Welcome
- July 3, 2020
- Dog Days here, but not there ...
-
Today marks the beginning of Dog Days according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. However, this does not correspond to established traditions of European cultures.
The day is derived from the viewing of constellations and of course, your position on the planet determines the overall layout of the constellations as they are interpreted via the eyes.
Regardless, of if you subscribe the the Old Farmer's Almanac definition or the European definition the days are pretty much the same ...
They are the hottest and muggiest part of the summer season.
Webster defines “dog days” from early July through early September and this corresponds to the hot sultry weather of summer in the northern hemisphere.
Me, I live in South Carolina. We tend toward hot weather regardless of 'dog days' or not. Be this as it may I likewise subscribe to the American definition as provided in the Old Farmer's Almanac.
To each, their own.
So attempt to chill out and protect yourself from heat and humidity and enjoy the time as a passing of the seasons. The summer of the seasons. The oppressive white hot summer like we have in South Carolina where if the 98 degrees doesn't get you the 98 percent will.
- Comments (0)
- July 2, 2020
- Elie Wiesel
-
Never having been a holocaust denier I have encountered Elie Wiesel in person, on several lecture stages, and in various documentary films.
Though we have not met up close and personal I feel that I know a fair amount regarding who he is and what he is all about. He has been a favorite personality of mine for years because I have respected his story, his fortitude, and his character.
Eliezer Wiesel was born in Romania and was an American Holocaust survivor, author, professor, political activist, and Nobel laureate. He has amassed a collection of 57 tomes in French and English and was a Jewish prisoner of the Nazi regime in Auschwitz and Buchenwald.
He held a position as professor of the humanities at Boston University and they created the the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies to honor his work.
His involvement in those causes associated with defending human rights and judiasm inspired the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC and his politics were those against oppressive regimes and genocide.
Peace, atonement, and human dignity were the crux of his message to humanity as the result of his personal experiences in the death camps and he was active in human rights for his entire lifetime.
Elie Wiesel passed in the early hours of July 2, 2016 at his home in Manhattan. He was 87 years old.
Rest in peace.
Matthew 5:2 And He opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Holy Bible, King James Version
- Comments (0)
- July 1, 2020
- Pining for Margaux Hemingway
-
I've always viewed the ending of Margaux Hemmingway one of the true tragedies of my time on earth. I wasn't really your 'true fan' per se but I was always keen on her activities and warm for her form.
Margot Louise "Margaux" Hemingway
February 16, 1954 – July 1, 1996
Margot Louise "Margaux" Hemingway did fashion modeling and acting in the United State. She was a very successful supermodel in the early years of my coming of age and as such was something always beyond my grasp and I realized this at that time.
I cared not for the covers of Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and TIME opting instead for those sound bytes and photographs and magazine paragraphs which gave glimpses into Margaux the person ...
But all I could ever really do is covet and nothing else. So I did nothing but have interest.
You do what you must do in life based on your circumstances. Admiration from afar not withstanding we live within those boundaries set for us by either others or ourselves.
She was the granddaughter of writer Ernest Hemingway and this may have been some of that allure I felt for her. The later years in her life were marked with the addiction and depression which sometimes accompanies money and fame; not to mention ancestral predecessors.
She suffered a level of publicity which ultimately drove her to take her own life ... either intentionally or via attempting escape with those drugs which she could obtain with relative ease.
She passed on July 1, 1996 and I mourned her loss for the world and me personally even though I was nothing in that mix which was her life. We were both in our early 40s.
- Comments (0)
- June 30, 2020
- Companies Gouging in the era of COVID-19
-
I've noticed a lot of inflated prices around since the government and CDC began mishandling the so-called COVID-19 pandemic.
Stores everywhere are offering goods like cleaning products, hand sanitizer, and such with inflated prices and from my perspective the backlash is going to be pretty severe if people start to notice just how badly the unscrupulous purveyors of these products are treating their fellow citizens.
For example, clorox bleach was removed from the shelves for an extended period and when it returned it was SERIOUSLY marked up ...
As if a fake shortage was created toward that end.
So today I bought my last bottle of clorox bleach and I will decline all products marketed by Procter & Gamble Company in retailiation for what I view as the victimization and profiteering by a company out to screw those among whom they live and do business.
Leave it to some stupid Oakland, California company to get all creative to the detriment of everyone else. Scumbags.
Boo !
- Comments (0)
- June 29, 2020
- Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
-
I've always been one to speak out against oppression and aggression against the innocent by any overbearing criminal element.
Such is the Islamic State caliphate who have been in decline since being declared a terrorist organization by the international community.
Still, they attempt regroup and rebuild operations in the middle east and sooner or later will raise their ugly presence once again on the world state.
On this day in 2014 The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant self-declared itself a caliphate in Syria and northern Iraq.
"ISIL", "ISIS", "Islamic State", "Daish" and simply "The Caliphate" are terms by which this abomination is known internationally.
They are a group of murdering militant Islamic combatants who think that the world should be converted to Islam and fall under Sharia law.
They invade the borders of lands which are not theirs and kidnap and murder citizens.
This terrorist organization promotes horror and dread with their ISIL videos of beheadings and other types of heinous executions of soldiers, civilians, journalists, and aid workers, as well as its wanton destruction of cultural heritage sites.
ISIL is both responsible for and proud of committing human rights abuses, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
ISIL engages in ethnic cleansing on an unprecedented scale in northern Iraq.
They are criticized by individuals from both Muslim and Western cultures and even other Jihadists as deviant cruel criminals without redeeming virtue.
- Comments (0)
- June 28, 2020
- Memories of Billy Mays
-
Earlier in recent history there was a pitch man named Billy Mays.
His penchant for hawking various products resulted in him acquiring wealth and me acquiring a certain level of contempt for his always on the teevee ass.
His catchphrase was "Hi, Billy Mays here ..." and I sometimes shuddered to hear it.
His television persona was gregarious with an authoritative aire and as far as salesmen go I suppose he was more tolerable than many of the others I have encountered.
I still use a couple of those products he advertised like Oxiclean and Kaboom and while he had a notable presence on the Home Shopping Network I only caught him on network broadcasts as I always viewed HSN as predatory and obtrusive.
William Darrell Mays Jr was born July 20, 1958 and left the earth prematurely on June 28, 2009 apparently in his sleep after his spouse could not arouse him after repeated attempts.
His recreational drug habits were called into question in those circumstances but, there by the grace of God go I ...
Anyway I always thought his to be a sad story given the massive sales work he had under his belt and I am sorry for his family left behind.
Rest in peace.
- Comments (0)
- June 27, 2020
- National HIV testing day 2020
-
June 27th is National HIV Testing Day.
It goes down each year on June 27th and is a designated time for Federal, state, and local interested parties to attempt motivation of adults toward testing for HIV with the aim of knowing their status.
This year’s theme is derived from the CDC’s campaign called 'Doing It', which promotes HIV testing.
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of Lentivirus which are classified as retroviruses that infect humans.
They ultimately result in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a progressive condition of immune system impairment which allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive in individuals.
I no longer make a lot of commentary regarding HIV/AIDS due to my lengthy past both working with AIDS patients and that period when I found humor in it's victims.
You need to take care with your words and try to make them sweet in case you find you must eat them later.
- Comments (0)
- June 26, 2020
- Ratcatcher's Day 2020
-
When I was a kid we read the Pied Piper of Hamelin in primary school. It was a brief interlude of wonder as to how a town could give up it's children and those mechanisms of wonder causing the phenomenon.
At that time I operated in a state of totally suspended disbelief and reality would sometimes intersperse itself with fantasy at the drop of a hat.
I was years getting past all the hubub and misunderstanding created during this phase of my life ... not to mention my own disconnects and interactivity with peers and such.
It was a confusing time.
Today is Ratcatcher's Day and it may be observed on either June 26 or July 22 depending on your location.
It is held to celebrate the myth of the Pied Piper of Hamelin which has enjoyed great popularity over the years.
The town of Hamelin in Germany celebrates the day on June 26 under the name "Pied Piper Day".
The date confusion is said to arise from the the Brothers Grimm, who cited June 26, 1284 as the date the Pied Piper led the children out of the town.
Then the poem by Robert Browning states that it all went down on July 22, 1376.
Personally, I choose the Brother's Grimm over Robert Browning.
This holiday is said to be dedicated to remembering rat catchers and is supposedly in the same vein as Secretary's and/or President's Days.
So Vasily Fet, today is your day !
- Comments (0)
- June 25, 2020
- National Catfish Day 2020
-
Catfish. The unclean bottom feeding delicacy inhabiting the local ponds and rivers of South Carolina. Banned in the Levitical food laws, yet a staple fish included in my diet for as long as I can remember.
Luckily, violation of the Levitical food laws are not sins against the soul ... just sins against the health.
Yes, being both a scavenger and a fish without scales we are not supposed to eat catfish.
However, when you grow up on great masses of squealers and catfish fillets it's easy to overlook that which is not for consumption and eat them up with great gusto.
There are wild caught as well as farm raised catfish. Regardless of the source they remain scaleless bottom feeding scavengers and therefore are still unclean according to Leviticus.
Today is National Catfish Day. It's a national observance designed to bring attention to the farm raised catfish. It was declared by President Ronald Reagan to be held each June 25, 1987.
- Comments (0)
- June 24, 2020
- Ancient Roman festival Fors Fortuna
-
In my childhood, I was a great buff of mythology and read the writings of Bullfinch and others on the topic with great enthusiasm.
In fact, I became something of a lay expert on the topic and became famous among my classmates in the tender young years encompassing third and fourth grades.
Alas, this interest wained as I became the fat little kid and felt persecuted as what appeared as the only case of childhood obesity prior to it becaming a national tragedy.
So I gave up the notion of Egyptology, a related interest and all studies involving greek and roman gods and goddesses.
This caused me to indulge more in the way of scientific pursuits and I remained a voracious reader until well into adulthood when I finally burned out due to the treachery of the state technical college system and the evil bitches running it.
Fortuna was the Roman goddess of fortune, chance, luck, and fate.
Her Greek equivalent was Tyche. Antiquity also notes her name as "Automatia".
On this day in ancient times a festival was held in her honor in pagan Rome.
She governed the circle of the four stages of life, aka the Wheel of Fortune in the Carmina Burana manuscript of the 11th and 12th centuries.
Her symbols were the Globe, Cornucopia, Wheel, and Wreath.
Fortuna is often depicted with a ship's rudder, a ball or Rota wheel of fortune as depicted in the writings of Cicero as well as the classic cornucopia aka horn of plenty, often depicted in Thanksgiving themes.
Though I have no interest in worshiping the false deities of pagan Rome ... I could really use a little luck these days.
- Comments (0)
- June 23, 2020
- United Nations Public Service Day 2020
-
- Comments (0)
- June 22, 2020
- Mama has her Procedure
-
My mom has had her medical procedure.
From The Holy Trinity by Pietro Novelli
She was in the special procedures department of Providence Hospital for a very long time.
All kinds of thoughts and prayers went through my mind during this interval.
She tolerated the cath procedure well for the most part, with the worst aspect being the length and the fact that she was awake the entire time.
I won't go into any details but suffice it to say I was sweating bullets into the third hour.
I experienced a great relief when she was rolled back into the recovery room where I had been waiting.
She says there is unlikely to be a next time if there is no anesthesia.
Something about the nature of the procedure was disconcerting from a standpoint of my visions of ongoing maintenance procedures every five years or so.
I'm still basking in the afterglow of relief.
Praise to The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit from whom all blessings flow.
- Comments (0)
- June 21, 2020
- Father's Day 2020
-
Today is Father's Day.
The third Sunday in June is set aside for honoring our fathers.
The day normally entails gifting and cards but for me I use the day for reflection on my blessings as both my biological father and step father have passed away years ago.
The day is further solemnized as I plan to accompany my mother for a medical procedure at Providence Hospital early in the am.
So while the day isn't particularly happy for me personally I still give thanks for my parents and my step parent, who took me as his own without question.
Happy Father's Day.
- Comments (0)
- June 21, 2020
- World Hydrography Day 2020
-
I have been a big fan of bodies of water upon the earth for as long as I can remember.
My earliest memories of them are from the lakes surrounding Blackfoot Idaho and nearby Pebble Creek in my first and second grade years.
In the Navy I could sit and watch the oceans go by for hours on end.
It was a blissful interlude in my enlistment and I should have been more keenly aware of the enjoyment opportunities available to me but alas, I was too proccupied with that misery I created for myself during that time.
Hydrography refers to those methods involved in the scientific description and analysis of the physicality, boundaries, flow dynamics, and other characteristics of the waters of the world.
Today is World Hydrography Day. It happens each June 21 under the auspices of the International Hydrographic Organization as an annual observance to note the work of hydrographers and the importance of hydrography as a science.
- Comments (0)