Surviving the Circus

Clint Eastwood comments on gay marriage which surprised many, including me. I agree with him 100%. The people are being forced to focus on issues that they should not be focused on. There are more important issues to be faced such as hunger, jobs, homelessness, war, etc.               Clint Eastwood: ‘I don’t give a f*ck’ if gays marry (via Raw Story )            Don’t expect to see him marching in a Pride parade anytime soon, but gays may have found an unexpected ally in Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood. In the October issue of GQ magazine, Eastwood said that Republicans were making a big mistake by opposing same sex marriage. “These people who are…        

Living in Arizona, I see so many people without health insurance and just like in South Carolina (my home state), if a woman does not have a qualifying child, she does not qualify for help with health care. It seems to me that people of faith should care about health care for all people, regardless of their race, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, or job status. See  Matthew 25.31-46. How do you get health insurance? Keep in mind that in order to have health insurance, one must usually have a spouse so that they can afford insurance, or - one must have a full-time job that offers group insurance. Even then, sometimes the insurance premiums are so high that one cannot afford to pay them and continue to feed the family every day. What about college students? If you’re working part-time and going to college, you have no coverage whatsoever. I know, because my daughter has two part-time jobs and no health insurance coverage. She is barely 21 and is already in debt....

New research using details about people's lives as well as measuring particular output using  electroencephalography (EEG), has led researchers to believe that good leaders have different brain waves than others.   This is important because in the past, we have thought that the reasons were solely based on psychology.  However, studies still show that listening to classical music does have positive effects on the brain.   This fact alone, should still remind us that we must nurture our children properly and not turn them over to video games and television sets to be entertained.  Regardless of brain wave activity, the proper atmosphere can enhance a person's mental, physical and spiritual well-being. As parents, we all want to do what we can to ensure that our children are those of whom this study speaks. If good leaders have different brain waves, then we want to contribute to helping our children have those particular brain waves.  Leaders...

Most people think of Einstein when they hear the word genius. But defining genius is actually based on such strict criteria that very few people can ever hope to be among those who hold the title.   For instance, while looking for methods of defining genius, I naturally started at the beginning... with the dictionary. According to Dictionary.com , Genius is defined as: an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative and original work in science, art, music, etc.  and as: a person having an extraordinarily high intelligence rating on a psychological test, as an IQ above 140.  For many years, science has been noticing the parallels of the genius mind with the mentally ill mind, thereby giving us even stranger ways of defining genius. Vincent Van Gogh certainly struggled with his own demons and even went so far as to cut off his own ear. Yet, he has left us some of the  most beautiful art in the world, and is my favorite...

Have you ever wondered how many words per minute you can read? Well, I have, and now there's a test over at Staples that will tell you how many words per minute you can read and still comprehend the text. I did pretty well, but actually thought I would do better. I read 426 words per minute, which is 70% better than the national average. If you decide to take the reading test, here's a secret - they will ask you 3 questions at the end of the reading, so pay attention because it's also about reading comprehension. This would be an excellent test to give students to see how well they are progressing in the education process. After the reading test, your score will be shown along with average scores for different groups of people, such as 6th graders, college students, college professors, etc. Click on the image below to take the reading test and find out how many words per minute you can read and comprehend. Good luck! Source: Staples eReader Departmen...