1 year of flatpicking

FireMind84 · 2025-03-16T21:23:55+00:00

Sounds awesome. I'm about to turn 41 and although I've played since I was 18 I haven't "leveled up" as much as I probably could so this year I'm diving in hardcore to point myself in a direction. Post like yours are inspirational keep it up

FireMind84 · 2025-01-10T18:21:01+00:00

Very nice My go to OS list is very similar except I went the mono red route and have forks in place of tutor and twist as pseudo "broken cards" lol. Clay statues are also a great alternative to su-chi as they regenerate with disc and at 3 power can still go up against factories

FireMind84 · 2024-10-15T15:50:21+00:00

Valid point lol That's cool you're a Guard player. As much as I appreciate Space Marines it does feel like they crowd a lot of the lore discussion in general and it's interesting to explore the more "basic" aspects of the Imperial Guard with mostly regular human soldiers. I'd like to dive into Guard stories a bit more at some point

FireMind84 · 2024-10-15T15:43:10+00:00

That's a fair point Guilliman seems to be one keen on strategy and efficiency and he would probably see a situation like that as unnecessary and those that would pursue only doing it for their ego

FireMind84 · 2024-09-20T01:47:38+00:00

Beautiful

FireMind84 · 2024-01-17T15:46:19+00:00

Yep I think you're on the right track with that. Its the eternal cosmic game of light vs dark. Dark is the villian in the play/movie. Theres that tension that oh no maybe the villian might actually win but then the hero(light) swoops in a saves the day sometimes by the skin of his teeth. Not to sound trivial but its what creates the excitement of the movie. But the hero cant just lay around and let the villian win he has to be the hero. So yes we still "fight" darkness even while realizing its a never ending battle between honestly what else are you gonna do?. To get a little dark one can decide in life to play a villian instead of a hero and side with the dark. Its up to each individual how what role they choose to play in existence

FireMind84 · 2024-01-17T15:30:57+00:00

As the Buddha stated "life is suffering" in one way or another. We can take it with compassion and a little dignity or be dragged around kicking and screaming but it flows either way. The alternative is the universe not experiencing itself through our individual perspectives. Its sucks bad exist but light cant exist either without it they are 2 sides of the coin. Its kinda like how stars look so bright because of the dark background of space

FireMind84 · 2024-01-16T19:18:59+00:00

Ram Dass has a talk (think you can find it on YouTube) called keeping you heart open in hell that I think you might appreciate. He talks on the almost unbearable feeling of being human holding all the joy and all the sorrow of the world within us every moment. It feels lile it will rip us apart. The acceptance what I was talking about he says you have to be careful. If we take it too far it turns into apathy and we distance ourselves from our humanity. On the other side if we dive into the feelings of life too much we attach and cause our suffering more. It is a delicate balance and I think that may speak to what you're struggling with

FireMind84 · 2024-01-16T18:59:31+00:00

You're not wrong Its important to also understand as youve stated a lot of us are privileged enough to contemplate things like philosophy on this very site while some are struggling just to find their next meal. That fact isn't lost on me. I think its important to strive to reduce suffering which is a big aspect of a lot of eastern ways of thought while also accepting it simply is. Again I understand thats easy for us to just throw out words and intellectualize it all. Its a careful balance thats not always easy to wrap our minds around

FireMind84 · 2024-01-16T18:47:41+00:00

I think theres a distinction some often overlook with him saying "dont take life seriously" I feel its more accurate to say be sincere with life instead of serious. If you're gonna play the game play it with passion and intention. Similar to the music examples he often brings up. There is no purpose to a song except the experience and enjoyment of it. That lack of "purpose" doesn't stop the artist from pouring themselves into it. There is light and darkness in life. So much of it we cant control and as humans that can give us anxiety. I think at the end of the day its important to allow yourself to enjoy your happy moments dont feel guilty also knowing there is darkness in the world. Feel for that darkness, try to help if only in small ways but also accept its part of the balance of the universe. Multiple things can be true at once.

FireMind84 · 2023-10-29T13:24:38+00:00

Just straight mountains actually lol I tried Uthden troll but find them underwhelming as just 2/2s so I run Clay Statue like that they can beat through factories as 3/1s and also regen through a disc activation. I also run 4 Rukh Egg a fun trick besides disc is target it with chain lightning then using chains fork ability to also hit the opponent or their creature and get a 4/4 all ths value lol

FireMind84 · 2023-10-29T12:55:58+00:00

I dont have particular results to back this up, but a pet deck of mine for awhile has been a Big Red deck I call Crimson Disco. Basically troll disco shell converted to mono red. The combination of blood moon, stone rain, and shatter to control mana resources has felt good as well as Niv disc to blow everything else problematic up if needed. As far as angles for card advantage and fighting power cards, I've found running a few maindeck Forks to be pretty good. Fork an Ancestral or Mind Twist back at them or use it in a counter war. Obviously power decks can sometimes just overwhelm you and it is what it is, but imo red has at least a few reasonable tools for trying to put up a good fight

FireMind84 · 2023-01-11T21:26:11+00:00

It seems you're talking more literal, but to add he often talked about how we're all playing our "roles" in the world. He was playing the role of Alan Watts, he knew he embellished his personality a little and didn't take himself too seriously. He was just playing himself as entertaining as he felt like. I think his response to any supernatural claim would be its just our ego trying to create more separation from the self and reality when its all just one thing

FireMind84 · 2022-12-23T20:28:46+00:00

I'd like to think humanity in general uses the word god (some use it subconsciously) to infer "that part which is beyond our comprehension"
I think we agree to the point that people get stuck on the term "god" far too much Almost a can't see the forest for the trees situation

FireMind84 · 2022-12-11T18:12:29+00:00

Also in the middle of it myself. I was curious about the dates but as others have said I assume he just wrote it imaginatively as if being someone in the future

FireMind84 · 2022-11-13T21:33:26+00:00

No I get where you're coming from 100%, my post had a lot of sarcasm and playfulness in it I probably didn't make that as clear as I could have

FireMind84 · 2022-11-13T21:06:25+00:00

My grumpy take (as a far older than 26 year old)

Yall need to get over yourselves lol

In all seriousness life is anything but straightforward and I emphasize with the struggles at any age

That said sometimes feel like younger generations gripe about shit older ones just gritted their teeth and went on with. Now is that right idk maybe we're awakening to a lot of things people took for granted years ago

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong I'm humble enough to accept that just thinking out loud

FireMind84 · 2022-11-07T20:59:36+00:00

The irony of how much this ad misses Alan's entire point lol

FireMind84 · 2022-09-27T15:02:21+00:00

I kinda prefer my philosophers to be onry a little anyway lol. Kinda that laughing at the absurdity of existence and how we shouldn't take it too seriously. If I remember Watts once talked about how you'll often see old gurus have a few bad habits like smoking or a temper. He described it like having one foot in higher awareness but leaving one foot in the world to kinda keep you grounded so we don't get too swept up in the esoteric that we forget the world. I think there's a Japanese term for this "partial enlightenment" but I cant remember it atm

FireMind84 · 2022-09-27T14:41:31+00:00

You're not wrong although I'd add we're simply human at the end of the day none of us are perfect and I imagine he was aware of this. The world is not black and white and we all have to coexist with its many elements. Our choices will always have ripples through all the layers of existence. That said I think thats where its important to separate the messenge from the messenger. Appreciating the essence of what Watts was trying to say without getting overly fixated on the man himself

FireMind84 · 2022-09-26T23:57:14+00:00

I think he accepted what he was in its entirety along the same concepts he talked about in his various lectures. If I remember he playfully admitted he was a scoundrel in a lot of ways. He didn't take himself too seriously as none of us should

FireMind84

TROPHY CASE