My two-cents worth and then some. An online journal by LP Brown.

Browsing Category General

The Big C

by on ·General, Technology

“Cancer is the leading cause of death in economically developed countries.” That disturbing statement from the March/April 2011 issue of the Global Cancer Statistics report is in itself unsettling, but although the report attributes the increase in cancer to the “aging and growth of the world population,” what it fails to mention is that one of our greatest assets  – technology – is a huge contributor to the growing number of cancer cases.

While the GCS report references the numerous forms of cancer and suggests that cancer could be prevented through the application of diverse control factors including adhering to a healthy diet and regular exercise, the report makes no mention of cast-off electronic gadgets that could be a contributing factor to the disease.

An article recently published in The Washington Post is a real eye opener, “Replacing Old Smart Phones with Newer Models Creates Environmental Problems.”   Read it. It may rock your world as it did mine.

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Halloween – Not for Children Only

by on ·General

Halloween is one day in the year when young-minded adults step back to their carefree childhood and join numerous children in dressing up in colorful costumes and entering the land of pretend.

Not to be left out, the hosts of various TV programs and their live audiences also join in the fun.

The programs that caught my attention this year were:  

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Halloween: Celebrating All Saints Day or Runnin’ With the Devil?

by on ·General, The Way I See It

“Trick or treat?” That’s the rhetorical question that follows the knock on your door on Halloween eve. Upon opening the door you see giggling, anxious children, eagerly holding out their bags, waiting for you to drop in candy, fruit, or other goodies.

Many adults as well as children enjoy the annual celebration that gives imaginative children the opportunity to fantasize that they are the characters of their dreams – or nightmares – by dressing up in appropriate costumes and going door-to-door trick or treating or attending parties. Some child-at-heart adults join in the fun and put on costumes, too.

While numerous religious factions have no problem with Halloween, some

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The Power of Love

by on ·General

 In 1970, Erich Segal’s novel Love Story became a block buster romantic-tragedy film and many Baby Boomers still remember it as one of the greatest tearjerkers of our day. Love stories continue to be an appealing subject in any venue. There are hundreds of movies about it, books about it, and song, after song, after song about love. But an Iowa couple married for 72 years, who died an hour apart, may be proof of what Christopher Setterlund says in his poem, Love is Eternal. 

In May 1939, on the night of the day that Norma graduated from high school she married Gordon Yeager. On October 12, 2011, Norma, then 90 years old and Gordon, 94 were involved in a car accident. The Yeagers suffered serious injuries including broken bones that sent them both to the hospital intensive care unit. With their beds set side-by-side, the couple joined hands and maintained their grasp even after Gordon died at 3:38 p.m.

Family members were perplexed because although Gordon was declared dead his monitor indicated that his heart was still beating. A nurse explained to the family that the Gordon’s monitor was registering his wife’s heartbeat through their still clasped hands. Norma died one hour after her husband.

At the request of their family, the couple was placed together, hand-in-hand, in a single casket during their funeral. Afterward they were cremated and their ashes mixed.

Now that’s a love story.  

Sentimentalists may agree with what Setterlund so eloquently wrote, “Love is eternal, though breath may cease, love is the one thing, the one part we do not release.”

 

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Update on Rayon McIntosh

by on ·General
Steven Hirsch/Pool

The mother of Denise Darbeau, hospitalized since last Thursday says that her daughter was just a “fun loving” 24 year old who now has memory loss and could have permanent brain damage. Darbeau and her girlfriend, Rachael Edwards, unknowingly ordered and received a double whopper beatdown from McDonald’s employee, Rayon McIntosh.

Following a verbal altercation which Darbeau sealed by slapping McIntosh in his face, the two women — perhaps fantasizing themselves to be Thelma and Louise — then charged behind the counter to confront the cashier. Apparently, the scriptwriter forgot to give the female duo their desired ending and did not give McIntosh a copy of the script, because he responded as any normal person does when threatened, he snapped; er I mean he defended himself. It wasn’t pretty. And I am certain it wasn’t the ending that Thelma and Louise had in mind.

McIntosh’s mother said her son was just trying to get his life together. That is a statement with which many of his supporters agree, regardless of his past. Many also reiterate that he was not out in the street robbing people and looking for trouble — he was working. McIntosh is still being held on $40,000 bond and has a December 2 court date.  Rayon McIntosh Defense Fund. 

 

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