Howard's Notebook

"Pandering" clause in 2003 law legal

  The United States Supreme Court today upheld a law aimed at preventing child pornography.  The high court, by a ruling of 7-2, said that a provision dealing with "pandering" illicit material does not violate the Bill of Rights.
 
  "...A 2003 federal law made it a crime not only to produce and possess child porn, but also to "pander" material, conveying the belief that material contains minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The pandering provision covers anyone who 'advertises, promotes, presents, distributes, or solicits' this material..."

See CNN story

Here is the court papers and the case and you can read it.

  I have not read the case and the Supreme Court law yet.  I will  read it all when I get time.  I had to study this in college and I enjoyed reading Supreme Court law.  I am not saying I would want to do it all the time.

  Child porn is a big problem and we need to do something about it.  Right now, remember I have not read the decision yet, I think this law is bull-shit. 
  Child pornography is a crime.  They should just go after those people that are doing child porn. 
  This "pandering" crime scares me.
  What is next?

John McCain - The Real Straight Talk

Bakery

  People all over the world read this blog.  What is a bakery?  jhoward@hnbbs.net
  I was born, in 1941, in Missouri and a bakery is a place that sells pastries and bread.  When I think of a bakery I think of donuts. 
  When I was in grade school and was about 12 or 13 I went to St. Vincent's Catholic school.  My last year at St. Vincent's was 1955.  I just wanted to give you an idea of the time and place.
  You had to eat lunch at school or walk home and eat at home.  I walked across the street to a drug store and had a hot dog and a malt each day for lunch.  One day I saw the school principal with her robe flying and her rosary swinging coming for me at the drug store.  She came in and pulled me off the stool, by the ear, and marched me over to the church.  She told Father Oscar Huber that I was eating not at the school or home but at the drug store.
  (A few years later Father Oscar Huber would give the Last Rites to President John F. Kennedy in Dallas and then go out side and tell the world that John Kennedy was dead.)
  I could not eat at the drug store any more.
  I would say I was going home to eat and would walk a few blocks to a bakery.  I had the same thing each day.  I would have root beer, out of a ice cold glass bottle, and donuts.  That is going to be my "rosebud" and my heaven.  When I die I may end up young and in a clean bakery drinking root beer, out of a glass bottle, and eating donuts.  "Rosebud!" 

  Now I am in Miami.  I walked to a bakery a few blocks from here.  I was the first customer.  I looked and I saw no donuts.  I am thinking no problem she just did not bring them out from the back yet.  I asked about donuts and she told me that they do not sell donuts.
  How can you be a bakery in the United States and not sell donuts?  I wonder if I should contact Homeland Security.
  I got some of the stuff she was selling.  It came to almost $9.00 and I am not sure what the heck I got.  The sign says they sell; Comidas Chilenas, Paila Marina, Humitas, Mote con Huesillo, Empanadas de Pino, Sandwich Chilenos, Paella, Lasagna, Pastelitos Cubanos and Dulces Chilenos y Cubanos.
  I wonder if I am the last "American" to leave Miami should I leave the American flag or should I take it down and bring it with me?

 

Florida Everglades Fire

  A few of you have asked how we are doing with the fire down here in the Everglades National Park.  We have not had any problems.  I am not sure about all of the Miami area but here we have had some haze, smell of wood burning and some small amount  of ash coming down.
  I saw a lot worst a few years ago when I was working at the hospital in the Orlando (FL) area.
  The National Weather Service has issued a smoke advisory for South Florida.
  We are doing OK.   Ken has  Monday and Tuesday off and he likes to get out and ride his bike and go places.  We will see how he does for the next two days.

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

  If you been reading my blog for a year or two you know that I have BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia).  I gave you all the details and read "ALL" the details. 
  You also read about the tests I had done.  You read about the test when they put a catheter in my penis.  I told you that was excruciating pain and I never wanted that done again.
  "Catheters suck, but they're a necessary evil for men who want to know if they have benign prostatic hyperplasia (quickie Giz diagnosis: you're cancer-free, but pee six times an hour). And in addition to excruciating tube-down-your-johnson pain, the catheter also carries with it the potential for infection. The process could be changing soon, however, thanks to researcher Tim Idzenga. Basically, the Dutchman will diagnose BPH by listening to your business with a microphone..."
  Gizmodo has the information. 

MegaVideo instead of YouTube

  I sign up and try out a lot of sites.  A few months ago I signed up with MegaVideo.  I even paid for a one month "Premium" membership.  I did not do much of anything during that month.  I did upload one video and that was the short little Hollywood Beach (FL) video.  A total of 73 people watched the video.   I uploaded that same video to YouTube and 523 people have watched the video. That was for about five months.
  Yesterday I uploaded to MegaVideo that stupid little Snapping Beetles video.  In less than 24 hours 16281 people watched the video.  Hell, in less than 12 hours.  I put that same video on YouTube 4 days ago and 69 people have watched the video.

  I am going to be taking a look at MegaVideo now.  I will upload a few of my old videos and see what sort of hits they get.  I may even make a few new videos.

  Here is that Click Beetle video.

 
 
 

FireFox Release Candidate

  A few minutes ago I was using FireFox 3 beta 5.  I just did an upgrade and I am now using FireFox RC1.  If you want to read about it click here. 

"Mozilla Corporation on Friday released Firefox 3 RC1, more or less the final form of this iteration of the popular open-source Web browser. RC stands for Release Candidate and represents a stage in which the browser's features are complete and the code is stable enough for public testing. Barring any serious bugs, RC1 will become the official release version of Firefox 3, which is planned for June..."

  I use FireFox but I also have IE and have to use it sometimes.  Netflix does not support watching videos with FireFox.
  Mozilla says that FireFox 3 is 9.3 times faster than Internet Explorer.  I am not sure if that is correct or not.  I do find myself using FireFox most of the time.

Convicted Hacker Being a Bad Boy Again

  Jeffrey Robert Weinberg was convicted of hacking into a database and sentenced to prison in December 2006.  He was released in November.   

  "...Jeffrey Robert Weinberg, 22, was arrested by LAPD detectives in Southern California early Friday morning, a department spokeswoman confirmed. While police aren't discussing the particulars, the arrest follows a detailed blog post by "Amor Hilton" an 18-year-old Los Angeles woman, who says she helped detectives build a case against  Weinberg after he hijacked her MySpace account and demanded nude photos and "phone sex" in exchange for its return..."
  Wired by Kevin Poulsen

"...Hilton's weekly live video show Bare Naked on the amateur streaming site Stickam has made her an online celebrity of sorts.  She named herself for fashion model Nicky Hilton, sister of heiress Paris Hilton. Weinberg was one of a gang of hackers who penetrated Paris Hilton's cell phone account in 2005, the Washington Post reported last year..."

   I wish this guy Weinberg lived in Iran or China.  If he lived in Iran they would just cut parts of his body off and put a stop to his actions.  If he lived in China they would just put him to death and put an end to his actions.

Visited by 0.0019% of Internet Users

  Yes my friends 0.0019% of Internet users visit Howard's Notebook.  I do not think I can get that to fit on a t-shirt, hat or mouse pad. 
  The last three days the number of visitors is starting to get back to the old numbers.  That is just under 3000 visitors to HNB each day.
  HNB still has a Google PR rating of 0.  We had a rating of 4 for years but something happened and we are at 0.  Some of my other sites have a PR rating of 2 and they get very few visitors. 

  Russ and Ken got home at about 0200.  They were in Kansas City. 
  Russell is sick.  Not sure if he has a cold or some other problem.

  Russ got his $600.00 tax rebate today.  That should make him feel better.

  I been playing with the taking of panoramic photos.  My camera will "stitch" up to 3 photos into a panoramic scene.  It is pretty neat.  I want to try it with the Miami skyline.  If I can get a good photo that skyline will be the header for HNB.

12 Year Old Dominatrix

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) -- "Federal prosecutors have unsealed an indictment accusing a man and woman of training the woman's child to be a dominatrix, selling her sexual services and photographing some of the acts.

U.S. Attorney John Wood said the case is unusual in that a parent has been charged with the commercial sex trafficking of his or her own minor child.

Todd B. Barkau, 35, of New York state, and the 44-year-old mother were charged in the seven-count indictment. They once lived together in Blue Springs, Missouri, where the sex business was said to have been run.

"Barkau obtained control of a 12-year-old girl and he groomed, trained and forced her to become a sexual dominatrix," Wood said in Kansas City on Monday..."

  Just when you think you have heard it all you read or see something new.  Last week I reported on the couple that ran a porn business using three kids 7 to 11 years of age.  They had the kids having sex with each other.

  Now I see this and I wonder what is next.  In this case it seems they did not tell people that the 12 year old girl was a minor.  They told people she was 18 or 19 years of age.

  In the case of the three little kids the people paying knew they were small kids.

  I am not sure what these people will get in jail time but the other people are getting life in jail for their crimes.

Right Wing Authoritarian (RWA) Personalities

  I had a long blog entry here not long ago asking a few questions about right wing Republicans.  I said that a study should be done so we can understand people that think the way they think.
  It appears that Bob Altemeyer, a psychologist, at the University of Manitoba (Canada) has been studying these sort of people for 30 years.  He also used the research of Theodor Adorno.  There were studies done after WWII trying to identify the personality traits of people like Hitler.

See a story in This Magazine

  A few things come out in the studies of Bob Altemeyer that seem common in RWA people.  One is the "persistent belief" that men and woman are not equal. 
  RWAs are attracted to the "bedrock" founding principles of the society they live in and become anxious and fearful when others challenge those principles. 
 
  "...Using cognition testing, Altemeyer found that RWAs are able to keep conflicting ideas in separate mental compartments. They can believe in “freedom of speech” and “my country, love it or leave it” without seeing the contradiction. This permits them to support legislation such as the U.S. Patriot Act without perceiving the damage it has done to fundamental democratic freedoms..."

A World Gone Mad

  I hate to rave about things because I just sound like an old man.
  A flight attendant set a fire on a plane because he was not happy about his work route.....The mom indicted in the deadly MySpace hoax does not surprise me.  It should shock and surprise me but we all know how stupid and sick some people on the Internet are and may have had some dealings with people like them.....The Florida arson suspect does not surprise any of us.  We hear those sort of stories all the time.  I have read about firemen setting fires.  One story I saw on TV was of an arson detective setting fires all over the state of CA.

  Something new I just saw on CNN is that the state of California is trying to pass a law to tax porn.  The tax rate would be 25%.  It sounds like a good idea.  I do not think it would be legal.  I think it would be unconstitutional because it would be an attempt to censor porn.  I also think the tax rate is very high.  It is clear from the tax rate they want that it is an attack on the porn business and people that enjoy adult subjects. 
  If they could write the law so that it was constitutional and if they made the tax rate lower I would say great.
  I do think at the same time we should tax churches and some "non-profit" organizations like hospitals. 

Butterflies and my Kodak Z712 IS

  We had have a lot of monarch caterpillars feeding on the milkweed plants.  They eat so much that they do not leave much of the plants.  It is not very smart to eat all of your food supply.  (Hell, I guess I do that all the time. Smile)
  We did not have any caterpillars for some time but the plants grew back fast.  We are starting to see some monarch caterpillars.

I took this photo with my new Kodak Z712 IS camera.

   

  I just took these two photos of a butterfly.  I was inside the living room and shot these out the patio door.  I think, with time, I will learn to get some good photos with this camera. 

  Ken and Russell will be home in about 13 hours. 

Awake at 0400

  I woke up at 0200 hours.  I am still up and it is after 0530 hours.  I woke up at 0200 to use the bathroom.  I still wake up x number of times to use the bathroom during the night.  Most of the time I go right back to bed but not tonight.
  Right now I am having bad chest pains.  My guess is it is because I am tired and I think I will feel better if I go back to bed.

  I looked at the docs for my new camera today.  I hope to start taking some good photos soon.  In two weeks the 2008 hurricane season will begin (June 1st).  I hope this year is quiet but if it is active I hope I can get some good photos and videos.  I hope we do not lose power this year and I hope I do not lose my Internet connection.

  In September I will be in Washington DC for a two week vacation.  I will be taking a lot of photos. 
  The camera does not fit in my fanny pack very well and I was thinking I needed a case for the new camera.  I think maybe I need a new fanny pack.
  I fear this new camera is going to be one of those cameras you have at home and you try and remember to take it with you when your going someplace special. 

  Ken and Russell will be back in FL in about 18 hours.
  I heard that Russell was not very happy.  He stayed with his great grandmother and Ken stayed in a motel.  Russ did not have cable TV or Internet service.
  Ken was looking forward to a KC casino but he lost $140.00 on his first visit.  I hope he did not go back for a second visit.

  I am going back to bed.  Maybe when I wake up my chest pain will be gone.

                               

                                    "A MoneyExchange^TM account allows you to instantly                                     send or receive money online to another accountholder, for FREE.

                               

• It's free to sign up.
• It's free to transfer funds to and from your bank account online.
• It's the easy and secure way to pay people by only sharing your email.
• Plus, if you open an account today, you will receive a $25 sign                                         up bonus.*"

  Today (15th of May) is the last day for this offer.  I checked and they still list May 15th as the last day.  They may extend the offer.  I do not know.  If you have not signed up, right now, there is still time to get $25.00 and I will get $10.00 if you sign up.
                           

Snapping Beetles

  We got a strange beetle down here. It is called the Click Beetle

"Click beetles (family Elateridae), sometimes called elaters, skipjacks, snapping beetles, or spring beetles, are a cosmopolitan family characterized by the unusual click mechanism they possess. There are a few closely-related families in which a few members have the same mechanism, but all elaterids can click. A spine on the prosternum can be snapped into a corresponding notch on the mesosternum, producing a violent "click" which can bounce the beetle into the air. Clicking is mainly used to avoid predation, although it is also useful when the beetle is on its back and needs to right itself. There are about 7000 known species. 

Click beetles can be large and colorful(some are brilliant metallic green), but most are small to medium-sized (<2 cm) and dull. The adults are typically nocturnal and phytophagous. In hot weather, they are prone to enter people's houses at night if entries or windows are left opened. The larvae of a few species, called wireworms, can be serious pests of corn and other grains, especially after a field has been left fallow..." 

 

Lars and the Real Girl

  I watched "Lars and the Real Girl" today on DVD. 
It is an interesting movie about a delusional young man with a life-size sex doll  for a girl friend.  I do not want to soil the movie for you so I will not say very much about it.  I enjoyed the movie.  Watching the movie I was thinking I wish I lived in a town with people like that and I wish I had a doctor like the female doctor in the film.

"...The 'Real Doll' was featured on "The Graham Norton Effect" (2004). The doll was given to the show and was stated as costing $6,000. She arrived in the same kind of crate that is shown in the movie. To test how real the doll looked they sat her in a bar with drink in hand, sunglasses and a speaker placed on her so they could talk to whomever came up to talk to the doll. One man was told to go into the bathroom, take off his pants and wait for her. He did..." 
IMDB

CNN News

  It is so sad about the earthquake in China.  My son, Jimmy, is married to a girl from China.  I do not remember where her family lives in China.  I hope they are OK.  I hope the United States is offering help.  I know China has a very large military and large number of people and does not need our help.  We should offer help and tell them if there is anything they need to just ask and we will help.
  CNN Story

Home Alone for 48 Hours

  Ken and Russell are getting ready to leave for Kansas City.  They forgot about me and I am going to end up home alone.  Russell says they are moving and not telling me. 
  Ken has not seen Belton (Missouri) in over five years. Russell has not seen Belton in eight years.  Ken did a Google Earth fly over and there have been a lot of changes to Belton.  Ken is looking forward to gambling at a Kansas City casino.  He also is looking forward to eating in Kansas City.
  I loaned Russell my Casio Ex-Z1090 digital camera.  I told him to take photos and make a few videos.  I hope he does not lose my camera. I love that Casio camera.

  Ken and Russell just went out the door.  They will be in Kansas City this afternoon.

  I need a camera case for my new Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS.  I took it out for a test walk yesterday and it would not fit in my pocket.  I knew it was not a pocket camera.  I put it in my fanny pack and it was hard to get out.  Can anyone recommend a good case for it.  I want a case I can attach to my belt. 

  Well I am going to move the few plants on the patio so I can see them from inside the house and even see them when I am in bed.  Ken does not like them right outside the patio door but I can enjoy them for 48 hours.

  Only about two more days to get $25.00 for free.   Hell, if you sign up and don't need the $25.00 you can just send it to me.  jhoward@hnbbs.net

 

Playing with my new camera

  I been playing with my new camera.  I can not get the camera to make me look young.  No matter how many photos I take with the camera I still look old.

I got the new camera

  I was watching and listening for the UPS man today. 
  He showed up with my new camera (Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS) and a 2 GB SD memory card. 
  The camera comes with a non-rechargeable CRV3 battery.  I got a KLIC-8000 battery and a charger on the way. 
  I had to pick up my medications at CVS and get some Coke.  Then after that long walk I had to take a shower so I have not had time to do much with the camera.
  I did take the new camera with me on my long walk.  I can see that I need a camera case for it.  I put it in a fanny pack and it was hard to get it out of the pack.  I did not drop the new camera.  I did drop my Palm cell phone and it hit the side walk and landed in the street.  Put a little dig on the case of the cell phone.  I have had that cell phone for years and that is the first mark on it.  I am just glad it was not the camera.

  I need to learn how to use the camera so do not judge the camera and me by this photo that I took today.

  The camera and I can do better.

Treadmill

  We live right next to a bike trail and running trail.  It gets pretty hot here in Fl.  Ken has started running again but he wants a treadmill.  We were out looking at them yesterday.  He wanted me along to help carry it.
  He found one but it would not fit in his Jeep.  He loves his Jeep.  The Jeep looks great but I do not care to ride in it.  He keeps the top off and the doors off.  I do not see what is so great about riding in a Jeep with the sun beating down on you and the wind pounding your body and you can't hear the radio and it is hard to hear each other to talk.
  At least it did not rain on us.

  I just got a phone call.  The caller was speaking Spanish.  I do not get a lot of wrong numbers but I get a few on my land line and my cell phone.  The callers are always speaking in Spanish.    I never felt this way until I moved down here to Miami but I want to live someplace were people speak English.  If that makes me prejudiced, then so be it. 
  I am waiting for my new camera.  It will be here today.  I do not care if the UPS person speaks Spanish or not.  I just want my new camera.

  Ken and Russell will be leaving tomorrow for Kansas City and will be back on Thursday.  Ken has a problem getting time off from work.
  They are going to see my ex-mother-in-law.  Like all mother-in-laws she was an evil bitch, and crazy,  all her life but some of my kids love her.  I never spoke bad about her but she spent years saying real bad things about me. 
  You know how they say the good die young?  Well she is 89 years old and it looks like she is going to out live everyone. 

Who's Alive and Who's Dead

  I found an interesting web site.  It is Who's Alive and Who's Dead. 
There are a lot of ways to find a person.  You can do a search by name or pick other lists.  One is a list of TV shows.  I picked "All In the Family" and 11 actors from the show are listed.  It gives the names and date of birth of all of them and tells you if they are dead or alive and their date of death and age at death.
  I did not know that Mike Evans (Lionel Jefferson) had died of throat cancer at age 57.  He died 12/14/2006.

  From the "Barney Miller" show three of the actors are dead.  Jack Soo we all remember and he died during the show at age 61.  Ron Carney (Officer Carl Levitt) died of a stroke at age 71.  James Gregory (Inspector Frank Luger) died of natural causes at age 90 in 2002.
  Abe Vigoda (Det. Phil Fish) is still alive and is 87 years old.

  It is interesting to look at a TV show and see how many actors are alive or dead.  I was a "Bonanza" fan until Dan Blocker (Hoss Cartwright) died during the show at age 43. He died of a pulmonary blood clot. I never watched the show after he died.  The list has five actors and only Pernell Roberts is still alive and he is 79 years of age.

  It is an interesting site.  It looks like it would take a lot of work to keep it current.

Crazy and Sexy Halloween Costume Site

  I found a web site that has a collection of photos of crazy and sexy Halloween costumes.  It is WTF Costumes.

  There are some great home made costumes.  I think this is the best one.

  I found site:  Daily Rotten ("News You Cannot Possibly Use").
There must be something wrong with me.  I found all of the news items interesting. 

Here is one of the stories:

TYLER, Texas  —  "A jury again needed just four minutes Thursday to convict an organizer of an East Texas swinger's club where prosecutors say young children were forced to perform sexual acts for an audience.

Shauntel Mayo, 29, faces life in prison after being found guilty on charges that she forced three siblings, ages 7 through 10, to have sex with each other or perform sexual acts for club members who paid to watch..."
Her boyfriend was already found guilty and has been sentenced to life in prison.  It sounds like she is going to get life and there are four more people awaiting trial.

A lot of information on the Internet.

Child Sex Tourism

  I was looking around the Internet and I found information on Child Sex Tourism.  I never heard of it. 
 

"Each year, over a million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade. Child sex tourism (CST) involves people who travel from their own country to another and engage in commercial sex acts with children. CST is a shameful assault on the dignity of children and a form of violent child abuse and violence. The commercial sexual exploitation of children has devastating consequences for these minors, which may include long-lasting physical and psychological trauma, disease (including HIV/AIDS), drug addiction, unwanted pregnancy, malnutrition, social ostracism, and possibly death.

Tourists engaging in CST often travel to developing countries looking for anonymity and the availability of children in prostitution. The crime is typically fueled by weak law enforcement, corruption, the Internet, ease of travel, and poverty. These sexual offenders come from all socio-economic backgrounds and may hold positions of trust. Previous cases of child sex tourism involving U.S. citizens have included a pediatrician, a retired Army sergeant, a dentist and a university professor. Child pornography is frequently involved in these cases; and drugs may also be used to solicit or control the minors..."  U.S. Department of State

  The United States has a law that says if an American goes to some other nation and  pays to have sex with a child that person is guilty of a crime and they can be charged in the United States.  The penalties could be up to 30 years in prison.
  There have only been 20 indictments since 2003.  It seems to me that you could get 20 indictments a month just from guys going to Thailand.
  I also did not know that there is a national age of consent and it is 16 in the United States.  Each state has age of consent laws.  I just did not know there was a national one.

  See this U.S. State Department page for details.

Update on TimeTube

TimeTube

  A site Dipity.Com has a  TimeTube  which creates a timeline of video clips for a certain search. Search for something (like "American Idol") and you'll get back a timeline (or "tubeline") of video clips. Pan, zoom and watch the clips right on page.
  It is pretty neat.  It may get better with time.

 

I found the following video.  I had not seen it before.

 

First Time Visitors

  I have a number of utility programs that run and tell me about HNB stats.  I know your not interested but I follow the stats close.  I bet other blog authors are like me.
  The statistics tell me a great deal. 
  I can get a lot of information from the stats.
  One fact I love is that, right now, I am getting almost 5,000 visitors to Howard's Notebook each day.  (This number does not count the people that get HNB via an email or read with an RSS reader.)
  The next stat however is that out of the 4500 visitors each day to HNB only about 150 are returning visitors.  It is not the same 150 visitors.  Some of you check in each day.  Some each week or some even each month. 
  If I did not have that high number of first time visitors checking in each week I would be very depressed. 

  Last week I was waiting for my income tax rebate.  I got it.
  This week I am waiting and tracking my new camera.  I ordered it on Friday. Amazon sent it late Friday.  It got to Miami Saturday early.  I have to wait until Monday to get it. 
  I know I am like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.
  I been wanting that camera for months.  Now I just need to wait until Monday.  Today is Saturday.

Comfortably Numb

  This is the weekend and I can watch C-Span 3 (BookTV).  Right now I am watching Charles Barger and he wrote "Comfortably Numb."  The book is about how psychiatry is medicating a nation.

Review
“In Charles Barber's compelling new book, "Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Is Medicating a Nation," the author contends that we underwent a major shift in attitudes toward mental illness and medications…Barber brings a street-smart perspective to all this…[and he] offers something several of the other books don't: practical, therapeutic alternatives to antidepressants.”
—Salon.com
“A fine, informed writer on cultural history as well as neuroscience, psychotherapy, and economics, Barber convincingly argues against the overprescription of psychiatric drugs in the United States and sums up the history of U.S. psychiatry from the asylum to the community to glitzy but still elementary neuroscience. A blockbuster essential for all libraries.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“A sharply critical look at the way antidepressants are marketed and prescribed in the United States . . . Barber articulately and persuasively counsels that it’s time to abandon the quick-fix, pop-a-pill approach.”
—Kirkus
“Comfortably Numb chronicles the extraordinary psychopharmaceuticalization of everyday life that has arisen in recent years and appears to be growing apace. Barber marks out the inconvenient truths on our path to emotional climate change but also offers alternatives to readers who wish to avoid pharmageddon.”
—David Healy, author of Let Them Eat Prozac
“In this passionate yet fair-minded book, Charles Barber explores the disturbing medicalization and medication of unhappiness in America today. The author understands that while medication has an important role to play in the treatment of severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, Big Pharma has seduced Americans into believing they need drugs for the normal sorrows of life. Almost 70 percent of antidepressants worldwide are sold in the U.S. The author asks the critical question of whether Americans are crazier than the rest of the world or whether we have simply developed a crazy dependency on legal drugs.”
—Susan Jacoby, author of The Age of American Unreason

My Own Saint Ralph

  You have seen me comment about the movie "Saint Ralph" here a number of times.  I think the first time was in August of 2006.    I talked about the music from the movie back in January of 2008. 
  I have watched the movie many times.  The father of the star even found HNB and left a comment here.
  I was going to order it from Netflix again to watch and they had it for sale. I paid for it and I will soon own a copy of "Saint Ralph" and I can watch it anytime I am in the mood.

  I watched "Heaven Help Us" (1985) today on DVD.  I have seen it many times.  It is funny and very real.  If you went to Catholic school you will know it is real.  If you did not go to a Catholic school you will it is all made up and not real.  Believe me that movie runs true for me.
  I went to a Catholic high school and we had brothers as teachers. 
  Gum on the nose or in the hair happened all the time.  Getting hit by a brother took place all the time.  I was in a class and one boy did not have his home work and we all got hit.

 

Day Two of New Shack

  I am working on my room.  I do not own very much but it all has to fit into this one room.  The one room is my bedroom but also the living and dinning room of this condo that we rent.
 
  Next week I will be waiting and watching for my new camera to get here.  I also have to watch for Ken's new kayak.  This will be his third boat since we moved to FL about five and a half years ago.
  This will be his first kayak.  He has rented a kayak a few times.  This one cost $500.00 and it looks like a nice one.