Swine Flu tips

my sister is very knowledgeable about epidemiology and the like (3 years as a bio/chem major before switching back to piano performance). she did her internship with the northern CA CDC and worked part time at Livermore Labs to pay her way through school. the thing that news outlets aren’t telling you is that beyond the medicines that treat symptoms, inoculation and resistance are being proven more effective than any vaccine. this is her suggestion on how to get started:

my own little controversy

a special, Islam-themed link dump… here’s the “why”: i came across the stories that i’ll link to at the bottom simply as i was browsing the daily news. it seemed that you, my dear readers, would find them of interest. and then i realized that i should have some good news to balance them out. and so, gather your hasty generalizations and phobias and your racism and discrimination, and let’s all throw them around.

-here’s my nod to the video game community. on an unrelated note, i found out what a “koz” (sp?) player is last night fo’ rizzle. i wasn’t sure if the conversations previously described “cause” or “cost” or what, but it’s truly amazing.

-this community group in sunny San Diego has a current service project list that should make Eikon blush. of course, there are more folks taking ownership in that group and they’ve been around longer. but have you ever heard of a church that helps out with folks who can’t afford a proper burial or memorial service? not a lot of income or membership potential in that. the only Christian i know of that’s involved in hanging out with refugees in the States is my sister. but this Muslim community does it almost WEEKLY. immigrants aren’t sexy, and certainly, the clip art and stock photos on church billboards and websites would lose some of their luster if people with no money or family within 2000 miles were depicted instead… (*busily scribbling notes to myself on what eikonchurch.com version 2.0 will look like). can you imagine no buildings, no flash animations, no sparkling bleached white teeth or big haired pastor’s wives… just a picture of an African or Asian or South American family huddled in a furnishing-absent apartment with a headline that says “Eikon exists for these dudes” or something eloquent like that. hot damn.

-hope for peace with Israel involved? maybe… perhaps unity is possible when both sides make concessions. not popcorn and garlic fries. the other kind.

your Islamic vocab lesson for the day.

word 1: Ihsan. “It is a matter of taking one’s inner faith (iman) and showing it in both deed and action…” use it in a sentence- “Serve Allah and join not any partners with Him: and do good (Ihsan)― to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbours who are near neighbours who are strangers, the Companion by your side, the way-farer (ye meet)” Surah Nisa 4:36.

word 2: Zakaat. “alms for the poor.” use it in a sentence- “And remember when we took a covenant from the children of Israel: Worship none but Allah and be dutiful to your parents, to kinfolks, to orphans and to poor and speak good to people… and pay Zakaat (Al Baqara 2:83).

for what it’s worth, it’s interesting to note that our sister/parent faith, Judaism, has a similar word,  Tzedakah, which sounds (when pronounced correctly) a lot like Zakaat. so, these 2 ancient world faiths demand charitable giving, and Christianity doesn’t. i’m getting religion envy.

-and now for the not so good. 2 glaring examples (as opposed to the millions of Christian men who ignore, abuse, mistreat, verbally assault, and objectify their wives) of failures. a failed example of painting Muslims in a positive light (unless he turns out to be innocent) and a no-bones-about-it story, only a few steps behind that previous guy.

 

i guess my hopes in posting this are that we will not be judged and condemned as Christ’s followers by the evil of a few, but by the shining light of all Kingdom seekers, and also that we will live as God dreams humankind could… as even the Qur’an says: “Bismillaah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem,” or “in the name God, the infinitely compassionate and merciful…”

link dump day! 325 days left for ‘09.

SLY is back, witches and bros…

-i have a friend who had an interesting thought based on what must be a boat load of, well, you know… she questions whether she has ever experienced true altruism, on her own part or that of anyone else. this of course sent me scurrying to the dictionary to make sure i understood exactly what it was that she was asking. “Altruism is an ethical doctrine that holds that individuals have a moral obligation to help, serve, or benefit others, if necessary at the sacrifice of self interest… a selfless concern” (Wikipedia).  so, there you go. a professing alien (Christian/Christ follower for our intents and purposes) who went to a Christian university with me and worked since then on staff at a church. and she’s seen nothing, including me, that fits that description in her memory. scathing, right?

-here’s a bizarre post from a lady-pastor regarding communion. it’s a bit scattered for my taste and although she raises some interesting points about “sterilizing communion,” her opening hook is a terrible example. we each know how much we scratch our heads, ears, booties, noses, and we feign disdain when we see someone leave a public restroom without washing their hands. but i’m sure that i occasionally miss a hand cleansing… heck–this morning my eyes were itching and i had been on the computer for a good half hour already and i was rubbing them a bit. disgusted with myself and wary of catching pink-eye-causing poop particles in the windows to my soul, i ran over to the dummie sized pump of hand sanitizer and prayed for mercy. this said, why on earth do we trust people to be clean? in Mineral Wells yesterday, we ate at one of the 2 mexican restaurants in town and our server put down our considerably hot plates without hot towels, instead quickly licking his fingers before picking my platter up off his tray. i was so tempted to say something, but they were on the bottom of the plate, and my food was on top, and i think germs crawl or hop slower than i eat. SO… should Eucharist servers be asked to wash their hands before they serve? absolutely. i’m far more trusting of individuals i know than i am of people in general, so yes, keep your bacteria infested dirt crusted fungi loving fingernails and hands off of the portion of the body of Christ i’m about to consume. OCD much? perhaps. another point of view on the same sort of issue.

-some of you have been privileged enough to hear what i think about having babies, both for me and michelle, and for the rest of the world. for the few of you that haven’t, i’m pretty sure that any more kids than you can carry in the arms of mum and daddy simultaneously is too many. i have know a family that consists of 5 kiddos and 2 parental units who live in ABQ, who are shining exceptions to my hasty generalizations. they’re raising some of the most different, free spirited, but God-loving, intelligent, and disciplined children i’ve met. TIME has a nice pieceexposing the flaws of all y’all haters who have been scorning and bashing the “octuplet mom.” why is it your flaw and not mine? because i’m against anyone having too many kids. i find it reprehensible for people to be so overtly self absorbed, especially Americans (you know, the country that has 6% of the world’s population and consumes 60% of the resources? here’s the evidence leading to our guilty verdict.). anyway, new mom x 14, Nadya Suleman, is apparently going to dig her own social grave today and tomorrow on national TV by opening her mouth about how awesome she is on NBC. and yes, as a fellow resident of the same planet, it is my business.

-more desperation and grasping at straws for the man (read: Starbucks). and i secretly rejoice.

-this, Michelle, is why you shouldn’t smoke pot.

-no words for this driver licence test.

-anyone who’s seen the Constant Gardener should know that regulating drug companies and practicing frequent full disclosure might be a good idea. now some of the people who help keep us sane are seeing the light. figuratively speaking.

-i’ve been to the LA Museum of the Holocaust and seen that eerie pile of shoes. i’ve chatted with an Auschwitz survivor and an army soldier who stormed Normandy. and perhaps having learned from its recent string of debacles, the Vatican is learning. it’s about time.

green team themed SLY… 353 days of thunder remain

today is “whateveriwantittobe” monday, and it’s an environmentally friendly monday, although it’s also a bit of a link-dump day, too. we get to go to california this week. i’ll get to see my LOLOLOL bff (wut) Rooms (markymark) and my funky bunch family for the first time in forever. we’ll make sure we see the blue Pacific and some mountains whilst we have the chance. and i’ll hug a redwood for anyone who wants. pictures will ensue, no doubt.

-for all of you texans who religulously follow the whatiseikon blog, i found something recently that may be a benefit of deregulation in the sneering faces of all of the bummers of deregulating the electric utility industry. it’s the site electricitytexas.com, which allows you to compare and purchase the service you want, looking at all publicly available plans. you can even sort and search through criteria like the amount of “green” energy you’d like to purchase, whether it’s wind, natural gas, etc., and even allows rich folks to purchase credits to offset the ungreenness of their own households or even the households of others. now, there is no excuse for any of you to allow coal ash to tarnish your carbon footprints without your expressed approval. yes, clean energy costs more. but isn’t it worth it?

-speaking of coal, i enjoyed the commercials during the election time that spoke glowingly of how technological advances are allowing coal to be burned cleanly these days and that we should all rush to invest in and purchase from these wonderful companies that truly have the world’s wellbeing at heart. also, i didn’t miss the disclaimer at the end of these commercials that it was paid for by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. it takes about a 2 second look over the members of this coalition to see that we might want to add a grain of salt or two hundred to these advertisements. here’s the education part: the industry is absolutely right in touting their improved filters that help keep pollutants like sulfur dioxide and mercury from exiting smokestacks into the air directly. this still begs the question, where do the mercury and sulfur dioxide go if they’re not going into the air? the answer: in detention ponds like these pictured on the Time magazine website. go ahead and read the whole article if you’d like. this isn’t the first time i’ve pointed this out. especially noteworthy is the fact that many of these ponds are notlined in any fashion, allowing water and toxins to eventually sink into the ground, which is where we get a lot of our food, and where our water flows before it’s pumped into our homes. hmmm. out of the kettle and into the frying pan, yes? as Bryan Walsh states so succinctly, “in reality, we can’t really talk about clean coal — it doesn’t exist.” a Sierra Club director later wonders aloud if the industry could have spent some of that advertising cash on improving the disposal of the carcinogenic waste-products that are silently killing our world.

-in a typical split personality manner that we’ve come to expect from the current president and his administration, he recently catered to diametrically opposed special interest groups simultaneously. Bush had announced about 2 years ago that 3 new marine preserveswould be set aside for national protection and enjoyment. and then the government spent the next 25 or so months arguing how much protection these preserves would actually receive, in case any higher bidders came along, right? now, the administration is pushing the limits of the Clean Water Act of 1972 to see if they can again bend over backwards for the man, whoever it may be. this time, it’s a gold mining company that wants to dump waste products in a lake in the mountains of Alaska. awesome.

-in what has apparently been an underwhelming auto show in Detroit, many fuel efficient vehicles are being debuted. one has to wonder, if only 1 car company had been bold enough to have these vehicles ready to go right this minute, or perhaps last summer as gas prices hovered at $4 a gallon, how filthy rich would they be right now? and how tired would they be from laughing at the bowing and begging and sniveling  of the other companies. but still, for some crazy reason, i can’t help but feel a bit of deja vu about these fuel efficient, zero emission, electric cars before. maybe in 1891?

-finally, a recent study from the University of Michigan shows a slightly surprising link between the modern city and mental health. in the Velvetine Rabbit, the little boy gets sick and travels to the sea to get better, right? perhaps it’s not just that being in a natural or rural environment is good for you, it’s also that being in a city might be bad for you. the link between behavior patterns for children who have been diagnosed with ADHD is starkly different for the two settings. 2 takes on the story–saucy and sarcastic or more contemplative.

-news flash: humans are not as smart as we think we are. we get our grubby little fingers in the cookie pot and ruin the whole lot. proof positive here.

green team! green team. shhhhh. greeeeeeeeeen teeeeeeeeeeam.

SLY… 360 days left this year

-i know i listen when an astrophysicist makes suggestions on how to improve anything about me. shouldn’t all the airlines? cause this one has come up with a method that might reduce boarding times by five-sixths.

-Michael Guerriero got fired and made the most of it. he hopped in his SUV and criss-crossed the country looking for the best parties. now he’s written a book about it. and for all of you out therrrre looking forrrr a rrrrrrowsing good rrruckus to be a parrrrt of, there’s even a festival in Florida where a ship full of ”pirates”sails into port, takes over everything, and even gets the keys to the city from the mayorrrrr. rrrable-rowsing ensues. good times.

-how cool is the title “Grand Warlock,” especially Mexico’s Grand Warlock? cause he’s got some inside info that says that the US pulls out of the Middle East and instead hungrily looks at our neighbors like Kobayashi looks at a pile of Hebrew Nationals. yep, he predicts a buildup of military strength along the border as we try to grab some additional territory. for what it’s worth, he predicted that 2008 would see the deaths of Britney (you know which one) and Fidel (you also know which one) and that oil prices would be stable.

-inspired by the example of famed Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, a few hundred good people hurled shoes at various political figures. well, at their pictures at least, which is far less illegal than tossing footwear at a dignitary. and God bless the news writers and reporters around the world who don’t have English as a first language, but the first sentence in this report alone is worth the look. what does a venting spleen truly entail?

-you’d think that maybe two or three investigations would be enough to detect fraud. maybe 5. but 8? averaging 1 every 2 years for 16 years? and they all failed?  i saw that the SEC must defend its existence, and i readily agreed, because we all know Les Miles is a douche, and that the Pac-10 is truly the conference of champions. then i realised we were talking securities and exchange, and i still readily agreed.

-i recently had a conversation with a few people i respect, asking the question of whether it’s better to be involved in multiple service initiatives or throwing one’s life into a single cause, at least one cause at a time. obviously, some things are temporary or even seasonal, hence the exception. i also was wondering aloud if there was a way to meet and help people who may be homeless or on the brink of homelessness, and that have no desire to stay that way. the single mom and kids who just couldn’t make ends meet but don’t desire to live on the street. the vet who’s checks only cover rent in a small apartment in a bad part of town, so he instead pays for food and lives at the night shelter. the 19 year old who fled an abusive home and wants to go back to school but has to work full time just to make it week to week. so, here’s a great story about a lady named Irish. she was a druggie. she was homeless. and apparently, she had gangly teeth. but through the Day Resource Center, and through programs in Fort Worth’s 10 year plan to end chronic homelessness (betcha didn’t know it existed),  she has signed the lease on an apartment last March. she works full time. she has new teeth thanks to the generosity of these programs. i consider that success. and i want in.

-4,042 homeless people were recorded in Fort Worth during the 2007 census.

-back to the 1 pursuit vs. many pursuits question. i just finished a book called “the Dip” by Seth Godin. in answer to my own question, i’ll use an analogy from his book. consider a woodpecker. he could stay busy all winter long, tapping 100 times on 2000 different trees. or he could tap 200,000 times on one tree… and get dinner. for what it’s worth, the book is truly short at Godin’s readers’ behest, and it’s sharply to the point. highly recommended.

-just to even things out, here’s a little infoon how absent the Kingdom of God is from the metroplex. and how generally stupid, hurtful, ignorant, and racist we are, also.

part SLY, part other amazing things

loves it. there is SO much material that people give out. if it were rope, we could lynch them so many times over that the memories of the 32nd time (the time it ceased to be funny) would be distant.

without any further ado, i give you “things banks say that we wish they wouldn’t say after we gave them billions of dollars because of asinine choices they no longer want responsibility for.” hmm… i’m going to have to shorten that some.

“We’ve lent some of it. We’ve not lent some of it. We’ve not given any accounting of, ‘Here’s how we’re doing it…’ We have not disclosed that to the public. We’re declining to.” –Thomas Kelly, JPMorgan Chase. ($25 billion)

“We’re not providing dollar-in, dollar-out tracking.”–Barry Koling, SunTrust Banks Inc. ($3.5 billion)

“We manage our capital in its aggregate,”–Tim Deighton, Regions Financial Corp. ($3.5 billion)

“Meh.”–generic public relations statements explaining that the billions of dollars infused are being used to strengthen balance sheets, Citibank and Bank of America (2 of the world’s largest banks)

“Meh [the bailout money has allowed us to stop foreclosing on houses for a while]…”–Richard Becker, Marshall & Ilsley Corp ($1.7 billion)

“We’re choosing not to disclose that,”– Kevin Heine, Bank of New York Mellon ($3 billion).

“[the bailout money] doesn’t have its own bucket [but we didn't use the 1 billion or so dollars in our recent purchase of a Florida insurance company, but there's no way to be sure since we're not tracking the money, but i guess it sounds good to say that we would have made the purchase regardless, but don' let that allay your fears that we needed the money desperately].”–Bob Denham, BB&T Corp.

“We’re not sharing any other details. We’re just not at this time,”–Wendy Walker, Comerica Inc. ($2.25 billion)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

this book review will change your life. or maybe if you read the book, it might, you asshole.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

i’m taking the journey from a self-diagnosed “clever” person to copywriter to smart copywriter to marketer to smart marketer that understands that the product and the offer(ing) is more important than the hype. you can take it, too.

the number of days left this year? single digits now, baby. (9)

cheers.

special edition SLY… 13 days

today’s edition is a special WTF?, gag a little, and generally be disgusted this holiday season edition. be ye shocked at the boldness, tastelessness, or grossness of these slices. enjoy the taste of bile in the back of your throat.

–as is being well documented, government waste knows no bounds. here’s a contribution from the FBI.

–embattled Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich just got packed. (does anyone remember that word in the school ground basketball court connotation? that’s how i’m using it here.) the Ill. attorney general just swatted his request for state assistance for his legal defense. if only he had sold that Senate seat a bit sooner, he’d have no problems forking over the cash.

–remember Dwight and the secret for his phenomenal strength (that of a man and a baby)? he may not have been lying, as resorbtion strikes fear into the hearts of unborn twins everywhere.

–i have no problem with a LBGT person. or persons. (ok, the transvestite thing weirds me out a little bit–it’s such a jolt when you realize that the nice amazonian lady over there is anything but… still, whatever floats your boat .) what borderline disgusts me is the agenda that some of them have, as evidenced by this story. look at this headline, and then read what the story is actually about. let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind at the true difficulty to find unbiased reporting. at least authors  Smith and Henderson admit that this “rapid, angry reaction from a range of gay activists comes as the gay rights movement looks for an opportunity to flex its political muscle.” when the choices made for the invocation reflects an elected official’s religious faith and draws the ire of a single minded self-promoting political faction, it’s a little annoying.

–my favorite vodka is proud of their new association with the new film, MILK. make of it what you will. i haven’t seen the movie yet, but i’m wondering if this is shameless pandering by the makers of the delicious 80 proof life-giver, or if there are some good martini scenes in the flick, or if they’ve got folks within the company who genuinely care about the equal treatment of all people groups.

Sly… 14 days left in 2008

–bet this interaction with Rick Warren will make you think a bit, regardless of what you think about the state of our country and our current president.

–links a plenty: the more things change, the more things stay the same. proof positive: oh look–people can now use money they don’t have to buy things they don’t need on credit cards with lower rates at prices that are going to put more people in positions where they don’t have much money to buy useless things that bury them under heaps of debt, but it’s ok because the dollar has less power than any time in recent memory. and there you have our country’s financial crisis in a nutshell.

–the Man wins again. the empire is still being saved, though. the state of Florida is going down on the US sugar industry to the tune of $1.3 billion to regain ownership of hundreds of thousands of acres in the Everglades area. i guess there’s not a lot i wouldn’t do for that much, but in addition to the $2 billion American families fork over to the sugar industry every year, not including the profits from that pumpkin pie and ice cream you had for Thanksgiving or the sugar plums and candy canes for Christmas.

–4 thoughts on this story about a Muslim woman who was jailed (10 days) for contempt of a court when she refused to remove her hijab (headscarf). 1-does anyone still subscribe to these antiquated rules of formalities and customs that started 300+ years ago? i don’t usually wear hats, but i’d be happy to refuse to remove my hat until the judge in whatever courtroom i’m in dons… i dunno, a white powdered wig, perhaps? 2-the lady can’t take off the scarf because of her devout religious beliefs, but profanity in a courtroom is ok. really? 3-a devout Muslim lady named Lisa? Lisa Valentine? agh… i’m stepping on toes. 4-can she really claim to relate to the environment of the civil rights era South? people don’t choose to be born black in a oppressive whites-dominated region (vs. a religious faith). headgear is prohibited regardless of race, sex, faith, whatever divisive categories people have, not just Muslims (as opposed to color of skin). she was not knocked down with a stream of water from a fire hose. she was not lynched. no one (that’s mentioned) threw things at her, spit at her, insulted her verbally, or anything remotely like that.

–another fun judicial system story. this judge is finding that freedom of expression and speech isn’t for places like the courtroom. come on, people… she told the crime  “victim” who shrank away from proceeding pressing charges that the experience had been “a crazy waste of time.” she told a bitchy defendant who complained about his free court appointed public defender he just  “got what [he] paid for.” why isn’t she getting a medal for this?

–what has four thumbs and could be pictured in the dictionary as an example for the word “asshole?”   these guys. just to clarify, i mean the people ordering the swastika cake for their kid named “Adolf Hitler.”

–what has billion dollar thumbs and accomodated the baking needs of the aformentioned Campbell family? these guys.

–SNL has legitimate competition. (i have some thoughts about the shoe tossing incident that i may post here soon.)

–and the shoe-thrower has fans all over the world.

–note to self: the food may be rocking and the sake may be flowing, but crowd surfing is a BAD idea in Japan. i wonder if anyone said anything clever before everyone realized how serious the situation was.

cheers.

sly… 27 days till ‘09

–there is a dark underbelly to the world of SNL skits and radio talkshow prank calls. and it affects everyone.

–one of the most influential unions in the US, the United Auto Worker Union, has reluctantly agreed to suspend what’s called a “job bank.” it’s this neat little magic trick where union workers’ dues get used for a variety of things like paying up to 95% of unemployed union member’s former wages. (i can say “reluctantly” because i’m biased. i’m not a news source at all.) it’s at the behest of the big 3 American automakers, whose execs are back in DC asking for money for their companies. apparently, based on the current rate of their inflating requests/demands, the big 3 can keep coming back every other week over the next 12 weeks and be demanding all $700 billion. now that would CERTAINLY save the American auto industry for the next 20 years. (we can expect Chrysler back again in DC in about 25 years, can’t we?)

– despite feelings of cheer (in mall parking lots), indebtedness (to credit card companies), expectancy (of choosing the wrong gift), and the other emotions Christmas in America brings, there’s nothing like exacting a little legal revenge for the trampling death of a loved one in this season’s celebration of consumerism, greed, and utter disregard for human life. cheers, Walmart, and cheers to all the degenerates who happily shopped as 6′5″, 270 pound Jdimytai Damour lay dying of asphyxiation from said trampling. never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers.

–Walmart considered the seasonal worker “family.” i can think of dozens of sarcastic comments to insert here. can you? they are also, according to the spokesperson, “saddened.”  oh. ok.

–the NY Times had a great piece. a self-incriminating piece, but a great one still that looks at how our society should fairly spread the blame for this senseless tragedy. and with almost every tragedy, it comes down to lust for power… or wealth. i’d love to know your reaction to this.

–despite the her wardrobe-induced political malfuntion, Sarah Palin is still soaking up that brand-named clothesy goodness. i know Alaska is a great big state with a teeny tiny population, but there’s no way their governor should still be out doing great and wondrous things for the GOP this far after the election. don’t you have poor people and natives to ignore, Mrs. Palin? (btw – there’s a great slideshow of the governor of Alaska halfway down this blog post.)

–you heard it seventeenth here– Senator Kay Biley Hutchison might be in the running for the governor of Texas. in other news, current governor Rick Perry scratched his left ear twice within the past hour.

–on a more cheery note, Christmas does have some saving graces, does it not?

–there’s something to be said for sticking with dining establishments where you know and trust the servers, bartenders, and cooks, yes?

–i know the Constitution allows for the bearing of arms, but at what point does the NRA throw up its hands and say, “ok… that might be a little much?” how about a micro uzi designed for Israeli special forces that fires 1700 rounds per second in the hands of an 8 year old boy? if you somehow managed to spray those bullets equally distributed into a crowd of perfectly spaced people, you could kill 102,000 people in a minute. that’s almost as many soldiers as the US lost during WW1.

–another point of view on the mortgage debacle (i think we’re past crisis by now). this investor believes that those who bought the riskiest mortgage backed bonds and securities should be allowed to lose money first, rather than Triple-A rated (safer, at least relatively) bonds. it’s the other end of the microscope where poor decisions and risky financial moves are being rewarded. i, for one, feel a bit cheated by the whole thing. note to self-the government is actually vulnerable enough to public opinion that it will actually take responsibility for my future money mistakes.

and now for a barrage of events filed under the word “oops.”

–this is what happens when that one contractor hits the “delete” button instead of the “send” button for the ID card applications for more than 3,000 seaport workers….. OPEC can cry itself all the way home from the bank as oil drops below $44 a barrel….. Canada’s Prime Minister just shut down Parliament (can he do that?) in an unprecedented move to prevent his political career from being tonight’s headline on the FAIL blog….. hope the folks on this cruise ship brought extra food, water, and clothing because they’re stranded adrift in the Antarctic ocean for a little while longer…

cheers.