Have you read Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet?  Look at this take on parenting:

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."

And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

… and that is what has kept Carol and me so busy this past month!  Many of my reader’s – Mayo, Deb, Grannymar … and who else? – have been doing the same.

A toast to your health!  Which is the perfect segue …

The human fascination with bottles is everywhere to be seen.  We put ketchup in them, salad dressing, cooking oil, vinegar, Tabasco sauce, water … oh, and booze of various sorts.  Remember, the booze that was supposed to kill us?  Well, it will if you really get carried away, but just like coffee and dark chocolate, it is being shown recently in a much healthier light.  This is proof positive that there IS a loving God!

A new paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that people who consume a moderate intake of alcohol, especially red wine, have the longest life spans.  Second is the heavy drinker and last the tea-totaler.  Ha!
Read more: Why Do Heavy Drinkers Outlive Nondrinkers?

Carol and I happily partake of two glasses of wine each evening.  Two is plenty.  We drink two glasses and read or watch Jeopardy and later the News.

We are Californians.  Californians like wine and we end up trying a lot of varieties.  But, look at the cool empty bottles left behind.  Do you think the bottle might be important for marketing?  Duh.

Now, our Irish and Scottish brethren have lent us some of the finer libations to be found.  Above, you find an attractive case of Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey bottles at the Buena Vista in San Francisco, famous for its Irish Coffee.

Not to be outdone, we Americans produce some fine Hooch and put it in nicely decorative bottles, as evidenced by the fine presentation of the Wild Turkey above.  But, in terms of bottles, that has to take a back seat to the offering below:

This is from a site where an artist takes Jim Beam bottles and paints them – very nicely I might say – to look like I Dream of Jeannie bottles.  Click on the picture and it will take you to her site where bottles are available for purchase.  Unfortunately, Jeannie doesn’t come with them.

All of us guys when younger wanted one that coughed up someone like Jeannie.  Less chaste, perhaps, but the rest was what we wanted.  It has always been my theory that Larry Hagman was so frustrated from those years of proximity to the chaste Jeannie that he became JR Ewing just to release the tension!

Nonetheless, although Aladdin and the Persians rubbed oil lamps, we Americans it seems rub bottles to create our magic!  Anything this pervasive has some deep meaning, something subliminal, subconscious, subterranean to it or it would be far less universal.  Well, I think I finally figured it out!  I think it is because we all actually live IN a bottle and always have.  I give to you the concept of …

The Earth in a Bottle!

Two parallel coils separated by a small distance, carrying the same current in the same direction will produce a magnetic bottle between them. Particles near either end of the bottle experience a magnetic force towards the center of the region; particles with appropriate speeds spiral repeatedly from one end of the region to the other and back trapping the charged particles. The Earth’s non-uniform magnetic field traps charged particles coming from the sun in doughnut shaped regions around the earth called the Van Allen radiation belts.

So, we live in a magnetic bottle.  Humanity is probably waiting for some enormous giant to come along and rub the bottle, seeing if he can pop out anything of value.  You know, something like intelligence.

If so, I’m certain he will soon lose patience … and hopefully doesn’t just unscrew the top and empty it out.

This guy had a great comment on the 5 Hour Energy drink reviews:

normally, by 1:45pm i start to get the heeby-geeby’s, the jimmy leg,cold flashes and profuse sweating, around two, i usually take 2-3 key bumps of decent quality Pablo in rapid succession, this takes care of the temp. extremes, then around three – three thiry, 2 keys of blow with 4 keys bone white smack from Wan of Chinatown. this gets me to the train, the train to my house, then i chase the dragon for the rest of the night. now last week, i swapped my first two keys of blow with 3 bottles of pomegranate 5 hr stuff. works well up to my three thirty speedball(s) Then WHAM! im working circles around anybody near me, i can answer ANY crossword puzzle q’s and at the same time, flip a morgan dollar across my knuckles on my right hand! All this while doing Electrical work in a heavy industrial setting. This stuff turned me into a process control ”GURU”. The nights arent as good as the daytime, but hey> we work for the weekend right? thats another article altogether. Tank you Innovation Ventures, LLC. youve got a customer for life, you can do a study on me, too if you give any of the pomegranate away for study, send it this way!
Read more: http://www.rateitall.com/i-863544-5-hour-energy.aspx#ixzz0xeOoUc2C

Of course, I want you to read this one first …

Truth is really hard to pin down with a definition.  Look at this from Wikepedia:

Truth can have a variety of meanings, from the state of being the case, being in accord with a particular fact or reality, being in accord with the body of real things, events, actuality, or fidelity to an original or to a standard, truth "behind" everything, the ontological truth. In archaic usage it could be fidelity, constancy or sincerity in action, character, and utterance. Various theories and views of truth continue to be debated among scholars and philosophers. There are differing claims on such questions as what constitutes truth; what things are truthbearers capable of being true or false; how to define and identify truth; the roles that revealed and acquired knowledge play; and whether truth is subjective, relative, objective, or absolute.

These types of definitions of truth itself, we usually leave to Philosophy.  Even though we can’t easily pin truth down and philosophy may seem a bit ethereal to the reader, truth in some sense is essential to almost all of our considerations.  Try to deny what I just said without telling me it is not true!

Truth is very powerful – and the definer of truth holds a mighty tool … or weapon … in her or his hand!  Where there is power, there is temptation.  Where there is temptation, the potential arises for corruption.  However, because of the need for action in the world, we don’t usually define truth philosophically, we usually define it through techniques, institutions and leadership.  Let’s take a look at a few of these.

Religion usually tries to give us unassailable truth, Holy Truth.  Yet, even here not all truths codified as laws are equal and this is why Christ railed against the Pharisees, telling them, "Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel" (Matthew 23:23,24) 

It is often due to the belief in competing “unassailable” truths that causes so many to lose sight of the camels entering their gullets leading to destruction of their fellow man and their world rather than uplifting anyone or anything to the divine.

Sales and Marketing are the economic siblings of these other methods.  You have a need.  No, listen, you have a need – let me show you.  I  have a solution that fulfills that need.  I’m telling you the truth.

Sales are necessary, for we live in a world of commerce.  As the consumer, it is up to you to be responsible for determining what you actually DO need, not simply what you are being told you need.

Debate tournaments require alternation between arguing one side of an issue then the other as the participants progress through the tournament.  Competing “truths” ultimately lead the participants to realize that in the big picture of the proposition being considered, they are alternating between half truths, that the whole truth obviously contains both sides they argue.  It would be kind of fun were there some way to apply some fuzzy logic to their scores; but, of course, the debate is hardly won simply with logic.

A trial is somewhat the same, with an attorney arguing for a client and avoiding as skillfully as possible arguments that contradict their position.  They are trying to elevate interpretation of provided evidence, testimony being part of that evidence, to the level of truth in the jurors’ minds.  The jurors sit as judges of truth.  The difficulty is, of course, that the wealthier clients have access to more skilled attorneys, giving their half of the truth a whole lot better chance.

This also is the main method of our public presentations by Congress.  They debate on the floor, but most of the time it is not really to convince one another, it is to convince the public to put pressure on the other side.

Observation and Reporting is another approach to truth, the approach supposedly being used as not only part of scientific data gathering, but also by journalists using various media.  As soon as a scientist or a journalist has a vested interest in the outcome, the observation is potentially tainted!  At that point, they may become conscious or unconscious promoters of specific outcomes.  Science best achieves the best outcome with control subjects and double-blind observations where neither observer nor observed can possibly connect the dots at the point of observation.  That is not an approach that can be applied to journalism, obviously, and we rely to a large extent upon the integrity of the journalist.

Commentary is really a journalistic cousin of observation and reporting.  The journalist’s perspective is added quite openly and can be considered as such.  Unfortunately, the compartmentalization of reporting and commentary, the compartmentalization that prevents the contamination of purpose and opinion, is becoming less and less observed as news media compete more and more for money via ratings and advertising on a 24/7 stage!

Charismatic Leadership tends to cast an aura of truth.  Danger Will Robinson!  Quite often we believe not what was said, but WHO said it.  Up to a point, that is necessary, for we haven’t the expertise, resources or time available to observe all evidence firsthand.  All that we can do is keep our eyes and our minds open and watch out for signs of adoration in ourselves that can be blinding and examine all evidence we can garner.  In other words, when it comes to charisma, be as aware of yourself as of the leader!

It is equally damning to reject their presentation simply because they are charismatic.

Propaganda had a brutal master, the Nazi Information Minister, Joseph Goebbels!  Read some of his views of truth and be chilled:

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

“Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.”

“Intellectual activity is a danger to the building of character”

“Whoever can conquer the street will one day conquer the state, for every form of power politics and any dictatorship-run state has its roots in the street.”

Propaganda did not disappear with the Third Reich!  It still has many adherents although most don’t reach the level of Nazi ruthlessness.  We will all agree that propaganda is still out there in abundance and we even will agree that it sprouts wherever there is power to be gained.  The tough part is that we will disagree about which part is truth and which part propaganda!

Art.  Don’t forget art.  Just because you don’t have words for it doesn’t mean it doesn’t fill out truth.  This is an original artwork, Foxes by Franz Marc (on the left) next to a reproduction of it that Carly did in art class (on the right):

After each student copied the original of their chosen artist, they were asked to do the Mona Lisa in the style of that artist!  Look at the result Carly produced!

That teacher, Tracy Michelson, is magnificent!  TRUE art.

Individual Research and Education is probably the last, best hope.  The conclusion I come to is that truth can only be decided by the individual and I encourage each and every one to stay on top of issues the way only you can.  It is better that we have aware people informing themselves as best they can than that information be squelched or censored.  It is a messy path filled with bumps and potholes, but it sure seems to beat anything else.  The danger is selling yourself on a half truth, not trying to cover all the bases at all and then ignoring new input.  Be sure you can argue the opposing viewpoint(s), even if you only think they are 35% true.  One of the great inoculations against half truths seems to be input from a variety of sources!  It takes courage to discard beliefs in the face of new knowledge, especially if you seem to be alone in doing so.

Don’t always be alone, though.  One of the essential parts of finding truth is what you share with friends and loved ones – even when you are wrong!!

Some are busy with life activities right now, so be patient.  It’s still summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

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It never used to happen to me all that easily – this crying thing – but part of the maturing of a man in our culture is to drop his guard a bit, to allow a more sensitive vulnerability.  It came to me full force in my involvement with the high school choir in which my daughter performed.

It wasn’t so much the scenes with pathos in their musicals even though the kids performed with amazing interpretation for their ages.

No, it was their singing and the marvelous music itself.  It moved – and moves – me in ways hard to explain.  I don’t know how many times I would film their performances and be surreptitiously wiping tears from my eyes.

I’ve become like Pavlov’s dog.  Gather those kids together for a performance now, have them sing, and I’m sure I’d start leaking.

Next Friday, I will be doing another type of filming, for I’ve been asked to film the performance of Masonic Scottish Rite for James’ grandfather’s memorial.  It will also be a military funeral, I believe, but am uncertain.  I hope they don’t play taps.  Taps tears me up … in both meanings of the word. 

Life was easier with young bravado.  It was also less fulfilling, more emotionally impoverished.  Tears are sometimes the price of admission.

I offered to cut Sebastian’s hair in the garage and the relatives wouldn’t let me.  Now I know why … 

Readers Note: This week’s offerings are being tossed in ahead of time, because we are out of town for the week.  However, thieves beware, for my brother-in-law is staying at the house.  And, we have a watchturtle!

… which, of course, they are.  The Consortium readership may not total in the millions – unless you count Grannymar’s readers – but that doesn’t stop us from opining about a multitude of topics and, since you are reading it, it is information consumed.

Definition of Media by YourDictionary.com: The dictionary defines media as all the means of communication, as newspapers, radio, and TV, that provide the public with news, entertainment, etc., usually along with advertising. Essentially, that means almost anything can be media as long as it is watched.

Actually, that is slightly inaccurate.  The last line should be as long as anyone consumes its information.  The fact that you read what we write and that we enjoy presenting ideas to you is, I think, a very positive thing.  In fact, many of the consumers of the information are purveyors themselves, for many of the blog readers are blog writers.  More than at any earlier time in history, media are interactive, quite often two-way.

Rick Sanchez at CNN has been doing this for a considerable stretch of time, trying to use social media as part of his news input.  He actually follows Twitter during the show, used to have Tweets displayed along the bottom of the screen in a running marquee, and tried to use Skype dialogues as live entries from viewers for awhile (see: http://www.levintel.com/first-live-cnn-chat-streamever/, an experiment that I was involved with).

The difficulty with both is that a new level of responsibility is placed on both sides of the communication that interactivity has created.  If we as viewers are giving live input to the news person, are we now creating news rather than observing it?  If the news person doesn’t react to our opinions, what is the point?  But, if he or she does, is this a tainting of unbiased reporting?  Does the news person have the tendency to want to play to the audience more and forget objectivity at times?

Even as bloggers, how much information do we feed that is misleading, because we have not fully researched what we are saying?  Well, as long as you know this is really an op-ed source and don’t take us too seriously – and from your responses, I don’t think we too much to worry about on that front, LOL – it is pretty harmless and actually good fun.  Some of it even thought provoking.

But, for the professional media … well, it makes me a little nervous.

This is the picture that James Schott, Carly’s betrothed, put in their new apartment yesterday of his beloved grandfather, Fred Schott, Sr.  Mr. Schott passed away this morning with his family by his side – including James who traveled the 800 miles to his bedside by car yesterday and James’ twin, Tim, who traveled from Denver.

Fred Sr. was the patriarch of the family I wrote of in an earlier post, Yesterday I Met the Fockers!  I only met Fred once, but I was highly impressed.  Very highly!

Mr. Rajgopaul, now that you are prosperous on the seat, how does it accomplish you seek when group misunderstand you as objective and dead, eh?

Verity is, you and I are a bit ornery, but that doesn’t norm we don’t fixture about people. Quite to the unfavourable, what you did with your soul in the hospital was command mouth, as Ellen Weber has voiced to so clearly. Nutriment often allows communicating script that conveys solon interpersonally than a lancelike examination of facts. Quite simply, if it doesn’t activity at triplex levels, it isn’t singular. You were extending sustain in a way that hopeless categorisation never could. You put your christian get, I actually believe this is a quite colourful man who does indeed record pointing to himself. What a disgrace! I consider I could bang learned a extraordinary aggregation from him.

Now, we demand to get Trousers over here. I’ve got both majuscule jokes about the "Pants pool" that we can use…

Now, how can a person argue with that?!