Daily Thoughts & Issues

IN THIS ISSUE:

JANUARY 18

Days left until the next millennium 01.01.3001
 

Photo of the Week
Dugald Bremner/Tony Stone Images
Achieve Your Dreams

January 18 - Revolution Day (Tunisia).* The Versailles Peace Conference opens in 1919 with delegates from 27 countries. * UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), to Launch Global Initiative Against Child Pornography and Pedophile in the Media and on the Internet, fax 212.963.8014.* In 1997, about 5,000 people demonstrated in Honolulu, Hawaii, protesting efforts to amend that state's marriage laws to allow same-sex marriages. Gay & Lesbian Calendar. * Robert Clifton Weaver was sworn in as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (1966), becoming the first black cabinet member in US history.* Sundance Film Festival (a premier of American independent filmmakers) begins today through the 28th in Park City, UT * Birthdays: Kevin Costner, Cary Grant, John Hughes, Curt Flood, Oliver Hardy, Danny Kaye, A. A. Milne (Pooh Day), Peter Mark Roget, Davis Eli (David) Ruffin, Daniel Webster, John Boorman, Jesse L Martin, Mark Messier.

Ensure that your fire extinguishers are properly charged.
Keep one in each bedroom and be sure everyone knows how to work it.

DAILY THOUGHTS

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. James Howell. We are counseled from the time we are children that work must come before play. Before we can watch cartoons or go to the movies, the chores have to be done. All sorts of cruel and inhuman restrictions are imposed in the name of responsibility. If we want that hot-fudge sundae, we must eat every last lima bean. We Men Who Do Next to Nothing have learned that work, once begun, is never finished and so is better never begun at all. We have learned how to break the intergenerational chain of the work ethic. We can decide to be different. We can have dessert before dinner. We can read the latest Playboy before The Wall Street Journal. We can let her bring home the bacon. We have choices. Let go, let God, let somebody else. Meditations for Men Who Do Next to Nothing: and would like to do even less

If a child sees his parents day in and day out behaving with self-discipline, restraint, dignity, and a capacity to order their own lives, then the child will come to feel in the deepest fibers of his being that this is the way to live. The Road Less Traveled

The Sneezing Season: An ordinary cold is caused by any one of more than a hundred viruses, known as rhino viruses. A typical 1- to 7-year-old will catch four to sever colds each year. The all-too-familiar symptoms are a runny nose, a scratchy throat, a persistent cough that may take two weeks to fade, and a fever that is usually 100 degrees or less. Most colds warrant a doctor's visit only if a child experiences severe pain in his head, ears, throat, or chest; a fever of 100 degrees or above or a fever higher than 100 degrees that lasts longer than three days; or trouble breathing due to congestion. Parents Tips & Tricks

As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live. - Johann von Goethe Achieve Your Dreams

Tinges to Be Happy About:  jogging at sunrise, when the antibiotics kick in, chicken-and-corn chowder. 14,000 Things to Be Happy About

Embrace your role as a perpetual student of life. This means giving in to the idea that you actually don't know everything that you need to, and you never will. It also means that you need to convince your ego that being a student does not make you inferior. In fact, being a student opens up worlds of possibilities that are invisible to those who are unwilling to accept this role. If Life is a Game, These are the Rules

"Time management" is really a misnomer - the challenge is not to manage time but to manage ourselves. Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Stop the junk mail: Write to Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, PO Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008. Request that your name and all variations of it not be sold to mailing list companies. This will drastically reduce the junk mail you have to deal with every day. Simplify Your Life. (Editor: Also, make a habit of tearing off the address label with return address on it. Write - "please remove" in big letters across the label, and send it back. This will help, if you keep doing it.)

Gentle stretching exercises help to retain or regain body flexibility, which is crucial to good health. Without flexibility, undue stress is put on individual muscles, joints and bones, which can lead to loss of mobility and greater susceptibility to injury. Plus, slow, gentle stretching is a natural muscle relaxer. Stress Busters (At any age.)

Dad. If there's snow on the ground, get several empty spray bottles. Fill each with water and a few drops of food coloring. Use different colors. Get your children ready to go outside. Make a snowperson. Then give each child a bottle, add rosy cheeks and color to the snow sculpture, write their name in the snow, etc. Have fun. To Do Today

I have learned that success is to be measured not by so much the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed. - Booker T. Washington Win the Day!

Don't be hasty when washing your hands. It takes at least twenty seconds to do a thorough job. Life's Little Instruction Calendar

Luck:  You've heard it said that you create your life, and that's true. But it's also true that there are larger forces playing in your life, directing chance meetings, offering opportunities. Perhaps you've been afraid to break out of certain patterns, afraid to play with Lady Luck, afraid to reap more of the gifts of love. What would happen if you understood that luck in love is simply the willingness to more fully open the door of your heart of life's invitations - to more readily take a chance, play with life and win? You can start today, allowing the winds of luck to blow more freely through your heart. First, take a moment to acknowledge someone or something important, who would not be in your life without some luck. Then, open you availability to be visited by luck - some offbeat opportunity, which may be very subtle or small, that could expand the love in your life. With appreciation, go for it!  I consciously notice how lucky I am. "Every day, I think of all the reasons why I'm lucky to have my wife." Paul Gonzalez Opening to Love 365 Days a Year

El granate (grahNAHteh) - garnet. Living Language

TODAY'S ISSUE: PERSPECTIVE

It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly. Do not mistake action for achievement. - Mabel Newcomer.

Two sisters live a thousand miles apart. They write occasional letters and talk often on the phone. Their lives are quite similar, filled with work, children, committed relationships, houses, and pets. Yet when they ask each other "How's your life?" one always says, "Oh, thing are pretty much the same," and her sister says, "Oh, things are crazy!" and recites a long list of details: lost data files, chicken pox in second grade, skiing accident, the cat's kidney stones.

What a difference in perspective! One sister feels tossed around by her life, pulled in different directions. When she makes a successful presentation at work, she feels euphoric, but if work goes badly she plunges into depression. When her kids get chicken pox, she itches. The other sister swims serenely in her life, doing the best she can moment by moment.

One's life seems full of excitement, the other's a tranquil pond. Which is better? No one can say. But each of us can choose how we live - immersed in trivia, buffeted by details, or more serenely, taking a long view and trusting in a power greater than ourselves. When we stop spinning our wheels, we start to get somewhere. Family Feelings

Hey Man: Did you make a difference yesterday? Let us know at Contact Us. Jumping up and down may wear me out, but it doesn't make progress on my journey. Family Feelings Want to make a difference but you don't know where to start?

BOOK OF THE WEEK

The Transgender Child: A handbook for families and professionals. by Stephanie Brill and Rachel Pepper What do you do when your son insists on wearing a dress to school? Or when your toddler daughter's first sentence is that she's a boy? Offering an extensive understanding of gender-variant and transgender youth, this book answers these questions a more. Covering developmental, legal, medical and school issues, it is a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind guidebook for the unique challenges that thousands of families face raising children who step outside of the pink or blue box. Cleis Press, www.cleispress.com, 2008, ISBN 978-1-57344-318-0

SPECIAL URLs

 

MENSTUFF COLUMNS BY AUTHOR

  • The Advice Diva - The Advice Diva - relationship and sexuality issues discussed - www.menstuff.org/columns/advicediva/archive.html
  • Peter Alsop - Song of the Month - www.menstuff.org/columns/alsop/archive.html
  • Reid Baer - A Man Overboard - Interview of the Month - www.menstuff.org/columns/overboard/archive.html
  • Reid Baer - Poetry - poetry read on YouTube - www.menstuff.org/columns/baer/archive.html
  • Molly Barrow - Shrink About This - www.menstuff.org/columns/barrow/archive.html
  • Peter Baylies - At Home Dads - on at-home-dad issues that impact fathers who stay at home to raise their kids - www.menstuff.org/columns/baylies/archive.html
  • Tom Blake - Middle-Age Relationships - from an expert on dating after 50. www.menstuff.org/columns/blake/archive.html
  • Mark Brandenburg - Great Fathers - on fathering issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/greatfathers/archive.html
  • Ted Braude - BoysWork - a columnist in the The Detroit Free Press "Body and Mind" section www.menstuff.org/columns/braude/archive.html
  • Armin Brott - A Father's Guide - hosts "Positive Parenting" on radio www.menstuff.org/columns/brott/archive.html
  • Dan Bulf - Get Real - weekly pod cast on men's issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/bulf/archive.html
  • Ken Byers - Transition - on men's life transitions - www.menstuff.org/columns/byers/archive.html
  • Sandra L. Caron - Sex Talk - college students get answers to their questions - www.menstuff.org/columns/sextalk/archive.html
  • Neil Chethik - Relationships - www.menstuff.org/columns/chethik/archive.html
  • Otto & Susie Collins - Susie and Otto - relationship issues discussed - www.menstuff.org/columns/susie&otto/archive.html
  • David Copeland - How to Succeed with Women - www.menstuff.org/columns/howtosucceed/archive.html
  • Forrest Craver - Spirituality & Social Change - www.menstuff.org/columns/craver/archive.html
  • Layne & Paul Cutright - Powerful Partnerships - relationship issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/cutright/archive.html
  • Ron DesMarais - Cavemen in the Kitchen - great recipes for men - www.menstuff.org/columns/desmarais/archive.html
  • Jed Diamond - Irritable Male Syndrome - www.menstuff.org/columns/diamond/archive.html
  • Doc Love - Women Don't Lie, Man Don't Listen - answers to relationship issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/doclov/archive.html
  • Barry Durdant-Hollamby - Creating Change - creating change in your life - www.menstuff.org/columns/durdant/archive.html
  • Irv Engel - The Real Deal - www.menstuff.org/columns/engel/archive.html
  • Nancy Fagan - Expert Dating Advice - with Nancy Fagan - www.menstuf.org/columns/fagan/archive.html
  • Warren Farrell - Men's Issues: Facts and Perspectives www.menstuff.org/columns/farrell/archive.html
  • Leonard Felder - Wake Up or Break Up - www.menstuff.org/columns/felder/archive.html
  • Marty Friedman - Strong Men, Strong Marriage - www.menstuff.org/columns/friedman/archive.html
  • Kim Garretson - Mansgland - using humor to encourage prostate exams - www.menstuff.org/columns/mansgland/archive.html
  • Lion Goodman - How to get Women to Love You - www.menstuff.org/columns/goodman/archive.html
  • Liz Halliday - In a Man's World - www.menstuff.org/columns/halliday/archive.html
  • Rick Hanson - Just One Thing - www.menstuff.org/columns/hanson/archive.html
  • Tim Hartnett - Daddyman Speaks - being a father www.menstuff.org/columns/daddyman/archive.html
  • John Hershey - Blood, Phlegm & Bile: Parenting with Humor - He writes a syndicated biweekly humor column about parenting and family life. www.menstuff.org/columns/hershey/archive.html
  • Gary Hoeber - Psychotherapy as Soul Work, www.menstuff.org/columns/hoeber/archive.html
  • Patrick Houser - Fathers Make a World of Difference, www.menstuff.org/columns/houser/archive.html
  • Paul Joannides - The Guide to Getting It On - on sex - www.menstuff.org/columns/getiton/archive.html
  • Jack Kahn - NOMAS Boston - www.menstuff.org/columns/kahn/archive.html
  • Patrick Kennedy - Seniors - www.menstuff.org/columns/kennedy/archive.html
  • Joe Kort - Gaydar - to increase understanding between gay and het men - www.menstuff.org/columns/kort/archive.html
  • David Kundtz - David Kundtz - presents seminars, workshops, retreats, and conference presentations in the areas of men's emotional health, stress management, and spirituality. www.menstuff.org/columns/kundtz/archive.html
  • Bruce Linton - Dr. Dad - on fathering - www.menstuff.org/columns/drdad/archive.html
  • Ron Louis - How to Succeed with Women - www.menstuff.org/columns/howtosucceed/archive.html
  • Wendy McElroy - Wendy McElroy on Feminism, www.menstuff.org/columns/mcelroy/archive.html
  • Robert N. Minor - Minor Details - on GBT sexuality - www.menstuff.org/columns/minordetails/archive.html
  • Robert L. Moore - Man & Mythology - www.menstuff.org/columns/moore/archive.html
  • Dennis W. Neder - Being a Man - general questions about men's lives - www.menstuff.org/columns/neder/archive.html
  • Marty Nemko - Worklife - general questions about men and work - www.menstuff.org/columns/nemko/archive.html
  • Eli Newberger - Eli Newberger - general information on men's lives - www.menstuff.org/columns/newberger/archive.html
  • Linda Nielsen - Embracing the Father - working with the father/daughter relationship. www.menstuff.org/columns/nielsen/archive.html
  • Kathy Noll - Bullies and Youth Violence - working with schools, teachers and parents to end school violence - www.menstuff.org/columns/noll/archive.html
  • Mark Phillips - Stay-at-Home-Dads - helping men maintain that which makes us men, instead of becoming hairy Mom-substitutes - www.menstuff.org/columns/phillips/archive.html
  • Carey Roberts - Socialism & Feminism - is a social commentator on political correctness. www.menstuff.org/columns/roberts/archive.html
  • Perry Rose - Dating, Relationship, Sex
  • Glenn Sacks - His Side - on fathering - www.menstuff.org/columns/sacks/archive.html
  • Trudy Schuett - Domestic Violence - serving the under-represented www.menstuff.org/columns/schuett/archive.html
  • Carl J. Schutt - Circumcision - social commentator on circumcision - www.menstuff.org/columns/schutt/archive.html
  • Hugo Schwyzer - A Pro-feminist's Response - www.menstuff.org/columns/schwyzer/archive.html
  • Michael Shaffran - Men's Issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/shaffran/archive.html
  • Judith Sherven - Judith & Jim - discussion and answers regarding relationship issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/judith&jim/archive.html
  • Judith Sherven - The New Intimacy - www.menstuff.org/columns/newintimacy/archive.html
  • George Simons - Bellicose Veins - is a US specialist in intercultural and gender communication who hangs out in Mandelieu - la Napoule, France, as well as in Santa Cruz, CA. www.menstuff.org/columns/simons/archive.html
  • Andy Smith - Hard Hat Brotherhood - www.menstuff.org/columns/hardhat/archive.html
  • David B. Smith - Fighting Father Dave - www.menstuff.org/columns/smith/archive.html
  • Jim Sniechowski - Judith & Jim - discussion and answers regarding relationship issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/judith&jim/archive.html
  • Jim Sniechowski - The New Intimacy - www.menstuff.org/columns/newintimacy/archive.html
  • Reena Sommer - Custody - is an internationally recognized relationship and divorce consultant. www.menstuff.org/columns/sommer/archive.html
  • R. Don Steele - Don Steele - relationship questions answered -
    www.menstuff.org/columns/steele/archive.html
  • David Steinberg - Comes Naturally - on sexuality - www.menstuff.org/columns/steinberg/archive.html
  • Mary Lou St Lucas - A Mother's Love - www.menstuf.org/columns/stlucas/archive.html
  • Surprise - Surprise Author - From a new columnist every month - www.menstuff.org/columns/surprise/archive.html
  • Steven Svoboda - Fatherhood, Activism and the Law www.menstuff.org/columns/svoboda/archive.html
  • Michael Taylor - A New Conversation with Men - www.menstuff.org/columns/taylor/archive.html
  • Bruce Van Horn - Yoga for Men - issues around the health benefits of yoga for men - www.menstuff.org/yoga/archive.html
  • Michael Webb - Secrets of Blissful Relationships - on relationship - www.menstuff.org/columns/bliss/archive.html
  • Stuart Wilde - Spirituality - www.menstuff.org/columns/wilde/archive.html
  • Dr.Williams - Sex Health - on sexual health - Dr. Williams, www.menstuff.org/columns/sexhealth/archive.html
  • KC Wilson - On Gender Politics is a social commentator and author. www.menstuff.org/columns/wilson/archive.html

Plus

  • Health Tips - on general health - www.menstuff.org/columns/healthtips/archive.html
  • Independent Means - resources for raising financially fit kids - www.menstuff.org/columns/independentmeans/archive.html
  • Numbers - www.menstuff.org/columns/numbers/archive.html
  • Questions - www.menstuff.org/columns/q&a/archive.html
  • Surprise - from a new columnist every month - www.menstuff.org/columns/surprise/archive.html
  • Words Can Heal - helping children grow up healthy - www.menstuff.org/columns/wordscanheal/archive.html
  • Wuzup?! - National or international events happening this month - www.menstuff.org/columns/whassup/archive.html

AWARENESS EVENTS THIS MONTH

January is: Birth Defects Prevention, Cervical Health Awareness, National Voluteer Blood Donor; Bald Eagle Watch; Celebration of Life; Fat Free Living; International Get Over It; International Life Balance; It's Okay to Be Different; Love Yourself; March of Dimes Birth Defects Prevention; National Be On-Purpose; National Book; National Clean Up Your Computer; National Environmental Policy Act; National Eye Care; National Glaucoma Awareness; National High-Tech; National Personal Self-Defense Awareness; National Poverty in America Awareness; National Reaching Your Potential; National Yours, Mine and Ours; Senior-Spirit; Sew for the Cure Month.

12/26-1/1: Kwanzaa. 12/31-1/6: Celebration of Life; Diet Resolution; National Lose Weight/Feel Great; New Year's Resolution; Silent Record Week; 1/5-13: Wilderness Wildlife Week of Nature. 1/6-12: Someday We'll Laugh About This Week.1/7-11: National Graves' Disease Awareness Week. 1/7-13: Universal Letter-Writing Week. 1/10-17: International Thank You Days. 1/13-19: Fire the Boss, International Printing, Let Men Be Our Heroes, Special Education Week. 1/14-18: Manwatchers Week. 1/20-26: Healthy Weight, National Creative Frugality, National Nurse Anesthetists, Solo-Preneuring Week. 1/21-25: Direct Deposit Week. 1/22-28: No Name Calling Week 1/21-25: *National Consumer Protection Week. 1/31-2/3: Mid-Winter/Candlemas/Groundhog's Day. 1/1: Attention to Dreams and Desires; Get a Life; Saint Basil's; Z Day. 1/2: Happy New Year for Cats; National Thrift with Flair Day. 1/6: International Respect-full Living Day; National Smith Day. Jan 7: United Kingdom Solid Gold Hat Day. Orthodox Christian Christmas. 1/8: National Bubble; Clean-Off-Your-Desk; Joygerm: Saint Gudula's Feast; Show & Tell at Work Day. 1/12 - National Handwriting Day. 1/15 - Humanitarian, Moliere, National Thank God It's Monday Day. 1/16 - Psychiatric Technicians Day. 1/18: Get to Know Your Customer Day. 1/19: International Sing-out Day. 1/20: Penguin Awareness Day. 1/21: National Hugging, World Religion Day. 1/22: World Religions Day, Celebration of Life Day. 1/23: Rid the World of Fad Diets and Gimmicks Day. 1/24: Just Do It Day - Make the Connection, National Compliment Day. 1/25: A Room of One's Own Day. 1/26: Fun at Work Day, Toad Hollow Day of Encouragement; Spouse's Day. 1/29: Freethinker's, National Puzzle Day. 1/30: Inane Answering Machine Day.

* Means a Presidential Proclamation has been made.

National Missing Children's Day
Help find a missing child!
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24-Hour Hotline

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Men are so competitive that we even "out-die" women in all 15 of the major causes of death in the U.S. Most of these deaths are preventable with a positive change in life-style, eating habits, and/or general health care. Let's not strive so hard to hold on to this record. See what you can change now to live a healthier life.
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