¡HAPPY 4TH!

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¿DOES RELIGION HAVE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE INFLUENCE ON THE WORLD?

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Does religion has a positive or negative influence on the world? Does it provide comfort, hope and social cohesion? Does it promote gullibility, intolerance, the rejection of reality in favor of belief? If your response is both, which is more common, or more important? Can the good things done in the name of religion really be chalked up to religious belief itself, or would people have done them anyway, and religion just gave them the inspiration? What about the bad things done in the name of religion?

I say religion as a whole has an interesting influence on human society and no matter of this issue you take, our emotions will get in the way of reason and understanding. When persons argue over whether some piece of religious doctrine is plausible or not, misses the purpose of the doctrine’s intent. And that makes for some very muddled, meandering, frustrating debates. I am often the one sitting on the fence because I feel that it is worth remembering that each side could theoretically be right and wrong about the other. But if I had to choose, I’d say that religion has a harmful influence on the world. 

¡ROAD TRIP!

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¿WOULD YOU HIKE WITH ANY OF THESE GUYS?

WALKING ON SUNSHINE

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"Walking on Sunshine" is a song written by Kimberley Rew for Katrina and the Waves' 1983 eponymous debut full-length album. A rerecorded version was released on the band's 1985 self-titled album as the album's second single (see 1985 in music) and reached No. 4 in Australia, No. 9 in the United States, and No. 8 in the United Kingdom. It is the Waves' first U.S. top 40 hit, and their biggest success in the UK until "Love Shine a Light" (1997). Conceived of as a ballad, Katrina decided the better part of valor was to belt the song out.^[1]

2010 was the 25th anniversary of the release of "Walking on Sunshine" and a series of back-catalog re-releases and a re-recorded version of the track are being released.^[2] A free download of one of the tracks from Kimberley Rew's solo album 'Bible of Bop' was given away in March 2010 from the band's website. ^[3]

Royalties from airplay and advertisements of "Walking on Sunshine" has been extremely high. Katrina and the Waves kept the publishing rights and the royalties that typically go to the songwriter have been divided among the band members, though Katrina Leskanich was fired from the band in 1998. Estimates are that the song has earned $1 million per year for the ten years ending in 2010. According to a former employee of EMI, "Walking on Sunshinewas the crown jewel in EMI's catalog," and that it was one of EMI's biggest earners from advertisers.^[4]

The music video depicts the band performing live at a London concert. Katrina herself is either with or not with them, but either dancing in her apartment, or walking through Hyde Park on a cloudy day, past an English prison, the Tower Bridge, a cliff and Old St. Paul's. She catches up with the others and feeds ducks (one of them eats the leftovers, referring to the Waves). Katrina returns home and cleans her face using cotton.

ANYWAY

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People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway. 

The biggest person with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest person with the smallest mind. Think big anyway. 

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. 

People really need help but may attack if you help them. Help people anyway. 

Give the world the best you have and you might get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you've got anyway