“Being an artist means forever
healing your own wounds and at the same time endlessly exposing them.”Annette
Messager
To me, poetry is somebody standing up
“To me, poetry is somebody
standing up, so to speak, and saying, with as little concealment as possible,
what it is for him or her to be on earth at this moment” Galway
Kinnell
Destitutus ventis remos adhibe
Destitutus ventis, remos adhibe...or in other words "If the wind will not serve, take to the oars"
Irish fair skin can be traced to India and the Middle East
From Irish Central. Com
Have
you ever wondered where the Irish get their light skin color from? Well, it
appears we may now have the answer.
A
major new US study at Penn State University has found that Europeans' light
skin stems from a gene mutation from a single person who lived 10,000 years
ago.
Scientists
made the discovery after identifying a key gene that contributes to lighter
skin color in Europeans, and the Irish fall into this category.
The
Mail Online reports that, in earlier research, Keith Cheng from Penn State
College of Medicine reported that one amino acid difference in the gene SLC24A5
is a key contributor to the skin color difference between Europeans and West
Africans. This is undoubtedly where the Irish get their light skin from.
"The
mutation in SLC24A5 changes just one building block in the protein, and
contributes about a third of the visually striking differences in skin tone
between peoples of African and European ancestry," he said.
Cheng
and his team studied segments of genetic code that have a mutation and are located
closely on the same chromosome and are often inherited together.
The
mutation, called A111T, is found in virtually everyone of European ancestry.
A111T
is also found in populations in the Middle East and Indian subcontinent, but
not in high numbers in Africans.
All
individuals from the Middle East, North Africa, East Africa and South India who
carry the A111T mutation share traces of the ancestral genetic code. According
to the researchers, this indicates that all existing instances of this mutation
originate from the same person.
The
pattern of people with this lighter skin color mutation suggests that the A111T
mutation occurred somewhere between the Middle East and the Indian
subcontinent.
‘This
means that Middle Easterners and South Indians, which includes most inhabitants
of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, share significant ancestry,’ Professor Cheng
said.
Professor
Cheng now plans to look at more genetic samples to better understand what role
genes play in East Asian skin color. Perhaps he will take a look into where
Irish redheads come from after this.
The greatest discovery
“The greatest discovery of my generation is
that human beings, by changing their inner attitudes of their minds, can change
the outer aspects of their lives.” William James 1915
William James (January 11, 1842
– August 26, 1910) was a philosopher and psychologist who was also trained as a
physician. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United
States, James was one of the leading thinkers of the late nineteenth century
and is believed by many to be one of the most influential philosophers the
United States has ever produced, while others have labelled him the
"Father of American psychology".
Along with Charles Sanders Peirce and John
Dewey, he is considered to be one of the major figures associated with the
philosophical school known as pragmatism, and is also cited as one of the
founders of functional psychology. He also developed the philosophical
perspective known as radical empiricism. James' work has influenced
intellectuals such as Émile Durkheim, W. E. B. Du Bois, Edmund Husserl,
Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Hilary Putnam, and Richard Rorty.
Born into a wealthy family,
James was the son of the Swedenborgian theologian Henry James Sr and the
brother of both the prominent novelist Henry James, and the diarist Alice
James. James wrote widely on many topics, including epistemology, education,
metaphysics, psychology, religion, and mysticism. Among his most influential
books are The Principles of Psychology, which was a groundbreaking text in the
field of psychology, Essays in Radical Empiricism, an important text in
philosophy, and The Varieties of Religious Experience, which investigated
different forms of religious experience, which also included the then theories
on Mind cure.
Friends
An Australian study that
followed 1,500 people for 10 years found that having good friends helps people
live longer. Those with a large support network outlived those with the fewest
friends by a significant 22 percent. Another major study, this one from UCLA,
found that when women reached out to friends during an emotional crisis, they
coped better. One explanation (among many) is that the friendships triggered
oxytocin—the feel-good bonding hormone—in the body, reducing women’s cortisol
levels and combating stress.
Here's a productive idea
Campaign To Create Giant Smile
Over U.S.
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A new
campaign is setting up billboards encouraging Philadelphians to be happy.
The messages are part of Smile Across America
(#SmileAcrossAmerica), a national campaign from community nonprofit The Joy
Team that’s in honor of International Day of Happiness on March 20th.
According to The Joy Team,
Philly is just one of 19 cities taking
part in the campaign, which creates a giant smile face across the country when
you connect the dots from billboard to billboard. That smile will span from
Vancouver, WA to White Planes, NY with the eyes in Billings, MT; Casper, WY;
Minneapolis, MN; and Des Moines, IA.
The Joy Team says the
Philadelphia billboard will be located
on Ridge Avenue about 30 feet north of Walnut Lane and will read, “Life loves
you. Just the way you are.” It’s expected to be up sometime during the week of
March 16th.
We do not grow absolutely, chronologically
“We do not grow absolutely, chronologically.
We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow
partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another.
The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us
in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.” Anais Nin
I don't know if I agree fully with that, I would say keep looking maybe you'll see him in the next person.
“If you don’t find God in the
next person you meet, it’s a waste of time looking for him further.” Gandhi
How great would that be?
“Imagine a culture in which everything is
geared toward helping all individuals become the best human beings they can be;
in which individuals are driven to devoting their lives to becoming enlightened
by the natural flood of compassion for others that arises from their wisdom.” Robert
Thurman
What a fantastic thought this is....................
“I promise you that the same stuff galaxies
are made of, you are. The same energy that swings planets around stars makes
electrons dance in your heart. It is in you, outside you, you are it. It is
beautiful. Trust in this. And you your life will be grand.” Kamal Ravikant
I want to make it clear here that I think intelligent arts criticism
“I want to make it clear here that I think
intelligent arts criticism is important and valuable. I want critics, writers,
and readers to stake out their aesthetic ground and defend it. But your
arguments should make us think deeper and harder about books. Criticism should
complicate, not simplify. If you think the above is true, but not worth
fretting over, here is why I disagree: lazy stereotypes about reader
preferences absolutely contribute to problems in the publishing industry. I
know writers of color who’ve been rejected because their writing ‘isn’t black
enough for black readers,’ or is ‘too black for white readers.’ It leads
publishers to reject manuscripts because ‘readers won’t read translated
fiction’ or ‘don’t want more [insert ethnicity] immigrant fiction this year.’
(Then, of course, those same publishers scramble after that same fiction as
soon as one book sells well.) It’s part of the reason that women writers are
pressured into flowery uplifting covers even if their fiction is dark and
gritty. And, more generally, it’s part of why tons of great books that push boundaries
and do new, exciting things get passed over, and literature, and readers,
suffer for it.” Lincoln Michel
Get hopeful
“For in this hope we were
saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?” Romans
8:24
The blame game
I seldom blame anyone for anything
because long ago I came to the conclusion that everyone on earth is in the
process of growing, of becoming something else and no matter what they are or
what they were or what they would become, no one is perfect and that the best
we can do with our lives is to live accordingly
We grow
We grow. That’s the aim, that’s
goal. In that, as we grow we eventually find out who we are, what we are made
of, what will make us happy. We also come to realize that some of the people we’ve
known for years have grown either not at all or in a completely different
direction from where we are headed. Then it’s time to move on without them, you’ll
always have the memories but now the time has come to move on.
Faith is everything.
Faith is everything. One person
with a belief, one person with faith in that belief, is equal to a force of 99
who have only a passing interest in what they believe.
The answer to living a good life
The answer to living a good
life, a peaceful life, is to learn how to balance holding on and letting go.
Here is my game plan
Here is my game plan; when my
last day on earth comes around I want to be able to say that I chose my life to
be what it is. I didn’t settle for a life handed to me.
Care
One day I found myself
wondering what had ever happen to an old friend. I recalled that I was the one
who broke off our contact. It took some time to recall why but I finally
remembered the reason; he had absolutely no care, concern or interest in my
life or well being. Sometimes you have to give up on people - not because you
don’t care, but because they don’t care.
Aim high
“Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown
in. Aim at earth and you get neither.”
C. S. Lewis
I almost forgot...Happy St. Patrick's Day
“I’m a drinker with writing
problems.” - Brendan Behan
De réir a chéile a thógtar na
caisleáin: It takes time to build castles. Irish Proverb
“May the saddest day of your
future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.” Irish Proverb
“When anyone asks me about the
Irish character, I say look at the trees. Maimed, stark and misshapen, but
ferociously tenacious. E. O’Brien”
Conformity
Conformity is a double edged sword
because if you conform everyone will like you except yourself.
Givers and takers
The world is made up of those
who give and those who take. If you are one of those who gives you had better
learn to set limits on how much you are willing to give because the takers will
never set limits on how much they are willing to take.
6 habits of the most likable people
Richard Feloni
Talent is only a prerequisite
for the upper echelon of any industry.
Those who have the best
interpersonal and communication skills will always have an edge over their
colleagues who don't.
Dale Carnegie recognized this
about a century ago and began teaching public speaking and personal success
courses that became immensely popular. He and a team of researchers developed a
curriculum based on lessons they derived from the lives of people like Thomas
Edison and Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, along with psychology texts.
His most famous work, "How
to Win Friends & Influence People," which was published in 1936, is a
collection of his core teachings and has sold over 15 million copies. It
uplifted readers during the depths of the Great Depression, but its insights
into human nature are as relevant today as they were then.
According to Carnegie, here are
six habits of people who are so likable that others go out of their way to help
them.
1. They are genuinely
interested in others.
Carnegie writes that the way
Theodore Roosevelt treated even the lowest-level White House employee helped
explain his popularity with the American public. He cites the writings of
journalist and Army officer Archie Butt, who observed Roosevelt when he came to
visit his presidential successor, William Howard Taft. Taft was unavailable,
but Roosevelt made sure to speak to every servant and ask them how they were
doing.
"It was the only happy day
we had in nearly two years," the White House head usher Ike Hoover told
Butt.
2. They smile.
Steel magnate Charles Schwab,
who quickly rose from day laborer to an incredibly high paid executive under
the industrialist Andrew Carnegie, claimed his smile was worth a million bucks.
"And he was probably
understating the truth," Carnegie writes. "For Schwab's personality,
his charm, his ability to make people like him, were almost wholly responsible
for his extraordinary success; and one of the most delightful factors in his
personality was his captivating smile."
3. They remember the people
they meet.
Carnegie had a chance to
interview Jim Farley, chairman of the Democratic National Convention and
postmaster general — as well as FDR's first presidential campaign manager —
about how he became successful.
Farley said that his ability to
navigate politics was due to a habit he developed as a traveling salesman. He
asked each prospective client their name and about their family, so that he had
enough to link to a face the next time he encountered them. "Remember that
a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any
language," Carnegie writes.
4. They encourage people to
talk about themselves.
Most people loosen up in even
tense situations if they start talking about what they know. Namely,
themselves.
Carnegie writes that he once
met an accomplished botanist at a dinner party and, being an amateur gardener
himself, asked the man a stream of questions about his line of work. Hours of
conversation later, it was time to leave. As the botanist left, he told
Carnegie that he had been a "most interesting conversationalist."
Carnegie barely said anything
the entire time, but he listened with genuine interest. "That kind of
listening is one of the highest compliments we can pay anyone," he writes.
5. They are aware of others'
interests.
Another reason Teddy Roosevelt
left such a favorable impression on those he met, Carnegie writes, is that he
seemed to know an encyclopedia's worth of information.
This impression was deliberate.
According to Carnegie, whenever Roosevelt hosted someone at his house, he would
stay up late the night before, "reading up on the subject in which he knew
his guest was particularly interested."
6. They make others feel
important — in a genuine way.
Carnegie says that the
philosopher William James expressed the "one all-important law of human
conduct": "The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be
appreciated."
Show your appreciation of
others, but don't spread praise so thin that it's meaningless.
I never wish to be easily defined
“I never wish to be easily
defined. I’d rather float over other people’s minds as something strictly fluid
and non-perceivable; more like a transparent, paradoxically iridescent creature
rather than an actual person.” Franz Kafka
Unexpressed emotions
“Unexpressed emotions will
never die. They are buried alive and they will come forth, later, in uglier
ways.” Sigmund Freud
Eccentric.
“She is not a writer at all,
really; she is merely a gifted eccentric.” Michael
Cunningham, The Hours
Writers..................
Writers have a reputation for
being introspective, sensitive and passionate. Although the most prolific
writers have a melancholic streak, we often forget that a writer is an observer
of the human experience. Usually, writing is not born from happiness; it is
nurtured by experience, struggle, survival, and inspiration. I don’t know what
makes a writer, but it probably isn’t happiness." -William Saroyan
Gandhi break
“Power is of two kinds. One is
obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based
on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived
from fear of punishment.”
“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it
is the prerogative of the brave.”
“Love is the subtlest force in
the universe”
Wordless
“Most experiences are
unsayable; they come to fullness in a realm that words do not inhabit.”
Rainer
Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
Ilk:
Ilk: Definition: sort, kind
The Old English pronoun ilca is the
predecessor of the modern noun ilk, but by way of a pronoun ilk that does not
exist in most dialects of modern English. That ilk is synonymous with same, and
persists in Scots where it's used in the phrase "of that ilk,"
meaning "of the same place, territorial designation, or name." It is
used chiefly in reference to the names of land-owning families and their
eponymous estates, as in "the Guthries of that ilk," which means
"the Guthries of Guthrie." Centuries ago a misunderstanding arose
concerning the Scots phrase: it was interpreted as meaning "of that kind
or sort," a usage that found its way into modern English. Ilk has been
established in English with its current meaning and part of speech since the
late 18th century.
Huckster
\HUCK-ster\ hawker, peddler
Hawkers, peddlers, and
hucksters of those three words—hawker, peddler, and huckster—the one that has
been around the longest in English is huckster. It has been with us for over
800 years, and it derives from the Middle Dutch word hokester, which in turn
comes from the verb hoeken, meaning "to peddle." Peddler (or pedlar)
was first attested in the 14th century, and the pertinent sense of hawker has
only been appearing in English texts since the early 1500s.