Costa Rica's Centenarians

Living Healthy to 100

By Dan Buettner, May & June 2008

A remarkable group of centenarians living on Costa Rica ’s Nicoya Peninsula share their secrets

http://www.aarpmagazine.org/lifestyle/living_healthy_to_100.html

Watch a Video of 100-Year-Old Panchita Castillo and Learn Costa Rican Secrets of Longevity

way past time for action.

so i realize that i only seem to post blogs that are serious or political in nature. sorry 'bout that. [add canadian accent]. this post, however, is no exception.

i am appalled at the lack of action in the Darfur region of Sudan. we have been hearing about this humanitarian crisis for nearly FIVE EFFING YEARS. to date, more than 200,000 people have been killed by the Sudanese government (via the janjaweed militia they support) and 2 million others have been forced out of their homes while they watched them burn, running for their lives, not to mention the systematic sexual assault and raping of millions of women and children.

thus far the only efforts made have been at engaging the very government sponsoring the ethnic cleansing and violence. perhaps the most heart-breaking depictions of the crisis come from the children. (see right)

i guess the reason for this latest outburst is that i just read something about how the new Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, who says the Darfur crisis as one of his top priorities in office. um, yeah, clearly. (see below)

The new Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced plans today to enter immediately into diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed in the Sudanese region, holding a meeting with his senior envoy tomorrow and attending an African Union (AU) summit later this month.

yeah, so, as i was saying....

this is such an insult. the African Union is a joke. not to mention the diplomatic "process". The bottom line is that the innocent people being raped and killed need REAL SOLDIERS WITH GUNS not the measly few "peacekeeping" troops that can't do anything but witness the atrocities. meeting after meeting calling for an "end to the bloodshed" is worthless while the people on the ground are suffering.

after Rwanda, the world that closed its eyes and turned its back on Africa said "never again". i find it shocking and devestating that those words would ring so hollow only a decade later.

you've got to be kidding me

the religion of peace strikes again...
this is so disturbing i don't even know what to say.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234817,00.html
Somalia Town Threatens to Behead People Who Don't Pray 5 Times DailyWednesday, December 06, 2006

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Residents of a southern Somalia town who do not pray five times a day will be beheaded, an official said Wednesday, adding the edict will be implemented in three days.

Shops, tea houses and other public places in Bulo Burto, about 124 miles northeast of the capital, Mogadishu, should be closed during prayer time and no one should be on the streets, said Sheik Hussein Barre Rage, the chairman of the town's Islamic court. His court is part of a network backed by armed militiamen that has taken control of much of southern Somalia in recent months, bringing a strict interpretation of Islam that is alien to many Somalis.

Those who do not follow the prayer edict after three days have elapsed, "will definitely be beheaded according to Islamic law," Rage told The Associated Press by phone. "As Muslims we should practice Islam fully, not in part, and that is what our religion enjoins us to do."

He said the edict, which covered only Bulo Burto, was being announced over loudspeakers throughout the town.Somalia's Islamic courts have made varying interpretations of Koranic law, some applying a more strict and radical version of Islam than others.

Some of the courts have introduced public executions, floggings of convicts, bans on women swimming in Mogadishu's public beaches and on the sale and chewing of khat, a leafy stimulant consumed across the Horn of Africa and in the Middle East.

Veterans Day 2006

This might have been the first year I really celebrated Veterans Day. I decided, since I was so close, that I would go to the war memorials in Washington, D.C. After visiting the Lincoln Monument, I went to the Viet Nam Memorial. The entire mall was buzzing with visitors, and the black wall was hidden behind the many people searching for names and remembering. While I was reflecting on this statue and the men it represented, I overheard someone say "today is the birthday of the marines." Just then, I heard the sound of a the bagpipes and looked up to see a man, dressed in full bagpipe- regalia playing the Marine Fight song. The solo was beautiful and sad to me. As I stood there and listened to the man playing in honor of the Viet Nam soldiers, I wondered about the many people around me who had also chosen this day to come here. After he finished the song, I thanked him and walked toward the WW2 memorial. As I walked slowly along the reflecting pool, I could hear strains of Amazing Grace.

I'd never before seen the WW2 memorial. It is beautifully done and clearly pays tribute to the men and women who fought all over the world and at home. As President Truman said, "Our debt to the heroic men and valient women in the service of our country can never been repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices." This monument stands to that end. We will never forget.

As I sat watching the fountains and remembering, I couldn't help but notice the many other visitors there. I saw a man in a wheelchair that looked like he could be a veteran of World War II being pushed by a younger woman (daughter?) and another young man (grandson?) on his other side. I saw what looked like a group of middle-school students spreading out to explore. It was touching to see so many Americans (and others) who were both remembering and learning, but all honoring those who made a difference in such an important time in the world's history.

"Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won. The skies no longer rain death- the seas bear only commerce- men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. The entire world is quietly at peace." -Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Next, I walked on to the Korea War Memorial. This memorial was of particular interest to me as it is the only war during which my father was in the navy. I was fortunate enough to be there to witness a ceremony honoring a man who won a medal of honor and the man he carried for 10 miles. It was touching to see these two men, so many years later, with their families, remembing and also being honored. I shook hands with the hero and said simply, "Thank you." There was another young soldier in a wheelchair, legs amputated from the knees down, that was there to shake his hand. It was just another small reminder of all that our veterans sacrifice in the line of duty.

In case you can't read the inscription at the front of the memorial (to the left) it reads:

OUR NATION HONORS HER SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHO ANSWERED THE CALL TO DEFEND A COUNTRY THEY NEVER KNEW AND A PEOPLE THEY NEVER MET

After I got home that night, I looked up the congressional medal of honor winners. I read story after story of courage, love and valor "above and beyond the call of duty." It was not only inspiring, it was humbling.

I must admit, this was the first Veteran's Day in my life that I really reflected on how much we owe to our veterans, at least for the entire day. This important holiday will never again be another day off work for me. It will forever be a day of honor and remembrance.

whats really wrong

well, i decided to write a rant. my other blogs don't seem to be that exciting to people, so here goes.

i have figured out the secret to solving all the problems in this country:
term limits.

congressmen are in the re-election business and thats about it. if they weren't so busy pleasing their constituents (pick a senator and just look at what their big issues are: ie, orrin hatch =utah=nuskin=fda regulation), then maybe some real progress would be made.

another thing to add to term limits: no gifts of any sort. i realize that a lot of lobbyists would be out of jobs, but if congressmen had to buy their own lunches, their focus and perspective might be a little less tainted. but what congressmen are going to vote themselves out of their cushy salaries and free lunches?

"It is, however, vast anonymous wealth which corrupts, since there are no superpersonal restraints on it, such as bring the true statesman completely into of the service of the political organism, and place him above corruption." --Francis P. Yockey

Ralph Waldo Emerson's Birthday

This Day in History: May 25, 1803

Essayist, philosopher, and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston on May 25, 1803.
A popular, if unconventional preacher, young Emerson's sermons consisted of personal reflections on spirituality and virtue. He avoided expounding doctrine or engaging in scriptural exegesis. Increasingly dissatisfied with traditional protestant theology, Emerson resigned from the ministry in 1832. By the end of the decade, however, he was the leading exponent of transcendentalism, a philosophy that maintains the universality of creation, upholds the intrinsic goodness of man, and grounds truth in personal insight.

"We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds...A nation of men will for the first time exist, because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which also inspires all men."

From the 1830s on, Emerson was a member of the transcendentalist community that not only shared radical religious views, but also embraced forward-looking social reforms including abolition, temperance, and women's suffrage.

A prolific writer and thinker, his collected essays earned international acclaim, and, for decades, Emerson remained a popular lecturer.

Source: Library of Congress & Wikipedia.org

quote of the day

“While the laughter of joy is in full harmony with our deeper life, the laughter of amusement should be kept apart from it. The danger is too great of thus learning to look at solemn things in a spirit of mockery, and to seek in them opportunities for exercising wit.” —Lewis Carroll, author (1832–1898)

to my dear and loving husband

If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let's so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever.
-anne bradstreet (1612-1672)

feature: einstein

Quote of the Week: "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
—Albert Einstein, U.S. (German–born) physicist (1879–1955)

Trivia Question of the Week:
Einstein was unaware of the future of atomic weapons development when he addressed the issue in the “Atlantic Monthly” magazine in November, 1945, and again in November, 1947. What did he think should be done with the secret of the atomic bomb at that time?
A: Give it to a world government founded by Russia, the U.S., and Great Britain
B: Give it to Russia to maintain a balance of power
C: Hand it over to the United Nations
D: Destroy all traces of its development

Try your hand at a riddle Einstein himself created here.