Roy Scarbrough I don't need to even discuss it any more.

E. Writer Indeed. Indeed. It even outlasted the likes of places like Myspace, which is merely a shadow of its shadow these days. But it lasted after 25 years, because there was truly substance in that place. People with goals, people who came to learn, people who came to talk shop, about the business of writing. People who have grown older together there. It is an era that has come to an end. A time that few people can even remember, of its early glory, when screenwriting was as ubiquitous. as publishing a book is today. Somehow you knew, that even after a long break from writing that you could always return for a refresher, and if you had a question, someone there always had an answer. It was truly a workshop.

Roy Scarbrough yes, the presence of people who have grown older together, arriving at the end of an era.

E. Writer I think people can have that kind of chemistry anywhere, but everyone will wait on someone else to get started, I guess. It's hard to build good chemistry between people, it can take a long time. I like talking about movies and books. But I think there's something going on in society where the bourgeoisie is too preoccupied by politics. to chat about literature. Speaking of Shakespeare, I remember how Merchant of Venice was considered anti-Semitic. And still is, in some circles today.

Roy Scarbrough Yes, it's anti-semitic in in so many ways. What's significant is Shylock is not thoroughly demonized in the ways the Jews were always portrayed at the time, is the gist of conversations I've had with Jewish scholars.

E. Writer I worked with a man who lives in Israel who is a scholar on Shakespeare. The thesis of his book was that, Shakespeare was not an anti-Semite. It is a critical analysis of Shakespeare's works. He offers both sides of the argument. I learned quite a bit on the discussion through his work.

Roy Scarbrough I know another Jewish Scholar who did her Oxford dissertation on the subject.

E. Writer Here's the book. The author is a brilliant man, really knows his theater work as well. You should check out his book: https://www.amazon.com/Vindicating-Shakespeare-Directors-Shakespeares-Merchant/dp/057887136X

Lady E I think you should go for it and bring the story back to life.

E. Writer Ah okay, I thought you might have had the old address. I'd forgotten that you made it to the updated platform and url.

Roy Scarbrough By the way, on another positive note, I'm finding some history comforting in a weird way. The Roman republic fell to tyrants, but I know enough to know how it feel, and somehow humanity soldered on through the dark ages to experience the renaissance.

E. Writer I learned about Roman History a looong time ago but my interest was rekindled when the show Rome aired on HBO. I learned more from the fictional show than I learned in school. Even though the dialogue was fictionalized, much of the events were not. Mark Anthony, for all his deceit eventually got his comeuppance. That was a storied end to his life. I used Facebook AI to make Christmas images when I was wishing everyone a happy holidays. It looked realistic for sure. It's not bad. But for other projects where I might use AI generation, I use Nightcafe
https://creator.nightcafe.studio/

Roy Scarbrough Rome seems more real to me than the middle ages. It seems they feel within moments of an early industrial revolution. Rome, the city, was the worlds first multicultural metropolis. Maybe its good the industrial revolutions started later. Imagine where we would be now if the planet had been burningup for the past 2,000 years.

E. Writer Just think, the aqueducts they built 2000 years ago are still running below the city. That's a huge technological achievement, especially since it is the first known aqueduct to exist. Rome is easier to visualize because we see the ruins as evidence still standing today.

Roy Scarbrough In all fairness, I did not tell her it was an actual memory.

Roy Scarbrough I found my journal. There were eight of us in the compartment. Four of us seated and facing the other four seated. The Spanish girl wast traveling with a bearded young man from one of the spanish universities. He spoke little English. The girl wore tight blue jeans all marked up with peace signs and the word "Love". I was traveling with a girl my age from LA, that I met along away. That relationship was platonic and friendly, so a bit disappointing on my part. We got separated in a crowd in Geneva. So there were no good-byes. I headed for the campground, which had been my plan all along. I carried camping gear with me.

E. Writer Thats amazing that you still have that journal. I only have one thing that I have that is from a long time ago. It's a Christmas ornament that is 44 years old. Me and my sister bought it from Woolworth when I was 6 years old. My mother kept it and when my mother passed, my sister got my mothers family Bible thats probably 60+ years old or older. And I got the ornament back. Both items hold special memories for both of us.

Roy Scarbrough A christmas ornament is from back then is a precious thing to have.

E. Writer I just wish I had the other half. We were asked to bring an ornament to church, for the tree. So me and my sister got two ornaments from Woolworths. I was 6 and she was 8. Both had a verse from The Night Before Christmas on it. We gave verse 1 to the church and kept verse 2 for our own tree. So yeah, that ornament is very precious to me. From a very special event as children.

E. Writer Not sure why your links isn't coming through, but this one https://jumpshare.com/v/MSrbOnoeRkOWXywK2OIg
Nice music! Is that your dog? So cute

E. Writer I'm with you there! I think the last thing that people need is more time on social media. We all need to have more time away from our phones and computers where we can be more productive. So I will pop in and out occasionally. But my goal is to divest from other social media applications that are toxic like Facebook, Instagram, X, and Bluesky, threads, tik tok, where people focus on negativity and conflict instead of positivity. Those platforms are designed to keep peoiple addicted. But the goal of Neighbahood is to have a space where a person can, if they choose, to go on social media, have a positive space to do that in, instead of only those toxic environments. I noticed that people don't really know how to interact on social media if there are no arguments LOL