Surviving the Circus

No, I'm not joking - at least not about the prediction. A respected (in Russia anyway) Russian professor has made this dire prediction for the US. This is not a new prediction by this Russian professor, but it certainly is his craziest. Still, the Russians are broadcasting this potential demise of the US twice a day. I guess they conveniently overlooked that even the good psychic professor only gives this demise a 45-55% chance. My laughter came to an abrupt halt and was replaced by a terribly unsettled feeling when I saw this statement... "...dean of the Russian Foreign Ministry's academy for future diplomats." Yikes! This bozo is manipulating the minds of future foreign diplomats? For a decade, Russian academic Igor Panarin has been predicting the U.S. will fall apart in 2010. For most of that time, he admits, few took his argument -- that an economic and moral collapse will trigger a civil war and the eventual breakup of the U.S. -- very seriously. Now he's f...

There are currently 23 scientific studies which show that we can help each other attract what we want. Can it be true? I believe it can be true. I believe it is within our power to come together and help each other attract miracles. I know Christians believe in this, but many other faiths have had similar experiences also. Over the last 50 years independently verified studies have shown that small groups of people holding the same intentions (thoughts, prayers, wishes, etc.) have lowered crime, ended wars and improved the economy in their area. There's even a formula that determines how large a group needs to be to have an affect on the population - and it takes just 8,185 people to affect the world's population! Dr. Joe Vitale has created a website called "Atract Miracles," which is devoted to gathering more than 8,185 people together, to attract miracles. Each member can ask for miracles, and the entire group can hold the intention for much larger miracles too. If y...

I'm having a great day! First, I thought I wouldn't have enough money left over to get my daughter a Christmas present, but then I remembered a gift card from last year. There was only $9 left on it, but I found a shirt that was marked down to $11, from $36. Cool!! Then I came home and checked my email, and found I just won first place over at Helium for an article... WOOHOO! Ok, there were only 26 articles in this category, but hey, I won. Every little victory counts! Christmas gift ideas for your girlfriend Excerpt: Hopefully, you haven't decided to break up with your girlfriend just so you don't have to worry about a Christmas present. Everybody has trouble choosing presents, so it's definitely not a good excuse. Presents don't need to be expensive to be cherished and enjoyed. It's also nice to include a second, less expensive gift such as some candy or other little trinket, preferably something that reminds you of her. Read More...

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I love ants, just not in my home. They need to understand that they have altered my universe by intruding on my sacred space and that will not be tolerated. This has been going on for a couple of weeks now, and so I am trying to learn SOMETHING from this. Surely there is a life lesson in there somewhere! Four or five little scout ants appear every day in and around the bathroom sink, apparently to scout the area and see if there is any food available. Persistance - that's an okay lesson. So what if things didn't work out yesterday, let's try the same thing again today. You can't give up - Never give up. But what about the lesson the ants aren't learning? Haven't they noticed that their scouts never return? Why do they keep sending more ants out to the same place when that place is their graveyard? So, maybe my lesson is to learn that you can't find food in a desert, or you can't drink from an empty well. Or... sometimes it's just time to move on ...

Lee Iacocca cut his salary to $1 a year when Chrysler was in trouble. The following statistics are for CEOs for the year 2007 as posted in April of 2007... view these statistics and more on the nation's top earners at WSJ GM: Rick Wagoner's $1,283,333 salary + perks : $10.19 million Ford: Alan Mulally's $666,667 salary + perks : $28.18 million Wachovia: G. Kennedy Thompson's $1 million salary + perks : 23.85 million Why would we want to bail out these people? Thank God the senate didn't pass the automaker bailout. Unfortunately, President Bush has indicated that he could tap into the initial $700 billion bailout and help them anyway. See NPR for more info. The defeat of the $14 billion bill by a 52-35 procedural vote late Thursday prompted lawmakers in both parties to call for the White House to tap into the $700 billion Wall Street bailout to help General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, which have said they could run out of cash within weeks. Let's face it, whe...

The Fearless Blog has unknowingly challenged this particular avid blog reader to avoid using state-of-being verbs. The typical every day blogger usually doesn't think about such things when posting, but after some contemplation, it is the opinion of this humble blogger, that taking such things as verbs into consideration could certainly help to improve an article's impact. Another inspiring factor to consider is the actual challenge of writing without using a state-of-being verb. This process is considerably more difficult than one might think. Creativity and challenges give many bloggers the motivation to write when the daily grind saps all inspiration from the mind. Such is the case on this day. May all bloggers who have read this post and the post at The Fearless Blog feel free to accept this challenge and leave a brief excerpt using the comments feature below. God bless bloggers! Technorati Tags: writing , blogging , using verbs Generated By Technorati Tag Generator

According to the AP the Supreme Court has refused to review the legitimacy of Obama's birth in the US. I just wonder why it took so long to get this issue off the map. The state of Hawaii previously concluded that there is no doubt that Obama was born there. A birth announcement has even been found in the Honolulu Advertiser. The birth certificate is not a fake. The nonpartisan Web site Factcheck.org examined the original document and said it does have a raised seal and the usual evidence of a genuine document. * Full Story

My daughter is graduating high school this year and even though I am hoping that she will remain at home and go to college within driving distance, I am still planning to give her a laptop as a Christmas/birthday/graduation gift. Even if she remains at home, it will be a huge benefit for both of us to have computer time whenever we want. My old laptop just doesn't work well with all of the new flash features and interactive sites such as facebook and myspace which are sites I don't believe she could live without. Recently I came across a site that offers reviews of several different brands of laptops and even helps you determine which features you need depending on who will be using the laptop and for what purpose. Top picks are also listed as determined by C-Net, PC Magazine and About.com. Apparently, the overall best laptop across all categories is the Lenovo ThinkPad X300. This one looks great and I would love to have it, but it is a little more than I wanted to spend rig...

I love facebook for keeping up with my family and out-of-town friends and my church group, some of children's friends, and I've been able to connect with many friends from my past. A couple of days ago, I added the "Facebook Me" link at the top of my blog. But now, I'm wondering, should I really use facebook to "connect" with fellow bloggers and blog readers? Since facebook constantly shows what is being "written" on walls of your friends, will having a group of people not associated with your actual family and close friends infringe on their privacy, or maybe become an aggravation? I am able to see what other facebook "friends" (who are not on my list of facebook friends) write on MY friends' walls, and so I just can't figure out how having a large group would be a good thing. Especially if every time one of my friends writes on my wall, every friend on my list will see it. Are you using facebook? If so, is it just for your f...

The laid-off workers hoisted placards saying, "Bank of America: You got bailed out. We got sold out." I saw this story on one of the cable news networks, but could only find it online at Reuters. The TV version had a brief interview with one of the workers who was asking people to take their business away from Bank of America. They feel that BOA is not properly managing business considering their recent bailout and that they should have continued to extend credit to their employer, Republic Windows & Doors. I agree. The story goes on to say that the window company has known for weeks that they would close, but didn't inform employees until last Tuesday, that last Friday would be their last day. By law, they should have given them 60 days notice, but how is such a law enforced? If there's no money, then you close, law or no law. Unfortunately, they are losing benefits including vacation pay which has already been earned - by merit, at least. The company blamed BOA...

My 91 year old aunt was at our Christmas family gathering yesterday. She was frail and couldn't walk, and sometimes forgot who we were or that we had already said hello, but otherwise she was spry and in good humor. As we were talking, she took part in the conversation by stating that her Grandmother was 100 years old. Naturally, we thought she was "lost" somewhere in time, and we didn't think we had an ancestor that lived that long, so there were multiple voices of "Oh really?" and "Wow!" and "How about that!" Then silence. A few seconds passed and suddenly Aunt Ola spoke up and said "I was lying." OMG, the room roared with laughter!! It's such a paradox dealing with the elderly who have tiptoed into senility but don't always stay there. You never know if they are serious or if they are actually trying to make you laugh. My Father was the same way. He had Alzheimer's and he had such a good sense of humor. I remember...

Ice cream - I ate it every night with my Dad. It was one of the few things we did together. My daughter hardly knew him, and the few years she had with him were riddled by Alzheimers. She is 17 now, and we rarely miss a night of ice cream. We only have a bowl though, not a whole pint or anything. My Father liked his ice cream with fruit and/or nuts. I didn't, I only wanted chocolate or vanilla. But that has changed over the years and now I enjoy my ice cream in a "few" flavors. My favorite is Banana Split, folowed closely by vanilla with caramel and almonds. My favorite standby is fudge royal or an ice cream sundae. I just can't seem to give it up, even though I have known for some time that it is an emotional bond to my Father. It's my comfort food and eating it is my comfort time when I am at home in my comfort zone.

Found a really interesting story about colors of the year over at The Artist's Muse: "What Color is the Coming Year?" It's definitely worth the read... Included in the story was a "synopsis of the meanings ascribed to the colors often used in Christian religious icons" which I have included below for future reference... I think it's interesting to know what the colors might mean to others, especially our favorite color. * Gold symbolizes divine light. * Blues are associated with heaven, mystery and the mystical life. * Red is linked with heat, passion, love, beauty, life. * Orange-red, associated with fire, suggests fervor and spiritual purification. * Purple & crimson are associated with royalty and the divine. It is the symbol of supreme power. * White is associated with the divine world, purity, innocence, and is sometimes used with what Orthodoxy calls "the uncreated light." * Green represents the earth's vegetation, fertility, y...

Dr. Mojzsis said... “The stage was set for life probably 4.4 billion years ago, but I don’t know if the actors were present.” Well, I don't know either, but personally, I do believe that the PRODUCER was present. I call him God. As it is with any producer or director, it is up to them how much or how little they actually do with their production. They might micromanage it from beginning to end, or they might set the stage, give some preferences, and then let the project develop on its own. Either way, they should still get credit for the implementation and completion of the project. Scientists have again modified their opinion of the formation and habitation of an early earth. I find it comforting to know that they actually do update the public whenever they uncover new information or have new theories. Science A New Picture of the Early Earth By KENNETH CHANG Published: December 2, 2008 Geologists now think the planet soon became a cool place of land, seas and perhaps even life. ...

They were in oblivion, the young man and the old. They could have been figures in a painting: not moving, just quietly fishing, so calm and serene. They didn't see me watching; I could not be so bold. I knew I was intruding on their sacred ritual for men. A snapshot of a lesson passed from Father to son, that words cannot transcend. My soul sang and leapt for joy as I quietly drank it in. It was then I knew that a secret observed shouts more loudly and penetrates the heart more deeply than a secret simply overheard. I longed to stay and remain a hidden participant of their fold. But the knowledge and the spirit of life's sacred moments had not escaped me, and so I tiptoed away, allowing them their day. Yet in my heart I carried a vision that is with me to this day. My husband and our son - experiencing life in the very best way, on a very good day. * Writing for 1000 words meme