Whole lot of folk wondering. I'll sum it up. We WERE about Y2K. Then we evolved into a disaster/political newsnet cum chemtrail/conspiracy plus religious/ethnic/philosophical debating forum.

At first this bothered me as I was here (under another pseudonym) for over two years....but now, I see that this is merely the world in microcosm...the world that we all wonder about, read in the magazine aisle and hope nobody is looking, etc.

If you want "standard" news coverage, WHY ARE YOU HERE? I'll tell you why...BECAUSE WE'RE INTERESTING/OFFBEAT/AND FUN!!!!Not to mention totally irreverent and non pc....

We laugh. We cry. We yell and disparage. We cheer and congratulate. It's like a family reunion of sorts.

Relax, sit back and have a cup of coffee as this forum takes you to links and sites you never heard of or dreamed were possible. Open your mind to new ideas and your hearts to a wonderful (for the most part) group of people who have come together at this special time to share.

Enjoy!

-- Alice (Looking@glass.com), March 01, 2000

Answers

Couldn't have said it better Alice!

-- Michael (michaelteever@buffalo.com), March 01, 2000.

clap, clap.....BRAVO.....clap, clap, clap!

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), March 01, 2000.

LOL... you couldn't stay away, huh? Welcome back "Alice."

;-D

It's morphing. More to come later. Shift Happens.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), March 01, 2000.

Thanks Diane! I missed you too!

And I've been lurking and keeping up....You've been doing a FANTASTIC JOB!

-- Alice (Looking@glass.com), March 01, 2000.

Dear Alice:

Thanks, I needed that. Agree. We are a diverse group of campers.

-- The Mad Hatter (TB2000@Wonder.land), March 01, 2000.

Not to mention frank and open discussion of various socially taboo subjects, such as breaking wind and mudwrestling.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), March 01, 2000.

Alice,

Great post. I agree with everything you said and would like to add something. I think there is something important happening here. I am a relative newbie to this forum, just coming in a few days before rollover. The funny thing is I can't for the life of me remember exactly how I stumbled across it. I hear a lot of the old time regulars (those that are left anyway) talking about all the new faces here since the roll. It sure seems to me that I was not the only one who "just happened" to trip over this site at around the same time.

Since being here, I have read no less than a dozen or so stories/articles/essays that have essentially had the effect of a nuclear explosion on my worldview. I don't know how many people there are visiting this board on a regular basis, but I've got to believe that there are similar "awakenings" occurring all over the place.

I don't even pretend to know whether or not we were all "directed" here, but from my experience, it has been the most enlightening, thought-provoking 2 months of my entire 43 year existence.

I'd like to thank a few of those individuals here who, through their patience and willingness to help a newbie, have done more for my education than 16 years of school has done. zog, Shakey, Hokie, Hawk, redeye, I thank you guys/gals from the bottom of my heart. There are many others whose words have held enormous meaning for me as well, but the ones mentioned above are in a class by themselves.

I hold intelligence and the ability to use it to be the highest human attribute and you folks are shining examples of it. Thanks for dope- slapping me awake!

Jimmy

-- Jimmy Splinters (inthe@dark.com), March 01, 2000.

Just a funny mind game in my head.....I stopped thinking of this place as Timebomb 2000 a while back and replaced it with Turbo 2000....Things seem to move awfully quickly here.....(big grin)

-- Alice (Looking@glass.com), March 01, 2000.

ALICE:

Tnx loads for doing what I'll bet more than a few of us have been thinking we ought to do: own up to why we're really here.

As I've been developing my "11.5 doomer" series of threads I'm beginning to see more clearly where we're heading here. Just in the past few days I've realized that we have "consciousness links" to Tom Friedman's "The Lexus and The Olive Tree," otherwise known as "you can't stop the world so you might as well get on board and see if you can affect the 'pluses' and 'minuses' connected to every issue;" and Daniel Quinn's (on a PlaceComm link) take on 'how to save the world.' -- And the 'fun' is just starting.

Say, Alice, isn't the other side of the Looking Glass -- simply AMAZING?!

Mad Hatter Bill

-- William J. Schenker, MD (wjs@linkfast.net), March 01, 2000.

Jimmy Splinters -- You took the words right out of my mouth. But then that happens a lot here.

I love this place!

To me the advantage of the way a forum is formatted is that you can actually get your full thought out without being interupted. Something I find irritating in real conversation. In " real converstion" it is generally only the loudest and most beligerant voice that gets heard. (Lady Logic comes to mind)

A forum forces people to listen to what the other guy says and not just let them think to themselves about what they are going to say next. (Of course they can still scroll and scan)

Anyway, KUDOS and APPLAUSE to the above posts. :)

-- Lucy (lifeisgoodhere@webtv.net), March 01, 2000.

Yes, Doctor Bill! It is AMAZING on this side! That's why I chose the moniker....Been on both sides of the "glass" as it were....I decided to come back and why not? It's fun here! And I missed you guys! (big grin)

-- Alice (Looking@glass.com), March 01, 2000.

Thanks Alice,

Clap, clap, clap! There's no other forum like this crazy, mixed up, crying, shouting, silly, serious TB2000. I can get more off-beat, factual (sometimes nonsense) information here than any place else.

If I want to know what's going on up-to-the-minute, this is the place. I don't always agree, and I've had my rear end tourched a few times for my opinions, but that's the name of the game here. This forum is not for the faint of heart.

I extend to you my thanks for your post.

-- Richard (Astral-Acres@webtv.net), March 01, 2000.

Thanks Alice,

Clap, clap, clap! There's no other forum like this crazy, mixed up, crying, shouting, silly, serious TB2000. I can get more off-beat, factual (sometimes nonsense) information here than any place else.

If I want to know what's going on up-to-the-minute, this is the place. I don't always agree, and I've had my rear end tourched a few times for my opinions, but that's the name of the game here. This forum is not for the faint of heart.

I extend to you my thanks for your post.

-- Richard (Astral-Acres@webtv.net), March 01, 2000.

Alice, come on what is your prior nom de plume

do I know you

have we crossed swords

you're not unk obviously

-- Sir Richard (Richard.Dale@unum.co.uk), March 01, 2000.

Sir Richard, in anticipation of that question, I provided the answer in a somewhat "vague" form earlier in one of my responses on this thread.....seek and ye shall find....(Grin)

-- Alice (Looking@glass.com), March 01, 2000.

Welcome back, Alice, whoever you are. I love this forum, too! Your Turbo 2000 nickname is terrific, and much more descriptive of what is happening here.

-- (RUOK@yesiam.com), March 01, 2000.

Thanks RUOK! It also applies to how often and how fast we "change gears" here. HA!

-- Alice (Looking@glass.com), March 01, 2000.

You all are worth your weight in GOLD (see, those extra few pounds are worth something anyway, hehe). This forum helps me put words to vague thoughts that run through my head all the time. I don't just get to see one side of any issue and that is what is lacking every where else I look. You people are valued, keep up the good idea exchanges.

-- Sammie (sammiex0@yahoo.com), March 01, 2000.

NetGhost, izzat you?

-- dunno (justaguess@dont.know.you.atall), March 01, 2000.

Alice,

You said it beautifully in just a few short paragraphs. That's why my forum days will end when they pry my cold, dead hands from the keyboard...

-- eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), March 01, 2000.

nope. Re-read the posts and think "laundry"....buone fortuna!

-- Alice (Looking@glass.com), March 01, 2000.

Alice: ...this forum takes you to links and sites you never heard of or dreamed were possible. Open your mind to new ideas...

That's precisely why some people fear it...

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), March 01, 2000.

YNOTT?

-- Queen of Hearts (Down@theRabbit.Hole), March 01, 2000.

agree with Queenie--how's Italy?

-- miss (you@chat.lately), March 01, 2000.

I feel an excitement building here. As y2k recedes and other issues (both exciting and terrifying) emerge, we are free to discuss them all. Aside from a general skepticism of BIGNESS (government, business, labor, religion, etc) and an adversion to elitism, I don't see a single unifying theme here. To me, that is good. Sure, Christianity has a strong presence here; yet this is not a religious forum per se. Personally, I find these spring zephyrs of change to be exciting and liberating. I look forward to many hours of education, stimulation and play in this virtual community.

-- (nemesis@awol.com), March 01, 2000.

Thanks "Allice" and the rest of you wonderful people who freely share your hearts and minds. You have helped many of us who study the Scriptures to see how prophecies are unfolding through current events. Now, I know this is not a "religious forum," but it has certainly served as a powerful means of seeing God's hand at work.

I don't know how others feel about this, but I think it would be a mistake for Christians to expect all who post here to agree on philosophical or faith issues. And, I hope that those who disagree with distinctively Christian perspectives will not seek to discourage such expressions.

We have the opportunity to be truly "American" in the best sense of the term.

-- I.M. Benedict (prayingdown@theriver.com), March 01, 2000.

Yup! Queen of Hearts wins the prize....Now what shall it be? Say, if you can make it over here, I'll treat you to a cup of cappuccino and some delicioso Italian pastries!! mmmmmmmmmmmm How does THAT sound? (big grin)

Missed you guys!

-- Alice (Looking@glass.com), March 02, 2000.