By Anthony Meindl | Posted April 28, 2014, 3 p.m.

Im the king of over-sharing.

I didnt even know what that word meant until a couple months ago, because I realized that ever since I was a kid, Id express things that most people would think were private. But it just felt normal for me to express my truth, and I think if you watch children, theyre naturally inclined to express freely in this way in the moment.

As I got older, I became self-conscious about that part of me that was made fun of for expressing feeling. I began to self-edit and self-criticize this natural part of me that seemed to be so different from what other people said was normal.

So I assimilated. Joined the crowd, tried to fit in.

And in doing so, I began to equate that simply feeling (and sharing feeling) is inherently risky and punishable.

And in a way it is. I was thinking yesterday about the brave souls who lived under Communist rule in the Soviet Union (and other countries) during the Cold War. What would I have done had I lived during that time as an artist? It was very risky for artists to express themselves freely, which ironically, is the trademark of all great art. I started thinking about the challenges of wanting to write poetry or tell stories or act in plays that expressed a political point of view, or a personal narrative that wasnt acceptable by the mandates of the organized state or religion. How brutal it must have been for those artists.

Thankfully, were free to express. So let it not be a burden of pain and anxiety. Expressing feelingeven when its scary and unfamiliaris inherently joyful because its the natural state of our being.

And thankfully, were also given second chances in life, all the time.

So dont waste opportunities to express how you feel. Do it, and not in ways that feel safe to you. Although feeling vulnerable is safe, when youre expressing something that is personal to you, the fear of rejection or disapproval or being negated might make you feel unsafe.

Here is the original post:
Why Artists Cannot Be Afraid to Express Emotions

"We are still living in some kind of Christian country, albeit surrounded by millions of non-believers"

Last year I attended the funeral of a long-standing colleague and friend, at which another retired colleague, a once professed atheist, sitting next to me, sang mightily through every verse of ther hymn, For All the Saints.

Last week, however, it was his turn to join the choir eternal.

Had he experienced a late conversion? Definitely not, said his widow, despite the local vicar giving a eulogy.

What further proof is needed, that, as Superspoon Cameron insists, we are still living in some kind of Christian country, albeit surrounded by millions of non-believers.

Even former home secretary Jack Straw, himself a Jew, has told British Muslims that they must accept that Britain is built on Christian values.

That's certainly true historically and socially.

Folk may be forsaking congregations in droves, except at cathedrals, where most go for the music, not the prayers or preaching.

But what trendy so-called intellectual atheists, of the type who wrote in protest at David Cameron's comments, too readily forget to consider is the purpose, rather than the facts of life.

Their existence is all statistics and no spirituality. Anything they can't experience or see is false until proven (so much for x-rays, electricity etc).

Original post:
Joe Riley: Onward militant atheists, marching as to bore

EAST AMWELL TWP. The 2014 Friends of the Hunterdon County Library Used Book Sale is over. It was held at the county fairgrounds near Ringoes, and it was an excercise in efficient redistribution of books.

Before the sale started on Saturday, representatives of the Hunterdon County Library and its affiliates came in to skim off what they needed for their collections. Then the public shopped on Saturday. Today, prices were cut in half and the sale went on from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Then book-sale volunteers got to take what they wanted. At this moment the gleaners are in there, taking what they can use from among the tens of thousands of books remaining from the original 100,000 item offered. The gleaners are from a variety of nonprofit or governmental agencies.

Next year, after some of the books have been read by their buyers, they will be donated to enter the cycle again.

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Excerpt from:
2014 Hunterdon book sale is over, as gleaners sort through remainders

Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, director-general of the department, said that as the Asean Economic Community (AEC) approaches, that market would be targeted for export expansion this year and next.

"Despite low growth in exports to Asean |markets [currently], the promotion plan for |the second half should encourage more growth and ensure that Thai products will enjoy borderless trading among Asean countries," Nuntawan said.

Under the promotion plan, several trade |missions will be held in the second half. The department will invite a group of Thai traders |to promote their goods in each target market |at "Thai Week" events, including to Yangon, |Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Singapore, Jakarta and Surabaya.

Thai traders will also join seven international trade exhibitions in Asean, including a technology and telecommunication fair in Singapore, |machinery fairs in Vietnam and Indonesia, |trade exhibitions in Cambodia, food and foot-|wear fairs in Malaysia, and a fashion fair in Indonesia.

The department also plans to organise 13 trade missions for specific Thai industries to promote their goods in Asean markets. These include food, agricultural products, automobiles and parts, electrical appliances, electronics, construction materials, machinery, and plastic and fashion goods.

Asean is currently Thailand's largest export destination, accounting for 25 per cent of total value. However, exports to Asean declined 3.2 per cent year on year in the first two months of this year to US$4.78 billion (Bt154 billion). Last year, export to Asean totalled $31.59 billion, an increase by 5.9 per cent from 2012.

To ensure sustainable trade growth with Asean, the department also plans to encourage Thai enterprises to invest more in the region, particularly Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, to benefit from their tariff privileges provided by developed countries.

The department has set up AEC Business Support Centres in eight countries in Asean, the exception being Brunei. The department has also a DITP AEC Club, with 750 members, to discuss and exchange ideas and plans for trading and investing in Asean markets.

Continued here:
Asean trade-promotion plan for second half unveiled