New York Governor Andrew Cuomo flew over the worst-ever flooding the Schoharie Valley. The Mohawk River is also expected to crest at record levels, due to Hurricane Irene. (Aug. 29)
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It is important to recognize inaccurate stereotypes about the simple life because they make it seem impractical and ill suited for responding to increasingly critical breakdowns in world systems. Four misconceptions about the simple life are so common they deserve special attention. These are equating simplicity with: poverty, moving back to the land, living without beauty and economic stagnation. Simplicity Means Poverty Although some spiritual traditions have advocated a life of extreme renunciation, it is very misleading to equate simplicity with poverty. Poverty is involuntary and debilitating, whereas simplicity is voluntary and enabling. A life of conscious simplicity can have both a beauty and a functional integrity that elevates the human spirit. Poverty fosters a sense of helplessness, passivity and despair, whereas purposeful simplicity fosters a sense of personal empowerment, creative engagement and opportunity. Historically, those choosing a simpler life have sought the golden mean — a creative and aesthetic balance between poverty and excess. Instead of placing primary emphasis on material riches, they have sought to develop, with balance, the invisible wealth of experiential riches. Simplicity Means Rural Living In the popular imagination there is a tendency to equate the simple life with Thoreau’s cabin in the woods by Walden Pond and to assume that people must live an isolated and rural existence. Interestingly, Thoreau was not a hermit during his stay at Walden Pond. His famous cabin was roughly a mile from the town of Concord, and every day or two he would walk into town. His cabin was so close to a nearby highway that he could smell the pipe smoke of passing travelers. Thoreau wrote that he had “more visitors while I lived in the woods than any other period of my life.” The romanticized image of rural living does not fit the modern reality, as a majority of persons choosing a life of conscious simplicity do not live in the backwoods or rural settings; they live in cities and suburbs. While green living brings with it a reverence for nature, it does not require moving to a rural setting. Instead of a “back to the land” movement, it is much more accurate to describe this as a “make the most of wherever you are” movement. Increasingly that means adapting ourselves creatively to a rapidly changing world in the context of big cities and suburbs. Simplicity Means Living Without Beauty The simple life is sometimes viewed as an approach to living that advocates a barren plainness and denies the value of beauty and aesthetics. While the Puritans, for example, were suspicious of the arts, most advocates of simplicity have seen it as essential for revealing the natural beauty of things. Many who adopt a simpler life would surely agree with Pablo Picasso, who said, “Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.” Leonardo da Vinci wrote that, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Frederic Chopin wrote that, “Simplicity is the final achievement … the crowing reward of art.” The influential architect Frank Lloyd Wright was an advocate of an “organic simplicity” that integrates function with beauty and eliminates the superfluous. In his architecture a building’s interior and exterior blend into an organic whole, and the building, in turn, blends harmoniously with the natural environment. Rather than involving a denial of beauty, simplicity liberates the aesthetic sense by freeing things from artificial encumbrances. From a spiritual perspective, simplicity removes the obscuring clutter and discloses the life-energy that infuses all things. Simplicity Means Economic Stagnation Some worry that if a significant number of people simplify their lives it will reduce demand for consumer goods and, in turn, produce unemployment and economic stagnation. While it is true that the level and patterns of personal consumption would shift in a society that values green living, a robust economy can flourish that embraces sustainability. Although the consumer sector and material goods would contract, the service and public sectors would expand dramatically. When we look at the world, we see a huge number of unmet needs: caring for elderly, restoring the environment, educating illiterate and unskilled youth, repairing decaying roads and infrastructure, providing health care, creating community markets and local enterprises, retrofitting the urban landscape for sustainability and many more. Because there are an enormous number of unmet needs, there are an equally large number of purposeful and satisfying jobs waiting to get done. There will be no shortage of employment opportunities in an Earth-friendly economy. A central and exciting task for our times is consciously designing ourselves into a sustainable and meaningful future, from the personal level outwards. In envisioning what this future could look like, it is important to not be bound by old stereotypes and to instead see the realism and the beauty of simpler ways of living.
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There is a good, sound argument for how technology can bring two people together. Countless couples have now met, married, forged unions, and had children as a result of a dating website, a Facebook chat, or a bold text message. Technology has provided a new platform for millions of people to take that first step in a relationship. This has been especially helpful to people who are shy, overworked, or just too exhausted to make a consistent effort to get out and meet someone. Between smart phones and the Internet, the possibilities for flirtation are now endless. This can be healthy when it comes to keeping the spark alive between a couple, particularly one enduring forced separations. It can also be beneficial to two people first getting to know each other; it’s much easier to ask for a date by text than face-to-face. The so-called “sexting” that takes place between two people getting together can be positive when the flirtation turns into action, i.e. when the text messaged invitation becomes the actual first date. The trouble arises when devices become a substitute for real relating. When it comes to love in the time of technology, there are four elements (what I call the four D’s) that we all should be wary of: Distraction, Disconnection, Desensitization, and Dishonesty. Distraction Relationships are hard work. The baggage each person carries with them weighs heavily on the way a couple relates to each other. Caring for someone deeply can trigger old feelings, memories, and fears. The closer things get, the more obstacles we should expect to encounter. Devices are a major distraction from the real challenges that arise in a relationship. Passing time on our Blackberry helps us avoid major issues or problems that are lying right next to us in bed. When the going gets tough, the tough start texting. This problem is one that has been explored by Dr. Pat Love, the acclaimed author of “The Truth About Love” and “Hot Monogamy,” and it’s one I discussed with her recently when we were recording our upcoming webinar, “Love in the Time of Twitter.” We wanted to explore how interpersonal relationships have been impacted by new media and explore how love can be preserved in the face of such colossal distraction. As Love recently wrote, “Other than breathing we spend more time streaming technology than any other activity … This constant state of stimulation leaves little room for contemplation, mindfulness, and deep intimacy, which are all necessary for maintaining relationships.” A damaged connection can lead us to start looking for excitement or romance in other places, like Twitter, Facebook, or exes whose numbers are conveniently programmed into our cell phones. This communication doesn’t always lead to deception or infidelity, but the distraction alone inhibits us from repairing the connection we have with our partners. It limits our ability to attune to our partners and be sensitive to their needs and aware of what lights them up. Time spent with devices can keep us from taking the time to talk through problems, resolve arguments, or simply spend time enjoying each other — actions that would rekindle the spark we initially felt in our relationships. Disconnection The trouble with much of the flirting we do via email, text, or live chat is that it can be highly impersonal. Many of the examples we’ve seen of “sexting,” from everyone from close friends to high-profile politicians, seem to cross the line from real relating to total fantasy. The trouble is that people often prefer the intoxicating illusion of connection and sense of possibility to the everyday acts of romance that are available to them. As I said before, relationships bring real challenges that we can easily avoid in a cyber world. The deeper we travel into fantasy, the further we drift from what is really important to us, who we really are, and what we really want. We replace a deep and meaningful connection with surface pleasures that fail to fulfill us in the long run. Desensitization Technology has the wonderfully destructive ability to tune us out. The outlets for instant gratification have invaded our homes in the form of apps, online shops, games, videos, social media, and more. We rarely have to face our fears on Facebook or feel our anger over a game of Angry Birds. Technology can numb us from pain, but it also numbs us from passion. Any activity we use to cut off negative emotions has the unfortunate effect of diminishing positive emotions as well. This can be particularly taxing on our intimate relationships. If we use the little energy we have left at the end of a day to return emails or surf the Web, think about what we are sacrificing in the way of attunement, affection, passion, and personal exchange. Dishonesty One of the most glaring downsides of new media is that, in many relationships, it has bred an environment of deception and distrust. We now not only live in a world where many people think it okay to search through their partner’s cell phone, but a world in which these same people often find something that confirms their suspicions. From flirty texts to secret lives, people have used technology not just to escape but to deceive. This deception can take place when we withhold information from our partner that we fear will make him or her jealous. It can take place when we substitute the excitement of a secret flirtation for the passion we once felt in our relationship. It can even occur when we deceive ourselves that the relationships we forge and people we meet online are perfect or superior to our imperfect, real-life unions. In this sense, we can use varying degrees of “sexting” as a build-up of ourselves or a way to feel dirty or bad about ourselves. In either case, we are avoiding the truth, preferring an illusion of what could be over what we really have. The solution to the problem of technology invading our relationships is far from hopeless. In each individual case, one must examine how he or she uses technology and whether or not that use is distancing him or her from a loved one. If it is being used as a distraction, what are we avoiding? If it is being used as a desensitizer, what pain are we not facing? The sentiment may be easier said than done, but it holds true that it is always better to do the hard part, challenge ourselves to get close, and fight to have a satisfying relationship. In this journey, we can use technology to get closer as opposed to moving further away from each other. We can use it to ask sensitive questions about each other’s day, to plan an exciting night together, or to keep connected in a world where one million distractions are always readily available, if not in the ceaseless streaming of gadgets but the never-ending output of our own minds. To learn more about the free Sep. 20 Webinar “Love in the Time of Twitter” with Dr. Lisa Firestone and Dr. Pat Love click here To read more from Dr. Lisa Firestone on Relationships visit PsychAlive – Alive to Intimacy To watch exclusive video interviews with Dr. Pat Love visit PsychAlive.org
Continue reading …NY Times Reporter Justin Gillis Again Uses Natural Disaster to Promote ‘Climate Change’
August 29, 2011 No Comment
Never let a natural disaster go to waste. In August 2010, New York Times environmental reporter Justin Gillis reacted to that summer's heat waves and flooding with “ In Weather Chaos, a Case for Global Warming ” on the front page of the Times. So it was no surprise he took advantage of Hurricane Irene in Sunday’s edition, “ Seeing Irene as Harbinger of a Change in Climate .” Gillis’s latest story, admittedly written when Irene looked more dangerous than it turned out to be, was also guilty of disaster hype. The scale of Hurricane Irene, which could cause more extensive damage along the Eastern Seaboard than any storm in decades, is reviving an old question: are hurricanes getting worse because of human-induced climate change? The short answer from scientists is that they are still trying to figure it out. But many of them do believe that hurricanes will get more intense as the planet warms, and they see large hurricanes like Irene as a harbinger. While the number of the most intense storms has clearly been rising since the 1970s, researchers have come to differing conclusions about whether that increase can be attributed to human activities. Blogger A.J. Strata reminded the Times that Hurricane Isabel caused massive damage and deaths just eight years ago. Apparently the NY Times is not aware that 8 years is not a longer time span than ‘decades’. In 2003 a little ‘ol Cat 2 hurricane (not a middling Cat 1 such as Irene) hit the “Eastern Seaboard”, rearranging the outer banks and pitching the DC area into darkness for days. Gillis does admit the jury is still out on details, but is confident that a line can be drawn from greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to more vulnerable coastlines from hurricanes. The ocean has been getting warmer for decades, and most climate scientists say it is because greenhouse gases are trapping extra heat. Rising sea-surface temperatures are factored into both Mr. Knutson’s and Dr. Emanuel’s analyses, but they disagree on the effect that warming in remote areas of the tropics will have on Atlantic hurricanes. Air temperatures are also rising because of greenhouse gases, scientists say. That causes land ice to melt, one of several factors leading to a rise in sea level. That increase, in turn, is making coastlines more vulnerable to damage from the storm surges that can accompany powerful hurricanes. Overall damage from hurricanes has skyrocketed in recent decades, but most experts agree that is mainly due to excessive development along vulnerable coastlines.
Continue reading …GScreen’s Spacebook begins shipping this November, doubles your laptop editing fun
August 29, 2011 No Comment
Twins, like cupcakes, are universally regarded as a good thing. So, it stands to reason that GScreen’s attempt to double your laptop’s screen size would be an equally appealing idea. Turns out, duping a display took the Alaska-based company a wee bit longer to fully flesh out, but the time has finally arrived for its debut . Shipping this November, the aptly-named Spacebook will bring a capacious, portable desktop solution to on-the-go creative professionals. The girthy, 10-pound rig won’t be winning any style points from the svelte is better crowd, but that’s easy to overlook given its dual 17-inch 1920 x 1080 screens, choice of a Core i5 or i7 processor, up to 8GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB of storage, NVIDIA’s GeForce GTS 250 (1GB) and DVD burner — all encased in a magnesium alloy frame. You can grab the entry level model for $1899, but the higher-end, two-headed beast will cost you $2099. If you’re in the market for the king of all laptop displays, then head to the source to get your order on. GScreen’s Spacebook begins shipping this November, doubles your laptop editing fun originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Google Gravity – სახალისოა Bullet 320kmh/ 199mph Gravity 2011 Teaser #2 icecubesftw says: RT @ rationalists : “ Gravity : It’s Only a Theory!” But you don’t see this as a bumper sticker because Christians are cafeteria scientists
Continue reading …Puerto Rico lawmaker Roberto Arango hasn’t confirmed or denied whether lewd photos of a man resembling him on popular gay cruising app Grindr are, in fact, of him—but he has resigned from the territory’s Senate all the same. The San Juan Republican sent a letter of resignation to the…
Continue reading …Katy Perry won the top prize at last night’s MTV Video Music Awards, in an event that was dominated by women. Perry took home three Moonmen, including one for video of the year for “Firework,” reports the Hollywood Reporter. “There’s nothing like your first time, your first Moonman, right?” said…
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Type: Grocery Title: mberry Miracle Fruit Tablets See all customer reviews Product Description: Mberry Miracle Fruit Tablets are the taste sensation that is sweeping the nation. Mberry tablets transform ordinary foods into something extraordinary. What is miracle berry? The Miracle Berry (Synsepalum dulcificum) is a fruit native to West Africa. It is also known as Miracle Fruit or Miraculous Fruit. The berry is approximately the size of a cranberry and it contains the glycoprotein, Miraculin, which modifies taste perception. Once Miraculin binds to the taste buds, lemons will taste like lemonade and beer like chocolate thanks to the temporary altered state of the taste receptors on your tongue. Mberry can be enjoyed with friends and family. Make your own “flavor tripping” parties. Miracle berry can be helpful to people who want to limit their sugar intake and enhance their lifestyles by eating a healthier diet. Mberry tablets consist of only miracle berry powder and high quality cornstarch in approximately equal quantities. Here are some suggestions of foods to eat with mberry: Lemons and Limes, Oranges, Tomatoes, Cranberries, Grapefruit, Kiwi, Pineapple, Granny Smith Apples, Strawberries, Pomegranate, Raspberries, Grapes, Watermelon, Blackberries, Rhubarb, Mustard, Ketchup, Salt & Vinegar chips, Pickles, Sour Cream, Tabasco, Balsamic vinegar, BBQ sauce, Guinness, Tequila, Goat and Bleu Cheese Funkyfoodshop works directly with Mberry. Beware of imitators! You will get the freshest product from Funkyfoodshop and that is our guarantee. Features: Turns sour foods to sweet! Perfect for “flavor tripping” parties. 10 tablets per packet As seen on CNN, CSI, and the New York Times The taste sensation that’s sweeping the nation! See the details
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Edmund McMillen’s latest personal project, The Binding of Isaac , looks as weird as everything else the man has ever done in videogames. The latest trailer appears to place its focus on the variety of enemies Isaac will encounter as he flees his mother. It was made by James ID (who also made the totally radical 90′s Super Meat Boy trailer) and is a little unsettling for some reason I can’t put my finger… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Destructoid Discovery Date : 29/08/2011 07:00 Number of articles : 2
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