| Thursday, September 22, 2005 |
| THE CACAO FRUIT AND TREE.....HEAVENLY CHOCOLATE |
CHOCOLATE IS A UNIVERSAL SYMBOL.
Ever since its discovery by the Aztecs in ancient Mexico, it has been used as a gift-a concrete expression of a thousand feelings too sweet, too complex for mere words.
LOVE NEED TANGIBLE LANGUAGE, for love cannot be contained nor expressed by even the most sophisticated vocabulary. Music expresses love to our ears...flowers are a visual symbol of our feelings....and Chocolate, allows us to taste love's sweetness.
CHOCOLATE comes from the cacao tree, a tropical plant that thrives in hot, rainy climates. It does not grow well more than twenty degrees north or south of the equator, and it is a delicate and sensitive tree that needs shade and protection from the wind, especially during the first years of its growth. A newly planted cacao seeding is often sheltered by another tree, such as a banana, plantain, coconut, or rubber tree. Once it is well established, though, the cacao tree can grow in full sunlight, so long as it has care and fertile soil.
THE CACAO TREE IS AN EVERGREEN, with large glossy leaves that are red when young and green when mature. Moss and bright lichen cling to its bark, and small orchids often grow on its branches. All year long the tree sprouts thousands of tiny pink or white blossoms that cluster along the trunk and older branches. The fruits comes from green or marron-colored pods that turn to gold and scarlet as they ripen.
The jon of picking the ripe cacao beans is not easy. The tree is so delicate that the workers cannot risk injuring it by climbing the branches to reach for the pods. Instead, the pickers use long handled, mitten-shaped steel knives to reach the highest pods without wounding the tree's soft bark. Ripe pods are found on trees at all times, since the growing season in the tropics is continous.
Each pod holds from twenty to fifty cream-colored beans that quickly turn lavender or purple as they are exposed to air. Although each pod holds so many beans, harvesting cacao beans takes time and patience, for approximately four hundred beans are needed to make one pound of chocolate.
The first cacao trees grew wild in the rain forests of the Amazon and Orinoco river basins over four thousand years ago. By the seventh century A.D., the Mayans had cultiuvated these trees; they took them when they migrated to the Yucatan,a nd there, they paid taxes to teh Aztecs with cocoa beans. During Montezuma's regime, a drink made from the beans was considered to be sacred. It could be imbibed only by the male elite, and the beans were used as currency.
When the conquistador Hernando Cortes returned from Mexicao in 1520, he introduced his own version of the chocolate drink to the courtof King Charles V. When Columbus had tried to impress Europeans with the same drink, they had turned up their noses at the bitter brew, but Cortes caught the King's attention by adding sugar and vanilla to the chocolate. Word of this new drink quickly spread throughout Spain.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, chocolate consumption spread throughout Europe . At first, only the very wealthy could afford it, but the French Revolution also meant the chocolate began tobe consumed by the common folk as well as the aristocracy. In 1828, the Dutcj invented a cocoa press that further reduced the priceof the chocolate.
Just as the Aztecs had considered chocolate to be sacred, Europeans now thought of chocolate as a therapeutic, health-giving substance. Quaker families in England , such as the Fryes and Cadburies,
beganproducing chocolate, promoting it as "healthful and flesh-forming", a far better alternative to gin.
In 1847, the Fry Chocolate Factories in Bristol, England molded the first chocolate bar, and in 1850, Richard Cadbury made the first Valentine Day heart candy box. Milk chocolate was invented in 1879 by two Swiss chocolate manufacturers, Henri Nestle and Daniel Peter. In the United States, Milton Hershey brought mass production to chocolate manufacturing. He also was the first to experiment with use of vegetable fats instead of pure cocoa, which raised the melting point of a candy bar. Chocolate could then withstand the heat of American summers and could also be shipped to troops during the World War II.
The U.S. government recognized chocolate's importance to both the nourishment and morale of the Allied Forces -- so much so that it allocated valuable shipping space for the importation of cocoa beans.
Today, the U.S. Army D-rations a=still include three 4-ounce choclate bars.
(abstracted from the book: SWEETS FOR MY SWEET: A Celebration of Love and Chocolateby:Ellyn Sanna) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 12:55 AM |
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| Wednesday, September 21, 2005 |
| OH WOMEN OF THE WORLD |
Surveys of topics about women of the world.
I. Who indulges themselves most ofter? (in food)
(at least once a week)
* Germany ..... 73%
* Brazil ...... 61%
* U.S.A........ 41%
* Australia ... 33%
* Japan ....... 25%
(Source: Avon Global Women's Survey)
II. Who's heaviest?
Overweight women around the world
* U.S.A. ..... 38%
* Australia... 23%
* Lebanon .... 15%
* Brazil ..... 15%
* Japan ...... 2%
with a BMI (body mass index) of at least 30
(Source: World Health Organization)
III.Who lives longest?
Average life expectancy of women
* Japan ..... 85
* Australia . 83
* Germany ... 82
* U.S.A. .... 80
* Lebanon ... 75
* Brazil .... 73
(Source: World Health Organization) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 12:50 PM |
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| HOW LIKEABLE ARE YOU???? |
Take our quiz and find out your L(for Likeability) Factor, on a 1-to-10 scale. This quiz was devised exclusively for Health readers by author and Yahoo! with the help of William Cotrringer, PhD. former assistant professor of psychology at Southeaster Illinois College in Harrisburg. "Your L-Factor",says Sanders, "helps measure the positive or negative feelings you produce in others."
At the bottom of the scale are the truly rotten, like Saddam Hussein or Darth Vader. A9 is someone like grilling guru George Foreman, who has sold 55 million of his grills essentially because he's so darned likeable. The higher your L-Factor, Sanders said, the greater your chances for success, health and happiness.
Your Likeability:
1. I smile often and have a pleasant tone of voice.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
2. I maintain a positive, optimistic attitude, even when things are going very badly.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
3. People tell me their problems because I am approachable and a good listener.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
4. I build other people's self-confidence and make them feel good about themselves.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
5. I have a unique ability to help others accomplish their task and reach their dreams. I am very helpful.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
6. Others see me as completely honest, trustworthy, sincere and genuine.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
7. I am very skilled at being sensitive and understanding of other people's thoughts, feelings and experience.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frewquently /___/ Always /___/
8. I feel happy and peaceful on the inside and it shows.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequntly /___/ Always /___/
9. I connect with other's interests such as hobbies, hometowns, and affiliations. I love to talk about them.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
10.People see me as relaxed and easy to get along with.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
Subtotal
Multiply the number of checks per column by the nos. of value of the columns.
... Never x0
... Rarely x2
... Sometimes x5
... Frequently x7
... Always x10
Total L... Likeability score: Add the above 5 subtotals
Your Unlikeability:
1. There are times when I am not completely honest with people.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
2. Others have said they think I am self-centered.
...Never/___/ Ratrely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
3. People ask me why I don't laugh or smile more.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
4. I lose my temper.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
5. I get distracted when listening to others.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
6. I make mistakes in reading other people.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
7. I am critical and intolerant of others.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
8. People complain that I am loud and argumentative.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
9. I have conflict inside that probably shows.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
10.I talk more than I listen.
...Never/___/ Rarely /___/ Sometimes /___/ Frequently /___/ Always /___/
Subtotal:
Multiply the number of checks per columns by the number value of the columns.
... Never x0
... Rarely x2
... Sometimes x5
... Frequently x7
... Always x10
YOUR TOTAL L-FACTOR:
L score _____ minus U score _____ equals _____
then divide your total score by 10 to get your L-Factor.
(example: A score of 89 equals 8.9)
Total U:
Unlikeability score: Add the above 5 subtotals.
9 - 10: You easily win over all people.
5-8.9: You're much more likeable than most.
2-4.9: Your likeability is average to above average; plenty of room for improvement.
Less than 2: You might have relationship difficulties dues to your low L-Factor.
(abstracted from HEALTHMAG) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 3:09 AM |
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| Tuesday, September 20, 2005 |
| FIVE RIVETING SOLDIER BLOGS |
A SOLDIER'S THOUGHTS MISOLDIERTHOUGHTS.BLOGSPOT.COM
AN ARABI LINGUIST on his second tour in Iraq, Zachary Scott-Singley, 24, understood the fighting part. It's the setting-up-the-democracry part he does'nt get. "I do feel like we were lied to about our reasons for being here," he writes in jis meditative, almost daily blog about lie in Saddam's hometown, posting pictures of what he sees on his base; a headless palm tree that had been hit by a mortar, for example, or agold carp caught in the Tigris. "Here", he writes, "they teach you to trust no one because anyone might be your enemy".
BOOTS IN BAGHDAD BOOTSINBAGHDAD.BLOGSPOT.COM
MARK PARTIDGE Miner remembers lying on a beach in SDt. Augustine, Fla. looking at the stars and wishing he were fighting in Iraq. So he dropped out of college and volunteered, he spent moths grudgingly guarding a gate to Baghdad International Airport and yearning to be on the convoys heading into the read zone. His early posts, some of which are addressed to the insurgents ("The whites of my eyes are the last thing you will see before you kiss the feet of my God...."), are zealous and antsy for action. His later ones, after he starts going on foot patrol, ducking mortars and witnessing car bombs, are less gong ho, as when his unti shoots into the cab of an oncoming car and hits a teen boy; "I constantly look back on that night."
LIFE IN THIS GIRL'S ARMY SGTLIZZIE.BLOGSPOT.COM
SHE'S HOME FROM IRAQ NOW, and her posts include bubbly accounts of horsing around with her little brother and sparkling close-ups of her new engagement ring. But even when her transport blown up by a roadside bomb in December, Sergeatn Lizzie -- who declines to share her full name -- wrote about the event with same bouncy style, flip asides, exclamation points and smily faces. Describing herself under the destroyed truck, gashes on her face, she writes, "I made the remark that I would'nt be pretty again LOL."The medic teases her for wearing a matching ba-and-panty set in a war zone. But in guieter moments of the blog, tinges of survivor guilt emerge.; "Why did I walk away from a wreck that killed a comrade and a friend?"
365 AND A WAKE UP THUNDER6.TYPEPAD.COM
DANJEL BOUT, 32, A LOGISTICS captain, writes to digest what he sees, to make sense of his expreriences and most of all to escape. From a group of fellow officers being fed a sheep's-head dinner to missing his wife to watching a robot disarm a roadside bomb that nearly blew him up, Bout gives vivid, sometimes lyrical, descriptions of the smells, tastes and sounds of the Baghdad he sees. The cooling summer morning, he says, "settle around you like a light winter coat". He uploads lots of photo too. "Some soldiers immerse themselves in video games, others click on their DVD players"he says, "I just write".
MA DEUCE GUNNER MADEUCEGUNNERS BLOGSPOT.COM
a self-desribed "Gun Nerd," he posts photographs of himself posing with a confiscated rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and he named his blog after his M@ heavy machine gun. Between glory shots with guns and photos of the Jungle Fa;;s Suite in Idaho, where he stayed with his wife while on leave, Ma Deuce Gunner (who never reveals his name) gives detailed descriptions of the new Iraqi army he patrols with around Kirkuk. Despite their flimsy body armor, mismatched uniforms and the yellow-papered Gauloises cigarettes constantly dangling from their lips, their resourcefulness and enthusiasm give him hope.
(abstracted from TIMEMAG/ by: Brian Bennett) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 6:41 PM |
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| PINOY JOKES MUNA |
Joke One:
The Technology of Today.
Three men, a German, a Japanese and a Filipino were sitting naked in a sauna.
The German pressed his forearm and the beep stopped. The others looked at him questioningly.
"That was my pager", he said. "I have a micro chip under the skin of my arm".
A few minutes later, a phone rang. The Japanese fellow lifted his palm to his ear. When he finished, he explained:
"That was my mobile phone, I have a micro chip in my hand".
The Filipino felt decidedly low tech. But not to be outdone, he decided he had to do something just as impressive. He stepped out of a sauna and went to the bathroom. When he returned to the sauna, a piece of toilet paper is hanging from his ass. The others raised their eybrows and stared at him.
The Filipino finally said.....
"Ay Dios Mio, will you look at that? I am getting an incoming fax!"...
Joke Two:
Forgetfullness is bad for You.
There was this pretty woman, who have just got off the cab.
Crossing the street, there were this group of teen-age boys who saw that
her right breast is sticking out of her dress.
These group of young teen-age boys started giggling and laughing.
A gentleman saw what was the reason for these teen-age boys to laugh about.
So this man, approached the lady and said to her:
"MIss your right breast is showing from your dress".
The the lady, surprisingly and alarming said:
"OHHHH MYYYYY GODDDDDDDD, I left my baby inside the cab, shit!"
Joke Three:
Fastest Cow Milker Alive.
There was this cow milking contest in Australia, represented by different countries of the world who have sent their best hopeful to be recorded as the Fastest Cow Milker of the World.
Each contestants was given a cow to be milk by hand, and a bucket to fill the bucket up. The Swiss, was all laugh. In his mind, he knows that he can beat all of these contestants. Same thing with the Aussie, silently saying to himself, that he has been milking their cows for a long time and he will not let his country down.
And so does the tension on all contestants.
The referee said, "On my count, when I said GO, start milking your respective cows.Gooooo
Then all the contestant, knelt down on their knees and placed the bucket underneath their assigned cow, and started milking their cows.
"Stopppppppp" yelled the referee.
Then judges started roaming around and checking the buckets of each contestants.
Aussie has almost a bucketfull, the Swiss is also the same and so on.
The judges stopped infront of the Filipino contestant and was so shocked to see that the bucket looks like there are only four to three drops of milk inside the bucket. The judges then asked this Filipino contestant:
"What happened to you.....you look like you were able to extract only three drops of milk from the cow.!!"
The Filipino contestant was blushing and said with his two hands up in the air in a gesture of surrender.
"What can I do....they gave me a BULL!"
(sent by a friend from Pinas) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 12:33 PM |
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| LOVE LAB |
Can a dirty look or exasperated sigh signal trouble for the future of your marraige? Renowned marriage researcher John M. Giottman, Ph.D, says if such reactions are habituated, they could very well spell divorce.
Cofounder of the Gotmman Institute, executive director of the Relationship Research Institute and emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle, Gotmman has studied couples since 1973 and is an internationally recorgnized expert in marital relations. His primary research method involves videotaping copuple while they are engaged in emotionally charged conversation, then analyzing the footage. By monitoring each partner's facial expressions and additional tracked data (including pulse rates, blood pressure and tone of voice) for 15minutes, Gottman is able to indentify important relational patterns and reactins that he says can make or break the fabric of romantic relatinship.
Amazingly, after reviewing just three minutes of vieotape, Gottman can predict with more than 90 percent accuracy whether or not a couple will stay together. Specifically, Gottman's research team watches for four red flags -- signs of criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonwalling --that he asserts will likely lead to divorce if left unchecked. Contempt, he says is particualry poisonous. You can find out moe about Gotmman's method and findings at www.gottman.com.
Looking to improve your own skills in handling conversation instead of conflict Gottman recommends the following:
*** SOFTEN YOUR START-UP.
Don't start an argument with confrontation. Begin easy and you'll both be able to hear each other.
*** ACCEPT INFLUENCE.
Bothmen and women need to be flexible, willing to bend to the wishes and influence oftheir partners on occasion. Men typically have a hearder time witht this, but the health of their marriage greatly improves when they are able to let their wives opinions influence their decisions.
** RAVE HIGH STANDARDS.
Refuse to accept hurtful behavior from each other. Donot lower your expectations of being treted well and with respect.
*** LEARN TO MAKE REPAIRS AND EXITS.
Happy couples know how to repair a situation before the argument gets out of control. "Repair attempts" might include interjecting some soothing humor or a caring remark, or making it clear you're on common ground. If your discussion gets too heated, taking a 20-minute break can add some much needed air.
*** STAY POSITIVE.
Gottman's research had demonstrated that satisfying relationsions (looks, exchanges, comments) to every negative one.When the ratio dips lower than that,the odds for divorce increase.
WEB:
www.jhu.edu/civility -- John Hopkings Civilioty Project
www.gottman.com -- The Gottman Institute
www.rrinstitute.com -- The Relationship Research Institute
(abstracted from: EXPERIENCE MAG by: Jacquelinr B. Fletcher) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 2:30 AM |
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| Saturday, September 17, 2005 |
| THE ROOTS OF RAP |
1979
GRANDMASTER FLASH AND THE FURIOUS FIVE
The Bronx, N.Y.
Block-Party prioneer, DJ Flash recruits local MCs; they record the first socially conscious rap hit, The Message.
1979
SUGARHILL GANG
Englewood N.J.
Trio created by the owner of Sugar Hill Records improvise the first hip-hop smash then fades fast.
1979
KURTIS BLOW
Manhattan
Charismatic MC takes rhymes to national TV, proves hip-hop is no fad.
1982
ICE-T
Los Angeles
Proto-hip-hop pusherman later courts controversy with Cop Killer.
1982
BEASTIE BOYS
Manhattan
Started as precocious punk rockers, then their playful rap took off.
1983
RUN-D.M.C.
Queens N.Y.
Early heavyweights are musical minimalists -- hard fhymes, harder beats.
1983
TOO SHORT
Oakland, Calif.
Ranchy veteran patented Bee-yotch!, makes pimping sound easy.
1984
LL COOL J
Queens N.Y.
Romantic yet rugged rapper is hip-hop's first hearthrob.
1985
SALT-N-PEPA
Queens N.Y.
Original rap divas talk about sex, feminine and feminist.
1985
2 LIVE CREW (LUKE)
Miami
Bawdy rappers spent much time defending their lyrics in court- instead of onstage.
1986
BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS (KRS-ONE)
The Bronx, N.Y.
KRS-one originates "edutainment"
1987
DJ JAZZY JEFF AND THE FRESH PRINCE (Will Smith)
Philadelphia
PG-rated comedy rap for the masses.
1987
PUBLIC ENEMY
Long Island, N.Y.
Political rap powerhouse; rebels without a pause.
1987
N.W.A.
Los Angeles
Nihilistic supergroup puts gansta rap on the map, aggravate Tipper Gore.
1988
SLICK RICK
The Bronx, N.Y.
Narrative-rap pioneer's British accent adds tang to his tall tales.
1988
GETO BOYS (SCARFACE)
Houston
Original gangstas; Face's subtle storytelling improves with age.
1988
DE LA SOUL
Long Island, N.Y.
Four goofy hip-hop hippines charm charts by toting daisies, not Glocks.
1988
QUEEN LATIFAH
Newark, N.J.
Imperious demeanor; her empowering hits, challenge rap's boys' club.
1989
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
Manhattan
Booty-shaking bohemians make old jazz sound new.
1990
ICE CUBE
Los Angeles
N.W.A. mastermind sharpens rage into incisive, controversial raps.
1991
TUPAC
Oakland, Calif.
Part thug, part thespian, fallen hero to many.
1991
CYPRESS HILL
Los Angeles
Original Latino superstars ignite hip-hop's stoned age.
1991
NO LIMIT SOLDIER
New Orleans
Southern anti-gentlemen macho anthems build Master P's gaudy empire.
1992
DR. DRE
Los Angeles
G-Funk architect; unctuous beats, monumentally misogynist lyrics.
1992
NAS
Queens, N.Y.
The rapper's rapper, poetic street-corner observer.
1992
DMX
Yonkers, N.Y.
God fearing hard-core hearthrob, gruff voice, awesome abs.
1993
WU-TANG CLAN
Staten Island N.Y.
Gothic soundscapes, kung fu personas mutate the mainstream.
1993
SNOOP DOG
Long Beach, Calif.
Best of the West; makes the sinister sound sweet.
1994
NOTORIOUS B.I.G.
Brooklyn N.Y.
Conflicted career criminal humanizes the hustle, now a legend.
1994
OUTKAST
Atlanta
The first rap dio from outer space.
1994
BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY
Cleveland, Ohio
Puts midwest on teh map with hummable hooks.
1994
FUGEES
South Orange, N.J.
Two men and a lady make soulful hip-hop sell.
1995
EMINEM
Detroit
Finesses childhood trauma into adult fame, shockingly talented.
1996
JAY-Z
Brooklyn N.Y.
The player president; ace MC entrepreneur.
1996
BUSTA RHYMES
Long Island, N.Y.
Magic Mc clowns his way to pop crown.
1997
PUFF DADDY/DIDDY
Manhattan
Hit creator Svengali, reciter of ghostwritten rhymes.
1997
MISSY ELLIOTT
Portsmouth, Va.
Relentlessly creative; producer, performer, video ante upper.
1997
WYCLEF JEAN
South Orange, N.J.
Guitar playing 21st century troubadour; hokey-hit producer.
1998
BIG PUN
The Bronx, N.Y.
First solo Latino superstar, nimble-tongued portly Rican.
1998
LAURYN HILL
South Orange, N.J.
Urban legend; sublime,smart singular
1999
JA RULE
Queens, N.Y.
Deep-voiced loverman, assited by R&B princesses.
1999
50 CENT
Queens N.Y.
Bulletproof neopgansta; swagger sellsin the suburbs.
2000
LUDACRIS
Atlanta
Amiable underground star becomes X-rated dance floor phenom.
2000
NELLY
St. Louis, Mo.
Rides naughty nursery rhymes to top of the charts.
2003
KANYE WEST
Chicago
Talented producer, turned rapper; college dropout with class.
(abstracted from TIMEMAG by: Elizabeth Mendez Berry) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 3:40 AM |
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| Thursday, September 15, 2005 |
| NUN OF HER BUSINESS |
GETTING KICKED OUT of a convent isn't the typical way to jump start a Hollywood career, but it worked for Barbara Nicolosi, a nun turned screenwriter. In a move she calls "my 'Sound of Music' moment", in 1994 she was aked to leave the Daughters of St.Paul because she wanted to evangelize more aggressively than her feloow nuns felt comfortable with. She ended up in a film school.
Now Nicolosi's trying to bring more Christians into the Hollywood fold with Act One, an L.A. based program that grooms Christians for the industry. She co-founded the group in 1999 and has trained more than 300 writers who've found jobs on shows like "The West Wing", "E-Ring" and "Dr.Phil". This year she's taking weekend workshops across the country and reaching even more people with "Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film and Culture", an upcoming book by Act One faculty, who include executive producers from "Joan of Arcadia", "That 70's Shpw" and the "X-Men" films. Nicolosi has also started a workshop for aspiring Hollywood execs and hopes to soon launch similar ones for actors, directors and producers, "It's wonderful to be able to realte to people on a spiritual level as well as creative one", says John Strong, who attended the executive program before landing a job at an agency for writers and cirectors. And he did'nt even have to get a kicked out of a convent.
(abstracted from Newsweek/Perscope by: Elise Soukup) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 4:30 AM |
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| IN CHINA: BETTER WATCH YOUR STEP |
ADMINISTRATORS at Beijing's top universities are enforcing new rules to curb prmiscuity in dorms. Beijing University no longer distributes free condoms. Last month Britain's Daily Telegraph reported that Chongqing Normal University issued reules advising that "the discovery of escort girls, mistresses, gigolos or anyone caught having a one night love affair" will mean explusion. But the efforts are backfiring; couples are having public sex and students tumble on "land mines", Yu Tongtong, 23, of Tsinghua University, says, "Stepping on aland mine is when you accidentally discover two people having sex outdoors".
Taking lovemaking from between the sheets to the streets is exacerbating the already serious problem of unprotected sex in China. A 2003 survey by Durex Condoms found that Chinese are the world's most likely to agree to unpreotected sex with a new partner; 30 percent of Chinese who get HIV do so through unsafe sex, according to UNAIDS. Zhang Ji, 21, of Beijing Normal University, says the popular hookup spot is Aiqing Caoping ("Love Lawn"), 10 minutes from the nearest dorm. "It is not romantic to walk 20 minutes round trip to retrieve a condom."
(abstracted from Newsweek/Periscope by: Quindlen Krovatin) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 4:20 AM |
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| Monday, September 12, 2005 |
| SIZING UP THE SOLDIER SHORTAGE IN AMERICA |
Before February, the Army hadn't missed enlistment goal since May 2000; now it's fallen short four months in a row. The current state of military recruiting:
The Bigger Picture:
Oct. 1,2004 - May 31,2005
ACTIVE ------------------ GOAL --------------------RECRUITS:
Army .................... 49,285 .................. 40,964
Navy .................... 18,440 .................. 18,456
Marine Corps ............ 16,935 .................. 17,241
Air Force ............... 8,968 .................. 9,047
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Total ................... 93,628 .................. 85,708
RESERVE
Army Nat'l Guard ........ 39,957 .................. 30,252
Army Reserve ............ 11,944 .................. 9,552
Navy Reserve ............ 7,397 .................. 6,484
Marines Reserve ......... 5,139 .................. 5,154
Air Nat'l Guard ......... 6,866 .................. 5,492
Air Force Reserve ....... 5,001 .................. 5,831
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Total ................... 76,304 .................. 62,765
WHO'S SIGNING UP?
(Army Applicants)
Active:
Female 20 Percent
Male 80 Percent
Reserve:
Female 28 Percent
Male 74 Percent
Race and Ethnicity:
White 66 Percent
African-American 15 Percent
Hispanic 13 Percent
Others 9 Percent
Reserve:
White 57 Percent
African-American 15 Percent
Hispanic 13 Percent
Others 8 Percent
(Source : Dept. of Defense/ USA) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 12:40 AM |
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| Sunday, September 11, 2005 |
| THE PAIN OF BURYING A YOUNGER BROTHER... |
MANILA/ Philippines:
My kid brother died and faced his creator at 48 years of age. Survived by his wife and two kids... a boy of 19 years old and a girl of 15 years of a age.
It was a long battle with Cancer. One year and four months of agony and pain, both for himself and his family and all his love ones.
He died at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center Alabang/ Muntinlupa City/ Philippines. He was merely under 80 lbs in weight when he was rushed again on an off and on again hospital treatment by some of the best and renown cancer doctor in the Philippines, but to no avail.
CAUSE OF DEATH: Cardiorespiratory Arrest secondary to Multi-Organ System Failures antecedent cause of Pulmonary Metastasis and Underlying cause from Esophageal Cancer.
He had fought a long battle and died at 8:23 PM at his room at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center, 31 August 2005.
Strange at it seems in the Philippines -- a patient with money can get the most state of the art medical equipments and all money can buy for doctors and all medical staff. The room of my brother is so well appointed, round the clock nurse watch and medical staff presence all of the time. My parents and the rest of the family was there on his last breath. I was not there and my brother and other sister because all of three us are permanently residing abroad and decided to change our nationality. But some of my sisters decided to stay in the Philippines and to look after the interst of the family's business and that of my aging parents, who does not want to live in the States under my father's privilege as a U.S. Army veteran.
According to my eldest sister, the doctor at the Asia Hospital is still saying that my brother has to be given an authopsy because this is the SOP of the hospital. My eldest sister declined and advised the doctor if they proceed to such thing without our permission, we will take them to court. My brother already suffered and does not not need to be subjected to another scrutiny by doctors whose primary insterest is not the study of the body, cause he is already dead, but additional payment for the authopsy that will be done with my kid brother. My eldest sister put her best foot forward and told the hospital that if she has to involved our lawyers on such things that the hospital wants to be done with my brother -- we will be the first ones to take the this hospital to court since this is a brand new hospital.
I was asking myself, since all payments are done in managers check or caseh--- what about some of our Kababayans who does not have the money to pay for the services? They will just suffer and just die and will not be given any decent medical attention. We were told that this hospital and the rest of the hoisptals in the Philippines, upon admission of patient(s) demands a big and substantial deposit to the hospital.
The wake of my brother was held at Funeraria Paz inside the grounds of Manila Memorial Park, where we have our cemetery plots.
It is so hard to bury a brother--- my father was grasping for breathe during the Requiem Mass and we thought he will have a heart attack. My father had a quadruple by-pass and was having a hard time breathing. The doctor and the nurses of my parents were there to look after them. All of our hearts was in agony looking at the family of my brother and that of our aging parents who are 84 and 82 years old respectively.
It is so hard to bury a brother--- because we cannot accept the fate that he has undergone and the pain and sufferings with it. On his last hours, the doctors said the cancer has already attacked and destroyed the spine and the entire internal organs. Pain-- unbeliveable pain and suffering.
It is so hard to bury a brother--- when you cannot expect this young man, who has so much energy and so much things to give and lots of ambitions and plans for his family. We have told him, while he was still alive that no matter what happens, his family will be taken cared of.
It is so hard to bury a brother-- because we bury also with it a part of ourselves. We have pour ourselves and our hearts on all the sufferings and pains of my brother,and it is so hard to see our parents having a hard time coping with the pain and the lost of their youngest son.
Sleep easy my brother, you're HOME NOW!
We have now said goodbye to our brother,
we all love him, BUT GOD LOVES HIM MORE. |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 12:11 AM |
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| About Me |
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Name: infraternam meam
Home: Chicago, United States
About Me: I am now at the prime of my life
and have been married for the past 25 years.
Sickly at times, but wants to see the elixir vita,
so that I will be able to see my grandchildren from my two boys.
See my complete profile
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