TBD on Ning

All Blog Posts (2,337)

The Sublimities of Schumann

I'm a loner who engages in few activities. Small things are important for me. I can still remember that it was five years ago, during the summer of 2004, that I became acquainted with a collection of four piano pieces by Robert Schumann: the Humoreske in B flat, opus 20. The music is sublime. (I wonder if Aida Epstein is familiar with this music? Aida Epstein teaches piano at the Settlement School, in Philadelphia. Aida Epstein, incidentally, was Patrick Dugan's piano teacher. Patrick is… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on July 30, 2009 at 10:30am — 3 Comments

Men: What Surprising Exercise Cuts Your Cancer Risk by 40 Percent?

Men with stronger muscles from regular weight training are up to 40 percent less likely to die from cancer, according to new research.

The findings suggest that muscular strength is as important as staying slim and eating healthy when it comes to protecting your body against deadly tumors.

A team of experts tracked the lifestyles of over 8,500 men for more than two decades. Each volunteer had regular medical check ups that included tests of their muscular strength. The men… Continue

Added by OCNaturalDoc on July 30, 2009 at 7:30am — 4 Comments

Forever Young...What are you doing to stay, forever young ?

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
when the winds of change shift
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
forever young...

Bob Dylan

Added by Kennedy Parker on July 30, 2009 at 7:19am — 2 Comments

Recession, Depression -- What? Michelle Worry? The First Lady Requires More Than 20 Attendants

July 7, 2009

Dr. Paul L. Williams

“In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much,” she said. “See, that’s why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service.“

-- Michelle Obama

No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn’t perform any official duties. But this hasn’t deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every… Continue

Added by OCNaturalDoc on July 29, 2009 at 9:30pm — 9 Comments

Ha-ha! And how are we feeling . . .

Hey everyone. How are we feeling today? O Wait. Shh. Don't answer that. You might be giving away classified information. Ha-ha! EeeYeah.

I don't suppose anyone saw the Burlington Free Press today? Probably not, it's a relatively small publication. On the front page, above the fold, is an article about UVM and some research they are doing. I haven't read the whole article yet, but it's interesting because it seems they are, or they were, examining blog posts and stuff to see how… Continue

Added by ZenDog on July 29, 2009 at 3:00pm — 4 Comments

What I Am Looking For in a Friend

These are the qualities that I am looking for in a friend. Am I being too picky? Maybe that's why I currently don't have any friends!

If you have these qualities maybe we should hook up online.

(A) Warm, outgoing, attentive to others, kindly, easy-going, participating, likes people

(B) Abstract-thinking, more intelligent, bright, higher general mental capacity, fast learner

(C) Emotionally stable, adaptive, mature, faces reality calmly

(E)… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on July 29, 2009 at 12:09pm — No Comments

What Is Happening to My Neighborhood?

I live on upper Connecticut Avenue in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, DC. It's one of Washington's most beautiful and affluent neighborhoods.

There's a commercial district about two blocks south of me. The commercial district comprises a strip of business that span a two-block area.

Recently, something very strange has been happening in the commercial district. Stores are closing, one by one. The properties are remaining unleased. What stores have closed?… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on July 29, 2009 at 10:55am — 1 Comment

Does Size Matter?

A TBD member left the following comment on my blog about Jean-Jacques Rousseau's sexual confessions: "Taken in total, such confessions compromise less than a fraction of a percent of his work. I doubt [any reader] would have noticed ...."

My response? Taken in total, the Jews have comprised, throughout history, less than a fraction of a percent of the world's population. You would doubt that anyone would notice them at all. But people do!

Added by Gary Freedman on July 29, 2009 at 10:30am — 2 Comments

God I'm Glad I have Wens off

tonight I was lucky enough to see Dave Matthews at DTE..our seats were not quite in the pavilion but at least we could sit if we wanted ...which most of it was up on our feet dancing...this was the best concert that I have seen at DTE in a while...thanks to my sister who took me...love this girl....never saw him live ..but have always been a big fan..HE WAS GREAT!!!!..and soooo very glad I can just turn over tomorrow and sleep in.....funny the way it is

Added by Redwine on July 28, 2009 at 8:25pm — 1 Comment

Frank Black in Concert

It was a normal drive home when my oldest son, Ben, called me and asked if I knew who was performing in town that night. He said, "Dad, it's your favorite artist of all time." After a full days work and pulling up to my bank I drew a huge blank. "Dad, Frank Black is doing a solo performance. I say you go buy some clothes at Walmart and turn around and head back." He needled me and I had about three minutes until the bank closed and thought I… Continue

Added by Ubu on July 28, 2009 at 7:48pm — 7 Comments

So, nothing to write about for another year...

That's it for another year, unless the Giro d'Italia has some action.

Oh, it's not that I'm quitting writing, it's just I vent my anti-religion/conservative/Libertarian spleen on a different blog.

Added by Johnny Wheels Esq. on July 28, 2009 at 7:40pm — 1 Comment

Anna, Annie, And The Compulsion To Repeat

ANNA FREUD: So, Annie, tell me, what was it like for you growing up?

ANNIE: It was a hard knock life.

ANNA FREUD: No! That was your fantasy!!

Annie's concerns about her hard-knock life may be a legitimate recognition by Annie of the possible role of the repetition compulsion in causing her interpersonal problems.

"Early internal objects of a harsh and phantastic nature are constantly being projected onto the external world. Perceptions of real objects… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on July 28, 2009 at 12:56pm — No Comments

What If Jean-Jacques Rousseau Were a Modern Blogger?

Jean Jacques Rousseau was a major philosopher, writer, and composer of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, whose political philosophy influenced the French Revolution and the development of modern political and educational thought.

For Jean-Jacques Rousseau's biographers the man himself has been as puzzling as his work—a severe moralist who lived a dangerously "relaxed" life, a misanthrope who loved humanity, a cosmopolitan who prided himself on being a "citizen of Geneva," a… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on July 28, 2009 at 12:30pm — 1 Comment

One More Reason to Remove Toxic Mercury Amalgams (Silver Fillings)

Added by OCNaturalDoc on July 28, 2009 at 12:11pm — No Comments

Get Ready! Watershed Event in Mercury Fillings History: An Update from Charles G Brown, Nat'l Counsel, Consumers for Dental Choice

Watershed event in history of mercury fillings coming this week

The turning point of our movement comes this week. Because of our landmark lawsuit, the U.S

Food and Drug Administration must now set the ground-rules for the use of mercury fillings, an

action that agency refused to take for 30 years until we filed the case of Moms Against Mercury et

al. v. Von Eschenbach.

Due to our years of work -- your work, my work, this movement’s work -- our moment has… Continue

Added by OCNaturalDoc on July 28, 2009 at 11:24am — 1 Comment

The Losses of Growing Older

There is nothing that gets you feeling more nostalgic than cleaning out the attic. I was cleaning out my attic the other day and I came across a box with maternity items in it including a brochure about breastfeeding and a well used manual breast pump. There were also maternity clothes, a few bibs, and a "boo-boo bunny" fashioned out of a washcloth. I held the bunny to my cheek. I had never used it with my children as it had been held captive all these years in this box. Then there was the bag… Continue

Added by synchronicity on July 28, 2009 at 7:35am — 2 Comments

The End Of White Guilt?

Something strange is happening in America. For the first time, a white man is standing up to a black man's charge of racism. And he is being supported by his employer. In another first, the media coverage of this event is not employing the time worn premise that only whites can be racist.

For those of you who may have missed the unrelenting 24/7 media coverage of the latest racial tempest in a teapot, the basic facts: A white policeman in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the alert for 2… Continue

Added by Nancy Morgan on July 28, 2009 at 3:38am — 3 Comments

Have you seen the news - July 27, 2009

So if you live in the north east you may have seen the news - or maybe not, but it seems there were some interesting events on the interstate in both New York and Vermont this weekend. Never mind the sink hole that opened up and is expected to be fixed by Tuesday, it didn't swallow anything noteworthy.

O wait. That in itself is noteworthy. Someone should send the state cop who spotted it a note of thanks, just for paying attention. I mean, really. Can you imagine driving into a giant… Continue

Added by ZenDog on July 27, 2009 at 6:24pm — 4 Comments

Prepare for a Challenging Future

Complacency in America is coming to an end. Those who are complacent will not fare well through coming economic, cultural and political turmoil, as they will be forced to adapt and learn new skills. People who are adaptable, self-reliant and determined will find plenty of success in whatever follows our nation's upcoming changes.

You have more options than you may think. You are not stuck in any particular job or health status. You can change your circumstances by making new,… Continue

Added by OCNaturalDoc on July 27, 2009 at 2:31pm — 11 Comments

Why Are We Here?

So we were lying on our backs on the grass in the park next to our hamburger wrappers, my 14-year-old son and I, watching the clouds loiter overhead, when he asked me, "Dad, why are we here?"

And this is what I said.

"I've thought a lot about it, son, and I don't think it's all that complicated. I think maybe we're here just to teach a kid how to bunt, turn two and eat sunflower seeds without using his hands."

"We're here to pound the steering wheel and scream… Continue

Added by Bill on July 27, 2009 at 11:54am — 1 Comment