In heaven, I hope I will sit on the porch swing, all day long.
"White shores. A far green country, and a swift sunrise" is how Gandalf describes it.
Saw this quote via someone's Facebook status, of all things:
Love means doing all we can, at whatever cost to ourselves, to help people be enthralled with the glory of God. When they are, they are satisfied and God is glorified. Therefore loving people and glorifying God are one.
Hot off the presses:
1. My friend David's recent blog post entitled "Why I Go to the Monastery" has had me thinking all morning. Each year David visits a monastery in remote New Mexico "to be loved on by God". He writes that he exits the world in order to re-enter it more deeply. What a fantastic post.
2. "You're welcome, world. Love, the internets." is an other amazing blog I've been enjoying lately. Like my brain, its a random mishmash of very fascinating thoughts, maps, websites, reflections, and photos. I am so glad to have found her.
3. Google Wave, people- its the future. Will Google solve ALL the world's problems?
4. I will not be getting the H1N1 flu shot. I made this decision after learning that the shot was hastily tested on only a few hundred adults, and after hearing interviews with several scientists and physicians who say they are very concerned that there will be a repeat of the swine flu vaccine fiasco in the 1960's that resulted in hundreds of people becoming paralyzed as a result of the degenerative neurological sydrome Guillain-Barre. Does it really seem like a smart idea to rush a vaccination with no long-term testing into the general population, much less to ask pregnant women and children to be the first in line?
There's also the issue of mercury. In the case of a disease as terrible as, for instance, polio, I think putting a small amount of mercury into a person seems justified. But for a disease that seems to be no worse than regular, yearly flu? I'll pass.
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4 comments:
Girl, don't even get me startedddd on the swine flu shenanigans...I would take the swine over the regular flu anyday! It lasts 24-48 hours rather than 1-2 weeks! Come on people!! Good Lord.
firstly, i am so excited that my good friend over at "you're welcome world..." introduced me to your blog...it's lovely and i'm so happy to be adding it to my repertoire!
for better or worse, i don't usually comment, but i have to say something about the h1n1 flu vaccine...first of all, if you are not in one of the at risk groups (ie, 6 mos thru 24 yrs or over 25 but with chronic health conditions, etc.), you will, most likely be fine, not to get the vaccine. in fact, even if you were in the risk group and decided against getting the vaccine, you would probably be fine. why? because you would be protected by the herd, as i'm sure most people will go with the CDC recommendation and get the vaccine (i certainly will). if you DO get h1n1, though, you are putting other members of the "herd" at risk (eg, babies under 6 mos who aren't able to get the vaccine)...
the incidence rate of guillain-barre arising from vaccine is one case per million vaccinations, though, of course, your "risk"goes up if you have a family history of GBS. the "swine flu vaccine fiasco in the 1960s" (actually, it was 1976) that you mentioned was tragic for those who developed GBS. since then, thankfully, vaccine technology has been greatly improved, a reason for which the incidence has dropped so low...
you also mentioned the fact that the CDC is not undertaking any long term testing. (they are performing clinical trials.) of course, time is an issue here. even if it were not, though, population based testing would not be necessary, as the vaccine will be produced using the same process/facilities as seasonal flu vaccines. every year, the seasonal flu vaccines change since the virus mutates, and the CDC obviously does not perform population based trials every year, but relies on the efficacy of the vaccine used in previous years. they are confident this will be true of the h1n1 vaccine, since they only have to "tweak" the seasonal vaccine...
i'm no expert, but that's just my 2 cents, for what it's worth...if you're interested in vaccine side effects, you should look up paul offit...in fact, look him up anyway: he basically invented the rotavirus vaccine, which is in clinical trials now (including in low-income areas of kenya, where you, apparently, work!) and will probably save/has saved millions of lives...
whew! that was long-winded...i promise to get off my soap box if you let me re-visit your blog :)
Laura, thanks for that good information! Yes, you're officially welcomed back:) Believe me, if anyone should forgive the occasional soapboxing, it should be me, a chronic and largely unrepentant soapboxer:)
me and you on a porch swing in heaven, okay? :) love you!
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