The Heavily Trodden Path....

I know I've been down this road more times than even I want to think about. But, once again I'm going to try to open some minds. And where, you might ask, are the most closed minded people found? In the world of religion of course. I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet, because at the end, I have a bit of awesomeness that I found that sums it all up better than I ever could. You might be thinking "Why even bother writing anything, just post it, man." Because I can. And I will. And if you know me, you know I have a hard time not putting my two cents in about anything. And usually, my two cents ends being about $1.50.

Anyhow, I've always thought the greatest quote that religious people should hear was in the movie Dogma. It goes a little something like this: God doesn't care how you believe, as long as you do believe.

I couldn't find the exact quote on the Unholy Internet, but that's mostly because I'm impatient. That is how I remember it being said, and even if I'm miles away from what it really was, that sentence still makes a great point. So many religions out there believe that there is only one true god. Why can't people accept that all those one true Gods might be the same dude, or chick. If it's true that they are all one in the same, then just pray to and worship them however you see fit, and then let others do it however they want. At the very least, quit arguing, fighting, and killing folks who do it differently.

I just going to say one more thing; If your God is telling you to kill/murder your fellow human beings, then obviously He's a bad dude. Pretty much every religion claims God as our "Father" and all the people are his kids. But, you say He wants you to go around slaughtering his other kids.

Maybe this is why I'm not religious. It's all way to friggin confusing to me. All the different rules, secret rituals, laws and ordinances, etc, etc. You can believe the story your chosen religion lays down, but if you don't practice the ways of worship and life your life the way they say, they'll kick your ass out. Kinda discredits the theory of an all loving, all forgiving God in my opinion.

I try to keep my devotions simple. I love Chevrolets and Football. A Chevy truck wont quit working for me because I've owned a Ford, and I'll never get kicked out of a football game because I used to play baseball.

I guess I managed to screw up the short and sweet idea, but I don't really care. If you've managed to tough it out and get to this point, the aforementioned awesomeness is below:



I couldn't have said better if I tried.

I'm done for now,

Goodnight/Good Morning

Go Away.

-B-

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”
--Robert McCloskey

The Sky Is Falling....

I received an email earlier, and although it seems like random paranoia, I figured I'd post it here, along with my response....
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The following advice, given by Dr. Oz, makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know:

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat or bathe.)

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine or Hydrogen Peroxide if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water, or hydrogen peroxide. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose softly once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*


5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

Pass this on to your entire e-list. You never know who might pay attention to it - and STAY ALIVE because of it.
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My initial response was this....

"Is this serious? As in, do people really expect others to do this crap?

So, I'm not allowed to touch my face, unless I'm eating or bathing. Ok, I get that that. But it never states whether or not other people can touch my face.

And then I'm supposed to gargle and snort salt-water? Not going to happen.

Wouldn't just "avoiding people who are sick and exhibiting symptoms" be a lot easier?"
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Granted, I will admit, the Swine Flu is a virus unlike anything we've seen in ... the last 20-30 yrs. They had the Swine flu in the 70's too. And even before that. Before you get all defensive and say that it's mutated, and changed; I know that it has. So has the common cold virus. So has every other virus known to man. Why is it that suddenly Hand Sanitizer stuff is selling like crazy, and why are people freaking out about hygiene? It's Flu season, shouldn't this be expected? No. Because even though the Flu has killed millions of people over the years, it has been accepted as a commonplace thing. I mean, c'mon, it's called Flu season for a reason. It has become a routine aspect in daily life. "Hey, it's flu season, get your shot, see you next year."

It tends to take a while for people to realize that stuff will evolve and advance itself. For instance, look at some of the stuff out there: AIDS, still not defeated, Herpes, they've been fighting that one for years, still nothing. What a lot of people don't think about is that a virus is a life form, and it will fight to stay alive just as much as you or I would. So you have to wipe it out completely to be successful. Of course, if you did wipe it out completely, Greenpeace would have to sue you. And if they didn't then that would mean their philosophy about protecting all natural life is flawed.

But enough with all the BS, just live life as it comes to you. Protect yourself as best best you can but still live life to the fullest. Try not to let the paranoia drag you down. Imagine your first day at school as a kid, you didn't know anyone there, didn't know what was going to happen, and were scared as hell.

Well, you handled the same fears when you were 5-6 yrs old, why cant you do it now?

But, in my opinion, if you find yourself snorting salt-water, you need help.

I'm done.

Goodnight / Good Morning

Go Away

-B-

Quote:
"Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong."
--Oscar Wilde