Eternal Life
Ok, before some of you go off half-cocked this is not about religion but a comment about how many things I want to do, how much life there is to live.
There are so many things to do and so many places to see. There are times when I wish that I could live forever so that I could do these things. It makes me think of Highlander, without the swords of course. On a sidenote, Highlander reminds me that Sean Connery has played a Spaniard and a Russian who just happens to have an accent that sounds somewhat British. Hmm...
See, here is the deal. I want to have time to learn multiple languages. I would be very pleased to speak 14 or 15 fluently. And I'd like to be able to live in a number of different places long enough to really become a part of them, to be there long enough to understand the culture in a way that a passing fancy doesn't allow.
I'd write hundreds of books, become a Master Smith, an expert marksman and a gourmet chef. I wouldn't just be a master sommelier, I'd own a hundred vineyards and experiment with many wines. I'd start 10 or 12 breweries and I'd learn how to fly a plane, become an astronaut and become a psychologist so that I could cure Lynne.
And then just for kicks I'd go and live in the wild for years at a time and learn how to really speak with the animals.
There are so many things that I wish that I could do and so little time. Even if I had all of Bill Gates money I'd never have the time to do it all. I can live with that, but I do admit to wishing that I could have a life that lasts longer than 130 years.
There are so many things to do and so many places to see. There are times when I wish that I could live forever so that I could do these things. It makes me think of Highlander, without the swords of course. On a sidenote, Highlander reminds me that Sean Connery has played a Spaniard and a Russian who just happens to have an accent that sounds somewhat British. Hmm...
See, here is the deal. I want to have time to learn multiple languages. I would be very pleased to speak 14 or 15 fluently. And I'd like to be able to live in a number of different places long enough to really become a part of them, to be there long enough to understand the culture in a way that a passing fancy doesn't allow.
I'd write hundreds of books, become a Master Smith, an expert marksman and a gourmet chef. I wouldn't just be a master sommelier, I'd own a hundred vineyards and experiment with many wines. I'd start 10 or 12 breweries and I'd learn how to fly a plane, become an astronaut and become a psychologist so that I could cure Lynne.
And then just for kicks I'd go and live in the wild for years at a time and learn how to really speak with the animals.
There are so many things that I wish that I could do and so little time. Even if I had all of Bill Gates money I'd never have the time to do it all. I can live with that, but I do admit to wishing that I could have a life that lasts longer than 130 years.
New Textbook To Teach Bible In School
It should come as no secret to long time readers of this blog that I believe wholeheartedly in the separation of church and state. I think that mixing the two creates multiple issues and many problems that need not exist. We have discussed the problems with intelligent design and why it is very possible that our existence is due to the flying sphagetti monster.
I have offered my thoughts about appropriate holiday greetings and religous misunderstanding and religious hyperbole. So based upon these items you probably think that you know exactly what I am going to say about using a high school textbook to teach the bible in public school.
Well, this may surprise you but based upon my understanding of this book I am not automatically opposed to it. If it adheres to the description in the story I linked to I would be open to it.
From the perspective of understanding the influence of it on literature, on art, on society in general I can see a purpose in such a course. But in the end I am greatly troubled by the potential for misuse and abuse and this may be yet another time where the smartest and most judicious move would be to err on the side of safety and not teach this course in public schools.
I have offered my thoughts about appropriate holiday greetings and religous misunderstanding and religious hyperbole. So based upon these items you probably think that you know exactly what I am going to say about using a high school textbook to teach the bible in public school.
Well, this may surprise you but based upon my understanding of this book I am not automatically opposed to it. If it adheres to the description in the story I linked to I would be open to it.
"Now, a new textbook for high school students aims to fill a gap by teaching the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, in a non-sectarian, nonreligious way as a central document of Western civilization with a vast influence on its literature, art, culture and politics."However I am skeptical about the schools and instructors within the schools. Specifically I am concerned that there will be teachers who deviate from the curriculum and teach the course as in a religous manner and that is unacceptable to me.
From the perspective of understanding the influence of it on literature, on art, on society in general I can see a purpose in such a course. But in the end I am greatly troubled by the potential for misuse and abuse and this may be yet another time where the smartest and most judicious move would be to err on the side of safety and not teach this course in public schools.
Sex in The News
Creativity linked to sexual success"LONDON (Reuters) - Pablo Picasso, Lord Byron and Dylan Thomas had more in common than simple creativity. They also had active sex lives, which researchers said on Wednesday was no coincidence.
Psychologists at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Open University found that professional artists and poets have about twice as many partners as other people.
Their creativity seems to act like a sexual magnet.
But Dr Daniel Nettle, a psychologist at Newcastle University's School of Biology, said it is a double-edge sword.
"Poets and artists have more sexual partners but they also have high rates of depression," he told Reuters.
Nettle and his colleague Helen Clegg questioned 425 British men and women, including professional artists, poets and schizophrenic patients, about their creative activity, sexual encounters and mental health characteristics.
Although creative people have long been associated with active sex lives, the researchers believe their study is the first to back it up with research.
They found that professional artists and poets had between 4 and 10 sexual partners, while less creative people had an average of three.
"We found it in both the men and women which was quite a surprise to us," said Nettle, who reported the finding in the journal "The Proceedings of the Royal Society (B)."
And
Assault thrown out -- sleep sex blamed
"TORONTO, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- A Toronto man has been acquitted of sexual assault charges, as medical officials said he was asleep at the time, with a disorder known as "sexsomnia."
Jan Luedecke, 33, met his victim at a party on July 6, 2003, and both had been drinking, the Toronto Sun reported.
The woman, who can't be named, fell asleep on a couch and said she awoke to find him having sex with her. She pushed him off, then called the police.
Luedecke claimed he fell asleep on the same couch and woke up when he was thrown to the floor.
Sleep expert Dr. Colin Shapiro testified Luedecke had sexsomnia, which is sexual behavior during sleep, brought on by alcohol, sleep deprivation and genetics."
Crab Nebula
This is a shot of the Crab Nebula. It was taken by the Hubble telescope. I thought that it was very cool. The adjoining story can be found here and more pictures can be located on this site.
Western Woman Becomes Suicide Bomber
One thing that you can say about life is that it is never dull. In a sign that there are going to continue to be twists and turns in the war on terror the media is reporting that a Belgian woman became the first known Westerner to serve as a suicide bomber.
The story can be found here.
The story can be found here.
"A spokesman for the Belgian police's terrorism investigation team confirmed to CNN that Muriel Degauque, identified and pictured by Le Derniere Heure newspaper, was believed to be the suicide bomber who targeted an American patrol November 9.
No one was killed but the bomber, who media reports said left a passport behind identifying her.
Authorities earlier refused to identify the woman but said she was 38.
Le Derniere Heure reported Degauque was born and raised in Charleroi, Belgium. The newspaper quoted her parents as saying that her Moroccan-born husband, Issam Goris, was responsible for her conversion to Islam.
Jean and Liliane Degauque told the newspaper their daughter was brainwashed by Goris.
The U.S. military in Baghdad said that on November 9, a female suicide car bomber attacked a U.S. military patrol just north of Baghdad, killing herself and slightly wounding one soldier.
Goris was killed in Iraq in a separate incident, according to media reports."
Pope May Abolish Limbo
Angry partygoers around the world are upset with this news. In particular three cruise lines and a pair of Carribean islands have denounced this action as being shortsighted and offensive. One man suggested that the pope should lose the hat and loosen up.
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