TRUMP IS NOT MY PRESIDENT!!!
TRUMP IS NOT MY PRESIDENT!!!
In fact, I would say I am one of the very few members of TheNewsTalkers who can say factually and truthfully that Trump is NOT my President. I have seen members of NT, who are in fact American citizens with the right to vote in America say, with vehemence, that Trump is NOT their President. Well, suck it up, kiddies. Like it or not, he IS the President of the USA and he IS your President.
Now, why did I post such a headline? It was to get your attention, and I guess it worked.
This article is NOT about politics, nor is it about religion, so of course it would not survive for 5 minutes on Recent Discussions or Recent Comments on the Front (Home) Page, so why did I post it anyway? The reason I posted it is to point out to those of you who seem to only want to be here in order to talk and argue politics and religion that there are, believe it or not, other things in life, and maybe it would be healthy for you to TRY to partake in some other things in life. You may be known only by your pseudonyms, or your avatars, but I think most of you who limit your interests to politics and religion are really named "Horatio".
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy ."
Those among you who are literate will know that Hamlet said that to Horatio in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
So what's my point? My point is that politics and religion are not the ONLY things you can become involved in as members of TheNewsTalkers. There are other venues here called "GROUPS" . These groups can be located at the top of this page, and every other page on this site, by clicking on the word "Groups" which is located on the black banner in white letters between the words "Trackers" and "Blogs". There you will find more than 50 groups that are NOT private (requiring an invitation) on a myriad of topics. Some examples: Creative Arts (not just limited to photography), Classic Cinema (Although true classics are at least 40 or 50 years old, that would be too limiting, so topics about movies at least 10 or 20 years old are considered fair game, as are actors/actresses, directors, and anything else relevant to old movies), 5 Ingredients or Less (about members' recipes that use no more than 5 main ingredients, not including liquids and spices), Antique and Classic Cars (Want to see the story with lots of pictures about the Tucker Torpedo?), Books (In case you don't spend ALL your time on the computer or in front of the TV and actually READ once in a while.), Folksongs and Folkways (If you're an old hippie like me then this group can rekindle memories of the Folk Music Revival of the 1960s and 1970s), Firearms & Shooting (Many of you who have guns could learn something there.), Science Fiction Fanatics (From H.G.Wells to Arthur C. Clark, from Star Trek to Star Wars, From Dune to Avatar), Discovery Group (Explore the world.), The Greenhouse (Gardens and Home Improvement), and more, that have NOTHING to do with politics and religion. Yes, there still are other open groups that are about religion or non-religion, politics and other issues where civil debate can take place, but most of the ones I have mentioned give you no cause to fight, and are pleasant passtimes in which to read, learn, teach, write and discuss - a virtual holiday from the bickering and nastiness and vitriol often so present in the articles about politics and religion.
So join a group or two, have fun, relax, enjoy - and if there isn't a group that meets your interests, then START one. You may find that others share what interests you.
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Make a New Year's resolution to join or start a group and spend some time AWAY from the Front (Home) Page.
Ahhhhhhhh, I thought you were going to talk how since you live in another country that there are other leaders you better be listening to for your own well being. I figured you'd have a funny cast on it.
Oh well..
Good advice Buzz, it may actually save someone's sanity in the process.
Trudeau is not my Prime Minister!
I just wanted to get that out of the way. I hear that Uncle Bruce is playing enforcer in some of the groups..........
As much as I wish he wasn't, I can't deny that he is.
Wait a sec - this article was supposed to be about groups, not about politics.
LOL.....I mentioned groups below that.......
LOL It's a "got'cha", Buzz. See how easy it is?
No. Groups belong to the owner of the group.. He might be the enforcer in his groups, but that doesn't sound like Bruce.
Off topic [ph]
I visit groups almost daily to see if anything is going on
I visited a group once and, got two weeks vacation in a mental hospital.
You can say that again.
I visited a group once and, got two weeks vacation in a mental hospital.
I just posted a pot roast recipe in the 5 ingredient or less group. My first "discussion" post or article LOL
Saw it - interesting gravy recioe. I never knew anything about a slow cooker until I came to China. My wife often uses it.
Oh, you DID say it again. LOL
I love this recipe! Thats why I shared it!!! The gravy itself is the star....
Never thought the three would create a great sauce/gravy.... WOW!
Hi, Jenn -- I just looked at it, and it looks great! My wife and I love using the crock pot and find a lot of good, easy recipes online.
FYI ... make the first comment so others can join in.
PS - Thanks for mentioning that recipe group. I joined!
My family's favorite recipe for me to cook at breakfast is Biscuits and, Sausage Gravy, they never could get enough of it.
There certainly are other things in life, Buzz, but many people come here to discuss politics and religion almost exclusively, because these are things no one talks about in real life. Don't think people don't care about the arts or have other interests just because they don't get involved in them here. For instance, I didn't join your folk music group, but I've played guitar and a blues harp my entire life, used to play in bar bands when I was younger and have written many songs. I'm guessing this surprises you.
Also, America is in a constitutional crisis right now with a lawless president who is making Nixon look like a choir boy. Many of us will not be able to relax and pay attention to the arts until this crisis is resolved. There are many horrible injustices around the world we need to talk about and find a way to address. Our focus need to be more on these things than on leisure activities and interests.
Can lead to serious mental illness. Take a break.
Besides, what do you think you can do about your obsession anyway?
Larry, you said you like Dylan. I've posted him saying his speech that was delivered at the Nobel ceremony. Have you heard or read it? I've posted his movie, Renaldo and Clara. Have you watched it? I've posted Don't Look Back, his first tour in Great Britain. Have you seen it? Take a break and do something pleasant.
Umm, I think I better plead the fifth on those questions, Buzz! And who's Larry?
Oh shit! Dementia is definitely setting in, LENNY, not Larry.
The resent comments area needs to be much larger, it is where people look
I liked the way comments worked on NV and that they would scroll down a long way
All we need now is the IGNORE feature!
There will be no ignore feature. We just installed a profanity (and other unpleasant terms) filter.
You are all adults, right? Then decide if you are here to discuss or not.
Good call !
Geeze...go away for a few days and somebody moves the furniture!
I keep trippin
Yes, a nice ignore button, so no matter where you go, everybody will always agree with you, and the number of posts you have to read is way smaller, and you don't even have to see how many comments are made by people you ignore who are probably disagreeing with you.
I always liked a debate or discussion rather than a glee-club or back-patting circle, ( I only used the ignore button once) but that's just me.
Oh gosh I'm so sorry and humbled and repentant.
I don't really care what you and Rex want or do. I'm just pointing out if you have only one side of a discussion because you're editing the people who post because they offend (or more pointedly, disagree with you) it's not much of a discussion.
Why do you need an 'ignore' feature to ignore someone?
LOL
the same with
W_.
X_.
Y_.
Z_.
But in the differences of opinions there can be humor, things that make you groan or grin, demonstrations of insanity and occasional, a actual good point and a view from the "other side."
Actually I'm ag'in them. Gives people bad habits.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
You missed a part Buzz, that may be even more important. "Forgive him Sire. He believes the customs of his tribe to be laws of nature."
Great article, Buzz! I haven't been on NT all that long, but the constant bickering and name-calling has worn me out. As a consequence, I've found myself spending less time here.
I'd like to start a non-political group along the lines of a nation I co-moderated on NV, but I don't know how. Maybe someone can point me to a NT section that explains what to do?
Same here Jasper
If you start that group, please let me know.
Me too Jasper!
and Sunshine ...
When somebody teaches me how to create a group, I will!
Jasper, I can shed a little light, maybe. I posted "Posting a seed 1/29/18" under "news and politics" on oddly enough, 1/29/18. I think I put it in the wrong place, but it's my first or second seed, the other one is in there too.
Unless they changed it, it was working. You might read the "category" a little closer then I did.
Don't forget to make the first comment after the seed, or nobody can make a comment on it.
Good luck.
Thanks very much! I, too, haven't seeded much (for various reasons). Your article was very informative. I learned how to seed by reading a post in the "Help" section.
What is even worse is that many who have joined have seen that and then quit NT altogether, besides the fact that I'm sure even many more have taken a look and said to themselves, this isn't for me.
Yes, NT is a News Site, as pointed out to me by others, but it is a SOCIAL news site. What does it mean to be SOCIAL?
int he literal cents, interacting with others, but for a change I introvert
@ Jasper
Open your personal page. At the top is a banner of options. One of them says "Groups". Click on it and it will open a group page. At the top right you will see a "PLUS" sign "+". Click on it and it will open a form page enabling you to create a group.
Nuts, I misunderstood and told him how to make a seed..well, neverrrr minnnd.
That's their goal, don't give the haters that power. They get off on it.
Haters gotta hate but they also gottta be called on it. Stay here, stay the course and stay in their face.
They hate it when you do that and that should be enough.
Check with Perrie Jasper. She can give you step by step instructions about methods and options. You can set up anything from a completely open group which anyone can join (pending good behavior) to a private group with membership by invitation only. If you're interested, we haven't had a cooking group around here since Peter Faden's went away almost a year ago. We used to use it to put up our favorite recipes, the last one devoted to camping was put up by Dowser way back while we were all on NV. You can pretty much choose any topic or none at all, if you wish. I was going to start up another one about cooking but I just haven't had the time to deal with administering it (my grandchildren take up a lot more of my time than even raising my kids did, but I love it).
Discussion about Trump is off topic. Tha fact that I used his name to get the attention of the "Front-Pagers" on this site is off topic as well. Therefore even I'm off topic because the actual topic is about taking advantage of the NT groups. Maybe I should flag the whole article as being off topic.
I tried several times to get the Good News Wednesday Group up and running (I was one of the original Admins on the NV GNW Group), but pretty much A Mac, Kavika, Uppy and maybe 1 or 2 others bothered to look and comment. People were more interested in the virtual wars on the front page than taking 1 day a week to find something 'good' to publish.
I agree to an extent. When one posts in groups (if I am correct) it doesn't show up on the front page. They are more or less private. I have a bad habit of looking at the front page as a starting point and go from there.
It is also harder for me to follow conversation there. I will get a private note if someone replies directly to me but that is about it. I have been trying to use the tracker with some success. It is just not that easy to follow a conversation unless one is directly involved.
I feel your pain
I'm newer here, and don't read directions as well as being computer illiterate and grammatically challenged, as well as mentally insufficient to so many around here, or so they tell me
Ender, I think you are absolutely correct. Right now there is a problem that the server has to fix in that on the left side column the avatars of only 6 or 7 groups show up and even they are not accurate. When working properly they designate at least 16 or so groups in an order of most recent first when comments or articles are posted on those groups. As well, the group administrators can send messages to the whole group membership when new articles are posted on those groups, but the problem is that very few members have adjusted their personal "notification" settings to allow for group messages to be received. Personally, I try to check the groups I am involved with every time I open NT to see if anything new has been posted.
I just checked my notifications. I have all of them set on send private note except the two that can only email.
It could be that administrators of groups are not sending group messages. I do from time to time on my groups, not every single time I make a comment or post an article. I think it is the responsibility of the group administrators, the ones who created the groups, to keep the groups active and interesting, but he/she cannot do it all by themselves. The members should take on at least SOME responsibility to contribute. I once administered a Canada group, but I was pretty well the only person contributing to it, and I received almost no indication that the members were even looking there, so I deleted the group. Although my "Famous Photographers" series should really be posted in the Creative Arts group, although that group has more than 100 members, only a few contribute to the group, which is why I post them in the "Trackers" Photography and Art forum, where maybe 6 or 7 people bother to look at them.
Buzz, all apologies
didn't mean to disrupt your obviously very well intentioned effort to get people to see there is more out there than bickering about politics and or religion.
That crap should only be discussed in drinking establishments, but I'm flagged.
I do think you are doing a great service here, keep up the good work out
Thank you David.
Buzz, in all honesty not many people could match the picture articles you put out, or could even come close.
I appreciate your compliment, and the ones I post on the Famous Photographers series are true professionals whose works are truly to be admired, but I am a mere amateur.
LOL
Buzz, maybe you should have scattered some pretty pics of calming nature scenes in here, that seems to help keep things calm, or calmer. Sometimes. A little.
Now that's a good idea. Here's a photo I took the other day that is posted on the Creative Arts group, that most of the people posting on this article have probably not seen, because it's posted on a GROUP:
You might have needed a tripod. My new camera has a 30X zoom, equivalent on a regular 35mm camera to a 720mm focal length. That could have got a great shot of the moon, if it were not an overcast sky.
No doubt. My previous camera started to have shutter-aperature coordination problems before it totally died. Before digital cameras arrived, a camera could last forever - it's the electronics that screw up. Autofocus was the first step towards disaster.
You got your new camera? Far out Buzz. Should be an interesting Thur/Fri article tomorrow.
The weather hasn't been conducive to taking decent photos, so I'm not sure if I will be posting a new photo. I did post two new ones taken with the new camera on the Comment Wall of the Creative Arts group.
Good choice.
On the other hand, if photography's not your thing, maybe antique and classic cars are - here's something from the Antique and Classic Cars group:
Did anyone else ever drive an antique car?
If so, tell us about it.
I did. In fact I drove one exactly like this one:
If photography and cars don't interest you, how about folk music - if so, take a look at the Folksongs and Folklore group:
Leonard Cohen live at the Isle of Wight 1970 - video
This video of Leonard Cohen's performance at the Isle of White music festival in 1970 shows how he could entrance an audience of 600,000 in the very late hours of the night. It includes interviews with Judy Collins, Kris Kristofferson, Joan Baez, Robert Johnson extolling Cohen's talent.
And finally, EVERYONE loves the movies, so take a look at the Classic Cinema group:
What classic movie do you HATE the most?
I've come to realize from the vitreol, animosity and divisiveness on the Front Page, whether it be about politics or religion or whatever, that talking about things that you like, or love, is a waste of time here. So I decided to go the way the Front Page goes, and talk about HATING something. Some people hate Trump, some hate Hillary, some hate Republicans, some hate Democrats, some hate right wingers some hate left wingers, some hate religion, some hate atheism, so what the hell, since so many are so good at hating, let's talk about classic movies that we hate. This is my submission:
The Blair Witch Project
Not only was this movie boring, the picture was jumping all over because of hand-held cameras while running. I simply turned off the movie part way through. My advice? Don't invest even a dime to see this movie.
What is the movie you hate the most?
I saw this in the movie theater and I thought it was real. Then I hit the internetz.....
Absolutely one of the worst films ever made and then to add insult to injury they remade it.
Do more Classic Cinema, Uncle Buzz! Please?
The rumor that it was real persisted for months, probably secretly egged on by the movie's producers. It was great as a campfire story, it should have stayed as one.
BWP cost $22,500 to make and grossed $248 million.
As a movie, it was still garbage. Whoever said there's a sucker born every minute should have said "every second".
Actually one more, in case you get hungry and are looking for REALLY easy things to cook up, wander over to the 5 Ingredients or Less group: Here's my recipe listed there for Banana Blueberry Pancakes - one of my favourite breakfasts:
Banana Blueberry Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 cup of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 medium size ripe bananas
1 small package of fresh blueberries
1 medium egg
1 cup of whole milk
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Mix the baking powder into the flour
In a separate bowl, beat the egg, then add the oil and the milk and mix well, then add to the flour and blend,
Crush the bananas with a fork until they form a lumpy sauce, then add to the mix, and blend
Then stir in the blueberries to make a total blended mix.
Coat a large frying pan flat surface with a thin layer of vegetable oil (mine is 12 inch diameter with a 10 inch flat surface) and heat over a medium-low gas flame (have not tried electric, but I assume it works as well) until a tiny sprinkle of water on it will dance and sizzle. Then put 4 separate scoops of the mix spread apart over the suirface and fry for a couple of minutes, then turn over for another couple of minutes (or until golden brown).
Voila - 4 pancakes
Repeat the vegetable oil coating and scoops of mix until the mix is used up. It should make about 12 pancakes.
Top with maple syrup or honey.
If spices are not counted as ingredients, I would add to the mix a pinch of salt and some cinnamon, but the pancakes will be pretty good without them. The banana sauce will add sweetness and make the pancakes nice and moist. As well, although the vegetable oil will prevent the pancakes from sticking just as well, I personally coat the pan with butter before each new scoop is added.
This is one of my favourite breakfasts, and I make it about once a week, always with bananas, but sometimes with something other than bliueberries, like raisins and wolfberries, and sometimes poppyseeds.
(I found out that spices and salt are not counted as ingredients so you can use them.)
Thanks Buzz. The president is a lawless traitor and wannabe dictator who is allowing our democracy to be subverted by the Russians, but after eating these delicious pancakes, all seems right in the world again!
Lenny, I can't cook up enough pancakes for the whole Democratic Party.
Buzz, I think lenny was talking about President/King Badfish.
I forgot about John's cooking group. I need to put a few things up there.
Some of the comments on your article prove that some people either don't want - or know - how to follow directions. They've proven what their real purpose is. How sad for them.
True enough. As I've pointed out above, it's an obsession, a mental illness.
Buzz, you were a lawyer in Canada, which is pretty much like being a lawyer in the US. You should have learned many years ago that ALL politics is a form of mental illness.
Yet another alternative for those who are literate - literature: the "Books" group. Here is part of an example of an article I posted there:
Pride and Prejudice gets an Austen-tatious update, where pre-marital sex exists, but Darcy is still a douche
Book review by Sadaf Ahsan, National Post, April 20, 2016
‘Eligible’, by Curtis Sittenfeld
A story as classic as Pride and Prejudice can expect to see countless inadequate reinterpretations in its future, so many of them, in fact, that Jane Austen’s cautionary tale of Elizabeth Bennet, her sisters and one Mr. Darcy has practically become an English proverb – as if the Bennet family has become positively Arthurian.
The last decade alone has seen Elizabeth tackle everything from zombies to Bollywood, with Pride and Prejudice regurgitated so often for (rarely) better and (frequently) worse, that annual reboots are to be expected. But Curtis Sittenfeld’s Eligible, which transports the Bennet sisters from 19th century England to the present day in the author’s hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, borrows more from Bridget Jones and the 2012 YouTube adaptation created by Hank Green and Bernie Su , thrusting smart phones into the sisters’ hands and CrossFit into their social schedules.
More than 100 comments, and when I post a Famous Photographers article like the one I posted yesterday about Eugene Atget, NOT ONE COMMENT (other than my own initial comment). Is the lesson to be learned that to get anyone interested, I have to put the word "Trump" in the title?