I found this article dispelling marijuana myths using marijuana facts.

Now, this is the way to combat anti-marijuana people! Use factual, not emotional arguments. You will win, if you do.

A good read, so check it out!

Marijuana: The Facts

Zits. Why do we get them? That even though we religiously follow a scrub-tone-moisturize facial routine, they still annoyingly sprout out of nowhere? It’s been a common problem for us girls or even guys alike. And yes, it’s embarrassing. I know guys naturally have oily skin so they have good chances of getting these pesky pustules on their faces. For girls, I’m guessing it’s caused by makeup. Come to think of it, I seldom wear makeup but why do these annoying zits haunt my face?

According to acne.org, there are numerous elements that may cause acne: hormones, diet, evolutionary biology, vitamin deficiency, or stress. I take the last one–stress.

Now we know the causes, how do we keep clear of these ugly lumps? Here’s a few tips.

Andreas Roseneder  the nazar boncuk patch vinylic on poliethylene masterBatch 2009

My aunt is currently renovating her house. Since she knows I deal with interiors and decoration, she called up to ask about a good paint color for her house walls. I suggested to her, why doesn’t she try out wallpapers. Now she hasn’t been to my house yet. So she had no idea about the kind of wonder wallpapers do to our homes. So, when I suggested it her wallpapers, her immediate response was, “Aren’t they limited in patterns?”

This is just another myth about wallpapers. Wallpapers are available in every kind of shade, pattern and texture you can think of. Also as I have already mentioned in my previous post, a variety of other kinds of materials like jute, silk, metallic are also available.

Patterns like stripes and geometric are the evergreen ones. You can get unlimited styles in them. You can always find a new perspective every time you look at them. They never grow old or boring.

Also wallpapers are available in a multiple number of textures which gives a chic finish to your walls.With so much to select from, once you finish wallpapering your house, it will definitely be a dream home!

Wallpapers are not just papers. The base is made of paper so that it sticks to the wall properly. The surface of the wallpapers is decorative and is made of different kind of materials. Most of the wallpapers are made of PVF (Poly Vinyl Foam) on the decorative surface. PVF surface makes the wallpaper washable, color retardant and gives it a good, long life of around 7 to 8 years. Besides PVF, wallpapers also come in the variety of materials like jute, silk, cane, bamboo, fiber weave, metallic, etc. to name a few.

A special range of wallpapers is also available, like the acoustic wallpapers and the energy saving wallpapers.

There is an entire gamut to choose from while you opt for wallpapers; from washable venyls to heavy duty commercial grade scratch resistant wallpapers to the delicate silk material. You can make your fashion pick.

As I was saying in my last blog, the so called problems surrounding wallpapers are all myths. A lot of people think that wallpapers peel off easily and are not long lasting. Well, that’s a pure myth. Wallpapers stays on the walls as long as 7 to 8 years.

There may be only a couple of instances when your wallpaper might peel off. The first time your wallpaper might peel from certain places is within the first week of installation. That happens because different walls have different absorption power. The adhesive used to paste the wallpaper is absorbed by the wall, rendering the wallpaper base dry thus it leaves the wall. There is no need to panic. Even you can put the adhesive and re-paste it. The second time wallpaper might tend to peel is during the first winter after installation. If you have noticed, during winters, doors tend to expand and jam up. The walls too expand during winters, thus making the wallpaper peel. All you need to do is re-paste the peeled off portions.

Apart from these two times wallpapers do not peel off on any occasion. Marshalls has introduced a Permanent Joint Sealer, which is used inside the wallpaper joints. This ensures that the edge of each sheet of wallpaper stays glued to the wall. Good life of wallpapers on a dry wall surface is as long as 7 to 8 years.

If nobody sang and nobody laughed

and nobody cared much about you,

If nobody spoke a word of cheer

to help your long day through;

If all the joy went to the great

and nothing was left for the small,

Then surely the world would be upside down

and life hardly worth while at all.                            ~Author Unknown

December 1984: not a single cloud marred the skyline that noon summer day in Sao Paolo. But there was rain.

The favelados called it Imaculada Chuva, the rain being born seemingly out of God’s own eyes. For the first time in over a decade, the 95-year-old was able to bend his knees and kiss the muddy ground. The entire street knew him and they all rushed to help him up, thinking he may be dying. When they came up to him, they saw that he himself was crying. “Mary is crying for us,” he said. “The dead are weeping with forgiveness.” When Jose Carlos was young, he had led a sordid life. He led a bootleg operation 1920s, but there were rumors in the favela about his involvement with crime lords, that he did unforgiveable deeds on people just as poor as he is now. Jose Carlos never thought that God would offer a true miracle to the favela before he died.

Little Davi splashed his bare feet under the warm trickle of dirty water from the gutters above, unaware that his parents inside were making love after having a terrible fight over a broken dish.

The twins, Maria and Mariana, laughed infectiously as Maria fried plantains and Mariana sewed up her child’s torn pants. He had been playing with the older boys again and she was worried he was going to fall in with the wrong crowd.

The bare-chested men practicing capoeira at the beach stopped to squint at the rain falling from the sun. When the rain dried, the capoeira dancers at the bottom of the hill began their furious dance again, refreshed. Their lightning feet struck the air, kicking out rainbows over the hillside of the favela.

On that morning, the favelados said that all sins had been washed away, that they were given another chance and the favelados celebrated in the evening until their legs were no longer good for standing. When they woke up again, life resumed as it always had, though there was an exuberance in their eyes where, before, they were only the abused eyes of the desperate and forgotten.

CONTRARY TO MYTHS ABOUT ADHD:

1.Not all kids with ADHD are hyperactive    2.ADHD kids are often able to concentrate on activities they enjoy, but have trouble with boring or repetative tasks.    3.ADHD kids may try to be good but are still unable to sit still, stay quiet, or pay attention. They are not choosing to be difficult.    4.ADHD often continues into adulthood. Therefore, it is wise to choose the best treatment early on.     5.Medication is often not the best option. Parents should try education, behavior therapy, support at home and school, exercise, and proper nutrition.

Partly Cloudy: A Lonely Cloud Creates Hazardous Babies for His Stork-Partner

Partly Cloudy is a delightful animated short film by Pixar Animation Studios, which was named as one of 10 films to advance in the voting process for the “Animated Short Films” category for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.  The list is international, with movies representing production companies from Australia, France, America, Canada and other countries.

In Partly Cloudy, the storks get their babies from way up high in the stratosphere, where cloud people sculpt babies from clouds and bring them to life.  However, in this story there is a real dilemma.  Gus, a lonely and insecure gray cloud, is a master at creating “dangerous” babies: crocodiles, porcupines, rams and even much worse.  Gus’s beloved creations are truly works of art, but they’re more than a handful for his loyal delivery-stork partner, Peck.  As Gus’s creations become more and more rambunctious, Peck’s job gets harder and harder.  How on earth will Peck manage to handle both his hazardous cargo and his friend’s fiery temperament?

Partly Cloudy: A Lonely Cloud Creates Hazardous Babies for His Stork-Partner

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abcactionnews.com (Tampa) : Investigation – Sex offender ordinance results in only one arrest.

Video report: Sex Offender Ordinance Ineffective.

Hillsborough County, FL – Hillsborough County’s commissioners created a supposedly tough ordinance that would ban sex offenders and predators from parks and playgrounds. But in the 12 months since the county’s sex offender ordinance has gone into affect, how many arrests has the Sheriff’s Department been able to make?
“We’ve made one,” says Captain Alan Hill of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

State Representative Richard Glorioso says the problem with Hillsborough County’s ordinance is that it contains so many exceptions, it is operationally ineffective. “Right now that person can be in that park sitting on a bench next to your kids and the officer has no authority to tell them to leave.” (because that is a violation of a citizen’s constitutional rights)

For instance, while it bans sex offenders and predators from parks and playgrounds, there are exceptions for dropping off their own child, or a friend or relatives child. Or while traveling to and from religious services, and to and from official business.

“Right now that person can be in that park sitting on a bench next to your kids and the officer has no authority to tell them to leave.” says Glorioso.

Which is why Representative Glorioso is now introducing a bill that would create a new, tougher statewide law which would close many of the loopholes in the Hillsborough County ordinance. “We do two things. First of all if you a sexual offender or predator on conditional release or probation you will not be allowed in a park, period. If you’re in the registry we create a circle of safety of 300 feet around the children where you cannot loiter,” says Glorioso. However, even under Glorioso’s bill those in the sex offender registry could still visit parks if they stay more than 300 feet away from children.

State Representative Richard Glorioso’s Bills:
CS/HB 77 – Sexual Offenders and Predators (killed in 2009)
HB 119 – Sexual Offenders and Predators (alive for 2010)

If you live in this man’s district, contact him and tell him what you think (he is your servant).

thecypresstimes.com : Of Myths and Monsters: The Plague of Sex Offender Panic.

If we want to address sex crimes in America, we need an honest approach. We need to seriously consider what truly works, not what simply feeds our anger and fear and makes us “feel good.” We forget sex offenders are also human beings, capable of remorse and redemption. We forget how easily we can fall into our own sins, all of which is the same in the eyes of God.

There are ways to address this issue from a realistic standpoint. We may not be able to stop every tragedy from happening, but we prevent much more sexual abuse by looking at the issue honestly. We must put aside our preconceived notions and our emotions and stick with what works. The right knowledge is power. Prevention and education programs do indeed exist, which addresses sexual abuse from a realistic and rational standpoint (such as the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center and Stop It Now!). We need to educate our youth on sexual responsibility and accountability, and not just from a fear mongering perspective. Sex education must include discussions on sex crime laws. We also need to have a balanced and healthy view of sex, meaning we can teach sexual responsibility in a tasteful manner without simply saying, “Don’t have sex or you’ll go to hell or jail.” Remember, we are a culture that needs disclaimers on coffee cups lest we burn our laps. We also need to actually talk about sex; these days when a person is struggling with sexual idolatry, they have almost nowhere to turn. Our society shuns sexual deviancy so much, even mental health professionals who work with sex offenders or deviants are shunned.

Prevention is only part of the solution; proper rehabilitation of the sex offender is a must. Of those who do re-offend, two-thirds of them will do so within the first two years of release. Thus, transitional homes and support networks (such as www.sosen.org) are keys to reducing already low recidivism rates. Social ostracism and denial of services, housing, employment, and support has already proven disastrous for our society; all those approaches achieve is reinforcing faulty belief systems of those struggling with sexual idolatry and giving ample incentive to disobey the law. A Rand Corporation study has shown every dollar spent on prevention and rehabilitation programs save up seven dollars that would otherwise be spent on running offenders through the justice system [16].

Most importantly, we need to honor victims by helping victims of sex crimes overcome the crimes committed against them. These days, if a victim forgives his or her attacker, many people look at them like they are crazy. What good does keeping victims thinking about what happened to them and the guilt and anger they feel rather than dealing with those feelings? The result is many more lives remain broken rather than healed, making them lifelong victims rather than “Thrivers.”

In our narrow focus on the “Registered Sex Offender,” we tend to forget the big picture. Appeals to emotion rather than reason helped create a legal system of perpetual brokenness for victims, offenders, and the community alike. So has the illusion of “innocence.” Your child is innocent until he is thrust into the criminal justice system for crossing a line he or she never addressed or even knew about. Ignorance is not bliss, nor is it an excuse for breaking the law. McDonald’s will give you a disclaimer for hot coffee in a cup. Yet no one is giving your child disclaimers on our legal system. If you don’t learn to be honest with your children about sexual issues, who will?

Yes, 150 years ago today, Charles Darwin published a book about species. This review is not about that book.

Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language was published this year for those who might enjoy its plays on words and myth-busting insights into the evolution…I mean, etymology, of words. Think of it as a Snopes for word nerds.

As American storyteller and humorist Garrison Keillor puts it on the back cover: “Dull it ain’t. If you’re planning to buy just one book of etymology this year, you’ve got it right in your hand.”

In the interest of posting this today, let me give just one example from Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman’s book, from the section on the “Snow Job.”

“It’s almost impossible to kill a myth once it starts spreading, especially on the Internet. Psychologists have a field day with stuff like this. The more we see or hear something, even if it’s being debunked, the more we believe it, studies show. So I’m probably wasting my time here, but IT’S A MYTH that Eskimos have dozens or even hundreds of words for snow…

“In truth, the Eskimos have about a dozen words for snow ‘counting generously,’ according to Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker. But he points out that ‘by such standards’ English has just about as many: ‘snow,’ ‘sleet,’ ‘slush,’ ‘blizzard,’ ‘avalanche,’ ‘hail,’ ‘hardpack,’ ‘powder,’ ‘flurry,’ ‘dusting,’ and even ‘snizzling’ (a humorous coinage from a meteorologist at Boston’s WBZ-TV). As someone who plows her own snow in rural Connecticut, I think that’s quite enough” (pp. 146-147).

The story of how this myth spread is fascinating (I’ll give more in “comments” if anyone wants to know), as is the story of Dizzy Dean and ain’t, Noah Webster and Samuel Johnson’s smackdown on transatlantic spelling, and even the origin of the “charley horse.”

But most of all this book reminded me how easy it is for new connotations and even myths to attach themselves to words. Imagine what the word “hell” would mean if Dante’s Inferno hadn’t caught fire in the popular imagination! Might we even think about it in the way the Bible presents it? Or perhaps there’s not a snowball’s chance in…

What do you think?

“Year of comets and meteors transient and strange!—lo! even here, one equally transient and strange!” ~ Walt Whitman

This year, a hale of meteors falls upon us like the retribution of those we’ve wronged, victims of genocide and spousal abuse alike. In Argentina, a man was struck down by a meteorite. It crashed through his ribs, cauterized the wound, killed him on impact. There was no sign of the rock; it had sunk into the earth. The Argentinians and much of the world took it as a message from God, that the man had been smitten.

For the first few seconds we met, all I noticed was her lips. They were full like two moons. I wanted to bite into them and suck whatever juices they held. The thought both repulsed and aroused me. I looked at her eyes and her hair next, and I was sad to find that she was very plain. Her eyes were gray and smooth like washed pebbles. No texture or depth to them at all. Her hair was coarse and unbrushed. The breasts weren’t amazing. If had seen any other part of her, I would have passed her by without another glance, but those lips…

There were cults. Lots of ‘em. As our neighbors drank the Kool-aid, the grape soda, and the Mr. Pibb, we laughed. We all laughed as the world came falling down. What else could we do? It seems like the messenger for catastrophe is always Chicken Little. Sure, the news is terrifying, but who can take the bastard seriously? The smokers, the drinkers, they all killed themselves slowly, while the “sane” ones bit the bullet faster than an Ethiopian sprinter with a jet pack.

She looked burned out, like she’d been running around all her life and finally had the chance to stop. The dust kicked up behind her where she walked as if some small hammer had just beat itself into the Earth. “Was that a–” I started. She only smiled, pushing those reluctant lips deeper into her cheeks. I must have been seeing things, getting all hysterical over nothing.

We watched the religious wars on the T.V. Christians and Jews shot at Muslims. Muslims shot back. There was nothing different about them from before, except now people were shooting each other over whose interpretation of the apocalypse was correct. It was just an excuse, like everything else. All they ever wanted to do was shoot at each other.

When she leaned in to kiss me, my breath caught. I’d always closed my eyes before when I kissed a girl–it just seemed polite–but with her I kept them wide open. She must have sensed I was looking at her because she opened her eyes too. Those eyes, that had looked so bland before, were burning. I could see the burning trees falling onto burning people running into burning houses. I pushed her away. Her laughter split her perfect lips in two, exposing the hard, stained teeth beneath. I backed away and I’m glad I did. A meteor the size of a Buick flew out of the sky and swallowed her up. The aftershock broke my ankle and knocked the breath out of me.

When the year of the meteors had ended, everyone had their stories, their physical and emotional scars. Bridget’s poodle mix–yappy little shit–went up in smoke while she was taking it for a walk. Doug la Pier’s death shook everyone in town when one rock took him right in the head while he was passed out on his couch. None of the drunks crashed on the couch after that. Instead of kicking their husbands out, wives held their men closer. Everyone had a story after that year. But even in the midst of all that craziness, I wasn’t sure if my story was even real at all. I kept it to myself.

Just when you think it’s safe to eat whole meal, tofu and apples, another study turns it all upside down.

Apparently, bacon, ice-cream and potatoes are in and yoghurt and sushi are out. So what are we mere mortals supposed to believe? Which study is trustworthy and which study is supported by manufacturers?

Naturally, fad diets are the ones to avoid. Any diet that promotes either the over-consumption or complete avoidance of any products should be scrutinised. There is no derth of articles promoting a celebrity’s particular affection for maple syrup to lose weight fast and get that bootydelicious body.

Admittedly, it certainly is tempting to read those articles, but I can’t say that I have ever followed anything that required extreme measures. Articles from more reputable scientific sources, such as medical or science journals are often more reliable.

But even then, our knowledge of science changes all the time. It wasn’t that long ago that the general held belief was that the sun revolved around the earth and that the earth was flat? So where does that leave us?

Of course, there is commonsense and that old adage…’if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’.

COED Magazine has posted on their blog an article busting the five biggest marijuana myths.

While I don’t need any convincing as to the merits of Pot and how little dander it poses it’s users, I love posts like these. Reasonably well written, it‘s an interesting and informative piece.

Check it out here:

http://coedmagazine.com/2009/11/12/the-5-biggest-marijuana-myths-debunked/

A Denver car dealer has put up an anti-Obama billboard which is stupid, useless, inflammatory, and completely Constitutionally protected. 

The large sign outside Wolf Automotive, near Interstate 70 and Kipling, shows two caricatures of President Obama, one in which he’s wearing a turban. It reads “President or Jihad?”

The billboard also urges Obama to prove he’s an American with the words “Birth Certificate” and “Prove It.” At the bottom is the message “Wake up America! Remember Ft. Hood!”

The article discusses a lot of complaints, some talk of protests, and some expressions of hope that the business fails.  (There are also some death threats, which, while hardly surprising in this sort of thing, definitely nasty and not what I am praising here.) 

But, throughout the article there is absolutely no assertion that Mr. Wolf should be removed by the authorities.  There are no assertions that this breaks any mythical laws against “hate speech” or “hate crimes.”  There are no assertions whatsoever that he should be restrained from saying what he wishes to say by the power of the state, or in any way other than the potential damage to the good will towards him or his business. 

Well played (except for the death threats, which are stupid), people of Colorado.

nwanews.com (Arkansas) : Laws Push Sex Offenders Into High Density.

Changes in Arkansas state laws in 2003 and 2007 created small concentrations of sex offenders throughout Northwest Arkansas near many residential neighborhoods. Laws restrict how close sex offenders can live to businesses and institutions.

“Certain offenders can’t live within 2,000 feet of a school, public park or a licensed day care center,” said Detective Leonard Graves, Fayetteville’s representative on the Northwest Arkansas Sex Offender and Violent Crime Task Force. “That starts eliminating a lot of a city.” A city like Fayetteville, with about 65 schools and day care centers and numerous small parks, doesn’t have much space left that is eligible, Graves said.

John, a convicted sex offender said,“Every year there’s more restrictions. When I got out of prison, I could live anywhere I wanted to. Now I’m on the registry for the rest of my life. If I was a murderer who was paroled, I wouldn’t have to do anything now.”

It’s been 20 years since John was paroled. He spent 10 years on probation after his release. He has never been in trouble since leaving prison, he said. His good behavior, however, didn’t mean anything when he moved the last time, from an apartment building to a house next door. “People left nasty notes in my mailbox, they put a sign in my yard, they broke out windows trying to get me to move,” John said.

Arkansas set up its database after the passing of the Sex and Child Offender Registration Act in 1997. Those convicted of a sex crime, or those found not guilty of a sex crime on the grounds of mental disease or defect, must register. They are required to register in each law enforcement jurisdiction where they live, attend school or are employed.

Stricter laws forcing people out of more neighborhoods are not the answer, said Paula Stitz, manager of the Arkansas sex offender registry. Tougher laws in other states have led to situations such as in Miami, where sex offenders live under bridges, Stitz said. New legislation in Florida eliminated most of Miami as a living site for sex offenders, according to a story by the Associated Press. In 2007, five male sex offenders started living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway when they couldn’t find a place to live. The number of offenders living under the bridge and nearby grew to 52 by March 2009.

“That’s not a good situation,” said Marc Klaas, founder of KlaasKids, a foundation formed to prevent crimes against children. Polly Klaas, Marc Klaas’ daughter, was kidnapped from her home in California and murdered in 1993 when she was 12 years old. “Sex offenders in close contact tend to network and exchange information that could lead them to committing another sex crime”, Klaas said.

So let’s get this straight; the manager of the state sex offender registry and a national advocate for sex offender laws both believe that these stricter laws are actually compromising public safety. So why are the public and lawmakers still pushing such laws?