Liberals Can Dish it Out But the Cannot Take It

Writen by Lance Winslow

If you are a non-liberal then you know that liberals cannot take a joke and they will not take criticism. In fact they dish it out all day long and say things like; President Bush is ignorant and a moron. They say things like; Bible Thumpers Are Too Busy Hallucinating to Understand What Is Going On.

In fact, if he were to criticize the behavior of a liberal or challenge them on the words that they speak they will he immediately start calling you names. They start by trying to claim that they are intellectually superior to you; in my case this is absolutely unwarranted, in some cases they may or may not be correct.

Nevertheless, a liberal will tell you to go read a book or call you ignorant. However, if we look at the selective reading material of most liberals it is completely skewed towards their belief system; in fact liberalism is more like a religion and religion is too conservativism. It is amazing when you challenge a liberal on facts, observations in the real world and their perception of what they believe has happened or occurred that they will call you unprofessional for not seen their point of view or perspective.

Indeed, I have argued many points of contention with liberals and I completely understand their perspective unfortunately they bring no new perspectives to the table that I have not already considered and yet claim to be of high intellect. However a docking the belief system of a group of people or a trendy movement of socialism, which is unfamiliar to the United States of America is not thinking and it is not intellectual pursuit.

Just because a liberal can raise their voice in opposition, this and moan about everything or complain about what goes on does not automatically make their perspective or perceptions correct. In fact it is quite obvious from anyone who steps back from the situation and looks at the whole picture that their views are simply incorrect. They claim to the intellectual yet disregard the reality of life on Earth and the known the constant of change or evolution of; flows, patterns, cycles and events of various human endeavors.

It is obvious that liberals are marching away from reality and care not to look back and therefore it is you relevant what they say or what they think. Trying to argue with a liberal is a waste of time. And isn’t it interesting that that’s exactly what they say about conservatives? If this is true why are we forced to see their perspective if they are unwilling to see ours? This article is a joke, I hope you got the joke. I’m just poking fun and I was just kidding. I think liberals are wonderful and sexy and I especially like the liberal women who grew up in the 60s. They really know their stuff.

UFO: The BFRO Bigfoot Sighting-Bigfoot’s Reaction

Writen by John T Jones, Ph.D.

It’s springtime in Idaho, the water is rushing down from melting snow scaring the hell out of folks as it rushes down the streets of some Idaho mountain towns.

One daffodil has poked its head in my front yard.

There is a dead starling in the front yard too.

I’m afraid to touch it. I don’t know if it died from the West Nile virus or the Chinkeroo bird flu.

My spell checker says there is no such word as Chinkeroo. There is now. I just love that “add to dictionary” feature.

Anyway, I just got back from Seattle and the great Northwest. When I got home, Xrytspet© from Fanton in G10009845788899990766 asked me if I had a chance to chat with Bigfoot again. This is how that went:

Hack Writer: No! The whole time, except when they were sleeping, I was playing with the triplets and their big sister.

Xrytspet: I know where Bigfoot is.

Hack: I guess he’s back from Florida. Did he have a good winter being the Swamp Ape?

Xrytspet: He stole away in one of those humongous Air Force cargo jets. It was headed for Fort Lewis so that the troops could complete their cargo-loading training.

Hack: I went to Air Transportability School at Fort Sill in 1950 or early 1951. We loaded the plane and took off for a ride over Texas. We “passed” because the cargo didn’t shift and squash us all.

Xrytspet: Your lack of concentration is phenomenal. We were talking about Bigfoot.

Hack: Sorry!

Xrytspet: He was spotted by a member of BFRO at a yard sale in Fostoria, Oregon. He was perusing a copy of Ancient Mysteries by Peter James and Nick Thorpe. The BFRO member was Cindy Keep Seeking of Yakima. She’s a Native American.

Phontos, the last Chican, was disguised as one of the regular bums that attend yard sales but Cindy Keep Seeking caught a whiff of him and noticed his great size. That’s when Phontos dematerialized and levitated out of there. Nobody noticed but Cindy Keep Seeking. There was no other witness.

Now, not even the BFRO members believe her story. The secretary of the organization said, “Bigfoot at a yard sale. Who are you kidding? Bigfoot lives in the forest.”

Cindy Keep Seeking told the organization “Go straddle a flying knife-edged dream catcher!” and she quit. Her last comment was, “You morons believe in every bump in the night but you can’t believe a sighting by a Yakama Indian in broad daylight!” (Read about the Yakama Indians at http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1588.html.)

Hack: That’s a big loss to BFRO. They should learn to be more tolerant of their member’s observations, especially if the member is a Native American that is expert in field observations. What in the heck is the BFRO, anyway?

Xrytspet: You’re sitting at your computer, idiot.

I searched for BFRO and came up with their site: http://www.bfro.net/.

Hack: I saw these guys on television. They claim to be “The only scientific research organization exploring the Bigfoot/Sasquatch mystery.”

Xrytspet: Well, they missed their chance. Phontos decided to get out of there and is spending the summer on Hudson Bay. He’s working as a short-order cook in the caf

Compromised Positions

Writen by J Square Humboldt

There is no denying that the sports business these days is awash in bright lights …

Quite often, though, the same can’t be said for the people or practices involved.

The passage of time, the fading of origins and the constant superseding of slang can combine to cause some curious contemporary contexts.

To start, have you ever really thought about how pedantic the word ‘quarterback’ is? When the innovators who metamorphosed rugby into gridiron football were telling players where to stand, it was only logical to have someone placed all the way behind the line called a ‘fullback.’ By then, soccer already had two defending positions which used that term, so they surely provided the acceptable sporting frame of reference. For the gridiron game’s founding fathers to next place another player halfway between the fullback and the linemen and call him a ‘halfback’ made sense, too. But, perhaps they overdid this theme by sticking a third player halfway between the halfback and the linemen and arriving at the unfortunately obvious titling conclusion.

It only figures that such a mathematically correct — but verbally clumsy — location of a player would turn out to describe the most important position in the game. Any sports fan has heard that word a thousand times and surely doesn’t think twice anymore about what it means or how silly it sounds. The rest of the salient world, though, is left to wonder what minds like those had named their kids.

On the other hand, the venerable game of cricket doesn’t even think the word ’silly’ sounds silly. Players’ positions in that game are also defined by their location, and they actually have a series of spots called ’silly point,’ ’silly mid-off’ and ’silly mid-on.’ In this case, it’s truth in advertising. That’s because they’re placed so close to the batsman that solid contact from a full swing could result in serious bodily harm from a scorching line drive, which means that someone would have to be absolutely foolhardy to play there. Or, maybe just silly. (Just so you’re aware that all cricketers aren’t that crazy, the ’silly’ locations are only occupied when the fielding team believes the batsman will only take defensive swings to protect his wicket.)

Certain topics just weren’t discussed in public a century ago. So, a gridiron position like ‘tight end’ or a rugby position like ‘hooker’ never gave anyone a second thought. That was then. I’m assuming those athletes frame their conversations with non-fans more carefully now.

There are times when even the sports media should think deeper about their choice of words. Sports fans often have to do a double-take at headlines being thrust before them. Here’s a recent offering from ESPN.com:

“Panel to Look at Claims Against Skeleton Coach.”

While it might have been tempting to muse if the story was about some incident after a play was ‘long dead,’ only a hardcore Winter Olympics maven would recognize that a coach for the headfirst sledding events is in some sort of trouble. The sleighs involved in that discipline acquired the name ’skeleton’ by a logic that was similar to that of the resultant term for putting a player a quarter of the way between the fullback and the center: the sled involved is literally a bare-bones equivalent of a bobsleigh or a luge, and the engineers must have gotten to it before the marketers did. Of course, if you’ve ever seen this sport in action, you could easily believe that its moniker was derived from what was left of an athlete if he ever lost control of his sled at 70mph.

Given the apparent discord between sports terminology and the perception of those same words and phrases by the rest of the world, it’s not surprising that sometimes, ordinary words can be a cause of confusion to those who have spent their lives in the sporting arena.

In the late 1960s, two former gridiron football stars-turned-broadcasters — New York Giants great, Pat Summerall, and Philadelphia Eagles receiver, Tom Brookshier — were covering a game involving the Washington Redskins. At the time, those two were better known for socializing before the game than for preparing themselves for the broadcast. Brookshier, especially, seemed to depend on the depth charts and player profiles laid before them in the booth, rather than doing his own research.

During the course of the game, a kickoff came to a relatively unknown Redskin named Herb Mul-Key. He got a couple of key initial blocks, found a seam and scampered for a substantial return. It definitely warranted a comment from the analyst, which was Brookshier’s role.

However, he clearly didn’t know anything about Herb Mul-Key. All he could do was look for something of note on the player-bio card, and he thought he found something.

“I see,” he announced, “that Mul-Key went to No-Knee College. I’ve never heard of that school.”

Summerall’s pause was extended. Finally, with subtle exasperation, he finally made the correction.

“I believe the word is ‘None,’ Tom.”

Brookshire was truly a man trapped in sports. I guess that meant, to him, the cue card had something in common with the term for another rugby position:

It was a tight head prop.

J Square Humboldt is the featured columnist at the Longer Life website, which is dedicated to providing information, strategies, analysis and commentary designed to improve the quality of living. His page can be found at http://longerlifegroup.com/cyberiter.html and his observations are published three times per week.

The Non-Sewer’s Guide to Hemming

Writen by Maureen Carney

What a hoot! I was talking to a group of plus sized petite women about the various measures we have taken over the years to shorten the clothes we buy that are too long. I never knew hemming could be so funny!

Of course, if you are even reading this, chances are you have done some of these yourself. It’s OK, don’t be embarrassed. You are among friends.

So, here we go:

The Velcro Method–They sell these little Velcro dots in notions departments. The dots have sticky backs so no sewing is required.. All you have to do is place one side of the little dots around the bottom of the garment’s sleeves or hemline and the other at the right length.. Next you just fold up the two pieces, squish them together and VOILA! Instant hem. Now, don’t skimp on the dots because huge puckers will occur. Oh, and never wash your garment with the dots still on because you might have to replace the dots after they go through the washer and dryer! And one more thing, Never, never iron your garment with the dots on because they aren’t exactly flat and after you iron them you have these big dots impressions along your hemline. So much for quick and easy.

The Safety Pin Method–Just buy a bunch of very small safety pins and keep them on hand if your Velcro Dots fail. This method is very similar to the Velcro Dots Method, and many people prefer this method to the Velcro Dots Method any way. Again, if you skimp on the safety pins, you will wind up with puckers. This is a very convenient method, just remember to place the safety pins on the underside of the garment! Oh, and make sure you use the tiniest stitch possible with each pin because you really don’t want anyone to notice that your hem is pinned up. It is recommended that the pins be removed for laundering because your garment may tend to get rust spots around the safety pins after going through the wash a few times. Do they make rust proof safety pins? Hey, there’s an idea for some budding entrepreneur!

The Scotch Tape Method #1–Just lay your garment down inside out and fold the fabric up to the desired length. Next place 2 inch pieces of Scotch Tape vertically at close increments along the desired length. This method works better on fabrics that are not fuzzy because the tape doesn’t stick that good on fuzzy material. The beauty of this method is that if you get a pucker or need a dart, all you have to do is put another piece of tape there. Don’t worry too much about laundering, just keep plenty of Scotch Tape on hand and redo the hem after each wash.

Scotch Tape Method #2–Only the experts should try this method and unless you can find really wide Scotch Tape, this method should only be used on the most delicate fabrics. Prepare your garment by turning it inside out and folding the fabric up to the right length. Hold the Scotch Tape in one hand and in one continuous motion, use your other hand to press the tape along the hemline, completing one entire side at a time. You really must turn the garment to get to the other side so you’ll have to put the tape down, unless you have a helper. Repeat after laundering.

The Duct Tape Method–Since duct tape doesn’t come in all colors, (Hey, another idea for budding entrepreneurs!) if you are using the usual dark gray duct tape, use it only on dark colored fabrics. This method works well on fuzzy material and is also good for heavier fabric like denim. The advantage of this method is that the duct tape is durable and usually will make it through at least one washing. We aren’t sure about clothes that have to be dry-cleaned–consult with your dry-cleaner when you are dropping them off.

The Super Glue Method–Be very careful when using this method. Some fabrics, especially synthetics, may actually be damaged by the glue. Do a spot test on the fabric somewhere that won’t show. You must work fast and be careful not to get the glue on your fingers, you might wind up permanently glued to your garment. Also, be careful not to glue your garment to the surface you are working on as you really don’t want a table hanging off your hemline.

The Double Sided Scotch Tape Method–Did you know that Scotch Tape comes in “Double Sided Durable” ? You can buy it in any large stationary store. This method is great because if your hem should happen to flip up, the tape is between the layers of the fabric and no-one will know your hem is taped! There are several possibilities for how to apply the tape. You may use small pieces, as in Scotch Tape Method #1 or you may attempt long continuous strips as in Scotch Tape Method #2. Please refer to Scotch Tape Methods #1 and #2 for laundering instructions.

The Press On Hem Method–They actually do make a special tape that you can press on to your fabric using your iron. Be very careful that your hem is exactly the right height because unlike the Scotch Tape Methods, this is a permanent bonding of the fabric. Do not use this method on a child’s clothes because if they grow you will not be able to let the hem down. Also be careful not to use this method on certain synthetic materials because they might melt when you apply the hot iron.

The Staple It Method–This method is only for thick skinned people who do not mind pointing and snickering when they walk by. There are two possible methods of stapling, depending on how thick your skin really is. You can staple from the inside out so only small parts of the staples are showing or you can throw caution to the wind and staple from the outside in. If you do decide to staple from the outside in, try to place the staples so close to each other that the line looks like part of the design of the fabric. Do not wear panty hose if you have used the outside in method as your panty hose will get snags from the staples. Please refer back to the Safety Pin method for warnings about possible rusting when your garment is laundered.

Well, that’s it for now. If you have any other hemming without sewing methods that you would like to share with the world, or if you want to find clothes that don’t have to be hemmed before you can wear them, join our community at www.GrandePetites.com. We intend to change the shopping experience for Plus Sized Petite Women of the USA!

Writing Articles Using The New Euro-Englisch

Writen by Luigi Frascati

It is the news of the day that the European Commission has just announced an agreement, whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility. Now that customs barriers have been abrogated, that all member States have adopted a single monetary currency, and that a common passport reunites all Europeans under the same flag, the next logical step was to have a common language denominator.

Americans in particular will appreciate the paramount importance of a single, common language and medium of communication. How would the United States look and sound like if, for example, people spoke German on the East Coast, English in the Midwest, French in California and Italian in the Deep South? Certainly it would be enough to give Ol’ Uncle Sam a huge headache. Fortunately, linguistic diversity will no longer be a problem in Europe in the forthcoming future.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement, and has accepted therefore a 5-year phase-in plan that would modify ‘British English’ (the one I normally use …) in favor of the new “Euro-Englisch”. Here are the highlights of the plan.

In the first year, “s” will replace the soft “c”. Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard “c” will be dropped in favour of “k”. This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome “ph” will be replaced with “f”. This will make words like fotograf 20 persent shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent “e” in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yar pople wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing “th” with”z” and “w” with “v” as well as “sh” with “sch”.

During ze fifz yar, ze unesesary “o” kan be dropd from vords kontaining “ou” and after ziz fifz yar, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech ozar. Ze drem of a United Urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yar, vi vil al be speking German like zey vunted in zeforst plas.

So, vhat do yu zink abut it ?

Luigi Frascati

Luigi Frascati is a Real Estate Agent based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and maintains a weblog entitled the Real Estate Chronicle at http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com where you can find the full collection of his articles. Luigi is associated with the Sutton Group, the largest real estate organization in Canada, and is based with Sutton-Centre Realty in Burnaby, BC.

Luigi is very proud to be an EzineArticles Platinum Expert Author. Your rating at the footer of this Article is very much appreciated. Thank you.

The Pardoner, Sins Best Friend

Writen by T.S. Johnson

Now, good men, God forgive you your trespass,
And guard you from the sin of avarice,
May my holy pardon save you all,
So you can offer coins,
Or else brooches, spoons or rings.
Bow down your heads before this holy bull!
Come up, you wives, and offer of your wool!
Your names I’ll enter on my roll, now,
Into Heaven’s bliss you will all go..

For I’ll absolve you, by my special power,
You that make offering, will be as clean and pure
As you were born.- And lo sirs, thus I preach.
And Jesus Christ, who is our souls’ physician,
So grant you each his pardon to receive;
For that is best; I will not you deceive.

In medieval times Pardoners were people who sold pardons or indulgences as a way for people to lessen their time in purgatory for the sins they had committed. These pardons were certificates from the Pope and pardoners themselves were sanctioned by religious houses given them the backing needed to sell these items. Pardoners became unpopular because many of them were seen as little more then frauds disguised as men of God. This image of unholy man playing at God’s work is the one Chaucer gives us in his Pardoners Tale where the last fifteen lines demonstrate not only how morally bankrupt the pardoner is as he tries to absolve others of their sins but it also is a reflection of the corruption in the church at that time as well.

The Pardoner begins the last lines of his tale by suggesting that the pardons he offers will be able to save those who purchase it from the sin of greed,

Now, good men, God forgive your trespass,
And guard you from the sin of avarice,
May my holy pardon save you all

Having the Pardoner suggest that his pardons would be able to save anyone from any sin, including greed is a complete stretch of what Pardoners were supposed to be able to do. Buying a pardon might be able to lessen the time one spent in purgatory but in no way would be able to save anyone from their sins. To have the Pardoner make such an obvious lie, given the fact that we know he is well versed in Catholic doctrine due to his ability to quote scripture in his tale, Chaucer is making a statement about the credibility and the moral fiber of this man claiming to be a servant of God. More importantly the Pardoner is preaching against a sin that he admittedly embraces. His focus on greed is also important because his tale was a sermon on how greed can only lead to death, yet in having the Pardoner first relate a tale of the danger of money and greed and then portraying him as being as greedy as the men in his story Chaucer uses him to portray the dissatisfaction that people had with pardoners and money loving church officials at the time.

The Pardoner asserts his authority to be able to sell pardons when he tells the patrons at the tavern,

So you can offer coins,
Or else brooches, spoons or rings
Bow down your heads before this holy bull!
Come up, you wives, and offer of your wool!

This official edict of his ability to sell pardons goes right to the heart of the corruption the church would have been experiencing at the time. With the Pardoner being as morally bankrupt as he is having church sanctioned authority to participate in what amounts to a government sanctioned swindle, Chaucer indirectly questions the morality of those in position of power in the church. By having the Pardoner wield his “Holy Bull” around Chaucer suggests that whoever gave him this authority knows of his corrupt nature and is just as corrupt as the Pardoner. However, Chaucer’s attacks seem to be aimed at the people in the church not Christianity itself. Never once is there a questioning of Christian teachings or principles, just those delivering the message. The Pardoner offers wonderful lessons on the dangers of gluttony, gambling and swearing, quoting scripture, and imparting ideals that should be followed, yet he is a man who indulges in the same sins he preaches against. This raises the question of how well those in the church were following the teachings of Christ that would later lay rise to Luther and the Reformation.

Also in these lines the Pardoner shows his method of ensuring that no one can claim that they don’t have the means to pay him his fees. In his prologue the Pardoner makes it clear that he doesn’t care about those that he’s selling his indulgences too. That they can be poor and if they can’t feed their families because of the money they give him for his pardons so be it, it is not his concerns. There is a sense of urgency in the lines as he requests these goods, as if by offering many ways for people to pay he is eliminating any possibility that someone would be able to say they don’t have the money or means to purchase a pardon and in turn fulfilling his own greedy desires he expressed in his prologue.

As he continues with his final plea to the patrons in the tavern he ratchets up the sell by making even more extraordinary promises on what he is able to do for one’s soul,

Your names I’ll enter on my roll, now,
Into Heaven’s bliss you will all go.
For I’ll absolve you, by my special power,
You that make offering, will be as clean and pure
As you were born.-

Here the Pardoner promises to absolve the patrons of their sins, a statement that is in direct contradiction of Catholic doctrine as only priests are ones that would be able to offer absolution. Part of the dissatisfaction with Pardoners was that there was confusion on what “powers” they had and what they were really capable of doing. Chaucer’s Pardoner is no exception. He, as his tale established, is clearly a man well versed in church doctrine so he knows he has no power to absolve anyone of sins and it is just a device to assuage the concerns of anyone who may be skeptical of him and what he is selling. He even offers to place there names on his roll as another way to look official and to reassure the patrons of his authenticity. Also, his willingness to deceive those that are relying on him for their salvation is similar to the three friends in his story. They thought nothing of deceiving and killing each other to fulfill their greedy plans and while the Pardoner isn’t a murderer he demonstrates once again how willing he is to deceive for his financial gain.

As he ends his speech the Pardoner reminds the patrons of the salvation that really matters,

And lo sirs, thus I preach.
And Jesus Christ, who is our souls’ physician,
So grant you each his pardon to receive;
For that is best; I will not you deceive.

The Pardoner seems to catch himself in these lines. The previous lines of the speech are all a push, one that starts small and then reaches a crescendo with the promise of absolution but then he brings it back to Jesus Christ seemingly as way to add another of validation to his request. As the “Holy Bull” acted as church sanctioned authority, reminding everyone of their Lord and Saviour gives him the spiritual authority as well. The lines seem to be delivered a bit tongue and cheek. It’s as if the Pardoner has realized he’s pushed things to far so, as any good shady salesman would, he reassures those he’s trying to sale of his honesty. The line is interesting, however, in that the pilgrims know that the Pardoner is a liar, so his assurance of, “I will not you deceive,” seems to be for reassuring the patrons at the tavern as much as it acts as a capstone a, ‘See, I told you I was good at this,” to the pilgrims who know his true nature.

Chaucer offers us an interesting window into the politics of the medieval world with his Pardoner’s Tale. The satire and unflattering portrait of this holy pardoner offers a look at the problems facing the church at the time as well as one of the best villains in English literature.

T.S. Johnson is a Florida Based Freelance Writer for Hire, Providing Nation-Wide, Professional, Freelance Writing Services. For All of Your Writing Needs Visit http://prologuezine.com Today!

Anne and Christy Want Open Borders in the United States

Writen by Lance Winslow

While all of us are arguing over illegal immigration, enforcement of law, fences and check-point at our border Anne and Christy are discussing a future world with no borders anywhere in the world. You know wouldn’t that be something indeed.

Call me a believer in the human race, as bad as the reality is sometimes, I see the possibilities. It is a doable dream. We need to get everyone on the same page and celebrate all those little differences. Instead we use differences to label and human groupings often call something different a name and call that different thing evil and use that enemy to build their team. This is human throw back trait we need to dump; perhaps it served us well in getting here.

It is time to move the human race forward and ditch the primate politics for another better way. Indeed the world is not perfect although should continually strive for such. We should have been better in taking our hemisphere under our wing and teaching and mentoring the rest how to best build stability in the flows of their civilizations. But we all know how tough such things can be, well anyone who is a parent understands for sure.

Actually I have given this a lot of thought and have some ideas on how to get this done, borrowed some ideas, observed some, built a company using some and have come to the conclusion it really is possible. So Christy, where as some may tell you that you are a delusional and hopeful dreamer, I on the other hand hear you loud and clear. I know we can do it, if we really set out to get it done. Indeed Anne, yes it is not an over night proposition and yes Rome was not built in a day and uniting the world is no easy task. Maybe our near term plan should be to secure and protect our borders, but the long-term plan should be to have none? Consider this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Are You a 24/7 Eco Warrior?

Writen by Lance Winslow

For those who truly care about the environment many consider themselves eco-warriors and work countless hours in their chosen cause. As a retired entrepreneur from the car wash business I always understood how important clean water is. As a runner I always realized how important clean air is. So am I an environmentalist by profession, observation or choice?

Well generally I do not consider myself an environmentalist at all, although my action appear to point to that? Additionally in my retirement and the author of over 6000 online articles; I will often write on environmental issues and have been called a 24/7 Eco Warrior? Do I like this title? Well it is interesting that perception one might get from their observations of my various activities.

However as far as a 24/7 Eco warrior; I am a 24/7 type of guy indeed, Eco Warrior, well I am a realist and believe in the cycles, flows and patterns of the Earth Systems and realize it will take care of its self, while the little human ants upon its surface do their thing. The issue really is that we need to be wise and not exacerbate the pendulum swings of the normal cycle flows. And we must maintain clean water and air if we want our own bio-systems to work right.

Indeed I feel the “Eco-Movement” often takes things too far and the doom and gloomers are not helping any real cause to change human behavior to prevent thru “noise canceling theory” to keep the normal frequency cycles of mother earth in line with what she has done for billions of years. I am not a Global Warming Alarmist, looking for a more balanced approach without destroying the flows of civilization to get there. I am a realist and have no problem debating in the real world, that’s where I live. Think on this in 2006 and ask yourself where do you fall on the environmental issues?

Lance Winslow

Man Conquers Forms; Oh the Day When? Lance Rants

Writen by Lance Winslow

Have you noticed that you are surrounded by forms everywhere you go; you are always signing your name to some piece of paper, but why; why all the forms everywhere? Who does this serve or is it a secret conspiracy to get you to submit to their bull crap rules, which some moron along the way made up.

Forms are the easiest way to kill an idea, lose a customer or piss someone off. Often due to all the lawsuits and lawyers we make forms so we can trace steps of who did what, so we can find someone along the way to place blame or hang on the ladder climbing human game of corporate primate politics. Indeed it seems all a big joke like that stupid reality TV Series of Donald Trumps; “You”re Fired!” Good you SOB, I wouldn’t work for you if you paid me, I bet you have a Toupe for your butt too?

When some one hands you a form it is indeed the ultimate insult; “a four letter” word in fact F-O-R-M. They are basically saying you are nothing more than a number, insignificant in every regard and we have reduced your usefulness to this linear two-dimensional piece of paper? What happens when man conquers form? What happens when we over come all that?

Well in one year I have not filled out one gosh darn form. I just think it is great. I have for one year so far conquered the form. “Hi My Name is Lance, I am a Form-aholic and it has been one-year with no forms for me!” Massive applause hits the room and everyone is in awe and shocked. I finally did it, I have finally made it, I have conquered the Form.

Lance Winslow

Sir Tom Stoppard, the Early Plays - Jumpers

Writen by Ian Mackean

Sir Tom Stoppard, the early plays.

7. Jumpers

One of Sir Tom Stoppard’s most successful early plays, Jumpers (1972), is structured on roughly the same lines as his earlier play Enter a Free Man (1963). George Moore of Jumpers, like George Riley of Enter a Free Man, holds convictions which put him in conflict with the society around him. And like George Riley his standpoint is partially discredited by his being somewhat ‘out of touch with reality’. George Moore is a professor of moral philosophy engaged in preparing a speech about the existence of God.

George is unique in his university department in that he believes in God, and it is evident that in this respect he is virtually unique in the whole society; a policeman is bribed with the chair of divinity, churches are converted into gymnasiums, murder is regarded as an inconvenience, and an atheist is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury. The play is full of evidence that the institutions of law, politics, and religion have been debased to serve the self-interest of those in power.

Against this background George is struggling to find convincing arguments to support his intuitive belief that God exists and that moral standards are absolute. To do so he has to tackle the philosophical questions of ‘knowledge’ and ‘belief’, and it is on this theme that Jumpers functions as a play, with the intellectual concepts being paralleled on a dramatic level.

Jumpers is, basically, a domestic farce, and Stoppard uses some of the traditional elements of farce; misunderstanding, deception and ambiguity, to highlight the problem of ‘knowledge’, with its dependence on perception and interpretation of ‘reality’. George’s wife Dotty may or may not be having an affair with Archie, the university vice-chancellor, who also happens to be a psychiatrist, doctor, lawyer, and ladies’ man. The scenes in which we see Dotty and Archie together are presented ambiguously, not only to George, but also to us:

‘(He opens the Bedroom door. In the Bedroom, no one is in view. The drapes - or screens - are round the bed. The ambiguous machine - the dermatograph - is set up so that it peers with its lens through the drapes. The camera-lights are in position round the bed, shining down over the drapes into the bed. The TV set is connected by a lead to the dermatograph. George pauses in the doorway.)’

Further ambiguous events occur, but Archie insists that he was only making a dermatographical examination. Failing to find evidence George still has faith in intuition, the starting point for his faith in God.

‘There are many things I know which are not verifiable but nobody can tell me I don’t know them, and I think that I know that something happened to poor Dotty and she somehow killed McFee, as sure as she killed my poor Thumper.’ (p.73.)

We soon find out, however, that Dotty did not kill George’s pet rabbit Thumper, George himself killed the rabbit accidentally and unknowingly, and so, logically, George’s arguments are totally undermined.

Another of George’s arguments is that the universe must have had a ‘First Cause’; this is also paralleled dramatically In the opening scene an acrobat is mysteriously shot and killed; this is the ‘first cause’ of one of the main strands in the plot, the murder enquiry, which remains completely unresolved. The policeman conducting the case is far more concerned with pursuing his personal interests than with looking for the truth,

In spite of his domestic and professional failings we sympathise with George because he stands for values which give life meaning beyond logic and self-interest. Dotty’s role parallels George’s in this respect. She is a singer with a repertoire of songs referring to the Moon as an agent of love and romance. Her ‘belief’ in these songs is shattered by news of the first British moon landing, and she is unable to continue singing. Modern technology has made the moon accessible to man and thereby banished the romantic associations.

George and Dotty are Stoppard’s representatives of human beings trying to remain ‘human’ in this world of rationalism and self-interest.

The Jumpers themselves symbolise the mentality of the new age. The metaphor has a number of meanings; they ‘jump through the vice-chancellor’s hoop’, they jump to the conclusion that there is no God, and in general they are automatons whose gymnastics represent the soul-less process of reason which has replaced religious faith. Acting as a team they are able to form the impressive display of a human pyramid. But, as the spectacular opening of the play demonstrates it only takes the removal of one man to cause the collapse of the whole structure. This represents the idea that the philosophical standpoint taken by the university and the society as a whole, though impressive and convincing, is a series of ‘intellectual jumps’ starting from a dubious first premise:

‘That knowledge is only a possibility in matters that can be demonstrated as true or false.’ (p.87.)

No conclusion is reached, but by the end of the play Stoppard has presented us, in his own way, with a picture of his perception of trends in modern society. Belief in God and the validity of moral values has become the exception rather than the rule, and without any viable replacement for religion the whole concept of the ‘value’ of human life is being eroded.

Read the full version of this essay at: http://www.literature-study-online.com/essays/stoppard.html