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BT Arise II - шаблон joomla Продвижение

The Festive Season is often associated with love and joy; families spending time together, delicious food, beautiful gifts, and enjoying some time away from work. However, for many people the December Christmas period can be a lonely and depressing time. High expectations, increased financials pressure, and difficult family relationships are just some of the factors that can make the festive season a difficult time.

If you feel yourself dreading the coming Christmas period, here are some tips on how you can take care of your mental health during this time:

Don’t set up unrealistic expectations

Most of us will not experience the picture perfect holiday season that we often see on TV or in magazines, and putting financial or emotional pressure on ourselves or others to make that ideal possible just sets us up for disappointment. Instead try to focus on everything that you do have to be thankful for, like getting some time off of work, or the promise of a fresh start with the beginning of the new year.

Don’t try to do everything

During the holidays there can be a lot of pressure to do everything - plan the perfect holiday, spend time with family, meet those year-end deadlines, afford expensive gifts and food, the list goes on. If you are prone to anxiety and depression, this stress can take a significant toll on your mood. Deciding ahead of time how much money you will be spending, how much time you will spend with family, and how you will manage your year-end deadlines can help to protect you from feeling overwhelmed.

Prioritise self-care

For many people, December is the busiest time of the year. When work pressures pile up and the calendar gets full with social obligations, the routines that normally keep us healthy and happy - regular exercise, healthy home-cooked meals, abstaining from alcohol - usually fall away. In addition to increased stress, eating poorly and drinking excessively can exacerbate issues like stress, anxiety and depression. Practise self-care during this time, and don’t allow a few days of holiday to jeopardise your wellbeing.

Don’t isolate yourself

Some of us don’t have family to spend the holidays with, and that can make us feel lonely and depressed. But it is important not to isolate yourself during this time. Visit with friends or colleagues, continue practising your hobbies, and spend some time in nature.

Your mental health and wellbeing come before anything else, so whether you need to distance yourself from negative family members, focus on abstaining from unhealthy food or substances, or just manage your expectations to avoid disappointment, focus on making this December period a happy and healthy one.

Every year the 3rd of December is commemorated as International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD). As part of the Disability Month activities that have been taking place over the past few weeks, Government has been drawing attention to the fact that this year marks the 20th Anniversary of the Release of the White Paper on an Integrated National Disability Strategy, and the 10th Anniversary of the Ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Although the fact that these policies have been part of the South African disability sector for many years now is indeed something to be celebrated, the SA Federation for Mental Health (SAFMH) feels it is important to acknowledge all the ways that these and other policies, like the Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Action Plan (MHPF), are not being implemented, and are currently failing persons with mental disabilities as a result.

On IDPD last year, which was declared a day of mourning for those who lost their lives as a result of the Life Esidimeni tragedy, SAFMH and the South African Mental Health Advocacy Movement (SAMHAM), delivered a report regarding the state of Mental Health care in Gauteng, specifically focusing on the issues that had unfolded with Life Esidimeni, to the Gauteng Department of Social Development. The aim of the report was to show how better implementation of the MHPF was needed to improve the services and care offered to mental health care users. In the report, SAFMH made the some of the following recommendations:

  • Mental health services needs to be prioritised and developed with an equal level of (high) importance across all provinces in SA, and across rural and urban areas
  • Services and resources at community level should be developed in consultation with mental health care users, their families, NGOs and other key partners to ensure that the development of such services are done in an informed and collaborative way
  • The prioritisation / resourcing / implementation / monitoring of the Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Action Plan at provincial level is essential, and provincial Departments of Health need to be held accountable for failure to do so
  • Savings generated through budget cuts in tertiary Psychiatric Care Facilities (such as what happened with the termination of the Life Esidimeni contract) need to be transferred to support community-based care
  • Government needs to address the widely pervasive shortfalls in resources needed to adequately facilitate deinstitutionalisation policy requirements
  • There is a need for NGOs to become more recognised as key partners in the delivery of mental health services and to be respected and treated as such. Government needs to recognise that without the upscaling of and provision of community-based services SA’s commitment towards deinstitutionalisation will never be realised
  • SA requires more consistent and more comprehensive subsidisation of community-based services, with adequate increases and timely payments of subsidies to ensure continuity in community-based mental health service delivery
  • There is a need for more family empowerment programmes to ensure that MHCUs who return to their homes are able to receive the support they require from their families and that family members are sufficiently equipped with the necessary skills to help them take care of mental health care users within their homes

Not only was there no response to the report or any of its findings or recommendations, but since then the scale of human rights abuses that mental health care users faced has was sadly highlighted in the Ombudsman’s report on Life Esidimeni, which was released two months after the SAFMH report.

Today the number of people known to have lost their lives as a result of the Life Esidimeni tragedy stands at 143, and with the arbitration hearings currently taking place, more disturbing details emerge on a daily basis of the gross neglect and abuse that the patients suffered at the hands of those who were responsible for their care. Despite the severity of these claims, those responsible for the project, such as former MEC Qedani Mahlangu, have been using every method to try an avoid testifying at the hearings.

Celebrating the existence of legislation and policies aimed at improving the lives of those living with mental and physical disabilities, while not prioritising the implementation of these legislations and policies, leads to a system that values the lives of persons with disabilities in word but not in deed.

Government has not been able to ensure that those responsible for the tragic and preventable deaths of Life Esidimeni patients face justice, nor has Government been able to ensure that the MHPF and other important legislation is implemented in a timeous and correct fashion. Until such important things start taking place, IDPD will remain a reminder of the horrific treatment and abuse that vulnerable persons with mental disabilities experienced because of Government’s lack of action.

SAFMH will continue to put pressure on provincial government departments to commit towards developing a plan to implement and monitor the allocation of resources for the successful implementation of the MHPF in all provinces. SAFMH will also be hosting the Movement for Global Mental Health Summit from 8-9 February 2018, which will provide mental health care users the opportunity to share their experiences and lead the call for improved mental health care services in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

SAFMH calls on Government to prioritise the implementation of legislation like the MHPF and the UNCRPD, and to recommit to upholding the rights of persons with mental disabilities.

Statement from the South African Mental Health Advocacy Movement (SAMHAM) on IDPD–

We as mental health care users (MHCUs) have historically been living our lives in silence while decisions have been made about our lives without our participation. Our lives have value and our views and opinions matter, and we can help to create a society where people celebrate diversity. We want to see an end to the complete disregard for our fundamental human rights - when we speak, we demand to be listened to and when decisions are being made that affects us, we demand to be involved in making those decisions. Contrary to common beliefs, we as MHCUs can add value to society and we can achieve recovery to our full potential, provided our rights are respected and protected.

Marthé Kotze – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Programme Manager Information & Awareness

SA Federation for Mental Health

011 781 1852

The SA Federation for Mental Health this week took part in the National Investigative Hearings on Mental Health, which took place from the 14th to the 15th of November at the South African Human Rights Commission Head office in Johannesburg. SAFMH would like to commend the Human Rights Commission for organising the hearing, so that solutions can be sought for the current problems that face South Africa’s mental health sector.

On the 15th of November, SAFMH Programme Manager for Advocacy and development, Charlene Sunkel, did a presentation based on the submission SAFMH made to the Human Rights Commission on the state of mental health care in South Africa. The submission was based on challenges that mental health care users reported to SAFMH as part of our research and advocacy work throughout the provinces.

Some of the challenges include:

  1. The shortage of available psychiatric beds in hospitals across most provinces
  2. The fact that upscaling of community based services and facilities is not taking place in line with the Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Action Plan
  3. The continued problem of medication stock outs at state hospitals and clinics, which results in increased relapses and hospitalisation for mental health care users
  4. Poor resources for awareness and education involving persons with mental disabilities, and the need for more emphasis on contact based education and awareness
  5. Lack of commitment from provinces towards the resourcing and implementation of the Mental Health Policy Framework

SAFMH has also offered some suggestions as part of our submission on how the Department of Health can address these issues, and how we believe mental health care should be prioritised in future.

As a national advocacy organisation, SAFMH and the South African Mental Health Advocacy Movement (SAMHAM), is offering our expertise to the Department of Health, to try and ensure that the revamping and upscaling of the mental health care system in South Africa is done in collaboration with mental health care users and families, and done so in a manner that is person-centred and based on best-practice, complies with national policies and legislation, and is aligned with international treaties such as the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

It is of utmost importance that mental health care users and families are involved in any process that relates to matters that affect them directly. Mental health care users and families are able to play a valuable role inproviding guidance to upscaling mental health services, as they are the users of the system and are knowledgeable about the gaps that exist and can add valuable recommendations to address the challenges.

It is our hope that meaningful discussions and changes will come from the hearing, and we look forward to the opportunity to assist in the upscaling of mental health services in South Africa.

Marthé Kotze

Programme Manager: Information & Awareness

SA Federation for Mental Health

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

011 781 1852

Office of the Premier, Radical Transformation  is proud to announce  in Disability Month 3rd November -3rd December a dedicated page within the eRecruitment portal for People with Disabilities to apply for employment within Gauteng Provincial Government. “Nothing about Us Without Us”

Every year October is commemorated as Mental Health Awareness month, and this year the SA Federation for Mental Health focused on Mental Health in the Workplace. Throughout the month there was great interest from organisations and the public, and we encourage organisations to visit our website and make use of the information available to continue supporting their staff’s mental health.

One factor that often leads to mental health problems in the workplace, or that can make existing conditions worse, is chronic stress. Stress is a normal part of life; it affects people of all ages, genders, races and circumstances, and there is no way to avoid it completely. Stress is also not always a negative thing, it can sometimes provide the motivation and focus we need to help us overcome a difficult situation or task.

But when stress becomes chronic it can have very negative effects on our physical and mental health. Chronic stress can occur when everyday stressors are ignored or poorly managed or when an individual is exposed to traumatic events. Chronic stress differs from everyday stress in that it is constant and persistent over an extended period of time. Because of this, it can be both mentally and physically debilitating. Chronic stress can lead to the development of anxiety and depression, as well as substance use disorders.

In the workplace we are often bombarded with a number stressors on a daily basis. Deadlines, a heavy workload, having to manage difficult clients or conflict between co-workers, and not getting enough time off are just some of the factors that could lead to chronic stress developing at work. While most of us cannot control the amount of stressful events taking place in our lives at any given time, there are ways that you can take care of yourself and minimise the negative effects of chronic stress.

Ways to manage chronic stress –

  • Recognize and admit that stress exists. You cannot do anything about something that you do not acknowledge is present
  • Make the time, or manage your time in such a way that you can develop and implement strategies to manage the stress. Most stress management strategies require a commitment to taking the time to practice them
  • Take care of your physical health. Try to exercise at least three times a week, make sure to get enough sleep every night, and follow a balanced and healthy diet. All of these things will have an impact on your body’s ability to handle stress
  • Don’t self - medicate. During times of stress some people may try to manage the negative emotions and symptoms they experience by using alcohol or other harmful substances as a way of “self-medicating”. Using alcohol or illegal drugs to manage the symptoms of stress can have very negative effects on your mental state, and can lead to substance abuse problems
  • Find time to do things you enjoy. Whether it is playing sports, reading a book, listening to music, or spending some time outdoors, it is important to make time to do activities that help you recharge
  • Make use of your support network. It can be tempting to isolate yourself during times of extreme stress, but make use of the support of your friends and family. Even just speaking to someone close to you when times are difficult can be helpful
  • Speak to your manager or supervisor if you need support. In the workplace people often keep quite when they are struggling, because they are afraid of being seen in a negative light. But no one will be able to assist unless they know you need help. Managers can help in practical ways like assisting in prioritising tasks, allowing for flexible working hours when necessary, or by extending deadlines when possible
  • Seek medical help if necessary. There is no shame in seeking medical assistance when experiencing anxiety, depression, or other stress related problems. A medical professional may be able to suggest treatments such as medication or therapy that could help manage your symptoms

 Bharti Patel, National Director of SAFMH, has the following message as Mental Health Awareness month draws to a close; “SAFMH is concerned about the high rate of unemployment in South Africa, and recognises that this is something that needs urgent attention and intervention. But we also need to make sure that we take care of those who are employed. Employers have a responsibility to care for their employees by providing decent working environments and supportive wellness programmes in the workplace. Over the past few weeks SAFMH has been sharing educational material which can be used by employers and employees on how to support good mental health in the workplace, and we hope that organisations will make use of these materials throughout the year, not only during awareness months.”

Marthé Kotze

Programme Manager: Information & Awareness

SA Federation for Mental Health

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

011 781 1852

on 16 October 2017

Do you want to win a one night stay for two people, including breakfast, at the beautiful Glenburn Lodge & Spa? Then head on over to the SAFMH Facebook page to find out how you can enter... Competition closes 30 October.


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Details, Fiction and sailor moon boots

The Krusty Krab has reached closing time and SpongeBob is going to go away, but is purchased by Mr. Krabs to take the trash on his way out. When SpongeBob goes about towards the again in the cafe, he peruses a number of the dumpster creating, just one passage specifically starting: "Krabs can be a.

Rei can be a miko, and that is a Shinto shrine maiden, and is actually a supplementary priestess. The traditions day again to prehistoric situations in Japan.

Even so, she's found displaying terrific powers inside a flashback once the King Endymion of the long run describes the great feats of Neo-Queen Serenity in the time she introduced about peace.

Regardless of whether somebody tactics the rituals, visits the shrines, and prays to your spirits, this doesn't suggest they belong to an organized Shinto faith.

She also wears red hairpieces and white barrettes resembling feathers, both equally of which may be useful for small assaults. Her persona is no various from when she's a civilian, although her Sailor Moon type has particular powers.

This segment may perhaps include an extreme degree of intricate detail that may only interest a particular audience. Be sure to enable by spinning off or relocating any relevant info, and taking away excessive detail Which might be towards Wikipedia's inclusion plan. (July 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

After a while, she decides to reward them with some lemonade. On her way to get it, she hits her foot over a rock and shouts in suffering. The things they consider to become a nasty phrase, on the other hand, is definitely the horn of Previous Guy Jenkins' jalopy, offering all of them a fantastic snicker. Production

During the anime adaptation, Mamoru presents Usagi a coronary heart-formed assure ring just in advance of he leaves for America. The ring signifies a assure to Usagi that they'll sooner or later marry.

The Crystal possesses tremendous ability, effective at reviving a whole globe from destroy. However, the strain of making use of these power normally expenditures the user her lifetime, as the power derives within the life force with the Moon dynasty.[authentic investigate?] The anime exhibits this occurring three times. The very first time is inside a flashback with Queen Serenity; the next time when Usagi defeats Queen Metaria at the conclusion of time one particular; And eventually here from the R Film.

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Studying a curse phrase is actually a traditional detail that each one kids go through. It absolutely was impressed by Innovative director Derek Drymon's experience of finding in hassle as a toddler for utilizing the f-phrase before his mom. Drymon stated, "The scene exactly where Patrick is functioning to Mr.

From the anime, Rei continues to be a very disciplined hard employee, but her character is much more warm-headed and she is always getting caught up in petty fights with Sailor Moon.

It turns out that the lady is in fact J’onn J’onzz, superior generally known as the hero Martian Manhunter, in disguise.

The original anime frequently portrays Usagi as additional childlike.[citation needed] She usually bickers together with her daughter Chibiusa, but can exhibit equally as Significantly caring as her manga counterpart.

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Monday, March 29, 2010

Dream a little Dream of Me

" in that foggy, jumbled blur which is a whole lot like the ragged edge of sleep, that gray zone between light & dark, or between sleeping and waking, or living & dying, where you know you're not unconscious any more but don't know yet what day it is or who you are or what's the use of coming back at all..." - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I am currently reading One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. I've owned this book for roughly four years but never read it. I bought it at a random yard sale my friend Dylan and I passed by while walking around Media. Why did I post that particular quote? I cant' 100% say. As I read this book, I came to that passage... the only passage that was highlighted. It does however seem quite suitable. I was going to write about my favorite moment of each day... is that point where you're half awake/half asleep. You know you can get up but you force yourself to finish your dream and stay asleep. At that point the dream isn't a "reality" to you anymore, but it's more like a movie playing before you in front of your minds eye. It's that world you wished you lived in sometimes, other times it's a world of horror.

My dreams have never made much sense to me. But i felt like perhaps I'd write a little bit about the dreams I have had in my past. My most recent dreams have been... well... strange to say the least. Here's my favorite most recent dreams:

1) I dreamt a few days ago that the back of my head for some unexplainable reason grew a mouth and eyes. Whenever I spoke, the mouth on the back of my head would move too. That dream freaked me out so much that when I woke up... I literally rubbed the back of my head to make sure there was no face

2) I also recently dreamt I was about to win a spelling bee... but it got interrupted when The Blob came and attacked. I was forced to fight the blob and save the town... no complaints about that dream, it kicked ass.

There's two types of dreams that have been re-occurring and I'm sure when I finally have a nervous breakdown and see a therapist they'll explain to me the deeper means to these:

1) the current reoccurring dreams always involve my teeth falling out... that's just weird

2) Ever since my sophmore year of high school, I've had dreams where I'll be at random locations (School, family party, the mall, a party at a friends house, etc). The location is always some place with high traffic. And in all these dreams, I'm always laying on the ground with my eyes closed. I hear people say how I'm "asleep" and then they have conversations. The entire dream is just me listening in on their conversations. I (not so) shamefully most admit that since roughly my freshmen year of college... I have actually done this very tactic at parties where I felt out of place.

There's one more dream that I think should be mentioned. This dream makes no sense to me. As far as I know, there is no deeper meaning to it. But it is the scariest dream I think I've ever had. In retrospect... it's not scary. But I had this dream probably when I was only 5/6 years old but to this day I still distinctly remember it. This dream made me afraid to go to bed for DAYS after having it. This build up is simply to make you really let down (and maybe laugh) when you read how kinda lame the dream is.

I was 5 or 6 years old. I was standing in an alley with Peter Venkman from Ghostbusters. Suddenly Slimer came out and flew at Peter (much like in the first movie) except this time... he didn't slime Peter... he snapped him in half. As if that sight of a man being snapped down the middle wasn't frightening enough... he wasn't dead. Both halves worked and acted perfectly fine. Peter was complaining about how much it hurt but not in a screaming way, in a monotone, almost sarcastic way. Meanwhile the legs where just sorta walking around. I remember eventually he got up and started crawling towards me and that's when I woke up screaming.

I think dreams are such an interesting thing. They always make me wonder about my own decisions and wants. I think everyone has suffered from what I call post-dream depression or "the puppy wasn't real" syndrome. When I was younger I had at least 2 dreams where my family had gotten a new adorable puppy. The dreams were so vivid that when I woke up... I was depressed the dog in fact didn't exist. One of the times, i literally believed the dog did exist for the first few minutes of being awake and the depression hit in a sudden wave.

What I really don't understand however is the love in my dreams. I very rarely have sex dreams or "wet dreams". In fact the amount of "shit, gotta change my sheets" moments in my 24+ years of existence could be counted on a single hand. It seems as if I tend to cock block myself, even in the realm of dreams. The most recent was a dream in which Sarah Silverman kept throwing herself all over me, but I told her I "couldn't do that to Jimmy (kimmel)". The weirdest part of this is that I'm not really a Jimmy Kimmel fan. Don't watch his show, or movies or anything. I don't hate the guy but I mean, his ex-girlfriend wanting to bang me should have NO barring on me taking up the offer.

Frequent readers of my blogs, or even people unfortunate enough to have given me their screen name and thus get Emo-y IMs from me, know that I don't have what I would consider "a luck filled love life." There's currently someone in my life who I'm very, very much in love with me. This can hardly be called news. I can own up to being "in love" with at least... 4 different girls in the last 3 years. I still stand by my feelings of love towards those women. There's something very different about this particular girl though. I like (love) her, from the best I can tell she however simply enjoys my company. This isn't really particularly different than the previous "loves". Also unlike the previous "loves" there are countless moments where I second guess her feelings towards me and think that maybe... just maybe... she loves me in return. But I write it off as wishful thinking and move on with my life.

However, normally, my friends and family members who meet the past girls... tend to echo my thoughts "it's just wishful thinking Matt" they'll say. However with this new girl... everyone sees the same thing that i see. They see "A perfect couple" or "someone who clearly is in love with me"... I cried a little when my sister texted me recently saying "I hope you too end up together. You're so cute together and you seem so much happier when you're around her". It almost seems like the only person who DOESN'T agree to these opinions would be the girl in question... and I'm fairly certain she tends to get last say on her relationship status.

This girl. This person who I "love". Has never, ever made a cameo in any dreaming. Not once as far as I can recall. Not in a sexual way, not in a friendly side-kick way... not even in the background of an extra to the best of my knowledge. I spent most of my day at work thinking about her and her moving and how there's so much I wish I could say but it wouldn't change anything. I've written a rough draft of a screen play about this person, mentally made a mix CD for when she leaves in a few months... but yet... at night when I go to bed and can go into a whatever world I want to be in... she is never there.

I'm not a deep person, I'm not subtle, I'm not even very smart. But I really wish that I could understand why I feel like any of this matters. I am fairly certain this girl is going to move away, and our friendship will suffer and end. Not on bad terms... but strictly a distance issue. And strictly because, I can't help but feel like I'm a very interchangable and replaceable person in her life that will easily be forgotten. I'll however never forget her. And at the end of the day, that's my biggest problem.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The Rob Gordon Traits

When I was in high school, back before the world of facebook and twitter… everyone in the world had a livejournal. I had such a livejournal and I would update it quite frequently. I specifically remember when I was in my senior year of high school, my last class of the day was a computer education class. It was the easiest A in the world. In a 45 minute class we were required to write one page of text and print it. After that if we had time left over in class (roughly 40 minutes or so) we could just go online. So basically the class was “sit on the internet and get an A”.

I’ll never forget taking a quiz on a website to post on my LJ (what us cool kids called LiveJournal in those days) titled “What John Cusack Character are you?” All I wanted to be was Lloyd Dubler or maybe even LaneMeyer. The result was Rob Gordon from High Fidelity. I remember being upset. Don’t get me wrong, I love High Fidelity but Rob Gordon’s character is a selfish asshole… was I really that? I mean I guess I do love music but still!

Recently though I’ve realized that the survey is extremely accurate. I think most guys wish they were Lloyd Dubler or Lane Meyer because that’s clearly want women want (or act like they want). Lane Meyer is a nerdy guy who gets a little obsessed but he doesn’t let his short comings get the best of him and at the end of the day skis the K12 and gets the French girl (who was far hotter than his original girlfriend anyway). What guy wouldn’t want that ending in their life?

Then there’s Lloyd Dubler, no one exemplifies undying love like Lloyd. The infamous “In your Eyes” moment is gut-wrenching at times because when look at his face it is a face of someone who doesn’t want to live. He doesn’t just like Diane Court, he doesn’t lust over her, he is head-over heels in love with her.

But Rob Gordon? Rob has had multiple relationships (easily more that Lloyd and Lane combined) but he’s never totally satisfied. I re-watched High Fidelity and it saddened me how much I related to Rob. The dialogue he says is painfully close to thoughts I’ve had myself.

I’ve had friends fuck girls they knew I liked. I have girls that are friends in my life that I want nothing more than to be with, but I know it won’t happen and instead have to force smiles when they move on to their new relationship. Granted my relationship life is very limited compared to Rob, but the amount of crushes that I’ve had are quite comparable.

I think at the end of the day, most guys are Rob Gordon, whether they admit it or not. They wonder where they went wrong in relationships, how they fucked up with this person or that person. Who is the new guy your ex is with? Was she seeing him while you were both together? I’ve even wanted to track down some of the past relationships and see if they’re unhappy, just to make myself feel better. Men are strange creatures indeed.

I guess that survey all those years ago were right. I’m just like Rob Gordon… just without a record store.


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Saturday, October 12, 2013

31 Days of Goosebumps: Book 43. The Beast From the East

Book 43: The Beast From The East

I was shocked by how much I actually enjoyed this book. I went into it with super low-expectations.

Not exactly a masterpiece story but it’s a fun little one. Ginger, Nat and Pat get lost in the woods and discover talking bear creatures (yeah I’ll get into that shortly).

The game is basically tag. If you’re still “IT” at sun down you get eaten. The rules are ridiculous (as is most of this story). In the end they escape on a weird technicality only to be trapped in a different game..

THE BAD: The talking bears. It’s explained by a universal language adaptor. Also the unfair rules of the game are infuriating but that’s also one of the pluses...

THE GOOD: I actually cared about the characters enough that the unfair rules that it infuriated me.

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Monday, October 16, 2017

The Secret of Life

Many of you have no doubt seen the fish symbol common in early Christianity; although on Bay Area bumper stickers, it is more likely to have “Darwin” written in the middle of it!  Its use as a religious symbol predates the Church, which made it particularly useful for Christians in hiding during periods of persecution.  Its use would not have aroused suspicions; but, for those in the know, the head of the fish pointed to the site of local gatherings of the underground Jesus movement.  The Greek letters in the word “fish” form an acrostic signifying “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.”  The fish directed people searching for the good news of Jesus.

What was it about these early Christians, that people were willing to go underground, risking arrest, torture, and death, to join their movement?  What did they see in them?  Huston Smith, the great historian of comparative religion, suggests that “They saw lives that had been transformed – men and women who were ordinary in every way except for the fact that they seemed to have found the secret of living.”[1]   They were enjoying life.

More specifically, their lives evidenced two qualities. The first was mutual love demonstrated by concrete acts of care.  Tertullian wrote that the Romans would exclaim of Christians, “Look how they love one another . . . and how they are even ready to die for one another.”[2]  This mutual regard transcended all social boundaries: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus,”[3] St. Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia.  Justin Martyr described Christian love this way:

. . . we who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions, now bring what we have into a common stock, and communicate to everyone in need; we who hated and destroyed one another, and on account of their different manners would not live with men of a different tribe, now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them, and pray for our enemies, and endeavor to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live conformably to the good precepts of Christ, to the end that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope . . .[4]

Such love made for a discipleship of equals.

The second quality evidenced by these Christians was joy.  They had obtained an inner peace that radiated joy.  Now, by and large these early Christian communities weren’t numerous, wealthy, or powerful.  They didn’t reek of success.  In fact, they were marginalized and frequently persecuted.  In a cultural climate marked by fatalism and pessimism, in which poverty and death loomed large, Christians were notable simply for being happy.

St. Paul is a good example.  He sacrificed the security and prestige of his status as a learned Pharisee when he joined the Jesus movement, which he had previously persecuted.  During his missionary journeys he suffered hunger, public stoning and whippings, and even shipwreck.  He was ridiculed and opposed for sharing the good news of Jesus.  Yet, he considered the loss of privilege to be nothing, a pile of crap, compared to the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ.[5]
Writing from prison – where torture and deprivation were commonplace in the 1st Century – Paul encourages the churches in Philippi, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice . . . Do not worry about anything . . . and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”[6]  Paul and other disciples in the Jesus movement where held in a peace that was impervious to external circumstances.  Their joy was rooted in something deeper than normal considerations of pleasure and pain, gain and loss.  It was rooted in an unshakable sense of being unconditionally loved.

People saw the mutual care exercised in this discipleship of equals and the joy they shared and they said, “I want what they have.”  And they were willing to do anything to get it.  What was the secret to living that these Jesus people seemed to know?  They knew that God loved them, and this love freed them from the barriers that keep us from being fully alive.  I’m not talking about a formal, abstract idea of love, but an intimate, personal experience of being loved by God communicated by their encounter with Jesus.  Jesus imparted a love that transcended death: Resurrection love.  It made everything new.  They couldn’t help but re-joice: get their joy on again and again and again.

Huston Smith uses the analogy of the atom.  Within the atom is locked the energy of the sun itself.  For this energy to be released it must be bombarded from without.  So, too, locked in every human being is the energy of God’s love, but it can only be unlocked by being bombarded by love from without, breaking through the barriers that contain this energy so that we can respond to love with love.[7]  Jesus set off a chain reaction of love breaking through the barriers to love that is still expanding even now.

We can be swept up in this great unfolding of love, joining in God’s project of renewing the world, of getting its joy on again.  But the barriers to love are real.  In another analogy, St. Teresa of Avila describes the soul as an interior castle “made entirely out of a diamond or of a very clear crystal . . . a paradise where the Lord says He finds His delight.”[8]  This is almost unimaginable to us.  At the center of our being God makes Her home in us because She delights in us.  This is the deepest truth about us!  We are loved.  God delights in us.  Teresa goes on to lament that we don’t understand ourselves or know who we are.[9]  What prevents us from knowing ourselves to be so beautiful and beloved?

We are diamonds encased in thick walls of fear, guilt, and self-centeredness.  Only God’s love can shatter those walls and reveal us to ourselves as reflections of God’s own glory.  Only love can break through our fear of loss, of failure, and finally, of death.  Fear looms large in us these days:  fear of the loss of basic civility; loss of democratic government; loss of a sustainable planet to bequeath to our children and grandchildren.   And beneath it all, the fear that we are not loved or loveable.  Only love can break through our fear and release our compassion – our passion with – ourselves and others.

In the face of so many threats, our guilt looms even larger:  guilt that we haven’t done enough to solve our world’s problems; guilt about our privilege in the face of so much suffering; guilt about our complicity in the systems that cause this suffering and preserves our privilege.  Only love can break through our guilt and unleash our creativity so that we can do our part to mend the world.

Overwhelmed by the enormity of it all and our uncertainty about the future, the retreat into self-centeredness is an ever-present temptation; the preoccupation with me and mine; the frantic scramble to secure my piece of the pie; the sacrifice of integrity before the false idols of fantasy, illusion, and compulsive escapism in all its forms in our culture.  Only love can break through our self-centeredness and restore our connection with reality so that we can reclaim our place as part of a larger whole with awareness and humility.

God’s love doesn’t solve all our problems.  It doesn’t protect us from suffering.  What it does provide is an inner peace and joy that sustains us amid life’s problems and inevitable suffering.  Leaning back into that love, we can re-joice, get our groove back, get our joy on again.

We are experiencing dark times in our world, but, as Andy Crouch points out,

There was violence and disintegration in the day of Jesus, too.  Jesus was hardly shy about confronting the patterns of sin in his culture – though he was consistently harder on the pious than he was on the pagans.  But everywhere Jesus went, life blossomed.  The sick were healed, lepers were touched, daughters and sons were plucked from the mouth of the grave.  Jesus left behind him a trail of leaps and laughter, reunited families, and terrific wine, as well as dumb-founded synagogue leaders, uneasy monarchs, and sleepless procurators.  His witness against violence, amidst a culture in rebellion against the good, was neither withdrawal or war.  It was simply life:  abundant, just, generous life.  And, ultimately, a willingness to let the enemies of life do their worst, confident that even death could not extinguish the abundant life of God.[10]

Jesus was like the man in the Parable of the Wedding Banquet:  he didn’t fit in at the party, refused to conform to the oppressive violence celebrated there, and so was thrown into outer darkness.[11]  But I suspect he enjoyed the open bar while he was there, and never refused anyone who asked him to dance.  He got his joy on and it was contagious.  And that was what really pissed off the evil powers of this world.

Even as we go down to the grave, we make our song:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia![12]  Nothing can steal our joy, for we are held in a deathless love.  You are loved.  You are loved.  You are loved.  This is the first and last word, and it will carry you through everything in between.  It is greater than your fear, your guilt, and your self-preoccupation.  You are a diamond reflecting the glory of God and nothing ultimately can dim this light:  So get your joy on and let it shine!

[1] Huston Smith, “Reasons for Joy,” Christian Century (October 4, 2005), p. 10.
[2] Tertullian, Apology, Chapter 39 in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. III, p. 46.
[3] Galatians 3:28.
[4] Justin Martyr, First Apology, Chapter 14, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I, p. 167.
[5] Philippians 3:7-10.
[6] Philippians 4:4a, 6a, 7.
[7] Smith, p. 11.
[8] St. Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle 1:1, p. 283 in The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Volume 2.
[9] St. Teresa, p. 284.
[10] Andy Crouch, “Furrowed Brows Inc.,” Christianity Today (April 2006), p. 100.
[11] Matthew 22:1-14.
[12] See “The Commendation” in the Burial Office, The Book of Common Prayer, p. 499.

Monday, October 9, 2017

"Failed Politicians"

Zurbarán's St. Francis
What is it about St. Francis, and other saints, that is so fascinating, even to those who are not Christians?  What is the secret of their continuing hold on our attention, such that we appreciate them even when we no longer seek to imitate them?  Two stories about St. Francis provide a clue to this secret.

One day before his conversion, Francis of Assisi was walking along the highway weeping.  Thinking he was ill, a man asked him: “What’s the matter with you, brother?”  “Ah,” he answered, “For the love of Christ, I should not be ashamed of going around the world like this grieving for my Savior’s agony.”[1]

Many years later, at the end of his life when St. Francis was going blind, the doctors found the cause to be an excess of tears.[2]   This “excess of tears” is an expression not only of grief, but also of joy.  You know the wrenching tears evoked by tragedies such as those in Puerto Rico and Las Vegas, as well as the grief of personal loss.  But you also know the tears of joy shed the first time you held your newborn baby in your arms, or when that same child graduated from high school.  I’ve officiated at enough weddings to have witnessed plenty of tears of joy – usually the groom’s!  I hope it is tears of joy . . .  I recall starting down a trailhead at the Bishop’s Ranch for a hike and suddenly being overwhelmed by the beauty and sense of homecoming evoked by that special place.  I burst into tears.

It is this “excess of tears” that both fascinates and frightens us.  We are a little bit undone by the vulnerability of the saints, their capacity to embrace the sorrow and joy of the world with undefended hearts.  Yet, in their vulnerability, the saints also wield a certain kind of power.

Even Friedrich Nietzsche, no lover of Christianity, recognized this when he noted that

So far the most powerful human beings have still bowed worshipfully before the saint as the riddle of self-conquest and deliberate final renunciation.  Why did they bow?  In him . . . they sensed the superior force that sought to test itself in such a conquest, the strength of the will in which they recognized and honored their own strength and delight in dominion:  they honored something in themselves when they honored the saint.  Moreover, the sight of the saint awakened a suspicion in them:  such an enormity of denial, of anti-nature will not have been desired for nothing . . . There may be a reason for it, some very great danger about which the ascetic, thanks to his secret comforters and visitors, might have inside information.  In short, the powerful of the world learned a new fear before him; they sensed a new power, a strange, yet unconquered enemy – it was the “will to power” that made them stop before the saint.  They had to ask him -[3]

The powerful of the world recognize the power of the saint:  she mirrors something of their own authority.  They just have to ask, like the chief priests and elders of Israel asked Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”[4]  The powerful are fascinated, not just by the ascetic feats of self-control whereby the saints master their own desires, but also by the saints’ will to know and to love, to know through loving, that compels them to action in the world.  The saints exercise power.  This is what brings them to the attention of the politicians in the first place.

As E. M. Cioran notes in his Tears and Saints,

The difference between mystics and saints is that the former stop at an inner vision, while the latter put it into practice . . . Ethics plus mysticism gives birth to the intriguing phenomenon of sainthood.  The mystics cultivate a heavenly sensuality, a voluptuousness born of their intercourse with the sky; only saints take on their shoulders the load of others, the suffering of unknown people; only they act.  Compared to the pure mystic, the saint is a politician.[5]

The saint is a politician: one who acts in the public realm.  Cioran thinks of them as “failed politicians,” but I’m not so sure.  They are successful enough not only to come to the attention of conventional politicians, but to come into conflict with them:  Nietzsche refers to saints as a “strange, unconquered enemy.”  I suppose Jesus’ execution as an enemy of the state marks him as a failed politician.  St. Francis imitated Jesus even in this failure.  Five year before he died, Francis lost control of the Order of Friars Minor that he founded because of his insistence on the renunciation of private property.  It is the authority of these powerless saints, these failed politicians, that so fascinates the powerful of the world and eludes their understanding.

What they fail to understand is this “excess of tears” that motivates the saints’ will to power, their relentless desire to know through love all things in God, and so to become transparent to God’s healing love for the sake of the world.  It is love that energizes their action in the world.

The difference between authority derived from God and human authority is the way in which power is exercised.  Violence and the sacrifice of human lives is the normal way of exercising human authority, as the chief priests and elders affirm in their description of what the owner of the vineyard will do to the wicked tenants in the parable by Jesus: “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”[6]  This is how law and order is maintained.

The chief priests and elders identify with the owner in the story.  They are members of the aristocratic, landowning class, and they know all about how to deal with unruly tenant farmers.  They assume Jesus will agree with their response to the parable, and are shocked when he replies: “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.”[7] God’s authority is not exercised like human authority.  It is exercised through the power of love, which takes the form of justice in history.  That power is demonstrated through self-sacrifice in solidarity with the victims of injustice, rather than through sacrificing victims to maintain privilege masking as law and order.

Human authority is recognizable by the excess of blood it produces.  Divine authority is recognizable by the excess of tears it produces; tears of compassion and tears of joy.   Human authority creates subjects with power and objects to be acted upon, who are divided against each other.  Divine authority creates communion between subjects who share the power of love in a common life.  The saints inhabit a kingdom without borders, and recognize no ultimate authority other than that of God.  It is love that makes them strange, unconquered enemies of violent human authority.

And yet it is to the powerful, as well as the powerless, that Jesus and St. Francis preach the good news of God’s Kingdom.  In his parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus follows the prophetic tradition of using parables as a kind of verbal ju-jitsu to turn the tables on the powerful.  He draws them into a story that they think is about somebody else – the erratic violence of unruly tenants – only to discover that the story is very much about them – and the violence of law and order, the systemic violence of the powerful.

In so doing, Jesus breaks one of the cardinal rules of social order.  It is OK to speak of the immorality and violence of the oppressed.  It is not acceptable to speak of the systemic immorality and violence of the powerful.  Into this silence, Jesus speaks the mercy of God.  Into this silence, St. Francis spoke the mercy of God to lepers, outcasts, birds and wolves, even Muslims: the perennial bogeyman of the West beginning with the crusades that Francis preached - against.  This mercy is for the sake of the powerful as well.  It is preached for their conversion, so that they may embrace communion instead of domination; so that together we can touch into the depths of joy that lies beneath our tears.

Jesus quotes Psalm 118 and describes himself as the stone that the builders rejected.  If he is a “failed politician,” it is because the powerful reject the invitation to conversion that Jesus offers them; the renunciation of their exploitation of the poor that turns them into landless tenants in the first place.  They reject mercy, dismissing this “excess of tears.”  Yet, Jesus remains the cornerstone of a new form of human community, an alternative way of exercising power together, upon which St. Francis and all the saints, have continued to build.

Nietzsche saw correctly that the powerful fear the saints.  This is what is so amazing about the them!  Despite their failure, their excess of tears, their rejection by the powerful, God is continually renewing the world through the ever-flowing stream of mercy flowing from their lives.  If the Cross reveals the usual imposition of law and order for what it is: a sacrifice of victims; the Resurrection reveals the life-giving power of God to forgive, heal, and renew.  St. Francis exercised that power.  That is the power that we are invited to exercise.  We can claim our vulnerability, our solidarity, our compassion, and jump into the stream of mercy that is renewing the world.

The imitation of Jesus and the saints requires us to become “failed politicians.”  This is the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes!

[1] E. M. Cioran, Tears and Saints (Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1995), p. 30.
[2] Cioran, p. 62.
[3] Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future (New York: Random House, 1966), p. 65.
[4] Matthew 21:23b.
[5] Cioran, p. 6 – 7.
[6] Matthew 21:40-41.
[7] Matthew 21:43.


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Sacchan's Chamber of cosplays

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Cosvision cosplay plans

Since Cosvision is already in 23rd-24th April, I guess it would be great time to post my plans for it.
I honestly wasn't really planning to go there at first, but then Shiro Samurai and Frozen Angel talked me to it. Couple of good friends does quite a lot since I've been feeling slightly uncomfortable going to bigger cons for a while... Even so I want to stay positive and believe we'll have a great time there. :') Too bad Ronya couldn't come though ;__;
Now to the cosplays;

Character: Shiny Umbreon (the edgy dark type)
Series: Pokémon

I have cosplayed Shiny Umbreon before, sure, but the design I'm going for this time has changed. I'll try to make a post of it b4 duh con. The whole idea became somewhere in the middle of a night. I have been struggling a lot with the Saturday cosplay. I was also considering some other eeveelutions like Leafeon or even Sylveon. After some more thinking and considering I came to the conclusion that redesigning would be faster and easier, yay!

Bloody Sunday

Character: Super Sonico  (the best girl)
Series: SoniAni: Super Sonico the Animation

Sunday cosplay was easier to decide since I should be able to drive while wearing it if I don't have time to change normal clothes (or am just too lazy to do so). Also Sonico is waifu.

See you in Cosvision!


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March 20, 2006 | by  | in Visual Arts |
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Every Name in History is I

Contemporary Art from New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan
Adam Art Gallery

There’s a lot to think about in Islanded, the exhibition now showing at your local University gallery, the Adam. There are numerous video works, sound samples to listen to, photographs, and even jigsaw puzzles you can play with. If you’ve got an hour break between lectures, go and have a look because it is worth it. There is so much going on in this show, so much to sift through and think about. An hour might not even be enough. Set aside two, spend some time with this art. Have a cup of tea with it, actually the gallery attendant might get a bit grumpy if you do that, maybe just read it a story instead. Bond a little.

Given that this show is filled to the brim, I’m going to focus on three works that really interested me on the blustery Saturday that I went along to peruse. Firstly, the main thrust (yip, thrust) of the show is to exhibit a range of contemporary art from New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan. These are a disparate collection of countries, but ones that all share an island status – this being the main curatorial thread running through the selection of works. Uniting the artworks is an interest in the construction of national histories; these stories which are taught as unequivocal truth. Many works in the show exhibit a frustration with the dominance of certain narratives in popular culture, and show the way in which they can be twisted or subverted. The physical geography of island land masses and their boundaries has also been a curatorial direction; many of the works explore cartography and the act of mapping and delineating space.

The first work I really enjoyed is Common Cold created by New Zealand artist Reagan Gentry. Gentry has two works in the exhibition, the other Takeaway is also an interesting piece; plaster casts were made of the artist’s head and are gradually destroyed by a conveyor belt of sandpaper. A comment on the consumption of the artist as commodity perhaps, but it seems to be completely divorced from the concerns of the show; a very odd curatorial decision.

It is much easier to see why Common Cold has been selected as the work that raises questions about the ubiquitous New Zealand landscape scene, and our situation as an isolated island. It is a video work showing a toilet roll held out in a strong wind which whips it back and forth, finally released from the hand that held it, it is swept out across the land. It is mesmerizing and beautiful. In the background you can see the sea, and the place where the land and the ocean meet each other. There is the sense of being on the edge, particularly from the high viewpoint, and we are watching the place where one space comes to an end and another begins. The scene is played out against a rosy pink sunset. This cliché of the way we would like our country to be perceived is almost ridiculed by the prosaic use of toilet paper. It would appear that both national myths and toilet paper are utilitarian and disposable.

National myths and generally accepted histories are at the core of Singaporean artist, Ho Tzu Nyen’s work Utama – Every Name in History is I. In his art Nyen challenges the dominance of colonial histories, histories which begin with the ‘discovery’ of a land by a colonial power; an arbitrary and misguided notion of history. Nyen shows that this biased colonial history shapes how his country, Singapore, sees itself today.

As part of the work Nyen has made an amazing video focusing on the pre-colonial founder of Singapore, Sing Sang Nila Utama. This video uses the conventions of an historical document, including chapters and dates, overly staged dialogue, narration, and re-enactments of events, but subverts them slightly. It is eerily put together, the images aren’t clearly defined and the characters seem to fade in and out of a mist. The movements and voices of the actors are unnatural, they sound like ill-learnt lines from a badly written script. It becomes evident that Nyen is very aware of techniques such as these that are used to create history and give it its veneer of truth. Truth, he suggests in this work, is a relative, uncertain, and treacherous territory. As the narrator in the video says, ‘whoever seeks his own origins will find only mirages.’

Finally, my favourite piece in the show is another video work by Taiwanese artist Tsui Kuang Yu called 18 Copper guardians in Shao-Lin Temple and Penetration: the penetrative. Good title. This work is hilarious. If you have no other reason to go and see the show, then you should at least go for this. It shows the artist simply running into stuff; walls, computers, horses, bashing his head against them and then walking off quite nonchalantly. And he runs quite hard, this isn’t pretend people, it looks quite painful. What is he doing? Really it’s hard to say. I thought about it on the most literal level: that he was trying to get inside things. Get inside Taiwan. Break on through to the other side. He is trying to penetrate a technologically advanced, yet impassive and austere Taiwanese culture. At one point he tries to run into a shop window that has a Craig David video playing on a huge TV screen. If there is any argument against the all pervasive technology which is marketed at ‘improving’ our lives, it is surely that people all over the world are able to see and listen to Craig David.

There are numerous other works in this show, some interesting, some not so interesting. But the contrast of artists working in and responding to different cultures definitely makes this show worth a look. While many of the works are quite playful, others respond with seriousness to the way in which nations and peoples are perceived and constructed. These of course being popular concerns in our post-colonial, post-modern age.

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Salient is a magazine. Salient is a website. Salient is an institution founded in 1938 to cater to the whim and fancy of students of Victoria University. We are partly funded by VUWSA and partly by gold bullion that was discovered under a pile of old Salients from the 40's. Salient welcomes your participation in debate on all the issues that we present to you, and if you're a student of Victoria University then you're more than welcome to drop in and have tea and scones with the contributors of this little rag in our little hideaway that overlooks Wellington.

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Archives for April2015

The Worst College Degrees For 2015

  Looking forward to a life of unemployment? Check out these degrees! Seriously though, with the job market being what it is, before you plonk down a huge chunk of cash for a degree at least have a look at the data below so that you will be aware of what your post graduation chances will look like. The common element of all these degrees is high unemployment and low initially salary. Still, we have one word of encouragement – if any of these are your life dream than go for it, just do your best to not get yourself (or your parents) into debt. The data is from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW), from the 2009 and 2010 American Community Survey, with median earnings based Read more [...]

SaltyTalk April 15th, 2015

SaltyTalk April 15th, 2015 Story Time: "Martial Law, A Primer" It's Tax Day! Aaron Hernandez - Guilty Students Helping Seniors - Free Rent! VA Abusive behavior. Wayne Called!! Top 10 Happiest places in the country. Walmart Closures. $70,000 Minimum Wage for THIS Company SIGNIFICANT DIGITS. Crazy Florida News. And a whole lot more! Read more [...]

SaltyTalk April 1st, 2015 – The Wrong Number

We received a call on April 1st … A rather Wrong Number …
The poor bastard …


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Routine DIY Maintenance Tips For Your Car

Salvage Cars Car Maintenance Responsible car ownership begins with routine maintenance checks.

Changing a Tire

Your car’s manual will have instructions on where to locate the items you will need to change a tire, and it’s best to know ahead of time where these items are and if you have everything. Basic tips for changing a tire include:

– Know the location of the spare tire, the tire jack and the tire iron
– When using a tire jack, always make sure you are on level ground
– Loosen the lug nuts before raising the car off the ground, then finish taking them off once the tire is raised off the ground.
– When finished, tighten the lug nuts by hand, then lower the tire and finish tightening using the tire iron.

Changing Wiper Blades

Wiper blades usually come on and off by squeezing and/or twisting the clips holding the wiper blades to the arms. Be sure to check how your blades are first placed on your car so that you can reverse the process when installing your new wiper blades.

Checking Fluids

The fluids in your car will be contained in reservoirs that use measuring sticks or caps that indicate how much fluid is contained. Some reservoirs are clear and will contain marks on the side indicating fluid levels. Be sure to periodically check the fluid levels in your car or have your mechanic check your fluid levels during routine maintenance services.

Tire Pressure

You will need a tire pressure gauge to check the air pressure in your tire. Firmly insert the gage into the valve stem to get the pressure reading. Always do this at least two times to ensure the reading is accurate.

Check Belts

Your car’s engine has a series of belts used to operate the car. Look for signs of wear such as cracking or pieces that are torn off. Have a mechanic periodically check your belts and replace them as needed.

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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Bowling is Fun

Stroke Recovery Association of Manitoba goes Bowling

Our little planning group at SAM realized that some of our members were interested in having a bowling event.  I don't think we had a very clear idea of what all a bowling afternoon for stroke survivors would entail but we jumped on in and started planning. I called the alleys and found and booked an accessible bowling alley and I made name tags. April and her husband arranged for prizes and a few giveaways,  and Dave and Murray worked out the teams and advertising. Sherry called the bowling alley and got them to donate soft-drinks for our event. Dave also did a bit of video recording of the event.  The price for our event was very reasonable too because we were bowling in the off time between 4 and 6 pm.

We had a total of 19 people attend this past Monday, and everyone seemed to have a good time. We arranged for the bowling alley gutters to be filled with a rubber bumper so there were no gutter balls for us. The alley has a wheelchair ramp and they have a metal gadgets that lets you release and roll the ball down the bowling lane from a chair. We grouped into teams and then we played bingo bowling teams. The objective is to fill a bingo card.. throw 2's 3's 5's and spare and strike. Because we were playing as a team and not looking for a high score there was very little stress and lots of fun and "team spirit".

There were a few problems for sure and we will be talking about it in the next few weeks.  One thing we found out was that as a group of stroke people we don't have a lot of endurance and we should plan for shorter events when they are active like this. Part way through the event a kids party started on the other side of the room, and the lights were dimmed and we found that we were now playing "glow bowling". In a way it was fun to see us and our shoe laces glowing.. but it made it a bit more difficult for a few people with vision problems. The disco ball and some moving lights also pretty much did in me and one other lady. I had an almost instant headache and started having trouble staying upright.  So now I know that .. bingo bowling is a ton of fun and absolutely no glow bowling for me!

There was a trophy at SAM from a decade ago that was just collecting dust. We are going to have the "team name" of the winning team engraved on a little plaque and we will award it officially to the team members at the upcoming Annual General Meeting.

I think one of the nicest things to come of this event was that several people said they didn't know that bowling was an option for them anymore.  They are now confident that this was a form of recreation they can enjoy with friends and family in the near future.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Healthy Cooking: Panini Sandwich Day

"Healthy Cooking Day" at SAM (Stroke Recovery Association of Manitoba) is really being a success.

We are becoming such a great group and our friendships are really growing as well as a sense of teamwork. We all bring a variety of skills to these lunches. Candace, for example brings a dedication to making healthy food choices, Dave in organizing and cheering us on, Jim has experience in the food industry and is full of practical ideas for making these things actually work. Then there are a few like me that are all for social events and especially food related ones!

Today's plan was "Panini Sandwiches".

Jim offered to bring his Panini maker and told us about enjoying Havarti cheese and luncheon meat.
Panini sandwiches at his house. We wound up deciding to bring a variety of ingredients and to experiment a bit.

We served this with a purchased veggie platter. I actually picked up a premade tray at Safeway. I had originally planned on preparing the platter myself, but I got too busy and too tired. If our plan is healthy eating made easy for stroke survivors; prepared fruits and veggies from the supermarket can save a lot of energy, time and stress. I was thinking it was going to be kind of an expensive decision, but I found the package was actually on sale today. I also think that by time I bought all the different veggies and dip separately there would be so much wastage and trimming that it really would not have been that much of a saving after all.

            Panini Variations

7 grain bread
low fat margarine (butter would have been a good idea too)
4 or 5 kinds of deli sliced luncheon meats such as shaved ham and smoked turkey
2 tomatoes
bag of washed fresh baby spinach
Havarti cheese slices
light Italian 3 cheese blend

Heat the close topped grill or panini maker and it will tell you when it is ready. Butter two slices of bread. Put in what ever you want -- but keep the buttered side out to help it toast and keep it from sticking to the grill!  One hint is that cheese is good to include because it helps stick it all together.  One of us liked having a mix of different meats and cheeses, and another liked making a veggie and cheese only option.

It was so good that most of us had seconds and tried out a different combination of ingredients.

Next month will be "wraps".  We talked about what kind of wraps are out there and we will be doing a grilled chicken based wrap. We also agreed that we want to taste a Heart Smart Granola Cookie. We are also looking forward to Carol's Famous Chocolate Brownies.  We think Healthy Cooking and eating can include reasonable portions of yummy treats.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Turkey Chili

Our monthly "Healthy Cooking Day" at SAM (Stroke Recovery Association of Manitoba) was once again a lot of fun.

It is amazing how much fun it is to share in making healthy lunches for ourselves and it is exciting to see some growth in the number of people attending. We are at about 6 to 8 people attending now.

We try to find healthy food options that we can enjoy together and trying to figure out easy ways to prepare it. This is especially tricky without a stove so we are really working on using what is available to us.

We decided at the previous lunch that this month would be Turkey Chili. We thought we would do it as low fat as possible and we also tried to make it fast and easy. One of our members, Murray, brought a hands free can opener for us to use. You just set it on top of the can and push a button and the can gets opened. It is such a great option for people with limited use of one of their hands. It worked just great and we really would recommend it. I was going to take pictures but I forgot my camera this time so you will just have to use your imagination.

I brought my larger non-stick electric frying pan and we got to work chopping.

The menu this time was Turkey Chili on Whole Wheat rolls. Jim was kind enough to bring homemade muffins. "Mrs Jim" is a wonderful baker!

Turkey Chili

0.75 k of lean ground turkey
1/2 large green pepper chopped fine
1/2 large red pepper chopped fine
2 ribs of celery chopped fine
1/2 large white onion chopped fine

1 28 oz can of tomatoes
1 12 oz can of kidney beans drained
1 12 oz can of black beans drained

Add chili powder, salt & pepper to taste. (Easy on the salt, after all we are trying to be healthy here)

We chopped the vegetables and fried them up. We fried up the ground turkey meat. The non-stick surface made oil or fat unnecessary and it was fine, but a bit might have been a good idea. Next we added the tomato, beans and spices and we stirred it up carefully. We brought the mixture to a boil while stirring frequently, then we lowered it to a simmer, put the lid on and let it cook for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally. We sampled it part way through and decided to add some more chili powder to "heat" it up a little more.

It was delicious. Honest!

We discussed options for next time and the final choice is Pannini Variations. The plan started with Havarti cheese and turkey on rye but we are now planning on using different cheeses, different deli meats and a few different add ins for us to choose from. We will also have a raw veggie platter with dip. YUMMM


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Friday, March 13, 2015

Mysterious Ways

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: Mysterious Ways (1991)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In honor of St. Patrick's Day (this coming Tuesday), we're featuring one of Ireland's most successful exports, U2. What else is Ireland famous for?

2) The Dublin studio where U2 recorded this song (and all of Achtung, Baby) is now a music store called Claddagh Records. U2 pilgrims from all over the world travel to the spot (Celia Street, Dublin 2). If we were to visit your neighborhood, are there any landmarks you could direct us to?

3) Lead singer Bono is rarely seen without his trademark sunglasses because he suffers from glaucoma. How is your vision? 20/20?

4) Bono and wife Alison were married in 1982 and are still together today. Who is the longest-married couple you know?

5) When Bono inducted Frank Sinatra into the Grammy Hall of Fame, he applauded the older man's "swagger." Do you think you have swagger?

6) Bono has been honored by world leaders, including President Obama and Nelson Mandela and the Pope, for his philanthropy. Here's your turn to brag: tell us something you have received praise for recently.

7) Clearly Bono is the most famous member of U2. Who else is in the band?

8) On St. Patrick's Day, will you wear green?

9) Will you enjoy a glass of green beer or maybe a Shamrock Shake from McDonald's?

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

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Outcry in Delhi over student's death after beating

There is no place for elements trying to spread hatred against people belonging to any particular part of the Country.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/02/01/3063618/delhi-probing-students-beating.html#storylink=cpy
 — The beating and subsequent death in New Delhi of a university student from India's remote northeast has sparked a furious outcry against racism and criticism of police in the Indian capital.

Several hundred people protested outside a Delhi police station Saturday, shouting demands for justice against what they called a hate crime. The capital's newly elected chief minister asked that a magistrate investigate the incident as well as the police response.
Police detained two shopkeepers and launched a murder investigation Friday night, after being criticized for doing little following Wednesday's altercation.
"We are questioning several people in the case," said Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat.
Officials said 20-year-old Nido Tania had been on vacation from his studies in Jalandhar, Punjab, when he was beaten by New Delhi shopkeepers who had ridiculed his appearance. Many indigenous people from India's northeast, some ethnically closer to people in Myanmar and China, often say they encounter racism and discrimination in the rest of India.
Tania died in his bed on Thursday morning. An autopsy was being conducted to determine a cause of death.
Tania was the son of a member of the Arunachal Pradesh state assembly from the nationally ruling Congress Party. The Home Ministry also asked police for a detailed report.
Hundreds of students held demonstrations in front of a police station and near the shop where Tania was beaten in the south Delhi neighborhood of Lajpat Nagar. They carried placards with slogans including "Hang the culprits," and "Why are we treated like outsiders?"
"This was a racist hate crime," said Albina Subba, an advertising writer originally from the northeast Himalayan town of Darjeeling. "Our community is often targeted like this. ... We look different, so it's easy for people to see we're not from Delhi."
She added: "We have little faith in the Delhi police, but this time we want them to take action."

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Headline, March05, 2014

EVERYONE -every single one of us knows,  what must be done about climate change,  but no one is doing anything about it.

More than two decades of  speeches and  summitry  have failed to thin out emissions of greenhouse gasses.

In fact, emissions are accelerating; a quarter of all the carbon dioxide ever pumped into air by humans was put there in the decade between  2000  and 2010. It will hang around for centuries:

Meaning that future is sure to be hotter, even if all the greenhouse-gas emissions cease overnight.

The official ambition of limiting the global temperature rise to  2 degrees C looks increasingly like a   "very silly and a bad joke".

Officially, the plan is still to fix the problem by cutting emissions at their source; cleaning up the factories, cars, ships and homes whose engines and heating systems pump-greenhouse gases into the air.

But what if there were another way?  In 2006, depressed by the lack of progress on emissions,  Paul Crutzen,  an atmospheric researcher, broke a long-standing taboo among climate scientists:

By publicly pointing-out that if humans have the power to heat the planet, then they also have the power to cool it down again. While  environmentalists wring their hands about the effects of industrial civilisation, a number of  "geo-engineers"  are advocating:

Seizing control of the climate, tinkering with Earth's atmosphere or its surface in an attempt to slow the planet's heating.

It sounds like some impossible technocratic fever-dream from the 1950s. But two books argue that it is not.

Among the ideas about planetary cooling are artificially brightening ocean clouds to increase the amount of sunlight they reflect into space and

Building machines that suck greenhouse gasses directly from the air. Most are poorly understood, expensive or both. But one idea looks so cheap and technological convenient that, as far as anyone can tell:

There is nothing to stop it being started almost immediately. This would be to use fleets of aircraft to slightly  dim the Sun,  mimicking the after-effects of volcanic eruptions by filling the upper atmosphere with a fine haze of  sulphate particles.

Both Clive Hamilton, an Australian Philosopher, David Keith,  a Canadian Physicist, agree that the physics and the engineering of such a global dimming are plausible.

Both also agree that it would be a bitterly contentious move, politically tortuous and possibly even self-defeating in the long run.

There, though, the agreement ends. Mr Hamilton believes geo-engineering is a bad idea; politically unworkable, hubristic and ethically dubious.

Mr Keith argues that it may be a good idea: morally attractive, workable and affordable. Applied with caution, it may time to build time to build a  "low carbon civilization".

To say that geo-engineering is controversial is an understatement. Mr Keith points out that shrouding the sky would be an uneven, imperfect fix. It could certainly reduce average global temperatures.

But it could do nothing to stop other consequences of greenhouse-gas emissions, such as making the oceans more acidic. And although the average temperatures would fall, that would hide a lot of regional variation.

Reflecting sunlight only works during the day, whereas greenhouses gases warm the earth all the time. So a globally warmed out and geo-engineered world would have warmer nights and cooler day:

Than one in which levels of greenhouse gases had never risen in the first place. Sulphate cooling is most effective in summer and least effective in winter.

That, in turn, would lead to variations in local weather patterns.

"'It is here that some of  the political difficulties  become apparent"'.

With respectful dedication to the Leaders of the World.  See You all  -Your Excellencies,  on !WOW!  -the World Students Society Computers-Internet-Wireless:

"' ^ Students At The Center Of Solutions > "'

Good Night & God Bless!

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless

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Mindfulness is all about self-help. It does nothing to change an unjust world

Why are we trying to think less when we need to think more? The neutered, apolitical approach of mindfulness ignores the structural difficulties we live with.

Most of what is wrong in the modern world can be cured by not thinking too much. From psoriasis to depression to giving yourself a "competitive advantage" in the workplace, the answer touted everywhere right now is mindfulness. Just let go for few minutes a day, breathe, observe your thoughts as ripples across a pond, feel every sensation around you. Stop your mind whirring and, lo, miraculously, everything will improve "at a cellular level".

Sorry, it's not working for me because I cannot rid myself of the thought: "Why this, why now?" There is nothing wrong with trying to relax: the problem lies in the "trying". And there is nothing new about meditation, so why has it suddenly gone mainstream?

What was once the province of people who had backpacked across India has been gentrified and repackaged as a great cure-all, legitimated by doctors and scientists. Now everyone from Rupert Murdoch to Lena Dunham and William Hague is giving it a go.

The City is awash with bankers trying to quiet their minds. Schoolchildren are given mindfulness training to help them with their anxieties. Yoga was once a bit countercultural, too, and now it vies with Zumba, rumba and Pilates classes.

We know the west takes hold of eastern mysticism, ignores its history and faith and turns it into a secular and accessible pastime. For mindfulness is Buddhism without the awkward Buddhist bits. A complex philosophy is rendered as self-help. What does freedom from attachment and desire mean in this self-centred world? What is radical acceptance? Why practise non-judgment? Those who have practised meditation all their lives may not say it's to get a promotion or be less stressed. There is a whole history of thought here.

But no, once Arianna Huffington is on the case, you know there is money to be made in commodifying blankness. Indeed, the whole of Silicon Valley has hugged mindfulness close, as have the US marines, who use it as part of "mind fitness" to help soldiers relax and learn "emotional intelligence".

These are basic meditation techniques being sold as a way to function better in an over-connected world. Thus, in the finance sector, companies where bankers are super-stressed – unlike poor people – arrange for their staff to have 10-minute daily meditations. It's all scienced-up with names such as Mind Lab to shake off the hippyish/religious/psychic-adventurer connotations. Keep fit for the brain.

It's even in art galleries. I wandered around Marina Abramović's 512 hours waiting for enlightenment. Or something. She is using many of the techniques of mindfulness, from counting grains of rice to staring at walls to get us to slow down. I like her work because she is a powerful presence, but when she took my hand and guided me to sit down, as ever, I wondered why I must do as I was told and why everyone else was so passive. But they were clearly having spiritual experiences. Or were asleep. This exercise in mindfulness then, was guided by ego – which is fitting, as the art world is the most ego-ridden, sensationalist and utterly mindless spectacle of all.

Much of the cult of mindfulness is a reaction to technology. It speaks the language of detox, of decluttering. There is too much information. We need to clear our minds. Be and not do. The new ascetic is someone who goes for a walk without their phone or takes a week off Twitter to cleanse themselves. This version of meditation requires no more than the faith that we can all be self-improving part-time gurus. It requires no commitment to a community, and it's cheap.

The corporate world sees that it can make its workers more self-reliant, balanced and focused. What could be better? Take your medicine, because the mindfulness movement is symptomatic of what late capitalism requires of us. A contemplative space opens up where religionused to be. We learn techniques to make us more efficient. This neutered, apolitical approach is to help us personally – it has nothing to say on the structural difficulties that we live with. It lets go of the idea that we can change the world; it merely helps us function better in it.

The mindfulness coalition of life coaches, business people and healers cannot – and does not –promise peace, but why are we to think less when we need to think more? Something here is, well, mindless. Maybe a mantra is all you need and maybe we should all devote more time to changing our minds. But for the time being I am just letting that thought drift right through me.

Source : (The guardian.com)

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