As I read romance novels set in England,1000 A.D., I imagine body odor and ,bad breath without all our modern conveniences. Since there were no dentists and cavities couldn't be filled, how romantic and for how long could kissing have remained pleasant? Given long hours of darkness and poor quality of lighting, no sun glasses, no cataract surgery, no anti-biotics, using the shortest of possible lists, it is no surprise that things moved along far more slowly than today when we have use of the whole day, a longer life building on knowledge, longevity to make use of it, and developed technologies helping to build on everything.
Apparently it is not unusual for some of us, with time, to develop a film on the back of lenses in cataract surgery. The sensation is somewhat like walking in a continuously darkening tunnel, making life literally a twilight zone. But the help, I'm told is simple. A doctor's office appointment, have the film lasered off (only one eye per session in our CYA world) and you can see without the haze again. You never need to have it repeated, of which there are two kinds, dry and wet. The Gods randomly chose the best for me, the dry. A piece of paper with a black dot in the middle of a black grid was handed to me. Happily, what used to be next to instant blindness (for all practical purposes) is now curable if caught in time.
It was suggested to eat lots of spinach and kale as they are the only sources of lutein which helps prevent the advance. With instruction from some reliable sources, I have been taking lutein daily post cataract surgery. Now thanks to modern medicine, I can add yet another task to showers, appliance of deodorant, foot spray, talcum, washing and ironing clothes, trying to eat a balanced meal, swallowing my 13 vitamin, mineral and other non-prescription pills on a full stomach while being careful not to have an intake of too many calories, I must also take care of preparing those meals after shopping for the ingredients....oh, I'm making myself too tired just thinking of it all.......
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
'GASTRO' AND OTHER ANATOMICAL FEATS
Fate often intrudes in our lives in disagreeable ways. Arthritis makes a pianist's fingers unable to play; the athlete unable to run due to knee pain; and the list goes on. A new one, however, is with the small, Japanese man, Takeru (Tsunami)Kobayashi, 29, who held a world record at one time for eating 56 hot dogs in 12 minutes. This year he ate 54 1/2 but lost. Sadly, his jaw is suffering enormous pain when he opens his jaw more than a half inch...he may never again be able to equal his own record, let alone beat the new record set by Joey "Jaws" Chestnut who ate 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
Another man ate to hamburgers and buns in 15 seconds.
The world has recorded the longest burp of 36 seconds.
As though this hasn't been disgusting enough, we also have flatulence records on YouTube...an exhibitionist trait I find startling.
Another man ate to hamburgers and buns in 15 seconds.
The world has recorded the longest burp of 36 seconds.
As though this hasn't been disgusting enough, we also have flatulence records on YouTube...an exhibitionist trait I find startling.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
JULY 5
Like much of the country, last night I watched fireworks on TV. My choice was the Boston Pops because I love the 1812 Overture. The music is stirring, It made me wonder what the 4th means to others. Those of use who lived through WW2 experienced the pulling together of the whole country in a sense of patriotism that I've not seen expressed as totally or with such dedication by so many since.
Patriotism is love of and/or devotion to one's country. The word comes from the Greek patris.[1] However, patriotism has had different meanings over time, and its meaning is highly dependent upon context, geography and philosophy.
After 9/11, many people spoke out with patriotic fervor. Sadly, our then President, spoke the words someone else undoubtedly wrote for him to say and then proceeded to make a total mockery of the entire essence of what he said. "Americans are a free people, who know that freedom is the right of every person and the future of every nation. The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world; it is God's gift to humanity." - George W. Bush, State of the Union address 2003
How can the many immigrants and political refugees currently in the US, legally and illegally, can understand the fight Americans have had for so long to build America into the nation it took only eight years for George W. Bush almost bankrupt. It took him little time to help collapse the economy, trust in government, patriotism and values that for so long had served to bind Americans with love and loyalty for their country.
Patriotism is love of and/or devotion to one's country. The word comes from the Greek patris.[1] However, patriotism has had different meanings over time, and its meaning is highly dependent upon context, geography and philosophy.
After 9/11, many people spoke out with patriotic fervor. Sadly, our then President, spoke the words someone else undoubtedly wrote for him to say and then proceeded to make a total mockery of the entire essence of what he said. "Americans are a free people, who know that freedom is the right of every person and the future of every nation. The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world; it is God's gift to humanity." - George W. Bush, State of the Union address 2003
How can the many immigrants and political refugees currently in the US, legally and illegally, can understand the fight Americans have had for so long to build America into the nation it took only eight years for George W. Bush almost bankrupt. It took him little time to help collapse the economy, trust in government, patriotism and values that for so long had served to bind Americans with love and loyalty for their country.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
GENERALLY WE DO A PITIFULLY POOR JOB OF SELECTING PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
Patrick Buchanan (Wikipedia)"American conservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. Buchanan was a senior advisor to American presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's Crossfire. He sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1992 and 1996. He ran on the Reform Party ticket in the 2000 presidential election.
He co-founded The American Conservative magazine and launched a foundation named The American Cause.[1] He has been published in Human Events, National Review, The Nation and Rolling Stone. He is currently a political commentator on the MSNBC cable network including the show Morning Joe and a regular on The McLaughlin Group."
The Conservative rigidity has oft been analyzed so I won't bother to repeat all the findings on that subject. However, it is one thing to believe things firmly that have not been clearly proven otherwise, and another to fly in the face of all the proof that is needed for most intelligent individuals to be comfortable in taking a supportive position. For this reason, why Pat Buchanan has been snookered into believing that Darwin did not make astonishingly, accurate discoveries about evolution, is most difficult to understand. If we do understand the reason, then we must shudder at the minds that permeate politics and running the country. Buchanan is certainly not the only politician/presidential-advisor/speech writer or any number of other tasks influential to Presidents, who can be ridiculed for blindness to reality, easily taken in by those who untruthfully think they can prove facts by simply making up lies and having them published as facts.
In an article by PZ Myers (Pharyngula) an article was written titled "Old Fossil Takes on Darwin, He is apparently inspired by a "splendid little book," The End of Darwinism: And How a Flawed and Disastrous Theory Was Stolen and Sold, by a creationist crank named Eugene G. Windchy. You can read the full article here.
He co-founded The American Conservative magazine and launched a foundation named The American Cause.[1] He has been published in Human Events, National Review, The Nation and Rolling Stone. He is currently a political commentator on the MSNBC cable network including the show Morning Joe and a regular on The McLaughlin Group."
The Conservative rigidity has oft been analyzed so I won't bother to repeat all the findings on that subject. However, it is one thing to believe things firmly that have not been clearly proven otherwise, and another to fly in the face of all the proof that is needed for most intelligent individuals to be comfortable in taking a supportive position. For this reason, why Pat Buchanan has been snookered into believing that Darwin did not make astonishingly, accurate discoveries about evolution, is most difficult to understand. If we do understand the reason, then we must shudder at the minds that permeate politics and running the country. Buchanan is certainly not the only politician/presidential-advisor/speech writer or any number of other tasks influential to Presidents, who can be ridiculed for blindness to reality, easily taken in by those who untruthfully think they can prove facts by simply making up lies and having them published as facts.
In an article by PZ Myers (Pharyngula) an article was written titled "Old Fossil Takes on Darwin, He is apparently inspired by a "splendid little book," The End of Darwinism: And How a Flawed and Disastrous Theory Was Stolen and Sold, by a creationist crank named Eugene G. Windchy. You can read the full article here.
Friday, July 3, 2009
EVOLUTION DOES NOT ALWAYS PLAY BY THE SAME RULES
Evolution is one of the most poorly understood phenomena in Nature. We know one rule, survival of the fittest. But here we fall into assumptions. We have believed that the fittest will always be the largest and strongest, but Nature knows better. Sometime less is better as in the case of the Soay sheep in Scotland. Because the smallest ones survive the winters there better, it has been observed that the sheep have shrunk 5% since 1985. As scientists make that observation, I cannot help but wonder if there aren't some other significant factors. Has the food available changed significantly. What other factors might be at play. Perhaps those who made the conclusion know what they are not sharing, if there may be anything at all.
This kind of research is extremely difficult because there cannot be strict control of the variables. Regardless of how and why it is happening, the fact remains that the sheep that survive have shrunk 5% in 23 years. For more details and the full BBC article, look here.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
ONE SIZE FITS ALL: ERROR IN THINKING
Not a lot in life makes me choleric but the 'one-size-fits-all' approach to anything, especially to women, really does. It can be seen in marketing, "What appeals to women?"; "What do women seek in a man?"; "What entertainment appeals to women?" Does it occur to people who do polls that there is no way to get all women to agree to ANYTHING!? If there were, there would have been no Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis Schlafly single-handedly did more to hold back the feminist movement than many men did. She supported women who wanted to hold onto the traditional role of women being inferior, protected by and submissive to their husbands, those women who had no clue that marriage and adoption are not one and the same. As the feminist movement started, a few abandoned their children in their search to find themselves, while others decried that violation of motherhood. However, the feminist movement continues today, despite Schlafly's misreading of many bright women who could not tolerate being stifled by a world three feet tall for long and a husband who had no idea what it was that upset his wife nor a willingness to hear the explanation. These woman have brought up sons who did listen to them and to the women they later met in school and on dates. Life has changed to the point that men go through the birth of their children with their wives; couples now say "We're pregnant". Most men have modified the chauvinism of the previous generation and marriage has become a partnership, further proving that not all men think the same.
Just as, in Washington, not all Republicans of today, or Democrats, vote the same as the rest of their party. Only the impotent legislature of the GW Bush era went in lock step with a one-size-fits-all vote. Hopefully many of those have now been voted out of office.
While 'what is good for the goose is good for the gander' may work with geese because they can't complain to us, we do know that it cannot be true for humans and those writers who try to make it seem so have just not done their homework properly.
Phyllis Schlafly single-handedly did more to hold back the feminist movement than many men did. She supported women who wanted to hold onto the traditional role of women being inferior, protected by and submissive to their husbands, those women who had no clue that marriage and adoption are not one and the same. As the feminist movement started, a few abandoned their children in their search to find themselves, while others decried that violation of motherhood. However, the feminist movement continues today, despite Schlafly's misreading of many bright women who could not tolerate being stifled by a world three feet tall for long and a husband who had no idea what it was that upset his wife nor a willingness to hear the explanation. These woman have brought up sons who did listen to them and to the women they later met in school and on dates. Life has changed to the point that men go through the birth of their children with their wives; couples now say "We're pregnant". Most men have modified the chauvinism of the previous generation and marriage has become a partnership, further proving that not all men think the same.
Just as, in Washington, not all Republicans of today, or Democrats, vote the same as the rest of their party. Only the impotent legislature of the GW Bush era went in lock step with a one-size-fits-all vote. Hopefully many of those have now been voted out of office.
While 'what is good for the goose is good for the gander' may work with geese because they can't complain to us, we do know that it cannot be true for humans and those writers who try to make it seem so have just not done their homework properly.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
WHERE WAS I WHEN INTEGRITY BECAME EXTINCT?
Governor Mark Sanford seems to be the latest casualty by the call of middle-age sex, disregarding marital vows, his own campaign promises, and the Republican party's platform, (the family values the Republicans claimed to have which they accuse the Democrats of lacking). When it was harmful to the country, time and energies got locked onto Clinton's indiscretion, The Republicans somehow managed to justify to themselves that Clinton was a threat to family, credibility, and probably the survival of all mankind...they were so vehement in their zeal to destroy him.
While we no longer see Dr. Ruth on the talk shows, I ask where is her perspective when we need it. Dr. Ruth always prescribed do-it-yourself kits for those who needed them. Responsible sex should be practiced by all politicians, one would think. Discretion might also be handy. Practicing what they preach would be a lovely start, if they could understand the concept.
The truth is, there may be many whose interest is purely prurient but the more responsible media folk have focused on his lack of trustworthiness and the degree of unattractiveness with which that flavors a political candidates future. Lest we become too interested in the tawdry details, we must be sure to ask ourselves, "What do we really want in our leaders?" I for one ask relatively little. I'd like our leaders to be intelligent, honest, trained for the job they are undertaking, and perform it with sterling ethics and unblemished integrity. I would like our leaders to be role models...in fact, it is quite impossible to find many of those in public service these days. So far, Obama has proven himself to be a man who is still in love with his wife, a good and responsible father who enjoys being with his daughters, and a brilliant lawyer. He surrounds himself with smart people who, hopefully, lead normal sex lives for their gender preference. So far he is working hard and successfully at his job, in my opinion, though it is certain there will be those who disagree. Regardless, he is here to stay for another three years, so suck it up and let's move forward with hope, fellow Americans.
While we no longer see Dr. Ruth on the talk shows, I ask where is her perspective when we need it. Dr. Ruth always prescribed do-it-yourself kits for those who needed them. Responsible sex should be practiced by all politicians, one would think. Discretion might also be handy. Practicing what they preach would be a lovely start, if they could understand the concept.
The truth is, there may be many whose interest is purely prurient but the more responsible media folk have focused on his lack of trustworthiness and the degree of unattractiveness with which that flavors a political candidates future. Lest we become too interested in the tawdry details, we must be sure to ask ourselves, "What do we really want in our leaders?" I for one ask relatively little. I'd like our leaders to be intelligent, honest, trained for the job they are undertaking, and perform it with sterling ethics and unblemished integrity. I would like our leaders to be role models...in fact, it is quite impossible to find many of those in public service these days. So far, Obama has proven himself to be a man who is still in love with his wife, a good and responsible father who enjoys being with his daughters, and a brilliant lawyer. He surrounds himself with smart people who, hopefully, lead normal sex lives for their gender preference. So far he is working hard and successfully at his job, in my opinion, though it is certain there will be those who disagree. Regardless, he is here to stay for another three years, so suck it up and let's move forward with hope, fellow Americans.
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