Not because it was ugly but because it showed his terrible flaw so clear: reminding him it was not Moldweorp he hated so much as a perverse idea of what is clean; not the girl he sympathized with so much a her humanity. Fate, it occured to him then, chooses weird agents.-- Thomas Pynchon, Under the Rose

Que le bon dieu vous garde... = That the good God be with you...

Zeitgeist

A thing that is infinite and eternal hath no qualities, since it hath all qualities.

-- C.G. Jung, Seven Sermons of the Dead

President Kennedy's Innagural Address

Oh tempora oh mores!

2:256 The Cow - There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.
--Quran--

Obama to Philadelphia Eagles: Thanks for hiring Michael Vick
President Obama praised the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles for giving Michael Vick a second chance, a media report says. For Michael Vick, the comments add to a charmed season.
--christiansciencemoniter--
By Mark Sappenfield, Staff writer / December 27, 2010

What has been a fairy tale year for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick has now apparently received a presidential seal of approval.

In a National Football League season that has repeatedly intrigued with the unexpected, perhaps nothing has been so astonishing as Vick’s rehabilitation both as a person and a football player.

He is on the short list of most valuable player candidates, and he has been equally lauded for what is by all reports earnest contrition for his part in running an illegal dog-fighting ring.

Are you smarter than an NFL quarterback? Take the quiz.

Now, Vick has received indirect praise from President Obama. In his column on Sports Illustrated’s website Monday, Peter King reports that Mr. Obama called Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie to thank the team for giving Vick a chance.

Obama was "passionate about it," Mr. Lurie told Mr. King, adding that the president said "it's never a level playing field for prisoners when they get out of jail. And he was happy that we did something on such a national stage that showed our faith in giving someone a second chance after such a major downfall.''

Vick served 18 months in federal prison, and there was only tepid interest among NFL teams when he was released before last season. When the Eagles signed him in 2009, it was to backup to starting quarterback Donovan McNabb, who vowed to mentor Vick.

Even this year, when McNabb left for Washington, promising youngster Kevin Kolb was named the Eagles' starting quarterback, but Vick did not complain. To the contrary, he and Kolb reportedly struck up a cordial friendship, and all Vick's comments about the situation were unequivocal in their support for Kolb.

It was not until Kolb was injured early in the season that Vick got his chance, and his performances have turned the Eagles from a team scrapping to make the playoffs into a legitimate threat to reach the Super Bowl.

Vick credits his ordeal with making him a better player. Arguably the best running quarterback in the history of the NFL, Vick has now added patience and better passing to his repertoire, making him a complete pro quarterback for the first time in his career.

Obama’s comments come at a time when Vick is stressing the sincerity of his reformation. He recently said he would like to own a dog. He is currently prohibited form owning a dog, given that dogs in his fighting ring were maimed and killed.

Activation of Striatal Dopamine Receptors by Psychostimulants: Chemical Anatomy, Autonomic and Behavioural Effects
Vol. 52, No. 3, Aug, 2005 Danish Medical Bulletin

Author E-mail : pedro@pet.auh.dk
Author(s) : Pedro Rosa Neto
Author Address : Building 10, Aarhus University Hospital, Noerrebrogade 44, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
Keyword(s) : Psychostimulants;Striatal Dopamine;Behavioural Effects;Anatomy;Dopamine Receptors;Radioligands;D-amphetamine;Butyrophenones
Abstract

Pharmacological activation of dopamine neurotransmission can be
assessed by Positron Emission Tomography (PET) studies of changes in the binding
of radioligands for dopamine D 2 receptors. The present
thesis focuses on the use of this activation method to study receptor mapping,
receptor pharmacology and behavioural aspects related to perturbation of
dopamine neurotransmission in humans and animal models.


This thesis first describes the use of
PET to map the distributions of dopamine D 2/3 and D 1 receptors in pigs and in monkeys, frequently used models for
dopamine activation studies. As in humans, pigs and monkeys had a negative
rostro-caudal gradient in the t -maps calculated from
the statistical contrast between the normalized binding maps for D 1 and D 2/3 receptors. A positive
rostro-caudal gradient for D 2/3 binding was observed
only in monkeys. These results suggest a relative predominance of D 1 over D 2/3 receptors in the limbic
striatum in mammals. In monkeys, D 2/3 receptors were
more predominant in the motor striatum; the apparent lack of gradients in 11 C-raclopride binding in pig striatum might be attributed to
their less sophisticated associative and motor circuits as compared to primates.

The effects of the psychostimulant
3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA, "Ecstasy") on cerebral blood flow
(CBF) and dopamine receptor availability were tested. Unlike most previous
studies of d-amphetamine, MDMA evoked a progressive decline of butyrophenone
( 11 C-NMSP) binding. MDMA-evoked hyperthermia correlated
with increased CBF brain structures linked to central regulation of body
temperature. These results suggest that the co-release of dopamine and serotonin
by MDMA may influence the patterns of binding changes in living striatum.

ADHD is a highly prevalent pediatric
neuropsychiatric disorder which is presently treated with psychostimulants. The
effects of methylphenidate (0.3 mg/kg, p.o.) on the binding of 11 C-raclopride was measured by PET in
nine young ADHD patients. There was a negative correlation between the magnitude
of methylphenidate-evoked decline in 11 C-raclopride
binding and the severity of inattention and impulsivity, measured by a
continuous performance test. Thus, the dopamine activation paradigm was
successfully used as a tool to link behavioural disturbance with reduced
dopamine neurotransmission in patients with ADHD.

Together, these findings highlight PET
as a method for linking behavioural, autonomic and pharmacological aspects of
dopaminergic activation with segregated striatal circuits. (more at Psych Central...)

Republicans stymie 9/11 First Responder Benefits

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According to the Buddhist tradition, the spiritual path is
the process of cutting through our confusion, of uncovering the
awakened state of mind. When the awakened state of mind is crowded
in by ego and its attendant paranoia, it takes on the character of
an underlying instinct. So it is not a matter of building up the
awakened state of mind, but rather of burning out the confusions
which obstruct it. In the process of burning out these confusions,
we discover enlightenment. If the process were otherwise, the
awakened state of mind would be a product, dependent upon cause and
effect and therefore liable to dissolution. Anything which is
created must, sooner or later, die. If enlightenment were created
in such a way, there would always be the possibility of ego
reasserting itself, causing a return to the confused state.
Enlightenment is permanent because we have not produced it; we have
merely discovered it. In the Buddhist tradition the analogy of the
sun appearing from behind the clouds is often used to explain the
discovery of enlightenment. In the meditation practice we clear
away the confusion of ego in order to glimpse the awakened state.
The absence of ignorance, of being crowded in, of paranoia, opens up
a tremendous view of life. One discovers a different way of being.

Trungpa, Chogyam; Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism; Shambhala
Publications, Inc.; Boston, Massachusetts; 1973.

This is to be done by one skilled in aims
who wants to break through to the state of peace:
Be capable, upright, & straightforward,
easy to instruct, gentle, & not conceited,
content & easy to support,
with few duties, living lightly,
with peaceful faculties, masterful,
modest, & no greed for supporters.

Do not do the slightest thing
that the wise would later censure.

Think: Happy, at rest,
may all beings be happy at heart.
Whatever beings there may be,
weak or strong, without exception,
long, large,
middling, short,
subtle, blatant,
seen & unseen,
near & far,
born & seeking birth:
May all beings be happy at heart.

Let no one deceive another
or despise anyone anywhere,
or through anger or irritation
wish for another to suffer.

As a mother would risk her life
to protect her child, her only child,
even so should one cultivate a limitless heart
with regard to all beings.
With good will for the entire cosmos,
cultivate a limitless heart:
Above, below, & all around,
unobstructed, without enmity or hate.
Whether standing, walking,
sitting, or lying down,
as long as one is alert,
one should be resolved on this mindfulness.
This is called a sublime abiding
here & now.

Not taken with views,
but virtuous & consummate in vision,
having subdued desire for sensual pleasures,
one never again
will lie in the womb.

- Karaniya Metta Sutta: Good Will
Snp 1.8 PTS: Sn 143-152

All religious techniques techniques of yoga, meditation, Zen, Are basically to help you to be again in contact with the center; to move within; to forget the periphery; to leave the periphery for a time being, and to relax into your own being so deeply that the outer disappears completely and only the inner remains.

-Osho-

All human beings are limbs of each other,
having been created of one essence.

When time affects a limb with pain,
The other limbs cannot at rest remain.

If thou feel not other's misery,
A human being is no name for thee.

Sa'adi - c. 1210-1290

Hunter, if you are reading this, who is looking after the damned?

End Marijuana Prohibition

Maturity Mountain

viruscomix.com

Fear is a joke. Sanity restored!

The best of man is like water,
Which benefits all things, and does not contend with them,
Which flows in places that others disdain,
Where it is in harmony with the Way.

So the sage:
Lives within nature,
Thinks within the deep,
Gives within impartiality,
Speaks within trust,
Governs within order,
Crafts within ability,
Acts within opportunity.

He does not contend, and none contend against him.

-- TaoTeChing.org--