A letter to the editor appeared in our local newspaper recently in which a visitor/tourist to San Diego complained bitterly about being denied the use of a public restroom. He was an older man who wanted to celebrate his birthday by taking the trolley to the Santa Fe Station and then spending the rest of the day visiting the USS Midway Museum. After he arrived at the station, he felt an urge to urinate and went into the depot where he followed the signs to the public restrooms. He was met there by a uniformed security guard who informed him that the public restrooms were for the exclusive use of paying Amtrak passengers. When the man explained the urgency of his situation to the guard, the guard still refused to allow him to use the restroom. As a result, the man returned home and spent the rest of the day alone.
When I read that letter, it reminded me of a time about three years when my wife and I were driving back to San Diego from a timeshare vacation in Santa Barbara, California. About an hour out of Santa Barbara, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. I made the mistake of drinking a couple of cups of coffee with my meal. Then we resumed the trip to San Diego. About an hour later, I felt the need to “bleed the lizard”, “flush my buffers”, “pay the water bill”, “make the bladder gladder”, or whatever other euphemisms one might choose to use for the urgent need to urinate. I told my wife to be on the lookout for a rest stop, a fast food restaurant, or a service station sign.
After driving for several miles, I found the situation growing increasingly more urgent by the minute. Suddenly a gift from heaven appeared - a sign advertising a gas station ahead. I took the off ramp and drove into the station only to discover that it had no restrooms. Back into the car we went and continued down the highway. For a long stretch of highway, there were no signs of any place to stop for my purpose. Finally, we were approaching a city. I took the off ramp and the first place I saw was a building housing a Prudential Realty office.
I exited the car very quickly and sprinted into the realty office where I explained my predicament to the lone agent in the room. He said he was sorry, but he wasn’t permitted to let the public use the restroom. Making a mental note never to use Prudential when we list our house for sale, I made a dash for the car. Fortunately, about two blocks later, we spotted a restaurant. I parked the car at the curb and almost tripped getting to the restroom. Oh, what a relief it was.
And I learned an important lesson. Drink only a little bit of water and absolutely no coffee or tea when driving for several hours.
The original urinal-video game system created at the MIT Media Lab! The You're In Control system uses computation to enhance the act of urination. Sensors in the back of a urinal detect the position of impact of a stream of urine, enabling the user to play interactive games on a screen mounted above the urinal.
While urination fulfills a basic bodily function, it is also an activity rich with social significance. Along with the refreshing release it provides, the act of micturition satisfies a primal urge to mark our territory. For women who visit the bathroom in groups and chat in neighboring stalls, urination can be a bonding ritual. For men who write their names in the snow, extinguish cigarettes, or congregate around lampposts to urinate, urination can be a test of skill and a way of asserting their masculinity.
Video 4. Women, Now with P-Mate You Can...PEE STANDING UP.
Video 5. The Number One Anxiety. A Sheridan College Media Arts film about a young executive who just has to go.
(NOTE: I wrote this essay on love two years ago and posted it on my blog. The response was so positive that I thought it appropriate to post it again for Valentine’s Day, a day devoted to the celebration of love.)
Love is a powerful force in human life. Some people say that it is love that makes the world go ’round. In medieval theology, it was thought that love is the principal force behind human life, and there was a firm belief that love literally set the universe in motion.
Sanskrit has ninety-six words for love; ancient Persia eighty; ancient Greece five; and English, some say, only one. But that is not true. English has incorporated many of the Sanskrit, Persian, and Greek meanings for love into our expressions for different forms of love: admiration, adoration, affection, desire, family, longing, lust, respect, and worship are just a a few.
The ancient Greeks have influenced so many different aspects of our lives today. As previously mentioned, they had five words for love:
1) Eros - This is love for a specific individual. “I’m in love with you.” This is the most primitive kind of love. In the English language, our word “love” can be traced back to Sanskrit “lubh” (desire). I love you for what you do or can do to or for me. This covers everything from butterflies in the stomach to mad, passionate love. Eros is a selfish, dependent, possessive kind of love. It often demands reciprocation from that person who is loved. The person loved must have value for the person loving him or her. One of the songs often sung at weddings in past years was “Because You’re Mine.” Some critics have pointed out that too many romance novels and films place too much emphasis on “eros” as being the most important kind of love in a relationship. But most of us know that finally it isn’t. Desire and lust will diminish in the relationship in the long run and must ultimately be replaced by a higher form of love.
2) Philia - This is love for friends and friendship. “I enjoy being with you. You are my friend.” It has been said that the best marriages are those in which the partners are close friends as well as lovers. They enjoy each other’s company.
3) Storge - This is a form of instinctual love that a parent has for a child or a child for a parent. It can vary in intensity, according to the bond that has developed between the parent and the child.
4) Xenia - This is love for a stranger. A person who runs into a burning building to save the life of someone he or she doesn’t know exemplifies this kind of love. A person who donates one of his or her organs to a perfect stranger might be another example.
5) Agape - This is love that seeks another’s well-being. This is a spiritual, selfless, giving form of love that continues giving despite ingratitude and lack of reciprocation. Agape gives a person value by an expression of love for him or her. God is love. Jesus said we should love our enemies. Agape is also involved when we show love and concern for those who are less fortunate than we --the poor; the sick; the homeless; the downtrodden. Marriages are more likely to thrive when each partner is concerned with the well-being of the other. St. Paul gives us a classic definition of “agape”:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
Another form of love, which is akin to agape, and which is the highest degree of love, is the love for a Supreme Being, a principle, or a cause that the person considers worth more than his or her own life. It is a sacrificial type of love. An example might be Nathan Hale, executed as a spy by the British in 1776 at the age of 21 saying, “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” Early Christian martyrs also exemplify this kind of love. In literature, we find another example in Carton, who switches places with Darnay and marches off to his death in the Dickens classic “Tale of Two Cities.”
Love plays such an important part in the process of our functioning as human beings that it is most unfortunate that in its higher forms it does not play a greater role in all of our lives. Perhaps our schools, which teach so much about wars and killing in our history texts, might also consider teaching about the many forms of love, and how love's various manifestations affect other human beings. We must try to remember always that without love, we have nothing at all.
In the midst of this political season with all the campaign promises of the candidates, and before George W. Bush finishes his presidency, returning to his ranch and clearing the scrub brush looking for his legacy, perhaps now would be an appropriate time for us to reflect upon the campaign promises that this president made in his acceptance speech at the 2000 Republican National Convention. It is time to examine and compare the rhetoric with the reality of his presidency.
We should remember that at the end of his second term in office, this president is likely to leave us with a national debt of $10 trillion, an economy on the skids, an unnecessary and unfinished war in Iraq with the Taliban rapidly regaining power in Afghanistan, an unstable Middle East, a weakened military force, tens and possibly hundreds of thousands of lives either lost or ruined, a declining middle class of Americans, with inflation up and wages down - just to name a few of the most serious legacies of this administration.
Here are some memorable excerpts from Bush’s acceptance speech at the 2000 Republican Convention. Please note the disconnect between rhetoric and reality.
"America's armed forces need better equipment, better training and better pay… A generation shaped by Vietnam must remember the lessons of Vietnam: When America uses force in the world, the cause must be just, the goal must be clear, and the victory must be overwhelming . . . I don't have enemies to fight. I have no stake in the bitter arguments of the last few years. I want to change the tone of Washington to one of civility and respect . . . We're learning to protect the natural world around us. We will continue this progress, and we will not turn back ... to lead this nation to a responsibility era, that president himself must be responsible. So when I put my hand on the Bible, I will swear to uphold the laws of our land . . . I will not attack a part of this country because I want to lead the whole of it."
Video: A Collection of George W. Bush’s Most Memorable Promises from the 2000 Republican National Convention. Perhaps the most accurate slogan reflecting the legacy of this administration is “Missions Unaccomplished.”
Video: Chris Rock Visits the 2000 Republican National Convention
Once in the land of fairies And trolls and other such political figures There reigned a charismatic young prince Who was loved, trusted, and respected By most Democrats.
His youthful ideals and enthusiasm Seemed to radiate from his smile And from his brilliance Through his words Into the ears Of his followers.
All was well in the kingdom Until something unexpected happened. The prince was suddenly attacked By a dragon who reminded him That this was a fairy tale.
“No, no!” exclaimed the prince This is not a fairy tale All I have said Can come true Come next November It’s up to you.
Jill was a lovely, young, and single woman who worked for an advertising agency. The previous month Jack, a handsome, young, and single man about her age, started working in the same office. Jill became very interested in him, but was too timid to ask him if he would like to go out on a date. So she asked her best friend Molly if she would let Jack know that she (Jill) would like to go out with him.
Jill didn‘t know that Molly, who also was lovely, young, and single, had designs on the same man. Instead of passing Jill’s information on to Jack, Molly asked him if he would like to go to a beach party the following weekend. He happily accepted her offer and they began a relationship. A couple of weeks later, Jill asked Molly whether she had relayed her message to Jack.
Now you finish the story.
Here are some of the best endings provided by our very creative Blogstream bloggers the last time I ran this story.
1. When Molly uses the "I never got a chance ..." line, she realizes what happened. She also learns not only does she need to quit relying on everyone in her life to help her out, but that she needs to evaluate 'why' she would have a best friend whose better interests are her own then hers.
Jill obtains some self help, realizes Molly is a friend but not a best friend, and upon further insight, sees what a conceited jerk Jack is and is grateful she didn't get involved after all.
While Molly concentrates on Jack, Jill concentrates on work, moves up in management, obtains a backbone and the next time she finds a great guy with a good job, great sense of humor and good on the eyes, she invites him out for coffee. They hit it off, it works into romance with respect.
Jill has self-respect, a good job and a great partner. Molly complains about Jack behind his back but never tells him and Jack rolls his eyes a lot.
--by Whispered Promise
2. Molly lies, but Jill finds herself emboldened and asks Jack. Jill learns the truth and Jack decides that he prefers Jill. They get to know each other and eventually decide to get married. Unfortunately, six weeks before the wedding Jack meets Nicky at the gym and decides she is his soul mate. He breaks things off with Jill to pursue a relationship with Nicky.
Will Jack ever stay in a relationship? Will Jill find true love? Tune in next week same Jill time same Jack blog. Dananananaaaa. (only way I could figure out how to type the Batman sound effect).
--by PuriChristos
3. Molly Tells Jill what she did, Jill kicks Molly's two-faced azz, and gives her a compound skull fracture sending her to the nearest O.R...Jill goes to the beach party with Jack, only to find out that he is gay and using both of them to get to Jill's boss, Handsome Bill.
--by Scratch
4. But what if Molly and Jill end up together?
Then... Jack has a bad case of wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time, and ends up meeting Hillary Clinton as she's she's leaving divorce court Bill-less-and-single-again. He moves in with her, but refuses to sleep in the same bed for a month or two. When he finally does, though, she eats Jack's brain before the sun comes up and buys 22 cats the next afternoon. Poor Jack.
--by Kristin
5. Well, at the beach party Molly discovers Jack's tattoos, which completely covered his body except hands, face and neck. So, when Jill asks if she told Jack that she likes him, Molly tells Jill that indeed she told him at a recent beach party. "Hasn't he called yet??"
--by n. lynn
6. ....then they all met up at a bakery and fell into the mixer which was mixing up a big custard pie and then they were all served up (in the pie) at an "Anita Bryant Fan Club" meeting in Des Moines.
--by Randy
Video: Little Richard - Good Golly Miss Molly
Video: Good Golly Miss Molly - Little Richard (45 years ago)
Many Blogstream members are there
already! Quotes from members: "It's like blog lite!" -- "I like the instant
gratification!" -- "Stop spectating, get in the game!"
If you have not joined in, you are really missing out!
