TBD on Ning

September 2009 Blog Posts (130)

I'm a Segregationist

I'm a segregationist. I believe God wanted blacks and whites to be separate. It's a sin to mix blacks and whites. Whites have their own specific character. Blacks have their own specific character. I find that mixing blacks and whites is confusing. When I was a boy it was particularly confusing.

Did you ever hear about why zebras developed stripes? Biologists believe that zebras developed stripes because stripes have survival value for the species. You see, when a predator, like a… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on September 18, 2009 at 11:00am — 10 Comments

The Roommate From Hell -- Memories of Packer Hall at Penn State

I had a college dorm roommate with a narcissistic personality disorder, I think. He had two girlfriends--an on-campus girlfriend and an at-home girlfriend. Neither knew about each other, of course. I went looking through his things (I know you're not supposed to, but I'm an asshole myself) one day and I found his little black book. Page after page of girls names and telephone numbers. He was incapable of a deep, mature emotional relationship with women, so it's no surprise that we could never… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on September 18, 2009 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

Whatever Happened to Jeanette Gringo, Esq.?

Jeanette Gringo, Esq. was one of my coworkers in the Computer Applications Department at the law firm of Hogan & Hartson. She was hired in the fall of 1986 by then manager Sheryl Ferguson and left during the summer of 1987. She was a graduate of the Georgetown University Law School. She was a very bright young woman. She obtained employment on the DC Law Revision Commission.

On one occasion she made a comment about me and a coworker, Craig W. Dye. Jeanette Gringo… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on September 18, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

Happy New Year To My Jewish Friends!

President Obama recorded a greeting to Jews around the world who will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, beginning at sundown Friday. "L'shana tova, tikatevu," Obama said, speaking in Hebrew. "May you have a good year, and may you be inscribed for blessings in the book of life."

Obama talks about the meaning of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and why during this time of year all people should work to "heal old divisions, seek new understandings and come together to build a… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on September 18, 2009 at 10:00am — 2 Comments

Recurrent Features of the Cases of Children who claim to remember previous lives

Excerpts from Dr. Ian Stevenson's book Reincarnation and Biology Vol I

Dr. Ian Stevenson has been the head of the Department of Psychiatric Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia.

"Each of the cases that I describe has individual strengths, and most have also some important weaknesses. I believe that the recurrence of certain features that are reported (in varying proportions in… Continue

Added by Abelia on September 17, 2009 at 2:43pm — No Comments

How can we allow this to go on...I just don't get it.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated…I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by [people] from the cruelty of [human kind]”—Mahatma… Continue

Added by caseyjo on September 17, 2009 at 12:41pm — 2 Comments

Me and Martha Mitchell

The Martha Mitchell effect is the process by which a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other mental health clinician mistakes the patient's perception of real events as delusional and misdiagnoses accordingly.

According to Vaughan Bell, "Sometimes, improbable reports are erroneously assumed to be symptoms of mental illness," due to a "failure or inability to verify whether the events have actually taken place, no matter how improbable intuitively they might appear to the busy… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on September 17, 2009 at 12:30pm — 2 Comments

Of Forensics and Fiddles

My sister worked as a secretary at the Temple University Law School in Philadelphia in the mid-1960s while she pursued an undergraduate degree in education at Temple. She worked in the law school's Unit in Law and Psychiatry.

One of the young psychiatrists in the Unit was Robert L. Sadoff, MD. When I was 13 years old, during the winter of 1967, I spent the afternoon at my sister's office where I met Dr. Sadoff. I wonder if he remembers that? Dr. Sadoff has gone on to have a notable… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on September 17, 2009 at 10:30am — 2 Comments

"Freezing and Paralysis During Rape": originally posted by Lilah Gardner

As Lilah has so cleverly and lovingly shared this with the Facebook RAINN community, I shall likewise share this with you all. Thank you Lilah and peace.

"I came across this excerpt from the book "Resurrection After Rape" by Matt Atkinson, LCSW(http://www.resurrectionafterrape.org/) and found it incredibly helpful. It is amazing the amount of guilt we can place on ourselves after such horrendous events. I really found the information… Continue

Added by Kelly J. Munroe on September 17, 2009 at 7:02am — No Comments

Color Me Racist

Its now official. I'm a racist. No less than a former president of the United States has declared that if I oppose the takeover of 17% of our economy under the guise of health care reform, I hate black people.

According to President Carter, U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson's objection to a 'misstatement' in President Obama's speech to Congress last week was an act "based on racism" and rooted in fears of a black president. And a Rasmussen survey shows that fully 12% of Americans agree with… Continue

Added by Nancy Morgan on September 17, 2009 at 3:11am — 22 Comments

Have You Ever Been a Victim of Mobbing in the Workplace?

Do you feel like you’re being singled out or “ganged up on” at work? Do your co-workers suddenly stop talking when you enter the room? Do you notice co-workers and/your boss rolling their eyes or exchanging glances when you talk in a meeting? Do you feel like people at work are undermining you or out to get you? Do you wonder if you’re just imagining things or being paranoid?

If so, you may be the target of a form of workplace bullying called mobbing. Mobbing isn’t illegal and is a… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on September 16, 2009 at 12:00pm — 4 Comments

The Last Naked Man

It occurred to me last night that I haven't seen a naked guy in 35 years, not since the fall of 1974. I was watching TV last night: "Shaq Vs." In the final episode of the show, Shaq took on Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps in three swim races (best 2 out of 3 wins). O'Neal won the first race. Phelps swam 50 yards freestyle (with a five second head start) and Shaq swam only 25 yards.

In the fall of 1974, when I was a senior at Penn State, I took a swimming course at the McCoy… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on September 16, 2009 at 11:00am — No Comments

Whatever Happened to Andrew Weil, MD?

The nutritional expert Andrew Weil, MD, appeared on the Martha Stewart show this morning in Washington, DC. Dr. Weil is from Philadelphia originally and attended The Central High School of Philadelphia.

Andrew Thomas Weil (born June 8, 1942) is an American author and physician, best known for establishing and popularizing the field of integrative medicine. Weil is the author of several best-selling books and runs a website and monthly newsletter, where he answers questions relating… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on September 16, 2009 at 9:30am — No Comments

What You Don't Know

"What you don't know when you're eighteen is that you'll be eighteen for the rest of your life."

That's a great line. I quote it all the time. Unfortunately, I didn't make it up. The line was delivered by the actor Jeremy Sisto as the character Billy Chenowith in the HBO series, Six Feet Under. Jeremy Sisto was buck naked when he uttered the line.

Jeremy Merton Sisto (born October 6, 1974) is an American actor. He has had many prominent roles in movies and television, and… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on September 16, 2009 at 9:30am — 2 Comments

Hobo

I love my dog. He is the one thing in my life that makes me smile everyday. He chases the blues clouds away. He makes me laugh and he lets me share his ball. He sits, shakes and lays down for treats. I don't know why I taught him to do all those silly things. I just love him the way he is.

He is a big red dog, he is strong and he is gentle to the ones he loves. He is protective and he is suspicious of strangers. He doesn't want to share his dinner with any of the neighbors cats, or… Continue

Added by caseyjo on September 16, 2009 at 12:27am — 1 Comment

The Hardy Ames Hill National Monument

Hardy Ames Hill, a native of York, Pennsylvania, was a contestant on the CBS reality series, Big Brother 2, hosted by Julie Chen, during the summer of 2001: the year the world changed. Hardy distinguished himself as a young man with integrity -- someone you would want for a friend. I thought he was a truly decent person, and definitely the finest person to participate in the Big Brother series since its inception in the year 2000.

Last Sunday night I watched the season finale of this… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on September 15, 2009 at 12:30pm — 2 Comments

Wagner's Jewish Pallbearers

The remains of the opera composer Richard Wagner were laid to rest in the garden of his home, the Villa Wahnfried, in Bayreuth, Germany, on Saturday February 17, 1883. He had died in Venice, Italy, on the afternoon of February 13. Wagner's funeral cortege, which proceeded from the Bayreuth train station to his home, featured twelve pallbearers. Two of the pallbearers were Jews, an interesting fact since Wagner was a notorious anti-Semite.

The two Jewish pallbearers… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on September 15, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

Scenes From A Piano Lesson

During the summer of 1969, when I was 15 years old, I took piano lessons with a private teacher, Miss Elisabeth Elaine Griffith. Miss Griffith taught piano in the living room of her home. She had a beautiful Steinway grand piano. Murray "Mike" Marion, a student in my class at Central High School (1971, CHS 230), was also a student of Miss Griffith's.

That summer I began my second year of piano lessons. Miss Griffith wanted me to study Kinderscenen (Scenes from Childhood), a… Continue

Added by Gary Freedman on September 15, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

One of the Finer Private Schools

During the year 1990 I saw a psychiatrist named Stanley R. Palombo, MD, at his office in Washington, DC. At my first consultation he asked me what college I went to. I told him I went to Penn State. He said, "I would have thought that you had gone to one of the finer private schools." Did I actually impress Dr. Palombo as being a Harvard alumnus? And, by the way, what's wrong with Penn State? I'm proud that I'm a Penn State alumnus. I think it's a very good school -- despite the fact that a…

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Added by Gary Freedman on September 15, 2009 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

What Were Your Favorite Patrick Swayze Movie Quotes?

Patrick Swayze was one of those powerfully gifted actors who didn't have to deliver lines --- you knew what he was thinking by just looking at him. He was the embodiment of masculinity and grace. I didn't see all of his films, but I did see these (over and over) and loved them.

These are my fave Swayze lines:

"Ditto" from Ghost

"Nobody puts Baby in the corner" from Dirty Dancing

"You know, pumpkins, sometimes it just takes a fairy" from To Wong Fu,… Continue

Added by OCNaturalDoc on September 15, 2009 at 9:30am — No Comments