Around the time of Socrates a lesser known philosopher wrote, “perspective is the ability to visualize two points on any horizontal line with a third point elevated in the distance allowing parallel lines to be drawn intersecting at the ‘vanishing point’ beyond which nothing is seen.”

An example of this occurs when vision is focused on a point along the horizon driving an automobile on a flat desert highway with cactus and sand on either side. Then, its noticed that the road in the distance disappears and becomes a dot. If the path has been traveled before, familiarity with what one expects to find is reinforced with confidence about what still lies hidden as memory saturates the event.

Artists of all sorts such as painters, sculpture’s and architects write using perspective in various ways to stimulate imagination  suggesting, “what lies beyond can be perceived with a little bit of flexibility surrounded by rational thought reflecting that which  is not visible,” recognizing it as a place where the hypothetical becomes tangible.

If the gaze is fixed and the horizon moves, a cause could be myodeopsia, a condition characterized by the appearance of spider’s web thread like spots moving as the field of vision shifts. Floaters as they are known in ophthalmology are small pieces of hardening vitreous structures that break off within the eye and move freely in the fluid causing shadows to be cast on the retina.

Even though they are common and considered more an  annoyance than anything seriously wrong with one’s visual capabilities, an exam by an ophthalmologist once a year is advisable.

Floaters are often a result of aging, a corneal abrasion or an infection. Some think they are  optical illusions  which are perceptual effects that arise from interpretations of an image by the brain rather then an entoptic phenomenon. Others may consider them a figment of science fiction but only those who have them know for sure.

Although The Nutritional Aspects Of Expanding Populations sounds like a worthy subject for serious study in Biochemistry and Nutrition especially when considering the impact of the large spike in population growth during the post war period and its sociological implications on the  baby boom generation, it became the basis for a landmark 1955 cinematic classic  about the development of a growth serum and how it could be used to solve the problem of overpopulation and world hunger, a neglected subject in the mid fifties.

The elixir depicted in this film adaptation is so potent its promise is in providing the complete nutritional needs of any growing organism, a claim overshadowed only by the myopic scientific experimentation focused solely on animal rather than plant life which could have made it more palatable for vegetarians and provide a sound basis for reducing cardio-vascular disease when coupled by increased exercise and the cessation of smoking.

The film is titled Tarantula and was directed by Jack Arnold and stars John Agar,  Leo J. Carroll and Mara Corday with an uncredited appearance of twenty-five year old Clint Eastwood as a jet pilot dropping napalm at the films’ climax. Arnold went on to direct The Incredible Shrinking Man two years later in 1957 considered by many as his masterpiece and  Eastwood became a multiple Oscar winning director.

In this scenario,  Professor Gerald Deemer  is a scientist with a just motive, a hero trying to avert food shortages which are predicted as a result of the world’s expanding population of two billion in 1955, a role passionately played by veteran character actor Leo J Carroll. This is the premise that sets it apart from most giant bug movies featuring  mutations caused by either nuclear weapons or a demented scientist. In this case its a result of noble intentions gone wrong with a sound display of scientific methodology and  multi layered sub plots such as a budding love story and a rare medical condition known as acromegaly artistically shot in black and white featuring an arid desert with whistling tumbleweeds. It is here Professor Deemer invents a special nutrient on which animals can exclusively thrive causing them to enlarge many times their normal size to serve as a source of food.

Harvested in the professors’ home laboratory are several over-sized rodents and a tarantula that escapes somewhere  in the California, Nevada area, hungry and lurking for prey, growing and yet undetected despite  leaving pools of arachnid venom and skeletal remains whenever it fed.  Why spiders and rodents were used to experiment on instead of cattle or sheep is left unexplained, but  perhaps it  suggests that Deemer thought there may be a time when a high protein diet would be defined by how many legs are on the plate.

Unthinkable imagery created by very sophisticated  visual effects and score, the film has a sharp   witty script written by Robert Fresco and  Martin Berkele based on a story by Ray Bradbury, yet its science fiction basis never diminishes the credibility that advancing bio technology may one day lead to the discovery of such a nutrient with unanticipated consequences.

When a very bored hotel concierge  asks Corday, a 1954 Playboy centerfold who  arrives in town as a biology student working on her Masters dissertation, The Nutritional Aspects Of Expanding Populations and Agar who plays the town doctor, “Well ain’t you going to introduce yourselves?” as they leave the hotel for a ride in his car.

“No” they respond in unison, as the hotel manager scratches his head and  mutters,   “Yep, it can be an awfully fast world.”

At present, the merits of health care insurance reform are increasingly at the forefront of public tension. However, the problem with this debate is that there has never been a system to reform in the first place. The current structure of private insurance evolved from a vacuum created by the lack of ideas to share the developments of advancing medical technology which demonstrated the ability to increase life span and extend the opportunity to live a longer and healthier life.

The only group that has total accessibility to the best medical care is the wealthy since they have so much money they can pay for the high cost without effecting their economic lifestyle. For most, insurance is the only way to pay for medical costs and avoid debt, until the price for coverage itself becomes so expensive that its weight threatens a financial disaster even in countries that have universal access run by the government, since the cost of medical care is rising everywhere, just at a slower rate then in the United States.

Until the personal need for health care becomes acute, thinking about it is as appealing as writing a will or purchasing life insurance by focusing attention on a subject influenced by anxiety. Most people know they are mortal, but that doesn’t mean they want to be reminded of it. That’s why sickness and end-of-life issues are difficult and often subject to the influence of superstition, overwhelmed by considering the theories of the unknown revealed in religion and myth.

When illness brings the issue to the forefront, it is then revealed whether one’s existing insurance is sufficient to cover whatever medical situation may arise. In most instances, it’s not enough. If a public outcry is unleashed, private interests concerned with maintaining the status quo, a lucrative industry, debate that a single payer system run by the government can only lead to declining quality because it creates no incentive to encourage competition which they claim would lower the cost of medical care. This has always been the argument against a single payer system, although decades of the private sector approach have failed to result in controlling the cost of medical care. This is why reform is needed.

HMO’s are businesses and are accountable to their stockholders, existing as private co-operatives that maximize profits by excluding those with pre-existing conditions unless they can get coverage as a benefit of working for a large company that can negotiate a package for employees. If jobs are lost, so is medical coverage. For that reason, equating health insurance with employment needs to be reconsidered. Some people argue that this is a threat to free enterprise; others see it as a moral dilemma with cultural consequences.

Private insurers claim that they comply with all the regulations that exist although requirements placed on them vary widely from state to state, creating too many different markets to keep track of, a real problem when trying to develop uniform standards. Relying on them to monitor themselves is similar to what happened on Wall Street. These companies specialize in creating complicated forms and booklets with paragraphs that are difficult to comprehend without a knowledge of medical terminology or a familiarity with contracts.

Individual policies are so expensive for those who are already sick to intentionally discourage them from seeking insurance. They are forced to get treatment at the emergency room which drives up the price for medical care because Medicaid, a state run system, pays the cost by increasing taxes for everyone. Medicare, also a government program, is a problem as physicians, unhappy with the cost limitations imposed by the government, are increasingly refusing to take on Medicare patients just as the baby-boom generation, those born between 1946 and 1964, approach the age of 65, adding more stress to a system already close to collapse.

This is where we are now as President Obama tries to convince the public that in order to prevent another financial meltdown health care insurance must be reformed especially since medical technology is so interconnected with other aspects of the economy. However, whenever there is an increase in government intervention or regulation, the cry of Socialism fills the air.

Any agenda for reform has to include concrete plans focusing on prevention and an increase in primary care physicians who are trained as adept diagnosticians who know when it’s appropriate to refer to a specialist. Family care practitioners can deal with eighty percent of medical problems. Perhaps government financing medical students in exchange for practicing in primary care settings for several years after they graduate can be one part of the solution. But this would be a government program that costs money up front, and yet it is difficult to be precise about costs and savings when you’re talking about preventing something that hasn’t occurred yet .

The focus, in reported news stories, on the sensationalism of the disruptive elements occurring at the town hall meetings that took place in early August, littered with irate constituents demanding to know the exact cost rather than on the improvised clinic of Inglewood California just outside of Los Angeles, as thousands of people stood in line for days waiting for medical and dental care. According to the New York Times editorial of August 16th, “there is a vast palpable need for a change in the health care system, one that politicians opposed to reform insist is the world’s best.” This debate is less about health care reform than about reforming medical insurance.

“Describing idiosyncrasies is often based on who is being spoken of, a double standard built upon defining someone differently when they have money, talent and exhibit bizarre behavior, explaining them as strange but ‘brilliant eccentrics’, otherwise suggesting those who are poor and nuts are just plain ‘crazy,’ even though they are unusually gifted.”

Without judging eccentricities as oddities but rather as traits skewed in one direction or another that falls along the principles of the Bell Curve, a visual description of the statistical norm deviating from the most frequent number of cases of whatever is being measured. Some people display curiosities that are provocative, testing tolerance in different ways,   expressing what is believed to be harmless behavior until some line of perversity is crossed, not forgetting that peculiarities are subjective and culturally defined.

Creative people are sometimes an uneven mix of genius  marked by social immaturity that is enough to draw attention evoking a reaction. Considered lovable in spite of their oddness, tolerated when young until they pass into adulthood and the immaturity  becomes so glaring a stop sign is needed, reinforcing the social constraints expected. Hopefully, those surrounding them will provide a necessary reality check. Unfortunately the people who are closest and most able to convey the problem are often, especially for the rich and famous, frequently financially dependent on the wealth and persona generated by these people  which results in pampering and reassurance, telling them what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear.

Public notoriety exacerbates the situation which also becomes a motivator, among other things, encouraging substance abuse as an escape made easier when money is plentiful to purchase access to all sorts of drugs and pharmaceuticals as they are caught in the struggle to forget their situation, unable to judge how close to the bottom of the barrel they are or the level that is necessary to change, over indulged by some while severely criticized by others.

Over time, as personal objectivity dissipates, depression accelerates. Once trapped, it acts like quick sand, not knowing what direction to move to get unstuck from the quirks that lead to a spiral descent as common sense, morality and discrimination suffer from the need to be shielded from the rest of the world. Usually afflicted with sleep disorders, drugs are taken, prescribed by doctors willing to write prescriptions for a price, until one day the person doesn’t wake up.

Promises are commitments that are frequently made before the full range of possibilities are known, especially when the ‘minds eye’, is distracted by anxiety.  External pressures lead to some movement, hopefully unaffected by subjective fear, encouraging a path that does not include procrastination.

Moral judgements can affect the type of alternatives  perceived and the extent of those that remain invisible, since many options will not be noticed until the psyche allows,  just another reason to cultivate  sharp observation for what exists in the surroundings. Adding more information can increase the odds for making better choices by clarifying  existing blind spots.

Right or wrong has little to do with good or bad, effected more by interpretation based on learned upbringing and cultural backround influenced by emotion. Ethics requires credible logic with diligent  reasoning, a more important factor when defining the position taken while  faced with a moral dilemma.

Ideally, marriage for example, was originally conceived as a religious institution based on a pledge intended for the duration of life, based on  how one feels at the time its proposed. A commitment binding one to another until death. However somewhere along the line, divorce and annulment became  a political tool to deal with a change of feelings that occurs over time.

In the past, social constraints on women have stressed the need for marriage because for them, options were limited and inhibitions were placed on their citizenship that influenced personal opportunities in favor of men. However, as barriers fall and changing circumstances alter conditions by balancing the playing field, perhaps women will become less willing to bind themselves to perpetual unalterable commitments, relegating reproduction as lower on the list of priorities to justify marriage.

Although biology has defined physical differences between men and women, culture and society have varying expectations of husbands and wife’s, assuming we are talking about heterosexual marriage. Even then, the question arises, is social maturity defined by whether one is prepared to commit to a future shaped by events that is not possible to know, or feelings that will motivate judgment in the future differently?

When secular governments point to the equality of partners as fundamental proof of equal citizenship, they cannot then create a legal imbalance in favor of one group over the other by using  religious doctrine to justify it, since the purpose of a secular government is to eliminate favoring one faith over the other  by finding the balance between ethics and universal religious principles that are inclusive,  especially when faced with the issue of same sexed marriage.

Since the US Constitution makes no mention of committed unions, it’s irrelevant to citizenship and cannot then be used by government to justify restricting the benefits of equal citizens  based on  a majority plebicite influenced by the religious right,  such as in Proposition 8 in California.

Although committed unions are for example not mentioned in the Federal constitution, the economic benefits afforded married citizens  are glaring, nor can any democratic  government justify denying some groups from those same advantages while acknowledging them to others.

Perhaps secular societies should eliminate the term marriage altogether and replace it with civil partnership, affording everyone equal rights and make all the divorce lawyers happy. Religions can do what they want as long as they make no attempts to infringe of the rights created by secular society.

The eyes - often referred to as “the mirror of the soul” - can get quite puffy or sag with lines from clogged pours, perhaps overlaid with eyeliner and mascara (see “Which came first: mascara or the eye?”), tired from watching too much tv or glaring at computer display, driving or perhaps reading in poorly lit areas.

It’s easy to forget that the eyes are also an erogenous zone according to the advertisers of the Eyesseuse Eye Spa, found on Eparty Unlimited and Gadgets and Gizmos blog. “How would you like it if you lose a chance with that special someone because you have wrinkles, bags or rings?  Even though you know you look tired, that’s what those expensive eye firming creams are supposed to do. but don’t. That’s why you need the Eyesseuse. It nourishes the skin and promotes blood circulation by gently massaging the optic area.”

The product provides four options: air pressure, heat, vibration or magnetic therapy, “Eyesseuse lets you either manually control the session or enable the use of a scientifically preset option to work its magic. You’ll feel more relaxed, more alert and more attractive.” However, will it make you look any more appealing, instill confidence or just be a harsh reminder of time, space, gravity and form, borne upon the wings of the Fourth dimension?

Perhaps simply eating a balanced diet, a good night sleep and appropriate exercise over a gradual period of time will allow the body to find its own optimally packaged homeostatic beauty or else force the acceptance that one will be doomed to live out a bizarre image worthy of a circus freak, obsessively stalked when anything but celery is eaten.

Bulimia and anorexia are as extreme as eating everything in sight, and reasonable caution must be emphasized for any symptoms of eating disorders to seek medical advice, however some scientists have been conducting studies of people on restricted diets over a long period of time. There does seem to be a correlation of increased life span and reduction of disease with decreased caloric intake. Whether that translates into younger looking eyes depends on how you feel about what you see reflected back from the surface of a mirror.

The Eyeseusse measures 3.4 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches, weighs 1lb comes with an adaptor or 4AA batteries and sells for $69.95.

links:
- Eat less, live longer?
- Which came first, Mascara or the eye?

Although the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” may portend attitudes’ interpretation of the fates deem inevitable, it can also reflect fatalistic expectations of future events within a cosmic play seen from a skewed perspective, just a nebulous notion or delusional state, demarcating individualized affect that attributes its own meaning to what images are suggested by “control”.

If seeking domination of circumstances to impact a specific effect is sought despite infinite unanticipated external possibilities, then personal thought, balanced upon positive and negative experiences, impress the ironic futility to any such endeavor. Now technology has an input into this very notion.

A variety of products developed for the enlightened individual who wants to take charge of his/her environment has been explored by slashgear.com; a reservoir of unimaginable ideas made concrete for anyone to redefine their personal surroundings.

First there is the color coordinated, Control Your Man Or Women Remote Control. Pink for the men and dark gray for the women who have issues with their paramour and require additional prodding instead of spending thousand of dollars in counseling or legal fees sucked up by lawyers to win a divorce settlement. The remote control claims to get them to do what you want on a whim, without the hassle of free will, free speech or love potion #9, conjured in a burning cauldron of witches brew so eloquently memorialized by The Three in MacBeth, Act 1, Scene1: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air,” as an inspiration for the evil queen, stepmother of Snow White, as she transforms, a result of a dark potion,  into the ugly contorted witch in the sweeping 1940 animated epic Disney masterpiece Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, surrounded by thunder, swirling wind and lightning and the poisoned apple, cackling her narrative to the mesmerized gaze of children and adults sitting in the audience. Although not a new concept it does have a soundly presented atmospheric charm all its own.

“Press a button and it yells at your significant other to do the task of your choosing. Both remotes emit obnoxious noises. the pink one sounds boyish  while the dark gray, whiny and ‘girlish.’” One remote is priced at $17.95, while the set, an amazing steal at $29.95. Perhaps behavior modification reminiscent of Psychology 101, the classic Lab Rat experiments devised for the quest to find the biological basis of behavior can apply here, or not.

Atmosphere is also a worthy condition to exist by making all life possible especially in a party environment within an array of merging amino acids. Now there is a way to test, and yes, manipulate your surroundings, and the people who comprise its milieu. Another genius invention shown on slashgear.com. Its the Portable Voice Stress Analyzer, particularly made for the paranoid of heart. Trapped in an affair with numerous people, the voice stress analyzer is small enough to slip into your purse or briefcase and works “by measuring the tremors in the audio signal from the vocal cords. It then assesses how honest the people surrounding you are,” a consideration of note when attempting to cultivate a sense of intuition.  Advertised on nerdapproved.com for $58.40 “with an easy to read LED layout makes determining innocence or guilt quick, easy and unequivocal,  so you can falsely accuse and alienate anyone you want, anytime, anywhere.”

The final piece to this triad effectively designed for any diagnosed or undiagnosed control complex is The Sonic Nausea Gadget to make those around you feel queasy enough to leave. “Sonic Nausea is a small electronic device which can really ‘boom’ one’s stomach. It generates a unique combination of ultra-high frequency sound waves which soon leads most in its vicinity to queasiness. It can also cause headaches, intense irritation, sweating, imbalance, nausea, or even vomiting. The unique sound wave characteristics make directional source determination difficult.  Powered by one 9-volt battery (not included). For extended run time six AA batteries in a battery pack with transistor clips (available from most electronics stores) can be used instead.  Use with extreme (paranoid) discretion.” $29.00. This product is also advertised on shomer-tech.com, which specializes in law enforcement and military equipment.

All of these treasures are a  testament to whoever said, “Things always comes in three’s”

My Percepto Rating: Its a secret. See if you can cajole it outta me.

Dependencies are tricky, not at all what one imagines until trapped, unable to remember what it felt like to live without the habit. Tolerance of delay in gratification defines behavior and ability to deal with stress wherever addictive personalities are a factor, especially if smoking is only one of many dependencies expressed. Failure is always present until ready to finally surrender its intoxicating effect or sustaining need.

Any attempt to quit smoking is usually filled with delusional thinking, often dismissing each attempt with some justification that defies good sense,  ultimately leading to an opposite effect. “Just one more until the next hit,” a constant companion or an extension of oneself that creates complex distracting rituals that affect judgment by testing ego strength, exposing weakness.

All this insight, however articulated, is useless when the pull, the need to have whatever is satisfied by this fixation, calls from some indescribable place. The struggle between craving and self-control, either resists temptation or rationalizes to oneself that it’s ok to be human and imperfect and give in to the weakness of bodies’ need.

While in this chaotic struggle, consciously asking oneself if what is needed is necessary or self indulgence may consciously spark a different thought, effecting determination,  strength and focus to change the habit by breaking the cycle.

Chosen to argue the optimistic aspects of the current financial collapse at Harvard Law School, I was hard pressed to find something positive to orate,  not knowing anything about Economics and finding the subject incredibly boring. One consolation at the very least, it would be unnecessary to go to the library for research. Enough information could be obtained from the Internet to sound scholarly and well informed at the podium. Discuss trends, be very philosophic, not too specific and answer questions well, also a good way to get elected president.

Perhaps a healthy dose of absurdity, a sound use of satire, with or without humor, maybe an analogy with a memorable cinematic masterpiece, a classic novel, or an odd situation filled with paradoxical choices, especially if the objective is to provoke thought. Whether those ideas are credible or outrageous is for the audience to decide.

Often, after having been accused of pointing out the obvious, I would respond with a twinkle in my eye and an inner smile, “it’s the obvious that becomes invisible and overlooked, camouflaged by all the other things in its constellation.” Now all I had to do was relate this to Economics, the financial collapse and find something reassuring to say about it.

I contemplated my thoughts, looking out at my fellow students and distinguished professors in the audience and said, ” Depression is never having to say your in need of an antidepressant.”

There are very few subjects that evoke the same kind of emotional reactions as the final outcome. Fear of the unknown, of the potential pain and suffering lurking in the background increases as cycles pass knowing that finiteness is inevitable especially when a close shave with death forces the subject to become a source of profound thought and inspiration.

The question always returns to what is left when the physical is dissolved. Philosophy raises questions, structures thought, but it is still difficult to relate to a non-physical existence, an irreconcilable perception from this side of life evoking the image of a black hole from where nothing returns unchanged, let alone with memory. The hope that something does occur, if firm, trusts that some kind of order or infinite potential exists but still not allowing it to be easily envisioned from this perspective.

There are so many theological explanations that it is difficult to isolate and accept just one. They are often intertwined with culture, language and history while portraying some kind of earthly reflection of what occurs, instilled as part of early development until the time that revelation transforms belief into knowledge. Commonalities of defined divinity offer clues on at least how the accumulation of life transforms; it nevertheless leaves a conscious residue of uncertainty. This turns out to be a very difficult subject with many answers dependent on the kinds of insights that are perceived on the path that leads beyond the event horizon.

How uncertainty in life is faced will help in dealing with anything with confident instinctive spirituality. The choice is whether the view of the void is feared more than the alternative of lingering with illness in an existence that has lost meaning to the one living it. That decision should not be left to others who themselves fear surrendering to the other side of life.