Come again? Pagan? What is that?

Paganism is a word that describes religions that are Earth-based or nature-based. Long before the current major monotheistic religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, were around, people worshipped the environment around them and personified nature into Gods and Goddesses. Pagan Gods are not simply replacements for Allah or the Judeo-Christian God, they encompass everything in nature, including the people themselves.

Pagans celebrate natural cycles such as the four solar quarters, the two equinoxes, and the two solstices. The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, was known as Yule. This was thought of as the rebirth of the Sun because afterward, the days would gradually get longer. The Sun is often a God in Pagan religions and the winter solstice was often his birthday. Sound familiar yet?

But wait, isn’t the winter solstice around December 21st? Christmas is on the 25th!

Well, I’ll get to that, but the fact is that no one knows exactly when Jesus Christ was born (or IF he was born, but that’s another topic). The Bible doesn’t state Jesus’ birthday so scholars can only guess. Even when they analyze scripture, they still don’t come up with December 25th. Some say Jesus was born in the Fall while others say he was born in the Spring. Up until the 4th century, some people celebrated Jesus’ birthday on January 6th.

Lending to the uncertainty of the exact date of the birthday of Jesus may have been early Christians keeping in line with the Jewish law of not commemorating birthdays. The celebration of birthdays was seen as a Pagan tradition.

December 25th was actually a popular day for Pagan Sun Gods to be “born.” Although the winter solstice is typically thought to be around December 21st, the first day that Pagans were able to observe the days getting longer was the 25th. Hence the “birth” of the Sun.

The Persian Sun God, Mithra, was “born” on December 25th, for example. Zoroastrianism (the Persian Pagan religion from which the story of Mithra derives) had many similarities to what we now attribute to Christianity. The story of Mithra evolved over time and eventually a cult dedicated to Mithra branched off from Zoroastrianism. Around 1st century AD, the cult of Mithra had spread throughout the Roman Empire and in 274 AD, the Roman emperor Valerian declared December 25th the birthday of Sol Invictus (aka Mithras), the “Unconquerable Sun.”

This declaration became attached to a Pagan Roman festival called Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the god of agriculture and harvest. Originally, Saturnalia was only celebrated on December 17th. The festival was very popular with the people as they put aside their work and partied extensively. In addition to the public celebrations, they held private family celebrations that were similar to the Christmas of today, with feasts, gifts, and the singing of hymns. It was a time to “be merry.” Saturnalia became so popular that the festival was eventually extended to December 24th, with the 25th being the birthday of the “Unconquerable Sun,” Mithras. To honor His birthday, gifts were exchanged on the 25th. Hmm…interesting.

Around the 4th century, as a strategic plan, Christians decided to start celebrating the birthday of Jesus. Remember, they didn’t know when Jesus was born and they hadn’t celebrated his birthday up until that point. Still, in order to entice Pagans to convert to Christianity, they needed to find a way for them to continue celebrating the holidays they enjoyed so much.

In their quest to convert as many people as possible, Christians decided to designate Jesus’ birthday, amongst other “Christian” holidays, to coincide with already existing Pagan holidays. This would make it easier for them to give their “sales pitch,” so to speak.

The Christians looked at Pagans as “the enemy within” and the Church of Rome was determined to get rid of them by any means necessary. In addition to “borrowing” Pagan holidays, they built up a negative image of Pagans and dramatically reduced the popularity of their religions. It was a shift from a polytheistic (many Gods) view to a monotheistic (one God) view.

Yes. Yes, they do…and far more people believe in astrology than you might think. A Gallup poll showed that about 1 in 4 American, Canadian, and British people believe in this stuff. As you may have suspected, more women believe in astrology than men do.

Although I wouldn’t have included extraterrestrials as part of a paranormal poll, the results pertaining to astrology are interesting. Take a look at these graphs:

(Source: www.gallup.com)

The human race has advanced so far and yet there is no shortage of ignorance. The phenomenon of silly beliefs such as astrology are a sad reminder of this fact. This type of pseudo-science not only holds society back, but it is morally wrong and deceitful.

Astrology is a business. There’s a reason you find it in newspapers. It’s been shown to increase circulation of newspapers, so for the sake of money, they include them. Ironically, these publications are still called “news”-papers and not “whatever-makes-money”-papers.

The scam artists who call themselves astrologers get paid a lot of money to prey on peoples’ insecurities. Even some stock market scam artists get scammed by the astrology scam. “Financial astrology” is the practice of using stars and planets as a guide to investing. Sounds pretty stupid, but it exists.

Ironically, the Google Ads on this page will probably be for horoscopes or something…SMH

If you want to see the original version of the video, here it is:

The Netherlands anti-piracy organization BREIN director, Tim Kuik said, “We applaud the fact that Mininova now uses the BitTorrent technology for legal business. We are not against the technology but only against the use of that technology for illegal purposes.” BREIN is similar to the RIAA of America or the CRIA of Canada, but represents both the music and film industry of the Netherlands.

According to Mininova’s official blog, they attempted to install a filtering system, but found that they were unable to create a reliable filter that would comply with the court ruling. This led to them eventually deciding to remove all copyright-protected material and moving their business into the direction of hosting legal content.

File sharing sites or applications, the process of peer to peer sharing, or file hosting itself is not illegal, as long as the content is not copyright-protected or if you own the rights to the material and wish to share online. In fact, some businesses use secure file sharing applications and certain copyright holders choose to distribute their works online voluntarily.

Mininova becoming a legal safe file sharing site will probably only be a small comfort to a hurting music industry as other large torrent sites continue to operate. For example, the legal battle against Pirate Bay started with raids in 2006 and court verdicts in 2009, which included multi-million dollar fines and prison time. The sites owners remain defiant, appealing the verdicts, and keeping the site operational as of this writing. On a page on The Pirate Bay, they list legal threats against them and state that “0 torrents [have] been removed, and 0 torrents will ever be removed.“

Whether or not Mininova’s fate will be a sign of things to come remains to be seen. Many countries’ laws are years behind the technology, but the corporate trend seems to show that the larger sites are beginning to respect copyrights. YouTube is widely known to comply with copyright claims, yet is still rampant with copyrighted material. Smaller musicians and film makers embrace the online sharing and view it as promotion, while the bigger corporations view it as stealing. Facebook has started to filter some material posted that was linked to The Pirate Bay, but just like YouTube, is still filled with illegally shared content.

At the 2008 Animation Block Party, based in New York City, Choom won the award for Best Student Film for her Vancouver Film School cartoon animation, “In The Beginning.” Winning that award provided her with funding to create  an environmental PSA for the 2009 Animation Block Party. That animation, titled “Rethink Happiness,” premiered this past summer. Again, I think these cartoon animations need more exposure. If you like them, share them with your friends and family.

I also added a third animation titled “The PenIsMightier” just because it’s funny. It was awarded the “Best Editing” prize at the Trick 17 Stop Motion Competition.

Obama signing the executive order to allow further stem cell funding.

The university’s Board of Regents voted on this resolution yesterday, which subsequently failed to pass because of a 4-4 tie. Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Nebraska’s Medical School, Thomas Rosenquist said, “It’s permission to go ahead and take part in 21st-century research with embryonic stem cells.“

Although it seems the university dodged a bullet, they expect pro-life groups to eventually reattempt to stunt the growth of embryonic stem cell research.  Powerful Republican endorser and executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, Julie Schmit-Albin, stated after their defeat, “Pro-lifers are a resilient bunch. We’re in this for the long haul. We’ll regroup and take a look at it and decide where to go.“

University of Nebraska Medical Center stem cell biologist, Angie Rizzino, is well aware of right-wing religious organizations who are attempting to restrict the progress in her field.  “I fear that they’ll be back in a year or two trying to put a block on embryonic stem cell research again,” she says after learning of the recent verdict.

The potential treatments based on stem cell research include:

• Brain damage
• Cancer
• Spinal cord injury
• Heart damage
• Haematopoiesis (blood cell formation)
• Baldness
• Missing teeth
• Deafness
• Blindness and vision impairment
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Graft vs. host disease and Crohn’s disease
• Neural and behavioral birth defects
• Diabetes
• Orthopedics
• Wound healing
• Infertility

Pro-lifers protesting scientific research.

Why would anyone be against something with so much potential? The majority of the resistance to stem cell progress comes from right-wing Christians who take the Bible to be literally true. They say the Bible claims that human life begins at conception, when only the egg and sperm cell are present. However, in Jeremiah 1:5, it claims that life or the “soul” begins even before you are “formed in the womb.” This is often ignored by pro-life groups because it would cause logistical problems in their argument.

This practice, known as crowdsourcing, will allow anyone with an Internet connection to assist with two main games tasks:

1. Mapping the surface of Mars by matching detailed high-res photos onto larger, less detailed photos of the general location, taken from higher altitudes.

2. Counting the craters in undocumented photos. You won’t have to count really tiny craters just yet (NASA plans on doing that later), but simply count the larger craters that you find in the photos you’re provided.

When I tried my hand at NASA’s “Be A Martian” website, I found counting the craters to be a lot simpler than mapping the photos…that is until I was given a photo with over 40 craters in it.

They’ve tried to make the site into a Web 2.0 online social network, but Microsoft’s typical bulky coding slows things down a little bit. I can’t help but wonder how much faster and better designed the site would be if NASA had just partnered with Google, Apple, or…honestly…anyone but Microsoft.

Your fantastic tutor will be Mr. Donnie Hoyle. He’s been kind enough to take the time out of his perfect life to teach you the basics of Photoshop. Your obviously non-fictional tutor will teach you real life applications that you can start implementing right away. Best of all, he’s not even charging for this awesomeness he’s about to provide.

Get ready for a 20-part award-winning series, created by Matt Bledsoe and Troy Hitch, that will cure you of Photoshop suckiness.

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #1 (Distort, Warp, & Layer Effects):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #2 (Covering Your Mistakes):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #3 (Clone Stamp and Manual Cloning):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #4 (Paths and Masks):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #5 (Select Color Range):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #6 (Liquify):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #7 (Patch Tools and Levels):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #8 (3D Layers):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #9 (Curves):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #10 (Vanishing Point):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #11 (Smart Objects):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #12 (Measurement Log):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #13 (Displacement):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #14 (Video Stuff Reall Fast):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #15 (Define Pattern):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #16 (Define Brush Preset):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #17 (Photomerge):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #18 (Annotations):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #19 (Shadows and Light):

“You Suck at Photoshop” Tutorial #20 (Distort, Warp, & Layer Effects):

Aardonyx celestae had many characteristics of two-legged herbivore dinosaurs, but also could drop down on all fours and move about like the huge sauropods that would evolve later on. This distinct feature is thought to have contributed to what later allowed the sauropods to become the largest dinosaurs that ever existed. The bones in the forearms of Aardonyx celestae would interlock when it walked on four legs, a feature that it’s descendants all had, and it allowed it to be able to safely support it’s weight.

Despite limb proportions that showed Aardonyx celestae to be mostly bipedal, meaning it mostly walked on two legs, it had already developed several features that would become evident in sauropods. The femur (thigh bone) had straightened out for strong vertical weight support, the backbone developed specialized bracing-joints to strengthen it, the feet had flattened and became more robust, the jaw had a wide gape, and of course, the previously mentioned forearm bones that interlocked.

These findings were published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a peer-reviewed journal based in London, England. If you want to read the full report, click here.

So remember, if you ever find yourself arguing with someone who believes that no transitional fossils exist, Aardonyx celestae is yet another example you could politely point them to ;)

Dr. Bonnan talks about Aardonyx celestae:

Aardonyx celestae FACTS:

• discovered in Free State, South Africa
• lived in early Jurassic era (roughly 195 million years ago)
• grew to 7m (20ft)
• fossil specimen believed to have died early at 10 years old
• “Aardonyx” means “Earth Claw,” named because the earth filled claws were amongst the first bones discovered of the specimen
• “celestae” is derived from Celeste Yates, the fossil preparator for the team that made the discovery
• the research team included Dr. Adam Yates, Dr. Matt Bonnan, Dr. Johann Neveling, Dr. Anusuya Chinsamy, Marc Blackbeard, and Celeste Yates

As of next week, YouTube will start supporting 1080p HD videos in full resolution. The HD mode will feature both 720p and 1080p, depending on the resolution of the original source. Videos that have already been uploaded at 1080p will be re-encoded to be displayed properly.

According to Google, although many people will still upload low quality content, they made the move to have the capability to support the ever increasing quality of consumer cameras, faster Internet connections, and the capabilities of personal computers to handle the data. Some criticize the fact that a lot of people don’t have computers capable of displaying a high enough frame rate for HD videos on YouTube at the moment. Regardless, the company feels it is necessary to keep up with the current technology sooner rather than later.

The move also allows for higher quality, professionally produced content to be featured on YouTube. It’s an important step for Google if it ever wants to see YouTube become profitable, as companies seem to be a little shy to place advertisements beside random amateur videos. Because of that, there’s been a little bit of quality control done in terms of which videos are deemed appropriate for advertisers. Personally, I think they go a little bit overboard. For example, they haven’t yet monetized videos of Susan Boyle on Britian’s Got Talent even though they’ve received well over 100 million views.

Check out these images below to get a sense of the difference in quality:

Standard - 360p

HQ - 480p

HD - 720p

HD - 1080p

Now technically, the southwestern Pacific island Nauru is at the top of the list with 94.5% of it’s adult population being overweight, but the population there is only about 10,000. Not surprising that Nauru also leads the world in the percentage of people with type 2 diabetes, with other dietary related health problems also causing major concern. Just as you might expect, Nauru has a low life expectancy as well. How about Burger King…you wanna go there instead?

Getting back to the report by the American Institute for Cancer Research, it found that obesity was mainly responsible for:

- 49 percent of endometrial cancer cases
- 35 percent of esophageal cancer cases
- 28 percent of pancreatic cancer cases
- 24 percent of kidney cancer cases
- 21 percent of gallbladder cancer cases
- 17 percent of breast cancer cases
- 9 percent of colorectal cancer cases

Here are some other interesting facts about obesity and cancer in the United States:

- responsible for about 25 percent of deaths annually
- the #1 cause of cancer in non-smokers
- 50% higher chance of developing cancer

Besides cancer, obesity also causes heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, high blood pressure and strokes. Not only that, but by being obese, people are hurting their chances of survival if they do get cancer and making treatment more difficult.

“Uhh…yeah, I’ll take a double heart attack with a side order of cancer. Thaaaaaaanks.”

It’s kind of a no brainer, but looking at the numbers, countries that have been industrialized have seen a significant rise in obesity. The rise in genetically modified ingredients and fast food restaurants don’t make it easy for the uninformed person to avoid being at risk. It’s a simple equation really. Take processed food that is high in fat, sugar, sodium, and/or calories, add that to a steady habit of no exercise, and you’ll soon find yourself having to buy 2 plane tickets whenever you decide to fly somewhere.

Alright, I know that was a little harsh, but to all my fat friends that want to turn your lives around, listen up. Whatever your excuse may be, if you really want to lose the weight, you have do a few simple things. First, you MUST, I repeat, you MUST stop eating processed food and going to KFC every day. Trust me. I live healthy right now, but there was a 2 month period this past year when I was eating out constantly and microwaving TV dinners, which caused me to gain 10 pounds of fat. Once I realized what was happening, I immediately stopped subjecting my poor body to those bad eating habits and got back to exercising routinely. I quickly lost the excess fat and I’m never going back.

Speaking of exercise, this is something you can’t take lightly. You must exercise because you must burn more calories than you’re eating in order to lose the weight. Fat is stored energy, and in order for your body to get to it, it needs to have a reason to use it! Hit the gym 5 days a week and hop on that treadmill. PUSH YOURSELF! Don’t go on there and start walking slowly while talking on your cell phone. Get on the treadmill and start a healthy jog. Add that to some weight lifting and you’ll be on your way. The added muscle will aid in replacing the fat tissue and speed up your weight loss. It’s not hard. It’s very simple.

If you can’t afford a gym membership or are uncomfortable in that setting, you can jog outside. Also, go and get yourself some simple equipment that you could use at home to strengthen your muscles. It’s very important that you do both. I won’t get into specific training programs in this article, but Google is definitely your friend.

So far, the equation involves not eating processed and/or genetically modified foods in addition to a steady exercise routine. Now, you must develop healthy eating habits. I’m not going to lie to you. At first, healthy food doesn’t taste as good as your preferred fast food restaurant’s Heart Attack Delight Menu, but you quickly get used to it. In fact, now I prefer the taste of healthy foods. Eating something with too much sugar or fat actually tastes bad to me at this point. My body rejects it.

As for which healthy foods to eat, that’s another topic for another time, but I highly recommend talking to a homeopathic doctor about this. They can help you figure out the perfect meal plan and get you started on the path to weight loss. Creating a healthy meal plan is a very personal thing and outside the scope of this article, but you’ve probably heard that eating six SMALL meals aids weight loss. It’s true and I’ll write another article going over this particular topic soon.

This last tip is only for those who think they have a food addiction. If you feel the urge to eat excessively, you need to biologically trick yourself in order to change your bad habits and start eating more sensibly. If you were mentally strong enough, you wouldn’t even be at this point. It’s sad, but true. If you think you need a crutch to get you started on the road to weight loss, here it is: flax seed.

Start off with a tablespoon of whole flax seeds per 100 lbs of body weight and add them to a large cup of water. When added to water, whole flax seeds expand and become gelatin-like. Leave it overnight so the seeds expand and drink it for breakfast everyday. They will fill up your stomach and you will feel full without having to eat a lot of food. Make sure to eat something like fresh vegetables or fruit (but preferably vegetables) with it in order to kick start your metabolism. This trick should keep you from feeling hungry all the time and over eating.

The swollen flax seed and water solution is very good for cleansing and constipation as well. Try not to chew the seeds because this will help with the cleansing process by not releasing the oily contents.

People who suffer from diverticulosis should avoid the flax seed tip I provided here. Do not ingest whole flax seeds if you suffer from this condition as the seeds may get trapped inside the small pockets that may have formed in your intestinal lining.

So there you have it. You could write countless books about this topic, so just know that I only went over the very basics. I encourage everyone to do thorough research before making any life altering decisions.

Now, I know this site is supposed to be mainly about positive news and I’ve been using a harsh tone, but if it gets you on your way to beating obesity and living a long healthy life, that’s about as positive as it gets.

LEGAL STUFF:
This is just information I’m providing. I’m not responsible if you abuse the information. You should talk to a physician BEFORE you begin any weight loss program or routine to ensure that you’re not endangering your well being. I, nor anyone involved with MonkeyLog.com, is liable for the decisions that you decide to make with your life.