Gaza City
This is an excellent background description of the current Israeli-Hamas conflict.
Author: Tim
Bachelor's degree in Sociology, WWU 1990. I started the degree in 1977, did 2 years, then left to become a cop for a few years. Went back to school in 1985 and slowly finished my degree part-time over the next 4 years....hence the 1990 graduation date.
Lung Cancer Breakthrough
Common Food Additive Found To Increase Risk And Speed Spread Of Lung Cancer
It is always exciting to see breakthroughs in Health Care. This Lung-Cancer breakthrough suggests that if we don’t anything that contains food additives, then we can avoid Lung-Cancer worries altogether! I hear another call for “Organic” !
ScienceDaily (2008-12-30) — New research in an animal model suggests that a diet high in inorganic phosphates, which are found in a variety of processed foods including meats, cheeses, beverages and bakery products, might speed growth of lung cancer tumors and may even contribute to the development of those tumors in individuals predisposed to the disease. … > read full article
Social Anxiety Disorder, Depression, Zoloft, and Christmas.
Yes, what could these three things have in common? Me! Sort of… When I was young, I suffered terrible “Social Anxiety Disorder”. That means, I was at home–at home, but in the most horrible part of whatever the worst part of the world was, during the rest of the time, I wasn’t. No, I was not Agoraphobic….I was just terrified to be singled-out, when I was out in public. Let’s call that “Public-aphobic”. That was me, to the tee—then.
In later life, as an “Adult” I suffered terrible depression and anxiety, especially after the break-up of my marriage and seperation from my kids. I tried every and all anti-depressants during that time, including Zoloft. The “SSRI’s” like Zoloft, Paxil and Effexor are very, very effective at addressing those suffering from Social Anxiety and/or Depression. I ended up taking Paxil for about 6 years, rather than Zoloft. Zoloft’s immediate side-effects didn’t agree with me, but I hear that it works just about as well for many others as Paxil did for me. For the last few years I have been taking “Remeron”, which has worked quite well with both my Depression and Anxiety…quite well, but not totally.
Nothing, however, could replace, cover-up or “fix” the pain that I felt in my heart and soul as a result of my seperation from my children…my experience anyway.
These days, I’m “Philoso-phobic”. I no longer fear the outside world. Times passing has worked it’s magic for the worst of the depression and anxiety problems (for the most part). NOW I fear what the REST of the world are experiencing in THEIR outside world….ascribing to this or that philosophy….believing in it so much that they kill people, or even worse, as torture, deny or don’t care about those people who are outside of their “mini-brain”, narrow lines of thought.
But this is Christmas! This is supposed to be my first Christmas…..no, lets call this my first “Trans-Christmas” gem of thought, isn’t it?
Indeed. The Christmas that most of us celebrate here in North America is a watered-down version of Christainity. Watered-down, however, for good reason; Christians have been waiting for over 2000…that’s TWO THOUSAND years for Jesus Christ to make good on his word. Even his closest disciples thought that what he said was going to transpire within their life-times. WRONG! I dunno, but if I was Jesus—who professed to be God (indirectly at least)—I don’t think I would make myself in any way VAGUE…if I was certain that I would return very soon, I wouldn’t make my best friends wait TWO THOUSAND YEARS! If I had I friend like that, by now I would say that he was either very mistaken in his calcualation…or very rude, or at worst, totally deceived in his own thinking!!!
As for me, I’m not waiting for Jesus to return before I enjoy my Turkey dinner, are you??? If you are, I hope your enjoy the next TWO THOUSAND years, cause that amount of time is way too long for any sane human to wait. Come on….isn’t it? I can see you wavering….digging up the latest theological reason for this guy’s horrible truancy! Come on…
Nevertheless…I still recognize the “Uniqueness of Jesus”….as so beautifully described in a little booklet publish by the organization, “Campus Crusade for Christ”, written by its founder, Bill Bright. But as much as I recognize that, 30 years later, I stand somewhat disappointed, because I have not seen in my own life any evidence all of those so beautiful claims and promises that Jesus apparently made. I am these days, therefore, a reluctant skeptic. Prove me wrong!!! I welcome your input!!!
IN THE MEANTIME: On behalf the the ever-absent Jesus Christ in my life….I would like to welcome all of those who are alive in THIS present time and age to still enjoy at least the kernal of what Jesus left us after all these years…to enjoy the spirit of giving, more so of compassion that he showed to us, however brief his time was, and to NOW connect with a “REAL LIVE PERSON”….who, I’m sorry to admit, will probably only live another half century—at most—but in the absense of you know who….I would be happy to connect with you…to give you any and all encouragement that I can, to keep on keeping on in this very, very long “Jesus-waiting-line”….but rather in this thing that I just call “Life”…which is as it is….so sorry to disappoint you…but by simply accepting the TRUTH of the matter (something Jesus spoke highly of, until he ‘ascended’, leaving the rest of us ‘descended’) but which, if seen from a slightly different angle, can still be GLORIOUS.
That’s my CHRISTmas wish, and New Years dream….to be able to put here on this simple blog…something for you that will enflame your heart and spirit and hopefully nourish your soul.
I wish you all the very best that could happen…that might happen…that could still happen on this beautiful Xmas Eve of 2008. We just have to have an open heart and open mind to let it, to let LIFE be…as it is. Let life be as it is. Don’t try to make it what you think it should be….just let it BE, AS IT IS. If you do that, I PROMISE you….more peace and happiness is in your future than you can imagine.
Much love to you all,
Tim
P.S. If you would like to hear more about my years of Anti-depressant and Anti-Anxiety drugs and experiences, pleast let me know.
Alzheimer’s Breakthrough?
Cold Sore Virus Linked To Alzheimer’s Disease: New Treatment, Or Even Vaccine Possible
ScienceDaily (2008-12-07) — The virus behind cold sores is a major cause of the insoluble protein plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease sufferers, researchers have revealed. They believe the herpes simplex virus is a significant factor in developing the debilitating disease and could be treated by antiviral agents such as acyclovir, which is already used to treat cold sores and other diseases caused by the herpes virus. Another future possibility is vaccination against the virus to prevent the development of the disease in the first place. … > read full article
This is great news. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the research proves fruitful…
My late Mother suffered from this disease. True to the definition of the word, “Disease”, watching my Mother go through this caused much “dis-ease” in our entire family at the same time. By the time she left us, “Mom” was hardly “Mom” anymore. Until then we savoured–I certainly lived for, the all too infrequent “Lucid moments”, those rare times that she did seem to recognize us, to know who we were, as her children.
Though her memories were fading, or gone, Mom’s disease only sharpened my own memories, recollection of those times with Mom when I was still her son, her child, and she my Mom, the parent. For me, losing that relationship due to her disease counts as one of life’s greatest tragedies and loses. So many other people have experienced the same.
Let’s hope this new “Breakthrough” becomes truly, just that.
Sex with Robots
This topic seems to be all over the Internet these days. They say that by 2050 robots will be so life-like, so human-like, that we’ll not only be having sex with them, but we’ll also be marrying them! The sex part they say could happen within only FIVE years, available as the ultimate “Sex Toy”.
Eventually, robots will be so life-like we will have trouble distinguishing them from real human-beings. This is inevitable.
Imagine that, having sex with a robot. No foreplay required. Instant gratification. Right there, ready and willing any time we want it. Almost every man’s dream come true–boom-boom, roll over, go to sleep. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? It is an inevitable thing. They will sell like hot-cakes, by the millions. At first only the rich will be able to afford them, but eventually, market forces will make them affordable to most, who want them.
Sure, lot’s of ethical issues will surround the use of robots for sex, like will a pedophiles thirst for “more” extend beyond the use of his child robot to go after “real” children? Some countries will ban them because of issues like that. But the black market will still take care of the desperate.
Our sex-drive is very powerful. It stem’s, of course, from our instinctual drive to reproduce. We basically exist from one orgasm to the next—it’s a simple biological fact—fulfilling our “Biological Imperative” to reproduce, to replicate our species. It’s very similar to a thunder storm full of lightening.
Lightening occurs when electrical energy in storm clouds builds up to a point that it just HAS to be released. Once it reaches a high level of “particle excitation”—boom—it streaks down to the ground (or nearby clouds), releasing its built up energy. A few minutes later the electrical energy builds up again…until—boom—the process repeats itself, streaking to the ground for another “release”.
Orgasm is like the lightening—boom—in an instant, its built up energy is released. Right after orgasm, our desire for more sex vanishes. Why? Because, like a car battery that has lost its charge, there is practically no energy left-over to fire things up. That’s why some men (and, yes, some women even)roll over and go to sleep after having sex! Their sexual energy has simply been depleted (ok, satisfied) and needs to be recharged.
But that sexual energy is released for only a little while, because over the next 24 hours or so (depending upon the individual) , the instinctual energy (desire) to reproduce gradually recharges and builds up again. Our desire for sex is directly proportional to that level of built up energy we have within us. When the energy/desire is high, we seek out release—we go looking for a way to release that lightening! Again, I’m not just talking about men!
This same cycle of tension-resolution repeats itself, over and over again for most of our lifetimes. Not surprisingly, we create all sorts of special ways, and utilize almost any means, to find a way to release our built-up—our pent-up—sexual energy; to releash that biological lightening, including things…..LIKE MAKING ROBOTS!
At the very root of all this, however, another dynamic is also at work, and that is our desire for the repetition of pleasure. Sex is something that most people find VERY pleasurable. A lot of our motivation for “doing it” stems from our interest in repeating that pleasure, over and over again. I talk more about this idea in the essay entitled, “On Sex“. Read that, if you dare!
Thanks for visiting!
Tim
Nationalism
Today is “July the 4th”, or “Independence Day” in the United States, celebrating their independence from Britain in 1776, when they established themselves as a totally separate country and “Nation”.
A couple of days ago here in Canada we celebrated something quite similar, “Canada Day” which also involved Britain historically, back in 1867, when we became an official “Federation”. Unlike the United States, however, we remained a part of Britain, but were officially recognized as being a separate “Dominion” of theirs, and then in 1947 as a separate “Nation”. That was reason enough for us to celebrate, but the reason why the American’s make such a huge celebration out of their Independence compared to ours is because they severed their ties with the British in one dramatic fell swoop back in 1776, whereas Canada didn’t reach the same level of independence from Britain until 1982!
Both holidays celebrate the concept of “Nationalism”, and that’s what I want to talk about.
Nationalism is a political term, which basically means devotion to one’s country. Dictionaries define it more precisely, emphasizing that it most often means excessive devotion, loyalty or patriotism to one’s country, where citizens see and pride themselves on being unique and separate from other nations or all nations entirely, and will valiantly defend their right to be so (independent).
So now we have a whole world full of countries, full of people who celebrate and pride themselves on being part of a separate and unique nation!? Each country is cleanly divided from other countries, physically with borders and intellectually with political ideas, and various social customs. So, that makes you and me different than Americans, Americans different from Brazilians, Brazilians different from Iranian’s, Iranian’s different from Iraqis’ (yes, they are quite different), Iraqis’ different from Saudi Arabians, Saudi Arabians different from Germans, Germans different from Britains and so on and so on and so on.
Is this not a whole lot of division? And what does division and Nationalism cause between people—no, between human beings? Division creates strife, disagreement (my country is better than your country etc., etc), discord and even war. Is this division—nationalism and all that goes along with it, something truly good? Does it help to create unity between human beings? Does it foster humanities most valued character-quality: love? Should we celebrate something that separates and divides us—you from me if you live in another country—that divides us even to the point of killing one another in the name of this precious thing called “Nationalism”? I think NOT, but, I welcome your opinion.
I discuss some ideas related to this in my essay’s, “On Belief” and “On Opinion”.
A New Day
They say we spend about one-third of our lives sleeping. When we sleep, our normal consciousness stops and we spend the night quite un-conscious. Many people think that sleep is a waste of time, seeing it as an interference to their busy important lives. When I was younger I felt pretty much the same, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve been seeing it differently…
Perhaps one of the reasons that we find sunrises and sunsets so beautiful is because they resonate with something deep within our psyche that instinctually reminds us that a “New Day” is about to begin.
When a new day begins, with it comes the fresh opportunity to do the things that we didn’t do yesterday, or to not do today the things that we didn’t want to do yesterday! To some people that can mean a fresh opportunity to start that new book they bought a few months ago, or to sign up for that course they’ve always wanted to take at the community centre, or to start that new diet or exercise plan, or to look for that new job, or to sit down at the computer and write….It can also mean the fresh opportunity to not do some things, like not picking up that first cigarette, or not picking up that first drink, or not criticising our friends or loved ones, or not sabotaging our efforts to achieve our long-held dreams. The choice is ours. Each and every new day gives us an absolutely fresh slate to draw upon. That makes us all artists—artists of our own lives.
You see, we don’t have to carry forward our yesterdays into today. Of course, practically speaking, our environments don’t change–nothing much really changes in our lives and situations over-night. But what can change is our attitude, our outlook, the way that we choose to view the day, because we really are—at least (and thank God)—free to choose how and what to think.
Most of us carry over our yesterdays into our today’s, via our memories. Memories, however, are like books that we don’t have to carry along with us. We can leave them where most of them really belong, on the “MB”, the Memory-Bookshelf of our brains, just as we leave our real books on the book-shelf in our homes. That might sound a bit trite and simplistic, and you are absolutely right, it is! That is the absolute beauty of it.
We are free to choose the books—the memories, or at least our response or attitudes towards the memories—that we want to carry along with us in the backpacks or briefcases of our consciousness, each and every new day.
I’m not talking about motivation. I’m talking about the freedom to choose and that is what gives me hope when I go to sleep at night, that tomorrow I can start again, or excitedly carry on, even, with the things that I finally started yesterday! New day, new deal. A new opportunity to be the person I am and was meant to be.
And so can you! What you think, you are! Tomorrow really is a brand new day. Think about that.
For more about who I think YOU are, be sure to visit the “Who are YOU?” page.
Life’s little blessings
Just as I’m celebrating the long-time coming birth of this blog, another REAL birth-to-be, presents itself–literally.
Indeed, within minutes of writing my first blog entry I checked my email. There, was a message from my son, announcing that I’m going to be a grand-father, now for the second time . Their first child, beautiful “Aria”, now 4 years ago, made me a grand-father for the first time. That was an incredible experience, feeling my life suddenly extended beyond my own children. One of my own children was having one of his own. In the process I took on the additional role/tile of being more than just a father, becoming a “Grand-father” (although it’s probably quite debatable just how “grand” I’ve really been…..)
This time, with the soon-to-arrive birth of my second grand-child, the feeling is a little bit different. I’m not acquiring a new role or title this time; once a grand-father, always a grand-father, regardless of the number of grand-children. Instead, I feel like—lets call it the “Chain of Life”, has been extended from me by yet another link. That knowledge, that feeling, is certainly as much rewarding as the first time around. It’s certainly made my day, if not my month, and perhaps my year. In fact, I’m counting it as one of “Life’s little blessings”, thank you to my son and daughter-in-law, Jeremy and Robyn.
“Life’s little blessings”, don’t come around very often. That’s why we call them “Blessings”. Blessings, although originally a religious term, have in common day culture and parlance become simply representative of really good things happening to us, regardless of the source. Credit can be given officially to “God” for the religious folks, or more commonly today for the not-so-religious, given just about as officially to, “The Universe”.
Wherever they come from, they are blessings because they make us quite happy. We really enjoy having them! Perhaps their rarity gives them their uniqueness. Whatever their source or nature, they are certainly “blessed” to have and—I will now challenge the reader—even more blessed to give!
Quite complicated…
Welcome!
My site has been back online for a couple of weeks and I have yet to start the blog, until today. I started out trying to use a “CMS” (Content Management System) program called “Drupal” for creating the site, but that was way to complicated for me, so I switched to this CMS program, “WordPress”, which is easier to learn than Drupal…but…
Well, I really wanted to tweak the design of the site a bit before starting to post, but like most things in life, to “tweak the design” is not very simple, in fact it’s bloody complicated. It requires knowing quite a lot about website programming details….thinks like HTML, CSS, PHP, YUCK…
So, I’ve given up trying to figure all of that out before starting to write/blog. In fact, I may even give up trying to figure out WordPress altogether and go back, tail between my legs, to dear-ol’ Microsoft’s product, “Expression Web”, their modern day equivalent to “Front Page”, which I originally used to design my site back in 2001. Granted, I purchased and read the 400+ page textbook for that program, but it did seem easier to figure out than this….We’ll see.
My whole experience here serves to beautifully illustrate one of life’s “Truism’s” (a self-evident, obvious truth, according to Dictionary.com) in an Industrialized culture; few things worth doing are simple, most things require plain ol’ hard work, time and energy to accomplish. Few people make that effort, which is why there is lots of room at the top, if that’s where one wants to be…(more about the “if” later).
So there you go, that’s the first blog entry done, finally. Feels good. Thanks for reading.
One Man's Journal.... 