Locke and Landmark

Locke and Landmark

By Locke and Landmark, I am speaking about John Locke from the TV show LOST and Landmark Education. I am currently watching LOST of dvd. I'm halfway through season one. I was involved in Landmark for two years, mostly "assisting."

I'm sure some of you LOST fans know about Landmark Education. AND, if you do in fact know what I'm talking about, I bet you have already experienced the similarities that I have discovered.

John Locke was a person who worked a boring, dead end office job. Along with that, he was disabled and trapped in a wheelchair. Locke was a quiet, dorky type who found women through 1-800 numbers. However, he had this dream to outback in Australia and bought tickets to go there. Upon arrival, however, his travel ageant/insurance carrier would not let him board the bus for the outback due to his condition.

He was forced to fly back to the states. This is where "LOST" comes in. The plane crashed on a mysterious island. Many people survived, including Locke. When he "came to" after the whole ordeal, he realized he could walk. He did not need his wheelchair anymore. AND that is where Locke and Landmark come into play. John Locke lives his "possibility."

He was the first member on the island to see the "thing" that has people confront their biggest fears, leaving them open for a breakthrough. John Locke became this confident, calm, intelligent, caring man through what he thought was guidance from the island. When Hurley took the census of the members on the island, he asked why Locke was in Australia. Locke said that he was looking for something. When Hurley asked if he found it, Locke replied with, "It found me." Aghhh, how inspiring.

So Locke reached his destiny and found his peace early on. That enabled him to help others attain their breakthroughs. Upon time for Shannon's breakthrough, he simply told her, "Everyone gets new life on this island..." He told her that it was up to her to decide when she was ready to live her new life.

Remember when he tied Boone up and left him in the jungle to "find the motivation to reach for the knife and cut himself loose"? Boone had that long awaited breakthrough about Shannon. Locke also helped Jack have his breakthrough about letting go of his father. He also helped Michael have his breakthrough about seeing Walt more as an adult than a child.

So last night I finished watching the episode about John Locke giving up a kidney for his "dad". Who was the mean guy anyway? I felt so bad for Locke, but look at him now. What an inspiration.

I may be speaking too early. I'm curious to see how season one ends. And what will the end of season two bring for John Locke?

the pharmaceutical industry sucks

"The natural purpose and driving force of the pharmaceutical industry is to increase sales of pharmaceutical drugs for ongoing diseases and to find new diseases to market existing drugs.

By this very nature, the pharmaceutical industry has no interest in curing diseases. The eradication of any disease inevitably destroys a multi-billion dollar market of prescription drugs as a source of revenues. Therefore, pharmaceutical drugs are primarily developed to relieve symptoms, but not to cure.

If eradication therapies for diseases are discovered and developed, the pharmaceutical industry has an inherent interest to suppress, discredit and obstruct these medical breakthroughs in order to make sure that diseases continue as the very basis for a lucrative prescription drug market.

The economic interest of the pharmaceutical industry itself is the main reason why no medical breakthrough has been made for the control of the most common diseases such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, heart failure, diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis, and why these diseases continue like epidemics on a worldwide scale."

source: http://www.curezone.com/art/read.asp?ID=17&db=1&C0=7


So it's all about money again? Is anyone getting sick of this? What happened to general concern for human beings? Did that ever exist? Seems like throughout history we always hear stories about the evil men who thrive on power and worldly possessions. We hear about them hurting people to get richer and more powerful.

Was there ever a time of peace and general care for human beings?

I am getting so upset by everything I hear about carcinogens in my medicines, foods and shampoos. I'm getting irate by the amount of prescription drugs that doctors are giving people without first educating them on proper health. I heard the other day that 90% of health problems are believed to be associated improper care of our colon, and 70% of cancers occur due to the food we ingest. Does this bother anyone?

I find that people don't like to talk about this stuff. I either hear, "Yeah, yeah I know it, but I can't afford whole foods and whole products" or "Yeah, yeah, everything causes cancer. We are all going ot die someday." What is up with that?

I am finding more and more that doctors are generally ignorant, stupid or in it for the money. I mean, what is my doctor getting by prescribing me medicine after medicine and not suggesting ways I can change my diet? I am wasting a bunch of money and I am making the same mistakes over and over because no one is teaching me to "save" myself.

Well, I don't rely on doctors anymore. I have been researching on my own and finding very startling information in the realm of medicine, food and beauty products. It's amazing to me that we do not hear about these things on the nightly news or on some new cable channel devoted to one topic. Instead there is a stigma around people who lead a lifestyle of organic foods and natural herbs........

...thought to be continued.

tip of the hat to stephen colbert

I don't know if you have been watching The Colbert Report or not, but it is freaking hilarious. I feel like Stephen's #1 fan. I cannot get enough of him or of his show. I have to admit I've been neglecting Jon Stewart to watch Stephen Colbert. Woah! Too bad I don't live in New York or Stephen would have another stalker. Just joking.

Anyway. I was just on colbertnation.com. I read his bio. It mentioned nothing of the show he did with Amy Sedaris, "Strangers With Candy". That show was my first introduction to Stephen Colbert. I did not like him so much, as he played a homosexual teacher named Chuck Noblet. It was not the homosexual part that I had a problem with.....I actually cannot place the problem to this day.

In going with the gay theme, in general Stephen comes off homosexual in a lot of his mannerisms. Yet, supposedly he is happily married with three children. I read that on IMDB. Hmmm, you know, I'm starting to sound like a stalker from a distance.

On a different note, Stephen's quick wit and hyper fun attitude are delightful. He is always "on top" during the reports and during the interviews. The only time I've seen him slip a little is when Dermot Mulroney was on the show promoting The Family Stone. I think Dermot "got him" and it was hilarious. Go Dermot!

Stephen is also very fond of himself. An episode last week ended with him telling everyone to dream about him riding a white stallion. After the Golden Globes he made a crack about how watching movies are a waste of time....and sometimes the trailers are a waste of a precious three minutes that he could spend looking in the mirror.

As far as The Colbert Report goes, you either get it or you don't. The humor spans the loop of generalized pop culture and society trends to nothingness. When Stephen cracks jokes (constantly) it's either about bow tie pasta or Jesus. However, he does it in a way that has not been done before.

Maybe I am Stephen's #1 fan because I can relate. I really "get him" cause I am so similar, just way more introverted. I understand the nothingness and complete vanity. I'm really proud of Stephen for coming so far. I love the fact that he reports what other shows are saying about him and his show. For instance, he recently showed a clip of Opera acknowledging his existence by saying, "yeah" when someone else mentioned his name. He was so excited about it too. Good for Stephen.

So until I visit NYC again or Stephen comes to LA, I will have to stalk from a distance. If anyone knows Stephen or has any contact with him, I am extremely jealous of you.

people concentrating look constipated

I see this a lot on Fox News and CNN and the such. It happens mostly when people are getting interviewed. I notice that there are varying degrees of facial expressions that resemble the face of a person trying to take a crap. Take notice. This may happen at work, at home, in the mirror. When people think really hard they look constipated.

I'm guilty of this a lot. My excuse is fear of people. When I walk through the office I try to look busy or look like I'm pondering something important. The upside to this is the slim chance that I actually look intelligent. The downside is that people may think I'm on my way to the bathroom.

The double downside is that I'm sure my first wrinkle will be the one above my eyes due to the excessive crinkling when pondering such stupidness. I'm trying to stop. Really, I am. My boyfriend helps when he can. He'll run his fingers over the area ever so gently. It works for like thirty seconds.

Sometimes, when I'm out in public, I will open my eyes wide. I'm really trying to look bright, fun and on top of it. However, it comes out looking more like I have a mental problem or I've just had botox.

Another method I try is smiling. And you know what? I think this may actually work. I will have to observe it more closely in the mirror, but the only crinkles with smiling are around my mouth. Now that may be a little better. Everybody likes a smiler. (After having just typed "smiler", I see that spell check did not mark it wrong. So I guess smiler is a word. Who knew?)

So next time you are watching Fox News take note of all the hard thinkers....and laugh a little.

why don't my clothes fit?

why don't my clothes fit?

Just recently I have noticed that my clothes do not fit properly. I was trying to figure out when the change happened when my boyfriend reminded me that it's a new trend.

Ladies, have you noticed that your pants are getting lower and your shirts are getting higher? I find it so hard to hide my stomach nowadays.

See the thing is that the clothes fit in the store. Well, as far as I can tell they fit. Then when I get them home and wash them, even hand wash them, they shrink a little. AND, I barely ever dry anything because I don't want it to shrink.

So what does this say about where I buy clothes? Yes, I admit, I have to shop at cheap boutiques. I cannot afford the $70 t-shirt. Yes, that may be part of the problem.

What about this problem? I notice this a few years ago. I used to be a size 6 pant and a small at Old Navy and The Gap. Well, now I think I'm a 4 pant and extra small. I don't think I've lost that much weight. I think someone is playing games with the clothing sizes.

Yeah, another thing. All you people shopping at The Limited, Express, Victoria Secret. Do you notice a little belly pouch in your pants and underwear? What is up with that? I don't have a belly pooch so that loose fabric bunches up and becomes annoying.

Okay, one other little gripe: JEANS.
I have the hardest time finding jeans. The problems are due to what I described above with belly pouches and high waists or with length or in Los Angeles...just trying to find my size. My biggest problem in the category however, is length. Cuffing jean bottoms are not in anymore, yet jeans are coming in longer lengths than ever before. WE ARE NOT ALL MODELS. But you know, I realize that they want us all to wear heals and that is why the pant lengths are longer. But what if I'm not a heals wearing kind of gal?

But who can make a difference. It's not like I'm going to go sew my own pair of jeans. I'll keep trying to find what works for me.

Good luck to you all.

my medicine is made with horse urine

I don't know about you, but I'm really starting to NOT trust doctors. I think I spent about $300-$400 on medical bills and prescriptions in the 2005. About half of that was wasted on incompetent doctors and medicines that didn't work.

My most current fiasco is with this topical cream I am using to treat dry skin. I used it for three days before I realized that it was making my condition worse. I already knew that it may not help due to the fact that it contains mineral oil. I've heard many times that mineral oil is a cheap substitute for real lubrication. However, mineral oil actually dries you out. Go figure.

Well, the mineral oil combined with 'causes cancer' was not settling well. But, hey, everything causes cancer nowadays so I put that aside also.

The big kicker was when I did my homework and found that the cream is made with the urine of mares. I guess what these people are doing is putting pregnant horses in confined areas and attaching a bag to their leg to collect urine. That's not the worst part. They are making the conditions horrible for the horses so that they produce thick urine to put in the cream.

UGH, gag reflexes kick in every time. Ugh.

So, I've decided not to go to this doctor again. I was already having problems with her.

I'm going to write her a letter and ask her not to prescribe that to anyone ever again. There are plant based substitutes.

AND, I learned never to fill a prescription without doing my homework first.

politics is a soap opera

For the past couple of years now, every time I've watched news in the political realm, I find my self saying, "Wow, it's just like a real life soap opera." I have never heard this comparison before, but I'm sure that I am not the first. It's too coincidental: the drama, the deceit, the love affairs, the good family versus the bad family, the vendettas....

I've been working on the concept "politics is a soap opera" as specifically related to key players in the Bush Administration and the characters of Days of Our Lives.

I won't get into specifics as I am currently working on an article. But imagine Bush Senior as Stefano Dimera and George W as Tony Dimera. (For all you "Days" fans, I realize that Stefano and Tony are suppose to be dead, but they never really die, do they?)

Stefano's obsession with Marlena Evans can be compared to the Bush obsession with power.

George W. and Tony are similar in the fact that they are carrying out the goals of their families.

Stefano and Tony, like the Bushes, walk among the common/good people daily. They are cordial and chummy to everyone, yet have their dark side in the midst.

The fact that Stefano/Tony detains prisoners in foreign lands and taunt them reminds me of all the people taken against their will over things related to 911 and other confidential agreements.

Any cohorts of Stefano/Tony can be compared to Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell. Just as Victor Kiriakis ("Days") may be compared to Al Gore or other people trying to turn to the good side.

I just found this listing about Stefano. Does it sound familiar?:
Crimes Committed:
Kidnapping.
Brainwashing.
Drug dealing.
Murder.
Blackmailing.
Conspiracy.
Art theft and forgery.
Numerous others.


Switching gears a little:
I can relate the fact that I can miss "Days" for two or three months and watch one episode to be caught up to:
watching FOX NEWS for fifteen minutes in the morning and getting all the news that they will air that day.

This also reminds me of the fact that Bin Laden tapes keeps popping up. To me, someone not extremely involved in keeping up on news and politics, I hear about these tapes and remember the three others in the last three years.

It's all redundant to me.

How many times do we have to hear about 911 and why Bush went to war? How many people in the administration use the exact same phrases to talk about the "War on Terror" and such...This is classic soap opera 101: multiple people repeating the same phrases over and over like they are robots or something.

So, there are my tid-bits on how politics relate to soap operas. I am not an expert on either subject. I'm sure many of you can fill in the gaps.