Stories By Van

The basilisk, (sometimes referred to as a Cockatrice), is a mythical creature most often depicted as a reptile, and is reputed to be king of serpents. One of the most feared of all mythological beasts, a basilisk is said to have the power to cause death with a single glance. In this aspect it bears similarity to the Gorgons of Greek mythology. Some have speculated that the cobra may be the origin of the basilisk, since it has some of the characteristics of the mythical creature, including being able to kill from a distance, albeit by spitting venom rather than by a glance from its eye. Whether or not that is the origin, the symbolism of the snake as the cause of death and the incarnation of evil resonates with Christian symbolism of the devil or Satan as the "ancient serpent" in the Garden of Eden who tempted Eve and caused the fall from grace of the first human beings. Defeat of this evil comes not through physical strength but through reversing the direction of ...

The Bobo doll experiment, a groundbreaking study on aggression led by psychologist Albert Bandura that demonstrated that children are able to learn through the observation of adult behavior. The experiment was executed via a team of researchers who physically and verbally abused an inflatable doll in front of preschool-age children, which led the children to later mimic the behavior of the adults by attacking the doll in the same fashion. Bandura’s study on aggression—the experiment for which he is perhaps best known—was carried out in 1961 at Stanford University, where Bandura was a professor. For this study he used 3- and 5-foot (1- and 1.5-meter) inflatable plastic toys called Bobo dolls, which were painted to look like cartoon clowns and were bottom-weighted so that they would return to an upright position when knocked down. The subjects were preschoolers at Stanford’s nursery school and were divided into three groups: one group observed aggressive adult behavior models; anoth...

At first blush, Hunter S. Thompson might be the last person you would want to ask for advice. After all, his daily routine involved copious amounts of cocaine, LSD and Chivas Regal. He once raked a neighbor’s house with gunfire. And he once almost accidentally blew up Johnny Depp. Yet beneath his gonzo persona lay a man who thought deeply and often about the meaning of it all. He was someone who spent a lifetime staring into the abyss. So in 1958, before he became a counter-culture icon, before he even started writing professionally, Thompson wrote a long letter about some of the big questions in life to his friend, Hume Logan, who was in the throes of an existential crisis. While the first couple of paragraphs warns against the dangers of seeking advice, Hunter then expounds at length on some deep, and surprisingly level-headed truths. Below are a few pearls of wisdom: Whether to float with the tide, or to swim for a goal. It is a cho...

Dr. Aubrey Levin The part-man, part-woman who still calls himself Harold is trying to gather the courage to finally fight back against South Africa's military. It was the army, after all, which abandoned him more than a decade ago, part way through "treatment" to turn him from a male to a female under a discredited policy of trying to "cure" homosexual conscripts. "I now know that in one sense I was just unlucky. The army had whole gay battalions who they just shunted aside and let be. But if things went wrong and you ended up in the hands of the psychologists then it could get very bad. In my case it began with the electric shocks and only ended after they'd already given me breasts, and then the army said it had abandoned the whole policy," he said. He is not alone. Thousands of other gays were subjected to electric shock therapy, hormone treatment and chemical castration through the 1970s and 80s, when national service was compulso...

I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time looking for ‘mental fixes’ and sure-fire actions to make life happier, smoother and more peaceful. However, no matter how hard I try I have not yet succeeded (and never really expected to if I am realistic – can’t help trying though!)   in finding a specific formula tailored to dealing with the mad lives we lead on this truly insane planet. I have found simple ideas though that have helped me navigate life a little more easily. I may not have all the answers and I am learning all the time, but I am sure going to keep on trying to find better ways to live and share them with my readers. (You are welcome to share your tips with me too). So, I have put together a list of good advice that I have come across over the years to consider as you go forth into another New Year. I wish you love, warmth, understanding and kindess… Good advice: Live in the moment. By all means have long term goals but then avert your attention and...

Y2K bug, also called Year 2000 bug or Millennium Bug, a problem in the coding of computerized systems that was projected to create havoc in computers and computer networks around the world at the beginning of the year 2000 (in metric measurements K stands for thousand). After more than a year of international alarm, feverish preparations, and programming corrections, few major failures occurred in the transition from December 31, 1999, to January 1, 2000. Until the 1990s, many computer programs (especially those written in the early days of computers) were designed to abbreviate four-digit years as two digits in order to save memory space. These computers could recognize “98” as “1998” but would be unable to recognize “00” as “2000,” perhaps interpreting it to mean 1900. Many feared that when the clocks struck midnight on January 1, 2000, many affected computers would be using an incorrect date and thus fail to operate properly unless the computers’ software was repaired or r...

The meaning of most holidays is clear: Valentine’s Day celebrates romance; July First, independence; Thanksgiving, productivity; Christmas, good will toward men. The meaning of New Year’s Day–the world’s most celebrated holiday–is not so clear. On this day, many people remember last year’s achievements and failures and look forward to the promise of a new year, of a new beginning. But this celebration and reflection is the result of more than an accident of the calendar. New Year’s has a deeper significance. What is it? On New Year’s Day, when the singing, fireworks and champagne toasts are over, many of us become more serious about life. We take stock and plan new courses of action to better our lives. This is best seen in one of the most popular customs and the key to the meaning of New Year’s: making resolutions. On average each North American makes 1.8 New Year’s resolutions. From New York to Paris to Sydney, interesting similarities arise as shown in two very common ...