Proxima B: Another Earth?

An artist’s illustration of Proxima B showing her sun, Proxima Centauri

As the search for life outside planet Earth continues relentlessly, the Huffington Post reports the discovery of yet another exoplanet that might be able to support life!

An Earth-like planet is orbiting the sun closest to ours, scientists announced Wednesday.

The planet, called “Proxima b,” orbits a star called “Proxima Centauri” and has a temperature that would allow liquid water to exist there, according to a statement released Wednesday by the European Southern Observatory. That means the world is possibly habitable, but scientists don’t know yet whether there’s anything living there.

“This rocky world is a little more massive than the Earth and is the closest exoplanet to us ― and it may also be the closest possible abode for life outside the solar system,” ESO said. 

Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf star, lies just 4.25 light-years away from Earth. While that’s pretty far away by astronomical distances, it’s just a drop in the cosmic bucket. Other Earth-like exoplanets that have been discovered are much farther away from Earth, which makes the revelation of Proxima b more exciting.

Earlier this year, researchers in Chile looked at Proxima Centauri using the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher, or HARPS, a high-resolution instrument that specializes in the search for extrasolar planets. They were searching for a wobble in the star that would indicate the gravitational tug of a potential orbiting planet.

What they found amazed them.

“The first hints of a possible planet were spotted back in 2013, but the detection was not convincing,” Guillem Anglada-Escude of Queen Mary University in London, who led the Chile team, said in the ESO statement. This year, the team checked every day during the 60 nights of their scans of Proxima Centauri. “The first 10 were promising, the first 20 were consistent with expectations, and at 30 days, the result was pretty much definitive, so we started drafting the paper!” he said.

The researchers will publish their scientific paper detailing the astronomical finding on Aug. 25 in the journal Nature.
..
…..

Proxima b is about 1.3 times bigger than Earth and orbits its parent sun approximately every 11 days. It’s a lot closer to its star than we are ― just 5 percent of our Earth-Sun distance, according to ESO.

Astronomers say that Proxima b is orbiting in a habitable zone, meaning the planet’s surface temperature could promote the presence of liquid water. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s any life there. Radiation from the red dwarf star could cause a much different climate on Proxima b than we have on Earth.

The discovery and confirmation of the planet now begins a more extensive exploration of our very close ― cosmically speaking ― neighbor. And that means the planet will become a major target in the search for life elsewhere.

“Many exoplanets have been found and many more will be found, but searching for the closest potential Earth-analogue and succeeding has been the experience of a lifetime for all of us,” said Anglada-Escude.

“Many people’s stories and efforts have converged on this discovery. The result is also a tribute to all of them. The search for life on Proxima b comes next.”

First of all, I am definitely as eager as the next cosmologist or astrophysicist, in the question of whether or not there are other planets that support life (other than our own). I am also thrilled, and breathless with excitement and wonder, when certain extraterrestrial phenomena are uncovered as a result of some serious and dedicated research. However, left unspoken in the perhaps shouty exuberance of these cosmological declarations, is the rather solemn or sobering fact that we are merely stating only the findings that come to us from mere observations with our telescopes – powerful though they may be. 

Yes, all we are basing these doubtlessly triumphant or enrapturing declarations of discovery (and do not get me wrong – our instruments are incredibly precise and powerful), is not on any kind of experimental evidence. No one has flown to or commissioned a deep-space probe to be sent to the exact locations of most of these deep-space exoplanets. No kind of practical data or evidence or even real life pictures exists as to what these exoplanets are definitively like. I do not therefore imply that they do not exist – I suspect that the absence of the kind of data that might convince skeptics is because the distances involved, for a probe or a manned mission to gather incontrovertible evidence, are of such sheer immensity as to boggle the mind. They are basing these discoveries solely on observational evidence from powerful scopes and on spectroscopy, which is to all intents and purposes more theoretical than it is practical. 

Having said the above, I hasten to add that there is nothing wrong with these sorts of scientific postulations being grounded on only observational grounds – as a matter of fact, in some cases, that’s all we’ll ever have. A lot of what we currently know in cosmological or astrophysical circles to be experimentally verifiable fact started out in a similar manner. However, I must point out that most of the excitable listening public, far from realizing that there is no hands-on or experimental data or evidence for the existence of some of these exoplanets found in the “Goldilock’s Zone” of their respective stars – impressively further away from us than even “Proxima b” here – actually treat or receive such news as if it were possible that now, or at some time in the immediate future, earthlings would happily set about the task of colonizing another “earth”. 

This is the subtext for a slew of sci-fi space movies out there. Nevertheless, I couldn’t begin to tell you just how remote the possibility of such a venture truly is. Not only do we not have the equipment for manned deep-space travel, our probes are still trying to uncover much about our very own solar system, not to talk of launching off into deep space! In one of my previous posts, I tried to paint a picture of how vast our galaxy is – just one of billions out there. In another post, I talked about how vast the universe as a whole is, and about the theoretical possibility that there could be life somewhere else in the Universe simply unknown to or perhaps unknowable to us. 

At any rate, let’s narrow things down a bit. Let’s assume that we are indeed ready for a manned flight to the Proxima Centauri solar system to fly by or to land on Proxima B. We intend to take stunning pictures of the planet as we approach; to investigate whether it had breathable oxygen in its air which would be favorable to us of course; to scoop up soil samples when we land on the rocky planet for later study; to scour the planet in search of water and of possible forms of life. You get the idea already, don’t you? Well, Proxima B is about 4.25 light years away from us. Do you know what that is in miles? Almost 25 TRILLION miles! If one blazes forth to Proxima B in a rocket ship, at the speed it took for us to reach Jupiter in 3 years or less, then it would require roughly 147544 years for one’s rocket to get there, and yeah, 147544 years for one to get back and share one’s findings with us. Not only is this trip infeasible because of the length of a human life span, or that there may not be any current technology to blast one over such distances, you have to consider the fact that whatever information one could bring back to Earth close to three hundred thousand years later, might no longer be totally accurate or even useful.

There, you have it. We will all doubtlessly rejoice over this recent information, and then we must all go back to the drawing board to continue the quest for life in other worlds.

Advertisement

Discussion Forum

.post-footer { display:none; } .feed-links {display:none !important;} GFP Forum

Sign Guest Book

/**/ .post-footer { display:none; } .feed-links {display:none !important;}

                              

Dear Visitor: 

You are highly welcome to Godfather’s Panorama. I hope that you like what you see or read here and that you’ll come back again. If there are any general comments, suggestions or even questions on any issue here at GFP, please use the comment box below to bring that to my attention. Have a splendid day!

Trivia

.post-footer { display:none; } .feed-links {display:none !important;} Welcome to Godfather’s General Knowledge Trivia (GFGKT)!

Host: Godfather

Where: The Porch

When:Ideally, the games will hold on Saturdays but this is liable to change at short notice.


In Bunibuni’s continual quest for excellence, and to provide a deeply enriching medium—both intellectually and otherwise—a new adventure has now begun. It started out initially as weekly general knowledge trivia games which were aimed to stimulate the mind as well as entertain theBuniTV chat room participants who engaged in them. And boy, has it been fun!

We played these trivia games time and time again. Over time, the remarkable intelligence of the members who have graciously participated in these trivia games have come to the fore. This has not failed to impress me.

To put this in proper perspective, on any given day, not less than 300 users waltz in and out of the live chat room. The Website itself boasts an impressive 22 thousand active members. Therefore, it is a thing of beauty and of remarkable achievement if anyone were to find his or her name amongst the people who managed to score points on any given trivia episode.

But to what end should participants bother to come to the room, sit patiently and try to beat others out at a game of speed, resourcefulness and raw smarts? What is the gain? Well, here’s your answer: things they are a changing! These trivia games will now run for 10 episodes for this maiden season of Godfather’s General Knowledge Trivia—and in the end, the first three on the season’s positions table stand to win a sizeable (I should probably be modest here, tsk tsk) congratulatory package from Bunibuni. Yes you read it right; there are awesome prizes to be won. This first season will end right around the Christmas gifting period so that winners can get their prizes delivered on time. Then we can look forward to the next season.

Nevertheless, it is very important to remember, that ALL the names that will appear on this list over the next ten episodes, represent in my mind, the most versatile, highly gifted, highly motivated and highly competitive members out of the 22 thousand strong membership. In other words, I consider these people all winners to be able to make this list. Or perhaps I should simply say that everyone is a winner and forestall a barrage of angry darts from disaffected non-participants 🙂  At any rate, endeavor to join us in the next episode of  GFGKT (Godfather’s General Knowledge Trivia). Begin now to put yourself in strong contention for the amazing prizes that will be won at the end of the season.

---

Format:

GFGKT is a free-flowing general knowledge trivia game. This game assesses a participant’s speed, resourcefulness and raw intelligence. Questions will be drawn from a wide range of fields including Mathematics, English, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Geography, Music, History, Current Affairs, Bible or Koranic studies, Cosmology, Mythology, Computers, etc. As you can probably expect, you will have a competitive advantage if you have a very fast Internet connection. The host will paste a question in the room and the first person to come up with the correct answer will win that particular round. This will continue until the host has exhausted all the questions prepared for that episode. No winners are declared till the end of the season. Nevertheless, you can check your weekly rankings at any time. At the end of the season—after the final episode, Bunibuni will ship (or transmit as the case may be) the GREAT prizes that were won.

---

RULES:

Please familiarize yourself with these rules and guidelines for GFGKT. They will help you immensely to understand what is going on assuming you have never once participated in any of the previous trivia games. The aim of these rules is to make the game as fun, exciting, challenging andunrowdy as possible.

A) All the previous chat room rules apply —Just because it is a special game session in the room, this is not an invitation to disorder. Kindly follow the other rules of the chat room regarding flooding, shouting in caps, or camming up with possibly dysfunctional microphones.

B) Only typed answers COUNT— You have been perched on your cam all evening watching as the game progressed. Perhaps, you are a bit doleful by the fact that despite your much-vaunted smarts, you have not been able to answer any of the questions correctly–or as quickly as was needed for you to win. Then suddenly an easy question pops up and you feel like you have to shout out the answer before the participants get to answer. Please resist the urge to do this because only the typed answers will count. Please just put those ‘lazy’ fingers on your keyboard and surprise your fellow participants with the answer—don’t say it verbally. Doing so will not earn you any points at all. All you would have succeeded in doing is giving the most attentive typing participant an easy way to score.

C) The host’s first IS THE FIRST —Not to imply that there are any sore losers, but every now and then, someone imagines he/she won a round because his/her answer came first on his/her screen. These things happen from time to time. For the avoidance of any doubts, the winner of any round is the name that appears FIRST on the host’s screen with the correct answer that the host had in mind! This is clearly not open to debate. The host holds himself to an astonishing degree of  honesty. Secondly, he cherishes every willing and active participant and thus has no desire whatsoever to give people points they truly did not earn. Kindly resist every urge to scream, shout, bicker, whine and protest because you were not picked to have won a round that you imagined you did. It is rather immature. Focus on winning the next question.

D) Please keep your game name — People love to change their names occasionally. While that is a good thing, there is also the chance that there are chronic name-changers who by and large, are unknown to people in the room. For the purposes of this game, you are hereby advised to stick with one name for all the episodes of this premiere season. The reason is simple — the winner for the season will be calculated by adding up all the totals for all the episodes played. You will significantly damage your chances of winning if you show up with different names every time. The season’s table is going to have all the names of the participants who got any points, therefore it is imperative that you remember what name  you used in the previous episode if you want to increase your marginal score.  The host will not be mired in any half-baked attempt at handle-matching! The only exceptions he’ll make will be for those names that he already knows and have seen their legitimate owners. It is probably a wise idea to secretly keep the host informed of your working email and game name if you have never been on cam and you suspect that crude impersonators may try to claim your identity. The host does not care to invest considerable time and energy in some form of detective work to affirm or deny anyone’s identity in case there is a misunderstanding or impersonation. This competition is going to end with prizes awarded therefore willing participants should take extra measures to prove and convince the host that they are who they claim to be.

E) Don’t be a sore loser — Every now and then questions may come up for which your answer will differ from the answer the host deems correct. The host takes time to frame these questions in as unambiguous a way as possible with the specific intention of getting a particular precise answer. If the answer you think is correct is ruled against and subsequently by-passed, please deal with it and move on. It may not mean that your answer is wrong–it could very well be right, but it was not the answer the host was looking for. You’ll probably hit on a correct answer to another question soon enough. And who knows—someone else might feel their answer was the correct one when you manage to win. At all times, the host’s decision is FINAL. Do not blow a gasket, throw chairs, piss on the carpet or whiningly refuse to continue the game. That will probably make you out to be a sore loser—and depending on the frequency or intensity of your grumbling, you may be sent to your room on timeout for being the big whiny baby that you really are. This is after all just a game; not a court room proceeding — so there is no reason you should hold the room to ransom, fighting for your phantom sense of ‘justice’,  just because your precious nugget of wisdom was ignored or overruled. Lighten up already!

F) Consult whatever oracles you may — because this trivia game tests your speed, resourcefulness and raw intelligence, please you are free to, and moreover encouraged to consult whatever fountain of information you can get to. For the purposes of this game, this  is not considered cheating at all. The reason is simple – it is not enough to possess the general skill of being able to effectively execute a Google/Bing/Yahoo search. One also has to be resourceful enough to know what to search, where to search and how to search so as to get at an answer in the fastest or shortest time. Besides, as you will come to find out soon enough, there are questions  which your fellow participants will answer with clinical and devastating incisiveness long before you might have hopped on to Google (or whatever oracles you fancy) to begin your search. What matters are the correct answers; how you arrive at the answers is of little or no importance at all.

G) Don’t usurp the host’s duties — some participants may feel like they have great trivia questions. Please if you do, kindly submit them to the host’s email (provided below) days in advance. If they are good questions, he will probably select them. Therefore, do not succumb to the temptation of throwing out trivia questions in the room when the game is ongoing. This is very confusing and disruptive especially if the host posts his question milliseconds after you have done that. Such actions on your part will throw the room into chaos as people are caught flat-footed answering questions they have no business entertaining. This will be met with an immediate but temporary ban. Trivia sessions are pretty much adrenaline-rich, fiercely competitive and attention-gripping times—please do not make it unnecessarily more mentally taxing for our committed participants.

H) Always pay attention to host’s in-game instructions —as you will invariably come to discover when you start joining these trivia games, some questions may require more than one answer on one line to win that round. Please you are always advised to listen to or read the host’s in-game instructions and recommendations. Furthermore, some questions may carry double points. Most questions will require a correct and accurate spelling to be awarded the points. Some questions may indeed be trick questions. Reading the host’s recommendations will often nudge you in the direction the host expects the answers to be found. Be very very attentive. Wish you the best of luck.

Name	Episode 1	Episode 2	Episode 3	Episode 4	Episode 5	Episode 6	Episode 7	Episode 8	Episode 9	Episode 10	Total
Cockroach	80	125	90	0	0	45	100	60	65	65	630
Vicker	60	0	70	100	0	80	0	100	85	0	490
Lovely	0	35	45	20	85	35	40	0	0	90	350
Molade	20	35	60	0	45	20	10	0	10	15	215
Taee	5	50	0	55	0	45	5	0	25	20	205
Ninja	0	0	0	35	30	20	20	45	25	0	175
Pen	0	35	0	5	0	15	20	25	0	0	100
PrincessJuubs	45	0	15	5	10	0	10	0	0	5	85
Erielover/Temi	5	0	0	0	35	10	15	0	0	0	65
Buni	0	0	0	0	20	0	0	0	0	20	40
Abtessy	0	0	0	5	20	5	5	0	5	0	40
Teria	25	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	35
Doughboy	5	15	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	25
Siarani	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	5	5	0	20
Willydotcom	0	0	5	0	0	0	5	0	5	0	15
SplashJosh	0	0	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15
Hazel	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	15
Olabisi	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	10
Bones	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	10
Bianca	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0	10
Famara	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	5	0	0	10
Papingo	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	5	0	0	10
Joker	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10
Lolo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	5
Simplyymee	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
MelloFella	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Tintin	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
AfricanGoddess	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	5
Lizzy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	5
Ayo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	5
Demichelis	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5

Total Number of Trivia Buffs= 31

Mean (Total Scores)= 84.68

Mode (Total Scores)= 5

Median (Total Scores)= 15

Range of Total Scores= 625

Have fun! I hope to see you in the room soon with your nose to the grindstone; ready to climb the charts.
If you have any questions, suggestions or general  comments, you can send them to me or drop them in our handy comments box below.
There will be site-wide reminders when a game is about to be played. Additionally, you can send me your contact info if you want to be buzzed or pinged whenever a game is about to be played. The host is absolutely not responsible for your missing an episode because you did not know when the game took place. Please make arrangements with the host to be informed when the game is about to be played.
Go for the Gold!

SEASON 2

Name	Episode 1	Episode 2	Episode 3	Episode 4	Episode 5	Episode 6	Episode 7	Episode 8	Episode 9	Episode 10	Total
Vicker	0	0	0	0	112	134	167	117	103	134	767
Ninja	0	211	0	0	43	102	128	74	65	136	759
Molade	0	0	60	22	84	75	90	63	0	55	449
Fringe	95	152	0	34	29	40	0	53	0	0	403
Bruno	84	0	93	41	12	6	22	5	54	30	347
Camila/Jennifer	0	0	0	10	34	16	58	16	50	44	228
Olabisi	96	106	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	202
Princess Juubee	0	21	26	13	30	0	41	23	0	32	186
Tintin	0	0	27	25	46	30	0	15	0	5	148
Gem On Point	0	0	0	27	53	65	0	0	0	0	145
Taee	0	0	0	31	0	42	0	0	22	0	95
Bones	69	0	0	0	0	23	0	0	0	0	92
Black African	0	90	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	90
Teria	0	0	0	39	0	0	0	39	0	10	88
Mr Sota	83	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	83
Honeybee	26	0	27	0	0	0	0	7	0	6	66
Wetlips	0	0	0	0	7	20	0	4	24	5	60
HoneyChocolate	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	36	14	56
Siarani	12	1	0	0	0	6	21	9	0	0	49
Ikebelomo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	44	44
Stoppablepbg	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	31	0	31
Chanbabs	0	0	12	13	0	5	0	0	0	0	30
Ermm	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	0	0	0	27
Raspopo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	27
Boma	0	0	6	0	2	3	8	0	0	0	19
Ajbabe	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	10	6	18
Tomjames	0	0	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	17
Abtessy	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	0	0	0	17
Ike	0	0	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14
Doughboy	0	0	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14
Omotohbad	0	0	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13
Ashleigh	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	0	7
HoneyChocolate	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	0	6
Judemoore	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	0	6
Blake	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	5
Dpolo	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	5
Bella	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Akin	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Lovely	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Chrysleene	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	5
Funmi	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	5
Dkid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	5
Bribri	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	4
Simplyymee	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Bubbles	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Haryour	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	3
Dharmmy	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
Stefficoco	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2
Sweetness	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2
Olokonla	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
Appleluv	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

………… var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push([‘_setAccount’, ‘UA-37292465-1’]); _gaq.push([‘_trackPageview’]); (function() { var ga = document.createElement(‘script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true; ga.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

Chat Room / Live Chat

.post-footer { display:none; } .feed-links {display:none !important;}

var tinychat = { room: “1godfather”, join: “auto”};

video chat provided by Tinychat

Rules and Controls:

1. To avoid an echo, everybody is required to wear an earpiece when broadcasting.

2. If you do not have one, then you can either use push-to-talk OR mute your microphone

3. The moderators (names with a yellow star) have the rights to close your cam if they determine that an echo is coming from your end.

4. Place your mouse over any screen for individual controls such as mute, hide cam, fullscreen.

5. To change your nickname, locate your name on the Active Users list and click on it

6. To send a private message (PM) to any user, click on their name from the Users list.

7. If you have any other problems with the chat room, or any other issue contact the moderator.

8. To disable notifications when someone comes to the room, uncheck the notifications box.

9. Be civil. Avoid spamming the room. Do not bully, harass or intimidate others.

Bunibuni Family

.post-footer { display:none; } .feed-links {display:none !important;}

                                                                                                                 06/15/2011

A picture is worth a thousand words—so goes a popular saying. Therefore I am not going to bog you down here with my proclivity for prolixity. The video you are about to watch is the product of careful scrutiny, and a methodical but rewarding journey back in time to immortalize or memorialize the members of my Bunibuni family.  It was a collaborative effort as well, and I want to personally thank Buni/Bruno, Siarani, Princess Juubee and Molade for their invaluable assistance in making this a reality.

I wish to remind you that a fairly detailed list of the verifiable members of the Bunibuni family can be found HERE. Please try to read that page to understand the criteria with which the selection was made. That list however is not set in stone—as often as the room gets a sizeable number of new, verified and active members, the list will be updated again and again.

The same conditions apply to this short video. Here, we tried as much as we could, to obtain freely given or readily-accessible pictures of dearly beloved Bunibuni members. The goal is not only to foster a deeper bond between members, but also to help us remember the people we might have met in Bunibuni but of whom we may no longer be consciously aware or even remember.  Life does that to you, y’know—soon the memories begin to fade, the names become foggy and all that is left is a  blur representing all the months and years that you might have spent there.

Fortunately, it is heartwarming to note how Bunibuni has helped in connecting people all over the world. It is very pleasant to note the many reunions popping up here and there—some announced, others not so publicized; some large gatherings, others just between two people. It is deeply encouraging to note them all. Nevertheless, in as much as we might meet one another in these splintered groups—possibly based on geographical or financial considerations—we would still do well to spare a thought to the global Bunibuni family. The commemoration of all members of the Bunibuni family regardless of their location on this pale blue dot is precisely what this video aims to achieve. Obviously, it may not be possible to get the pictures of everyone on the detailed list owing to the fact that a good chunk of them are no longer as active as they were in the past. There is also the fact that some viewers may not have become members of the Bunibuni family when the detailed list was painstakingly and meticulously compiled. Please bear with us.

At any rate, if your name is on the detailed list but you were not represented in the video and you would have loved for that to be the case, indicate in the comments below. I will contact you personally later to help you make your wish a reality. Like I said previously, when we get a sizable portion of new people expressing a desire to be remembered in the video, this current video will be updated. So continue to check this space for updates.

Feel free to use the comment box below the video for all your comments, questions, suggestions, criticisms, and jokes. When I say that I have been blessed by knowing you all, and that I sincerely cherish you all (without exception), it comes from the very depth of my heart.

Lovingly and faithfully in your service,

Paa Kofi.

(Maximize the video for a better viewing experience)

var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push([‘_setAccount’, ‘UA-37292465-1’]); _gaq.push([‘_trackPageview’]); (function() { var ga = document.createElement(‘script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true; ga.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

Contact Me

.post-footer { display:none; } .feed-links {display:none !important;}

You can also drop a general comment for me on the Guestbook page.

About GFP

.post-footer { display:none; } .feed-links {display:none !important;}

Welcome to GFP:

I want to heartily welcome you to my little corner of the web.

You are probably reading this page to find out more about me or maybe to find out what this blog is all about. Godfather’s Panorama is just a simple guy’s attempt to make sense of a disorderly world; to craft Order out of Chaos. On these pages, I’ll attempt to pass commentary on the things that are going on around me; the things that impact me. So yes, you get the idea—it is going to show broad interests.

Every now and then, I might make a commentary that intersects with your own personal experiences or personal knowledge. On such occasions, I would be elated if you could drop a comment on such a topic. This is because I am also eager to interact and share views with people on the issues I talk about. I assure you that you will be treated with the same level of civility that you show.

I am very simple and straightforward; have a dry sense of humor; diverse in interests; loves a challenge; passionate about soccer/football; eclectic in musical tastes; avid movie watcher; can be brutally frank (not frankly brutal); but above all, I strive to interact peaceably with everyone.

Are there topics you would want me to write about? Feel free to suggest them to me personally through the contact form here, or by simply dropping them in the comment box found on this Guest page. Also, there is the option of subscribing to GFP so that you can be alerted by email whenever I drop something new.

Next, I will attempt to list some of my favorite things. I assure you, the list will be long if I really have to state everything. I’ll just list a few and add more relevant details as they emerge or as I remember them. Your time is precious, and I really want to spare you the insignificant details.

INTERESTS:

Photography—I absolutely love to take pictures of natural scenes. I am not a professional photographer and so, I really don’t like taking pictures of people. I just prefer to take pictures of inanimate objects, or of great scenery.

Movies—I do not want to exaggerate, but I am an avid movie watcher. Most of the movies that people might consider a waste of time, I have often discovered, actually appeal to me. Check out my movie reviews for a personal take on the movies I see. 

Traveling—I sometimes jokingly say that in an earlier life, I must have been a foreign emissary. I love to travel to different places or parts of the world; I love to meet different people and learn new things. There are some days that I simply enter the car and drive a good distance away from my residence just to have a change of scenery; just to feel the breeze rushing into the car. I don’t understand why people are deathly afraid of air travel. For me, it is unimaginable pleasure beyond belief to soar for hours above the lordly skies or to behold the seas and landforms lying thousands of feet beneath. 

Good songs—I like just about every genre of music except Metal/Death Metal/Heavy Metal/Psychedelic Rock/Punk Rock. In fact I do not care for pointlessly loud, highly amplified and distorted, guitar-ridden, meandering pieces of whiny, ear-splitting, migraine-inducing garbage that some prefer to call music. 

Literature—I’ll read anything that I want to read, on any subject at all, so long as it is written in English. For instance, if I find myself in a hospital waiting room, and all I see there are old Newspaper editorials, or tiny pamphlets on assorted diseases, I’ll voraciously read. I do not care about the subject: once I’m motivated to read, everything is fair game.

Soccer/Football—I am an overenthusiastic soccer fanatic. It is probably because I started playing soccer/football at the tender age of 7. It is really a shame that soccer is not a big sport in the US. It is without question, the world’s number one sport. I also like American football. If you do not understand American football, please don’t bother about it; don’t ask me why I like it either. It may be impossible for me to make you get it.

Electronics/Technology—call me whatever you want, but I have a compelling weakness for electronics or electronic gadgets and gizmos. Is it really a bad habit to be overpoweringly drawn to technology? I have to be physically pushed out of stores like Bestbuy, by friends, if there’s ever going to be any hope that the remaining business of the day will be accomplished.

var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push([‘_setAccount’, ‘UA-37292465-1’]); _gaq.push([‘_trackPageview’]); (function() { var ga = document.createElement(‘script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true; ga.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

Donald J.Trump: Categorically Unfit To Rule

Republican Presidential Nominee: Donald J. Trump

When I said sometime in the past that Donald Trump is the most idiotic, most clueless buffoon to ever run for president of the US, some people thought I was being hyperbolic. The truth is that this man is worse than just an embarrassment. He is a monumental joke. He is an incompetent, callous, greedy, self-absorbed, thin-skinned, racist demagogue but amazingly he has managed to con a lot of people into believing he is an agent of true positive change. Just take a look at the shambolic freewheeling public relations nightmare/disaster that is his campaign for president – it is at once hilarious, shocking and dangerous. In fact, in the bizarre fact-free bubble in which Trump and his campaign staffers operate, it is quite possible they see his conduct, utterances, and twitter fulminations thus far as the trappings of a well-coordinated campaign!

To add to it, he is an inveterate flip-flopper – and does not have any true position on any political issue at all. The man’s mind is a basket or sieve, and whatever position he adopts in the morning, he is going to change or reverse in the evening. Donald Trump is just a big petulant child LYING and saying absolutely anything that comes to his head in order to deceive the simple-minded. Isn’t it amazing that he still has the large following he has despite these? Is it simply that his base/supporters are immune to facts and clear, logical reasoning OR is it just that they are even more scared of the possibility of Hilary Clinton getting elected? Well, for a brief reminder of his thoughtless and now predictable waffling on the issues, watch the clip below:

Republicans are having a major case of “buyer’s remorse” now. Many republicans have now – so late in the game – discovered that this man is not even really conservative, but alas there is nothing they can do about stopping him from representing the party at the November general elections. All they can now do is run from the Trump ship in droves while pointing out to anyone who cares to listen that they do not support the imposter who has managed to hijack their party. It is a pity that too many people have allowed themselves to be taken in (fooled) by this ignoramus sporting some “amber waves of grain” on the top of his skull. 

At any rate, by writing this, I am not asking or suggesting that you should support Hilary Clinton either, because she has her own issues, but she is managing to present herself as a better choice to the general public despite her own shortcomings. You really have to weigh these two candidates based on the issues and make an informed choice. But guess what? If you are dissatisfied with both, don’t forget that there are also two other candidates out there that could use your vote. Have you discovered who they are and what their positions are on the issues?