short notes:<br> will brady's ruminations: 2004/11/21

short notes:
will brady's ruminations

2004-11-26

NEWS BLIPS

Supremes Pondering Pot | FROM Alternet's Drug Reporter

Jobs from Windpower Not Just Hot Air | FROM EERE's Energy News

The Security of Rule by Fear | FROM The Guardian/UK

Start Hoarding your Gold? | FROM Boston Herald Business News

Let's Criminalize Care Givers | FROM Alternet's Drug Reporter

Scalia: Who Really Cares About Free Speech? | FROM Morons

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2004-11-25

THANKSGIVING

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AMAZON ADVENTURE

The Wild Mushroom Traveling Road Show is going to the Amazon again | Chris and Gerry Miller are planning to take three excursions on their boat into the Peruvian Amazon in February and March 2005 |

It's a strange and wonderful experience | Gerry is a practing Shaman, an expert in Mycology [he's traveled extensively lecturing on mushrooms] and both he and Chris have a profound respect for preserving aboriginal cultures | Their trips are quite different from other Amazon eco-tours, which are more touristy [so I've been told] They still have spots available on some of next year's excursions | Check out their website: The Wild Mushroom Traveling Road Show and to receive more information and an application, please send Chris and Gerry a message |

| DISCLOSURE: Aside from actually knowing Chris + Gerry, Will Brady has no personal nor financial interest in Amazon Forays adventures, though I did create a proto website for them some years back that has some pictures from past adventures |

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2004-11-24

A PRAYER FOR THANKFULNESS

excerpts from a letter to a new friend | I hope this finds you having a pleasant holiday / or having had one [depending on when you get to your e-mails on the holiday]
Tomorrow I go to spend the morn with a man for whom I have become family. His relatives live minutes away from him; while they haven't disowned him, it might be less hurtful than just ignoring him | At least with shunning there is some certainty where one stands |

But visiting a lonely soul seems to me the essence of what a day like Thanksgiving is supposed to be about | Rather than than sacchrine air kisses and insincere queries of "how ya doing?" from putative familiy members and community notables who could care less what your response was but wants to know if that stylish platter under the turkey is Limoges or not | I'd sooner visit with someone who needs help giving his diabetic cat an insulin shot | There's no pretence or artifice | There is a purity of spirit | ...and that's a good thing |

It saddens me to see what waste and hurtfulness abounts in this day and time | Greed and vainglory have won over true piety and caring of our brothers and sisters, regardless the uncertainty of genetic lineage in front of us at the moment | Regular readers of my page will not find it a surprise that from MY treestand it is Moloch, not Jesus, that our so called moral leaders truly worship | I really wonder where the prayers for more wealth get stored up and acted upon |

     Wrapping all this up, I'll close with my long standing statement about being optimistic for the future in the long haul; pessimistic for the short. And the seeds bearig fruit to result in the long term cheerier vision, are firmly rooted in the pessimism for the present. Deep shit is good fodder for seeds.
     Hope your day of thanksgiving is good, with a table groaning over with not only good food, good drink, pleasant company, but Good Spirit too. |
     G*D bless |

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PUBLIC DISSENT

$ $ Save Money On Shrinks! $ $ Vent Here! | Get New Hateful Ideas! at a new Message Board online, the I Hate George Bush bulletin board | Site blurb reads: "Tell Everyone Why You Hate George Bush. -- Don't spend money on counseling and psychiatrists. -- You can speak your own psychobabble! -- Let it all hang out. -- Don't spare the venom" |
The also posted a list of books to read that [as if it were necessary] that might get your ire up even more | Mind you, I don't know who runs the site | Maybe the new AG Gonzales | So be watchful ...or is this my own poltical paranoia speaking? |

FOUND AT Rongstad's Blog

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NEWS JUNKIE HAVENS

Friends of Liberty | Unabashedly Right-Wing | For the Lefties reading, the perspectives are surprisingly in step on that side of the coin as well |
Alternet | Progressives finally getting their say | The righties might do themselves some homework and find where the opposites attract |
Freedom of Thought Foundation | Dark | Brooding | Paranoid | NOT FOR THE PSYCHOLOGICALLY FRAGILE! | "...dedicated to education, networking, identify a variety of symptoms which have resulted from trauma-based programming and EM targeting, and exploring new technologies and methods which inhibit free thought -- propaganda, indoctrination, thought reform, brainwashing, and the covert psychological operations of "national security" states..." |

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NO CHIRSTMAS || BUY NOTHING

The Spirit of Christmas is not in wrapping paper | This is not my way of saying "Bah! Humbug!" but it is instead to support the slowly growing international movement against conspicuous consumption during the feast season [Thanksgiving to Buddha's Birthday, roughly]
Two groups, AdBusters and Xmas Resistance have championed this cause for a number of years now | If you must give gifts to that haughty demanding relative, then donate money into a charitable organization in their name | At least then there's some large karmic payback to be rewarded | ...not that you should ask for this | Check out the initatives these wrothwhile groups are supporting |

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AFGHANISTAN
News media often fail to get back to stories that were hot stuff only minutes ago | Thanks to the internet, this situation has begun to trun around | Here's a site on those who lost their lives fighting in "Operation Enduring Freedom" |

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UNSPEAKABLE ACTS
Brent Good, a friend of one of the slain hunters, during a vigil for the victims, Birchwood, Wisconsin

Wisconsin Tragedy | It doesn't matter at all what Chai Soua Vang might say in his own defense in the murder of six other hunters while hunting without permission in a treestand on someone else's property | Preliminary reports suggest he may have been a knowledgable hunter, that he certainly knew his weapon [begs some questions about allowing ordinary people possess assault rifles, however] and, quite evidently, he was a skilled marksman | But his action was ~ and is ~ unconscionable |
Claiming he didn't know he was on private property doesn't cut it | He had to have known that just because he came upon a tree stand, it

wasn't his to perch from | Nor, regrettably, does his statement that racial slurs were used by the hunters who confronted him about hunting on private land | Just doesn't justify what he did |
If the action raises raical tensions, that's wrong too, though probably would not be surprising | It was not a nation who killed the others, however, but an individual | Hopefully, cooler heads than Mr. Vang's will prevail in the coming days and weeks during the inevitable trial | My heart goes to the families of those who died |

CONTINUED COVERAGE AT: Duluth News Tribune | PIX FROM: CNN

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2004-11-23

BODYBUILDING BASICS

T-Nation reviews Book of Muscle | Bruce picked up Ian King's book and it promptly got scoffed by yours truly | It's a good starter book for anybody on the early part of weight training |
But the readers at renegade powerlifter zine Testosterone Nation did some far better reviews than I could've | Here's a blurb from their site:

Our T-Jackers liked this big glossy tome, although some thought the info was a little basic for those who've been reading T-Nation for years. Still, the reviews were outstanding.
      "This is the book you wished someone had given you when you first picked up a weight | It's really amazing how much information is contained in the book." — Obiwanheifner
      "Clearly written, this book had complete descriptions of all the exercises and had pictures to go along with each. It gives enough science so that the reader has a solid foundation on how the body works, but it's brief enough to not bore or overwhelm the novice lifter." >Boss14
      "This is a really great book! I couldn't put it down once I received it. It's unbelievably well written and it explains each muscle and what it does. The exercise pictures and examples are excellent." Roadwarrior

To checkout the full reviews, click HERE. To pick up a copy, visit LouSchuler.com

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BE PREPARED
Ideas for checking in the hospital: | Last week Ian found himself in a horrible state | He's doing somewhat better now | During the process he wrote this collection of sage suggestions |

DISTRIBUTE FREELY DO NOT ALTER

     1) If ya gotta go now, then go!  But, if ya don't, then here are some things to think about:
     2) Try to wrap things up. Things like, bills, pets, mail, etc. What you can't do before you leave, you may be able to do by phone. A cell phone is helpful here. So is a friend. Wards also usually have payphones (see #3 and #4 and remember to bring change). You may want to ask a friend to be your point of contact, a sort of filter between you and the outside world.  Try to select a person you can trust with the more personal aspects of your life for you never know what you may need from them. If you need to and you are able, designate different people to handle the aspects of your life for which they are best suited.
     3) Pack smart. Number 1 item: shower shoes. (You’ll thank me later). Bring at least 24 hours worth of meds along with a complete list of all of the meds you take (dosage, # times/day & time of day). Pack things like toiletries, comfortable clothes, undies & socks (shower shoes can be used as slippers) and your cell phone w/charger (the phone is usually left with the staff, so turn it off and use it when you want to get your messages or call out). Include a list of important phone numbers as well as money (no more than $20 and keep it in small bills w/some change as well), writing material, stamps & envelopes, books, etc. Don't take anything you're not willing to lose. A "ready bag" can be packed in advance (this list is coming soon).
     4) Make sure you have access to a phone. This is your contact with the outside world, your voice. It is important to stay in touch with your therapist (if you have one, otherwise, read the last half of idea #5, "it's never too late") and friends (idea #2). Most wards have a phone but you may needs lots of change or a prepaid calling card, there are usually limits on time and important messages are often not received. A cell phone w/charger is your best bet (idea #3).
     5) Use your Therapist. Clue them in to your status, THEY WORK FOR YOU. Discuss what hospitals or programs are available, and have them use their connections and familiarity with the system to find the best place for you. If you don't have a therapist, it's never too late. Here's what I do: get out the Yellow Pages, dial the therapists that appeal to me, listen to their message and decide from there (You can tell a lot from a message). Most will negotiate fees and nearly all will help when you really need it.
     6) The day of the week is important. Staff is not usually on duty on weekends and holidays. These are "sit and wait" days. Even on days when staff is present there's still lots of free time, and then there are the nights. Plan to occupy yourself (see #3).
     7) CALL AHEAD. Have a therapist or doctor (even a medical doctor, social worker or, in a pinch, a friend you trust to speak for you) call psych staff to lay the ground work for your arrival (see #5). This is like instant credibility with the staff - you are "represented". This is also a good opportunity for your doctor to explain your situation to the staff, saving you time and precious effort and laying the foundation for a more productive stay.
     8) Never go in high or drunk if at all possible. Your words will be discounted and thus you will lose your ability to negotiate (see #9). Find a part of the day when you are usually straight (first thing after waking) and go then. Coordinate with a professional. (See # 7 and #5).     9) Negotiate. Think about the things that would make your stay more comfortable and productive and ask for them. Discuss this with your therapist beforehand (Important: see #7 and #5). A calm voice and some eye contact are helpful. Remember, breathe and take your time.
     10) If you have a hard time expressing yourself, write down the things you want to negotiate for and take the paper with you. This is a good place to record your needs and goals, triggers and fears, and what are the best ways (and worst) to communicate and work with you. This can guide staff in your treatment and prevent them from inadvertently hurting you. Most of this can often be written in advance and kept in your "ready bag" (see #3).
     11) Rules of engagement. Don't swear if you can help it. Staff need to know if you are potentially violent and swearing is one of the first signs of escalation (Remember, they need to feel safe too and protect the rest of the people on the ward.). Pay attention to your posture and speech. Even though you may be afraid, resist the temptation to look and act tough. This can be perceived as potentially violent. If you fear you are feeling violent, tell the staff and negotiate for your safety (#’s 9, 7 and 8).
     12) You have rights. For instance, you have the right to refuse visitors and phone calls (If this is a potential issue, notify staff as early as possible). You also have the right to refuse medication (Try to use good judgment, meds can help you). IF YOU BRING YOUR OWN MEDS DON'T be surprised if they try to take away your meds and re-prescribe you their own. It may be reasonably argued that they are bound to do this by law or regulation. Look for posters and bulletin boards, they will inform you of your rights and give you the names and phone numbers of people to contact if you have questions or problems (Again, judgment is crucial here. These folks are often overwhelmed with petty complaints. Pick your battles wisely.). See # 4.
     Gods bless all of you brave, intrepid souls who take that terrifying leap. They know not of your courage or inner strength.
     JRG © 2004 comments/suggestions twoshadows@verizon.net

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2004-11-22

HUNTING SEASON

A) Promote fair chase and ethical hunting standards and abide by the rules of fair chase.
B) Communicate and teach other hunters.
C) Search for an arrow hit or bullet hit animal that is wounded for as long as possible.
D) Not take a chance at shooting an animal that is out of range or take a shot that is bad or unmanageable.
E) Follow and obey the laws of both local and state governments determined by the Department of Natural Resources.
F) Always assist a fellow hunter who needs help tracking a hit or wounded animal.
G) Promote hunting to younger hunters and take youngsters hunting whenever permitted.
H) Portray good hunting ethics.
I) Display and give respect to any animal taken.
J) Transport deer correctly and display taken game respectfully to non hunters.

TEXT CREDIT: Hunting.net RULES | For other hunting links, check out my Outdoor Sport links page |

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2004-11-21

NATURE HIKE

Devil's Hopyard History Hike to One Room Schoolhouse
Saturday, Nov. 27, 10:00 AM. Want to burn off some excess Thanksgiving calories? Take a break from holiday shopping? Join the Friends of Devil's Hopyard for a hike back in time. Learn about the history of this once thriving community while you follow an abandoned road to the one-room schoolhouse on Millington Green. John Bauer will share his research into the history of this one room school, and open the schoolhouse for a peak into the past of this 150 year old structure. Return via red trail, past vernal pools recently surveyed as part of the Eightmile River Wild and Scenic Study.
Families are welcome, but children should be able to walk 2-3 miles. Meet at the covered bridge in the main picnic area parking lot off Hopyard Rd. Rain date Sunday, 11/28. Directions | For more info, e-mail me at Will Brady

AREA TOPO MAPS: USGS Hamburg, CT quadrangle | HOPYARD FOLKLORE: Where'd the name come from

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