On the 8 Spot

Also in 2005, researchers at Harvard University completed a study that found that 50 percent of all bankruptcy filings were partly the result of medical expenses. The average out-of-pocket medical debt for those who filed for bankruptcy was $12,000 and that 68 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy had health insurance. The study concluded that every 30 seconds in the United States, someone files for bankruptcy in the aftermath of a serious health problem.

Angry Bear: Who has “bad credit” when a million Americans file for bankruptcy?.

I had intuited this, but have no real evidence.  It is heart wrenching to see families that could have had a much better life except for the ravages of medical expenses.

Sadly most families even those in the Philippines middle class can barely afford one time costly medical procedures let alone conditions which require prolonged treatment .

PBA: Ginebra nips San Miguel, forces Game 3

GMANews.TV – PBA: Ginebra nips San Miguel, forces Game 3 – Sports – Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs – Latest Philippine News – BETA.

HEhe God Willing I’ll be watching this live!

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In other news just realized that when its on! Its On!

from paolo coelo:

Of course I had never heard of this, so he explained what it was. I continued on my journey and discovered it is hard to find anyone in any of the Scandinavian countries who does not know this law. Although the law exists since the beginning of civilization, it was only officially declared in 1933 by writer Aksel Sandemose in the novel “A refugee goes beyond limits.”

The sad truth is that the Law of Jante is not restricted to Scandinavia: this is a rule applied in every country in the world, despite the fact that Brazilians say that “this only happens here,” and the French claim that “unfortunately, that’s how it is in our country.” Now, the reader must be annoyed because he/she is already half way through the column and still does not know what the Law of Jante is all about, so I’ll try to explain it here briefly in my own words:

“You aren’t worth a thing, nobody is interested in what you think, mediocrity and anonymity are your best bet. If you act this way, you will never have any big problems in life.”

The Law of Jante at Paulo Coelho’s Blog.

I believe that people inherently want to be the great, its just that fear stops them from even trying. Whenever anyone haas the courage to try to be really great, to really blaze a trail we are faced with our initial inability to overcome our fear. The existence of someone courageous enough to try rubs our insecurities and inabilities to even try.

Whenever faced with this I tell myself this from here:

Our Greatest Fear —Marianne Williamson
it is our light not our darkness that most frightens us

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other

people won’t feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of
God that is within us.

It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

—Marianne Williamson

If David Lean were in business today, he’d be out of business. American opening-weekend audiences are driven by gossip and “box office winners.” Not enough people trust their instincts. Which family movie would you rather see? An epic set in Australia, or one about a crazy dog? The kids see the trailer on TV, and say: “We want to see the dog!” Well, I sorta liked “Marley” too, except for the dog. But I offer this advice for parents: The kids will see the movie you choose for them, not the movie they choose for you. If you don’t lay down the law, you’ll end up seeing “The Spirit.” You mark my words.

Never mind the “weekend winner” charts. Everybody wants to back a winner. If you’re one of 50 people in a theater, that may mean you are more discriminating than the people who are not filling the other 300 seats. It doesn’t automatically mean you’re (a) a loser; (b) one of them Elites; (c) looking like a nerd in front of your date. Young people, heed this advice: Never marry someone who doesn’t love the movies you love. Sooner or later, that person will not love you. I could go even further, and quote the great French cineaste Pierre Rissient, who instructs us: It is not enough for you to love a movie. You must love it for the right reasons.

The bounty hunting goes on. Who is the current reigning female star? Angelina Jolie, without a doubt. She might as well find a calendar and start marking off the days until she reads learns of her “box office dive” and “comeback attempt.”

The birds of prey are circling – Roger Ebert’s Journal.

As a film lover this couldn’t have been more from the heart. I just feel that people are looking for junk food and not salads/ or steaks. This leaves them feeling empty but makes them coming back for more. And that is the crux of the matter. It is hard to find Great even Good films, compare that to mediocre films that are easier to make and ar a known quantity. Quoting deep throat “follow the money”, and that’s what the studio’s do. They do not risk and just follow the money, That’s why we get all these scary movie’s disaster movies etc while a lot of good or even great movies can’t seem to get distribution deals!

The internet is a game changer and i believe that only time and greater advances in technology that allow probably 100 times the earth’s current population would spawn what (How many real movie/film lovers do we really need) 100 million/1 billion? before the scale allows great films to be made only for the people who care/ the people who actually think. (This post made me reminiscent of “The Wire” The Best TV Show Ever!)

And this is how we kicked off our thirties. In our twenties, all of us were running full steam ahead, taking the long route to life. But now the fatigue has built up, I think we’re all just tired. Out of our whole group, there was not a single person who, thinking about how they would spend the next ten years, envisioned a bright future. Everyone was concentrating their attention on just getting by for the time being, and nothing else.

Global Voices Online » Japan: “What are you up to now?” has become a taboo question.

Feeling So Familiar!

So I maintain that any reform of the international economic system must face up to this trilemma. If we want more globalization, we must either give up some democracy or some national sovereignty. Pretending that we can have all three simultaneously leaves us in an unstable no-man’s land.

Dani Rodrik’s weblog: The inescapable trilemma of the world economy.

A year old posts but more important to note now that the world is in a Severe Economic Crisis the decisions and compromise that the world leaders choose basically impact my and my generations adult life. This probably has a more formal name but I’ll call it the tragedy of progress, where in the previous generation either build the pitfalls or the stepping stones of the next generation.