Godiva

Godiva Chocolates: http://www.godiva.com/welcome.aspx


Lady Godiva - Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Godiva
Godiva (or Godgifu) (c. 990? – September 10, 1067) was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in England in order to gain a remission of the oppressive toll imposed by her husband on his tenants. The name "peeping Tom" for a voyeur comes from later versions of this legend in which a man named Tom watched her ride and was struck blind


Godiva - Alfred, Lord Tennyson

I waited for the train at Coventry;
I hung with grooms and porters on the bridge,
To watch the three tall spires; and there I shaped
The city's ancient legend into this:

Not only we, the latest seed of Time,
New men, that in the flying of a wheel
Cry down the past, not only we, that prate
Of rights and wrongs, have loved the people well,
And loathed to see them overtax'd; but she
Did more, and underwent, and overcame,
The woman of a thousand summers back,
Godiva, wife to that grim Earl, who ruled
In Coventry: for when he laid a tax
Upon his town, and all the mothers brought
Their children, clamoring, "If we pay, we starve!"
She sought her lord, and found him, where he strode
About the hall, among his dogs, alone,
His beard a foot before him and his hair
A yard behind. She told him of their tears,
And pray'd him, "If they pay this tax, they starve."
Whereat he stared, replying, half-amazed,
"You would not let your little finger ache
For such as these?" -- "But I would die," said she.
He laugh'd, and swore by Peter and by Paul;
Then fillip'd at the diamond in her ear;
"Oh ay, ay, ay, you talk!" -- "Alas!" she said,
"But prove me what I would not do."
And from a heart as rough as Esau's hand,
He answer'd, "Ride you naked thro' the town,
And I repeal it;" and nodding, as in scorn,
He parted, with great strides among his dogs.

So left alone, the passions of her mind,
As winds from all the compass shift and blow,
Made war upon each other for an hour,
Till pity won. She sent a herald forth,
And bade him cry, with sound of trumpet, all
The hard condition; but that she would loose
The people: therefore, as they loved her well,
From then till noon no foot should pace the street,
No eye look down, she passing; but that all
Should keep within, door shut, and window barr'd.

Then fled she to her inmost bower, and there
Unclasp'd the wedded eagles of her belt,
The grim Earl's gift; but ever at a breath
She linger'd, looking like a summer moon
Half-dipt in cloud: anon she shook her head,
And shower'd the rippled ringlets to her knee;
Unclad herself in haste; adown the stair
Stole on; and, like a creeping sunbeam, slid
From pillar unto pillar, until she reach'd
The Gateway, there she found her palfrey trapt
In purple blazon'd with armorial gold.

Then she rode forth, clothed on with chastity:
The deep air listen'd round her as she rode,
And all the low wind hardly breathed for fear.
The little wide-mouth'd heads upon the spout
Had cunning eyes to see: the barking cur
Made her cheek flame; her palfrey's foot-fall shot
Light horrors thro' her pulses; the blind walls
Were full of chinks and holes; and overhead
Fantastic gables, crowding, stared: but she
Not less thro' all bore up, till, last, she saw
The white-flower'd elder-thicket from the field,
Gleam thro' the Gothic archway in the wall.

Then she rode back, clothed on with chastity;
And one low churl, compact of thankless earth,
The fatal byword of all years to come,
Boring a little auger-hole in fear,
Peep'd -- but his eyes, before they had their will,
Were shrivel'd into darkness in his head,
And dropt before him. So the Powers, who wait
On noble deeds, cancell'd a sense misused;
And she, that knew not, pass'd: and all at once,
With twelve great shocks of sound, the shameless noon
Was clash'd and hammer'd from a hundred towers,
One after one: but even then she gain'd
Her bower; whence reissuing, robed and crown'd,
To meet her lord, she took the tax away
And built herself an everlasting name.

Don't Stop Me Now

A student commented that I'm very "emo" in my blog.
Another modern day slang. Is 'emoing' bad?
It also seems that I'm an aunt agony for people who are have 'emo' issues.
What actually is 'emo'?
I've nothing except 'emo' to express.

Perhaps....

But hey... It's just a blog.
There's more than meets the readers eye.
;)

From now onwards, no one is going to stop me.

bliss

n.

1. Extreme happiness; ecstasy.

2. The ecstasy of salvation; spiritual joy.

Don't Stop Me Now


Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time
I feel alive and the world it's turning inside out Yeah!
I'm floating around in ecstasy
So don't stop me now don't stop me
'Cause I'm having a good time having a good time

I'm a shooting star leaping through the skies
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva
I'm gonna go go go
There's no stopping me

I'm burning through the skies Yeah!
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man of you

Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball don't stop me now
If you wanna have a good time just give me a call
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)
I don't want to stop at all

I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars
On a collision course
I am a satellite I'm out of control
I am a sex machine ready to reload
Like an atom bomb about to
Oh oh oh oh oh explode

I'm burning through the skies Yeah!
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic woman out of you

Don't stop me don't stop me don't stop me
Hey hey hey!
Don't stop me don't stop me
Ooh ooh ooh (I like it)
Don't stop me have a good time good time
Don't stop me don't stop me
Ooh ooh Alright
I'm burning through the skies Yeah!
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you

Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball don't stop me now
If you wanna have a good time
Just give me a call
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)
I don't wanna stop at all

La la la la laaaa
La la la la
La la laa laa laa laaa
La la laa la la la la la laaa hey!!....

It's still QUEEN!

Look at the many styles queen can do.
Moderndaypopcanbitetheirdust.
Can't stop listening...


Somebody to Love


Bicycle race


We are the Champions/We will Rock You



A Crazy Little Thing Called Love



The Show Must Go On



I want to break free

Beelzebub

Beelzebub in the Gospels
Ba'al-zebub, also called Beelzebub or Beelzebul is known as the 'prince of demons' in the Synoptic Gospels during the accusations of the Pharisees against Jesus.

Beelzebub and the Philistines
The name Ba'al-zebub is associated with the Philistine city of Ekron. In 2 Kings, after Moab rebelled against Israel, Ahaziah had fallen and injured himself. To find out if he'd recover from the injury he sent out messengers, telling them:

"Go and inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury." - 2 Kings 1:2

The Lord, however sent Elijah to intercept the messengers on their way to Ekron, asking them if they seek Baalzebub's advice because there is no God of Israel and instructing them to return home and inform their master that he shall not recover.

Beelzebub as Lord of the Flies
Ba'alzebub's name derives from the Canaanite "Baal" meaning "lord," and he is known as the "lord of the flies"


Beelzebub in the Testament of Solomon
In the Testament of Solomon (1st-3rd centuries CE), Solomon learns that Beelzeboul is one of the fallen angels who destroys by means of tyrants, causes demons to be worshipped, arouses desires in priests, brings about jealousies and murders, and instigates wars. The other demon he refers to as being imprisoned in the Red Sea is the one-winged demon, Abezethibou, Moses' adversary in Egypt.

Beelzebub in the Gospel of Nicodemus
According to the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus (5th century CE), after Christ's crucifixion, Satan/Beelzebub is depicted conversing with Hell about how he would now bring Christ down to Hades. While conversing, Christ frees Adam and those residing in Hades and then ascended with them into paradise.


From: http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/delirium/articleview.asp?Post=109

Bismillah

The Arabic phrase Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim is a beautifully poetic expression which offers both insight and inspiration. It has often been said that the phrase Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim contains the true essence of the entire Qur'an, as well as the true essence of all religions.

Muslims often say the phrase when embarking on any significant endeavor, and the phrase is considered by some to be a major pillar of Islam. This expression is so magnificent and so concise that all but one chapter of the Qur'an begins with the words Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim.

The common translation as:

"In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate".

fails to capture either the true depth of meaning or the inspirational message of this beautiful phrase.

From - http://wahiduddin.net/words/bismillah.htm

It's All About You

It's beyond my principles.... But hell... What the heck.
I felt good!
Hope you really like it!

It's All About You! by McFly



It's all about you (it's about you)
It's all about you baby (it's all about)
It's all about you (it's about you)
It's all about you

Verse 1:
Yesterday you asked me something I thought you knew
So I answer you with a smile, it's all about you
Then you whispered in my ear and you told me too
Said you'd make my life worthwhile, it's all about you

Chorus:
And I would answer all your wishes
If you ask me to
But if you deny me one of your kisses
Don't know what I'd do
So hold me close and say three words like you used to do
Dancing on the kitchen tiles, it's all about you, yeah!

(Guitar solo)

Chorus 2:
And I would answer all your wishes
If you ask me to
But if you deny me one of your kisses
Don't know what I'd do
So hold me close and say three words like you used to do
Dancing on the kitchen tiles
Yes you make my life worthwhile
So I told you with a smile
It's all about you

It's all about you (it's about you)
It's all about you baby (it's all about)
It's all about you (it's about you)
It's all about you baby (it's all about)

Reason

I will let you in. I want to.
Give me time.
and Patience.


Budak Pantai once again.



and the original one.

Creativity

Amelie is the epitome of creativity. ~ Ely
God is the epitome of creativity. ~ my head
There is no such thing as creativity. ~ my head
God cannot exist - Huh?

Who created Amelie/ Who created God?/ Who created creativity?
What is creativity?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity

It's a Bohemian Rhapsody of sorts.
Does this make sense?

Can you CREATE meaning?
Can you construct meaning from all of these?

Constructivists rule the education scene.
FPS, creative thinking, PBL, Inquiry based learning, Project work, Student centered learning,new scientific epistemology.

Wait a minute, what happened to critical thinking? Haven't had a workshop on this.

Workshop can teach us everything!

Even creativity can be taught!

Is there a hint of sarcasm in my words? Or do I really believe it?

Bohemian Rhapsody

There is no such thing as creativity.
Discuss.

"The really good thing about beautiful songs or wonderful works of art, is that they all ask us questions.
Questions about our lives
Questions that illuminate different aspects of the human condition."

The original that kills me each time:



and of course a cover by the ten-tenors where i got the quote from. (they still seem 'gay' to me)



Words and music by freddie mercury

Is this the real life-
Is this just fantasy-
Caught in a landslide-
No escape from reality-
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see-
Im just a poor boy,i need no sympathy-
Because Im easy come,easy go,
A little high,little low,
Anyway the wind blows,doesnt really matter to me,
To me

Mama,just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger,now hes dead,
Mama,life had just begun,
But now Ive gone and thrown it all away-
Mama ooo,
Didnt mean to make you cry-
If Im not back again this time tomorrow-
Carry on,carry on,as if nothing really matters-

Too late,my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine-
Bodys aching all the time,
Goodbye everybody-Ive got to go-
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth-
Mama ooo- (any way the wind blows)
I dont want to die,
I sometimes wish Id never been born at all-

I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche,scaramouche will you do the fandango-
Thunderbolt and lightning-very very frightening me-
Galileo,galileo,
Galileo galileo
Galileo figaro-magnifico-
But Im just a poor boy and nobody loves me-
Hes just a poor boy from a poor family-
Spare him his life from this monstrosity-
Easy come easy go-,will you let me go-
Bismillah! no-,we will not let you go-let him go-
Bismillah! we will not let you go-let him go
Bismillah! we will not let you go-let me go
Will not let you go-let me go
Will not let you go let me go
No,no,no,no,no,no,no-
Mama mia,mama mia,mama mia let me go-
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me,for me,for me-

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye-
So you think you can love me and leave me to die-
Oh baby-cant do this to me baby-
Just gotta get out-just gotta get right outta here-

Nothing really matters,
Anyone can see,
Nothing really matters-,nothing really matters to me,

Any way the wind blows....

My Blog

Why do I blog the way I blog?
- Because nothing is truly new. (Thats what I think for now)
- Many have put it forth so beautifully. Far much better than I can.
- I lack the coherence and strength.
- style
- I won't reveal myself to anyone.
- I'm just too lazy, can't even bother to think of the endless possibilities that I always create in my head.


Does it matter what goes on inside of me?
Me, Myself,I.

Is it important to know what goes on inside of me?
Me, Myself, I.

For something to be important and to matter, it requires a perceiver who judges, compares and relates to him/herself.

There can only be me, myself, I, for without me, myself, I, nothing really matters to me.

Does this make sense at all?

?!?!?!?!?!

Doesn't matter.
As long as I function for the people and situations around me.

Till we have freedom.
In fact, we already have.
So why not now but later?

Stones Taught me to Fly

It's been a long week.
Things must change.

"it's not hard to fall and I don't want to lose
it's not hard to grow when you know that you just..don't know"


Cannonball by Damien Rice



there's still a little bit of your taste
in my mouth
there's still a litle bit of you laced
with my doubt
it's still a little hard to say
..what's going on

there's still a little bit of your ghost
your weakness
there's still a little bit of your face
I haven't kissed
you step a little closer each day
and I can't say what's going on

(Chorus)
stones taught me to fly
love, it taught me to lie
life, it taught me to die
so it's not hard to fall
when you float like a cannonball

there's still a little bit of your song
in my ear
there's still a little bit of your words
I long to hear
you step a little closer to me
so close that I cant see what's going on..

and stones, taught me to fly
love, it taught me to lie
life taught me to die
so its not hard to fall
when you float like a cannon..

stones taught me to fly
love; it taught me to cry
so come on courage
teach me to be shy
cause it's not hard to fall
and i dont want to scare her
it's not hard to fall
and I dont want to lose
it's not hard to grow
when you know that you just..dont know

It's just the Weight of the World.

No matter what happens.
Don't Give Up.
You are Loved.
By Me.


You are Loved (Don't Give Up) by Josh Groban



Don't give up
It's just the weight of the world
When your heart's heavy
I will lift it for you

Don't give up
Because you want to be heard
If silence keeps you
I will break it for you

Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you

Everybody wants to be loved
Don't give up

Because you are loved

Don't give up
It's just the hurt that you hide
When you're lost inside I
I'll be there to find you

Don't give up
Because you want to burn bright
If darkness blinds you
I will shine to guide you

Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you

Everybody needs to be loved
Don't give up

Because...you are loved

Bottoms up to New Generation Softdrinks!

Be sure of what you consume!

Boy collecting bottles - Green movement?!?!?!?!?!?



Men at work - washing the bottles



Men at work washing the bottles properly. What sense of hygene!



Boys placing the bottles in the tray



Boy filling the PEPSI Soooooo... Called



Boy filling the PEPSI & checking for air bubles



Boy filling bottles with gas



Boy searching for the right caps



Wow! Mechanised bottle capping machine.



Quality checking and Success!



CHEERS!
*Clink!*

What is your...

Credo
School of thought
Philosophy
World View
Perspective
Belief
Attitude
Premise
Conviction
Preamble
Theory
Ideology?

All The Worlds a Stage

The eyes of an actor.
And the eyes of the audience.

To feel an emotion so powerful and intense, beyond the senses and experience that you weep.
Or.
To relate to the powerful and intense emotion that focuses your senses and experience to your weepings.


Do you have passions? Or are you. Passonate.

Semantics?
What do you think?

Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Everything

A Time for Everything

1. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:


2. a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3. a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4. a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5. a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6. a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7. a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8. a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.


9. What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?


10. I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
11. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
12. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
13. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift of God.
14. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
15. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past

I'm Turning

Extremely Ironic over so many layers and overtones.
The world's turning.
Eccleciastes lives!
Somethings are so obvious.
Yet why are we so ignorant and blind?

Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season) by the Byards



To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time of war, a time of peace
A time of love, a time of hate
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time of peace, I swear it's not too late!

Musing Morning

Woke up in the morning feeling restless.
Watched Brothers Grimm.
Full of potential. But was a let down.
I should read more fairy tales. What was I doing as a kid?
I know no nursery rhymes nor children's stories!

Still restless.

!@#$%^&*()(*&^^%$#@!
qwertyuiop[]asdfghjkl;'zxcvbnm,./\

A HK friend says she misses us.
Her students created a surprise webpage for her.
Are HK people so intouch with their feelings?
Don't know much about HK except for their telly influence.

So much to do.
So much to think about.

Endless.
Meaningless.

Wow! so many webpages were created!

Focused and yet drifting....
Can't make up my mind.
In control.

Volatile.

Unfocused.

Who cares?

It's not who are you inside.
It's not what you have done.
Its not what you plan to do.
But it's what you do that matters.

Rubbish.
One can only do so much.
Because when you die, it can be undone.
A legacy and idea or symbol can last.
Till another paradigm takes over.

Nothing lasts forever.

The search for meaning.
What is life about again?

Euphoria?
Eudaimonia?

looks like I've to find another one.

Bored.

Don't despair. We'll Carry on!

To those who are broken.
I share it with you.

My Chemical Romance - "Welcome to the Black Parade"

When I was a young boy,
my Father took me into the city,
to see a marching band.

He said "Son when, you grow up, will you be, the savior of the broken, the beaten and the damned."

He said "will you defeat them, your demons and all the non-believers, the plans they have made."

Because one day I'll leave you,
A phantom to lead you in the summer,
To join the black parade."


Sometimes I get the feeling she's watching over me.
And other times I feel like I should go.
Through it all, the rise and fall, the bodies in the streets.
When you're gone we want you all to know

We'll Carry on,
We'll Carry on
Though your dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
We'll carry on
And in my heart I cant contain it
The anthem wont explain it.

and we will send you reeling from decimated dreams
Your misery and hate will kill us all
So paint it black and take it back
Lets shout it loud and clear
do you fight it to the end
we hear the call to
to carry on
we'll carry on
Though your dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
we'll carry on
and though you're broken and defeated
you're wiery widow marches on
and on we carry through the fears
ooh oh ohhhh

dissapointed faces of your peers
ooh oh ohhhh
take a look at me cuz i could not care at all
do or die
you'll never make me
cos the world, will never take my heart
though you try, you'll never break me
we want it all, we wanna play this part
wont explain or say i'm sorry
im not ashamed, i'm gonna show my scar
Give a cheer for all the broken
listen here, because it's only..
i'm just a man, i'm not a hero
just a boy, whos meant to sing this song
just a man, i'm not a hero
i, don't, care

carry on
we'll carry on
Though your dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
you'll carry on
and though you're broken and defeated
you're wiery widow marches on
we'll carry on
we'll carry on

Interesting Facts

1. If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
(Hardly seems worth it)



2. If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
(Now that's more like it)



3. A pig's orgasm lasts for 30 minutes.
(In my next life I want to be a pig)
(How'd they figure this out, and why?)



4. Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
(Still can't get over that pig thing)
(Don't try this at home...maybe at work?)



5. Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
(Is that why Flipper was always smiling?)
(And pigs get 30-minute orgasms? Doesn't seem fair)



6. The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
(Hmmmmmmmmm........)



7. Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do.
(If you're ambidextrous do you split the difference?)



8. The ant can lift 50 times its own weight, can pull 30 times its own weight and always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.
(From drinking little bottles of...?)
(Who paid for this research??)



9. Polar bears are left handed.
(Who knew....? Who cares? How'd they find out, did they ask them?)



10. The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds.
(What can be so tasty on the bottom of the pond?)



11. The flea can jump 350 times its body length.
It's like a human jumping the length of a football field.



12. A cockroach will live nine days without it's head, before it starves to death.
(Creepy)



13. The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head off.
(Honey, I'm home. What the....)




14. Some lions mate over 50 times a day.
(In my next life I still want to be a pig ... quality over quantity)



15. Butterflies taste with their feet.
(Oh, Geez) (That's almost as bad as catfish)



16. An ostrich's eye is bigger than it's brain.
(I know some people like that.)



17. Starfish don't have brains.
(I know some people like that too.)

Everything Changes, but Nothing is Truely Lost

"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit"
- Ovid

The evolution of Religion - Ghandi Style

"If Christians behaved like Christ, I would be a Christian too"

"Thus if I could not accept Christianity either as a perfect, or the greatest religion, neither was I then convinced of Hinduism being such. Hindu defects were pressingly visible to me. If untouchability could be a part of Hinduism, it could but be a rotten part or an excrescence. I could not understand the raison d'etre of a multitude of sects and castes. What was the meaning of saying that the Vedas were the inspired Word of God? If they were inspired, why not also the Bible and the Koran? As Christian friends were endeavouring to convert me, so were Muslim friends. Abdullah Sheth had kept on inducing me to study Islam, and of course he had always something to say regarding its beauty." (source: his autobiography)

"As soon as we lose the moral basis, we cease to be religious. There is no such thing as religion over-riding morality. Man, for instance, cannot be untruthful, cruel or incontinent and claim to have God on his side."

"The sayings of Muhammad are a treasure of wisdom, not only for Muslims but for all of mankind."

Later in his life when he was asked whether he was a Hindu, he replied:

"Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew."

- Mohandas Ghandi

To all my Previous Teachers

This is in tribute to all my teachers. Right from primary school to university that had the unfortunate encounteer of having to teach me.
I faithfully salute all of you.
And I am deeply in debt to all of you.
Sincerest apologies and greatest regret to each and every blessed soul.
I now know how you feel.
I really do.
Even though NONE of you painfully complained.

And I NOW at last understand and emphatise what you went through.
The twisted and archane torment.
The wretching of the tortured soul.
The fury of mental anguish.
Every last drop of gut-retching sweat and sifted blood.
......
.....
....
...
..
.
That you have had to gracefully tolerate all the nonsense that I had written in my examination scripts.
But then again...

It's not that bad.
6 more classes

Who am I?

Though I'll do it just for fun.


Get to know yourself better

http://www.quizbox.com/personality/test82.aspx

Your view on yourself:
You are intelligent, honest and sweet. You are friendly to everybody and don't like conflict. Because you're so cheerful and fun people are naturally attracted to you and like to talk to you.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love:
You are very serious about relationships and aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love.

Your views on education
Education is less important than the real world out there, away from the classroom. Deep inside you want to start working, earning money and living on your own.

The right job for you:
You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

How do you view success:
You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:
You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Who is your true self:
You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

A Sophistic Virtue

"Sophists not only do not have cleared minds, what keeps their minds cluttered is predispositional endpoint inquiry: they ask the kinds of questions which presuppose specific answers, and they ask those questions in order to get the answers.
It may be the case that a questionless slave boy is beter than a questioning sophist, but given the success of the slave boy in having a clear mind, more is required from him."

Plato's Meno
Questions:
1. Can Virtue be taught?
2. Can virtue be obtained through tangible means (modeling, experience, innate unfolding)
3. Virtue through divine dispensation or luck.

Questions of teaching and learning, Theory of Recollection and Forms exist apriori.

2 conceptions of eloquence:
1. techne: discrete, particular, specialized ability or craft
2. arte: overall human excellence
--> sophists can either achieve excellence or virtue; or for money, fame, social status that comes with the perfection of their rhetorical craft.

About Sophists
Neel: sophistry focuses on language and language influences status quo notions of opinions and truth. and the status quo must engage in sophistry for public voicing of both sides of an issue to exist - a rhetorical tradition of persuasion.
Blair: sophistic education enables citizens to make decisions in a realm of contingency and competing logics.

I'm a Computer Geek!

My Masterpiece!

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 1.83GHz
Gigabyte P965-DS3
2 X 1GB Patriot DDR2 PC800
Xpertvision 7600GT DDR3 256MB
Seagate 8MB Cache SATA2 320GB
LG DVD-RW

Next Mods.
1. Casing Lights
2. 5.1 Speakers
3. Cool Casing Fans
4. Drive Bay Indicators
5. Overclock to 3GHz

I'm a computer geek.
WooooHOOOOOOOOO!

Is Teaching Easier than Rocket Science?

I think rocket science is so much easier!

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/adultlearning/Default.aspx?article=TamimTeachingvsRocketScience>1=8648

The Krishnamurti's Series - Learning is not Experience

Learning is not experience

The word learning has great significance. There are two kinds of learning.
For most of us learning means the accumulation of knowledge, of experience, of technology, of a skill, of a language. There is also psychological learning, learning through experience, either the immediate experiences of life, which leave a certain residue, of tradition, of the race, of society.

There are these two kinds of learning how to meet life: psychological and physiological; outward skill and inward skill. There is really no line of demarcation between the two; they overlap. We are not considering for the moment the skill that we learn through practice, the technological knowledge that we acquire through study. What we are concerned about is the psychological learning that we have acquired through the centuries or inherited as tradition, as knowledge, as experience. This we call learning, but I question whether it is learning at all. I am not talking about learning a skill, a language, a technique, but I am asking whether the mind ever learns psychologically. It has learned, and with what it has learned it meets the challenge of life. It is always translating life or the new challenge according to what it has learned. That is what we are doing. Is that learning? Doesn't learning imply something new, something that I don't know and am learning? If I am merely adding to what I already know, it is no longer learning.

Food for Thought

In The Beginning

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and
populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice
Cream and Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?" And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add some sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled.

And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the
figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6Â to size 14.

So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan presented
Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the
side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and
olive oil in which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof.

God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel Food
Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then created chocolate cake and
named it "Devil's Food."

God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might
lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.

Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and
brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.

God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories
and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that?" And Man replied, "Yes! And super size them!" And Satan said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.

Then Satan created HMOs.

Enjoy the Silence

Enjoy the Silence Cover Version by Tori Amos

Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world
Painful to me
Pierce right through me
Cant you understand
Oh my little girl

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm

Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And forgettable

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm

Enjoy the silence

Flowers in the Window

My Reply: Yes I Will.

Flowers in the Window by Travis

When I first held you I was cold
A melting snowman I was told
But there was no-one there to hold
Before I swore that I would be alone forever more

There is no reason to feel bad
But there are many seasons to feel glad, sad, mad
Its just a bunch of feelings that we have to hold
But I am here to help you with the load

So now we're here and now is fine
So far away from there
And there is time, time, time
To plant new seeds and watch them grow
So there'll be flowers in the window when we go

Wow, look at you now
Flowers in the window
Its such a lovely day
And Im glad that you feel the same
cos to stand up Im in the crowd
You are one in a million
And I love you so lets watch the flowers grow

Lets watch the flowers grow

Chasing Cars

Your response - http://www.mp3.com/albums/20103048/summary.html

Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

We'll do it all
Everything
On our own

We don't need
Anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

I don't quite know
How to say
How I feel

Those three words
Are said too much
They're not enough

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

Let's waste time
Chasing cars
Around our heads

I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see

I don't know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

When I Fault Teachers

by Linda Schrock Taylor

I believe that most of the blame for the current blight in public education lies with the teacher training institutions. Without a doubt, they turn out poorly educated, untrained teachers. Additionally, I take teacher unions to task for not pressuring the teacher training colleges to actually teach teachers how to teach. Representing strong, competent teachers would allow each union to bargain from strength, rather than having to bargain from weakness, so one might think that unions would realize the folly of protecting too many teachers who are ineffective, unscholarly, untrained, and some even ignorant. But of course, the dues keep rolling in, regardless.

Many people generalize and so criticize all teachers for the downfall of public education. I must defend the many skilled, hardworking, caring, motivated, and very frustrated teachers who are trying their best, and achieving results, against incredible odds. I frequently hear from such teachers and believe me, their hearts are heavy and their stress comes through, even in brief contacts.

Still, too many teachers do share the blame for the eroding public educational system. My first advice, therefore, is to remove your children from public education and do it as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the longer it will take you to 'unmold' your child from the un-educational aspects of schooling – if a complete healing can even take place. It will also take time to make up for the academic lessons that did not get handled while the PC lessons towards progressiveness and collectivism were being stressed.

If you simply cannot remove your children from the schools at this time, do your 'homework' and find out which teachers are considered the best in your district, then insist that your children be placed in those classes. Demand. Do not accept 'No' for an answer. If you are unaware of which teachers are the best, ask those parents whose children have passed through the system. They will know which teachers to choose; which to refuse. There are also certain types of teachers to definitely avoid. These are the teachers I do fault for participating in the failure of the schools.

I fault teachers who were poor students, themselves; had no interest in books or scholarship; never aimed for excellence in any class, at any level during their own schooling; still have low reading, spelling and writing skills…but decided to major in education, anyway. (Love those summers off!)

I fault teachers who lack intellectual curiosity and rarely read; who never conduct research specifically focused on improving their teaching skills. Some teachers, after realizing that I do things differently in my room, ask to borrow books and materials. Weeks, even months later, most of those teachers return the books saying, "I don't have time to read them right now, but maybe I'll borrow them again someday." (I won't hold my breath.)

I fault teachers who continue to perform poorly, but never self-assess; never question the information they were taught in college. They fault the children; they fault the parents; but they never fault themselves. They continue to use ineffective teaching methods, and defective teaching materials and would not change for the world. They were 'programmed' to those roles during their faulty educations, and they would be lost without the old stand-bys to which they cling, even as public education crashes about their heads.

I fault teachers who refuse to raise their expectations to help a successful group of students continue great gains begun under a previous teacher. For example, a teacher may work to get nearly every student to automaticity with math facts. The class then moves on to the next teacher who, not only fails to expand competency with higher-level facts, but allows the previously learned skills to slip away from disuse. I have observed this same trend with penmanship, reading, spelling, and so on through the curriculum – one teacher is strong and consistent; the next is weak and careless.

I fault the teachers who teach the same way every year to every group – never modifying methods, tests, expectations, or their delivery. Such teachers fail to acknowledge that each class brings a unique combination of students, and not every group learns in exactly the same ways.

To further complicate instruction, we now have TV generations sitting in our classrooms – students who have spent hours as passive observers, rather than as active thinkers. Yes, today's children are harder to teach, so we need to adjust our methods, accordingly. Each year I adapt for new group dynamics, and I become more active and theatrical in delivering each lesson. (If parents understood the damage that television and video games are doing to the minds of their children, the video equipment would be dumped in one mass movement to clear houses of 'junk'.)

I fault the teachers who attend every workshop and in-service, then drag their students from one fad or gimmick to another, always hoping to find the one magic formula; a way to teach without working too hard; without investing too much of oneself. I especially fault the ones who buy into the illogical 'group work' and 'collaborative learning' ideas. The 'construct knowledge' idea is too asinine for discussion among intelligent persons.

Even my 'learning disabled' students see the foolishness of such fads! They arrive from classes where such trends are being used, and complain that "three kids sat while the rest of us did the work, but we all received the same grade. It is stupid!" When I tease them with, "Today we will do some group work; some collaborative learning; we will construct some knowledge. Please count off, form into groups, and teach each other to read," the laughter can hardly be contained. Of all students, these kids best understand that they are in need of special instruction exactly because of the 'disabilities' that they 'developed' in classrooms where teachers had no idea of how to teach reading! These students are more astute than many teachers, realizing that a group of kids, who know nothing, will teach each other exactly – NOTHING! But fads carry the day in too many classrooms, often in response to direct orders from principals.

I fault the teachers who notice that other teachers are being successful with teaching, but remain too proud, too arrogant, too lazy…to go ask for help, ideas and instruction from those skilled and knowledgeable professionals. Such immature and incompetent teachers abdicate their responsibility to fully and effectively meet the needs of the students.

I fault the teachers who sat silently through the years, fearful of losing their jobs, as "progressive" ideas took over the schools. Had we all battled against 'innovations' in the beginning, we might have avoided their current death grip on the educational system. I remember too many meetings where my voice was the only one raised to question the ethics; to discuss the ludicrousness of fads, gimmicks, worthless materials; to confront the lack of scholarship and logic behind the multitude of inservices, district demands and federal takeovers. My voice in one district; a couple voices in another…all together too few to hold back the avalanche of progressivism and collectivism.

Finally, I fault those principals who taught the minimum years necessary (only four in many states) to qualify for administrative certification. Too many of these individuals lack the experience and the wisdom, to assess the direction in which education is moving. They have no concept of how and why education is failing in this country; no idea how to stop its descent towards its eventual collapse. The inept members of this group rant about falling test scores – then rid themselves of the very teachers who know how to teach. These inexperienced principals believe themselves competent to evaluate teachers who have taught twenty, thirty, forty years. What arrogance!

We used to say, "Those who can teach, do; those who can't, administrate." Now there are not enough administrative slots open to handle the numbers of unskilled teachers. Now those teachers cover their inadequacies by becoming 'groupies' to inexperienced principals, thereby 'earning' great evaluations. The students lose from every side. Administrators of this ilk fail to notice, or refuse to care, that fine teachers are being driven out of teaching by principals who – never taught long enough to become competent; or for whom competency would never have developed, no matter how long they stood in front of a class.

Homeschooling? Parochial schools? Private schools? Which is your preference for your children? Think fast; respond quickly! Time is passing; your children are growing! Once these years are gone, you cannot call them back and make better decisions.

December 8, 2003

Orpheus and Eurydice 2

Captivated once again by Gaiman's Sandman.

Another Rendition of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Orpheus and Eurydice
From Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable by Thomas Bulfinch, 1855

Orpheus was the son of Apollo and the Muse Calliope. He was presented by his father with a lyre and taught to play upon it, which he did to such perfection that nothing could withstand the charm of his music. Not only his fellow mortals, but wild beasts were softened by his strains, and gathering around him laid by their fierceness and stood entranced. Nay, the very trees and rocks were sensible to the charm. The trees crowded around him and the rocks relaxed somewhat of their hardness, softened by his notes.

Hymenaeus (the god of marriage, son of Dionysus and Venus) had been called to bless with his presence the nuptials of Orpheus with Eurydice; but though he attended, he brought no happy omens with him. His very torch smoked and brought tears into their eyes.

In accordance with such prognostics, Eurydice, shortly after her marriage, while wandering with the nymphs, her companions (and sisters), was seen by the shepherd Aristaeus, who was struck by her beauty and made advances to her. She fled, and in fleeing trod upon a snake in the grass, was bitten in the foot and died.

Orpheus sang his grief to all who breathed the upper air, both gods and men, and finding it all unavailing resolved to seek his wife in the regions of the dead. He descended by a cave situated on the side of the promontory of Taenarus and arrived at the Stygian realm. He passed through crowds and ghosts and presented himself before the throne of Pluto and Proserpine.

Accompanying the words with the lyre, he sung, "O deities of the underworld, to whom all we who live must come, hear my words, for they are true. I come not to spy out the secrets of Tartarus, nor to try my strength against Cerberus, the three-headed dog with snaky hair who guards the entrance. I come to seek my wife, whose opening years the poisonous viper's fang has brought to an untimely end. Love has led me here, Love, a god all powerful with us who dwell on the earth, and, if old traditions say true, not less so here. I implore you by these abodes full of terror, these realms of silence and uncreated things, unite again the thread of Eurydice's life. We all are destined to you, and sooner or later must pass to your domain. She too, when she shall have filled her term of life, will rightly be yours. But 'til then grant her to me, I beseech you. If you deny one, I cannot return alone; you shall triumph in the death of us both."

As he sang these tender strains, the very ghosts shed tears. Tantalus, in spite of his thirst, stopped for a moment his efforts for water; Ixion's wheel stood still; the vulture ceased to tear the giant's liver; the daughters of Danaus rested from their task of drawing water in a sieve; and Sisyphus sat on his rock to listen. Then for the first time, it is said, the cheeks of the Furies were wet with tears. Proserpine could not resist, and Pluto himself gave way.

Eurydice was called. She came from among the newly-arrived ghosts, limping with her wounded foot. Orpheus was permitted to take her away with him on one condition, that he should not turn around to look at her 'til they should have reached the upper air. Under this condition they proceeded on their way, he leading, she following, through passages dark and steep, in total silence, 'til they had nearly reached the outlet into the cheerful upper world, when Orpheus, in a moment of forgetfulness, to assure himself that she was still following, cast a glance behind him, when instantly she was borne away.

Stretching out their arms to embrace each other, they grasped only the air! Dying now a second time, she yet cannot reproach her husband, for how can she blame his impatience to behold her? "Farewell," she said, "a last farewell," -- and was hurried away, so fast that the sound hardly reached his ears.




Orpheus endeavoured to follow her, and besought permission to return and try once more for her release, but the stern ferryman Charon repulsed him and refused passage. Seven days he lingered about the brink, without food or sleep; then bitterly accusing of cruelty the powers of Erebus, he sang his complaints to the rocks and mountains, melting the hearts of tigers and moving the oaks from their stations.

He held himself aloof from womankind, dwelling constantly on the recollection of his sad mischance. The Thracian maidens tried their best to captivate him, but he repulsed their advances. They bore with him as long as they could; but finding him insensible one day, excited by the rites of the Bacchus, one of them exclaimed, "See yonder our despiser!" and threw at him her javelin. The weapon, as soon as it came within the sound of his lyre, fell harmless at his feet. So did the stones that they threw at him. But the women raised a scream and downed the voice of the music, and then the missiles reached him and soon were stained with his blood. The maniacs tore him limb from limb and threw his head and his lyre into the river Hebrus, down which they floated, murmuring sad music, to which the shores responded a plaintive symphony. The Muses gathered up the fragments of his body and buried them at Libethra, where the nightingale is said to sing over his grave more sweetly than in any other part of Greece. His lyre was placed by Jupiter among the stars.




His shade passed a second time into Tartarus, where he sought out his Eurydice and embraced her with eager arms. They roam the happy fields together now, sometimes he leading, sometimes she; and Orpheus gazes as much as he will upon her, no longer incurring a penalty for a thoughtless glance.

Orpheus and Eurydice

Self-fullfilling Prophecy of Doubt
http://www.chekhovsmistress.com/2005/01/marginalia_on_m.html

A modern rendition of Orpheus and Eurydice.


Orpheus and Eurydice

Standing on flagstones of the sidewalk at the entrance to Hades
Orpheus hunched in a gust of wind
That tore at his coat, rolled past in waves of fog,
Tossed the leaves of the trees. The headlights of cars
Flared and dimmed in each succeeding wave.

He stopped at the glass-paneled door, uncertain
Whether he was strong enough for that ultimate trial.

He remembered her words: "You are a good man."
He did not quite believe it. Lyric poets
Usually have - as he knew - cold hearts.
It is like a medical condition. Perfection in art
Is given in exchange for such an affliction.

Only her love warmed him, humanized him.
When he was with her, he thought differently about himself.
He could not fail her now, when she was dead.

He pushed open the door and found himself walking in a labyrinth,
Corridors, elevators. The livid light was not light but the dark of the earth.
Electronic dogs passed him noiselessly.
He descended many floors, a hundred, three hundred, down.

He was cold, aware that he was Nowhere.
Under thousands of frozen centuries,
On an ashy trace where generations had moldered,
In a kingdom that seemed to have no bottom and no end.

Thronging shadows surrounded him.
He recognized some of the faces.
He felt the rhythm of his blood.

He felt strongly his life with its guilt
And he was afraid to meet those to whom he had done harm.
But they had lost the ability to remember
And gave him only a glance, indifferent to all that.

For his defense he had a nine-stringed lyre.
He carried in it the music of the earth, against the abyss
That buries all of sound in silence.
He submitted the music, yielded
To the dictation of a song, listening with rapt attention,
Became, like his lyre, its instrument.

Thus he arrived at the palace of the rulers of that land.
Persephone, in her garden of withered pear and apple trees,
Black, with naked branches and verrucose twigs,
Listened from the funereal amethyst of her throne.

He sang the brightness of mornings and green rivers,
He sang of smoking water in the rose-colored daybreaks,
Of colors: cinnabar, carmine, burnt sienna, blue,
Of the delight of swimming in the sea under marble cliffs,
Of feasting on a terrace above the tumult of a fishing port,
Of the tastes of wine, olive oil, almonds, mustard, salt.
Of the flight of the swallow, the falcon,
Of a dignified flock of pelicans above a bay,
Of the scent of an armful of lilacs in summer rain,
Of his having composed his words always against death
And of having made no rhyme in praise of nothingness.

I don't know - said the goddess - whether you loved her or not.
Yet you have come here to rescue her.
She will be returned to you. But there are conditions:
You are not permitted to speak to her, or on the journey back
To turn your head, even once, to assure yourself that she is behind you.

And so Hermes brought forth Eurydice.
Her face no longer hers, utterly gray,
Her eyelids lowered beneath the shade of her lashes.
She stepped rigidly, directed by the hand
Of her guide. Orpheus wanted so much
To call her name, to wake her from that sleep.
But he refrained, for he had accepted the conditions.

And so they set out. He first, and then, not right away,
The slap of the god's sandals and the light patter
Of her feet fettered by her robe, as if by a shroud.
A steep climbing path phosphorized
Out of darkness like the walls of a tunnel.
He would stop and listen. But then
They stopped too, and the echo faded.
And when he began to walk the double tapping commenced again.
Sometimes it seemed closer, sometimes more distant.
Under his faith a doubt sprang up
And entwined him like cold bindweed.
Unable to weep, he wept at the loss
Of the human hope for the resurrection of the dead,
Because he was, now, like every other mortal.
His lyre was silent, yet he dreamed, defenseless.
He knew he must have faith and he could not have faith.
And so he would persist for a very long time,
Counting his steps in a half-wakeful torpor.

Day was breaking. Shapes of rock loomed up
Under the luminous eye of the exit from underground.
It happened as he expected. He turned his head
And behind him on the path was no one.

Sun. And sky. And in the sky white clouds.
Only now everything cried to him: Eurydice!
How will I live without you, my consoling one!
But there was a fragrant scent of herbs, the low humming of bees,
And he fell asleep with his cheek on the sun-warmed earth.- Czeslaw Milosz

Interesting facts

Adapted from: http://poplicks.com/2005/08/30-facts-that-are-difficult-for-me-to.html

1. Hollaback read backwards is, basically, Kabbalah.

2. IBM, which introduced the first PC, no longer makes PCs.

3. US federal government will spend $168 million for sexual-abstinence education but only $13 million for adoption awareness. (Source: Parade, April 10, 2005)

4. Since the invasion of Iraq, the US has allocated $19 billion for reconstruction and related projects in Iraq. $19 billion is more than the combined annual budgets for the National Cancer Institute, Amtrak, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Federal Air Marshals, operation of the National Park Service, Homeless Assistance Grants, the Superfund Hazardous Substance Cleanup, Home-Delivered Meals to the Elderly and youth employment and training programs. (Source: Parade, April 10, 2005)

5. Popeye has four nephews, one of whom is named Poopeye. (The others are Pipeye, Peepeye, and Pupeye.)

6. The US government spent more than $40 million for the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky investigations but only $15 million for the 9/11 Commission to examine the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (Source: Parade, April 10, 2005)

7. The Canary Islands were named after wild dogs - canis in Latin. The songbirds we call canaries were named after the islands.

8. Jack Nicholson, Bobby Darin, and Eric Clapton all discovered that the woman they thought were their sisters was actually their mothers. When he was 32, Bobby Darin not only learned that his "sister" was his mother, but he learned that his "mother" was actually his grandmother.

9. Apparently, if you cut an onion in half, rub it on the sole of your foot, and then wait an hour, you'll taste onion in your mouth.

10. China has more English speakers than the United States does.

11. If my stomach does not produce a new layer of mucus every 2 weeks, it will digest itself.

12. The revenue that is generated from gambling is more than the revenue that comes from movies, cruise ships, recorded music, theme parks, and spectator sports combined.

13. In China, September 20 is "Love Your Teeth Day."

14. French fries apparently originated in Belgium, not France.

15. If you farted continuously for six years and nine months, you would produce enough wind equal to the energy of an atomic bomb.

The Highwayman

The Highwayman

Original Text By Alfred Noyes, Song verson by Loreena Mckennitt

Part One
I
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding-
Riding-riding-
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.
II
He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin;
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh!
And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.
III
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
IV
And dark in the old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim the ostler listened; his face was white and peaked;
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's red-lipped daughter,
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say-
V
"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;
Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."
VI
He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair i' the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
(Oh, sweet black waves in the moonlight!)
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and galloped away to the West.


Part Two
I
He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon;
And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon,
When the road was a gipsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,
A red-coat troop came marching-
Marching-marching-
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.
II
They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed;
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side!
There was death at every window;
And hell at one dark window;
For Bess could see, through the casement, the road that he would ride.
III
They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest;
They bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her.
She heard the dead man say-
Look for me by moonlight;
Watch for me by moonlight;
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!
IV
She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till here fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like
years,
Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold, on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!
V
The tip of one finger touched it; she strove no more for the rest!
Up, she stood up to attention, with the barrel beneath her breast,
She would not risk their hearing; she would not strive again;
For the road lay bare in the moonlight;
Blank and bare in the moonlight;
And the blood of her veins in the moonlight throbbed to her love's refrain.
VI
Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs
ringing clear;
Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot, in the distance? Were they deaf that they did
not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding!
The red-coats looked to their priming! She stood up strait and still!
VII
Tlot-tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot-tlot, in the echoing night
!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moonlight,
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him-with her death.
VIII
He turned; he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood!
Not till the dawn he heard it, his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.
IX
Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with a bunch of lace at his throat.
* * * * * *
X
And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding-
Riding-riding-
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.
XI
Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard,
And he taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred;
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Love, Death, Rejection, Sacrifice, Futility

The pain is unbearable.
Almost unrecognisable.
- Insufferable.
Not unable.

Yes you cry.
Yes you die.
Don't we all?


Why do you die? / Why do you live?
Why don't you die? / Why don't you live?
The glass is half full/empty.



The purpose of Meaning.

Existancialist/Idealist/ Phenomenalist/ Realist / Solipsist

To perceive is to exist - To exist is to be perceived - To be is to be perceivable

I think therefore I am - I am therefore I think - I think, therefore...


love - death - rejection - sacrifice - futility.

A sense of life.

My life.

Futile.


***HSBC Adverts and The Nightingale and the Rose***

Origins of "Little Red Riding Hood"

Source: Christian Schneller, Märchen und Sagen aus Wälschtirol: Ein Beitrag zur deutschen Sagenkunde (Innsbruck: Verlag der Wagner'schen Universitäts-Buchhandlung, 1867), no. 6, pp. 9-10.

"El cappelin rosso." Italy/Austria

Once there was an old woman who had a granddaughter named Little Red Hat. One day they were both in the field when the old woman said, "I am going home now. You come along later and bring me some soup."
After a while Little Red Hat set out for her grandmother's house, and she met an ogre, who said, "Hello, my dear Little Red Hat. Where are you going?"

"I am going to my grandmother's to take her some soup."

"Good," he replied, "I'll come along too. Are you going across the stones or the thorns?"

"I'm going across the stones," said the girl.

"Then I'll go across the thorns," replied the ogre.

They left. But on the way Little Red Hat came to a meadow where beautiful flowers of all colors were in bloom, and the girl picked as many as her heart desired. Meanwhile the ogre hurried on his way, and although he had to cross the thorns, he arrived at the house before Little Red Hat. He went inside, killed the grandmother, ate her up, and climbed into her bed. He also tied her intestine onto the door in place of the latch string and placed her blood, teeth, and jaws in the kitchen cupboard.

He had barely climbed into bed when Little Red Hat arrived and knocked at the door.

"Come in" called the ogre with a dampened voice.

Little Red Hat tried to open the door, but when she noticed that she was pulling on something soft, she called out, "Grandmother, this thing is so soft!"

"Just pull and keep quiet. It is your grandmother's intestine!"
"What did you say?"
"Just pull and keep quiet!"

Little Red Hat opened the door, went inside, and said, "Grandmother, I am hungry."
The ogre replied, "Go to the kitchen cupboard. There is still a little rice there."
Little Red Hat went to the cupboard and took the teeth out. "Grandmother, these things are very hard!"
"Eat and keep quiet. They are your grandmother's teeth!"
"What did you say?"
"Eat and keep quiet!"

A little while later Little Red Hat said, "Grandmother, I'm still hungry."
"Go back to the cupboard," said the ogre. "You will find two pieces of chopped meat there."
Little Red Hat went to the cupboard and took out the jaws. "Grandmother, this is very red!"
"Eat and keep quiet. They are your grandmother's jaws!"
"What did you say?"
"Eat and keep quiet!"

A little while later Little Red Hat said, "Grandmother, I'm thirsty."
"Just look in the cupboard," said the ogre. "There must be a little wine there."
Little Red Hat went to the cupboard and took out the blood. "Grandmother, this wine is very red!"
"Drink and keep quiet. It is your grandmother's blood!
"What did you say?"
"Just drink and keep quiet!"

A little while later Little Red Hat said, "Grandmother, I'm sleepy."
"Take off your clothes and get into bed with me!" replied the ogre.

Little Red Hat got into bed and noticed something hairy. "Grandmother, you are so hairy!"
"That comes with age," said the ogre.

"Grandmother, you have such long legs!"
"That comes from walking."

"Grandmother, you have such long hands!"
"That comes from working."

"Grandmother, you have such long ears!"
"That comes from listening."

"Grandmother, you have such a big mouth!"
"That comes from eating children!" said the ogre, and bam, he swallowed Little Red Hat with one gulp.

5 Food Choices That Can Change Your Life in One Week

5 Food Choices That Can Change Your Life in One Week
Say goodbye to stomach stress with these diet tips

Stomach problems have become a leading health complaint among Americans, especially women. We pop Tums like candy and take all sorts of pills to relieve heartburn, indigestion, gas and acid reflux. It doesn't have to be that way, says Sorai Stuart, PhD, ND, author of Nutrition for Your Body, Mind & Spirit
"Certain foods, when mixed together, create digestive problems which can lead to health issues," says Dr. Stuart. "But if you know how to combine your foods, you'll eliminate ulcers, indigestion, heartburn, nausea and a whole host of other ailments."
Dr. Stuart has put together five rules of eating that she says will have you feeling better instantly. "Any one of these changes will improve your health," she says.

1. No more meat and potatoes
"Avoid mixing animal proteins and grains or starches," advises Dr. Stuart. "The body uses different enzymes to break down proteins than it uses for grains and starches, so when you mix them together, there is a discomfort." Instead of beef and yams, try meat with veggies and skip the starch or eat it with a separate, no-meat meal.
Making your body's digestive process more straightforward is effective, says Eileen Silva, PhD, coauthor of A Healthier You! "Most people who struggle with weight have poor gut function. Simplifying the way you eat can help," Silva says.
2. The fruit stands alone
"Fruits are a fast-digesting food," says Dr. Stuart, who says some of her patients come to her saying they have allergies to certain types of fruit. "I ask them when they're consuming the fruit, and they usually are having an apple or banana after a meal, which means it's mixed up with all these other foods in your stomach and its digestion is slowed." She recommends eating fruit at least half an hour before a meal or as a snack between meals.
Wellness coach Jennifer Tuma, creator of the interactive DVD Diets Don't Work, believes eating fruits only from our native region can also help. "Our bodies are designed to digest food that's indigenous to the land around us," she says. Dr. Silva stresses that fruits are a great between-meals snack to keep blood sugar levels stable and deter overeating when mealtime rolls around.
3. Don't drown your food
Downing a glass of water half an hour before a meal is a common tip to keep you from eating when you're not really hungry, and Dr. Stuart says that it's a great idea — especially because she advises against drinking beverages during mealtime. "Chewing sends the signal that food is coming," she says. "When that's followed by a slug of liquid, the body is confused, and it can cause discomfort."
Silva recommends drinking 20 to 30 minutes before you eat. "Drinking during a meal can flush away digestive enzymes," she says. "If you really want to have a beverage with a meal, I recommend taking a digestive enzyme supplement."
4. Put away the bread and butter
"Most people overload on grains and dairy," says Dr. Stuart. As a result, our bodies cannot utilize all of what we're consuming. She asks her patients to give up dairy and grains for 10 to 14 days and see how they feel. "They start to feel great in a few days," says Stuart. "Stomach pain and discomfort go away — they have more energy, they sleep better and they lose joint pain and headaches." Then Dr. Stuart slowly introduces the food groups back into patients' diets. "The bottom line," she says, "is that we should be eating more veggies than any other food group."
Tuma warns that people should be aware of possible side effects like fatigue or mood swings that can come with a big diet change. "While there are benefits to detoxing, you should be educated as to what to expect," she says.
5. No more bubbles
"Carbonation is a bloat," says Dr. Stuart. "Adding gaseous elements to your body has a bad effect on your heart, liver and gall bladder — not to mention it's a real irritant to the abdominal area." What to drink: fresh vegetable juice, water, diluted fruit juices and herbal teas, according to Dr. Stuart. Any wine? "Once in a while," she says. Phew!