Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wondrous Words Wednesday
Ichthyophobia: Abnormal Fear of Fish
Pronounced as Ick + Th (from Thick) + Ee + O + Phobia. Complicated, huh?
Derived from Greek Ikhthus meaning Fish and our very favourite Greek Phobia meaning Fear.
Numerous words are built on the root Ikhthus:
- Ichthyoid – Fish or fish like animal (same word used both as a noun and as an adjective)
- Ichthyology – Branch of Zoology that deals with the scientific study of Fish
- Similarly there is “Ichthyologist” – you would obviously understand that now.
from
GEMINI 2011 OVERVIEW
Jupiter expands whatever he touches. He usually spends about 13 months in each zodiac sign. His job is to bring joy, adventure, open-
As 2011 begins, Jupiter is still in Pisces and your tenth house until January 22nd when he moves into Aries and your eleventh house. Normally, Jupiter spends about 13 months in each zodiac sign, but this year it is a bit different. Jupiter flies through Aries at mach speed and then moves into Taurus and your twelfth house on June 4th where he will stay for the rest of this year.
In Pisces, Jupiter focuses on kindness, compassion, charity, emotional well-
For Gemini, this occurs in your tenth house of professional goals and aspirations, leadership, public reputation, and success. Your professional goals and public life are blessed. With Pisces involved, you could find that careers involving bureaucracies, large corporations, government agencies, hospitals, prisons, and/or charities are especially blessed by Jupiter’s visit through tenth house Pisces. You could also find that following your spiritual path, working in the mental health industry, and/or careers that involve helping others to overcome their demons prove to be quite fulfilling. Regardless of whatever industry you work in, Jupiter will do his best to bless your goals and to make it a little easier to succeed. There will be times when other planets clash with Jupiter and cause bigger than normal problems in your professional life, but overall, Jupiter is working to bring joy, good luck, and abundance to your professional and public goals.
In Aries, Jupiter embraces Aries’ pioneering spirit, enthusiasm, fiery passion, and willingness to compete for the sheer entertainment of it. Unlike Aquarius’ teamwork approach to life, Aries is all about racing to the top and being number one. Aries is generous, boisterous, and charming. The competitive nature is not a selfish or mean energy, but a childlike “last one there’s a rotten egg!” type of playful energy. Jupiter can have great fun bringing more of this optimistic can-
For Gemini, it happens in your eleventh house of friends, teams, clubs, committees, professional associations, networking, and the Internet. While in Pisces, Jupiter was focused more on being kind and cooperative with your teammates and business colleagues. Now, with Jupiter in Aries, you are feeling more competitive, more enthusiastic, and/or more entrepreneurial. You could feel more athletic and join a local team for fun and exercise, launch a web-
In Taurus, Jupiter helps to expand Taurus’ love of financial security, materialism, comfort, status, self-
For Gemini, Uranus will be in your twelfth house of mental health, attitudes, addictions, self-
Saturn creates our personal challenges and “tough love” learning experiences. He usually spends about two and a half years in each zodiac sign. His job is to create learning experiences that are often uncomfortable but ultimately quite meaningful. Saturn also rules over karma, cause and effect, ethics, and our sense of civic duty. Therefore, it is not only important that we learn our life lessons well, but that we also conduct ourselves with honor and integrity while going through these challenges. If we stay out of trouble, behave ethically, buckle down, and learn our lessons well, then Saturn rewards us with a gift just before he leaves that zodiac sign. For example, if Saturn were traveling through the area of our charts that deals with professionalism, leadership, and success, then he would teach us some tough lessons about those concepts. Then, if we learned our lessons and we behaved ourselves while doing so, Saturn would reward us with a job promotion, professional kudos, public recognition, etc. We would be better at our jobs, better at leading our companies and communities, and/or we would be better at marketing and advertising ourselves. If on the other hand, we did not learn our lessons, or we were unethical, blamed others for our problems, cheated, lied, etc then Saturn would simply move on to the next zodiac sign and we would have nothing to show for all the drama and trouble that we had just endured. Saturn gets a bad reputation because many people think he is simply mean for the heck of it, when in actuality, he is like a “tough love” parent forcing us to grow up and act like a responsible adult. Might not be very fun, but the rewards are well worth it.
As 2011 begins, Saturn is still in Libra and your fifth house where he will remain until October of 2012.
While in Libra, Saturn focuses on our partnerships. Libra rules over marriage, best friends, business partnerships, and competitors (think yin-
For Gemini, hosting Saturn in fifth house Libra could be tough on you. The fifth house governs personal pleasure, romance, playtime, pets, children, hobbies, creative talents, luxury, and happiness. With Libra involved, Saturn could be challenging your love life, your ability to hang out with a best friend, or a business partnership involving “happiness” industries (music, theater, vacations, matchmaking, pet care, fine dining, etc). A competitor could challenge you to the point that you do not feel okay giving yourself permission to take time off to relax. You and your loved ones could have trouble finding time to laugh and play together. The overall focus is always about your ability to feel good and to be happy. Do you play enough? Can you afford the luxury items that you and your loved ones want? Are you able to take enough vacation time? Do you appreciate life’s blessings? Do you allow your creative and playful side out enough? Since Gemini is one of the most playful and fun signs of the zodiac, you might find that Saturn wants you to think more about the ideas of “work first, play second”. Or maybe Saturn will push you towards turning a favorite hobby or pastime into an actual career. You could also find Saturn teaching you life lessons about pets, children and “parenting”. Regardless of how Saturn decides to provide “learning experiences” in your fifth house, you can guarantee that your overall happiness will be a major factor.
Uranus is the eccentric genius, rebellious teenager, and social networking guru of the zodiac. He usually spends about 7 years in each zodiac sign. He rules over friends, teams, clubs, committees, professional associations, networking, science (interconnectivity), electricity, and the Internet. He can bring teamwork, friendships, networking, and a sense of belonging to something bigger than yourself into your life. He can also bring stubbornness, eccentricity, rebellion, and perversity. This is because at his core, he is trying to convince us to be our unique individual selves but also to be a great team player. Thus, like a teenager, he is trying to find himself while being very susceptible to peer pressure. Those who master Uranus’ teachings often make charming and charismatic leaders. Uranus also encourages us to think outside the box and brings a certain eclectic brilliance into our lives. Like the eccentric genius and the rebellious teenager, he brings pleasant surprises and unexpected chaos. Uranus promotes humanitarian ideals like brotherhood, “all for one and one for all”, and “united we stand, divided we fall.” He is not asking us to be sheeple, following the crowd mentality with blind faith. He is asking us to know our unique gifts and to be strong enough in our self-
As 2011 begins, Uranus is still in Pisces and your tenth house until March 12th when he moves into Aries and your eleventh house where he will stay for the next few years.
There are zodiac signs where Uranus shines and is emboldened to bring about wonderful brotherly love and incredible scientific advances, like when he was in his own zodiac sign, Aquarius from the middle of 1995 until the early part of 2003. While there, the everyday use of the Internet took root and blossomed. Prior to that, he was in Capricorn building the systems of the Internet. Yes, the Internet has been around for a long time, but it was during the time that the planet in charge of the Internet was traveling through the zodiac sign in charge of the Internet, that the Internet seriously began to grow and expand into the incredible tool that it is today.
In Pisces, Uranus is somewhat subdued. Pisces rules over the hidden forces that work behind the scenes. Things like mental health, secrets, self-
For Gemini, this has been occurring in your tenth house of professional goals and aspirations, leadership, public reputation, and success. Hosting Uranus in this area of your life can be both annoying and exhilarating. If you work in industries involving telecommunications, Internet technologies, science, web hosting, handheld electronic devices, and cell phone technology, you have probably found this to be an excellent energy to host in your professional success sector. If your job requires teamwork, social networking, large group activities, committees, professional associations, etc, then you probably found it much easier to get these groups working together towards a common goal. At times, bosses, authority figures, and/or your own leadership style may have been chaotic and uncertain, but overall, things should have been more enthusiastic and brainstorming solutions should have been a bit easier. You could also have found yourself longing to change jobs or maybe you did jump around from job to job looking for something more meaningful and more inline with your authentic self. You could be in the mood to take on more leadership roles or you could feel repressed by current leadership and want to break free and do your own thing professionally. There is the chance for greatness and for a fall from grace. You have to be careful how you handle yourself so that you do not create your own professional demise. If negativity does happen, it will probably come unexpectedly. However, if you can stay grounded, focused, and avoid risky or unplanned emotional outbursts, you should be able to tap into Uranus’ brilliant brainstorming and teamwork skills.
Once Uranus moves into Aries, he can have some fun. Aries is innovative, entrepreneurial, competitive, and loves being the first one to come up with a new idea. Uranus is in love with new technology, teamwork, being unique while being part of something bigger than one’s self, and a brainstorming genius. Both are extroverted, social, and stubborn. Both are clever, fast, and pride themselves on their uniqueness. Last summer, Uranus enjoyed a lovely visit into Aries and then spent the fall and winter months backtracking through Pisces. This spring, he will formally move into Aries where he will remain for the next few years. He was like a teenager visiting a college campus before moving there permanently during the college years. This first visit into Aries was exhilarating and then going back into Pisces feels stiff and too confining before he makes the official move to Aries. Globally, we will probably see the Internet and new technology take off like crazy. It will be interesting to see how the planet of teamwork and brotherly love affects the world while in the zodiac sign of warriors and “me first!” Does “me” or “we” prevail?
For Gemini, Uranus will be in your eleventh house of friendships, teams, clubs, committees, professional associations, networking, science, interconnectivity, and the Internet. Uranus rules over this area of the zodiac. He is like a king in his own country, stronger than anywhere else. He encourages you to socialize and to join teams, clubs, committees, etc. However, he can also encourage you to push away from friends and colleagues that are not good for you. If a group is too repressive, too controlling, too much into the sheeple mentality, then Uranus is going to want you to break free from those groups. Uranus does not want you to befriend others and join groups at any cost, but to be true to yourself, true to your authentic real personality, AND to also be a good team player. You are not meant to be a sell-
Neptune tries to bring emotional well-
As 2011 begins, Neptune is still in Aquarius and your ninth house. However, from April 4th through August 4th he will be making a preview visit into Pisces and your tenth house.
In Aquarius, Neptune has been behaving in sort of a yin-
For Gemini, Neptune has been blessing your ninth house of long-
In Pisces, Neptune is literally at home. Neptune rules over Pisces and the concepts of mental health, attitudes, addictions, self-
For Gemini, Neptune will be in your tenth house of professional goals and aspirations, leadership, public reputation, and success. When things are going well, Neptune will magically help your career and when things are not going well, Neptune will muddy the waters and make it very difficult to figure out which direction you should be heading in. It is somewhat like your professional path is a maze or labyrinth and sometimes Neptune helps you to intuitively “know” which way to go. And at other times, Neptune has you crashing into brick walls and running down dead ends. Following a spiritual path, a path of compassion and heart, etc can help. If you are drawn to psychology or any kind of career that helps others to overcome their personal demons, that could help you to not suffer as much from Neptune’s travels through this area of your chart. On the other hand, Neptune can also cause you to constantly daydream, worry, and wonder about what professional path you will take, should take, could take, etc. Being dreamy while in a creative, artistic, or musical industry is not that bad. Being dreamy in a more traditional career could be a problem. Maybe the answer is to spend the next few years praying, meditating, etc to find the right professional path for you. I am not saying you should be into mumbo-
Pluto psychoanalyzes, empowers, and/or heals whatever he touches. He has an uneven pattern and can spend as little as 13 years or as much as 32 years in any given zodiac sign. His job is to uncover the hidden truths within our lives and to either empower us with passion and self-
As 2011 begins, Pluto is still in Capricorn and your eighth house. He moved into this area of your life in 2008 and will stay here until January 2024.
In Capricorn, Pluto focuses on doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Capricorn rules over professionalism, leadership, goals and aspirations, success, civic duty, public recognition, and earning the respect of our peers. Remember earlier when we talked about Saturn and how he teaches us about karma, cause and effect, and “tough love” style life lessons. Saturn rules Capricorn and so Capricorn embraces the concepts of “tough love”, doing one’s civic duty, and ideas like “If I don’t take care of this, who will?” When in Sagittarius, Pluto promoted exploring the world and all of the various cultures, peoples, religions, etc. Sagittarius promoted freedom to explore and to dabble in various religious and cultural teachings. The idea that all religions are more alike than different and therefore we can pick and chose bits and pieces of which ones we like is a very Sagittarian approach to religion and spirituality. We focused on global travel, politics, and mass media. Pluto had a good time digging deep down into the truth about our political beliefs, our religious practices, our international diplomacy, and such. Now, he is focusing on the business systems, ethics, integrity, and professionalism of our world. Do the large corporations follow ethical business practices? Do we have integrity in our government agencies? Do we as individuals, as communities, as states, as countries… do we take on a parental role and look out for those in need or do we focus on our own personal agendas? It may not feel like a lot of fun, but this is the perfect energy for fixing the economic system, the environmental policies, the human rights violations, the health care system, welfare programs, voting fraud, etc. Big systems that are broken can be fixed, healed, restructured, and/or demolished in a smart and tenacious manner. We have the planet of passion, truth, and rebirth focused on the zodiac sign of responsibility, integrity, and leadership.
For Gemini, Pluto is in your eighth house of trust and sharing, intimacy, fidelity, loyalty, joint finances, joint ventures, investments, stock options, commissions, inheritances, lotteries, royalties, and other forms of profit sharing. Pluto rules over trust and sharing (sex and joint finances) and Capricorn rules over integrity and success. With Pluto in Capricorn in your eighth house of trust and sharing, you have a king in his own castle. Pluto is doubly strong here. You have the planet of "our money and our bodies" in the house of "our money and our bodies" in the zodiac sign of "professionalism and integrity." This makes it an amazingly strong energy for romantic commitments that you can fully trust to be loyal and respectful towards you. It is also an incredibly profitable and passionate energy to have for your professional use. Because Capricorn is involved, you do have to work, the money probably will not come from lotteries or inheritances. However, you have the planet of passion and hidden resources blessing your commissions, royalties, stock options, and profit sharing sector, so your career and finances should really benefit from Pluto's new placement in your chart. It may seem like you just "know" where to find money and professional resources. And your love life should benefit from an almost psychic ability to "know" whom to trust with your heart.
***
Bullying, Intolerance and ADHD
Bullying, Intolerance and ADHD
I have an extremely vivid imagination. As a child with undiagnosed ADD (ADHD) I used my imagination to escape to somewhere better, somewhere I was special and where I felt appreciated. In my first book One Boy’s Struggle: A Memoir, I wrote of how I imagined I was Commander Mart, a superhero who flew through the skies on the back of a beautiful, incredible flying silver horse I named Pegasus! In my imagination I felt good about myself, I felt whole and I felt well.
The thing is though, sometimes my imagination got me into a lot of trouble because I would escape into it whenever I was bored, uninspired or when I was under pressure and scared. I didn’t know it then, but I used my imagination as a survival skill. I felt comfortable in my imagination, I was in control there and nobody could hurt me because I was Commander Mart and I could fly away on Pegasus.
Over the years I have blocked out that I was a frequent target of bullies in grade school. But yesterday I was reminded of one particular bully who started out as my friend. To this so-called friend, I shared what my daydreams were about. I told him the fantastic stories of visiting distant worlds as Commander Mart and flying through the skies on my silver Pegasus. Later, when he became my tormenter he would tell me that I shouldn’t dream of being Commander Mart, that it was a silly dream and that a Pegasus was only a myth and was stupid. Those words stung my young ears and heart. My imaginative escape was being attacked and put down. I felt like an idiot at first for sharing my secret world with him and then for enjoying my adventurous daydreams myself.
Bullies attack where they think a person is most vulnerable in order to feel better themselves about their own insecurities. They try to manipulate situations, control other’s behavior and demean others’ self worth in order to feel good. It’s the ultimate power trip for a bully to think that they have succeeded in bringing you down or in planting that seed of doubt in your mind. Bullies hunger for a sense of self worth, because more than likely someone has bullied them before they ever attack someone. They desire to fill an emotional void in their lives at anyone else’s expense. It would be years before I learned that bullies lack the healthy self esteem that they are so determined to undermine in everyone else. Unfortunately, they feed off of negative attention so confronting them often plays into their hands.
As a kid my bully’s comments made me feel stupid and ashamed about daydreaming that I was flying to beautiful worlds as Commander Mart, one of the coping methods I used unknowingly as someone with undiagnosed ADD. My wonderful, active imagination became a curse for me, because someone else convinced me it was. I was effectively bullied, then.
Now, I respond differently to would be bullies. Recently I received emails from someone who reminded me of that bully from grade school, whom I hadn’t thought about in years. In the emails, the sender writes that I am ridiculous to think positively about my life with ADHD. I’ve heard that one before, but the person goes on to demand how and what I should write in my personal blog, adderworld.com and became quite offensive to the point I simply stopped reading the skewed perception and I started wondering if the person actually had seriously read my blog, or was he simply raging. Well, it was indeed raging and I don’t have time for that nonsense. Bullies think they can dominate by force, or gain influence in some way by spewing obscenities and/or attacking one’s view, but in reality society in general has no use for them and neither do I. I am compassionate for ignorance because people can learn, but I have no use for intolerance.
I am far from the impressionable kid I once was, and am confident in my message of hope and encouragement to my readers. To read my blog is anyone’s choice. That bully would be better served by reading elsewhere, but alas, as bullies are, they are not simply content with going elsewhere because they don’t know how to, so not only are they bullies, but they can also be stalkers. They are lost and seek negative attention. They would be better served seeking help. How dare someone try to control and manipulate what I do, say or believe, or, even, write about. Personal blog 101: It’s what the writer wants it to be; it’s one’s thoughts and opinions.
Funny how an email can remind you of a time you had long forgotten, a time when kids bullied others kids for their lunch money and for playground dominance. It’s a shame that adults can be bullies too. That they seem to have a need to impose their will and control others, or that they think they can, would be amusing to me now if it wasn’t so destructive and dangerous.
I never completely stopped daydreaming about Commander Mart and my silver Pegasus as a kid, in fact I wrote about my imaginative escape in my first book, One Boy’s Struggle: A Memoir, which has been read by thousands of people and would have never made it into the book if I had allowed a childhood bully to continue to influence me. I did not let that bully from my past influence me as an adult, just as I do not let them influence me today. I feel sad for them. If they wouldn’t become so dangerous to others it would be almost laughable, but they are extremely destructive and feel the need to attack over and over again, especially when they do not get their way.
One Boy’s Struggle would have been an incomplete story without Commander Mart in it. I am glad a bully didn’t stop me from writing about my experiences. Not everyone is so fortunate.
What do you think of bullies that tell you what you should do, how you should do it and think they can manipulate you through anger, insults and intolerance?
*I feel for people that suffer bullies in their life. The real problem is that bullies can’t seem to just stop. Several emails later from the same person, the insults just pile up and I wonder how they can be helped. I decided not to respond to any of them and instead was reminded of being a kid in grade school, hence this blog post. I am sure the emailer will read it and just continue. Unfortunately, that’s the way bullies tend to be. I feel sorry for their inner agony, because after all, I know it’s not really about me. Bullying is about projection and although I do feel some sympathy, it still cannot be tolerated. I think of Megan Meier, who happened to have ADHD, and cannot find any room for bullies’ behavior to be acceptable.
Megan Taylor Meier (November 6, 1992 – October 17, 2006) was an American teenager from Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, who committed suicide by hanging three weeks before her 14th birthday. A year later, Meier’s parents prompted an investigation into the matter and her suicide was attributed to cyber-bullying through the social networking website MySpace. Excerpted from: Suicide of Megan Meier – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
The book I want to read ASAP
I 've just watched the movie for the second time and I can say,The Bridges of Madison County is the most beautiful love story ever told. It melts the heart. You can feel the love of the two characters burn off the screen. The setting is beautiful, the script is amazing, and the acting is in another league. A beautiful piece of art that will warm even the coldest heart. One of the greatest achievements is the simplicity of it. There is never too many distractions, never too much music, never any over acting. It is simple, allowing the brilliance of Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood to captivate your mind and heart in the most beautiful love story ever told. Someone said, 'it is as if they walked straight off the page' and this is exactly what it is like. They have turned the written form into the most stunning visual. A true piece of cinematic beauty and a film that is a timeless classic.
So I want to read the book and I hope I can feel the same way that I feel about the movie..
Saturday, December 18, 2010
How to make a Mojito Cocktail
Rum:
How To Make A Mojito Cocktail
Step 1: You will need...
Units:
* 8 fresh mint leaves
* 2 tsp brown sugar
* fresh lime juice
* 50 ml light rum
* soda water
* 1 cups (250ml) crushed ice
* 1 25ml/50ml shot measure
* 1 knife
* 1 chopping board
* 1 squeezer
* 1 muddle stick or fork
* 1 highball glass
* 1 barspoon or stirrer
* Serves:
* 1
* Preparation Time:
* 5 minutes
Step 2: Prepare your cocktail
Put the sugar in the highball glass. Tear 5 or 6 of the mint leaves and add them to the glass.
Squeeze half a lime and add 25ml into the glass. Using the muddle stick or fork, gently crush or muddle them together.
Add the crushed ice, light rum and soda water and stir well with a bar spoon or stirrer.
Step 3: Present your cocktail
Garnish the drink with a couple more mint leaves, drink and enjoy!!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
NO RULES WEEKEND BLOGHOP
No rules,no memes,just friends...
If you do follow me,make sure you leave a comment..
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Oranges and Cloves
 |
| Oranges and Cloves |
Lovely..
Sunday, December 12, 2010
LEMON TREE by Sandy Tolan
I started reading 'Lemon Tree' by Sandy Tolan..
There are beautiful reviews about the book.. Such as;
In my 56 years, I've read several books that have changed my life--brought me greater understandings, taught me things I didn't know, mesmerized me so much that I took the books with me everywhere I went--even reading at stop lights! The Lemon Tree is right up there with The Haj, Hawaii, and Night. This history fills in all the gaps of my previous knowledge. So many people have questions about the Middle Eastern conflicts and all of those questions are answered in this book. My friends and I agree that we all SHOULD know more about the Middle East situation, but rarely do we want to sit down and study a history book. This book is full of facts, but it's a page turner!I could hardly put it down. My life was on hold. One day I was reading The Lemon Tree and I actually started crying. There were heart-stopping moments, too. Very exciting! A thriller! I want to meet the real people in the book so much. They are so brave, both Arabs and Israelis, Muslims and Jews. I love how Sandy Tolan showed Israel through different view points, e.g. al-Ramla through Arabic eyes and Ramla through Israeli eyes. It helped shift my thinking as I was reading. Everyone simply has to read this book, both sides, all sides! M.SocciWell,sounds astonishing...
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