Imagine (John Lennon)

Imagine there’s no Heaven … It’s easy if you try

No hell below us … Above us only sky

Imagine all the people … Living for today

Imagine there’re no countries … It isn’t hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for … And no religion too

Imagine all the people … Living life in peace

You may say that I’m a dreamer … But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us … And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions … I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger … A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people … Sharing all the world

You may say that I’m a dreamer … But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us … And the world will live as one

 

Our Hope Endures

You would think only so much can go wrong

Calamity only strikes once

And you assume this one has suffered her share

Life will be kinder from here

Oh, but sometimes the sun stays hidden for years

Sometimes the sky rains night after night

When will it clear?

But our Hope endures the worst of conditions

It’s more than our optimism

Let the earth quake

Our Hope is unchanged

How do we comprehend peace within pain?

Or joy at a good man’s wake?

Walk a mile with the woman whose body is racked

With illness, oh how can she laugh?

Oh, ’cause sometimes the sun stays hidden for years

Sometimes the sky rains night after night

When will it clear?

But our Hope endures the worst of conditions

It’s more than our optimism

Let the earth quake

Our Hope is unchanged

Emmanuel, God is with us

El Shaddai, all sufficient

We never walk alone

And this is our hope

But our Hope endures the worst of conditions

It’s more than our optimism

Let the earth quake

Our Hope is unchanged

~ by Natalie Grant

 

My Shoes

I am wearing a pair of shoes.

They are ugly shoes.

Uncomfortable shoes.

I hate my shoes.

Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair.

Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step.

Yet, I continue to wear them.

I get funny looks wearing these shoes.

They are looks of sympathy.

I can tell in other’s eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs.

They never talk about my shoes.

To learn how awful my shoes are might make them uncomfortable.

To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them.

But, once you put them on, you can never take them off.

I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes.

There are many pairs in this world.

Some people are like me and ache daily as they try to walk in them.

Some have learned how to walk in them so that they don’t hurt quite so much.

Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think about how much they hurt.

No one deserves to wear these shoes.

Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger woman.

These shoes have given me the strength to face anything.

They have made me who I am.

 

To let go..

To let go does not mean to stop caring,

it means I can’t do it for someone else.

To let go is not to cut myself off,

it’s the realization that I cannot control another.

To let go is not to enable,

but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness,

which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try to change or blame another,

I can only change myself.

To let go is not to care for,

but to care about.

To let go is not to fix,

but to be supportive.

To let go is not to judge,

but to allow another to be a human being.

To let go is not to be in the middle of arranging all the outcomes,

but to allow others to effect their own outcomes.

To let go is not to be protective,

it is to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to deny,

but to accept.

To let go is not to nag, scold or argue,

but to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires,

but to take each day as it comes, and to cherish the moment.

To let go is not to criticize and regulate anyone,

but to try to become what dream I can be.

To let go is not to regret the past,

but to grow and live for the future.

To let go is to fear less and love more.

~ Author unknown

 

Crabby Old Man

What do you see nurses? . . . . . What do you see?

What are you thinking . . . . . when you’re looking at me?

A crabby old man . . . . . not very wise,

Uncertain of habit . . . . . with faraway eyes

Who dribbles his food . . . . . and makes no reply.

When you say in a loud voice . . . . . ‘I do wish you’d try!’

Who seems not to notice . . . . . the things that you do.

And forever is losing . . . . .. A sock or shoe?

Who, resisting or not . . . . . lets you do as you will,

With bathing and feeding . . . . . The long day to fill?

Is that what you’re thinking? . . . . . Is that what you see?

Then open your eyes, nurse . . . . . you’re not looking at me.

I’ll tell you who I am. . . . . . As I sit here so still,

As I do at your bidding, . . . . . as I eat at your will.

I’m a small child of Ten . . . . . with a father and mother,

Brothers and sisters . . . . . who love one another.

A young boy of Sixteen . . . . with wings on his feet.

Dreaming that soon now . . . . . a lover he’ll meet.

A groom soon at Twenty . . . . . my heart gives a leap.

Remembering, the vows . . . . . that I promised to keep.

At Twenty-Five, now . . . . . I have young of my own.

Who need me to guide . . . . . And a secure happy home.

A man of Thirty . . . . . . My young now grown fast,

Bound to each other . . . . . With ties that should last.

At Forty, my young sons . . . . . have grown and are gone,

But my woman’s beside me . . . . . to see I don’t mourn.

At Fifty, once more, babies play ’round my knee,

Again, we know children . . . . . My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me . . . .. . my wife is now dead.

I look at the future . . . . . shudder with dread.

For my young are all rearing . . . . . young of their own.

And I think of the years . . . . . and the love that I’ve known.

I’m now an old man . . . . . and nature is cruel.

Tis jest to make old age . . . .. . look like a fool.

The body, it crumbles . . . . . grace and vigor, depart.

There is now a stone . . . . where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass . . . . . a young guy still dwells,

And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells.

I remember the joys . . . . . I remember the pain.

And I’m loving and living . . . .. . life over again.

I think of the years, all too few . . . . . gone too fast.

And accept the stark fact . . . . that nothing can last.

So open your eyes, people . . . . . open and see.

Not a crabby old man . . . Look closer . . . see ME!!

 

When Same-Sex Marriage Was a Christian Rite – Colfax Record

A Kiev art museum contains a curious icon from St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mt. Sinai in Israel. It shows two robed Christian saints. Between them is a traditional Roman ‘pronubus’ (a best man), overseeing a wedding. The pronubus is Christ. The married couple are both men.

Is the icon suggesting that a gay “wedding” is being sanctified by Christ himself? The idea seems shocking. But the full answer comes from other early Christian sources about the two men featured in the icon, St. Sergius and St. Bacchus, two Roman soldiers who were Christian martyrs. These two officers in the Roman army incurred the anger of Emperor Maximian when they were exposed as ‘secret Christians’ by refusing to enter a pagan temple. Both were sent to Syria circa 303 CE where Bacchus is thought to have died while being flogged. Sergius survived torture but was later beheaded. Legend says that Bacchus appeared to the dying Sergius as an angel, telling him to be brave because they would soon be reunited in heaven.

While the pairing of saints, particularly in the early Christian church, was not unusual, the association of these two men was regarded as particularly intimate. Severus, the Patriarch of Antioch (AD 512 – 518) explained that, “we should not separate in speech they [Sergius and Bacchus] who were joined in life”. This is not a case of simple “adelphopoiia.” In the definitive 10th century account of their lives, St. Sergius is openly celebrated as the “sweet companion and lover” of St. Bacchus. Sergius and Bacchus’s close relationship has led many modern scholars to believe they were lovers. But the most compelling evidence for this view is that the oldest text of their martyrology, written in New Testament Greek describes them as “erastai,” or “lovers”. In other words, they were a male homosexual couple. Their orientation and relationship was not only acknowledged, but it was fully accepted and celebrated by the early Christian church, which was far more tolerant than it is today.

Contrary to myth, Christianity’s concept of marriage has not been set in stone since the days of Christ, but has constantly evolved as a concept and ritual.

Prof. John Boswell, the late Chairman of Yale University’s history department, discovered that in addition to heterosexual marriage ceremonies in ancient Christian church liturgical documents, there were also ceremonies called the “Office of Same-Sex Union” (10th and 11th century), and the “Order for Uniting Two Men” (11th and 12th century).

These church rites had all the symbols of a heterosexual marriage: the whole community gathered in a church, a blessing of the couple before the altar was conducted with their right hands joined, holy vows were exchanged, a priest officiatied in the taking of the Eucharist and a wedding feast for the guests was celebrated afterwards. These elements all appear in contemporary illustrations of the holy union of the Byzantine Warrior-Emperor, Basil the First (867-886 CE) and his companion John.

Such same gender Christian sanctified unions also took place in Ireland in the late 12thand/ early 13th century, as the chronicler Gerald of Wales (‘Geraldus Cambrensis’) recorded.

Same-sex unions in pre-modern Europe list in great detail some same gender ceremonies found in ancient church liturgical documents. One Greek 13th century rite, “Order for Solemn Same-Sex Union”, invoked St. Serge and St. Bacchus, and called on God to “vouchsafe unto these, Thy servants [N and N], the grace to love one another and to abide without hate and not be the cause of scandal all the days of their lives, with the help of the Holy Mother of God, and all Thy saints”. The ceremony concludes: “And they shall kiss the Holy Gospel and each other, and it shall be concluded”.

Another 14th century Serbian Slavonic “Office of the Same Sex Union”, uniting two men or two women, had the couple lay their right hands on the Gospel while having a crucifix placed in their left hands. After kissing the Gospel, the couple were then required to kiss each other, after which the priest, having raised up the Eucharist, would give them both communion.

Records of Christian same sex unions have been discovered in such diverse archives as those in the Vatican, in St. Petersburg, in Paris, in Istanbul and in the Sinai, covering a thousand-years from the 8th to the 18th century.

The Dominican missionary and Prior, Jacques Goar (1601-1653), includes such ceremonies in a printed collection of Greek Orthodox prayer books, “Euchologion Sive Rituale Graecorum Complectens Ritus Et Ordines Divinae Liturgiae” (Paris, 1667).

While homosexuality was technically illegal from late Roman times, homophobic writings didn’t appear in Western Europe until the late 14th century. Even then, church-consecrated same sex unions continued to take place.

At St. John Lateran in Rome (traditionally the Pope’s parish church) in 1578, as many as thirteen same-gender couples were joined during a high Mass and with the cooperation of the Vatican clergy, “taking communion together, using the same nuptial Scripture, after which they slept and ate together” according to a contemporary report. Another woman to woman union is recorded in Dalmatia in the 18th century.

Prof. Boswell’s academic study is so well researched and documented that it poses fundamental questions for both modern church leaders and heterosexual Christians about their own modern attitudes towards homosexuality.

For the Church to ignore the evidence in its own archives would be cowardly and deceptive. The evidence convincingly shows that what the modern church claims has always been its unchanging attitude towards homosexuality is, in fact, nothing of the sort.

It proves that for the last two millennia, in parish churches and cathedrals throughout Christendom, from Ireland to Istanbul and even in the heart of Rome itself, homosexual relationships were accepted as valid expressions of a God-given love and committment to another person, a love that could be celebrated, honored and blessed, through the Eucharist in the name of, and in the presence of, Jesus Christ.

When Same-Sex Marriage Was a Christian Rite – Colfax Record.

 

Shade’s Max DPS build? – DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE®: Eberron Unlimited™ Forums

Shade’s Max DPS build? – DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE®: Eberron Unlimited™ Forums.

Intro:
This build is what I play and also written as a guide for new players. It will work excellent as a first character and should be fun to play. It does not require any hard to get or expensive equipment to work well, but does benefit from much of it. If you have any questions or need help with it feel free to ask in this thread or pm me. I have helped countless players build barbarians similar to this one and all have been very happy with the build.

Updated for Module 9, Frenzied Berserker Update

Dwarf (+2 con, more hp, more rage, axe enhancements, awesome race)
Barbarian Level 20
Alignment: True Neutral or Chaotic Good. Minor advantages to each, with chaotic good being slightly better for weapon selection (can use weapons of pure good/chaos), or true neutral for defense as some mobs deal unholy dmg which you’d be immune to, and also some items give a negative level to good aligned characters such as the littany of the dead which provides a nice boost to all stats, attack and damage.

Stats:
(28 point build, add to con for 32 points)
Str 18 +4 level ups, 22, +6 item, 28, +10 rage, 38, +2 rage potion, 40 Str – Max potential for mod 9 is over 70 strength – very temporary but quite possible.
Dex 12 (Get to around 16 with +4 item like madstone boots)
Con 16 (34 Raged as setup) (end game +2 tome + dual madstone = 44)
Int 9 (Don’t really matter but 9 gives an option is to use a +1 int tome for additional skillpoints at low lvl)
Wis 9 (Highly recommend you seek out a +1 wis tome to fix the negative later on)
Cha 6 (Not that important)

Optimal End Game Hit points:
240 – Pure Barb lvl20
20 – Heroic Durability
10 – Draconic Vitality (Gianthold Favor)
20 – Mions Legens (Toughness/Heavy Fort Hat)
30 – Greater False Life (Belt)
45 – Greensteel Item
20 – Yugoloth Potion Secret Effect
320 – 42 Con (+3 Tome – includes 140 points from rage + rage potion + yugoloth pot as this is a perma rage build)
= 705 Normal
—– (If Toughness Feat Selected)
23 – Toughness Feat
40 – 4 Toughness Enhancements
= 768 Feated
—– (Situational Buffs)
40 – Madstone Single Con +4 (46)
40 – Madstone Double Con +4 (50)
—–
= 848 Situational
—– (Ultimate maximum gear)
20 – +4 tome and +1 exception con, for 52 con
20 – +2 exceptional con put on a Tower of Despair Ring
—-
= 888 Ultra Maximum Geared and Buffed

Feats:
1 – Two Handed Fighting
3 – Power Attack
6 – Cleave
9 – Improved Two Handed Fighting
12 – Improved critical
15 – Greater Two Handed Fighting
18 – Toughness or Stunning Blow – Depends on your focus. Toughness is not needed for 95% of content.. But for the endgame raids, you will want it if you are gona be the main tank. Stunning Blow is an awesome feat for clearing trash if your a good twitch skilled player, it will really speed up many quests. Altho in the new shavarath areas, saves are often too high so it’s a tough call. Personal preference really, either wll work.

Enhancements:
Enhancements: Type – Name Rank – (Cost)
First off Prereqs for Berserker:
[barbarian] – Damage Boost IV (10)
[barbarian] – Power Rage IV (10)
[barbarian] – Power Attack III (6)
[barbarian] – Frenzy Berserker I (4)
[barbarian] – Frenzy Berserker II (2)
[barbarian] – Frenzy Berserker III (2)
Now onto others:
[barbarian] – Sprint Boost I (2) (Get it early on, it rocks)
[barbarian] – Hardy Rage II (3) (Rank 3 generally not worth it)
[barbarian] – Extra Rage I (2) (Not sure this build can afford rank 2/3)
[barbarian] – Extend Rage IV (10)
[barbarian] – Improved Damage Reduction II (6)
[barbarian] – Constitution I (2)
[barbarian] – Might Capstone (2)
[dwarf] – Dwarven Spell Defense III (6)
[dwarf] – Dwarven Axe Damage II (6)
[dwarf] – Constituion I (2)
73 points spent if I added that right
— Below depends on lvl18 feat:
Toughness:
[barbarian] – Toughness II (3)
[dwarf] – Toughness II (3)
If Stunning Blow selected:
[dwarf] – Tactics II (6)

This order should be fairly correct now. Tho you can modify it somewhat depending on what equipment you aquire, for example if you had a str tome – modify power rage to keep your end str even, same for con/hearty rage, and if you get really high con like +6 item and +2 tome – you can then drop some extend rage and still end up perma raged and have a few more points for other things like more spell defense. Taking things out of order shouldn’t break anything. Experimentation is key to learning the best setup for your character.

Equipment to work towards as you level:
Level1-8
Carniflex from Deleras tomb, Later upgrade to the Sword of Shadows. This will be your main weapon as they both deal insane damage and critical often.
+4 str gloves from Deleras, lvl7+ – Get these as your 2nd item if you can
Greataxe (+5 ideally early on, you deal such insane dmg and have such massive to hit that later on you won’t even have much need for a +5 weapon)
Bursting Greataxes (these rule at mid lvl especially if you use them on monsters with vulnerabilitis to those elements, you’ll want to find at least +3 versions)
Greater Bane Greataxes (these are amoung the best DPS for the end game lvl14+)
Mithral Full plate (Hard to get, but even +3 is as good as +5 Full plate)
Voice of the Master (lvl5) – Nice item to boost XP and Saves

Important equipment to attain by level 9-12:
Mantle of the Worlshaper: Very awesome item for any character. Does the same thing as the Voice of the master, but also provides 5 charges spell absorption which can absorb almost anything! As a frontline character that will be having most of the agro, I highly recommend getting one. Lvl5+ item from the Threnal Ruins (lvl10 questline)
Reavers Ring (fear imunity, very important on a moderate willsave char)
Fragment of the silver flame (dominate imunity, tho you can juts ask for protection from evil from clerics)
Proof against poison item (belt usualy works good)
Disease Imunity Item (belt again, mummy rot sucks)
Blindness Ward item (I use the dragon googles, but any old set will do, ones with +spot are really nice tho)
+4/5 Strength gloves (might wanna replace the deleras ones if possible to keep your dex up)
Heavy Fortification Item (Do black anvil mines, collect some ore, get your necklace at level9, At level11+ replace this with the Minos legens as soon as you can)
Set of potions always: 100 rage, 100 lesser restore, 100 remove curse, couple remove fear, couple protection vs energy. Have these in a quick to access hot key as you’ll want to restore your rage and power it back up with a rage pot after each cycle.
Rage, shield, Divine favor,Divine power, haste clickes (these really increase your power during short boss battles, but cant be maintained to long rage length – this should be less of a problem in mod5 with dismiss rage)

By end game level 13-20:
+6 stat items, should have at least Str and Con, ideally wis too. Recommend black dragon helm for dex to free up other slots.
Some raid loot, hard to say you should have it by then, but work towards it. Reaver stuffs pretty easy to get currently. Top items to strive for are Titan Belt, Madstone Boots and the Sword of Shadow.
And ofcourse work towards making a Mineral Greataxe in the Shroud. This will take a very long time but it is an incredible weapon.
The ultimate weapon for endgame quests tends to the a Lightning 2 Greataxe. For max DPS against Orthons and Bearded Devils – very common enemies in module 9.

Any other improved/greater resist cloaks/rings you can get. Otherwise ask the cleric, you need those buffs to do well. You won’t be avoiding much melee damage, so avoid all the spell damage you can with buffs.

Skills:
Spot (cross class, but worth it)
Jump (Get this to about ~15-17 ranks and stop, that should put you at 40 while raged, which is the cap)
1 Rank of Tumble (sacrifce balance at hte early levels you won’t need much)
If you have more left, pop em in haggle to make some extra coin.

Spot:
Cross class skill, but very much worth it. Like the class video says, barbarians make good scouts.. And they are best for running into stealthed enemies and traps if you don’t have a rogue. So seeing the stealthed enemies is a huge asset. This works quite well if you get the FF/+spot item from like Co6. You’ll also noticed the odd trap or secret door, even in high level quest. Even finding most of the trap boxes in module3 for the rogues lately as I got my spot up to 25.
- You might think listen *should* work better as its a class skill… However listen items are harder to get and on worse slots then spot (spot goggle vs listen hat – hats good for dex, goggles not really important for anything cept truesight, which is raid item only mainly useful for PvP and castable by wiz and clr for PvM) Also listen does not let you see the monsters, but merely faint red footstep outlines – which can be tough to spot in the fury of combat.

Jump:
As a front line combatant, your primary job is to run really fast and jump over the enemies front line combatants.. To kill there clerics and wizards in the back ranks. So many barbarians don’t realize how huge this is. Trust me, its HUGE.

Tumble: Lets you move faster when under the effects of a bad spell like slow or that nasty white dragons ice freeze effect. You require 1 rank to use it, thats it. Anymore won’t provid any additional benefit to this build.

Balance: It’s an important skill but note you don’t need a whole lot of ranks of this, as you can pick up the invaders ring for +13 and get a bit of dex + greater heroism for over 20, which will make 95% checks in PvM.. You may wish to have this really high for freeing up equipment slots, or some rare encounters that need allot tho (Warforged Titan comes to mind)

No (active use of) intimidate? :
Your a low AC death dealer, you do not want agro, you want the enemy dead before he makes you dead. Hold the agro with your weapon.

New Ultimate DPS stats in the endgame battle (vs the elite CR38 pit fiend):
Click Here

Thoughts on the build at lvl20 in module 9

With the new +3 critical multiplier from Frenzy Berserker this build has seen a massive increase in DPS.. And it was great before.. Now it’s insane. I can drop 1100+ hitpoints devils in a single lucky swing. On average I’ll kill them in 2-4 seconds. This incredible DPS really helps in all the new quests which feature pretty heavy melee combat. The incredible strength you can achive means your Trip ability becomes pretty well unresistable at the maximum levels.. And with the glancing blow procs (whch work about 30% in my estinamtion on this build) you can trip multiple monsters at once!

The very high hitpoints and DPS this build reachs also makes it a perfect tank for the new tower of despair. Tanked it on elite with this guy no problem with the healers using very few resources as we had very high scroll masteyr clerics and I have very high healing amp (150%).

Old comments from module6 (still relevant to Vale content):
Combine this builds massive strength with stunning blow and it works incredible. You’ll still see some resists vs elite content ofcourse, but normal and hard,, or vs caster mobs on elite even? Works like 95% of the time. And once you stun something, its dead, its not going to survive your massive 200+ damage critical hits over and over. Really fun in the new running with the devils quest – the Eladrin clerics there have over 1200 hp on elite, and can heal themselves very fast for 400+ a pop.. But hit them with a stun and there done for in seconds, its really fun.

The Gianthold, Necropolis and Vale content is all relatively low AC. So the new barbarian power attack rules vs it. Talking +16 damage, with -8 to hit.. Uber. Even with that large penalty to hit and constantly moving without spring attack I still hit pretty much 100% vs anything aside from a elite purple named-boss.

Greater two handed is an incredible feat, gota try it to see how much extra damage you dish out with it.

Also a excellent build for PvP too. Straight up melee combat, no other build can withstand the onslaught from a barbarian this strong. Even the maximum AC combat expertise fighter/paladin hybrid cannot survive this. 50+ ac is not a problem to cut through. Pure fighters get straight up wrecked, tank barbarians get cut down almost as quick, rangers and rogues dont stand a chance, no one can outrun a barbarian. Clerics can generally hold and command this build onto its but fairly easy, but the funny thing is, after that they try to melee you, and if you were smart enough to get your DR boost on, they won’t be able to damage you, even held. Well played wizards and sorcerers can hold/kill you instantly, but you can do the same to them so it comes down to who reaches who first. In tavern brawls, this means they get killed before they even know your there. In death match you gotta be careful.

Some notes on Frenzy Berserker:
Keep in mind this build won’t be for everyone as berserker does require some careful timing of active ability to work well, and the self damage can be tough to deal with (however Frenzy is an entirely optional at will ability, so don’t look at it as a constant drawback – you always decide when it happens)
Also has a few bugs atm:
Bugs:
The crit multiplier only applies to damage increase, not burst damage yet.
Your flinch every attack as you hurt yourself.
Supreme Cleave plain does not work. The devs made no attempt to even implement it, for now all it does is steal your hitpoints, don’t use it.

 

Riddles in Hinduism

21A1.Riddles in Hinduism PART I.

The difficulty of knowing why one is a Hindu

The Origin Of The Vedas—The Brahminic Explanation or An Exercise In The Art Of Circumlocution

The Testimony Of Other Shastras On The Origin Of The Vedas

Why suddenly the brahmins declare the vedas to be infallible and not to be questioned?

Why did the brahmins go further and declare that the vedas are neither made by man nor by god?

The contents of the vedas: have they any moral or spiritual value?

The turn of the tide or how did the brahmins deceare the vedas to be lower than the lowest of their shastras?

How the upanishads declared war on the vedas?

How the upanishads came to be made subordinate to the vedas?

Why did the brahmins make the hindu gods fight against one another?

Why did the brahmins make the hindu gods suffer to rise and fall?

Why did the brahmins dethrone the gods and enthrone the goddesses?

The riddle of the ahimsa

From ahimsa back to himsa

How did the brahmins wed an ahimsak god to a bloodthirsty Goddess?

 

The Relationship Between Fast Food And Obesity

Today, fast food became a way of life. Some studies have shown that by just eating two fastfood meals a week, exactly what they ate didn’t seem to matter much. Breakfast sandwiches, fries, burgers and nuggets all meant a greater risk of obesity and it can increase the chances of obesity by 50%. It is not only fast, cheap and convenient, it also tastes good, making it harder to resist. It contains high levels of sodium, refined sugar, oil and refined flour. This combination alone can be harmful to one health as well as cause obesity.

Some fact show that Fast Food Cause Obesity?

Many doctors and experts are concern about obesity in today, with the rise in obesity they start to question and study whether fast food can cause obesity. There are many facts show that eating too many fast food meal per weeks will cause obesity. Some of the facts are:

- Obesity rates is increase every year
- Many people choosing fast food as their primary food
- Cheap and convenient, fast-food restaurants everywhere
- A lot of fast-food advertisements

It is little wonder that fast food and obesity go hand in hand. There have been countless studies that show that fast-foods are of poor and low nutritional value. The typical fast food meal consists of low quality carbohydrates, white bread, high levels of saturated fat and a sugary soda. Usually, it also has relatively low fiber content. Fast-food has high caloric density, before you know about it; you will have overeaten and put on weight. So it does cause obesity.

BMI and You

A lot of researchers report that fast food can cause obesity; especially those families that choose it as a meal more than three times a week do run a higher risk of obesity and larger BMI’s. The BMI, or body mass index, is a formula that doctors use to determine exactly how overweight a person is. A BMI of a number between 25 and 30 means the patient is overweight, if 30 or more is an indication of obesity. About 70% of adults in our country can be classified as overweight, and about 35% Adults is considered obese. These are very high figures and many of them having high BMI, when you know that obesity can lead to health problems, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Our lifestyle choices also might affect our body weight as well. For example, if you and your family members visiting the fast food chains frequently, then you have a tendency to keep less healthy and high nutritional choices in at your home. The absence of fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains can make the effects of the fries and burgers that much more severe. Some study show that slender teenagers know how to take balance food, example if they choose it on occasion will balance that choice by consuming fewer calories the rest of the day. But overweight teenagers don’t know or can not control to take balance food. While there is evidence to show that it causes obesity, it seems that other factors and choices come into play as well.

The Risk for Diabetes

Experts on fast food and obesity say there is now an alarming rate of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the United States. These numbers have continued to rise in the past few years. A study found those who eating lots of fast food gained 10 pounds more than those who did so less often, and increases twice the chance of developing an insulin disorder that directly linked to diabetes. The sedentary lifestyle, are rapidly becoming one of the top causes for type II diabetes and coronary artery disease. The high carbohydrate content of fast-food may cause the bodies inability to produce the amount of insulin needed to deal with the sugar levels produced after a meal. This may lead to increase sugar levels and block arteries.

Some Improvement

While some fast-food restaurants have begun offering healthier alternatives, including fruit, whole-grain bread, lower-fat fries, salads, as well as bottled water, rather than sodas.

However, this seems to be a rather weak and slow response, even though it is a step in the right direction. But, it does show that even the fast food restaurants acknowledge that their food cause obesity.

Always make your good choice

If you are concerned about whether fast food causes obesity, you can take time to practice healthy lifestyle, make choices for healthy eating that do not have to include avoiding fast-food all of the time. You can balance the occasional burger with plenty of healthy food options in between, and make sure that you go for regular exercise as well. With some wise and healthy choices, you do not have to worry whether fast food will cause obesity to you.

 

Father’s vocabulary affects child’s language skills

Father’s who use variety of words while communicating with their children help strengthen their language and vocabulary skills.

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill analysed 2-year-olds interacting with their parents and found that the more diverse vocabulary the father used, the more highly developed the child’s language skills were at the age of 3. It seems important for fathers to talk to their children and use a variety of words to their child.

Previous research on how parents influence children’s language development has focused on mothers. This study emphasized the contribution of fathers’ vocabulary to children’s language development.

The researchers analysed information from a study of 120 children recruited from 11 childcare centres. All had begun attending the centres before their first birthday. Data were available for 92 families when the children reached 2 years of age, and for 67 families when the children turned 3. These fathers were on average pretty highly involved in their children’s daily care.

The key factors that predicted a child’s language development were the diversity of the father’s vocabulary, the mother’s level of education, and the quality of the day-care the child was receiving. They determined childcare quality based on several factors including child-teacher-ratio, teachers’ interactions with children and teacher’s education level.

This does not conclude that a father’s language input matters more than a mother’s. Instead, they demonstrate that a father’s contribution also matters. While early childhood education and intervention efforts have traditionally focused on mothers, the findings suggest they should include fathers, too.

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology