"Not long for this world"

Dive, what's with this profile message and spooky mask?

An ominous prophecy you'd like to share?

Originally posted by @chaney3
Dive, what's with this profile message and spooky mask?

An ominous prophecy you'd like to share?

The mask may relate to the fact that in ancient Roman and Greek plays the actors often spoke through ("per-" ) masks that disguised them and in many cases projected or directionally amplified the sound ("-son" ) and so Dive's clever play on words says something about how things feel to him lately, as if he is an actor playing a character named Divegeester, mouthing that ominous line given to him, "through the mask" that shields him from scrutiny. The ominous prophesy reminds us of the "All the world's a stage" speech in which we end "Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."

This is very clearly the angst of an existential crisis.

Then again, maybe this is all hokum. There's the rub.

"Not long for this world"

Originally posted by @chaney3
An ominous prophecy you'd like to share?

The world in which divegeester and I currently live is one where England are still in the World Cup and have not yet been knocked out by Colombia. That could well happen on 3rd July. That's "not long" from now. In the meantime, we inhabit this world where we can sing "It's coming home" without it being technically untrue to do so.

Originally posted by @chaney3
Dive, what's with this profile message and spooky mask?

An ominous prophecy you'd like to share?

What makes you think the words are about me specifically? A plain truth of the matter is that we, none of us, are long for this world. Are we? Life is but a breath and one of us current regular posters here will be the first to shuffle off this mortal frame. Perhaps it will be me and I wonder what will be said about me when I’m gone or when you are gone, perhaps nothing.

Originally posted by @divegeester
What makes you think the words are about me specifically? A plain truth of the matter is that we, none of us, are long for this world. Are we? Life is but a breath and one of us current regular posters here will be the first to shuffle off this mortal frame. Perhaps it will be me and I wonder what will be said about me when I’m gone or when you are gone, perhaps nothing.

Nothing

What does anyone know of an individual who died 10 years ago? Perhaps memories of people who knew them. Perhaps a name in a family genealogy but for all practical purposes the person is forgotten.

Much like the guy in who is that scratching at my grave. I think that is the name of that Wordsworth piece

Just goes to show that if you believe you are actually accomplishing anything in this life you are simply fooling yourself.

Originally posted by @fmf
The world in which divegeester and I currently live is one where England are still in the World Cup and have not yet been knocked out by Colombia. That could well happen on 3rd July. That's "not long" from now. In the meantime, we inhabit this world where we can sing "It's coming home" without it being technically untrue to do so.

That too.

Originally posted by @js357
That too.

Yes. Then again, maybe it too was all hokum.

Originally posted by @divegeester
What makes you think the words are about me specifically? A plain truth of the matter is that we, none of us, are long for this world. Are we? Life is but a breath and one of us current regular posters here will be the first to shuffle off this mortal frame. Perhaps it will be me and I wonder what will be said about me when I’m gone or when you are gone, perhaps nothing.

Before we 'shuffle off', should we do some good works? 🙂

Originally posted by @js357
The mask may relate to the fact that in ancient Roman and Greek plays the actors often spoke through ("per-" ) masks that disguised them and in many cases projected or directionally amplified the sound ("-son" ) and so Dive's clever play on words says something about how things feel to him lately, as if he is an actor playing a character named Divegeester, mo ...[text shortened]... rly the angst of an existential crisis.

Then again, maybe this is all hokum. There's the rub.

Do you think Dive thinks so deeply and profoundly?

Nah.

Originally posted by @eladar
Just goes to show that if you believe you are actually accomplishing anything in this life you are simply fooling yourself.

Yours is the nihilistic, impotent, misanthropic brand of Christianity that one so often encounters.

Originally posted by @chaney3
Do you think Dive thinks so deeply and profoundly?

Nah.

Maybe this could one of the things you say about me when I’m gone.

Originally posted by @eladar
Just goes to show that if you believe you are actually accomplishing anything in this life you are simply fooling yourself.

What an unhappy person you seem to be.

Originally posted by @divegeester
Maybe this could one of the things you say about me when I’m gone.

It might be an enormous struggle, but I could probably find a kind word or two.

Originally posted by @chaney3
It might be an enormous struggle, but I could probably find a kind word or two.

I wouldn’t bother with the risk of finding yourself in an enormous struggle, presumably with either your conscience, your memory or your imagination. Even if I was available to hear you, I really wouldn’t be appreciative of whatever fountain of insincerity you had managed to come up with.