http://heliolith.com The easiest way to avoid wrong notes is to never open your mouth and sing. What a mistake that would be. - Pete Seeger Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:04:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Listen to this post: [audio:smileBetweenMen.mp3] What A Smile Can Mean Between Men: The Seeds of War and Peace I am driving the Ford south on the freeway, heading south to visit family, but stopping first back in town at the 76 to fill the tank. Now I'm stepping around to ... http://heliolith.com/archives/2008/04/19/what-a-smile-can-mean-between-men/ I found this video; downloadable version via Dean's Sluyter's Question of the Month page, which he posted in response to the question, "Is enlightenment a scientific reality?*" This neuroscientist, Jill Bolte Taylor, had a stroke. She explains the experience of losing her analytical brain functions, and being plunged ... http://heliolith.com/archives/2008/04/14/a-neuroscientists-taste-of-nirvana/ Dear Hu Jintao and Zhang Qingli, I am writing to respectfully share my opinion with you on the situation in the Tibet Autonomous Region. While I understand that the official view is that no external persons or countries should meddle with the internal affairs of China, I request that you ... http://heliolith.com/archives/2008/03/25/dear-hu-jintao-and-zhang-qingli-please-listen/ Is burning property violence? Did Tibetan monks actually do it? Should the short term events of the last week, and possible crimes committed shape the dialogue around the movement to free Tibet? Did the Chinese use infiltrators to foment violence? There may currently be no proof, ... http://heliolith.com/archives/2008/03/16/dear-china-please-refrain-from-violence/ A fellow in Canada just came up with the sweetest idea that dovetails two different websites I love: Found and Post Secret.  Matt collects and posts photographs from lost cameras that the finders send in to connect the orphaned pictures with their long lost owners.  Just a lovely idea.  Wedding ... http://heliolith.com/archives/2008/02/25/lost-found/ It has always been interesting to me that the German word for 'monument' is 'denkmal', which simply means 'Think!" in the imperative form. In today's New York Times online, Nicholas Kulish has written an article about modern Germany's promotion of Holocaust memorials. Though this topic could easily ... http://heliolith.com/archives/2008/01/28/germanys-holocaust-awareness-work/ Schwarzenegger wants to slice $4.8 Billion from CA Schools Mid-year. So the governor wants to take away money that we had planned to receive - and in some cases have already spent... this while EdVoice.org reports that California ("CA") was ranked 46th in per-pupil funding! When I search the publication they ... http://heliolith.com/archives/2008/01/20/the-ca-governor-prefers-to-tax-the-children/ (Scroll down for an English translation) „Wenn Dir was gefällt, warum kämpfst Du nicht dafür?“ Gestern Abend habe ich den Film “Im Juli” gesehen. Ich hatte zuerst eine Kurzfassung gelesen, und deshalb wußte ich mehr oder weniger was wir erwarten könnten. Ich habe mir eine romantische Aktionskomödie vorgestellt, ... http://heliolith.com/archives/2007/11/25/eine-kritik-von-dem-film-%e2%80%9cim-juli%e2%80%9d/ (English translation to come later below!... I did this for a German class I just dropped in on, and thought I'd post it... ) Wenn Du ein Film sehen möchtest, dass gar keine spannende Handlung vorlegt, und sehr wenige interessante Persönlichkeiten entwickelt, jedoch eine abgelöste Perspektive fördert, und eine ... http://heliolith.com/archives/2007/10/24/eine-kritik-von-der-himmel-uber-berlin/ I stumbled on this while reading last Thursday's headlines from the Deutsche-Welle "Langsam Gesprochene Nachrichten" The article mentioned that, "Eine Sprecherin bezeichnete den Akt als eklatante Einmischung in die inneren Angelegenheiten des Landes." or that, "a spokeswoman signaled that the act was blatant meddling in the internal affairs of ... http://heliolith.com/archives/2007/10/21/a-blessing-from-bush-for-his-holiness-the-dalai-lama/