Sunday, February 19, 2012

News: New Book Offers Hope and Helpful Advice for Patients with Sickle Cell Disease


http://shared.web.emory.edu/whsc/news/releases/2011/06/new-book-offers-hope-and-helpful-advice-for-patients-with-sickle-cell-disease.html

Sick Cells: Update

20K Films is going to the Valentine's Home today to go over the new additions to the documentary website so hopefully we can launch it soon, and then when that's done, we're going to get back into production again. Our goal is to be done with production by the end of the year and to be editing by January 2013.

Speak Quietly So Someone Will Listen



We just finished the movie called Buck. It is a documentary about a man that trains horses naturally and was the consultant for the movie, The Horse Whisperer with Robert Redford.

One of the training clinics showed a Stallion that lost its mom at birth and was revived by humans and raised by humans . The horse was then left to pasture without human contact for a long period of time. The horse was not gelded meaning castrated. When a horse is born, it is best to imprint it, in other words, touch the baby horse called a foal. You need to introduce the foal to common objects and allow it to be touched with different textures and daily items from the barn.

If it is orphaned, you should find the foal a nurse maid horse . The foal has to learn boundaries and behavior before it weighs one thousand pounds. In the documentary, the horse was unsafe for contact. It bit the trainer in the chin and knocked him down. I've seen a horse like this in real life and it is terrifying.

Sadly it is the owners fault. Almost like a child that is left to be wild and unengaged. The horse had no trust and was also purely afraid and striked out whenever possible. This horse will be put to sleep. There is no training for a dangerous animal such as that horse. The woman had 18 other stallions in her fields and cannot train them.

Sometimes, animals are a reflection of human turmoil. We took in a German Shepard that my sister-in-law found. Clearly it was afraid and did not trust other animals nor men. We found a home for the dog, and the dog went though socialization training . But we later found out it had attacked the woman's nephew and was put to sleep. My guess is that the dog was beaten, because it was very shy around men. Humans can not power over animals . Just like the horse, beating the animals into submission will not work. By no fault of their own both animals are now dead.

Abused children are in some ways like the animals they are here but did not ask to be born. They return to or are given back to the abusers because they have no where else to go. The cycle can easily continue without a better way or without a savior that is willing to rescue them.

In the movie, one woman asked, "Why didn't you just force the horse in the trailer? Why did you just take your time and coax it in humanely?" Buck answered, "I have no malice for the horse."

As humans we have so much to learn ABOUT OURSELVES . Our ideas of power and superiority can cause such pain , suffering , despair and death.

Sometimes we must whisper for others to really listen.

I thank GOD for the privilege of having children and animals. Thank you for listening.

Below, you can see the trailer for Buck. I highly recommend it as a testimony to the human spirit.



Wednesday, February 1, 2012

News: Wikipedia page on Disability

The section on disability in the United States has some interesting information about disability, women and African Americans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disability