Chri$tma$

Although Christmas may have started as a Christian holiday, it has branched out and now is probably observed (not exactly celebrated) by other faiths and even atheists as a time to exchange gifts and take time off work. These people don't fuss much about their observation unless it intereferes with their lifestyle. The pine trees for sale and the holiday discounts at the store don't raise any eyebrows and they certainly are not discriminatory in any way, but if the city displays a nativity scene, well, that's when things get nasty.

It's not the atheists that have degraded Christmas to its present commerciality, that was done by the good old Sunday School attending Christians who preach their religion on Sunday and leave it at the door of the church on the way out. Last I knew, the giving of gifts was supposed to represent the gifts the magi left the Christ child and, more importantly, the gifts that He gave us. But, in a day where we worship technology, money, power, influence and other such worldly things, giving gifts to others is simply a way to say "thanks," "good work," "I love you," or even "I gave you something so I want something in return." As long as someone out there is still giving toys anonymously to the family down the street or giving food, blankets, and clothes to the homeless we at least stand a chance of a comeback.

Me? Shallow?

So what is so wrong with being shallow?

Girls never go for guys that have any depth to them. These are the guys that get made fun of in gym class and end up banking a ton of money starting some internet company.

It's easy to know what shallow guys want and need. No one ever has to guess as to what I mean when I say, "Gee, Carla! You look really nice today." Since I am shallow that means only one thing and if you can't figure it out you are probably wondering if Microsoft is going to have your pension ready for you when it's time to retire.

Being shallow means I have no ulterior motives and girls can dig that. There's no need for mind games and wondering if I should call or what I'm supposed to say. It's so much easier! Dating should not be hard work and if it is, then I'm not doing it right.

Plus, shallow guys get the hottest chicks anyway! Remember back in high school? The hottest cheerleader dated the hottest, shallowest guy on the football team, not the captain of the physics club.

And when you get older, you don't have to worry, because your girl already knows you're going to ditch her for a younger, hotter girl anyway. Younger girls dig older, more experienced men, right? Especially if you shave your head and have a sexy voice. (That voice coach worked wonders on me!)

So please, don't think about it too hard. The choice should already be made up for you: being shallow is the only way to go.

Etymology

Words are what bring many people together from around the world. If not for spoken or written languages, economies, societies, relationships, and everything else that involves interaction with others would have a difficult, perhaps impossible, time surviving. Each of these different aspects of our lives depend on communication with external intelligence.

But is all language communication? Is all communication language? My answer to both is, "No." If I could choose somewhere in between yes and no, I would. I do think most language is communication and most communication is language. Yes, body language and tone of voice and other non-verbal and non-written elements can be factored into communication, but what good is body language if you don't know what they are saying?

Le français est la langue d'amour. Ma il francese viene da latino. O italiano e o espanhol originaram desta mesma linguagem. Así es con el portugués.

Language and communication have not only the power to unify but also to divide.

Augusto Pinochet

Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte is dead but his legacy, for good and bad, lives on. Taking over the government of Chile violently, he ended the presidency of the first democratically elected Marxist president, Salvador Isabelino del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Allende Gossens. September 11 is still a national holiday paying tribute to the military, one week before Chile's 'Independence' holiday.

Of all Latin American countries, Chile is probably one of the most stable economically and - dare I say - politically. While it is true that many rallies and protests turn violent, I am not aware of any deaths or sever injuries in the recent past, unlike other regional protests. This could be due, in part, to the military and police training, where Pinochet began his political career.

Under Pinochet, the country began the move from privatization to a more capitalistic economy, including allowing foreign investors in. From this standpoint, one could argue that Pinochet brought the country out of the economic demise spurred by Allende's socialist program.

But, as in all stories, there is opposition. Pinochet may be more famous (or infamous) for allowing, sanctioning and possibly participating in murdering alleged enemies, not to mention torture, abuse, and exile imposed on others. All estimates of the number of victims are in the thousands, though no one is sure that an exact count will be known.

Controversies abounded during his life and in death it will continue. Was he a hero or a villain? Is it possible to be both? David killed Goliath and became king, but then he fell from grace by killing Uriah and lusting after Uriah's wife. It is hard to imagine, though, that one person can be capable of both extremes, so much good, and so much evil.

Half Asleep

When I first opened up this blog to write something, I also opened up 'Utopia' by Thomas More in hopes of finding some inspriational sarcasm. However, I quickly moved on to Plato's 'Republic,' noticing that the actual name of this work depends on the language from which it was translated to English. I won't even bother myself with the details. Soon after that window closed another opened...you guessed it! On Google! I don't even know how I found it, but it had some interesting viewpoints, arguments, counterarguments, hypotheses, regarding religion, policits, economics, philosophy, and other branches of related study. One thing that caught me eye was the comparison between Darwin's theory of evolution and free markets, both involving "sponateous natural order," or chaos theory, or whatever you want to call it. Though not for the faint hearted, it is worth a glance, and in return you might find yourself laughing outloud just a bit. No one ever said politics and humor can't go in the same sentence. Here it is in all its glory: Creation & Darwinism, Politics & Economics, by Kelly L. Ross, Ph.D.

With a Little Help from the Climate

The other night on the History Channel (that's right, folks, I am a nerd) I came into the middle of a program that seemed to be discussing how Stradivarius created such perfect violins. Upon watching the show further, I realized that they were hypothesizing that the Little Ice Age may have helped him in his work.

Sometime between the 15th and 19th centuries, the temperature in Europe, and potentially across the globe, was almost 1 degree celsius cooler than normal, which in turn made for some extremely harsh winters and colder, shorter summers. This colder climate made the trees grow slower, so that the space between the tree rings was smaller, thus making them more resonant in the violins (according to some).

This colder climate also killed much of the vineyards in Northern Europe, so instead of wine, they turned to their cereals and grains to make alcoholic beverages. As they emigrated to the United States, they brought their traditions along with them. Even today, more than 80% of the alcoholic beverages consumed in the USA is beer and hard liquor. Most of the wines are drunk on the coasts.

And finally, the Vikings who were renowned for their survival skills were killed off in Greenland (when they moved to Greenland, it really was green due to the Midieval Climate Optimum) because of the harsher winters and their lack of assuming the skills of the Inuits with whom they shared the frozen country.

It is interesting how the weather from hundreds of years ago has affected us even today, without us realizing it.

Capitalist Healthcare

In the United States of America, the healthcare system is currently a privately owned and operated sector, but is a capitalistic healthcare system really the best way to ensure all people have access to sufficient, timely, appropriate medical attention? Most insurance companies require a co-payment at the time of services, after which the doctor's office will bill the insurance company and then the patient may possibly pay some out-of-pocket expenses, depending on the policy. Because the doctor's office is getting reimbursed based on the procedures performed and the insurance company's billing schedule, not according to communications to and from the patient, the doctor's office has no incentive to notify patient's of test results on a timely basis.

In my Personal Aside, I talked of possible impending bad news. Implied was that my doctor had some news for me and it would either be great news or horrible news; however, the time period that I had to wait for the news was excruciatingly long. My test was on a Friday and I was told that I should have the results by Tuesday. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I called the doctor's office multiple times and they had neither received results, nor had they requested results. On Friday when I called, they informed me that the hospital that performed the test on me had no record of me being there the week before! Finally, I went to the hospital myself and got the test results.

I read the results, which were of a somewhat less than promising nature (I'm being sarcastic if you can't tell- the results were scary!). When dropping the results off at the doctor's office, they told me they had received them, but had forgotten to call me! Obviously, they don't get paid by letting me know my test results on a timely basis, but this is a life we are talking about! What if I had 48 hours to live? They had begun their reimbursement process, so what did they care? They wouldn't get their cash any sooner if they told me the test results on Monday or Friday or two years later.

The worst part is, on a follow-up test, the same thing happened agin. Where are we headed with this? Doctor's offices get their money, hospitals are only required to do bare minimum procedures for those who can't afford insurance...Shouldn't everyone be entitled to the same treatment? Government-run healthcare would alleivate part of this, but with all the bureaucracy and red tape, would timeliness be unaffected? Would medical advances slow or even stop because the inventors would not be as well compensated as they would have been under capitalism?

Where do we go from here? What improvements can we make without sacrificing what we've already got?