Point of interest, vol 2, #1

And we’re back.  With this blog now in its second year, I am resetting the counter for points of interest, my irregularly irregular romp through all things mind, body and soul on the internets.  I waited on this oune until the weekend when I have usually put these out and as such had too many great posts to include.  Sheesh, slow down bloggers.  If only my muse were so kind.  Anyway, without further delay, I present the best I could find-

Denial in an unjust world

   The blogosphere is one place where you will never find any shortage of opinions and punditry.  The recent election has been rife with partisan bickering and and all or nothing thinking.  The healthcare debate online suffers from much of the same problem.  It is fascinating to me how perceptions can vary from one person to another regarding the same reality.  

     Through it all, I cling to the idea that the vast majority of people are basically good.  At the same time, a look at history or the news makes quite clear that even good people are capable of doing some pretty horrible things.  Jonah Lehrer at Frontal Cortex recently shared a personal experience with one way that people with good intentions can make the world worse, the Just World Phenomenon.

Points of Interest, #34

Welcome again to my roundup of those things that stood out as educational, uplifting, inspiring, and downright funny in my journeying through the ethernet.  You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, or you’ll simply move on unimpressed.  Take your pick.

    This week I share the curse of a child’s imagination, the psychology of our politics, sacrifice, sorrow, and other such spiritual gifts, two medical specialties that are all in your head, alien hands, killer pandas and Raven-puffs, to name just some of the bounteous fruits I have gathered tirelessly and selflessly especially for you, the reader. 

So without further adieu, I present the absolute best I could find-

Points of Interest #27

It’s back, the feature in where I share all that is virtuous, lovely or of good report in my wandering to cyberspace.  I may have complained that I am sick of it in my last post but I am over that now.  Please disregard it, which I leave only as a reminder to me and warning to others about what happens when certain medications are stopped or skipped.   Instead, turn yourself to the very best of the past week in the Internet-

The Voice

(A note- Please don’t worry, I am not psychotic, not really hearing voices.  I am just referring to the automatic thoughts and inward conversation we all have, even when we are unaware that we are doing it.)

I am starting to feel it now.  I am tired.

I am tired of politics.  I am tired of people talking at other people.  I am tired of trying to reach the unreachable.  I am tired of doing things I usually enjoy.  This is the world of depression and I fear it is creeping back. I am tired of blog shouting matches.  I am tired of others condemning others who condemn them back.  I am tired of man’s inhumanity to man.  I am tired of writing.  I even sucked the joy out of the Olympics in my last post.  I am tired of fear and its ugly effect on people.  I am tired of writing.  I am tired of trying to wrestle out the beautiful, praiseworthy, and good report out of what I find, what I read, and what I write. 

   The voice is getting loud.  The voice is a pessimist.  It finds fault with anything I do.  I can’t write anything because it will not be good enough.  There is nothing worth writing.  There is just weariness.   A while back John D. at storied mind wrote about how creativity has at times burst him out of depression.  All I feel right now is depression stamping out creativity. 

 

Points of Interest, #25

Welcome, welcome one and all to the very best of the stuff I found laying around in cyberspace this week.  It may be a day late, but better late than never, I always say.  So without delay I present the very best I found on the Internet-

Possibilities

When I was in the third grade, I learned about this very cool thing called a bike-a-thon.  I could take my bike and by just riding it help cure cystic fibrosis, a disease that I had no idea what it was, but sure sounded bad.  In my idealistic eight year old mind this just seemed like it just having fun for a good cause, so I signed right up and went for it.

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My second grader sister heard about the same thing and decided she had to do it as well.  That was a pain.  This meant every pledge I went to get had to pledge equally to the both of us by royal decree of my mother.  I was irritated, but we both pluckily canvassed the small town of under 1,000 inhabitants, all of whom knew our family, and gathered pledges.  I knew no fear in those days, heck, I didn’t even realize knocking on doors asking for money is annoying in my innocence. 

    Pledges were made per mile and so the first question we were asked was how many miles we were going to bike.  I pulled the number twenty off the top of my head as it seemed a nice even number.  I still remember some of the amused, patronizing smiles as these wordly wise adults then penciled in their donation.  Our pledges piled up and we ran out of room to contain them, requiring extra pledge sheets.  What’s the harm in donating to a couple of naive kids playing grown up biking on their Schwinn’s after all.  

Points of Interest, #16

Welcome, welcome to another edition of the very best stuff to come to my attention online this week. There is something for everyone here, whether you want to laugh, cry, learn, or ponder life’s mysteries, have a seat and dig in.