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Larry Muffin At Home

~ Remembering that life is a comedy and the world is a small town.

Larry Muffin At Home

Tag Archives: humanity

Beliefs

18 Monday May 2020

Posted by larrymuffin in life

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

humanity, society, values, World

 

I have been thinking of doing this list for a while. What is important to me. In no specific order, all equally important. It does not include everything.

The Rule of Law in general and in our Society to ensure social Peace.

International cooperation and multilateralism amongst nations

Respect for human life

Honesty

An Open mind

Education

Pragmatism

Common sense

Respect

Dignity

Intelligence

Good conversation

Quality in all things worth doing

Friendship

Fellowship

Loyalty

Duty

Honouring one’s word

Courtesy

Art, Culture, Music and Books, because this makes us civilized

Reading widely to expand one’s horizon

Languages spoken, minimum two fluently, the more the better

Attention to details in all things

Quiet time, reflection

Awareness of the world around us

Appreciation for the natural world

 

 

 

 

Values

18 Monday May 2020

Posted by larrymuffin in values

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Canada., Covid 19, economy, humanity, life, PANDEMIC

During this pandemic which is unlike anything any one living today have ever experienced, there are many discussions on life and the world and our medical authorities have tried their best with what they have on hand to inform us on how to avoid infection. Some have listened others not so much, then as we in Canada are starting to emerge slowly from the worst of this crisis, some have advocated a quick return to a normal life and a re-opening of businesses others have advocated patience and careful approach to avoid a second wave of this virus. We have to accept that there are many viewpoints on this matter and it is shaped by individual beliefs and life experience.

Re-opening to quickly to satisfy those who wish to return to what is dubbed normalcy out of frustration will create another problem. Are we not all frustrated with this unusual and abnormal situation.

Someone will have to pay the price for re-opening too quickly. Would you be willing to sacrifice your family, your children, parents, friends? It is likely many will pay with their lives having no choice but to work in unsafe conditions to satisfy this requirement and others will be infected without knowing it.

I am fascinated and horrified with the many commenters who justify the death of others by saying that it is justified by the economic benefits it brings because those who die are elderly (over 60) so a natural process. Such false equivalence arguments are often used in journalism and in politics today. A logical fallacy in which an equivalence is drawn between human life and re-starting the economy in order to save businesses and jobs based on flawed or false reasoning. We have all read or heard the arguments.

There are many such voices in Canada in the media, in politics and in the public in general. A very sad comment on our society and the mentality of the callous present amongst us.

We should never have to choose between a human life and/or the economy, there is no equivalence. Those who would have us make a choice are clearly in the wrong. We all need a strong economy so that our society prospers but not at the expense of the people in that society.

 

Ramadan traditions

28 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by larrymuffin in life

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

charity, good fellowship, humanity, kindness

The word ‘Ramadan‘ originally meant the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar, also known as “Hegira”. … A semantic shift means that the word is now also used to refer to the month of fasting that accompanies it.

My first post in the Middle East was in Cairo, a vast metropolis straddling the Nile River surrounded by the Sahara Desert. From the night I arrived in Cairo on the flight from Paris, I had stopped there for 48 hours, Egypt was an adventure, with some funny and exotic twists. The day I arrived was at the end of Ramadan and the First Day of the EID ul Fitr marking the end of the Holy Month. It was late July, temperature was 28 C., the streets were full of people celebrating, bright colourful lights strung everywhere.

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As my car drove through the streets of Old Cairo the stench of blood was overpowering and nauseating. I asked my Muslim driver about it and he explained the significance of what had taken place. Lambs had been sacrificed as is the tradition from the Old Testament and also from the Jewish tradition of Passover. The story as you can read it goes this way;

That night, God sent the angel of death to kill the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. God told Moses to order the Israelite families to sacrifice a lamb and smear the blood on the door of their houses. In this way the angel would know to ‘pass over’ the houses of the Israelites.

This is a bit confusing since Muslims are not Jews but observe the exact same traditions, Islam being part of the 3 great Abrahamic religions. The Coran is a re-affirmation of God’s Commands given to Abraham and Moses and Jesus. But there was another meaning to all this, roasting the entire lamb, a good portion of the meat must be given to the poor. It is a religious duty and practicing Muslims must observe it. Charity and good works towards the community is an important part of Ramadan. Those who can afford it even in a small measure must give alms. Many families will prepare food dishes at least once during the month and bring it to the Mosque to be distributed, call it a Soup Kitchen. Ramadan puts the emphasis on the community and on sharing. You never hear this unfortunately unless you have Muslim friends or live in a majority Muslim country.

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I had never experienced Ramadan or the great holiday following the end of the month, EID ul Fitr. What was impressive was the cuisine and specialty dishes. During Ramadan at Sunset the IFTAR is the meal shared with others. At least as important as what is eaten is the fact that it is shared with family and friends. The prophet Muhammad instructed his disciples to “eat together, and do not separate, for the blessing is in the company.”

The dishes are numerous and so are the sweets served Sweets are particularly popular. Iraqis make a rosewater-scented, date-filled pastry called klaicha. A similar cookie called mamoul served in Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere, is filled with dates or ground walnuts. Palestinians make a butter cookie with almonds or pine nuts called ghraybeh.

The streets are strewn with what looked to me like Xmas lights and colourful tents are set up for meals and entertainment. After the meal there will be traditional music, singing, folk dancing, story telling and games like cards. Coffee scented with cardamon and sweet tea is served usually in glasses.

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Egypt and Cairo is seen as the centre of many Islamic traditions. Cairo has always been a centre of culture and learning. Egyptians cherish their past since the Pharaohs and into the Muslim period. So much of what you see in the Middle East comes from Cairo, in the 1940 to the 1980’s Egyptian television and radio dominated the airwaves in the region. This is part due to the greater liberty to create, be it films, theatre, literature or political discourse. Something you would not see in neighbouring countries. So when it comes to Ramadan, Egypt is the place you want to be. I remember Ramadan in Jordan and Syria, it was a much more staid affair. 5eff48_7ede23fb3e544c048ce06e2adaf80a1e~mv2.jpg

Observance of fasting from Sunrise to Sunset depends very much on each individual, same for prayers. At the Office we had staff who were Muslims and out of respect we either went home for lunch or have a small bite to eat in our offices with doors closed. However I did notice that after the first week, many colleagues would cheat and have a little coffee or tea or a cigarette. Few actually observed the fast as it is prescribed, also it is permitted if you are travelling, pregnant, sick or working full time in an Office to avoid fasting.  Children under the age of 12 do not fast. There is a lot of nuance in the way one practices his religion.

Egyptians love a party and Ramadan was treated as such. Finding in a month of fasting a meaning to enjoy yourself with friends and family.

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Ακρόπολη

02 Monday Mar 2020

Posted by larrymuffin in ATHENS

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

art., ATHENA, Greece, humanity, parthenon

In the period 2007-2011 I often went to Greece for work and lived near the Acropolis. I always made a point of going to the Acropolis to visit the sight. I was also in Athens when the new Acropolis Museum opened, truly a marvel of architecture with its glass floors where you can admire the subterranean area, the South side of the Acropolis hill was a sacred precinct with many shops and houses serving the pilgrims coming to the Acropolis. There were also two theatres, the Herodion which is still in use today, the other is the Sanctuary and Theatre of Dionysius built in 580 BC saw the performance of the first plays in the Western World, it had a capacity of 17,000 people.

This photo taken by a worker standing on a scaffold on the East side of the Temple. This area is not open to visitors.

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Inside view of the Parthenon, looking West, (main door), to the left is the South side and the right is the North side. Between 2003 and 2020 major restoration have been undertaken to restore the second Parthenon Temple built by Pericles, it replace the one destroyed by the Persians some 2500 years ago. The Temple was dedicated to Athena Parthenos,(virgin) goddess protecting Athens. Her statue inside the Cella was a work by Pheidias, made of ivory and solid gold.

I remember the Parthenon prior to the undertaking of this restoration, it was much more ruined then. Modern techniques allowed for titanium rods to replace the old steel hooks locking the marble blocs into place. As can be seen on this photo the new white Pentelic marble in the columns replace the missing parts, it will eventually take the same golden hue of the original blocs. Recently the final phase of the restoration was undertaken with the decision to rebuild the North wall of the cella (chamber). The cella walls represent an amazing restoration challenge. A total of 360 ancient stones, many of them with new marble attachments, will be reinstalled, along with 90 completely new marble members. On the photo we can see on the North side a group of workers placing a white marble bloc . The cella or chamber contained the statue of Athena Parthenos which measured 11.5 meters tall.

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Why is it that the Parthenon needs to be rebuilt in the first place? It all began in 1687, with the bombardment by the Venetian fleet under the command of Francesco Morosini, when large parts of the Parthenon’s cella walls collapsed. They remained in that state until 1822, when the Greeks, in the struggle for their independence, besieged Turkish troops on the Acropolis. The Turkish soldiers, running out of bullets, discovered that there was lead between the marble blocks, and so they knocked down the rest of the cella walls. The lead had been used by the ancient architects to protect iron clamps from corrosion.

To me the Parthenon is the symbol of Western civilization, from ancient Greece we received the notions of democracy, theatre, philosophy, citizenship. So the accidents of history and war should not deprive us of this beautiful monument.

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On the acropolis in the restoration program, the entrance gate or Propylaia saw extensive rebuilding, the Erechtheion was also restored as was the Temple of Athena Nike (victorius), the effect is visually magical.

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Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis

City changes

22 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by larrymuffin in Architecture

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

humanity, life, London, photos, Travel, UK, urban

This photo taken in London just recently shows how the city is changing in terms of its architecture and urban design. The photo shows a cluster of tall modern towers next to the ancient Tower of London, it is utterly strange to me and not an image shown in tourism promotion. If those modern towers had been built across the river I would have said ok there is distance and perspective but in this case, no I do not like it at all.

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Medical investigations

25 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by larrymuffin in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

authors, bacteria, disease, Dr John J.Ross, humanity, Medicine, std

I have just finished reading a book about the diseases that might have killed famous people in history. The book is written by a medical doctor John J. Ross who like a detective examines the causes or at least speculates on what killed so and so. We start with William Shakespeare and go on to William Butler Yeats, examining also the medical files of Jack London, Johathan Swift, James Joyce, Herman Melville, John Milton, Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Brontes.

In many a case, because the famous person died at a time when medical knowledge was primitive or absent, Dr Ross has to speculate based on personal journals, diaries, letters or writings in poems, books or plays where the topic of one disease in particular comes back constantly. In the case of Shakespeare who died many centuries ago, Ross speculates what it could have been, he proposes that it could have been a STD or more precisely Syphilis which was very common in his time and untreatable. Or the treatment was barbaric at best. Many doctors prescribed poisonous compounds which had horrible side effects but could for a brief period give the impression of curing the patient. In other cases it was madness or dementia which was not understood at the time and friends could only despair at your condition. Others suffered from soaring fevers and all manner of ailments which would come and go. Brucellosis would be treated with arsenic injections and horse serum, strangely these diseases/treatments and near death experiences would sometimes give the author as in the case of Yeats new insight and stimulate their creativity.

Many people also used drugs, Opium was common, in an era where no Laws existed against their use, Queen Victoria was an occasional user. Many also drank to excess and given poor sanitary conditions and lack of understanding of bacterial infections and many other health conditions people suffered but manage to live on, if they had strong constitutions, until one day by an accumulation of symptoms and or old age simply died.

It makes for good reading and made me wonder why nowadays with all the modern medical treatments and advancement in knowledge do we have so many people in poor health, physical or mental or in the case of Western countries living with First World medical conditions real or imagined.

At any rate this book shows you how humanity managed through the ages despite it all. It seems that diseases in general are not efficient in killing humans that easily.

fls188507_grim_reaper_low

Death and the Wood Cutter by J.F.Millet, C.1885

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