My first entry into this journal was on January 12, 1998, 24 years ago. It was called “What I Believe,” and looking back at it, I still believe those things today. Since those days, Unknowncountry has grown both in terms of content and users, into the largest website of itsread more

It’s that time of year again, as we watch an old year slip into a memory and prepare to greet a brand new year, pulsing with possibilities, each new day waiting like a blank page to be filled with the next chapter of our life. The promise of a fresh start, like new snow unsullied by the footprints of our past mistakes, gives us an opportunity to leave behind that which no longer serves us and to focus on goals that remain unaccomplished, and this is probably the reason why around 50% of Americans make New Year’s Resolutions. Yet for many of us, these resolutions are soon forgotten and seldom achieved; old habits are carried over to taint the new year and we soon become immersed in the quicksand of old beliefs, allowing old cycles to surface and be perpetuated once more.
read more

We’ve heard it all of our lives, and tomorrow night we’ll sing it again. But what is that ‘auld lang syne?’ anyway? Does the phrase chosen by Robert Burns for his great poem, derived from an ancient song of Scotland, have any deeper meaning? One translation is ‘the old long time.’ According to author Maurice Nicoll, this refers to a fundamental memory that is part of all of us, that goes all the way back to the beginning of time. Reference is made to the place of this memory in the cryptic phrase ‘long home’ in Ecclesiastes 12:5:
read more

Just in time for New Year?s Eve, the London Science Museum has a new exhibit on hangover cures. It turns out that the headache and flu-like feelings are caused by dehydration, despite the fact that you?ve been drinking all night, because alcohol removes precious water from the body?s cells. First: Eat a big meal before the party and eat while you drink. This slows down the rate of alcohol absorption by the body. This works best if the foods you eat contain plenty of fat, so wait until after New Year?s Eve to begin your annual diet. Fat is digested slowly, so it will stay in the stomach and protect it from the irritating effects of alcohol. If you don?t have time to eat a meal, drink a glass of milk before you go.
read more