READ AND PONDER

[joshgroban]

Feminine Genius Blog
Is anyone shocked?

March 25th, 2011 by Genevieve S. Kineke Print This Article Print This Article ·ShareThis

A survey about cohabitation has brought out some facts that seem "bleeding obvious" to those who are not emotionally entangled in the question:

    Professor Huang and other researchers from the University of California Hastings in San Francisco questioned around 200 men and women in their late 20s on reasons for  and against moving in with a partner. Women volunteered love as a reason to live together three times as often as men. But men mentioned sex four times more often than the women.

    When asked about the biggest disadvantages of cohabiting, women said they were concerned it had less legitimacy than marriage. But men were more worried that it signalled an end to their bachelor lifestyle.

    Professor Huang said: 'Some men expressed remorse over the loss of future sexual opportunities with other women. Men and women may well be entering cohabitation with different levels of commitment. Woman may want marriage and men may just want to "rent" one.'


haha...tama

[joshgroban]

a liitle something about my favorite bruno mars...who is indeed half filipino...

Mars was born Peter Gene Hernandez and raised in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii, by parents Bernadette "Bernie" and Pete Hernandez, of Filipino and Puerto Rican descent.[4][5][6][7] His mother emigrated to Hawaii from the Philippines as a child and his father moved to the island from Brooklyn, New York.[8] Mars parents met while performing in a show, where his mother was a hula dancer and his father played percussion.[8] At the age of two, Mars was nicknamed "Bruno" by his father, because of his resemblance to chubby professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino.[9] Mars was one of six children and came from a musical family who exposed him to a diverse mix of reggae, rock, hip hop, and R&B.[10][11] From a young age, he was impersonating and performing songs by artists such as Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, The Isley Brothers, and The Temptations.[6] At age four, Mars began performing five days a week with his family's band, The Love Notes, in which he became known on the island for his impersonation of Presley.[12]

In 1990, Mars was featured in MidWeek as "Little Elvis", going on to have a cameo in the film Honeymoon in Vegas in 1992.[6][13] He later reflected on the influence Presley had on his music, saying, "I watch the best. I'm a big fan of Elvis. I'm a big fan of 1950s Elvis when he would go on stage and scare people because he was a force and girls would go nuts! You can say the same thing for Prince or The Police. It's just guys who know that people are here to see a show, so I watch those guys and I love studying them because I'm a fan."[14] In 2010, he also acknowledged his Hawaiian roots and musical family as an influence, saying, "Growing up in Hawaii made me the man I am. I used to do a lot of shows in Hawaii with my father's band. Everybody in my family sings, everyone plays instruments. My uncle's an incredible guitar player, my dad's an incredible percussionist, my brother's a great drummer, he actually plays in our band. I've just been surrounded by it."[15] In 2003, shortly after graduating from President Theodore Roosevelt High School at the age of seventeen, Mars moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a musical career.[6][13] He adopted his stage name from the nickname his father gave him, adding "Mars" at the end because "I felt like I didn't have [any] pizzazz, and a lot of girls say I'm out of this world, so I was like I guess I'm from Mars."[16]

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Mars signed to Motown Records in 2004, in a deal that "went nowhere".[17] However, Mars' experience with Motown proved to be beneficial to his career when he met songwriter and producer Philip Lawrence, who was also signed to the label. Mars, Lawrence, and engineer Ari Levine began writing songs together, and formed the production team The Smeezingtons.[17] In 2006, Lawrence introduced Mars to his future manager at Atlantic Records, Aaron Bay-Schuck.[18] After hearing him play a couple of songs on the guitar, Bay-Schuck wanted to sign him immediately, but it took about three years for Atlantic records to finally sign Mars to the label.[18] In the meantime, Bay-Schuck hired Mars and the Smeezingtons to write and produce songs for the label's artists.[18] According to Bay-Schuck in an interview with HitQuarters, Mars had stated that although his ultimate goal was to be a solo artist, he was willing to write and produce for other artists, both to help improve his songwriting and help him discover the type of artist he ultimately wanted to be.[18] Bay-Schuck credits this as a period of "self-discovery" that contributed significantly to Mars' later success.[18]

2009–present: Commercial success and Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Bruno Mars performing in Houston, Texas in November 2010.Before becoming a successful solo artist, Hernandez was an acknowledged music producer, writing songs for Alexandra Burke, Travie McCoy, Adam Levine, Brandy, Sean Kingston, and Flo Rida.[10][19] He also co-wrote the Sugababes' hit song "Get Sexy" and provided backing vocals on their album Sweet 7.[20][21] His first musical appearance as a singer was in Far East Movement's second studio album Animal, featured on the track "3D".[22] He was also featured on pastor and hip hop artist Jaeson Ma's debut single "Love" in August 2009.[23][24] He reached prominence as a solo artist after being featured on and co-writing B.o.B's "Nothin' on You" and Travie McCoy's "Billionaire"; both songs peaked within the top ten of many charts worldwide.[25][26][27][28] He said of them, "I think those songs weren't meant to be full-sung songs. If I'd sung all of "Nothin' on You", it might've sounded like some '90s R&B." Following this success, Mars released his debut extended play (EP), titled It's Better If You Don't Understand, on May 11, 2010.[29] The EP peaked at the 99th position on the Billboard 200 and produced one single, "The Other Side", featuring rappers Cee-Lo Green and B.o.B.[30][31] Mars collaborated with Green once more in August 2010 by co-writing his single "Fuck You!". He performed a medley of "Nothin' on You" and "Airplanes" with B.o.B and Hayley Williams at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010.[32]

Mars' debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, was released digitally on October 4, and saw its physical release on October 5, 2010.[33][34] The lead single, "Just the Way You Are", was released on July 19, 2010,[35] and has reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 as well as several other charts worldwide.[36][37] The music video was released on September 8, 2010.[38] The second single, "Grenade", was released September 28, 2010, and has also seen successful international chart performance.[39][40] In the United States, Doo-Wops & Hooligans debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 for the week of October 13, 2010, selling 55,000 copies.[2] The album also received generally positive reviews from critics. Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt praised Mars for his "instant-access melodies" and "sly snatches of dance-floor swagger", but noted weaknesses in songs deviant from his conventional pop and soul genres.[41] He opened for Maroon 5 on the fall leg of the Hands All Over Tour starting October 6, 2010 and co-headlined with McCoy on a European tour starting October 18, 2010.[34]

On September 19, 2010, Mars was arrested in Las Vegas for possession of cocaine.[42] When talking to a police officer, Mars reportedly stated that what he did was "foolish" and that "he has never used drugs before".[43][44] Mars pled guilty to felony drug possession, and in return for his plea, the charges will be erased from his criminal record as long as he pays a $2,000 fine, does 200 hours of community service and completes a drug counseling course.[45]

[carpediem]

You are 1 person out of over 7 billion people,
on 1 planet out of 8 planets,
in 1 solar system out of 100 billion solar systems,
in 1 galaxy out of 100 billion galaxies,

and you are enormously insignificant.

[joshgroban]

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity [love], I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing....

[joshgroban]

I AM...Sent From The Father...
April 18th, 2011 | Author: Bishop Paul D. Etienne

"I AM".  These are the words used by God to answer Moses' question: "if I go to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your ancestors has sent me to you," and they ask me, "What is his name?" what do I tell them?  God replied to Moses: I am who I am.  Then he added: This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you."  (Exodus 3:13-14)  Jesus claims the same title for Himself as he begins to clearly identify Himself as the Son of God.  It is a name with no uncertainty, and clear "identity" to the Jewish people of His time.

"Sent from the Father..."  And if the use of the great "I AM" were insufficient, Jesus continues to make clear and regular reference to the truth that He is the One sent from the Father.  In John's Gospel, in the eighth chapter alone, Jesus uses the title "I AM" three times. (vs. 24, 28, 58)  In the same chapter, Jesus makes reference to being sent from the Father eight times.  (vs. 14, 16, 18, 26, 28, 29, 38, 42)  Do you think He is trying to make a point?!

These are the words of Jesus the Church used for the Gospel in Mass last week, the week leading up to Holy Week.  It gives us a great "clue" for how we are to understand the events of the Holy Days that lie ahead.  Jesus comes from the Father, as God.  His life and ministry, passion, death and resurrection are all intimately linked to this revelation of God and the salvation of God's people.  Pope Benedict XVI's homily yesterday for Palm Sunday gives a beautiful explanation of Jesus' return to the Father through the cross, and in this return, draws all humanity into this divine communion of love.

For much of my adult life, this intimate relationship of Jesus and the Father has held a drawing force, an interior attraction for me.  It is mystery, but it is truth, and a mystery and truth that longs to break into our life and understanding.  This mystery and truth are still "opening up to me", and please God will continue to do so throughout my life.  Here is just one practical application:

On Holy Thursday, we will celebrate the Lord's Supper, the institution of both the Eucharist and the Priesthood.  At the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest prays: "Through him, with him in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, forever, and ever.  Amen."  Then, we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus into our very bodies.  Remember the response of the crowd to Pilate from Matthew's Passion account Sunday?..."His blood be upon us and upon our children."  Yes, by the grace of God, this is true!  We are redeemed in this precious blood.

The Eucharist is THE moment in which we are incorporated into the life of Christ, over and over again in our faith journey.  This is Jesus, sent from the Father, who returned to the Father.  This is Jesus who is IN the Father, and now through the sacramental life of the Church is IN us.  This is the work of God, at work in the Son, at work in us, drawing us up into His very life.  This is the God who is nearer to us than we are to our selves.

Then, on Good Friday, we celebrate the passion and death of Jesus, that makes all this possible...which of course is capped and culminates in the resurrection.  So, good People of God, we have much to celebrate this week.  We have much to receive.  We have much to give in faith.  Celebrate well this Holy Week!

[maykel]

50 Things You Need To Give Up Today

By: Anlex Basilio



When you stop chasing the wrong things, you give the right things a chance to catch you. So starting today...

Give up trying to be perfect. – The real world doesn't reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.  Read Getting Things Done.



Give ...up comparing yourself to others. – The only person you are competing against is yourself.



Give up dwelling on the past or worrying too much about the future. – Right now is the only moment guaranteed to you.  Right now is life.  Don't miss it.



Give up complaining. – Do something about it.Give up holding grudges. – Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness.



Give up waiting. – What we don't start today won't be finished by tomorrow.  Knowledge and intelligence are both useless without action.



Give up lying. – In the long-run the truth always reveals itself.  Either you own up to your actions or your actions will ultimately own you.



Give up trying to avoid mistakes. – The only mistake that can truly hurt you is choosing to do nothing simply because you're too scared to make a mistake.



Give up saying, "I can't." – As Henry Ford put it, "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are right."



Give up trying to be everything to everyone. – Making one person smile can change the world.  Maybe not the whole world, but their world.  Start small.  Start now.



Give up thinking you're not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises.  Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won't feel totally comfortable at first.



Give up setting small goals for yourself. – Many people set small goals because they're afraid to fail.  Ironically, setting these small goals is what makes them fail.



Give up trying to do everything by yourself. – You are the sum of the people you spend the most time with.  If you work together, you will be far more capable and powerful than you ever could have been alone.



Give up buying things you don't need. – Manage your money wisely so your money does not manage you.  Do not spend to impress others.  Do not live life trying to fool yourself into thinking wealth is measured in material objects.  Read I Will Teach You To Be Rich.



Give up blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can live your dream life depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life.  When you blame others for what you're going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.



Give up making mountains out of molehills. – One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: "Will this matter in one year's time?  Three years?  Five years?  If not, then it's not worth worrying about.



Give up trying to live up to the expectations of others. – Work on it for real and exceed your own expectations.  Everything else will fall into place.



Give up the 'easy street' mentality. – There is too much emphasis on finding a 'quick fix' in today's society.  For example taking diet pills to lose weight instead of exercising and eating well.  No amount of magic fairy dust replaces diligent, focused, hard work.



Give up making promises you can't keep. – Don't over-promise.  Over-deliver on everything you do.



Give up letting your thoughts and feelings bottle up inside. – People are not mind readers.  They will never know how you feel unless you tell them.



Give up beating around the bush. – Say what you mean and mean what you say.  Communicate effectively.



Give up avoiding change. – However good or bad a situation is now, it will change.  That's the one thing you can count on.  So embrace change and realize that change happens for a reason.  It won't always be easy or obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it.



Give up your sense of entitlement. – Nobody is entitled to anything in this world.  We are all equal.  We breathe the same air.  We get what we give.  We get what we earn.



Give up waiting until the last minute. – Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.



Give up being dramatic. – Stay out of other people's drama and don't needlessly create your own.



Give up being anti-athletic. – Get your body moving!  Simply take a long, relaxing walk or commit 30 minutes to an at-home exercise program like the P90X workout.



Give up junk food. – You are what you eat.  Read The 4-Hour Body.



Give up eating as a means of entertainment. – Don't eat when you're bored.  Eat when you're hungry.



Give up foolish habits that you know are foolish. – Don't text and drive.  Don't drink and drive.  Don't smoke.  Etc.



Give up relationships with people who bring you down. – Saying "no" to right people gives you the time and resources required to say "yes" to right opportunities.  Spend time with nice people who are smart, driven and likeminded.



Give up being shy. – Network with people.  Meet new people.  Ask questions.  Introduce yourself.



Give up worrying about what others think of you. – Unless you're trying to make a great first impression (job interview, first date, etc.), don't let the opinions of others stand in your way.  What they think and say about you isn't important.  What is important is how you feel about yourself.



Give up trying to control everything. – Life is an unpredictable phenomenon.  No matter how good or bad things seem right now, we can never be 100% certain what will happen next.  So do you best with what's in front of you and leave the rest to the powers above you.



Give up doing the same thing over and over again. – In order to grow, you must expand your horizons and break free of your comfort zone.  If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting.



Give up following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile.  Don't find the easy way out.  Do something extraordinary.



Give up persistent multi-tasking. – Do one thing at a time and do it right.



Give up thinking others are luckier than you. – The harder you work, the luckier you will become.



Give up filling every waking moment with commitments and activities. – It's okay to be alone.  It's okay to do nothing sometimes.  Think.  Relax. Breathe.  Be.



Give up making emotional decisions. – Don't let your emotions trump your intelligence.  Slow down and think things through before you make any life-changing decisions.



Give up doing the wrong things just because you can get away with it. – Just because you can get away with something doesn't mean you should do it.  Think bigger.  Keep the end in mind.  Do what you know in your heart is right.



Give up focusing on what you don't want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen.  Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story.  If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you'll often find that you're right.



Give up taking yourself so seriously. – Few others do anyway.  So enjoy yourself and have a little fun while you can.



Give up spending your life working in a career field you're not passionate about. – Life is too short for such nonsense.  The right career choice is based on one key point: Finding hard work you love doing.  So if you catch yourself working hard and loving every minute of it, don't stop.  You're on to something big.  Because hard work ain't hard when you concentrate on your passions.  Read The 4-Hour Workweek.



Give up thinking about the things you don't have. – Appreciate everything you do have.  Many people aren't so lucky.



Give up doubting others. – People who are determined do remarkable things.  Remember, the one who says it can't be done should never interrupt the one doing it.



Give up fussing with every beauty product on the market. – Good looks attracts the eyes.  Personality attracts the heart.  Be proud to be you.  That's when you're beautiful.Give up trying to fit in. – Don't mold yourself into someone you're not.  Be yourself.  Oftentimes, the only reason they want you to fit in is that once you do they can ignore you and go about their business.



Give up trying to be different for the sake of being different. – Nonconformity for the sake of nonconformity is conformity.  When people try too hard to be different, they usually end up being just like everyone else who is trying to be different.  Once again, be yourself.



Give up trying to avoid risk. – There's no such thing as 'risk free.'  Everything you do or don't do has an inherent risk.



Give up putting your own needs on the back burner. – Yes, help others, but help yourself too.  If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now. And remember, mistakes make us human, failures help us grow, hope keeps us going and love is the reason we're alive.  So keep learning, loving and living.  Never give up on yourself.                       

[joshgroban]

St. Thomas says prayer is a mouthful of reason: oris ratio
In his treatment on Christian prayer in the Summa Theologica II-II, q 83, St. Thomas wants his students to see that prayer is not only something that involves deep emotions and desires, but that it also takes up all the powers of reason.  For him, prayer is not simply a naked impulse of the will toward the Divinity - but it also involves human intelligence raised on high by grace, by a participation in the very mind of the Living God.


Oris - what comes out of the mouth, what is expressed for someone to hear - in the case of prayer, this Someone is God.  Christians dare raise up their petitions with confidence because by faith in Christ and by baptism they have become the sons and daughters of the Most High.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, they voice (whether out loud or in the silent words of their hearts) desires, which no human speech can adequately express, with loving trust in Christ to their merciful Father.


Ratio indicates not only reason but also dimensions of "Logos" beyond what "word-verbum" immediately suggest to contemporary English speakers.  "Ratio-logos" also calls to mind truth, harmony, mediation.  Yet even in relation to the Latin Vulgate "Verbum," "Ratio" extends to the biblical concept of "dabar," God's word of power by which Divine Will is accomplished, the Word through whom all things were made.

On Earth as it is in Heaven: Prayer revealed and given by the Word made Flesh lifts up the soul into the canticle of praise sung in the heavens and through such a soul allows those harmonies to echo on earth.  Prayer mediates the true goodness and glory of God, even when the Lord appears all too absent.  Indeed the unfolding of the world and our lives in time and space is never accidental, but everything has been carefully planned for by the Author of Life from the beginning so that no matter what happens - we are always awaited by love.  In prayer all of creation resounds with the splendors of divine life, light and love which the Lord has longed to share from the beginning.

Wisdom, goodness and love characterize this plan: this is why the world explodes around us with such beauty even when everything seems to be going wrong.  Prayer enters into the Almighty's reasons for the most difficult things and finds Christ.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, grace infused reason sees beyond misery's deep abyss to contemplate the deeper abyss of Mercy: the Truth who is limit of every evil and falsehood, in whom is realized the victory of good over evil.

Christian's pray with a mouthful of reason - divine reason given as a gift from the Father for the salvation, not only of themselves, but of the whole world.  If it is a cry of the heart - a cry of recognition and love embracing both trials and joys - it is also a spoken truth which shakes the foundations of the heavens and the earth, standing firm on the Word Himself.  And for those who most need it, at death's hour or some other insurmountable trial, the spoken truth of such prayer is a light that shines in the darkness, a flickering hope which anchors the cosmos in the hand of God.

[joshgroban]

hope it inspires us to value lives :


45 Seconds: Memoirs of an ER Doctor from May 22, 2011

3 45 Seconds: Memoirs of an ER Doctor from May 22, 2011
by Kevin J. Kikta, DO on Jun 01, 2011 in Featured, Those in Need
       

My name is Dr. Kevin Kikta, and I was one of two emergency room doctors who were on duty at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, MO on Sunday, May 22, 2011.

You never know that it will be the most important day of your life until the day is over.  The day started like any other day for me: waking up, eating, going to the gym, showering, and going to my 4:00 pm ER shift. As I drove to the hospital I mentally prepared for my shift as I always do, but nothing could ever have prepared me for what was going to happen on this shift.  Things were normal for the first hour and half.   At approximately 5:30 pm we received a warning that a tornado had been spotted. Although I work in Joplin and went to medical school in Oklahoma, I live in New Jersey, and I have never seen or been in a tornado.  I learned that a  "code gray" was being called.  We were to start bringing patients to safer spots within the ED and hospital.

At 5:42 pm a security guard yelled to everyone, "Take cover! We are about to get hit by a tornado!"  I ran with a pregnant RN, Shilo Cook, while others scattered to various places, to the only place that I was familiar with in the hospital without windows, a small doctor's office in the ED. Together, Shilo and I tremored and huddled under a desk.  We heard a loud horrifying sound like a large locomotive ripping through the hospital.  The whole hospital shook and vibrated as we heard glass shattering, light bulbs popping, walls collapsing, people screaming,  the ceiling caving in above us, and water pipes breaking, showering water down on everything.  We suffered this in complete darkness, unaware of anyone else's status, worried, scared. We could feel a tight pressure in our heads as the tornado annihilated the hospital and the surrounding area.  The whole process took about 45 seconds, but seemed like eternity. The hospital had just taken a direct hit from a category EF5 tornado.

Then it was over.  Just 45 seconds.  45 long seconds.  We looked at each other, terrified, and thanked God that we were alive.  We didn't know, but hoped that it was safe enough to go back out to the ED, find the rest of the staff and patients, and assess our losses.

"Like a bomb went off. "  That's the only way that I can describe what we saw next.  Patients were coming into the ED in droves.  It was absolute, utter chaos.  They were limping, bleeding, crying, terrified, with debris and glass sticking out of them, just thankful to be alive.  The floor was covered with about 3 inches of water, there was no power, not even backup generators, rendering it completely dark and eerie in the ED.  The frightening aroma of methane gas leaking from the broken gas lines permeated the air; we knew, but did not dare mention aloud, what that meant.  I redoubled my pace.

We had to use flashlights to direct ourselves to the crying and wounded.  Where did all the flashlights come from?  I'll never know, but immediately, and thankfully, my years of training in emergency procedures kicked in.  There was no power, but our mental generators were up and running, and on high test adrenaline.  We had no cell phone service in the first hour, so we were not even able to call for help and backup in the ED.

I remember a patient in his early 20's gasping for breath, telling me that he was going to die.  After a quick exam, I removed the large shard of glass from his back, made the clinical diagnosis of a pneumothorax (collapsed lung) and gathered supplies from wherever I could locate them to insert a thoracostomy tube in him.  He was a trooper; I'll never forget his courage.  He allowed me to do this without any local anesthetic since none could be found. With his life threatening injuries I knew he was running out of time, and it had to be done.  Quickly.  Imagine my relief when I heard a big rush of air, and breath sounds again; fortunately, I was able to get him transported out. I immediately moved on to the next patient, an asthmatic in status asthmaticus.  We didn't even have the option of trying a nebulizer treatment or steroids, but I was able to get him intubated using a flashlight that I held in my mouth.  A small child of approximately 3-4 years of age was crying; he had a large avulsion of skin to his neck and spine.  The gaping wound revealed his cervical spine and upper thoracic spine bones.  I could actually count his vertebrae with my fingers.  This was a child, his whole life ahead of him, suffering life threatening wounds in front of me, his eyes pleading me to help him..  We could not find any pediatric C collars in the darkness, and water from the shattered main pipes was once again showering down upon all of us. Fortunately, we were able to get him immobilized with towels, and start an IV with fluids and pain meds before shipping him out.  We felt paralyzed and helpless ourselves.   I didn't even know a lot of the RN's I was working with.  They were from departments scattered all over the hospital. It didn't matter.  We worked as a team, determined to save lives.  There were no specialists available — my orthopedist was trapped in the OR.  We were it, and we knew we had to get patients out of the hospital as quickly as possible.  As we were shuffling them out, the fire department showed up and helped us to evacuate.  Together we worked furiously, motivated by the knowledge and fear that the methane leaks to cause the hospital could blow up at any minute.

Things were no better outside of the ED. I saw a man crushed under a large SUV, still alive, begging for help; another one was dead, impaled by a street sign through his chest.   Wounded people were walking, staggering, all over, dazed and shocked.   All around us was chaos, reminding me of scenes in a war movie, or newsreels from bombings in Bagdad.  Except this was right in front of me and it had happened in just 45 seconds.  My own car was blown away.  Gone. Seemingly evaporated.  We searched within a half mile radius later that night, but never found the car, only the littered, crumpled remains of former cars.  And a John Deere tractor that had blown in from miles away.

Tragedy has a way of revealing human goodness.  As I worked, surrounded by devastation and suffering, I realized I was not alone.  The people of the community of Joplin were absolutely incredible.  Within minutes of the horrific event, local residents showed up in pickups and sport utility vehicles, all offering to help transport the wounded to other facilities, including Freeman, the trauma center literally across the street.  Ironically, it had sustained only minimal damage and was functioning (although I'm sure overwhelmed).  I carried on, grateful for the help of the community.   

Within hours I estimated that over 100 EMS units showed up from various towns, counties and  four different states. Considering the circumstances, their response time was miraculous.  Roads were blocked with downed utility lines, smashed up cars in piles, and they still made it through.

We continued to carry patients out of the hospital on anything that we could find: sheets, stretchers, broken doors, mattresses, wheelchairs—anything that could be used as a transport mechanism.

As I finished up what I could do at St John's, I walked with two RN's, Shilo Cook and Julie Vandorn, to a makeshift MASH center that was being set up miles away at Memorial Hall.  We walked where flourishing neighborhoods once stood, astonished to see only the disastrous remains of flattened homes, body parts, and dead people everywhere.  I saw a small dog just wimpering in circles over his master who was dead, unaware that his master would not ever play with him again.  At one point we tended to a young woman who just stood crying over her dead mother who was crushed by her own home.  The young woman covered her mother up with a blanket and then asked all of us,  "What should I do?"  We had no answer for her, but silence and tears.

By this time news crews and photographers were starting to swarm around, and we were able to get a ride to Memorial Hall from another RN.  The chaos was slightly more controlled at Memorial Hall.  I was relieved to see many of my colleagues, doctors from every specialty, helping out.  It was amazing to be able to see life again.  It was also amazing to see how fast workers mobilized to set up this MASH unit under the circumstances. Supplies, food, drink, generators, exam tables, all were there—except pharmaceutical pain meds. I sutured multiple lacerations, and splinted many fractures, including some open with bone exposed, and then intubated another patient with severe COPD, slightly better controlled conditions this time, but still less than optimal.

But we really needed pain meds.  I managed to go back to the St John's with another physician, pharmacist, and a sheriff's officer. Luckily, security let us in to a highly guarded pharmacy to bring back a garbage bucket sized supply of pain meds.

At about midnight I walked around the parking lot of St. John's with local law enforcement officers looking for anyone who might be alive or trapped in crushed cars.  They spray-painted "X"s on the fortunate vehicles that had been searched without finding anyone inside. The unfortunate vehicles wore "X's" and sprayed-on numerals, indicating the  number of dead inside,  crushed in their cars, cars  which now resembled flattened  recycled aluminum cans the tornado had crumpled  in her iron hands, an EF5 tornado, one of the worst in history, whipping through this quiet town with demonic strength.  I continued back to Memorial hall into the early morning hours until my ER colleagues told me it was time for me to go home.  I was completely exhausted.  I had seen enough of my first tornado.

How can one describe these indescribable scenes of destruction?  The next day I saw news coverage of this horrible, deadly tornado.  It was excellent coverage, and Mike Bettes from the Weather Channel did a great job, but there is nothing that pictures and video can depict compared to seeing it in person. That video will play forever in my mind.

I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to everyone involved in helping during this nightmarish disaster.  My fellow doctors, RN's, techs, and all of the staff from St. John's.  I have worked at St John's for approximately 2 years, and I have always been proud to say that I was a physician at St John's in Joplin, MO.  The smart, selfless and immediate response of the professionals and the community during this catastrophe proves to me that St John's and the surrounding community are special.  I am beyond proud.

To the members of this community, the health care workers from states away, and especially Freeman Medical Center, I commend everyone on unselfishly coming together and giving 110% the way that you all did, even in your own time of need. St John's Regional Medical Center is gone, but her spirit and goodness lives on in each of you.

EMS, you should be proud of yourselves.  You were all excellent, and did a great job despite incredible difficulties and against all odds

For all of the injured who I treated, although I do not remember your names (nor would I expect you to remember mine) I will never forget your faces.  I'm glad that I was able to make a difference and help in the best way that I knew how, and hopefully give some of you a chance at rebuilding your lives again.  For those whom I was not able to get to or treat, I apologize whole heartedly.

Last, but not least, thank you, and God bless you, Mercy/St John's for providing incredible care in good times and even more so, in times of the unthinkable, and for all the training that enabled us to be a team and treat the people and save lives.

[joshgroban]

http://vimeo.com/11560198

[joshgroban]

BURNS


A young man sprinkling his lawn and bushes with pesticides wanted to check the contents of the barrel to see how much pesticide remained in it.  He raised the cover and lit his lighter; the vapors inflamed and engulfed him.  He jumped from his truck, screaming.  His neighbor came out of her house with a dozen eggs, yelling: "bring me some eggs!"  She broke them, separating the whites from the yolks.  The neighbor woman helped her to apply the whites on the young man's face.  When the ambulance arrived and when the EMTs saw the young man, they asked who had done this.  Everyone pointed to the lady in charge.  They congratulated her and said: "You have saved his face."  By the end of the summer, the young man brought the lady a bouquet of roses to thank her.  His face was like a baby's skin.

Healing Miracle for burns:


Keep in mind this treatment of burns which is included in teaching beginner fireman this method.  First aid consists to spraying cold water on the affected area until the heat is reduced and stops burning the layers of skin.  Then, spread egg whites on the affected are.


One woman burned a large part of her hand with boiling water.  In spite of the pain, she ran cold faucet water on her hand, separated 2 egg white from the yolks, beat them slightly and dipped her hand in the solution.  The whites then dried and formed a protective layer.


She later learned that the egg white is a natural collagen and continued during at least one hour to apply layer upon layer of beaten egg white.  By afternoon she no longer felt any pain and the next day there was hardly a trace of the burn.  10 days later, no trace was left at all and her skin had regained its normal color.  The burned area was totally regenerated thanks to the collagen in the egg whites, a placenta full of vitamins.


This information could be helpful to everyone:  Please pass it on . . .

[talakitok88]

aray, ang hahaba

[joshgroban]

The 3 Characteristics of an Educated Man

What defines an educated man? The number of degrees he has? The size of his vocabulary? How many books he's read?

The qualities that constitute an educated man can be argued over and debated. But I was really taken with the description I found in the book How to Live the Good Life by Commander Edward Whitehead (the Schweppes guy!). He said:

    "An educated man has been defined as one who can entertain himself, one who can entertain another, and one who can entertain a new idea."

Let's take a look at each of these characteristics.
Can Entertain Himself

    "Only those who want everything done for them are bored." –Billy Graham

"I'm bored!" is the plaintive cry uttered by many a child idling away their summer vacation or fall break. They expect their parents to come up with an activity to cure this boredom (if your mom was like mine, she would always make a wry suggestion like, "How about cleaning up your room?").

Unfortunately, many men never outgrow this need to be entertained by others and don't develop into manly self-starters. This is the man who puts his head down on the dinner table as people talk after eating (I've seen it), the college student who grouses his way through a class outing to the local museum, and the houseguest who comes to visit your fair city and has no idea what he'd like to do during his stay; he leaves all the planning to you.

The reason that children are perennially bored is not that there aren't entertainment options available—they're often surrounded by toys and games—but that they have such short attention spans. They play with one thing for a little bit and then another, and then don't know what else to do. The educated man is able to lose himself in a task, a hobby, a conversation, or a book because he has developed his powers of focus and concentration.

    "When people are bored, it is primarily with themselves." –Eric Hoffer

Of course these days, with an iPhone always at hand, amusing yourself isn't very difficult. Anyone can surf or text the boredom away. The real test for the modern educated man is the ability to entertain himself when technology isn't available or is not socially acceptable to whip out. Can you entertain yourself at a boring meeting, while camping, while conversing at a dinner party? The educated man can, and he does it, ironically enough, by retaining an important ability of his childhood—curiosity. The educated man is insatiably curious about the world around him and other people. In any situation, he sees something to learn, study, and observe. If he's stuck somewhere with neither phone nor company,  he uses the time to untangle a philosophical problem he's been wrestling with; the mind of the educated man is a repository of ideas that he can pull out and examine to pass the time in any situation.
Can Entertain a Friend

If someone is of the dull, non-self-starting kind, lucky is he to have a friend who is an educated man to entertain him!

The educated man is the life of the party, the man who keeps the conversation lively and is known to be unfailing engaging.

He is able to do this because of the breadth of his reading and his experiences. He has an arsenal of interesting tales at the ready about his travels and endeavors. And he's up on the latest news stories and interesting scientific break-throughs.  No matter the demographics of the group he's with, he knows a story that will appeal to them.

Abraham Lincoln is a good example of an educated man who could entertain others. Though Lincoln only had one year of formal education, he read voraciously and dedicated himself to lifelong learning. The result was the ability to talk to anybody about anything and leave them entertained. Adeline Judd, the wife of Illinois Congressman Norman Judd, recounted an experience of being entertained one evening by the musings of Abe Lincoln:

    "Mr. Lincoln, whose home," she writes, "was far inland from the Great Lakes, seemed stirred by the wondrous beauty of the scene and by its very impressiveness was carried away from all thoughts of the earth. In that high-pitched but smooth-toned voice he began to speak of the mystery which for ages enshrouded and shut out those distant worlds above us from our own; of the poetry and beauty which was seen and felt by seers of old when they contemplated Orion and Arcturus as they wheeled seemingly around the earth in their mighty course; of the discoveries since the invention of the telescope which had thrown a flood of light and knowledge on what before was incomprehensible and mysterious; of the wonderful computations of scientists who had measured the miles of seemingly endless space which separated the planets in our solar system from our central sun and our sun from other suns which were now gemming the heavens above us with their resplendent beauty.

    "When the night air became too chilly to remain longer on the piazza, we went into the parlor where, seated on the sofa his long limbs stretching across the carpet and his arms folded about him, Mr. Lincoln went on to speak of the discoveries and inventions which had been made during the long lapse of time between the present and those early days when man began to make use of the material things about him. He speculated upon the possibilities of the knowledge which an increased power of the lens would give in the years to come, and then the wonderful discoveries of late centuries, as proving that beings endowed with such capabilities as man must be immortal and created for some high and noble end by Him who had spoken these numberless worlds into existence."

    "We were all indescribably impressed," continues Mrs. Judd, "by Mr. Lincoln's conversation. After he had gone Mr. Judd remarked: 'The more I see of Mr. Lincoln the more I am surprised at the range of his attainments and the wonderful store of knowledge he has acquired in the various departments of science and learning during the years of his constant labor at the bar. A professor at Yale could not have been more entertaining and instructive.'"

Of course among the many subjects the educated man has studied is that of human behavior and psychology, so he knows that people are most charmed when others seemed interested in them. Here Lincoln also excelled; as one of his biographers noted, "Like all truly great men he was a good listener."

While we're on the subject, I'd also add that a man should be able to tell a good joke. I guess it's gone out of fashion to tell real jokes, but I still enjoy them.
Can Entertain a New Idea

This might seem like the easiest one...how hard is it to be open-minded, right?

Well recent research into the way our minds work has shown that far from being the rational beings we flatter ourselves into believing we are, unbeknownst to us, our unconscious is constantly shaping our thoughts, beliefs, and motivations in irrational ways. For example because of "the backfire effect," when we're presented with evidence that contradicts our beliefs, instead of changing those beliefs, they become even more entrenched. "The confirmation bias" makes us seek out and only pay attention to new information that confirms our preexisting notions, while we let information that contradicts those notions go over our heads. And "the sunk-cost fallacy" pushes us to stick with a less sensible or desirable option instead of choosing something better, because we've already invested time, money, or emotion in it.

In other words, our unconscious minds see our personal ideas as a great treasure, and competing ideas as would-be looters; when they're detected by the unconscious' security system, it unleashes the dogs and locks the gate. If you look at a brain scan of people who are listening to a political argument that contradicts their own position, the blood in the part of the brain responsible for rational thought is depleted and is not replenished until the person hears a statement that confirms their position. When confronted with new ideas, your brain literally closes up shop and throws down the blinds until a friendly and well-known visitor knocks at the door.

All of which is to say, the ability to entertain new ideas does not come naturally. Your conscious mind has to turn off the unconscious' security system and say, "Okay, I know what's going on here. Let's not be so hasty. I'm not sure if that's a looter or a new friend. Why don't we first check and see?"

Entertaining a new idea doesn't necessarily mean accepting it and changing your beliefs every time you're presented with a different take on things. As it has been said, "Be opened-minded, but not so open-minded that your brain falls out."

Rather, you should entertain an idea in the same way you entertain a guest. You talk with him in a public setting first, at a distance. If you're intrigued, you then invite him over for a chat. You spend some time getting to know him. And if he turns out to be a bad apple, you stop letting him come around. But sometimes, the person you didn't think you had anything in common with becomes your new best friend.

The educated man has an easier time in seeing this. His varied experiences and studies have given him multiple opportunities to see how the information he has learned has changed his opinions–even if it took those new ideas a long time to be invited in. The sheltered man who only interacts with people just like him and only reads things that confirm his preconceived ideas will not have these experiences to draw upon, and will thus greet all new ideas like menacing strangers, shaking his fist at them from the safety of the other side of his crocodile-infested moat.

What do you think are the characteristics that define an educated man?

[ctan]

ok to josh. hehehe!

[joshgroban]

haha parang ikaw ba ...mwahahaha

[ctan]

^^ hahahaha! wala akong sonabi monch! hahahaha! kape tayo ngayon!