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Should have stayed with my principles. TV is wrong for me. Junk, junk, junk. BORING. And yet I keep watching. Discipline, Discipline. Where art thou? I am wasting my life (again) 3 hours at a time. July 8 2003 For all kinds of reasons, I virtually saw no t.v. for 8 months. It was out of my house, out of my life. Wonderful things started to flow into the time I had previously wasted watching t.v. and I started to figure how much time I had wasted and what I could have accomplished in that time. Do it yourself, even if you are young. Make a chart. How many hours a day do you watch t.v? How many hours is that in a year? What could you have accomplished if you hadn't watch t.v. for the past 5 years, 10 years, 15 years? What can you accomplish if you don't watch t.v. in the next 5, 10, 15 years? How many instruments can you learn, how many languages can become familiar, how many songs to sing, things to build, relationships to deepen. How many books could you read on exactly the things that interest you? How much poetry could enhance your life. How much could you have run, swum, walked, enjoyed nature? And what did sitting, slouching, lying down while watching t.v. do for your body? Not "for", but against. How many orthopedic and circulatory problems can be prevented by a much more controlled approach to sitting in front of the box and it's accompanying devices. Think about it. If we were created to try to be, like God, initiators, how does sitting in front of the t.v. advance us in our mission here on earth? Watching too much t.v. doesn't bring us closer to any ideal of freedom and initiative. It makes us all into automatons. It promotes our passivity. It lets the muscles of our bodies and our minds weaken from disuse. When we watch t.v. we are controlled by whatever "Madison Avenue" has control of our respective part of the world. T.V. should be enjoyed like a glass of wine. Relaxing (sometimes), but not the basis of our lives. After an 8-month sanctuary in my quiet home, the powers that be made me an offer I couldn't resist. So t.v. is back in my home, but differently now. Have you ever thought of taking an eductional vacation from t.v. It's a respite that may change your life, and the lives of your children. March 29 2003 It's sad to refer you to the headline article from the NYTimes on the Web regarding the deaths of 4 US soldiers killed by a suicide bomber. It's noteworthy that civil affairs officer for the First Brigade is quoted as saying "I don't know what motivated this guy to kill himself." The fuller quote is "I don't know what motivated this guy to kill himself. To me this is not an act of war, it's terrorism -- a man in a civilian vehicle killing himself at a checkpoint." Terrorism it definitely is. Motivation? Maybe someone told him to do it, or else. Maybe the threat was do it and we'll compensate your family well.. or else. Saddam Hussein is well-reputed (or rather ill-reputed) for paying large sums to Palestinian suicide bombing families. If his reputation is true, then he has a well-oiled system in place that just needed to be replicated on the local server. One could say the motivation is patriotic. Perhaps fanatic love of the Baath Party. Perhaps the bomber lost someone he loved among the recent Iraqi losses. Perhaps he was drugged and influenced under hypnosis. Perhaps he was looking forward to death anyway. I forgot how many virgins are promised to suicide bombers once they become martyrs. More than anyone of any religion could legally marry or economically afford here on earth, that's for sure. I don't know if the civil affairs officer should spend much time on contemplating what was the motivation of the Iraqi to kill himself. In truth, his "suicide" is incidental. He succeeded in killing 4 American soldiers and that is in an effort to demoralize and slow the Allied effort in the war. In Israel, the people behind the suicide would be sought out and the home of the bomber would be demolished. The second type of action has received hard criticism sometimes in the world press and among various leaders. But from this point on, the American's will probably begin to feel some frustration at the fact that they might not have the information they need to do the same. Not that such information will ever stop completely suicide bombings. But it bring you to the point that some day, when it's all over, you can look back and say: "If not for that, it would have been much worse". Interested in reading about what's going on in Iraq from one Iraqi's point of view . Try http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/ or the mirror site at http://dearraed.blogspot.com March 24 2003 Not much light news in the world today... but if you are on the look-out for it, here's a linguistic advancement of which even you may not even had the imagination to dream. In general it seems that humans don't understand each other very well. But credit where credit is due, humans are trying to understand not only other humans, but also, we know, the reknowned intelligent porpoises, whispered-to horses, etc. Finally man's best friend will become, if claims are true, vocally more intelligible. Read about this new Japanese innovation in the article Dog Lovers to Decide if Bark Is Worth the Bite . The truth is, I have always felt that dogs had tons to say. Our dog, Jimmy (known also to the neighborhood as "Jimmy Carter", although we never called him that), could be communicated to with thoughts. He would run home if I just thought about giving him something extra special to eat. This was very convenient for a workaholic mom who didn't have too much time to walk Jimmy. Got me to work reasonably on time. And Jimmy held the eyes that sympathized with me for the disappointments caused by other human beings even before I developed the elephant skin of cynisism that would protect me later. We commisserated together with thin sliced surgically peeled from large wedges of swiss cheese. Jimmy would magically appear as soon as the first incision was performed, sending the aroma wafting to his sensitive nostrils. Together we sat, a paper-thin slice for Jimmy, an equal slither for me. Only now I realize how my budget and his participation saved me from becoming twice as fat! I certainly hope that his demise at the age of 13 human years from cancer, wasn't do to the excess of fatty cheese I indulged us both in. If I had it all to do again today, I certainly wouldn't indulge either of us. I wish I had been more in tune to Jimmy's health, but by the time his condition was understood and surgery was ordered and the ether administered, the doctor had nothing to do but to determine that the disease had already involved too many tissues. Surgery or any other treatment could no longer help. Perhaps I should have interpreted Jimmy's first howl, which I will never forget (there were only two) as a call for medical attention. Instead, I theorized that perhaps he missed my daughter, serving in the army at the time. Jimmy was very loved and I wrote about him at least two poems I can remember, and hopefully I will find them one day and share them with those of you who know what it is to love and appreciate an animal. Perhaps the Japanese Device which can only categorize 6 emotional states today, will someday be further developed to allow dogs to write poems about us and to give us all the advice and understanding wisdom about the human situation which today they only seem to convey with their eyes. We humans certainly need all the help we can get. March 19 2003 If you are over 35 you'll be wanting to read this article about the problems of being employed and what some people have tried to do about it: As Layoffs Rise, So Do Age-Discrimination Charges. (Remember, for NYTimes Articles, you'll need to register ONCE. It's well worth your while!) Here's an older article that the NYTimes will charge you for if you want to read more that the abstract, but the title and abstract may be enlightening (or validating) enough - Suit Says Woolworth Fired Old Workers to Build Young Image . The brighter side of the employment picture for older people is reported in Retired, but Still on the Job. If layoffs and job reductions news interests you - see this list of recent NYTimes articles. Theodore Nesmith thinks he has found an answer to unemployment in doing something that has fallen from popularity and he's trying to pass this philosophy and his skills on to the younger generation. See Nobody's Waiting to Take Their Places. About the lowering value of their financial resosurces of people who "live too long" and how it affects their lives (in nice places they chose for living, like Arizona) see How Green Is Their Valley? Less Green Than It Was. IIf you think you still have something to learn about handling your finances in retirement (and before) you might want to take a look at the book If one of your worries is about your financial future as a retired person, you may want to try: Essential Finance: Managing Money in Retirement This book offers a not overly wordy approach to Retirement Options and handling your money in your golden years. Another book about resource-handling is Retirement on a Shoestring. The inspiring story of a social worker and a teacher who
took their futures (and those of many others) into their hands and created,
not automatically, but through a process of years and involving many people
and partners in a very complicated process, a near perfect retirement community,
moderately priced and guaranteeing life-long housing and medical care
to it's residents, in a addition to a near perfect environment for
life-long personal development. See
A Pair's Persistance Pays Off. Please take a look at the "You're not getting older, you're
getting better" Bookstore
March 14, 2003
February 20, 2003 -
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