Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Percy Lavon Julian
Percy Lavon Julian (April 11, 1899 – April 19, 1975) was an African American research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants.
He was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine; and was a pioneer in the industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of human hormones, steroids, progesterone, and testosterone, from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and sitosterol.
His work would lay the foundation for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and birth control pills. He later started his own company to synthesize steroid intermediates from the Mexican wild yam.
During his lifetime he received more than 130 chemical patents. Julian was one of the first African Americans to receive a doctorate in chemistry. He was the first African-American chemist inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, and the second African-American scientist inducted from any field.
Liberty
Monday, May 25, 2009
Futility of War
johnny got his gun and became a
rude full-scale joke
impossible to tell
if he was awake or dreaming
what makes you so sure you're not dreaming?
Regarding Talking Heads
Most importantly, these proponents of the status quo who author commentaries that are filled with mean-spirited vilifications of their opponents, offer no solutions of their own to help resolve the many problems that face the society at large. They, in fact, deny that there any problems of significant importance to begin with. For example, to them there is nothing wrong with our health care delivery system despite the fact that there tens of millions of individuals unable to afford health care for themselves or their families. Their blistering attacks on homosexuals, the poor, unionized labor, women’s rights, immigrants, etc are both disingenuous and reprehensible. Furthermore they are useless and of little value, in my mind, for they do nothing constructive for their country and its people though they profess to be unassailable patriots. They exploit their listeners and extract a fortune based on their ability to attract the disaffected and further polarize the country. The game of exploitative capitalism that they are so adept at undermines the possibility of national healing that is so crucial at this time.
During infrequent bouts of wild inexplicable optimism, I suspect they will be ultimately consumed by their own venom.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Sam-I-Am
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Self II
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Time Machine
The Hubble Space Telescope is a Time Machine
It can see billions of years into the past
The Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1300
61 Million light-years away
Eta Carinae Nebula NGC 3372
8 Thousand light-years away
Messier 81 NGC 3031
12 Million light-years away
The Cat's Eye Nebula NGC 6543
3.3 Thousand light-years away
The Eagle Nebula NGC 6611
7 Thousand light-years away
The Helix Nebula NGC 7293
7 Hundred light-years away
Young Stars in Magellanic Cloud NGC 346
210 Thousand light-years away
The Red Supergiant Star Monocerotis V838
20 Thousand light-years away
The Crab Nebula NGC 1952
6.5 Thousand light-years away
Hubble Ultra Deep Field Image
13 Billion light-years away
Click and enlarge this image
and see an estimated 10,000 galaxies
as they looked 13 billion years ago
Monday, May 18, 2009
USA-Thou art the Highest Pinnacle of White Anglo Saxon Protestant Civilisation
HA HA HA
So now USA has sent a professional assasin to command its troops in Afghanistan.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'U.S. special squad killed Benazir'
Published: May 18, 2009
NEW YORK (Online) - Former prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on the orders of the special death squad formed by former U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney, which had already killed the Lebanese Prime Minister Rafique Al Hariri and the army chief of that country.
The squad was headed by General Stanley McChrystal, the newly-appointed commander of U.S. army in Afghanistan. It was disclosed by reputed U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh while talking to an Arab TV in an interview. Hersh said former U.S. vice-president Cheney was the chief of the Joint Special Operation Command and he cleared the way for the U.S. by exterminating opponents through the unit and the CIA. General Stanley was the in-charge of the unit.
Seymour also said that Rafiq Al Hariri and the Lebanese army chief were murdered for not safeguarding the U.S. interests and refusing U.S. setting up military bases in Lebanon. Ariel Sharon, the then prime minister of Israel, was also a key man in the plot.
A number of websites around the world are suspecting the same unit for killing of Benazir Bhutto because in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV on November 2, 2007, she had mentioned the assassination of Usama Bin Laden, Seymour said. According to Benazir Bhutto, Umar Saeed Sheikh murdered Usama, but her words were washed out from the David Frosts report, he said.
The U.S. journalist opined that it might have been done on purpose because the U.S. leadership did not like to declare Usama dead for in the case the justification of the presence of U.S. army in Afghanistan could no more be there, hence no reason for operation against Taliban.
On the other hand, the diplomatic analysts believe the Benazir Bhutto murder is still a fable and it is for that reason Asif Zardari and other government authorities are stressing U.N. probe in the murder case, also paying huge sums for it.
Another website has disclosed that Benazir was put to death in order to roll back the Pakistan nuclear programme and to take over its nukes, and that India, Israel and the U.S. were making hectic efforts to deprive Pakistan of its atomic capability so as to bring it under their control.
Regarding the Family
The crazed uncle possessed by the demons of his impaired and diseased brain, the patriarchal grandfather with a formidable record of abusive and violent behavior, the promiscuous and pregnant daughter sent off to live with an older sister while bringing her growing fetus to term away from the prying eyes of neighbors, the gay cousin convinced by the language of his authoritarian minister that he is a deviant in the eyes of his personal savior are all examples of realities that are surrounded by a formidable cone of silence in an effort to keep alive the mythological quality of wholeness that is supposed to embody the family.
In reality, the family is fragile and flawed like all human institutions. Families and clans are a natural and practical consequence of the biological urge to propagate the species. Within the structure of the family, resides the entire gamut of human proclivities and possibilities. Yet, it seems that only what is believed to exemplify goodness is embraced while that which is unflattering is coerced into the void of the unspoken. It is not truth that triumphs but rather the lie. It is an insidious lie, for it creates a perception of family members and the family that is decidedly one-sided, and for that reason, grotesque. The family mirrors all the aspects that compromise humanity in general and the individual in particular. It should be seen for what it is and nothing more.
It is from the mosaic of the family that the structure of the larger society is built. We have become in many regards a cult of the individual. Children are raised within the assumption and the implicit notion that the individual is the center of existence; that all of the universe gravitates around the singular person with his or her singular consciousness. Individual happiness is the fundamental goal that is seen as the inherent right of us all. Yet state of being happy is poorly understood and remains illusive. The quality of happiness has come to be seen as achievable through the medium of material success and personal achievements. This seems perfectly natural to us, since this is the essence of the message perpetually conveyed through the communications media and thoroughly inculcated in our thinking and perceptions. In this particular social environment, happiness is not equated with the well being of those outside the territory of the family. Even within the family, this is not necessarily the case. This particular idea of happiness is not dependent upon the health of the natural environment nor the state of being of our fellow creatures.
Those who pose as the guardians of life and constantly and vociferously proclaim their unimpeachable belief in the sanctity of life have an exceedingly narrow conception of the life they assiduously protect. It is certainly not the life of those in dire need; it is certainly not the quality or extent of life of those creatures who are destined to be sacrificed so that we may have bountiful sources of nutrition; it is not he life of those fellow humans who have had the misfortune to be regarded as our enemies. Oddly enough, the life they wish to protect are clumps of cells genetically definable as human and destined to be human, but decidedly without consciousness and incapable of pain or suffering. These pre-humans growing within the body of the women who carry them are living, but not individuals. Yet the suffering of so many individuals born into abject poverty and perilous social conditions are of only peripheral interest to those who carry the banners of righteousness. Yet the conditions of those living creatures who the unwilling providers of their bodies for our mass consumption are not regarded in any way by those who proclaim the moral high ground. Those who take up a cause without reason or intellect are dubious and often dangerous for they are capable of justifying terrible deeds in the name of hollow and ridiculous notions.
The cult of the individual has left us with a world whose natural environment has been sorely abused. The cult of the individual has left us with a social order that is remarkably skewed to the few who hold the wealth and its concomitant power. The cult of the individual is not sustainable for it will continue to rob humanity of its future. Until we see the well-being of all as within the purview of our state of happiness, the human world will remain restive and unfulfilled.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Self
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey
is a 1968 science fiction film
directed by Stanley Kubrick,
written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke.
It is, in part, the story of the discovery
of a strange artifact found on the moon.
It is seemingly based on the true story.
In the early 1960's, lunar probes sent
back the first close-up photographs of
the moon as they crashed into the surface.
Researchers were astonished when the images
began to reveal more than they could have
ever expected to see. Those images revealed
structures and constructions that were
undeniable. They saw buildings, facilities
and bases with incredible clarity. The next
step was to go up there and see for ourselves.
Man went to the moon and discovered a "Dreamland".
(Sgt. Karl Wolf)
(Lunomaly.com)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Mad Scientist
After his demonstration of wireless communication (radio) in 1894 and after being the victor in the "War of Currents", he was widely respected as one of the greatest electrical engineers who worked in America. Much of his early work pioneered modern electrical engineering and many of his discoveries were of groundbreaking importance. During this period, in the United States, Tesla's fame rivaled that of any other inventor or scientist in history or popular culture, but due to his eccentric personality and his seemingly unbelievable and sometimes bizarre claims about possible scientific and technological developments, Tesla was ultimately ostracized and regarded as a mad scientist. Never having put much focus on his finances, Tesla died impoverished at the age of 86.
The SI unit measuring magnetic flux density or magnetic induction (commonly known as the magnetic field "B"), the tesla, was named in his honor (at the Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures, Paris, 1960), as well as the Tesla effect of wireless energy transfer to wirelessly power electronic devices which Tesla demonstrated on a low scale (lightbulbs) as early as 1893 and aspired to use for the intercontinental transmission of industrial energy levels in his unfinished Wardenclyffe Tower project.
Aside from his work on electromagnetism and electromechanical engineering, Tesla has contributed in varying degrees to the establishment of robotics, remote control, radar and computer science, and to the expansion of ballistics, nuclear physics, and theoretical physics. In 1943, the Supreme Court of the United States credited him as being the inventor of the radio.
Nikola Tesla (10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943)
Tesla Motors
Referring to the Tesla Roadster, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "I test drove this vehicle, and it is hot."
I Don't Believe in Karma / I Do Believe in Kindness
Sasha Pup still looked miserable, barely holding up her head and limping along, but she was dealing. I'm to understand she may need a hysterectomy or something, and truly I wish her and human companion (who was understandably frantic about Sasha's condition this morning) the best! Oh, Sasha.
An Appeal To Good Sense and Moral Responsibility
Monday, May 11, 2009
What you get
Our lives are a sum total
of the choices we have made
there is no "hope"...only choices
you can see it if you look real close...
look real close
Sunday, May 10, 2009
On Human Sexuality
Those who approach their sexuality in ways different from norm often become objects of scorn and derision. Of course, any sexual practice that does not consider the other person or that is used as a method of abuse, endangering health or used to enslave is unacceptable. But, why should the society at large be interested in the private acts of consenting adults. Why do those who seek to pleasure themselves and others in ways that do not conform to the “norm” not have the right to exercise their own prerogatives in the way they use their bodies in consort with others. Homosexuals are especially vulnerable to the taunts and moral indictments of those who consider themselves to be exemplars of what is construed as normal. The often unanticipated and unique characteristics of living often defy what is paraded as normalcy. The sex drive, for most of us, demands satisfaction. The route to this satisfaction is open to individual discovery, regardless of any societal prohibitions. A significant portion of the organic brain is wired and dedicated to the fulfillment of this drive. Without it, the human race would have been short-lived and intrinsically boring. How many of those who have trumpeted their moral superiority in regards to sexual behavior have been discovered to behave in ways completely counter to their own proclamations? How many of those who claim the moral high ground in the essentially private matter of human sexuality have been rabid proponents of the use of technological weapons of mass destruction against innocent men, women and children whose only crime was to be born in a country that had become our sworn enemy for whatever reason; how many of those who pass such quick judgment on the behavior of others are advocates of public policies that deny access to adequate health care, food, shelter and basic accommodations for many millions of our fellow citizens. Interestingly enough, these same individuals do not approach such life or death issues with the same fervor that they approach how individuals relate to each other in their own beds. Morality seems to be relegated to the bedroom and to nowhere else: a conveniently narrow and well-defined universe. Within this very same puritanical universe, the world of advertising flourishes with its main emphasis placed on the exploitation of sex and the natural human propensity for and obsession with the use and manipulation of the sexual organs. Although sex is not a necessary component of living, it is as much an integral aspect of existence as eating and breathing and sleeping. There are some people of faith who propose abstinence as a method for getting “closer to God.” This, of course, is a personal decision; the journey of life can take many directions. However, within the internecine bowels of the Catholic Church, there are those leaders who continue to enforce the rule that all members of the Catholic clergy and the armies of the cloth that include nuns and brothers must be celibate. It is intriguing that this regulation is not under scrutiny especially given the horrendous scandal that permeates the church regarding the multitude of child abuse cases that have been brought forward in recent years. These “holy of holies” apparently have a remote or non-existent connection to the real tangible world of human beings. When individuals approach puberty, their sexual organs scream out for attention. There is an undeniable biological imperative that drives us all. It is not merely the need to exercise these important bits of human flesh, but also the need for human contact and intimacy. We are creatures of the body as well as the mind. How this reality escapes the Catholic Church’s hierarchy is a complete mystery to me. I think it would be appropriate to ask an obvious question: “What type of personality would be attracted to a way of life in which celibacy is an integral component? Hovering above this organism called the Catholic Church is the ludicrous idea of papal infallibility. If you believe that the pope of the moment has a direct link to the Creator, then it naturally follows that he would be connected to eternal truths whatever they may be. It is quite amazing that a huge organization like the Catholic Church bases its judgments on such fantastic notions. Human sexuality can not be denied no matter how vociferous the pronouncements to the contrary.
Perspective
Pretend that you know nothing
now imagine everything you thought was true, is a lie
now you are in the proper place [mind set]
now you can see clearly
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Belgian Triangle
What is it that flies
and makes no sound?
On March 30, 1990, citizens of the city of Brussels spotted a large black triangular craft hovering silently over the city for several minutes. Local police officials arrived on the scene and reported observing the object as it hovered over apartment buildings. One officer reported that the object released a red glowing disk of light from its center which flew down to the ground and darted around several buildings before disappearing. The larger craft eventually departed at high speed.
The Belgian Air Force scrambled F-16s to pursue the craft once it was spotted on ground radar systems. The fighter pilots and radar operators reported that the object would dart ahead at incredible speeds every time they finally had a radar lock on it. One pilot reported the object's speed at over 900 knots. After nine confirmed target locks the object finally vanished from their screens.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
paraphrasing Perls . .
ends up in spite,"
so how many habits are
in spite of our-selves?