Daily Thoughts & Issues

IN THIS ISSUE:

DECEMBER 21

Days left until the next millennium 01.01.3001

Photo of the Week
Eric Evans/Adventure Photos & Film
Achieve Your Dreams

December 21 - Thru 12/22 Winter Solstice /Solar New Year - Marks the beginning of Winter and the shortest day and longest night of the year; celebration of the darkness with dancing around the hearth fire. Also, An Old European Festival of Evergreen Trees; merged into International Arbor Day - celebrated by planting evergreen trees and hanging evergreen wreaths (symbols of eternal life). * Thru 1/9 Hopi/Zuni/Pueblo Tribes' Soyala New Year Festival of purification and renewal. Homes are cleaned, fires doused, and personal restraint is observed. The Mystic's Wheel of the Year * Eleven former Soviet republics sign a declaration dissolving the USSR and founding the Commonwealth of Independent States (1991). * Humbug Day. Allows all those preparing for Christmas to vent their frustrations. 12 "humbugs" allowed. * Anniversary, from Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, of the winning of Phileas Fogg's wager in 1872 when Fogg walked into the saloon of the Reform Club in London, announcing "Here I am, gentlemen!" exactly 79 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds after starting his trip "around the world in 80 days" to win his 20,000 pound wager.* Apollo * (US) first moon voyage launched. Orbited moon Dec 24, returned to Earth Dec 27 - the first men to orbit the moon and see the side of the moon away from Earth. * Pilgrim Landing or Forefather's Day, observed mainly in New England in commemoration of landing at Plymouth Rock on this day in 1620. *  Yule. One of the "Lesser Sabbats" during the Wiccan year, it marks the death of the Sun God and his rebirth from the Earth Goddess. * Yalda, the longest night of the year, is celebrated by Iranians. The ceremony has an Indo-Iranian origin, where Light and Good were considered to struggle against Darkness and Evil. With fires burning and lights lit, family and friends gather to stay up through the night helping the sun in its battle against darkness. They recite poetry, tell stories and eat special fruits and nuts until the sun, triumphant, reappears in the morning. *  Birthdays:Heinrich Boll, Benjamin Disraeli, Andor Foldes, James Parkinson, Frank Zappa, Andy Dick, Phil Donahue, Samuel L. Jackson, Joe Paterno, Ray Romano, Michael Tilson Thomas, Andrew James (Andy) Van Slyke, Paul Winchell. And a special to Jed Diamond.

DAILY THOUGHTS

Faithfulness to the soul is the only approach that saves us from the oblivion of either a soulless existence or insanity. Our strongest emotions contain the pressure of the soul, as it asks us to wrestle with values that contradict reason. Soul Mates

It's incredibly sexy when she takes off my shoes. - Michael, 30 Best of 1001 Sex Secrets Every Man & Woman Should Know

The present never ages. Each moment is like a snowflake; unique, unspoiled, unrepeatable and can be appreciated in its surprisingness. New Passages

You can't stop the sled halfway down the hill. Really Important Stuff My Kids Have Taught Me

Mere precedent is a dangerous source of authority. - Andrew Jackson. Achieve Your Dreams

Things to Be Happy About:  Snow biking. Chocolate rum balls. Opening Holiday cards.   14,000 Things to Be Happy About

Getting lost teaches you how to read a map. Really Important Stuff My Kids Have Taught Me

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. - Helen Keller.  If Life is a Game, These are the Rules

In New York City in the 1950s, two men were legally prohibited from being on a dance floor together without a woman also being present.  Gay & Lesbian Calendar

Integrity is the key to your power. The key to your own personal peace of mind. If you have power inside, it's amazing what you can do outside.  Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Help your children discover through their own experience how good it feels to put another person's needs first. Teach them to share with a sibling or to let a younger child have the first turn.  Simplify Your Life

Spray Away Monsters. Keep a spray bottle filled with water next to your child's bed and explain that the bottle contains anti-monster spray. If they become frightened at night, the mist of the bottle is all it should take to make them feel safe again. Parents Tips & Tricks

Shoulder Shrug. To release tight shoulder muscles, pull your shoulders up toward your ears and hold for 5 seconds, then relax. Do this 10 times. Stress Busters

For the Kids: Cherish Hanukkah by making a special decoration each year. Last year I made a wall hanging, and the year before that I made a mobile. They brighten the house. To Do Today

 The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly. - Thomas Paine. Win the Day!

 El lado (LAHdoh) Side. Mira el lado bueno. Look on the bright side. Living Language

*SPECIAL BIRTHDAY: Jed Diamond (12/21/43) refused to stay in the waiting room the day this son was born and from that day forward vowed to make the world a different places for fathers and sons. He has written books, has organized workshops, and spoken around the world since that day in 1969. jed@menalive.com

TODAY'S ISSUE: WORLD PEACE DAY

Blessed are the peacemakers. - Matthew 5:9

Many men are uncomfortable with peace, though we may like the idea. We've been programmed since childhood to prepare for war, prepare to kill or be killed. We played army at five years old, imagining sticks into submachine guns, dirt clods into grenades, pretending to sneak up on the enemy to destroy them. Later on, some of us went on to wage wars of battlefields known as gridirons. If we didn't engage in combat there, then we did with fellow classmates, particularly the ones who tried to wrestle away our girlfriends. We carried our propensity for battle into bedrooms and corporate boardrooms, believing our manhood would be won or lost there.

Without a war to fight, we rested only to prepare for the next great conflict, the next change to "prove our strength." We came to associate peace with boredom.

I want to teach my children that pace is greater than pistols, quiet and contentment more necessary than counterattack. A Quiet Strength: Meditations on the Masculine Soul

Hey Man: Did you make a difference yesterday? Let us know at Contact Us. Today I'll make peace with an old friend or relative I've hurt, a child I wounded with words. If nothing else, I'll declare a cease-fire with myself: I'll refuse to shame myself for learning what I was taught. A Quiet Strength: Meditations on the Masculine Soul Want to make a difference but you don't know where to start?

BOOK OF THE WEEK

The Dumbest Generation: How the digital age stupefies young Americans and jeopardizes our future (0r, don't trust anyone under 30) by Mark Bauerlein. Do the digital diversions of the young cut kids off from history, civics, literature, fine art? Does mounting screen time dumb them down? The author thinks "Yes." And this book was designed to open debate for sober skepticism. It was to counter the sanguine portraits of informed and agile teens at the keyboard with dismaying survey results and illustrations of youth insulation and ignorance, kids shunning books and vaunting their digital nativity. We won't know the full intellectual impact of text messaging, Web 2.0, Facebook and the rest for many years and it will show up in distant measures such as the money firms spend on writing coaches for employees, the number of students in remedial classes, popular demand that politicians elevate their rhetoric, and whether the vocabulary level of newspapers inches downward or upward. This book is definitely a wake-up call. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2009, ISBN 978-1-58542-712-3

 

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

December is Kidstuff month. Also check Toy Safety and Happy Holidaze. Holiday Designated Driver, Colorectal Cancer Education and Awareness; Hug-A-Week for Hearing Impaired; International Calendar Awareness; *National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention; National Stress-Free Family Holidays; Safe Toys and Gifts; Universal Human Rights Month.

11/1-12/13: Merlin's Snug Hugs for Kids, 11/27-12/26: Ramadan. 11/1/00-01/01/01: Tie One on the Safety; 11/4-12/4: Jewish Book Month. 11/26-12/25: Operation Blessing International's 30 Days of Holiday Hope. 12/1-7: National Aplastic Anemia Awareness; Tolerance; 12/10-16: *Human Rights Week. 12/15-21: International Language Week 12/16-24: Posadas.. 12/17-23: Tell Someone They're Doing a Good Job Week. 12/22-29: Chanukah. 12/25-31: It's About Time Week. 12/26-1/1: Kwanzaa. 12/1: Day without Art/*UN World AIDS Day; 12/2: Pan American Health; International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, Advent/Festival of Lights. 12/3: UN International Day of Disabled Persons. 12/5: Bathtub Party; International Volunteer Day for Economy and Social Development Day. 12/7: *National Pearl Harbor Remembrance; UN International Civil Aviation Day. 12/9: UN Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948). 12/10: * Human Rights; International Shareware; UN Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination Day. 12/12: Poinsettia Day. 12/15: *Bill of Rights; Underdog; One Day. 12/17: End Violence Against Sex Workers (International) *Pan American Aviation; Wright Brothers Day. 12/20: Louisiana Purchase; Mudd Day. 12/21: Forefathers'; Humbug; Phileas Fogg Wins a Wager; World Peace Day. 12/25: Christmas, A'phabet Day. 12/26: National Whiner's; Boxing Day. 12/28: Holy Innocents Day. 12/29: UN International Day for Biological Diversity Day. 12/31: Namahage (Japan); Make Up Your Mind Day. World Peace Meditation.

* Means a Presidential Proclamation has been made.

National Missing Children's Day
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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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