Waiting On the World to Change

Take a Deep Breath, We'll be All Right

I don’t just have a special interest in the next few years in Politics because of my status as a Budding Mystic. I actually happen to have a future to look forward to, dreams to strive for, ect. Let’s just thanks all the Gods I have decided to go into Healthcare for now. It’s a recession proof field, so I’ll be all right, even if my Writing career has to be put on hold for a bit.

No doubt everyone here has heard of the coming Armageddon that is to supposedly befall us in 2012. We’ll get to that in a minute., but admittedly the news over the past few days has been rough. Torture Memos have been released, Iraq doesn’t appear to be doing all that well, Pakistan is trying to contain the Taliban in it’s own borders, the Swine Flu is spreading, Bea Arther has died (cries), ect.

And let’s not not forget the Economy.

Many people will tell you that the world is going to end in 2012 because that is when the Mayan calender ends. But that doesn’t really mean much. The Mayans vanished off the face of the Earth, if I remember correctly (and you will have to forgive me if my memory on this subject doesn’t serve me all that well, as I am too lazy to look it up). The Mayan calender has thirteen cycles, and 2012 is, I believe, the end of the last cycle.

So does that mean the world is going to self destruct? Hardly. You have likely heard of a series called Left Behind, by Jerry B. Jenkins. It is all about the “Rapture” and the “Tribulation” and the “End of the World.” It is possibly one of the silliest series on the planet, because, for one thing, it is based off of the Book of Revelations. Have you read Revelations? I laugh at anyone who claims they can actually interpret that book of the Bible. Left Behind was made into a movie that failed in the box office, but the nonetheless it sparked some of the “End of the World” feelings in the General Populace.

For one thing, I don’t take the book of Revelations seriously. I remember one incident in particular that solidified that feeling. My mom gave me twenty bucks to go to Youth Group with some old family friends when I was sixteen or so, and they were talking about Revelations. I was bored, and I took an interest in the conversation. That was around the time The Da Vinci Code was causing quite a controversy, and I had been reading Elaine Pagels, so I asked the Youth Pastor who wrote the Book of Revelations. This is how our exchange went. (Again, forgive me if some facts are wrong here. It has been at least a year since I last did any heavy lifting on this topic and as I explained, I am too lazy to look it up).

Youth Pastor: Well, all we really know is that it was written by a person named John. Some Biblical Scholars believe it was John the disciple-

Me: So no one actually knows who wrote it? It says here that this John had a dream and this is what the entire book is about. A dream.

Youth Pastor: Yes, well-

Me: And I am pretty sure that the Book of Revelations was written quite some time after Jesus’s death, right? Like…. hundreds of years or something? So how can this book have been written by John the Disciple? That makes no sense. So it must have been some other John. This entire book, the Book of Revelations, is just a dream by a random guy named John!

Youth Pastor:

Me: That’s it, isn’t it?

Youth Pastor: Well, yeah.

Me: Okay, then. I’ve proved my point. Carry on.

I didn’t bother arguing any further because the guy sitting next to me was really hot, and I got distracted. But I’m still not going to forget that conversation because it just made me think more about 2012.

Personally, I don’t think that in 2012, the world as we know it is going to end just because the Mayan Calender will.

A lot of people actually believe that the next few years will be filled with upheaval (Wars, Famine, and Economic Collapse) and the result will be a spiritual awakening, or something of the like, in 2012 that will mark the beginning of a long process that will take us to the Age of Aquarius.

I don’t know, myself. But I know I’m going to try to remain optimistic, no matter what happens. I won’t get upset about what’s in the news. What will happen will happen. As little people, we might not think we have control over much, but… okay, we don’t have control over much.

My point is to have a little Faith. It might seem like things are really terrible sometimes, but you know what they say: “With Darkness comes the Dawn.”

Shadows always pass, but then the Sun comes out. Sometimes, for things to drastically change (and don’t you agree that things need to drastically change?) we have to endure pain and sadness. It’s like making mistakes. You can’t regret them TOO much, or else you’ll never learn from them!

Well, anyway, I just needed to share that with someone.

It all just reminds me of my favorite Scene from Lord of the Rings. This one here:

Oh, and this is Bullet Witch, my favorite “End of the World” Video Game, because Alicia saves the world and blows up demons and such, all in High Heels:

“End of the World” Open Thread!

Swine flu: here we go again

update below

The news is spreading everywhere: Mexico flu ‘a potential pandemic’. In the next few days we’ll probably have a replay of the bad old bird flu days. Tamiflu! Hide in your house! Shoot the postman! Or whatever level of idiocy we achieve this time.

I did one of my POPs (Pissed Off Posts) on that occasion, and I think it’s time for a rerun.

First, this newest flu strain, H1N1 (CDC info), sounds vicious. It’s communicable between people (in the US, as of this morning, there were 11 cases with no fatalities) but it’s already killed dozens of people in Mexico. This makes it a far more serious threat than bird flu, which was almost never caught from another person. So being worried about this new flu is not a mark of loopiness in the same way as setting your hair on fire over bird flu. But panic is still an intensely foolish reaction, and the points I’ll run through below are still valid.

Fiction 1: We’re all going to die. It makes for a good movie script, but this is not the way flu works. Even SARS, which had an exceptionally high rate, had about 15% fatalities. Obviously, the only good rate is zero. The point I’m trying to make is that exaggerating risk does not help anyone to deal with it.

Fiction 2. Quarantine will stop the disease. Imagine two different scenarios. You feel the first twinges of something that could be flu. In the first scenario, you go to the hospital, get tested, receive free medication, your whole family and all your contacts are tested and also receive any necessary medication. People who see how you were treated are also alert to any sign of flu and go to get treatment as fast as possible. In the second scenario, you go to the hospital, and get tested. Then you’re quarantined for an unspecified length of time, your family is quarantined and unable to go to work, pay the rent, go to school, or do anything they have to do. The money spent on finding and quarantining you and yours is not available to provide an adequate supply of drugs. Obviously, in the second case you’ll rush to the hospital at the first sign of flu. Not.

Sunday Midday Open Thread

I just wanted an excuse to post this graphic.

What are you doing today?

Your Breakfast read, served by The Confluence

I read the news today oh boy

Where is the SoS today?

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton flew to Beirut on Sunday to meet with Lebanese officials ahead of a critical election that could see a pro-U.S. government ousted by the militant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and its allies.

One of the US victims of “torturegate”?

US interpreter who witnessed torture in Iraq shot herself with service rifle

It is possible that one of the victims of the United States’ torture policy is a young, devout Mormon woman from Arizona called Alyssa Peterson. She was a soldier who not only saw the rough interrogation methods that the US military used on Iraqi prisoners, but was deeply troubled by them. Some weeks after formally protesting about them to her superiors, and asking to be reassigned, she took her gun and killed herself. The cause of her death was kept secret for two years, and the mystery of what Peterson witnessed, and the content of the notes she made, still goes on.

After the men screwed up in Iceland so soundly, women decided to take over and clean up the financial mess. The Icelander decided it was about time and gave the Prime Minister job to openly gay Johanna Sigurdardottir. Those silly Europeans!
At the Polls, Icelanders Punish Conservatives

It looks like we are stuck in the Iraq quagmire. Thanks for nothing Bush and Cheney.

Is Iraq sliding back into chaos?

The sudden upsurge of violence in Iraq has set the alarm bells ringing and raised many disturbing questions. Does it mean the situation is sliding back out of control, as US troops prepare to leave Iraqi cities by the end of June and quit Iraq as a whole by 2011?

Are we on the verge of a serious pandemic flu?
Fear of pandemic as killer flu strain spreads
Students Fall Ill in New York, and Swine Flu Is Likely Cause

Obama’s first 100 days. Five historians put in in perspective. You make your pick.
Obama at 100 Days: How Does He Compare?

Because I’m a sucker for economics and good business management, this is my favorite:

Brothels cut prices to beat the recession

It has not taken long for the global financial crisis to affect the world’s oldest profession in Germany.

In one of the few countries where prostitution is legal, the industry has responded with an economic stimulus package of its own: modern marketing tools, rebates, discounts and gimmicks to boost falling demand.

Some brothels have cut prices or added free promotions, while others have introduced all-inclusive flat-rate fees. Free shuttle buses, discounts for seniors and taxi drivers, as well as “day passes” are among marketing strategies designed to keep business going.

Tim Geithner tells you what he and his colleagues have been up to:
We must keep at the process of repair and reform

Dominique Strauss Kahn says if they clean up the financial system the stimulus could be enough.
IMF says existing stimulus could suffice

Why you should carefully and wisely design your living- and your work space.

How Room Designs Affect Your Work and Mood

Architects have long intuited that the places we inhabit can affect our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Now behavioral scientists are giving their hunches an empirical basis.

Scientists are unearthing tantalizing clues about how to design spaces that promote creativity, keep students focused and alert, and lead to relaxation and social intimacy. The results inform architectural and design decisions such as the height of ceilings, the view from windows, the shape of furniture, and the type and intensity of lighting.

Such efforts are leading to cutting-edge projects such as residences for seniors with dementia in which the building itself is part of the treatment.

When will criminals learn that open fora are actually open?
FBI Arrests Oklahoma Teabagger For Twitter Threats

This is actually funny

‘Ill’ worker fired over Facebook
A Swiss woman has lost her job after her employers spotted she was using the Facebook website when she had claimed to be too ill to use a computer.

And how did I miss this story?
Man pretending to fall off Hwy. 77 bridge actually falls

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