George Aar

I'm struck by how much our lives and our thoughts end up trodding on paths that have long since become well-worn. I guess it's hard to be unique when there's been so damned many of us. True visionaries are rare indeed. Looking over a little blurb about "Death of a Salesman" brought that point home to me. Willy Loman as everyman. As Arthur Miller put it "to excel, to win out over anonymity and meaninglessness, to love and be loved, and above all, perhaps, to count." I guess that's what we're all trying to do, to some extent or other. And despite what Willy's wife Linda may have believed, people don't have to notice, nor will they, much... Maybe that's why religion has always been so popular. No matter the culture, the climate, the availablity of the necessities of life, religion has always sprung up in every civilization. We've got to have something more to tell us it's not all just a pointless ride into oblivion. And if we can't find it, we'll make it up. And we're loathe to give it up once we've got it, no matter the implausibility of it all. Jesus is my imaginary friend and NOBODY is gonna talk me outta it. Well, if it works for you, I guess... And, no, I don't think there's a "Red Hat Society" for men. Whatever that is. If just doesn't sound like the kinda thing men do. Men don't comment on(or much notice) what other men wear, how they fix their hair, how their relationships are going, or much else that women seem want to do. So organizations for men generally revolve around drinking or playing or watching some game. Not much my speed either, I'm afraid. Another disjointed thought that's been running through my head lately. I often hear that marriage is "hard work". I never much believed that myself. I've always thought, if I'm gonna work hard, I'm gonna get paid for it. Marriage should be a respite from all that. Then I realized that it was always WOMEN who said that. Always. It seems to be a well-entrenched belief on the distaff side. Men don't generally espouse that idea much, though, from what I can tell. Kinda makes me wonder if maybe women really don't like being married all that much once they really get a taste of it. It turns into just another goddammed job. That would explain all the women who seem to take off once the kids are grown. Men go buy a yellow Corvette, and women dump their husbands. I guess that's life as it's supposed to be? Seems right...

Oh, and don't worry about your enemies. It's your "friends" that will cause you the most harm...

Geo, DON"T sell the farm! DON"T go W.O.W.! Get out of that insipid, pathetic little cult! Spend more time with those generous girls of your youth. Work smarter not harder. Invest a little of that money. And, above all, realize that Marriage ISN"T a lifetime deal, get over it...

No, not really. We've all been there, done that. But, for your own sake, I think it's good to unload. So, have at it...

I mentioned this a loooong time ago, so maybe a few don't know. At hq, in the EOB, on the ground floor women's room, there was one of the shower stalls that had a rather large louvered metal vent on the wall. Behind this louvered vent is a "mechanical" room - but- there is absoulutely NOTHING hooked up to that louvered vent. And from the dark mechanical room, a full view of the shower stall and a good portion of the rest of the bathroom is plainly visible. The last time I saw that room there was a chair set up behind that vent. I never asked why. I DID make a few guesses though...

Yeah, I've always had this trouble, you know, proving a negative and all. But if that works for you...

That's always the canard that's raised isn't it? Nope, sorry, not bitter. Not terrribly sad either. Just willing to succumb to the obvious, that's all. That, and maybe a touch of impatience with the smug, self-righteousness that is so often the hallmark of the deluded. And why is it that Christian faith = good, "Other" religious faith = bad?

Kinda sounds like "Sigmund Freud meets Ernest Angley" :blink: . Never saw that movie myself, but it doesn't sound very interesting. Maybe just tell all the intrusive, manipulative jerkoffs to take a hike? I know I would. At least NOW I would. Not so sure what I mighta done when a was a younger man. My advice? Just live your life. Do your best, live openly and honestly, and tell all the do-gooder "spiritual" meatheads to sell their soap elsewheres. They'll run yer life as much as you let. Don't give 'em that chance...

Well, the REAL truth is, Religion is bull...., Yours, mine, theirs, ours - all of it - is simply superstitious nonsense. You have no irrefutable objective proof of any of the nonsense you propound so adamantly. So maybe don't be quite to quick in your relegating of everyone else in the history of the world off to hell, huh?

I thought it was 1st and 2nd Peter that Luther didn't consider canonical? Oh yeah, and Revelation too... (uh, I'm not exactly a scholar of such things anymore, though)

I wasn't being facetious with you Goey. When I said "I don't know" - that's what I meant. I read some of the links you provided and I didn't get the whiff of serious snakeoil (like I did with the book that Cowgirl suggested) but, like I also mentioned, I don't know enough about the subject to really make an informed decision. But there were a few little details of the one article that kinda started to set off my B.S. meter, like the silly additions about raising their kids on butter and cream and such like. For the most part, though, I just don't have the expertise to know if the lady is really on to something, or if she's just blowing smoke. I know my paternal grandparents and my father all died rather young due to heart attacks. And my grandmother was a hefty lady who cooked with lots of butter and cream. And there were also complications due to cancer. And this was in that wonderful age where everybody grew there own food and everything was really healthy. So if the mainline medicine recommendations aren't really in our best interests, then what SHOULD we do? And yes, we were encouraged to eat margarine but I don't recall it ever being a prescrption drug. And I'm also old enough to remember when 9 out of 10 doctors recommended smoking Chesterfields, so I'm well aware of the pitfalls of lending the medical community more credence than they merit. But how do you decide who is shading their data and who is giving the straight dope?

Oh, not at all, I only started this thread because, as you noted, it's wintertime and we're inside more. And maybe cabin fever was taking hold? Dunno...

Exactly! That's the script that's being followed. 1. Propound the idea that mainstream medicine is simply out to ripoff their patients and control their lives by keeping them sick and incapacitated with harmful drugs and surgeries. 2. Play up the conspiratorial aspect of it all. The doctors, hospitals, and drug companies are all colluding to maintain their control over your life and money. 3. Insinuate that there is a SECRET cure that only special people know about, that, for a price, YOU TOO can find out, and cure all your ailments. Generally only a few specifics are given out, and the "REAL" stuff is kept sorta vague, so you can keep coming around for further developments. You want some examples? Just go to any "healthfood" or "supplement" store and glance at their book offerings. Or, better yet, look up what books they were selling 10 or 20 years ago with the secret cures that nobody's buying anymore...

Have I read the whole book? Nope. Likewise I didnn't read the whole book that claimed cancer could be cured by drinking lemon juice and distilled water. Or the book that touted the benefits of laetrile (remember Vitamin B-17?), or the ones that claimed that copper bracelets could cure rheumatoid arthritis. There's just so much of the crap around, there simply isn't time enought in the day to read all the pseudo-scientific claptrap. But there are "keys" class! Like, if the purveyor of said "cure" has no medical training whatsoever, has no history of real research in the field, and has in fact, been involved in something entirely different from what he is now touting, AND has a history of being prosecuted for fraud and tax evasion, just MAYBE you should view his earth-shattering claims with a bit of a more jaundiced eye? Maybe...

Hey Rocky, I made the connection (somewhat obliquely) in my last post. Geeze, pay attention!

No, Cowgirl, I think Trudeau is one of those that goes beyond simple delusion and steps over into the realm of con artist - that is, one who knows they're promoting B.S., but sees a way to make a buck at it, so... Sorta like a certain midwest preacher I once knew. http://skepdic.com/trudeau.html

And after all of that, don't you eventually have to wonder if there's any credibility to THE BIBLE to begin with? No, I guess not. At least it seems like that issue isn't given a great deal of thought amongst believerville inhabitants. The normal procedure is to simply accept the supposed authority of The Scriptures without resorting to any sort of scrutiny. We wouldn't wanna be found to be questioning GOD now would we? Whatever. Enjoy your stay on the planet. But don't feel bound to accept the nonsensical, kay? Always worked for me, but YMMV...

I'm with the squirrel on this one. Like the infamous red drapes, the snowy gaspumps, the Jain with the withered arm, or especially that "little boy" who got run over because his stupid mother didn't understand Wierwillian theology, this was just another B.S. story. I haven't ridden a bike in years, but I have little doubt that I could ride one, whatever the current position of the handlebars might be. I don't think I ever really bought the story. Just thought the Vicster was trying to make a point, so I let it go. I realize NOW that we all cut him way too much slack. Live and learn I guess...

I don't know what to think Goey. I currently take 10mg of Lipitor daily. My numbers have gone down significantly. I don't feel any different than I ever did. But... am I really doing myself any good by taking them? Ya got me... The thing I DO find a little troubling in your links is the preponderance of "Phds." and "concerned activist" and such like after contributors names and a dearth of "MDs". That, and the general tone (almost universally found in "alternative" literature) that the basic mindset of the AMA crowd is to milk as much money as possible out of their patients, and to hell with their REAL health needs. I just don't think that that is an honest reflection of what mainstream medicine is really about. I know that when one HAS a problem with their health, obviously they would like a solution. When mainstream medicine doesn't seem to have a real good - and hopefully painless and simple - cure, I think it's tempting to want to villify the "medical establishment" and seek out comparatively painless and inexpensive alternatives - thus the popularity of the whole "alternative" industry. I see WAAAAY too often, pseudo-science rules the day with the alternative crowd. Selective studies, poorly designed studies, "cherry-picked" data, and - most of all - anecdotal evidence are the bread and butter of lots of the "trapped-toxins-in-our-bodies-are-the-source-of-all-illness" and "natural-is-automatically-better" crowd. But, is there solid "truth" behind the articles you've posted? I just don't know. I just don't have the training to really be able to analyze any of the data responsibly. And, isn't that what the whole medical field - mainstream and alternative - depends on? Us just not being educated enough to really know what quality of care we're getting? Seems like it to me...

This was always a favorite song, one by Susannah McCorkle: http://www.rhapsody.com/player?type=track&...guid=&from= It always sorta spoke to me. I'm not even exactly sure what the lyrics mean, but it seems to communicate regardless... (a postscript: Ms. McCorkle jumped from her 16th floor apartment window in the spring of 2001 at age 55, she'd had enough I guess)

Oh, there's no big drama here Scout, but, as they said in the commercial "thanks for your support". I think it's just a valid assessment of where life goes. As in - slowly down the toilet. We get slowly older, uglier, and less capable as time goes on. And yes, we can eat more granola, take up Tai Bo or some other dubious regimen, and read more "inspiring" works by Deepak Chopra or Norman Vincent Peale or Frederich Nietzsche or some other equally unstable seer/conman. But the inevitable still looms doesn't it? And for what? I'm starting to wonder. Religion seems to me to be mostly childish, hopelessly irrational, and ultimately (and somewhat ironically) rooted in selfishness. I refuse to debase myself for another second seeking solice in such pathetic musings. But philosophy is cold comfort as well. Which sorta leaves me with day to day reality. Feh... I guess I sound a bit more dispondent than I really am. Life's O.K. Hell, I've got good work to do. My health is still reasonble. My kids are happy and healthy. Finances are O.K., and there's no big storm clouds on the horizon, near as I can tell. But the futility of it all gets to me from time to time. That and the boredom. I don't spose I'll be getting many offers to be the motivational speaker for this group or that, huh? Maybe risk analysis would be more up my alley?

The chocolate part sounds more Mexican than German to me. A "mole"? I've had it. I thought it was odd. Maybe I should give it a little more time... http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/RECIPES/RECI...le_mexican.html

The best New's Year meal I ever had was in Japan. There the tradition is to buy a really expensive gift box of sushi and sashimi and the like. It's a beautiful lacquered box usually with several tray/shelves thingies inside. All the food is beautifully prepared and wrapped and placed in the box. Most of the stuff in there I didn't recognize, but I was assured that it was all very "takai" (expensive). The very first meal you have is at midnight on New's Year's Eve. You drink sake poured with three tips of the kettle into your saucer. Then you sit down to a small meal of mochi (rice that's been pounded into a rubbery, glue-like mass that you have to eat with "hashi" - chopsticks). Then we all went down to the neighborhood shrine and paid the priest there for a little rolled up fortune. Eh, it was harmless enough... http://www.bento.com/fexp-osechi.html

Does this mean that Mitt Romney WILL be able to see the Patriots in the World Series this year? (I heard that he and his good friend M.L. King have already gotten their tickets for game #eight)

A large helping of "hair of the dog"...