NationStates Jolt Archive

To spin off a thread, it has been suggested that interested parties may wish to join an expedition through our host forums. http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=343610

I have established a base camp. http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=6646440#post6646440

Please, please, please mind your manners and address the topic at hand (in addition to whatever else). There are already indications of hostility from some of the natives, so let's try and make a good impression! :D

I started one as well. I don't seem to be able to delete it, so I'll wipe its content instead. Reprinted below -

This thread is for discussion and planning of the expedition to the summit of the Jolt forums:

The background to this can be found here:

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=343610

Anyone is welcome to join us in our epic journey exploration and adventure, but please note that on- topic posts should be made at all times.

We have currently set up base camp in the music forum here:

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthrea...d=1#post6646464


May the weather be good and the gods generous as we undertake this perilous expedition.


So, how many posts do we need to have in a thread started by one of our own to declare a stretch/ forum as climbed?

Ah. Slight mess up on the communication front there.

:D no foul.

So do we say 10 posts in a thread to declare a forum climbed? 20? 30?

Judging by how infrequently some of those forums are posted on waiting for a 'native' to enter a thread could take a very long time.

Location: Music
Going: good.
Weather: holding.
No sign of the natives.

Currently brewing up after pitching tents and digging latrines.

Location: Sport (I know it is stupid, but I have death wish).
Going: Hanging on for dear life.
Weather Stormy, but promises to clear up.

Notes: No natives in sight. After looking at tracks, I think the last one left a week last Saturday. Doesn't look promising.

Location: Sport (I know it is stupid, but I have death wish).


Godspeed. I'll sit this one out.

What kind of sport? I'll pitch in on American football... :D

Sport abandoned.

Reason: No hope for natives. Suggest we return at the next big sport event.

What kind of sport? I'll pitch in on American football... :D

I could have an argument about which is the tougher sport, American footall or rugby.

What kind of sport? I'll pitch in on American football... :D
Seems to be mainly football (soccer for you Americans).

I could have an argument about which is the tougher sport, American footall or rugby.

Or ask why Americans call the wrong sport 'football'?

Hmm. Judging by the lack of indiginous people there it looks like we might have to do this one alone. So does anyone here actually speak 'Sport'?

I think I could blag my wa through it, provident that the talk stays focused of football and, at a pinch, Rugby.

I have no idea why we call it football. I'll be the first to admit it's stupid.

I went and posted there, actually it does look like we're alone. We could take over the forum, make it a second general :D

Revised route (skipping incredibly difficult/impassable terrain)

general discussion <--- the giddy heights of the summit
Arcade
Chat <--- low lying clouds
Serious Discussions
general humour <--- nearly there
spam <--- treacherous overhang
Retro Gaming <--- the treeline
Movies <--- snow above this level
Books
Sports <--- could be rocky
Music * CAMP ESTABLISHED *

A solid camp has been made in the music section, and work proceeds laying ropes through Sport, meanwhile a couple of hardy souls have carried out some individual recces in the higher reaches.

Revised route (skipping incredibly difficult/impassable terrain)

general discussion <--- the giddy heights of the summit
Arcade
Chat <--- low lying clouds
Serious Discussions
general humour <--- nearly there
spam <--- treacherous overhang
Retro Gaming <--- the treeline
Movies <--- snow above this level
Books
Sports <--- could be rocky
Music * CAMP ESTABLISHED *

A solid camp has been made in the music section, and work proceeds laying ropes through Sport, meanwhile a couple of hardy souls have carried out some individual recces in the higher reaches.

LMAO. Sign me up.

Godspeed.

This:

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=343480

appears to be the main rope (AKA 'thread') being lain at present bridging the way from Music to Books.

Easy going and gentle slopes are expected in the Books forum.

Attempting a different face through sport(s)*: http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=6648374#post6648374

*I know it's sport to you Brits, but I can't help it. I'm American and an English teacher as well....

This:

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=343480

appears to be the main rope (AKA 'thread') being lain at present bridging the way from Music to Books.

Easy going and gentle slopes are expected in the Books forum.

???

I think I got lost. Following that path led me staight to Sport.

???

I think I got lost. Following that path led me staight to Sport.

Yup. If we are stupid enough to tryand climb this forum like a mountain we have to go through Sport to get to books.


(having already snipped out some of the more esoteric forums from our itinerary we shouldn't have to avoid as simple a one as sport, should we?)

???

I think I got lost. Following that path led me staight to Sport.

The rope (thread) across sports leads from music to books. ;)

Or ask why Americans call the wrong sport 'football'?

Hmm. Judging by the lack of indiginous people there it looks like we might have to do this one alone. So does anyone here actually speak 'Sport'?
I could chip in on snooker I suppose ...

We appear to have secured a rope (AKA thread) leading across 'Sports'. There were some tricky moments there when nobody really seemed sure what we were meant to be doing, but in the end, after an abortive attempt at a slightly different route, it seems we have completed this stage of the ascent.

Zarozina in the meantime bracely went on ahead to hammer the first piton into the craggy rockface of the Books forum. We expect fairly easy going here. Weather is holding, and I don't think the natives are suspicious yet. Supplies are holding out, but we appear to have forgotten a tin opener and so are having to use our initiative on that front.

The route we are tackling in the books forum is located here:

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=343788

tg

I think we have now established our second base camp in Books. It was tough going and some of us nearly didn't make it out alive from Sport. But worse is yet to come. I've sent out a scouting party into Movies - well, I peeked through the curtains - and it looks daunting. The weather is taking a turn for the worst and the natives are a livelier bunch than in sports, which has surprised some of us.

BWO thinks he may have found the solution to the tin-opener problem, but is rapidly running out of teeth

BWO thinks he may have found the solution to the tin-opener problem, but is rapidly running out of teeth

Indeed, having been stealing them from Conceptualist's mouth when he is asleep I am now faced with either using my own or seeking another way of tackling the problem. An American climber called Unfree People has, however, shown up with a selection of biscuits, or as he insists on calling them 'cookies' which should stave off any premature raids on the emergency Kendall Mint Cake supplies.

There seems to be quite a bit of native activity in Movies at the moment, and they seem to be reasonably acclimatised to the high altitude. Most of their culture seems to be centred around some barbaric entertainment concerned with sitting in the darkness watching flickering lights projected before them. Doubtless some superstitious pagan ritual. Discussions in their rudimentary language revolve around some mythic cycle concerning 'the force'. Possibly the remnants of some ancient gnostic religion?

So any ideas on how to tackle this perilous stretch? I can't see it being as tough going as Sports where we were quite literally just hanging onto the subject by our fingertips there.

See us chimneying nimbly through Books with all the grace and elegance of mountain goats on angel dust here:

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=343788

Couldn't we just hijack a topic and have the mods airlift us straight to the top?

An American climber called Unfree People has, however, shown up with a selection of biscuits, or as he insists on calling them 'cookies' which should stave off any premature raids on the emergency Kendall Mint Cake supplies.
She (me = female), and the cookies have all run out. We ate them too quickly.

Unfree's all woman these days.

Couldn't we just hijack a topic and have the mods airlift us straight to the top?
Where's the 'fun' in that?

She (me = female), and the cookies have all run out.

Apologies - still there is a long and noble tradition of plucky heroines disguising themselves as young boys to join the army or take part in such an adventure as this. Then again, it could just have been the first signs of snowblindness kicking in on my part.

Indeed, having been stealing them from Conceptualist's mouth when he is asleep I am now faced with either using my own or seeking another way of tackling the problem. An American climber called Unfree People has, however, shown up with a selection of biscuits, or as he insists on calling them 'cookies' which should stave off any premature raids on the emergency Kendall Mint Cake supplies.
You have Mint Cake? And you haven't said? Scoundrell! This may cause mutiny
There seems to be quite a bit of native activity in Movies at the moment, and they seem to be reasonably acclimatised to the high altitude. Most of their culture seems to be centred around some barbaric entertainment concerned with sitting in the darkness watching flickering lights projected before them. Doubtless some superstitious pagan ritual. Discussions in their rudimentary language revolve around some mythic cycle concerning 'the force'. Possibly the remnants of some ancient gnostic religion?Quite possibly. There is mention of some spectral father-figure - a deity of some sorts perhaps - and of a "Dark Side" - a reference to a rudimentary emergence of a moral society? The "luke" I have heard mentioned may have been picked up from biblical references overheard from the tribesmen of the lower slopes.

So any ideas on how to tackle this perilous stretch? I can't see it being as tough going as Sports where we were quite literally just hanging onto the subject by our fingertips there.I believe the flickering lights may be of some importance and an understanding of their rituals and their meanings may help us to gain the trust of these people before we ascend further. I suggest we put our heads together before we make the next ascent.

See us chimneying nimbly through Books with all the grace and elegance of mountain goats on angel dust here:

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=343788

The "luke" I have heard mentioned may have been picked up from biblical references overheard from the tribesmen of the lower slopes.


Indeed: I have checked through the contents of my portable explorer's anthropological library (complete with folding canvas bookcase), and have discovered the following table in The Force Of Star Wars* by Frank Allnut (Bible Force: Van Nuys, California, 1977) -

Allegorical cast of characters from Star Wars

The Force - God
Obi-wan Kenobi - Jesus Christ/Holy Spirit
Luke Skywalker - Hebrew Christians
Han Solo - Gentile Christians
Princess Leia & the Alliance - Israel/the Israeli Remnant in the End-Times/The Church
Kenobi's Disciples - Christ's Disciples
Emperor Palapatine - Satan
Grand Moff Tarkin - Antichrist
Darth Vader - False Prophet/Judas Iscariot
Imperial Guards & Stormtroopers - Demons & Evil Spirits/Non-Christians


I believe the flickering lights may be of some importance and an understanding of their rituals and their meanings may help us to gain the trust of these people before we ascend further.

Possibly it is related to Plato's myth of the cave where the people sit watching the shadows of things passing by cast against the wall. Could the natives at one time have had contact with the ancient Greeks? Could Alexander have passed through here on his way to conquer the known world?** Who knows what arcane secrets the natives may hold.





* Yes, I do actually own a copy of this book...
** See also, The Man Who Would Be King, by Rudyard Kipling***
*** Do you like Kipling? I don't know, I have never Kipled.

*** Do you like Kipling? I don't know, I have never Kipled.Neither have I, but I used to enjoy Barking, Dorking and Woking until someone told me I was flogging a dead horse ...

... :confused: ...

I think we may have enough material now to make an assault on the next base. I say we pick our way carefully through Movies and Retro gaming as the terrain is hazzardous and rest up in Spam where a large camp is already well established. By then we may need to regather our strength and perhaps gain some new recruits, before attempting our assault on the high reaches

I say we pick our way carefully through Movies and Retro gaming as the terrain is hazzardous and rest up in Spam where a large camp is already well established.

Would placing a camp in Spam be reckless? - I hear that it is particularly prone to avalanches and the contents are swept away at regular intervals, or is this just an travellers' tale with as much solid foundation as the early explorers' stories of dog-headed men and anthropophagi with their faces set in their chests and no head at all?

Would placing a camp in Spam be reckless? - I hear that it is particularly prone to avalanches and the contents are swept away at regular intervals, or is this just an travellers' tale with as much solid foundation as the early explorers' stories of dog-headed men and anthropophagi with their faces set in their chests and no head at all?
Reckless? No. I have heard that the area is stable and protected from the worst of the weather by trees and some inexplicable leafy glades, oases, and beaches. I hear rumours that there are even bars there, though the rumours also mention that these may degenerate into war-zones without any warning. I also hear - and this gives me greatest cause for concern, of raining- and indeed flying-fishes, and other aquatic fauna, which seems preposterous at such elevation! I'm sure these more fantastic rumours cannot be true. As fo dog headed men; I have heard rumours that they inhabit Spam!

The alternative would be to set up camp 3 in Retro Gaming, which I feel would be most ill-advised.

*bump*

*bump*

*ouch*

Careful where you step inside the tent - some of us are tying to catch a good night's sleep before the assault on 'Movies'. So do we have a specific topic planned?

Careful where you step inside the tent - some of us are tying to catch a good night's sleep before the assault on 'Movies'. So do we have a specific topic planned?
I ventured into that lair a while back, tried to establish a foothold only to have it torn from under me.

Good luck.

Allegorical cast of characters from Star Wars

[indent]The Force - God
Obi-wan Kenobi - Jesus Christ/Holy Spirit
Luke Skywalker - Hebrew Christians
Han Solo - Gentile Christians
Princess Leia & the Alliance - Israel/the Israeli Remnant in the End-Times/The Church
Kenobi's Disciples - Christ's Disciples
Emperor Palapatine - Satan
Grand Moff Tarkin - Antichrist
Darth Vader - False Prophet/Judas Iscariot
Imperial Guards & Stormtroopers - Demons & Evil Spirits/Non-Christians
Its nothing to do with that, its just a sci-fi fairy tale. Knight-wizards rescuing princesses from enemy fortresses? A bizzare cast of sidekicks, some with magic powers? Brother and sister, seperated at birth? A cynical, mercenary pirate with derring-do?

Its nothing to do with that, its just a sci-fi fairy tale.

No, it isn't, it is a fascist parable - only when the Wagnerian blond haired and blue eyed virgin hero (Luke) learns that he can no longer trust technology and science (turns off his targetting computer) and instead turns to mysticism (the force) can he vanquish his opponents (blow up the Death Star).

George Bush, is a moron, plain and simple. although i agree that saddam needed to be stopped, the methods that were used were unforgivable. Wither the UN is an affective body or not, we must function as a world, and as humanity. The right wing in america is inherintly selfish, society will not progress with Bush in power, and if he is maintained it will continue to crumble.
roughly as month ago the Pentagon named the biggest threat to US Security, its not Terrorism... far from it. Its global warming. George Bush, Condemed this report. This is man that acts not on the welfare of humanity but on the welfare of the here and now today, and for the rich. At best you could say he benefits America, but thats still not acceptable as he jeapordisas the safety and sovernty, and economies of all other nations.
George Bush Is part of the problem. He needs to be ousted for the good of all things. every decision he has made and will make is for the benefit of the few

George Bush, is a moron, plain and simple. although i agree that saddam needed to be stopped, the methods that were used were unforgivable. Wither the UN is an affective body or not, we must function as a world, and as humanity. The right wing in america is inherintly selfish, society will not progress with Bush in power, and if he is maintained it will continue to crumble.
roughly as month ago the Pentagon named the biggest threat to US Security, its not Terrorism... far from it. Its global warming. George Bush, Condemed this report. This is man that acts not on the welfare of humanity but on the welfare of the here and now today, and for the rich. At best you could say he benefits America, but thats still not acceptable as he jeapordisas the safety and sovernty, and economies of all other nations.
George Bush Is part of the problem. He needs to be ousted for the good of all things. every decision he has made and will make is for the benefit of the few

And this is relevant to the matter at hand how, exactly?

Okay - I have started the laying ropes on the Movies thread here:

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=6704046#post6704046


I decided to avoid messing around with the natives' primitive mythology that we were discussing before, and decided to take an alternate route. We shalll see what they make of news from the outside world. I have no reason to expect hostility, but I will be keeping my ice axe close at hand.

:D Mmmm... I like this pitch!

:D Mmmm... I like this pitch!

Which pitch?