Maryannaville™ » *am

To our Aussie Mates, Happy Australia Day!

*am — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:01:07 +0000

A large party of Taliban soldiers are moving down a road when they hear a voice call from behind a sand-dune. “One Australian soldier is better than ten Taliban.”

The Taliban commander quickly sends 10 of his best soldiers over the dune whereupon a gun-battle breaks out and continues for a few minutes, then silence.

The same voice then calls out: “One Australian is better than a hundred Taliban soldiers.”

Furious, the Taliban Commander sends his next best 100 troops over the dune And instantly a huge gunfight commences. After 10 minutes of battle, again silence.

The Aussie voice called out, “One Australian is better than one thousand Taliban”.

The enraged Taliban Commander musters a thousand fighters and sends them over the dune.Cannon, rocket and machine gun fire rings out as a huge battle is fought. Then silence.

Finally, one wounded Taliban fighter crawls back over the sand-dune and, with his dying words, tells his commander,

“Don’t send any more men, its a trap. There’s two of them over there!”

Originally posted 2010-01-25 16:22:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Music Monday: Word Jazz-Tim Minchin style

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:17:09 +0000

Tim Minchin has to be one of the hottest numbers in the world of live entertainment today. He combines his music in a word jazz style in his stage performances that only Tim can perform. Additionally, Minchin’s poem, Storm, has been used in an animated movie created by UK animator Fraser Davidson. It may be released to the public shortly it seems since the trailer has been uploaded onto YouTube. If you have a few minutes to spare, check it out. Tim Minchin rocks! Also, Fraser Davidson has a blog that is all about the production of Storm. Uploaded, it has some of Storm’s character art and early test animations and once the movie is released, I will link to it, once it is released.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

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Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links…

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Originally posted 2010-01-18 02:33:19. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Cat Food commission and Diane Feinstein’s Mission:

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:17:08 +0000

Retrieved from my inbox a short while ago. Written by Matt Lockshin

You can bet Dianne Feinstein will never have to eat cat food. But that may not be true for seniors, low-income people and other at-risk folks if she gets her way. There’s a powerful movement in Washington, D.C. demanding big cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Thursday that those “entitlement” programs should be slashed to bring the budget under control, instead of raising taxes on the wealthy who have benefited from his bailouts.

Now, in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Senator Dianne Feinstein is preparing to help Bernanke achieve his goal. That’s why the Courage Campaign and CREDO Action are teaming up to stop Senator Feinstein before it’s too late. Will you join us in demanding that Sen. Feinstein stop trying to undermine Social Security and Medicare and start expanding health care? Please sign our joint action now.

Senator Feinstein is trying to ram through far-reaching legislation that would lead to major cuts to Social Security and Medicare — before there can be any debate or the public even knows what is going on. The Senate should be working to expand health care programs and aid to those suffering from the recession, instead of pulling the rug out from under them. We’ve saved Social Security once before in 2005. Now we need to step up and both Social Security and Medicare from Dianne Feinstein.

Join in and demand that Sen. Feinstein stop trying to undermine Social Security and Medicare and start expanding health care. Click here to take action.

It gets worse. Sen. Feinstein is holding the economy hostage to force Congress to cave in before the American public has a chance to find out what’s going on.

Sen. Feinstein has joined with Republicans and conservative Democrats to demand Congress cede special legislative power to an unelected commission convened to slash government spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The commission would be able to offer legislation in both chambers of Congress that could not be filibustered or amended and that would pass on simple majority vote.

To ensure this comes to a vote, Sen. Feinstein is threatening to create a new financial panic. Because the U.S. government has already hit its debt ceiling, Congress must pass a law to raise it or else the government will default on its debt, causing economic havoc. The threat? Sen. Feinstein has publicly declared that she will not vote to raise the debt ceiling unless other Democrats agree to create what some are calling the “cat food commission” — a backdoor attempt to make critical cuts to Social Security and Medicare that will endanger the lives of our nation’s senior citizens.

Join the Courage Campaign and CREDO Action today and tell Sen. Feinstein that she needs to get her priorities straight — and place the needs of senior citizens over devastating cuts to the the programs that safeguard their health and well-being. Pressure placed on Sen. Feinstein this summer, along with Courage and CREDO, helped force her to support the public option. Now you can help save Social Security and Medicare by applying that pressure again.

Thank you for helping us push for progressive change in California and across the country.

Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager

CREDO Action from Working Assets

Note: I don’t practice this type of copy and paste type of publishing as a general rule, however, this is an exception to the rule.

Feinstein is clearly not thinking about the health, safety, or welfare of her aging constituents who have supported her throughout her time as Congresswoman. Instead, she wants to hold everyone by the short hair as her hostages in order to make herself look good. Additionally, it’s time that we remind her that we’re still here doing the best we can with what we have to work with and we certainly do not need covert Congressional thieves trying to pass one over on us by ripping off senior citizens pitiful monthly incomes. The state of California has already dipped into our pockets due to piss poor financial management as it been since the 70s.

Take the money out of your own pocket, Feinstein. The many fat cats in office can afford it and then some. Not one greedy fat cat in either Congress or the House of Representatives would collectively miss one penny.

Originally posted 2009-12-05 21:20:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The aftermath of an exploding star

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:17:07 +0000

This is the mess that is left when a star explodes. The Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova seen in 1054 AD, is filled with mysterious filaments. The filaments are not only tremendously complex, but appear to have less mass than expelled in the original supernova and a higher speed than expected from a free explosion. The above image, taken by the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT), is in three colors chosen for scientific interest. The Crab Nebula spans about 10 light-years. In the nebula’s very center lies a pulsar: a neutron star as massive as the Sun but with only the size of a small town. The Crab Pulsar rotates about 30 mes each second.

Originally posted 2006-05-23 09:27:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Curing Victimitis

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:17:06 +0000

Watch your thoughts; they lead to attitudes.
Watch your attitudes; they lead to words.
Watch your words; they lead to actions.
Watch your actions; they lead to habits.
Watch your habits; they form your character.
Watch your character; it determines your destiny.

These words of unknown origin tell us that our silent and often subconscious choices shape our future. Every aspect of our lives, at home and at work, can be improved if we use our power to think, reflect and make conscious choices about our thoughts, attitudes, words, actions and habits.

Instead, many of us think of ourselves as victims. We complain about our circumstances and what others did to us. Whatever psychological comfort there is in feeling powerless and blameless when things aren’t going right, in the end, victims lead unsatisfied lives.

We’re most vulnerable to victimitis when we’re under the influence of powerful emotions like fear, insecurity, anger, frustration, grief and depression. These feelings are so powerful, we truly believe our state of mind is inevitable. Our only hope is they will go away on their own. Yet it’s during times of emotional tumult that using our power to choose our thoughts and attitudes is most important. We can’t make pain go away, but we can refuse to suffer.

Even when we don’t like any of our choices, we do have some — once we realize we can take control. It isn’t easy, but what we do and how we choose to feel about ourselves has a profound impact on the quality of our lives. Victims may get sympathy for a while, but that isn’t nearly enough.

Taking personal responsibility for our happiness and success can be scary, but the payoff is enormous. Although we can’t make our lives perfect, we can make them better — usually a lot better.

lid dip to Michael Josephson of the Josephson Institute

Originally posted 2006-10-05 23:26:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

שנה טובה

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:17:05 +0000

For our many Jewish readers, friends, and family, Happy New Year! May you and your loved ones lives be filled with peace and joy enveloped in the warmest of wishes and good health throughout 5772.

Originally posted 2010-09-08 20:23:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

March 9th is ‘Get Over It’ Day.

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:17:04 +0000

For the Drama Queens and Kings in Our Lives, this is a repost on a very special day coming up here soon. It’s officially named, “Get Over It” day.

So what exactly is ‘Get Over It Day’? Here’s the impetus behind the creation of this annual celebration. It started last year, 2006, and, it was created with you in mind.

Everyone, at one time or another, has needed a little help or encouragement to let go of something, to forget about something and to just get over it!

Check it out, a new holiday has been created just for you, in your honor. The exact midpoint between Valentine’s Day and April Fool’s Day, March 9th, shall forever be known as ‘Get Over It Day’, an inspirational annual holiday to encourage people to get over whatever is holding them back.

Get Over It

Our friend and teacher Confucius so correctly observed…

‘To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.’

This week, focus on letting go of all those instances

when you were wronged in life by somebody or something.

Here’s a simple way to let go…

Take three or four long, slow, deep breaths, focus on the pauses between breaths.

Feel your consciousness shift into that calm well of silence that is the real you.

When you’re calm and centered, think about the most recent instance of when you believe someone did you wrong.

Feel the anger, resentment, or other negative emotion associated with that perceived wrong.

Now, breathe deeply.

As you exhale, let go completely of all that emotional weight that has been holding you down.

Ahhh, what a nice relief that is, isn’t it?

Repeat this exercise as often as you wish.

If you work diligently with this technique, you can let go of every wronged instance in your whole life and feel much better, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

And if you let go of all that old baggage with this exercise,

you’ll feel as light as a feather on a soft breeze.

Originally posted 2007-02-06 00:00:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:17:03 +0000

LoveAtFirst…Smell
Why do some males smell better than others? Scientists at Cardiff University, in collaboration with colleagues at Max-Plank Society, Germany – and the help of stickleback fish – have identified the chemical responsible.
The researchers found in a study of sticklebacks, that males with body odour that is particularly attractive to females produce small protein fragments (known as “peptides”).

Categories: science, bio+chemistry, peptides, Histocompatibility+Complex, (MHC),

Originally posted 2006-07-08 10:46:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

ZDNet’s Andrew Keene Kicked Ass Today

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:17:02 +0000

Craig Newmark thinks people on the Internet are trustworthy and “deeply okay.” He obviously hasn’t been reading the news recently. What, we wonder, would Craig have to say about live Internet suicides or the increasing amount of child abuse cases online?

Earth to Craig Newmark– what Internet are you on?

Originally posted 2007-04-16 21:49:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Study Investigates ‘Divorce’ Among Galapagos Seabirds

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:17:01 +0000

Being a devoted husband and father is not enough to keep an avian marriage together for the Nazca booby, a long-lived seabird found in the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. Many Nazca booby females switch mates after successfully raising a chick.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 13-Jun-2007

Originally posted 2007-06-18 05:29:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Ron Paul to Celebrate Life and Liberty In Iowa

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:17:00 +0000

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul will celebrate life and liberty at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, June 30th.

Dr. Paul will share his message of freedom, peace and prosperity at the Hy-Vee Hall, Room C, Iowa Events Center, 730 Third Street, Des Moines, Iowa. The rally will start immediately following the conclusion of the Presidential Candidates Forum sponsored by Iowans for Tax Relief and Iowa Christian Alliance at approximately 4:30 p.m.

The public is invited. Food and beverage will be provided to the first 500 people who arrive.

Originally posted 2007-06-23 10:44:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Neil Young: Impeach the President

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:16:59 +0000

Hear rocker Neil Young’s, “LivingWithWar”Album

Earlier this year, Neil Young told Rolling Stone,”I’m always going from one extreme to another.” True to form, just months after the release of his studio album Prairie Wind, the legendary singer-songwriter is returning with the incredibly politically charged Living With War. On the album, whipped up in just two angry weeks earlier this month, Young takes aim at the war in Iraq and President Bush — through songs including the Bush-basher “Let’s Impeach the President.”

Originally posted 2006-04-30 06:42:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Pogo Moose Incident – Fairbanks, Alaska

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:16:58 +0000

“They were laying new power cables which were strung on the ground for miles. The moose are rutting right now and very agitated. He was thrashing around and got his antlers stuck in the cables. When the men (miles away) began pulling the lines up with their big equipment, the moose went up with them. They noticed excess tension in the lines and went searching for the problem. He was still alive when they lowered him to the ground. He was a huge 60 inch bull and slightly peeved.”

Hung like a Moose

I don’t think this is what folks have in mind when they say, ‘hung like a moose.’

Originally posted 2006-12-27 15:29:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

One Bachelor’s Version of Celebrating

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:16:57 +0000

Originally posted 2006-12-24 20:04:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Mville quotes

*am — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:16:56 +0000

People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.
… Plato

Originally posted 2010-07-23 18:42:11. Republished by Blog Post Promoter