Writing one's way through grief

Camille Adair Norwick, who is a hospice nurse and educator, teamed up with Tanya Taylor an actress, writer and co-creator of The Cancer Monologue Project and The AIDS Monologues, about eight months ago to begin work on a documentary film about the dying process, The Soul of Dying.

Norwick recalled caring for a friend who, shortly before his death, said to her, "You're going to help me die, and I'm going to help you help others to die."

Norwick stressed it's important for people who are dying to have someone to help them on their journey. Often, everyday people find themselves in the unexpected position of primary caregiver when someone close to them is struck with a terminal illness. Caregivers often put their lives on hold to help others die, she said.

Getting out of that holding pattern is tough. So many things change throughout the dying process that you lose and alienate yourself. I suppose I'm not really surprised with the road I've chosen since Craig died, but damn, I wish it were easier and not as lonely. The words in bold above echo in my ears. I hope this film gives people some understanding. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Scratch my back contra....

A very interesting 'connect the dots' puzzle at Estimated Prophet. It may explain why ecstasy (MDMA) is being used as an effective treatment for PTSD in US soldiers, and likewise why cannabis is considered an effective treatment for Israeli soldiers suffering from PTSD. Follow the links from his page and be sure to pay attention to his 'aside' if brain privacy, autonomy and choice are concerns of yours. I was pleasantly lost at that link for quite sometime imagining possibilities. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Breadcrumbs

I started wandering at New World Disorder's blog, knowing Jason had interviews with and links to interviews with Daniel Pinchbeck and R.U. Sirius that I've been meaning to get to. I kept wandering down path after path until my browser crashed. Now in notepad, I'm leaving myself breadcrumbs as I attempt to retrace my steps. There are hours of reading here, all spawned by my current read, CounterCulture Through the Ages by Ken Goffman (RU Sirius) and my interest in the new project headed by Daniel Pinchbeck, billed as "a Magazine for the New Edge", Metacine.

Sharing the crumbs...

New World Disorder Magazine

New World Disorder interview with RU Sirius

Jonathan Bethel In Conversation with R.U. Sirius

Daniel Pinchbeck In Conversation with R.U. Sirius

Will Block In Conversation with Ken Goffman, aka R.U. Sirius

La Spirale interviews RU Sirius

The Learned Helplessness Theory of History
Freedom and the Zek's Ant (unrelated, but I want to get back to it)

A conversation with Ken Goffman and Tom Frank, author of ‘What’s the Matter with Kansas?’

Counterculture, Commodification and Social Change RU Sirius in conversation with Joseph Heath

New World Disorder Interview with Daniel Pinchbeck

Ken Goffman discusses CounterCulture Though the Ages at the Inkwell posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Diversions

via Science and Politics, Why, oh why, am I doing these? ...geez I've slept around...though sadly lacking in the northwest and northern New England.

bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Upcoming

Two notable events:
National Conference for Media Reform
May 13-15 2005 - St. Louis, MO

... The 2005 National Conference for Media Reform will provide a forum to discuss visionary and practical solutions to the problems of our media.

The conference will bring together activists, media creators, academics, and policy-makers for three days of learning, sharing, networking and momentum-building.
Women speakers include Amy Goodman, Naomi Klein and Janine Jackson.

AND

WOMEN & the MEDIA: Taking Our Place in the Public Conversation
March 18-20, 2005
Stata Center @ MIT, Cambridge, MA

Presented by the Center for New Words
Co-sponsored by the MIT Program in Women's Studies

...an annual conference where progressive journalists, authors, activists, and students meet, share skills, and strategize to increase women's influence in the media. This event includes bloggers Natalie Davis and Mikhaela Reid posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Thinking out loud

Exactly my thoughts as I was listening to the radio yesterday, "You’d think folks would learn. Now, the media are falling for it again". Liberal Oasis: Media Getting Played on Iran Can't get fooled again???

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After personally having had an encounter with an AK-47 Tuesday that was much too close for my own comfort, I now read this: AK-47 Gun Shots Near Campus, and wonder. Further away I hear Details In Tyler Courthouse AK-47 Shooting

As Inspector Lohmann says in his post about the lack of freedom to buy or sell sex toys in Alabama: "I suppose if by "liberty" and "freedom" one means "free to buy automatic weapons ....

.... why doesn't the definition extend to what a person does with their own body? or what consensual people do between themselves? It seems freedom applies only to one's ability to interfere with another's freedom, but not to one's ability to pursue their own pleasure, particularly if it involves orgasm, consciousness expansion, or wishing to alleviate one's own suffering, either with drugs or even one's own death".

I get it now. Freedom to buy automatic weapons and randomly shoot, or freedom to bring one into a class for demonstration is far less threating to my safety and well-being than a shiny new sex toy (nsfw).
Is a musical condom categorized as a toy?
Certainly, I could bring neither the toy or the condom to class for a demonstration. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Amtrak is the Backbone of the US

and Bush wants to break that too.

President Bush has proposed eliminating all Amtrak funding.

Michigan's Amtrak routes: Ridership up 14%, Funding down 100%

Passenger trains in Michigan -- and the rest of the country -- will likely be halted if federal lawmakers back a White House plan to drop support for Amtrak

It's Time for an Amtrak Fact Check
Debunking Common Myths about Amtrak
Friends of Amtrak
National Association of Railroad Passengers

I was going to go quite a bit further with my thoughts on this but as I was looking around for comparisons on the subsidies the government gives to the airlines and highway maintenance versus the subsidies alloted and now potentially eliminated for Amtrak, I ran into an excellent post, very well researched, at MyDD. Why America Needs Amtrak. I needn't do anything other than provide the link and urge you to make your voices heard. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Psychedelic medicine: Mind bending, health giving

JOHN HALPERN clearly remembers what made him change his mind about psychedelic drugs. It was the early 1990s and the young medical student at a hospital in Brooklyn, New York, was getting frustrated that he could not do more to help the alcoholics and addicts in his care. He sounded off to an older psychiatrist, who mentioned that LSD and related drugs had once been considered promising treatments for addiction. "I was so fascinated that I did all this research," Halpern recalls. "I was reading all these papers from the 60s and going, whoa, wait a minute! How come nobody's talking about this?"

More than a decade later, Halpern is now an associate director of substance abuse research at Harvard University's McLean Hospital and is at the forefront of a revival of research into psychedelic medicine. He recently received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to give late-stage cancer patients the psychedelic drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy. He is also laying the groundwork for testing LSD as a treatment for dreaded super-migraines known as cluster headaches. much more from New Scientist

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

In Memoriam: Hunter S. Thompson

Rox Populi has put together a wonderful collection of his writings and of articles about him.

William Pitt had already pulled together some quotes to use in his new book and has written HST and The Proverbial 'Live Boy' "My hero died tonight. He was a flawed man, a maniac, in so many ways the antithesis of what a journalist is supposed to be. Worst of all, he told the truth. There is now one less warrior on this planet filled with Guckert clones, drones who get fed shit and regurgitate it wholesale for the masses because that is what we are trained to eat."

Mike Golby has some links, though I somehow expect his voice will be on his page soon.

Digby has his own way of nailing it and making me cry.

My Chat (and Hash-Smoking Session) with Hunter S. Thompson, Gonzo Journalism Legend
by: Marty Beckerman

"Then it was quiet again". posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

How Do I Do What I Do?

From Dave Pollard via Aleah via Jon Strande comes another form of interaction from the meme scene. I rarely pass these along or participate, but, possibly because I'm questioning my existence in the workplace, or my existence in general, I decided it would be a good idea for me to play with my thoughts. I noted to Bill the other day that dissemination of information is more efficient if we know where other bloggers strengths and interests lie. I suppose that's why I'm choosing to share.

What do you do?
I dream. I search and re-search. I learn. I play with words and images. I imagine. I try to help people in various ways which explains my job; providing many aspects of support and education for a large 24/7 IT department. I'm preparing for a career change so I'm also attending classes, 11 hours this semester, which is keeping me busy and somewhat distracted.

What are the challenges?
I learn in unconventional ways that work for me yet I find I'm stuck pursuing conventional means to attain personal goals. I also see the political climate of renewed conservatism spilling into the workplace. I see it ultimately suffocating many possibilities that were beginning to emerge, i.e. the Conceptual Age will be delayed due to suppression of creative thought unless we meet this challenge.

How do you overcome them?
I talk to people. I point out what freedoms and perks are being taken from them. I tactfully object. Creative Rebellion, possibly even mediation. A lot of brick walls are cluttering the vista. I'm increasingly afraid they won't be overcome.

What is a typical day like?
I sleep scattered hours depending on my plans/classes for the day. My work schedule, not unlike me, is unconventional. 10 hour midnight shifts scattered on different days. No typical weekend. I know on a given day what I should accomplish and fit it in as needed. Structure, except for scheduled classes, is a foreign concept.

How do you manage information?
I manage it like some people manage a messy house. I know where it is unless I try to clean it up.

What are your favourite books?
'Das Energi' by Paul Williams
'Cat's Cradle' by Kurt Vonnegut
'We' by Yevgeny Zamyatin
Poem: 'Spontaneous Me' from 'Leaves of Grass' by Walt Whitman

What are your favourite web sites/blogs?
There are three in particular who smooth an especially thorny day. I have many favourite sites and blogs but my attraction to these is with what they give me consistently, thought, balance and laughs. Ok, he may not always be funny but someone in his comments will consistently lighten up even the darkest post.

What tools/technology do you use?
Far too many, my favourite being pen and paper.
Photoshop/Image Ready, Premiere (video editing), After Effects, Top Style, Dreamweaver, Mozilla, T-bird, Firefox, Unix shell, Blogger, MusicMatch, Quicktime. I love my host's Cpanel and Fantastico.

What's your favourite quote?
Any sentence from Das Energi. Here is one:
"Our responsibility as individual cells of a living organism,is to perform our individual functions as well as possible. Our orders come from within...we are free to be ourselves..." Paul Williams

What is your "secret to success?"
I listen to myself.

What are your greatest accomplishments?
I feel I'm on my way toward accomplishing something important when I find people around me questioning concepts and considering change. I'm happy that my kids question. I have yet to accomplish anything I can definitively identify as my accomplishment alone, but some of my past experiences and my ease of understanding differences are all playing a part toward something yet to be defined.

What are your hobbies? Or, how do you break the monotony and stay energized?
Music will refresh and inspire me as will a brisk walk to a quiet secluded place among the trees where I can sit and listen to the wind whisper. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Dust

no space for inhalation
a fine black powder
fills every crevice
choking autonomy

it is
the rule of wealth bondage
where thoughts speak
only in silence
dusted into submission

one final exhalation
complicit suffocation
until she wears a uniform
of the corporation
and drowns
in the black hole
of
a restricted echo posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Humanistic Nursing

From this week's Carnival of the Godless:
Thinking Nurse who has been added to my blogroll contrasts Theistic and Humanistic Nursing:

For humanists, nursing at it's best is an activity conducted by one human being, in a human way, with another human being. The nurse is attempting to open dialogue with the person in front of them, find a way to connect, as one subjective human being with another. This is all. There is no ‘hidden agenda’ of seeking to find the divine in another human being, or to serve God through that human being – the agenda is simply to find, and be with that person, for who they are. This makes humanistic nursing achievable, realistic, rooted in the material rather than seeking to ask nurses or their clients/patients to rise above or reject their humanity.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Theme (meme)

found at Name This Thing
brand new weblog from one of my old favorites, Liberal Arts Mafia
Follow the meme.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don’t search around and look for the “coolest” book you can find. Do what’s actually next to you.

Sentence:

"Eleanor's courts were significant sponsors of the troubadour movement and its art."

From Counter Culture Through the Ages posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Much Too Close to Home

This one is a hypothetical situation of a department that requires female GSIs to wear skirts. I especially want to point this link out to Andy. Last I looked there were 119 comments. I wonder why it seems so familiar to me?

And...More fun in the neighborhood:
we're movin on up (theme song in my head)


Liberty Lofts
in the old Eaton building
and


Loft 322
both on Liberty.
So much for new affordable housing. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Evolve with Me

"This new research suggests that in fact, our gills are still sitting in our throats - disguised as our parathyroid glands."

posted by Andy | link |    | |

The Top 100 Gadgets of All Time

Dust-Off has been around since 1970? posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

ANN ARBOR AREA SOCIAL FORUM

Announcing the ANN ARBOR AREA SOCIAL FORUM on Saturday, February 19th, 1:00 p.m. at 310 S. Ashley, Ann Arbor, "Hathaway's Hideaway"

Come for an afternoon of learning and sharing ideas for social & economic change in Ann Arbor's First Annual Social Forum. By exploring the root causes of current problems in the world, workshops will show the inter-connections among issues and encourage collaboration among progressive groups.

The forum begins with reports from participants in the World Social Forum, Brazil, followed by workshops on globalization, environmental justice, creating a self-reliant community, US imperialism, intentional communities, local media, and work by Artists for Peace.

The forum is sponsored by a coalition of local progressive and activist groups. Admission is free, tea and snacks provided.

1 p.m. Introduction & report from World Social Forum, Brazil
2:45-3:45 Workshops session I
4:00-5:00 Workshops session II
5:15-6:00 Reports from workshops and discussions for future directions

Workshops:
- What is globalization?
- Creating intentional communities
- Iraq & U.S. imperialism
- Ending the occupation of Palestine
- Ann Arbor: a Living Economy Community
- Natural building
- Environmental Justice
- Zero Waste
- Artists for Peace
- Community radio
- Where does the progressive movement go from here?


This event is being sponsored by Solidarity, the Greens, People's Progressive Network, Students Organizing for Labor Equality, Ann Arbor Coalition Against the War, Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, Women's International League for Peace and Justice, Town Meeting, and Welfare Rights Union. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Words of the Day

Kameron Hurley of Brutal Women says:
"This is how pissed off people become conservatives: you make them work crap hours at crap jobs so they don't have *time* to think about what a raw deal the world's giving them.

We could use more pissed off people."

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Fifty Fantasy & Science Fiction Works That Socialists Should Read posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Brain Regions, Human Instinct and the Ancient Art of Invention

Instinct.
The brain can detect the likelihood that a person is about to make a mistake. The Anterior Cingulated Cortex (ACC) not only helps us sort through difficult decisions, but actually learns to predict bad consequences. The region has long been known to be a part of the brain's executive control system, helping to mediate between fact-based reasoning and primal emotional responses to love, fear and anticipation.

Deja Vu?
Studies indicate that the brain structures of the Hippocampus and the parahippocampal Cortex play differing roles in this process.

While the Hippocampus enables the subject to remember events consciously, the Parahipppocampal Cortex can distinguish between accustomed and unaccustomed impulses, and do this without even referring to a concrete experience.

Josef Spatt of the Ludwig-Boltzmann Institute in Vienna has based his hypothesis on this idea, suggesting that deja vu occurs when the Parahippocampus, without the Hippocampus being involved, emits a signal of being accustomed to, or comfortable with, a sensation.

Mind Games: Durham Center Studies Mental Phenomena
The center concentrates its research on four types of mental phenomena: remote viewing, in which a person can see something happening at the same time somewhere else; telepathy, or the mental connection between two people; pre-cognition, or the ability to see into the future; and mental intention, where a person concentrates on one object and tries to have an effect on it.

What the Ancients Did For Us
"We have a tendency to think of ancient peoples as being stupid because they didn’t have television or mobile phones," says series presenter Adam Hart-Davis. "But of course they were just as intelligent as we are, and they didn’t waste their time watching television or texting each other. So they used their intelligence and invented some wonderful things." posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Categories for Blogger

I've been wanting categories on my page for awhile and wasn't quite ready to switch blogging tools. Ted at Humanize the Earth has a very cool solution using del.icio.us and technorati tags. I might even have some categories on my page within the week. Thanks! posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Wear it, Bitch

Never again is anyone allowed to give me crap about how women naturally want to adorn themselves with makeup, as if there's some genetic urge to look fake that's wended its way here on the sparkly pink path of evolution. This ain't biology. This is your government, endorsing your corporate lackey's creepy-ass urge to make me turn my happy, natural face into a twisted parody of comeliness.

...) Jesperson, who said wearing makeup while bartending at Harrah's sports bar "forced her to be feminine" and made her feel "dolled up" like a sex object, argue that cosmetics undermined her effectiveness as a worker and "took away [her] credibility as a person." When she refused to wear makeup, her supervisors suggested she apply for a job at Harrah's that didn't require makeup; then they fired her. [ read it all ]

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Join a people's campaign to ratify the Kyoto Protocol

What on earth is a person supposed to do?

The existential choices are few and barren. We can try to find a safe haven in, say, New Zealand -- but there's no escaping a global threat. We can defy a history of futility and try, yet again, to appeal to the humanitarian instincts of ExxonMobil and Peabody Energy. We can go into hibernation for four more years. Or we can try, as individuals and organizations, to bring the U.S. in line with the rest of the world.

That's what a small group is attempting with today's launch of a nationwide signature-gathering drive for a People's Ratification of the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty.

Just go do it. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Mouse Trapped

the dilemma

the immediate solution

does it end like this?

or more independently, like this?
I'm feeling pretty trapped and squashed as it is.
Do I need to have the cat lurking?

Maybe this, where consideration is taken before they patent your soul? posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Catching up on Thoughts

I have some catching up to do, if I can stomach it. It really amazes me that Bill at thoughts on the eve of the apocalypse can be away for awhile and still keep this kind of organization, not to mention attention, when he doesn't have web access. In one tidy link he covers the Iraq election, developments in Iran, climate change and Kyoto, the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister, Israel, Gannon, Churchill, the draft, the media, and gives a link to an online version of Outfoxed.
I feel as if I can comfortably back away from politics a bit when I can count on him to have the links I might want later all packaged as neatly as this. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Brainpower as easy as X and Y

I always wondered why the Barbie dolls were headless. At least I know now it wasn't malicious on my son's part. Poor kid. I feel guilty.
I also feel great relief that my math instructor was out sick this morning and the scheduled test was delayed. I'm not even bothered that I woke up early to get to class after staying up until 5am to finish my assignment due today.

Scientists say males have more activity in mechanical centers of the brain, whereas females show more activity in verbal and emotional centers.

The differences can be noticed from early childhood, Gurian said, such as when an adult gives a child a doll.

"That doll becomes life-like to that girl, but you give it to a two-year-old boy and you are more likely, not all the time, but you are more likely than not to see that boy try to take the head off the doll," he said.

"He thinks spatial-mechanical. He's using the doll as an object".

To find out why these differences exist, scientists have taken voyages deep inside the gray matter using MRI scans. [ read more ]

Thanks much to Bob for this link. He says he's slowing down on his blog too. We'll see. Mucha suerte con las lecciones españolas. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

What's Your Seduction Style?

Your Seduction Style: Ideal Lover

You seduce people by tapping into their dreams and desires. And because of this sensitivity, you can be the ideal lover for anyone you seek. You are a shapeshifter - bringing romance, adventure, spirituality to relationships. It all depends on who you're with, and what their vision of a perfect relationship is.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Something for Sunday

I've been a little sidetracked lately and if the sun stays out I expect to be sidetracked a little longer but I saved a few good reads to pass along:

Ran Prieur: So I've been staying at Twin Oaks, a community in rural Virginia. They have about 100 people on about 350 acres, and (like me) they've been here since 1967, so they've had some time to try stuff and find out what works. Their structure is pretty good -- they have clear written policies on everything, but without the kind of uptight rules one would cynically expect at an intentional community. It's like staying at a good group house that's really a bunch of houses in the woods, and produces its own organic beef and dairy and vegetables, and unschools its kids, and treats its own sewage, and generates enough income that no one has to have a job outside it.

Since Twin Oaks doesn't quite fit with Ran, maybe he can get some more ideas here: Utopia On The Internet where there are links to quite a few communities.


Seattle Weekly Interviews Pagan Moss. (links in article below, NSFW, are also always on my blogroll)

Pagan Moss isn't the real name of the small, striking woman sitting in front of me, but it's the name she's become infamous for. A 31-year-old Seattle native, Moss made the abrupt switch in her mid-20s from filing insurance claims to sex work, when she began dancing at the Lusty Lady downtown and contributing to Sensual Liberation Army (www.sensuallib.com). Two years later, Moss moved jobs a few blocks north to Fantasy Unlimited and began Peep Show Stories (www.peepshowstories.com), on which she blogs frank, often funny dispatches about her work and life, as well as photos and links to other online erotica. [ read the interview ]
via easy bake coven

Future Hi is on a roll lately with new audio, great links and info about a new zine in the works.

Mr. Doobie cartoons

Science and Politics hosts Carnival of the Godless

Flying Talking Donkey always has fresh links that interest me.

Bruce Eisner has Gysin, Krassner, Grob, a post featuring a play called "Really Leary" and links to some great software and new technology. Scroll through the entire page. You may be spending quite a bit of time there.

Locally:
Ann Arbor Community Car Coop

and from Mark Dilley, something I may be using soon and probably need to talk with him about, Troublemaker's Handbook 2

Got craving? Take part in pot research posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Bush administration asks Supreme Court to block use of hallucinogenic tea by NM church

Did I understand that Bush mentioned freedom a time or two? Not here. Certainly not religious freedom. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Where Will We be in 40 Years?

I can't think of anyone more qualified to make a prediction than Dave Pollard. Tis mind candy for the concerned. He is also talking about making and breaking rules and the impact that fear has when rules are looked at from conservative and liberal viewpoints. Take a good look at this and I'll just bet you've seen an example of extreme authority directly affecting you in the recent past. Ask yourself what the political motivation is behind it. Dave asks, "What is the evolutionary basis for these fears?" What is behind this aggressiveness? Scary thoughts, but he makes sense. go read posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Ex Libris Museum

There's nothing like weird art to cleanse the mental palette, I always say.
This Japanese site I stumbled upon appears to be about the art of the "ex libris" (meaning "from the library of") sticker that well-to-do folks used to put in all their books. I'm guessing that the "Bayros room" holds the work of an early 20th century illustrator named Bayros who made a name for himself creating these items for his clients, and that the "Gallery" link constitutes a (probably commissioned) mini-revival of the form by contemporary (and mostly Russian) artists. I dunno, you tell me...
posted by Andy | link |    | |

Left, Right, Upsidedown

Tim Boucher has been playing around with left/right brain trait concepts too. If you aren't sure where you fall you will get a better idea after reading Left Vs. Right, Which Side Are You On? .
I love Tim's assessment of
Left brain bias in our society.
"On the left-brain side, you have words you've been taught to trust like "rational" "logical" and "objective." Whereas the first characteristic described for right-brained is "random." I mean, random? Fucking... hello? That's the most retarded thing I've ever heard."
I guess being characterized as 'random' doesn't bother me too much especially after reading why I break, instead of make, rules. Brain Hemispheres and Rule Following Aren't there enough rules already? posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will (?) seek presidential bid

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Creation Care

Results of Google Search for Creation Care
I had no idea! Did you? See post below for the WaPo article that sparked my curiousity. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Lazy Link Dump

The Unveiling of States Writes:
The Progressives' Peer Directory from the American Street When you're feeling alien and alone this is the place to go. We're all aliens here. Great Resource!

WaPo: Christian Right Turns, Sometimes Warily, to Environmentalism
The Greening of Evangelicals ... "creation care" should be at the heart of evangelical life, Hedman says, along with condemning abortion, protecting family and loving Jesus. He uses the term "creation care" because, he says, it does not annoy conservative Christians for whom the word "environmentalism" connotes liberals, secularists and Democrats.

Ran Prieur's perception of The Slow Crash
"Imagine the end of the world in moderation. It's hard. We tend to imagine that either the "economy" will recover and we'll go on like 1999 forever, plus flying cars, or else one day "the apocalypse happens" and every component of the industrial system is utterly gone."
Also read his landblog

Kurt Nimmo's Photos
Nimmo Design photography and artwork
found via woods lot

Apocalypse now: how mankind is sleepwalking to the end of the Earth

Keeping Out of the Otero Mesa
The Bush administration is determined to force its way onto the Otero Mesa. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, backed by a coalition of ranchers and environmentalists, is determined to stop it.

Following the Food Chain an interview with Michael Pollan, author of "The Botany of Desire"
Pollan writes what he calls "food detective stories," but the way he stalks his prey sets him apart from others who write about our palate and plate.

The Great Lakes Myth Society
Rounded out by the rhythm section of J. Scott McClintock (bass, vocals) and Fido Kennington (drums, vocals), Great Lakes Myth Society held their inaugural meeting on January 1, 2004, two months after the dissolution of their previous incarnation, the Original Brothers and Sisters of Love (TOBASOL). The band has gone to great lengths to capture the spirit of discovery both on and off the stage. Like five applehead men soaking in their respective freshwater tombs, feeling the pulp return to their faces, each day brings the delicious pain of life and the endless need to create.
Track by track review

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Examining the Real Agenda of the Religious Far Right

A Two-Day Conference
(Yep, another I really would like to go to, but find it beyond my means...sigh)
Co-sponsored by the NY Open Center and CUNY Graduate Center Public Programs

with Karen Armstrong, Joan Bokaer, Chip Berlet, Katherine Yurica, John Sugg, Hugh Urban, Frederick Clarkson, Jeffrey Sharlet, Skipp Porteous & Charles Strozier

"Until progressives come to understand what [fundamentalists] read, hear, are told and deeply believe, we cannot understand American politics, much less be effective." - Joe Bageant

Most Americans outside the Bible Belt have little idea of the beliefs held by millions of fundamentalist churchgoers. We have an almost total lack of awareness of the rise of Dominionism and Christian Reconstructionism, forms of theology that advocate a biblical vision of God's kingdom on earth. Some fundamentalists also foresee events such as The Rapture, the Times of Tribulation, Armageddon, and the Second Coming of Christ as we enter The End Days.

This conference will give rigorous attention to the worldview of Dominionism, its influence in contemporary political culture and its agenda for America. While not all Christian fundamentalists are Dominionists, Dominionism's influence is powerful and growing. Its adherents play a significant role in secretive organizations such as The Council on National Policy, which exerts a strong influence on the strategy of the religious right

The 2004 election tells us that socially conscious citizens need to awaken to the ambitions of this influential religious movement. What do fundamentalist theologies advocate regarding theocracy, abortion and homosexuality? What is the nature of the world order under God's law that they anticipate? How do many fundamentalists interpret the role of Israel? How does this affect U.S. policy? Why are so many fundamentalists opposed to environmentalism and the UN? Why are millions in America drawn to this form of belief, and how can we come to understand them?

Presentations include: posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

The President of Good and Evil by Peter Singer

In Philosophy Now Scott O’Reilly reviews Peter Singer‘s review of George W. Bush‘s statements on ethics.

Singer takes the Bush administration to task for allowing ideology to trump empiricism and sound reasoning. In a particularly effective passage Singer cites a story by the 19th century English mathematician and philosopher William Clifford, which illustrates the perils of basing ones ethics or actions on belief. Clifford asks us to imagine a shipowner who knows his ship could do with a costly inspection and repairs, but sincerely believes that Providence will see the ship and its passengers through on a difficult voyage. Clifford argues that the shipowner's belief was not acquired “by honestly earning it in patient investigation, but by stifling his doubts.” When the ship sinks its owner's guilt is not absolved by the sincerity of his faith; indeed he is culpable precisely for substituting belief in place of practical measures.

...) Singer speculates that Bush's sometimes-rigid adherence to the ‘letter of the law' (but not its spirit) indicates that the president is stuck at what Harvard psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg termed the Conventional Stage of morality, which he describes as, “an orientation toward authority, fixed rules, and the maintenance of social order.” Kohlberg describes this as the level of moral development most often associated with 13 year olds. [ read more ]

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Random eyes

Movies are the dreams of our culture.
"The next time you are sitting in a theater watching a big, popular film, ask yourself what it is communicating about the large issues of life. You may be surprised to find that the cinematic dreams unfolding in the darkness hold the key to understanding who you, and the rest of us, truly are and where we appear to be going".

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Trailer

Women are still a minority!
"Why do we still discuss women and ICT - after more than 20 years with efforts to change the situation?" Although there are numbers of initiatives and projects to recruit (or keep) women to IT education which have positive results, we still haven't been able to change these trends.
The Larry Summers Flap has generated a decent discussion with many links to follow. And now the NYTimes has an article titled Harvard Seeks to Advance Opportunities for Women

The Erotic Museum presents The Human Body Project ...a positive image of the potential of human sexuality.

Mushroom Power

What about the Kids?
Consuming kids - The Hostile Takeover of Childhood 'Kids can recognize logos by 18 months, and before their second birthday, they're asking for products by brand names.'

If you haven't yet watched the BBC series The Power of Nightmares, highlighted here by Katrina vanden Heuvel, you can find all three parts online, though her suggestion to contact HBO and PBS would be instrumental in reaching the viewership this documentary commands.

Project Implicit
Here you will have the opportunity to assess your conscious and unconscious preferences for over 60 different topics ranging from pets to political issues, ethnic groups to sports teams, and entertainers to styles of music. At the same time, you will be assisting in a large-scale study of preferences.

No I do not want a rolex, and no I do not want to play with you even though your husband is out of town and you only live two blocks away from me.
posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

David Suzuki comes out swinging

Doctor David Suzuki speaks his mind at the Theatre of the Arts.

Suzuki's main theme was that society needs a better connection to the world around it. Interconnectivity means that people are easier to satisfy rather than when they try to buy happiness. "We're all caught up with this idea that I've got to work longer, harder in order to make money to get all this stuff. Nobody's asking, ‘Am I happier because I've got all this stuff?' I think it demands a reassessment of what our core values are."

...) Suzuki's starkest message involved the concept of peak oil, the point in time where all of the easily accessible fossil fuels will have been discovered, after which oil supplies will rapidly deplete. The post-peak oil world will see suburbs, commuting, large houses and long distance food transport becoming impossibly expensive. "Some experts believed that we had hit peak oil in 2004. Others said, ‘No, you're crazy, we'll hit it in 2006 or 2007.' It's undeniable, it's here. The good news is that there are alternatives. The bad is that we still stick to our ruts and our old ways," said Suzuki. He claimed that Canada could be a fully sustainable country by 2030 provided it followed proper goals immediately. He cited European countries as examples for Canada to follow.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Sublime Paradox

remnants of the distant sky
where civilized stars dance wildly
illuminating hints
of primitive patterns

the coincidence of opposites
dissolve
into the twilight of non-duality
emanations
dissolutions

water wheels turn
into a nebulous sea of bliss
while feral instinct
is trapped
in suffocating pages
of imposed morality
until
the unsustainable light
flickers and fades
into a circle unseen
yet unbroken posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Margaret Atwood in nature.com

Oryx and Crake

One of the key themes of the novel is the corrupting influence of commerce on science. When business interests dominate "you enter a skewed universe where science can no longer operate as science," Atwood says. The book takes this to extremes. For example, biotech company HelthWyzer puts "hostile bioforms" into vitamin pills while at the same time marketing antidotes. "The best diseases, from a business point of view," the author writes with irony, "would be those that cause a lingering illness."

... ) When pressed for present-day concerns in science ethics that prompted her book, Atwood says she feels particularly strongly about the loss of independence of scientists, citing the suppression of negative data by corporate sponsors. "If you get results that are contrary to what you want to market, the temptation to suppress those results is very strong," she says. Such competing interests are becoming increasingly common as governments across the world encourage more and more scientists to become involved in commercial enterprises.

posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

Final Post on Women and Math

Here are a couple articles people sent to me featuring women who have no problem with math, and in fact, excel. The second link is more related to number patterns and the first is about the way women who excel at maths are, or were in the recent past, treated.

Patterns have never been difficult for me personally and science has never been a problem for me. While I can accept that rote computations may be more of a right/left brain capability, the fact that articles like the two below even have to be written tend to tell me that there is a still gender difference, if not in the capability of women, then in the perception of that capability.

For Some Girls, the Problem With Math Is That They're Good at It

A Calculating Mastermind

There. I'm finished with the subject. Now I just want to finish the two math classes I'm taking as painlessly and quickly as possible. posted by Cyndy | link |    | |

PDA

As I continue to step a bit further from politics I find some things are still worth my attention, things I feel could make a difference sooner than later and involve more than politicians:
Gary Rhine features the Progressive Democrats of America on this entire entry at Rhino's Blog. He includes a link to William Rivers Pitt interview with Kevin Spiedel for an in depth history of how PDA came together, and insights into the game plan.
I'm glad to see Gary aboard and pushing too. As I see it, this is our best shot at organizing anything left of center politically. I personally cannot get into supporting the DNC right now but the PDA has my attention, support and membership. I hope you'll consider the same.

"The modern individual who dares to heed the call and seek the mansion of that presence with whom it is our whole destiny to be at-one-ed, cannot, indeed must not, wait for his community to cast off it's sense of pride, fear, rationalized avarice, and sanctioned misunderstanding.

"Live", Nietzsche says, "as though the day were here".

It is not society that is to guide and save the creative hero, but precisely the reverse. And so, every one of us shares the supreme ordeal - carries the cross of the redeemer - not in the bright moments of his tribes great victories, but in the silences of his personal despair."
Joseph Campbell posted by Cyndy | link |    | |