In My Mind’s Zen Garden

I’m sure you might’ve seen this on the news recently… Philadelphia police officers apparently “losing control” and kicking, punching, stomping and baton whipping three suspects:

1. I don’t care if the police had justifiable cause. This doesn’t look right.

2. I thought that suspects are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law. Apparently, for whatever reason, the police officers decided to have the trial, verdict and punishment delivered right there in the street.

3. Watching police officers brutally beat people like that… how am I supposed to feel safe? How am I supposed to trust their motto… “to protect and serve”?

4. People need to learn that violence only causes more violence. Only hate causes more hate.

I know there’s a lot of violence out there. But watching this… I feel really sad, folks. This brings tears to my eyes. :(

I having certain feelings for distant lands toward the East, feelings that are remarkably strong and have come out of nowhere long ago…

Reincarnation is a concept that is very foreign to the Western world of Christianity and Judaism. I always wondered why I had such an affinity for places such as India, Tibet, and the Himalayas. Sometime in my youth I had a dream about living in the Himalayan mountain range, and possibly the northern parts of India. Perhaps, I even wandered through Tibet once, and had seen Mount Kailash. It looks awfully familiar to me.

As a matter of fact, I have these deep feelings from within, that I had lived somewhere in India or Tibet, in past life. My affinity for Indian and Tibetan culture seems to run deep. Though, I am Filipino by birth, and raised an American, I have a strong attraction to Indian culture, Hinduism, Indian music, art and religion… I have read Autobiography of a Yogi many times. Recently I watched Monsoon Wedding and I did watch it when it first came out in the theaters in 2001, but, I like watching movies about India. I have a nice DVD about the Origins of Yoga that documents the lives of the millions of wandering ascetics, yogis and saints. I collect old photos of Indian yogis and gurus, and I aspire to one day live the life of a serious devotee of Yoga.

In India, a vegetarian and vegan diet is a part of the culture, and is a part of “ahimsa“, a compassion and respect for all living things, to the point of not causing harm to them. It’s part of the philosophy of Yoga, thus… my dedication to Yoga and a Raw Vegan diet is an important part of my personal lifestyle…

One day, i shall visit those distant lands… one day. But for now, I guess I am an Indian or a Tibetan, reborn in a distant land, and longing to come home…

My good friend Pat is afflicted with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease)… my thoughts and prayers go out to you, Pat! This woman seems to have been cured of ALS through faith and prayer. Tonight, I light a candle for you, my friend.

If you don’t have an RSS Reader by now, get one now and save valuable time while getting updates to all your favorite sites. For those who use one, which do you use?

We made this video for our friends (and yours) that haven’t yet felt the power of raour friend the RSS reader. We want to convert people and if you know someone who would love RSS and hasn’t yet tried it, point them here for 3.5 minutes.

For starters, today is RSS Awareness Day. And just starting off the month with some cool links:

RSS Awareness Day [ link via labnol ]

Today is May Day

Summize.com - search Twitter in real-time! [ link via dhrumil ]

Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2008 - #1 on the list is His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Identity Theft is the fastest growing “white collar” crime. First step: shred all your personal info, receipts, and credit card offers.

Rickey.org - he’s American Idol’s biggest fan and blogs the show in real-time.

The Truth About The American Idol 7 Contestants?

ProQuo - a great site to help you control your junk mail. You can stop certain junk mail, and you can also request for certain acceptable mail, like catalogs, etc.

Props To WendiDee for having a great raw foods blog at PureJeevan.com.

I am appalled at the recent, significant jump in gas prices! In California, the price of gasoline has risen to more than $4.00 a gallon! Obviously, this affects the price of everything else, your basic means of survival… food, clothing, and shelter.

And yes, I’ve especially noticed the rise in food prices, particularly organic produce. The soaring gas prices especially impact truckers, who transport the food to the marketplaces.

As you may know, I’ve been trying my best to live a more frugal lifestyle. But it looks like I’ll have to try even harder to save a dollar here, a dollar there… Being a working musician is truly a blessing and a unique lifestyle, but I’m not making a six figure salary just yet. So, I’ll need to be more creative with the budget, and keep a close eye on the pocketbook.

I think I’m ready for my “economic stimulus check” now.

Question: In this modern age where practically everyone (even in the poorest third world countries) owns a cellphone… do YOU still own a “land line”?

I’ve been asking various people I know, and I’m finding out that more and more people are ditching their land lines because of the redundancy of owning both a standard “land line” phone and a cellphone. Added to this, the fact that in many families like my own, everyone has a cellphone. My two boys, ages 15 and 19, have their own cellphones.

So, if my wife, my two boys and I all have cellphones, what’s the point in owning the land line?

And, with more options out there such as email, instant messaging, and texting, it just makes it more and more obsolete to have the old land line. In addition, I’m slow with this, but more people are opting to communicate with phones via the internet. Granted, I’m a bit slow getting into this possibility, but I am now doing all my research and am intent on investigating all the possibilities in saving on my overall phone expenses.

Just the other day, I found out that my youngest son had been texting way more than usual, and a couple of months ago he racked up $50 of text messages alone. That’s like, a dozen Venti Lattes at your local Starbucks, but still, money is money and it’s important (with the gasoline prices now around $4.00 per gallon and more) to save as much of that money as possible.

Anyway, one of my current goals is to explore all avenues of communication and come up with ways to save money and adopt ways to communicate better and more efficiently with my family and friends. So, if you have any thoughts and ideas, or ways in which you better communicate with your friends and family, while saving money, please let me know….

Yes, folks! Today has been designated as Earth Day, so in celebration of our beloved Earth I’ll share some links commemorating this day:

The Official Earth Day Network

Earth Day on Wikipedia.org

Ten Things You Can Do This Earth Day

The History of Earth Day

The Official Site of International Earth Day

How To Celebrate Earth Day

Earth Day Contest on YouTube (sponsored by Whole Foods)

Happy Earth Day!!!

The Mexican migratory worker…

The Mexican migratory worker in southwest America is regarded as a necessary part of the bustling harvest season. The need of U.S. employers to import foreign manual labor was heightened first by the expansion of cattle ranches in the Southwest, and by the increase of fruit production in California in 1850 and 1880.

Before Mexican workers supported American agriculture, it was the Chinese who filled the labor hole. Nearly 200,000 Chinese were legally contracted to cultivate California fields, until the Chinese Exclusion Act. Then it was the Japanese who replaced the Chinese as field hands.

There has always been a need for foreign workers here in America, thus the whole concept of immigration… America has need workers at all levels of society.

“We don’t need 5,000 more illiterate peasants in the state of Colorado,” Rep. Doug Bruce, R-Colorado Springs.

This bit of news kind of struck me with sadness. I mean, Mexican laborers and farmworkers may be poor and do menial labor, but they are hardworkers and are a vital part of society. Their work, however humble is just as important in society as highly skilled, wealthier workers. Maybe in the literal sense he is correct though not ‘politically correct’, but his even trying to justify he is right just kind of struck a wrong chord with me.

Here’s the video.

Lawmaker Calls Mexican Farmworkers ‘Illiterate Peasants’

A Colorado legislator who was censured for kicking a newspaper photographer in January was booted from the podium today after he called Mexican farmworkers “illiterate peasants.”

Republican Rep. Douglas Bruce’s remark, which drew gasps from the House, came during debate on legislation to help immigrants get temporary federal visas to ease Colorado’s shortage of farmworkers.

“I would like to have the opportunity to state at the microphone why I don’t think we need 5,000 more illiterate peasants in Colorado,” said Bruce, who represents Colorado Springs.

“How dare you!” snapped Democratic Rep. Kathleen Curry, who as debate chairwoman ended Bruce’s privilege to speak.

Legislative leaders are deciding what to do next. They could open a formal ethics complaint and hearing, which could lead to suspension, censure or expulsion.

Bruce defended his remarks afterward:

“I looked up ‘illiterate’ in the dictionary and it means somebody who is lacking in formal education or is unable to read and write. I don’t think these people who are planning to come over here and pick potatoes or peaches are likely to have much of a formal education. I looked up the word ‘peasant.’ The word ‘peasant’ means a person who works in agricultural fields.

“These people, most of them, don’t speak English. Most of them haven’t had any formal education, that’s why they’re coming over here. I don’t blame them for trying, but I don’t think we should pave the way for more aliens to come here.”

I just think that even unskilled, illiterate workers (whoever they may be) are an important part of country because they are willing to do the kind of work the typical American won’t do. And for that they deserve their dignity and respect. Calling them “illiterate peasants” might be correct but it isn’t “right”. It just feels more condescending to call them “illiterate peasants” (as if those who call them that sit high on their pedestals).

And to continue the idea of a landlord versus peasantry type of society would simply place us back in the dark ages. Perhaps we are still in the dark ages… many of us are kept in the dark concerning a lot of things…

Everyone deserves their dignity and respect.

I would never in a million years do what this lady had done… airing out her “dirty laundry” like that. Do that in private please… this all could backfire, y’know? Anyway, I wish her luck and hope she gets a good settlement…

So, a few days ago I got one of those emails that says someone is now following me on Twitter.com.

Well, it turned out to be the famous author of The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho. And, I had to check his blog and sure enough it actually was Paulo Coelho. I am now honored! And have since reciprocated by following him. Thank you, Paulo!

Hi, Randomguru.

Paulo Coelho (paulocoelho) is now following your updates on Twitter.

Check out Paulo Coelho’s profile here:

http://twitter.com/paulocoelho

You may follow Paulo Coelho as well by clicking on the “follow” button.

Best,
Twitter

Okay, let’s set the way-back machine to 1993, and explore a new thing call “Internet”. Haha… we’ve come such a long way since then, watching this is soooooooooo funny! :o)

A Network called “Internet”.

Punctuation marks that look like smiley faces express happiness on a new communication tool known as “Internet.”

This is cool… :o)

BoingBoing.net has a lot of video, news and more links on the Tibet Uprising.

Athletes Taking A Stand For Tibet Will Be Expelled From The Olympics?

Athletes who display Tibetan flags at Olympic venues — including in their own rooms — could be expelled from this summer’s Games in Beijing under anti-propaganda rules.

Here’s an interesting fact:

In 1980 62 countries – the biggest number in history – boycotted the Moscow Games in protest against the intervention of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan

Will history repeat itself?

From The Olympic Charter…

The question of what will constitute propaganda when the Games are on in August and what will be considered opinion under IOC rules is one vexing many in the Olympic movement. The Olympic Charter bans any kind of “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda” in any Olympic venue or area.

This includes the opening and closing ceremonies, the medal podiums and the Athletes’ Village.

What this means is… if anyone is going to demonstrate and protest, now is the time to do it, as even the Olympic Charter prohibits any kind of demonstration, whether political, religious or racial.

Well, I hope the Tibetans will at least be able to fly their flag!

I was wondering about this the other day, then found this video on YouTube. Very interesting:

Forgive me, readers… for being so vocal about Tibet’s situation. But I confess that my heart is deeply embedded in this matter. In fact, if you’ve known me long I’ve always been an avid supporter for a “Free Tibet” and wish for their independence from China.

Dalai Lama: No one can tell protesters to ’shut up’

Kill Them With Kindness

I’ve also been an admirer of the Dalai Lama and his teachings of compassion, his call for world peace, and non-violence.

China is spreading propaganda and lies that the Dalai Lama has been the mastermind behind violent protests in Tibet and around the world. The fact is, he’s always promoted world peace and non-violent resolutions, and has even won the Noble Peace Prize for his efforts in promoting world peace.

It is understandably the Dalai Lama’s nature to speak of peace, compassion and good will toward others. And the freedom to express and protest when it is necessary. Any actions by any violent protestors are actions not supported by the Dalai Lama.

China’s Acts of Suppression, Propaganda and Oppression

Another fact is that China has been suppressing news of the protests from the outside world. They have been the ones “crushing” the protests in a violent way, and spreading lies that the opposite is actually happening.

Read: China Regime Implicated in Staging Violence in Tibet Protest (photo)

Given China’s reputation for censorship and suppression, it’s obvious that China is going out of its way and to great lengths to silence the protests and to post propaganda to confuse and/or steer people away from the truth.

Another problem is that Western countries and corporations have a LOT invested in the upcoming Summer Olympics in Beijing. Big companies like Sony, McDonalds Corporation, etc. have their hands economically tied behind their backs. On personal levels, the athletes themselves (who have trained to compete and to win gold) want to be a part of the Games and not have to back out because their country has decided to Boycott.

The Dalai Lama Has Always Supported The Olympics

The Dalai Lama has said that he supports the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The Dalai Lama said he supports China’s hosting of the Summer Olympics on Thursday, but insisted that nobody had the right to tell protesters demanding freedom for Tibet “to shut up.”

“We are not anti-Chinese. Right from the beginning, we supported the Olympic games,” he told reporters outside Tokyo on a stopover on a trip to Seattle. “I really feel very sad the government demonizes me. I am just a human, I am not a demon.”

But it’s the protestors worldwide who are calling for a boycott of the Olympics in Beijing.

Remembering Tiananmen Square

The ruling Communist Party in China may have the power and military might to silence the protests, and to keep the media out of Tibet. They have tried to do something similar before with the Massacre at Tiananmen Square. But, as always happens, the truth always comes out.

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, widely known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, in China referred to as the June Fourth Incident to avoid confusion with the two other Tiananmen Square protests and as an act of official censorship, were a series of demonstrations led by labor activists, students, and intellectuals in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) between April 15 and June 4, 1989. While the protests lacked a unified cause or leadership, participants were generally against the authoritarianism and economic policies of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and voiced calls for democratic reform within the structure of the government. The demonstrations centered on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, but large-scale protests also occurred in cities throughout China, including Shanghai, which stayed peaceful throughout the protests. In Beijing, the resulting military crackdown on the protesters by the PRC government left many civilians dead or injured. The reported tolls ranged from 200–300 (PRC government figures), to 400–800 (The New York Times), and to 2,000–3,000 (Chinese student associations and Chinese Red Cross).

Silly me, I wrote to my congressman this morning about the whole Tibet and China issue. What good will that do? I don’t know, but I haven’t been able to go out and protest, so I had to do something.

You too can write to your congressman.

Tell them anything that bugs you! Here’s the letter I sent. And I plan to write another, better written letter. This was just a quick one:

Please… I humbly beg you to use your influence in our government to voice American opposition to the crisis in Tibet, and the cruel and unjust actions of the Chinese government.

I believe that to simply ignore Tibet’s request for independence, and their wish to freely practice their religion and culture, is an important one. And the United States goes out of its way worldwide to help those countries that need help as far as basic human rights are concerned.

In this modern age we are a global community, and we are affected by events that may shape our lives on a global scale. Human Rights, the ability to practice one’s culture and religion and personal philosophies are everyone’s God-given right.

Surely, if the Chinese government wins here because of its economic power and military might, then globally, we have lost the battle.

Hopefully, something can be done or said on our side to help sway the tide in Tibet’s favor and help win its independence, just like other countries in the past have won their independence, like India from the United Kingdom, and the Philippines from Spain and the United States.

Sincerely,
Carlos Rull

Doing a search on YouTube.com with the words “Free Tibet”, I come upon many videos that feature Communist propaganda against Tibet. This angers me greatly. It is apparent that thousands of new accounts have suddenly been created that are spewing a lot of Communist propaganda against Tibet and its people.

YouTube has been hacked! YouTube has been compromised!

It proves that the struggle for human rights and the truth is very real! God bless Tibet and its people!

Today the Olympic Torch passes through the only American city on its route toward Beijing, in San Francisco.

Already there has been much protest against the atrocities committed by the Chinese Government against Tibet and its People:

Protesters Gather For Shortened Olympic Torch Relay

San Francisco: Olympic Torch Draws Protests

Tibet Omitted From Olympic Declaration

China has been claiming for decades that Tibet has always been part of China. Tibetan Buddhists, Monks and Nuns are forbidden to mention the Dalai Lama, or acknowledge him. And religious practice is outlawed in Chinese occupied Tibet. And for decades Tibetans (especially monks and nuns) have been arrested and tortured. The powerful might of the Chinese military and now, the Chinese ecomomy is just becoming too powerful for its own good. And what are we to do?

Many are protesting on Tibet’s behalf. The Dalai Lama is accused by the Chinese Government for instigating all the violent protests and demonstrations. Even powerful Internet giants such as Yahoo and Google are somewhat powerless to China, agreeing to censor certain websites within China and trying to control the information.

Does the evil Galactic Empire from Star Wars come to mind?

The Chinese Government’s bullying of Tibet, amidst its ever continuing growth as an economic superpower, and now host of the coming Summer Olympics in Beijing, is a perfect example of how evil they are. They seem to gloat at all this, despite protests from around the world.

Human Rights… a serious issue, doesn’t seem to matter to the Chinese Government, nor to all those countries and corporations who are courting China’s economy for their own profits and interests.

Meanwhile, the Tibetan people are slowing being abolished; their religion and culture threatened to extinction as the power of China continues to bite down hard on the heart and soul of Tibet. Llasa is looked at as a novelty tourist attraction by the Chinese, as more Chinese come, as more bars and brothels take the place of Buddhist temples and monasteries.

It would seem that all is hopeless for Tibet. They are powerless to fight back against the Chinese Military, and most Tibetans are Buddhists who practice non-violence, compassion, and peaceful resolve. With the passing of the Olympic Torch through Tibet itself, it is like a dagger going through its heart at the hand of the Chinese Government.

But many people around the world are protesting… because they know that Human Rights violations should not be tolerated. If this is one example of how a powerful oppresive communist government can intimidate and trample on the human rights of others, then, this is something that one day might happen to us. And the logical thing to do is to protest, and to show the world that these kinds of actions will not be tolerated by the citizens of the world.

Somehow, we must protest and fight back!

If you have a pro account at Flickr.com, you can now upload video clips to your account! The news here.

Video! Video! Video! The rumours are true and “soon” is now. We’re thrilled to introduce video on Flickr. If you’re a pro member, you can now share videos up to 90 glorious seconds in your photostream.

90 seconds? While this might seem like an arbitrary limit, we thought long and hard about how video would complement the flickrverse. If you’ve memorized the Community Guidelines, you know that Flickr is all about sharing photos that you yourself have taken. Video will be no different and so what quickly bubbled up was the idea of “long photos,” of capturing slices of life to share.

Personally, I’m not really set up to begin uploading video clips. But that may change soon…

With all the things that have been going on in my life right now, it felt good to just do some simple chores around the house.

There’s something about mowing the lawn and doing some gardening that calms me down. It IS a form of meditation that was much needed.

Caregiving for the terminally ill patient who was staying with us was very hard. It was an around-the-clock sort of thing. I had to adjust my schedule. And I couldn’t do all the things I usually do.

On friday, the day after the patient left to go home to the Philippines, I was utterly exhausted. I slept in and was pretty much catatonic for most of the day. Though, the following day I had to put things back in order around the house. My sister-in-law didn’t want her bed back, so I was stuck with having to get rid of a bed I didn’t want. This frustrated me further, because it’s not my bed. It should’ve been her responsibility to get rid of the bed. It’s hers. But, I just put the bed outside in the front yard with a sign that said “FREE”. And soon enough, some Mexican laborers rang my doorbell and asked for it politely. I was glad and said, “sure!” And they loaded the bed on their truck and drove off.

Today, I was trying to take it easy. But, I needed to work on my much neglected garden, and mow the lawn and do other things in the yard. There is so much work to do now. I need to take it a step at a time. This is my workout. This is my meditation. And for now I embrace it.

My wife is in the Philippines right now and things are definitely not the same without her.

I miss her…

Wow! With the webhost moving me to a new server, and me uploading the new Wordpress 2.5… I’m having tons of problems that I can’t quite figure out!

Okay. I’ve had to revert back to an older, cleaner wordpress theme… until all the problems get weeded out.

Update: Eliminating some or all of the plugins gets rid of some of the problems. So, many of my plugins simply aren’t compatible with Wordpress 2.5… drag.

I just upgraded to the newest version of Wordpress, and I had some problems because conflicting plugins. And my problems were compounded because of the move to the new server.

So, please forgive the dust, as I try to patch things up around here…

Pat asked me to check his site on Internet Explorer (IE) because he thought he was having problems with the right-hand column. Well, I checked and it looked okay to me.

But, then I thought about checking my site on IE and guess what? My site totally looks like garbage! I’m bummed….

CarlosRull.com: Using Firefox

. . . .

CarlosRull.com: Using IE - Internet Explorer

. . . .

So, if you’re not using Firefox already, I urge you to make the switch. The Internet looks so much better with the Firefox browser… I hate to admit it but my site looks pristine in Firefox… and looks like hell-warmed-over in IE. I’m trying to figure out the bugs, and if you are cross-browser savvy as a web developer, please help me out. Right now I’m too tired AND too busy to investigate the problems my site is having with IE.

But get Firefox anyway. Here are 10 Great Reasons To Use Firefox. It really is a superior web browser. You’ll love it.

And in case you’re not convinced… some good reasons to dump Internet Explorer.

This morning I was surprised to find the patient lying awake in his bed, and smiling. Then, he rose by himself and was able to walk to the bathroom, and was able to walk back to bed. This was a dramatic change from last night.

My wife and I had to wake up twice in the middle of the night to help the patient get to the bathroom. He was the weakest I’d ever seen him, and we practically had to carry him and he kept grabbing on to handles and things instinctively for support. We had to constantly tell him to let go as we could carry him.

Despite the lack of sleep, I felt pretty good this morning. The patient looked good too. And I gave him his morning meds with a cup of warm milk and he also wanted a cup of water. We watched the McCain speech together on CNN. In his previous location he didn’t have a TV or music player of any kind. But the patient loves to watch CNN and other News channels to keep abreast of all the latest news and developments on the presidential election campaign. Most of all, he enjoys when someone else watches with him. So, typically I’ll watch with him until he falls asleep.

And once again, as chipper and awake as he looked a little while ago, he soon fell asleep. And right now he sleeps more than he is awake throughout the course of the day. I guess for a terminally ill cancer patient, he needs as much rest and sleep as possible. Many times it’s very peaceful here in my home. And I have some very soothing music going on, and some aroma therapy oils permeating the air. When I practice piano I try to play very soothing, soft music if the patient is asleep. Again, it doesn’t seem to wake him, but I believe that at a subliminal, subconscious level perhaps it is good.

I just received a letter from the IRS, and I must confess that I dread receiving mail of any kind from the IRS, if you know what I mean. So, this time it turned out to be a special message from the IRS about the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 in which Americans will receive a check for a certain amount, depending on whether you’re married or not, and whether or not you have children.

The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008

Starting in May, the Treasury will begin sending economic stimulus payments to more than 130 million households. To receive a payment, taxpayers must have a valid Social Security number, $3,000 of income and file a 2007 federal tax return. IRS will take care of the rest. Eligible people will receive up to $600 ($1,200 for married couples), and parents will receive an additional $300 for each eligible child younger than 17.

Okay, I think this is a fine idea. Though, it’s a bit of a shame that our government has to send Americans checks so that they can spend them and help boost the floundering economy.

People are losing their homes because of the mortgage crisis. The price of gasoline continues to rise toward $4.00 a gallon. And everyone I know is striving to live more frugally, and trying to save money. Well, if you’re fortunate enough to be rich, and vacations and world travel are not a problem… they yes, consider yourself fortunate, and spend more so that you can help boost the floundering economy.

But for those of us who are struggling… the current economic problems are a harsh reality. I’m not afraid to say that I’ve always been struggling my whole life.

Yet, I’m an optimist. Somehow, I’ve always gotten by. And the economy always bounces back. But, as I grow older and wiser, I DO embrace living more frugally, and not get caught up in all that consumerist activity. I mean, I don’t need the latest car or the latest gadget or the newest computer… if money weren’t an issue then sure, no problem. But, as I get older, I’m learning to get by on less…

…less is more.

I was pretty upset last night when I did a Google search on “news in Tibet” and got this pro-China search result to an article that mentioned how Tibet was always a part of China, blah blah blah. It was disgusting Communist propaganda launched amidst the protests by Tibetan monks and nuns for refusing to denounce the Dalai Lama and show allegiance to China.

Tibetan monks and nuns have a moral right to practice their own religion and the Tibetan people have a moral right to practice their culture!

Tibetan monks and nuns shouldn’t have to be forced to denounce the Dalai Lama in favor of China! Here’s a brief history of Tibet, forwarded to me by Jessica.

Various Headline News

China Calls for Patriotic Education for Tibet Monks

Angered by foreign sympathy for the protesters and support for the Dalai Lama, China is bearing down hard on the exiled Tibetan religious leader, blaming him and his followers for stirring up trouble in an effort to sabotage the Beijing Olympics in August.

UK Attacks China’s Record in Tibet

The Foreign Office annual report on human rights says there has been a “disappointing” lack of progress towards a peaceful settlement, and people are regularly “harassed” for their religious beliefs.

“Violations of human rights continue in Tibet,” the report states.

France’s Leader Considers Olympic Boycott

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday that he cannot rule out the possibility he might boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics if China continues its crackdown in Tibet.

An official from France’s state television company said the broadcaster would likely boycott the games if coverage was censored, and the European Union, United States, Australia and Canada urged China to show restraint as it tries to quell continuing unrest in its Tibetan areas.

China Curbs Information Flow From Tibet

China has succeeded in stemming the flow of information out of Tibet in recent days, according to Tibetan activists in India who had relied on e-mails and mobile phone calls to piece together the extent of a Chinese military crackdown on pro-Tibet demonstrations.

I openly boycott the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and I encourage everyone to do the same. To support Tibet in its struggle for religious and cultural freedom is the morally correct thing to do.

It’s a shame, a great nation like the United States can not help Tibet. It’s unfortunate how things in this world are politically driven, and the powers-that-be have their priorities.

If China’s quest for Tibet is a final victory, then who’s to stop them from marching into Nepal, Burma and India? And maybe by the time they reach India it’ll be too late to tilt the world in favor of Democracy.

Show your support to FREE TIBET. And denounce the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. China is already using this as a political struggle and is using their newfound economic power for world domination.

This morning the patient took all his meds. And in addition he took the vitamin/mineral supplement too. And then, after telling him he needed to eat so he can get strong again and fly back to the Philippines, he ate a small piece of dark chocolate, and then some oatmeal with boiled egg and one and a half cups of warm milk.

This was a major breakthrough from yesterday, when he basically ate nothing… only a little bit of warm milk to wash down his meds. So, I’m very happy that he ate pretty substantially this morning. I was about ready to spoon feed him at this point. I don’t care if he’s terminal or not, if he wants to be strong he needs to eat. I don’t want him to die of starvation before the pancreatic cancer gets him. So, my mission is to make sure he eats, and eats well…

Right now the patient is watching CNN. He loves CNN. And it keeps his mental attention going. I’m trying not to let him just sleep all day. And, we’ll see about getting him some sleeping pills so he can sleep through the night and be more rested. And that will help us sleep through the night too.

The patient woke me up around 3:30am. Looking across the room I noticed he was sitting in his bed, then he’d lie down, then he’d sit, then he’d lie down. While he was sitting it appeared he was eating some of the food that had been on his table, left over from a late attempt at dinner. Then he spit something into the trash can next to him.

I asked him if he needed help going to the bathroom and he said, “yes”. He seemed to really struggle and I wasn’t sure if it was pain or if he was just sleepy. But he was slow in getting to the bathroom.

While he was in the bathroom I asked if he needed help and he said he was okay. I kept checking, and I was really sleepy. At one point I checked the time and he’d been in there for an hour and a half! I asked him to open the door and when he did he was sitting on the floor and couldn’t get up? Apparently, he’d been cleaning the bathroom, toilet bowl and sink with a disinfectant spray. I thought this rather bizarre but I guess it made sense, since he’s the kind of guy who always want to help.

Anyway, being up from 3:00am to 4:30am messed up my sleeping pattern, and it didn’t help that I had to take my nephew to school this morning. So, now I’m feeling groggy but now I have to take my son to his doctor’s appointment in an hour.

Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.
~Oprah Winfrey

From here on I’ll simply refer to my terminally ill elderly family member as “the patient”. I think it’s easier that way. Though I’m not a doctor or a nurse… simply just a voluntary caregiver who is simply trying to make the patient feel as comfortable as possible during his stay here.

So, the patient enjoyed time spent out in the garden, drinking warm milk, reading a bit, then arranging himself on a lounge chair and using another chair to prop up his legs. He was enjoying the warmth of the late afternoon sun, before falling asleep. After waking up and walking inside, and using the bathroom, he ended up falling asleep again in his bed.

Earlier my wife gave him a bath upstairs and he seemed to feel very refreshed and renewed.

But toward the evening he was asleep and woke up later in the evening and that’s when we gave him warm milk again with his night time meds. We also tried to give him dinner, which consisted of a small bowl of yakisoba noodles, a few slices of banana, and some mango. I’m very worried because he really didn’t eat anything, except for the warm milk and the medications. Even the glass of warm milk wasn’t entirely consumed, just enough to get the medicine down.

He said he was feeling stronger today and that he felt much better staying at our house. He wants to get stronger so that he can fly back to the Philippines to see his family there. Tonight his spirits are high and he felt really good.

While he was asleep in the early evening, I practiced piano. It doesn’t wake him up and he continues to sleep. But, I’m hoping that the sounds would soothe him on a subconscious level.

After taking his meds and warm milk he fell asleep again. And he’s still asleep as I write this. In a bit I’ll have to stay with him and sleep on the couch, which is in the same room across from his bed, just in case he wakes up in the middle of the night and needs assistance.

I know he’s terminally ill, but a part of me has hope. And the more I think about it, the more I feel that life should be handled one day at a time. Sure, it’s the plans and future goals that keep us going. So, doctors might give you 6 months to live, but you can’t lose hope. Or else you might as well end it here and now. If you can do one thing to live for just one more day, then wouldn’t that be worth it? If you could do something to extend your life for another month, wouldn’t that be worth it? I think so.

Today, he hasn’t been eating much. For breakfast he actually took a couple of sips of watermelon juice, and drank his medication (morphine, reglan and senna) with warm milk.

By mid-morning he took another morphine (fast acting), ate a few pieces of banana and then slept for the rest of the morning.

I gave him another reglan for lunch and he drank more warm milk, a few bananas and didn’t touch his mango.
He complained about lower back pain and soreness. And I rub some extra-strength BenGay and massaged it in. He really like this a lot because it eased the pain and soreness.

By lunch time my sister-in-law came to help. He took another fast acting morphine with warm milk. Maybe ate 1 or 2 banana slices. Then I gave him another lower back massage, rubbing in the BenGay. This helped out a lot.

There’ll be a nurse come by to visit at 1:30pm to check on him. And then we’ll help him take a shower and get cleaned up.

I recently posted the video to Dr. Randy Pausch’s last lecture on Oprah, and I’ve been following Dr. Randy Pausch’s journal for good reason.

I’m helping to take care of someone who also has pancreatic cancer and is considered terminal. So, I’m just trying to get as much info on the web as possible.

Here’s a recent video from Dr. Randy Pausch.

On March 13, 2008, Dr. Randy Pausch provided testimony to the Labor, Health & Human Services Subcommittee on behalf of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. This is his personal story about his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and his fight to survive.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the US, but receives extremely little federal funding to support research efforts. In March of 2008, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network went to Congress to urge the federal government to provide critical funding to speed the cure for this horrible disease.

Last Wednesday, we took in an elderly family member who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and back in January was given a prognosis of 6-7 months to live. In other words, this person is considered terminally ill.

I don’t mind at all taking this person into our home, and I want to help. I’m not a qualified caregiver nor am I a professional nurse, but I am the most logical person to help out. My schedule is quite flexible during the day and when I work it’s at night when other family members can tend to this person.

Lately, the local music scene has been slow. Unfortunately, entertainment is the first to go whenever there is an impending recession ahead. I’m working but it’s not enough, because there aren’t enough corporate and private gigs right now. January through March has been slow, but I can see that things are picking up heading toward the Summer months.

So, logically, I’m more available to take care of this person, at least with more dedication until things start picking up for me musically. One of the bands I work with is planning to go into the studio to work on another album, but that too will always be at night. It’s always best to record in the studio at night anyway.

Right now, we’re giving two 12 hour doses of Morphine; once in the morning and again in the evening. And a 4 hour fast acting dose as needed. This morning he was experiencing some back pain, so I gave an additional fast acting dose around 9:30am.

He had his first session of chemotherapy last Wednesday before coming to our house. And he’s due for another session this Wednesday. When he first came to our house he was quite restless, quite disoriented because of the drugs and had lots of energy. He couldn’t sleep and if he did… very little. Of course, this caused my wife and I to lose a lot of sleep having to look after him, even in the middle of the night. But after about 36 hours he’d settled down to his usual self prior to the chemotherapy.

Also, once the chemotherapy had worn out he was very weak with little mobility. Going to the bathroom was a struggle and at times he basically needed to be carried into his bed. This was around Thursday and Friday. And, he slept most of the time, only to wake up to go to the bathroom.

By Saturday, his strength was coming back to him and he actually wanted to go outside into the garden. We ate outside in the patio; oatmeal with boiled egg, oranges slices, warm milk. After breakfast he wanted to sit in a chair facing the morning sun. I think getting that sunshine was really good for him. Later in the afternoon he would go out again into the garden. He was actually quite coherent and remarked at how nice the garden was and pointed out that I needed to clean and polish my marble table in the patio area.

Sometime in the afternoon, he rested in our living room, and I practiced some piano. I firmly believe that Music is good therapy, so I played some nice “standards”.

By Easter Sunday he was moving around more, going into the garden and patio area several times, to eat a meal and to take in the nice warm sunshine. At one point he actually sunbathed on a garden cushion on the grass, but after he was done he needed help getting up.

He likes to watch CNN and other news channels, so he has been quite alert enough to watch TV. And we also watched some movies on DVD related to the Easter weekend… The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur… and on cable last night we watched a little bit of The Sound of Music.

This morning I tried giving him some watermelon juice I made in the blender. He only took a couple of sips. He didn’t eat much this morning, even though I made him some oatmeal with a boiled egg, some orange and watermelon slices.

While he was reading the newspaper this morning out in the garden, he pointed out to me a small article about a breakout of salmonella in melons somewhere in Honduras or Nicaragua. So, maybe he was relectant to drink the watermelon juice.

Later while he was watching CNN, the headline news did a story on the Salmonella outbreak. And I mentioned that the article in the newspaper was this teeny little article somewhere on the 15th page… he and I started laughing pretty hysterically about that… and he seemed to roll over with laughter. It was quite a moment.

But he still sleeps for a good part of the day, so while he sleeps I try to work on the computer, do a session of yoga, or practice on the piano. In both, I am still close by. And I can usually hear when he calls for help.

I will try to write more about my thoughts and experiences…

Childhood Memories of Easter

I have many fond memories of Easter. I remember Easter egg hunts and playing games. I remember eating boiled eggs of many different colours and varieties, until I became ill from eating too many.

Easter for a child is a special time. There is a certain magic that is so much fun for a child. From the Easter Bunny to Easter baskets. From egg hunts to Sundays in the Park.

As a parent, it’s a special time to watch your child (or children) enjoy in the Easter festivities. To watch them play and laugh, and take in the pure joy of what Easter is all about.

Renewal of Faith and of Life in General

Surely, on a spiritual-religious level, for Christians it is a time to celebrate the Ressurection of Jesus Christ, and a good time to re-affirm vows of religious faith and commitment.

But Easter has a lot more history that traces back to ancient Pagan rites and celebrations. The Easter Bunny is an ancient symbol of fertility, and in the advent of Spring that kind of symbol has had significance in the sowing of seeds for the harvest in the Fall. And the Easter Egg is also a symbol of birth and renewal. Perhaps, Easter overall encompasses rejuvenation and renewal in many forms. Easter always falls on a Sunday just after the start of Spring, and both are a welcomed event, especially after the long, cold Winter.

It’s A Beautiful Day in San Diego

Today is a bright, sunny day here in San Diego. Thank God, as in the past I’ve always come to expect that Easter Day will be nice, warm and sunny. In most of the years I’ve lived here it has been nice and sunny during Easter.

It’s a beautiful day…

Time to spend more time digging in the garden…

A little Madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King.
~Emily Dickinson

First off, I wrote a post about Spring three years ago entitled, The Advent of Spring, that I thought you might be interested in.

Today is the first day of Spring! Plants come out of their dormancy, and the flowers begin to bloom, and the days become sunny and warm. As a born-again gardener, I think my favorite season is Spring. And I feel like my spirit is beginning to come alive, and my heart feels the joy, at the coming of Spring.

Wikipedia.org defines Spring as follows:

Spring is one of the four temperate seasons. Spring falls between winter and summer.

There are different views on when the season starts and finishes.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that spring comprises “in the northern hemisphere usually the months of March, April, May, or as reckoned astronomically extending from the vernal equinox (March 20) to the June solstice (June 20).”. The Southern Hemisphere experiences spring during the months of September, October, and November.

The actual dates vary depending on the year from March 20 or 21 to June 20 or 21 for Northern hemisphere and from September 20 or 21 to December 20 or 21 for the Southern hemisphere.

So finally…

Spring is in the air. I had a rough winter. It rained a lot for San Diego weather. And it was cold the last few weeks. Not only that, I suffered with congestion and flu… I succumbed to viruses. But now I’m feeling 100% back to a healthy state, and it’s Spring!

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
~Robert Frost

Time to seriously work in the garden… planting bulbs of all sorts and anticipating the flowers. Digging up the weeds. Conditioning the soil. Rejuvenating the garden to be productive and vibrant.

It is a time of renewal… a time of rebirth.

I continue to receive hits via Google regarding the following enygmatic question… Are Filipinos Asian?

So, in keeping with my mission to further settle this matter once and for all, I thought I would do a follow-up article to a previous post I wrote entitled, Yes, Filipinos Are Asian!

Hopefully, we can convince those naysayers who claim that Filipinos are not Asian, and also persuade those Filipinos who are either unsure, think they are something else like Pacific Islander, or simply want to distance themselves from the Asian classification altogether.

The Official Geographical Definition

Geographically speaking, The Philippines is, in fact, located in Southeast Asia.

Taiwan and Hong Kong are just a few hundred miles to the north and northwest, and even closer still is Malaysia and Indonesia to the south and southwest, respectively.

Map courtesy of Wikipedia.org

So geographically, The Philippines falls within the boundaries of the Asian continent, and so it is correct for Filipinos to be classified as Asian.

Filipinos Are Asian On A Nationalistic Level

The Philippines is a country in Asia with a similar history to Singapore:

That said, if you are Filipino or Singaporean, then you are referring to yourself on a “nationalistic” level. Though ethnically, you may be Indian, Malaysian, Chinese, or any number of different ethnicities. But nationally you would be considered Filipino or Singaporean.

There is no doubt that Singapore is considered an Asian country, and that Singaporeans are considered Asians. Should there be any doubt then that Filipinos too are Asians?

From Wikipedia.org:

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry. They include sub-ethnic groups such as Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Indian Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Korean Americans, Japanese Americans, Cambodian Americans, Laotian Americans and others whose national origin is from the Asian continent.

Genetic Studies Show That Filipinos Are Asian

Some interesting genetic studies have shown that Filipino origins can directly be linked to the Ami tribe of Taiwan, considered the closest genetic relative. Overall, genetic studies have connected Filipinos to Chinese, Korean, and Indonesian ethnic groups, all originating from Asia.

From Wikipedia.org:

Some genetic studies, based upon very small samples of the population, have begun to provide clues to the origins of Filipino people. Much remains to be learned by larger studies of valid statistical significance about the ancestry of the various Austronesian Philippine ethnic groups.

A Stanford University study conducted during 2001 revealed that Y-chromosome Haplogroup O3-M122 (labeled as “Haplogroup L” in this study) predominates among Filipino males. This particular haplogroup is also predominant among Chinese and Korean males. That finding is consistent with the theory that people migrated from China south into the Philippines.

Another haplogroup, Haplogroup O1a-M119 (labeled as “Haplogroup H” in this study), is also found among Filipinos. The rates of Haplogroup O1a are highest among the Taiwanese Aborigines. Overall, the genetic frequencies found among Filipinos points to the Ami tribe of Taiwan as their nearest genetic relative.[7]

A 2002 China Medical University study indicated that certain Filipinos shared a particular gene marker that is also found among Taiwanese aborigines and Indonesians.[8]

A 2003 University of the Philippines study based on 50 participants each from the islands of Luzon and Cebu provided some insight into the various places of origin of early