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Moving down, boobs! Now I have moobs, but they are no-where near as big as Kirsty’s. This gave her a problem recently in so much that a lot of her tops seemed to not fit anymore. This was down primarily due to a boobie explosion, and replacements were purchased! Now, that doesn’t happen to the wife! And then there is the chest, arm and under-arm hair, hate all of it, but as explained shaving is a pain…I took skin off my hands last week which made my knuckles look like I’d punched a wall.
Back to the boobs, as they are kept in a box when in geezer mode and are of a certain type that require only bra’s which can hold boulders, if Kirsty manages to get out (don’t get excited, when I mean out I mean in!) for more than the usual 3-4 hours at night, the combination of the re-enforced bra and fake boobs creates a slug type substance to smear my chest.
Tops even they can be an issue. Most of them that Kirsty likes do up at the back, this means that to get that done requires either external assistance, or for me to be double-jointed. I don’t why she can’t just wear something simpler?
And the skirts, this one in particular, is it worth it! What the hell is it covering? I know that Kirsty is usually pretty conservative and is almost always covered up (she’s not a fan of her legs!), she is getting a little more adventurous. Ok, I know that she can, and does wear opaque tights, but even they come with their own issues. A pain at my age and condition sometimes to get on, and as she does not have the right hormones, they roll over the bear gut! And to top it off, even when she wears trousers, (female cut obviously), she insists on shaving her legs. And what with my grotesque trouser appendage, and the lack of hips, bottoms take a lot of time constantly moving them back (and round, and up and down!) into a decent position.
Shoes, OMG. Thank god flats seem to be the go-to now, but these boots! Tight, uncomfortable, but O.M.G..they do look and feel fantastic!!
And that’s the thing, as all the above thoughts went through my head in the time it took me to walk to work, I realised that I don’t do this to physically torture myself. I don’t do this to try and pretend I’m someone I’m not, with the wigs and fake bits. I don’t do this to get some sort of naughty gratification. I don’t do this as I like the way the clothes feel. I do this because it is who I am. I am Kirsty, maybe not dressed as I want all the time, but it is who I am. I may not at the moment make it out the front door, but when he leaves the house, just under his surface I am there. I’ve been here for as long as the geezer has, and if I have to suffer the pain be as I am and then have to go back to him, then so be it. I’d rather be part time, then lose the one person who has loved me for who I am.
We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:
Dear Editor—
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O'Hanlon
115 West Ninety Fifth Street
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence.
We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
-----------------
"Is There a Santa Claus?" reprinted from the September 21, 1897, number of The New York Sun.
www.metmuseum.org/pubs/bulletins/1/pdf/3269068.pdf.banner...
"[Im kunstschonen ist] der gedanke verkorpert, und die materie von ihm nicht ausserlich bestimmt , sondern existiert selber frei , indem das naturliche , sinnliche, gemuth u.s.f. in sich selbst maass, zweck und uebereinstimmung hat, und die anschauung und empfindung ebenso in geistige allgemeinheit ebenso ist . als der gedanke seiner feindschaft gegen die natur nicht nur entsagt , sondem dungsich in ihr erheitert und empfin lust und genuss berechtigt und geheiligt ist , so dass natur und freiheit, sinnlichkeit und begriff in einem ihr recht und befriedigung finden"
In art, ... thought is materialized, and matter is not extraneously determined by thought but is itself free in so far as the natural, sensuous, affectional possess their measure, purpose, and harmony in themselves. While perception and feeling are raised to the universality of the spirit, thought not only renounces its hostility against nature but en-joys itself in nature. Feeling, joy, and pleasure are sanctioned and justified so that nature and freedom, sensuousness and reason, find in their unity their right and their gratification.
G.W.F. Hegel , Vorlesungen uber die Aesthetik
from Herbert Marcuse. Eros and Civilization: A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud . Kindle Edition.
K
A tradition in Australia is showtime in all of the major regional centres throughout the country,To some folks it is the culmination as they prepare for all of the local competitions on offer,like jam making vegetable growing,and yes horse events.This image was developed in Tetenal C41.
This was my first colour developed film in quite some time,as I have been saving the shot films up in the fridge until I had enough to develop,it is always a nice surprise when they get scanned,as one never quite remembers what was shot on theat particular roll,delayed gratification rules!
Yesterday the rains finally came after weeks of barely a drop. So I thought I’d go out and enjoy some of that downpour…it was actually kind of fun. I set my camera up in the garage and ran out into the rain. My husband thought I was crazy, I asked him to join me but he wasn’t game for the idea, maybe another time :-) I remember doing this as a kid, just running out in the summer rains getting all soaked.
Though we live in a society of instant gratification, where it’s like we needed it yesterday, there are still times where we must wait. We’ve exhausted our resources whether that be financially or emotionally and we are left to wait it out. It’s kind of like waiting for the rains after weeks and weeks of nothing, you can’t make it happen, it will come when God decides for it to come.
It is in the waiting that we learn perseverance, patience, acceptance, relying on someone else other than ourselves and realizing that we can’t do it alone. It is also realizing that sometimes all of our waiting will not result in the end we would like to see. I think of parents who desperately want to have a child and no amount of trying or waiting makes that happen, they are still left without a child. Parents who wait year after year for their child who has walked out thinking they could do life on their own and didn’t need their parents…the anguish they must feel of wondering where that child is. Some wait for life to take a turn employment wise so that life isn’t just about making it and barely making it. Others wait for a healing that never comes and their loved ones are left behind asking that question “why?” why is one healed and not another? Some wait for loved ones to come home from war, some come home and some don’t and life is forever changed.
Some of our waiting is joy filled and full of anticipation.
Waiting for that baby to be born
Waiting for your child to come home after such a long time apart
Knowing that your son, daughter, husband or wife will come home from their tour of duty and waiting to see them for the first time in a year
Waiting for a special day or a special trip away
Waiting to see that special someone that you haven’t seen in such a long time
Waiting…we all experience it…some of that waiting brings joy and some sorrow and sadness. I think that it is in the waiting; in those times of tough waiting that we still have to choose life and not just live for what may never be. When we live our lives solely for what we are waiting for we tend to miss day to day life and the little blessings that are scattered along the road of our waiting.
I took this photo long ago planning to post it, but forgot about it. So tonight I opened my PhotoShop Elements 14 hoping to make some editing. Guess what? When I tried to open this image, PhotoShop Elements 14 stops it, saying that:
"This application does not support the editing of banknote images"
What the FUCK??? I'm really disturbed by this. Does making and editing banknote images make me a criminal or suspicious character?? And so banknote collectors (like myself) and dealers are not supposed to make and edit photos of their collections or inventories?
I find it really scary that PhotoShop's software actually analyzes and identifies the images that we are editing. What else is reported back to Adobe??? This is really George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four becoming true.
King of Kings | The New Heaven and Earth | Musical Drama "Gospel Choir 13th Performance"
Almighty God has revealed the mystery of the six-thousand-year management plan to man. Focus on God's work in the last days and the fate of mankind; focus on Chinese Gospel Choir 13th Performance of the Church of Almighty God.
The 13th performance by the Church of Almighty God is a musical, a chorus of praise which fuses together Beijing opera, rock and roll, traditional work songs, Latin dance, animation, drama and other forms of expression, to give a vivid interpretation of the journey made by mankind—that has been deceived and corrupted by Satan—as they cast Satan aside and return before God to come under His salvation.
With Satan in power, demons running amok, and with the world in an abyss of darkness, in utter misery, like a hell on earth, mankind painfully struggles on through evil and, even more so, God's chosen people suffer over and over the repression and slaughter at the hands of Satan's demons. Just when Satan, the great red dragon's savage evil and its wild defiance of God is at its height, lightning flashes from the East, and the Christ of the last days—the Almighty Himself—comes to earth to express His Word, bringing the true light, bringing wrath and bringing judgment. Under God's majestic judgment, Satan reveals its true form and God's chosen people use the word of God as a sharp sword to defeat Satan, never again to endure Satan's control or manipulations. Finally, Satan is reduced to ashes by the fire of God's wrath, and the whole world is returned to its former holiness. God's chosen people gather together before God's throne, and they happily sing and dance to celebrate the utter accomplishment of God's great work!
HUMAN BEINGS HAVE REGAINED THE SANCTITY THEY ONCE POSSESSED
La … la … la … la …
On this jubilant occasion, at this moment of exultation (du ba du ba),God’s righteousness and God’s holiness
have gone abroad throughout the universe (ba ba ba …),and all mankind extols them without surcease. (Du … ba … ba la ba ba)The cities of heaven are laughing with joy (du ba du ba),and the kingdoms of earth are dancing with joy. (Ba ba ba …)Who at this moment is not rejoicing?And who at this moment is not weeping? (Du … ba … ba la ba ba)Earth belongs to heaven, and heaven is united with earth.Man is the cord uniting heaven and earth,and thanks to his sanctity, thanks to his renewal,heaven is no longer concealed from earth,and earth is no longer silent towards heaven. (Da la … da la da … oh …)The faces of humanity are wreathed in, are wreathed in smiles of gratification,and secreted in their hearts is a sweetness that knows no bounds,a sweetness that knows no bounds. (Da la … da la da da da la da)
Man does not quarrel with man (beng …),nor do men come to blows with one another. (Beng …) Are there any who, in God’s light, do not live peacefully with others?Are there any who, in God’s days, disgrace His name?
All human beings direct their reverential gaze towards God (du ba du ba),and in their hearts they secretly cry out to Him. (Ba la ba ba)God has searched humanity’s every action (du … ba … ba la ba ba):among the human beings who have been cleansed (du ba du ba),there are none that are disobedient to God (ba la ba ba),none that pass judgment on Him.
All humanity is suffused with God’s disposition.Da la … da la da da da la da Everyone is coming to know God, is drawing closer to Him,and is adoring Him, is adoring Him. (Ba … ba la ba ba)God stands fast in the spirit of man (ba … ba la ba ba),is exalted to the highest pinnacle in man’s eyes,and flows through the blood in his veins.The joyous exaltation, joyous exaltation in men’s hearts (na …)fills every place (na …) on the face of the earth (na …),the air is brisk and fresh (na …), dense fogs no longer blanket the ground (na …),and the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent.The air is brisk and fresh (na …), dense fogs no longer blanket the ground (na …),and the sun shines resplendent, the sun shines resplendent.La … La … La … la … la … La … La … La … la … la …
From “God's Utterances to the Entire Universe (The Eighteenth Utterance)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
Recommended for You: musical documentary
When, I've had a busy old day I just need to have a nice hot chocolate .... works all the time!!
Our Daily Challenge ~ Instant Gratification ....
Thanks to everyone who views this photo, adds a note, leaves a comment and of course BIG thanks to anyone who chooses to favourite my photo .... Thanks to you all!
A new move in dance culture performed by members of the Australian Dance Party from the nations capital Canberra . The groups aim is to challenge controversial issues through dance concepts . This one on mining questions the impacts on a sustainable future responding to the new mines in North Queensland . Mine reveals a culture of short sightedness and self gratification via object and possession in this case Lego pieces .
QSM
Brisbane
Eating an abundance of junk seems normal to today’s generation. Over the past few years, in urban metropolitan cities, the tradition of eating home cooked Indian food is swapped by quick fix snacks, chips and biscuits etc. Easy availability and low cost are a major cause for the growing fad for junk food among kids. Junk food is a classic example of unbalanced diet usually characterized by high proportion of carbohydrates, refined sugar, salt, fats and low nutritional value, which can raise various health concerns like obesity, cardiac disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure etc. These food are processed and refined in such a way that they lose most of the key nutrients, have low fiber and poor water content. Effects of junk food on our digestive system: Junk food is unhealthy for digestive system as they slowdown the digestion process making the stomach bloated. In order to digest food, stomach needs enzymes and fast food does not have them. When food is absorbed by the intestine it requires fiber and water to excrete but they don't have such nutrients which leads to poor digestion and irritable bowels. Carbs and sugar in fast food and processed food can increase acids in your mouth. These acids can break down tooth enamel. As tooth enamel disappears, bacteria can take hold, and cavities may develop.
Obesity can also lead to complications with bone density and muscle mass. People who are obese have a greater risk for falling and breaking bones. It’s important to keep exercising to build muscles, which support your bones, and maintain a healthy diet to minimize bone loss.Fast food may satisfy hunger in the short term, but long-term results are less positive. People who eat fast food and processed pastries are 51 percent more likely to develop depression than people who don’t eat those foods or eat very few of them.Excess calories from fast-food meals can cause weight gain. This may lead toward obesity.Obesity increases your risk for respiratory problems, including asthma and shortness of breath. The extra pounds can put pressure on your heart and lungs and symptoms may show up even with little exertion. You may notice difficulty breathing when you’re walking, climbing stairs, or exercising. For children, the risk of respiratory problems is especially clear. One study found that children who eat fast food at least three times a week are more likely to develop asthma.Most fast food, including drinks and sides, are loaded with carbohydrates with little to no fiber. When your digestive system breaks down these foods, the carbs are released as glucose (sugar) into your bloodstream. As a result, your blood sugar increases. Your pancreas responds to the surge in glucose by releasing insulin. Insulin transports sugar throughout your body to cells that need it for energy. As your body uses or stores the sugar, your blood sugar returns to normal.How many carbs should you eat in a day? » This blood sugar process is highly regulated by your body, and as long as you’re healthy, your organs can properly handle these sugar spikes. But frequently eating high amounts of carbs can lead to repeated spikes in your blood sugar. Overtime, these insulin spikes may cause your body’s normal insulin response to falter. This increases your risk for weight gain, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. Swinging through the drive-thru or hopping into your favorite fast-food restaurant tends to happen more often than some would like to admit. According to the Food Institute’s analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, millennials alone spend 44 percent of their budget’s food dollars on eating out.
Junk food is a pejorative term for food containing high levels of calories from sugar or fat with little fibre, protein, vitamins or minerals. Junk food can also refer to high protein food like meat prepared with saturated fat. Food from many hamburger outlets, pizza and fried chicken outlets is often considered as junk food.
Concerns about the negative health effects resulting from a "junk food"-heavy diet, especially obesity, have resulted in public health awareness campaigns, and restrictions on advertising and sale in several countries.
Contents
1Origin of the term
2Definitions
3Popularity and appeal
4Health effects
5Anti-junk food measures
5.1Taxation
5.2Advertising restriction
6Behavior problems
7See also
8References
9Further reading
10External links
Origin of the term
The term junk food dates back at least to the early 1950s,although it has been reported that it was coined in 1972 by Michael F. Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.In 1952, it appeared in a headline in the Lima, Ohio, News, "fish, 'Junk Foods' Cause Serious Malnutrition", for a reprint of a 1948 article from the Ogden, Utah, Standard-Examiner, originally headlined, "Dr. Brady’s Health Column: More Junk Than Food". In it, Dr. Brady writes, "What Mrs. H calls 'junk' I call cheat food. That is anything made principally of white flour and or refined white sugar or syrup. For example, white bread, crackers, cake, candy, ice cream soda, chocolate malted, sundaes, sweetened carbonated beverages."The term cheat food can be traced back in newspaper mentions to at least 1916.
Definitions
Andrew F. Smith, in his book, Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food, defines junk food as "those commercial products, including candy, bakery goods, ice cream, salty snacks, and soft drinks, which have little or no nutritional value but do have plenty of calories, salt, and fats. While not all fast foods are junk foods, most are. Fast foods are ready-to-eat foods served promptly after ordering. Some fast foods are high in calories and low in nutritional value, while other fast foods, such as salads, may be low in calories and high in nutritional value."
Junk foods have empty calories, i.e. the energy content is not complemented with proteins and lipids required for a nutritious diet. François Magendie showed by experiment in 1816 that dogs died when fed only sugar.
Foods commonly considered junk foods include salted snack foods, gum, candy, sweet desserts, fried fast food, and sugary carbonated beverages. Many foods such as hamburgers, pizza, and tacos can be considered either healthy or junk food depending on their ingredients and preparation methods.[14] The more highly processed items usually fall under the junk food category, including breakfast cereals that are mostly sugar or high fructose corn syrup and white flour or milled corn.
Especially in the case of ethnic foods, a classification as "junk food" could be perceived as rather offensive, given that such foods may have been prepared and consumed for centuries and may contain healthy ingredients.[citation needed] In the book, Panic Nation: Unpicking the Myths We're Told About Food and Health, a complementary point is argued: food is food, and if there is no nutritional value, then it isn't a food of any type, "junk" or otherwise. Co-editor Vincent Marks explains, "To label a food as 'junk' is just another way of saying, 'I disapprove of it.' There are bad diets - that is, bad mixtures and quantities of food - but there are no 'bad foods' except those that have become bad through contamination or deterioration."
Popularity and appeal
Junk food in its various forms is extremely popular, and an integral part of modern popular culture. In the US, annual fast food sales are in the area of $160 billion, compared to supermarket sales of $620 billion (a figure which also includes junk food in the form of convenience foods, snack foods, and candy). In 1976, "Junk Food Junkie", the tale of a junk food addict who pretends to follow a healthy diet by day, while at night he clandestinely gorges on Hostess Twinkies and Fritos corn chips, McDonald's and KFC, became a Top 10 pop hit in the US. Thirty-six years later, Time placed the Twinkie at #1 in its "Top 10 Iconic Junk Foods" special feature: "Not only...a mainstay on our supermarket shelves and in our bellies, they've been a staple in our popular culture and, above all, in our hearts. Often criticized for its lack of any nutritional value whatsoever, the Twinkie has managed to persevere as a cultural and gastronomical icon."
America also celebrates an annual National Junk Food Day on July 21. Origins are unclear; it is one of around 175 US food and drink days, most created by "people who want to sell more food", at times aided by elected officials at the request of a trade association or commodity group. "In honor of the day," Time in 2014 published, "5 Crazy Junk Food Combinations". Headlines from other national and local media coverage include: "Celebrate National Junk Food Day With… Beer-Flavored Oreos?" (MTV); "National Junk Food Day: Pick your favorite unhealthy treats in this poll" (Baltimore);"Celebrities' favorite junk food" (Los Angeles); "A Nutritionist's Guide to National Junk Food Day" with "Rules for Splurging" (Huffington Post); and "It's National Junk Food Day: Got snacks?" (Kansas City).
It is well-established that the poor eat more junk food overall than the more affluent, but the reasons for this are not clear.[29] Few studies have focused on variations in food perception according to socio-economic status (SES); some studies that have differentiated based on SES suggest that the economically challenged don't perceive healthy food much differently than any other segment of the population.Recent research into scarcity, combining behavioral science and economics, suggests that, faced with extreme economic uncertainty, where even the next meal may not be a sure thing, judgment is impaired and the drive is to the instant gratification of junk food, rather than to making the necessary investment in the longer-term benefits of a healthier diet.
Health effects
When junk food is consumed very often, the excess fat, simple carbohydrates, and processed sugar found in junk food contributes to an increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and many other chronic health conditions.[33] A case study on consumption of fast foods in Ghana suggested a direct correlation between consumption of junk food and obesity rates. The report asserts that obesity resulted to related complex health concerns such upsurge of heart attack rates. Studies reveal that as early as the age of 30, arteries could begin clogging and lay the groundwork for future heart attacks.Consumers also tend to eat too much in one sitting, and those who have satisfied their appetite with junk food are less likely to eat healthy foods like fruit or vegetables.
Testing on rats has indicated negative effects of junk food that may manifest likewise in people. A Scripps Research Institute study in 2008 suggested that junk food consumption alters brain activity in a manner similar to addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin. After many weeks with unlimited access to junk food, the pleasure centers of rat brains became desensitized, requiring more food for pleasure; after the junk food was taken away and replaced with a healthy diet, the rats starved for two weeks instead of eating nutritious fare. A 2007 study in the British Journal of Nutrition found that female rats who eat junk food during pregnancy increased the likelihood of unhealthy eating habits in their offspring.
Other research has been done on the impact of sugary foods on emotional health in humans, and has suggested that consumption of junk food can negatively impact energy levels and emotional well-being.
Anti-junk food measures
A number of countries have adopted, or are considering, various forms of legislated action to curb junk food consumption. In 2014, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Anand Grover, released his report, "Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health", and called for governments to "take measures, such as developing food and nutrition guidelines for healthy diets, regulating marketing and advertising of junk food, adopting consumer-friendly labelling of food products, and establishing accountability mechanisms for violations of the right to health."
An early, high-profile and controversial attempt to identify and curb junk food in the American diet was launched by the so-called McGovern Committee, formally, the United States Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, between 1968 and 1977, chaired by Senator George McGovern. Initially formed to investigate malnutrition and hunger in the US, the committee's scope progressively expanded to include environmental conditions that affected eating habits, like urban decay, then focused on the diet and nutritional habits of the American public. It criticized the use of salt, sugar and fat in processed foods, noted problems with overeating and the high percentage of ads for junk food on TV, and stated that bad eating habits could be as deadly as smoking. The findings were heavily criticized and rebutted from many directions, including the food industry, the American Medical Association, and within the committee itself. In 1977, the committee issued public guidelines under the title, Dietary Goals for the United States, which became the predecessor to Dietary Guidelines for Americans, published every five years beginning in 1980 by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Taxation
In an attempt to reduce junk food consumption through price control, forms of Pigovian taxation have been implemented. Targeting saturated fat consumption, Denmark introduced the world's first fat-food tax in October, 2011, by imposing a surcharge on all foods, including those made from natural ingredients, that contain more than 2.3 percent saturated fat, an unpopular measure that lasted a little over a year.[45][46][47] Hungary has also imposed a tax on packaged foods that contain unhealthy concentrations, such as beverages containing more than 20 mg of caffeine per 100 ml.Norway taxes refined sugar, and Mexico has various excises on unhealthy food.[49] On April 1, 2015, the first fat tax in the US, the Navajo Nation's Healthy Diné Nation Act of 2014, mandating a 2% junk food tax, came into effect, covering the 27,000 sq. mi. of Navajo reservation; the Act targeted problems with obesity and diabetes among the Navajo population.
Advertising
Junk food that is targeted at children is a contentious issue. In "The Impact of Advertising on Childhood obesity", the American Psychological Association reports: "Research has found strong associations between increases in advertising for non-nutritious foods and rates of childhood obesity."[51] In the UK, efforts to increasingly limit or eliminate advertising of foods high in sugar, salt or fat at any time when children may be viewing are ongoing.The UK government has been criticized for failing to do enough to stop advertising and promotion of junk food aimed at children.
Controversy over junk food promotions during Australian cricket matches was reported in the news media in early 2015. A Wollongong University study showed that junk food sponsors were mentioned over 1,000 times in a single match broadcast, which included ads and branding worn on players' uniforms and on the scoreboard and pitch. A coalition of Australian obesity, cancer and diabetes organizations called on Cricket Australia, the sport's governing body, to "phase out sponsorships with unhealthy brands", emphasizing that cricket is a "healthy, family-oriented sport" with children in the audience. Many countries have restricted advertising of junk food.
Behavior problems
In a study by the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the frequency of consumption of 57 foods/drinks of 4000 children at the age of four and a half were collected by maternal report. At age seven the 4000 children were given the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The test was divided into 5 sections: hyperactivity, conduct problems, peer problems, emotional symptoms and pro-social behavior. A one standard deviation increase in junk food was then linked to excessive hyperactivity in 33% of the 4000 children. In conclusion, children with excess junk food at the age of seven are more likely to be in the top third of the hyperactivity sub-scale; however, there is not enough correlation between junk food and the other sub-scales such as emotional symptoms and peer problems.
I first heard about this waterfall after thumbing through the book: Pokin' Round the Gorge. Easily the weirdest book on the Gorge. If you've ever seen it, you know what I mean. I think my favourite picture from the book is of a man's hand placing blackberries in a triangle shape onto a nude woman's nether region. That's just funny. And creative. Yet odd.
Anyhow, Jenna and I went out to this waterfall a couple months ago when I found this composition I liked quite a bit. But at the time, the water in the lower half of the picture was blowing out something fierce. I knew what needed to be done, but it was very cold, my hands were getting numb, and there was a fair amount of spray to contend with.
So, fast forward a couple months to a few weeks ago when I went out with Jenna, Victor, and Crisse for a day filled with waterfall shooting. This was the last one on our list. I had unfinished business with this waterfall. I knew exactly what I wanted and how I was going to do it.
I shot this at an ultra-wide 10mm (digital). I had a slim polarizer, so vignetting wouldn't be a problem with that filter. But, I needed a soft graduated neutral density filter on top of that to make sure the water in the lower portion of the photo wouldn't blow out. I also only had a Cokin P filter holder which would create vignetting if I shot at that wide a focal length with another filter. I learned a little trick from a book on filters a long time ago. After you have your polarizer set where you want it, you use low tack gum to stick an added filter to your lens barrel without causing vignetting. Problem solved. A pain in the ass, especially considering I had to keep wiping spray from both filters while trying to place it exactly where it needed to be, but I got the result I wanted.
Which brings me to my next thought I had while on a walk some time after this shot. I thought that we might be nearing the end of the age of the graduated neutral density filter, at least for digital. Here's why I had that thought. Let's say you're shooting a sunrise. The foreground will need a longer exposure than the sky, right? Okay, so let's say there's a three stop difference between the foreground and sky. Using live-view on your camera, you use a thin white ruler on the LCD that you move to the transition point between the foreground and sky. A simple dial could be used to move the ruler up and down on the screen to wherever you want it. Then, the camera looks at the foreground, takes a light reading, and sets the correct exposure. It takes two photos. One long exposure for the foreground and a shorter exposure for the sky. Inside the camera, in RAW, it combines the images into one picture in nanoseconds. You can manually decide how sharp or soft you want the transition point to be if you'd like to have that kind of control, but you don't have to. Voila! Goodbye neutral density grad.
Obviously, you can do this in Photoshop, but come on, in this instant gratification age? I don't have that kind of time. Especially if a computer can do it for me much faster in my camera while I'm on location. It could be a simple function on any new digital camera. Bring it on, Canon, Nikon, and Pentax. I'm waiting.
If you'd like, you can take it one step further. This would be trickier though. Same procedure as above, but only one shot, not two combined. Here's how. Knowing that one side of the picture will need to be a longer exposure than the other, the exposure begins for both sides of the picture at the same time, but after the sky gets done exposing first, the sensor's pixels stop exposing for the sky and waits for the exposure to end for the sensor's pixels capturing the foreground. The power is just cut to those pixels exposing for the sky and they stop receiving light. The transition zone would expose between the time of the sky and foreground to look like one seemless exposure. That would be about perfect and there wouldn't be an overprocessed HDR look. But this would really only work on compositions where one side of the picture required a different exposure from the other side, not in multiple areas of the composition, or an uneven transition zone. That's the point where HDR will finally need to rise to the occasion and actually look real while performing this action. They're still a ways off from that as far as I'm concerned. But my first idea of comibining two exposures in camera could be done in a few weeks. At least the writing of the program to perform this function.
He remembered how obsessed he had been with them, Mère and Père Abu, way back in the seventies, and that connection he made in his head between him and Idi Amin. The Lady Macbeth connection was obvious too.
Now a new connection was being forged, with another, this time orange, despot.
Any collection, any mode of expression, worth its salt would have to include this glaring facet of the zeitgeist, in 2024.
"According to Jane Taylor, "the central character is notorious for his infantile engagement with his world. Ubu inhabits a domain of greedy self-gratification".[7] Jarry's metaphor for the modern man, he is an antihero – fat, ugly, vulgar, gluttonous, grandiose, dishonest, stupid, jejune, voracious, greedy, cruel, cowardly and evil"
WIKI
ChaCha didn't believe in 'evil', but the description somehow seemed apt at the same time. Chacha also held that we create these pinnacles ourselves, that they are an expression of a type of crescendo which has been a long time building.
The 'drivers' being more important than the 'driven', had been at the centre of his 'meditation', and how to recognise them, in their blinding indifference. These were, of course, unfathomable, and magnificent, generated by life itself, that core driver, forever exploring ways to evolve, even if that is to the detriment of one or more whole species, of worlds and stars even.
Sitting back and watching, and attempting to describe, creates history itself.
Despots come and go, leaving the seedbed raked, and thoroughly turned, creating a matrix for 'More Life'. Being mulched would seem to be part of that process, a constant, even.
ChaCha was emerging from his 'retreat'.
The Supreme Lord examines us
The realm of the Supreme Lord is naturally full of love and there is never any force. Here also, we are never forced to love, but this world is a place where the Supreme Lord examines us. Do we want only Him, or do we still want something of this world? The Lord will fulfill our desire, as much as we desire, not more than that. According to what we desire in life, we will get an appropriate guru or spiritual teacher. If we want transcendental vision, we can only get it by the special mercy of great devotees who see and perceive the Lord at all times and in all places. Only by their mercy will we excel in the examination, be able to recognize our true selves and begin to hanker for the only thing that will satisfy us – pure bhakti.
Guru is a Sanskrit word and its original and intended meanings are explained in the Vedic literatures. Gu means ‘ignorance’ and ru means ‘dispeller’, so a real guru is someone who is in a disciplic succession of gurus that dispells our ignorance. Those in a material conception of life will teach others that they can and will become happy here, thus increasing their ignorance and boosting their false ego of bodily identification. A real guru, on the other hand, gives eternal results by initiating us on the path that activates and reveals our true spiritual identity. He mercifully gives instructions, convincing us of the many perfect philosophical conclusions of bhakti. Serving him and submissively hearing from him frees us from the ignorance that has been ingrained within our hearts since time without beginning. It gradually but firmly establishes within us a deep love for Šri Šri Radha-Krsna, the divine Youthful Couple and the soul’s function fully awakens. This is what a guru should give – our pristine intrinsic nature, our eternal dharma. That’s what our Šrila Gurudeva, the deliverer of the fallen, is giving to us.
Our eternal natural function, or dharma, is bhakti or devotional service. As one cannot separate heat from fire, so similarly, the service nature of the living entities cannot be taken away from them. We have to serve someone or something.
All religions propagated in the world are either steps leading to bhakti or else distortions of it. This being a fact, we should focus on our own cultivation of devotion and not worry or criticize what others are doing. We should be favourable towards the followers of other religions and have no animosity towards them. All of us advance according to the time that is ripe for us. Any religion should be respected according to its proportionate degree of purity.
"After many, many births and deaths one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection. Thus a sober human being should quickly endeavor for the ultimate perfection of life as long as his body, which is always subject to death, has not fallen down and died. After all, sense gratification is available even in the most abominable species of life, whereas Krsna consciousness is possible only for a human being"
(Srimad Bhagavatam 11.9.29).
People have no qualms about demonizing others for their own gratification. For some, it’s a smoke screen for their insecurities. For others, it has become a tool for their own political gain. Whatever the reason, it sad that many Americans feel threatened by immigrants, refugees, women, and others who believe differently. But it is even sadder when our purported “leaders” use this tactic to gain followers. Their behavior is antithetical to the very Constitution these candidates say is at risk. And, they legitimize racial and sexist acts of violence.
Candidates show no shame in vilifying refugees fleeing ISIS, immigrants, and people with disabilities; all for their own political gain. Just as bad, other candidates remain mute in calling these bullies out for who they really are. To borrow from AIDS activists, SILENCE = DEATH. In this case, it’s the death of the very things we have held as a sign of American Exceptionalism: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all. Not only are moral people watching, the world is watching. Is this the country we really want?
See all the posters from the Chamomile Tea Party! Digital high res downloads are free here. Other options are available. And join our Facebook group.
The Supreme Lord examines us
The realm of the Supreme Lord is naturally full of love and there is never any force. Here also, we are never forced to love, but this world is a place where the Supreme Lord examines us. Do we want only Him, or do we still want something of this world? The Lord will fulfill our desire, as much as we desire, not more than that. According to what we desire in life, we will get an appropriate guru or spiritual teacher. If we want transcendental vision, we can only get it by the special mercy of great devotees who see and perceive the Lord at all times and in all places. Only by their mercy will we excel in the examination, be able to recognize our true selves and begin to hanker for the only thing that will satisfy us – pure bhakti.
Guru is a Sanskrit word and its original and intended meanings are explained in the Vedic literatures. Gu means ‘ignorance’ and ru means ‘dispeller’, so a real guru is someone who is in a disciplic succession of gurus that dispells our ignorance. Those in a material conception of life will teach others that they can and will become happy here, thus increasing their ignorance and boosting their false ego of bodily identification. A real guru, on the other hand, gives eternal results by initiating us on the path that activates and reveals our true spiritual identity. He mercifully gives instructions, convincing us of the many perfect philosophical conclusions of bhakti. Serving him and submissively hearing from him frees us from the ignorance that has been ingrained within our hearts since time without beginning. It gradually but firmly establishes within us a deep love for Šri Šri Radha-Krsna, the divine Youthful Couple and the soul’s function fully awakens. This is what a guru should give – our pristine intrinsic nature, our eternal dharma. That’s what our Šrila Gurudeva, the deliverer of the fallen, is giving to us.
Our eternal natural function, or dharma, is bhakti or devotional service. As one cannot separate heat from fire, so similarly, the service nature of the living entities cannot be taken away from them. We have to serve someone or something.
All religions propagated in the world are either steps leading to bhakti or else distortions of it. This being a fact, we should focus on our own cultivation of devotion and not worry or criticize what others are doing. We should be favourable towards the followers of other religions and have no animosity towards them. All of us advance according to the time that is ripe for us. Any religion should be respected according to its proportionate degree of purity.
"After many, many births and deaths one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection. Thus a sober human being should quickly endeavor for the ultimate perfection of life as long as his body, which is always subject to death, has not fallen down and died. After all, sense gratification is available even in the most abominable species of life, whereas Krsna consciousness is possible only for a human being"
(Srimad Bhagavatam 11.9.29).
(England). Porn' for young boys in my day consisted of Reveille, Titbits, Health & Efficiency magazine......or; the Mother Lode.....The Littlewoods Catalogue ladies under apparel pages. Now, at the age of 65 and some more....my porn consists of looking through the newspaper supps at invalid carriages, stair lifts, step in baths, electric bath mechanisms to dunk you in and whizz you out of the bath, long sticks with bristled and or foam ends to help clean between your toes. The icing on the cake the SAGA cruise where you can sing, hum or clack your false teeth to WW2 songs Thing is though, none of the people in the ads look as though they need any of these (usually) expensive life add ons. They all look slim, they all look to be in their 50's, wearing the sort of sports gear that Tarbuck wears when he is at the golf club. They all look healthy. Not one of them has scabby legs oozing puss and blood through bandages, none of them are dessicated, and with skin like fag ash. Not one of them is shaking a fist to the heavens above pleading "For Gods sake....take me...just take me....please I am in such pain". Nope, I don't look at these ads for base gratification. I look at them in the hope that I will become like them if I buy into these temptations (except for golf, as someone said "golf is a walk spoiled")
Yours Decrepitly
What a beautiful camera. It almost makes me want to try film again. I think I'm too addicted to the instant gratification of digital photography. Much props to those who shoot with film. That is true skill.
It's 5:30a.m., and I am halfway into my drive from home base in Mesa to Hayden, home of the Copper Basin Railway. A thought running through my mind was "It's unlikely, but how cool would it be if we could somehow get a GP18 leader today"
Flash forward to 7am, and my face is lit up with an ear to ear grin as CBRY SLAG-04 comes into view with some instant gratification to this morning's thoughts. The train is heading up the Hayden smelter branch, and this won't be the last I would see of this unique motor for the day
Ego psychology is a school of psychoanalysis rooted in Sigmund Freud's structural id-ego-superego model of the mind.
An individual interacts with the external world as well as responds to internal forces. Many psychoanalysts use a theoretical construct called the ego to explain how that is done through various ego functions. Adherents of ego psychology focus on the ego's normal and pathological development, its management of libidinal and aggressive impulses, and its adaptation to reality.[1]
Contents
1History
1.1Early conceptions of the ego
1.2Freud's ego psychology
1.3Systematization
1.3.1Anna Freud
1.3.2Heinz Hartmann
1.3.3David Rapaport
1.3.4Other contributors
1.4Decline
2Contemporary
2.1Modern conflict theory
3Ego functions
4Conflict, defense and resistance analysis
5Cultural influences
6Criticisms
7See also
8References
9Further reading
History[edit]
Early conceptions of the ego[edit]
Sigmund Freud initially considered the ego to be a sense organ for perception of both external and internal stimuli. He thought of the ego as synonymous with consciousness and contrasted it with the repressed unconscious. In 1910, Freud emphasized the attention to detail when referencing psychoanalytical matters, while predicting his theory to become essential in regards to everyday tasks with the Swiss psychoanalyst, Oscar Pfister.[2] By 1911, he referenced ego instincts for the first time in Formulations on the Two Principles of Mental Functioning and contrasted them with sexual instincts: ego instincts responded to the reality principle while sexual instincts obeyed the pleasure principle. He also introduced attention and memory as ego functions.
Freud's ego psychology[edit]
Freud began to notice that not all unconscious phenomena could be attributed to the id; it appeared as if the ego had unconscious aspects as well. This posed a significant problem for his topographic theory, which he resolved in his monograph The Ego and the Id (1923).[3]
In what came to be called the structural theory, the ego was now a formal component of a three-way system that also included the id and superego. The ego was still organized around conscious perceptual capacities, yet it now had unconscious features responsible for repression and other defensive operations. Freud's ego at this stage was relatively passive and weak; he described it as the helpless rider on the id's horse, more or less obliged to go where the id wished to go.[4]
In Freud's 1926 monograph, Inhibitions, Symptoms, and Anxiety, he revised his theory of anxiety as well as delineated a more robust ego. Freud argued that instinctual drives (id), moral and value judgments (superego), and requirements of external reality all make demands upon an individual. The ego mediates among conflicting pressures and creates the best compromise. Instead of being passive and reactive to the id, the ego was now a formidable counterweight to it, responsible for regulating id impulses, as well as integrating an individual's functioning into a coherent whole. The modifications made by Freud in Inhibitions, Symptoms, and Anxiety formed the basis of a psychoanalytic psychology interested in the nature and functions of the ego. This marked the transition of psychoanalysis from being primarily an id psychology, focused on the vicissitudes of the libidinal and aggressive drives as the determinants of both normal and psychopathological functioning, to a period in which the ego was accorded equal importance and was regarded as the prime shaper and modulator of behavior.[5]
Systematization[edit]
Following Sigmund Freud, the psychoanalysts most responsible for the development of ego psychology, and its systematization as a formal school of psychoanalytic thought, were Anna Freud, Heinz Hartmann, and David Rapaport. Other important contributors included Ernst Kris, Rudolph Loewenstein, René Spitz, Margaret Mahler, Edith Jacobson, and Erik Erikson.
Anna Freud[edit]
Anna Freud focused her attention on the ego's unconscious, defensive operations and introduced many important theoretical and clinical considerations. In The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense (1936), Anna Freud argued the ego was predisposed to supervise, regulate, and oppose the id through a variety of defenses. She described the defenses available to the ego, linked them to the stages of psychosexual development during which they originated, and identified various psychopathological compromise formations in which they were prominent. Clinically, Anna Freud emphasized that the psychoanalyst's attention should always be on the defensive functions of the ego, which could be observed in the manifest presentation of the patient's associations. The analyst needed to be attuned to the moment-by-moment process of what the patient talked about in order to identify, label, and explore defenses as they appeared. For Anna Freud, direct interpretation of repressed content was less important than understanding the ego's methods by which it kept things out of consciousness.[6] Her work provided a bridge between Freud's structural theory and ego psychology.[7]
Heinz Hartmann[edit]
Heinz Hartmann (1939/1958) believed the ego included innate capacities that facilitated an individual's ability to adapt to his or her environment. These included perception, attention, memory, concentration, motor coordination, and language. Under normal conditions, what Hartmann called an average expectable environment, these capacities developed into ego functions and had autonomy from the libidinal and aggressive drives; that is, they were not products of frustration and conflict, as Freud (1911) believed. Hartmann recognized, however, that conflicts were part of the human condition and certain ego functions may become conflicted by aggressive and libidinal impulses, as witnessed by conversion disorders (e.g., glove paralysis), speech impediments, eating disorders, and attention-deficit disorder.[5]
Through Hartmann's focus on ego functions, and how an individual adapts to his or her environment, he worked to create both a general psychology and a clinical instrument with which an analyst could evaluate an individual's functioning and formulate appropriate therapeutic interventions. Based on Hartmann's propositions, the task of the ego psychologist was to neutralize conflicted impulses and expand the conflict-free spheres of ego functions. By doing so, Hartmann believed psychoanalysis facilitated an individual's adaptation to his or her environment. Hartmann claimed, however, that his aim was to understand the mutual regulation of the ego and environment rather than to promote adjustment of the ego to the environment. Furthermore, an individual with a less-conflicted ego would be better able to actively respond to and shape, rather than passively react to, his or her environment.
Mitchell and Black (1995) wrote: "Hartmann powerfully affected the course of psychoanalysis, opening up a crucial investigation of the key processes and vicissitudes of normal development. Hartmann's contributions broadened the scope of psychoanalytic concerns, from psychopathology to general human development, from an isolated, self-contained treatment method to a sweeping intellectual discipline among other disciplines" (p. 35).
David Rapaport[edit]
David Rapaport played a prominent role in the development of ego psychology and his work likely represented its apex.[5] In Rapaport's influential monograph The Structure of Psychoanalytic Theory (1960), he organized ego psychology into an integrated, systematic, and hierarchical theory capable of generating empirically testable hypotheses. According to Rapaport, psychoanalytic theory—as expressed through the principles of ego psychology—was a biologically based general psychology that could explain the entire range of human behavior.[8] For Rapaport, this endeavor was fully consistent with Freud's attempts to do the same (e.g., Freud's studies of dreams, jokes, and the "psychopathology of everyday life".)
Other contributors[edit]
While Hartmann was the principal architect ego psychology, he collaborated closely with Ernst Kris and Rudolph Loewenstein.[9]
Subsequent psychoanalysts interested in ego psychology emphasized the importance of early-childhood experiences and socio-cultural influences on ego development. René Spitz (1965), Margaret Mahler (1968), Edith Jacobson (1964), and Erik Erikson studied infant and child behavior and their observations were integrated into ego psychology. Their observational and empirical research described and explained early attachment issues, successful and faulty ego development, and psychological development through interpersonal interactions.
Spitz identified the importance of mother-infant nonverbal emotional reciprocity; Mahler refined the traditional psychosexual developmental phases by adding the separation-individuation process; and Jacobson emphasized how libidinal and aggressive impulses unfolded within the context of early relationships and environmental factors. Finally, Erik Erikson provided a bold reformulation of Freud's biologic, epigenetic psychosexual theory through his explorations of socio-cultural influences on ego development.[10] For Erikson, an individual was pushed by his or her own biological urges and pulled by socio-cultural forces.
Decline[edit]
In the United States, ego psychology was the predominant psychoanalytic approach from the 1940s through the 1960s. Initially, this was due to the influx of European psychoanalysts, including prominent ego psychologists like Hartmann, Kris, and Loewenstein, during and after World War II. These European analysts settled throughout the United States and trained the next generation of American psychoanalysts.
By the 1970s, several challenges to the philosophical, theoretical, and clinical tenets of ego psychology emerged. The most prominent of which were: a "rebellion" led by Rapaport's protégés (George Klein, Robert Holt, Roy Schafer, and Merton Gill); object relations theory; and self psychology.
Contemporary[edit]
Modern conflict theory[edit]
Charles Brenner (1982) attempted to revive ego psychology with a concise and incisive articulation of the fundamental focus of psychoanalysis: intrapsychic conflict and the resulting compromise formations. Over time, Brenner (2002) tried to develop a more clinically based theory, what came to be called “modern conflict theory.” He distanced himself from the formal components of the structural theory and its metapsychological assumptions, and focused entirely on compromise formations.
Ego functions[edit]
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Reality testing: The ego's capacity to distinguish what is occurring in one's own mind from what is occurring in the external world. It is perhaps the single most important ego function because negotiating with the outside world requires accurately perceiving and understanding stimuli. Reality testing is often subject to temporary, mild distortion or deterioration under stressful conditions. Such impairment can result in temporary delusions and hallucination and is generally selective, clustering along specific, psychodynamic lines. Chronic deficiencies suggest either psychotic or organic interference.[11]
Impulse control: The ability to manage aggressive and/or libidinal wishes without immediate discharge through behavior or symptoms. Problems with impulse control are common; for example: road rage; sexual promiscuity; excessive drug and alcohol use; and binge eating.
Affect regulation: The ability to modulate feelings without being overwhelmed.
Judgment: The capacity to act responsibly. This process includes identifying possible courses of action, anticipating and evaluating likely consequences, and making decisions as to what is appropriate in certain circumstances.
Object relations: The capacity for mutually satisfying relationship. The individual can perceive himself and others as whole objects with three dimensional qualities.
Thought processes: The ability to have logical, coherent, and abstract thoughts. In stressful situations, thought processes can become disorganized. The presence of chronic or severe problems in conceptual thinking is frequently associated with schizophrenia and manic episodes.
Defensive functioning: A defense is an unconscious attempt to protect the individual from some powerful, identity-threatening feeling. Initial defenses develop in infancy and involve the boundary between the self and the outer world; they are considered primitive defenses and include projection, denial, and splitting. As the child grows up, more sophisticated defenses that deal with internal boundaries such as those between ego and super ego or the id develop; these defenses include repression, regression, displacement, and reaction formation. All adults have, and use, primitive defenses, but most people also have more mature ways of coping with reality and anxiety.
Synthesis: The synthetic function is the ego's capacity to organize and unify other functions within the personality. It enables the individual to think, feel, and act in a coherent manner. It includes the capacity to integrate potentially contradictory experiences, ideas, and feelings; for example, a child loves his or her mother yet also has angry feelings toward her at times. The ability to synthesize these feelings is a pivotal developmental achievement.
Reality testing involves the individual's capacity to understand and accept both physical and social reality as it is consensually defined within a given culture or cultural subgroup. In large measure, the function hinges on the individual's capacity to distinguish between her own wishes or fears (internal reality) and events that occur in the real world (external reality). The ability to make distinctions that are consensually validated determines the ego's capacity to distinguish and mediate between personal expectations, on the one hand, and social expectations or laws of nature on the other. Individuals vary considerably in how they manage this function. When the function is seriously compromised, individuals may withdraw from contact with reality for extended periods of time. This degree of withdrawal is most frequently seen in psychotic conditions. Most times, however, the function is mildly or moderately compromised for a limited period of time, with far less drastic consequences' (Berzoff, 2011).
Judgment involves the capacity to reach “reasonable” conclusions about what is and what is not “appropriate” behavior. Typically, arriving at a “reasonable” conclusion involves the following steps: (1) correlating wishes, feeling states, and memories about prior life experiences with current circumstances; (2) evaluating current circumstances in the context of social expectations and laws of nature (e.g., it is not possible to transport oneself instantly out of an embarrassing situation, no matter how much one wishes to do so); and (3) drawing realistic conclusions about the likely consequences of different possible courses of action. As the definition suggests, judgment is closely related to reality testing, and the two functions are usually evaluated in tandem (Berzoff, 2011).
Modulating and controlling impulses is based on the capacity to hold sexual and aggressive feelings in check with out acting on them until the ego has evaluated whether they meet the individual's own moral standards and are acceptable in terms of social norms. Adequate functioning in this area depends on the individual's capacity to tolerate frustration, to delay gratification, and to tolerate anxiety without immediately acting to ameliorate it. Impulse control also depends on the ability to exercise appropriate judgment in situations where the individual is strongly motivated to seek relief from psychological tension and/or to pursue some pleasurable activity (sex, power, fame, money, etc.). Problems in modulation may involve either too little or too much control over impulses (Berzoff, 2011).
Modulation of affect The ego performs this function by preventing painful or unacceptable emotional reactions from entering conscious awareness, or by managing the expression of such feelings in ways that do not disrupt either emotional equilibrium or social relationships. To adequately perform this function, the ego constantly monitors the source, intensity, and direction of feeling states, as well as the people toward whom feelings will be directed. Monitoring determines whether such states will be acknowledged or expressed and, if so, in what form. The basic principle to remember in evaluating how well the ego manages this function is that affect modulation may be problematic because of too much or too little expression. As an integral part of the monitoring process, the ego evaluates the type of expression that is most congruent with established social norms. For example, in white American culture it is assumed that individuals will contain themselves and maintain a high level of personal/vocational functioning except in extremely traumatic situations such as death of a family member, very serious illness or terrible accident. This standard is not necessarily the norm in other cultures (Berzhoff, Flanagan, & Hertz, 2011).
Object relations involves the ability to form and maintain coherent representations of others and of the self. The concept refers not only to the people one interacts with in the external world but also to significant others who are remembered and represented within the mind. Adequate functioning implies the ability to maintain a basically positive view of the other, even when one feels disappointed, frustrated, or angered by the other's behavior. Disturbances in object relations may manifest themselves through an inability to fall in love, emotional coldness, lack of interest in or withdrawal from interactions with others, intense dependency, and/or an excessive need to control relationships (Berzhoff, Flanagan, & Hertz, 2011).
Self-esteem regulation involves the capacity to maintain a steady and reasonable level of positive self-regard in the face of distressing or frustrating external events. Painful affective states, including anxiety, depression, shame, and guilt, as well as exhilarating emotions such as triumph, glee, and ecstasy may also undermine self-esteem. Generally speaking, in dominant American culture a measured expression of both pain and pleasure is expressed; excess in either direction is a cause for concern. White Western culture tends to assume that individuals will maintain a consistent and steadily level of self-esteem, regardless of external events or internally generated feeling states (Berzhoff, Flanagan, & Hertz, 2011).
Mastery when conceptualized as an ego function, mastery reflects the epigenetic view that individuals achieve more advanced levels of ego organization by mastering successive developmental challenges. Each stage of psychosexual development (oral, anal, phallic, genital) presents a particular challenge that must be adequately addressed before the individual can move on to the next higher stage. By mastering stage-specific challenges, the ego gains strength in relations to the other structures fothe mind and thereby becomes more effective in organizing and synthesizing mental processes. Freud expressed this principle in his statement, “Where id was, shall ego be.” An undeveloped capacity for mastery can be seen, for example, in infants who have not been adequately nourished, stimulated, and protected during the first year of life, in the oral stage of development. When they enter the anal stage, such infants are not well prepared to learn socially acceptable behavior or to control the pleasure they derive from defecating at will. As a result, some of them will experience delays in achieving bowel control and will have difficulty in controlling temper tantrums, while others will sink into a passive, joyless compliance with parental demands that compromises their ability to explore, learn, and become physically competent. Conversely, infants who have been well gratified and adequately stimulated during the oral stage enter the anal stage feeling relatively secure and confident. For the most part, they cooperate in curbing their anal desires, and are eager to win parental approval for doing so. In addition, they are physically active, free to learn and eager to explore. As they gain confidence in their increasingly autonomous physical and mental abilities, they also learn to follow the rules their parents establish and, in doing so, with parental approval. As they master the specific tasks related to the anal stage, they are well prepared to move on to the next stage of development and the next set of challenges. When adults have problems with mastery, they usually enact them in derivative or symbolic ways (Berzhoff, Flanagan, & Hertz, 2011).
Conflict, defense and resistance analysis[edit]
According to Freud's structural theory, an individual's libidinal and aggressive impulses are continuously in conflict with his or her own conscience as well as with the limits imposed by reality. In certain circumstances, these conflicts may lead to neurotic symptoms. Thus, the goal of psychoanalytic treatment is to establish a balance between bodily needs, psychological wants, one's own conscience, and social constraints. Ego psychologists argue that the conflict is best addressed by the psychological agency that has the closest relationship to consciousness, unconsciousness, and reality: the ego.
The clinical technique most commonly associated with ego psychology is defense analysis. Through clarifying, confronting, and interpreting the typical defense mechanisms a patient uses, ego psychologists hope to help the patient gain control over these mechanisms.[12]
Cultural influences[edit]
The classical scholar E. R. Dodds used ego psychology as the framework for his influential study The Greeks and the Irrational (1951).[13]
The Sterbas relied on Hartmann's conflict-free sphere to help explain the contradictions they found in Beethoven's character in Beethoven and His Nephew (1954).[14]
Criticisms[edit]
Many[who?] authors have criticized Hartmann's conception of a conflict-free sphere of ego functioning as both incoherent and inconsistent with Freud's vision of psychoanalysis as a science of mental conflict. Freud believed that the ego itself takes shape as a result of the conflict between the id and the external world. The ego, therefore, is inherently a conflicting formation in the mind. To state, as Hartmann did, that the ego contains a conflict-free sphere may not be consistent with key propositions of Freud's structural theory.
Ego psychology, and 'Anna-Freudianism', were together seen by Kleinians as maintaining a conformist, adaptative version of psychoanalysis inconsistent with Freud's own views.[15] Hartmann claimed, however, that his aim was to understand the mutual regulation of the ego and environment rather than to promote adjustment of the ego to the environment. Furthermore, an individual with a less-conflicted ego would be better able to actively respond and shape, rather than passively react to, his or her environment.
Jacques Lacan was if anything still more opposed to ego psychology, using his concept of the Imaginary to stress the role of identifications in building up the ego in the first place.[16] Lacan saw in the "non-conflictual sphere...a down-at-heel mirage that had already been rejected as untenable by the most academic psychology of introspection'.[17] Ego psychologists responded by doubting whether Lacan's approach is ever applied to clinical work with real patients who have real illnesses, specific ego functions mediating those illnesses, and specific histories.[18]
Mako Seafoods is an icon on the Hobart Waterfront. Signs like this make good Polaroid subjects, although as expected with this expired I-Type film the colours aren't always a match (later I'll show you a version of this shot in digital and you'll see the comparison).
And that leads me to my thought for the day: Bad Photography.
There is a sub-genre in the film/analog world these days that some photographers embrace wholeheartedly. It's often called - usually by younger photographers - "Bad Photography". A simple definition might be something like: "Bad Photography is where a lo-definition image is so bad that it is good." By good we mean "interesting". It might also be seen as a sub-genre of the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi.
We are not talking here of bad exposure or out of focus images, though they are possible even with a basic camera like the Polaroid Now. It has more to do with the medium and limitations of instant film itself. The real attraction of "Bad Photography" is a reaction to the cold clarity of digital photography, a bit like the retro embrace of vinyl records over digital music. Of course digital is superior, but where's the warmth and fun in that?
When you put a pack of expired I-Type film in a Polaroid camera or a roll in your film camera, the unexpected results (and the wait for the film to be developed) is all the fun of anticipation. Digital is of course about instant gratification.
So that's "Baaaad Photography" in a nutshell.
The consumer instant print offers a texture, tonal range, and color space unequaled and represents a unique photographic medium. These and other distinctive characteristics have inspired and been employed by countless photographic craftspersons in their work. I have come to admire these qualities and unexpected attributes as a preference for my photographic work. Without access to the variety of instant film types that are offered by Polaroid a large part of my photographic exploration will be halted. These are things that offer me great inspiration and fulfillment, not to mention instant analog gratification, which cannot be underestimated... I am currently in production of a photographic book of my instant print work due out in April of this year.
In the digital age, at the end of the photographic print, generations from now the family photo album will be thrown out with the PC and the SD. Polaroid represents, along with the standard film print, the physical archival of images and the tactical access to unadulterated visual information for and by the the individual. These instant moments are the things that would generaly go un-archived or even un-photographed in other formats, do to the stigmatic wake of the fleeting moment. Yet years later these instant impulses become treasured artifacts representing the true nature of ourselves and those we love.
The end of the instant print will represent a further retreat of traditional photographic technique and options, in the interest of the bottom line and fleeting lower quality digital imaging. There is and will be, in the foreseeable future, a sustainable market for these instant analogue options, whether it will be tapped to the benefit of potential providers and enthusiasts remains to be seen.
the next best thing to polaroid. still awesome instant gratification, still looks cool. we have a bunch. this one is from our last trip to australia. not sure why i look so tan. i wasn't, but i'll take it.
I've just been opted into the new layout and I am loving it. Yahoo listened to us!!!
Not though design, but this summer seems to be taken over by film capture of unfashionable bits of London
I'm loving my film work this year. I was getting with digitial to want to make every shot a spectacular but film somehow lets me to take "boring" shots and the thrill is in the suspense of whether they come out. That delayed gratification is so much fun
Minolta Autocord
Tmax 100
Tmax Developer
We hosted an absolutely wonderful event in our bookshop recently, with storyteller Mara Menzies, who had adapted her own storytelling performance into a novel, Blood and Gold, which draws on her Kenyan and Scottish roots, history and mythology, exploring family, history, colonialism and more through various lenses.
Mara treated us to some of her live storytelling, which was just a delight to experience. Much as I am forever in love with the written word, I'm always aware the roots of the modern books (and plays and films and other media) run back millennia to oral storytelling.
Long, long before even the most ancient stories we have written down, such as Gilgamesh, there were storytellers talking, acting and singing and dancing these tales, each putting their own spin on them. Some would have been professional storytellers like Mara, others just the person in a village or small, wandering tribe, who had the gift and knowledge, and would spin them around a flickering camp fire at night to their small groups.
We have aways told stories, it's part of the spiritual element of our DNA as humans, and it's something that is still wonderful and thrilling and magical to experience, even in an age of instant digital gratification or giant screen entertainment or shelves full of books on every subject.
Mara's book Blood and Gold is published by Birlinn, and you can follow her on Twitter twitter.com/marastoryteller She may be bringing her performance back to the Edinburgh Fringe next year, if she does I highly recommend catching it.
I'm as inexperienced as they get when it comes to fireworks shooting (I've technically only done it once) but one thing that has always grabbed me about it from day 1 is not just the bursts themselves, but the amazing light they can bring to the surrounding area and structures. While the bursts can light up a structure like Cinderella's Castle with unique colors and moods, I think it's the Matterhorn at Disneyland that benefits the most from fireworks lighting. Something about the location of the bursts and the jagged, rocky texture of the mountain creates something very dramatic and unique. Here, bursts out of the frame to the left give the Matterhorn a well-defined, red glow while multi-color bursts behind it and to the right bring some sparkle to the shot.
Personal note: I'll be taking a break from Flickr for most of the rest of November while I tour the east coast and visit family over Thanksgiving. I'll be taking tons of photos of course, including some at a little place known as WDW. In the meantime if you want to see some snapshots you can follow me on Instagram (username = jdhilger) for some instant gratification run and gun iPhone photography done in between the big DSLR stuff that won't show up for a while. Have a great month!
knowledge • success • inspiration • longevity • creativity • brilliance • abundance • glee • prosperity • intelligence • happiness • altruism • strength • tranquility • devotion • bravery • jubilation • thoughtfulness • adventure • bliss • modesty • resourcefulness • esteem • goodness • warmth • kindness • victory • hope • distinction • honor • faith • enchantment • sensitivity • gratification • benevolence • ambition • originality • artistry • candor • wisdom • energy • diplomacy • triumph • esteem • harmony • comfort • calm • truth • comfort • stability
These are only 50 selected words from an amazing quilt entitled "100 Wishes" by Jean Conwell of Middletown, RI. In the Quilt Show catalogue she states,
"I first made this design as a crib quilt for my granddaughter Eden. I liked it so much that I made it for myself in a queen size. I used my vintage buttons as spacers between the wishes. When I wrote out a list of wishes for the back name plate I was shocked to find I only had 99 wishes!"
“If we wish to create a lasting peace we must begin with the children.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi ~
Power can significantly change a person's personality. Maybe even transform it. To fight hubris syndrome, we must begin by fighting our tendency to admire power.Power has always inspired writers. Hubris syndrome "- when power drives an individual mad - would also have transfigured a large number of historical personalities.
Hubris (/ˈhjuːbrɪs/, also hybris, from ancient Greek ὕβρις) describes a personality quality of extreme or foolish pride or dangerous overconfidence.[1] In its ancient Greek context, it typically describes behavior that defies the norms of behavior or challenges the gods, and which in turn brings about the downfall, or nemesis, of the perpetrator of hubris.
The adjectival form of the noun hubris is "hubristic". Hubris is usually perceived as a characteristic of an individual rather than a group, although the group the offender belongs to may suffer collateral consequences from the wrongful act. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence, accomplishments or capabilities. Contrary to common expectations,[by whom?] hubris is not necessarily associated with high self-esteem but with highly fluctuating or variable self-esteem, and a gap between inflated self perception and a more modest reality. In ancient Greek, hubris referred to actions that shamed and humiliated the victim for the pleasure or gratification of the abuser. The term had a strong sexual connotation, and the shame reflected upon the perpetrator as well. Violations of the law against hubris included what might today be termed assault and battery; sexual crimes; or the theft of public or sacred property. Two well-known cases are found in the speeches of Demosthenes, a prominent statesman and orator in ancient Greece. These two examples occurred when first Midias punched Demosthenes in the face in the theatre (Against Midias), and second when (in Against Conon) a defendant allegedly assaulted a man and crowed over the victim. Yet another example of hubris appears in Aeschines' Against Timarchus, where the defendant, Timarchus, is accused of breaking the law of hubris by submitting himself to prostitution and anal intercourse. Aeschines brought this suit against Timarchus to bar him from the rights of political office and his case succeeded. In ancient Athens, hubris was defined as the use of violence to shame the victim (this sense of hubris could also characterize rape. Aristotle defined hubris as shaming the victim, not because of anything that happened to the committer or might happen to the committer, but merely for that committer's own gratification: to cause shame to the victim, not in order that anything may happen to you, nor because anything has happened to you, but merely for your own gratification. Hubris is not the requital of past injuries; this is revenge. As for the pleasure in hubris, its cause is this: naive men think that by ill-treating others they make their own superiority the greater. Crucial to this definition are the ancient Greek concepts of honour (τιμή, timē) and shame (αἰδώς, aidōs). The concept of honour included not only the exaltation of the one receiving honour, but also the shaming of the one overcome by the act of hubris. This concept of honour is akin to a zero-sum game. Rush Rehm simplifies this definition of hubris to the contemporary concept of "insolence, contempt, and excessive violence".In Greek mythology, when a figure's hubris offends the pagan gods of ancient Greece, it is usually punished; examples of such hubristic, sinful humans include Icarus, Phaethon, Arachne, Salmoneus, Niobe, Cassiopeia, and Tereus. The concept of hubris is not only derived from Greek philosophy - as it is found in Plato and Aristotle - but also from the theatre, where it allows us to tell the story of great epics, where success goes up to the head of the hero, who claims to rise to the rank of gods; it is then ruthlessly put in its place by Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance. The Greek hybris refers to the excesses and their disastrous consequences.
In its modern usage, hubris denotes overconfident pride combined with arrogance.[10] Hubris is often associated with a lack of humility. Sometimes a person's hubris is also associated with ignorance. The accusation of hubris often implies that suffering or punishment will follow, similar to the occasional pairing of hubris and nemesis in Greek mythology. The proverb "pride goeth (goes) before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (from the biblical Book of Proverbs, 16:18) is thought to sum up the modern use of hubris. Hubris is also referred to as "pride that blinds" because it often causes a committer of hubris to act in foolish ways that belie common sense.[11] In other words, the modern definition may be thought of as, "that pride that goes just before the fall."
Examples of hubris are often found in literature, most famously in John Milton's Paradise Lost, in which Lucifer attempts to compel the other angels to worship him, is cast into hell by God and the innocent angels, and proclaims: "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven." Victor in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein manifests hubris in his attempt to become a great scientist by creating life through technological means, but comes to regret his project. Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus portrays the eponymous character as a scholar whose arrogance and pride compel him to sign a deal with the Devil, and retain his haughtiness until his death and damnation, despite the fact that he could easily have repented had he chosen to do so.
Charisma, charm, the ability to inspire, persuasiveness, breadth of vision, willingness to take risks, grandiose aspirations and bold self-confidence—these qualities are often associated with successful leadership. Yet there is another side to this profile, for these very same qualities can be marked by impetuosity, a refusal to listen to or take advice and a particular form of incompetence when impulsivity, recklessness and frequent inattention to detail predominate. This can result in disastrous leadership and cause damage on a large scale. The attendant loss of capacity to make rational decisions is perceived by the general public to be more than ‘just making a mistake’. While they may use discarded medical or colloquial terms, such as ‘madness’ or ‘he's lost it’, to describe such behaviour, they instinctively sense a change of behaviour although their words do not adequately capture its essence. A common thread tying these elements together is hubris, or exaggerated pride, overwhelming self-confidence and contempt for others (Owen, 2006). How may we usefully think about a leader who hubristically abuses power, damaging the lives of others? Some see it as nothing more than the extreme manifestation of normal behaviour along a spectrum of narcissism. Others simply dismiss hubris as an occupational hazard of powerful leaders, politicians or leaders in business, the military and academia; an unattractive but understandable aspect of those who crave power. But the matter can be formulated differently so that it becomes appropriate to think of hubris in medical terms. It then becomes necessary first to rule out conditions such as bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder, in which grandiosity may be a prominent feature. From the medical perspective, a number of questions other than the practicalities of treatment can be raised. For example can physicians and psychiatrists help in identifying features of hubris and contribute to designing legislation, codes of practice and democratic processes to constrain some of its features? Can neuroscientists go further and discover through brain imaging and other techniques more about the presentations of abnormal personality? (Goodman et al., 2007).
We see the relevance of hubris by virtue of it being a trait or a propensity towards certain attitudes and behaviours. A certain level of hubris can indicate a shift in the behavioural pattern of a leader who then becomes no longer fully functional in terms of the powerful office held. First, several characteristics of hubris are easily thought of as adaptive behaviours either in a modified context or when present with slightly less intensity. The most illustrative such example is impulsivity, which can be adaptive in certain contexts. More detailed study of powerful leaders is needed to see whether it is mere impulsivity that leads to haphazard decision making, or whether some become impulsive because they inhabit a more emotional grandiose and isolated culture of decision making.
We believe that extreme hubristic behaviour is a syndrome, constituting a cluster of features (‘symptoms’) evoked by a specific trigger (power), and usually remitting when power fades. ‘Hubris syndrome’ is seen as an acquired condition, and therefore different from most personality disorders which are traditionally seen as persistent throughout adulthood. The key concept is that hubris syndrome is a disorder of the possession of power, particularly power which has been associated with overwhelming success, held for a period of years and with minimal constraint on the leader.
The ability to make swift decisions, sometimes based on little evidence, is of particular importance—arguably necessary—in a leader. Similarly, a thin-skinned person will not be able to stand the process of public scrutiny, attacks by opponents and back-stabbings from within, without some form of self-exultation and grand belief about their own mission and importance. Powerful leaders are a highly selected sample and many criteria of any syndrome based on hubris are those behaviours by which they are probably selected—they make up the pores of the filter through which such individuals must pass to achieve high office.
Hubris is associated in Greek mythology with Nemesis. The syndrome, however, develops irrespective of whether the individual's leadership is judged a success or failure; and it is not dependent on bad outcomes. For the purpose of clarity, given that these are retrospective judgements, we have determined that the syndrome is best confined to those who have no history of a major depressive illness that could conceivably be a manifestation of bipolar disorder.
Hubris is acquired, therefore, over a period. The full blown hubris, associated with holding considerable power in high office, may or may not be transient. There is a moving scale of hubris and no absolute cut-off in definition or the distinction from fully functional leadership. External events can influence the variation both in intensity and time of onset.
Dictators are particularly prone to hubris because there are few, if any, constraints on their behaviour. Here, this complex area is not covered but one of us has considered the matter elsewhere (Owen, 2008). Hitler's biographer, Ian Kershaw (1998, 2000), entitled his first volume 1889–1936 Hubris and the second 1936–1945 Nemesis. Stalin's hubris was not as marked or as progressive as Hitler's. As for Mussolini and Mao both had hubris but probably each also had bipolar disorder. Khrushchev was diagnosed as having hypomania and there is some evidence that Saddam Hussein had bipolar disease (Owen, 2008).
Being elected to high office for a democratic leader is a significant event. Subsequent election victories appear to increase the likelihood of hubristic behaviour becoming hubris syndrome. Facing a crisis situation such as a looming or actual war or facing potential financial disaster may further increase hubris. But only the more developed cases of hubris deserve classification as a syndrome exposed as an occupational hazard in those made vulnerable by circumstance.
Hubris syndrome and its characteristics
Unlike most personality disorders, which appear by early adulthood, we view hubris syndrome as developing only after power has been held for a period of time, and therefore manifesting at any age. In this regard, it follows a tradition which acknowledges the existence of pathological personality change, such as the four types in ICD-10: enduring personality change after trauma, psychiatric illness, chronic pain or unspecified type (ICD-10, 1994)—although ICD-10 implies that these four diagnoses are unlikely to improve.
Initially 14 symptoms constituting the hubristic syndrome were proposed (Owen, 2006). Now, we have shortened and tabulated these descriptions and mapped their broad affinities with the DSM IV criteria for narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder. These three personality disorders also appear in ICD-10, although narcissistic personality disorder is presented in an appendix as a provisional condition, whose clinical or scientific status is regarded as uncertain. ICD-10 considers narcissistic personality disorder to be sufficiently important to warrant more study, but that it is not yet ready for international acceptance. In practice, the correlations are less precise than the table suggests and the syndrome better described by the broader patterns and descriptions that the individual criteria encapsulate.
Establishing the diagnostic features of hubris syndrome
The nosology of psychiatric illness depends on traditional criteria for placing diagnoses in a biomedical framework (Robins and Guze, 1970). There are, however, other underpinnings—psychological or sociological—that can be applied. Validity for a psychiatric illness involves assessing five phases: (i) clinical description; (ii) laboratory studies; (iii) defining boundaries vis-a-vis other disorders; (iv) follow-up study; and (v) family study. While these phases are worth analysing, it has to be recognized that there are severe limitations in rigidly applying such criteria to hubris syndrome given that so few people exercise real power in any society and the frequency amongst those ‘at-risk’ is low. The potential importance of the syndrome derives, however, from the extensive damage that can be done by the small number of people who are affected. As an investigative strategy, it may be that studies such as neuroimaging, family studies, or careful personality assessments in more accessible subjects with hubristic qualities or narcissistic personality disorder from other vulnerable groups might inform the validation process.
Proposed clinical features
Hubris syndrome was formulated as a pattern of behaviour in a person who: (i) sees the world as a place for self-glorification through the use of power; (ii) has a tendency to take action primarily to enhance personal image; (iii) shows disproportionate concern for image and presentation; (iv) exhibits messianic zeal and exaltation in speech; (v) conflates self with nation or organization; (vi) uses the royal ‘we’ in conversation; (vii) shows excessive self-confidence; (viii) manifestly has contempt for others; (ix) shows accountability only to a higher court (history or God); (x) displays unshakeable belief that they will be vindicated in that court; (xi) loses contact with reality; (xii) resorts to restlessness, recklessness and impulsive actions; (xiii) allows moral rectitude to obviate consideration of practicality, cost or outcome; and (xiv) displays incompetence with disregard for nuts and bolts of policy making.
In defining the clinical features of any disorder, more is required than simply listing the symptoms. In the case of hubris syndrome, a context of substantial power is necessary, as well as a certain period of time in power—although the length has not been specified, varying in the cases described from 1 to 9 years. The condition may have predisposing personality characteristics but it is acquired, that is its appearance post-dates the acquisition of power.
Establishment of the clinical features should include the demonstration of criterion reliability, exploration of a preferred threshold for the minimum number of features that must be present, and the measurement of symptoms (e.g. their presence or absence, and a severity scale). This endeavour may also include a decision as to whether the 14 criteria suggested might usefully be revised.
To determine whether hubris syndrome can be characterized biologically will be very difficult. It is the nature of leaders who have the syndrome that they are resistant to the very idea that they can be ill, for this is a sign of weakness. Rather, they tend to cover up illness and so would be most unlikely to submit voluntarily to any testing, e.g. the completion of scales measuring anxiety, neuroticism and impulsivity. Also the numbers of people with the syndrome is likely to be so small preventing the realistic application of statistical analyses. It also needs to be remembered that leaders are prone to using performance-enhancing drugs fashionable at the time. Two heads of government, Eden and Kennedy, were on amphetamines in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 21st century hubristic leaders are likely to be amongst the first to use the new category of so-called cognition enhancers. Many neuroscientists believe that such drugs properly used can be taken without harm. The problem is a leader who takes these without medical supervision and in combination with other substances or in dosages substantially above those that are recommended. In 2008, Nature carried out an informal survey of its mainly scientific readers and found that one in five of 1400 responders were taking stimulants and wake-promoting agents such as methylphenidate and modafinil, or β-blockers for non-medical reasons (Maher, 2008).
In defining the boundaries, one of the more important questions may be to understand whether hubris syndrome is essentially the same as narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), a subtype of NPD or a separate entity. As shown in Table 1, 7 of the 14 possible defining symptoms are also among the criteria for NPD in DSM-IV, and two correspond to those for antisocial personality and histrionic personality disorders (APD and HPD, respectively) (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The five remaining symptoms are unique, in the sense they have not been classified elsewhere: (v) conflation of self with the nation or organization; (vi) use of the royal ‘we’; (x) an unshakable belief that a higher court (history or God) will provide vindication; (xii) restlessness, recklessness and impulsiveness; and (xiii) moral rectitude that overrides practicalities, cost and outcome.
academic.oup.com/brain/article/132/5/1396/354862/Hubris-s...
La Vie site cites the work of researcher Ian H. Robertson, who studied the effect of hubris on a fish species in Lake Tanganyka in Africa, on which the seizure of power triggers a hormonal reaction that changes their organism. The researcher explains that the situation is similar for humans, whose intelligence is multiplied tenfold by dopamine intake, but "too much dopamine will have harmful consequences. But absolute power floods the brain with dopamine. It also creates an addiction,"says the researcher. That is not all. Excessive self-confidence puts in place a mental mechanism that makes it impossible to assess oneself properly. The more you have a fair appreciation of your own qualities, the more modest you are. And you don't normally feel fit to become head of state,"explains Sebastian Dieguez, a neuroscience researcher at the University of Freiburg.
After more than four years, my Jollylook instant, folding cardboard camera finally arrived! It's made from laminated cardboard, takes Fujifilm Instax mini film and looks gorgeous. Unfortunately, the learning curve is pretty steep due to cardboard bellows being very stiff, and film flatness being not really.... flat, but nonetheless, it's fun to use it!
Taken with Jollylook instant folding camera, on Fujifilm Instax Mini film. Scanned with my trusty Canon CanoScan 8800F flatbed scanner using VueScan, this time, not scanning film, for a change!
I've wanted to make this quilt for a really long time! I kind of love that it was so simple because sometimes I just want instant gratification! Plus, I love that it didn't really require too much flea market fancy, but I think it still really gives the look of a FMF quilt! Blogged here.
I was among the first to grab a Diana Instant Back from Lomo about a week ago. After trying out a few packs of Instax films with lots of failure, I finally learned something. Even under broad daylight, flash is almost necessary. Any photos taken in partly cloudy condition with flash will result in a very dark background since the shutter speed of Diana is around 1/60th sec. To get a fully lit environment behind your subject, you have to use the B mode and time yourself to 1/8th sec in addition to using a flash.
The fun of having a Diana camera with Instant film is that you get the nice look as well as instant gratifications. In addition, there are so many Diana lens accessories you can play with a lot of different effects. I'm particularly interested in the surprise effects from double exposures. One interesting method to get a nice collage is to type some light color text with black background on your computer monitor, shoot once using a Diana close up lens, then double expose the film with another scene with flash on your subject. It works great with black and white graphics on your first exposure since you are going to fill up the black space with things you shoot on the second. I haven't perfected it yet but it gave me hours of fun by burning money.
The difference between "Diana Instant" and Polaroid is that with Diana Instant, you can't frame your shot as precisely as a Polaroid, but you get to play with double exposure, different lens effects, color flash, etc. And of course I love the square image Polaroid produces along with its surreal color, smaller size photo from Diana Instant is less impactful but cute. One more contrast between Diana Instant and Polaroid, for me: fast snap shot vs. slow photography.
More on Scription: moleskine.vox.com/library/post/diana-instant-vs-polaroid....
A watercolour
Are we just rubbish?
is this what we choose to leave
are we just rubbish?
piles of crap,consumer garbage
are we just rubbish ?
turning beauty into grime ,oh so casually
are we just rubbish?
or just waste.transitory self gratification,vulgar vanity on a
roller coaster
are we just rubbish?
in the end does everything just get thrown away
are we just rubbish?
because as humans only we make it. Our residue is shameful
are we just rubbish?
our legacy of mess and toxins
are we just rubbish?
Do we care?
Stephen Mason
2015 London
Thompkins square Park, Manhattan NYC
A park bench, a garbage can 2 men and the latest news.
"THE WESTERN PHENOMENA OF OVERCONSUMPTION, HOARDING AND NEED TO BE OVERLY SATIATED WITH SUPERLATIVES AND CONSUMER DOGMA"
We hoard, hoard and hoard. Like food, we consume and hold on to things..to feelings, rituals, notions, guilt, perceptions, biases, grudges, defenses, pride, prejudices. We hoard memories of
lost loves, of self loathing, our mistakes, our painful, humiliating early childhood experiences,
our judgements of others, our preconceived notions of people and the world, our patterns of living, loving and hating............. we hoard them all! We cant let ourselves off the hook. We hold on to hatred moreso than love. It is so much easier to hate, and to provoke war, to instill pain in others than it is to appreciate,honor, console and love. Greed, envy, anger, jealousy, acrimony, even murderous thoughts are so much more immediate human responses than what Jesus, Ghandi, and MARTINLK had in mind. Self loathing, part of depression such as overeating and obesity is now pandemic in AMERICA. We consume conspicuously without thinking rationally . We feel we need so much to be happy. We dont even know what happiness is! We feel entitled to so much, we just cant get enough. We dont even use most of what we have. 1450 cable stations, 3 huge cars, 2 garages, 10 room homes, 2 homes, 3 gold watches, 10 gold and silver pens stuffed in fancy british made boxes, 3 tv sets one for each room, HBO, every movie channel, every shopping channel, every sports channel, every old movie channel, every rerun of this and that. We want the best cell phones, stuck in our ears and in front of our eyes all the time, we need to feel important wanted needed all the time. People walk in a daze staring at their phones when ten years ago they stared straight ahead and sometimes perhaps smiled at other people walking. We want the best make up, the best lipstick, the best colognes, the best eye shadow, the best scotch, the best eyeglasses, the best sun rays, the best beach resorts, the best charity organizations to donate to we need everything on our pizzas, we need flavored coffee. We want new earrings, nose rings, belly button rings, nipple rings, we need this pair of shoes to go with that pair of pants to match those socks so we wont feel bad about ourselves. We like the 2.99 instead of 3.07..we're getting a deal! We need a store that shows us 15 different styles of pocketbooks, we need jewels all over our bodies, we need tattoos, we need the newest upgrade, we want to look thin, not grey, no wrinkles, botox cosmetic injections, we need a new suit, new toys for our overly supplied children, a new frame, a new plant, a new door rug, a new food for our cat, a new girlfriend, a new wife, a new and state of the art coffee maker. We need the best camp for our kids, the best schools for our kids, the best policies, the best president, the best statesmen, the best interest account, we need the finest china and silver, we need to hide our imperfections, we need to not let others know we hurt, we fear, we cry, we agonize, we need others to know we are strong as metal, we cannot show our vulnerability for fear of intrusion and loss of pride, we shower ourselves with calories as a reward, we want the best coffin not the cheap one, the finest, we need to live amongst our own, we need to teach our children OUR
beliefs, we need religion the right religion, the real religion, the one where God really exists, we need the best food, we read the labels and believe what they say, we want the best doctor, the best lawyer, that new bedspread in the window, that new sari, that new bracelet, that new sweater, that new toothpaste, that new tv show, we need to have that new ipod that new iphone that new im everything, that new camera, that new guitar, that new pair of sunglasses, the fanciest dude rag on our head, the pants with the most holes in them and the lowest that can hang off our backside, we need to hear that our kids are brilliant in school and that others are envious of us, we need a doorman to open the door for us, we need the nicest friends, the nicest doorman, the nicest mailman, the nicest doctor, we need the best teachers for our kids, we need the safest streets, the cleanest backyard, the prettiest flowers, the most beautifully decorated living rooms with new oriental carpets, we need to see the best movie out, the best seats at the rock concert, the funniest comedian, the greatest actor, we need to be in the best mood, we need the best for ourselves always and whenever,we need never to show our dark side, our lonely moment, our paradoxical lability in mood, we need to pretend we are OK with everything and that nothing bothers us, we need the best room in the hotel, we need to know whats best on the menu, we want the best discounts the best rates, the best deals, the best of the best of the best that there is,we want the best pot, the best cocaine, the best plane fare, the best fellatio , the best monitor,the best breath, the best dog, the best sausage, the best speakers, the best feelings, the best joy one could have, the best, all the best, the best camel, the best vehicle, the best dreams, the best hopes, the best ballgame, the best team, we want the best money can buy, we want the best beer, we want the best life for our children, we want we need we strive for we hope for we cant live without the fastest the smartest the highest building in the world, the best the prettiest, the smartest, the best speller, the best hitter, the best catcher, the best thrower, the best left fielder, the best talk show host, the best trip, the best surgeon, the best coffee grinder, the best synagogue, the best church, the best priest, the winner, the most powerful is what matters, the best dentist, the best plumber, the best bowel movement, the best toilet paper, we want the best accountant, we want the best hotel on the best island for the best discount , we want the best neighbors, we need lots of money to be happy, we need that lotto, we need another beer, and another shot, we need to pursue a career, we need to not be involved with another too intimately , we need to be involved with another intimately, we need a therapist that understands us, we need a quick fix, the pill, the pill that does it, that turns the screw, that makes it all better, we want to hear and see and consume ourselves with the best music that everyone else is in tuned with, we want the real scoop, we want the best news , relevant and news we can trust, we want to laugh most of the time instead of cry, we went to the best party, had the best food, we were with the best people, we saw the best rock band, we had the best teacher, we danced the best, we had the best driver, the best cook, the best swimsuit won, we had the best time, we were the best lovers, we had the best air conditioner, we knew the best rabbi, we had the best equipment, we made the best demo, we had the best french cuisine,we had the best french wine, we ate the best indian food, we saw the best show, we had the best tickets, we only want to be happy , we want whats best for us, we want immediate gratification, we need to hear another person loves us alot, we need to know that we are loved the best, that we have the best love anyone can have, we need the best lover, the best sex, the best orgasm, the best form of contraception, the best foreplay, the best kiss, the best hug, the best holiday, the best job, the best boss, the best sister, the best brother,the best mother on mothers day and the best father on fathers day, we want the greatest moments time will give us all the time , we want the best of the best, the best of the best of the best................. yet we seem to settle for so much less.
Photography’s new conscience
To view more of my images, of Dinton Pastures Country Park, please click "here" ! Click any image to view large!
The British memorial for U.S. President John F. Kennedy was jointly dedicated on 14 May 1965, by Queen Elizabeth II and Jacqueline Kennedy
Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Surrey, and just over 20 miles (32 km) west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is, with its adjoining hillside, the site of memorials. Runnymede Borough is named after the area, Runnymede being at its northernmost point. The name Runnymede refers to land in public and National Trust ownership in the Thames flood plain south-west of the river between Old Windsor and Egham. The area includes (to the west of A308 road) the Long Mede and Runnymede, which together with Coopers Hill Slopes is managed by the National Trust. There is also a narrower strip of land, east of the road and west of the river, known as the Yard Mede. The landscape of Runnymede is characterised as "Thames Basin Lowland", urban fringe. It is a gently undulating vale of small fields interspersed by woods, shaws, ponds, meadows, and heath. The National Trust area is a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) which contains a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Both sites are overseen by Runnymede Borough Council. Long Mede is a meadow north of the ancient "mede" (meadow) of Runnymede towards Old Windsor and has been used for centuries to provide good-quality hay from the alluvial pasture. Runnymede itself lies towards Egham. It is likely that Runnymede proper was the site of the sealing of Magna Carta, although the Magna Carta Memorial stands on Long Mede, and the event is also popularly associated with Magna Carta Island, on the opposite bank of the Thames. Near the Island, on the north-east flood plain, in parkland on the eastern bank of the river, are Ankerwycke and the ruins of the 12th century Priory of St Mary's. The Thames has changed course here occasionally, and these areas may once have been an integral part of Runnymede. Both were acquired by the National Trust in 1998. Runnymede's historical significance has been heavily influenced by its proximity to the Roman Road river crossing at nearby Staines-upon-Thames. The name Runnymede may be derived from the Anglo-Saxon runieg (regular meeting) and mede (mead or meadow), describing a place in the meadows used to hold regular meetings. The Witan, Witenagemot or Council of the Anglo-Saxon Kings of the 7th to 11th centuries was held from time to time at Runnymede during the reign of Alfred the Great. The Council met usually in the open air. This political organ was transformed in succeeding years, influencing the creation of England's 13th century parliament. The water-meadow at Runnymede is the most likely location at which, in 1215, King John sealed Magna Carta. The charter indicates Runnymede by name as "Ronimed. inter Windlesoram et Stanes" (between Windsor and Staines). Magna Carta affected common and constitutional law as well as political representation also affecting the development of parliament. Runnymede's association with ideals of democracy, limitation of power, equality and freedom under law has attracted placement there of monuments and commemorative symbols. The last fatal duel in England took place in 1852, on Priest Hill, a continuation of Cooper's Hill by Windsor Great Park. The National Trust land was donated in 1929 by Cara Rogers Broughton and her two sons. The American-born widow of Urban Hanlon Broughton, she was permitted by letter from George V to join her son's new peerage in tribute Fairhaven. The gift was given in memory of Urban Broughton. At the time the New Bedford Standard-Times commented "It must be a source of gratification to all Americans, and especially to us here and in Fairhaven, that the presentation of this historic spot as public ground has been brought about by an American woman, an appropriate enough circumstance to her husband and this gift and be officially styled Lady considering that the great charter underlies the USA's conception of government and human rights."The British memorial for U.S. President John F. Kennedy was jointly dedicated on 14 May 1965, by Queen Elizabeth II and Jacqueline Kennedy, prior to a reception for the Kennedy family at Windsor Castle. The memorial consists of a garden and Portland stone memorial tablet inscribed with the famous quote from his Inaugural Address:- “Let every Nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend or oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty.” Visitors reach the memorial by treading a steep path of irregular granite steps, intended to symbolise a pilgrimage. There are 50 steps in total. Each step is different from all others, with the entire flight made from 60,000 hand-cut granite setts. Landscape architect Geoffrey Jellicoe designed the garden; sculptor Alan Collins designed and carved the stone inscription. The area of ground on which the memorial is situated was given as a gift to the United States of America by the people of Britain. (Though property ownership was transferred to the federal government of the United States, the area remains under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.) It is maintained by the Kennedy Memorial Trust, which also sponsors educational scholarships for British students to attend university in the United States. In 1968 the 7-ton stone was damaged by a bomb during a time of anti-Vietnam war demonstrations; it was later repaired by the sculptor Situated in a grassed enclosure, on the lower slopes of Cooper's Hill, this memorial is of a domed classical style monopteros, containing a pillar of English granite on which is inscribed "To commemorate Magna Carta, symbol of Freedom Under Law". The memorial was created by the American Bar Association (ABA) to a design by Sir Edward Maufe R.A., and was unveiled on 18 July 1957 at a ceremony attended by American and English lawyers. Since 1957 representatives of the ABA have visited and rededicated the Memorial, renewing pledges to the Great Charter. In 1971 and 1985 commemorative stones were placed on the Memorial plinth. In July 2000 the ABA came:- “ to celebrate Magna Carta, foundation of the rule of law for ages past and for the new millennium. ” In 2007, on its 50th anniversary, the ABA again visited Runnymede. During its convention it installed as President Charles Rhyne, who devised Law Day, which in the USA represents an annual reaffirmation of faith in the forces of law for peace. In 2008 floodlights were installed to light the memorial at night. In 2015, in anticipation of the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta, the two wooden benches at the memorial were replaced by stone benches. On 15 June, the anniversary day, the ABA, accompanied by US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, rededicated the memorial in a ceremony led by HRH The Princess Royal in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen and other members of the Royal family. The Magna Carta Memorial is administered by the Magna Carta Trust, which is chaired by the Master of the Rolls.
Extracted from "Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
By Richard B. Spence, Ph.D., University of Idaho
Cathars believed that the Catholic Church was the tool of the evil god. They vehemently opposed the Old Testament and the idea of Holy Trinity. Did they believe in crucifixion or resurrection? What did they think about Christ?
An aerial view of the Cathar castle of Montségur, France.
In contrast to the Catholic Church’s cathedrals and abbeys, the Cathar church had no fixed abodes. (Image: Colibri vision/Shutterstock)
Cathar Beliefs
The essence of Cathar belief was that there wasn’t one god but two. It’s called Dualism. This solved that sticky problem of how a good God lets bad things happen. The good god, the lord of light and mercy, rules the world of spirit: the celestial realm from which humankind’s pure, immortal souls had fallen. What they fell into was the material world, a spiritual prison ruled by the evil god, the Demiurge, or more simply, Satan. In other words, we’re trapped in Hell. Everything in the material realm is corrupt, and our pure souls yearn to escape it.
But we’re condemned to this eternal rebirth in this cosmic hellhole through the allure of its seductive, but false, pleasures. None of these was more insidious than lust, which caused the creation of more fleshly prisons, babies, to trap more divine souls. The only way to escape the cycle was to reject the physical world and pleasures. If this sounds vaguely like Hinduism or Buddhism, one may be on to something.
Gustave Doré's painting depicts the war of heaven.
The Cathars mainly believed that a good god rules the world of spirit while the material world is a spiritual prison ruled by the evil god. (Image: Gustave Doré/Public domain)
By its encouraging of reproduction and wallowing in wealth and privilege, Cathars saw the Catholic Church as a tool of the evil god. Cathars rejected the Old Testament and identified Jehovah with the evil god.
To them, the Holy Trinity was a lie. To the Cathars, Jesus was neither god nor man. He was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit sent by the good god to show us the way to freedom. So, naturally, the evil god had him destroyed. But the Cathars didn’t believe that Christ was really flesh and blood. Rather, he was a kind of hologram. So, in their view, there was no real crucifixion or resurrection, or virgin birth because Jesus had no material form. To Cathars, the cross was a hateful symbol, which is why there’s no such thing as a Cathar cross.
It’s easy to see why the Catholic Church would object to this. But that wasn’t all. In contrast to the Catholic Church’s cathedrals and abbeys, the Cathar church had no fixed abodes. Worship could take place anywhere, outdoors or in private homes. Nor was there any Cathar pope or rapacious clergy. The highest level was that of a bishop.
Learn more about the Islamic Assassins.
The Cathar clergy were the perfects. Since foregoing the false pleasures of the world was something most simple souls couldn’t manage, only a chosen few became perfect. Even thinking about becoming a perfect meant a three-year apprenticeship with a current perfect who had to find you worthy. After an initiation called the consolamentum, what you had to look forward to was a life of celibacy and non-violence coupled with a strict vegetarian diet (you couldn’t eat anything born of sexual intercourse) and poverty.
A map representing the Cathar castles located in France.
A map of the Cathar castles in France, where the main Cathar belief of Christian dualism was practiced. (Image: Made with Inkscape/Public domain)
One had to wander a lot because the perfecti were both the priesthood and the missionaries of the Cathar faith. It sounds not only like Buddhist monks but also like the dais used by the Assassins, and other Shia sects. Are we looking at the same thing under different names?
Most importantly, perfects were role models for rank-and-file Cathars: the credentes, or ‘believers’. In return, the believers supported and obeyed the perfecti just like secret-society underlings should.
This is a transcript from the video series The Real History of Secret Societies. Watch it now, on Wondrium.
Cathari Rituals
Credentes lived more-or-less regular lives and looked forward to receiving the consolamentum on their deathbed. Supposedly, if it looked like a consoled person might recover, they trusted their brethren to smother them to ensure that they departed the earthly realm sin-free.
Besides the consolamentum, there was also a ritual suicide by starvation called the endura. The basic Cathar ritual was a simple meal of broken bread, and a mutual greeting between credentes and perfecti called the melioramentum. The mass and the cross played no part in any of this. But remember, much of what we do know about the Cathars has been handed down from their mortal enemies, the Catholic Church.
Learn more about the Knights Templar.
Cathar Holy Books
There are mentions of Cathar holy books like the Book of Two Principles, The Secret Supper, and the Interrogation of John, but the Inquisition zealously destroyed them. Denying the heretics their gospels was seen as key to defeating them. Catholic critics frequently accused the Cathars of witchcraft and sexual perversity.
There isn’t any real evidence of witchcraft but there might be something to the perceived perversity. The Cathars’ issue wasn’t so much with sexual gratification as procreation. Thus, masturbation and homosexuality may have been condoned as acceptable—if not desirable—practices.
And then there was the fact that Cathars ordained women alongside men, and generally afforded them social and spiritual equality. Still, the Cathars ignored Virgin Mary because the purely spiritual Christ had no mother. Yet they held Mary Magdalene in high esteem.
This has led some to propose that the Cathars’ big secret—their Holy Grail—was knowledge of a holy bloodline established by Jesus and Magdalene. A romantic theory, but it makes no sense because the Cathars didn’t believe Jesus was a physical being.
Learn more about the Rosicrucians.
Common Questions about Cathar Beliefs, Rituals, and Holy Books
Q: What did the Cathars think about Jesus Christ?
Cathars believed that Jesus Christ was neither god nor man. He was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit sent by the good god to show us the way to freedom.
Q: What was the life of a Cathar perfect?
A Cathar perfect led a life of celibacy and non-violence coupled with a strict vegetarian diet.
Q: Why were the Cathars such a threat?
The Cathars were a threat because they rejected the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. They believed that the Catholic Church was the tool of a evil god.
Keep Reading
Women in the Medieval Society: The Case of Eleanor of Aquitaine
The Commercial Revolution in Medieval Europe
The Status of Women in Medieval Europe
The world must have been a different place entirely, if Pilate never crucified Jesus on the cross. Jesus would just be another prophet or another teacher in the eyes of the people. He wouldn’t have the exalted and elevated status that he has today. His importance and significance in our lives transcends from the fact that he was crucified. Without his crucifixion nobody would have believed in him and his teachings.
The importance of his message and the importance of what he taught revolves around his crucifixion; the ultimate sacrifice that he made for humanity.
What if Jesus was not crucified?
Source: Crosswalk
Now, what if Jesus did not die on the cross? And what if Jesus did not come out of the grave as promised in the holy scripts? It puts the entire community at the stake of a leap of faith because sinning is humans’ typical habitat and then we are pretty much left with nothing but facing the crisis of the hour. It all seems child play unless you actually have to be questionable on the day of resurrection for your deeds to God directly. Sounds hellish? To me too.
No Crucifixion, No forgiveness?
No crucifixion means no dying for the sins of a mass, and when there is no sin offering, we would automatically be on our own, however inconvenient it may sound. Without Jesus, we will have no forgiveness, and without Jesus, we will have no gospel. One of the scripts says ‘the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” And they pour it on. It does say that of course. But it also says that “law” is no longer applicable.
“The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Romans 8:2).
All the supporting statements of the swoon hypothesis lead to the demolition of the basic concept of Christianity. It is yet again just a hypothesis. A tug of war between whether Jesus was put on the cross and died because of our sins or did Jesus remained a part of his mortal body and made no sin offering.
What if the concept of crucifixion seized to exist?
The world must have been another place if the ideology of Jesus’s Crucifixion was never dominantly accepted. Few religious scholars still firmly believe that Crucifixion never occurred and support it with the Swoon hypothesis. However, most believe that Jesus died for our sins on the cross.
The Controversial Gospel
The last supper (source: Singulart)
A 1500-year-old scripture of the Bible supports the ideology of Jesus not being crucified such that it was considered the core principle of Christianity. In one of his interviews, a famous Rabbi, Tovia Singer, explained how the Crucifixion of Jesus was not what happened and supported his argument with the scripture’s authentic proofs.
According to Rabbi, it is mentioned in Mathew, Mark, John and Luke that Jesus always had to die. These chapters of the hold bible nullify the ideology of the Crucifixion of Jesus.
Another Syriac script reports that Jesus said, “I confess before heaven, and call to witness everything that dwells upon the earth, that I am a stranger to all that men have said of me I am more than man.
“For I am a man, born of a woman, subject to the judgment of God; that live here like as other men, subject to the common miseries.”
The statements of the controversial gospel, if proven true, can efficiently reject the theology of the holy trinity where God exists as three divine persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus vs Judas: Who was Crucified?
Depiction of Judas and Jesus (source)
Scrutiny into the theology literature explains that the Gospel of Barnabas articulately states how the person crucified was not Jesus himself but Judas Iscariot: A look-alike.
These statements from various holy scripts challenge the intactness of the foundation of the religion of Christianity which celebrates Jesus Christ as the saviour of the Christians and dying for their sins. It fails the entire concept of resurrection. If the Crucifixion never existed, then neither will the resurrection. If so, then Christians leap of faith for believing, i.e. Jesus died because of their sins, will bring them at facing God directly for all the sins they have been committing.
So, only verse 16:31 from chapter Acts can justify Romans 8:9 that says, “Belief on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” - Acts 16:31 (Biblestudytools).
Parting thoughts
The above pieces of evidence happen to be challenging to ‘what could have happened’ situation; however, the good part is that he was put on the cross and took the pain for us. Pilate hanged Jesus on the cross. The matter of fact is that Jesus passed away on the cross and was later shifted to the tomb. The tomb then was found empty, and it has always been accepted that God had our Savior alive and immortal. He chose death to save us from the aftermath of resurrection from our sins.
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. — Isaiah 53:4 (biblestudytools)
Sources
“https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Jesus-Death”
“https://ourdailybread.org/resources/if-christ-had-not-died/”
“https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/06/42858/jesus-was-mortal-never-crucified-claims-analysis-of-controversial-gospel/”
“https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/first-person-what-if-jesus-hadnt-died-and-risen/”
www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/cathar-beliefs-rituals-and-h...
That's what I hear The Thinker thinking. After all, I just finished Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It’s top of mind. When an author's many predictions turn out to be so true and his story template so replicated by modern dystopian tales; well, he becomes boring. So yesterday.
"Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about truth.” — from A Brave New World
Ah, silence is golden, particularly about painful, ugly things. I think I've seen that rule in a leadership manual someplace.
And leadership by distraction, how did Mr. Huxley come up with that novel thought? Speaking of truth and pivoting, looking at that nude statue I am reminded that Huxley really liked zippers.
Anyhow, about this statue: French sculptor Auguste Rodin oversaw this large-scale 1904 copy of his original sculpture in Paris. The Thinker sits in front of the University of Louisville's Grawemeyer Hall.
He's deep in thought.