lemonsweetie:

Let me tell you a thing, about an amazing man named Patrick Stewart

I went to Comicpalooza this weekend and I was full of nervous energy as I was standing in line to ask Sir Patrick Stewart a question at his panel. I first had to thank him for a speech he had given at amnesty international about domestic violence towards women . I had only seen it a few months ago but I was still dealing with my own personal experience with a similar issue, and I didn’t know what to call it. After seeing Patrick talk so personally about it I finally was able to correctly call it abuse, in my case sexual abuse that was going to quickly turn into physical abuse as well. I didn’t feel guilty or disgusting anymore. I finally didn’t feel responsible for the abuse that was put upon me. I was finally able to start my healing process and to put that part of my life behind me.

After thanking him I asked him “Besides acting, what are you most proud of that you have done in you life (that you are willing to share with us)?”. Sir Patrick told us about how he couldn’t protect his mother from abuse in his household growing up and so in her name works with an organization called Refuge for safe houses for women and children to escape from abusive house holds. Sir Patrick Stewart learned only last year that his father had actually been suffering from PTSD after he returned from the military and was never properly treated. In his father’s name he works with an organization called Combat Stress to help those soldiers who are suffering from PTSD.

They were about to move onto the next question when Sir Patrick looked at me and asked me “My Dear, are you okay?” I said yes, and that I was finally able to move on from that part of my life. He then passionately said that his mother had done nothing to provoke his father and that even if she had, violence was never, ever a choice a man should make. That it is in the power of men to stop violence towards women. The moderator then asked “Do you want a hug?”

Sir Patrick didn’t even hesitate, he smiled, hopped off the stage and came over to embrace me in a hug. Which he held me there for a long while. He told me “You never have to go through that again, you’re safe now.” I couldn’t stop thanking him. His embrace was so warm and genuine. It was two people, two strangers, supporting and giving love. And when we pulled away he looked strait in my eyes, like he was promising that. He told me to take care. And I will.

Sir Patrick Stewart is an absolute roll model for men. He is an amazing man and was so kind and full of heart. I want to let everyone know to please find help if you are in a violent or abusive house hold or relationship. There are organizations and people ready to help. I had countless people after the panel thanking me for sharing the story and asking him those questions. Many said they went through similar things. You are not alone.

X

^ Here is the video of my question to Sir Patrick Stewart

Photos by Eugene Lee, Thank you

So awesome. ♥♥♥

That’s so awesome!!!!

I’ve heard it argued the word ‘awesome’ is over used. I would disagree.   It may often be used where another, less enthusiastic word may be a more suitable choice but if anything, ‘awesome’ is underused. There is awesomeness everywhere!  I wish everyone could see it all the time. I’d rather walk around in slack-jawed wonder at the beauty of the world and people around me than worry about a bit of overstatement. 

It’s Geek Pride Day!

May 25th is Geek Pride day – so let your Geek Flag fly.  Personally I am using a towel – cause it’s also Towel Day in honor of Douglas Adams. 

Other cool & geeky things/people with May 25th as an anniversary; 

Frank Oz, Sir Ian McKellen, Mike Meyers, Ray Stevenson, Ralph Waldo Emerson & @Johnathan Broadley share a birthday with Douglas Adams.

 John Scopes indicted in 1925 for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution.

 Star Wars Episode IV opened in 1977, followed on the same date in 1983 with Episode VI

 NASA civilian pilot Joseph Walker takes X-15 to 32,766m

 In 1961 President Kennedy announces goal of sending a man to the moon, kicking off the Apollo program.

 In 2012,  The Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous with the International Space Station

~ So pin a lilac to your lapel, grab your towel and go celebrate the geekiness in all of us

confrontingbabble-on: Prayer is ineffective…AND, potentially harmful to both the prayer and the prayed for. It gives the deluded a false sense that something is being done about a problem, to the extent that seeking real help (medical attention, emergency services, etc) is dangerously delayed. ***** “Seeking to assess the effect of third-party prayer on patient outcomes, investigators found no evidence for divine intervention. They did, however, detect a possible proof for the power of negative thinking.The three-year Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP), published in the April 4 American Heart Journal, was the largest-ever attempt to apply scientific methods to measure the influence of prayer on the well-being of another. It examined 1,800 patients undergoing heart-bypass surgery….The study found no differences in survival or complication rates compared with those who did not receive prayers. …the authors stated that they have no plans for a follow-up study. This one, sponsored largely by the John Templeton Foundation, cost $2.4 million. read http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=no-prayer-prescription ******Prayers offered by strangers had no effect on the recovery of people who were undergoing heart surgery, a large and long-awaited study has found.And patients who knew they were being prayed for had a higher rate of post-operative complications like abnormal heart rhythms, perhaps because of the expectations the prayers created, the researchers suggested.At least 10 studies of the effects of prayer have been carried out in the last six years, with mixed results. The new study was intended to overcome flaws in the earlier investigations. The report was scheduled to appear in The American Heart Journal next week, but the journal’s publisher released it online yesterday.…congregations were told that they could pray in their own ways, but they were instructed to include the phrase, “for a successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications.”Analyzing complications in the 30 days after the operations, the researchers found no differences between those patients who were prayed for and those who were not. read http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/health/31pray.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 ***** Meta-studies of the literature in the field have been performed showing evidence only for no effect or a potentially small effect. For instance, a 2006 meta analysis on 14 studies concluded that there is “no discernible effect” read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studies_on_intercessory_prayer
Pop-upView Separately

confrontingbabble-on:

Prayer is ineffective…AND, potentially harmful to both the prayer and the prayed for.

It gives the deluded a false sense that something is being done about a problem, to the extent that seeking real help (medical attention, emergency services, etc) is dangerously delayed.

*****

“Seeking to assess the effect of third-party prayer on patient outcomes, investigators found no evidence for divine intervention. They did, however, detect a possible proof for the power of negative thinking.

The three-year Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP), published in the April 4 American Heart Journal, was the largest-ever attempt to apply scientific methods to measure the influence of prayer on the well-being of another. It examined 1,800 patients undergoing heart-bypass surgery….The study found no differences in survival or complication rates compared with those who did not receive prayers.

…the authors stated that they have no plans for a follow-up study. This one, sponsored largely by the John Templeton Foundation, cost $2.4 million.
read http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=no-prayer-prescription

******
Prayers offered by strangers had no effect on the recovery of people who were undergoing heart surgery, a large and long-awaited study has found.

And patients who knew they were being prayed for had a higher rate of post-operative complications like abnormal heart rhythms, perhaps because of the expectations the prayers created, the researchers suggested.

At least 10 studies of the effects of prayer have been carried out in the last six years, with mixed results. The new study was intended to overcome flaws in the earlier investigations. The report was scheduled to appear in The American Heart Journal next week, but the journal’s publisher released it online yesterday.

…congregations were told that they could pray in their own ways, but they were instructed to include the phrase, “for a successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications.”

Analyzing complications in the 30 days after the operations, the researchers found no differences between those patients who were prayed for and those who were not.

read http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/health/31pray.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

*****

Meta-studies of the literature in the field have been performed showing evidence only for no effect or a potentially small effect. For instance, a 2006 meta analysis on 14 studies concluded that there is “no discernible effect”

read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studies_on_intercessory_prayer

(via divineirony)

Source: confrontingbabble-on