth, I expected to come here and have a difficult time. Not that I would get blasted, but that many people just wouldn't understand what I was attempting to do. I have been talking to Ultra Orthodox Jews in the same manner but they have a strong distrust and even loathe of Christians who speak Hebrew (particularly Christians of the Messianic variety) and I am almost always labeled a missionizer no matter how tactful I am in my inquiries.

I am fairly close to a rough draft for this article. I have made the decision to post it before I leave for Israel and Egypt in February rather than after I return. As I promised, I will post the draft in here first. Thanks, again, Ultima for your warm welcome.

John