|
Viewing 1 - 9 out of 174 Blogs.
Page:
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
According to Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, the 50 states are ranked based on "ranking of residents' satisfaction with their lives." The top 10 states where residents are the most satisfied with their lives are: 1) Alaska 2) Hawaii 3) South Dakota 4) Wyoming 5) Montana 6) Colorado 7) Nebraska 8) Utah 9) New Mexico 10) Texas The states where residents are the least satisfied with their lives are: 45) Alabama 46) Mississippi 47) Ohio 48) Indiana 49) Kentucky 50) West Virginia While the top two states are isolated from the continental Lower 48, there seems to be a pattern here -- "middle-western" states are the most satisfied, whereas "middle-eastern" states are the least satisfied, I have lived in the following states: 11) Minnesota 12) California 18) Wisconsin 20) Arizona 26) Florida 30) Georgia 32) Kansas 41) Missouri 43) Arkansas 44) Tennessee 47) Ohio One of these days I might figure it out -- satisfaction is not a location, it is a state of mind. ___________ Quote for the Day -- "Happiness is not a goal -- it's a by-product of a life well lived." Eleanor Roosevelt ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 10 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a few dogs and where moving once again to another state is no longer an option. ___________ - -
Statistics are like a skimpy bathing suit -- they show too much but they hide the most important parts. The following items are from various websites containing odd statistics. 7% of Americans believe Elvis is alive. 9% of Americans reported having been in the presence of a ghost. 10% of frequent flyers never check their luggage when flying. 25% of Americans do not know their astrological sign. 27% of Americans think billboards are beautiful. 27% of American male college students believe life is a meaningless existential hell. 35% of people who use personal ads for dating are already married. 38% of North America is wilderness. 40% of dog & cat owners carry a picture of their pets in their wallets. 40% of women have hurled footwear at a man. 43% of criminals released from prison in the U.S. will be rearrested within a year of being released. 50% of teenage boys say they would rather be rich than smart. 50% of bank robberies occur on Fridays. 51% of turns are right turns. 55% of motor bike accidents happen on the weekend. 55% of Americans know the sun is a star. 55% of men wash their hands after using a restroom. 80% of women wash their hands after using a restroom. 58% of men say they are happier after a divorce or separation. 85% of women say they are happier after a divorce or separation. 57% of British school kids think Germany is the most boring country in Europe.
60% of electrocutions occur while talking on the phone during a thunderstorm. 82% believe in an afterlife. 90% of women who walk into a department store immediately turn to the right. August is the month when most babies are born. Statistically, the safest age of life is 10 years old. Statistically, the odds of being murdered are one in 20,000. Statistically, in America, one out of 15 people will contract an infection during a hospital stay. 80% of Americans die in a hospital. By age 65, Americans will have watched more than 9 years of television. The average American moves 12 times in a lifetime. The average American looks at 8 houses before actually buying one. The average person keeps old magazines for 29 weeks before throwing them out. More people are killed annually by donkeys than are killed in airplane crashes. Most fatal car accidents occur on Saturday. Couples who marry in January, February and March have the highest divorce rates. Globally, about 200 babies are born every minute. On average, right-handed people live 9 years longer than left-handed people. 13 people per year are killed by vending machines falling on them. More people fear spiders than death. You are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous spider. Americans eat an average of 18 acres of pizza daily If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would produce enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee. If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, you would produce the energy of an atomic bomb. * * * I was born in August (month of most frequent births) -- I know my astrological sign (Leo) -- I have lived at over 50 addresses in 12 states (much more than average) -- I wash my hands after using the restroom -- I do not carry photos of my dogs in my wallet -- when I walk into a department store I walk straight ahead until I can figure out which direction to take -- no woman has ever hurled footwear at me. Statistically, I'm a walking contradiction beyond the norm, where I'm comfortable with life and my eccentricities. ___________ Quote for the Day -- “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.†Mark Twain ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 10 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a couple of dogs and where 111,111,111 times 111,111,111 equals 12,345,678,987,654,321. ___________ - -
"We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home." Australian Aboriginal Proverb All is one. Every human being is a self-contained unit with a conscience of their own. An individual's thoughts and feelings are hidden within them, unexposed to all other human beings unless we wish to expose them or we choose to mask them by openly presenting a different set of thoughts and/or feelings. Therefore, every human being is an island -- alone within their individual self -- at one with oneself. Every individual human being is a distinct soul within the community of souls -- where all is one. The Community of Souls, where all is one, is a distinct living entity within the Universe -- where all is one. The Universe is a living entity, where all is one, within all that exists beyond the Universe -- where all is one. I am a rock… I am an island… and a rock feels no pain… and an island never cries. (Lyrics by Paul Simon) I am a rock on Bret Island -- with several dogs and an imaginary girlfriend named Tequila Mockingbird. Mother Earth is a spinning orb of ignorance, suffering, injustice, pain and materialism, where the duality of good and evil must be overcome with a unity consciousness -- a body of unconditional love within Oneness. Once you comprehend the perfection of the imperfection of earthly pleasure and pain, you are able to move on to higher realms, where harmony in spirit resides. Our purpose in life is to discover our purpose within the Great Mystery. Life is good -- it's just not easy. ___________ Quote for the Day -- "There is pain in separateness and peace in oneness." Guruji Krishnananda ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 10 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a couple of dogs and where after you achieve Oneness you can move on to Twoness. ___________ - -
In March of 2005, I spent eight days in a hospital coping with impatient doctors and perky nurses. I didn't get to see much on the TV news except the death of the Pope and all the surrounding hoopla. When I finally got back home and perused the Internet for some of the latest news, it was very disturbing. * * * Between October 2004 and February 2005, the College of American Pathologists (CAP), an institution that helps pathology laboratories improve their accuracy, sent 3,740 vials containing a virus to thousands of labs around the world, including North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. This virus is extremely contagious and capable of affecting an exceptionally high portion of the population; the same virus that caused the 1957 outbreak of Asian flu that killed an estimated 3 million people. The testing kits were prepared by Meridian Bioscience in Cincinnati and were to contain a particular strain of influenza A. But instead of choosing a strain from hundreds of recently circulating influenza viruses, the firm mistakenly chose the 1957 pandemic strain. The true nature of this strain was only discovered after the virus escaped from a lab in Canada. Thousands of these vials remain in circulation as efforts are being made to retrieve and destroy them. * * * United States and Russian military forces have been firing thousands of missiles in the Arctic regions, out of the earth's atmosphere, into the outer regions of our planet's atmosphere. These missiles are being launched from both land based sites and aircraft. When this clandestine activity recently came to light, the U.S. and Russian governments claimed to be performing joint war games. These so-called "war games" were never announced in advance to the public. These bizarre events coincide with reports that the earth's atmosphere is being bombarded by unknown cosmic blasts. The BBC reported that "cosmic blasts (bursts of gamma rays) are the most powerful in the universe. Scientists think a 10-second blast near earth could deplete up to half of the planet's ozone layer." Other possible scenarios for these covert operations range from manipulation of weather patterns to defensive UFO activity. Something very strange and potentially dangerous may be taking place here. War games are not conducted in outer space unless an enemy threat approaches from outer space. * * * From August 26 through September 11, 2001, a group of Israeli citizens operating out of Toronto, Canada, and Frankfurt, Germany, reaped huge profits by selling "short" a list of 38 stocks that could be reasonably expected to fall in value as a result of the pending 9-11 terrorist attacks. The American Securities and Exchange Commission and numerous other governmental agencies are surreptitiously investigating these allegations. Zeal LLC, a consulting firm that researches worldwide markets, estimates that this group of speculators made $22 million in profits on these "put" options. According to the London Times, market regulators in Germany, Japan and the US all believe that someone had insider foreknowledge of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. * * * While the death of the Pope and Britney Spears' possible pregnancy are popular news items, there are other events taking place of major consequence. Deadly viruses on the loose, thousands of missiles being launched into outer space and profiteering taking place just prior to 9-11 are deeply disturbing. No news is good news and disturbing news is disturbing. Either way, life goes on. ___________ Quote for the Day -- “The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.†Edward R. Murrow ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 10 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a couple of dogs and where too much news is often too much misinformation. ___________ - -
I spent about eight months working on a computer contract in Memphis in 1999, leading up to the potential disaster known in the computer industry as Y2K. There were lots of rumors about what might happen if the problem couldn’t be resolved. Some of the myths included: - All microwave ovens and toasters will explode on 1/1/00
- We will be required to dress in 1900 fashion
- It’s all part of a vast right-wing conspiracy
- World War III will be triggered by an essay on Global Warning written by a third grader from New Jersey
- A new number system, excluding the number six, will be imposed by Congress to prevent the arrival of the Beast
- Computers will refer to human beings as U2X Bugs
- Microsoft will win the next four Super Bowls
* * * During this short-term contract, the manager occasionally headed for my tiny office to check on my progress. As an outside contractor, I was stationed in the last office in a row of tiny offices, near the restrooms. As he was passing down the row of offices, he noticed the guy occupying the office next to mine was asleep at his desk. It was a rather embarrassing moment for both of them. Things to say if caught sleeping at your desk: - Actually, this is part of the Stress Level Elimination Exercise Plan (SLEEP) that I learned in the last mandatory time management seminar you had me attend
- Darn -- I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem
- They told me at the blood bank this might happen
- I was trying to pick up my contact lens without smudging it with my fingers
- Guess I left the top off the liquid paper
* * * Life is what happens when you can't sleep. ___________ Quote for the Day -- “I had a dream I was awake and I woke up to find myself asleep.†Stan Laurel ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 10 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a couple of dogs and where bugs come in many varieties. ___________ - -
The Chinese invented many wonderful things, such as dynamite, fortune cookies and Chinese food. They also invented astrology. In fact, the Chinese Lunar New Year is the longest chronological record in history. Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the zodiac in 2600 BC. As with other supreme rulers of his era, he had a lot of time on his hands and was eager to impress his subjects with his superior knowledge. The first day of the Chinese New Year is celebrated at the second new moon after the winter solstice which can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February, depending on cyclical lunar conditions. The Chinese lunar year is divided into 12 months of 29 or 30 days. Each 12-year cycle is then positioned within a major cycle of 60 years (five 12-month cycles) representing the characteristics of each upcoming year. Chinese astrology is basically composed of two cycles – 12 annual animal cycles and 5 two-year element cycles. The 12 annual animals are Dog, Boar, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey and Rooster. The five element cycles, each lasting two years, are fire, earth, metal, water and wood. In 2015, The Chinese New Year started on February 19, 2015 -- the Year of the Sheep Those born in 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991 and 2015 were born in the Year of the Sheep. Your personality will be creative, thoughtful, honest and persevering. Your best-suited career will be teacher, pediatrician, interior designer, editor, actor, and musician. Year of the Sheep lucky chart: · lucky numbers -- 2,7 · lucky months -- August & December · lucky colors -- brown, red, purple · lucky direction -- north Notable people born in the Year of the Sheep include Mark Twain, Michelangelo, Barbara Walters, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, Thomas Edison and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. The Year of the Sheep is now upon us -- may the Force be with you. Once you awaken, you cannot go back to sheep. ___________ Quote for the Day -- "In order to be an immaculate member of a flock of sheep, one must above all be a sheep oneself." Albert Einstein ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 10 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a couple of dogs and was born in the Year of the Monkey many moons ago. ___________ - -
February 14 is Valentine's Day. According to legend, Valentine was a Roman priest during the third century. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he decreed that young men were forbidden to get married. However, Valentine defied the ruling and continued to perform marriages of young couples in secret. His actions were eventually discovered compelling Claudius to order the priest's death. While in prison awaiting death, Valentine fell in love with a young woman, believed to be the jailer's daughter, who visited him regularly. Before his execution, it is alleged that Valentine wrote the young woman a note which he signed "from your Valentine." Thus, Valentine was put to death and Valentine's Day was born. When I first started dating my ex-wife it never occurred to me to get her anything on Valentine's Day. She spent the next several weeks in a huff. On our second Valentine's Day together, I gave her a nice piece of jewelry and she gave me an oven mitt. Needless to say, I never did figure her out. We were married the following year and divorced five years later. She got the house and I got to keep the oven mitt. On Valentine's Day, or any other day, a woman may ask a seemingly innocent question. A correct answer will usually lead to temporary approval, at least until the next seemingly innocent question. But any dimwitted answer, of which there are many, will surely bring about long-term torment. Question: "Do you love me?" - Correct answer -- "Of course, dear."
Question: "What are you thinking about?" - "I was wondering when the next Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition was going to be available."
- "If I wanted you to know, I'd be talking instead of thinking."
- Correct answer -- "I was just thinking about what a wonderful, kind, thoughtful, intelligent, beautiful woman you are and what a lucky guy I am to be with you."
Question: "Do you think she's prettier than me?" - "You have a much better personality."
- "Only from a certain angle."
- "She's just younger and thinner."
- Correct answer -- "Absolutely not, dear."
Question: "Do I look fat in this dress?" - "I wouldn't exactly call it fat – it's more like pleasantly plump."
- "Don't worry about it – a little extra weight looks good on you."
- Correct answer -- "No, of course not, darling."
The key to a blissful relationship is sincerity -- if you can fake sincerity, your relationship will endure. ___________ Quote for the Day --"At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet." Plato
___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 10 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a couple of dogs and an imaginary girlfriend named Tequila Mockingbird. ___________ - -
When I first moved into my current abode in the Land of Ark, many moons ago, I had my parents over for a barbecue. During the evening, a light bulb in the kitchen burned out. I stood on a wobbly stool that my dad was clutching to keep steady. I unscrewed the dead light bulb, passed it down to my mother who then handed me another light bulb which I then secured into place. If you are ever asked how many Burquests it takes to screw in a light bulb, the answer is three. This semi-amusing incident made me think about some of the strange facts swirling around in my overly active cranium. Recently, I learned Polar Bears were left-handed. Naturally, I added this important bit of knowledge to the lower-rear quadrant of my brain where I have a massive data bank full of equally useless information. I guess I just can’t help it. I come across some bizarre fact about aardvarks or kumquats and into the data bank it goes. It helps to start with a nearly empty brain. I suspect I have plenty of room for more data. So far, I have never encountered a Polar Bear, unless you count a rather large, hairy, pale fellow I met one afternoon from Moko named Bubba. It’s my understanding Polar Bears rarely wander as far south as Arkansas. In fact, they rarely wander south of the Arctic Circle. But you never know when a piece of information might come in handy. If I ever get into a fistfight with a Polar Bear, I’ll lead with my right. Then I will quickly board a jet plane and fly south. Strange facts can often be fascinating but rarely are very helpful. Other strange facts include the following: * * * An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain. A cockroach can live for nine days without its head. A woodchuck breathes only 10 times per minute while in hibernation -- but when active breathes 2,100 times per minute. A small animal has a faster metabolism than a large animal to replace expired energy -- a hummingbird or a shrew must be constantly eating or it will die of starvation in a few hours, whereas a large animal can go without food for long periods of time -- a healthy human can go without food for longer than a month, but must drink at least 2 quarts of water per day. A grizzly bear can run faster than a horse. The world's fastest mammal, the cheetah, can run at speeds up to 65 miles per hour -- from a standing start, it can reach 45 miles per hour in 2 seconds -- but it can only maintain top speed for about 300 yards before overcome by exhaustion. The Australian koala is solely adapted to the eucalyptus tree -- it doesn't need anything else, including water. The Egyptians trained baboons to wait on tables. A chuckwalla lizard escapes danger by crawling into cracks in a rock and inflating its body with air until it's wedged tightly in the crack and cannot be pulled out. A crocodile has a high concentration of hydrochloric acid in its digestive juices -- it's capable of dissolving iron spearheads or steel hooks it has swallowed. Crocodile eggs are ready to hatch after about 3 months -- the baby crocodile is unable to dig its way out of the sand above -- while still in the shell, they make a peeping sound compelling the mother guarding the eggs to dig them free. Cats are among the weirdest animals on Planet Earth and elsewhere -- when a cat moves, the front leg on one side and the rear leg on the other side move together -- the only other animals that move this way are giraffes and camels. Bombay Duck is made from dried fish. Chinese gooseberries come from New Zealand. Dark chocolate is good for you -- it contains antioxidants and fiber -- plus many minerals such as magnesium, manganese, and iron. Licking a stamp uses 1/10 of a calorie. A Dutch physician and chemist named Hermann Boerhaave died in 1783 -- he left behind a sealed book titled THE ONLIEST AND DEEPEST SECRETS OF THE MEDICAL ART -- the sealed book was eventually sold at auction for $20,000 in gold -- when the new owner opened the book, he discovered that 99 out of the 100 pages were blank -- on the title page was a handwritten note by the author that read: "Keep your head cool, your feet warm, and you'll make the best doctor poor." The Hundred Years’ War lasted 116 years. Panama hats are made in Ecuador. There are about 11 psychiatrists per 100,000 of the population of the United States -- but in Washington D.C., there are 56 psychiatrists per 100,000 -- which could explain some of the idiotic notions and decisions of those who populate our nation' capitol. * * * If you still have room, store some of these rare facts in your lower-rear quadrant. You never know when you may need them. ___________ Quote for the Day -- “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.†Arthur Conan Doyle ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 10 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a couple of dogs and where changing light bulbs is a family affair. ___________ - -
In April of 2007, I wrote a newspaper column about a woman in Toronto named Sherrie Lea Laird who had been deemed to be the reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe by a psychiatrist who specialized in hypnotic regression therapy. It turned out to be one of the major turning points in my life. At age 11, Sherrie was wondering about the beauty mark above her lip (similar to Marilyn Monroe) when her aunt began singing, "A kiss on the hand may be quite continental, but diamonds are a girl's best friend." When she asked her aunt about the song, which seemed so familiar, her aunt explained it was sung by Marilyn Monroe in a movie called GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDS. "It was just like an explosion in my mind," Sherrie declared. Even though she didn't even know what Marilyn Monroe looked like, she began having dreams and flashbacks about Monroe. By the 1990s, Sherrie had become a rising pop singer in Toronto, Canada. Her song "No Ordinary Love" had been at the top of the music charts in Canada and Europe. But she remained traumatized by feelings of being haunted by an internal demon. In 1998, Sherrie discovered Dr. Finkelstein's website and e-mailed him concerning her repressed feelings and anxieties about being possessed by another person. Dr. Adrian Finkelstein is a graduate of the prestigious Menninger School of Psychiatry, a former chief of the outpatient of psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical Center, a former assistant professor of psychiatry at Chicago's Rush Medical School and served as assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA, where he taught past-life regression therapy. Now in private practice, Dr. Finkelstein has been a pioneer and expert in past-life regression therapy for 30 years, and has performed over 5,000 past-life regressions. He has also created and patented a Past and Present Lives -- Iris Recognition Comparison Test (PPL-IRCT). Sherrie and Dr. Finkelstein worked together, on and off, for more than eight years. Soon, Dr. Finkelstein became convinced that Sherrie Lea Laird was the reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe. In addition of many sessions of video-taped past-life regressions in a somnambulistic hypnotic state, other scientific analytic methods were also conducted, including bone structure, voice patterns, handwriting analysis, personality traits, linguistics, eyes, etc. Under hypnosis, Sherrie revealed a multitude of things about Marilyn Monroe, many of which could not have been known by anyone except those close to Monroe or by Marilyn herself. "The more evidence I gathered the harder it was to disbelieve." Finkelstein said. "Not only are there physical similarities between Sherrie and Marilyn, the details she was able to provide were just phenomenal." In June and July of 2005, famous American medium Kevin Ryerson confirmed that Sherrie Lea Laird is indeed the only true linear reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe. Under hypnosis, Sherrie (in Marilyn Monroe's voice) revealed she had had an affair with both John and Bobby Kennedy. Her relationship with JFK started in 1954 and ended two month's before her death. Her true love was former husband Arthur Miller and she admitted that former husband, Joe DiMaggio, was boring and jealous. She also claimed to have had an affair with Tony Curtis, which was publicly acknowledged by Curtis at a later date. In a session on Nov. 11, 2005, Sherrie stated that her death was caused by an accidental overdose of drugs she had taken while in a sorrowful mood and had not been murdered as speculated by many conspiracy theorists. Sherrie was born 11 months after Marilyn Monroe died. Coincidentally, Sherrie's mother had suffered a miscarriage just two months before she became pregnant with Sherrie. Sherrie believes she had also been the miscarried child. Sherrie is a singer – Marilyn Monroe played a singer named Cherie in the movie BUS STOP. They each had an Aunt Anne, have similar bone structures, mannerisms and hand-writing techniques, share the same astrological moon nodes, and so on. Dr. Finkelstein wrote the book MARILYN MONROE RETURNS – THE HEALING OF A SOUL which was the basis for the Sherrie Lea Laird mystique. He and Sherrie have appeared on many TV shows, including Geraldo Rivera Live, The Scarborough Report, Inside Edition, etc. In April of 2007, I met Sherrie Lea Laird on the Internet when she responded to my newspaper column. We soon became friends. "Marilyn Monroe is not back because she was famous, she's back because she was human." Sherrie Lea Laird ___________ Quote for the Day – “Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.†Marilyn Monroe ___________ Bret Burquest is the author of 10 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a couple of dogs and where some like it hot. ___________ - -
Page:
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
