| Beware of all those ‘evil’ computer guys Posted: 27 Jul 2010 08:15 AM PDT Monday 07/26/2010 - Beware of all those 'evil' computer guys
- Updated: July 27, 2010 - 2:42 pm
-
Continuing on my psychology of computer repair series, I'm going to write about a conversation I had with a customer today regarding customer service and the stereotypical computer repair jerk.
Sunday 07/25/2010 - Hey, Texters, just call instead
- Updated: July 27, 2010 - 2:42 pm
-
If I had my way, the inventors of Cell Phone Texting would be imprisoned for a term of not less than 89 years — with no possibility of parole — in an institution in the middle of Egypt or Azerbijan, whichever is hotter.
- Thanks for the ride, Blue
- Updated: July 27, 2010 - 2:43 pm
-
This past week was one crazy and contradictory journey. It saw me through a road trip I'd fantasized about for quite some time. But much to my surprise, when the light turned green I had a difficult time placing my foot on the accelerator.
- Would you mind not repeating that?
- Updated: July 27, 2010 - 2:44 pm
-
Found this comment in a forwarded e-mail message:
Thursday 07/22/2010 - Finally falling in to the home shopping trap
- Updated: July 27, 2010 - 2:45 pm
-
Have you ever ordered anything from one of those TV shopping shows?
Wednesday 07/21/2010 - Book sparks memories of Homer C. Smith
- Updated: July 20, 2010 - 7:04 pm
-
Surfing o'er the wave of books at our house, I rediscovered one that was signed by and sent to us by Homer C. Smith.
- Too much noise, not enough law
- Updated: July 27, 2010 - 2:46 pm
-
Suggested new inclusion for Mr. Webster's next dictionary:
Monday 07/19/2010 - How to deal with viruses
- Updated: July 27, 2010 - 2:48 pm
-
Question: Aaron, I read your article last week about protecting business networks from hacks. While I'm not on a business network, I do have this virus and it keeps coming back. Running my anti-virus and anti-malware programs clean it, but not for very long. Is it me getting it reinfected or is it still hiding somewhere in my computer?
Sunday 07/18/2010 - That's what they said: 'This land is my land'
- Updated: July 27, 2010 - 2:49 pm
-
Back in the day, nothing could get folks more riled up than a feud over land ownership and boundary lines.
- Let's do things the right way
- Updated: July 27, 2010 - 2:53 pm
-
What do a 2002 labor union strike; a very long, deep ditch in Central America; a four-lane toll road; and a "green" barge terminal have in common? A whole lot more than you might think.
Sunday 07/18/2010 - Jimbo, hippopotamus share funk
- Updated: July 27, 2010 - 2:55 pm
-
Many, many years I ago I saw this sensational cartoon that pretty much sums up how I felt a few weeks back. Indeed, it captured my mental state on the Fourth of July. - more »
Wednesday 07/14/2010 - If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is
- Updated: July 27, 2010 - 2:57 pm
-
Today is the last day for me to submit a claim to win more than $3 million. - more »
Tuesday 07/13/2010 - Col. Juan Bradburn: 'Public Enemy No. 1'
- Updated: July 27, 2010 - 2:58 pm
-
One of the most despised Mexican officials in the Texas Revolution wasn't a Mexican. - more »
Friday 07/09/2010 - Suddenly, an unexpected 50 bucks
- Updated: July 27, 2010 - 2:59 pm
-
OK, where were we on this Contemplating Life business? - more »
- News flash: Let's party July 4, 1835
- Posted: July 09, 2010
-
Sorry to be reporting old news but I didn't learn about this until after the holiday weekend. - more »
Thursday 07/08/2010 - Barbecue benefit to raise funds for Chambers County man
- Updated: July 09, 2010 - 3:38 pm
-
A Chambers County couple whose work created lasting memories for innumerable families in their area is in need of some help now. - more »
- Guns, government and Elvis: Texan as chicken-fried steak
- Posted: July 08, 2010
-
Until a few weeks ago, you could usually tell when Elvis was in The Building by the number of Brown-uniformed Department of Public Safety officers there. - more »
- More power for the Fed
- Posted: July 08, 2010
-
Last week, I was pleased to see my Republican colleagues take up the cause to fully and completely audit the Federal Reserve by including my language from the Federal Reserve Transparency Act in a Motion to Recommit the financial regulation reform bill. - more »
- Who says a woman's place is in the kitchen?
- Updated: July 08, 2010 - 9:26 pm
-
A man who works with our daughter told her today that a woman's place is in the kitchen. - more »
Wednesday 06/30/2010 - Hamilton was one of Houston's biggest fans
- Posted: June 30, 2010
-
Chicago artist Warren Hunter, who spent summers in Bandera, painted a portrait of a 98-year-old former slave sitting on a porch in Belton. His subject looked like a man who had lived through interesting times and had some tales to tell. - more »
Sunday 06/27/2010 - If county line not broke, don't fix it
- Posted: June 27, 2010
-
They're close cousins, East Harris and West Chambers counties. - more »
- I'm visiting Cloud Nine
- Posted: June 27, 2010
-
Finally, all the craziness that was the start of my summer is over. Don't get me wrong, it was all enjoyable in a this-is-the-good-stuff-life-is-made-of way, but rather exhausting. - more »
- 'GOOT'heads turn a low-key 10
- Posted: June 27, 2010
-
Listen closely and maybe you'll hear the melodious sounds of the great celebration song "Happy Birthday." And possibly a burp or two. - more »
Thursday 06/24/2010 - Have you been to Mexico lately?
- Posted: June 24, 2010
-
There have been a lot of headlines about violence on the Mexican side (mostly) of the border, particularly in Juarez, the town across from El Paso, though other places get mentioned on the news for violent incidents as well. The media makes it seem like it is just too dangerous to visit Mexico and, in fact, the U.S. State Department has issued some warnings about travel in some areas. - more »
Wednesday 06/23/2010 - Meet your local who's who in Texas history
- Posted: June 23, 2010
-
Let's see … where were we …? - more »
Monday 06/21/2010 - Allergies, puppy dogs, The Fence
- Posted: June 21, 2010
-
Here are a few things from my Real Newsman Notebook. These are little doodads I save to use when it strikes my fancy. (Or when I don't have anything else to write about.) - more »
- Anger motivated search for history
- Posted: June 21, 2010
-
I've been asked why I developed such a keen interest in local area history, and I'll tell you why. - more »
Sunday 06/20/2010 - Thanks to all the providers out there
- Posted: June 20, 2010
-
Happy Father's Day to all the dads, granddads, and great-granddads! It's your special day, so allow me to give you a big pat on the back. You deserve it. - more »
Thursday 06/17/2010 - An interesting visit to Sundown Island
- Posted: June 17, 2010
-
Last weekend I traveled to Sundown Island for the first time. - more »
Wednesday 06/16/2010 - Early oil boom was an 'off' and 'on' affair
- Posted: June 16, 2010
-
Baytown's oil boom in the early 20th century might be described as an "off and on" situation. - more »
Saturday 06/12/2010 - Skin scorching days on beach recalled
- Posted: June 12, 2010
-
Fun in the sun has its dark side, and its name is skin cancer. - more »
- A warning to toilet-like bad guys
- Posted: June 12, 2010
-
Jimbo is mad as all get out and he ain't going to take it anymore. (Snooty Vermonters may substitute the word "isn't" for "ain't.") - more »
Thursday 06/10/2010 - New mom worries, worries, worries…
- Posted: June 10, 2010
-
Is there anybody out there who worries more than a first-time mother? - more »
Wednesday 06/09/2010 - Popular drive-ins are fondly remembered
- Posted: June 09, 2010
-
From the good old days at Roseland Park swimming pool, the discussion turned to drive-in restaurants along Alexander Drive. - more »
Saturday 06/05/2010 - Experience is the best teacher
- Posted: June 05, 2010
-
Last you all heard I was anxiously anticipating doing cartwheels upon the conclusion of my daughter's fifth grade graduation ceremony. Cartwheels and a few ecstatic back flips were executed flawlessly — all the Kleenex sent my way was not needed. And I bet you thought that in the end I would sit and blubber. Not a single tear was shed. They don't count if they stay within the confines of the eyelids. - more »
- Burchett namesake of Spring school
- Posted: June 05, 2010
-
If I had driven by a certain campus in the Spring school district, I would have slowed down to take a closer look. The name "Chet Burchett Elementary School" would have grabbed my attention. - more »
- Way too cool at school
- Posted: June 05, 2010
-
Personally, I'm not at all happy that school is out for the summer. - more »
Thursday 06/03/2010 - Guest speaker at photo club Monday
- Posted: June 03, 2010
-
Digital cameras are changing the world of photography. - more »
Wednesday 06/02/2010 - Roseland Park: The early years sure were fun
- Posted: June 02, 2010
-
Guess it goes with the season. Here lately I've been thinking back on good old summer times and remembering when, instead of 40-plus parks that today include a water theme park, spray park and even a bark park, Roseland was Baytown's one and only. - more »
Saturday 05/29/2010 - Suggestions for graduates
- Posted: May 29, 2010
-
Attention high school graduates. This includes my granddaughter, Falynn (rhymes with talon) Finley, Class of '10, Ross S. Sterling High. - more »
- No tears at the end of era
- Posted: May 29, 2010
-
With the kickoff of Memorial Day weekend, summer is unofficially here. - more »
- The story of a war hero
- Posted: May 29, 2010
-
Leafing through old issues of the Humble Bee, a monthly magazine for Baytown Refinery employees, I was drawn to a group photo made in the middle of World War II. - more »
Thursday 05/27/2010 - Time for all of us to buy American
- Posted: May 27, 2010
-
For those who have inquired, or just anybody wondering, my spider bites seem to be healing nicely, thank you very much. - more »
Wednesday 05/26/2010 - Cornerstones were laid for hospital in 1947
- Posted: May 26, 2010
-
Baytown observed Memorial Day in 1947 at a construction site on Decker Drive near Market and Texas Avenue. - more »
Saturday 05/22/2010 - Favorite cousins sub as siblings
- Posted: May 22, 2010
-
To an only child, favorite cousins can serve as substitute siblings. - more »
- The 'reunion to end all reunions'
- Posted: May 22, 2010
-
AUSTIN — Before you read any further, fairness dictates that I tell you this is a high school reunion piece. But please keep reading. - more »
Thursday 05/20/2010 - Spiders, spiders everywhere I go
- Posted: May 20, 2010
-
Note: Don't read this column if you are easily grossed out or have arachnophobia. You'll be sorry if you do. - more »
Wednesday 05/19/2010 - We never got to see how these ended
- Posted: May 19, 2010
-
With movies widely accessible on TV and video rentals, we can watch some that we started years ago but never got to finish. - more »
Saturday 05/15/2010 - Making scents out of magazine ads
- Updated: May 25, 2010 - 2:36 pm
-
So what else is there to do while waiting in the aptly named waiting room of a doctor or dentist. - more »
- A well-earned fear of doctors
- Updated: May 25, 2010 - 2:36 pm
-
The trouble with getting old(er) is that it "shows" on people. Brown spots, etc. - more »
Thursday 05/13/2010 - Just another oops moment or a fashion faux pas
- Updated: May 25, 2010 - 2:37 pm
-
One would think that by the ripe old age of whatever age I am (I don't feel like mentioning any specifics today), I would be able to dress myself. - more »
Wednesday 05/12/2010 - James and his jitney pioneered transportation
- Updated: May 25, 2010 - 2:37 pm
-
A collection of stories in the Bay Area Heritage Society Family Tree Cookbook includes information about early transportation in the area. - more »
Monday 05/10/2010 - More females getting into computers
- Updated: May 25, 2010 - 2:36 pm
-
Historically (this is a relative term with computers) females have not been into computers at all and it's been mainly dominated by males. Things are slowly turning around for the fairer sex, but that's only been in the recent years. - more »
Sunday 05/09/2010 - More females getting into computers
- Updated: May 25, 2010 - 2:36 pm
-
Historically (this is a relative term with computers) females have not been into computers at all and it's been mainly dominated by males. Things are slowly turning around for the fairer sex, but that's only been in the recent years. - more »
Saturday 05/08/2010 - Hausmann, a remarkable mother
- Updated: May 25, 2010 - 2:36 pm
-
For the first time, Clem Hausmann Jr. and his sisters Wanda Hausmann and Carol Manville face Mother's Day without their mother, and that's rough. So many of us endure that same sad and empty feeling on this day in May. - more »
- Sad side of 'Acreage Survey'
- Updated: May 25, 2010 - 2:36 pm
-
As Discerning Readers know full well, each year in the spring I walk the vastness of my land and conduct what has become known far and wide as my "Acreage Survey." - more »
- A week to remember
- Updated: May 25, 2010 - 2:37 pm
-
First order of business, Happy Mother's Day! I know you're all expecting some words on motherhood, but since it's my special day, too, and because I write about motherhood frequently, I'm putting my feet up and taking a break from the topic and the job. Plus, there's something else important happening that I want you to know about. - more »
Thursday 05/06/2010 - Gathering to mark passing of Marine
- Updated: May 25, 2010 - 2:36 pm
-
On Saturday, a group of family, friends, fellow Marines and other veterans will meet to mark the passing of a friend. - more »
Wednesday 05/05/2010 - Leafing through cookbook, found local family tree
- Updated: May 25, 2010 - 2:37 pm
-
As is often the case, I get sidetracked, starting out to do one thing and ending up doing another. The Family Tree Cookbook, published in 1995 by the Bay Area Heritage Society, provided the latest such venture as I perused the pages for recipes and discovered a mother lode of local history -- the collection of family stories in the back of the book. - more »
Saturday 05/01/2010 - Last week looks good in the rear-view mirror
- Updated: May 25, 2010 - 2:36 pm
-
What a relief to see this past week in the rear-view mirror! For those of you removed from school-aged children, the last few days were filled with Texas' brand of standardized testing — TAKS — Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, which is the current form designed to assess students' attainment of reading, writing, math, science, and social studies skills required under Texas education standards. - more »
© Copyright 2010, BaytownSun.com, Baytown, TX. Powered by Blox Content Management System from TownNews.com. Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Psychologists to host China's first-ever conference on positive psychology Posted: 27 Jul 2010 02:20 AM PDT The ranks of China's millionaires continue to grow, but the increased wealth has done little to boost the country's gross domestic happiness, according to psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley. They say the pursuit of prosperity in the nation is fast outpacing mental health and well-being, and are seeking to correct that imbalance by spreading the science of happiness in China. As part of that effort, UC Berkeley psychologists, along with colleagues at Tsinghua University, are hosting in August China's first-ever conference on positive psychology. The event is particularly relevant in the wake of China's Foxconn plant worker suicides and headline-generating knife attacks on preschoolers, conference leaders said. "We want to switch the focus in China from the gross domestic product to happiness, from the culture of competition to the common good," said UC Berkeley psychologist Kaiping Peng, founder and director of the Berkeley-Tsinghua Program for Advanced Study in Psychology. In 2008, Peng and his colleagues rebuilt Tsinghua University's psychology program, nearly 60 years after the department was dismantled as part of China's restructuring of higher education along Soviet lines. Psychology is now the third most popular field of study at that university after international finance and accounting, Peng said. The "First China International Conference on Positive Psychology," to be held on Aug. 7 and 8 on the Tsinghua University campus in the academic heart of Beijing, has attracted 200 academic papers from 38 countries and is expected to draw more than 400 scholars, teachers and business leaders. Those presenting their research will include UC Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner, author of "Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life," and Christopher Peterson, a University of Michigan psychologist and a pioneer of positive psychology. Another high-profile speaker will be Robert Wright, chronicler of evolutionary psychology and author of "The Moral Animal," which ranked among The New York Times Book Review's 12 best books of 1994. The positive psychology movement was born in the late 1990s when a handful of American psychologists shifted their research away from mental illness and dysfunction and toward the mysteries of human resilience and optimism. Among other things, the Tsinghua University conference will investigate how positive psychology can improve life in China's households, workplaces and educational institutions. It will also explore ties between mental health and spirituality. "Many people in China feel uncertain about the future," Peng said. "We want to do more than just talk about depression and mental illness. We want to figure out how to improve their emotional outlook and bring the wisdoms of Buddhism and other religions to the scientific study of happiness." Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Palestine’s Grief and Palestinian Hope Posted: 27 Jul 2010 12:01 AM PDT Dr. Kenneth Ring, prolific author and Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Connecticut, offers new insight into the suffering of Palestinian people. His book presents firsthand accounts from individuals in Gaza under the Israeli siege, from those in the West Bank who are living under occupation, and from American-born Palestinians. Kentfield, CA (PRWEB) July 27, 2010 -- Israel's recent assault on unarmed humanitarian activists in the Gaza flotilla caused outrage around the world. Yet it is just the latest in a string of anti-Palestinian hostilities that includes the 2006 Lebanon War and the Gaza War of 2008-2009. Dr. Kenneth Ring's latest book sheds new light on the struggles of Palestinians from all walks of life, including those who are American-born. "Letters from Palestine: Palestinians Speak Out about Their Lives, Their Country, and the Power of Nonviolence" consists of several dozen moving and informative stories. Written by Palestinian people, many of them young, these narratives depict various aspects of contemporary Palestinian life. Many are intimate accounts of daily suffering and humiliation. But woven through these sometimes graphic accounts are also bright threads of hope for the future and flashes of humor at the absurdity of life under occupation. Another major theme of these stories is Palestinians' fervent commitment to non-violence, something that is rarely noted in the American media. The contributors reveal what the media has often refused to discuss: Israel has taken a nearly genocidal approach to Palestine yet the people refuse to die off. The youthful makeup of most of the book's contributors offers reassuring evidence that there is indeed a future for Palestine. The contributors also will not allow the memories of their parents and grandparents to fade. The author wants to put a human face on the abstraction of the Palestinian people. Only then can Americans feel the true horror of the breaches of humanitarian and international law that occur there every day. Ring says, "Americans face a highly biased and uncritical public media. They need to read stories like these." Perhaps one the most enlightening accounts is from a woman named Shireen Tawil. Shireen grew up in Washington, D.C. As a child, she overheard words like deportation, refugees and torture before she was old enough to understand what they meant. These discussions and her parents' daily search for any news from their homeland inspired Shireen to educate herself about adeyat phalastin, the question of Palestine. As an adult, Shireen recognizes that when people have no country, education is all they have left. Ironically, this is the same view historically held by Jews. Palestinians also prize education above all, which is why they are sometimes called "the Jews of the Arabs." With every obstructive action Israel takes against Palestinians, such as impeding their education, it steps closer to sealing its own demise. And in regard to its military oppression of the Palestinians, Ring says, "In defeating its perceived foes, Israel only defeats itself." Although "Letters from Palestine" includes stories from the West Bank, those from Gaza are especially significant now because the siege is so often in the news. Standouts here include the experiences of Monir Deeb, a Gaza-born American immigrant who contributed two stories. The first reveals the prejudice and humiliation in trying to cross into or out of his homeland on a normal visit. He also writes eloquently about his participation in the first ships of the Free Gaza Movement to breach the siege. In "My Flight from Gaza," Fulbright Scholar Zohair Abu-Shaban shows how Israel continues to deny Palestinians access to education. Ring was particularly angered by Zohair's difficulties because the would-be scholar was prevented from attending Ring's own university. Despite months of effort, Ring was unable to persuade anyone in America to help. Zohair eventually received a second scholarship to study at the Imperial College London. He narrowly avoided losing even that opportunity, and was only able to escape when one of the Free Gaza boats spirited him to Cyprus. Two weeks later he was starting his new life in London when the Gaza War of 2008-2009 began. Tragically, he soon learned that five of his relatives were killed and another eight were injured during the attacks. Ring knew two of the Americans who were on the flotilla attacked in May of this year. Both were beaten and treated brutally by Israeli authorities. In the months since, Ring has not seen anything that indicates that the deadly assault will prevent new attempts at breaking the siege. He asks, "What price will Israel eventually have to pay for its crimes against innocent civilians?" Ring's condemnation carries the weight of credibility. In order to write this book, he traveled to the West Bank to investigate conditions firsthand and has had extensive contact with Palestinians. He is also Jewish, and hopes to reach American Jews with this book. "American foreign policy has historically been overwhelmingly pro-Israel in large part due to the attitudes and influence of American Jewry," Rings says. "American foreign policy has been dismissive and disdainful of the Palestinian narrative." By unveiling the human faces behind the suffering, Ring hopes to contribute to a renewed American search for real answers to the question of Palestine. Ring is widely known for his groundbreaking research into near-death experiences. The author of five books on that topic, this is his first book on Palestine. More information about the book and the author is available at www.lettersfrompalestine.com. This work has already received excellent reviews and has been called a must-read. It provides photos of the individual contributors in order to help readers connect an image of the person with his or her words. "Letters from Palestine" has been called "the perfect vehicle by which an entire nation, rendered voiceless, speaks…to the entire world." "My hope is that Americans become more sympathetic to the struggle for Palestinian justice," Ring says. After reading "Letters from Palestine," Americans and people worldwide surely will. ### Wheatmark, Inc.
Media Contact
520-798-0888
E-mail Information
Trackback URL: http://prweb.com/pingpr.php/Q291cC1FbXB0LUluc2UtSW5zZS1TaW5nLVNxdWEtWmVybw== Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
No comments:
Post a Comment