Taking a Step Back

Don't today's political goings-on make your head spin? They do mine and I've had to take a breather from thinking politics.

So what's on my mind today? Reformation--of myself. After a dry and hot summer, I am feeling much better now that autumn's cooler temperatures and occasional rain are here. I feel more like doing things now.

Like everyone else, I have lists and lists of self-improvement projects, things to do, etc. I have to remind myself to take these projects in bite-sized pieces so that I can manage them without feeling overwhelmed.

"How do you eat an elephant?"

"One bite at a time."

Whatever your self-improvement project might be, you can search on Google or one of the other search engines and find websites filled with articles to give you some guidance. Some are selling something, of course, but still might have useful information. Search the blogs, too. You're sure to run across some kindred spirit who will provide some inspiration and motivation, not to mention practical how-to's.

Don't wait until your New Year's Resolutions--pick something now and start working on it, whether it is an exercise program or developing a talent or trying out a new hobby. It'll refresh your soul!

Religious Texts from Many Faiths

Let's see--I haven't done a post on religion yet. Here's a site that links you to the religious and sacred texts of many faiths. If you are interested in sampling the writings from faiths around the world, here's your chance.

Here's another, more extensive site: Internet Sacred Texts Archive There's a lot of reading here.

Enjoy!

On a further religion note, here is a link to an article at The Heritage Foundation entitled "Why American Needs Religion" by William E. Simon, Jr. It will give you some things to think about.

I, of course, have my own religious beliefs. While I don't plan to discuss them all that much here, on my "secular" blog, I do have another blog that contains a lot of my religious views. If you are interested in perusing it, it's called "By Study and Also By Faith" and is located here.

An Art Gallery on the Web

Did you know that you can visit a fantastic art gallery while planted in front of your computer? Take a look at the site for The Web Gallery of Art. I've added it to my sidebar links, by the way.

A quote from the first screen:

The Web Gallery of Art is a virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods (1100-1850), currently containing over 15.400 reproductions. Commentaries on pictures, biographies of artists are available. Guided tours, free postcard and other services are provided for the visitors.

Looks like a great site for those interested in art. I've got some exploring to do!

"Progress in Iraq: Facts and Analysis"

Over at The Heritage Foundation you can find a page on "Progress in Iraq: Facts and Analysis" which has a lot of information about the war in Iraq. We need to educate ourselves on what is going on regarding this war and we should not depend on the mainstream media for all our information.

The Heritage Foundation has research pages on many topics of interest to the politically aware and concerned citizen of the United States. There is a page on the Middle East, one on Education, one on Taxes, and one on American Political Thought. These are just a few examples. They have an entire list of research issues on their homepage. Whatever your particular interest, you can find facts and analysis on it which will help you to understand the issues better.

Excerpts from the Wafa Sultan Interview from February

Over at The Middle East Media Research Institute, they have a manuscript of excerpts of the interview with Wafa Sultan (Arab-American psychiatrist) from 21 February 2006. The interview was shown on Al-Jazeera television.

Thanks to my friend, Titus Todd, for mentioning it in a comment on an earlier post. He has a blog at BResponsible, which I've added to my links in the sidebar.

What Is This World Coming To?

Caroline B. Glick writes another important article on Jewish World Review. She is an Israeli living in Israel. She knows whereof she speaks.

"Setting the Conditions for Disaster" by Caroline B. Glick

This is absolutely outrageous--that any country could be told what they can and cannot do for their own national security. Yet that is what the UN's resolution 1701 does to Israel, while shoring up Hezbollah, Iran, et al.

Take a few minutes to read her article. Please.

In Line With the Last Post...

...the same people have a science website here. It links to the math page mentioned before and also physics, chemistry, and astronomy.

I was glad to find this resource. I haven't explored it fully, but it looks like it has lots of information. Still under construction so more to come on it.

Mathematics Gets a Turn

I have discovered a good website for those interested in math. It's called "Math World" and is linked in my sidebar, as well as here.

There are lots of interesting bits on the site. There is a page on "Recreational Mathematics" that has links to some fascinating pages. One is "Illusions" which shows some of the famous optical illusions you've probably seen before and, in addition, has a caption that tells a little about it. And how about this one on "Origami?"

Have some fun exploring this fascinating site.