Thursday, January 04, 2007

Riverfront, Liverpool

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very surprising "fractal" effect. One hesitates between seeing it as very close up or very high above! It almost looks as one of those aerial photographs from Yann-Arthus Bertrand.

I just watched one of his documentaries tonight on french TV, about water that's so precious and becoming a scarce resouce.

You could say that the war for mankind's survival has begun on the water front...

Anonymous said...

You could say that the war for mankind's survival has begun on the water front...

No Pascal, it started in the garden of eden long long ago. But since you don't believe in scripture it doesn't mean much to you. (I've read where you think Jesus is merely used as an expression as love and Not necessarily God or the Son of God.
You are sad indeed to me.
What amazes me even more is that your a Doctor who likes to play a clown in the hospital. I find no amuzement in that.
You also said (If I recall right) that Patch Adams was a great character or movie, but in reality such idiocy would not be tolerated in the states. No offense Doc.

Monsieur Beep! said...

I'd love to have a clown around if I were in hospital. I'm sure I'd recover in no time even from a bad disease. A good laugh is the best medicine.

I like your screen name, a friend of bush & company.

Rofl!

Anonymous said...

Friend of Bush & Co,
Since you mean no offense, I'll just non-offendedly set some things straight for the record. Politeness will get you everywhere. :-)

- Regarding water, mankind's survival is undoubtedly at stake in the short term. The parable of the Garden of Eden is about Knowledge, Good and Evil, not about the earthly survival of our species.

- I laugh WITH people, not AT them. Unless maybe if their names are Osama or Saddam...
I don't clown around in hospitals. We joke between doctors, in private. And I'll eventually try to raise a smile in some patients, if it is adequate and they're ready for it (it's all a matter of personal attitude), but nothing more.
I'd love it if hospital life could be as merry as a sitcom, but reality IS quite the opposite! :-(

- Dr "Patch" Adams actually lives in the USA. (He is a genuine and graduated MD, BTW.) His little patients loved him for entertaining them. I don't identify with him, I'd never go as far as he did, but the main lesson from the film of his life was that he saw and treated his patients as human beings, not mere "medical cases" registered under a number. I make it a point of principle to always know my patients' full name and call them by it (believe me, that's "eccentric" enough by itself). It's not easy, too, because I suck at remembering names. If such an attitude bothers you, you can definitely request to be treated like some standard administrative work, I'd be ready to oblige.
The american medical establishment did not in fact approve of Dr Adams' methods, and gave him a lot of heat. He then proceeded to found a "human-faced" clinic (the Gesundheit! Institute), which appears quite popular so some people must like it...

- In France, state hospitals actually bring benevolent clowns to raise the morale of pediatric patients. And magicians too. It's a genuine and efficient part of their treatment. You can criticize their health minister, but I'm not him and had nothing to do with instating that system! I fully approve it, however. [See Luke 18:16-17]

- I do cast a critic look on scripture, because some of its contents are clearly naive, of human origin, and scientifically embarrassing. For instance, never since the appearance of Homo sapiens on Earth was the whole planet covered by any global flood : geology and climatology have clearly established it. Noah's episode is obviously an exagerated semi-legend, with a probable historical origin around the Black Sea.
However, I do believe in Jesus, and in his teachings. His principles are just too excellent to discard or disregard! What I meant was, that his message is one of love, and that's what makes it great for me, not his being the son of God or resurrecting. Had he not made any miracles like returning from the dead or healing the sick, it wouldn't change a thing to the value of his message in my opinion. Those who need amazing feats to start listening are free to do so. Me, I don't need them to hear the Word [John 4:48]. Therefore, if somebody from another religion (or even without one) lives in a spirit of Love without praising the name of Jesus Christ, they're okay in my book. [Luke 17:17-19 ; Mathew 7:21 ; John 8:28 and 12:49 ; Mark 12:31] And those who pray daily but don't carry Love in their hearts mean nothing in my opinion. Just following the principles stated by Jesus himself. [Matthew 15:21-28 ; Luke 10:36-37]
Some like to quote Jesus in "there is no salvation outside of me". Well, this can be interpreted as the obligation to pray in the christian rites, or understood as "I am Love, and there is no salvation outside Love". From the story of the Passion, I seem to understand that Jesus was NOT a megalomaniac who wanted his name admired above all other consideration. The guy washed his disciples' feet, just to make the point clear. He came to the people of Jerusalem sitting on a donkey. He sat with whores, helped pagans without asking them to convert. The message of Jesus was "I am Love". This is what I believe in, period.

Should I be given proof that God exists and that He doesn't care for Love, I'd reject *such* a God. This is the essential reason why I feel Satanism is wrong. Not because they challenge God, but because they reject Love. And therefore they reject the basis of my fundamental faith.

- It's kind of you to feel sad for me. Some might feel offended, but I see it as a sign that you are compassionate within, and that is always a good thing in a person. This is the sort of qualities I admire. I'll just inform you that I feel your sadness as a wasted effort, because I'm confident that I'm not lost in darkness and selfishness. I suggest you redirect that noble energy in relieving people who crave for it and feel they are suffering, like the poor, the homeless, the lonely, the depressive, etc. I'm sure Jesus would approve. :-)

With respect,

Pascal, MD by vocation.

Anonymous said...

Holy mackarel! This pascal dude has a way with the keyboard.

I've seen MD's talk to small tape recorders, and secretaries later typing up what was said. I now believe this is how Pascal manages to be so prolific.

Hey, I know you (the nurse doing the transliteration) are not allowed to insert comments of your own, but gives us some hint on whether I'm right. Perhaps a hidden message of some sort? :-)

P.S. Eo, a truly beautiful photo this. One of your best in a while, I think. Definitely one of my favourites. Also gallery material, easily.

Anonymous said...

TTL said...
"I've seen MD's talk to small tape recorders, and secretaries later typing up what was said. I now believe this is how Pascal manages to be so prolific."

No secretaries... yet! I just use Notepad, the computer version. And occasionally a cat on my lap.
I love how a keyboard and PC allow you to write and express a lot with ease. It's true that I have a few years of home training now. Compared to writing, text treatment allows great nuances when you want to correct, enrich or reformulate concepts you express.
Of course, considering I have nimble fingers, getting a pretty secretary might be an excellent idea right about now! :-)
And that's nothing yet. My brother writes computer programs for a living. If I'm nimble, then he's supersonic!

If my work wasn't currently on a hiatus, I wouldn't use a secretary to blog, simply because I would never find the time to say so many things! But I'll try to keep it fitting it in my schedule anyway.
Being on sick leave also increased my free time this winter.

P.S.: I've tried these small recorders. Very poor sound. With university courses, the teacher's voice comes out pretty hard to understand. But at least, I didn't enter the Conservatory! :-D