A Pound of Thoughts

If a problem has no solution, it may not be a problem, but a fact - not to be solved, but to be coped with over time.

Shimon Peres
Israeli (Polish-born) politician (1923 - )

Here’s today’s word of the day…I’m always intrigued by the new words a person can learn. It’s amazing what can be adding to our vocabulary in a trice.

trice \TRYS\, noun:

A very short time; an instant; a moment; — used chiefly in the phrase “in a trice.”

I found this on Pink is Neat’s website when I was just browsing around…so I decided to try it out and put it on here…Interesting…very interesting.

You Are a Ring Finger

You are romantic, expressive, and hopeful. You see the best in everything. You are very artistic, and you see the world as your canvas. You are also drawn to the written word. Inventive and unique, you are often away in your own inner world. You get along well with: The Pinky Stay away from: The Index Finger

I don’t like the fact they use a woman’s finger, though….Why can’t they use a man’s finger?

Virginia Tech has set up a way of donating, called the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.

Please get the word out.

Also, Friday has been designated "Hokie Hope", an alumni declaration of a national "Orange and Maroon Effect" day, according to the Virginia Tech website.

I promised an update to this article as soon as I had any more information.  Well, according to the Sun Herald, two more arrests have been made in connection to the 2 April murder of Matthew Rogers.

The George County Sheriff’s Department has charged two more Lucedale men with murder in the April 2 shooting of Matthew Rogers.

Daniel Ray Hancock, 28, and Kevin D. Davis, 19, made first appearances before Justice Court Judge M.L. Goff on Tuesday. Bond was set at $200,000 for each. Both are being held in the George County Regional Correctional Facility.

The George County Sheriff’s Department responded to a 911 call and found Rogers shot to death at a residence on Old Mobile Highway near the Rocky Creek community.

The authorities are keeping pretty tight-lipped on this case, as they should.  Apparently, they have been able to gather evidence that led to the additional two arrests.  Remember, I wrote in my article on April 5 that Jeremy Pitts, 27, had been arrested the day following the shooting.

The Sheriff’s Department declined to comment on a possible motive for the crime, the number of times the victim was shot, the type and caliber of weapon used or the number of weapons used in the shooting.

The investigation is continuing, according to a Sheriff’s Department press release.

I just have to give kudos to the George County Sheriff’s Department on not releasing too many details.  The only thing is, I think the bond set on these men was too low.  It should have been at least $1,000,000.   I will keep you updated as the case against these three men progresses.

If you observe a really happy man, you will find…that he is happy in the course of living life twenty-four crowded hours each day.

–W. Beran Wolfe (1900-1935), Australian physchiatrist

I am in the process of developing a new website, where I can put all of the stuff that interests me, as well as my own writings.

The address is http://poundofthoughts.com. I’m also in the process of re-mapping my blog to http://blog.poundofthoughts.com. Of course, you’ll still be able to get to it from http://poundofthoughts.typepad.com.

Just thought I’d give everyone a heads-up.

-rel

As you probably know by now, the United States Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that partial birth abortions are illegal.

La Shawn Barber has an excellent post on it.

I, for one, am appalled and have been appalled at this practice ever since I first heard about it.  I’m not going to say much about it, though, because I can’t add any more to what Ms. Barber has already said.  I will say this, though…Thanks, Ms. Barber for speaking out on this issue and the moral implications of it.

I have noticed that a plethora of topics have arisen to the surface since the Virginia Tech tragedy on Monday. Among these topics are two fundamental, but major, topics - grief and gun violence and control. I will try to address both of these in my own words.

First, let’s take the most visible topic - gun control. Both sides of the political coin are weighing in on this. The left is saying that we need more gun control legislation, and the right is saying we need more conceal carry laws. Usually, I would take the right side of the coin. But on this issue - I’m going to take no sides.

Guns do not kill people; people => kill => people. Yes, you read that right. I know it sounds like a very basic premise, but guns in themselves are not inherently evil or good. It’s how they are used by the people who own (or possess) them. People are the problem. So how do we keep people from killing each other? Honestly, I don’t have an idea. People have been killing each other since the beginning of time. I think that if everyone had the same respect for human life, and the same fear about what would happen to them once they left this world, crimes like this would be few and far between. It’s just that society has been becoming more and more violent as the years have progressed. But not only this, but also society has been accepting the premise that nothing you do is your own fault - it is someone else’s fault. Case in point: Cho Seung-Hui’s note stated, "You caused me to do this." To whom he was referring is not my point. It’s the fact that he deferred the blame. Who taught him to do this? Society, and possibly his psychiatrist, did.  It is believed that he was recently put on medication for depression. This would make sense, since most anti-depressants, or drugs that increase the production of serotonin, increase the risk of suicidal tendencies.

"Depression and other psychiatric illnesses are associated with an increased risk of suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and suicide. You should be aware that this medicine may not start to make you feel better for at least two to four weeks. However, it is important that you keep taking it in order for it to work properly and for you to feel better. If you feel your depression or anxiety has got worse, or if you have any distressing thoughts, or feelings about suicide or harming yourself in these first few weeks, or indeed at any point during treatment or after stopping treatment, then it is very important to talk to your doctor." - netdoctor.co.uk

Katherine Coble posted a topic which I found very intriguing today on grief. I invite you to go read her post and weight in on what you think…I already have. But my feelings, in a nutshell, are as follows:  Public grief and grief for people you do not know is fine, just as long as you are not trying to profit from it for yourself or anybody else. If you are out to disparage someone, then it is totally unacceptable.

My comments on her blog were as follows:

     "Kat, All very good points, and I’m in total agreement with you. Grief, especially for people whom we have never met, does not need to public. Sure, there is a time and place for public grief (such as funerals, vigils, etc.). But then for someone to set up a memorial for people they do not know - to me that does border on tasteless. Then again, there are people out there who are so giving, so caring, that they feel it is their duty to memorialize those who have lost their lives.

     Every human being that is not numb from the heart up will feel a definite amount of sorrow and pain for those who have lost a loved one, simply because we have all been there. This is what I call sympathetic grief. We all experience it when we go to funerals of a friend or even a total stranger. This is what most of us are feeling right now with the Virginia Tech shootings.

     Then we feel the tremendous pain of the loss of a loved one with whom we have a direct tie. I call this empathetic grief. I have nothing against anyone who publicly displays their grief…Just call it human nature, but I feel a little more apprehension toward those who show absolutely no signs of pain at the passing of a loved one (although people grieve in various ways). But I try not to judge anyone who doesn’t publicly show their grief, simply because it’s not the Christian thing to do.

     But then, just occasionally, you have the people out there who will make such a public display of grief for even a total stranger, that it is almost borders on mockery. This is what I call pseudogrief. I believe there are those that are so hungry for attention that they will resort to just about any means necessary to make sure people notice their "grieving" process.

     But this is not to say that every public display of grief is pseudogrief. There are people out there, especially in cultures other than our own, where public grieving is accepted - even expected. This form of grief tends to break my heart when I see it; I just want to rush over to the people and comfort them as much as I can…I just can’t stand to see someone in that much pain.

     I must say, Kat, you have a way of making me think. Thanks for that!"

Again, I invite you to read Katherine’s post and all the responses. It makes for very interesting reading, and again I thank her for prodding my mind. She has a good way of making people think!

bedaub \bih-DOB\, transitive verb:
1. To smudge over; to besmear or soil with anything thick and dirty.
2. To overdecorate; to ornament showily or excessively.

“Word of the Day” courtesy of Dictionary.com.