Inner Peace Examiner

Daily Dose: Budgets, Plans and Haircuts

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:03:19 -0700

With the end of the year fast approaching, a reminder from the Cosmic Barber:Any attempt to measure one's progress in life with an assessment of their present physical surroundings, or even a panoramic glance at their life and times to date, is just ...

Daily Dose: Antidote for busyness

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:15:18 -0700

The last push before the holidays is officially in swing. Charity dinners, budget cycles, school plays, 2010 planning. All of them are probably leaving you "busted flat" as Janis Joplin said. So today, a reminder to put yourself first: Lend...

Daily Dose: Boy in the Balloon?

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:55:53 -0700

Americans waited with anxiety yesterday as word got out that a 6-year-old boy was feared adrift in a wayward homemade helium balloon.Helicopter cameras tracked the balloon as it floated thousands of feet above rural Colorado. When it softly crashed, ...

Daily Dose: National Grouch Day

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:13:48 -0700

Photo courtesy of Late Night with Jimmy FallonSesame Street has deemed October 15 National Grouch Day. As Inner Peace Examiner, I don't condone grouchiness, but hey, every one has a bad day. So today, "Stand up and complain!" Grouches of th...

Daily Dose: Winter's Messenger

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:22:54 -0700

Photo by Ann Morash Winter may not be upon us, but it has sent its messenger to remind us of its imminent arrival. Dread the cold or delight in it, Wu-Men's has wise words on the seasons: Spring comes with flowers, autumn with the moon, sum...

Daily Dose: Columbus: hero or has been?

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:22:28 -0700

Yesterday was a Columbus Day. Perhaps you noticed an empty mailbox, or a foiled trip to the bank, but otherwise your day was like any other Monday. Some Americans had a more passionate response, staging protests around the country including one that ...

Daily Dose: Sha-la-la

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:08:52 -0700

From takegreatpictures.comIt's been pretty serious around here lately, what with Nobel prizes and war ponderings, so today a little sha-la-la.Bruce Springsteen played the last concert in Giants Stadium Friday night. Springsteen isn't known for his up...

Daily Dose: Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:21:41 -0700

President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in what the Associated Press called "a stunning decision designed to encourage his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy...

Daily Dose: On Afghanistan

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:36:53 -0700

Dove of Peace by Pablo PicassoPresident Obama told Congressional leaders on Tuesday that he would not substantially reduce American forces in Afghanistan or shift the mission to just hunting terrorists there, but he indicated that he remained undecid...

Daily Dose: Nobel Prize

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:30:05 -0700

A pioneer in fibre-optics and two scientists who figured out how to turn light into electronic signals -- work that paved the way for the Internet age -- were awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for physics on Tuesday. It seems impossible to imagine the day...

Daily Dose: Harvest Moon

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:32:33 -0700

Globe and MailThe Harvest Moon began last night, creation's last gasp of summer, the earth's last grab at the light.Contrary to popular opinion, the Harvest Moon is not named after a haunting Neil Young song, rather it refers to the moon cycle in lat...

Daily Dose: It's Friday

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:36:21 -0700

Enough seriousness, it's Friday. From Douglas Adams, a favorite fun philosopher:

Let's think the unthinkable, let's do the undoable, let's prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.

Daily Dose: Fight for Life

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:54:25 -0700

Photo by Olivia Bucks, The OregonianToday begins National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a month dedicated to educating and empowering men and women to take charge of their own breast health. In its 25th year, the efforts have grown from a few nurses...

Daily Dose: Clowns in Space

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:15:43 -0700

The creator the Cirque du Soleil theatre company blasted off today on his way to the International Space Station. Guy Laliberte, who is arguably the first clown in space, reportedly paid $35m for his ticket. In addition to adding "Rocket M...

Daily Dose: Tom Delay as Daoist?

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:15:01 -0700

Daoists speak of the interpenetrative dance of the yin and yang, the immersion of moon and sun, light and dark, feminine and masculine.Tom Delay is decidedly not the illustrative symbol of this archetypal dance. Or is he? Delay, the former House Majo...

Daily Dose: National Book Festival

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:47:56 -0700

A quieter type will be recognized today on the National Mall in Washington DC. Some are protestors, some protectors, some proletariats, but all write prose. The event is the National Book Festival, chaired by President and First Lady Obama and sponso...

Daily Dose: G20 or V8?

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:45:41 -0700

As we finish up the week’s final tasks and ponder our weekend activities, the leaders of the G20 are meeting in Pittsburgh, pondering peace and prosperity for all nations. But can we leave our inner peace up to these leaders? Italy is already f...

Daily Dose: World Peace or Whirled Peas?

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:49:24 -0700

In his speech today addressing the United Nations, President Obama quoted Franklin D. Roosevelt, who first coined the term, United Nations, but passed away before seeing the organization come to fruition. The words of FDR, on making peace: The...

Daily Dose: Fall Equinox

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:04:04 -0700

Photo by garytmm, PhotobucketToday is the fall equinox. Throughout the year, day and night play a gentle tug-of-war, with daylight winning out in the summer; night claiming victory in the winter. Today the two forces hang in perfect balance, but at 5...

Daily Dose: Google's alien inspiration

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:34:21 -0700

Today is H.G. Wells Day, in honor of the 143rd birthday of the author of such sci-fi classics as War of the Worlds and The Time Machine.Apparently Google's recent trilogy of alien logos (including today's) was a nod to Wells' work, which pondered the...