Reading Rainbow comes to the end of its 26-year run on Friday; it has won more than two-dozen Emmys, and is the third longest-running children's show in PBS history — outlasted only by Sesame Street and Mister Rogers.
Noooooooooooooo! :(
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.
At the risk of belaboring the obvious, if a murderer isn't going to obey a law against murder, then he isn't going to obey a law against possessing a gun. There is no better place for a murderer to do his dirty deed than in a place that he is sure is a gun-free zone. After all, compare the number of murders in public schools to those that are committed at gun shows.
I think the description of this clip says it all: "The best 90 second explanation of the differences between government and private enterprise that you will ever hear!"
The more cunning opponents of liberty will say that we have given the free market a chance to work and it has failed... However, any lucid analysis of the difficulties that we find ourselves in now can indisputably be traced to the aspects of our society that prevent free markets. Bad mortgage loans were made because government committed the fraud of monetary inflation combined with the theft of guaranteeing loans with taxpayer money. The skyrocketing cost of health care is a result of government committing the theft of taking money from one individual and using it to buy health care for another, suspending the natural law of supply and demand with artificial demand.
Doubtless, when most Americans hear the words "free market," they picture the CEO’s of Detroit automakers flying in on corporate jets or Wall Street financiers busy mastering the universe. This mischaracterization of the free market is ironic, seeing as both of these groups have recently sought and obtained capital from people who were not free to refuse (taxpayers).
Often, liberal Christians condemn fundamentalists for not being “Christlike”—whatever that means. Presumably it means not loving or tolerant enough. What it really means is that, of course, the liberal Christians and fundamentalists alike are cherry-picking the bits they like out of their Bibles.
Okay, the blog post I'm linking to is rather harsh, but it makes a good point -- the Bible is not just filled with fluffy bunnies and clouds made of candy, nor is every depiction of Jesus a flattering or peaceful one. I think the scripture Alex quotes is VERY interesting, and at least worth being aware of -- a lot of people (wrongly) think of Jesus as only speaking words of golden goodness and harmony, when that clearly is not the case.
That said, I see nothing wrong with cherry-picking from your own religion as long as you do so HONESTLY and without hypocrisy. For example, in my own tradition (Buddhism), there are Mahayana sutras which downplay or outright insult the spiritual potential of women -- "may you be reborn as a man so you can become enlightened someday", etc.
These kinds of unfortunate things remind us that no religion grows in a vacuum, and that every religion is shaped by cultures it comes in contact with. Thus I think it's quite acceptable to cherry-pick around those less-than-ideal parts, while keeping in mind the core compassionate values of whatever we practice. What's wrong with picking out the good things Jesus said, and leaving the things we don't agree with? Nothing, so long as we are honest and aware.
[This is part of my occasional Blogging By the Numbers series.]
Mark 3:28-30: “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven all their sins and all the blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin.
Matthew 12:30-32:…But the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
Really anything else can be forgiven in some form. Once you have denied the Holy Spirit though, you are fucked. Game over. You are 100% for a fact going to Hell... Even if you have “saved” an atheist and converted them to Christianity, aren’t they still damned? It seems to me once anybody declares themself an atheist they deny God’s existence. It’s a waste of time, because once somebody has commited the “eternal sin” there is no going back.
A reader sent in links to two identical Microsoft marketing sites. One
is a standard U.S./English version, the other
The image is identical, except Microsoft has removed the head of the black man in the U.S. version and photoshopped in a white guy’s head instead.
The list below currently includes items containing High Fructose Corn Syrup from the following fast food restaurants: Arby's, Blimpie, Burger King, Chick-fil-a, Dairy Queen, Jack in the Box, KFC, McDonald's, Subway, Taco Bell, and Whataburger.
Remember, while Subway has "fresh" sandwiches loaded with veggies, those veggies are put on bread containing HFCS. Though this list may be incomplete or some items may no longer have HFCS in them these days, I think the point is this -- if you're going to eat out, even at a "healthier" place like Subway or Blimpie, you should assume that you're getting some HFCS with every bite.
Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.HFCS has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods such as breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS, but teens and other high consumers can take in 80% more HFCS than average.
HFCS is scary stuff, people. When I came back to the USA after living in China for 2 years, if I had a Coke or anything with lots of HFCS in it, I would get stomach pains. China uses mostly real sugar, so my body was no longer used to HFCS, and it was now reminding me just how bad that stuff can be! Even without mercury, this crap can't be good for you.
Know all things to be like this:
A mirage, a cloud castle,
A dream, an apparition,
Without essence, but with qualities that can be seen.
Know all things to be like this:
As a magician makes illusions
Of horses, oxen, carts and other things,
Nothing is as it appears.
~ From the Samadhirajasutra
Always recognize the dreamlike qualities of life and reduce attachment and aversion. Practice good-heartedness toward all beings. Be loving and compassionate, no matter what others do to you. What they will do will not matter so much when you see it as a dream. The trick is to have positive intention during the dream. This is the essential point. This is true spirituality.
~ Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, Life in Relation to Death
I think it’s unfortunate that Flickr would embark upon yet another act of censorship when an image was so clearly parody and fair use. What bothers me even more is that this is still another example of Flickr censoring users who are critical of President Obama and his policies. In June Flickr deleted the entire account and photostream of Flickr user Shepherd Johnson after he posted comments critical of the President on the Official White House Photostream. Now I’m actually a Democrat who voted for President Obama and am super happy to see the President using Flickr. But while Flickr’s staff is obviously proud of the fact that they have President Obama’s official photostream on Flickr, I don’t think that this fact ought to be the impetuous for them to censor and delete users who are critical of the President.
This kind of boneheaded censorship really smacks of hypocrisy and a kind of paranoia reminiscent of the Chinese government. There have been TONS of similar mocking images of President Bush -- did Flickr take THOSE down because of "copyright infringement"? I'm curious to know if that ever happened. Regardless, this is an idiotic move by Flickr and Yahoo.
It's a shame I recently re-upped my annual membership with Flickr. I believe it is time to seriously rethink in whose hands I put my content. Even if Flickr never censored one of my own photos, the fact that they have repeatedly pulled this kind of crap is enough to make me want to get my stuff off there and stop giving them extra exposure or traffic by way of my content. And I certainly won't be sticking around to renew my Flickr account next year, that's for sure.
Ramadan commemorates the month in which the Qur'an, the word of God (or Allah), was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad... Fasting during Ramadan means more than abstaining from food and drink. During Ramadan, one must also avoid sexual activity, arguing, gossip, expressions of anger and envy. The purpose of these restrictions is to encourage self-discipline and devotion to prayer, elevating attunement with the divine.
This is a very well-written, short & sweet overview of what Ramadan is all about and how it is observed. Though I am not a Muslim, I do have great respect for Islam and the Qur'an, and feel that a month-long fast like Ramadan is perhaps one of the most noble practices you will find in any religion.
What need is there to say more?
The childish work for their own benefit,
The buddhas work for the benefit of others.
Just look at the difference between them.
If I do not exchange my happiness
For the suffering of others,
I shall not attain the state of buddhahood
And even in samsara I shall have no real joy.
~ Shantideva, Bodhicaryavatara (tr. Stephen Batchelor, pp. 120-21)
BEIJING, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- A star-studded television fundraiser on the Chinese mainland raised more than 310 million yuan (about 45 million U.S. dollars) for victims of Taiwan's deadliest typhoon in half a century.
I'm rather proud to see a fundraiser work on this scale in China. I know that fundraising and social outreach are still rather new for the Chinese, especially given the fact that only recently are families discovering disposable income that allows them to be generous.
In summer 1969, UNIX was born. And thank the geeky gods for THAT! If not for UNIX, there'd be no Linux. And if not for the two of them, a lot of geeks like myself would be stuck using mediocre crap like Windows -- not to mention that a lot of outdated hardware would be useless, because Microsoft can't optimize their code!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNIX!
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"When you are willing to indenture your energy, your time, and your money in order to have something you hope will bring you qualities that cannot be bought to start with -- peace, contentment, love -- then you're basically making a deal with the devil... When you trade years of your life, and thousands of dollars of your income, for items incapable of satisfying your soul, then you have a major problem. And the irony is this: your enjoyment of those items is usually offset by the worry, fear, and anxiety that lingers around them."
~ Bishop T.D. Jakes, Repositioning Yourself
This is frickin' hilarious. Especially the part that starts around 30 seconds in, haha...
A striking quote from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, by Sogyal Rinpoche (p. 9):Sometimes I think that the most affluent and powerful countries of the developed world are like the realm of the gods described in the Buddhist teachings. The gods are said to live lives of fabulous luxury, reveling in every conceivable pleasure, without a thought for the spiritual dimension of life. All seems to go well until death draws near... Then the gods' wives and lovers no longer dare approach them, but throw flowers to them from a distance, with casual prayers that they be reborn again as gods. None of their memories of happiness or comfort can shelter them now from the suffering they face; they only make it more savage. So the dying gods are left to die alone in misery.
Sometimes I think that the greatest achievement of modern culture is its brilliant selling of samsara [impermanent life filled with suffering and change] and its barren distractions. Modern society seems to me a celebration of all the things that lead away from the truth, make truth hard to live for, and discourage people from even believing that it exists. And to think that all this springs from a civilization that claims to adore life, but actually starves it of any real meaning; that endlessly speaks of making people "happy," but in fact blocks their way to the source of real joy. (p. 20)
The fellow who passed this on to me and my colleagues at work remarked, "if this doesn't make you want to work harder to pay more taxes, I don't know what will." Indeed!
America, this is yet another fine example of how we have "reduced government spending." Of course, while the Obama administration is dicking around with this healthcare fiasco, pork like this goes unmentioned and untouched.Vietnamese Internet users began reporting that Catholic websites were being blocked by the government following a number of Catholic protests within the country.
INFP - The "Dreamer"INFPs are introspective, private, creative and highly idealistic individuals that have a constant desire to be on a meaningful path. They are driven by their values and seek peace. Empathetic and compassionate, they want to help others and humanity as a whole.
I've taken personality tests multiple times over the years, and I always get INFP (Introversion, iNtuition, Feeling, Perception) as my result. If you want to know who Thomas is, this page outlines a lot of things I really think describe my personality very well -- especially my recurring Lancelot complex. ;)
Google recently pushed their search ads left to make more money from search results. Push the ads back to the right with this script.
I've been playing with Bing for the last few weeks, so I haven't even use Google search enough to notice this recent change. I understand why Google pushed the ads more to the center of the page, but I do think it's really wasteful in terms of screen real estate -- and it just doesn't strike me as being a very creative way to make more money. But hey, what do I know? Their profits may double next quarter as a result of this "shift."
Anywho... If you use Firefox and Greasemonkey (or another browser that supports user scripts, like Opera), you can push those punk ads back over to the side, where they belong.
