Nevertheless, the power of our own words to dictate our thoughts is still more significant than we may like to give credit to.  When we are careless with the materials of our thought, the architecture of our thinking tends to be built up a little crooked.

Airport lounges are great places to ponder such mysteries of the human process.  I recently had some time to kill in Denver, so I spent my layover in the company of a good friend and a bad Bloody Mary.  Over the course of the conversation he told me about an exercise in which he removes certain words from his day to day lexicon, forcing his brain to reroute his train of thought down a different side track.

Interesting.  Growth through handicap.

Thus, in the interest of growth, I have eliminated the word "why" this week.  Odd choice?  Perhaps, as "why" is good for so many positive things.  However, it is also the root of significant thought-process-decaying evil.  "Why do I have to do this?"  "Why didn't that happen?"  And so on and so forth.  You get the picture.  Today I am instead being forced to think along the lines of, "I am the one doing this, how can Iget it done more efficiently?"  "That didn't happen so what can I do to readjust my strategy?"  See the trend?  This rerouted line of thinking also forces me to pause before the first thing to enter my brain comes flinging out of my face.  I have to stop and actually consider what I'm doing and saying.  Novel concept, I know.

So, challenge for the day:  pick a word, and GET RID OF IT.  Leave me a comment if you like, tell me the word you chose, and then leave another comment describing how the experiment went.  We can discuss the results over Bloody Marys.

Desire puts it all on the line, makes the moment, opens the door for another to walk in… or walk away.

I regret the words the moment they jump from my mouth, escape onto the page. I want them back in my head where they cannot jinx me, or hurt me, or subject me to the criticisms or objections that I do not want to face. Safe.

But no.. I would say them again.

The thoughts in our heads die without expression. Maybe some of them should do just that. But others… oh, others are life itself. And yes, I do want...

The war in Iraq? As what I have heard and seen yesterday reported by a world-wide media network; that many officials from powerful countries could have just been mislead by the information they received, that is why there is no such weapons-for-mass-destruction found in the whole country where they wage their war on. That was the only reason why these countries from different continents gather there to make war, unfortunately, there was none and their rationale to war was a clear misleading.  And what happened? Many lives were lost. We lost innocent lives. Many of them. Hundreds of them.

Biblical times also gave us examples of losing golden kingdoms because of undisciplined and blaphemous words spoken by their leaders.  The fall of the Golden Kingdom of Babylon is one perfect example. Lives were lost because of words badly spoken and actions  which should never have  been said.

This same things has happened to us and will still happen. How should we avoid them? Simple. You know the answer. I just would like to open our minds that this is happening right inside our home, In school, in your workplace, in the canteen, in the mall, anywhere.. Just that simple bad word coming from your mind, flowing out to your big mouth --can kill people. It can kill millions of innocent individuals. You cannot see people die, but you can see the person straight to the eye telling you I am hurt and I may take revenge should you not change for the better.

It's my dream for everyone of us to utter words everyday with only those good ones, words of praises, honor, adoration and love.

When I was in La Paz, Bolivia I shared a room with a Dutch guy for a few days.
One day he came back from wandering the city and said that he had walked by a whole area filled with brothels and sex shops.

The next day he showed me the area.

They were all unisex hair salons.

We were both disappointed.

WHY YOU THINK YOU’RE COOL: A ring tone is a great way to give strangers and coworkers a little peek into your personal life and let them know that your grasp of pop culture is vast. You’re pretty sure that having a silly quote from Monty Python or the Transformers theme song as your ringtone will make those around you realise that you are a the guy everyone else wants to be. There is definitely more to you than meets the eye.

WHY YOU’RE NOT COOL: Having your phone play Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” just makes you look (and sound) like an asshole. And the fact that you let it “ring” 15 times while you stand there and look around for reactions to your hilarious little joke not only reeks of desperation, but it makes everyone around you want to cram that phone up your ass. Put it on vibrate like every other normal person and keep your witticisms between you and your collection of Star Wars figurines.

Fuck you very much.

1. acetylcholinesterase--the enzyme needed to make the acetylcholine ester, a precursor of acetylcholine. HA! (Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that helps move your muscles.)

2. methyl ethyl ether--sing to "Giant Purple People Eater". I love how the cold logic of scientific nomenclature leads to messy tongue twisters. A list of my favrite science terms would be a whole 'nother post completely.

3. coloratura

4. arondissement--and most any word in French.

5. sparky

6. war (in American Sign Language)

7. heaven (in ASL)

8. photocopy (in ASL. now repeat: war-war-copy-copy-war-war-heaven)

9. el hombre mas sexy, del mundo!

--gnad

       Lori Drew, and a 19 year old employee named Ashley Grills, were allegedly involved in creating a MySpace profile of a young man named "Josh Evans" who contacted Megan and initiated a online relationship.  MySpace is a social networking site.  As time went on, "Josh" became abusive online and even went so far as to say that the world would be a better place without her in it ...and, that he no longer wanted to be friends with her.  Within an hour of that online conversation...Megan was dead. 

        Not long ago Ashley Grills, the 19 year old employee, did a television interview alledging that Lori Drew was involved in some of the postings.  Ms. Drew denies this...but, she has now been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization.   This whole case is tragic.

          Supposedly, according to Ms. Grills, the whole hoax was set up to find out if Megan was saying anything about Ms. Drew's daughter.  This hoax has had horrible consequences.  Young Megan is dead, Ms. Grills is probably next in line for some kind of legal consequences unless she has procured immunity for her testimoney; Megan's family is mourning the death of their child, Ms. Drew could end up in federal prison, and a neighborhood is torn apart as the Drew and the Meier families lived in the same neighborhood at the time of the tragedy. 

        The outcome of this case could have long lasting impact on how people conduct themselves online, in chat lines or in social networking sites.  It is imperative that people monitor their children when they are online for safety reasons.  Words have power to put down or lift up and people are going to be held accountable legally. 

       It might be a good time to remind people that we have impact on those around us...why not make it a positive IMPACT!  Check this out...  http://theimpactfactor.net?id=35.

– Niebla ( © 2008 )

Written for Totally Optional Prompts, Symbolic Poetry.

I’m sitting under a tree, on the edge of a valley, approximately 5000 feet above sea level. The river Krishna flows far below us snaking its way among the Sahyadri mountains. A cool breeze is blowing, jannat ki hawa (breeze from the heavens), as my mother calls it. Ammi, Ira and Junaid are by my side and we are in the middle of one of our favourite board games ‘Settlers Of Catan’. Shahrukh is licking my feet and I am feeding him biscuits every now and then. What more can I ask for?

Now, before you jump to any conclusions let me add that Shahrukh is the name of our dog. And before you jump to any further conclusions let me add that I had nothing to do with naming him. In fact Shahrukh is the dog of the caretakers of our house. When I bought this house it came with the caretakers and their dog! Apparently Shahrukh (the actor) was shooting for a commercial in this house a few years ago, and that very day the caretakers bought a pup…, and named him Shahrukh. What are the chances of me buying a house which comes with a dog called Shahrukh!!!

Shah Rukh's supporters (who clearly can't read) react:

The shocking display of insolent humor has sent shock waves in the otherwise-insulated and unconcerned film industry. Says a very popular character-actor who has worked with both the actors, "I guess the freedom provided by a blog tends to loosen tongues. Amitji has never been known to be as undiplomatic as he's on his blog. Aamir must have thought it's time to increase the odds, what if Amitji's blog gets more eyeballs! Also, his nephew's film is around the corner. During the release of Taare Zameen Par, Aamir created a controversy by taking on Amitji and Black. Now for the nephew it's Shah Rukh being called a dog. All I can say is life's a bitch."

Shah Rukh remains characteristically unfazed and humorous in the face of his colleague's uncharitable and tasteless remarks. When this writer expressed shock and indignation at Aamir's remarks, SRK responded, "Earlier on, people used to name their children after famous people. Somebody naming a dog after a known person is a new beginning in that direction. I don't have a copyright over this name if used non-commercially." But a close friend of SRK on promise of anonymity reacted far more aggressively. "Aamir's megalomania has been brewing for a while. Earlier he declared himself No.1 as compared with SRK who took it smilingly. Now Aamir is down to street-level provocation..."

But it is not just excitable fans who indulge in such mischaracterisations. Big political parties are equally adept at it.

Or perhaps I should be generous and put it all down to cognitive dissonance.

Mi piacerebbe fermarmi più spesso ad ascoltare musica come questa, di sera, in penombra e pensare. Una voce così non può non farti sentire in pace col mondo, qualunque battaglia tu abbia dovuto affrontare col mondo nella tua giornata appena trascorsa, questo è un momento di magia.

The color of the day is wisteria, the number is thirty-one, the holidays are Police Officer’s Memorial Day and National Chocolate Chip Day, and Pomona Sprout’s birthday, the words of the day are ersatz (an artificial or inferior substitute or imitation) and finagle (achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods), and today I walked/jogged/ran the last required mile of my life.

It was in Gym. At my high school, you are required to take one Gym class before being allowed to graduate. We had to do the mile thrice, and today was the last time. Ever. This is thrilling.

Next Wednesday is going to be spectacular- not only is it the weekly Wednesday club, but I volunteered to help out with the Preschool graduation practice and therefore get to miss the whole school day watching and playing with little kids. How awesome is that?

Speaking of the preschool, we are putting on a puppet show in class tomorrow. I am going to be playing a chicken and finished making the puppet a little while ago.

Also a little while ago (more like two or three minutes ago) I started and finished the short story I had to write for English. It is due Thursday, but I like to be ahead. It is only the rough draft, anyway. It is titled "Nobody in Particular" and I am going to paste it below. You know, because I have nothing much else to say. Laura, if you read this, do you think you could edit when/if you have the time? I am pretty sure there are some mistakes, but, as you know, staring at your own work for awhile kind of makes it tough to find mistakes.

[ "What am I?" I ask aloud, to nobody in particular.

"What are you not?" nobody in particular responds.

He has always been a wise fellow, this nobody creature. I am not entirely sure whether he exists, then again, as I have been known to imagine things. That is what they said when they kicked me out, you know. "REASON FOR EXPULSION" the slip was titled, the big, bold letters giving way to the infamous fine print. "Prone to excessive bouts of overactive imagination often leading to impulsive actions," the report continued in the same minuscule size, ending with the signature of whomever was unduly placed in charge. They even had the nerve to slap a period on the end of it, as if turning the claim into a sentence fragment would change its significance, somehow. Quite the opposite, though- it only served to further infuriate me.

Now, that is all behind me- I still say as I did when I left in the first place: good riddance.

To be honest, I am dead grateful that I was ousted. After all, if I had not been, I would never have met nobody in particular- and that, my friend, would be unfortunate indeed. Had I not met nobody in particular, I never would have been granted the many drops of wisdom he has bestowed upon me since our meeting. Though, I guess calling it a ‘meeting’ would not be fully appropriate. We did not meet, per say. To this day, we have not formally done so. Rather, we have a mutual agreement: I ask a question, any time of day, and he answers. The scale is tipped more generously towards me, and I should think he would care, but he has yet to complain about my having the better half of the bargain. Now that I think about it, he has yet to complain about anything.

Occasionally I attempt to persuade the man to show himself, but it never turns out to my benefit. Surely he (and I assume that the creature is a ‘he’ based on the tone of his voice) wishes to come out of wherever he is hiding, at least sometimes. If he does, however, he does not show it. Always speaking in the monotonous, deadpan voice of a robot, one would think he would wish for a little excitement in his life. Evidently not yet, but I am sure he will crack someday. I have a strong feeling about it, and secure ones such as this are nearly always correct.

I shudder to think of what would happen if he were discovered. As long as the human race exists, the intense longing for knowledge and wisdom is inevitable, and nobody in particular has an abundance of it.

More so, in fact, than anybody I have met before. This never ceases to amaze me- if somebody this intelligent were to suddenly disappear from society, someone would certainly realize it.

He is an enemy spy, I once thought, yet there is no trace of an accent about him. I then considered that he is merely a hermit, choosing to be cut off from the rest of the world for some mysterious reason. That musing, however, was quickly shot down- to the best of my knowledge, nobody in particular has not left wherever he lurks. And, even if he were a hermit, he would still need to eat in order to survive. His voice comes from somewhere a bit off, but not enough that he could possibly be near a door or garden where he would be able to gather nutrients- or water, for that matter. If he is not human, though, then what is he? Without food or water, he could not even be living. A zombie, maybe? I doubt it- he does not seem like the type. What, then?

I have tried not to dwell on it too much, but I must admit that dwelling on things takes up much of my time. There is not much else to do, in this monster of a house with echoing rooms and the eternal scent of mothballs.

So, yes, it is free of most insects. It is also free of humans, other than myself of course. I have no family, never have and doubtlessly never will, and no friends to speak of either. In the end, it is just me here. And, obviously, nobody in particular as well.

I do not care, though. Who cares if I have nobody to talk to, nothing to do? What does it matter to be lonely when you have the answers to every question in the world? ]

So yup, there it is. I hope somebody liked/likes it.

Gosh, today feels like a Friday.

Oh yeah, my brother is home from college.

Pixie dust to all.

Try and fly.

Dry tones, humourus tones
Happy sad mad glad
not happy but not sad, indifferent,
euphoric.

How I shape my mouth to the words I speak
I give my words a meaning and a life when I
speak them, Imbue them
with power or just plainness.

These are scattered thoughts and thought processees about speech and speech patterns.

Vocal chords, lungs, lips, tongue, soft pallet hard pallet,
Teeth.
Soul.

Speech is given life, words are bought to life
Brought to bear on the issues at hand.
Words are given a soul, a borrowed soul;
It came from the speaker.

I have listened to Aslinda bir konu var by Yasemin Mori (a friend of mines sister) thousands of times the last couple of days. A part of me recognizes her words and I think they drive me to play the song on repeat. It is a sad song, but I listen to the happiness in it, if that makes sense to anyone.

I just wrote to a very good friend in Florida and told her about the small room I am carrying with me (might be hard to imagine, but I carry it everywhere I go). It is like I am floating in this beloved empty room as there is a lot happening around me; I watch every change, every move, I listen to every word, every laughter and I run (way too fast) to catch my dreams.

as in:

The Pasadena Sci-Fi Wondercon of 1987 turned into a bloodbath following the irruption of Star Wars fans from the Pasadena Hyatt's Aspen conference room into the neighboring Conifer conference room, currently hosting the Annual Star Trek Mock Federation Security Council meeting. Trekkies fell by the dozen, realizing too late their prosthetic foreheads offered no protection against blunt force trauma meted out by plastic-light-saber-wielding nerds wearing bathrobes.

The opinion's here, on the court's website. To find it, you just have to scroll down to "In Re Marriage Cases."

Today I am so proud to live in California, and very proud of our court system.

Well today's word was paean as in

paean \PEE-uhn\, noun:
1. A joyous song of praise, triumph, or thanksgiving.
2. An expression of praise or joy.

Having never actually used this word I was started that it is very close to a homophone for peon as in

pe·on1 \pee-uhn, pee-on\, noun:
1. (in Spanish America) a farm worker or unskilled laborer; day laborer.
2. (formerly, esp. in Mexico) a person held in servitude to work off debts or other obligations.
3. any person of low social status, esp. one who does work regarded as menial or unskilled; drudge.

The emphasis is the only difference.  Make sure you get it right!

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This blog will be deleted within the next couple of weeks, if not days.
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Thanks

:)

Ironis jika siswa SMP yang baru mengenal komputer diajari dengan Sistem Operasi dan Aplikasi bajakan. Lalu mereka diberi tugas atau pekerjaan rumah yang harus dikerjakan dengan perangkat lunak yang sama. Biaya sekolah saja sudah cukup mahal, apalagi jika siswa harus dibebani untuk membeli perangkat lunak yang asli atau genuine. Bukankah harganya akan lebih mahal dari harga perangkat kerasnya itu sendiri? Sebagai contoh harga Microsoft Office 2007 saja $499.95. Harga itu setara dengan satu set hardware PC yang sangat bagus untuk saat ini. Dan pilihannya, tentu saja siswa tadi akan memakai perangkat lunak yang sama versi bajakan. Dan pada akhirnya, setelah lulus nanti, mereka hanya akan mengenal dan familiar dengan perangkat lunak yang sama.

Pada waktu saya masih sekolah di tingkat SMP, saya bahkan tidak tahu kalau program yang terpasang di komputer itu harus bayar. Dan hingga lulus SMA, saya hanya belajar dengan perangkat lunak yang sama di sekolah. Bahkan saat saya sudah berada di bangku kuliah, masih ada juga dosen yang memberikan tugas untuk dikerjakan dengan perangkat lunak proprietary. Bisa dibayangkan, berapa uang saku anak kos. Jujur saja, bahkan sampai sekarang saya belum memiliki komputer pribadi :D .

Perangkat lunak yang terpasang di komputer-komputer yang ada di institusi pendidikan mungkin sudah menggunakan lisensi resmi dari vendor perangkat lunak yang bersangkutan. Itu artinya penggunaan perangkat lunak tersebut legal. Akan tetapi bagaimana dengan keadaan pelajar di Indonesia sendiri? Meninjau pola pikir masyarakat dan pendapatan per kapita saat ini, pasti jawabannya adalah tidak jika diharuskan membeli perangkat lunak yang genuine tersebut. Apalagi jika harga BBM naik lagi, hehehe, No Offense (maklum mahasiswa :P). Kebutuhan yang lebih mendesak jauh lebih banyak, dan perangkat lunak berbayar yang asli merupakan barang mewah. Jangankan yang harganya $ 499.95, CD musik original yang harganya di bawah Rp. 100.000,- saja, kebanyakan masyarakat memilih untuk download mp3 saja. Termasuk penulis, :D.

Akan tetapi, sudah siapkah dunia pendidikan di Indonesia dengan migrasi ke Free/Open Source Software? Bagaimana dengan kompatibilitas data dari perangkat lunak proprietary dengan perangkat lunak kode sumber terbuka? Sebenarnya tak perlu berfikir terlalu jauh tentang hal ini. Secara teknis, sudah banyak aplikasi F/OSS yang bisa menggantikan aplikasi-aplikasi proprietary. Misalnya OpenOffice.org, yang bisa menggantikan tugas Microsoft Office, dan harganya gratis. Meskipun untuk beberapa tugas seperti perhitungan analisis dan design, beberapa perangkat lunak belum dapat tergantikan dengan baik. Yang masih menjadi kendala adalah dari tenaga pengajarnya sendiri. Sudah siapkah tenaga pengajar di Indonesia untuk hanya mengajarkan Free/Open Source Software? Inilah sesungguhnya tantangan terbesar dalam migrasi dunia pendidikan ke Free/Open Source Software.

Jika tenaga pengajar di Indonesia sudah siap dan mau (mampu diabaikan, karena jika mau, sudah pasti mampu) mengajar dengan Free/Open Source Software, maka sebagian besar masalah pembajakan perangkat lunak di Indonesia akan teratasi. Karena masyarakat Indonesia pada generasi mendatang akan terbiasa menggunakan Free/Open Source Software yang murah dan legal. Saya katakan murah, karena FOSS tak selalu gratis, melainkan bebas. Namun meskipun berbayar harganya masih tetap terjangkau, dan sebagian besar masih menyediakan versi gratis dari FOSS yang berbayar tersebut. Selain itu, dampak positif lainnya adalah kreativitas peserta didik bisa ditingkatkan dengan penggunaan FOSS. Mereka bisa mencoba-coba untuk mengubah perangkat lunak yang mereka gunakan menjadi versi mereka sendiri karena source code dari FOSS bersifat terbuka. Juga karena adanya lisensi GNU GPL yang menjamin kebebasan penggunaan setiap end user. Tak menutup kemungkinan suatu hari nanti Indonesia bukan hanya menjadi importir melainkan juga importir perangkat lunak. :)

Hendra Rizki HP
Divisi Pendidikan dan Latihan
Komunitas Pengguna Linux dan Open Source Semarang

Jesus, YOU are more than capable to do my job.

YOU are more than wonderful enough for people to like.

YOU are all there is to need in everything I do.

YOU are more than powerful enough for all my work to be done.

YOU are where my eyes look at when I need favour and success.

YOU are greater than all my fears and worries.

YOU are sweeter than all intoxicating wine.

YOU are my income, not my job.

YOU, I worship.

YOU, I thank.

YOU are great.

I got myself a new job.

Catalogue Magazine.

ACCRETION

ac-cre-tion (noun)

• an increase by natural growth or by gradual external addition; growth in size or extent
• the growing together of separate parts into a single whole

I might do this everyday.  Might not.

If you're not familiar with the song, It's James Blunt.  Yes, some people hate him.  Me?  Some of the songs are pants but You're Beautiful, 1973, High and Same Mistake along with a couple of others I can't remember right now are simply awesome music.

Still none the wiser?  This is the video for Same Mistake.  Even if you hate watching video, hit the play button open a new tab (Firefox FTW!) and just listen.

Oh, by the way, I'm blogging here again today because I just can't stop myself. Oh, and I forgot to pay for my hosting!

I have a bit a decision to make though. I might continue blogging here for the moment as, even with all the restrictions I rather like the fact that wordpress.com is just "here". It doesn't go away or fall over like my hosting does (twice in two months, once my fault, once not!). I will still keep Cornell Finch but might turn it into a photoblog on a new host.

|  Thank You. Sayings

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|  Teacher Appreciation Sayings

|  Sympathy Quotes

|  Sweetest Day Sayings

|  Success Quotes

|  Sports Volleyball Sayings

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If it were not for the intellectual snobs who pay, the arts would perish with their starving practitioners - let us thank heaven for hypocrisy.
~quotes about Hypocrisy by Aldous Huxley

Statistics can be made to prove anything - even the truth.
~inspirational life quotes by Author Unknown

Dogs are getting bigger, according to a leading dog manufacturer.
~saying on Animal Rights by Leo Rosten

Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.
~inspirational life quotes by James Buckham

Idleness is the beginning of all psychology. What? Could it be that psychology is - a vice?
~life by Friedrich Nietzsche, alluding to the proverb Idleness is the beginning of all vices