Doom Shepherd

Poetry:Limerick::Theatre:Mimes.

This is what happens when I produce the kind of poetry that rhymes. Wrote this during one of my better "episodes" circa the early 90's. It's unpleasantly autobiogaphical. (Actually, so are the other poems I've posted here.) The Man Who Wasn't There On my way to Middling-fair, I met a man who wasn't there I did not see him as we sat, And ate, and had the oddest chat: "I am not really here," said he, "My many masks are all you'll see, Though you may know me all your days, On my true form you'll never gaze. My masks are not the sort one wears, With plastic eyes and clownish hair, Mine are the kind that hide the soul, And let the wearer play his role. One day jolly, two days sad, Three confused and four days mad, Adventurer or merry clown, I've even one with a thorny crown. Masks aplenty, masks galore, Every day brings one mask more Masks to hide your hopes and fears, Pain or pleasure, joy or tears. Masks of wisdom, masks of fate, Some for love, while others hate, Masks for work and masks for play, Masks in which to spend all day. To hide beneath a mask was fun, As lover, brother, friend, and son, I piled on mask, and mask again, Until they fit better than skin- But then, one day, I came to see My masks are all that's left of me, For while a mask can gain renown, The man inside is breaking down. Though I thought I was safely hid, With each new mask, part of me fled, And now I live in grim despair... For I'm a man who isn't there."

On the other hand, Greece.

And in one fell swoop, you've descended to the level of a Batman villain... Ra's al Ghul.

This is how the internet killed my hope for the future of humanity: w_RaPOOVX1Y

He didn't bash music. He bashed rap. Now listen to me here, because this won't take LONG! If the lyrics arent in harmony it ain't no SONG! All music needs a melody to come on STRONG! If you rap in monotonic then you're doin' it WRONG! Word. Chill, I'm just messin'.

All right, have at thee! Here's four of mine. Chrome Heart Chrome Heart! Order yours today Burnished gilt Warranty included Ready to wear No polish necessary Durable, and so Quiet, Your friends won't know It's not real. Late I stay up late With dripping rain for company In a shrinking square box While others sleep Dreaming of things That aren't there And I read And I read The Book of Night With Moon. Dance If I tangoed Up to you Would you waltz In my company Would we trip The light fantastic Or would you stand Against the wall Afraid to join In the symphony - Doesn't matter Because I can't Dance. Touch I can’t touch you without wondering if you’ll scream This time. I’m too timid, now, to reach for you at night. Knowing what can happen The wrong word An accidental sound The simplest positioning Of bodies And you’re off And running Running away from me Crawling back inside yourself Again Until you remember where you are – Not there – You remember who you’re with – Not them – You’re safe again Sane again Sorry Again Until the next time.

Well, dammit, now I have two contradictory answers for what my username means.

They won't understand until we cost a few of them their jobs.

Sheep are very stupid animals, they require a shepherd to guide them. Your Doom is your fate, essentially your death. As opposed to "Destiny," it carries connotations of the "bad ending" of the game. Therefore, I guide stupid people towards bad endings. Or something like that.

I was born in 1971 When I was growing up, the Atari 2600 was state-of-the-art. I actually vaccilate back and forth between having laser-like high-intensity focus, and having the attention span of a gnat on OOH, SHINY! I would say I generally prefer linear narrative, but unlike my mother, I was able to follow "Pulp Fiction" with no difficulty, and stories told through extensive use of flashbacks (especially visually) pose no significant challenges.

Too damned easy. And done by too many people who really out to know better. Take people excusing things like theft, because a poor person did it. The VAST majority of the time, theft is about wants, not needs. Seriously, who steals FOOD anymore? Who has to? When you hear that someone broke into a house, you don't hear "two loaves of bread and six tins of meat were taken." You hear about the stolen TV and stereo and game system, or what-have-you. There are easier ways to get food than stealing it. Video/software piracy? 100% about wants. (To tie this in to another thread.)

I believe R.A. Heinlein said it best: “Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. (Hurting yourself is not sinful -- just stupid.)” (However, keep in mind that the concepts of "hurt" and "unnecessarily" are fluid.) Putting your own needs before others? That's not a sin, that's THE most basic survival strategy. You can do no others any good if you kill yourself serving them. Putting your own wants before the needs of others, though, that's another story.

>amusing ethical subjectivist doesn't know that I'm the Ideal Observer.

... That actually makes sense. Well, in that case, since my avatar is dressed for it, and since there is no such Horseman as "Conqueror" in any version of Revelations I'm aware of, I claim War. OTOH, if we're making up Horsemen, might I suggest "Entropy" Whose passing causes all things to decay at an accelerated rate. *Also, I award no points because no one caught the Gaiman/Pratchett "Good Omens" reference. Seriously, read that book. It's a riot.

Dude, you're clearly Famine. You're already starved of Rep. Pestilence retired after the discovery of penicillin, he's been replaced by Pollution. Now if you don't accept this, you can always be: [*]Grievous Bodily Harm, [*]Cruelty to Animals, [*]Things Not Working Properly Even After You've Given Them A Good Thumping But Secretly No Alcohol Lager, or [*]Really Cool People. But I'd advise against it.

I do, too. You suddenly hear that Ross just uploaded not one, not two, but THREE new Episodes of "Freeman's Mind."

DRIVE-BY: My favorite Little Pony is SCP-173.

So... it has come to this. ... and then there were Three. We only need one more Horseman. (I'm Death. In case you thought that point was up for debate.)

Everybody dance now! aVCf9GCtcGc

Just because one thing is worse than another thing, that doesn't make that other thing acceptable. Genocide is worse than murder - but if it's you I stab, you'll be even more upset than if I wiped out all of Backendofnowhereistan.

Move, bitch! Get out th' way!