margonaut.com

every physical illness
has a metaphorical key
to finding your way in
the world be it stress
or creative stagnation
listen to your body it
knows much better than
you can possibly think

Here’s a tidbit on the effect that the Internet is having on how people get their news!

Democratic Media: A Do-it-Yourself Starter Kit
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3782
Running counter to this trend, there is a growing citizen journalism movement that is broadening the ranks of reporters and bringing in new voices that are more diverse and harder to tame than companies like Viacom or Disney. One of the most successful examples, South Korea’s OhMyNews, has played an important role in transforming the country’s traditionally conservative, corrupt political system. It has also become a commercial success and has grown to include an English-language international edition.

As the archbishop observed in his sermon, internet-powered citizen journalism has the potential to undermine some of the “near-monopolistic practices” and “control of the product” now found in the traditional media, but it has some problems of its own: “Unwelcome truth and necessary and prompt rebuttal are characteristic of the web-based media. So are paranoid fantasy, self-indulgent nonsense and dangerous bigotry. The atmosphere is close to that of unpoliced conversation – which tends to suggest that the very idea of an appropriate professionalism for journalists begins to dissolve.”

Today I went hiking in an area near my house that is slated to be logged soon. It was both gorgeous and totally depressing to imagine.

I seriously wonder if the people who direct and approve these projects have any concience whatsoever. Perhaps they don’t understand that what we do to the Earth, we ultimately do to ourselves. Perhaps they just don’t care about future generations or anyone but themselves.

Here are two stories about how one missing girl case has dominated the American news: one from the BBC and one from a Political Teen blog!

Missing teen case grips US media
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4125492.stm
Columnist and author Arianna Huffington says: “If you were to get your news only from television, you’d think the top issue facing our country right now is an 18-year-old girl named Natalee who went missing in Aruba.

“Every time one of these stories comes up, like, say, Michael Jackson, when it’s finally over I think, what a relief, now we can get back to real news. But we never do.”

The Political Teen: everyone drop what you’re doing a white girl has gone missing
http://thepoliticalteen.net/2005/06/04/everyone-drop-what-theyre-doing-a-white-girl-has-gone-missing/
I am sorry to hear that another person has gone missing and there is no sign as to where she is. However, why is it always white, young, girls that seem to make news. You know there are hundreds, if not thousands of other people missing, but it is always the stereotype that is on your 6 o’clock news.

Since we can’t fully escape from using environmentally destructive fossil fuels just yet, here’s an interesting concept on how individuals and organizations can attempt to balance that out ethically: pay an additional fee that will be applied towards climate change research!

Climatecare.org
http://www.climatecare.org
Climate Care Trust Limited sells CO2 reductions, and funds projects around the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to tackle climate change. The reductions made balance our clients’ emissions, making their activities climate neutral.

I’m not sure how effective this will be in practice, but it’s certainly better than doing nothing. It’s also good to see The Guardian using it on a business-wide scale.

Unfortunately, that won’t happen until enough people wake the *&#$ up and stop electing oil barons into office.

The UN has produced a video game about solving world hunger that has a strong educational component!

Food Force
http://www.food-force.com
Play the game, learn about food aid, and help WFP work towards a world without hunger.

The meaning of life
is just the fact that
we are all interconnected
with the Earth and each other
our individual identities
are fluid and temporary
everything but Now, here
is an illusion of separation
the meaning of life
is coming back over & over
because we need to learn
about the illusiory nature
of all but LOVE
and to teach the others
in the context of making
our way on 3D Earth
cooking, carrying water, chopping wood
we’re social creatures
not meant to be
locked up in cars, cubicles, and TV
give up ESCAPISM
take up ACTIVISM
you can participate
in reality more than
you think
just refine your Self
in thought, word, and deed
give up self-interest
for the greater good
which includes
LIVING LIFE FULLY
awake/aware in every moment
knowing every emotion
every reaction
every “problem”
is a reflection/refraction
of Love

Marketing is all about the psychology of buying. Our purchasing habits are studied through our debit cards, credit cards, airmiles cards, and survey people calling us at home during dinner.

There are people who spend their careers pushing the limits of how to manipulate people to desire and buy more things.

Marketers try high-tech tool to push brain’s ‘buy button’
http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/06/13/neuro-marketing050613.html
Brain scan technology, such as functional MRIs, shows which parts of the brain are activated by impulses. Some marketers theorize that since the scans suggest positive or negative reactions, the technology can help them to fine-tune their message.

Just what Microsoft needs, another business decision that will make the company even more unpopular!

Microsoft bans ‘democracy’ for China web users
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=FT&Date=20050610&ID=4884671
Microsoft’s new Chinese internet portal has banned the words “democracy” and “freedom” from parts of its website in an apparent effort to avoid offending Beijing’s political censors.

Here’s an interesting article by a former Catholic Priest who was kicked out of The Church by the current Pope. His ideas about reforming Christianity again for the special challenges of our modern age are controversial but compelling!

The Reformation 500 years later – Matthew Fox speaks on the need for religious change
http://www.commonground.ca/iss/0506167/cg167_fox.shtml
In 2005, an analogous situation prevails but with added dimensions of seriousness. Among these is the peril that the human species faces along with the thousands of other species that are going extinct on the planet. It is an extinction spasm not witnessed on the Earth for 65 million years. The last time such a spasm occurred was when the dinosaurs disappeared.
Human knowledge and technology are the most significant cause of this extinction spasm today. Isn’t this another way of saying that religion is not doing its task?

I’m planning on seeing him in Vancouver next month at the Cosmic Mass at Christ Church Cathedral. It should be quite an experience/spectacle!

I have faith that this kind of thing will catch on in some of the more open-minded Christian churches in North America (especially those languishing for new, younger members for their congregations.)

Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. Psalm 149:3 (King James Version)

A clearness commitee is something the Quakers use for settling disputes and helping people get through challenging life decisions. A group is called together to offer guidance through the situation. They are not allowed to give any advice, but only to ask questions!

This is a great concept that could be very useful in a variety of situations!

Clearness Committees and Their Use in Personal Discernment
http://www.fgcquaker.org/library/fosteringmeetings/0208.html
A meeting begins with the clerk inviting the committee to prepare for its work, reminding everyone of the disciplines to be followed. After this, all settle into a period of centering silence. When the focus person is ready, s/he begins with a brief summary of the question or concern. The rules for committee members are very simple-but very difficult to follow: members may not speak in any way except to ask the focus person a question, an honest question. That means no presenting solutions, no advice, no “Why don’t you . . . ?,” no “My uncle had the same problem and he . . . ,” no “I know a good diet that would help you a lot.” Nothing is allowed except honest, probing, caring, challenging, open, unloaded questions! And it is crucial that these questions be asked not for the sake of the questioner’s curiosity but for the sake of the focus person’s clarity. Caring, not curiosity, is the rule for questioners.

getting upset with myself
for not being relaxed and
kicking myself for having
issues with focus are not
the path to centered calm

My fave business writer has a new book out which I’ve just ordered called The Likeability Factor. The general idea is that being more likeable improves your life, but he actually goes into how it works and how to learn to get along better with others. This might sound like obvious advice, but I know I’m not the only one around who could benefit from polishing up her social skills!

Don’t get turned off by your opinion of “business” people, this guy is a genius.

The Likeability Factor
http://www.wqed.org/tv/tim_sanders.shtml
The message is simple: The more likeable you are, the better you’ll do in life. And not just your job – likeability impacts your personal relationships as well. In fact, according to Tim Sanders, author of The Likeability Factor, your likeability affects your health, wealth and happiness.

Today I’ve been working on going through years of old notebooks looking for useful stuff related to two different projects I’ve been thinking about for ages. I’m focusing on getting scattered ideas together in a more organized and practical format.

Here are a few (slightly edited) things I wrote in 2001 that were what I needed to hear today:

Our emotions serve as guideposts to how we should be living our lives. As we get more in touch with “going with the flow” we find that “bad” things happen less frequently, and when they do we can better understand why.

I have now decided I will work on myself & my work and be happy alone or with whomever!

I realize that everything good and bad that has happened in my life is all PERFECT because it has led me to this perfect moment.

Women should never take their hard earned freedoms for granted. I know it’s not fashionable to identify as a feminist anymore, but it’s important to remember that throughout most of history women have been seriously treated like a subspecies. This still goes on in much of the world today.

Saudis Outraged Over Women-Drive Proposal
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-saudi-women-behind-the-wheel,1,3022892.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines
“Driving by women leads to evil,” Munir al-Shahrani wrote in a letter to the editor of the Al-Watan daily. “Can you imagine what it will be like if her car broke down? She would have to seek help from men.”

It is the same argument used to restrict other freedoms. Without written permission from a male guardian, women may not travel, get an education or work. Regardless of permission, they are not allowed to mix with men in public or leave home without wearing black cloaks, called abayas.

I’ve heard some things about teflon being bad for humans in the past, but today I finally decided to stop using non-stick cookware.

One of the things that made me make this decision was a friend who used to work in pet stores telling me that if you have a parrot in the house, cooking with a teflon pan releases chemicals into the air that will kill it. This seems like a canary in the mine type of warning to me! Birds may be more sensitive than people, but these fumes are just as toxic for us.

PFCs: A Family of Chemicals that Contaminate the Planet
http://www.ewg.org/reports/pfcworld/index.php
Non-stick pans, furniture, cosmetics, household cleaners, clothing, and packaged food containers can all contain PFCs, many of which break down into PFOA in the environment or in the human body. The brand names are well-known: Teflon, Stainmaster, Scotchgard, SilverStone, and others. PFCs are also used in a vast array of industrial products and processes.

US: DuPont Failed To Report Teflon Health Risks, Says U.S. EPA
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11435
DuPont Co., the No. 2 U.S. chemicals maker, failed for more than 20 years to report potential health risks caused by a key ingredient in the manufacture of Teflon, the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday.

The Wilmington, Delaware, company violated the Toxic Substances Control Act from June 1981 to March 2001 by not reporting dangers associated with perfluorooctanoic acid or C-8, EPA said.