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MotG: Ask The Greats!


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Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

It is I, Key. Once again I have found myself with one foot in the present and one foot in 'the Other Realm'. The Greats have begun clamoring – what? - Oh, excuse me, George Carlin is hounding me about my missed opportunity to call it 'the Great Beyond'. Jeez.

 

As I was saying, the Greats are eager to share their knowledge, expertise, and opinions (especially opinions) with you all.

 

During this week of the Month of the Greats, you shall have the ability to ask a Great for some advice, giving you a glimpse into his or her brain and possibly aiding you in a decision. I will be your guide, dear participants, and a wild ride it will be if my first foray is any indication.

To ask advice of a Great, please do the following:

Choose three possible Greats to whom I can pose the question.

Pose your question.

Specify if you are looking for a serious or possibly humorous answer.

I will then present the question to those you've chosen and post the answer from the first one who answers me.

Please feel free to ask questions at any time if you are confused or need clarification :smile:.  If you click the link above (first foray), you can peruse the 2012 version of 'Ask the Greats' for ideas or explanation!

Good luck! They'll be listening.

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Choose three possible Greats to whom I can pose the question. 

Elvis Presley; Jimmy Hendrix; John Lennon

 

Pose your question.

What are your thoughts on twerking?

 

Specify if you are looking for a serious or possibly humorous answer

I'll leave this up to you. :)

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Apologies for the wait, friends!  The loudmouths were stuck in front of your requests.  I finally did manage to get ahold of Aristotle, however.

 

Mistress Ryrin,

 

You have asked an excellent question.  The history and study of oneself is what separates us from the animals, after all.  Though you may have been looking for an answer that stands precisely on one "side" or the other of "good" and "evil", my opinion actually stands outside either.  I do not believe that basic nature of Man -  let us refer to humanity as Man in general, though I am not leaving out you ladies, I assure you - can be decidedly good nor evil.  I believe, instead, that the choices we make after birth are what funnel us toward morality or immorality.  After all, does an infant purposefully urinate on a family member, or punish his or her mother by waking her up constantly?  It does not appear to be something the infant can control - so how can a person be inherently good or evil when they have no control over their actions?

 

Rather, m'lady, it is the ability to choose that shapes our lives and where we end up on the spectrum of good and evil.  Knowledge, in particular, is a heavy weight on the ability to choose, for as we grow in our knowledge, we begin to see what will become of ourselves and the world due to our choices.  It is then, really, when knowledge and choice intersect that we begin to head down one particular path.  Perhaps backtracking the other way on occasion, but most of us do fit firmly in one camp or the other.  

 

I believe that those who attempt to fit us into one category the moment we are born are not only mistaken, but looking for blame, or pity.  Taking responsibility for one's choices, after all, can betimes be very difficult.  It certainly forces you to look at yourself in depth.  And many people do not like what they see.

 

Sincerely,

 

Aristotle

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Little Mama,

 

I'm not surprised that someone would ask me about twerking.  I am, however, surprised at the reaction of the public.  I experienced similar backlash when I first came on scene, but that was a different time and a different introduction.  It seems to me that over the years there have been far more risque types of dance to become a trend.  I believe it's more about WHO presented it and HOW than it is about the actual dance.  After all, people having been shaking their behinds for decades.

 

This is not to say that I like the "dance".  Dancing should be from the heart; it should happen in the moment.  When that happens, it is a force to be reckoned with - cynics be damned.  This twerking, however, seems staged to me.  As if she planned it ahead of time to be part of the 'shock value' of her performance.  Doesn't seem like someone staying true to her heart, to the soul of the music.

 

Thank you, thank you very much. 

 

The King

 

 

(Key note: The connection was a bit fuzzy, so I think a bit of his comment was lost.  If I can get him back, I'll add in what I missed Miss Rhea :smile:).

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WBK,

 

I am delighted to speak again on this subject.  The other gentlemen were kind enough to bow down to my obvious authority on the subject of music....Okay, fine, Beethoven couldn't hear Key asking and I distracted Bach with a Hymnal.  

 

Music has always been interpreted and released in many ways, and for that I cannot fault your current composers and performers.  However, what a bunch of lazy pinheads!  Of those you can readily name, most can barely hold a pencil, let alone write an entire opera.  They are content to live off the talent of others (those that actually write the music and play the instruments) whilst they lounge on a chaise and eat grapes from scantily clad groupies.  Or that's what I would do anyway.  A few seem to play an instrument or two, and even fewer seem to write their own music, but then they ruin it with stupid lyrics.  Like that tall country gal that always ALWAYS sings about her ex-boyfriends.  We get it, he's a bum and you're awesome.  Except you'd think she'd realize that after she's built up five or six, can you really blame it on the boys still?  Seems to me there's one thing in common with all those failed relationships...

 

Then there's that autotune business.  What in the name of broken piano strings is that?  How is that musical at ALL?  That is a serious question, by the way.  It is truly baffling to me that one would want that in their song - let alone in every song ("song") on their entire album.  If you are in a studio and you sound like bollocks without the help of a computer then you are in the wrong field.  I mean REALLY.  How is it that these obviously untalented people are called musicians?  

 

As for music overall, I think there are still enough actually good musicians out there that I'm not completely disheartened.  Although many of those are doomed to stay in the background, the masses never truly knowing their talent or involvement.  And while I'm all for fame, people can be very fickle.  It might be easier to stay in business if you stay out of the spotlight. <--- Look Ma, I've learned my lesson!  Additionally, people can be...well, wrong.  The "Top 40" reeks of untalented hacks who are capitalizing on catchy tunes and their good looks.  There is a reason most pop stars are forgotten.  Sure, a few can stand the test of time, but how often do you hear a name from even ten years ago and you say "Oh yeah, I forgot about him/her/them!" 

 

Great, now that insufferable song about my name is stuck in my head. Thanks a lot Key. (Oops.  Sorry Wolfgang.) 

 

Sweet name, by the way.

 

WolfyG. A. Mozart.

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Apologies!

 

Apparently it was decided that Mr. Vonnegut would share, but he spoke this long essay to me, so I've had him paring it down ;).

 

 

Mr. Kronos,

 

I have written extensively on this topic, as I believe it is the duty of writers, particularly those who are successful, to pass along information on our craft.  After all, how can we expect the written word to prosper or society to grow if the field of writing shrivels to unimaginative, uninspired, or worst - illiterate writers?

 

I have seven short tips for you to be a great writer.  These are all you need to press forward.  1) Find a subject you care about.  Something that you genuinely want to share with others.  This passion will bleed through. 2) Do no ramble.  In other words, know when to quit.  3) Keep it simple. Shakespeare is considered a great master of language, and he wrote sentences which were almost childlike when the subject was most profound - "To be or not to be?" asks Hamlet. Simplicity of language is not only reputable, but perhaps even sacred.  Even the Bible open with a simple sentence - "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." 4) Have the guts to cut.  If a sentence, no matter how eloquent or excellent, does not illuminate your subject in some new and useful way, get rid of it. 5) Sound like yourself.  Write in your natural style.  The reader can tell when you are not true to yourself and it is distracting and uninteresting. 6) Say what you mean.  Write to be understood and you will be. If you are confused, then your reader will be too. 7) Pity the readers.  Be sympathetic and patient.  The reader does not know all that you do.  

 

I hope this helps in your endeavor.  I suppose an eighth piece of advice would be to never give up.  Cliche, but still true.  To give up on your dream is to give up on life.  The most beautiful aspect of the literary field is that there is room for all topics, all opinions, all personalities.

 

En Spiritus, 

 

K. Vonnegut

 

(usually I make up what I say, after research on the person and the topic.  But I took some exact words from Vonnegut and need to give credit where credit due.  Please see this essay for more detailed information.)

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I apologize for it taking so long Tal!  Mr. Pearse was particularly elusive.  Even when I pinned him down for a bit, he only shared a little.  If you have someone else you'd like me to talk to, I'd be more than happy to do so.

 

WildTaltos, 

 

An epic question that I shall do my best to answer.

 

To live a honest life, a man must know himself.  That is the most important.  It can be difficult to discern our true nature or loyalties, with those around us constantly attempting to tell us who we are and what we want, but we must hold true. To know oneself is to have freedom and freedom is life. A man needs to have goals, and needs to be steadfast in achieving them.  How else will you leave a mark on this world when you are gone?  A man must have passion and compassion - one without the other would be ruthless.  Last, but definitely not least, a man needs to be loyal.  

 

In liberty, 

Patrick Pearse

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Choose three possible Greats to whom I can pose the question. 

Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela
Pose your question.
Thoughts on equality in today's world?
Specify if you are looking for a serious or possibly humorous answer. 

Serious

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Wild - invisible e?- Taltos,

 

I think you are missing out by having no 'e' in your name.  Tis the best letter.  Makes everything sound more sophisticated, and who doesn't want that? That's why there were so many e's on the end of English words when I was alive.  It gave a word, what is it called these days? oh yes, swagger.  But I seem to be digressing.

 

I have to pick just one?  I joke, I joke.  It's not a difficult answer; I think it's the same thing that was wrong with the world during my time, albeit it is better now.  We've always had religion, we've always had war, we've always had entitlement; it's not new all you Twittering tweens.  In every day and age there have been people who believe the world revolves around them.  But they are wrong, it revolves around me - ha!

 

All kidding aside, I think people take themselves too seriously.  While I believe in equality, I think sometimes one does more harm than good in pointing out the differences or hyping on the fact that we're all 'the same'.  Mayhap if those qualifiers were never used, and we all just existed a lot of problems would go away.  Of course, they might not.  It's a gamble.  In my opinion all this PC stuff is BS.  People are always going to fight, always going to have opinions, and some are going to be contrary just be contrary.  They like it.  Those sickos.

 

So lighten up my friends.  Check out that gorgeous sky, ogle those tight butts (I am jealous, by the way, of the 'clothing' you wear...or don't wear, these days), and make it rain.  YOLO, yes?

 

Living it up, er....figuratively,

 

Wilde man

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Wild - invisible e?- Taltos,

 

I think you are missing out by having no 'e' in your name.  Tis the best letter.  Makes everything sound more sophisticated, and who doesn't want that? That's why there were so many e's on the end of English words when I was alive.  It gave a word, what is it called these days? oh yes, swagger.  But I seem to be digressing.

 

I have to pick just one?  I joke, I joke.  It's not a difficult answer; I think it's the same thing that was wrong with the world during my time, albeit it is better now.  We've always had religion, we've always had war, we've always had entitlement; it's not new all you Twittering tweens.  In every day and age there have been people who believe the world revolves around them.  But they are wrong, it revolves around me - ha!

 

All kidding aside, I think people take themselves too seriously.  While I believe in equality, I think sometimes one does more harm than good in pointing out the differences or hyping on the fact that we're all 'the same'.  Mayhap if those qualifiers were never used, and we all just existed a lot of problems would go away.  Of course, they might not.  It's a gamble.  In my opinion all this PC stuff is BS.  People are always going to fight, always going to have opinions, and some are going to be contrary just be contrary.  They like it.  Those sickos.

 

So lighten up my friends.  Check out that gorgeous sky, ogle those tight butts (I am jealous, by the way, of the 'clothing' you wear...or don't wear, these days), and make it rain.  YOLO, yes?

 

Living it up, er....figuratively,

 

Wilde man

 

I just have to say that I loved this one!! :laugh:

 

And it happens to be so true.

 

Choose three possible Greats to whom I can pose the question. 

Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Manson, Viggo Mortenson (Check what Marilyn Monroe's real surname was :wink: )

Pose your question.

Is it better to be beautiful, or to be clever?

Specify if you are looking for a serious or possibly humorous answer. 

Either or.

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Xthrax,

 

My response to your question is twofold, for I believe there have been great strides toward equality in the past 50 years, but also great failures.  It is the nature of the system to give a little and take a little, of course, but change is the most important.  A stagnant society is one of death - death of intelligence, death of creativity, and death of humanity.  One must have a goal and strive to reach it, for what are we but the sum of our experiences?  

 

Overall, I would say the best asset society currently is the ability to discuss inequalities and propose solutions.  This is no longer a world where difficult topics are shunted to the side or discussed behind closed doors.  The internet and the power of collective knowledge has propelled this society into an interconnected web.  Instantaneous information has made it difficult for racism and hate to hide in the shadows.  More than ever, there seems to be support for those experiencing hate or racial crimes.  That support causes political changes - at all levels of government - because everyone wants to keep their position and no one wants a mob after them.  They don't want to look bad, for they know that they need to be 'always on' for the cell phone cameras; someone is always watching.  It has created the need for these men and women to be responsible for their words and actions.  At least in public.

 

As with every great change, there is a negative side as well.  I had faith that our society was a great one.  That 50 years later, equality would no longer need to be a word in our language because it just simply existed - rather than needing to be discussed or forced.  There are always those who firmly believe in the wrong side of the issue.  Sometimes those people have power and use it to their advantage.  This society seems to have a large problem with anyone different from the 'norm' - which is the same as it was when I was fighting for Rights, and the same as it has been since long before me.  It seems to be a problem of human nature.  In the royal sense, we fear those are unlike us.  We don't want change; we prefer the status quo.  This is a major problem for today's society.  Life is generally good, for many.  They have become complacent because they feel they are unaffected by the inequality that still runs rampant in the world.  Society has become about "me" and "I" rather than the greater good.  Therein lies the danger, for if you become too complacent, sooner or later those in charge are going to come after you too.  They will see you, collectively, as too weak or stupid, to fight.  For at that point, is there anything you are so passionate about that you will face gun barrels, gas, and grenades?  

 

The point isn't to discourage you, but to ask you to continue your investigation into equality.  I see now that it will always be an uphill battle, always a struggle, and it is only due to those willing to dig, willing to overturn the apple cart, that anything will be done to move it forward.

 

Respectfully,

 

Dr. King 

 

 

 

I felt nervous stepping into these shoes, so if I offend anyone, I am VERY sorry - I don't mean to!  Please let me know and I will take it down. 

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