Dreamways

The newspaper photo captures everything that Americans wanted to believe about the Iraq war in the earliest days of the invasion in 2003. A U.S. Army medic, Pfc. Joseph Dwyer, whose unit was fighting its way up the Euphrates to Baghdad, cradles a wounded Iraqi boy. The child is half-naked and helpless, but trusting. Private Dwyer’s face is strained but calm. The text accompanying the photo describes the power of this image. “If there are better images of the strength and selflessness of the American soldier, I can’t think of any.  read more »

“Kentucky pastor charged in poisonous snake trade.” This intriguing headline appeared in The Denver Post (12 Jul 08). The article it led to once again illustrates that waking life can be every bit as strange as any sleep dream. “The pastor of a Kentucky church that handles snakes in religious rites was among 10 people arrested by wildlife officers in a crackdown on the venomous snake trade. More than 100 snakes were confiscated in the undercover sting after Thursday’s arrests, said Col.  read more »

"A New Zealand man who assaulted a teen by hitting him with a spine-covered hedgehog has been fined by a court and ordered to pay most of his fine to his victim. Whakatane District Court was told … that William Singalargh picked up the hedgehog, a small prickly-backed animal similar to the porcupine, and threw it several yards at a 15-year-old boy on Feb. 9. Police said the teen was hit in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks.  read more »

When it comes to chronic physical health problems, "the single thing that comes close to a magic bullet, in terms of its strong and universal benefits, is exercise,“ Frank Hu, epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health, states in Harvard Magazine. This quote appears in health columnist Jane E. Brody‘s article on the multi-facted roles of exercise in healing ("You Name It, and Exercise Helps It,“ The New York Times, 29 Apr 08).  read more »