Archive for August 2006
The God Spot
When most of us think of talking to or experiencing a union or connection with God, we tend to think of our hearts or souls as the facilitator of such events. In the past, Scientists have even suggested that there is specific area of the brain devoted to things spiritual, the “God Spot” That is quite a romantic notion when compared to the findings at the University of Montreal.
A study using Magnetic Resonance Imaging ( MRI) was performed on Carmelite Nuns and showed that when asked to relive a spiritual experience, as many as 12 different areas in the brain are involved in a mystical experience.
Should we now ignore our “hearts” as being at the the least, a link between us and our Creator?, I think not. Spirituality is still personal and despite Science’s best efforts it remains intangible and unquantifiable. It will be a sad day for mankind when the pragmatics and mechanics of spirituality replace the romance of Mysticism. I couldn’t go there, my heart wouldn’t be in it.
Ms. T’s Wild Summer
It’s been a tumultuous summer, with highs, lows, and more highs. What a ride and what gets left by the wayside?
Sma’ Talk Wi’ T!
Thanks to the Grrand Wazoo for filling in the gaps and I’m going to work hard on it to bring you up to speed on what’s been happening the last few weeks that you might not have seen in the news.
My Top Ten, Er, 15 Movies
Some movies are simply art while others are purely for enjoyment and some are both. I tried to make a list of my ten favorite movies and had to settle for 15. I could have easily listed more. Some of my choices were based on the quality of the cinematography, some were picked for sentimental reasons, others for the quality of the writing or acting, but my basic criteria for my choices was that I simply enjoyed them. Your choices may be different and if so, please feel free to comment.
I have not ranked them in any particular order:
Fantasia
Cast away
TheTen Commandments
Rocky
Independence Day
My Big Fat Greek Wedding ( a chick flick, I know, sorry)
The Shawshank Redemption
12 Angry Men
Raiders of the Lost Ark
It’s a wonderful Life (this one is a gimme)
Saving Private Ryan
Brave Heart
Judgment at Nuremburg
The Searchers
The Godfather (I owed him a favor)
The Quiet Man
Super Fly ( mostly because I like Curtis Mayfield)
Well, those are my Top Fifteen picks. Wait a minute, there are 17 picks. This isn’t as easy as it looks.
The Start Of North American Union
Anyone that reads this blog regularly should by now be aware of the scam our own Government is pulling on us by actively pursuing and developing the North American Union. I sincerely hope that you have acted upon my earnest plea for contacting YOUR representatives demanding that this Union be disbanded. I have, and will continue to, labor this point incessantly. If you’re tired of hearing about it, tough nuggies for you. I will keep raving as long as there is a Constitution that says I have the right to. As my dear old Pappy used to say, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”. Make your voice heard. The formulation of this Union has been years in the making largely because of little or no resistance to it from US, the citizenry of The United States of America. Say those five words aloud, don’t you feel a pride and comfort in knowing that that is who we are? Are you willing to pledge allegiance to any other Nation, Union, Collaboration, Cabal or whatever name will truly fit this usurpation of our rights, history , traditions, and beliefs? Say nothing, and we will have nothing, speak up, and we can retain all that we have, which is the privilege and honor to live in greatest country in the history of mankind.
We The Peoples
First, there was the European Union, now there is the “proposed” North American Union. Both are merely Judas goats which seek to lead peoples and nations into what would become a One World Government. Fueled by promising economic prosperity and world peace, the governments within these Unions push ever onward, with or without the desire or consent of their respective constituencies, for Globalization as the way of the future.
National governments are not the only entities pushing for the universaliztion of mankind. Organized religion has long sought to foment the blending, bonding, and homogenizing of peoples of every stripe under one theoretically ideal umbrella even if it meant using coercion or force. Both of the major players, Islam and Christianity, have been guilty of this. Neither good works, physical peril, nor the promise of a blissful eternity have effected a total acceptance of either religion within the entirety of their respective tenents and dogma.
Why is it that Governments and Religions will not realize their shared goal of uniting the peoples of the world? It could simply lie in the idea that we like ourselves, our customs, traditions and ethnicities too deeply to blindly surrender those aspects of ourselves. We may choose to enjoy the benefits that a global market offers, but not at the cost of losing our past or our rights and freedoms as we have known them. While the big religions tender the promise of a glorious eternity, we still revert to the human foible of wanting control of our own lives and solutions to our problems of the here and now. While the “World” at large has gotten smaller, we as people, have always been small. We enjoy our own groups whether they are based on race, occupation, lifestyle, national origin, or spiritual beliefs. We draw upon these familiar things to help us navigate through our daily lives. We know what does and doesn’t work in fufilling the wants and needs in our little lives. We are the rulers within our own little worlds and something deep within us will never allow us to be dethroned.
News From The Stem Cell Frontier
Stem Cell therapy will become a valid and valuable tool in the fight against many illnesses, of that I have no doubt. Science will advance it to it’s utmost usefulness inspite of the current debates surrounding it, especially those concerning the ethical use of embryos.
Extraction of stem cells from an embryo is the reason for of much debate because it destroys the embryo in the process. That basis for arguing against using embryos should soon become history.
Scientists are now capable of developing colonies of stem cells without harming the embryo using a technique that is commonly used by fertility clinics.
This is exciting news. It will allow the scientists to advance in the development for cures for many diseases without having to fend off the barrage of dissent from the myopic and self appointed ethicists who in the name of God try to take God’s place in deciding who should live or die.
Maybe now our government can be free to throw some financial backing into this area of research. One can only hope.
Strange Headlines
Reading the news these days can be sadly tedious at times and often depressing. Even I, your humble servant, can sometimes fall prey to the constant barrage of sad stories and bad tidings that is shoveled at us daily by those who sensationalize misery and woe in order to sell ad space.
When I feel that I am about to succumb to the grim grasp of the fear mongers and angst peddlers of the Fourth Estate, my Wazoolian senses of irony and silliness kick in and I start to see the headlines in a new light. Today, I bring you some of these headlines and in no particular order. (If you want to rate and sort them on your own, have at it, but even I’m not that silly.)
Maybe Anna Diggs Taylor Used Mystical Dwarves?
I had never heard of Judges Florentino Floro or Anna Diggs Taylor before last week.
Does fifteen minutes of fame count as immortality?
Maybe not for Floro, but we will be reading about Taylor’s decision in history annals. Does liberal advocate Judge Anna Diggs Taylor have mystical dwarves help her decide national security policies for the United States? It would help make sense of her judgement against protecting our country from terrorism. The Phillipines don’t have too much to worry about in their court system from dwarves, but the difference between Floro’s decisions and Taylor’s decision is that the United States has been put in peril because of Taylor’s decisions.
A Philippines judge who said he consulted imaginary mystic dwarves has failed to convince the Supreme Court to allow him to keep his job.
Florentino Floro was appealing against a three-year inquiry which led to his removal due to incompetence and bias. He told investigators three mystic dwarves – Armand, Luis and Angel – had helped him to carry out healing sessions during breaks in his chambers.
The court said psychic phenomena had no place in the judiciary. The bench backed a medical finding that the judge was suffering from psychosis.
The judge said he had made a covenant with his dwarf friends that he could write while in a trance and that he had been seen by several people in two places at the same time. Judge Floro reportedly changed from blue court robes to black each Friday “to recharge his psychic powers”. In a letter to the court he said: “From obscurity, my name and the three mystic dwarves became immortal.”
As for Floro’s and his mystical dwarves? Just toss him.
Kidnapped Reporter and Cameraman Seen In Film
AP is reporting that a letter and a tape showing the FOX news reporter Steve Centanni and cameraman, Olaf Wiig citing the reason for their kidnapping. The letter and tape was released to Al-Jeers by the Holy Jihad Brigades.
A previously unheard of Palestinian group, the Holy Jihad Brigades, claimed responsibility on Wednesday for kidnapping a Fox News cameraman and correspondent, Al-Jazeera satellite TV reported.
American correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand were kidnapped Aug. 14 from their TV van near the Palestinian security services headquarters in Gaza City. Although Palestinian military groups have often seized foreigners, including members of the media, this is the longest any have been held.
Sma' Talk Wi' T 