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Privacy

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:56:54 +0000

Is it common for Aspies to have an extreme want/need for privacy?
Me, I feel like I'm always surrounded by people who try to poke their nose into my private business and can't leave me alone. I feel like they're always watching me and always demand to know where I am and what I'm doing. I love being alone because I feel too awkward around other people, but I can never be alone for very long, sometimes not at all. Because of all the people everywhere I don't even want to go outside and play, although I always feel so much better outside than when I'm inside. I don't mean to hide anything, but I really want privacy. People who don't leave me alone just irk me to death.
And you know what's really weird about this? I'm more at ease around strangers, people at stores and parks and things, than I am around my own family and some of my friends. I'd rather tell my business to them than to people who actually know me.
Is this an Aspie thing, or am I just a really private person?

Post a happy song...one with energy...uplifting.

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 12:23:26 +0000

I've been listening to this for almost a total of 10 hrs. straight over 2 days of posting. I like the happy beat and the greatly coordinated orchestration of the song.

Write a movie review - Make us wish to watch it.

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 11:59:43 +0000

MUSA

An Epic Saga like none Hollywood has put out in years(exception - The Last Samurai). Won International awards in 2001, I believe.

Synopsis: The story is fiction but has its basis in history. Hundreds of years ago in China, the Ming Dynasty was established and they (the newly established Dynasty) were in the process of pushing the Mongols out of China. Korea was attempting to establish diplomatic ties with the Ming Dynasty and had dispatched a total of four emissary groups to China. Only three ever returned. This is the story of that fourth group - the one that was never heard from again. Features top acting from a top cast of Chinese and Korean actors including the star of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Zhang Ziyi - the gem of China. She will steal your heart in the end. Some of the best choreography, cinematography, story and acting of any film. While it is filled with many battle scenes - they were all central to the story and very well done. The movie involves Heroism, Love, Loyalty, Honor, Friendship and ultimately heart wrenching sacrifice all supplemented with beautiful music and scenery. Themes that Hollywood seems to have forgotten except for the excellent movie: The Last Samurai.

Basic Story: It starts with the last Emissary group arriving in China only to be accused of being spies and exiled to the Gobi desert. While in transit, their captors are killed by a roving troop of Mongols and they are left to fend for themselves. They later come across a separate Mongol group that had captured a Chinese princess. The Koreans battle the Mongols, free the princess and attempt to return her to safety in China. The rest of the movie involves their hasty retreat across the desert with the Mongols close behind and climaxes in a final epic battle at a deserted fortress. The many well played characters are brought to life and have you identifying with each - at times despising some, but ultimately loving them all. The battle scenes are especially well done as the excellent musical score stirs your heart to heroic levels. This movie sets itself apart from the often times clownish Kung Fu films that have the actors flying through the air while performing meaningless acrobatics - the fight choreography in Musa is very realistic and the actors highly skilled. The name Musa means warrior. Highly recommended - I am saving my copy for my son - when he is old enough to appreciate the meaning of Courage and Honor.

What are your favorite astronomy photos?

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:41:13 +0000

What are your favorite astronomy photos?

Here are a few of mine:

Difficulty articulating yourself when you're mad at someone?

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:21:35 +0000

I have very poor articulation when I'm mad at someone. I think this is because all I feel like doing when I'm mad at someone is bash their head the fuck in. This makes me forget about what I'm trying to say to them.

In general, I tend to stumble upon my words a lot which likely is due to me saying a few words a day (sometimes none at all). But when I'm mad at a person, my articulation is absolutely horrible. Rather than yell at the offending person, I usually just walk away because my anger tends to cause my mind to shut down; I end up becoming confused and can't articulate myself. I hate this because I always feel the need to tell people off when they deserve it.

Anyone else like this?

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:41:30 +0000

Has anyone else here seen this movie? I liked it even though I don't usually like movies about "relationship stuff." It wasn't real successful at the box office, but I bet that it will be a future "cult classic."

The movie isn't overt about it, but I think the main character definitely has some Aspie traits. I'd say it's worth seeing if you have any interest in Aspie-themed cinema.

The soundtrack is pretty cool too.

Hello

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:08:28 +0000

Hi. I just found this site. I am 30 years old, and I recently moved from the "self-diagnosed" to "officially diagnosed" category when I saw a psychiatrist who said that she was fairly certain that I had Aspergers, which I considered to be good news (I saw this psychiatrist after visiting with a speech therapist who picked up on some Aspergers/AS symptoms but wasn't really able to offer an official diagnosis). Her perspective on it was more or less "If the label helps you, embrace it; if not, throw it out." Right now, I'm leaning toward embracing the label, but I haven't really figured out a way for it to be useful aside from simply having something to look at and say "Oh, that explains a lot" (of course, that's still pretty significant in its own way). If it provides me with some form of community, I would like that very much (I knew a few people in college who I think may have been Aspies, but this wasn't something I ever discussed with them).

I was diagnosed with ADD at around age 10, but the possibility that I might have Aspergers was never raised when I was younger. I had social and academic problems in school, and there was a sense that there was something that made me different but nobody could ever quite figure out what it was. Within the past few years, I investigated Aspergers, and I started to think that I had some characteristics that fit that profile. I was in the self-diagnosed/unsure category for a long time and only made moves toward getting an official diagnosis fairly recently.

I'm a fairly recent college graduate (MA and BA in English), and to a large extent, it's the difficulties I've had finding a job and a new "niche" that led me to seek an official diagnosis. The shape that the economy is in doesn't make finding a job easy, but the whole job/career search thing has always been kind of a nightmare for me whatever the economy is doing. I've held a few jobs, but I didn't like any of them that much and I certainly wouldn't want to return to any of them. I'm not very comfortable interviewing for jobs, and working with people who aren't on the same "wavelength" as me presents problems. Ideally, I'd like to find something where I do mostly solitary work and only briefly interact with people. I'm having difficulty finding much of anything to do with my MA in English. The standard thing that people with that degree are expected to do is teach English, but I don't feel like that's much of an option for me (I had a couple of grad school classmates who had horror stories about teaching in the public school system). I'd like to find work as some type of writer, but I'm having difficulty finding very much in the way of writing work that pays (I've tried Elance and couple of similar sites, but I couldn't really find much to do there). I'd also be open to finding some type of IT/Programming job, but I'm not very enthusiastic about the idea of going back for another degree. I wouldn't rule out the idea of continuing my education further (I had more than one professor tell me that I would probably be successful in a PhD program), but I'm feeling a little too burned out on the whole college thing to even consider that right now (also, the local college I attended was a small one without much in the way of PhD programs).

I live in a fairly small town that doesn't have much in the way of an Aspergers/AS community. I'd like to eventually move to a bigger city (Austin, TX is somewhere I'd like to live at some point), but I'm not really in a good position to do that right now. The psychiatrist I saw told me that Aspies tend to do a little better in big cities as opposed to smaller, more conservative communities such as the town where I live (I really wish some of the Aspergers/AS resources available in Austin were available here). I was born here and pretty much my whole support network is here, so uprooting myself and relocating somewhere else is kind of a difficult thing to consider at this point.

I came across this site after investigating online Aspergers/AS commnunites, which is something that the psychiatrist who diagnosed me recommended. I hope to make meaningful connections with some of the other members of this forum and possibly get some kind of advice on how to deal with the problems I face.

P.S.: If you asked me why I chose my forum handle, I chose it (partly unconsciously) to emphasize that Aspies/people on the spectrum are not easy to pin down and are just as complex and contradictory as everyone else.

Another crush question?

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:59:19 +0000

How well do you hide your crushes?

For me, I'm practically amoungest one of the worst to hide my crushes, I would display it in a way, but at times can hide it.
If the other person does have a crush back, that's when I start to feel awkward, which would probably last for quite a while.

That's done for me.

Others Ignoring You / Offended...don't know why or what to do?

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:23:28 +0000

It is good to review the situation in your mind...it means you are a concerned person...you don't wish to offend.
However, once you have established that you were not the person at fault or that there was no miscommunication...you know who was. It is not your guilt...but theirs.
Should they not reply to you...you will have rid someone from your life that shouldn't have been there in the first place (IMNSHO Wink ).

To worry about something, not of your doing, is an unnecessary drain on you. Many people who claim offense, have no right to feel offended in the first place. Just because someone claims to have been offended, doesn't mean they truly were. Certain people go around in life trying to get people to owe them (repay them / owe them allegiance over an imagined offense)...some out of power...some are bullies, trying to use societal rules as a club...many out of stupidity. They lack imagination and critical thinking, and so, think all others do.

This is what I do:

1) Determine guilty party
2) If I am guilty...I apologize and make it up with interest.
3) If they were wrong...I would expect the same in return as I would have done.
4) Should they not reply or apologize...I would knock them down a notch or two (or off) on my hierarchy of relationships mental checklist.

What you don't wish to do is grovel....it makes you an emotional slave to them / A pitiful person in your own eyes ( a desired objective to some ).
For many who choose to not do for themselves in life, choose to operate through sabotage in any way they can. In their minds, they seek to bring others down so as to not appear so low in reference to them.

Look for your passions in life...pursue them. The ones you meet on that journey will have similar passions. You will be doubly blessed in life as you will be doing what you love doing, and you will be doing it with those whom are of like minds. In them you will find true friendship. This is my opinion...borne of experience.

What are your thoughts or experiences on this thread?

Home Schooling: Philosophy for Children - The Importance of Objective Reasoning

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:03:23 +0000

Another article I had posted to my Blog (at my signature). It stresses what is critical to correct reasoning...yet has been taken out of our schools.

Philosophy teaches correct thinking through objective reasoning as well as the capability to discern right from wrong and the correct application of it in life.

Morals are the crystallization of the correct applications as it applies to all beings.

These subjects are critically important to all children and are non existent in our schools. Elementary school is a prime time for these subjects. It offers a framework for true thought and allows perspective. With Critical thinking skills (Objective Reasoning vs. Subjective Reasoning) and morals, all the isms (Racism, Sexism, Favoritism...etc) that are so prevalent in the world would simply melt away. Children would see the stupidity of the isms, along with the various fallacies that occur when one thinks subjectively, before they could fully take hold. With a thinking populace, every entity from education to government would be held to higher standards. Nothing less than a meritocracy would be demanded...Marxism, in all its incredibly stupid forms, would not be able to rear its ugly head. The rational thinking children would be able to see the fallacies inherent in it. The world would progress, as their generations would effect change.

Through correct critical thinking, the child may efficiently learn how to learn and to truly think, not merely regurgitate information.

Objective Reasoning is so incredibly important to all, and yet many people still see the world through subjective eyes. Alex was taught, many years ago, basic Philosophy, Logic (As well as many of the fallacies of), Objective Reasoning and the Scientific Method. Basic reasoning used to be so natural with people that it was merely called good ole basic country common sense. Our schools have put in fluff and taken out the hard core courses so necessary for correctly making decisions. What is now, so incorrectly, valued in today's world is the subjective instead of the objective.

It is so imperative for a child wishing to go on to higher education to have these skills developed. It is up to parents to fill in where our education system is so failing. A child's mind develops its full cognitive capabilities by age 8 or so. What they lack at that time is experience and acquired knowledge...that is what you must give them....the gift that truly keeps giving.

Objective Reasoning....critical to correct thinking.
Correct thinking is critical to correct action.
Correct action is critical to leading a correct life...one borne of passion and purpose...and justice.

Teach your children how to correctly reason and they will be able to extract information from all that they observe from the world around them and will be able to make informed decisions, and so, shall be able to live their life riding on a Positive Spiral.

They will then be able to pass this way of life on to their children.