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You are currently viewing See My First Grader Save the Earth…from Juice Pouches!

See My First Grader Save the Earth…from Juice Pouches!

The following post is from Katie of Kitchen Stewardship:

Open mouth, insert…juice boxes?

Sometimes I say things without thinking.

We’d been at my son’s new school for about a month when I visited for the Christmas party. (And yes, they did actually call it a Christmas party in a public school. Kind of refreshing, I thought.)

The kids were all starting to clean up and throw away their Capri Sun juice pouches, when my green consciousness kicked in. It was like a no-waste reflex, a gut reaction that couldn’t be stopped.

“Did you know those can be recycled?” I blurted out to the teacher. “I can look into how to do it…I’ll take them home.”

Open mouth, insert foot. Foot tastes like juice.

A month later, I find myself the coordinator for the Terracycle juice pouch collection project for the entire K-4 school.

Luckily, the rewards are good: both the school and the earth benefit.

Terracycle recycles and re-purposes foil juice pouches of all brands and pays the school two cents per pouch.

Our job (my 6-year-old son is my team member!) will be to collect the pouches from the cafeteria, and when we reach one thousand, we can request a postage-paid shipping label from Terracycle and send them in. (The rules just changed, however, and we only get one cent per pouch unless our shipment includes 5,000+ pouches. Phew.)

It’s been quite gratifying to see so visually how much waste we can save from being trashed each week.

Week One:

source: Kitchen Stewardship

Week Two:

source: Kitchen Stewardship

If you’re looking for a way to teach your child a little eco-conscious activism, I highly recommend looking into Terracycle. Juice pouches aren’t the only thing they collect, either.

Here’s all we had to do:

1. Register an account online. This took 5-10 minutes.

2. Get the principal’s approval. My son’s teacher is 100% behind me, so that was painless and quick via email.

3. Make a box. This was a good craft project for the whole family and took about half an hour to an hour. One could easily just buy a plastic tub, too, but I am a fervent repurposer…

source: Kitchen Stewardship
source: Kitchen Stewardship
source: Kitchen Stewardship

4. Type up a sign for the box. My job, 15 minutes.

5. Type a letter of explanation for the parent newsletter and communicate with the principal:

It’s always great to get a 2-for-1 deal, especially when it helps our kids and supports Brown Elementary. Our school can get two benefits with one simple action: recycling drink pouches (such as Capri Sun) will earn money for Brown AND help save the Earth by reducing waste in our landfills.

There’s a new box in the cafe for collections – please encourage your child(ren) to put any brand of drink pouches (the foil kind, not drink boxes) in the box. Removing the straw first will be a big help. If you send in juice pouches for classroom parties, help remind the teacher to send a student down to the cafe with the empties.

Thank you so much for participating! You can see more info at

6. Collect the pouches. I pick up the kids one day a week anyway; so, we’ve been grabbing the pouches at that time. Our box has been just the right size!

7. Here’s the hard part, and the job we haven’t done yet: counting the pouches. The Terracycle website tells us that 1,000 pouches weighs about nine pounds, so I’m pretty tempted to just go that route. Maybe we’ll count the first 100 just to see what one hundred looks like, and then go by weight.

What are YOU going to do?

Whether you can find a Terracycle “brigade” to coordinate or not, set a goal to raise the green consciousness of your children in any way you can. It brought joy to my heart to hear my son pushing me, “Come on, Mom, we gotta get that box done – I see kids throwing away the juice pouches every day and it’s such waste!”

He was pretty pumped that the first day we collected, after only four days of the program being school-wide, the box was full. Saving the earth can be pretty exciting.

I’m just hoping that I don’t taste juicy foot in my mouth when we get to the whole “storing up five thousand juice pouches” part. Good thing we have a 2-car garage now!

Can you think of a way to help your child’s school (or your workplace) be more eco-friendly?

Katie Kimball has been “green” since 5th grade when she read 50 Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth. She remains slightly disappointed that she didn’t actually save the whole thing back then, but now that she has 3 kiddos counting on her, she keeps plugging away hopefully. Katie blogs at Kitchen Stewardship about real food and natural living and is the author of Healthy Snacks to Go and other eBooks, available for Kindle.


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Heavenly Pedestal

You think it’s just a name?

It’s who I am.

This position, was my own fault.

My own personal hell.

As I stand with the weight of the heavens

on my shoulders,

I realize that the humans forget

who’s holding them up.

They forget who’s holding this cracking,

withering world together

as they continue to destroy it.

Though I try to keep my hands steady,

even Titans loose their grip sometimes.

Sooner or later my strength will falter

and I will fall.

And there will be no one left

to catch you then. // Atlas – d.r.g

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I'm a young adult who doesn't have a filter between my brain and my mouth. My thoughts tend to come alive-constantly- causing my perspective to change quite often. I don't know where I'm going but I know what I'm looking for. Adventure. Magic. Creativity. My words are the sharpest weapon in my arsenal and I am not afraid to use them.

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Sunrise from Matunga Hill, Hampi

“If dreams were made of stone , it would be hampi”  – One can completely relate to it, the moment they get into the vicinity of the place. Hampi – has some amazing and stupendous architecture captured in stone from the Vijayanagara period. Apart from the architecture, the place is also know for some strong and dynamic sunrise / sunsets. Matunga hill is a prominent hike up, where one can enjoy the same. Since a relatively a larger crowd trickle in to bid goodbye to the sun rather than to witness the sunrise, I decided to hike up at dawn. There are a couple of paths leading to the topmost point, where the Veerabhadra Temple is located. It is better to carry a torch irrespective of if you are planning for the sun rise or the sun set as the place is not well lit. After taking up the stepped ramp from the west , reached the top just prior to sun raise. There were only a very few folks around, but was really surprised to see a small shop selling garam garam tea and noodles, at that place and time :)

As it was quiet misty, was not hoping much for the sun to come out. Just as I was enjoying the watery tea, the sun decided to give a peek out. It was quiet dramatic, with the Achyuta raya temple at the foothills , the dense forest and the sun peeking thru the misty morning mountains afar. Boy, was I glad to have the 10-24mm wide angle. Did my best to capture it, though I knew I was not able to do complete justice.

 Flickr Page

Sunrise, Matunga Hill, Hampi
Karnataka, India

15 Responses to “Sunrise from Matunga Hill, Hampi”

  1. What justice are you talking about? I have noticed that the Sun always peeps out for you :-).
    Beautiful…..I hope I visit this place one day…..

    • May be I just don’t talk abt the instances when the sun decides not to cooperate with me :)
      U definitely should visit this place (Hampi) … but make sure it is not one day, but atleast a week, there is so much around here !

  2. That is a beautiful view. If i get a chance to visit Karnataka sometime, I ll definitely go see this place.

    • Thanks Soumya. Welcome to the blog !
      It definitely is an awesome place. One could spend a week and still feel its not enough here @ Hampi ! Do plan on before hand as the (kind of) guest houses in the vicinity gets filled up during long weekends !

  3. I have visited Hampi and climbed the Mathanga Hill Top at 12 Noon-could not make it at dawn or dusk. The reflecting hues from structures are incredible.

  4. It is difficult to capture sunrises…particularly when the light is so low. You did a great job here, the Achyutaraya temple looks dramatic indeed. I wish you captured a lot more places in India though…even with all the DSLR-wielding warriors now, it takes effort and a sense of timing to capture the essence of a place, like you have done here.

    • Hey Rahul – thanks for such thoughtful comments. There are lot of places in india that I want to visit to capture and enjoy the beauty ! Will try to share more from my india travels :)

  5. This a an excellent capture. The dedication that you showed (waking up early, planning, etc.) itself is something to be applauded.. Keep up the good work..

    Liked by 1 person

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How to Conserve Anxiety by With a Party Rental Business in Indiana

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White and Texture

and  then, she {snapped} Sweet Shot Day

 I was no where near deciding on just one of these photos for White for Kim Klassen’s Textured Tuesdays. I had to go with both.

I don’t know if it is like this all over the country but here in NM, memorials on the side of the road are every where. Usually they are actual crosses but I found this bike to be very monumental and touching. As much as the wind blows, I am really surprised that the flowers ever stay on the memorials.

No Tuesday would be complete without Tones on Tuesday, so I created another shot for that one as well.

 Scattered Horizons

Published by Lili

Single mom trying to find fun and happiness thru the lens.

3 thoughts on “White and Texture

  1. Beautiful photos Lili! I love the contrast of the white and the red in the first, the stunning purple in the second and the overall feel of the third. Those words on the last photo are exactly what I needed right now. Thank you for sharing and for linking up with Tones on Tuesday!

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The Kingdom

The phrase Kingdom of Heaven, or, more accurately, The Kingdom of the Heavens,  appears only in Matthew, and it appears 32 times.  That number of mentions gives it quite a bit of importance.  There are, unfortunately, a variety of ways this phrase has been defined.  The definition depends a great deal on how the entire book is interpreted.  As I’ve already mentioned, I’m coming from a Dispensational viewpoint.  It’s all right with me if you disagree.  Just be reminded that I will not argue or debate with you, and if your comment is unpleasant, too long (this is my blog 🙂 ) or otherwise inappropriate, I will not approve it.  Above all, I want the Lord to be honored here.  Becoming involved in debate, argument, finger-pointing or name-calling does not honor Him.  You are welcome to disagree–courteously.

The Kingdom of Heaven is not the Church; the Church is not the Kingdom of Heaven.  Through Chapter 12, when Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven He was referring to it in its Old Testament sense, as promised to Israel; to be established in the land with Jerusalem as center, and from there to spread over all nations and the entire earth. This has not yet happened; therefore the Church cannot be the Kingdom.  The pious Jew expected, and still expects, the coming of Messiah, Who will occupy the throne of David.  He will bring judgment and justice to the enemies of Israel and restore Israelites to their homeland.  There will be universal peace; the land will flourish; the righteousness and knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the oceans cover the deep. The blessings as streams of living waters will flow from Jerusalem. A temple of worship will be restored. This will all be on the earth as we know it.

The Church, however, is a completely different entity. The hope, place, calling, destiny, and reigning of the Church is not earthly, but heavenly.

When Jesus was born, the King had indeed arrived. He preached the Kingdom of Heaven having drawn nigh; that is, the promised earthly kingdom for Israel. That was also the message of Jesus’ forerunner, John the Baptist.

It is confusing to teach that the meaning of this message is that when a sinner repents, the Kingdom will come to him.  The correct translation of “The Kingdom of God is within you” is “The Kingdom is among you”; that is, in the Person of the King.

I’m not a Greek scholar.  Not even close.  I have to rely on those who are, and I have several texts to guide me. One is my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance; others are English-Greek lexicons and Greek-to-English lexicons.  Everything I have, including the internet sources I’ve looked at, agree that “the Kingdom is among you” is the more accurate translation.  There are many links for you to check on; some agree with my view, others do not.  Here is one that I found helpful:

If Israel had accepted her King, the earthly kingdom would have been established. Because she did not, that Kingdom is still future, after the Church has been removed at the Rapture.

Consider this:  If the Kingdom were within all believers, Jew or Gentile, right now–wouldn’t this world be a better place?  Wouldn’t we indeed be moving toward true peace on earth?  I believe that it is only because the Church is still on the earth that we are not in complete and total chaos, because the presence of the Holy Spirit is still among us. Once the Church is removed, there will be a true horror show during the seven years of the Tribulation. Thank God, that period of time will culminate in the Jews acknowledging Jesus as Messiah, ushering in the Kingdom of Heaven–on earth.

Depression: Why Did This Happen? Will it Come Back?

There are so many factors that can play into depression.  Today I’m going to cover as much as I can in a reasonable amount of space.  This could well end up being a multiple-part topic.

Let’s look at genetics first.  One of the questions I always ask a new client who presents with depression is, “Who else in your family, in your own generation or your parents’ or grandparents’ generations, has had a “nervous breakdown,” or been given some sort of medication for nerves, such as Valium?”  Almost without fail, there is someone.  Typically, there will be more than one in the family tree who has suffered from depression.

So, is there a “depression gene”?  Honestly, I don’t know.  I found some articles on the subject.  Here is one link you may find interesting.  Just remember, this whole topic is in a very new state of research:

What I do know is that some people are more resilient about how they handle stress than others are, and there is a personality type that can “run in the family” that does not handle stress well without some help.  This is why I look for the genetic connection; it helps me understand if there is a generational tendency toward depression, and knowledge helps me know how best to help my client.

What personality type am I talking about?  The Melancholy, according to the study I like best.  There are other studies that call it by different names, but the traits are the same.  Here is one thumbnail sketch:

Much more can be said about this personality.  It is the deepest, richest, most complex and most contradictory of all the four basic temperaments.  Often, the Melancholic is richly gifted in some way.  Many of our most beloved writers, poets, composers, artists and other creative people are/were deeply melancholy.  They are indeed perfectionists, and they are world-class worriers.  While they can be super organized, to the point of OCD, they can also live in utter chaos because they want to be orderly and neat, but they think they have to make that happen all at once.  It’s so overwhelming that they simply walk away from the task and start some other project–or go read a book 🙂  Melancholics are sentimental, holding on to relationships even after they are cold and dead. They are almost always the “dumpee” rather than the “dumper” in relationships.  They are deeply introspective, always looking inward to see how they’re measuring up to their own often unrealistic expectations.  That in itself is depressing.  Melancholics are born with a strong sense of guilt, although they’re often not sure what it is they’re guilty of doing/thinking/feeling that is so wrong. They tend to allow people to use them, then complain about how no one appreciates them. “I’ve given up everything for my kids/husband/friend/work and no one appreciates/understand/knows what I’m going through.  No one loves me.  Everyone takes advantage of me.  I’ll never be understood/appreciated/happy.”

It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

At the same time, these folks are tremendously generous and others-oriented. Yet, they can be unbelievably critical, narrow, self-righteous, and unforgiving.  Unforgiveness turns to self-pity turns to bitterness turn to depression. Tim LaHaye wrote a wonderful little book many years ago titled How to Win Over Depression.  It’s an excellent resource.  I also like his book on the temperaments.  The latest rewrite that I know of is called Why You Act the Way You Do. I read his first temperament study years ago, and it’s been a most valuable resource ever since.  It’s title is The Spirit-Controlled Temperament.

All right.  I suspect that’s about enough for this week.  There is a great deal more to say on the how and why of depression, but I guess we have lots of time now that we don’t have to worry about the Mayan Calendar any more!

Random Thoughts on the Holidays

The word holiday, as I’m sure you know, is from the two words holy day.

So why is the Christmas holiday such a family-centered time?  Well, probably because that’s the center of the day/night on which Jesus was born.  Joseph, Mary, the Baby.  Family.

But there were also guests. Shepherds came in from the fields to meet the family and worship the Babe whom the  angels had announced so gloriously.  Later, the Magi came from a far Eastern country to bring expensive gifts, and to worship the King, Messiah, whom the Old Testament prophets had foretold and whom the Wise Men believed was the fulfillment of that prophesy.  So the small, new family quickly expanded to include strangers who became friends, and perhaps, later, followers of Jesus.

The Jews were very family-oriented, partly because they depended on one another during the Roman governance of their land; partly because they always had been encouraged, throughout their history, to center on family and on God.  It was God, after all, Who first established family with Adam and Eve and later their children and grandchildren and the development of tribes and cultures across the world.

We all seek connection with others.  Family is the foundation for that connection, and families who reach out to include those who are no blood relation  are wonderful examples for their children.

We have loved having our Minnesota family here this week.  The cousins enjoyed each other on Christmas Day, and will do so again before the Minnesota crew begins the drive back home. Though they see each other infrequently, they look forward to being together and after a few minutes of uncertainty, they’re having a great time, as if they’d known each other all their lives.

Certainly, the birth of the Savior was a family event.  Once He began His public ministry, He developed His family of followers.  Before He completed the work the Father had sent Him to do, He established the Church to become a family of believers. The Church provides fellowship, edification, comfort, and spiritual growth when it is operated along biblical principles. People who wouldn’t ordinarily know each other are brought together in the Church and become fast friends, caring for one another as family should.  For many, it is the only family they have because they have moved far away from their blood families, or they have been orphaned through other circumstances.

My parents were very good about having friends/acquaintances in our home for special meals, holiday celebrations, and just good fellowship.  When I was very small, we were often included in a wonderful family for the big holidays–Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July—and considered them our grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  I remember being very surprised and disappointed when I realized we weren’t truly related.  What a wonderful heritage it is to be given the gift of “relatives” in that way.

Yes, Christmas is about family.  Jesus was born into a family.  He had brothers and sisters, and cousins, uncles, and aunts.  No wonder Christmas is such a family occasion.

No further comment needed.

Eclipsed Mind

I randomly found this online and thought it was genius.  I don’t even feel the need to delve further into this topic.A916R3iCAAESMmn

Not believing in a Creator or God is like believing that an explosion happened in a printing press and a dictionary was the result.  Why be pessimistic and not believe that life has to have a greater meaning and that we – intelligent, rational and emotionally-driven creatures –  are not just a mere accident?

– A Soul Mercifully Alive

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Severin Fayerman

Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending a homeschool event at my daughter’s church.  The guest speaker was Severin Fayerman, a 90-year-old survivor of Auschwitz and Buchenwald.  He shared his fascinating story with the children–ranging from kindergarten to high school seniors–and never lost their attention for a moment.  He very admirably avoided relating all the horror he saw while still making it clear how truly awful that era was. He’s  interesting, engaging, energetic. Most of all, I enjoyed watching how kind he was with the children when they wanted to ask questions.

He did two assemblies yesterday.  Remember, he’s 90–almost 91.  My goodness.

You can find his book on Amazon, if you’re interested.  You can get it on your Kindle, or a paperback or hardback, although I wouldn’t spend the money for the hardback. The title is A Survivor’s Story.  Well worth reading.

A Day Late

I realized when I got up this morning that I had failed to write my Friday depression post, so here it is. . . .a day late.

Last week, I said I was going to try to answer the question, “If depression can be treated without medication, then why take the pills?  Wouldn’t it be better to get to the root of the problem instead of just masking it?” And then I brought you into my office and set the scene for this question to be asked.  So now that you’ve told me your basic story, I’m going to ask you some questions a “depression screen,” to help me know whether or not we’re dealing with depression.  Here they are:

Do you feel sad at least half the time?  Hopeless?  Tearful and/or angry more than is normal for you? Are you isolating from friends and family?  Spending a lot of time alone?  Do you find you’re having trouble sleeping, or do you want to sleep all the time but never really feel rested?  Have you gained or lost a significant (20 lb., + or -) without trying to do so?  Are you having trouble with short term memory, focus, and concentration?  Have you lost interest in things you’ve always enjoyed doing? Do you have unexplained body aches and pains that are new to you?  Are you experiencing a lack of energy, motivation, and initiative?  Is it a struggle just to go about your daily routine?  Have you lost interest in grooming?  Have you ever thought about dying?  Do you have a plan for how you would take your own life?

Very few people will answer “yes” to every question.  If you have answered yes to five or more, you could be experiencing clinical depression,  In any case, something is wrong, and you should probably start by seeing your primary physician–who has sent you to me, and I believe you have clinical depression. I tell you that you can be treated with several different approaches.  Because I work in a Christian counseling office, I’m going to include and emphasize the importance of God’s Word, church, Christian friends and fellowship, prayer.  I will probably recommend that you get a great book called Telling Yourself the Truth, by Backus and Chapian. I use it a lot in working with my depressed clients.  I will explain Cognitive Behavorial Therapy, which is based on the idea that what you think about controls how you feel and what you say and do.  I will talk about the importance of nutrition and exercise. Then I will introduce the option of medications, and you’re going to ask me that question about the real necessity of using medication.

Here’s the simple answer:  Clinical depression is clearly linked to a reduction or absence of certain brain chemicals that we refer to as “the feel-good chemicals.”  The result is a brain fog like you’ve never experienced.  Your emotions are now in control; you feel oppressed, hopeless, and lost. Will all that go away if we don’t use medication? Possibly, but it will be a long. slow process because you’re having so much trouble even thinking clearly about what I’m saying; the chances are pretty good that you won’t remember much of it once you get home. You may think, “Well, therapy sure isn’t going to help,” and I may never see you again.  I want you to know that I will worry about you.

Taking an antidepressant will increase your ability to process information; to understand why this has happened to you; and to focus on taking care of yourself.  Untreated depression can clear up in six months to two years or longer.  Treated, the process is much faster and a lot less painful to you and your loved ones.  Most medications, by the way, take six to eight weeks to reach what we call therapeutic level, but you’ll start feeling better with the first couple of weeks.

Do I recommend meds for every client?  No.  Sometimes, it’s clear that the depression is situational.  With good, clear thinking, the depression will lift without the help of medication.  However, sometimes the situation isn’t going to go away, yet you still need to work, care for your family, take care of yourself.  Medication can help you calm down enough to deal better with the realities of your life.  For one thing, it helps you sleep better, and that’s invaluable.

Next time, I’m going to talk about why depression even happens.  What causes it? Why is it so overwhelming?  Why do some people struggle with it often, and others never do?

In the meantime, I value your responses and questions.

The Rant of the Aged

I had lunch with a delightful friend today.  She’s a vibrant, active woman who teaches a variety of dance as well as Pilates.  She’s educated, committed–and no longer young.  She has wrinkles.  Her joints are starting to rebel against the years of stretching, flexing, and repetitive movement. Her blonde hair has lots of white.  She dresses very well, is in excellent shape, and her latest interest is learning to do paddleboarding.  She refers to herself as an aging hippie.  She’s wonderful to be with, has lots of conversation; she’s creative, enthusiastic, and empathetic.

Our conversation eventually evolved to the problems of age, of course.  I’m 65.  I’m not sure how old she is.  But what we both understand is that there is a huge prejudice against the older generation.  We are bombarded with information on how to look, act, feel, and be perceived as youthful, above and beyond anything else.  Don’t wear a watch;  young people today look at their phones to see what time it is.  Don’t let any grey hair show–it ages you.  Do whatever you can to hide age spots, skin tags, facial hair, and the sad results of 65 years’ worth of gravity.  Wear what the young women are wearing (even if it makes you look completely ridiculous) because it’s better to wear youthful clothing than to be perceived as matronly or–gasp–grandmotherly.  Shudder.

Old people are no longer a contributing part of this society, unless of course they have money.  I even know of a pastor who told a 60+ man that he really hoped that the “seniors” in the congregation would just gracefully fade to make room for the younger, more energetic people in the church.  Another pastor said that “we just need to love on our seniors, really let them know how much we appreciate all that they used to do.”  Good grief.

I don’t need to be “loved on.”  Yech.  What I do need is to be useful. I need to be free to share all I have learned in my 65 years.  I’m healthy, my mind is still sharp, I don’t drool or fall asleep when I’m in the grocery store, and I’m still a very good driver.  I’m well-educated, and I want to be a vital part of whatever community I belong to.

This is not a problem in my work.  In fact, my aged grey head is a valuable asset in the counseling office, even when I’m working with teens.  It’s funny, really, when a teen first comes in to my office.  I can read in their eyes that they’re surprised to see someone as ancient as I am, still able to sit up straight and speak in complete sentences.  It isn’t long before we’re actually enjoying each other.  I have some very good friends who aren’t even 16 yet.  Imagine that!

It’s not a problem in my family, either. My husband is strong and active, and a genius at his work. Our kids still seek his advice an a multitude of things.  No one in the family treats us as if we no longer have any purpose except to “be loved on.”  Our grandkids love to see us, and always have lots to tell us. They don’t look at us as if we’re something to be feared because we have spots and wrinkles and grey hair—in our noses 🙂 They love us, and it’s a genuine, non-patronizing joy in our company. How delightful.

It’s different in other places,. Elders are seen as not being attractive, therefore to be kept in the shadows.  They’re seen as having gone past being able to offer anything, therefore overlooked and ignored.  They’re told constantly that they need to look young, act young, be youthful, as if youth itself is a mark of character.

What I’m telling you as that the wrinkles, spots, and grey hair are the marks of character!  It takes courage to grow old!  Sissies will never survive it. You learn to live with chronic pain; you learn to accept that you can’t wear stiletto heels any more; that you have to wear a sweater when everyone else is not; that your vision fades, your hearing decreases, and you need to  be more careful of what you eat.  You need to exercise on purpose to keep your mobility, flexibility, and strength at peak levels.  You can’t run up and down the stairs carrying a baby and avoiding the toy truck your toddler left on the bottom step. Your doctor talks to you about cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, diet and exercise. You have to go to bed a little earlier, and you don’t always sleep as well as you did at 20.  Nature calls in the middle of the night, and you may even stop to put on your slippers because the floor is cold. And then, sometimes, you can’t get right back to sleep.

But the benefits?  Well, I don’t make quite as many dumb mistakes as I did at 25.  I’m slowly learning to think before I speak; that I don’t always have to win; that people may not care what I have to say, and that’s all right. I’m a little wiser than I used to be, and I know a lot of miscellaneous trivia that carries me through when conversation starts to get dull.  I have more time to read, which I do voraciously.  I read in my field of work; I read fiction; and I read Bible-related materials and the Bible itself more than I ever have before.  Prayer is becoming a state of being, rather than a duty on my to-do list.

And I don’t fear death; I don’t dread it.  In fact, I think I’ve even gotten past the fear of a long, painful death, because at the end of it I’ll be with the Lord, and it just won’t matter.  There’s really not much I’m afraid of at all these days.  Snakes, maybe.

I have more to offer now than I did 10, 20, or 50 years ago.  Why, when a person has reached some semblance of maturity and common sense, is she no longer found necessary by our youth-centered society?  Maybe if society would pay a little more attention to us, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in.

The King

The Orthodox Jews still refer to the coming of a King: King Messiah. His coming is promised all throughout the Old Testament.  He would not be only a deliverer; He would be the Sinbearer, the King of the Jews.  Every Jewish woman longed for a son, hoping that he would be Messiah. The Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus as Messiah, proving His right to that title in a number of ways, beginning with His genealogy.  In Matthew, His descent goes back to Abraham, but focuses on his claim to royalty as Son of David; his earthly claim is as a son of Abraham.

Matthew is the only book that records the coming of the Magi, who came to worship the King of the Jews.  He was born in David’s city; He was worshiped by the representatives of the Gentiles in spite of His lowly surroundings, because they knew the prophecies and followed the Star.  They gave Him gold, as befitted His royalty.

Kings have forerunners, and so did Jesus. John the Baptist’s message was “The Kingdom of Heaven has drawn nigh.”  When the rejected King returns, His forerunner will be Elijah. More on all this as we proceed through the book. There is much more throughout the book that verifies Jesus as King.  Matthew gives the most full version of the ill-named Sermon on the Mount;  Mark and Luke give only fragments, and John never mentions it.  It is given fully in Matthew because it is a teaching concerning the Kingdom; the Magna Charta, so to speak, of the Kingdom and all its principles.  Because Israel rejected her King, the Kingdom has been postponed. Christendom is not that Kingdom.  In this message, Jesus speaks as the King and the Lawgiver. Again, more on all this as we proceed.

When Jesus sent out His servants to preach the coming kingdom, He sent them as emissaries for the King, giving them power that only the King could give. It’s a fascinating study, and I’m eager to really dig into it.

Things are coming to a crescendo here as Christmas draws near.  I don’t know how often I’ll be back to my blog.  I want to do at least one more post before the big day, but I can’t make any promises.  We’ll see.


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What is a Sociopath: Final

The final roundup of classic traits of a sociopath include failing to accept responsibility for his own actions; many short-term romantic/marital relationships; possible juvenile deliquency; breaking parole or just not showing up for court appointments;  and criminal versatility.

Joseph Mengele

Since some of these traits are self-explanatory, I won’t dwell on all of them

Possilbe juvenile delinquency?  Yes, but not all sociopaths are actually caught up in the court system. Many between the ages of 13-18 may participate in activities that could land them in jail, but often don’t. Don’t forget, they’re exceptionally gifted liars and are often able to talk themselves out of trouble.

They walk away from such an encounter laughing at how easy it is to fool the authorities.

Since a true sociopath has very little sense of conscience, it doesn’t trouble him in the slightest to ignore hearings, appointments with a parole officer or other legal authorities. They know the chances are slim to none that they will be called into account, so they’re willing to accept the risk.

Criminal versatility is simply the ability to change their illegal activities from one MO to another. Often, when a sociopath becomes violent, he is very hard to find because he doesn’t stick to one particular style of assault or killing. He’s willing to try all different things to help him avoid being caught.

It’s not a pretty picture.  There are some things I need to say here that I hope will encourage you, because not all sociopaths are criminals. They do NOT all rise to the level of murderers.  Those are the ones we know about, and tend to believe that anyone who is a sociopath is, ipso facto, also a monster. This belief is an overstatement, and needs some clarification.

The truth is, we all have some sociopathic tendencies. For instance, we all lie.  We are all selfish to one degree or another. We are all capable of enjoying someone else’s misery, especially if that person has gotten in our way. The human heart, according to Jeremiah 17:9, is deceiful above all things and desperately wicked.

Uewb 05 Img0337
Herod the Great

The good news is that Jesus’ death and shed blood at Calvary, with His resurrection and victory over death and sin, is the cleansing agent for the human heart.  It is available to all, including murderers, if they will appropriate the free gift of salvation.

Ted Bundy’s testimony, the day before he was executed, is that he had become a Christian. It is possible for a sociopath/psychopath to repent of sin and come to Christ for forgiveness and salvation.

Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (Vlad the Impaler)

Is it possible, however, for such a person to learn to live “normally” in society, doing no harm?  I believe that it is. Much depends on the level or degree of dysfunction the person suffers.  Much depends, of course, on his own desire to live as normal a life as possible. Living with a sociopath is extremely difficult, even if the level of dysfunction is fairly mild. I’ve looked at several sources for more information on this issue, and here is one article you may find helpful, especially as you scroll down to the section on How to Deal with a Sociopath.

In my work, there is one consistent behavior that shows up over and over again that enables a sociopath to continue his conscience-free existence:  People who are close to him make excuses for him. They never believe he’s capable of the things he’s accused of. They blame everyone else, but not the one who is truly guilty. The enable him to go on his way undisturbed because they will not call him to account for his behavior. Strangely enough, one of their biggest worries is hurting his feelings.

You can’t. Ever.

What is a Sociopath, part 4

The sociopath is often quite proud of his sexual attractiveness. He is promiscuous, indulging in many brief affairs. He likes to think he is what all women want, and he has no problem being with several women. He likes to brag, too.  He believes other men envy him because he’s so irresistible.

This man’s murders always included sexual assault. Ted Bundy chose attractive young women he could charm, and it worked for him.

That’s not true of every sociopathic killer, but it’s not unusual, either. His abberant behaviors often start before he’s 13.  He can have a history in the juvenile justice system. He may have been a bully, and was almost certainly a chronic but successful liar and cheat. His charm often fools his parents into making excuses for his terrible behavior.

The sociopath has a hard time fulfilling long-term goals. His restlessness keeps him moving toward the next new experience. He gives up one thing for another quite easily, has a hard time staying in one job for any length of time, and just generallyfloats along on a cloud of expectation that somehow things will all work out–or that other people will take care of him.

He is extremely impulsive. He doesn’t resist temptation while he thinks through whatever he wants to do. He needs gratification right now, and woe be to the one who gets in his way. He is often physically reckless, doing things most people would consider just stupid.

His irresponsibility  often gets in the way of his longed-for success. He can’t be depended upon to keep his word, to simply follow through on day-to-day obligations. He walks away from debts, loans, legal agreements and relationships without a qualm.  He has better things to do, higher mountains to climb, wider rivers to cross.

Next Friday, we should wrap this up.  I don’t know about you, but I find this study a bit depressing. The pain these people bring into the lives of others, especially those who try to help them, is difficult to see.

What is a Sociopath, Part 3

In our study of this personality, we’ve learned that sociopaths differ from psychopaths mostly in the degree of violence they’re willing to use to gain their ends. Sociopaths can actually function well in society, where psychopaths tend to find social interaction very unpleasand and difficult.

The other traits we’ve looked at include surface charm and a glib tongue; an over-inflated sense of self-worth; a need for constant stimulation, and pathological lying.  Next is the sociopath’s unique ability to con  and manipulate people and situations to gain his ends. He is a master at manuevering around people and situations to accomplish his goal, which is always  involved with some kind of gain to himself. He may even seem to be trying to make things better for others.  It’s a ruse. He’s really interested only in furthering his own gain.

He is never bothered by remorse or guilt for the pain he causes others. His attitude is completely without empathy for his victims. He he tends to see them as stupid, unworthy, and getting exactly what they deserve.  He is disdainful of almost everyone else. There is no such thing as conscience.

He has what we in the mental health profession recognize as a shallow affect. His feelings don’t go very deep, in spite of his apparent charming exterior.  The only emotions he may feel deeply include anger growing into rage if he is thwarted, and a deep disdain for other people. His superiority to others is unquestioned in his own mind.  He doesn’t really feel any loyalty or commitment to anyone else, and he will leave relationships without any sense of loss when it suits his own interests to do so.

The sociopath lives a parasitic lifestyle. He expects other people to support his goals, financially and any other way they can. He expects to be boosted, given special privileges.  Anyone in his life who has money is a mark for his attention.  A refusal to give him what he wants results in his rage and desire to get revenge.

He has poor to none when it comes to behavioral controls. The unwritten rules for appropriate behavior in society don’t touch him. He expresses his negative emotions easily and sometimes physically, if he thinks he can get away with it.  Irritability, annoyance, impatience, threats, aggression, and verbal abuse are characteristic. He demonstrates inadequate control of anger and temper, and he acts hastily, giving no thought to results of his behavior. When confronted, his lies are quick, easy, and believable. He can even work up tears if he needs to, in order to convince everyone that nothing was ever his own fault.

Don’t expect these folks to “get better” with counseling or confrontation. The only thing that can come close to working positive change in their lives is the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

What is a Sociopath, # 2

Glib and charming, sociopaths often seem like the most fun people you could ever be around.  When you are around them a little longer, though, you find that they are totally self-involved. Everything they do is centered on what the gain for themselves will be.  Far from lacking in self-esteem, they think very highly of themselves indeed.

These folks are full of a grossly inflated view of their own abilities and importance, truly believing that all eyes should be focused on them all the time. They are opinionated, cocky braggarts. Psychopaths are arrogant people who believe they are superior human beings.

They are often easily bored, and seek constant stimulation, something new, something just a little riskier than what they’ve already done.  They are risk-takers, and may seem very exciting to be with. However, once the excitement goes away they’re often restless, angry, and sarcastic. Easily bored, they look elsewhere for stimulation. They’re not much good at relationship once the shiny new has worn off. They are experts at finding ways to not do tasks they find boring.

They lie. As Dr. Phil would say, if their lips are moving, they’re lying. The lying can be  shrewd, crafty, cunning, sly, and clever; they’re expert at concocting stories that have no shred of truth, but are completely believable. At their worst, they are deliberately deceptive, deceitful, underhanded, unscrupulous, manipulative.They do and say what they have to in order to gain the result they want—and are entitled to. If you are hurt by their lies, then you shouldn’t have gotten in the way.

Friday Counseling Issues: What is a Sociopath?

This is Ted Bundy.  He doesn’t look like such a bad guy, does he?

However, he was  a truly bad guy.  Here’s what Wikipedia has to say (Wiki isn’t always right, but this time they’ve got it.  I remember very clearly reading this same stuff in the news back then:

Theodore Robert “Ted” Bundy (born Theodore Robert Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killerrapistkidnapper, and necrophile who assaulted and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. After more than a decade of denials, he confessed shortly before his execution to 30 homicides committed in seven states between 1974 and 1978; the true total remains unknown, and could be much higher. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Bundy)

He is known as a sociopath or a psychopath.  They’re really pretty much the same thing.  To me, the most chilling characteristic of a sociopath is that there is absolutely no conscience.  This person has no regret, no remorse, no sense of guilt or wrong done to another. He believes that what he wants is what he must have, no matter what the cost to anyone else.  He will do whatever is necessary to get what he wants.  If that involves taking someone else’s life, well, that person shouldn’t have gotten in the way.  Or deserved to die.

A lack of conscience makes way for a long list of sociopathic behaviors.  Right up at the top would be lying.  Constant, deliberate, manipulative lying; not slips of the tongue, not an effort to avoid detection (although that certainly plays a part) but more of a cold, calculated and purposeful achievement of reaching a goal.   Mr. Bundy was a master of deception, luring his victims in with charm, personality, and flat-out lies.

So what is the difference between a sociopath and a psychopath?  It seems to be a matter of degree.  Sociopaths can live in normal society without doing physical damage to others.  They may be considered antisocial, but many people with sociopathic tendencies are actually quite charming.  They can be glib, engaging; wonderful story-tellers, good with kids, and humorous.  Just don’t stand in their way or call them to account for bad behavior.  You’ll see the dark side.

A psycopath is usually more of a risk seeker, impulsive, and fearless, as well as not being able to socialize normally. Sociopaths go to great lengths to look “normal” and even their families don’t always know who they are.  Psycopaths take it to the next level, becoming more and more difficult to live with as time passes.

Remember Scot Peterson?  Handsome guy, financially successful, married to a beautiful young woman, They were happily expecting their first baby when Scot killed her, dumped her body in the ocean, and claimed she had disappeared.  Well, I guess she had.  He was finally “outed” by his mistress when he slipped up and said something that made her suspicious and afraid.

What I remember about this case is that after his conviction, his mother stood on the courthouse steps and said, “That whole jury needs to be drug-tested!  My son in innocent!”

It is not unusual at all for sociopathic men to have been the adored golden boys of their mothers, who believed they could do no wrong and always came flying to their recue if they got into trouble.

Sociopathic behavior, of course, is not limited to men.  Women can be even scarier, in my opinion.

There’s lots of information on this topic if you want to search.  Just be careful and discerning when you read, because almost everyone has a little different perspective on these folks.  Some think they were born bad, others that they were the products of their upbringing.  The old “nature vs. nurture” controversy.

More on this topic next week.


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My thoughts on Cross Addiction

Ever heard of the term cross addiction? It’s not a fun one to think about, but in some way or another we’ve all probably experienced something similar.

Someone wants to stop overdrinking—overeating follows.

Another may stop overeating—online shopping picks up.

Someone wants to stop viewing pornography and switches to video games because it’s more socially acceptable.

Sometimes, addictive behavior kicks in when a person doesn’t have the tools to feel negative emotions. The emotion feels impossible to handle. Buffering it away with something numbing can give temporary relief.

Years ago I cut out sweets and guess what it was replaced with? Online shopping. I was emotionally eating to feel better. When I cut sweets out of my life I simply replaced the action with online shopping. I don’t consider this behavior of mine an addiction, but the idea helps me to have compassion for others.

With pornography, this is where sobriety vs. recovery comes in. Switching from pornography to video games may help with sobriety, but what about recovery?

When you cut something addictive out of your life that and don’t have the tools to figure out why you were consuming it in the first place, a cross-addiction, though less harmful, may ensue. This isn’t the worst thing in the world because the individual is reducing harmful behavior. However, that person is still numbing and escaping. Harm reduction is good, but in some cases people justify doing harmful things because they’re “less harmful.”

I used to refer to my husband’s gaming as a secondary addiction. Then I learned about the term cross-addiction. It was so validating!

Now this information isn’t something to shove into someone’s face when they’re gaming or netflixing or whatever it is they do. I no longer have the energy to worry about other people and what they should be doing (who I have no control over). All of these things we do (eating, netflixing, gaming, online shopping, viewing social media, etc.) aren’t bad.

In a podcast I listen to (The betrayed, the addicted, the expert) one of the hosts mentioned the idea of renewal vs. numbing. Gaming with friends after a long day of work may be just what someone needs for renewal. Sometimes watching an episode of Frasier, West Wing, or Parks and Rec is just what I need to give my brain a break.

There is balance in everything and I know where that line is for me—not other people.

Xxx friends,


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Changing Life’s Metaphors

“Back to the salt mines,” Nathan said as he prepared to take Sarah to her before school math prep and then head off to work.

“What does that mean?” Sarah asked.

“I’ll explain in the car,” Nathan said.

Off they went.

Later, Nathan posted this article on Facebook. “The Salt Mines. Really??” In this article, Natalie Houston discusses the possible origins of the phrase, which includes the fact that convicted prisoners were often forced to labor in salt mines, with the commensurate risks to life and limb. She writes:

“Through metaphor, the language we use both reflects our perceptions and shapes them in a continual feedback loop. Each time you say something like “back to the salt mines” (which is usually accompanied by a shrug, or slumped shoulders) you reinforce your own attitudes about your workplace as being somehow like a dangerous mine where prisoners labor. “

This made me think about the metaphors that guide and/or  influence my own life. Over the past few days I’ve recognized that it is time to change my metaphors, or at least re-envision them. First, however, I must be able  to identify them.

Life as Journey

Walking a path.

Walking a path.

This is by far my favorite metaphor, as anyone who has been reading my blog for a long time might realize. I often talk about life as a journey. If you search for the term journey within my blog, you will find 143 entries that  somehow refer to journeys and the journey of life. Maybe I need to get some new material.

Anyway, this is a metaphor that I do try to live by, however it has its dangers. It all depends on how one perceives the journey. When I think of this journey as having a specific destination–as one with  a path that I’m meant  to follow that gets me to some mysterious endpoint–then I take less pleasure in the journey itself because I’m too worried about not getting to that point. When I can think about the journey as the destination–a meandering path that takes me to the next part of the journey–then I usually can just let my feet lead me wherever I am going.

I want to focus on the second type of journey.

Life as Speeding Train

This is perhaps one of my least favorite metaphors for life. Do you ever feel like you somehow got trapped on a train that is heading toward an unknown destination without any stops? It keeps going faster and faster, and someone else is driving it. You have no control. No matter how many times you pull the emergency cord, the train will not stop.

Sometimes, for me, the train is a roller coaster car, speeding up and down at speeds that defy thought.

Have  I mentioned that I hate roller coasters? The last time I was on one with my sister, long ago at Knots Berry Farm I felt too short to be held in safely and was convinced I would fly out on one of the crazy loops. I haven’t been on one since, except for  the roller coaster of life.

When I lived in Japan, I loved the idea of riding the Shinkansen, because it allowed me to visit more places in less time. However, the difference between riding a bullet train and being trapped on a speeding life train is crucial to recognize. It’s possible to get off the Shinkansen once in a while, to enjoy the journey.

English: A Shinkansen awaiting passengers in T...

English: A Shinkansen awaiting passengers in Tokyo. Français : Un Shinkansen attendant ses passagers à Tōkyō. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Another Day, Another Dollar”

Or in my case a few more pennies.

I thought  of this metaphor this morning after reading Houston’s article.  Too often lately, I’ve focused on the fact that I seem to work hard for very little  financial reward.

I don’t  like thinking like that. If my focus on life is on the journey, and the journey  is the destination, then I want to be working  on projects that fill my life with joy and purpose. I suppose the purpose could be to make money, but I don’t want  the metaphor for my life to be “Life as means to financial gain.”

Of course, I recognize that money does play a role in life, but it doesn’t have to be the focus of life.

It’s time to drop this metaphor from my life.

What are  some of the metaphors guiding your life? What are some of the metaphors you want to change? What are some  of the metaphors you would like to embrace?

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[arch-releng] PXEboot + unattended install

Dieter Plaetinck dieter at plaetinck.be
Sun Nov 20 14:08:27 EST 2011

On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 18:57:54 +0000
Greg Sutcliffe <greg.sutcliffe at gmail.com> wrote:

> On 20 November 2011 18:28, Dieter Plaetinck <dieter at plaetinck.be> wrote:
> > AFAIK archiso images boot fine over pxe. (archboot is not official)
> > archboot doesn't even use aif, but archiso does, and it accepts a 'script' boot parameter,
> > which can do whatever you want, such as starting an aif automatic install.
> > at least, that's how I remember things are.  I didn't ever try this myself but IIRC other people have.
> >
> > Dieter
> Thanks for the fast reply Dieter. I was trying to avoid passing an
> entire iso over TFTP - my internal virtual network takes long enough
> just to pass the 80Mb initrd from archboot. I'll test it anyway (the
> netinst iso is only double that, not too bad), just so I've got a
> handle on how it works - thanks for the tip.

maybe there's a better way (like transmit something minimal, mount / over nfs or whatever),
but i'm not familiar enough with archiso.

> Are there plans to integrate archboot and the main iso images (or aif)
> in some way?

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text:
[aur-general] Retiring my account, orphaning some packages.

Simon Legner simon.legner at gmail.com
Wed Aug 14 14:55:03 UTC 2019

On Wed, Aug 14, 2019 at 4:45 PM Aniket Pradhan <aniket17133 at iiitd.ac.in> wrote:
> Thanks a lot for taking over these packages. I am sure you would take
> good care of them. :D

Thank you! :-)
As a first step, I updated python-requests-cache to 0.5.2-1 …

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text:
[cairo] shading (again)

Thomas Hunger info at teh-web.de
Thu Feb 26 13:37:24 PST 2004

I tried to add shading to cairo, it is still very rough:

you can get it here [1] as a tarball, since it is very intrusive and modifies
a lot of things I did not create a patchset. You should have a spare copy of
cairo since it may break everything.

There is a new exposed type, called a cairo_shader_t:

struct cairo_shader {
  unsigned int refcount;
  int nr_points;
  int nr_colors;
  double *points; // an array of control points in xy xy xy ... layout
  double *colors; // array of colors in rgba rgba ...
  cairo_shader_func_t *shader_func;

Whenever cairo does a cairo_(stroke|fill), it calculates the bounding box
using a newly introduced function:

     _cairo_traps_bounds (&traps, &left, &right, &top, &bottom);

which assigns the rectangular area covered by a stroke or fill to the doubles
left, right, ...

then this information gets passed to the shader_func in the cairo_shader_t,
along with the cairo_shader_t itself:

      gstate->shader->shader_func (gstate->shader, top, bottom, left, right,

the shader func creates a new surface which is then used by cairo as source
instead of a pattern or a solid color.

- I wanted to expose the structure and not hide it away so that new shaders
could be added from the outside
- the points-member are controlpoints e.g. to describe the vector for a linear
gradient, radius of a radial one, or maybe someday a lot of control points.
- control points will be transformed by all operations, so rotating will
rotate the gradient, too (see screenshot [1])
- the colors are seperated from control points since there may be more points
than colors, e.g. when describing a gradient with a spline.

- for testing I did a linear shader which has errors and is clumsy, so
actually no real shaders exist so far
- I do not know if hardware acceleration can be used in any way if done like
- it wont work with different backends other than pixel-orientated ones yet
(no idea how it  could be mapped to postscript or pdf shading)
- the _cairo_traps_bounds is ugly as our neighbours dog
- writing an own shader is not exactly fun
- very slow since the shader needs to calculate every pixel itself
- should be able to work with tolerance

[1] http://www.iqo.uni-hannover.de/gnome/cairo/

P.S. if this test restarts discussion about shading and everything is done in
a completely different way then, I am a happy man :)

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[maemo-developers] repository.maemo.org down

From: Ville M. Vainio vivainio at gmail.com
Date: Sun Jan 17 22:45:21 EET 2010
Am I the only one that's seeing / being bothered by r.m.o being down? ;-)

It's been unaccessible for 2 days, at least from my corner of the internet...

Ville M. Vainio
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10 Bizarre Things That Washed Up On Beaches

by S. Grant
fact checked by Matt Hayes

Around ninety percent of the world’s population lives in the Northern Hemisphere, which means that most of us are currently preparing for hot summer weather and likely planning to spend some time cooling off beside the nearest body of water. So next time you’re heading to the beach, keep your eyes open for curious-looking flotsam and jetsam—as you’ll see in this list, you never know what might wash ashore:

Sports Flyswatters

Thousands of accidental container spills occur in the Pacific Ocean every year, as loads and loads of commercial goods make their way from Asia to the West. While this lost cargo is seriously adding to the ocean’s pollution problem, there is one silver lining: it could make you the owner of a free, slightly beat-up fly swatter.

In 2012, residents of Kodiak, Alaska, became exactly that when they eagerly gathered up sports-themed fly swatters that were washing up by the dozens onto their beach. Both professional and collegiate teams were represented—ensuring that every kind of sports fan could plaster his or her favorite team with fly guts.

At first, the Alaskans thought that the swatters were debris from the previous year’s tsunami—but it later turned out that they came from a run-of-the-mill cargo ship, which had lost several containers after a rogue wave hit the vessel.

Rubber Ducks

Of all the things to fall off a cargo ship, arguably the cutest was a crate of 28,000 rubber ducks and other bath toys. They went overboard in 1992, and beachcombers all over the world are still coming across the rubber ducks today—more than twenty years later.

Many of the toys have floated ashore, but there are still thousands of them bobbling through the high seas, following the ocean’s many currents and gyres. Although most people would prefer that 28,000 pollutants hadn’t entered the ocean, the toys have had a positive side effect in that they’ve revolutionized our understanding of ocean currents. The ducks were abandoned in the middle of the Pacific Ocean while on a voyage from Hong Kong to the United States, and they’ve since shown up in far off places like South America, Australia, Hawaii, Alaska, Scotland, Newfoundland, and the Atlantic. Some are even frozen in Arctic ice.

Most notably, tracking the duck’s movements enabled oceanographers to better understand the circuit of the North Pacific Gyre, and brought attention to the “ocean garbage patch” that lies within. It’s estimated that more than two thousand ducks are drifting amid the massive amount of trash and sludge that has been caught in the gyre’s currents.

Giant Lego Man

You never know what kind of flotsam you’ll discover while taking a stroll down the shore—yet even for the most experienced beachcomber, stumbling across an eight-foot-tall, one-hundred-pound Lego man is entirely unexpected. Nevertheless, versions of Ego Leonard (the Lego figure seen above) have apparently washed ashore on at least four beaches throughout the world.

The first Ego Leonard sighting was in 2007, when the colorful sculpture was retrieved from a sea near the Netherlands. The following year he was found on Brighton Beach, U.K.; in 2011 he showed up at Siesta Key Beach, Florida; and in 2012 he appeared on a beach in Los Angeles, California. Ego Leonard always has the message “No Real Than You Are” printed on his torso—adding a somewhat eerie and grammatically dubious element to an otherwise delightful fellow.

Giant Eyeball

As if sharks and jellyfish weren’t bad enough, we now have yet another reason to get the heebie-jeebies when stepping into the ocean: enormous floating eyeballs.

In 2012, a softball-sized eyeball floated onto the sand in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was discovered by a man who kicked it about a few times before taking it home and putting it in his refrigerator. Luckily, he didn’t intend on having the peeper for lunch, and was simply trying to keep it fresh until someone from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) could retrieve and identify it.

Naturally, rumors of colossal sea monsters started spreading throughout the area. Wildlife authorities quickly spoiled the fun by identifying the oversized oculus as belonging to a large swordfish (a species that can reach fourteen hundred pounds). Sohow did the eye end up on the beach? The FWC said that although it was certainly rare to find a fully intact eyeball separate from any other body parts, this one had clear, straight-line cuts around the tissue—which means that some creepy fisherman painstakingly cut out the baby blue and then tossed it overboard.

In 2007, residents of two Dutch North Sea islands must have thought they were blessed by the fruit gods when thousands of unripe bananas swept onto their shores. In reality, they came from yet another container that had fallen off a cargo ship during a storm. Crowds of banana-seekers showed up to gather the fruit, undoubtedly with visions of smoothie and bread recipes in their head. In fact, there were so many bananas littering the coastline that some suggested that they donate them to a nearby zoo.

For long-time locals of these islands, collecting strange things from the sand is nothing new. Favorable currents, strong north-westerly winds and nearby shipping routes make the islands a target for about two tons of debris per day. In years past, they’ve seen their beaches covered with aluminum briefcases, children’s toys, sweaters, and sneakers.

Dead Birds

Screen Shot 2013-06-02 At 5.40.32 Pm

“Botulism poisoning” is the official cause of six thousand birds turning up dead on Wasaga Beach, Ontario, in 2011. Botulism has been on the rise in the Great Lakes; it infects fish, and is then passed onto waterfowl when they ingest the prey.

While it’s not uncommon to find individual fish and birds who were killed by toxins, the 2011 incident was especially unusual. What’s causing the increase in botulism? Scientists say that it’s a combination of gradually warming waters, increasingly oxygen-deprived conditions, and higher levels of bacteria. One theory is that invasive species, like zebra and quagga mussels, are exacerbating the problem.

Despite all the talk of toxins, authorities say that it’s still safe to swim and eat fish from the Great Lakes. Their advice is to restrict your consumption to fish that “act and look healthy”; to avoid cutting the guts when cleaning a fish; to cook it thoroughly; and to watch your dog for illness if he happens to consume a random fish lying in the sand. None of that advice sounds particularly reassuring.

Nike Sneakers

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If you’re walking along the shore and happen to find a Nike sneaker with the code 90 04 06, then you may have discovered one of the famed (at least for oceanographers) sixty thousand Nikes that fell from a storm-tossed ship in 1990.

Just as they were plunged into excitement by the rubber duckies, scientists have tracked these shoes for decades in an effort to learn more about the ocean’s currents. The sneakers could float for ten years—and surprisingly, they were still wearable after three years, which turned several seashores into impromptu swap-meets as people scrambled to find matching pairs of shoes.

Even more shoes have been spilled since 1990, so if you ever find yourself strapped for cash and needing a new pair of kicks, try your luck at the beach.

Severed Feet

On second thought, you might want to think twice before picking up an abandoned shoe in the sand, as there’s a fair chance it could contain a human foot. This is especially true if you live in British Columbia or the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

Since 2007, beach goers have found at least ten shoe-clad feet in these areas—and five of them were tracked back to four apparently-deceased individuals. The identified feet are said to belong to several missing persons, a person who committed suicide, and someone who died of natural causes. Currently, no one knows to whom the other feet belong.

So where exactly are all the other appendages coming from? Authorities don’t know for sure—but they don’t expect that it’s a case of foul play. One theory has it that they are remains of those who were swept away in the Asian Tsunami of 2004. But not all the shoes discovered were from 2004 or earlier, and all the feet identified so far belonged to local people. Still, some of the shoes found were only sold in Asia—so it appears the feet are originating from more than one location.

We imagine that everyone who was in the Outer Banks of North Carolina on November 30, 2006, had the same catch of the day: Doritos. Due once again to an overturned cargo container, thousands of packages of chips littered more than a half mile of otherwise pristine beach.

This resulted in a chip free-for-all, where both humans and seagulls scavenged to get their fill of cheesy goodness. The birds gorged on the open bags, while people scrambled to gather the intact packs which, thanks to their airtight seal, were still fresh.

Some residents were a little peeved that folks seemed more concerned with getting free junk food than with cleaning up the federally-protected beach—but whether motivated by greed or public service, the chips were eventually cleared from the sand. Mission accomplished.

Montauk Monster

No list of weird things to wash ashore is complete without a mention of the Montauk Monster. This water-logged beast made its debut in 2008 on a beach in New York, and has remained the subject of controversy ever since.

Authorities could only view the creature via photographs, yet the pictures alone were enough for the East Hampton Natural Resources department and multiple zoologists to quickly peg the thing as a dead, bloated, and decomposing raccoon. While some have claimed that the Montauk Monster’s legs were too long to be those of a raccoon, zoologists have debunked that notion by explaining that raccoons are surprisingly leggy, and that their limb proportions actually match those of the “monster.” Also, what many have called a beak is actually a de-fleshed snout and exposed premaxillary bones. Furthermore, composite pictures of a raccoon body and the Montauk Monster show a perfect match.

Despite what the experts say, however, there are two major facts which continue to fuel speculation. For one, no one knows what happened to the carcass after it washed up, and only a few people have seen it in person. Apparently, someone carted it off to let it rot in their backyard—but no one’s saying who or where. Secondly, the federally owned Plum Island Animal Disease Center—which has its own fair share of conspiracy theories—is located in the vicinity of the beach where the strange animal was found. All of this makes great fodder for stories of a bizarre animal hybrid escaping Plum Island, and the government whisking away the carcass before it could be studied, bringing their dubious experiments to light.

Although that would make great fiction, the preponderance of scientific evidence suggests we’re all staring at an ordinary—albeit swollen and disgusting—raccoon.

Content and copy writer by day and list writer by night, S.Grant enjoys exploring the bizarre, unusual, and topics that hide in plain sight. Contact S.Grant at [email protected]

fact checked by Matt Hayes


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Creepy |

10 Unsettling Facts About Japan’s Creepiest Cult

by Morris M.
fact checked by Jamie Frater

On March 20, 1995, five men boarded the Tokyo subway carrying small packages of deadly sarin. As their trains approached the city center, each man calmly punctured his package with the tip of an umbrella and exited, leaving the sarin behind. The resulting cloud of nerve gas killed 12 people and injured as many as 5,500. The entire city was paralyzed. Hospitals overflowed. Subway stations resembled battlefields. It was the worst terror attack in Japanese history.

By summer, it was clear that Aum Shinrikyo was responsible. An apocalyptic cult built on a mixture of Buddhist and Christian teachings combined with yoga, the group had convinced its members that they needed to trigger an apocalypse as soon as possible. But the subway attack wasn’t just a random one-off. It was the culmination of years of creepy incidents involving Aum, each one scarier than the last.

Featured image credit: Tsu

10 The Brutal Sakamoto Murders

Dead Body
In 1989, Tsutsumi Sakamoto had every reason to be cheerful. His wife had just given birth to a baby boy, his legal career was taking off, and the young lawyer was making a name for himself taking on the new Aum cult in Tokyo. Then, in November, Tsutsumi and his family vanished. There was no note, no explanation, and no evidence. Japan’s police groped blindly in the dark, unsure if the Sakamotos had simply cut and run or if something darker was at work.

Fast-forward to 1996. As part of the marathon series of trials following the subway gas attack, Aum member Tomomasa Nakagawa was cross-examined about the cult’s past crimes. The disappearance of the Sakamoto family came up. Nakagawa’s response was chilling. Fed up with the hotshot lawyer interfering in their business, Aum had decided to have Tsutsumi brutally murdered.

The original plan had been to kill him on his way home from work. Unfortunately, the date that the Aum leadership chose just happened to coincide with a public holiday. Rather than wait 24 hours, the six selected assassins decided to go to the Sakomoto home and finish the job.

At 3:00 AM, they entered the house. Tsutsumi and his wife were asleep in bed. One member strangled Tsutsumi, while another kicked his wife half to death before strangling her, too. Her last words were, “Please save the child, at least.” Instead, the sect members located the baby and suffocated him with his bedding. They then drove the three bodies out into Japan’s remote countryside and buried them in metal drums. Although Aum was suspected of being involved, the authorities failed to investigate properly. It wasn’t the only time that the police let Aum get away with their crimes.

9 Kidnapping And Extortion

For a newly emerged cult, Aum was surprisingly sophisticated about funding itself. Members would have to pay to reach enlightenment, and special seminars costing tens of thousands of dollars were regularly held. At one point, the group even began operating its own restaurant chain and selling computers. However, by far, the most common means of funding came from extortion.

At its most harmless, this involved blackmail on an industrial scale. Towns and cities across Japan would be contacted and told that Aum planned to open a compound there. They were then given the option to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep the cult away. Most of them coughed up. More harmfully, the group entered into business with the Yakuza to manufacture and help sell illegal drugs.

Worst of all were the kidnappings. Cult members would be quizzed over their families’ earnings. If it turned out that they were related to someone wealthy, they would frequently be ordered to kidnap that relative. One innkeeper was taken hostage by his own daughters, tortured, and forced to hand over 60 million yen. The tactic was scarily effective. By 1995, the cult was estimated to have a net worth of around $1.5 billion.

8 They Built Their Own WMD Testing Ground

Australian Outback
When Australian Federal Police raided the Banjawarn ranch in 1995, it was like they’d stepped into a nightmare. Remote parts of the property were littered with the carcasses of sheep that had died in agony. Tests revealed that they’d been poisoned with sarin. In the abandoned house, policemen stumbled across a vast chemical weapons lab, primed to produce nerve gas. Horrifically, it began to dawn on them that they’d uncovered a testing ground for weapons of mass destruction.

Purchased by Aum in early 1993, Banjawarn had long been associated with suspicious activity. On May 28 of that year, local seismographs shot off the scale. A loud boom echoed out across the desert, followed by a rumble that was felt dozens of miles away. Locals reported seeing a fireball leap up into the sky. Following the 1995 raid, police discovered an active uranium mine on the ranch, leading some to conclude the explosion had been Aum testing its own crude nuclear weapon.

While there is no concrete evidence that Aum ever came close to having a nuclear device, there’s no doubt that Banjawarn saw some horrific experiments. The group was later found to have been creating anthrax and nerve agents like Soman at the ranch, some of which had been tested on the local wildlife.

7 They Carried Out Multiple Germ Attacks

Hazmat People
As early as 1990, Aum’s leadership was planning mass-casualty terror attacks. In April of that year, they modified a van to emit a fine spray as it drove and then loaded up with samples of botulinum toxin. The group then drove it through central Tokyo, spraying the Japanese parliament with one of the deadliest bacteria known to man.

Thanks to the cult’s poor understanding of germ warfare, the attack released a harmless version of the bacteria. But it inspired them to greater, scarier heights. Two years later, the group managed to acquire some anthrax. A stupendously deadly strain of bacteria, anthrax can kill you in unimaginably gruesome ways. If you happen to get infected by inhaling it, you’ll almost certainly die even with treatment. Aum took their anthrax samples, loaded them into giant aerosols, and tried to spray the whole lot over Tokyo.

A successful anthrax attack could have killed thousands. Thankfully, Aum had accidentally acquired a vaccination strain that was harmless to humans. Less happily, the repeated failure of their germ attacks is what inspired them to move on to sarin. By 1994, they’d successfully tested their new gas in the town of Matsumoto, killing eight people and wounding nearly 500.

6 Gruesome Assassinations

In 1994, Tadahiro Hamaguchi became one of history’s most gruesome firsts. On a late-night walk through Osaka, he became possibly the first person in history to be killed by VX.

A nerve agent developed by the British after World War II, VX is so deadly that it makes sarin look like laughing gas. A single drop absorbed through the skin can kill you so fast that there would be no time to inject an antidote. For a brief period in the mid-1990s, Aum used it to murder their enemies.

From 1994–95, more than 10 VX assassinations were carried out by the cult, usually by injection. The one man lucky enough to survive a spray attack was hospitalized for 45 days and left in a coma. As bad as that was, it was just the start of Aum’s long list of terrifying assassinations.

Others were kidnapped and hanged on Aum property, their bodies incinerated in purpose-built microwaves. One such victim was Kiyoshi Kariya, a 68-year-old man whose brother was trying to quit the group. Kariya was kidnapped, drugged, held hostage, murdered, and then finally burned in one of Aum’s incinerators. His ashes were scattered in a lake, so no trace of him would ever be found.

When Aum’s compounds were finally raided after the Tokyo subway attack, police discovered that at least eight other people had met the same hideous fate. They also discovered an assassination list. Had the cult not blown their cover with the 1995 sarin attack, the number of people incinerated in Aum’s ovens would have likely been much, much higher.

5 They Tortured Their Own Followers

One of Aum’s central tenets was that followers had to gain enlightenment through suffering. Although that sounds like the sort of meaningless platitude that any religious sect might come out with, Aum took it very seriously. When no suffering was forthcoming, they tortured their own followers to create it.

Most famously, this involved their “thermotherapy” ritual. Followers would be dipped in scalding hot water to purify themselves, a practice that led to burns and at least one death. When physical pain wasn’t enough, the cult turned to the mental realm. Multiple initiation ceremonies involved the forced ingestion of narcotics and hallucinogens, followed by public emotional humiliation. Followers were frequently fed LSD, often without their even knowing they had taken the drug.

For those who tried to escape the cult, things were even worse. Aum operated its own prisons and torture chambers, hidden inside giant shipping containers. Suspected dissidents could face all manner of brutal interrogation methods, if they weren’t simply killed outright. Yet, none of this seemed to even dent their popularity . . .

4 Mass Membership And Power

Attack Helicopter
For a doomsday cult that was suspected of murder and tortured its own followers, Aum sure didn’t have any problems attracting new converts. At its height in 1995, the sect had an estimated 50,000 members, most living in Russia. This significant following translated into something tangible—power.

Aum’s foothold in Russia was nothing if not terrifying. In less than half a decade, the group had managed to set up its own university in Moscow and had begun targeting disaffected students for recruitment. They even tried to set up their own company in the hopes of brainwashing the employees that would flock to them during the next economic downturn. By the mid-1990s, they were even controlling radio transmissions out of Vladivostok, broadcasting nightly television programs on Russia’s popular 2X2 channel and having their Japanese members trained for violence by Russian special forces.

All of this influence paid off. The group began actively courting Russian nuclear scientists and even purchased a military attack helicopter. Money rolled in, and Aum grew increasingly bold.

3 A Deadly Arsenal

Gas Mask
In the aftermath of the Tokyo subway attack, Japanese police raided Aum compounds across the country, hunting for more sarin. What they found was chilling. Aum had established vast chemical factories capable of producing literally tons of sarin. A highly effective nerve agent, sarin can cause seizures after exposure to a single drop. Aum was stockpiling enough to power a country-wide war.

Sarin wasn’t the only weapon that Aum’s chemical warfare department was developing. Up to 80 members were found to be developing mustard gas, sodium cyanide, phosgene gas, tabun, and VX to use against civilian populations. At the same time, a dedicated biological warfare lab was churning out a nonstop assembly line of horrors. Anthrax, Ebola, and the deadly Q-Fever were all being developed as weapons, all potentially capable of wiping out thousands of people.

By this time, the full extent of Aum’s arsenal was becoming clear. The group had also taken to manufacturing AK-47s, building enough to equip their own paramilitary outfit. They’d acquired a drone from somewhere and modified it to spray nerve agents on those below. All in all, Aum were found to be better equipped for war than many armies. That they didn’t deploy their capabilities more intelligently is a matter of pure fortune.

2 The Second Gas Attack

Shinjuku Station

Photo credit: Kelly Kaneshiro

In a disturbing alternate universe, the March 20 gas attack on the Tokyo subway is today known as simply a warm-up. Less than two months later, on May 5, 1995, two men from Aum left a mysterious bag in the restroom at Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station. Inside was a timed weapon, set to release a deadly cloud of cyanide gas directly under a main ventilation shaft. Had it gone as planned, it’s estimated that this second gas attack could have killed as many as 10,000 people.

That it failed is down to nothing more than dumb luck. A cleaning woman found the bag and moved it out of sight behind a door. By sheer fluke, the way she carried it resulted in the bomb’s trigger mechanism getting knocked out of place. When the timer reached zero, instead of exploding, the bag burst into flames. Although this could still have caused the cyanide to be released, it caught the attention of passersby, who managed to put out the fire before catastrophe occurred.

Although two Aum members were later convicted of planting the cyanide bomb, the cult wasn’t done yet. Even with its leaders in prison, letter bombs were sent out to the governor of Tokyo, wounding one official. More cyanide bombs were planted on the subway, although these attacks were foiled once again.

Luckily, it couldn’t last. By fall 1995, Aum was spent as an organization. Police raids shut down its chemical and biological weapons laboratories and confiscated its small arms. Finally, after over 30 deaths and close to 6,000 injuries, Aum appeared to be over. But then, the impossible happened . . .

1 They’re Still Active

In the West, we often wonder why our young run away to join ISIS, an organization known for its brutality. In Japan, they think the same about Aum Shinrikyo.

Now rebranded as Aleph, the cult has fallen from its 1990s heights but is still going strong. In November 2011, Japanese police estimated its membership at around 1,300, with 200 new recruits joining every year. Adherents claim that Aleph has changed its ways; others aren’t so sure.

Even now, over 20 years after the Tokyo gas attack, there are still reports of Aleph brainwashing its members. Followers have been convicted of forcing relatives to join, and many wonder if things ever really changed. In 1999, The Guardian uncovered evidence of continuing “thermotherapy” rituals, in spite of their involvement in a member’s death. In 2000, cultists were caught trying to gather confidential information on nuclear plants, and in 2001, several members were arrested in a plot to bomb Russia.

Perhaps most pertinently, many survivors of the 1995 sarin attack still consider Aleph to be a threat to Japan. Many are worried that mainstream society has already forgotten about the attack and that something similar could happen again. Japan’s security forces agree. As of July 2015, the Aleph cult is still under close surveillance.

fact checked by Jamie Frater
Morris M.

Morris M. is Listverse's official news human, trawling the depths of the media so you don't have to. He avoids Facebook and Twitter like the plague.


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Quiz: Tennis Court Specs

Tennis Court Trivia

You spend a lot of time playing tennis, but how well do you know the court? Take our Tennis Court Specs Quiz and find out!

7 thoughts on “Quiz: Tennis Court Specs

Add yours

  1. Tough stuff! Now I know a lot more about the tennis court than I ever knew before. Cool. Thanks for the fun quiz!

  2. Well THAT was embarrassing! Turns out I know next to nothing about the court I play on each week. Loved learning, though!

    1. I probably made it too hard. I wouldn’t have known most if it either. Next quiz will be more fun! This was kind of a practice run. Glad to see it works. 😊

  3. It was fun, even though I only got three right, and I don’t even know which three! (Is there anyway to see the correct answers?)

    1. Yes, on the final page where it gives you the results. If you scroll up, there’s a list of all the questions with the right answers indicated.

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“The music I desire must be supple enough to adapt itself to the lyrical effusions of the soul and the fantasy of dreams.”Claude Debussy

Deemed as “one of the major miracles of musical history”, Debussy’s iconic work, Prélude a L’après-midi d’un faune, was incredibly well-received following its first performance and since then has cemented itself into one of the most adored works of the orchestral repertoire.

The piece was born while Debussy was living in a vibrant bohemian Paris in the 1880s. A scintillating hub of cafes and nightclubs where artists, musicians and poets gathered and shared their latest ideas. Here, Debussy came across artists such as Degas and Monet and poets such as Paul Verlaine and Stéphane Mallarmé.

Mallarmé hosted regular poetry readings at his house, and it was perhaps here that Debussy encountered his poem about a faun’s erotic fantasies on a hot afternoon. Mallarmé, along with the symbolists, desired to create poetry that freed itself from the rigorous French literary traditions of the time, allowing the artist to deeper explore the intangible truths of the subconscious.

The nine-minute piece took Debussy almost two years to write. The result is a meticulously formed, free illustration of Mallarmé’s sensuous poem. The elusiveness of the exotic harmonies and extraordinary orchestration create a sonorous surface in constant flux.

In ways never before, Debussy invites us to enjoy the beauty of the moment, and the colours of the sounds. He said that, “music is not the expression of feeling but the feeling itself.” Experience this for yourself in all its sensuous seduction… perhaps on a hot afternoon as the season turns!

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