Cars, new HD program on Discovery Channel

Click here: Discovery HD Theater :: TV Listings :: What's My Car Worth?

This is tuesday at 9, see the schedule.

A 1914 car with history

This car has an interesting history.  It ran very well., when my husband had it.    The leather fenders are remarkable, as is the car,an early Mercedes you can read the history at the link.

Turning Learning Right Side Up: Putting Education Back on Track Turning Learning Right Side Up Puting Education Back on Track


by DanielGreenberg



See this book on Amazon »Madlyn wants to read this book

Comment: "My neighbor, founding member of the Sudbury Valley School has just published this book. I am especially interested in it, because I agree that we have not made sufficient changes in education, to handle the changes in our society. The proof is in the number of children being prescribed drugs like Ritalin to get through school and college.



We learned years ago that all children do not learn in the same way, yet we torture them , forcing them to learn the way we want them to learn, or fail them. Example: A bright child with ADHD, orADD, who can not concentrate, read, etc., can be taught by lectures, play acting, movies, and other visual means. Why would this child get homework based on reading and preparing pages to turn in, when the child has difficulty organizing, doing homework and turning in pages on time. That is what I mean about setting them up to fail! Genius existed before homework, and books!

We can not dumb down those that can not learn in our one way of teaching, then fail them in school and college....change has to come! There are many new ideas out there, we need to try. I look forward to reading Dan's book!

World's rarest car?

http://www.audiusa.com/us/brand/en/about/main/history/brand_family_tree/Horch.html#source=h


There is one unusual car that might be the world's rarest sport model.  It is called the Horch, built as early as the 1900's by the founder of Audi cars, visit the website for information.  Last year at Pebble Beach it took the prize.  This car is probably one of 4 in the world.  I will find the link for Pebble Beach and put it here for you, if you care to read more.

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/1937-horch-wins-best-of-show-at-the-2009-pebble-beach-concours-d-elegance-ar78074.html

This fabulous car competed with the Mercedes 540 K as one of the most desired cars in the world, in it's day.

New Metrowest Estate Homes

Our fabulous Natick designed homes are coming to Holliston.  Now, you can choose some of the fabulous plans we have in Sanctuary , Natick.  The popular King Charles and Alexander for example are available in Holliston, and also at Black Horse Farms in Marlboro on the Sudbury line.  Holliston has fabulous lots with views almost to the Boston skyline, just off Route 126, close to Rt 16, Rt 135, and  10 minutes to Rt 495, Rt 9, Mass Pike... If you prefer living in South Natick, which is only about 10 minutes away, , we have  a few lots remaining

Madlyn Fafard , Secrets of the Heart

Secrets of the Heart   listening to this while reading my e-book will bring you right to the era. Best of the Four Aces

Link to my book is here:

Product Reviews and Ratings by StargazerMA - Barnes & Noble

Secrets of the Heart,Amazon.com: xlibris - secrets of the heart / madlyn fafard: Books

 My first novel begins with the 2nd world war, and describes the conflict that children had living in the town of Framingham, Mass., during the war.

Plunge into the world of the late 40's and 50's with Meggie Pitter, who takes you through a generation of love, pain, joy, death, and suffering in what was then a small town.  Follow the songs of the generation, and look them up on Amazon as you read.

Meggie the lead character  leads the way, as she lies on her death bed, encountering her friends and lovers in memory and in the next dimension as they share their stories, in many voices.

Education Today

We need to rethink our education, the system, the school days, the purpose, and redefine free speech.
When children are led to commit suicide because of bullying, by internet, by encounters, should we allow free speech to continue without some boundaries?

When a soldier comes home in a casket to a grieving family, is it necessary for free speech lovers to dishonor him and his family?  Free speech, should not damage someone's soul!  Should we allow free speech to take away the dignity of a dead person?   What can we do to protect free speech, but remove the horrible manner in which it is displayed?
 

Is our school system producing problems , by integration of all students, rather than the tracking system we had years ago?  Personally, I think we should be giving more guidance to fit the student, rather than the opposite..  If we do our job, they will fit in society.  It is when we do not do our job, that they fall out of society and get in trouble.  Students that drop out, that do not get good marks, etc., are not happy!  So that means we need to change to make them want to go to school.  That is the job we have before us, make everyone want to learn to become a productive member of society and as long as we ignore the unhappy students, we will have serious problems in society.

  Our society is in need of talented trades, and we could be giving a more practical education from day one to the students who we know, will not have the ability to keep up for higher education, or who do not have the inclination.   Banking should come back in the schools, with the students running the banks.  Home economics should come back to the elementary school, baking, sewing, organizing, learning about health and health check ups, all the basics of everyday living in our present society we need to have to prepare the student for life, so if they drop out, or can not compete they can take care of their family with home, and car skills, health skills, banking skills, budgets, etc.

Students with ADD and ADHD  need a different classroom situation, maybe they need to have assisted homework with teachers who train them to focus on their studies,  Homework must be part of the classroom teaching, learning, etc... maybe they need less homework and more class participation marks.  Drugs are not always the answer,maybe more observation by teachers and what we can do in the school to teach focusing and teach how to overcome disabilities.

Tracking would be a valuable tool, to assist the student to reach his potential in a group that has similar abilities and skills.  Everyone is not equal, we all have different abilities.  You can probably answer I knew I would never be a whiz at math, in the lower grades, or I knew I would never be a reader, in the lower grades.   Essential abilities in the brain, need to be addressed, not neglected, if a person is weak in math, then that person needs to learn basic math, banking, budgeting, organizing skills, and skills that increase the ability of that side of the brain that has a problem with math by training with musical instruments.  Learning spacing of notes, groupings, etc., through music,  There are so many things to consider, I could go on forever

FABULOUS OPPORTUNITY IN REAL ESTATE

 Time to invest in  a home

Uxbridge, Mass.  about 20 minutes to Rt 495  , Franklin and the T,   prices  are incredible, starting at $199,990 for a single family home on condominium land., or consider  Bellingham, just minutes off 495 and the T, starting in the high $200,000's depending on the lot you choose, most are an acre or more. both of these locations are close to the Wrentham Outlet Mall, and other shopping areas, hospitals, and colleges.

 Marlboro, just off Rt 495, near the high school and the Mall, prices start in the $300,000's

These prices will be hard to find when the economy returns to normal, so if you can borrow some of the deposit from your parents,  and get an affordable monthly payment, including taxes, utilities etc.. now is the time to think about taking the plunge into real estate.

If you are looking for a special home, that you want to design build or use our plans and customize, we have estate lots in Natick, Mass., Holliston, Mass., Marlboro on the Sudbury line.  Choose from these easy commute locations that are close to all amenities, shopping, hospitals, colleges, and major roads.



 Give our office a call for all your real estate needs., in the metrowest area around Boston  508-881-6662

Discussions on God, Sheldrake and Dawkins and Vermeer's Hat a great book

Friday, February 22, 2008

Vermeer's Hat by Timothy Brook



Ah! Remember when you first learned about stream of conciousness? I remember well, because it was like a light went on in my head! I loved it, from the day I set eyes on The Sound and The Fury and read Faulkner with gusto, my next favorites being , A Rose For Emily, and As I Lay Dying



Now, with Vermeer's Hat, we have a new form of stream of consciousness. Yes, this time the author goes into a Vermeer painting and discovers thru a doorway from the painting, (and from his learned history of the world), a glimpse through the eyes ( stream of consciousness almost) of the author of what was happening at the time of Vermeer in his world.



Tobacco, silver, beaver hats, chinese trade, the perils of the shipping industry and much more as the world started on its course to become smaller. It is amazing from the ship register's of the time where people came from, and how traveled they were.



It is a memorable book, slow reading because it is not full of suspense, but full of facts, that draw you back to learn more. Also, the idea of visiting the world of the time through the paintings of Vermeer, is clever, and insightful. It is worth reading, the sub title is ,The Seventeeth Century and the Dawn of the Global World.

Posted by madlyn at 7:31 AM 0 comments

Labels: Books, mostly books, newest read

Friday, January 11, 2008

Richard Dawkins vs Rupert Sheldrake



In the interest of God, and the interest of mankind, this is worth reading....a point of view that promotes a book at the expense of the truth, is not what a scientist should be searching for. I wonder what you think?



This release came to me from the Rupert Sheldrake site, I subscribe to.





News Release from Rupert Sheldrake Online



11th January 2008

From Rupert Sheldrake





"Richard Dawkins Comes to Call" has just been published in Network Review: The Journal of the Scientific and Medical Network and is now on the web site - It is also pasted below.



Richard Dawkins comes to call

Rupert Sheldrake

Richard Dawkins is a man with a mission – the eradication of religion and superstition, and their total replacement with science and reason. Channel 4 TV has repeatedly provided him with a pulpit. His two-part polemic in August 2007, called Enemies of Reason, was a sequel to his 2006 diatribe against religion, The Root of All Evil?

Soon before Enemies of Reason was filmed, the production company, IWC Media, told me that Richard Dawkins wanted to visit me to discuss my research on unexplained abilities of people and animals. I was reluctant to take part, but the company’s representative assured me that “this documentary, at Channel 4’s insistence, will be an entirely more balanced affair than The Root of All Evil was.” She added, “We are very keen for it to be a discussion between two scientists, about scientific modes of enquiry”. So I agreed and we fixed a date.

I was still not sure what to expect. Was Richard Dawkins going to be dogmatic, with a mental firewall that blocked out any evidence that went against his beliefs? Or would he be open-minded, and fun to talk to?

The Director asked us to stand facing each other; we were filmed with a hand-held camera. Richard began by saying that he thought we probably agreed about many things, “But what worries me about you is that you are prepared to believe almost anything. Science should be based on the minimum number of beliefs.”

I agreed that we had a lot in common, “But what worries me about you is that you come across as dogmatic, giving people a bad impression of science.”

He then said that in a romantic spirit he himself would like to believe in telepathy, but there just wasn’t any evidence for it. He dismissed all research on the subject out of hand. He compared the lack of acceptance of telepathy by scientists such as himself with the way in which the echo-location system had been discovered in bats, followed by its rapid acceptance within the scientific community in the 1940s. In fact, as I later discovered, Lazzaro Spallanzani had shown in 1793 that bats rely on hearing to find their way around, but sceptical opponents dismissed his experiments as flawed, and helped set back research for well over a century. However, Richard recognized that telepathy posed a more radical challenge than echo-location. He said that if it really occurred, it would “turn the laws of physics upside down,” and added, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”

“This depends on what you regard as extraordinary”, I replied. “Most people say they have experienced telepathy, especially in connection with telephone calls. In that sense, telepathy is ordinary. The claim that most people are deluded about their own experience is extraordinary. Where is the extraordinary evidence for that?”

He produced any evidence at all, apart from generic arguments about the fallibility of human judgment. He assumed that people want to believe in “the paranormal” because of wishful thinking.

We then agreed that controlled experiments were necessary. I said that this was why I had actually been doing such experiments, including tests to find out if people really could tell who was calling them on the telephone when the caller was selected at random. The results were far above the chance level.

The previous week I had sent Richard copies of some of my papers, published in peer-reviewed journals, so that he could look at the data.

Richard seemed uneasy and said, “I’m don’t want to discuss evidence”. “Why not?” I asked. “There isn’t time. It’s too complicated. And that’s not what this programme is about.” The camera stopped.

The Director, Russell Barnes, confirmed that he too was not interested in evidence. The film he was making was another Dawkins polemic.

I said to Russell, “If you’re treating telepathy as an irrational belief, surely evidence about whether it exists or not is essential for the discussion. If telepathy occurs, it’s not irrational to believe in it. I thought that’s what we were going to talk about. I made it clear from the outset that I wasn’t interested in taking part in another low grade debunking exercise.”

Richard said, “It’s not a low grade debunking exercise; it’s a high grade debunking exercise.”

In that case, I replied, there had been a serious misunderstanding, because I had been led to believe that this was to be a balanced scientific discussion about evidence. Russell Barnes asked to see the emails I had received from his assistant. He read them with obvious dismay, and said the assurances she had given me were wrong. The team packed up and left.

Richard Dawkins has long proclaimed his conviction that “The paranormal is bunk. Those who try to sell it to us are fakes and charlatans”. Enemies of Reason was intended to popularize this belief. But does his crusade really promote “the public understanding of science,” of which he is the professor at Oxford? Should science be a vehicle of prejudice, a kind of fundamentalist belief-system? Or should it be a method of enquiry into the unknown?

Rupert Sheldrake



Note

Some Email filters block any messages containing links to web sites, sounfortunately we cannot include links in this newsletter, but all the links are easily accessible form the home page of the website Sheldrake.org.



Best wishes,

Editor

Posted by madlyn at 8:13 AM 0 comments



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▼ 2008 (2)

▼ February (1)

Vermeer's Hat by Timothy Brook

► January (1)

Richard Dawkins vs Rupert Sheldrake

Going to Wintertur for Point to Point races

A team of grey Kladruby horses, pulls an antique coach in the parade at Wintertur. Cheyenne Fafard is on the box seat with Sir Paul.  Howard is behind him and all you can see is Howard's grey hat.  First weekend in May, this is a fabulous event in Delaware.

 My book, Secrets of the Heart is a dramatic telling of stories that hide within them the secrets of our universal consciousness.  As a first novel, it was a difficult job, but, hopefully it will reach people who never give a thought to consciousness, or how it causes us to participate in life.  Maybe this will help us  to slow down to evaluate our choices before we make them.

The developing consciousness from childhood to death, is written in short spurts, just as our own thoughts come to us. We meditate daily unknowingly on why, and how. We participate, sometimes without thinking, and we suffer the consequences of our actions. In the end the total goal of life is learning to love, learning to respond without damage to others, as best we can, and learning that there is more to life than what we experience in matter. Each action we take has long reaching repurcussions, not only on us, but on those around us. We are creating an aura around ourselves and around our closest networks, this aura continues to grow into the aura of our very culture. This is all hidden behind the rise of the media, and how our culture is changing based on what is happening with the media, the entertainment world and whomever can grab the spotlight.  There is so much more to our developing cultural aura, such as people convinced that the end of the world is coming in 2012, when it might just be a change in consciousness as we know it.  Is there a right and wrong decision in any universal cause?  Should we be so passionate about our causes that we hurt others?  There are dozens of questions, that bring on even more for the thoughtful.




At the end of World War 2, we children thought, that war was forever over. We thought we had learned from this terrible destruction. The aura was of peace time. What happened to that aura, why did it destruct and get replaced with more wars? Have we gone too far in our free society? Is our largess eating away at the very country we prize because of our generosity? All these questions come to the reader who reads between the lines, in the more than one voice recounting emotional journeys in life.

New anti aging tools coming soon

http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/feed/view/213222

Secrets of the Heart

After years of love for books, I have finally tried my hand at a book. Secrets of the Heart, is a  story  told by an old woman reviewing her life.  She is joined by her friends voices , as they recount their stories to her and with her.  A book full of emotion; the pain of war from the eyes of a child, the pain of a loved one dying, life long love and the magic of emotions coming to life on a computer.  It recounts the universal theme of love from different perspectives along the time line of the 1940s and 1950's.  

It is interesting to note as established by this book, that the period gave birth to the cult of the teenager, while nurturing the most influential generation in the history of the world.  Just glimpsing the events of the 20 year period, brings to life the times, helped by names of songs of the period, books and poems.  I hope you like it!  I have enclosed a link to the site
.www.xlibris.com/SecretsoftheHeart.html

New discoveries in physics, cosmology

The Spontaneous Healing of Belief, by Gregg Braden


Truly eye opening, easy to understand
What we have known for ages, to keep something hidden place it in clear view...Braden illustrates that and then points out how it happens. Take the vibrations that happen when you pluck a string on one guitar, and the other guitar nearby vibrates the same string. It is obvious, that vibrations are everywhere. There we are with magnetic and electrical currents all around us, emanating from us and toward us. Interesting that our hearts out shine the brain in electrical energy and magnetic energy output. Have you ever noticed that it is the heart area that is ripped asunder by a death of a loved one, the injury of a loved one, or a disappointment in love. The heart is where the action is. The emotions gathered with thought become powerful. If there is no emotion with the thought, it lies ineffective, in the brain and dissipates, maybe that explains people that can not seem to achieve, or complete things. They are emotionless in certain areas. All the more reason to make a career of something you love. More reason, also, for us to think about what emotions we allow to carry our thoughts into the atmosphere. The one question I still have is about Peace. We all want peace, but if negative and positive is what the universe thrives on and needs, then how can we maintain peace? We have shown we can put it in place by a certain number of people thinking it into existence, but to maintain it, we need balance between negative and positive. Is it attainable forever? Would there be a way to determine how we can maintain it, if we can think it into existence? Right now we would need a certain number of the population maintaining the thought all the time. Obviously this book has me thinking, and you will be thinking too. Wonderful, enjoyable.

Sir John Templeton

Sir John Templeton passed away about two weeks ago, a man truly for All Seasons, someone who went quietly, but who left a legacy, unmatched by many who have received more adulation than he. This is a little of what you can read in the book Sir John Templeton, By Robert L. Herrmann

Born in Tennessee, an outstanding student, who loved Henry Wadsworth Longellow's poems, particulary "A Psalm of Life" One of the stanza's, which he loved;

"Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time."

Sir John left his footprints on the sands of time, he became a world class investor, founding the Templeton Fund, which is world renown. When he achieved monetary success, he planned to give back in a most challenging way, and that was to unite science and religion, by establishing the John Templeton Foundation,in 1987.

In those days scientists, would turn away, when you established something by intuition, and not by the scientific method, forgetting that much of the Western World knowledge came from Intuitives, like Plato, and Socrates, for example.

Today, I like to think that the advances we are making into consciousness, are partially spurred by the dream of this outstanding human being, who wanted to find God in all religions, and in so doing bestow the prestigious Templeton Prize on outstanding people, for their efforts, toward these advances.

For example, the 1995 winner was mathematical physicist Prof Paul Davies who has written more than a dozen books , revealing how physics, mathematics and cosmology point to purpose and meaning in the Universe.

The prize has now been renamed, The Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities.

For those of us who are very spiritual, those of us who are "knowing" about the underlying reality of life, the words of Davies when he accepted that award are important,
"The emergence of life and consciousness, I maintain are written into the laws of the universe in a very basic way." (page 151) Sir John Templeton

Many other outstanding people have won the prizes which span over 25 years now, leading us to the conclusion that the universe is particularly suited for fostering the attitude of self sacrificing love, and requires it for its harmonious functioning at every level.

In my opinion, after absorbing the wonder of this man, who reached for the stars to help humankind, I think,these thoughts:
In these days of Terrorists fighting in the name of God, one can only wonder, how the great Religions of the World have lost their way? Why aren't radicals ousted from their religions, instead of being able to claim it as theirs? The true leaders of the true lessons of the Masters/God, have to go back to the tenents of the reality of the great religions, LOVE.

That is the challenge of this Century, it is obvious that the world is waiting for the second coming, which is not one man, but a group of men, who are known as leaders of the world's religions, who can stand up and say, enough! Religion is LOVE, in all its many ways, anyone claiming to be in our religion/s must follow the Master's teaching, or be ousted, forbidden to claim fellowship with the rest of us., forever shunned, until repentence and forgiveness is asked, and given.

Science and Spirit

Reading , Our Solarian Legacy , there are so many times, you will want to tag a page, and go back to it, that it is a project for the rest of the summer. The book is amazing. It is full of information from many sources , so much so, that I was astonished at the level of study that went into creating this book. Many of us have read the 100 books or so that Paul VAN WARD references in, Our Solarian Legacy, but for those that have not had the opportunity to delve into so many other books, this is really exceptional in what it accomplishes; by bringing us up to date with the thoughts that are uniting spirit and science.

Also, if you have been a follower and reader of many of the books he cites, it is still amazing to read this book, and follow the author's thought and references. An avid reader of the subject, and familiar with the many references, I am IMPRESSED.

LabPixies - Coolest Gadgets On The Web

LabPixies - Coolest Gadgets On The Web THIS IS ONE GREAT SPOT,it even has movies you can watch, reminder page, etc....the new aol page is great for gadgets, just as google is..

Sir John Templeton

Sir John Templeton, truly a hero! A man who discovered the purpose of life and lived it.
Contrarian Investor? Contrary to what? I do not understand the title, as this man deserves more than to be called a contraian Investor. Templeton, made a great advance in the world, by trying to reconcile science and spirituality. People have been making greater and greater strides to the reality of our lives, because of Templeton. We are becoming more aware of Intention and Love as the driving forces of the universe. I would have loved to see a better recognition of his greatness. He gave the greatest gift the world has seen, the Templeton Prize and he should be revered in return for his giving. He did not give all his wealth and become poor because that would not have answered the needs of the world, he BECAME, he joined in the continuing process of creativity, which we are all here for., at the level of status he had achieved in the world. Rich or poor we all have reasons to create, life is a continuous creation from chaos to order, special people have the ability to bring order into the world. I salute one of the hero's of my time, the world is sad at his loss.

The Concubine's Tattoo

Barnes & Noble.com - Books: The Concubine's Tattoo, by Laura Joh Rowland, Paperback


Wow! this is a page turner. I have been bored with reading too much factual...so I picked up this and I can not put it down, it is full of suspense and exotic scenes from another world. You will love it...

London Trial of Al Gore Film

Click here: Al Gore told there are nine inconvienient truths in his film - Times Online
Here is another look at the film, which according to Television news has earned $100 million dollars profit for Al Gore. Your opinion?