By: Lida Prypchan There are a few rare cases of people who enjoy long life and excellent health in spite of their alcoholic excesses, while others who drink less decline after just a few months of excess. Alcoholism depends on the quantities imbibed by a person on a daily basis, subject to certain …
July 2011 archive
POLITICAL PROPAGANDA Part II
By Lida Prypchan An attempt to influence opinion (II) Politics is the art of preventing people from becoming involved in what concerns them. (Valéry) Political propaganda has been inspired by poetry and has borrowed many of its methods: rhythmic attraction, verbal impact, power of imagery, dramatic progression. Political propaganda has also created …
POLITICAL PROPAGANDA: Part I
By Lida Prypchan An attempt to influence opinion (1) It is possible to conceive of a world dominated by an invisible tyranny that wears the trappings of democratic government. (Kenneth Boulding) We are sold the image of a political candidate just as we are sold a commercial product. Adlai Stevenson complained about precisely …
THE AURA OF MYSTERY
By Lida Prypchan Let’s look at three sources of knowledge: books, people and songs. The first source tells us that reality is superior to imagination, theory is superior to practice, emotion superior to thought and passion superior to sweet tranquility. People teach us to realize that they are not tunnel promising, “Get to know …
My Life as a Redhead
By Carol Daly I don’t think I’ll ever forgive my mother for forcing me to get all those “pixie” hair cuts when I was a five year old—My bangs were so short they almost stood up like a punk hair cut. Many of my little friends had gorgeous long hair that I envied. My …
THE LAW OF CONTRADICTIONS
By Lida Prypchan “That’s another contradiction,” thought Irene. She had just graduated as an historian, and the sole conclusion she had reached in five years was that history contradicts itself time and time again. “The mere fact of studying history only to come to this sorry conclusion,” she continued, somewhat dismayed, “is a …
EUTHANASIA, THE RIGHT TO DIE WITH DIGNITY
By Lida Prypchan I Death is sometimes a punishment, sometimes an honor, but for some it is a favor. (Seneca) Here are two examples of euthanasia: 1. A man, bedridden lies in extreme agony. His death is imminent! Is it a human right to opt for a quick, painless death instead of …
WHICH CAME FIRST: ALCOHOL OR CRIME?
By Lida Prypchan In July 1982, Drs. Román Prypchan and Pedro Téllez Carrasco presented for their professional advancement a detailed study on 150 psychiatric skills entitled: “Problems in the Practice of Psychiatry in Venezuela. Analysis of some Sample Cases”. In this work the authors found that alcoholic psychoses constituted 9% of the total …
DRUNK WITH LOVE
By Lida Prypchan When a normal individual (normal being the term for average, not a value judgment) gets drunk, he displays a statistically average form of behavior, called normal or simple inebriety. This is characterized by a change in mood (which becomes expansive or, less frequently, depressed), behavior, attention, and in motor function. …
THE MAN-EATING MACHINE
By Lida Prypchan As though guided by a time machine, I was ready in thirteen minutes to visit Juan, who was sick. “The noise of those machines is driving me crazy!” Juan yelled to me as I was going in. They gave me a seat on the terrace, across from which there was …
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