Joy and Ruby are in Manila with the family who are gathering at the wake for her aunt. She probably won't travel to the burial however, due to the expense.
Chano is upstairs and busy doing his thing. The problem is that their apartment is isolated from us and the rest of the house, so we worry about being broken into during the fiesta.
So we arranged for one of the workers to sleep downstairs. It is party time (the town plaza is a block away and a new restorbar across the street...we have had drunks climb over the fence in the side garden to sleep it off...the front garden and main house are guarded by George, the killer lab, and the white dogs guard the main business area, but since George is able to jump over the wall we keep him out of the side garden and lock the gates so the house can't be broken into).
Lolo is fine, but sleeps a lot, and for the last few days wakes up energetic at 3 am to take a bath. He then is exhausted and goes back to sleep. During the day, he walks out to eat or to sit in the garden which also exhausts him after an hour or so. No pain however.
His lab is unchanged, but he won't get a bone marrow or agree to treatment. Doctors tend to be more cynical about such things than laypeople, and in his case, non treatment is one of the options, at least until anemia sets in when they advise mild chemotherapy. I've monitored several patients with his type of blood problem, and most died of something else....so we worry because it's flu season and lots of visitors from the US might carry it here.
Sigh.
FINEST KIND CLINIC AND FISHMARKET.... Discussing medicine, culture, and the joys of cooking Pansit.
Tuesday, January 06, 2015
Monday, January 05, 2015
Copyright, bah humbug
I found that I can't download a lot of stuff from the US due to copyright problems (I found out this when I tried to download a classic film from Amazon)
Luckily lots of these are now on youtube, and lots of books I wanted to read but weren't available here I can read on Scribd.
But it works both ways, and Project Gutenburg Canada has some titles not available in the US but legal for the rest of us...including CSLewis and the Lark Rise trilogy by Thompson...actually I brought some of Lewis' books here, and the first of the LarkRise trilogy, but this gives me a chance to read those I don't have.
Luckily lots of these are now on youtube, and lots of books I wanted to read but weren't available here I can read on Scribd.
But it works both ways, and Project Gutenburg Canada has some titles not available in the US but legal for the rest of us...including CSLewis and the Lark Rise trilogy by Thompson...actually I brought some of Lewis' books here, and the first of the LarkRise trilogy, but this gives me a chance to read those I don't have.
Stories below the fold. Yucky people count
Sarah BAD, Ellen GOOD.
Of course, we all know Sarah's real sin is not aborting her kid.
As for the dogs, well, if the dogs involved are upset, maybe they should try this:
photoVia Dustbury
As for PETA: personally I loath PETA: They pay for affluent white (usually blond) buxom female foreigners to fly over here and proselytize against eating fish and chicken (usually by prancing around naked so they can get headlines). For example, this Canadian bimbo not only got a free trip to Manila but to Malaysia and Europe....
Notice she's not protesting in Tacloban either. She might have to touch yucky stuff
What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?I am terrified of human hair (when it’s not on people’s heads). Having to pick up a hair from my bathroom floor is enough to make me gag. I won’t even talk about my shower drain.
Just ignore those streetkids begging in the background of their photos...of course, those kids probably rarely can afford chicken or fish in their diet (which is why so many have the reddish hair of protein deficiency).
----------------------------------------------
Europe's Ghost Ships.
The smugglers’ tactic appears to be to point a cargo ship full of migrants towards Italy, before abandoning the ship and letting the coastguard pick it up.The gangs buy rusty vessels at the end of their life for around £100,000 before selling spots to hundreds of migrants. Ezadeen, a Sierra Leone-flagged ship, was the 15th to reach Italy in just three months.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2896459/Misery-squalor-aboard-ghost-ships-form-hell-Migrants-left-freeze-holds-cattle-pens.html#ixzz3NuAWs8Cw Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
------------------------------------
Our town will shut down for the Three Kings fiesta tomorrow, but Manila will shut down Friday for the Black Nazarene procession.
More HERE.
of course, that is missing the point: The point is that it is a non verbal way to identify one own's suffering with that of the suffering Christ, and to express prayer for help. Instead of using words to the deity in private, it is a communal expression of the idea that we share Christ's sufferings with each other's sufferings...
---------------------------------
Family news
Doy is here from the UK and visited Lolo yesterday.
The city's main church patron is the Three Kings, so the fiesta is today and tomorrow. Parade today, everything shut down tomorrow so people can feast with the family.
Joy is talking about going to Manila for a delivery and staying there for two days with her family, waiting for relatives to arrive for her aunt's funeral. She probably won't attend the funeral in her home town because of expenses.
The city's main church patron is the Three Kings, so the fiesta is today and tomorrow. Parade today, everything shut down tomorrow so people can feast with the family.
Joy is talking about going to Manila for a delivery and staying there for two days with her family, waiting for relatives to arrive for her aunt's funeral. She probably won't attend the funeral in her home town because of expenses.
Ebola quote of the year
from CWR:
it also notes that the countries where Ebola is rampant are those recovering from terrible civil wars (i.e. infrastructure decimated and poverty)
“our humanity is being lost in the face of Ebola. This disease makes impossible ordinary human kindnesses, such as putting your arm around someone who is crying.
it also notes that the countries where Ebola is rampant are those recovering from terrible civil wars (i.e. infrastructure decimated and poverty)
Saturday, January 03, 2015
Churches hide refugees (horrors)
The Republicans in the US who are anti immigration will not only lose the Hispanic vote for doing this, but the vote of many Catholics whose ancestral stories remember when they too were rejected for "bringing down wages" and "taking jobs from Americans" and (of course) including a large substance abusing and criminal class among them.
Paddy wagons, anyone?
But the problem of immigrants without visas is actually world wide.
Every couple of months, some country decides to throw out the Pinoys who overstayed their visas. Not just Israel (which of course got the headlines) but Saudi, Malaysia, Hong Kong and various Gulf nations.
Then there are the huge number of refugees that flee Africa via Italy (which was publicized by the Pope's visit to refugee camp).
Today, AlJazeerah has an article on a church hiding refugees in South Africa. Most are from Zimbabwe.
Some of these are political refugees, but often they are economic ones: If one person gets a job, they can send money home to keep the rest of the family alive, not to mention school fees so that their relatives can have a better life.
Ten percent of Filipinos have emigrated, but much is legal, temporary, or they become citizens. But in Zimbabwe, ten percent of the population fled over just a few years from a combination of political oppression and a collapsed economy (partly due to western sanctions against the oppressive government).
Are sanctions ethically just? Although aimed at the gov'ts, they are usually worked around by the corrupt dictators so they affect the ordinary citizens, and the poor most of all.
Paddy wagons, anyone?
But the problem of immigrants without visas is actually world wide.
Every couple of months, some country decides to throw out the Pinoys who overstayed their visas. Not just Israel (which of course got the headlines) but Saudi, Malaysia, Hong Kong and various Gulf nations.
Then there are the huge number of refugees that flee Africa via Italy (which was publicized by the Pope's visit to refugee camp).
Today, AlJazeerah has an article on a church hiding refugees in South Africa. Most are from Zimbabwe.
"The situation is a tough one. You have a lot of people living without legal documentation, with a great deal of hostility from the local population. And if they are able to work, [they face] a great deal of exploitation. And to add to that, regular harassment from the police and officials."
Many of the migrants continue to face xenophobic attacks from South Africans who feel that they should return to Zimbabwe.
Some of these are political refugees, but often they are economic ones: If one person gets a job, they can send money home to keep the rest of the family alive, not to mention school fees so that their relatives can have a better life.
Ten percent of Filipinos have emigrated, but much is legal, temporary, or they become citizens. But in Zimbabwe, ten percent of the population fled over just a few years from a combination of political oppression and a collapsed economy (partly due to western sanctions against the oppressive government).
Are sanctions ethically just? Although aimed at the gov'ts, they are usually worked around by the corrupt dictators so they affect the ordinary citizens, and the poor most of all.
Friday, January 02, 2015
Things are great (wonder if CNN knows)
We usually watch the BBC for news, and local stations for local news, but Lolo was watching CNN about the latest plane crash.
But there is good news: You just won't read about it in the press.
---------------------------
Guess what? Crime is down.
Belmont club notes:
yeah. A lot safer than my driving.
and guess what? A lot fewer wars out there:
--------------------------
StrategyPage echoes that last one:
Their article on the wars of the world in 2015 and then notes:
and their podcast this week discusses what they see in the year 2015.
----------------------------------------------
GetReligion links to an article from AlJazeerah on a church laundry day. Twice a month they rent a laundromat so the homeless can do their clothes for free. And they don't just "help the (faceless) poor" but actually make friends with them.
-----------------------
NASA image of the day:
related item: How Techies see God:
hmm... churches as tech support?
But there is good news: You just won't read about it in the press.
---------------------------
Guess what? Crime is down.
Belmont club notes:
Despite the dissatisfaction with the police in Missouri and New York, murder rates in America are actually at historic lows. “The number of homicides in the United States’ biggest cities hit record lows again in 2013 as the murder rate nationally continued to drop to levels not seen since the 1960s,” writes Time. Every year the numbers drop ever lower.The trends in air travel are even more dramatic. Airplanes are now so safe that some analysts say that pilots are losing their skills. “In 1959, as the jet age was only beginning for passenger airplanes, there were 36 fatal accidents in every one million departures, according to a recent Boeing Co. report. That quickly plunged to 2.4 fatal accidents in every million takeoffs by 1969. In the past decade, the fatal accident rate for airlines hasn’t been higher than 0.6 per million flights.”
yeah. A lot safer than my driving.
and guess what? A lot fewer wars out there:
--------------------------
StrategyPage echoes that last one:
Their article on the wars of the world in 2015 and then notes:
Even with spectacular (at least in the media, which is no accident) threats like ISIL and Russia in Ukraine (and threatening to use nukes, wars continue to decline in number and intensity. Those that still exist get lots of publicity because that’s what the media does. But overall there are more conflicts ending (via negotiation, mutual exhaustion or one side actually winning) than new ones getting started. And new wars are more frequently quickly addressed with peacekeeping efforts. This is all a post-Cold War trend that has been going on since the 1990s. Let us hope it continues.
Most current wars are basically uprisings against police states or feudal societies which are seen as out-of-step with the modern world. Many are led by radicals preaching failed dogmas (Islamic conservatism, Maoism and other forms of radical socialism) that still resonate among people who don't know about the dismal track records of these creeds. Iran has replaced some of the lost Soviet terrorist support effort. That keeps Hezbollah, Hamas, and a few smaller groups going, and that's it. Terrorists in general miss the Soviets, who really knew how to treat bad boys right.
and their podcast this week discusses what they see in the year 2015.
----------------------------------------------
GetReligion links to an article from AlJazeerah on a church laundry day. Twice a month they rent a laundromat so the homeless can do their clothes for free. And they don't just "help the (faceless) poor" but actually make friends with them.
-----------------------
NASA image of the day:
 |
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Gilles Chapdelaine |
NGC 6535, a globular cluster 22,000 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent) that measures one light-year across.
Globular clusters are tightly bound groups of stars which orbit galaxies. The large mass in the rich stellar centre of the globular cluster pulls the stars inward to form a ball of stars. The word globulus, from which these clusters take their name, is Latin for small sphere.
related item: How Techies see God:
hmm... churches as tech support?
Family news
Joy's aunt died of complications of diabetes, and will be buried in their home town when the relatives come home from overseas. I don't know if Joy will be able to go to the funeral, but she was at her bedside and arranged last rites to be given on the day before she died.
Ruby had her friend over all day yesterday. They ate with us (poor things...very boring...Lolo can't hear and I can't speak Tagalog very well).
Chano was at a New Year's eve party and got home last night at 7 pm, bringing his friends (who knew him from when he studied at medical school) to visit with their families.
That means keeping George the killer lab inside so he doesn't bite the kids.
Sigh. I was already in bed but went out, and the car is not wrecked so I guess things went okay.
Ruby had her friend over all day yesterday. They ate with us (poor things...very boring...Lolo can't hear and I can't speak Tagalog very well).
Chano was at a New Year's eve party and got home last night at 7 pm, bringing his friends (who knew him from when he studied at medical school) to visit with their families.
That means keeping George the killer lab inside so he doesn't bite the kids.
Sigh. I was already in bed but went out, and the car is not wrecked so I guess things went okay.
Thursday, January 01, 2015
Lecture course of the day
A course on Tolkien and CSLewis on Vimeo LINK
no, I haven't watched it yet...our internet is slow so I usually download and rip then listen to it at my leisure
no, I haven't watched it yet...our internet is slow so I usually download and rip then listen to it at my leisure
Stuff below the fold
Gift item of the week: Helen Keller sunglasses.
Headsup Dustbury.
-------------------------
The Year in Review: 1014.
----------------------------
Pufferfish poisoning in Minneapolis?
Pufferfish are a gourmet item in Japan: they are poisonous, so need specially trained chefs to prepare them so you don't die. If prepared and cooked correctly, they give you a bit of a "buzz".
Lots of suspicious stuff here: The patients bought the fish from a vendor in NYCity, they left quickly, and couldn't be traced. Sounds like someone is selling the fish that was smuggled in illegally claiming it makes you "high" when it actually can make you dead if not properly prepared.
----------------------------
If the headlines are too discouraging: Go to DarkRoastedBlend's feel good issue...
with lots of photos, and links
-------------------------
Protesters reclaiming mosques from the bigots.
----------------------------
Jolie discusses her film "Unbroken" at EWTN NEWS
Headsup Dustbury.
-------------------------
The Year in Review: 1014.
The year of the great Tsunami?more HERE...a comet?
On September 28, 1014, massive flooding, likely caused by a tsunami, struck parts England and Holland. William of Malmesbury wrote that "a tidal wave... grew to an astonishing size such as the memory of man cannot parallel, so as to submerge villages many miles inland and overwhelm and drown their inhabitants." Meanwhile a chronicler in Germany also reported that thousands of people were killed in the flood.
----------------------------
Pufferfish poisoning in Minneapolis?
Pufferfish are a gourmet item in Japan: they are poisonous, so need specially trained chefs to prepare them so you don't die. If prepared and cooked correctly, they give you a bit of a "buzz".
Lots of suspicious stuff here: The patients bought the fish from a vendor in NYCity, they left quickly, and couldn't be traced. Sounds like someone is selling the fish that was smuggled in illegally claiming it makes you "high" when it actually can make you dead if not properly prepared.
----------------------------
If the headlines are too discouraging: Go to DarkRoastedBlend's feel good issue...
with lots of photos, and links
-------------------------
Protesters reclaiming mosques from the bigots.
----------------------------
Jolie discusses her film "Unbroken" at EWTN NEWS
factoid of the day
 |
| EYE OF SCIENCE/SCIENCE SOURCE |
The creature that can survive in outer space.
more at wikipedia
the toughest creature on Earth:the tardigrade. Also known as the water bear (because it looks like an adorable little many-legged bear), this exceedingly tiny critter has an incredible resistance to just about everything. Go ahead and boil it, freeze it, irradiate it, and toss it into the vacuum of space — it won’t die...
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Philippine Stories below the fold
AirAsia plane asked to change course but was refused.
---------------------------
Are the "gifts of the spirit" the same as psychic powers?
No. Psychic powers are innate, in about 5% of the population, not counting the mentally ill who think they have them.
Biblically one may have them but one is not supposed to seek to try to use them or to increase their strength.
They can be enhanced by practice and psychic exercizes, but most religions won't teach these exercizes to laypeople and wise teachers/gurus only teach them carefully, because they recognize that when the door opens, it also opens to diabolic activity.
In psychological terms, it opens you to delusion, psychological problems, and the "demons of the id".
The modern day emphasis on pentecostal/charismatic gifts is common in third world christian churches, but I'm not sure that this is a good idea. On the other hand, if you are a catholic in Brazil and bored with the liberation theology that fills them, it might be healthier to join the local pentecostal church than to join the openly demonic "folk religions" that are very popular there, or for the elite, get enthusiastic about new age egotism (which is popular among the Manila elite here...just ignore the street kids while you evolve to a higher power, better health, and wealth).
But either way, the danger is rejection of reason and replacing it with magical thinking. In Catholicism, from the earliest church fathers, logic was considered an attribute of God, (the platonian concept of Logos) and compatible with faith. Magic and miracles so beloved by poor people was tolerated, but theologically suspect when it went too far.
And no, religion and magic is not the same thing. Professor Raia of UCLA has a good course on this at youtube. LINK
-----------------------------
and yes, the Pope seems to think that the death and typhoon damage here was due to "global warming". It wasn't. It was due to poverty and corruption.
Yes, and photo ops with charity are more popular than actually preventing deaths by evacuation etc.
Now if he will only tell the good "catholic" politicians here to stop shooting their rivals and stealing funds maybe I'll be impressed.
Ah, but the Manila elites love "global warming" and "green" issues, so will promote the pope's new "green" agenda.
It's nicer to blame "global warming" than to admit taking bribes to let people illegally log/build in dangerous areas, or that they are diverting money meant to repair the irrigation dams/ build adequate sewer drainage.
And the elites will feel self righteous when they stop GM food being grown here. Of course, this will allow them to make money importing rice etc. or taking bribes to smuggle in onions etc. The imports will be chemical filled and/or GM, but again a small bribe will stop any problem.
and when those "evil"western countries send reparations to make up for their damage, why that's just justice (and another scam to fill their pockets).
Ordinary folk, in the meanwhile, will continue to become protestants, where Jesus, not green politics, is promoted, along with honesty and morality that enables them to lift themselves out of poverty.
Sigh.
----------------------
UN Going Bananas.
One problem is that all bananas are genetically related, so that the threat of disease causing a die-off is big.
Bananas help feed people, but are rarely the only source of calories, but if they are destroyed by disease, the danger is malnutrition. But in places with monoculture, like the banana plantations in Mindanao that export bananas, the danger is economic, to the owners and those who work there.
----------------------------------
Today is Rizal day, so a holiday.
Banks won't reopen until Friday. Long line at the bank yesterday: Luckily I am over 65 and they have a senior citizen preference, so I jumped the line after only 30 minute wait.
-----------------------
Tropical storm hits the Visayas again. South of here, we aren't affected.
------------------------------------------
the global warming meme headline says "rising seas" will destroy 7000 homes, but a look inside the story admits it is coastal erosion and storms which are not quite the same thing.
---------------------------
Are the "gifts of the spirit" the same as psychic powers?
No. Psychic powers are innate, in about 5% of the population, not counting the mentally ill who think they have them.
Biblically one may have them but one is not supposed to seek to try to use them or to increase their strength.
They can be enhanced by practice and psychic exercizes, but most religions won't teach these exercizes to laypeople and wise teachers/gurus only teach them carefully, because they recognize that when the door opens, it also opens to diabolic activity.
In psychological terms, it opens you to delusion, psychological problems, and the "demons of the id".
The modern day emphasis on pentecostal/charismatic gifts is common in third world christian churches, but I'm not sure that this is a good idea. On the other hand, if you are a catholic in Brazil and bored with the liberation theology that fills them, it might be healthier to join the local pentecostal church than to join the openly demonic "folk religions" that are very popular there, or for the elite, get enthusiastic about new age egotism (which is popular among the Manila elite here...just ignore the street kids while you evolve to a higher power, better health, and wealth).
But either way, the danger is rejection of reason and replacing it with magical thinking. In Catholicism, from the earliest church fathers, logic was considered an attribute of God, (the platonian concept of Logos) and compatible with faith. Magic and miracles so beloved by poor people was tolerated, but theologically suspect when it went too far.
And no, religion and magic is not the same thing. Professor Raia of UCLA has a good course on this at youtube. LINK
-----------------------------
and yes, the Pope seems to think that the death and typhoon damage here was due to "global warming". It wasn't. It was due to poverty and corruption.
Yes, and photo ops with charity are more popular than actually preventing deaths by evacuation etc.
Now if he will only tell the good "catholic" politicians here to stop shooting their rivals and stealing funds maybe I'll be impressed.
Ah, but the Manila elites love "global warming" and "green" issues, so will promote the pope's new "green" agenda.
It's nicer to blame "global warming" than to admit taking bribes to let people illegally log/build in dangerous areas, or that they are diverting money meant to repair the irrigation dams/ build adequate sewer drainage.
And the elites will feel self righteous when they stop GM food being grown here. Of course, this will allow them to make money importing rice etc. or taking bribes to smuggle in onions etc. The imports will be chemical filled and/or GM, but again a small bribe will stop any problem.
and when those "evil"western countries send reparations to make up for their damage, why that's just justice (and another scam to fill their pockets).
Ordinary folk, in the meanwhile, will continue to become protestants, where Jesus, not green politics, is promoted, along with honesty and morality that enables them to lift themselves out of poverty.
----------------------
UN Going Bananas.
One problem is that all bananas are genetically related, so that the threat of disease causing a die-off is big.
Bananas help feed people, but are rarely the only source of calories, but if they are destroyed by disease, the danger is malnutrition. But in places with monoculture, like the banana plantations in Mindanao that export bananas, the danger is economic, to the owners and those who work there.
----------------------------------
Today is Rizal day, so a holiday.
Banks won't reopen until Friday. Long line at the bank yesterday: Luckily I am over 65 and they have a senior citizen preference, so I jumped the line after only 30 minute wait.
-----------------------
Tropical storm hits the Visayas again. South of here, we aren't affected.
------------------------------------------
the global warming meme headline says "rising seas" will destroy 7000 homes, but a look inside the story admits it is coastal erosion and storms which are not quite the same thing.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Family News
It's been quiet here.
I still am getting the dining room fixed: The doors are rusted at the bottom so that metal frame is being replaced. The spigot in the sink is dripping just a little, but I will replace it now rather than wait til it leaks all over the place.
Lolo is fairly good: He is strong enough to go outside in the late afternoon with me, either to sit in the garden or sitting outside our door to watch the traffic go by.
We got a Christmas card and letter from Dane, and a photo of him in uniform. He is US Navy now and studying at Virginia Beach. Dane looks like Lolo but thinks like his father, who is also USNavy: well organized. He should do well.
I still am getting the dining room fixed: The doors are rusted at the bottom so that metal frame is being replaced. The spigot in the sink is dripping just a little, but I will replace it now rather than wait til it leaks all over the place.
Lolo is fairly good: He is strong enough to go outside in the late afternoon with me, either to sit in the garden or sitting outside our door to watch the traffic go by.
We got a Christmas card and letter from Dane, and a photo of him in uniform. He is US Navy now and studying at Virginia Beach. Dane looks like Lolo but thinks like his father, who is also USNavy: well organized. He should do well.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Family news
Chano, Joy and Ruby went to Manila for rice delivery and a family gathering at Joy's sister's place.
Her sister is very sick with cancer: Keep her in your prayers.
Chano gave us a lot of pesos for the Christmas "visitors", which is everyone, mainly kids (not just the poor, but friends and relatives) who come for a "gift". Lolo usually sits there and does the greeting since he loves to give the kids a couple of pesos and make them happy, but he wasn't up to it this year, so our cook sat by the door and after she ran out of money, she chased folks away saying no one was home.
We went to Angie's for supper. BBQ, talapia, and various local dishes. Mainly family but also the hospital is across the street so the nurses etc. came over to eat on their breaks, and lots of kids, half of whom I don't know. Yes, Lolo went and enjoyed himself. One reason I kept him in bed most of the day was so he would have energy for the supper.
No church for me: I faint in hot crowded churches, but also because no one was at home except us and the cook, and we can't leave the place unattended.
Her sister is very sick with cancer: Keep her in your prayers.
Chano gave us a lot of pesos for the Christmas "visitors", which is everyone, mainly kids (not just the poor, but friends and relatives) who come for a "gift". Lolo usually sits there and does the greeting since he loves to give the kids a couple of pesos and make them happy, but he wasn't up to it this year, so our cook sat by the door and after she ran out of money, she chased folks away saying no one was home.
We went to Angie's for supper. BBQ, talapia, and various local dishes. Mainly family but also the hospital is across the street so the nurses etc. came over to eat on their breaks, and lots of kids, half of whom I don't know. Yes, Lolo went and enjoyed himself. One reason I kept him in bed most of the day was so he would have energy for the supper.
No church for me: I faint in hot crowded churches, but also because no one was at home except us and the cook, and we can't leave the place unattended.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Factoid of the day
I'm listening to a mp3 of a BBC program on the terra cotta warriors. (no link: I download, rip and listen to these things at my leisure, like now, waiting for Lolo to finish his shower so we can eat breakfast).
The program note that the first Chinese emperor, who probably died of mercury poisoning from drinking elixirs meant to give him eternal life, was an SOB and after he died, the peasants overthrew his son...by getting weapons buried with the terracotta warriors.
So much for keeping the common people unarmed.
no, this has nothing to do with Christmas, except to note that a lot of written history is about praising similar powerful SOB's, and historians often ignore that they harmed normal people. Even their explanations often make one roll up the eyes at their absurd claims. Sure, Genghis Khan killed a couple million folks, but hey, by doing so he let a lot of irrigated farm land go back to nature so he's a "green" hero. Sure, the pyramids weren't built by slaves, but by out of work farmers who had nothing else to do when the Nile was in flood. Uh, maybe they would have preferred to sit home, drink beer with their friends and make love to their wives instead of pushing 2 ton blocks of stone up a pyramid? Place anecdote of your favorite dictator here: Caesar (killed a couple hundred thousand Celts and plunged Rome into a devestating civil war), Napoleon's wars killed 3.5 million, probably twice that if you include civilians. The great Shogun who united Japan also killed a couple million Koreans. And those who insist the west if the main murderer ignore the much large communist genocides, or the post colonial wars such as the present day tribal wars in central Africa, or even the million killed in the partition of India.
In the bible, Christ turned down an offer of the devil to have power over the entire world, and came, not as a prince to order people to be good, but as a prophet who instructed people to open their hearts to God.
And he came, not as a prince, but as a baby born in the stable because the regular house/inn didn't have any room for him.
The program note that the first Chinese emperor, who probably died of mercury poisoning from drinking elixirs meant to give him eternal life, was an SOB and after he died, the peasants overthrew his son...by getting weapons buried with the terracotta warriors.
So much for keeping the common people unarmed.
no, this has nothing to do with Christmas, except to note that a lot of written history is about praising similar powerful SOB's, and historians often ignore that they harmed normal people. Even their explanations often make one roll up the eyes at their absurd claims. Sure, Genghis Khan killed a couple million folks, but hey, by doing so he let a lot of irrigated farm land go back to nature so he's a "green" hero. Sure, the pyramids weren't built by slaves, but by out of work farmers who had nothing else to do when the Nile was in flood. Uh, maybe they would have preferred to sit home, drink beer with their friends and make love to their wives instead of pushing 2 ton blocks of stone up a pyramid? Place anecdote of your favorite dictator here: Caesar (killed a couple hundred thousand Celts and plunged Rome into a devestating civil war), Napoleon's wars killed 3.5 million, probably twice that if you include civilians. The great Shogun who united Japan also killed a couple million Koreans. And those who insist the west if the main murderer ignore the much large communist genocides, or the post colonial wars such as the present day tribal wars in central Africa, or even the million killed in the partition of India.
In the bible, Christ turned down an offer of the devil to have power over the entire world, and came, not as a prince to order people to be good, but as a prophet who instructed people to open their hearts to God.
And he came, not as a prince, but as a baby born in the stable because the regular house/inn didn't have any room for him.
THEY all were looking for a king
To slay their foes and lift them high;
Thou cam'st, a little baby thing
That made a woman cry.
George MacDonald----
Happy Christmas
 |
| http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01189/arts-graphics-film_1189811a.jpg |
It is overcast and light rain. which means it is cool.
Lolo is feeling better.
We go to Emie's tonite for supper before the late night mass. I doubt we will go: too crowded and Lolo is not strong enough.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Water water everywhere
I finally got around to listening to an Astronomy cast discussed that scientists are finding water all over the solar system.
Related item: Astronomy picture of the day of the subsurface of Mars.
Related item: Astronomy picture of the day of the subsurface of Mars.
 |
| Illustration Credit: Methane Workshop, Frascati Italy, Villanueva et al. 2009, ESA Medialab, NASA |
Recent measurements from the robotic Curiosity rover currently rolling across Mars indicate a surprising 10-fold increase in atmospheric methane between measurements only months apart. Life is a major producer of methane on Earth, and so speculation is rampant that some sort of life -- possibly microbial life -- is creating methane beneath the surface of Mars. Other possibilities do exist, though, with a leading model being the sudden release of methane produced by the mixing of specific soil chemicals with underground water.
Family news
The Palenke is full, and we have trouble keeping people from parking in front of our garage (since we are only 2 blocks from there).
It's very crowded...I hate to shop for anything that can't wait another week or two....and am avoiding the mall altogether.
Lolo is okay.
Chano was out til 3 am partying.
Joy is at the farm helping them use the rice miller for the harvest from her parent's farm.
Our kitchen/dining room cabinets are finished. The next step: Fix the ceiling. But it will have to wait until the metal doors are fixed. The "steel" on the bottoms is already rusted out and has to be removed and new steel welded into place.
I also will arrange to have the Samsung refrigerator's rush spots re-painted. because it is rusting near the handle after only three years. They must have only used one coat, or else it's a "second". It works fine, however, and is frost free which is a help.
One of the feral kittens got killed by George today. It must have gotten out during the night (Mom made a next in the spare bedroom under the bed). Sigh. This is the danger age for kittens, when they wander but haven't learned about danger.
We feed the cat, but they don't come close to us, although mom will come in and meow if very hungry. She also feeds herself: I found her eating a parakeet today. Wonder where she got it.
It's very crowded...I hate to shop for anything that can't wait another week or two....and am avoiding the mall altogether.
Lolo is okay.
Chano was out til 3 am partying.
Joy is at the farm helping them use the rice miller for the harvest from her parent's farm.
Our kitchen/dining room cabinets are finished. The next step: Fix the ceiling. But it will have to wait until the metal doors are fixed. The "steel" on the bottoms is already rusted out and has to be removed and new steel welded into place.
I also will arrange to have the Samsung refrigerator's rush spots re-painted. because it is rusting near the handle after only three years. They must have only used one coat, or else it's a "second". It works fine, however, and is frost free which is a help.
One of the feral kittens got killed by George today. It must have gotten out during the night (Mom made a next in the spare bedroom under the bed). Sigh. This is the danger age for kittens, when they wander but haven't learned about danger.
We feed the cat, but they don't come close to us, although mom will come in and meow if very hungry. She also feeds herself: I found her eating a parakeet today. Wonder where she got it.
Factoid of the day
The line in the song Yankee Doodle goes:
Stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni
It was sung to ridicule the rag tag rebels in the colonies.
Have you ever wondered where that came from?
TYWKIWDBI has the answer: it means an overdressed fop.
and check out the Wikipedia page on macaroni
Stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni
It was sung to ridicule the rag tag rebels in the colonies.
Have you ever wondered where that came from?
TYWKIWDBI has the answer: it means an overdressed fop.
The Macaroni wig was an extreme fashion in the 1770s and became contemporary slang for foppishness. The Macaronis were young English men who adopted feminine mannerisms and highly extravagant attire, and were deemed effeminate. They were members of the Macaroni Club in London at the height of the fashion for dandyism, so called because they wore striped silks upon their return from the Grand Tour - and a feather in their hats.
and check out the Wikipedia page on macaroni
The biggest story you never read
Russia is going Broke
due to falling gas prices (blameBush the frackers and the Saudis)
And due to sanctions after they tried to take their traditional land in the Crimea back from the Ukraine.
That last part could be considered an act of war, perpetrated by the EU and the US and a lot of multinational companies.
Bankrupt a country? No publicity.
Hack SONY? CYBERWAR!
and if you read that article, the suggestion is that it may have been outsourced to leftist Asian hackers..
due to falling gas prices (blame
And due to sanctions after they tried to take their traditional land in the Crimea back from the Ukraine.
That last part could be considered an act of war, perpetrated by the EU and the US and a lot of multinational companies.
Bankrupt a country? No publicity.
Hack SONY? CYBERWAR!
and if you read that article, the suggestion is that it may have been outsourced to leftist Asian hackers..
Stuff below the fold
And a happy Christmas to you.
Headlines are just rehashes of old stories that are now getting a push back.
The working class whites, ethnics, and immigrants in NYCity have had enough, and even the BBC notices.
Obama encouraging anti police demonstrations are to use the police as a proxy to bash working class "white people"....
and no one has noticed the irony that their rhetoric has resulted in the death of a Hispanic and Chinese American policeman.
NYCity is multiethnic. From Wikipedia: 53 percent of NYCity's finest are "people of color"...
================
The Pope has gone after the power hungry bureaucrats in the Vatican.
and finding they have spirited away a lot of money.
Heh. not much has changed in 2000 years (a similar charge was made against Judas)
---------------------------------
FYI: The book of the week podcast is about the Uyghars.
----------------------------------------------
Here, NocheBuena is the family feast after the "midnight mass" at church.
In the US, however, customs vary according to your ethnicity, and even your religion, and Epilog notes some of the customs...including this comment:
The MSM is again pushing against Hillary, who is the best qualified candidate for 2016, and pushing for Elizabeth Warren, a liberal who worked for big business and who got a job under minority preference because no one bothered to check her CDIB card.
But Mom Jones notes the dark horse Jim Webb is stalking in the background, and laments he is not supporting their climate change agenda.
Hmm...a preemptive strike by the left against the centrist yellow dog/clinton side of the democratic party?
------------------------------
The latest sin: men are told not to sit comfortably so that the feminists don't experience social anxiety.
hmm...maybe we should go back to codpieces to protect the family jewels when sitting in crowded subways...
Related item: One of the orcs in BOTF has a skull codpiece...
Related item two: Ten best codpieces in art.
---------------------------------
Aussie humor: the waddle squad goes to war:
LINK
Headlines are just rehashes of old stories that are now getting a push back.
The working class whites, ethnics, and immigrants in NYCity have had enough, and even the BBC notices.
Obama encouraging anti police demonstrations are to use the police as a proxy to bash working class "white people"....
and no one has noticed the irony that their rhetoric has resulted in the death of a Hispanic and Chinese American policeman.
NYCity is multiethnic. From Wikipedia: 53 percent of NYCity's finest are "people of color"...
================
The Pope has gone after the power hungry bureaucrats in the Vatican.
and finding they have spirited away a lot of money.
Heh. not much has changed in 2000 years (a similar charge was made against Judas)
---------------------------------
FYI: The book of the week podcast is about the Uyghars.
----------------------------------------------
Here, NocheBuena is the family feast after the "midnight mass" at church.
Family members dine together (after church) at around midnight on traditional yuletide fare, which includes: queso de bola (Filipino Spanish for "ball of cheese", which is made of edam sealed in red paraffin wax); tsokoláte, noodles and pasta, fruit salad, pandesal, relleno and hamón (Christmas ham). Some families would also open presents at this time.
In the US, however, customs vary according to your ethnicity, and even your religion, and Epilog notes some of the customs...including this comment:
-----------------------
Like Adina (and most other Jews), my family also goes the Chinese food route for Christmas
The MSM is again pushing against Hillary, who is the best qualified candidate for 2016, and pushing for Elizabeth Warren, a liberal who worked for big business and who got a job under minority preference because no one bothered to check her CDIB card.
But Mom Jones notes the dark horse Jim Webb is stalking in the background, and laments he is not supporting their climate change agenda.
Hmm...a preemptive strike by the left against the centrist yellow dog/clinton side of the democratic party?
------------------------------
The latest sin: men are told not to sit comfortably so that the feminists don't experience social anxiety.
hmm...maybe we should go back to codpieces to protect the family jewels when sitting in crowded subways...
Related item: One of the orcs in BOTF has a skull codpiece...
Related item two: Ten best codpieces in art.
---------------------------------
Aussie humor: the waddle squad goes to war:
LINK
The two oldest brothers are also obese, tipping the scales at more than 140 kilograms each, according to family friend and Muslim community leader Dr Jamal Rifi … “The mother, she’s questioning why would they go there? Two of them barely can walk, they’re very unfit, and obese.”
Monday, December 22, 2014
Stuff around the web
Fox news complains that the CDC is no longer reporting cases of Ebola, but says they are monitoring 1400 contacts.
Guess she didn't check closely enough
Actually, they have reported the number of cases, but you have to check the footnotes of the MMWR weekly report.
------------------------------------
GrowingteenagerinMalaysia is back from London, where he posted lots of lovely photos of the UK, and has his new blog up, and is foodblogging
-----------------------------
One of the problems of encouraging bad behavior is that those who have the impulse will act on it when they see the press (or a pastor, or a teacher, or a psychologist) giving them permission for their anger, and they take this as justifying them to act upon their anger with violence..
. It's a big problem, mainly with suicide but also with encouraging "copycat crimes". This is why the Philippines doesn't publicize minor terrorist incidents, since a lot of the bombings are to get publicity and instill fear, and by downplaying them they lose this as a weapon.
So the left's decision to demonize cops as part of the Obama administrations "all you white Republicans are racist" theme has resulted in the murder of two cops: One Chinese American, one Hispanic.
Sigh. Our prayers with their families.
------------------------------
Guess she didn't check closely enough
Actually, they have reported the number of cases, but you have to check the footnotes of the MMWR weekly report.
There were no cases of viral hemorrhagic fever reported during the current week. In addition to the 4 cases of Ebola diagnosed in the United States to date in 2014, six residents of the
US have been medically evacuated to the US for care after developing Ebola in West Africa. Ten of the 11 VHF cases reported for 2014 are confirmed as Ebola and one as Lassa Fever. See Table II for dengue hemorrhagic fever.
------------------------------------
GrowingteenagerinMalaysia is back from London, where he posted lots of lovely photos of the UK, and has his new blog up, and is foodblogging
-----------------------------
One of the problems of encouraging bad behavior is that those who have the impulse will act on it when they see the press (or a pastor, or a teacher, or a psychologist) giving them permission for their anger, and they take this as justifying them to act upon their anger with violence..
. It's a big problem, mainly with suicide but also with encouraging "copycat crimes". This is why the Philippines doesn't publicize minor terrorist incidents, since a lot of the bombings are to get publicity and instill fear, and by downplaying them they lose this as a weapon.
So the left's decision to demonize cops as part of the Obama administrations "all you white Republicans are racist" theme has resulted in the murder of two cops: One Chinese American, one Hispanic.
Sigh. Our prayers with their families.
------------------------------
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Family news
Lolo was wheezing all night. He has a chest cold. I didn't get much sleep either, but by morning he was improved.
Mass at 530 was half empty since all the younger folks went to the Simbang gabi mass at 4 am (we met them leaving church and going to the town square to buy snacks and socialize). Usually it is packed with those who have to go to work early.
I doubt Lolo will be strong enough to get to church for Christmas.
Emie is holding supper on Christmas eve before Noche Buena mass, and Angi will hold supper on Christmas evening. I'm not sure what we will do for presents.
Ruby has a big dance at her church youth group today.
Joy twisted her knee.
Her sister has finished her first course of experimental biological therapy for cancer, and it's not working so far. She started a new problem, becoming short of breath so I suggested she be checked for pleural effusion. Keep her and her family in your prayers.
Chano was out all night partying. Sigh.
The small cat who sleeps on our bed seems to be expecting kittens.
The pastor who holds a youth church in our meeting room gave us a nice fleece blanket for Christmas. It does get a bit chilly here in winter (january to march).
Mass at 530 was half empty since all the younger folks went to the Simbang gabi mass at 4 am (we met them leaving church and going to the town square to buy snacks and socialize). Usually it is packed with those who have to go to work early.
I doubt Lolo will be strong enough to get to church for Christmas.
Emie is holding supper on Christmas eve before Noche Buena mass, and Angi will hold supper on Christmas evening. I'm not sure what we will do for presents.
Ruby has a big dance at her church youth group today.
Joy twisted her knee.
Her sister has finished her first course of experimental biological therapy for cancer, and it's not working so far. She started a new problem, becoming short of breath so I suggested she be checked for pleural effusion. Keep her and her family in your prayers.
Chano was out all night partying. Sigh.
The small cat who sleeps on our bed seems to be expecting kittens.
The pastor who holds a youth church in our meeting room gave us a nice fleece blanket for Christmas. It does get a bit chilly here in winter (january to march).
wereworms
I am listening to the Tolkien professor who notes the tunnel digging wereworms are a creature mentioned in the hobbit
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Were-worms
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Were-worms
Saturday, December 20, 2014
It's us versus them? Ah, but there is a third way
The two minute hate on Facebook today is some pristine white upper middle class female college basket ball players dissing cops by a slogan on their uniforms. Yes, cop hating is the new "in" movement among the elite. Seems like this happened before, in the 1970's...
Sorry, but when I see the upper class elite students who never faced a disaster worse than a broken iphone or a bad hair day dissing working class cops who keep them safe I get angry. These elite students, like their parents in the 1960's, find it easy to ridicule cops, since few of them know anyone outside their set, such as people who are so gauche to join the police force (or fire department, or be a construction worker, or join the US Army out of patriotism).
And one doubts that any of them had ever worked the weekend inside inner city emergency rooms that resemble the hospitals of Baghdad due to the inner city gang wars.
So now a lot of us see the press join the bandwagon and guess who is the "enemy"? Yup. The hard working whites and immigrants who are most at risk in these artificially staged riots.
Play by the rules Percy? You're soooo screwed, as Annabeth would say.
Or maybe I should say: Mr Patel
This article in the NYTimes magazine is a better background to the problems involved
If you read the entire article, that's what is being done in Watts, LA.
Maybe the President will bring it up and publicize it with his newly formed "task force" on policing problems.
---------------------------------
Related item: How do you stop terrorists?
Maybe by talking about Islam. says the UKTelegraph.
This has actually been done in trying to deprogram former terrorists, including a program in an American military run Iraqi prison where one of our relatives worked. Pushed in the right way, this could lead to the much needed Islamic reformation.
But it took Europe awhile to settle down their religious wars, and the real danger is a major Sunni/Shiite nuclear war before things settle down.
On the other hand, even the Germans/Picts/Scots/Irish/and Vikings settled down a bit after they became Christians.
Sorry, but when I see the upper class elite students who never faced a disaster worse than a broken iphone or a bad hair day dissing working class cops who keep them safe I get angry. These elite students, like their parents in the 1960's, find it easy to ridicule cops, since few of them know anyone outside their set, such as people who are so gauche to join the police force (or fire department, or be a construction worker, or join the US Army out of patriotism).
And one doubts that any of them had ever worked the weekend inside inner city emergency rooms that resemble the hospitals of Baghdad due to the inner city gang wars.
So now a lot of us see the press join the bandwagon and guess who is the "enemy"? Yup. The hard working whites and immigrants who are most at risk in these artificially staged riots.
Play by the rules Percy? You're soooo screwed, as Annabeth would say.
Or maybe I should say: Mr Patel
A convenience store clerk, often a Patel or someone of Indian-origin, is killed in a robbery every few months somewhere in America. In fact, according to the Center for Problem-oriented Policing, convenience store employees in the US suffer from high rates of workplace homicide, second only to taxicab drivers, where too large numbers of Indian-origin people are employed
This article in the NYTimes magazine is a better background to the problems involved
over the past 20 years, violent crime in New York City has fallen by 80 percent, twice the rate of decline of the nation as a whole. According to the New York police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one way the department has driven crime down is by stopping and questioning (and sometimes frisking) large numbers of people in high-crime areas, thus deterring people from carrying weapons. In 2012, the New York Police Department conducted almost as many stops of black youths as there are black youths in the city, recovering 729 guns in the process.So if racial profiling stops black murders, wouldn't a better way to stop community hostility be by calming things down and getting local folks involved in stopping those who terrorize good people?
Nearly 60 percent of white New Yorkers approve of the tactic. Less than a quarter of black New Yorkers share that opinion. Many perceive it as racial profiling, an interpretation bolstered by recent police testimony in a lawsuit filed against the city over the practice
If you read the entire article, that's what is being done in Watts, LA.
Many police officers were skeptical, perhaps because so many gang-intervention workers were themselves ex-gang members. Some hadn’t really left the gangs. But during his time at Harbor division, Gannon saw firsthand how gang interventionists could shut gang feuds down. ...Read the whole thing. A similar program was promoted when we lived in Boston, and lowered crime rates there too.
The first meeting was a grievance session. The second meeting, the same. At the third, Gannon finally spoke up. “We’ve had eight homicides in two weeks, four on the L.A. side, four in the city of Inglewood,” he said. “I just had a double murder the day before yesterday. I need help in stopping that. I have to stop that feud. Can you help me with this particular problem?”
Discussion ensued. The gang-intervention workers said there were people with whom they might talk. “That day it stopped,” Gannon says. “Not slowed down; it stopped.”
Maybe the President will bring it up and publicize it with his newly formed "task force" on policing problems.
---------------------------------
Related item: How do you stop terrorists?
Maybe by talking about Islam. says the UKTelegraph.
The article discusses the need to re emphasize the Islam of peace, using their own religion to stop the hateful strain spread by Saudi money that morphed into much of today's terrorist creed.
We are petrified of speaking obvious truths. When a lord recently dared to invite Muslim leaders to address the violence in the Koran, he was condemned.This groupthink has to stop....Here is what we can’t ignore any longer: religious reform is essential if Islam is to overcome what the great Muslim scholar Bassam Tibi calls its "predicament with modernity".Until we admit that Islam has such a predicament, admit that the Islamists exploit that predicament to radicalise, and admit that when they do they can point to canonical sources (even if it is also true that moderates can point to other sources, and more of them) then we are not going to win.
This has actually been done in trying to deprogram former terrorists, including a program in an American military run Iraqi prison where one of our relatives worked. Pushed in the right way, this could lead to the much needed Islamic reformation.
Will it work? Yes, for many.
Though each story was unique, it became clear to me that "deradicalisation" was the difficult process of casting off an acquired Political Islamist conception of Islam, a politicised piety of breast-beating and resentments, and embracing in its place some version of the Islamic concept and practice of "sakinah".Sakinah means tranquillity, or peaceable (co)habitation, and is drawn from the Quran: "He who sent down tranquillity (sakinah) into the hearts of the believers, so that their faith may grow stronger" (48:4). The term is associated with stillness, contentment, and mercy, and with the notion that Muslims should be a just and moderate "middle community". In Sufism the word carries the sense of internal illumination, or "seeing the light".
But it took Europe awhile to settle down their religious wars, and the real danger is a major Sunni/Shiite nuclear war before things settle down.
On the other hand, even the Germans/Picts/Scots/Irish/and Vikings settled down a bit after they became Christians.
Headsup for parachuting Beavers
GERONIMO!
Geronimo the Beaver let the scientists figure out how to parachute beavers into the Idaho backcountry 66 years ago.
.jpg)
headsup DaveBarry
Geronimo the Beaver let the scientists figure out how to parachute beavers into the Idaho backcountry 66 years ago.
fromModernMechanixblog:With Geronimo’s help, Fish and Game learned that the best launch height was between 500 and 800 feet because it allowed the chute to open properly and still maintain some accuracy in placement of the bewildered beavers in the selected meadow.
In 1948, Fish and Game dropped 76 beavers in the backcountry. There was only one fatality, a beaver that “jumped or fell” from his box at about 75 feet.
headsup DaveBarry
When your food stares back at you
 |
| Stargazy pie via Answers.com |
The history of Stargazy Pie would make a great action movie. It is said to have been created in Mousehole, Cornwall (pronounced mow-zul) in honour of a brave fisherman called Tom Bawcock. Legend has it that Tom sailed out into a violent stormy sea to fish when the village was facing starvation. He returned with seven types of fish which were made into a pie and shared among the townsfolk, thus saving them from famine - hurrah! To this day his heroic deeds are celebrated every 23rd December in the town.
there are several recipes on the internet. Here is one from Food network,
that uses ordinary ingredients like onions and fish.
or a gourmet ingredient version from the BBC.
Headsup Answers.com via DaveBarry
Here, fishheads are left on the fish when they are fried or boiled: Lolo and others suck the heads dry of their goodness, but I just give mine to the cats or dogs.
.jpg) |
| Photo: Kitoi's ancestralKitchen |
heh. Chowstalker says is now "in" as Paleo food.
Peter and the wolf
Brian Sibley discusses Peter and the Wolf, and it's links to Disney.
Allan Sherman and the Boston Pops did this "updated" version of the story, which is now out of date, yet is not, since Sherman was using the commisars as a way to criticize the Hollywood money makers who reject anything original, something that continues to this day.
The journey from score to screen had begun in 1938: Prokofiev was touring the USA and, having seen and been captivated by Disney's recently released debut feature length cartoon, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, went to visit "le papa de Mickey Mouse". It is likely that the use of music inSnow White (and in the earlier 'Silly Symphony' cartoons) suggested to Prokofiev that Peter and the Wolf might be a suitable subject for Disney's animated treatment.
Allan Sherman and the Boston Pops did this "updated" version of the story, which is now out of date, yet is not, since Sherman was using the commisars as a way to criticize the Hollywood money makers who reject anything original, something that continues to this day.
Black holes in space, and in society
I haven't seen the film, but Space.com has two articles on the science behind "Interstellar".
LINK KipThorn and black holes
LINK a sci fi film with plenty of "ifs"
---------------------
The black hole in society is the inability for the elites to see what they don't know they don't know, and who censor those who think differently. It goes way beyond charges of homophobia against believers, to the very meaning of life itself.
The acid tongued Spengler notes the degeneration of gender studies into Monty Python territory. It's a confusing article, but he does quote Chesterton about how elites who are insisting they should be obeyed ignore the lessons of the past:
and he then posits what happens to a society that fragments in this way.
If you think he is overstating the case remember the physician behind Obamacare says he wants to die at 75, presumably because he might become a physical burden to society, hinting to the idea that the elderly and handicapped are useless eaters who need to be eliminated, not wise elders who need to be respected and cared for.
Yet NPR celebrates the fact that even in China, Confucian values are fading in the face of "economics" (?) and their "duty" to socialist work.
and they even found happy little old ladies to say it's okay to neglect their parents so they can make money.
Yet they don't notice it is religion that takes up the slack for these abandoned elderly: Buddhists in their story, Christians in this one.
-----------------------------------
LINK KipThorn and black holes
LINK a sci fi film with plenty of "ifs"
---------------------
The black hole in society is the inability for the elites to see what they don't know they don't know, and who censor those who think differently. It goes way beyond charges of homophobia against believers, to the very meaning of life itself.
The acid tongued Spengler notes the degeneration of gender studies into Monty Python territory. It's a confusing article, but he does quote Chesterton about how elites who are insisting they should be obeyed ignore the lessons of the past:
When we abhor tradition, we become ridiculous, because we lack the qualifications to replace what generation upon generation of our ancestors built on a belief in revelation and centuries of trial and error. G.K. Chesterton said it well: “Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about.”
and he then posits what happens to a society that fragments in this way.
Even worse, as I argued some years ago in an essay entitled “Why you won’t find the meaning of life”:....If self-invention is the path to the meaning of life, it makes the messy job of bearing and raising children a superfluous burden, for we can raise our children by no other means than to teach them contempt for us, both by instruction, and by the example of set in showing contempt to our own parents.
That is why humanity has found no other way to perpetuate itself than by the continuity of tradition. A life that is worthwhile is one that is worthwhile in all its phases, from youth to old age. Of what use are the elderly? In a viable culture they are the transmitters of the accumulated wisdom of the generations. We will take the trouble to have children of our own only when we anticipate that they will respect us in our declining years, not merely because they tolerate us, but because we will have something yet to offer to the young.
If you think he is overstating the case remember the physician behind Obamacare says he wants to die at 75, presumably because he might become a physical burden to society, hinting to the idea that the elderly and handicapped are useless eaters who need to be eliminated, not wise elders who need to be respected and cared for.
Yet NPR celebrates the fact that even in China, Confucian values are fading in the face of "economics" (?) and their "duty" to socialist work.
Huang admits he's struggling to reconcile his obligations to his mother versus those to society.
"I come here every day, but I have to take time out from work for it," he says. "When I come here to sit by her bedside and look after her every day that means that I haven't contributed to society in any other way, right?"
and they even found happy little old ladies to say it's okay to neglect their parents so they can make money.
Yet they don't notice it is religion that takes up the slack for these abandoned elderly: Buddhists in their story, Christians in this one.
The communist Chinese gov'ts on and off support for Confucian ethics is a long story, and many would say their forced replacement of tradition with superficial marxism is one reason for the explosion of Christian house churches in urban areas there today, with people searching for a higher meaning of life than making a government work quota.
It is easy to see how the universalistic ethic of Christianity might lead some believers to care for other people's parents. But would a Confucian feel a similar obligation to care for others? I think the answer to that could be "yes," since Confucius tells us to care for elders more generally. So, I guess the question is whether China now is sufficiently "Confucian" to encourage and promote the care of elders?
-----------------------------------
Friday, December 19, 2014
Philippine madonna
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I believe this is by Joey Valasco.
It's Christmas, and all the happy photos of the Nativity scene ignore that Mary lived in a small third world town.
And if you think giving birth in a stable is bad, check this out. LINK
and remember the refugees, the homeless living under the bypasses, and those homeless because of the latest typhoon....
tits and ash
 |
| Photo:Wikipedia |
This Adorable Bird Is Apparently a Vicious Brain-Eating Zombie in Disguise
more info at wikipedia
The Great tit might seem like just a cute little bird, but don’t let its appearance fool you for. In reality, it is one of the most vicious creatures in the world. Also known as ‘The Zombie tit’, this chirping ball of feathers is a killing machine with an insatiable hunger for brains.
Scientists generally agree that modern birds are direct descendants of fierce dinosaurs like the T-Rex and Velociraptor. Of course, most of them are so small and their feathers so pretty that it’s hard for people to actually associate them with the monstrous creatures depicted in films like Jurassic Park. However, their predatory instincts have definitely passed the test of time, and this holds true for the tiny Great tit, as well. So what’s so scary about this seemingly harmless bird? Well, just that it is known to routinely seek out other birds and bats, crush their heads and feast on their brains!
via DaveBarry
-------------------------
Why is Roman concrete so durable?
Volcanic ash, of course.
and what is even better, it's "green":
“If we can find ways to incorporate a substantial volumetric component of volcanic rock in the production of specialty concretes, we could greatly reduce the carbon emissions associated with their production and also improve their durability and mechanical resistance over time,” explained Marie Jackson of the University of California, Berkeley.
Insomnia downloads of the week
For blind pilots: no need to try to read regulations. You can just listen to the entire 2004 FAA Handbook on airplane flying
the pdf of this 2004 manual can be found here
---------------------------------------
and you poor guys who live in the US and have four feet of snow on the ground: It's not too early to plan your garden.
ABC of vegetable gardening
more:
The Family Kitchen Gardener
This handbook is developed to assist student pilots learning to fly airplanes. It is also beneficial to pilots who wish to improve their flying proficiency and aeronautical knowledge, those pilots preparing for additional certificates or ratings, and flight instructors engaged in the instruction of both student and certificated pilots. It introduces the future pilot to the realm of flight and provides information and guidance in the performance of procedures and maneuvers required for pilot certification."
the pdf of this 2004 manual can be found here
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and you poor guys who live in the US and have four feet of snow on the ground: It's not too early to plan your garden.
ABC of vegetable gardening
more:
The Family Kitchen Gardener
The Flower Garden: A Handbook of Practical Garden Lore LINK
Gardening Without Irrigation: or without much, anyway link
Thursday, December 18, 2014
It was a COMEDY?!
I haven't been paying much attention to the Sony hacks but was aware that they came from North Korea in protest of a film being made about that communist state.
Well, AICN has a review of the film HERE (about half way down the page) and Nordling writes
So a twofer.
One wonders why Hollywood didn't just give some hackers money to mess up North Korea, or figure out a way to steal the money those guys have stolen and stashed in Asian bank accounts in Hong Kong etc.
NK has also attacked South Korea a few times in the past, but it got little publicity in the west.
Well, AICN has a review of the film HERE (about half way down the page) and Nordling writes
All the issues going with Sony right now notwithstanding, I’d even go so far to call THE INTERVIEW a brave movie. Sure, it’s a comedy full of....jokes, and Kim Jong Un (the tremendously great Randall Park) doesn’t get treated very well, but I loved that the real hero of THE INTERVIEW is real honest-to-goodness journalism. It’s a stark reminder that in this world of celebrity news and fluff, we have to ask the tough questions of power, even if we agree with them or now.The whole kerfuffle essentially was a cyberwar that Hollywood lost (actually they surrendered), including that someone cancelled the proposed Steve Carrell film about that country.
So a twofer.
One wonders why Hollywood didn't just give some hackers money to mess up North Korea, or figure out a way to steal the money those guys have stolen and stashed in Asian bank accounts in Hong Kong etc.
NK has also attacked South Korea a few times in the past, but it got little publicity in the west.
Family news
Joy and Ruby were in Manila for deliveries and a school party.
Keep Joy's sister in your prayers: the chemo hasn't worked yet. Sigh.
Lolo is tired all the time, and is wheezing (I keep the aircon on fan to filter out the dirt and pollen at night). But his appetite is okay. Keep him in your prayers.
Chano is busy partying, so keep him in your prayers.
The carpenter is almost finished refinishing the cabinets in the dining room. (the leaks last year caused the veneer to separate)(the roof leaked last year and damaged the ceiling).. The cook said the ceiling needs to be fixed next, before it falls down. I have the money for this, and the carpenter needs money for his father in law's illness so he wants to work close to home...instead of working for better pay in Manila.
Keep Joy's sister in your prayers: the chemo hasn't worked yet. Sigh.
Lolo is tired all the time, and is wheezing (I keep the aircon on fan to filter out the dirt and pollen at night). But his appetite is okay. Keep him in your prayers.
Chano is busy partying, so keep him in your prayers.
The carpenter is almost finished refinishing the cabinets in the dining room. (the leaks last year caused the veneer to separate)(the roof leaked last year and damaged the ceiling).. The cook said the ceiling needs to be fixed next, before it falls down. I have the money for this, and the carpenter needs money for his father in law's illness so he wants to work close to home...instead of working for better pay in Manila.
Hobbit BOTFA review
Four out of five stars.
They warned that there would be lots of fighting, but actually what is filmed is the story of various characters caught in the battle, and how it affects them. Not a mindless chase like the first movie in the goblin caves. So Bard and son kill the dragon then rejoice to find that Tauriel rescued their daughters, and later he takes over and decides how to help the refugees.
The Dwaves left in Laketown immediately go to the mountain to check if their relatives are dead or not.
The elves come with aid, and also an army to plunder the mountain, and almost start a war when Thorin gets the dragon sickness and builds walls to keep the gold.
The best "non Tolkien" scene here is Thorin, finding Bilbo looking at something then trying to hide it from him, demands to see it (suspecting correctly that he might have pinched the arkenstone). But Bilbo pulls out an acorn that he found at Beorn's house, and explains that when he gets home, he will plant a tree and watch it grow to remember his friends. This phrase was in the trailer, but in a different place, as usual.
Dain arrives with the Iron Hill dwarves, and is a foul mouth Scotsman with the most creative vocabulary since Eddie Murphy hit Beverly Hills, albeit British, not American, obscenity. Luckily, Ruby didn't catch the meaning of the words, since she only knows American English.
And the dwarves brought pigs and rams, while the orcs brought bats, Thranduil brought an aggressive Irish War Elk, and Radagast and Beorn brought the eagles. For better or worse, Hollywood ordered a shorter movies, so most of the generic fighting seems to have been cut out, leaving only the fighting involving the main characters.
The ending is quite abrupt, probably again due to the studio orders. Bilbo quickly goes home afterward, not even staying for the funerals. We are left with the idea they will be happy, but no details. Unless you are a geek, you don't know what happens to them.
Lots of small items for geeks to notice and compare and contrast with the book and the appendices (Durin gets back his sword, Bard's son takes after his father, suggesting why he ended up the next leader of Dale, Bilbo fights more than in the book, but gets knocked out which saves his life so he can reconcile with Thorin). This one is Thorin's film.
Oh yes: Galadriel kicks ass...but not with a sword but like the fights in the Simarillion, with power alone. Don't mess with the elf lady folks.
They warned that there would be lots of fighting, but actually what is filmed is the story of various characters caught in the battle, and how it affects them. Not a mindless chase like the first movie in the goblin caves. So Bard and son kill the dragon then rejoice to find that Tauriel rescued their daughters, and later he takes over and decides how to help the refugees.
The Dwaves left in Laketown immediately go to the mountain to check if their relatives are dead or not.
The elves come with aid, and also an army to plunder the mountain, and almost start a war when Thorin gets the dragon sickness and builds walls to keep the gold.
The best "non Tolkien" scene here is Thorin, finding Bilbo looking at something then trying to hide it from him, demands to see it (suspecting correctly that he might have pinched the arkenstone). But Bilbo pulls out an acorn that he found at Beorn's house, and explains that when he gets home, he will plant a tree and watch it grow to remember his friends. This phrase was in the trailer, but in a different place, as usual.
Dain arrives with the Iron Hill dwarves, and is a foul mouth Scotsman with the most creative vocabulary since Eddie Murphy hit Beverly Hills, albeit British, not American, obscenity. Luckily, Ruby didn't catch the meaning of the words, since she only knows American English.
And the dwarves brought pigs and rams, while the orcs brought bats, Thranduil brought an aggressive Irish War Elk, and Radagast and Beorn brought the eagles. For better or worse, Hollywood ordered a shorter movies, so most of the generic fighting seems to have been cut out, leaving only the fighting involving the main characters.
The ending is quite abrupt, probably again due to the studio orders. Bilbo quickly goes home afterward, not even staying for the funerals. We are left with the idea they will be happy, but no details. Unless you are a geek, you don't know what happens to them.
Lots of small items for geeks to notice and compare and contrast with the book and the appendices (Durin gets back his sword, Bard's son takes after his father, suggesting why he ended up the next leader of Dale, Bilbo fights more than in the book, but gets knocked out which saves his life so he can reconcile with Thorin). This one is Thorin's film.
Oh yes: Galadriel kicks ass...but not with a sword but like the fights in the Simarillion, with power alone. Don't mess with the elf lady folks.
Global warming alert of the day
AGGH!! Global warming!
You probably know that Cow flatulence causes global warming.
but did you know that yak dung also contributes to mother gaia's demise? The local poor folks in Tibet burn it for fuel.
And then there is the lowly squirrel who is trying to destroy the world.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2877313/Scientists-ground-squirrels-beavers-contributing-global-warming-previously-released.html#ixzz3MCOWaC7n
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
But that's not all:
Losing weight causes global warming
From Science DailyVia SenseOfEventBlog:
one is reminded of the Allan Sherman song, about "why I am fat" that ends:
You probably know that Cow flatulence causes global warming.
but did you know that yak dung also contributes to mother gaia's demise? The local poor folks in Tibet burn it for fuel.
And then there is the lowly squirrel who is trying to destroy the world.
They might be fluffy faced, buck-toothed little creatures, but two species of rodent have been identified the latest culprits to be contributing to climate change.Researchers have found that the arctic ground squirrel and the beaver may be playing a far greater role in global warming than had previously been realised.It means that scientists will in the future have to alter their theories around anthropogenic climate change to take account of 'rodentopogenic' influences.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2877313/Scientists-ground-squirrels-beavers-contributing-global-warming-previously-released.html#ixzz3MCOWaC7n
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
But that's not all:
Losing weight causes global warming
From Science DailyVia SenseOfEventBlog:
In their paper, published in the British Medical Journal today, the authors show that losing 10 kilograms of fat requires 29 kilograms of oxygen to be inhaled and that this metabolic process produces 28 kilograms of carbon dioxide and 11 kilograms of water.
one is reminded of the Allan Sherman song, about "why I am fat" that ends:
Hail to thee fat person, you kept us out of war
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