Many people feel that politics is a bore and during most days, such people don't think about politics at all; it's just not that important to them. They get up and go to work to pay the bills for food, clothing and shelter, and as... Continue
Public Citizen
Seeking ecstasy in everyday life fuels consumption of drugs, alcohol and food, prompts gambling, high-risk behavior, and sexual adventure. All these things excite and stimulate, prompting the release of endorphins, hormones which lessen pain and produce pleasurable sensations. Yet, even pain is connected to ecstasy.... Continue
Why do people seek ecstasy, those moments of "getting out" of ourselves--getting high? Biochemically, ecstasy can be explained; receptor sites on brain cells connect to natural and man-made substances which reduce pain, and produce sensations and feelings we find pleasurable and relieving. In other words,... Continue
For as long as science can tell, humanity has always liked to get high. Between naturally occurring endorphins which stimulate pleasure centers in the brain and substances found in nature (and now chemistry) which act upon those same pleasure centers, getting high is inextricably linked... Continue
With a nod to the opening paragraph of Charles Dickens' 1859 novel "A Tale of Two Cities" I find myself contemplating the ways in which life has never been better and never been worse. It's a matter of perspective, of course. For those of us... Continue
The 1978 film "The Dead Zone," an adaptation of a Stephen King novel, stars a young Christopher Walken in the role of an accident victim who awakens from a year's long coma with powers of clairvoyance. Physical contact with another person generates a sudden flash... Continue
Mother Earth is sending us messages all the time; it's something she has always done. There are times human beings receive her messages and other times, when we don't. Mother Earth, however, patiently keeps up her end of the conversation whether we're listening or not.... Continue
The defining youthful event of my generation was the war in Vietnam. For those of us who objected to that war, the horror of guns and bombs and pointless death became a cause celebré, a rallying point that captured the vitality of being eighteen and... Continue
When I gaze up into the trees from my backyard I'm always struck by the ways they grow into and towards the light. A very large red-barked Eucalyptus over nine-stories tall in my neighbor's yard dominates the sky from down below, its silver-colored leaves shimmering... Continue
When I gaze up into the trees from my backyard I'm always struck by the ways they grow into and towards the light. A very large red-barked Eucalyptus over nine-stories tall in my neighbor's yard dominates the sky from down below, its silver-colored leaves shimmering... Continue