Mind Over Blather: December 2006

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Sunday, December 31, 2006

It's A Matter of Time

Happy New Year 2007 to everyone. I pray that God will be merciful and continue to bestow His blessings upon us. I haven't the foggiest why He should, but I pray He does so anyway. Although, I have a sinking feeling that we will be up to our ears from reaping what we have been willfully sowing. God help us.

As this is the first day of 2007 Anno Domini I got to thinking about time - again. I hate it. It just mindlessly goes on, not respecting anything or anyone. We're like shanghaied sailors on this ship of time. We measure time in units of repeating cycles - seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years. The earth spins the days away, its orbit spinning the years away. Everything spins, including my head when I think about this. Time, though, is neither cyclical nor in discrete units - it is continuous and one-directional, moving full speed ahead, as indicated by our increasing year numbers.

Is matter, as we know it, totally dependent on time in order to exist? Those spinning nuclear particles (God must have a thing for spinning things) need time, don't they? Movement equates to time and space, in my mind. You can't move without space, you can't traverse that space instantaneously. Nothing that I know of is instantaneous. God is not matter, nor space, nor time. He created all of that. In God's plane of existence, those things don't exist. Fine. He is the I AM. Got it. As we are NOT God, nor ever will be, I do not see us ever being outside of time. We will live for eternity because we will no longer be separated from God, who is eternal, but I believe that space, matter and time as we know it will also exist after this life. After all, He did originally create us for this world. We chose to separate ourselves from Him and in doing so, lost the eternity that can only come through the I AM.

I'll end my rambling here and just say that after thinking this through, I will conclude that time, after all, is not to be hated. We could not exist without it. It is our being separated from God that makes time Man's enemy, as we can only have a very limited amount of it without the Eternal One to carry us along. We are now mortal but that will not last forever.

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Good Riddance

You will be out of my life very soon. Take all the crap you brought with you and get the hell out of here! You have been horrible - a living nightmare. I pray to God that I never see the likes of you again. It will take a long time to get over you. I thought life was hard before you came along, but it was a picnic in the park on a sunny afternoon compared to what you put me through.

The damage you have done is irreparable and I will never be the same because of it. You altered my reality to the point where life became surreal. I once felt invulnerable, invincible, that there was no problem too big for me to overcome. Oh, did you ever set me straight on that misconception. There is nothing left to say. You are history, 2006!

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Saturday, December 30, 2006

Adapting to Corruption

Arielle comments on the Morbid Curiosity post:

Thanks, Taylor -I was beginning to think I was the only one that felt this way. The friends that have mentioned it all seemed to see nothing wrong with it, and even my husband couldn't understand why it bothered me so much.

We have been hardened as a society. The warped images and messages streaming from the Internet, television, movies, music, pop culture and news that we are exposed to on a daily basis have caused many of us to lose our sense of decency. No one living in mainstream society is immune to it. I certainly am not immune to it, although, I am making a conscious effort to recognize its toxic effect on my mind and trying to reverse it. We are basically living in a sewer today. When another new piece of filth comes along, it doesn't make much, if any, impact on our dulled sensibilities.

The body's nervous system was designed to eventually block out constant stimulus in order to free up the nerves and brain centers to sense and recognize new information. Our information pathways have a limited bandwidth. It is an ingenious design that allows us to adapt to our environment so that we can be alerted when changes do occur. This is, for example, why we don't smell the inside of our own homes, don't hear the noisy traffic outside our bedroom window, and don't notice the details of our daily route to work. In effect, we are unaware of many things around us.

Man has always been rotten, but at one time, society, as a whole, at least put on a facade of righteousness. Of course, we could always choose to pollute our own lives with depravity but the air was clean for the rest of us. Depravity and degeneracy had to be actively sought out. This is no longer the case today. The facade has been torn off, permitting what was once hidden and unacceptable, now free to pollute everyone's lives. One has to actively fight to keep out depravity and degeneracy. It is a losing battle as corruption touches every aspect of society. Given our ability to adapt, it is no surprise that many of us no longer notice the constant stink emanating from our polluted culture.

It did not get this way over night. If it did, we would be in shock. No, the decline is very subtle, slowly increasing as our senses and sensibilities adjust, no longer registering the offenses to our minds. To be constantly aware of the filth around us would leave many of us incapacitated, unable to carry on with our lives. Man's ability to adapt was meant for survival but in an insidiously comfortable world it seems to be leading to our downfall.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Propositioning a Salaphilic Skank

I am no scientist, as you will soon discover, but science fascinates me. Often, while doing dishes or some other mundane chore, my mind will wander. No telling where. Today it decided to focus on desalination. Don't ask me why, it just did. I'm a woman for goodness sakes. I do have a motive for posting about it - again, I'm a woman... I believe that nothing is hard if you think hard enough about it. As my limited knowledge allows me to go only so far into my mental meanderings, I figure you learned bloggers can help me unravel the scientific mysteries that perplex me. And if you can't, this thinking out-loud process is quite satisfying - even at the very likely risk of demonstrating my total ignorance.

Are salt and water that much in love with each other that we can't easily separate them? Surely, there must be a skanky little chemical that would entice the sodium and chloride ions to itself and away from the H₂O molecules. I'm imagining a hot and heavy romance where Na⁺ and CL^- will eagerly and with complete abandon rush to share electrons with this irresistible interloper. They would unashamedly go at it until every salt ion is inextricably bonded into a crystal solid

The crystal structure of sodium chloride. Each atom has four nearest neighbors, with octahedral geometry. The larger green ones are the chloride atoms.

- how NaCl likes it in the first place - only now arranged differently - shacked up into some comfy configuration with this skank's atoms.

The separation would then be complete and the final dissolution of the water/salt marriage only requiring the physical removal of the newly formed crystal solid. Far from being bitter over this entirely salacious affair, water reverts to its sweet self again.

There must be a good reason why this isn't as simple as I imagine it should be. Although, I believe that there are ingenious methods of manipulating the physical world around us and it's only a matter of discovering them.

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Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Morbid Curiosity

From the Body Worlds Exhibit currently in Dallas:

Throughout the ages, medical scholars and students have strived to understand how our bodies function through exploration of real human specimens. BODY WORLDS, the most highly attended touring exhibition in the world, takes this tradition one step further by presenting a new look at the human body.

The exhibition features approximately 200 authentic human specimens, including whole bodies, plastinated individual organs and transparent body slices that have been preserved through the process of Plastination, a technique that replaces bodily "fluids and fat with reactive plastics. BODY WORLDS offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see and understand our own physiology and health and to gain new appreciation and respect for what it means to be human.

This exhibit is being promoted big time. I have a keen interest in science, especially human physiology, but I will not be attending. You could not drag me there in a limo with champagne and Hugh Jackman in the back seat. It gives me the creeps. There is something very wrong about displaying real human bodies in this manner - very wrong. There is nothing to be learned by it. It is simply ghoulish voyeurism. Take a look at the video introduction. This is clearly not being marketed as a scientific exhibit. It borders on the dark side - and people love it. That bit about gaining appreciation and respect for being human could not be further from the truth and they don't believe that shit any more than I do. This exhibit does the exact opposite. It would be revealing to take an exit poll of the people at the exhibit and ask them why they attended and what they've learned from this exhibit.

I'm not surprised by people's fascination with dead bodies and death. It is the culture in which we live. On television, the most graphic displays of mangled and decomposed bodies are now commonplace. I will not watch those either, but I imagine that the majority of people do and are entertained by it. Mind-warping is what it is. One wonders where '"entertainment" will go. How dead can one make a body. How mangled? How warped can it get? Much more. The evil imagination has no limits.

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Roci ~

I thought the same thing when I first heard about this a few years ago.

Dead bodies should be burned or buried, not displayed. Add to that that his "subjects" have living relatives.

Alternatively, he could have just molded/carved the whole exhibit from plastic in the first place and not used real human remains. Exact same visual effect without the creepout factor.

But then, no one would go see it.

Dec 28, 2006 19:30

Res Ipsa ~

I can see both sides of it. I understand being creeped out by the whole deal. On the other hand gross anatomy is a legitimate scientific endeavor.

I don’t think I’d let anyone under 18 in though. Except for the geeky kids that have had their med school application filled out since 8th grade.

Dec 28, 2006 00:57

Taylor ~

I understand about Gross Anatomy. I was pre-Med and dissected my share of critters in anatomy classes. I was not creeped out by it. This exhibit, though, is a freak show featuring dead bodies and body parts, relying on the creep-out factor to draw in the crowds. Apparently they're cleaning up - not from people seeking enlightenment about human anatomy, but people wanting to see un-naturally preserved dead bodies.

The US ranks where in science in the world and you think the record-breaking attendance is due to our public-educated masses yearning for knowledge? HA!

Dec 28, 2006 01:57

Jamie R ~

Well I think they probably improved on that guy's original look. And that pose:

"Oh you don't say! How marvelous!"

I'm just caught between whether it's wuss or homo... Perplexing and curious indeed...

Dec 28, 2006 13:26

Spacebunny ~

Yep, just morbid curiosity on most peoples part I would say. He's german if I recall correctly because there was a very big stink over here a couple of years ago about his exhibits. I've also dissected my share of critters at uni and I would never go see this. There is nothing to be learned here that cannot be seen in a book on anatomy.

As far as peoples fascination with death. We've always had it, but are now taking it to weird extremes.

Dec 28, 2006 18:16

Taylor ~

Wussiness or gayness is not this guy's worst problem...

Dec 28, 2006 18:21

Taylor ~

He's german if I recall correctly because there was a very big stink over here a couple of years ago about his exhibits.

Yeah, Gunter von Hagens could definitely be German. He's also a huckster who peddles peeks at dead bodies. I'm glad they made a stink about it. Haven't heard about any stink being raised here.

There is nothing to be learned here that cannot be seen in a book on anatomy.

My thoughts exactly. And I'm all for encouraging learning, but this has nothing to do with learning. It is simply a theater of the macabre posing as a science exhibit.

Dec 28, 2006 18:48

Taylor ~

Add to that that his "subjects" have living relatives.

I wondered about that myself. How could any living relative agree to this? There is also the possibility that these people were homeless or otherwise alone in the world when they died.

But then, no one would go see it.

Right. That's why that spiel about understanding our own physiology is a bunch a hooey.

Dec 28, 2006 21:44

Arielle ~

Thanks, Taylor - I was beginning to think I was the only one that felt this way. The friends that have mentioned it all seemed to see nothing wrong with it, and even my husband couldn't understand why it bothered me so much.

Dec 30, 2006 05:01

Sparrow ~

This exhibit was prominently featured in the recent James Bond movie "Casino Royale" -- I thought it was just something they made up for the movie! It's just wrong. And very high up in the "EEEEWWWW" ratings.

Jan 04, 2007 05:25

Erik ~

From my viewpoint it could be a valid learning tool, much as cadavers. But one doesnt allow the general public to carve up a cadaver whenever they wish. It is used by med students. Those actually involved in intense study of the human body.

Now something like this could be used by a wider range of professionals (physical therapists maybe?) but still, it shouldn't be the zoo that it is. But, as mentioned, if it wasn't a zoo then no one would see it and there is no money or fame in that.

I would add that there is a university that has "slices" of humans that were frozen and then sawed into thin slices and encased in glass so that they could be studied. "Studied" being the operative word.

Jan 04, 2007 06:53

R Tiffany ~

These people have explicitly donated their body to science and education and what their relatives think about it doesn't matter. And anyone who does not see the education value in this is really thick; admittedly, there are people that go for the wrong reasons, but plenty of students (myself and several of my friends included) that go because it's an amazing way to view the anatomy of the human body! It totally motivates me to take care of my body, and provides a more intimate knowledge of that body. I keep strongly in mind when i'm there that these are real bodies, real people, and it drives the point home even stronger. Don't let dogma get in the way of education!

Mar 11, 2008 16:15

Taylor ~

Cunt.

Oct 04, 2009 21:24

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Paying My Respects

I am realizing that creating a blog does not a writer make. Seriously, this is hard! I have a newfound respect for all of you bloggers who come up with post after post of entertaining and intelligent material.

It is apparent to me that writing only software for all of my adult life has hampered my ability to write for the purpose of communicating with human beings. This endeavor is most humbling. I do, however, take heart that my fellow bloggers have welcomed me into the fold. Let's see what I can come up with. Your guess is as good as mine.

Now, I'll get back to adding stuff to the sidebar and playing with the layout, which is something that I can do with no problem - technically speaking. Design is a different issue. I know what I like when I see it, but getting there is a matter of trial and error for me. I simply cannot visualize something unless I can actually see it - a deficiency of mine. Having created quite a few websites, design has always been my weakest point, spending far more time on getting the look right than getting it to work right. So, if you see things appearing and disappearing, realize that it's just me going through the creative process in my own way.

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Erik ~

And writing software means you will probably write straight forward which sometimes is the best. I think I tend to be more straight forward myself and I find that when I try to edit what I write it comes out worse. So I usually just post the first draft as every successive one just gets worse (in my eyes)

Don't know if that helps, but I hope it does.

Shalom

Dec 27, 2006 02:12

Erik ~

I have a newfound respect for all of you bloggers who come up with post after post of entertaining and intelligent material.

It's a nice compliment Taylor, beautiful. So... who are you talking about? (o=

Dec 27, 2006 02:08

Taylor ~

Hey, Erik! Got your name right that time. Now, I won't go into naming specific bloggers and categorizing them but, as far as respect goes, I respect them all if only for the fact that it takes some guts to put yourself out there like that.

I appreciate your writing tips, but you really don't want to see my first drafts! Writing, for me, is not as free flowing a process as it seems to be for you. I will edit and re-edit a bunch before it reads right to me. I have a hard time writing a blurb on a birthday card! While I do try to present my thoughts as straight forward as possible, the process for me is by no means straight forward. Hopefully, I will get better at it. In the meantime, readers beware - this blog is an early work in progress...

Dec 27, 2006 03:11

Spacebunny ~

I think that once we get past the holidays and all the craziness that entails, that you will begin to find your writing groove. After a while it will be hard for you not to write about absolutely everything.

Dec 27, 2006 12:33

Jamie R ~

Erik she's obviously talking about me.

Thanks.

I'll be off admiring myself.

Dec 27, 2006 12:39

Taylor ~

Thanks for the words of encouragement, SB. I don't think I'll write about everything as I'm fairly reserved, but like you said, I will eventually find the subjects that most motivate me to write. Blogging certainly does put one's mind on display. Yikes!

Dec 27, 2006 13:22

Jamie R ~

That's right!

Like a fun park.

"Mummy mummy I want to go to Wanker Central!"

Dec 27, 2006 15:04

Res Ipsa ~

Jamie you are Wanker Central.

Dec 27, 2006 22:20

Jamie R ~

I charge $100 at the door to hang with me.

And at least I haven't got a cutesypie link - unless you've got your kid typing the posts, which with the Nate Spelling at times, well.

Dec 28, 2006 03:17

Taylor ~

And just what is wrong with cutesypie?

Dec 28, 2006 09:44

Jamie R ~

It's gay.

Dec 28, 2006 13:21

EN ~

"It's gay."

Yes Lad, it is... not that there's anything wrong with that. It's no secret that Adelaide has be largest gay male population of any city in the world, outside of SF. I've seen it all, although I want to make it clear I've never done any of it, and you are who you are Lad. Do you think your attempts to dance like Michael Jackson have gone unnoticed?

Jan 04, 2007 01:08

Sparrow ~

Taylor, congratulations! I look forward to reading you regularly. Best of bloggy blessings!

Say that three times fast.

Jan 04, 2007 05:28

Taylor ~

Thanks, Sparrow. I got behind here having to deal with *real* people. The nerve of them crashing my comfy place. Hmph! Now that they've wearied me with their incessant chatter, I've lost my writing momentum. Maybe tomorrow I'll finish the post I started before I was so rudely interrupted.

Jan 04, 2007 08:30

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Merry Christmas!

How is everyone doing during this Christmas Season? Very well, I hope. One of the best things about the season are the Christmas songs. I'll sit at the piano, going through each of them, playing and singing my little heart out - if no one's around.

Here's one of my favorites. Bing sings it beautifully. I once had a very orthodox Jewish man, a beautiful human being, confess to me that this was his favorite song.

Found another one. Boney M? Never heard of them, but it wouldn't be Christmas without this one.

And Schubert breaks me up every time with this one - especially when Pavarotti sings it. Bravo and thank you, Pavarotti! Zubin Mehta isn't too shabby himself. I imagine even the angels in the vicinity stopped to listen. I'm so happy to have found this one.

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Taylor Takes the Plunge

Well, I decided that instead of waiting around for my blog friends to post on a topic to which I can contribute, that I would create my very own blog and make a little noise whenever and about whatever I darn well please. So, here it is. Welcome to Mind Over Blather.

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WaterBoy ~

Oh, THIS should be interesting....;)

Dec 25, 2006 02:05

Taylor ~

WaterBoy, you are officially my first commenter. Actually, Jamie was, but in converting over to haloscan his comment got lost. I'm sorry, Jamie. Blogger still has your comment, though. It was very deep, "First!". I will always remember it, even if it isn't there anymore.

I have no idea where this blog will go and that's just the way I like it. You guys already know enough about me to know that it will be Christian and conservative. And should the occasion present itself, I will take great delight in banning filthy leftists and atheists who piss me off. :)

Dec 25, 2006 07:01

Jamie R ~

Woohoo!

Dec 25, 2006 08:33

Res Ipsa ~

Good for you babe!

Are we going to get any more sexy audio to listen to?

I've got you linke at my place now.

Dec 26, 2006 03:57

Spacebunny ~

Merry Christmas Taylor and congratulations on your new blog!

Dec 26, 2006 07:07

Taylor ~

Good to hear from you, Res, and thanks for the link.

Sexy audio, eh? I'll see what I can do. My rendition of Marilyn Monroe's Happy Birthday song to JFK would fall in that category. Maybe when your birthday rolls around...

Dec 26, 2006 07:18

Taylor ~

Spacebunny! So good to see you here at my humble blog. It looks like a cheap, stark office at the moment, but I'll get it in shape eventually.

I hope that you, Vox and the children are having a great Christmas. I'll drink an eggnog to you and all who read this, wishing everyone a joyous and blessed New Year!

Dec 26, 2006 07:30

Spacebunny ~

Thanks Taylor and God's blessing on you in the coming year.

I'm sure you'll get your blog looking like you in no time.

Dec 26, 2006 12:27

Res Ipsa ~

My birthday is comming up real quick. :-)

Dec 26, 2006 21:27

farmer Tom ~

Welcome to the new baby, a blog is born.

I'm looking forward to reading here Taylor. And like Res says, any pictures would be a bonus.

Pictures like the Miss USA Nevada will be especially appreciated.

Enough foolishness, Merry Christmas Happy New Year and God Bless You.

Dec 26, 2006 22:35

Taylor ~

Res, I must be psychic. I just *knew* that your birthday would be coming up soon...

Thank you, farmer Tom. I hope I can come up with something worth reading! And if I can't, well, it would seem that a quick snap of the digital camera will suffice to keep you all happy, in which case the blog name will have to be changed to a more appropriate title such as 'Boo-Boop-Be-Doop' or something... :) BTW, I enjoyed your Christmas poem at Vox's - and you remembered me!

Dec 27, 2006 00:40

Al of Alnot ~

Welcome to bloggering Talor. May you be free to speak while freedom is still availiable.

Dec 30, 2006 13:58

Taylor ~

Thank you, Al of Alnot. It's great to see people dropping by to say howdy.

Ah, the freedom to speak is an awesome thing. I would have preferred that our right had been more clearly defined - as in "Freedom to think first, then speak" or some such thing. What many people practice in exercising their freedom of speech is actually an exercise in mindless babble - something that, if not outlawed, should at the very least be widely mocked by all thinking people. Of course, the diminishing numbers of thinking people is probably the reason that mindless babble is getting louder and louder - in a direct relationship to our declining freedom of speech.

Dec 30, 2006 17:51

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