Videos | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

Fascinating Dolphin Bubble Rings

Published December 23, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

Last week I spent a few days in the Tampa Bay, Florida area before traveling north to Illinois to visit my family for the holidays. One of the attractions I visited was the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where injured dolphins are rescued, treated, and released back into their natural environment. I watched in fascination as the resident dolphins jumped from the water on command, twirled in circles with half of their sleek bodies above the water line, and even jumped completely out of the water and balanced on the trainer’s platform.

I have long been fascinated with dolphins. While we know that they are extremely intelligent, there is still much about these gentle creatures we don’t understand. One of the more fascinating behaviors they exhibit is the ability to generate bubble rings by forcing air through their blowholes, as seen in the following video:

As if by magic, the dolphin does a quick flip of its head, generating a silver, donut-shaped ring in front of its nose. The ring doesn’t Continue reading →

Posted in Florida travel |

Tagged bubble rings, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, dolphins, Florida, Illinois, Spirituality, Tampa Bay, Travel, videos |

2 Comments

Some Like It Cold

Published December 19, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

If only I could be more like this dog, I’d be a lot happier during my annual Christmas trip home to Illinois.

Posted in Humor |

Tagged Cold, Dogs, Humor, reindeer, snow, videos, winter weather |

2 Comments

The Little Rain Man In Each Of Us

Published November 29, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

Who among us doesn’t remember the scene in Rain Man where Dustin Hoffman glances at the box of toothpicks that has been spilled and calmly informs his brother that two toothpicks are missing. The film was loosely based upon the true life story of Kim Peek, a Savant who lives in Salt Lake City.

When he was born, Kim was diagnosed with autism. Doctors advised his father to place him in an institution, waning that Kim would never be able to learn. Fortunately, his father disregarded the doctors and raised him at home. When Kim learned to read at the age of two, the doctors were astonished. Eventually his diagnosis was changed to Savant Syndrome, a rare condition in which persons with developmental disorders have one or more areas of brilliance that are in contrast with the individual’s overall limitations.

To this day, Kim reads as many as eight books a day. A page that might take a normal person three minutes to read will take Kim about 10 seconds. He reads the left page with his left eye and the right page with his right eye and retains about 98% of it. Unlike other Savants, whose abilities are usually restricted to one or two subject areas, Kim has 15 areas of interest, but he can’t reason out mathematical problems.

Enter Daniel Tammet, another of the world’s few Savants. Daniel’s two areas of expertise are math and language. He can do calculations to 100 decimal places in his head and once recited Continue reading →

Posted in Inspirational |

Tagged Autism, boy with the incredible brain, Daniel Tammet, Kim Peet, Rain Man, Savant Syndrome, videos |

4 Comments

Much To Be Grateful For

Published November 26, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

Some years ago, Japanese scientist Dr. Masaru Emoto discovered that crystals formed in frozen water revealed changes when specific thoughts were directed toward them. He found that water from clear springs and water that had been exposed to loving words formed brilliant, complex, and colorful snowflake crystals. Alternatively, water from polluted sources or that had been exposed to negative thoughts formed incomplete crystals with asymmetrical patterns and dull colors.

Using high speed photography, Emoto recorded the formation of frozen crystals from water that had been exposed to different words, thoughts and feelings. When he typed the words “love and gratitude” on a piece of paper and wrapped it around a bottle of water, the crystals that resulted were exquisite and perfectly formed. The same results were obtained when he wrapped the bottles with the words “thank you;” regardless of the language used, the phrase “thank you” always produced perfectly formed crystals. Alternatively, the words “I hate you” produced deformed, incomplete, unattractive crystals.

Since the earth and our bodies are predominantly made up of water, Emoto theorized that we could positively impact the earth and our personal health by changing our thoughts, words, and feelings. Further experiments proved that even polluted water could produce lovely crystals after being subjected to positive words and thoughts.

Perhaps Thanksgiving has put me in a contemplative mood this year, but lately I have been thinking a lot about words, feelings, thoughts, and actions. And of course, about gratitude. Four years ago, despite the fact that I had a successful career and a lovely house, I was seriously ill and severely unhappy with my life. In about five weeks I will celebrate my anniversary of “chucking it all.” On December 31, 2006, I Continue reading →

Posted in Inspirational |

Tagged Dr. Masaru Emoto, Gratitude, love, peace, Thanksgiving, Travel, Travel writing, videos, water crystals |

2 Comments

Traveling To See The Northern Lights

Published November 23, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

Of all the things I still long to see on this beautiful planet of ours, the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) is at the top of my list. I’m not sure why I am so intent upon seeing this exquisite display of nature’s power and majesty. It may have something to do with my spiritual beliefs. I think of God as pure energy, and perhaps for me the Northern Lights come closest to representing “the face of God.”

I have long been able to see people’s auras – the energy fields that emanate from and surround them. Each person’s energy is a different color or combination of colors, and the colors can Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska travel |

Tagged Alaska, auras, Aurora Borealis, Finland, God, higher power, Northern Lights, Norway, Spirituality, Travel, videos |

11 Comments

Reverend Billy And The Church Of Stop Shopping Spreads Message About Shopocalypse

Published November 15, 2008 | By Barbara Weibel

I have long said that our values are out of whack in this country, that we covet material things to an unhealthy degree and spend needlessly in a futile attempt to feel better about ourselves. It seems I am not alone in this belief. Reverend Billy, along with his mock-religious Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, has made it his mission in life to spread the message of evil consumerism, proclaiming that “our current financial crisis is nothing short of a shopocalypse.”

Last year the good Reverend released “What Would Jesus Buy,” a documentary film that attacked our consumer culture, in which his antics get him escorted out of the Mall of America and arrested â€¦ at Disneyland. Variety Magazine called the documentary “seriously hilarious” and the Austin Chronicle said it was “as entertaining as it is jaw-dropping.” Check out the trailer for the video below: