Welcome
- October 4, 2019
- World Animal Day 2019
-
Sometimes I think I'm an animal. You know, a REAL animal ...
of the vicious beast variety. I know how to growl and bar my teeth. There are various maneuvers with which I am familiar which could be very compromising to another physically.
Then there is that nagging component which blows it all out of the water: conscience.
I have this compelling sense of what is right or wrong secondary to my raising. I am innundated with mores which have been there as long as I have.
That complex of ethical and moral principals was instilled into me from my parents and various others who took it upon themselves to provide guidance to me at various points in my life. These form various images which may be called "experience".
Not all of these were appreciated at the time either, but they seem to have stuck anyway.
So as an animal I have underlying characteristics which inhibit those "wild" aspects of existence.
Today is World Animal Day. It's an international observance of action for animal rights and welfare celebrated each year on October 4 and corresponds to the feast day of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
Yes, I have those characteristics which could be construed as quite animalistic but there is the underlying prudence from experience which suppresses those animal impulses within thereby separating me from the wilder beasts — of which I still claim to be one.
- Comments (0)
- October 3, 2019
- Lena Headey 2019
-
It's a difficult matter to set aside sheer adoration of a thespian, particularly when they play a character so dear to your heart as to supersede most other aspects of their professional existence.
Such is Lena Headey, the character actor who portrayed Sarah Connor in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles until Fox had the absolute brain infarct of cancelling the series ... much to my disappointment and chagrin.
So it is that she went on to play a few equally memorable yet not so endearing characters such as the violent and evil Ma-Ma in the movie Dredd starring Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby.
Then of course there is her portrayal of Cersei Lannister who was equally evil and conniving as well as incestuous and power hungry as well in George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones.
Lena Kathren Headey was born on October 3rd 1973 when I was well into my 17th year pissing off the world at Richland Hospital. Her career became that of an English actress who I have followed as a matter of personal interest.
Suffice it to say that her credits are diverse and many and I hope to enjoy many more portrayals from this talented woman so dear to my heart.
Today is her birthday. Happy birthday to you !
- Comments (0)
- October 2, 2019
- I Remember Rock Hudson
-
We come to grips with our attitudes as a function of age and experience. There have been reactions to some situations which could have been better on my part. Others were satisfactory from the get go ...
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr, aka Rock Hudson was an actor whose work I followed as a fan of McMillan and Wife and a number of comedy shows from my extreme youth.
When I was working in the medical field during the 1970s and 1980s I was immersed in the AIDS epidemic which innundated the West coast clinics I worked during that timeframe.
After his passing, he was the brunt of various jokes regarding how and why he died and though I laughed at a few of them and even repeated some I now view that as a rather misguided implementation of humor that I would not repeat had it all transpired later in my lifetime.
Essentially, no person who suffered the ravages of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and those complications which typically accompanied it during those early days should ever suffer ridicule on top of everything else.
- Comments (0)
- October 1, 2019
- October 1, 2019
-
It's October 1 and the holiday season has commenced for me personally. Yes, those temperatures remain broiling but I have high hopes for a break from the heat in a week or so.
The Fiscal Year for the United States begins today.
I would wish that the democrats are defunded as the counterproductive enemies of the state they have become along with provisions to take them out along with antifa and the rest of the mess of stupidity which has become a continuing cancer upon The Republic.
- Comments (0)
- September 28, 2019
- Karen Gaffney
-
I was watching a TEDx presentation by Karen Gaffney who is a proponent of inclusion for persons with Down Syndrome and other disabilities.
This woman was as engaging a speaker as I've ever heard. She had a pleasant demeanor and relevant topics for which she made a compelling case for mainstreaming those with Downs Syndrome.
She completed a relay swim of the English Channel and performed other feats of endurance swimming prowess far beyond those of most mortals.
She is also the president of the Karen Gaffney Foundation, a non-profit organization headquartered in Portland, Oregon "dedicated to championing the journey to full inclusion for people with Down Syndrome and other disabilities".
She is a remarkable, intelligent, articulate and eloquent woman who happens to have Down Syndrome.
Her delightful and engaging presence held my attention as she spoke volumes regarding that which I simply cannot view as a disability at all given her exquisite logical thoroughness ...
I kept revisiting the thought that this woman is quite normal (whatever that is) as far as I could tell and I for one look forward to enjoying her next presentation should that moment arise for me personally.
She proved time and time again that the world is not what it once was when it comes to Down Syndrome when those affected with it prove functional on a par with the intellect of any academe you might encounter.
- Comments (0)
- September 26, 2019
- National Good Neighbor Day 2019
-
It is my opinion that I am not a good neighbor. I don't really mingle with my neighbors and check on them as likely I should. By the same token, nobody comes around checking on me either.
I'll probably be found someday passed away after an extended period due to my lack of interaction in the hood.
When I was a very young man, I would watch Fred Rogers speak of neighbors and being neighborly, the cultivation of manners, and various topics I thought to be relevant for children today.
Never having been one to impose my opinions on the raising of other people's children; my spate in the local public school system left me aghast with the reality of just how unsophisticated and ill mannered the children were in general. I also found it difficult to fathom how such stupid parents as those from which these miscreant children arose were allowed to procreate.
National Good Neighbor Day is a national holiday in the United States. It was changed from the fourth Sunday in September to September 28 in 2003.
Becky Mattson of Lakeside, Montana created National Good Neighbor Day as a day to connect with and recognize the importance of good neighbors in the early 1970s. President Jimmy Carter who should have never been elected signed a Proclamation establishing September 24, 1978 as National Good Neighbor Day, stating that it should be observed "with appropriate ceremonies and activities" on September 22, 1978.
On April 28, 2004 the Senate passed a resolution by one Montana Senator Max Baucus designating September 26 as National Good Neighbor Day.
- Comments (0)
- September 25, 2019
- Non Breaking Up
-
A "non breakup" occurs when you put away all thoughts of becoming close to another ... in the absence of any viable relationship whatsoever.
These matters trigger as mechanisms of self protection and sometimes equate to "raising shields" and other trendy froth which substitutes for reactive socialization in our 21st century schizoid world.
My personal preference is to make some decision in such matters from a standpoint of preemptive action and this has worked for me by and large for countless years ...
That pursuit being construed as more personally damaging than anything else in the mix.
So alas, all things come to an end sometimes even before they begin. I'm not one to go overboard anymore. Head over heels passed from my personality all too long ago.
Reality may be somewhat harsh but it's best to just pick up the pieces and move on when sufficient evidence exists to do so.
You can call it self realization, "coming to grips" or whatever floats your boat. I call it reality check.
- Comments (0)
- September 24, 2019
- Remembering Dr Seuss
-
When I was a child there were the works of Dr Seuss. His books were found in about every school I attended and I read each and every one to the best of my knowledge.
Theodor Seuss Geisel
March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991
I suppose they contributed to my general language skills as I have become an accomplished wordsmith in my advancing age and those were some of my earliest influences.
They likely imparted a punny effect on me as well because I have (and still do) enjoy my various play on word adventures from time to time.
Theodor Seuss Geisel a children's author who engaged in political cartoons and various illustrations as well as poetry, animation and film.
While some of his stuff was decidedly adult fare ... I was one to reject the late labels of racist upon his memory by the left and their cohort of manipulative inciters out to mould the world into some politically correct monstrosity of their liking.
I recall those books and their indigenous vocabularies draped in rhyme scheme as being a different kind of entertainment from that literature I normally consumed in those tender young elementary school years.
Dr Suess was appropriate to my life and therefore he added to my existence and I am far better for having experienced his literary acumen.
- Comments (0)
- September 23, 2019
- Autumn Equinox 2019
-
I've never had any earthshattering war stories concerning the fall equinox.
I know what it is and when it happens and always look forward to a break in the heat of Summer but that's about it.
So the most use I typically get out of it is a break from the workaday world from a standpoint of extracurricular activities such as the blog.
I suppose that the album Equinox which came out early in my Navy hitch is about my only redeeming virtue when it comes to astronomic history.
Lately we've been seeing cooler evenings and quite frankly I would just as soon have cool weather all year long; but I realize that is far from that reality of life in this area.
The first cold snap has been historically associated with "fair week" which starts next month.
In this area but I note some years the cold weather coming well after the completion of the State Fair, depending on the luck of the draw.
The Autumnal Equinox 2019 marking the astronomical first day of fall will be at 3:50 AM on Monday, September 23rd.
The forecast includes highs in the 90s for days after the event.
Since we are in the Northern Hemisphere we arrive at this moment as the Sun crosses the celestial equator going south and it happens typically on the 22nd or 23rd of September.
Seasons are opposite on either side of the Equator.
Day and night times will roughly (but not exactly) be equal.
- Comments (0)
- September 22, 2019
- Christmas 2019 is Coming
-
With the advent of the fall season and all that implies I was just approved for a week off for Christmas late last week.
Haven't really made any plans but will likely putz around close in as usual and tend to those matters in and around the home.
I'd like for the season to be somewhat more festive than usual.
It seems that festivity escapes me during the holidays because my mood is low when it should be high, light, and airy.
I'm hoping things will be different this year.
- Comments (0)
- September 21, 2019
- Trans persons offense and perception of rights
-
Trans rights. There aren't any. If your chromosome configuration is XX you are female. If your chromosomes are in an XY configuration you are male.
The exception to these two truisms are "intersex" individuals; those with mosaic chromosomal configurations whereby there are combination configurations in which case that sexuality is indeed neither "male" nor "female" but a combination in varying proportions of the two.
These terms relate to a "genotype" which all people have and refers to the genetic makeup of individuals as it relates to gender.
Gender and Sex are the same thing in this context.
Another term called "phenotype" refers to the way a person presents themselves outside of their genetic makeup.
You can be XX and present youself as a male with your dress, cosmetics, and even hormonal and/or surgical intervention.
You can be XY and present youself as a female with your dress, cosmetics, and even hormonal and/or surgical intervention.
Phenotype has nothing to do with your genetic makeup and therefore no bearing whatsoever on your gender.
Phenotype is how you present yourself physically and socially.
These two aspects of all of us do not change the facts of our so-caled "transsexuals" who are in denial of their genotype as if it can be suppressed, is malleable, or otherwise may be manipulated by the poor gender dysphoric who believes they are the "incorrect" sex.
A dose of reality is all a person can do to arm themselves against the attacks of a population of individuals so misguided as to their own reality that they can do nothing aside from call names when you take them to task regarding their misunderstandings regarding their own reality and humanity.
Those reactions I have witnessed involve a lot of name calling and misguided anger directed at people who see through the subterfuge which is transsexuality.
My personal views involve acceptance of "what is" and not "what is wished" because changing your gender is simply not possible at this stage of medical science.
Your chromosomes cannot be rewritten in bulk to change your gender despite what you might project as a phenotype and there are always a number of holes in those claims of "passability" which is often used to substitute for "reality".
Transsexual women lament the fact that straight men decline to date them. There are even public calls for this to happen by groups who promote this misnomer.
The reason straight men don't date transexual women is because they are in reality men themselves and this really can't be gotten past by truly "straight" men ... who decline to be homosexual like the so-called "women" who feel entitled to a date.
Were transsexual women not men this issue would not exist.
Attributing what "you feel" as reality is incongruent with humanity. You are who you are regardless of how much you may not like it. Saying you are male or female does not necessarily make it so.
- Comments (0)
- September 20, 2019
- Clickbait Everywhere
-
I am somewhat apalled at the amount of misrepresented so-called 'informational pages' designed to display as many advertisements as is physically possible before my eyes in lieu of bonafide relevant topical data.
So I have reached the point where I will terminate a page with extreme prejudice rather than view it's deceptive brain dead layout of ad upon ad with a shred of information displayed upon a 'next' button like I'm their go fetch idiot.
I have even started populating my firewall with the subnets containing these sites as a matter of standard operating procedure.
The internet is mine on my terms.
I will not have my experience sullied by some moronic "test" or piecemeal presentation surrounded by brain dead ads designed to fill the coffers of these fakers in our midst.
This disdain is precisely why there will never be ads on my site.
Morons. Those who create these pages and those who pursue their fragmented spam laden presentations.
Boo !
- Comments (0)
- September 19, 2019
- Yom Kippur 2019
-
I am a gentile. This means I am 'of the nations' and not a Jew, one God's chosen.
Regardless, in my life time some of my best friends have been Jews.
There was Bruce Levy in Navy bootcamp. David Eden aboard the ship upon which I was deployed, the USS MacDonough (DDG-39), as well as Mrs Fran Spill and Dr Lawrence Weiner, a local allergist and his office manager who slid me all manner of side work at a time when I really needed the money.
These people were all blessings in my life, of the Jewish faith, and constitute much of the reason that I observe the high holy days of Judiaism and recognize the Jewish people as important to my life.
I even keep a kippa handy on those days I choose to attend synagogue; but I must admit that they are fewer since the end of my naval enlistment.
Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
It is the holiest day of the year for those of the Jewish faith.
The day involves itself with atonement and repentance and includes about 25 or so hours of fasting, prayer and the synagogue.
Shalom
- Comments (0)
- September 18, 2019
- World Water Monitoring Day 2019
-
We recently had a notice in the news regarding water quality and the fact that the local supply had acquired a peculiar odor.
The situation was attributed to a natural event called "turnover" and is secondary to the heavy rains of late which has caused increased organic matter to be contained in those water sources we utilize.
Luckily, I distill my drinking water and I suppose the odor is masked by the chlorine used in the local supply.
Today is World Water Monitoring Day. It was established in 2003 by America's Clean Water Foundation as a so-called "global" outreach program ... and has subsequently been named "World Water Monitoring Challenge".
They promote the use of test kits on the local water supplies to mark the anniversary of the US Clean Water Act.
While I won't be participating, I view the entire notion of increased funk in the water, innocuous or not to be grossly unacceptable.
I would wish to opt for better filtration and distillation in the process to ensure as pure a product as can be available.
I'm sure the powers that be could give a rip about what I think.
- Comments (0)