Can't Afford Illness in America

I had become too sick to live in America.

Even with private insurance, even with Medicare, we couldnt keep up with our medical bills. So we found a country where we could, and we left.

Picture this: A childless, middle-aged couple both gainfully employed, both college educated, living a frugal but happy life, and the husband gets sick with an incurable chronic illness. The sick husband has to quit work because the illness is very serious. But, not to worry, after four long years and a legal battle, he gets on Social Security Disability and therefore qualifies for Medicare. There is also the added security of the wifes health insurance to cover the expensive prescriptions and everything else Medicare doesnt. Everything will be fine because they are insured, and they will continue to live a happy yet frugal life in spite of the chronic illness. Or will they?

In the fall of 2002, my wife and I found ourselves in the position of not being able to afford my il lness. I was afflicted with an incurable illness called Fibromyalgia Syndrome, a pain, and fatigue disorder that eventually leaves most of those afflicted unable to work. The decrease in my income plus the 10 prescriptions I took (not counting the drugs my wife had to take) to try to help control my illnesss symptoms were breaking us financially. Though we were insured, we could no longer afford to fund my illness. The co-pays, deductibles, and non-covered expenses were eating away at our financial security, bite after bite.

We found a sort of bitter consolation in the fact that we were not alone in our plight. It turns out that more than 50% of bankruptcies filed in 2001 were medically related and were middle-class homeowners who not only had an income but also health insurance. The prevailing myth that most bankruptcies are related to credit card debt is not true. Less than 1% of filed bankruptcies are due to credit card debt.

Researchers found that in those su rveyed, 1.9 to 2.2 million U.S. residents filed a medical bankruptcy. The average person filing for bankruptcy during the 2001 period spent $13,460 on co-payments, deductibles, and uncovered services even though they had private insurance.

Our study is frightening. Unless you're Bill Gates, you're just one serious illness away from bankruptcy. Most of the medically bankrupt were average Americans who happened to get sick. Health insurance offered little protection, said Dr. David Himmelstein, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who led the study.

Another one of the studys authors, Elizabeth Warren, said, It doesn't take a medical catastrophe to create a financial catastrophe. A larger share of American workers are going to have insurance that's like a paper umbrella. It looks good, and it might even protect you in a sprinkle, but it melts away in a downpour.

In the fall of 2002, we began to feel the sprinkle on our paper umbrella tu rn into an unstoppable downpour. We had to do something before the full brunt of the downpour tore the paper umbrella to shreds and our lives along with it. We began to look to other alternatives to purchase our prescription drugs and found them. Little did we suspect how our search for more affordable prescriptions would not only find us financial relief but also end up changing our lives.

We heard rumors that prescriptions drugs were cheaper in Canada and Mexico. Our research showed this was indeed true. But this, to be honest, was a scary proposition. I also read that the U.S. government was trying to shut down many of the web sites through which you could order these drugs. Thats all I needed--get arrested for smuggling drugs through the U.S. Mail Service! Many Americans who live in border towns simply cross the border to get a prescription filled at substantially lower prices with no hassles. Moving to a border town was not what we wanted to do. But what did catch my eye was that in Mexico not only were the prices of prescription drugs--the same ones I took in the U.S.--cheaper but so was just about everything else!

Digging deeper we discovered there was a large population of American Expatriates already living in Mexico, around 500,000, taking advantage of affordable and reliable medical care plus a significantly lower cost of living. This was a stunning revelation to us. Moving to Mexico hadnt been a remote possibility; now it appeared to be salvation.

Our reality began on August 1, 2003, when we stepped off the plane in Leon, Guanajuato, to begin our new lives in a small, colonial town (the capital city of the state) called Guanajuato.

We stepped into a new reality where everything; prescription drugs, housing, utilities, food, transportation, ent ertainment, is 25-75% less than it is in America. My Social Security Disability income more than adequately covers our expenses here in Guanajuato, Mexico. An example is that I can buy all my needed prescriptions for less than the co-pay I forked over for one drug in the United States! I get a month of Prozac for less than $16.00 usd. Same drugs, only affordable! Can you believe that?

Moving to Mexico--an alternative for everyone? I doubt it. But it is working for us on so many levels that we have no plans anytime soon to return to the land of our birth.

The solution? I dont know. What I do know is that we, and many other Americans, cannot sit idly by waiting for our elected officials to work it out. We had to taken action--drastic as it was. That paper umbrella wont last long!

Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Transitions Abroad. He lives with his wife in Guanajuato, Mexico.

His new book Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World Country can be seen at http://www.lulu.com/content/126241

Author:: Douglas Bower
Keywords:: Mexico,Expatriation,Expatriating,Expat, living in Mexico,moving to Mexico,mexican prescriptions
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They Lived in Despair but Just Didn't Know It

When a people believe through brainwashing or social programming that what they have is what they really want, then you cannot force someone against their will to seek a better life. In fact they will fight against the givers of Freedom at the bequest of their own purveyors of propaganda.

When a regime controls the media, knowledge and teachings, a culture may not realize that there is a better way or life out there and they can have it, if they will stand up together; power to the people. I would like to stamp our hunger and poverty, but not entirely. I believe that the life experience is about joy, happiness, pain and sorrow. And those choices should be allowed too. In other words if someone chooses to be Unhappy or live a life of pain and sorrow, they too should be allowed that choice.

An Individual should be allowed to live without things. Such as a minimalist or Buddhist Monk? Too much abundance is a choice in some countries such as the United States of Am erica, yet it can also be abused, causing fat humans, who also choose to indulge without responsibility. Democracy is about choice, but with that choice comes responsibility.

Many a learned man believes that the elimination of poverty and hunger are a by-product of a more efficient civilization, which empowers its people through choice and liberty. They believe that ONE of the major goals of Democracy should be to stabilize a civilization to function efficiently for the whole, while respecting, tolerating and allowing the Liberty of the Individual. In fact; I am they, I am with them, if they will come and see what the world has to offer if they will make a stand now.

I believe it so strongly, I am proud to be an American. Others should follow what we have built here. I believe we should better what we have built, improve efficiencies and further streamline it and bring it closer to its original roots without denying its faults or problems; sweeping nothing under the carpet. Then utilizing all the modern technologies available, seek perfection in every regard and then franchise this self-government method around the Planet to all. That is what I think. My name is Lance Winslow and thanks for asking. Tell me what you think of my observations here in the present period?

Lance Winslow

Author:: Lance Winslow
Keywords:: Lived in Despair, Freedom, Individual, Unhappy, Fought
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English Literature: Charles Dickens's Narrative Technique

A critic wrote: 'Every writer of fiction, although he may not adopt the dramatic form, writes in effect for the stage.' When considering the statement in relation to Dickens we cannot take the word 'stage' too literally. Much of Dickens's writing involves the evocation of landscapes, such as the marshes in 'Great Expectations' or Yarmouth beach in 'David Copperfield' which could not be accommodated on the stage. Nor could the stage accommodate the numerous changes of scene which occur in Dickens's novels. The 'stage' Dickens refers to is the stage of the reader's imagination, and his Narrative technique plays upon that 'stage' to grip and hold our imaginations.

Dickens's dramatic technique has more in common with the cinema than with theatre; but the cinema is essentially a dramatic medium in that it functions through Character, action, dialogue, and setting, and only minimally through literary techniques. In this essay I will look at some of the dramatic, and literary, techniques found in Dickens's writing, and consider their effectiveness and their limitations.

When we think of a Dickens novel it is pictures and dramatic events which spring first to mind. In pictures we see, for example, Peggoty's boathouse at Yarmouth in 'David Copperfield', the interior of Fagin's den in 'Oliver Twist', and the frozen wedding feast in Miss Havisham's room in 'Great Expectations'. Among the dramatic events we might recall Magwitch threatening Pip in the churchyard, Oliver asking for more, and Uriah Heep being unmasked by Micawber.

Dickens's 'pictures' are an integral part of the fabric of the Narrative, conveying meanings in themselves, and unlike, for example James Joyce's descriptions, we are not required to interpret the images looking for symbolism, but to see them vividly. It is through conjuring images on the stage of our imagination that he draws us into the story. For example:

'She was dressed in rich materials - satins, and lace, and silks - all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table.' (Great Expectations. Ch.8.)

The words of this passage serve only one purpose, that we should see the scene in our imagination. The writer's stance is that of an objective reporter, and the short factual sentences, packed with detailed observation, do not in themselves convey any response or judgement. The reader responds not to the words, but to the picture. In fact the passage is notable for the total absence of emotive words. Nowhere do we see words such as 'decay', 'horror', 'stagnation' or 'death', and ye t we can feel, or at least understand, Pip's horror at finding himself in this room where the only sign of life is the movement of the dark eyes looking at him.

As an example of a dramatic event, using action and dialogue we can take this passage from 'Oliver Twist'.

'Before Oliver had time to look round, Sikes had caught him under the arms; and in three or four seconds he and Toby lay on the grass on the other side. Sikes followed directly. And they stole cautiously towards the house.

. . . He clasped his hands together, and involuntarily uttered a subdued exclamation of horror. A mist came before his eyes; the cold sweat stood upon his ashy face; on his limbs failed him; and he sank upon his knees.

'Get up!' murmured Sikes, trembling with rage, and drawing the pistol from his pocket; 'Get up or I'll strew your brains upon the grass.'

Here the movement of the dramatic action is so powerful that we do not really need the dialogue; we would un derstand perfectly what was going on if the scene were presented as a silent film. Oliver is being forced, against his will, in a certain direction, and he is resisting with all his might, both physically and morally. The dramatic scene reflects the way Oliver has been forced into roles against his will ever since he was born in the workhouse. This is Dickens at his most dramatic, placing Characters and actions vividly on the stage of our imaginations.

Much of Dickens's writing functions in this way, but there is also much which is non-dramatic which functions on a verbal, literary level.

'She was most noticeable, I thought, in respect of her extremities; for her hair always wanted brushing, her hands always wanted washing, and her shoes always wanted mending and pulling up at heel. This descri ption must be received with a weekday limitation. On Sundays she went to church elaborated.' ('Great Expectations' Ch.7.)

The reader might create a visual picture of Biddy from these fragments, but the passage really conveys ideas rather than images, and makes its impact through the use of language, achieving an effect which has no direct parallel in film or drama.

A more subtle literary technique, which also goes beyond the limitations of drama, is illustrated near the opening of 'Great Expectations':

As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them (for their days were long before the days of photographs), my first fancies regarding what they were like were unreasonably derived from their tombstones. The shape of the letters on my father's gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair. ('Great Expectations' Ch.1.)

This passage conveys an intimate and complex process in which an individual's thoughts mingle with his perception of the outside world. The activity here is purely conceptual, illustrating the strength of literature over theatre or film - its ability to communicate concepts and intangible thought processes.

'David Copperfield' is perhaps the least dramatic of these three novels. Like 'Great Expectations' it is a fictional autobiography in the first person, but unlike Pip, David has become a writer and is consciously interested in his craft. Thus in reading 'David Copperfield' we are far more aware of the fact that we are being told a story that we are in 'Great Expectations'.

My school days! The silent gliding on of my existence - the unseen, unfelt progress of my life - from childhood up to youth! Let me think, as I look back upon that flowing water, now a dry channel overgrown with leaves, whether there are any marks along its course by which I can remember how it ran. ('David Copperfield' Ch.18.)

This is the wor k of a self-conscious artist primarily interested in his own imagination, and again there is an intimacy between author and reader which cannot be achieved in a dramatic medium.

One could not talk about Dickens's drama without mentioning his Characters. The variety and memorability of Dickens's Characters is perhaps his greatest achievement as a writer. Often they are caricatures, but caricatures which capture something which is present in life. Every public school must have its Steerforth, criminal circle its Bill and Nancy, fishing community it Peggoty. These are the Characters Dickens puts upon his 'stage'.

I should like to conclude with a passage whose relevance to the theme of this essay is self-evident. Perhaps it is reasonable to suppose that it gives us an insight into Dickens's creative mind as well as Pip's.

'what he did say presented pictures to me, and not mere words. In the excited and exalted state of my brain, I could not think of a place without seeing it, or persons without seeing them. It is impossible to overstate the vividness of these images' ('Great Expectations' Ch. 53.)

Copyright Ian Mackean. Read the full version of this essay at:
http://www.literature-study-online.com/essays/dickens.html

Ian Mackean runs the sites http://www.literature-study-online.com, which features a substantial collection of Resources and Essays, (and where his site on Short Story Writing can also be found,) an d http://www.Booksmadeintomovies.com. He is the editor of The Essentials of Literature in English post-1914, ISBN 0340882689, which was published by Hodder Arnold in 2005. When not writing about literature or short story writing he is a keen amateur photographer, and has made a site of his photography at http://www.photo-zen.com

Author:: Ian Mackean
Keywords:: English literature,Charles Dickens,Great Expectations,Oliver Twist,David Copperfield,Narrative,Chara
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An Exploration into Eurasians the Burghers of Sri Lanka

Asia was from time immemorial a crossroad for human migration and a meeting point for the different Homo sapiens cousins.

Negroid, Indo-Europeans, Dravidians, Semites, Mongoloids and other tribes mixed together in Asia and contributed to a blend of culture and religious practices as seen today.

Even there were pre Indo European presence in the region before Indo Aryan invasion.

The evidence of the Dardic languages, including Kashmiri, are apparently descended from the first wave of Indo-Europeans into South Asia, but then got isolated in the Himalayas during the diffusion of Indo- Aryans.

Asia added more genetic richness with the Indo - Aryans infiltrating flourishing Dravidians communities in the North-Western Frontiers around 2000 B.C. to 1500 B.C.

But new chapters started in Asia once again with the European colonizers were conquering most of the Asian coastal countries since 1500 A.D.

The Burghers are a EurAsian ethnic group, histo rically from Sri Lanka, consisting for the most part of the male-line descendants of the European colonists and of the maternal ancestry of Sinhalese and Tamil.

Burghers always have European surnames including German, French, Russian, or even Flemish with the common surnames of Portuguese, Dutch and British origin.

Most Burghers are Christian, the majority being Catholics or Presbyterians, although Lutheran and Jewish denominations are not unheard of.

Though today the mother tongue of the Burghers is English, they spoke a form of Portuguese Creole, even those of Dutch, German and other European descendants.

It is now only spoken in the parts of coastal towns of Trincomalee and Batticaloa in the eastern part of the Island. Most of its Vocabulary is from Portuguese, but its grammar is based on that of Tamil and Sinhalese.

The origin of the Burgers has an interesting past. When Portuguese arrived in the Island in 1505, since there were no women in the Portuguese navy, they married local Sinhalese and Tamil women.

This practice of intermarriage with local people was encouraged by the Portuguese, not only in the Island, but also in other Portuguese colonies including Batavia in Indonesia, Macau in China, Malacca in Malaysia and Goa in India.

When the Dutch took over in 1653, they expelled all the Portuguese. However, they permitted stateless persons of Portuguese-Jewish descendants and of those who were mixed Portuguese-Sinhalese-Tamil ancestry to stay.

The term Burgher was first introduced to identify the mixed EurAsian people in the Dutch period.

It comes from the Dutch word Burger, meaning citizen or resident.

People of mixed ancestry were not allowed citizenship of the country of their European fathers, nor of their Asia n mothers, so a compromise was found whereby they would be citizens of the towns of their birth, and they were known as Burgers.

Burgher culture is a rich mixture of east and west, reflecting their ancestry.

They are the most westernised of all ethnic groups in the Island.

Burghers share a common culture rather than a common ethnicity.

While the older generations of Burghers tried to dismiss the obvious Asian side of their ancestry, many younger Burghers today highly value the mixture of their heritage.

Individual families have traditions which reflect their specific family origins.

The Feast of Saint Nicholas in December is celebrated by the Burghers of Dutch origin.

The Portuguese-Jewish origin observe customs such as the separation time of a woman after childbirth, the redemption of the Firstborn and the purification bath after a daughters first period.

A Catholic slant has been given to those customs and traditions while th at was of Jewish origins.

However, some of these so-called Jewish left over traditions can also be explained as borrowings or retention from neighboring Tamil and Sinhalese communities with whom many Burgher families also share a genetic admixture.

For example the purification bath after a girls first period is a common cultural feature of the Tamil and Sinhalese communities of Sri Lanka and neighboring India.

Hence its prevalence amongst some Burghers families of Sri Lanka is not necessarily of Jewish origins.

Burgher community has cultivated a culture of tolerance and has become part of their attitude.

While inter-communal strife has sadly become a feature of modern Sri Lankan life, Burghers have on the whole worked to maintain good relations with other ethnic groups.

It is safe to say that racial and religious tolerance is an integral part of Burgher culture too.

The VOC, the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or the Dutch East India Company which had overseen the Dutch colonial operations was in almost constant conflict with the British and the relationship worsened after the Amboynas Massacre in the Indonesian Spice Islands in 1623.

When the British took over in 1796, many Dutch people chose to leave. However, a significant number chose to stay, mostly those of mixed descent.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, many Burghers left the island and emigrated mostly to Australia where there is an area of Melbourne known as Little Ceylon as Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon during their migration.

Rajkumar Kanagasingam is author of a fascinating book on German memories in Asia and you can explore more about the book and the author at AGSEP

Author:: Rajkumar Kanagasingam
Keywords:: Dutch, Jaffna, Tamil, Fort, Asia, European, Portuguese, VOC, Netherlands, Germany, Burgher, India
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Aristophane's The Frogs

World literature is rich with literal masterpieces and has to offer to a reader a lot of interesting works of any kind, theme, style and genre. Unfortunately we do not have access to that many ancient pieces of works, as most of them have not survived through centuries until present days. In the following article I would like to analyze and discuss such prominent work of Aristophanes as The Frogs.

As Aeschylus utters in the play Frogs, Schoolboys have a master to educate them, grown-ups have the bards. This seems to me to be a incredibly high-quality statement, because everybody likes to study and I think that is why Aristophanes work on the whole was so well-liked and especially Frogs because the play teaches the spectators.

There are two major subjects in the play, the first one being the position of the poet in Greek civilization. Aristophanes has Aeschylus ask Euripides what makes an excellent lyricist? The answer is practical skill and he should instruct a lesson, make people into improved citizens, and this is exactly what Aristophanes is doing with this poem but also adding an enormous deal of comedy into it. Aeschylus also says that the actually good poets have had helpful lessons to teach e.g. Musaeus (me dicine), Hesiod (agriculture) and of course Homer (the arts of warfare). The main solemn theme is Aristophanes continuance of his campaign for harmony; he attacks the present politicians who rejected the present of peace made by the Spartans after the battle of Arginusae in 406 BC (Cleophon and Cleigenes). On page 181, when the chorus address the listeners in the second parabasis, they say here sit ten thousand men of sense, a very enlightened audience, this source of in sequence has helped to estimation the size of the audience at the stage show festivals in the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, however I think that this verdict also gives us a great deal of in sequence in the task that Aristophanes has to face to keep this great quantity of individuals amused and entertained.

This play is like no other of Aristophanes existing effort. In no other play did he persist so firmly on his commencement of the poets appropriate function in culture and in no other play did he endeavour so earnestly to realize it. Aristophanes takes every probable occasion to bring up the people he wants to point out, make an instance of and put down to a certain extent. Apart from politicians, orators and sophists, whom not a soul trusted, only one k ind of man was in a location to manipulate the ideas and attitudes of the community, this was of course the poet. For two hours or more at each theatrical carnival, each one competing poet had the exclusive consideration of his associate citizens of all classes, perhaps in greater numbers than would ever concentrate the Assembly on one particular day. The poet (not essentially the humorist poet, but poets as a general rule) had a lot of authority to manage how people feel about certain things, as a substitute of the Bible, public quoted Homer or Hesiod; everyone in this the world knew passages from the great poets from memory and had themselves been taught ethics by their aid.

The article was produced by the writer of masterpapers.com. Sharon White has many years of a vast experience in abortion essay writing and academic writing consulting. Get free samples of essays, courseworks and adolescent essay.

Author:: Sharon White
Keywords:: Aristophane, The Frogs
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European Heroes (2005 )

Maud Fontenay

As my exploits in the field may be viewed as inertia personified, I always greet tales of extraordinary physical Endurance with a mixture of awe and wonder. The awe is simple enough and in the case of the youthful Maud, quite understandable but the wonder is how bonkers some people are. There are innumerable cases of individuals fulfilling long held ambitions by testing their limits and Maud Fontenay demonstrates this point in spades.

Maud Fontenay is a slight, slender woman of 27 who sought to show that size and strength alone mean little without mental toughness and resourcefulness. Her achievement? Rowing 7,000 kilometres across the Pacific Ocean on her own in 73 days while variously contending with a broken seawater filtration system and diving into shark infested waters to fix her boat. Spending the first fifteen years of her life at sea was certainly a helpful start but, nonetheless, its a pretty staggering feat. As for my feet, you can be assured they remain rooted to the spot.

Jeff Porter

Thank God, I have never borne personal witness to a Terrorist outrage or other catastrophe. Yet, if I was and I was also compus mentus, what would I do? Run for the proverbial exits? Sit in shock? Or, indeed, take some responsibility? That all assumes, of course, that I only had myself to worry about and not the scenario that confronted Jeff Porter.

Porter is a driver on the London Underground who saw a train on an adjacent track blown up as part of the orchestrated campaign last July by supporters of al Qaeda. His presence of mind as he approached Edgware Road station ensured the death toll was minimised. He decamped from his train, in the wake of this ferocious explosion, and groped his way through the dust, smoke and trapped bodies to raise the alarm in the main body of the station. He subsequently assisted in the orderly evacuation of around 1,000 passengers from his train in small groups. We often ma rvel at the heroic achievements of trained emergency services so Jeff Porter, a modest, self effacing train driver, deserves our great admiration all the more.

Lars G. Josefsson

I attended a seminar recently which, among other things, showed the result of a vox pop that asked members of the public whether they were both environmentally friendly and aware. The bemusement, embarrassment and mild irritation that unfolded on screen was highly instructive and was almost a mirror image of the attitude and stance of business leaders and politicians. Climate change is the most serious long term threat to the planet, far more than the threat of race wars or mutant viruses, and Lars G. Josefsson is among the most serious champions of this issue.

His influence reflects his position as CEO of Vattenfall, the Swedish state controlled electricity company, and he has used it to exert pressure on G8, the United Nations and the international business community to impose a worldwide system to limit carbon dioxide emissions over the next century. This will permit a market in which quotas may be traded and indicates that energy providers are starting to regulate their industry before governments demand it. The brand of enlightened radicalism displayed by Josefsson has been an infrequent guest in boardrooms hitherto but is, I suspect, something well be seeing rather more of in the future.

Howard Lewis,
Chairman, Invaluable group of companies.
http://www.invaluable.com

Only Invaluable gives you unrivalled access to pre-sale and post-sale information for auction houses and salerooms across the globe.

Find art, antiques and collectables. Try our Keyword search, register at http://www.invaluable.com for a free 14 day trial.

Author:: Howard Lewis
Keywords :: Endurance,Maud Fontenay,Rowing,Jeff Porter,London Underground,Terrorist,al Qaeda,Josefsson,G8,
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Background Performers Still Rely On Vouchers For Guild Membership

In 2003, The Screen Actors Guild officially promised to move forward with a new system that would allow background performers, or Extras, to join the union.

For many years, the most common way background performers joined SAG was by getting three union vouchers. When you work on the set as an extra, usually through one of the bigger extra casting agencies, you receive either a non-union, or union voucher. For adult actors, this would be Central Casting for union, and Cenex for non-union, however they are both the same company.

Getting a union voucher on a project instead of a non-union voucher was supposed to be the luck of the draw. Countless books on the subject would say pay attention to what is happening on the set, and look for opportunities for the 'bump.' A bump is a specific action or lines given to an extra that will make them deserve a union voucher.

Unfortunately, since the goal for every actor was first to get into the Screen Actors Guild, the voucher system became corrupt. Friends of the assistant directors and the cast got preferential treatment, people were paying off decision makers with bribes, in short - it got ugly, and guild membership swelled.

SAG decided to revamp the system which would still use the union vouchers to an extent, but would assign points to specific things, other than Acting, that would have to be totalled before a new member could join. For instance, you would get X many points if you attend a guild meeting, X amount of points if you helped distribute flyers for an upcoming initiative, etc.

As of today though - the system has not changed.

The official line from the guild is as follows:

The new system will provide two separate routes to Guild membership via background work: 1) Union (Covered) or 2) Non-union (Non-covered) work on SAG Signatory projects. A performer may also achieve points towards membership by participating in other designated activities that raise professional standards and support the basic aims of the Guild.

According to the SAG web site, there is a transition committee working to put the new joining requirements into place. The question on everybody's mind is - when?

Until that happens - you are eligible to join the Screen Actors Guild after receiving three union vouchers, and paying the initiation fee. Other ways to join the guild are still in place, including having a line in a motion picture or television show.

Troy A. Rutter has been working with young performers for over ten years. His book, Kids in the Biz, provides step-by-step guidance to prospective young performers and their families. For more information about getting children into Acting in television and films, visit his web site at http://www.kidsinthebiz.com

Author:: Troy Rutter
Keywords:: Acting,Extras,background performers,Sag,screen actors guild
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Beauty and Mythology

Since the dawn of time, man has always been fascinated by beauty. It can be the cause of his greatest joy or of his biggest failure, as in the case of Adam and Eve during creation. Poets and singers have sang paeans about mans fascination with beauty and even the ancient civilizations commemorated beautiful things, not unlike the regular beauty contests that bring together the most beautiful women in the world at least once a year.

Beauty is a universal concept that is hard to define but is understood by all. For instance, we may struggle to explain ourselves when ask what is beautiful to us. But if we are asked to point out a beautiful woman in a group, men do it easily and naturally. As the saying goes, when it comes to great beautry, we know it when we see it.

In ancient times, people were so enamored with the concept of beauty that they actually deified beauty by identifying and worshipping female goddesses.

Aphrodite is goddess of love and beauty in Greek mythology. Her legend says that she was born of the sea foam (foam-arisen) after a monumental crash between the titan Cronus and the god Uranus. According to writings, Cronus cut off the genitals of Uranus and cast these into the sea, and white foam arose from immortal flesh; with it a girl grew.

Freya is the goddess of fertility as well as of love, sex, war, beauty, prophecies and attraction in Norse mythology. Like the modern-day woman, Freya was crazy about jewelry. She named her daughter Hnoss, meaning jewel.

Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, light, wisdom and fortune, as well as (secondarily) luck, beauty and fertility in Hindu mythology. She is the goddess who conforms the least to our conventional view of beauty. Lakshmi is often portrayed as a fair lady with four arms who sat on a lotus and projected a benign countenance.

Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, is the most famous of all the goddesses of beauty. When painting and sculpture dominated the Renaissance period of Europe, Venus was a very popular subject among Artists, who often portrayed her in a state of nudity.

Kadence Buchanan writes Articles on many topics including Beauty, Jewelry, and Women

Author:: Kadence Buchanan
Keywords:: Beauty and Mythology, beauty contests
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Murder Solved From The Grave

I am very interested in reading about ghostly stories and spirits etc. A couple of years ago I heard about a story which is apparently true, about a murder which was solved from the grave.

This happened in the UK.

A woman in her twenties always believed she had special powers of being able to have contact with the spiritual world, however she did not want these powers and she certianly had never told anybody else about it. For the purpose of this article, I will call the lady Sue.

One evening about five miles away from where Sue lived, another young lady who I will call Lisa, was brutally murdered by somebody she had never met before.

Sue and Lisa had never met.

As you may be aware, the police find it harder to solve murder cases where the victim is unknown to their killer. These types of murder are also quite rare.

Later that evening Sue was awaken by a noise in her bedroom. As she sat up there was a woman on her bed sobbing, it was Lis a. Sue who was strangely quite calm asked her, who she was, why she was crying and why she was in her bedroom.

I have just been murdered, I know you can help me

Sue who was obviously shocked, asked how she could help her.

I want to tell you what has happened to me and I want to describe the killer to you. I then want you to go to the police station tommorrow to tell them what I have told you. This will help them to find the killer, then I will be able to rest in peace.

Sue reluctantly agreed and Lisa disappeared.

Sue did go to the police and described the killer, telling them many things about him, including that he had a tattoo on his arm with the words crazy fox on.

The police did not take her as a serious witness, even though they found it strange that she seemed to know so much about the killing itself.

The murder itself went unsolved for twenty years, until a man was arrested for drunk driving. The police took his DNA and it was matched to the murder of Lisa.

Have a guess what he had tattoed on his arm, crazy fox.

Stephen Hill has a couple of websites at http://www.lasik-laser-surgery.co.uk and at http://www.debt-specialist.co.uk

Author:: Steve Hill
Keywords:: Ghosts
Post by History of the Computer | Computer safety tips

Being Present and Alert: What Does This Mean?

What are the advantages in our life of Being Present and Alert? Why it is important to have these qualities in our life and what does it feel like. Often people say, it is not what you are doing that is important, it is what you are Being.

Being awake and Alert is something we take for granted as our natural state of consciousness.

There are many advantages to becoming conscious of this state of Being, for a few minutes each day. Being conscious of that inner state of Being, feeling the presence of the electroMagnetic field of Energy that permeates our physical body and forms the aura around the body, is very important.

By becoming aware and conscious of this field of Energy, we set up feedback loops which help to increase its presence and strengthen the Flow.

So what does it feel like to be Present?

After reading this, try closing your eyes. Allow your awareness to settle, and Relax. Look within yourself and, using your Feelings, see if you can feel the Energy Flow within your body. See if you can feel or become aware of the presence of the aura around the body.

You may feel this in many different ways.

If you look deeply within yourself you may feel the inner bliss, the liveliness within the silence. If you smile you may feel the energies Flow in a different way around the body and face. If you become conscious of your breathing, you may feel the life force coming in with each inbreath.

You may become conscious of the various Flows of Energy around your body: the Flow which causes your lungs to Expand and contract; the Flow which pulses to create your heartbeat.

You may become aware that strong thoughts may cause a physical sensation or pulling in the flesh somewhere.

There are many ways to become self-aware. It is more the process of self-awareness that is important: the turning of consciousness back on itself to gain self-knowledge.

All things in the universe displ ay intelligence, have orderliness within them. But it takes the human mind to turn this intelligence back on itself: by becoming self-aware, to convert this intelligence into intelligentness.

By becoming self-aware we become intelligent and can make choices. Also, it is only when we become aware of our gifts that we can start to use them.

If you get good at this process of self-awareness, you may start to become aware of the matrix that makes up your flesh and bones.

Become aware of the layers of Energy and their Energy fields at the level of the organs, cells, molecules and atoms of your body and their associated levels of awareness.

You may transcend matter altogether and become aware of the light body that interacts with the zero-point Energy of space itself, which permeates all things.

You may realise that you are this space, the life force itself, and not the physical body at all. You are the eternal continuum of life, which is unmanifes t and non-changing: the silent witness to all that happens in your life.

You may choose to take the awareness out of the physical body altogether and go astral travelling around the universe, Flowing into and out of the various dimensions.

You may realise that you can look through the eyes of an insect on a wall in a far distant land and do remote viewing. You may choose to become conscious of what is in the next room and effectively just walk through the wall with your awareness.

When your awareness is within the quantum field of space, the zero-point Energy or neutral Energy, you have total freedom. This is a field of all possibilities and you are only limited by your own creativity and imagination. You have become aware of yourself and mastered yourself.

Message channelled by George Lockett (C) Copyright 2006, All Rights Reserved.

* New book * A Journey into the Self -- the multi-dimensional nature of Being human: HealerGeorge Web Site and New Book

Description: What is this book going to do for YOU? For those who are seeking a complete energetic makeover, as you read it you will feel a stirring and awakening in the depths of your heart. For those who have questions about Shifts in Consciousness, Energy Balancing and Healing within the body, you will find clear answers.

Read HealerGeorges Blog: Curezone Blog or ask at question at: Ask HealerGeorge

Author:: George Lockett
Keywords:: Being, Present,Alert,Mean, Relax,Expand,Consious,Feelings,Energy,Flow,Magnetic,Love
Post by History of the Computer | Computer safety tips

Copper Keels and Red Ochre

Copper Keels:

Nature provides varying resources in different pArts of the world. In Ireland the use of leather in boat-building made sense. Leather craft going underwater led to glass or other submersibles to reach sunken ships in the time of Alexander and the designs some people think are alien craft on the Lascaux Caves are most likely leather submersibles. The hardwoods of Central and South America allowed for some truly fantastic big ships to be hollowed out of very large trees. Ironwood is heavier than concrete and it is even possible that they used concrete on ship hulls or to build ships with the geopolymerized technology that Pliny reports, and scholars did not understand, so the scholars failed to properly translate his writing. If 9,000 years ago the people of the Aleutians and the copper route were able to use ivory bearings in two or four man crafts that cut a catamaran type wake which Scientific American says exceeds our present technology, then you can imagine almost anything.

The use of copper sheeting on hulls and keels extended the life of wooden crafts in warm waters where boring beetles destroy any wooden craft. This allowed the Phoenicians or those who built ships that could travel the whole world a great advantage. They also had above deck windlass type technology to keep planked hulls intact during storms. These two things made larger ships more durable and feasible. The Murrhine vases for turning salt water potable would have been a huge advantage. It is not lost on me that the very name of these vases includes the name Mu just as Troys real name does.

RED OCHRE:

The supposed worship of the Sun in many ancient cultures was also a worship of the Son of God which we all can actualize. Thomas Huxley argued the position of science well in his confrontations with the churchian Wilberforce and I admire the Huxley clan. In many ways Aldous Huxley was a groundbreaking observer of real science rather than the Kuhn constructs Fuller prefers anarchy over. I love to read how Aldous was excited to get the first hand accounts of Joseph Campbell walking on the healing fire of the Japanese shamanistic Shinto priests. There are many Eranos attendees like Jung and Campbell who are excellent scholars and well respected authors including Eliade and Daisetz Suzuki.

I remember Aldous Huxley talking to me through a long evening, and his white hands held into the fire, saying, This is what transforms. These are the legends that show it. Above all, the legend that the Phoenix is reborn in the fire, and lives over and over again in generation after generation. Fire is the image of youth and blood, the symbolic colour is the ruby and cinnabar From which the alchemist got Mercury., and in ochre and hematite with which men pai nt themselves ceremonially. (14)

But was it just ceremonial? No! Hematite is still important to the Art of crystal therapy. It is naturally able to generate energy in tune with the EArth Energy Grid that we all are impacted by even though we cant see it. Ochre is found on the bones of the far older modern human (by at least 20,000 years) called the Mungo Man. It may actually be cinnabar but archaeologists are not alchemists and usually dont believe in the Philosophers Stone which required cinnabar.

The Beothuk painted themselves with the ochre they received in payment from Phoenicians involved in the Old Copper Route to Lake Superiors uniq ue and pure ore deposits before the advent of widespread smelting. LAnse Amour is an archaeological site that shows where they were in the 5th Millennium B.C. They had moved when the water flow changed after years of the eArth adjusting to the miles of glacial ice that had been on top of it. The Beothuk had a unique watercraft most like the northern Europeans such as the Irish. They were as tall as the Adena who came from the Poverty Point location of the Keltic Phoenician Red Heads who are like the Red Headed Mummies of Urumchi. But they were called redskins before the Canadian Government or other authorities put a bounty on their heads and the 19th Century saw their demise just as the Kelts of Easter Island and New Zealand were eradicated. Earlier than that it was far worse for the remnants of the Brotherhood o f Man whose leaders understood the nature of the Solar Deity as a mere representation of a science average people were unwilling to devote the time required to grasp. It wasnt just libraries that were burned at the stake. I hope you can see that if no other scholar has written about red ochre in this way and few point out the massive advantages the copper keel would provide, that it is a reflection on academia and the nature of those who keep secrets.

Author of Diverse Druids, Columnist for The ES Press Magazine, Guest 'expert' at World-Mysteries.com

Author:: Robert Baird
Keywords:: Red Ochre, Mercury and aluminum, The 'Stone'
Post by History of the Computer | Computer safety tips

Welcome to the Mind Revolution: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Living Between the Points

What does it mean to live between the points? What are the points? Are they Science and Religion? Are they conservative and liberal? Are they men and women? Are they childhood and old age? Are they intellectual and physical? Are they quantum physics and cosmology? Are they Freud and Jung? Are they the sacred and the profane? Are they nature and nurture? Are they light beer and stout?

To live between the points is to understand the nature of the human mindwhere it begins and where it ends. The very structure of time is inherent in the process of thoughtthe ticking away of the clock in the song Time on the Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon is the sound of the mind in movement. See, the mind is a function of the universemuch like Keplers laws of motion which keep planets swinging in elliptical orbits around a common center of gravitational mass.

The paired opposites described in the first paragraph are all addressed in the Philosophy of living B etween the Points, but more importantly they are surpassed for the ultimate pair of oppositeslife and death.

When I was nineteen years old, I was enrolled as a Pre-Pre Med student meaning that my grades werent good enough to get me in Pre-Med and my patience for analytical Science bounced me at about Chemistry 102. But in my study of the many fields of Science, I developed a genuine respect for the scientific method and for the Science of cosmology in general.

Cosmology is the study of the universe on a grand scale. Quantum physics is a study of the universe on a very small scale. I began studying the nature of the universe at a time when Cosmology and Quantum Physics were merging into a single vision of how the universe physically operates. That vision is still being defined to this day but there was something I learned in a book by Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time, that changed my life forever.

I learned about the nature of quantum singularitie s in space. Quantum singularities are events in space/time where the structure of the universe completely breaks down and the physics that operate everywhere else no longer function. The structure of the universe is space and time so time itself breaks down in these actual places out in the universe.

Well, what struck me about this was not the existence of singularities in outer space but it was the existence of singularities in inner-space and how they both were related to one another. See, I realized that time breaks down in the mind as wellin the form of memory. I can recall events that happened when I was three down to the sight, smell, texture, and even the emotions of vivid memories.

So, there is a point in outer space where time breaks down and there is a point in inner space where time breaks down. Beyond these points is the great unknowndeath, birth, heaven, hell, whatever words you choose to use to describe itthe fact is that there is no direct hum an knowledge that can be quantified and proven through the scientific methodology that determined the edge of physical and mental existence.

So what is one to do with this insight? Well, its funny when I look back on these last ten years since I had this epiphany and it is almost as if some unseen hand were guiding me to the answers when I was able to ask the right questions. Im sure it is the same for you if you were to examine it closely.

One day I found myself at a dead end fork in the road. There was no passion in my life. I had no interest in pursuing the college degree in my course of study. I quit school, got a job in a restaurant, and spent my days in the library chasing some kind of meaning for life. I came across a video series title Transformations of Myth through Time by Joseph Campbell. The answers to most of my questions lay within these twelve VHS tapes.

I came to understand that mankind had been dealing with this very same dilemma for thousands of yearsever since the first death was truly felt. One day, an ancient ancestor of man knew a friend, a wife, a child that was up and walking one day and then lay down and grew still, cold, and died. Something was gone that had just been there. It was at this point that the human spirit was born and it was at this point that art, Philosophy, Science, and even Religion were born as well. These are all methodologies of attempting to discern the exact nature of what lies beyond the two points.

I also came to understand the nature of the metaphor. All words are symbols. The symbols T R E E are not great leafy carbon based life forms that take in Carbon Dioxide to produce oxygen. But we read the word TREE and immediately the letters conjure up an image in our minds. The problem with these symbols comes about when they are used to describe something that cannot be defined in terms of time and space, in other words when they are used to describe what is bey ond the points.

Let us consider for a moment the supposed great conflict between Science and Religion.

Contrary to popular scholarly debate, there is no inherent conflict between Science and Religion. In fact, Religion and Science both have a warm history of expressing reality and invoking passion in the human mind. Religion is ultimately concerned with Spirituality, with touching the center of man and transforming him or her from the crawling animal to the human being who strives to attain the unknowable, who mourns for dead relatives with established rituals and seeks to relieve the suffering of fellow human beings with compassionate acts.

It is the purpose of the institution of Science to give humanity a vision of what the Universe actually is from moment to moment. Science as an institution is constantly in flux; there are no ultimate truths, only hypotheses that must be constantly tested.

Religion is a constellation of metaphors aimed at relat ing what is beyond the points to the human mind and it is the purpose of Religion to penetrate the Science of the day and allow the ultimate unknowable truth to shine through its metaphors. But this means that Religion must also constantly be in flux and open to change.

The problem comes about when Religions begin proposing to their constituents that the metaphors they use to describe the unknown are indeed the actual point of worship. This is the point where money becomes king. This is the point where murder becomes communication and when wars over words escalate so intensely that they threaten the existence of every human being on the planet. But this is also the point of ultimate redemption which can only take place in the mind of the individual for there is no such thing as Freedom in a group.

Religious institutions are generally not concerned with spiritual breakthrough of the individual to a realization of the unknown but rather these institutions are s upremely concerned with the social integration of their followers under specific teachings and morals. And let us not forget that all religious institutions are ultimately concerned with acquiring money and political poweroften at the expense of the very ones they were established to protect and guide toward the sacred light.

The great religious texts that form the foundation of all major Religions were composed millennia ago under different scientific laws. The Ancients, with the exception of the Egyptian astronomer Eratosthenes, believed that the Earth was flat. The Ancient Hebrews had never heard of or met the Chinese and if they did, it was never written about. Science changes and so must religious metaphors also change. The truths that all Religions offer, however, those common human themes of justice, righteous living, and spiritual emancipation, are anthropic and therefore common to all human beings at all times.

Let us return to our points. So there is a point in outer space where time breaks down and there is a point in inner space where time breaks down; between these points is where the phenomenal world rests. This is the realm of linear motion, of birth and death, of social interaction, scientific investigation, and the worshipping of ideas and dates of historical significance. This is the phenomenal world, broken into pairs of opposites that can be neatly divided and classified under specific categories according to the laws of logic and structure of human existence itself. This is the realm of comparison in which Science, Religion, and art ultimately guide the human animal to becoming a human being. These institutions accomplish this by guiding the individual to these outer and inner points and ultimately laying the challenge down to go beyond while leaving the temporal and phenomenal world of the individual and collective ego behind.

To live between the points is to live in the realm of death. To unde rstand that no thought or concept can go beyond those two points is the beginning of intelligence and not the intelligence brought about through time and study, but an eternal intelligence that is only present when the mind is quiet--silent. This intelligence is vast, all encompassing and all-powerful. When one has reached this precipice you have come to the realm of the sacred in the heart and mind of man and defining this moment as the boundary between Heaven and the phenomenonal world.

Intelligent human beings, the humble among us, understand that what lies beyond the two points is unknowable to the mind of man which has been composed by knowledge of the in-between. The intelligent understand this limitation, what thought is capable of and what it is not, and put thought aside in areas of life where it is not applicable. The in-between will never relate to what is beyond the points and the true mystic and quiet observer of this fact will come to understand that t he two points are really the same pointthe alpha and the omegathe beginning and the end. It is the still point upon which the Buddha sat and struck illumination.

The reference that religious metaphors refer to is the still point and to know the still point is to understand the nature of death in the moment. Once the understanding of the complete cessation of psychological movement is understood, not as a theory but as clearly as one looks up to the night sky and recognizes the Moon, a glorious palace of pure energy rises from the wasteland to replenish what was once a weary spirit. This is the shining city on a hill that is the beacon of liberty for all of mankind to take part in because they are human mortals who share this spinning globe adrift in an elliptical orbit around an average yellow star in one of many long arms of gas and dust that orbit a massive galactic core set adrift in a sea of other galaxies all moping around the greatest point of gravity known to the mind.

But there is only one mind of man and inside the mind of the individual is a point of infinity just as there is in the farthest reaches of space, past the 10-43 seconds after the Big Bang barrier that our senses and our Science cannot see beyond. There is an alpha and omega of liberty and it begins in the mind of the individual and ends at the farthest point the mind can stretch toward and conceive. The distance traveled between these two points is that of time and history and we bring this experience into the present moment to create the world we each live in. Each human mind is the totality of the Universe and the Universe itself exists distinctly in the mind of each individual. E Pluribus Unum.

This world is a collective product of all minds active in the present moment, each bringing their own experience to shape reality which ultimately shapes the reality of human society. What would the world be like with ten, twenty, a hundred individuals w ho were capable of grasping the still point and losing themselves at any moment? The answer is that the entire world would eventually be composed of artists; every politician, auto mechanic, lawyer, check out clerk, writer, singer, actor and painter would be capable of shedding their ego and stepping outside of time to bask in eternity. The sun fire is hot on the sandy beaches outside the river of time. The solar rays of eternity shine deep and warm as the vicissitudes of time evaporate from one's skin and the sand of creative energy hugs and sustains the artistic vision that has inspired mankind to crawl from the muck as slugs to become rulers of this insignificant yet beautiful planet. The energy is eternal; it is the individual who falls into darkness without it. There is only one truth, yet the sages speak of it with many names.

Joshua Minton is a father and husband as well as a writer. He is co-developer, along with his wife, of the Video Scrapbook Di va DVD system (http://www.videoscrapbookdiva.com) which teaches mothers and fathers how to take their family films, transfer them to the PC and turn them into fantastic movies that can be shared with family and loved ones.

Josh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Bowling Green State University. He has won several awards for his poetry and fiction, including the BGSU Alumni Book Award and was included in the 1999 edition of Who's Who in College America.

Joshs professional background is in the health insurance industry where he has spent the last two years serving as Executive Business Analyst for the Executive Director of the nation's largest health insurer. He currently serves as President of Family Bliss Enterprise, Inc. (http://www.familyblissenterprises.com) and is webmaster of joshuaminton.com where you can view samples of his essays, poetry, fiction and much more.

You can contact Josh at josh@joshuaminton.com

Author:: Joshua Minton
Keywords:: Philosophy, Science, Religion, Spirituality, Freedom, God
Post by History of the Computer | Computer safety tips

Child Muay Thai Boxers

One Friday night in January I was in Hua Hin, Thailand with nothing to do so I decided to go and watch the Friday Night Muay Thai contest held at Grand Sport Hua Hin on Petchkasem Road. I had received a flyer earlier in the street promoting the event and decided that it might be worth checking out.

Apparently there are two Muay Thai venues in Hua Hin and this wasn't the real one, but if I wanted to go that night I didn't have much of a choice. It wasn't a stadium as such, more like a gym that had a ring in the middle and some chairs set up on two sides. I believe they have Muay Thai lessons there every day. There wasn't a live band there either so the music didn't get faster as the matches progressed, we had to make do with a taped loop.

The admission price was 500 baht, a little expensive I was informed by a local bar owner, but I wasn't complaining. Also any tuk tuk or taxi in Hua Hin will take you to the venue for free, just show them the flyer. That amazed me.

The first fight started at 9pm, if I remember correctly it was a couple of 12 year old or so boys. Interesting enough and I was amazed by their already ripped physiques, especially their stomach muscles. There were a number of other fights including a 16 year old girl versus a 19 year old girl that was stopped after the second round because the older girl sustained an injury. After a while a section on one side of the ring that didn't have any seats set up by it started to fill up with Thai patrons. A number of them had brought blankets and were sitting there watching the matches. I remember wondering at the time if they too had paid 500 baht to get in. Somehow I doubted it.

Anyway, to get to the point of this story, one of the main events that was being touted all night by the announcer was a match between a nine year old boy and a nine year old girl. This long awaited match finally got underway at 11pm. As they were entering the ring it was announced that the boy was so confident that he would win that he had bet 7000 baht on himself. This was announced several times over the loudspeaker. I pondered where a nine year old boy would get 7000 baht as I sat there looking up at the No Gambling sign posted to the wall (in English only) above the bar. The fighters came out to much excitement by the crowd, including myself and they were gorgeous, especially the little girl.

I may be mistaken but I believe the ceremonial dance that the boxers do before the match is called the Wai Klu. In each of the matches that night one of the boxers did the dance while the other stayed in his or her corner. For this match the girl was the one to perform the dance. Only this time she did something that I had not seen any of the other boxers do during their ceremonial dance s. I'll do my best here to describe it but I doubt that I can do it justice. Starting in her corner she would face her opponent who was standing in his corner on the other side of the ring. She would take one or two steps forward while twisting her body back towards her corner, then she would stomp her foot towards her opponent at the same time as sending an imaginary punch his way, which he would deflect with his hands, much to the delight of the crowd. This continued until she reached his corner, with him knocking away her imaginary punches each time. Then she would head back towards her ring, two or three slow steps at a time, looking back over her shoulder with each step, give him an appraising look, shake her head and take some more steps. Finally she looked satisfied that he was weakened enough and she concluded her dance. I don't think I can sufficiently explain how exciting this was.

Finally the match gets underway, and just like a mouse's heart beats a hundred times faster than the much larger dog, their movements seemed to be a lot faster than the previous boxers' movements. I was as excited if not more so than the rest of the crowd. Her arms were longer than his so she was getting in a few more punches than he was. Whenever she hit him I'd let out a roaring cheer, however when he kicked her I would cringe and have to stifle a cry of , Hey she's a girl! leave her alone!! I think I might have been a little too into it. The rounds were only two minutes each as opposed to the 3 minute rounds of the older fighters, but by the 4th round the girl's face was showing clear signs that she was getting tired. My heart broke. After a while though I started to have terrible misgivings about the whole adventure. Thoughts like What are you watching?! and You are paying people who make two little kids fight! ran through my mind. I was feeling very conflicted by the whole situation. I was able to put those thoughts to the back of my mind though when they announced that the winner was the girl. The whole place erupted and I am not afraid to say that I almost had a tear in my eye. I was so happy for her.

But then I started to feel a little sorry for the boy, who not only had to live with being beaten by a girl, but he had lost 7000 baht (if that story was to be believed.) After the fight both of the kids went around the audience and posed for photos and accepted money from the crowd. I gave her 100 baht and him 20. Now all he needed was another 6980 baht. When I posed for my photo with her I put my arm around her shoulder and I could feel her arm on the other side. It was rock solid. There was one more match after that, apparently a champion of the south versus a champion of the north, but I soon lost interest and went back to the hotel after the kids had gone.

In the songtaew on the way back I started to think about the whole night and had a number of questions. I wonder if they were really fighting or i f they were like a brother and sister and have that same fight for the tourists every week? I wonder if they go to school like other kids. I would imagine it takes a lot of training to get to that kind of level, plus the announcer had mentioned that typical Muay Thai boxers train for 12 hours a day. I wonder if they get to keep the money that they are given by the tourists or if unscrupulous event organizers pocket it. Or do their parents collect it?

Aaron Christe writes about Thai culture, people and experiences at www.christicles.com He will also show you how to fly cheaply to Thailand at Cheap flights to Thailand

Author:: Aaron Christe
Keywords:: Thailand,Muay Thai,child boxers,
Post by History of the Computer | Computer safety tips

Books by William Aloysius Keleher

William Aloysius Keleher was a lawyer by profession. However, he did many other things besides practicing law since he did not want to limit himself to homogenous work. Instead, he chose to be different and versatile. He was a telegraph operator, newspaper reporter, city editor, even a counter clerk in his vivid life. Perhaps, the most significant extra-legal activity where he indulged himself was writing. There was no denying that he was an effective writer. Kelehers expertise as a writer was first unearthed in 1908 when he was appointed by a local newspapers authorities to work as a news reporter. They were very impressed by his wr iting abilities which were re-furnished while he was writing for the Albuquerque Journal and Albuquerque Evening Herald. Later on, he got the job of the city editor in both of them. One will be mistaken if he reckons that Keleher showed his full potential as a writer in those newspapers.

An avid scholar of the New Mexico history, William Keleher formally became an authoritative writer on the subject in the year of 1929 when he delivered a speech in a conference (arranged by The Texas Bar Association) that took place in Amarillo, Texas. The date was July 29th; the topic was Maxwell Land Grant (The largest grant ever made in the St ate of New Mexico that engendered more than its share of controversy and disputes over the years). After thirteen years, it would turn into his first book entitled The Maxwell Land Grant. The book consisted over an hundred and sixty pages and came out in hardcover binding. University of New Mexico Press, the publisher, brought out a revised version of the book in the year of 1964. Even today, one can avail this seventeen-chaptered book from online stores and libraries with an extensive collection.

Violence in Lincoln County: 1869-1881, written in the year of 1957, is considered to be a masterpiece by William Keleher. In this book, he described the 1870s scenario in details. The book tells the readers that the Lincoln Country War was an outcome of the conflict between partisan politics and business. Regarding the issue of land ownership, the cattle barons and the corrupt mercantilists clashed with each other. Big names like McSween, Turnstall, Chisum, Murphy, Riley and Dolan were mentioned. As a result of the clash, power was being threatened and people were being killed. However, peace was declared in the territory after the demise of Billy the Kid, an infamous outlaw, in the year of 1881. William Keleher provided sufficient information and first-hand reports in his book, for which it was perceived as a invaluable masterpiece on the western history.

In 1969, Rydal press published Memoirs 1892 1969, another book by William Keleher. In this book, he told readers about the events he witnessed in his lifetime. Mainly, the book contained biographical information. The authoer called the book a combination of autobiography, biography, narrative and memoir. He also said that this book was written especially for New Mexicans of good heart. The book was republished after several years.

In 1945, came The Fabulous Frontier, another quality work by Keleher. University of New Mexico Press brought out this 338-page book. In 1962, there was a re-print of The Fabulous Frontier.

William Keleher encountered enormous challenges in finishing Turmoil in New Mexico , 1846-1868, a study of truly professional quality. The book which was written in 1952 reflected the investigative skills he obtained through legal practice, sophisticated techniques and sheer love of the subject matter.

Kelehers expertise in literary works was also seen in his short writings. They mainly dealt with New Mexico history and included longer essays and newspaper articles.

What is most impressive about the writer William Keleher is that he did not show any negligence to either of his two most demanding tasks (practicing law and writing). William Keleher's law practice required regular office hours which he was always faithful. The research and writing of each of his books needed a discrete set of hours as he was careful not to let his literary work breach into his first profession.

William A. Keleher was not only a great lawyer but also an effective writer. His books are considered invaluable from historical perspective.

Keleher authored some of the premier works on the Southwest: Maxwell Land Grant,1942; Fabulous Frontier, 1945; Turmoil in New Mexico, 1846-196 8, 1952;Violence in Lincoln County, 1957; and Memoirs 1969. and New Mexicans IKnew. Purchase the Books of William Keleher in .pdf format online at http://www.williamKeleher.com

Author:: William Keleher
Keywords:: Keleher, William Keleher : Seven Generations in America, Eight Generations in America
Post by History of the Computer | Computer safety tips

No No Nanette: No Girls in the Guggenheim?

Where The Girls Arent by Jerry Saltz: The programmatic exclusion of women is pArtly attributable to the Art worlds being a self-replicating organism: It sees that the Art that is shown and sold is made mainly by men, and therefore more Art made by men is shown and sold. This is how the misidentification, what Adorno called a negative system, is perpetuated. I have been watching the trends on this with alarm, it is a true fact that women are under-represented in the Art industry. The reasoning seems to be automatic response as mentioned in this Article, but I wonder if there might be something else involved. Something at the core of womanhood.

Art is incredibly personal. women, generally being more in touch with our feelings, tend to create more personal Art with less detachment than a male Artist. That means that there is more invested emotionally, making it hard to then put a piece up for others to see, it is like being naked in a way, its very exposing.

Some of you have heard me refer to my Paintings as babies. This is not an uncommon sentiment. the creation process is borne from deep within and lovingly created over time. It makes us laugh and cry and grow very attached. I do this that there is a reluctance sometimes among women Artists (myself included) to sell their babies.. I mean pieces - will it go to a good home? will it be treated well and loved? and what is that curator doing with my baby?

Women are by nature just as competitive as men (and I will challenge anyone who says otherwise!) but I wonder if our personal attachment to our Paintings may be creating some of the is sues. I dont think this is a bad thing, it creates a both and an empathy to the works that really comes across to the viewers. maybe we need to set aside our fears and worries about our babies and send them off to the galleries with a packed lunch, cry and then be proud that something we gave birth to is doing so well.

A lifelong passion for the human body, Jennie has studied anatomy and many aspects of Art and history. She has long felt a drive to create in everything she does, however it was a debilitating car accident that renewed her passion for Art and has been a therapeutic escape while bridging the gap between a hobby and Art. She works continually with her passion for the human body exploring contemporary styles and Media. Jennie also uses Art as a cathArtic release to explore her feelings about the car accident and her new disability. Her Art is rich, frequently confronting and varied in style, context and meaning

Jennie was born in the USA and moved to Australia with her parents while young. She spent key years studying with her Artist grandmother and excelled at Art and design at school, winning several awards. Jennie has studied Art and design at a university level and has worked in the design industry as well as in Information Technology and Project Management. Jennie now works as a full-time Artist from her home in Melbourne, Australia.

Author:: Jennie Rosenbaum
Keywords:: Art, Feminism, Moma, Guggenheim, women Artists, Painting
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Dolores "DeeJazz" Jackson On The Move!

When Dolores DeeJazz Jackson sings, it's not surprising to see why her listeners are are dynamically captivated. DeeJazz delivers something unique: inspirational, message-rich lyrics, against the background of a beautiful and spiritual, jazz sound. Her voice is as readily remarkable to the human ear as it is definitively, distinctive. Particularly engaging, each one of her songs demonstrate her ability to easily hit a wide range of octaves. Her debut album, titled, A Musical Messenger, has the potential to inspire and transform lives for the greater.

Born in Michigan, USA, DeeJazz has spent most of her life in Detroit. Currently, she makes her home in North Carolina. As a college student, she was the recipient of thousands of dollars in scholarships. The singer/songwriter earned her B.A. in Advertising from University of Detroit, Mercy, and graduated Magna cum Laude.

I recently sat down and was honored with a rare, inside look of this amazing artist. Her CD, A Musical Messenger, has a generous, 14 tracks, and can be purchased at: http://www.Deejazz.com/

FranBriggs: Good Morning, DeeJazz. Thank you for meeting with me. And, congratulations on your spectacular accomplishment of masterfully blending jazz, inspirational, and spiritual music.

DeeJazz: Thank you so much, Fran. It is a pleasure to be with you.

FB:You produced your own album; was that a difficult decision?

DeeJazz: Producing my own album was not at all a difficult decision. It had been a dream of mine for a long time. I have been writing songs and playing them on the piano since I was 13. So, by the time I produced the album, I had quite a few years of writing and recording experience under my belt. But yes; there were times when I doubted by ability to do it by myself. After I completed several songs I presented them to some experienced producers for their opinions. One told me my production wasn't good enough and that I would need their help, I sensed their desire for control and, not to mention, compensation. Another told me my productions were great.

However, by this time confidence in my writing ability had matured to the point where I was feeling pretty secure. Nevertheless, I wanted the opinions of experienced writers/producers. I found out that they are people too.

I encourage anyone that loves real music to purchase this CD. I am confident that you will be uplifted. Musically, everything is there. Whether you're into up-tempo, ballads, introspection, inspirational, motivational, jazz, vocals, or instrumental, A Musical Messenger has it all!

- Michael L. Jones Producer/Director, Eye-On-U Productions, N. Hollywood, CA

FB: What are some of the most powerful truths you discovered about yourself after completing your fir st album?

DeeJazz: One of the most powerful things I discovered about myself after completing this CD was that I could actually fulfill my lifelong dream to be a composer. It was thrilling. Secondly, that I had something worthwhile to offer. For a long time I felt like a failure. After a failed marriage, I was struggling financially as a single parent of two small children and I had no direction for my future. Music was always a dream for me, but with little or no encouragement from my family, I felt discouraged. Completing this project taught me that I could accomplish what I put my mind to as long as I didn't let anything or anyone stop me.

FB: It's our understanding that you are an avid reader. How, and when did you acquire your love for reading? And, what books are you reading now?

DeeJazz: My love for reading started when I was kid when the bookmobile used to come to our neighborhood. I loved it! Growing up in Detroit --where not much was given to you and sometimes things were stolen from you -- I was so impressed that you could borrow books without paying for them. Actually, I'm still impressed by the library! I go every three weeks and sometimes more than that (laugh).

Right now I'm reading Dr. Maya Angelou's four-volume autobiography; also, a book titled, Word Smart. It teaches you how to improve your vocabulary. And, Seth Speaks. It's a new-thought phenomenon written in the early 70's by Jane Roberts, a woman who channeled a non-physical entity with some powerful spiritual information. I also just finished a great, great book called, The Disappearance of the Universe, by Gary R. Renard. It's an enlightening read mostly about the miracle of forgiveness. This book has changed my life.

FB: Dr. Maya Angelou -- a phenomenal woman. You actually met her, correct? Would you describe the experience?

DeeJazz: Yes. I met Dr. Angelou in August of this year. After hearing my CD she invited me to New York to sing for an open mic night at Ashford & Simpson's Sugar Bar. I saw her when she began walking down the aisle way. She appeared majestic in her red evening dress with escorts in front, and back of her. When she got close, she smiled and touched me on the shoulder. I felt like I had been touched by an angel. She was then taken to a private area where she would watch the show by monitor.

A little while later her assistant came to Hattie and I and guided us to her table. She shook our hands and was incredibly gracious and warm. She treated us like we were royalty. Amazing ... Hattie recited one of Dr. Angelou's quotes that had made an impression on her life and Dr. Angelou expounded on it eloquently adding even more insight. We felt blessed and honored to be in her presence. Afterward, I was told she commented on my performance saying it was, Delightfully impressive.

FB: What was it like collaborating with your sister, Hattie Mae Jackson-Pembrook, as she completed the com panion text for your album?

DeeJazz: Collaborating with my sister as she wrote the companion text, Messages to Awaken yourSelf, was a most exciting and rewarding time. When she was challenged around her abilities I would encourage and prod her along the way. I knew that she could do it and I reminded her how she had been my inspiration. When I was a teen, Hattie was a motivational speaker. I loved attending her speeches and I heard her say many times that she wanted to write a book. Well, the messages in my songs all came from books/classes and workshops she had exposed me to, so I knew this was the perfect opportunity for her to write her first book. After she completed a chapter, I would edit it to our mutual approval. We had minor clashes about which pictures to use, and occasionally she lamented: Another rewrite? But, we settled them quickly without much dissension.

FB:In the forward of Hattie's Book, Messages to Awaken yourSelf, you mention that you experien ced mental telepathy with a dog. Was it deliberate?

DeeJazz: Yes, it was deliberate. I don't know exactly how I discovered it, but I noticed the dog could hear me when I would think a command to him. It was a Great Dane. I told him to get up and come to me, and he did. Then I told him to go lay down, and he did. After doing this several times I was very surprised and decided I would show my little 9-year-old neighbor. I said, Watch this, I'll tell him to get up in my mind and he will. So, I did, and the dog responded. Then, I gave the mental command to lay down and he followed again. Needless to say, my little friend was highly impressed. However, mental telepathy as well as other so called extra-sensory perceptions, are common place when we remove the erroneous belief of ourselves as mere, human beings. At that time I had been faithfully practicing for three months a powerful technique of awakening called, The Pathway's, by Ken Keyes, Jr. His book is titled, Handbook to Higher Consciousness.

FB: Your album continues to receive raving reviews from the music industry. What kind of reception have you had from listeners?

DeeJazz: Frequently, people come to me after performances proclaiming they were deeply moved or helped in some way. I have been referred to as anointed and people have expressed gratitude that I have followed my divine calling. I've heard people say they have been helped through relationship problems, recovery from drug and alcohol addiction as well as money and health issues by my songs. Recently a woman in church told me that she was dealing with a situation that she had expected to benefit her life tremendously when suddenly it came to a disappointing close. She felt bad but then quickly decided to look for the good in the situation. Instantly, one of my songs, Darkest B4 the Dawn, began playing in her head and she started singing it. She said she knew it was a message from God. I've been told my songs are the rapeutic, uplifting, timeless, and one never gets tired of listening. I am deeply honored by their comments and give credit where it is due, to the Most High.

FB:How long have you been writing, arranging and producing your own music? Is it as challenging as it is fun?

DeeJazz: I started writing poems when I was around 10 years old and I began putting music to them at 13. I would play the music on the family piano as I sang the songs. Sometimes I would make up instrumental songs and play them with intense passion. I didn't know at the time but it was a way for me to release tension.

Writing music has been challenging, but mostly it's been fun. I had two music classes in my life. But I found the literal writing and reading of musical notes tedious and too technical to contain my interest. I play and write by ear. I hear the songs in my head and then play what I hear. I feel the most important thing to learn about songwriting is structure. For example; verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, ... etc. There are several structures but most songs follow the same basic structure. Once I learned song structure it became easier because I knew where to put what. What I love most about song writing is hearing it grow from what I heard in my head, to what I hear outside of it.

FB: Who are the individuals that you recognize as your mentors?

DeeJazz: Just recently, Maya Angelou has become one of my mentors. After hearing my CD she took an interest in me -- and I in her. I am learning so much from reading her autobiography. She is an extraordinary woman. She overcame many obstacles, one after another and still, she rose. I am learning from her example.

I have always liked reading biographies of other songwriters/artists and using them as inspiration. I've read about Barry White, Patti Labelle, Barry Gordy, Queen Latifa, Dolly Parton and others.

FB: The lyrics in your song titled, This Gift of Mine, include:

< p>Every day is blessing

A gift to us with love

But we must heed

The call to succeed,

That's our gift to God

FB:What would you say to the individual who is struggling with hearing -- or seeing -- their call to succeed?

DeeJazz: I feel we all have a calling, so to speak, for our lives. There is something that you were born to do. Hattie states in her book that Michael Jordan says he was born to play basketball. That might sound frivolous to some, but as anyone can attest to, Michael Jordan's astounding athletic skill is nothing short of miraculous and would most likely be considered a divine gift. If a person is struggling with discovering their call to succeed, it is probably because it's the thing they've always dreamed of, but are most afraid to do.

FB: In her book and on her website, Hattie shares a touching story on her website about her longing for not only a sister -- but a companion. Could you summarize it for us?

DeeJazz : I guess it was supernatural but some part of her was waiting for me. She was graduating from high school when I was born and she truly loved me unconditionally. Growing up I cannot recall one time that she raised her voice to me or made me feel bad about anything. We have always been mentally and spiritually close, sharing our love of ideas, self-help information and spirituality. Now, this CD/Book project is becoming more successful than we initially anticipated. We are in the process of preparing ourselves for whatever it brings.

FB: Tell us about your current and forthcoming projects.

DeeJazz: Hattie and I are in the planning stages of a nationwide tour. We'll be doing a full stage production/concert. I will sing with a live band/orchestra including background singers. And, at times, it will be accompanied by interpretive dancers/actors. Hattie will expound with spiritual insights during extended instrumental sections of the songs. Also, we will do workshops consisting of her speaking and my singing. The participants get lots of hands-on awakening experiences using tools and methods we have used and that have worked in our own lives. We're also planning another CD/book combo.

FB: That sounds like a magnificent production... In reference to your use of awakening experiences, would you say that in our natural state we are simply unaware of, or do we intentionally suppress the Greatness within us?

DeeJazz: In our truly natural state, we are awake. Awake within our Spiritual Oneness with everything and everyONE. However, in our unnatural state, which is nearly everyone's daily experience, we most definitely suppress the Greatness within us. How many of us suppress acceptance, understanding and forgiveness in everyday situations? Most of us, most of the time.

Awakening requires a decision. A decision that says the way we have been living, is not working. A decision that if we, meaning, If I don't accept the respons ibility to change it, who will? In our workshops we seek to inspire an awakening experience in the participants so they can have a personal encounter or a remembrance of what it feels like to be awake.

FB: Is there anything you would like to add before we go?

DeeJazz: Lately, I've been experiencing intense gratitude. The information that I am being guided to is literally changing my life experience. The powerful ideas and methods that I learn and practice are what I convey in my songs in an effort to help people wake up to their innate divinity. We are spiritual beings and until we wake up to this fact, we will remain asleep and will not experience our true reality, which is love.

FB: Thank you, DeeJazz for taking the time to share. I certainly enjoyed my time with you.

DeeJazz: Thank you, Fran for allowing me this wonderful opportunity to share.

On assignment with eMediaCampaigns!, Fran Briggs interviewed Dolores DeeJazz Jackson in October, 200 5.

DeeJazz can be contacted at:
e-mail: Deejazz111@yahoo.com
website: http://www.Deejazz.com/

Hattie Mae Jackson-Pembrook may be contacted at:
e-mail: hmpembrook@yahoo.com
website: http://www.hattiemae.com/

Fran Briggs is an author, peak performance coach and motivational speaker. She is also the Director of Operations at eMediaCampaigns! and the President of The Fran Briggs Companies, an organization dedicated to the personal and professional development of individuals and groups around the globe. The company's personal development website offers a free, exciting twice-monthly newsletter designed to help individuals live a happier, healthier and wealthier life. Please visit http://www.franbriggs.com for more information.

Author:: Fran Briggs
Keywords:: DeeJazz, Dolores Jackson, Hattie Mae Pembrook, Inspirational Jazz music, Maya Angelou
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