Lost

From one of the writers:
First …The Island:
It was real. Everything that happened on the island that we saw throughout the 6 seasons was real. Forget the final image of the plane crash, it was put in purposely to f*&k with people’s heads and show how far the show had come. They really crashed. They really survived. They really discovered Dharma and the Others. The Island keeps the balance of good and evil in the world. It always has and always will perform that role. And the Island will always need a “Protector”. Jacob wasn’t the first, Hurley won’t be the last. However, Jacob had to deal with a malevolent force (MIB) that his mother, nor Hurley had to deal with. He created the devil and had to find a way to kill him — even though the rules prevented him from actually doing so.
Thus began Jacob’s plan to bring candidates to the Island to do the one thing he couldn’t do. Kill the MIB. He had a huge list of candidates that spanned generations. Yet everytime he brought people there, the MIB corrupted them and caused them to kill one another. That was until Richard came along and helped Jacob understand that if he didn’t take a more active role, then his plan would never work.

Enter Dharma — which I’m not sure why John is having such a hard time grasping. Dharma, like the countless scores of people that were brought to the island before, were brought there by Jacob as part of his plan to kill the MIB. However, the MIB was aware of this plan and interferred by “corrupting” Ben. Making Ben believe he was doing the work of Jacob when in reality he was doing the work of the MIB. This carried over into all of Ben’s “off-island” activities. He was the leader. He spoke for Jacob as far as they were concerned. So the “Others” killed Dharma and later were actively trying to kill Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley and all the candidates because that’s what the MIB wanted. And what he couldn’t do for himself.

Dharma was originally brought in to be good. But was turned bad by MIB’s corruption and eventually destroyed by his pawn Ben. Now, was Dharma only brought there to help Jack and the other Canditates on their overall quest to kill Smokey? Or did Jacob have another list of Canidates from the Dharma group that we were never aware of? That’s a question that is purposley not answered because whatever answer the writers came up with would be worse than the one you come up with for yourself. Still … Dharma’s purpose is not “pointless” or even vague. Hell, it’s pretty blantent.
Still, despite his grand plan, Jacob wanted to give his “candidates” (our Lostaways) the one thing he, nor his brother, were ever afforded: free will. Hence him bringing a host of “candidates” through the decades and letting them “choose” which one would actually do the job in the end. Maybe he knew Jack would be the one to kill Flocke and that Hurley would be the protector in the end. Maybe he didn’t. But that was always the key question of the show: Fate vs Free-will. Science vs Faith. Personally I think Jacob knew from the beginning what was going to happen and that everyone played a part over 6 seasons in helping Jack get to the point where he needed to be to kill Smokey and make Hurley the protector — I know that’s how a lot of the writers viewed it. But again, they won’t answer that (nor should they) because that ruins the fun.

In the end, Jack got to do what he always wanted to do from the very first episode of the show: Save his fellow Lostaways. He got Kate and Sawyer off the island and he gave Hurley the purpose in life he’d always been missing. And, in Sideways world (which we’ll get to next) he in fact saved everyone by helping them all move on …

Now…Sideways World:
Sideways world is where it gets really cool in terms of theology and metaphysical discussion (for me at least — because I love history/religion theories and loved all the talks in the writer’s room about it). Basically what the show is proposing is that we’re all linked to certain people during our lives. Call them soulmates (though it’s not exactly the best word). But these people we’re linked to are with us duing “the most important moments of our lives” as Christian said. These are the people we move through the universe with from lifetime to lifetime. It’s loosely based in Hinduisim with large doses of western religion thrown into the mix.

The conceit that the writers created, basing it off these religious philosophies, was that as a group, the Lostaways subconsciously created this “sideways” world where they exist in purgatory until they are “awakened” and find one another. Once they all find one another, they can then move on and move forward. In essence, this is the show’s concept of the afterlife. According to the show, everyone creates their own “Sideways” purgatory with their “soulmates” throughout their lives and exist there until they all move on together. That’s a beautiful notion. Even if you aren’t religious or even spirtual, the idea that we live AND die together is deeply profound and moving.

It’s a really cool and spirtual concept that fits the whole tone and subtext the show has had from the beginning. These people were SUPPOSED to be together on that plane. They were supposed to live through these events — not JUST because of Jacob. But because that’s what the universe or God (depending on how religious you wish to get) wanted to happen. The show was always about science vs faith — and it ultimately came down on the side of faith. It answered THE core question of the series. The one question that has been at the root of every island mystery, every character backstory, every plot twist. That, by itself, is quite an accomplishment.

How much you want to extrapolate from that is up to you as the viewer. Think about season 1 when we first found the Hatch. Everyone thought that’s THE answer! Whatever is down there is the answer! Then, as we discovered it was just one station of many. One link in a very long chain that kept revealing more, and more of a larger mosiac.
But the writer’s took it even further this season by contrasting this Sideways “purgatory” with the Island itself. Remember when Michael appeared to Hurley, he said he was not allowed to leave the Island. Just like the MIB. He wasn’t allowed into this sideways world and thus, was not afforded the opportunity to move on. Why? Because he had proven himself to be unworthy with his actions on the Island. He failed the test. The others, passed. They made it into Sideways world when they died — some before Jack, some years later. In Hurley’s case, maybe centuries later. They exist in this sideways world until they are “awakened” and they can only move on TOGETHER because they are linked. They are destined to be together for eternity. That was their destiny.

They were NOT linked to Anna Lucia, Daniel, Roussou, Alex, Miles, Lupidis, (and all the rest who weren’t in the chuch — basically everyone who wasn’t in season 1). Yet those people exist in Sideways world. Why? Well again, here’s where they leave it up to you to decide. The way I like to think about it, is that those people who were left behind in Sideways world have to find their own soulmates before they can wake up. It’s possible that those links aren’t people from the island but from their other life (Anna’s parnter, the guy she shot — Roussou’s husband, etc etc).
A lot of people have been talking about Ben and why he didn’t go into the Church. And if you think of Sideways world in this way, then it gives you the answer to that very question. Ben can’t move on yet because he hasn’t connected with the people he needs to. It’s going to be his job to awaken Roussou, Alex, Anna Lucia (maybe), Ethan, Goodspeed, his father and the rest. He has to attone for his sins more than he did by being Hurley’s number two. He has to do what Hurley and Desmond did for our Lostaways with his own people. He has to help them connect. And he can only move on when all the links in his chain are ready to. Same can be said for Faraday, Charlotte, Whidmore, Hawkins etc. It’s really a neat, and cool concept. At least to me.
But, from a more “behind the scenes” note: the reason Ben’s not in the church, and the reason no one is in the church but for Season 1 people is because they wrote the ending to the show after writing the pilot. And never changed it. The writers always said (and many didn’t believe them) that they knew their ending from the very first episode. I applaud them for that. It’s pretty fantastic. Originally Ben was supposed to have a 3 episode arc and be done. But he became a big part of the show. They could have easily changed their ending and put him in the church — but instead they problem solved it. Gave him a BRILLIANT moment with Locke outside the church … and then that was it. I loved that. For those that wonder — the original ending started the moment Jack walked into the church and touches the casket to Jack closing his eyes as the other plane flies away.
That was always JJ’s ending. And they kept it.

For me the ending of this show means a lot. Not only because I worked on it, but because as a writer it inspired me in a way the medium had never done before. I’ve been inspired to write by great films. Maybe too many to count. And there have been amazing TV shows that I’ve loved (X-Files, 24, Sopranos, countless 1/2 hour shows). But none did what LOST did for me. None showed me that you could take huge risks (writing a show about faith for network TV) and stick to your creative guns and STILL please the audience. I learned a lot from the show as a writer. I learned even more from being around the incredible writers, producers, PAs, interns and everyone else who slaved on the show for 6 years.

In the end, for me, LOST was a touchstone show that dealt with faith, the afterlife, and all these big, spirtual questions that most shows don’t touch. And to me, they never once waivered from their core story — even with all the sci-fi elements they mixed in. To walk that long and daunting of a creative tightrope and survive is simply astounding. –

Anti-Gay Activist George Rekers Accused Of Gay Tryst

Mall Food Court , Bangkok

Quick IQ Test

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

Wrong answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant and close the refrigerator. Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your actions.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?

Correct Answer: The elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. This tests your memory. OK, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross. But it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You swim across. All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

According to Andersen Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong. But many preschoolers got several correct answers. Andersen Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four-year-old.

Mark Bittman: What's wrong with what we eat?

'Red Shirt' protesters swarm Bangkok

Sunday in Lumpini Park, Bangkok - 3

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The Streets of Bangkok 2

The streets of Bangkok

Taking a ride on the BTS - Bangkok

The Detox Experience - Bangkok

Walking around the Platinum Mall, Bangkok

Ani Phyo on Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods, Andrew Zimmern

Sunday in Lumpini Park - Bangkok

Don Corleone on John Edwards

Obama: 100 lies ... and counting

BODY DETOX

Joel Osteen - softer response doesn't seem sincere?

Bill Maher - "This is what I believe." Yeah, you believe it, and I'm going to say why it's dumb.

Real Time Religion Montage

Bill Maher lays waste to Religion

The Reason For Everything And The Purpose Of Life - Bill Maher On Rick Warren

RAW FOOD DIET RECIPES ~ SUPER GREEN JUICE PROTEIN SHAKE!!

CHICAGO - "I CAN'T LET GO" (2009 NEW SINGLE!!)

Dusty Rhodes vs Kevin Sullivan-Texas Bullrope Match

The Top Ten Moves of Jack Brisco - RIP

BOBBY LASHLEY vs. WES SIMS - Fight Video Strikeforce Miami

WOW

TransAtlantic Cruise - Princess was UNORGANIZAED

The Theory of Bubbles

Tech Bubble
Real Estate Bubble
Gold Bubble
Terrorist Bubble
Fear Bubble
Bubble Bubble
Mr. Bubble
Tiny Bubbles

Q.E.D.

The Expendables - Trailer (HQ)

Jimbo's

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Kevin Sullivan and the Purple Haze P1

Ric Flair attacks and Bloodied Hulk Hogan at Australian Press Conference

The Truth

6 Truths of Life

1. You cannot touch all your top teeth with your tongue.














2. All idiots, after reading the first truth, will try it.




3. And discover that the first truth is a lie and feel superior because they can do it.



4. You're smiling now because you're an idiot.



5. You soon will forward this to another idiot.



6. There's still a stupid smile on your face.

NEVER TRUST THE GOVERNMENT TO DO THINGS RIGHT!

The U.S. Post Service was established in 1775 - they've had 234 years to get it right; it is broke, and even though heavily subsidized, it can't compete with private sector FedExp and UPS services.

Social Security was established in 1935 - they've had 74 years to get it right; it is broke.

Fannie Mae was established in 1938 - they've had 71 years to get it right; it is broke. Freddie Mac was established in 1970 - they've had 39 years to get it right; it is broke. Together Fannie and Freddie have now led the entire world into the worst economic collapse in 80 years.

The War on Poverty was started in 1964 - they've had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our hard earned money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor"; it hasn't worked.

Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 - they've had 44 years to get it right; they are both broke; and now our government dares to mention them as models for all US health care.

AMTRAK was established in 1970 - they've had 39 years to get it right; last year they bailed it out as it continues to run at a loss!

This year, a trillion dollars was committed in the massive political payoff called the Stimulus Bill of 2009; it shows NO sign of working; it's been used to increase the size of governments across America, and raise government salaries while the rest of us suffer from economic hardships. It has yet to create a single new private sector job. Our national debt projections (approaching $10 trillion) have increased 400% in the last six months.

"Cash for Clunkers" was established in 2009 and went broke in 2009 - - after 60% of the cars purchased turned out to be produced by foreign companies, and dealers nationwide are buried under bureaucratic paperwork demanded by a government that is not yet paying them what was promised.

So with a perfect 100% failure rate and a record that proves that each and every "service" shoved down our throats by an over-reaching government turns into disaster, how could any informed American trust our government to run or even set policies for America's health care system - - 17% of our economy?

Maybe each of us has a personal responsibility to let others in on this brilliant record before 2010, and then help remove from office those who are voting to destroy capitalism and destroy our grandchildren's future.

Glenn Beck - Fox News is kicking Ass

Big Beck: Goes over 3 million viewers, beats O’Reilly in demo: Cable News Ratings for Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Posted on 27 August 2009 by Robert Seidman

Though a little scandal might alienate advertisers, it’s pure ratings gold. Last night Glenn Beck had over 3 million viewers at 5pm, second only to O’Reilly for the night. But, Beck had more 25-54 viewers than O’Reilly (888K to 876K). I don’t watch or really even care about the cable news wars, but still…wow. Even though Beck airs before primetime, when there are fewer people watching TV, he had the most 25-54 viewers in the cable news world for the night.

Live + Same Day Cable News Daily Ratings for August 26, 2009

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 1,374,000 viewers
CNN – 711,000 viewers
MSNBC –506,000 viewers
CNBC – 217,000 viewers
HLN – 300,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 2,667,000viewers
CNN— 1,187,000 viewers
MSNBC –984,000 viewers
CNBC – 241,000 viewers
HLN – 606,000viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC –395,000 viewers
CNN –204,000 viewers
MSNBC –161,000 viewers
CNBC – 72,000 viewers
HLN- 139,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 736,000 viewers
CNN – 321,000 viewers
MSNBC –318,000 viewers
CNBC – 113,000 viewers
HLN – 204,000 viewers

35-64 Total Day
FNC – 650,000 viewers
CNN – 329,000 viewers
MSNBC – 257,000 viewers
CNBC – 105,000 viewers
HLN – 176,000 viewers

35-64 Prime Time
FNC –1,205,000 viewers
CNN – 516,000 viewers
MSNBC –488,000 viewers
CNBC –124,000 viewers
HLN –298,000 viewers

Morning programs (6:00AM-9:00AM) P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
FOX & Friends- 989,000 viewers (390,000) (652,000)
American Morning- 460,000 viewers (210,000) (309,000)
Morning Joe-465,000 viewers (201,000) (285,000)
Squawk Box- 157,000 viewers (55,000) (86,000)
Morning Express w/ Meade- 228,000 viewers (181,000) (212,000)

5PM – P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
Glenn Beck– 3,040,000 viewers (888,000) (1,385,000)
Situation Room—688,000 viewers (141,000) (271,000)
Hardball w/ Chris Matthews—536,000 viewers (139,000) (217,000)
Fast Money—215,000 viewers (55,000) (80,000)
Prime News–267,000 viewers (97,000) (109,000)

6PM – P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
Special Report with Bret Baier– 2,067,000 viewers (463,000) (881,000)
Situation Room—739,000 viewers (155,000) (317,000)
Ed Show—541,000 viewers (211,000) (262,000)
Mad Money—186,000 viewers (73,000) (114,000)
Prime News — 259,000 viewers (94,000) (139,000)

7PM – P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
Fox Report w/Shep Smith–1,590,000 viewers (454,000) (729,000)
Teddy: In His Own Words—1,104,000 viewers (293,000) (547,000)
Hardball w Chris Matthews—778,000 viewers (265,000) (380,000)
Kudlow Report —a scratch w/112,000 viewers (a scratch w/42,000) (54,000)
Issues– 403,000 viewers (124,000) (217,000)

8PM – P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
The O’Reilly Factor– 3,303,000 viewers (876,000) (1,468,000)
Teddy: In His Own Words- 1,104,000 viewers (293,000) (547,000)
Countdown w/ K. Olbermann– 1,091,000 viewers (320,000) (504,000)
Secrets of the Knight – 181,000 viewers (68,000) (95,000)
Nancy Grace – 757,000 viewers (239,000) (315,000)

9 PM – P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
Hannity –2,592,000 viewers (752,000) (1,158,000)
Larry King Live—1,182,000 viewers (299,000) (473,000)
Hardball w Chris Matthews—1123,000 viewers (381,000) (583,000)
American Greed – 242,000 viewers (108,000) (124,000)
Issues- 567,000 viewers (191,000) (311,000)

10 PM P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
On The Record w/ Greta Van Susteren—2,104,000 viewers (577,000) (985,000)
Anderson Cooper 360—1,137,000 viewers (332,000) (470,000)
Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann— 737,000 viewers (253,000) (378,000)
American Greed — 301,000 viewers (163,000) (153,000)
Nancy Grace –518,000 viewers (194,000) (278,000)

11 PM P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
The O’Reilly Factor —1,651,000 viewers (514,000) (822,000)
Anderson Cooper 360 —615,000 viewers (228,000) (299,000)
Headliners and Legends—658,000 viewers (235,000) (359,000)
Mad Money – a scratch w/101,000 viewers (66,000) (53,000)
Showbiz Tonight– 377,000 viewers (212,000) (249,000)

Health Care reform in Washington D.C.

The end of the USA?

I shouted out, who killed the Kennedy's

.....and after all, it was you & me!

It wasn't the Nazi's, or the Communists, or the Muslim extremists, or the Cold War, or the Korean mad dictator....or the Cuban trouble maker......it was us!

We let our government get fat and bloated......we our out of control......

We gave everyone a credit card and said CHARGE!!!!

http://www.usdebtclock.org

Gleason Obituary

Johnny Carson makes rare (last) TV appearance.....goosebumps !

WTVJ Katie Couric 163rd Street Mall 1984

The Skipper Chuck Show

One of the saddest days of my life......

Jimmy Bedford passed away this week. Jimmy was very important to me and helped provide me comfort, joy, wisdom, and some of the best memories that I will always cherish! A man that was dedicated to perfection and truth!

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/obituaries/story/1178034.html?storylink=pd

Obama Budget Cuts Visualization

Tech evolution will eclipse the financial crisis

The Assholes always win!

The American Medical Association has weighed in on the new health care plan being developed by the Obama Team. The Allergists voted to scratch it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves. 

The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve. 

The Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception. 

Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted. 

Pathologists yelled, "Over my dead body!" while the Pediatricians said, 'Oh, grow up!' 

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it. 

Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing. The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow, and the Plastic Surgeons said, "This puts a whole new face on the matter." 

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea. The Anesthesiologists thought the idea was a gas, and the Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no. 

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the assholes in Washington.

Rain

Commencement Address by Paul Hawken to the Class of 2009

University of Portland, May 3, 2009

When I was invited to give this speech, I was asked if I could give a simple short talk that was “direct, naked, taut, honest, passionate, lean, shivering, startling, and graceful.”  Boy, no pressure there.

But let’s begin with the startling part.  Hey, Class of 2009: you are going to have to figure out what it means to be a human being on earth at a time when every living system is declining, and the rate of decline is accelerating.  Kind of a mind-boggling situation… but not one peer-reviewed paper published in the last thirty years can refute that statement.  Basically, the earth needs a new operating system, you are the programmers, and we need it within a few decades.

This planet came with a set of operating instructions, but we seem to have misplaced them.  Important rules like don’t poison the water, soil, or air, and don’t let the earth get overcrowded, and don’t touch the thermostat have been broken.  Buckminster Fuller said that spaceship earth was so ingeniously designed that no one has a clue that we are on one, flying through the universe at a million miles per hour, with no need for seatbelts, lots of room in coach, and really good food, but all that is changing.

There is invisible writing on the back of the diploma you will receive, and in case you didn’t bring lemon juice to decode it, I can tell you what it says: YOU ARE BRILLIANT, AND THE EARTH IS HIRING.  The earth couldn’t afford to send any recruiters or limos to your school.  It sent you rain, sunsets, ripe cherries, night blooming jasmine, and that unbelievably cute person you are dating.  Take the hint.  And here’s the deal: Forget that this task of planet-saving is not possible in the time required.   Don’t be put off by people who know what is not possible.   Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done.

When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: If you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand data.  But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse.  What I see everywhere in the world are ordinary people willing to confront despair, power, and incalculable odds in order to restore some semblance of grace, justice, and beauty to this world.  The poet Adrienne Rich wrote, “So much has been destroyed I have cast my lot with those who, age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world.” There could be no better description.  Humanity is coalescing.  It is reconstituting the world, and the action is taking place in schoolrooms, farms, jungles, villages, campuses, companies, refugee camps, deserts, fisheries, and slums.

You join a multitude of caring people.  No one knows how many groups and organizations are working on the most salient issues of our day: climate change, poverty, deforestation, peace, water, hunger, conservation, human rights, and more.  This is the largest movement the world has ever seen.  Rather than control, it seeks connection.  Rather than dominance, it strives to disperse concentrations of power.  Like Mercy Corps, it works behind the scenes and gets the job done.  Large as it is, no one knows the true size of this movement.  It provides hope, support, and meaning to billions of people in the world.  Its clout resides in idea, not in force.  It is made up of teachers, children, peasants, businesspeople, rappers, organic farmers, nuns, artists, government workers, fisherfolk, engineers, students, incorrigible writers, weeping Muslims, concerned mothers, poets, doctors without borders, grieving Christians, street musicians, the President of the United States of America, and as the writer David James Duncan would say, the Creator, the One who loves us all in such a huge way.

There is a rabbinical teaching that says if the world is ending and the Messiah arrives, first plant a tree, and then see if the story is true.  Inspiration is not garnered from the litanies of what may befall us; it resides in humanity’s willingness to restore, redress, reform, rebuild, recover, reimagine, and reconsider.  “One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice,” is Mary Oliver’s description of moving away from the profane toward a deep sense of connectedness to the living world.

Millions of people are working on behalf of strangers, even if the evening news is usually about the death of strangers.  This kindness of strangers has religious, even mythic origins, and very specific eighteenth-century roots.  Abolitionists were the first people to create a national and global movement to defend the rights of those they did not know.  Until that time, no group had filed a grievance except on behalf of itself.  The founders of this movement were largely unknown – Granville Clark, Thomas Clarkson, Josiah Wedgwood – and their goal was ridiculous on the face of it: at that time three out of four people in the world were enslaved.  Enslaving each other was what human beings had done for ages.  And the abolitionist movement was greeted with incredulity.  Conservative spokesmen ridiculed the abolitionists as liberals, progressives, do-gooders, meddlers, and activists.  They were told they would ruin the economy and drive England into poverty.  But for the first time in history a group of people organized themselves to help people they would never know, from whom they would never receive direct or indirect benefit.  And today tens of millions of people do this every day.  It is called the world of non-profits, civil society, schools, social entrepreneurship, and non-governmental organizations, of companies who place social and environmental justice at the top of their strategic goals.  The scope and scale of this effort is unparalleled in history.

The living world is not “out there” somewhere, but in your heart.  What do we know about life? In the words of biologist Janine Benyus, life creates the conditions that are conducive to life.  I can think of no better motto for a future economy.  We have tens of thousands of abandoned homes without people and tens of thousands of abandoned people without homes.  We have failed bankers advising failed regulators on how to save failed assets.  Think about this: we are the only species on this planet without full employment.  Brilliant.  We have an economy that tells us that it is cheaper to destroy earth in real time than to renew, restore, and sustain it.  You can print money to bail out a bank but you can’t print life to bail out a planet.  At present we are stealing the future, selling it in the present, and calling it gross domestic product.  We can just as easily have an economy that is based on healing the future instead of stealing it.  We can either create assets for the future or take the assets of the future.  One is called restoration and the other exploitation.  And whenever we exploit the earth we exploit people and cause untold suffering. Working for the earth is not a way to get rich, it is a way to be rich.

The first living cell came into being nearly 40 million centuries ago, and its direct descendants are in all of our bloodstreams.  Literally you are breathing molecules this very second that were inhaled by Moses, Mother Teresa, and Bono.  We are vastly interconnected.  Our fates are inseparable.  We are here because the dream of every cell is to become two cells.  In each of you are one quadrillion cells, 90 percent of which are not human cells.  Your body is a community, and without those other microorganisms you would perish in hours.  Each human cell has 400 billion molecules conducting millions of processes between trillions of atoms.  The total cellular activity in one human body is staggering: one septillion actions at any one moment, a one with twenty-four zeros after it.  In a millisecond, our body has undergone ten times more processes than there are stars in the universe, exactly what Charles Darwin foretold when he said science would discover that each living creature was a “little universe, formed of a host of self-propagating organisms, inconceivably minute and as numerous as the stars of heaven.”

So I have two questions for you all: First, can you feel your body?  Stop for a moment.  Feel your body.  One septillion activities going on simultaneously, and your body does this so well you are free to ignore it, and wonder instead when this speech will end.  Second question: who is in charge of your body?  Who is managing those molecules?  Hopefully not a political party.  Life is creating the conditions that are conducive to life inside you, just as in all of nature.  What I want you to imagine is that collectively humanity is evincing a deep innate wisdom in coming together to heal the wounds and insults of the past.  Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years.  No one would sleep that night, of course.  The world would become religious overnight.  We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God.  Instead the stars come out every night, and we watch television.

This extraordinary time when we are globally aware of each other and the multiple dangers that threaten civilization has never happened, not in a thousand years, not in ten thousand years.  Each of us is as complex and beautiful as all the stars in the universe.  We have done great things and we have gone way off course in terms of honoring creation.  You are graduating to the most amazing, challenging, stupefying challenge ever bequested to any generation.  The generations before you failed.  They didn’t stay up all night.  They got distracted and lost sight of the fact that life is a miracle every moment of your existence. Nature beckons you to be on her side.  You couldn’t ask for a better boss.  The most unrealistic person in the world is the cynic, not the dreamer.  Hopefulness only makes sense when it doesn’t make sense to be hopeful.  This is your century.  Take it and run as if your life depends on it.

Paul Hawken, environmentalist and entrepreneur, is the author of, among much else, Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming.

The largest dead snake ever found, over 50 feet.

Chicago - Make Me Smile, Solo Jazz Guitar, Jake Reichbart

World's Shortest Fairy Tail

Once upon a time, a guy asked a girl 'Will you marry me?' The girl said, 'NO!' And the guy lived happily ever after, rode motorcycles, went fishing, hunting, played golf a lot, drank beer and scotch, had tons of money in the bank, left the toilet seat up and farted whenever he wanted. The End.

wiiウェア「マッスル行進曲」ゲーム紹介PV。

The worse is not over says Jim Rogers

Obama's Cairo Speech - Bangkok Post opinion

The power of words: understanding

By: CHAIWAT SATHA-ANAND

Published: 10/06/2009 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: News

On June 4, Barack Hussein Obama, the American President, delivered an important speech at Cairo University.

After laying the ground for his speech which included his life experience with a Muslim father from Kenya and societies in two continents - Indonesia in Asia and Chicago in North America - and the place of Muslims/Islam in American history and society, he addressed seven main issues of global significance: violent extremism, the deadly Israeli-Palestinian conflict, nuclear weapons and Iran, democracy, freedom of religion, women's rights, and economic development/opportunity.

As expected, millions of people around the globe paid due attention to this historic speech. It was reported that 200 million in India watched the speech live. An opinion poll indicated that more than 75 per cent of respondents in Muslim countries viewed it positively, while some Palestinian factions based in Syria viewed it as "an attempt to mislead people and create more illusions" to improve America's image (Bangkok Post, June 7, 2009).

President Obama's aides believed that it was a victory since he has "cleared the debris" that stands between the United States and "the Muslim world" (Bangkok Post, June 8, 2009).

There are those who were critical of his speech for different reasons. For example, while he spoke about Iran's attempt to go nuclear, he did not mention Israel's possession of more than 200 nuclear warheads. Quoting historical figures such as Sir Winston Churchill, others pointed out that it is deeds - difficult ones - that will truly change the course of history, and not mere words.

It is important to confront the tension between the power of the words spoken by President Obama and the structure of economic and militaristic power that exists in the world, from which he could hardly escape even if he so wished.

I would argue here that in the context of the Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity and especially Islam - at a time when the whole world could be profoundly connected at the speed of light through words electronically spoken, the power of words can never be underestimated.

This article begins with a brief discussion of the structural impediments to the promise of President Obama's speech. Then words' cultural power grounded in the wisdom of Abrahamic religions will be suggested.

Violence and Economic Structures

In his speech, President Obama talked about violent extremism first and economic development/opportunity last. It is as though the two issues are not related.

Numerous research has shown that in a chain of causes, a strong link can be made between poverty resulting from economic injustice and violence.

Two years ago, the British foreign minister, Margaret Beckett, spoke in Berlin warning the world that lack of water in North African countries, including Egypt, would contribute to poverty, migration, unemployment, conflict and eventually violence.

Raymond Fisman from Columbia Business School and Edward Miguel from the University of California, Berkeley, recently argued that when failing rains create economic hardship, war is likely. They found that drought and the resulting economic hardship do matter in understanding conflict in Africa. Together with other researchers, they found that an income drop of 5% increases the risk of civil conflict in the following year to nearly 30% (, Nov 29, 2008).

More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that when a deep economic recession looms large, adversely affecting airlines and aerospace companies, among other things, defence giants such as Boeing or Northrop Grumman could continue to enjoy a reliable revenue from countries which have been increasing their military might.

It is a curious fact that defence spending tends to rise at a time of economic difficulties and that some US$2.4 trillion or 4.4% of the global economy is dependent on violence (Global Peace Index, 2009). In fact, some may consider defence spending useful to shore up the economy and fend off recession. Therefore resisting violence in the Middle East, or elsewhere in the world, should also mean calling the global economic structures responsible for its sustenance and growth into question.

But it is not only the economy that constitutes the existing structure. There are also other forms of structural relationship which can make it difficult to move from such words to practice. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why, Mr Obama's intention and sincerity notwithstanding, his officials would consider measures such as withholding economic support as a way to pressure Israel to stop its settlement project "not under discussion," and that any pressure on Israel relating to this would be "largely symbolic" (The New York Times, June 1, 2009).

But then no one would say that Mr Obama's mission as outlined in his Cairo speech would be easy. Given the structure of the world, it is extremely difficult. That this mission may not be impossible depends on how the power of words works in the world, especially in the cultural context of the Abrahamic world.

The Power of Words

When President Obama spoke his words and was heard, something was shaped into being.

The people who specialise in crafting words are poets. In ancient Anglo-Saxon, the word for poet was "maker." This term, influenced by its biblical root, blends the meaning of weaving words with that of the material world. In fact, according to Bible, the "Word" and God cannot be separated. The first line of the prologue to John's Gospel in the Bible reads:

"In the beginning was the Word:

The Word was with God

And the Word was God." (I: 1)

But the power of words is nowhere clearer than in the story of Adam as told in the Qur'an. For the power He gave to the first man was the naming of things in the world. It is this power of words that set him apart from the angels and was responsible for the first Fall, that of Satan when he refused to bow to a being created from lowly clay.

The Muslims believe that there is a difference between good and bad words. The Qur'an says:

"Seest thou not how Allah sets forth a parable? A goodly Word like a goodly tree whose root is firmly fixed and its branches (reach) to the heavens,

"It brings forth its fruit at all times by the leave of its Lord. So Allah sets forth parables for men in order that they may receive admonition.

"And the parable of an evil Word is that of an evil tree. It is torn up by the root from the surface of the earth: it has no stability.

"Allah will establish in strength those who believe with the Word that stands firm in this world and in the Hereafter; but Allah will leave to stray those who do wrong: Allah doeth what He willeth."

(Surah (chapter) Ibrahim (14): 24-27).

There were several things the American President said in his Cairo speech that ring powerfully to all those who heard them. Though he said them in the context of the seven issues he chose to elaborate, I will choose to underscore only a few that I heard which directly relate to violence.

Provoked by the terror of Sept 11, 2001, the United States has acted contrary to its ideals because of fear and anger.

Both the Israelis and the Palestinians are people with painful histories, but both have legitimate aspirations.

Violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. It is a dead end.

Terror - shooting rockets at sleeping children or blowing up women in buses - signifies the surrender of moral authority.

The US is committed to seek a world in which no nation holds nuclear weapons.

Hearing President Obama's views on issues related to violence, I feel that his words are beautiful, a feature of a good tree as well as word. For these words signify extremely important shifting trends. They show the world that a country with the greatest military might knows when it has forgotten its ideals out of fear and still has the will to regain its courage to live up to them by announcing the closing date of the abomination that is Guantanamo.

They teach the world that to transform conflict, there is a need to see both conflicting parties' aspirations as equally legitimate, and therefore it is a conflict between two human communities, not between angels and demons.

They categorically remind the world that violence is a dead-end and that there exist non-violent alternatives, as events in American history and elsewhere have proven.

They insist on the importance of moral authority for everyone, state as well as non-state actors, and that it will evaporate the moment when violence is used without regard to the innocents. Then they remind the world that the fate of humanity cannot be guaranteed under the deadly shadow of nuclear weapons. This is not only about Iran or Israel or Pakistan, but also China, UK, France, India and the US itself.

In the minds of so many Muslims, and others of the Abrahamic faiths, listening to President Obama, his words like a good tree are good; whether they will remain firm, provide shade and give sustenance to those in need of a world freed from violence and its threats, depends on the ways in which the existing structures could be called into question.

But it seems that the seeds of a good tree have already been planted.

Education in America

Glenn Beck - Printing Money will create INFLATION

Huge Crash Coming

Jim Rogers - Dollar Collapse - America Bailing Out Wallstreet (Incompetents And Crooks) At The Cost of The People

2009 will be the year of Total decline for US Jim Rogers

Brohemian Rhapsody

How To Shave Your Groin - Shaving Tips From Gillette

Sometimes I feel like I have lost my mind? The world cannot get any crazier...can it?

Burton Cummings from The Guess Who - Mack The Knife LIVE

Jimmy in the 100th Episode of LOST

Jimmy Kimmel in LOST

Secrets of Lost - #1

Lost

Gun Control?

An interesting letter in the Australian Shooter Magazine this week, which I quote:   "If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theater of operations during the past 22 months, and a total of 2112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.

The firearm death rate in Washington, DC is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period (last 22 months). That means you are about 25 per cent more likely to be shot and killed in the US capital, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the US, than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion:  The US should pull out of Washington."

Clever Puns

Creative Puns for "Educated" Minds 

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi. 

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian. 

3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still. 

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption. 

5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work. 

6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.. 

7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering. 

8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum blown apart. 

9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie. 

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. 

11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it. 

12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization. 

13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.' 

14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me. 

15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.' 

16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said: 'No change yet..' 

17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion. 

18. Don't join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects! 

19. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large. 

20. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran. 

21. A backward poet writes inverse. 

22. In a democracy, it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes. 

23. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.