Dancing Matt

Matthew Harding spent the last 14 months going to 42 countries, and dancing with everyone!

Everyone has heros, Matt is one of mine. He does what others dream.


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

The Devils in the Details

Take one look at the picture below. The artist has perfectly captured the hands pressing into the flesh. This is only a small aspect of the whole sculpture.

As seen here in its entirety. Bernini was a genius! What his hands could fashion with hammer and chisel. Somehow he was able to find the soul or figure buried inside that cold stone.

The Rape of Proserpina by Gian Lorenzo BERNINI

Happy Juneteenth!

Juneteenth, What is It?

I looked at it again this year. From the Texas State Library and Archives, it states that it is an annual celebration of the emancipation of slaves in the State of Texas.

This occurred on June 19th, 1865. It was announced by Union Gen. Gordon Granger at Galveston, Texas.

Unfortunately, is was after the final Emancipation Proclamation that was issued on Jan. 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln.

It is a day to celebrate. The chains of bondage broken. It is days like this that make you proud to be American. We have our faults, but we can change for the better!

The French Unions are Striking, Welcome to our World

FRANCE - LABOUR

//http://www.france24.com/en/20080617-unions-march-against-plan-change-35-hour-week-france

French unions march to defend 35-hour week
Tuesday 17 June 2008
The CGT and CFDT unions called on their members to march Tuesday against a government plan to revise the 35-hour work week and make it possible for companies to negotiate directly with employees on overtime and compensation.

The French are fed up! The government is attempting to loosen restrictions on the workweek. The unions are up in arms at the possibility of a work week longer than 35 hours. There is so much unease that the unions are supporting nationwide strikes.

This brought to mind an editorial article in a local paper titled "Americans Over worked?". My work is not governed by the traditional 40 hour workweek. I felt compelled to do some research and came up with the following response which was published in the same paper.


September 22: Americans Overworked?

In response to the Wednesday, Sept. 19, editorial, I disagree with the statement: "Portrait of Overworked American Not Accurate."

We all can agree the United States economy has had robust growth in recent years. The reason being Americans are working hard, harder and longer than our contemporary high-income countries, as well as many middle-and low-income countries.

A recent Harvard School of Public Health study of 168 of the world's nations found: 84 countries have laws that fix a maximum limit on the workweek; the United States does not; 163 of 168 countries guarantee paid leave for mothers in connection with childbirth, 45 countries offer such leave to fathers. The United States does not. Paid sick leave is guaranteed in 139 countries, not in the United States; 96 countries guarantee paid annual (vacation) leave, the United States does not; 37 countries guarantee parents paid time off when children are sick, the United States does not.

The International Labour Organization's ILO News, Sept. 6, 1999, reported Americans work the longest hours among industrialized countries. Lawrence Jeff Johnson, ILO labor economist, said, "Currently (1999) the U.S. worker works more hours than his or her counterpart in other industrialized countries, and he or she also leads the way in terms of productivity.

The United States had 1,966 annual number of hours worked in 1997. Given 52 weeks in the year, that is 37.8 hours per week. Japan was next with 1,889 hours annually, followed by Australia at 1866 hours. Canada worked 1,732.4 hours, Germany 1,559.5 hours, France 1,656 hours and United Kingdom 1,731. Other countries were even lower.

In October 2004, Common Ground, an independent Canadian publication, noted current workweeks lower than the United States 40-hour week. This would include France, 35 hours; Netherlands, 36 or 38 hours; Denmark, 37; Norway, 37.5; Belgium, 38; Portugal, 40 and Spain, 35. At that time the European Union Working Time Directive required a minimum of four weeks paid leave for all employees, with several EU countries having five weeks (25 working days) of vacation by law.

Europeans work less and relax more than Americans. Data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development show Americans work 25 percent more hours each year than Norwegians or Dutch. Average retirement age of European men is 60.5 and it is lower for European women. Our vacations are pathetically short by comparison. Among countries surveyed by Expedia.com, Americans receive the fewest vacation days on average per year, 14, compared to 24 in Great Britain, 26 in Germany, 30 in Spain and 36 in France.

Compared to our peers, Americans work longer hours per week and take less time off; have no guarantees as to how much time they may be required to work; no guarantee as to time off; no guarantee for sick time or time to care for sick children, not to mention no paid leave for childbirth, mother or father.

We have more leisure time, yet still we work more than our counterparts. So is the portrait accurate when an American is called overworked? I think yes.

Dean Pennington II

Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

Regarding previous post.

Interestingly enough, most men are not aware of HPV infection especially some of the strains that are considered most virulent at causing cervical cancer in woman.

Why is this?

Unfortunately the strains of HPV (also known as Genital Warts) that are linked with causing cervical cancer in woman cause a very flat or non-noticeable lesions. They are not painful.

The strains of HPV that can cause visible lesions are mostly not associated with cervical cancer. These unsightly lesions can be removed with a variety of treatments including; laser, liquid nitrogen, topical acid and resection.

Approximately 10 million sexually transmitted diseases will occur in young people between the ages of 15 and 24 over the next year.

Education and prevention will help decrease this number. Maybe this vaccine will as well.

As a parent, I will gladly accept the responsibility to educate my children about sexually transmitted diseases. We have a duty to explain how a disease is obtained and how to avoid contracting these same life changing diseases!

As Smokey the Bear used to say, "Only you can help prevent forest fires" and Sexually transmitted diseases.

HPV Vaccine for Boys

HPV Vaccine for Boys? It Just Might Happen

The virus that causes cervical cancer also leads to throat cancer in males

By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay Reporter

SATURDAY, June 14 (HealthDay News) -- More than half of all people will have a sexually transmitted disease or infection at some point in their life, the American Social Health Association reports.

One of the least noticeable, but potentially most life-threatening infections, is the human papillomavirus, or HPV.

Most HPV carriers are never diagnosed and never realize they carry the virus.
"It's never detected, they are never aware of it, and their immune system suppresses it before they ever know about it in the vast majority of cases," said Fred Wyand, spokesman for the American Social Health Association.

In this way, HPV is a silent killer. It's the leading cause of cervical cancer and has become the second-leading cause of cancer death for women around the globe.

Doctors have responded to the threat of HPV by fighting it in a way unusual among sexually transmitted diseases -- through a vaccine. The vaccine, Gardasil, is proven to prevent infection from four particularly dangerous strains of HPV in women.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that 11- and 12-year-old girls begin receiving the vaccine as part of school vaccination efforts. Now researchers are looking into whether the vaccine should be given to boys as well, both to prevent the transmission of HPV, and to prevent the rarer, but no less deadly, cancers that can occur in men from the virus.

"There is probably no reason to think it would not be effective in boys, and because HPV is passed back and forth, immunizing a large part of the population would limit transmission," said Dr. Jonathan L. Temte, associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

"However, we're still very early in the life span of this vaccine. It's been less than a year since a recommendation was issued. It is premature to discuss giving it to boys until there's proof of its efficacy," added Temte, who also serves as the American Academy of Family Practitioners' liaison to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Studies have shown HPV to kill an estimated 240,000 women worldwide each year through cervical cancer. And infection with HPV via oral sex also has been proven to be the leading cause of throat cancer, striking 11,000 American men and women each year.

Research continues to find that Gardasil is very effective in preventing HPV-caused cervical cancer. Two studies last year involving almost 18,000 girls and women found that Gardasil was nearly 100 percent effective in preventing precancerous cervical lesions from the four HPV strains targeted by the vaccine. Though there are at least 15 strains of genital HPV, Gardasil targets the four strains thought to cause 70 percent of cervical malignancies.

The studies also found that Gardasil is much more effective when given to girls or young women before they become sexually active.

Although men don't risk cervical cancer, they are half of the equation when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases. They also face increased risks for throat, genital and anal cancers from HPV infection.

The maker of Gardasil, Merck & Co., is accumulating data to consider whether boys should receive the inoculation as well.

"Nobody will be surprised if someday it is recommended for boys, but it's premature to make that call now," Wyand said. "The early returns I'm aware of with boys are positive. The vaccine appears to trigger an immune response similar to that of girls."

Gardasil isn't the only development on the vaccine front -- other vaccines for sexually transmitted diseases are being studied as well, Temte said. A second HPV vaccine, this one from GlaxoSmithKline, is currently awaiting FDA approval, he said.

And researchers are also looking at a vaccine that could prevent herpes simplex, the cause of genital herpes. "There are going to be a few years out before we see anything like that," Temte said.

Other news involving sexually transmitted disease is less encouraging.
The CDC estimates that approximately 19 million new sexually transmitted infections occur each year, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24. Direct medical costs associated with STDs consume up to $14.7 billion annually in the United States.

And, in 2006, there were increases in chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis in the United States, according to the CDC.

More than 1.03 million cases of chlamydia were reported in 2006, up from 976,445 in 2005. Gonorrhea has increased for two years in a row, following a 74 percent decline in its reported rate for two decades. And the national syphilis rate increased 13.8 percent between 2005 and 2006, again reversing what had been years of decline.

Doctors are investigating what these increases mean, Wyand said.
"They aren't sure if those were true increases, or if people are being tested with better and more specific technologies," he said, noting that each of the STDs tend to be chronically underreported.

More information
To learn more about sexually transmitted diseases, visit the American Social Health Association.
content by:

SOURCES: Fred Wyand, spokesman for the American Social Health Association, Research Triangle Park, N.C.; Jonathan L. Temte, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and the American Academy of Family Practitioners' liaison to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

From msn health and fitness: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100205485&GT1=31036

Friday the 13th, My lucky day

Paraskevidekatriaphobia

people afflicted with a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th

For me, I have always considered it Lucky!

The Shack

I just finished the fictional book, "The Shack".  I discussed it briefly with one of my many spiritual mentors.

Or discussion led us to a couple of pertinent points.  First, organized religion, is exactly that organized.  It is a business of religion.

Second, describing God is not possible in his/her/their terms only in our human terms.

Finally, relationship and love is what God is all about.

Contact

Today, I spoke with one of my dearest friends. This is not so unusual unless you step back and take a look at what actually is happening.

First, he had written me an e-mail. In his e-mail he had attached part of a novel he is writing.

I read the attached document and laughed . It brought back such strong memories of another part of the world 17 years ago.

The amazing parts to consider: my friend lives in Boulder, Colorado, I live in Texas. We have not layed eyes on one another in over 14 years. Yet our relationship could not be stronger or more important. We last saw each other in Florida. The portion of the novel was written and transmitted by computer and internet. The words written were about a far place quite awhile back.

The internet and phone now allows contact, continued contact in a meaningful way, over great distances, over great lengths of time and with instant access to most everyday things.

I write this amazed and happy.

The power is available. The contact can be made and maintained. The only hold up is Time, Money and Desire. Missing any one of these three things will not allow this most amazing happening. Just something to consider.

Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley where have you gone?

One of the founders of rock and roll has passed on to the next adventure.


Who Do You Love?

Bo Diddley

I walked 47 miles of barbed wire,
Used a cobra snake for a neck tie.
Got a brand new house on the roadside,
Made out of rattlesnake hide.
I got a brand new chimney made on top,
Made out of human skulls.
Now come on darling let's take a little walk, tell me,
Who do you love,
Who do you love, Who do you love, Who do you love.

Arlene took me by the hand,
And said oooh eeeh daddy I understand.
Who do you love,
Who do you love, Who do you love, Who do you love.
The night was black and the night was blue,
And around the corner an ice wagon flew.
A bump was a hittin' lord and somebody screemed,
You should have heard just what I seen.
Who do you love, Who do you love, Who do you love, Who do you love.

Arleen took me by my hand, she said Ooo-ee Bo you know I understand
I got a tombstone hand and a graveyard mind,
I lived long enough and I ain't scared of dying.

Who do you love (4x's)

George Thorogood changed the lyrics to include this:

Yeah, I've got a tombstone hand in a graveyard mind, just twenty-two baby I don't mind dying
Snake skin shoes baby put them on your feet, got the goodtime music and the Bo Diddley beat
Who do you love?
Who do you love


Here is George's rendition of Bo's classic "Who do you Love?"