Quote - I just thought it was ironic that someone who frequents Render-otica and possibly has sold pose sets there identifies himself as Catholic. Not that I have a problem with that.

Let me help you out a little: It wasn't "possibly", it was "definitely". I found it to be a nice challenge, actually, since I'm one of the few pose set makers -- here OR there-- who actually know what joint limits are.

Hell, I'll give you one more bit o' info to let you scream "...hypocrisy!": I also ran the R'otica servers for awhile. Why? Because Diane is an old friend of mine, and I don't leave old friends stranded.

I still have a mountain of friends there, and I still happen to enjoy their company  (OTOH, Jesus hung out with prostitutes too, no?)

Never claimed perfection, nor will I... reaching it would make me cease to be human.  You want proof that I'm an old sinner? There it is. Does it bother me? Occasionally. It is something I'll have to deal with eventually. OTOH, I will still strive for the ideal in spite of it. The process was long overdue anyway. I was born into it, left it as a rebellious young man, then came to my senses a couple of years ago and have begun to return to it. Maturity takes time, and that's what I'm moving towards. The important part though is to keep moving, even if you never reach it.

Quote - I can't help noting that some Catholics have been leftist to the extreme.

I believe that I know who you're talking about, and TBH? They claim it only to get votes, and little more. Some of 'em should have been excommunicated a very long time ago, and the fact that they haven't is more of a proof of just how tolerant the Church has been all this time, than as a mark of their own rebellious moral outrages. Without delving into politics, let's just say that one doesn't promote certain agendae and policies that is in direct opposition to major Church policy concerning the sanctity of life (not going to mention anything by name, but it should be fairly obvious), and still claim the title.

Trust me, those folk get more prayers and hopes of coming to their senses than anyone else I know of.

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Quote - Personal view - I think you can look and even buy some of the products at Render-otica without buying into the whole scene as it were, although others would no doubt disagree, Catholic or not.  Depending on your view of life it can provide some products that work well in Sci-Fi scenes that are not available on other sites.  

Same story here. I have no desire to encourage many of the themes there. At all. I find some of it completely repugnant and disgusting. OTOH, I'm not going to hate on the folks there who do, so long as it remains purely within the realm of zeros and ones, and no one is in reality being attacked or harmed. To wear out an old phrase, I will defend to the death their right to make that particular flavor of art, even though I find that the stuff is personally repulsive beyond belief. 

Best I can do in that area is to gently remaind folks that people (women in particular) are not objects to be harmed or abused, but rather to be appreciated. Surprisingly, the vast majority of folks there agree.

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Quote - I sorry I mentioned the word "left" because that has nothing to do with it. I don't really care if he is right or left or belong to the Jacobites dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England and Scotland.

...not my fault you shoved your foot in it, right up to the pelvic floor. ;)

Quote - I am only tired of whining old phrases and obscure puerile jokes I've heard a thousand times before.

Ah - but first you insinuate that everything I said was pedestrian and common, now you start slipping in that some of them are "obscure". It doesn't help your argument much by shifting gears like that without first engaging the clutch. Make up your mind already.

Incidentally, there was no "whining", much as you would like it to be. I've happily crushed your arguments at every turn, and this 'OAMG you're so unoriginal!' tripe is the last argument you have left. 

Quote - The über computer nerds have their places but unfortunatly art is not one of them.

Without us, you'd be stuck in the same place as Bob Ross, pal. We did you a favor there. ;)

Incidentally, I have seen performance art written in C++ that would make a grown man cry (example), if only he were capable of understanding it.  

Here's an economy-sized clue for you: Just because you are completely incapable of understanding (let alone appreciate) it, doesn't mean that it magically does not exist. I suspect that your posting speaks more to your own narrow-minded failings than to anyone else's. I also see that you recognize that fault at least subconciously, which in turn forces you to lash out in blind anger whenever someone calls you on it. 

PS: That was Cracked magazine that I referred to with an earlier link, not Mad. At least now I know which post pinched your nerves so badly... or was it the one-handed typing crack? 

Let me end this wee missive by repeating a worthy quote... a bromide, but one that is nonetheless still true:

 

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Quote - IMO, it seems pretentious for an artist to proclaim his work "art", seems a judgement that should be left to others.

The sad part is, some artists think that pretention can replace creativity and talent.