Freedom ISN’T Free?

November 14, 2008 · Filed under government · Tagged , , , , ,

You know … I get so tired of people sending me emails that are supposedly supporting our troops and trumpet how “freedom isn’t free.”

It’s not?  Isn’t free the very definition of freedom?  You know … it’s like … freedom … and everything?

Besides, I don’t see any connection between the wars we’re fighting over seas and freedom.  That’s not protecting our freedom, it’s making new enemies and imposing force upon other nations.  There’s nothing free about that.

Besides, we’re not very free in this nation anyway.  After all, if we’re so “free” why do we jail more people than any other nation in the world … more than double the runner up, good old communist Russia.  Seems like Russians are more free than us, if you go by that number.

Freedom is supposed to mean the ability to live your own life without having someone elses (or some government’s) will forced upon you, and yet our government has laws for every aspect of our lives … from what we can put or not put into our own bodies voluntarily … to where our pets can poop.  It does not mean having an abundance of choice of things to purchase and pay for, which it what many people seem to think it means. I mean, for crying out loud, people don’t even seem to care that their basic rights are infringed upon every day in various ways, so long as they can go to the mall or shop on the internet.

Are we really free here in the USA?

Are we really free at all?

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Whatever happened to “First, Do no harm”?

July 25, 2008 · Filed under health · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

One of the core principles in medicine is the Hippocratic oath, which states “First, Do No Harm.” This is why we trust our doctors. Their first promise is not to hurt us.

However, the over reliance of drugs as the solution to our problems is in direct opposition to this oath. All drugs prescribed today have lists of side effects. Many times, these side effects can be worse than the symptoms we are originally suffering, up to and including death. And this is why I no longer trust the allopathic medical community. Too much harm comes from their first treatment options.

Alternative medicine is a different boat. That’s not to say all the methods are 100% harmless, but you have a much better prognosis through working with the body’s natural processes than you do by introducing some foreign agent the human body has never encountered before. Several of my favorite and most effective methods include chiropractic, homeopathy, whole food nutrition and active meditation. I’ve used these with great effectiveness and success, whereas I’ve been more hurt than healed through my experiences with allopathic meds.

This is meant to be longer, as the full story is not told, but I’ll be moving in 2 days, so I should probably be packing instead of typing. 🙂

Hope you’re happy, healthy and doing well!
Namaste,
Lina

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TMI … too much information

June 25, 2008 · Filed under Family, humor · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ever notice how some people just want to give you waaaaaayyyyyy too much personal information? Fascinating little personal tidbits that you never wanted or needed to know? Visuals you may never get out of your head for the rest of your life?

Take this post … http://whitecoatrants.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/never-assume/

yeah. Pays to watch her pee.

I had a S-I-L once, and I swear I know waaaaaayyyyyyy too much about that woman’s ass. Specifically, her ass hole. No shit.

One of the first stories she ever told me was about her first date with my B-I-L. She was sooooo constipated and so uncomfortable that she had to have one of her friends literally go into her ass with a pair of tongs and remove pieces of shit.

O.o

How good of a friend do you have to be? Seriously. Ever hear of a doctor? How about a laxative?

If that were all, believe me, it would be enough. However, some time after that, she gave birth to her son. During the “congratulations and how’s the baby” phone call, she regaled me with new tales. Tales about her hemorrhoids. How big they were. In what location. How much they hurt. What they looked like. How long it had been since she’s pooped. The scheduled surgery.

A few weeks later, I guess feeling like I (wanted?) needed the update, she called back to tell me alllllll about the surgery. How they forgot to give her an enema beforehand. How long it’s been since she pooped. How it hurts. How many stitches. How she’s afraid to poop. How she just went poop and busted open her stitches. And on and on and on …

O.o

Geez, already. I’m sorry for your ass. Now would you quit telling me about it already? I feel like I know more about her ass than I know about mine! At least i’ve never had a compulsive urge to tell people stories about my ass. And if I ever? Please! Stop me!

:::giggleshits:::
Namaste,
Lina

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George Carlin dies at age 71 – RIP 6-22-08

June 23, 2008 · Filed under humor · Tagged , , , , , , ,

Oh, I knew today wasn’t going to be a good day. First, had a thief in the house last 2 days (for full story, go to http://www.myspace.com/phoenixdreamkeeper and read my other blog) … and I’m out $113 in cash. grrr

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aoLc5tOswmRI&refer=us
George Carlin, Grammy-Winning Exponent of Black Humor, Dies

Then, I wake up to this headline. He was my favorite comedian! George Carlin was smart and funny and so sharp you could hurt your brain grasping what he had to say. He was a true hero, fighting the system for our freedom to express ourselves and actively working for free speech. He was in the trenches, speaking his mind and to hell with the consequences. Poking at people and getting them to think for themselves. I will miss his biting humor and acerbic wit. I was really hoping to get to see him live before he went, but alas, tis not to be.

Thank you George, for all the laughs, the tears and the occasional fart joke. Thanks for opening my eyes and making me think. Thanks for making me look smart and funny when I stole some of your lines. Thanks for being the ornery bastard who was not afraid to verbally punch people in the face when they needed it. May you find your rest at the end of your journey.

Here’s to you, George … Rest In Peace

or copy and paste if that’s not working …


Namaste,
Lina

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Does Cell Phone Radiation Hurt Your Brain?

June 7, 2008 · Filed under business, environment, hope · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Does cell phone radiation hurt your brain?

This is a question I have come up against before. Cell phone manufacturers and service retailers would have us believe that cell phones are harmless and completely safe to use. However, in a research paper that I had to do for class a little over a year ago, images from the internet made me think differently.

In a thermographic image taken of adult and children’s brains, before during and after cell phone use, you can see heat changes in the brains of cell phone users. In adults, after 10 minutes of cell phone use, approximately 15% of the brain was heated, after 20 minutes, it was 25% and after 30 minutes, almost 50% of an adult brain was affected with higher temperature readings (read cooked). In children, this heat difference was much more pronounced and more alarming. Basically, because of their thinner less developed skulls, cell phone radiation heated more than double the area of the adult brain. This is why I NEVER let my children use my cell phone.

You can see these images here at this link. I couldn’t find the original images from a year ago … but here’s a good one comparing an adult, a 10 year old and a 5 year old. Just copy and paste if the image doesn’t show.
Cell phone radiation - adult, 10yo, 5yo
(this image is kind of big, so you might want to copy and paste it anyway)

Here’s another image
Cell phone radiation in adults

Just in case you think I’m making all this up about cell phone radiation and it’s heating effects on your brain, here are some YouTube experiments with cell phones and popcorn that I found rather enlightening, and scary. I’m going to try to embed the videos, but if it doesn’t work, Copy and paste the links to view.


or copy and paste http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAd0aWxs7kQ


or copy and paste http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju5yIFu4yY8

This one kills me because they were betting eachother that it wouldn’t work!

or copy and paste http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V94shlqPlSI

I’m personally quite sensitive to the cell phone radiation. I only have a cell phone and not a landline, because I can’t afford both and I need to be able to keep in touch with people for work and family, etc (same reasons as everyone else I suppose). On days that I had to use my phone a lot, I was noticing that I would get a lot of headaches and my ear would hurt quite badly. Since i only have one good ear (I’m completely deaf on the left side), when my good ear starts to hurt, I get concerned. O.o

I’ve since gotten my hands on a good EMF neutralizer, which since installing it on my phone, I’ve noticed a lot less pain in my ear and I don’t get headaches like I used to with the cell phone. I can get one for you for $20 each (plus $2.95 shipping) or $50 for a 3 pack (plus $4.95 shipping). If you’re interested, send me an email at alinaphoenix444_at_yahoo_dot_com and I will email you back with payment instructions so that you can start protecting yourself and the ones you love from brain cooking cell phone radiation. I’ll be happy to refund your purchase price if for any reason you are not satisfied – you just contact me at the same email for ordering info for a prompt refund.

Wishing you cell phone safety and a lifetime of wonderful health!

Namaste,
Lina

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Rise of the Superbugs

June 4, 2008 · Filed under business, environment, health, hope, self improvement · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Recently read an article over here …
Antibacterial wipes can spread superbugs: study
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080603/hl_nm/infection_wipes_dc

and also …
Drug-resistant bug kills young and healthy in U.S.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080603/hl_nm/pneumonia_usa_dc

Has it ever occurred to anyone that overuse of antibacterial products is creating these superbugs? The point is not to use a disposable antibacterial towlette on only one surface, the point should be to get away from the use of antibacterial soaps altogether. Our misguided war on germs, fueled by fears propagated in the media and further fueled by products like Lysol and Clorox is putting evolutionary pressure on microorganisms of all kinds. Only the strongest (and often the most deadly) survive, as we indiscriminately kill massive colonizations of bacteria on every available surface.

Face it folks, microorganisms outnumber us. Like a billion billion million billion to one. 99.9999% of them are nothing to worry about, are in fact, beneficial, and are necessary for us to survive. We get so worried about the tiny few that make us sick that we’re willing to wipe them all out wholesale, (as well as inject ourselves with deadly chemical cocktails known as vaccines -but that is a rant for another post) and now we’re shocked as hell when superbugs like MRSA are suddenly becoming a problem because we CAN’T kill them.

Overuse of antibiotics and antibacterials is a huge problem in this country today. We seem to think that killing off all these microbes is a good thing, when people who are on repeated antibiotics have more allergies and illness than the rest of us, and people who grow up in households that are “super-clean” are more susceptible to illness and serious disease than people whose immune systems have been strengthened by routine exposure to minimally harmful germs. This is truly a case of the cure being worse than the disease.

Furthermore, completely all-natural germicides such as colloidal silver and olive leaf extract are marginalized as un-patentable options (and demonized by a medical society that worships prescription drugs over all), when these safe and effective options can still save those that have been infected with the drug resistant strains (which is not to mention a little thing called Rife frequencies that can be used to kill illness causing bacteria/viruses/mold/yeast/etc using just a little bit of electricity – google it if you want). So instead of focusing on the safe, effective, natural solutions that should be commonly available, modern medicine ignores these options instead letting people remain sick and dying for sake of the profits of big pharma. It is a sad sad state we are living in.

So… do you want to know what you can to to be healthier and avoid trouble with drug resistant infections? First of all, end your own personal war on germs. Eliminate hand sanitizers, antibacterial soaps and wipes, and antibiotics any time you are sick. Research for yourself safe and effective natural germ killers such as colloidal silver, olive leaf extract and Rife frequencies on the internet (and keep some on hand for emergencies). When cleaning your home, return to the good old fashioned cleaners such as vinegar and borax, which aren’t going to add toxins to your home and will also take care of the majority of illness causing bacteria without the risk of creating more drug resistant strains. Wash your hands frequently with good old fashioned soap and hot water for a minimum of 20 seconds (or just hum the happy birthday tune twice), making sure you get front and back, between your fingers and under your nails. Taking these practical steps can help you become healthier and avoid illness while also stopping your own personal contribution to the creation of superbugs that are causing such a stir in medical circles today.

Wishing you wonderful health!
Namaste,
Lina

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Blogging from the danger zone

June 4, 2008 · Filed under environment · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

So … tornado sirens are going off. There’s lightning, followed by loud thunder. Sirens are going off (or maybe they’ve stopped … I can’t hear them at the moment). Sure is a fun night!

I’ve been experiencing internet connection problems for the past several days … which makes it incredibly irritating and difficult to get my work online done. It’s also made it difficult for me to complete reading important news articles such as …
The Triple Threat: Our Food, Water and Climate Challenges
http://www.alternet.org/water/85414/?page=entire
and
Apocalypse in the Oceans
http://www.alternet.org/water/86789/

These articles really make me question … exactly how screwed are we?

To read the articles listed there (and many similar pieces showcasing massive problems in our environment, government, economy … etc), I would argue pretty screwed indeed. It is going to take a lot more solution finding and a lot less passing the buck if we are ever going to get out of this mess.

And if we wait for our governments or our corporations to save us, we are totally screwed. Like with no hope of recovery.

So change has to come from us. We, individually, have to accept our own responsibility for our part in creating this mess. The average American, for instance, creates 4.6 lbs of solid trash per day in the form of paper, plastic, food waste, metal and whatnot. This adds up to 1679 lbs (almost a TON) of solid trash in a year. That is not to take into account the sheer amount of resources that went into the creation of that solid trash or the non-solid trash (ie: liquid and gas) that we each individually put out in a year.

So … take steps to reduce the amount of solid trash that you produce. Stop using paper towels and switch back to cloth towels. Try carrying a hanky instead of using kleenex. Stop using one-use paper based products in general (such as pre moistened glass cloths or floor cloths or hand wipes). Buy a bunch of reusable cloth bags for groceries. Stop spraying chemicals all over your home and into the air (reducing the amount of toxins in your environment and the waste of the cans it comes in). These are just a few ideas and suggestions on how to reduce the amount of waste that you personally produce.

So how about it? What are some suggestions you have for ways to reduce your amount of trash produced? What are some of the things you are already doing to help reduce your own impact on the environment?

Wishing you a healthy environment and a long healthy life!
Namaste,
Lina

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How ridiculous the world is!

May 30, 2008 · Filed under economy, government, hope, human rights, war · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

So I was reading the news today (I know, I know) and I came across this article on how Rachel Ray is a terrorist sympathizer because she was wearing a black and white paisley scarf in one of the ads that she was doing for Dunkin Donuts! (http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=4949437&page=1)

Jeez-o-peetz people! It’s a silly scarf for crying out loud! I happen to agree with her publicist that this is a non-story, but this ridiculousness is being perpetuated across the world because no one seems to have any perspective anymore about what’s important.

For crying out loud, even if the scarf is a rip-off of Arabic culture, are all Arabs now terrorists? Because I thought that was fairly confined to an insane few. This seems to be another case of a few bad apples ruining it for the whole bunch.

I personally feel a lot of sympathy for the Middle East. The region seems perpetually torn by war, generally over religion or oil … they have all these foreign occupiers messing up their lives … and there are more victims over there than perpetrators, but we always seem to lose sight of that fact in our fear. In fact, I would be willing to bet that the majority of people over there just want the same things we want … to love and be loved, to have a safe home in which to raise their families, to have access to food, water, electricity and medicine, to build a better life for themselves and their children.

Actually, as long as we stay afraid of them, the easier it is to continue to justify the Iraq war which is ruining our economy and seriously damaging our reputation around the world. I personally think we never should have gone over there in the first place, because Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11 and Saddam never had WMDs. It was all lies and misdirection with an enormous cost in terms of innocent lives (both those of Iraqi civilians and the troops who were sent over to “defend our freedom”) and economically (with a several trillion dollar price tag and rising – we could have fixed education and health care, but we would apparently rather bomb people). I also seriously doubt that the mass murderers responsible for the whole mess :::coughcoughGWcoughcheneyhacksneeze::: will ever be held responsible, and it really makes me wonder about justice in this wild old world.

I guess this post makes me a “terrorist sympathizer” to some people, but I would rather think that I am a general people sympathizer and I would put forth that the situation has a lot to do with making people what they are. I generally believe people are good and will do the right thing when given the chance. Perhaps that makes me naive, too … I prefer to think of it as hopeful. I’d kind of like to think that if we stopped stealing from them, bombing them and generally trying to dictate what they do with their government that they would lose their passion for blowing us up. But that’s just me.

I wish you peace and understanding for your fellow man, no matter his race, color or creed.
Namaste,
Lina

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10 Ways to Truly Increase Your Dork Quotient

May 28, 2008 · Filed under humor · Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

There’s this really neat little blog over here at
http://trixfiend.wordpress.com/2008/05/26/10-ways-to-increase-your-dork-quotient/
entitled “10 Ways to Increase Your Dork Quotient”.

However, if you read it, I feel the title should more properly be “10 Reasons I Am A Dork.”

If you are truly interested in increasing your dorkyness, this is my list of the following things that you can do to actually increase your dork quotient.

10. Suspenders – Really. There’s a reason we don’t see them on the runway much. Try on a pair and see if you don’t start feeling like a dork.

9. Broken glasses fixed with tape – If you wear glasses, first of all, you’re well on your way to being a dork. But if you want to increase your dork quotient, break your glasses and fix them with tape. +1 dork quotient for scotch tape. +3 for masking tape. +6 for Duct tape. +99 if the part you break is a lens and then you fix it with tape.

8. Pocket Protector – Pocket protectors are excellent for increasing your dork quotient. Especially if you wear them with a t-shirt that has no pocket. Just use the same tape that you fixed your glasses with and apply liberally to make it stick. Dorkitude accomplished.

7. Too short pants – If you want to truly achieve the dork appeal, pants that are too short are a must. But they can’t be so short they’re considered capris (unless you’re a guy – capris increase guy dorkiness by a factor of 68). 2-3 inches too short is the general rule. Just short enough so when you sit down, they hike up on your leg to reveal your mismatched tube socks in all their glory.

6. Carry multiple unnecessary electronic devices – In addition to your cell phone, ipod and PDA, carry also an electronic doorstop, a nose hair trimmer and a shoe polishing device. The greater the number and obscurity of the electronic device, the higher the dork quotient achieved.

5. Acquire terminal clumsiness – Begin walking into things… doors, walls, chairs, people, trees… make life an equal opportunity crash course. Also, begin dropping things. The more fragile, the better. And as a bonus, when you acquire terminal clutztude, people will stop asking you to dry the dishes.

4. End each sentence with, “According to Einstein’s theory.” – Feel free to mix it up and substitute with other appropriate (or random) scientists, theories, inventions, space programs or animals.

3. Count everything – Ever see the movie “Stranger than Fiction”? Count everything just like Harold Crick. That character was definitely a dork. In the very best way. 🙂 (If you haven’t seen that movie, go see it now! It totally rocks. Sidenote: Dorks have extensive movie collections, usually filled with a lot of Star- Movies -Star Wars, Star Trek, STNG … bonus dork points if you know what STNG is)

2. Become a trivia genius – But not in anything people care about. Seek to know everything about the 3-toed sloth or the toenail grooming habits of the German people. Try to get people to ask you questions about your chosen topic. “Hey Bob! Ask me anything about the mating patterns of Eastern Pacific amoebas!”

1. Squint one eye and say “Durrrrrr” a lot – Especially when there is a lull in the conversation, or general silence in a public place. Just see if people don’t start calling you a dork in record time! (Or they might wonder if you’re a little retarded … either way, mission accomplished!)

There you have it. My definitive list of the best ways to truly increase your Dorkiness quotient.

*Examples not taken from my life and habits (mostly). I am personally more of a nerd than a dork.

Nerds rule!!! WoOt!

Wishing you a laughter and plenty of dorky nerdy moments to laugh at!

Namaste,
Lina

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Refocus

May 27, 2008 · Filed under self improvement, Spiritual · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s time to refocus this blog here onto the things that really matter. I’m sure I’ll still occasionally rant about the injustices and general mess of the world, but that’s not what I’m all about. In fact, I try not to pay too much attention to that stuff at all because it makes it difficult for me to focus on creating meaningful change in my life. I get too wrapped up in the things that are happening beyond my control.

Do you find that that happens to you? Do you notice how when you’re caught up in the news and your favorite tv show and magazines and tabloids, you tend to be more upset? I know, for me, that when I’m focused on the news and the media (but the news especially), I’m not nearly as effective in all the other areas of my life. Perhaps you notice this about yourself too.

Our lives are reflections of the things we pay attention to, where we direct our energies (mental, physical, emotional, spiritual). I recently read an extremely good analogy,

Did you know that your attention is the most precious gift you have? Are you aware that your attention is the blueprint for what happens in your life?

Attention is a Constant Stream of Power From the Source
You can name it source, god, light, consciousness, or anything else you may be familiar with. Here is an analogy that demonstrates this:

Imagine that you are watering your garden and you connect your hose to the faucet, which in our analogy will be the source. You choose which flower or part of your garden you want to water.

Now imagine that your hose has holes. The holes represent areas in your life where your attention is not under your control. What happens is you have less water; and besides that, parts of your garden get watered that are not supposed to – more weeds grow! The weeds represent areas in your life where you feel powerless, because you have no control over them.

What happens if we take this example to the extreme? You have no water left for any flowers. Your flowers die and the weeds take over. Meaning: what you want in life doesn’t happen, and what you don’t want happens all the time! All the result of having no free attention. -Thomas Herold

So, how do we plug up the holes to get our attention back? Well … there are many things you can do, such as eliminating TV (watch DVDs instead), cancelling your newspaper and magazine subscriptions (pick up a novel instead), turning off the radio (opting for CDs or MP3s instead).

When we do these things, we eliminate an enormous amount of advertising garbage from our lives. We feel less compelled to keep up with the Joneses and less compelled to buy tons of unnecessary junk we don’t need. We become free to pursue our true interests, the callings of our heart. We can pick up new hobbies, meet new people, make new friends. We can enjoy more of what we have as we let go of wanting everything we don’t.

Those are several very powerful ways to take back control over your attention. If you need some extra help getting over your mental and emotional roadblocks (when we eliminate so much, sometimes it makes us face things we rather wouldn’t), there are wonderful tools available over here at http://www.automaticlifechanges.com. In fact, those are the programs I used to help me overcome severe agoraphobia (housebound for 3 years) and get my life back. Hopefully, your problems will never be that bad … but if it helped me get over that, think of what it can do for lesser problems!

They also have a fabulous little program called unstoppable motivation now, which will help you achieve laser like focus with your attention. Just think of what you could do with that kind of concentration!

Wishing you plenty of focus and a flowering garden!
Namaste,
Lina

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