The Doors - When The Music's Over

The Doors - When The Music's Over

Years pass, but some things remain unchanged - is that possible?
Despite my doubts, I can say that The Doors created a great deal of great music that is still worth listening to today.

Online Poll Results - God Exist

Online Poll Held During The Month Of January 2008 Addressed Faith In God

During the month of January (2008) JeromeProphet posted a poll for visitors to lodge their vote on one of the biggest issues of all time. The poll questioned how certain people were about God's existence. Approximately four out of five voters expressed certainty in God's existence. Others weren't so certain, and many expressed that God's existence is irrelevant.


Douglas Adams on Atheism

I won't pretend that the results of our online poll compares to more scientific polls taken on the subject. Still it's interesting to see people vote at all. People want their opinions to count, or at least be counted.


Hitchhikers' Douglas Adams on Man's Creation of God

Most visitors to JeromeProphet live in the West, with the greatest numbers coming from the United States. The U.S. population is far more faithful than people in Europe, which is probably why the voting went down the way it did. Yes, the "Great Satan" is not only the land of vice, and secularism, but also the land of believers. Poll after poll shows the vast majority of people in the U.S. believe in God. Not necessarily the God as described in the Old or New Testament, but a deity.

Speaking About Religious Fundamentalism, which is almost always divisive, JeromeProphet has chosen to poll on a topic just as controversial, but perhaps a bit more pleasurable - see below.


Chocolate Sex

Now that the God's Existence poll is complete, February's poll will ask readers their preference between two of life's most titillating experiences - sex, and chocolate. How yummy.


A Portion of the Kamasutra in Chocolate No Less

There have been polls conducted in which half, that's right half of female respondents said they prefer chocolate over sex! Let that be a lesson to us all. Chocolate contains several substances which actually slow brain waves, and induce pleasure centers within the brain. The magic substance within chocolate has an effect which is similar to cannabis. I suspect that if chocolate were introduced to the United States today it would be banned by conservatives, and do good liberals alike in their attempt to make a perfect world. So you better enjoy it while you can!

Snow Day!

At work today we were told to go home due to the snow.

It didn't take much convincing. Worst part about it was how everyone was leaving at once.

Created quite a delay in the parking lot.

Traffic was pretty bad too.

Still I'm home.

Shoveled the snow out front, and laid down some salt pretty heavy.

Lay the salt now, and avoid having to break up the ice later.

I am so glad I have my SUV. It handles much better in the snow than my compact.

That's all I have to say for now.

Oh, we're supposed to get ten inches of snow here in Central Illinois. Springfield, Illinois usually can handle that much snow without much trouble, but we'll see.

Today is the last day of January, the 31st, and the winter of 2007-2008 has already shown itself to be totally insane. From much warmer that usual weather to very low temperatures. From ice storms to snow storms. It had definitely been a real winter.

Pulling World Trade Center Building Seven

Pulling World Trade Center Building Seven

Two YouTube Comments

"From the comments I heard on dutch tv, I made up that they deliberately pulled down some buildings in order to prevent these building from collapsing towards other buildings (domino-effect)".

"yeah i heard it too in the portugues tv..but the thing is how could they made a controled demolishion a few hour after the attack? that thing needs lots of time to be prepared".

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What Really Happened?

I'm no stranger to conspiracy theories, but I've held off on joining the band wagon when it came to 9-11. It doesn't take much imagination to understand that the U.S. is hated by hundreds of millions of people around the world. The United States has a great deal of wealth in comparison to the developing nations. The United States also has a large military footprint. Just about anything the U.S. does can be viewed as an extension of imperial power, and there are hordes of people around the world who are offended by that power.

It didn't seem much of a shock that Islamic Fundamentalist would want to take on the great Satan. After all the U.S. supports Israel, as well as the governments of "moderate" Middle Eastern states. We are an easy target too. Years after 911 the U.S. is still prime pickings for just about any type of terrorist attack imaginable. Before 9-11 it was even worse.


Controlled Demolition of World Trade Center Building 7

So when the Main Stream Media reported that jet airliners were smashing into the twin towers it wasn't a surprise that Muslim extremist were identified as the culprits.

There was one lingering perception that I had held over the years, that has slowly turned into an obstacle to an unfettered acceptance that 9-11 wasn't an inside job, and that is what happened on September 11th, 2001 to World Trade Center Building Seven.

I had always assumed WTC7 had been deliberately brought down by demolition experts due to damage to the building. I vaguely recall that I had heard this, or seen it on television, and when I watched the video of the building come down I was totally convinced that it was brought down by professionals who placed explosives in the building to bring it down safely.


Comparison Video - Controlled Demolition and WTC7

However a few years ago I then began to read that building seven wasn't deliberately brought down, but simply came down without any help.

I never really thought that much about it, for I like most Americans was transfixed on the twin towers demise.

And that's where I could let things be - if I only knew how.


Larry Silverstein On Pulling WTC Building Seven

But I can't because there's something rotten about the story of how WTC 7 came down.

Maybe I'm just another sucker who got taken in by yet another conspiracy theory, but quite frankly it's taken me years to write a post on this subject simply because I never wanted to jump in with the growing numbers of people who are beginning to doubt the story we have all been told about how 9-11 really transpired.

I've linked to some videos, and present them here. Some ask some rather intriguing questions about how World Trade Center Building 7 met its demise. I believe even the most hardened skeptic should at least take a look - if only to put the whole affair to rest.


Why Was Building Seven Demolished?

The One Child - One Bullet Program

I received this piece of war propaganda via some chain mail floating around work today. I found it very disturbing. I kept thinking, what if in some alternative universe a strong Iraq had invade a weak U.S. Would they be showing photos of wounded American children being held by Iraqi troops? Overall I'd say it's exploitation of these children in any Universe. Will this little girl grow up to condemn the U.S. invasion of her country that led to the ongoing sectarian violence that resulted in the deaths of her family members? Possibly, but in the mean time we'll make use of her as propaganda tool - and since she's wounded, and a child she pretty well has no way to say no to it.

Now for the wingnut propaganda:

Subject: JOHN GEBHARDT of IOWA

John works at the Cargill plant in Eddyville, ! Iowa.

Wouldn't it be fitting if this went completely around the world!.....





John Gebhardt's wife, Mindy, said that this little girl's entire family was executed. The insurgents intended to execute the little girl also, and shot her in the head...but they failed to kill her. She was cared for in John's hospital and is healing up, but continues to cry and moan. The nurses said John is the only one who seems to calm her down, so John has spent the last four nights holding her while they both slept in that chair. The girl is coming along with her healing.

He is a real Star of the war, and represents what America is trying to do.

This, my friends, is worth sharing. Go for it!! You'll never see things like this in the news. Please keep this going. Nothing will happen if you don't, but the American public needs to see pictures like this and needs to realize that what we're doing over there is making a difference. Even if it is just one little girl at a time.

James Gates U. S. Navy

U.S. Military Website Used For Domestic Propaganda

The source of the photo is from the Air Force News website dating to November of 2006. Note the sly use of the word "insurgent".

"The young infant had received extensive gunshot injuries to her head when insurgents attacked her family killing both of her parents and many of her siblings. The chief had a knack for comforting her and they often would catch a cat nap together in a chair".

Let's not mention the sectarian violence which our invasion, and occupation has unleashed.

The non-stop cycle of violence taking place in Iraq is not the work of "insurgents", but the result of sectarian hatred. Sunnis killing Shiites, Shiites killing Sunnis, Sunnis killing Kurds, and Kurds killing Sunnis is the reality of the violence in Iraq. Lying to the American public about what is taking place, and why will not work.

U.S. troops have no means to end the thousand years of hatred between the various factions in Iraq. The sooner U.S. troops leave Iraq the sooner a clear victor will rise within Iraq. Only with a clear victor will the chaos and terrorism in Iraq end.

The Air Force "news story" includes a link to download a high resolution version of the photograph. All the fixings for a chain mail campaign. Good to know our tax dollars are being used to subsidize domestic propaganda.

NOTE: This post is not an attempt to condemn U.S. troops in Iraq, nor John Gebhardt, however, it is a condemnation of the Bush Administration policy which led to the invasion, and occupation of Iraq. The occupation of Iraq must end, and U.S. troops should be brought home as soon as is possible.

God bless the troops! God bless the USA!

We Are The Sleepers

Image: Moody Blues - Every Good Boy Deserves Favor

We Are The Sleepers
by JeromeProphet

Filled each night we sleep
Lose sight and ourselves
then awaken.

We watch
and listen

It flows within us
deep
Like a river made of souls
connecting to those
and all ways

Where
How
When
Who
and
Why

We believe they can not lie

We are purchased with a thought
the promise of what will be
or never could
in the land of shadow reality

We the obligated
keep ourselves open
to the nightly visit
of the teacher
the wizard
the scientist
the monster
the alien
the story teller
the secret whisperer
and
the mirror

And we never question why
or upon how many worlds
sailing ocean's time
our voyages carry us
for we are the sleepers

Dear Historical Archivist

Dear Historical Archivist
- A Message To The Future (i.e., 3008 A.D.) From 2008 A.D. -

We do seem rather interesting in a sad sort of way. Our brief lifespans made us rather reckless. We were unable, actually unwilling, to stop our madness long enough to deal with the suffering our animal natures rationalized as justifiable. By your standards we are in fact insane.

I don't attempt to mitigate that judgment for it is understandable for you to judge us this way, and it would be dangerous to your peaceful society to think otherwise.

Yes we are barbarians, hell bent on murder, self destruction, and the razing and raping of the natural bounty of the entire planet.

I can not argue with that.

But remember we lived such short lives, and our institutions were so fragile that there was barely any time for us to gather the wisdom upon which a more rational, and moral approach could have been based. We were ever so busy just making due. We spent most of the little time we had accumulating the crude trinkets which your archaeologists have discovered in our trash heaps.



We had so little time that we never reached a stable place from which to grow. Any little problem, and things began to fall apart, and thus we'd continually embrace what you must see as laughably weak despots, but which we believed were strong men who could save us.

Our people begin to die here almost immediately after they are born, and there's no way out for us. It's like a game of suicide-homicide which we are forced to play. We're worn down, and cut down so soon that our gentler natures barely have time to set in. We spent our time exploiting and killing each other instead of developing a peaceful world, and cures for diseases, and aging.

I know it was insane of us. Who kind of people would fight on a sinking ship while the waters rise about them? Who would wage a battle within a burning building as flames incinerate them?

That would be us, your crazed ancestors.



We believed in the most insane things. We fashioned our fears, and wishes into religions, and used our religions to justify our brutality. It made us feel good about ourselves, and allowed us to believe that dying was no big deal. Our religions helped our rulers, upper classes, stay in power and to die with their accumulated wealth and privileges intact. We didn't see the problem that these very same religions kept us from a rational understanding of ourselves, and the planet we sprang from.

I suspect that you look at what we call wealth and see our trinkets as little more than crude reminders of our self limited abilities, and misplaced sense of values.

Somehow despite our simian nature we managed not to wipe ourselves completely off the face of the planet. It must be true, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this. Somehow we survived, or so I hope.



I wonder about the times that you live in. How is it that your people can survive with the level of technology which would frighten and confuse us.

How different your society must be.

What we consider sacred must seem criminal, and insane to you.

Our flags, and songs of patriotism, all based upon animalistic territoriality, must show us for what we are. And warfare, how we worship it so - for we are in fact murderers at heart.

Religion, the proudest of our creation, is our most dangerous invention - for we deny any responsibility for it. We use it to divide ourselves, and prepare ourselves for war. We use it instead of rationality, and taking responsibility for our own predicament.




And our blood thirsty greed it drove every aspect of our lives, from our governments down to our very personal lives. It is ironic that even though we know we're all dying, and have such incredibly short lifespans that we are driven by our mammal desire to accumulate things. For some it was rocks, for others it was shiny stones and metal. While others starved we ignored their plight in our pursuit of things.



For you I dedicate this post. My wish for you, and your time is that you continue on, and make a better solar system.

My Maria Muldaur Teen Age Crush

Midnight at the Oasis

Back in the 1970s I was quite taken by singer song writer and hippie chick Maria Muldaur. Although I had never seen a photograph of her, didn't really know her name, or even the name of her hit song until years later my teen age imagination and post pubescent sex drive knew that she just had to be "totally hot" based solely upon the way she sang the seductive lyrics of Midnight at the Oasis.


Photo by David Harter - An In Concert Maria Muldaur (1974)

I have a clear recollection of listening to Midnight at the Oasis as a teenage boy while sitting atop the roof of my childhood home. The sun had just set, and there I was listening to her incredible voice. Although I heard the song many times over the years it was that memory that comes to mind first whenever I hear her song. Funny how memory works. I even have the little transistor radio I listened to the song on - and it still works - someone find me a 9 Volt battery.


Rudolf Valentino - Let's Play Son of Sheik

The lyrics of Midnight at the Oasis speak of an offer of a hot romantic interlude in which the woman willingly submits to her man's desires, telling him he needs no harem, because she'll be right by his side. The submission, like the song itself, is cast in a romantic and playful way.

I'll be your belly dancer, and you can be my sheik most certainly brings to mind scenes of the silent picture era's Son of Sheik, or perhaps from the Baby Boomer television series I Dream of Jeanie.


Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman in I Dream of Jeanie

In any case Maria Muldaur's unique meandering style led more than one teen age boy to wonder what it would be like to have Cactus as their friend.


Maria Muldaur - One Hour Mama

I found a video of Maria Muldaur on Youtube made recently. Maria has aged, and put on some pounds like most Baby Boomers, but she's still singing in a unique style that somewhat reminds me of Billie Holiday. While Ms. Muldaur is no longer the hippie chick, but instead an elder jazz songstress - I still find her intriguing.

The Sangamon County Building Springfield Illinois

Sangamon County Court House Springfield, Illinois

Every great city should have a great building or two. Buildings go a long way to setting the stage upon which the local citizens play out their affairs. Springfield, Illinois isn't a great city. It's a rather small, and rather mundane town that has potential to become much better than it is.


Sangamon County Jail Springfield, Illinois

I guess if I had to make a list of important buildings in the city the Sangamon County Courthouse and Jail would need to be included. Some might object that such a building would be included on the same list as Abraham Lincoln's Historic Home, but I'm really looking at this from a local perspective. Therefore I do include the Sangamon County Building on the list of important buildings in Springfield.

The building isn't really much to look at. It's not ugly, but perhaps that's the best thing that can be said of it. If a gentleman said that of a woman it would be considered an insult, yet that's not how I intend my comment to be taken. Let me just say this, as far as jail houses, and courthouses are concerned it could have been far worse.


Sangamon County Building Springfield, Illinois

Still every time I look at the Sangamon County Building I wonder just exactly what kind of statement was being made by those who decided upon the style of the building for it reminds me entirely too much of some of the barn like churches on Springfield's west side - godly as they may be - still as ugly as sin.

Yet, I've already stated that I don't feel that the Sangamon County Building is ugly. The open spire which has been designed to reflect the sky does make a statement. I'm guessing it has something to do with redemption? The people locked up within this building may be prisoners, but it is God's will - could that be what the shiny spire symbolizes?

I'm an old fashioned kind of guy, and I would have found it inspiring to have some huge granite columns at the sides, and entrances of the building. A classical approach certainly would convey the power, the permanency, and the dignity which a courthouse, police barracks, and a jail house could use to their advantage. I'm guessing that the cost of a building employing classical design would have been prohibitively expensive. Thus we end up with a building that says nothing at all. The Sangamon County building isn't ugly, and it isn't beautiful. It doesn't speak to the community, but it functions - and I guess in a town like Springfield, Illinois we should be grateful enough for that.

Todd Rundgren - I Saw The Light

Todd Rundgren - I Saw The Light

I listened to this classic early 1970s rock tune by Todd Rundgren tonight while picking up some ice cream at Schnucks. Yup, that's how I'm going to start this little post About Todd Rundgren.

I recall having the song I Saw The Light stuck in my head many times as a youngster. It is an infectious tune. It comes from a time when guys were wearing long hair, wild clothing, and when mellowing out with friends meant passing the peace pipe while listening to albums with their best friends.

The aspect of I Saw The Light which I like the most is that the song focuses on just that one moment, that one incredible moment when two people become a couple. It's like magic, that moment, and to nicely capture it in a song is something song writers have taken to task for as long as there have been love songs. The moment takes place lyrically in just a glance, a sparkle of light, in a fraction of a second was all it took - and that is what is being shared in this song. Human beings are incredible at communicating their feelings when they want to, and sometimes even when they don't, but the heightened senses present when one walks hand in hand with a date put those communication skills into orbit.


Baby Boomer Rock Dedicated To Love

In the Seventies despite the complex, and strained relationship young Baby Boomers were having with their Greatest Generation parents (i.e., there was a very real generation gap) the one common feature that was evident in the music of both generations was the topic of love, and romance.

Baby Boomer's parent's songs were very romantic indeed, but the expectation for that generation was that holding hands, kissing, and hugging led to marriage first, then to the hanky panky. Baby Boomer rock songs were likewise romantic, and focused upon love, but the necessity of making it to the altar was vanishing , and this change was reflected within the lyrics of rock love songs.

The truth is that Baby Boomer's parents were having premarital sex too, but the Greatest Generation was so stilted by censorship that heavy levels of metaphor, and allegory had to be used to convey anything more than kissing, hugging, and holding hands.

Despite the cultural changes of the Sixties, and Seventies, and the slow demise of the prohibition on references to premarital love making within love songs love itself remained a vital ingredient in rock love songs. Just because couples could admit to premarital conjugation, and songs were written in a more open, and honest way didn't mean that love itself was suddenly obsolete.

One criticism leveled at Baby Boomers by their parents were that their songs were just loud noise with people screaming, another was that Baby Boomers were more interested in letting it all hang out, having sex that is, without taking the necessary step of professing love, and respect for those they were jumping into bed with. Yet, one only need to briefly review the themes of the most popular songs of the Baby Boomers to know that love reigned supreme.

Baby Boomer rock groups even managed to express complex forms of love in songs - philosophical love, love of one's brothers, love of the human race, which had never been expressed in popular Greatest Generation love songs. Many groups during the height of the alternative hippie culture performed songs which could be interpreted as conventional love songs, and also as spiritual love one another songs - just listen to Moody Blues, or the Beatles for examples.


Will Hip Hop Be Totally Forgotten - Probably.

Today (2008) many of the more popular "lyrics", in the more popular "songs" essentially dismiss love all together. There's mention of couplings, but more like that as seen on Animal Planet than anything else. Get down on your Knees B(#TCH! Is the attitude of the day, and romance is hard to find in the most pop of the most popular songs among today's youth. Love is seen as old fashioned, and weak. A lack of compassion, and tendency towards violence has replaced love as an underlying theme.

I don't quite know what will become of the current generation of pop music fans under twenty. Just what they'll be looking back at in those tender moments as middle aged couples is the question. Without catchy lyrics, melded with emotive melodies to help them hold onto such songs what exactly will make their beat driven rap memory worthy?

The pop music industry 0f the last fifteen years has been run by rich white men who have exploited black gang culture to harm black families, promote hatred of women, and mock any values which promote life, peace, and love. Teenagers desperate to prove to themselves that they are unique, and thus different from their parents have been fed a diet of trash, and don't always know enough to reject it for what it is.

This isn't an indictment of every hip hop song ever written. I've listened to many groups, and performers who were heavily influenced by hip hop, and the infusion of heavy beat within lyrics can be enthralling. Hip hop isn't new to the twentieth century, and it will be around for as long as people are, but replacement of lyrics with prose, and replacement of melody with percussion will never happen - not in the long run. Melody, and lyrics together form an emotive bond that helps the process of memory. Mixed with love and strong emotions song will beat rap a million times over again - that's why when you find yourself in a store wandering down the isles in the middle of the night you won't be listening to rap, or ever will - it's truly forgettable.


Love Beats Warner Brothers & Sony Corp Every Time

In the meantime at least I have an occasional chance to learn a bit about an artist from the past by checking out YouTube, and Google. One thing I've learned about Todd Rundgren is that he is on tour. The man has never stopped working in all the years since producing a string of hits in the Seventies. He's been working since the late Sixties. Rundgren appears to have quite a following. He deliberately changed styles, and refused to be trapped into playing just his hits over the years - staying committed to his progressive roots.


Todd Rondgren's I Saw The Light

It was late last night
I was feeling something wasn't right
There was not another soul in sight
Only you, only you
So we walked along
Though I knew there was something wrong
And the feeling got me oh so strong about you
Then you gazed up at me, and the answer was plain to see
Because I saw the light in your eyes

Though we had our fling
I just never would suspect a thing
Until that little bell began to ring in my head
In my head

But I tried to run
Though I knew it wouldn't help me none
Because I couldn't ever love no one, or so I said
But my feelings for you
We're just something I never knew
Until I saw the light in your eyes

But I love you best
It's not something that I say in jest
Because you're different, girl, from all the rest

In my eyes

And I ran out before, but I won't do it anymore
Can't you see the light in my eyes


Todd Rundgren - Sept 2007
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Todd Rundgren coming to Chicagoland!

Park West
01/31/2008
8:00PM

Tickets are currently available for this show. Price: $52.50

Treatments for Alzheimer's Not Far Off?

Treatments for Alzheimer's Not Far Off

Are safe, effective, and inexpensive treatments for Alzheimer's Disease just over the horizon? Several major pharmaceutical companies are developing treatments to combat the ill effects of amyloid beta on nerve cells within the brain.

Amyloid beta is suspected of playing a key role in AD. Amyloid deposits attach to nerve cells inhibiting the development of nerve connections responsible for normal neurological activity, including access to memory, and cognitive functioning.

As with any drug intended to treat brain related disorders getting a drug to pass the blood brain barrier is one of the first considerations. Only very small molecules can pass into the brain which makes the task of developing such drugs more difficult.

One approach which seems to hold great potential is employing drugs made with molecules too large to pass into the brain, but which bind to Amyloid beta within the blood. By introducing drugs which bind to, and inactivate Amyloid beta in the general blood stream the level of Amyloid beta within the brain can be reduced. This approach may reduce, or avoid possible adverse side effects within the brain itself.

The following excerpt was taken from the National Institute of Health's website, and reviews just one of many studies being conducted toward a treatment of Alzheimer's Disease:

Previous studies have shown that a protein called amyloid beta is toxic to neurons. Amyloid beta accumulates in the brains of people with AD, forming deposits called amyloid plaques that are a hallmark of the disease. Many investigators are looking for ways to reduce the buildup of amyloid in the brain, with the hope that such a treatment would slow or halt AD.

In the new study, investigators report a way to remove amyloid beta from the brain by introducing another protein that binds to amyloid beta and pulls it from the bloodstream. The amyloid is then removed by the kidneys, liver, and spleen. The investigators, led by Berislav Zlokovic, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, compare the treatment to a sink because it essentially drains the toxic protein away. The work was funded in part by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). It is reported in the September 2007 issue of Nature Medicine.

Dr. Zlokovic and his colleagues studied a protein called soluble low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (sLRP). They discovered that sLRP normally binds to and inactivates 70 to 90 percent of the amyloid beta found in the body. However, levels of sLRP were approximately 30 percent lower in blood from people with AD than in healthy people. Much of the remaining sLRP in people with AD was damaged by a process called oxidation. The damaged sLRP was much less effective at removing amyloid beta from the bloodstream than the normal protein. "The binding capability is almost all lost," Dr. Zlokovic says.

The researchers developed a super-potent version of sLRP, called LRP-IV, and injected it into mice to see whether it could mimic the effects of normal sLRP. The treatment bound to amyloid beta and prevented it from entering the brain. It also reduced the toxic amyloid that was already in the brain.

“There is a balance between amyloid beta in the brain and in the rest of the body,” Dr. Zlokovic explains. “If we lower the level of amyloid beta circulating in the blood, the levels in the brain go down, too.” The effect is similar to the way statin drugs remove cholesterol from the bloodstream and help to prevent heart disease, he adds.

Dr. Zlokovic's research should be thought of as a "proof of concept" study in that it doesn't introduce any additional theory to how Alzheimer's Disease works, or how can be treated, but it does confirm that by lowering amyloid beta levels in the blood a drop of amyloid beta in the brain results.

Read below for additional information about the relevance of this study:

The study is the first to show that people with AD have reduced levels of sLRP and that sLRP helps remove amyloid beta from the blood, Dr. Zlokovic says. It is still unclear why sLRP levels are lower than normal in people with the disease, he adds. The researchers tested 40 people with AD for mutations in the sLRP gene and did not find any abnormalities. However, previous studies have shown that AD causes oxidative damage to many proteins. The oxidative damage to sLRP may trigger its breakdown, as well as inactivating it.

The findings suggest that LRP-IV might eventually be useful as a therapy to prevent or stop AD in people. However, the investigators first need to develop a form of the protein that could be tested in humans. They also need to conduct many additional studies to evaluate the drug’s safety and to learn more about how it works.

Taken into context against the backdrop of additional studies it seems reasonable to suggest that successful preventatives, and treatments for AD will be available within ten years.

Blog Posting While Using Voice Recognition

HAL 9000 - 2001 A Space Odyssey

This is my very first Post using voice recognition.

I am not so much disappointed with voice recognition as I am with my microphone.
Still I see significant improvement.
Now if only I could have a robot that would listen to me when I told it to do things.

This has taken a tremendous effort and time just to get this finished.

What's So Bad About Tom Cruise?

TOM CRUISE - church of scientology 09:36
Uploaded by conortalbot

Forbidden Video

Tom Cruise & The Forbidden Video

A Scientology Video has surfaced, and segments have been aired on news channels. As usual there's the sly innuendos that Tom Cruise is as mad as a hatter weaved within the stories, but after watching the video I was struck with how sane Tom is. I'd much rather Tom Cruise live next door than the average Hollywood star. And with Mr. Cruise's enthusiastic commitment to helping humanity I'd rather he be a neighbor or a friend than the average Joe. Still others may not give Tom a chance - the chance he deserves to be perceived without a veil of bigotry and intolerance being shoved between us, and him, and that's why I wrote this post. I hope that people listen to what the man has to say. You may not agree with Scientology, but listen carefully, and you'll hear the passion of a man who cares very much about the fate of the world, and who very much wants to help humankind. There's a highly creative, and charged mind at work here, and that enthusiasm has been used to label him as off the edge by others used to destroying celebrities that speak their mind.

Let's look at what Tom Cruise is saying. Is he saying anything else that any other highly religious person doesn't believe true of their religion?

If he were talking about a mainstream religion, he might be criticized in the same way as Mel Gibson has been for being highly religious in a Christian way, but would people be claiming he's insane? Well, people claim Mel Gibson is insane, but he also has millions of Christians who share his beliefs, and would never criticize him for believing in such a way.

So it seems to me that it's really a matter of size. Which religion is bigger than the other, and which one can beat up on the little guy.

I've taken a few quotes out of his video, and I've inserted the word Christianity next to it. Everything he claims for Scientologist have been, and are being claimed in the name of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc.


Photo: Tom Cruise

Yet people are trying to suggest that this video proves Tom Cruise in less than sane. That's a form of religious intolerance, and bigotry. I realize that Scientologist don't claim that Scientology is a religion, but it functions the same way, and we need to take time to make a comparison, and ask ourselves why Scientologist are such a focus of criticism.

Tom Cruise on Scientology Compared to Christians on Christianity

Tom Cruise said, I think it's a privilege to call yourself a Scientologist, and I think it's something you have to earn. But don't Christians say they think calling themselves Christians is a priviledge, and I that there are obligations to calling themselves Christians?

Why is what Tom Cruise said so different, or odd?


Tom Cruise said, a Scientologist has the ability to create new and better realities, and better conditions. Don't Christians believe that they have the ability to create new and better realities, and better conditions. Don't Muslims, and Jews believe the same thing too?

How is that crazy?


Photo: Tom Cruise in Tuxedo


Tom Cruise said, Being a Scientologist you look at someone, and you know absolutely that you can help them. But don't Christians feel that being a Christian you look at someone, and you know absolutely that you can help them? Don't Jews, and Muslims feel the same way?

Where's the harm in that?


Tom said, Being a Scientologist isn't like being anybody else, you know when you drive past someone at an accident you can't just drive by like everyone else, you know you have to stop, and do something, because you can help them.

But don't Christians expect more from their members, don't they say that being a Christian isn't like being anybody else, that they know when they drive past someone at an accident that they can't just drive by like everyone else? Isn't what Tom said similar to what Christians, Jews, and people of the Islamic faith say? Isn't what Tom Cruise said pure "Good Samaritan" in nature, one of the fundamental lessons of Judeo-Christianity?

What's so crazy about that?


Tom said, That's what drives me, to know we have an opportunity, to really help.
But don't committed Christians say, that's what drives Christians, to know they have an opportunity, to really help? Of course they do, just like Jews, and Islamic people who get a thrill out of the belief that they can help people.

Where's the irrationality in that?


Tom said, We can bring peace, and can unite cultures.
But haven't Christians claimed that they can bring peace, and unite cultures?
Of course they have, and so have the Jews, and people of Islam.

Who can take fault in that?

In Defense of Tom Cruise

Maybe it's not what Tom says, maybe it's how he says it, and he's received a great deal of criticism for laughing too loud, for breaking all the talk show rules, for being too enthusiastic. But aren't creative people expected to step outside the boundaries of the ordinary, of the little petty rules that we construct?

So what if Mr. Cruise seems a little manic, would we be happier if he were a drug addict, or worse - like so many other big time actors?


Photo: Tom Cruise

What we really should be asking is what his goals are. He repeatedly mentions helping other people as his central goal. He repeatedly mentions helping humanity.

That sure beats strapping on a suicide belt, and killing children in the name of God doesn't it? Yet the act of killing innocent women and children in the name of Allah is seen a heroic in the eyes of millions, maybe hundreds of millions of Islamic faithful.

Is Tom Cruise highly enthusiastic? It appears so, but any more so than most men are about football, sex, cars, and beer? Or when women start talking about their children?

Tom Cruise believes he knows the answers to some of the biggest problems that have plagued human beings for a very long time, and he's excited about being able to share his beliefs. Doesn't Tom Cruise's enthusiam beat the sense of depression, and hopelessness felt by a large percentage of the population? Is being very happy, and enthusiastic now considered a form of insanity? If so, then what type of society is this?

I've heard, and read a lot of hateful things being said about Tom Cruise, but in actuality isn't this criticism really just an attack on Scientology? And isn't the criticism of Tom Cruise's "odd behavior" just a way of getting around the general prohibition of attacking other people for their religious beliefs?



Photo: Tom Cruise with Family

Aren't the attacks on Tom Cruise just another way of a larger group of people attempting to stomp on a minority? Of a dominant ape trying to mount a smaller one? Of a gang attacking an individual? Isn't this vilification of Tom Cruise just a reflection of our desire to stamp out individuality, in the name of normalcy? If so, we need to look at ourselves, and why we are so frightened of allowing people the freedom to grow.

Could it be that we're frightened because we know that by being different, like Tom Cruise is different, that we'd subject ourselves to same criticism that Tom Cruise has been subjected too? And doesn't our submission to that fear, and our participation in that collective social attack on Tom Cruise make us quiet cowards, and not the "know betters" that we believe ourselves to be?

No one is asking anyone to join Scientology, or have faith in Mr. Cruise, but I say let's give Tom Cruise, and Scientology a break.

Springfield's Grand

She Was Once Grand


Then Fell Upon Hard Time


Men Abused Her And Used Her


And Then Neglected Her


But No More

Young Beautiful Blonde and Busted

Is Makeup Worth Going To Jail Over


Teen Age Girl: Oh my God, Kay's been arrested!

Old Man: Arrested?

Teen Age Girl: Yes, arrested!

Old Man: Why has Kay been arrested?

Teen Age Girl: Well, she called me up and said she couldn't find her car.

Old Man: Was her car stolen?

Teen Age Girl: No, they had it towed.



Ingredients Which Add Up To A Few Pennies Fetch Incredible Prices


Old Man: Who had it towed?

Teen Age Girl: I'm not sure.

Old Man: But how did she get arrested?

Teen Age Girl: Well, I don't want to say.

Old Man: Why not?

Teen Age Girl: Because I've done it too.

Old Man: Oh, God.

Teen Age Girl: It could have been me.

Old Man: What was it drugs?


Advertising Is The Single Highest "Ingredient" In Makeup


Teen Age Girl: No.

Old Man: Just say.

Teen Age Girl: Shoplifting, Kay got caught shoplifting.

Old Man: Shoplifting? My God what would she need to steal?

Teen Age Girl: Some eye liner.

Old Man: Some makeup? She stole makeup?

Teen Age Girl: Yes. I've done it too.

Old Man: But she has all kinds of money.

Teen Age Girl: This is it, I'm never going to do that again.

Old Man: It doesn't make any sense at all, you girls always get money.

Teen Age Girl: We do it for fun.

Old Man: You steal for fun?


Would You Ruin Your Career Path For A Few Dollars Of Paste Chalk and Pigment?


Teen Age Girl: Yes, we never take anything expensive.

Old Man: And now your best friend is sitting in a cage.

Teen Age Girl: Oh God, how are we going to help her?

Old Man: She needs to call her mother.

Teen Age Girl: No, she can't do that, she simply won't.

Old Man: Well, her father's dead so who else is there?

Teen Age Girl: Her boyfriend, but he's an asshole, and he'll beat her up.

Old Man: Beat her up?

Teen Age Girl: Yes, he beats her up.

Old Man: You mean to tell me Kay puts up with that?

Teen Age Girl: She loves him.

Old Man: But Kay is a beautiful girl that looks like a model, why would she let anyone hit her?

Teen Age Girl: I don't know, it's stupid. Can we bail her out?

Old Man: I have exactly three dollars until I get paid.

Teen Age Girl: Three dollars?

Old Man: That's all we have. Does she have a car towing card, or a credit card?

Teen Age Girl: Yes. I guess she can use that to get out.

Old Man: How much is bail set at?


Fa Fa Fa Fa Fashion

Teen Age Girl: $125.

Old Man: She has to go to court now, and will have to pay a fine.

Teen Age Girl: It's so stupid. And she doesn't know where her car is.

Old Man: Probably at a tow service. She'll have to buy her car out.

Teen Age Girl: My friend Jessie is coming over to pick her up at the County Building.

Old Man: All for stealing a a few dollars of over priced makeup from Kohl's.

Journeyman - A Love for a Lifetime - Review

Journeyman - San Francisco is the Setting for Most of the Journeyman Series

Journeyman - A Love for a Lifetime - Pilot Review

Journeyman (pilot) doesn't spend a great deal of time with character development, or setting the stage for the saga to come. Within minutes the central character Dan Vasser, played by Kevin McKidd, wormholes out of his domestic suburban San Francisco life in 2007 into the chaos of unexpected time travel.



Journeyman - Kevin McKidd as Dan Vass

In most time travel stories the time traveler pops into the past, and back into contemporary time instantaneously - that is not true in Journeyman. When Dan Vasser finds himself co opted into the role of savior of lost souls the time he spends in the past results in his disappearance in 2007.



Journeyman - Gretchen Egolf as Katie Vass

Dan's spouse Katie (Gretchen Egolf), friends, and brother Jack (Reed Diamond) take notice of Dan's disappearances, and come rapidly to the false conclusion that his ramblings about time travel are the result of a drug problem.



Journeyman - Reed Diamond as Jack Vass

The pace of the pilot is so quick that there's never much time to abandon one's sense of belief, which makes the pilot work. Of course with any pilot there are many questions which are left with the viewer about just where future episodes are headed, and what will become of the characters.



Journeyman - Monique Curnen as Nicole Gaines

The pilot has a throughly "modern" style (for this time). There are scenes in which the iPhone and bluetooth earset, 2007's cutting edge cellphone and trendy cell companion, are juxtaposed in the same act, and scenes with brick sized early model cell phoned. Cell phones which were considered cutting edge in their day, but which seem so laughable today. Perhaps as a reader from the future, you get a chuckle thinking of the iPhone as cutting edge? It's this effect that seems so interesting in the Journeyman. The creators of the series revel in their ability to step the viewer into the past. Who would have thought that 1997 would be considered ancient history?



Journeyman - Charles Henry Wyson as Zack Vass

Two thumbs up for this now apparently canceled series which can still be seen on the NBC.com website. With a writers strike in full force the series will likely remain available online, but for how long only a time traveler could say. If any NBC executives are reading this, please bring back Journeyman. The Journeyman was a class act from beginning to finish. The series had a luxurious feel to it. There was almost a movie like level of quality about it, and if it ends now, it is certain that science fiction fans will make reference to it for many years to come. Perhaps the series may be revived on the SciFi channel if NBC decides not to pick the show up again? In any case there's so much trash on television, just turn on MTV for example, that it's a sad thing to watch a good series like Journeyman suffer such an ignoble fate.


Journeyman - Christopher Warren as Neal Gaines

Journeyman Quote:

"Stories don't stress me out, deadlines - maybe".

Hillary or Obama? Barack or Clinton?

U.S. Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama

I haven't endorsed a 2008 presidential candidate yet, but I drive an SUV with an Obama bumper sticker on the back. Despite my implicit endorsement of Barack Obama, I plan to plaster a Hillary Clinton bumper sticker on the same bumper once it arrives in the mail.

It seems I'm undecided, kind of. And it's a bad place to be, for I usually have already chosen a candidate at this point in the Primaries.

This time it's different, but not for a lack of good candidates. I love the whole idea of throwing away my vote on Dennis Kucinich. That will show them that they can't railroad me into supporting another mainstream candidate! But wasted the vote would be. Even John Edwards, who I also very much agree with on most of the issues is beyond capturing the nomination. And that's what really matters in the end - viability.

Which candidate has a real chance at winning the party nomination, and which candidate has a real chance of winning in November are of utmost importance for me at this point in my life. That doesn't mean that I would ever vote for a candidate that I didn't agree with on most of the issues, but it does mean that I no longer want my vote to fail.

Every four years I hope I'm doing the right thing, and I vote for who I believe will help the majority of Americans, and the world. I make my choice based upon a variety of inputs including what I've read, and what I've seen in the media. I also listen to what other people have to say. Finally, I listen to my heart. I have to have a good feeling for a candidate before I can vote for them. I have to believe that the candidate is honest. I have to believe that the candidate cares about the issues, and about the people, and not just about themselves, and obtaining power.

The candidate I choose doesn't have to be able to accomplish all the things they say they want to achieve during their time in office. I'm too old and wise to believe that one man, even the President of the United States, can go it alone. The President must be a person willing to work with both sides of the Isle. They must compromise despite all their campaign pledges to do otherwise.

Many people have criticized President Bill Clinton for having endorsed many programs which cut back on entitlements, as well as his lying to Congress about having an affair. I never thought that President Clinton owed anyone, except Hillary an explanation about his affair, and many of the changes in the entitlement programs protected those programs from cuts during the Bush years. Despite what people say about Bill Clinton his time in office was marked by growing prosperity, and peace. He left the nation with budget surpluses, and a world filled with people who respected the United States. Mr. Clinton was capable of compromise. He was a "middle of the roader", and he was attacked from both ends of the political spectrum for choosing the middle as his starting point.

Nowadays when asked why he felt he had failed to succeed in capturing enough votes to pass his administration's national health care plan Mr. Clinton wisely admits that he had asked for too much too soon from a Democratically led Congress. He admits this was his administration's biggest failure, and that if he had only asked for various smaller elements of the same package he could have achieved his goal. That's a big lesson for any President, and at the center of this learning process was Hillary Clinton. Despite her idealism she has certainly learned that compromise, and taking small cumulative steps is the way toward progress in the long run. This is not the Great Depression, and changing the national health care system despite the ongoing, and ever worsening crisis in health care won't come in one piece of legislation. Hillary certainly knows this better than anyone.

Now I have to ask, what would happen if Hillary Clinton were president? Would she be like Bill? Would she be able to accomplish what so many U.S. presidents have failed to do in the past - transition the nation to a single payer health care system? And what about all of the other programs which could help the middle class which have largely been turned upside down by the Bush Cronies? Would Hillary be able to make the difference so many people want?

My guess is that it all depends upon who is in Congress. If the Democrats take additional seats in the House, and Senate then Hillary could work toward creating a government that responds to the needs of the majority of people in this nation - instead of just to the rich.

But if Democrats fail to land additional seats then no matter how hard Hillary tries much of the legislation she hopes see passed might languish.


U.S. Presidential Candidate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

And what of Barack Obama?

My heart tells me he is the more exciting candidate. He is a good looking young man, with a beautiful young wife. They are both well educated professionals. The Obama family are in fact this decade's Kennedy family. There's a lot of romance there, a lot of excitement, and people feel that. This is not to say that Mr. Obama isn't idealistic, or honest for he appears to be both. Nor is it possible to claim that Senator Obama isn't highly intelligent, and eloquent for he is impressive on both scales. It's just that he does shine very brightly indeed over the quiet, even awkward Hillary Clinton when placed on the same stage.

And perhaps that's why younger voters are so attracted to Obama, but it doesn't explain why I feel drawn to supporting his candidacy. For the record I am proud to say that I voted for Mr. Obama in his Senatorial campaign. He was the best candidate, and we Illinoisans were fortunate indeed to end up with a Senator so able as he. Yet what do I see in Obama, or what do I want to see in Obama that makes me want to support his candidacy for the nation's highest office?

And that's where I find myself trapped. Do I vote for an individual because of his potential, and his sincerity, or do I vote for a woman because of her years of experience, and her practical willingness to compromise?

It really all depends upon Congress. If the Democrats gain additional seats in the House, and Senate, and take the Executive Office as well, then it won't matter whether it's Mr. Obama or Ms. Clinton that sits in the oval office, but if the legislative branch is as nearly divided as it is today the nation will need a cold blooded realist, and a president willing to compromise - one with experience on the Hill. Senator Clinton comes with that experience, while Mr. Obama does not.

So despite all of the excitement, including my own, about supporting Barack Obama I'm quietly convinced that Hillary Clinton would make the better president.

Having said that, I'm not sure if she'd make the better candidate, or if she can win the presidency. I feel Barack Obama has a better chance of winning in the general election. Which brings me full circle, for I don't want to vote for someone if I think that person has no chance of winning.

So I'm watching, and waiting for a sign that Hillary Clinton could win in November, and I'm waiting for a sign that Barack Obama is a very fast learner, and despite his hope to be a president for change that he'll also be able to play the Washington game so well that at least some of what he promises will come to fruition.

The coming weeks will tell the story. We are living in an interesting historic moment. Who will fight for the middle class this coming November? Who will take the government back from the evil regime that grabbed control seven years ago? Hopefully it will be either Senator Clinton, or Senator Obama, and that much I can endorse.


Democrat Donkey: I Endorse The Democratic Party 2008 Presidential Candidate

Meet Oreo - The Magic Pygmy Hamster

Oreo: The Magic Pygmy Hamster

Meet Oreo, our hamster. Well, actually she's not mine, so much as she's my daughter's pet. Still she's a member of the family. Shhhhhhhh! Just don't tell any of our four cats that she's in the house.

Oh, why do we call her our magic hamster?

Because she's still alive in a house with four cats.

My Photograph Will Be Published!

I've rewritten this post a bit which you can do on a blog.

All day yesterday morning I was in a funk. I recall my supervisor asking me if I wanted to draft up a letter for her, and I agreed - but I didn't understand a word she said. Why?

Because I was thinking about how I had missed my opportunity to have a photograph which I took published in a "Lincoln Book". I admitted to my supervisor that I was distracted, and explained why, and she told me it was totally understandable, and recommended I "work through it". Neat advice.

Well I eventually got my focus, but I was still hoping beyond hope that I managed to respond in time to the author's initial inquiry. I told myself that book publication deadlines are often missed, and guess what I was right, for the author responded last night saying that he had delayed publication, and that the photograph which I captured of the Abraham Lincoln Volk Bust would be included in his soon to be released book.

I know the title, and the author's name, and will release this information soon - within a few weeks - as the book will be published very soon.

For now I can say that I'm happy. I know happiness is fleeting, but I feel that way right now, and wanted to gloat? No, I wanted to share this news with my fellow bloggers, and with the world. While I have had my photographs regularly published in the Illinois Times I will admit that I am a loyal fan of Abraham Lincoln. I've spent many an afternoon watching Lincoln related seminars on CSPAN, or reading Lincoln related books. Growing up in the heart of the Land of Lincoln has had its affect.

And with the upcoming Bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth to know that my name, and photograph will appear in a book on Abraham Lincoln is a rather incredible privilege for me.

Blu Ray Is Like Ancient History

Meet The Optware Holographic Versitile Disc (HVD).

The Sony Blu Ray High Definition DVD stores a whopping 25 Gig per layer. A dual layer Blu Ray disk will therefore hold up to an amazing 50 Gigabytes!

Really incredible.

However, the capacity of the cutting edge Blu Ray is dwarfed by the Optware HVD.

The Optware HVD has a current capacity of 3.9 Terra Bytes (expected to increase).

One Optware HVD holds the equivalent of:

Six thousand CDs.
or
Eight Hundred and Thirty DVDs.

It makes the Sony Blu Ray format look puny.

Using standard video compression (e.g., MP4) one Optware HVD disc can store up to a year of continuous video recording. The same Optware HVD disc could store several decades of audio recording using standard audio compression (e.g., MP3).


Optware HVD versus DVD

The Optware HVD is the same size as a DVD, and operates with the same type of drive equipment - meaning no enormous cost are involved in manufacturing, or distribution.

Obviously there are differences in lasers (there are two, one red, the other green), servo controls, firmware, and software, but the major breakthroughs have already been accomplished, and the HVD format is now being funded, and moved into launch stage by a consortium of major Japanese electronics firms.

The Optware HVD - Coming soon to a Best Buy near you!

Winter Sun Day - January 6th 2008

Photo: JeromeProphet - Winter Sunset - Jerome, Illinois - January 6th 2008

Today's temperature rose into the sixties. That's right the cold spell which took temperatures down to single digits last week broke, and now we have Spring weather in January.

Tomorrow will bring even warmer weather, perhaps thunderstorms - yes, that's thunderstorms, not snowstorms in January (we're living in Florida now).

I used my time wisely, and washed my SUV, being careful not to spray myself with the freezing cold water coming out of the hose. I also swept out the garage. I probably could have mowed the lawn, but decided that would have to wait another four to five months.

The sun set spectacularly, and I captured some pretty photos. The photograph was taken at sunset Sunday evening, January 6th, 2008. It certainly seems that the temperature extremes that once were so rare have become rather the norm in this age of global warming.


Photo: Winter Sunset - First Week January 2008 - Jerome, Illinois

So might suggest that if we simply average out the temperatures that everything is perfectly normal, but that's all to simple, and deceitful way of portraying what is happening of late with our weather.

My guess is that there is simply more energy trapped within the atmosphere, and that this is causing the huge temperature swings which we are seeing more frequently. I know I should feel happy that the frigid cold temperatures which have haunted the Midwest for weeks have finally been driven off, but the fact that it is in the sixties in the first week of January in the Midwest is disturbing.

This Just Makes Me So Upset

Photo: Unbearded Lincoln

Unbearded Lincoln is based upon cast made by Leonard Volk, ca. 1900. Leonard W. Volk was granted a Design patent for this bust on June 12, 1860. The bust was on loan from the National Park Service/Lincoln Home National Historic Site.



I'm cleaning out my email inbox which has become super cluttered with junk mail and this is what I found:

Dear Mr. Prophet,

I saw your August 27, 2005 blog's photograph of the
Leonard Volk bust of Abraham Lincoln. It's a beauty!
I had read the story of Volk making his head cast, but
had never seen the resulting bust.

I am writing (and publishing) a book about Lincoln and
would like to include your photo (converted from color
to gray-scale). I'll give you credit, of course, and
I'll send you a copy of the book, too, which I expect
will be out this calendar year. Want me to include
your URL in the photo credit? It is your photo,
right? :-)

Thank you, and regards,

I've kept the author's name a secret for now.

Just great. I wrote the author back, but I guess he's probably published his book already.

My fifteen minutes passed me by, and I didn't even know it.

In the meantime I'm unsubscribing from like fifteen different newsletters - this has got to stop.

UPDATE: I am just so depressed about this now. I won't say why. O.K. I will say why. The book was published. And it wasn't a small unrecognized Lincoln book. I even read an article about it on CNN, and then at the SJ-R. And then I blogged about it!

Yes, I blogged about a story about a book which my photograph could have been part of without even knowing it.

I'm out of here - time to go open up some beers.

UPDATE FROM SEVERAL DAYS LATER: I didn't actually blog about the upcoming book. I was thinking of another book, or actually it was probably just a paper, or study. AND the photograph above will be included in the soon to be published book. Yea!