Auditory Processing Disorder - Dyslexia for the ears.

I have recently been diagnosed as having Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) and thought that seeing as it is a lesser known disability that I'd post about it.

Basically someone with Auditory Processing Disorder has no actual problem with their ears, they can have A1 hearing, but the problem is that their brain doesn't process the sound received by the ears. This is particularly the case with the sound of the voice.

In hindsight I can see that I have this all my life. It explains why I often hear someone talking but don't react to what they say, it explains why in loud enviroments I cannot hear what people say to me (lipreading is a skill I value massively), and it explains why I find it hard to follow long strings of verbal instructions.

If you would like more information on this APDUK.ORG are an excellent source of information.

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Why I hate generalisation......

This..http://www.tdbimg.com/files/2009/04/30/-hsra-domestic-extremism-lexicon_165213935473.pdf
is the reason I hate generalisation.
I consider myself a Heathen, I share many of the same beliefs and Gods of the Norse/Astratu groups but I am NOT a racist, facist or a terrorist.
I know that governments are concerned with the safety of their populaces but the way that this document is worded leaves very little room for a peaceful law abiding Heathen to exist outside of the stereotype it creates.

I work with a devout Muslim, who dresses very 'traditionally' and takes his faith very seriously. The other day he was telling me how much he hates the extremists in his religion that have lead people to view those that dress like he does as terrorists.

At times like this, I know how he feels.

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Observations and events.

Firstly I hope you all had a happy Easter/Zombie Jesus day (delete as appropriate).

Have you ever noticed that it only takes one thing to make a day noteworthy.

Without going into too many details, today went from being another Easter Sunday to being one that will remain in the memory of my family for a long time to come (for the right reasons lol).

I suppose what I am trying to say is that you never know what's coming next. You might think you know and there is high probability that some of the time you will be right. After all the human brain is capable of remembering the outcome of similar situations and formulating reasonably accurate predictions (although sometimes, looking around you, you really do wonder if everyone actually possesses this attribute). But NOBODY can tell the future. Wether it be 10 minute away of 10,000 years away nobody can do it. Anyone who thinks they do is deluded. Granted the nearer the event that you are prediciting the outcome of the easier it is to be right (for instance knowing that a rugby team that is 66-6 down with 2 minutes to go will lose is obvious) but it does not mean that you are gifted with some special insight into the future of the universe.
That is what makes life so special. You never know what is coming next. At times this makes things quite unnerving and yet at other times it makes things alot more bareable. That is why every moment and event should be appreciated. When things are good enjoy them being good because you know that it may not last long, alternatively when things are bad stick it out because you know that it will not always be that bad.

Anyway enough of that.
One last thing to mention before I finish. I would like to say a massive THANK YOU to the cast and crew of Red Dwarf: Back To Earth. It was very well done and some of the best TV I've watched in a long time. Cheers!

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Something that you don't see very often..

I have long had an affinity for the Methodist Church, and I noticed this last month and meant to blog about it then but with one thing and another didn't get chance.

Some of you may have heard about Westboro Baptist Church (Kansas, USA)'s plan to picket a performance of the Laramie Project in Basingstoke (UK).
Now Westboro Baptist Church, to me, represent not only the worst element of organised religion but also the worse elements of humanity.
It was nice to see the Methodist Church of Great Britain along with Baptist Union of Great Britain, Evangelical AllianceUK, Faithworks, Theos: the public theology think tank and the United Reform Church all publicly speaking out in a joint statement against they group and their planned protest.

It is good to see that organizations that promote a religion that is based on Love and fellowship standing up and demonstrating it. A lot of noise is made by fundamentalist Christians about the wrongs of being homosexual and quite frankly that goes against the teachings of Christ.

When Jesus said '...Love thy neighbour...' he did not say 'love they heterosexual neighbour', nor did he add any other qualifier to the statement. Why? Because he meant just what he said, that regardless of who that neighbour is, what they do, what colour they are, who they sleep with, where they come from or any other difference you should love that person.

If the Christian faith spent less time in the public eye (are you listening Pope Benedict?) telling people what not to do and more time showing solidarity, fellowship, support, understanding and love towards the populace of the world then perhaps they would have more success and the public perception of them would alter for the better.

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Time For Change

Did you know that 1 in 5 people have Dandruft?
Did you also know that 1 in 4 people have, or have had, mental health problems?

Recently the Time For Change campaign was started to help bring an end to mental health discrimination.
A better of understanding of mental health conditions amongst society would improve the life experiences of people suffering from them. One of the main problems faced by sufferers of mental health conditions is the feeling that they will face stigmatism or ridicule from other people, I know for a fact that is was a problem for me for a long time.

Please take a moment or two to have a look at the Time For Change website, it contains things that may well make you rethink your ideas about Mental Health conditions.

Music to get excited about.....

On the 24-09-02 Lamb of God release "Wrath", their new album. Having heard the track "Contractor" on the recent cover disk from Metal Hammer, I can honestly say that I can't wait to get my hands on it.
If it is anywhere near as good as Sacrement was then it'll be another album that won't be leaving my player for a long time.

Something else to look forward to this year is the release of "Pray For Villains", the new album by Devildriver. I'm a commited Devildriver fan, having seen them live on two occasions now, and their albums keep improving with every release so I can't wait for this. It should be out this summer on Roadrunner.

I love music and it's ability to change a moment, enhance a moment and speak the emotions of the soul mean it is more special to me than most things. Heavy Metal has always, and will always, have a special place in my soul.

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Belief-o-matic!

I was having a little browse of the web today and found this :

Belief-o-matic at Beliefnet.com

Now how seriously you take the results of doing this is up to you but it made me smile (the disclaimer at the start is worthy of a read if nothing else) and got it pretty spot on.

So you're probably thinking why was I looking at Beliefnet? Well I have long had an interest in the roots of faith and religion, though I have to be careful with how far I get into it because I suffer from the OCD subcondition called Scrupoulosity. And having been laid up recovering from an operation I have plenty of thinking time, and I've managed to make it healthy thinking time as well (which those with OCD will be able to relate to). So there was me mooching around various sites and I chanced upon Beliefnet. Seems a cool site may be worth a look, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Rok on
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