If you are in a crappy situation, struggling with weight loss, or struggling to change your diet, believe that the Hero version of you is waiting to develop. You’re in the ‘challenge’ part of the story right now. Without that, the Hero part will have no meaning.
Who wants to read the story about the awesome guy that got more awesome? Nobody!
~ Steve Kamb from, Hero Training 101: 4 Steps To Save The Galaxy
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Seriously? Yes, this is awesome: http://thugkitchen.com/
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Specifically, they found that when bees are exposed to the enzyme p-coumaric, their immune system appears stronger—it turns on detoxification genes. P-coumaric is found in pollen walls, not nectar, and makes its way into honey inadvertently via sticking to the legs of bees as they visit flowers. Similarly, the team discovered other compounds found in poplar sap that appear to do much the same thing. It all together adds up to a diet that helps bees fight off toxins, the researchers report. Taking away the honey to sell it, and feeding the bees high-fructose corn syrup instead, they claim, compromises their immune systems, making them more vulnerable to the toxins that are meant to kill other bugs.
~ Bob Yirka from, Researchers find high-fructose corn syrup may be tied to worldwide collapse of bee colonies
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Fear is the path of the Dark Side.
~ Yoda, in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999 film)
Fear leads to anger.
Anger leads to hate.
Hate leads to suffering.
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The New Zealand Herald reports, Kiwi principal sends teen message viral… 53 years on
According to a 2010 post on the Pierce County Tribune website, the words come from a letter by Judge Phillip B. Gilliam of Denver, Colorado, published on December 17, 1959, which explains why the advice sounds somewhat dated.
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Almost 15,000 people shared the link on their own Facebook profiles, attracting the attention of American news website the Huffington Post and fuelling the internet sensation.
Words for teenagers everyone…
Always we hear the cry from teenagers, ‘What can we do, where can we go?’
My answer is this: Go home, mow the lawn, wash the windows, learn to cook, build a raft, get a job, visit the sick, study your lessons, and after you’ve finished, read a book.
Your town does not owe you recreational facilities and your parents do not owe you fun.
The world does not owe you a living, you owe the world something.
You owe it your time, energy and talent so that no one will be at war, in poverty or sick and lonely again.
In other words, grow up, stop being a cry baby, get out of your dream world and develop a backbone, not a wishbone.
Start behaving like a responsible person.
You are important and you are needed.
It’s too late to sit around and wait for somebody to do something someday.
Someday is now and that somebody is you.
~ Judge Phillip B. Gilliam of Denver, Colorado, published on December 17, 1959
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The brilliance behind this no-nonsense approach is seen the second real problems occur. The first time you witness a member of Europa Ventures (this trip is privately funded) breakdown or let out a tiny yelp, it hits you. Hard. This is coupled by the fact that (almost) the whole movie is filmed from stationary cameras located inside the vessel.
~ IO9 from, Europa Report: At Last, a Space Thriller Worth Taking Seriously
I’m not a big fan of scary movies per se; Scary for scary’s sake? meh. But I do love me a suspenseful, scary space movie. Europa Report reminds me of Alien . . . <shudder>
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Who can jump the furthest? Who can run the fastest or climb the highest? Who can face the most danger? Who can do the most twists in a somersault..? How could we get to a place in our minds where any of these things actually matter to us? Arbitrary things, all of them: quick to come and quicker to go; easily gained or lost, easily learned or forgotten.
~ Dan Edwards from, «http://www.parkourgenerations.com/article/meaning-strength»
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Imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, “This is an interesting world I find myself in — an interesting hole I find myself in — fits me rather neatly, doesn’t it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!” This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it’s still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything’s going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. I think this may be something we need to be on the watch out for. We all know that at some point in the future the Universe will come to an end and at some other point, considerably in advance from that but still not immediately pressing, the sun will explode. We feel there’s plenty of time to worry about that, but on the other hand that’s a very dangerous thing to say.
~ Douglas Adams
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Too often we are embarrassed to admit that we don’t understand what we are told. We don’t want to appear stupid to the speaker or others in the audience. But more people should ask questions, because others may be just as confused but not want to speak up. There is no shame in not understanding something, and it’s a good lesson to remember that. Asking for clarification not only helps both the speaker and listener communicate more effectively, it is also a powerful tool in revealing bullshit.
~ Ben Bradford from, The Wisdom of Not Understanding
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Bradford starts off talking about a terrible, new-agey, pseudo-science film which a friend was discussing with him. I’ve had that same conversation, about the same film. So I understand what he’s saying, and I understand the point he’s making. My issue with his assertion is that he doesn’t seem to make the distinction between when one doesn’t understand something versus when one doesn’t understand someone.
This is an important distinction. When one encounters something dubious, confusing, or questionable, (such as the movie What the Bleep Do We Know,) admitting lack of understanding can lead to self-improvement. (yeah!)
[ walking out of a theatre ]
“Craig, what did you think of the movie?”
“Dude, I’m totally confused. How could Rosebud have been [redacted]? How did I miss that?!”
[ …conversation goes on. Happy friend. yeah! ]
On the other hand, when one encounters someone espousing dubious, confusing, or questionable ideas, one must tread carefully. Unilaterally saying, “I don’t understand,” to friends and family will come across as a back-handed insult. They will interpret, “I don’t understand,” to imply, “you are not making sense,” or worse, “you are stupid.” Bye-bye friends and family. (boo!)
[ entering the coffee shop ]
“Hey Craig, I saw this great movie! It was about a [redacted] named George Orwell and it was looking for some a citizen named Rosebud.”
“Dude, I’m totally confused. How can [redacted] be named George Orwell… I thought he wrote the movie script?”
[ …reflects negatively on friend. Friend is unhappy. boo! ]
Suddenly, (awesome film by the way,) I have to either smile and bear the nonsense, or start picking the nonsense apart bit by bit until my friend realizes they are confused and don’t understand.
I’ve sometimes, (often?,) been accused of lacking social skills. Nay, I suggest that some people’s signal-to-noise ratio is low, and I am simply not interested in fixing everyone I encounter.
(See also Megalomania. But, then, also Imposter Syndrome.)
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All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.
~ Blaise Pascal from, Pensées
There are many advantages to having some time alone, (while doing nothing,) each day. Not least of which is some inoculation against the disease of needing to be constantly distracted and entertained.
If you immediately fall asleep when sitting alone, excellent! Your body was trying to tell you it needed sleep, and you weren’t listening. Come back when you’ve finished your cat-nap.
…back? Refreshed?
If meditation seems inconceivable… If the idea of being alone, doing nothing, makes your skin crawl… then start with doing things alone, and work up from there.
You, like many people, might get stuck on the idea that being alone is like having some sort of disease—even if you’re the kind of person that prefers being alone. You might skip movies in the theater if you have to attend in solitude. Or maybe you criticize yourself for eating lunch at your desks instead of with coworkers or friends. Perhaps you spend too much of our time out with others because you just don’t know what to do when you’re by yourself. With a little work, however, you can make your alone time much more productive.
~ Adam Dachis from, How to Use Your Alone Time More Productively (and Actually Enjoy It)
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