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While reading an article yesterday I came across the word Oceania and (instead of simply running across the word as usual) I paused, thought about it, realized I did not know where Oceania was located, and so I then looked up (using Google) Oceania.
The term is often used to denote a continent comprising Australia and proximate islands.
The widest definition of Oceania includes the entire region between continental Asia and the Americas, thereby including islands in the Pacific Rim such as the Japanese Archipelago, Taiwan, and the Aleutian islands.
Now I know a bit more than I earlier knew about Oceania.
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Yin and Yang
Wikipedia has revealed to me that in Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin-yang, which is often called "yin and yang", is used to describe how seemingly opposite or contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Many natural dualities (such as light and dark, high and low, hot and cold, fire and water, life and death, and so on) are thought of as physical manifestations of the yin-yang concept.
The Wiki site stated much, much more... a lot more than I needed (or wanted) to know. The more I read the more dubious, the more downright skeptical I became. Finally, after exhaustive reading and some critical thinking, I came to the conclusion that (to borrow one of Sheldon Cooper's favorite phrases) "it's all a bunch of hokum."
And please do not tell me that, "millions of believers can't all be wrong." Experience throughout a long lifetime has proven to me that they certainly can, and often are.
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Another blog I try to read whenever he offers a new posting is one written by Sam Harris. He writes with intelligence and clarity, reminding me of the textbooks and stories of Isaac Asimov in an earlier era.
Our Narrow Definition of "Science" is Sam Harris' response to the 2014 Edge question WHAT SCIENTIFIC IDEA IS READY FOR RETIREMENT?
Sam Harris
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Did You Know . . .?
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt allowed only female journalists at her press conferences ensuring that newspapers would have to hire women.
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HISTORICAL EVENT
Ike also recommended restraint in consumer habits, particularly with regard to the environment. As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without asking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage.
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WORD FOR TODAY
intransigent
adjective
refusing to agree or compromise; uncompromising; inflexible.
noun
an intransigent person, as in politics.
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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
(born January 17, 1962)
Jim Carrey is a Canadian American actor and comedian. Carrey first gained recognition in 1990 after landing a recurring role in the sketch comedy In Living Color. His first leading roles in major productions came with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), Dumb and Dumber (1994), The Mask (1994), and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995). In 1997, he gave a critically acclaimed performance in Liar Liar. He then starred in The Truman Show (1998) and Man on the Moon (1999). In 2000, he gained further recognition for his portrayal of the The Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas and then, in 2003, Bruce Almighty. The following year he starred in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). He then starred in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), Yes Man (2008) and A Christmas Carol (2009). More recently, he has starred in Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011) and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013).
(born January 17, 1922)
Betty White is an American actress, comedian, presenter, singer, author and television personality. In 2013, the Guinness World Records awarded White with having the longest television career for a female entertainer. White is best known for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls. Since the death of co-star Rue McClanahan in 2010, she is the only surviving Golden Girl. She currently stars as Elka Ostrovsky in the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland. She also hosted NBCs practical-joke show Betty White's Off Their Rockers.
(born January 17, 1942)
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.) is an American former professional boxer, generally considered among the greatest heavyweights in the sport's history. A controversial and polarizing figure during his early career, Ali is today widely regarded not only for the skills he displayed in the ring but for the values he exemplified outside of it: religious freedom, racial justice and the triumph of principle over expedience. He is one of the most recognized sports figures of the past 100 years, crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated and "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC.
(born January 17, 1964)
Michelle Obama is an American lawyer and writer, is the wife of the 44th and current President of the United States, Barack Obama, and the first African-American First Lady of the United States.
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"A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it."
--Max Planck
NASA TV
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