Category Archives: Blogging

Aspirations

I am wanting in this new year to hold tight to my feelings of possibility and optimism in spite of all the forces in play in the world that want to work against them. Creativity is always about dreams, imagination, vision, possibility, aspiration, and expression of our souls. In the darkest times the spirit can continue, it must continue. The prompt word for today is “spider.” Spiders can be associated with dark, scary things. But I don’t want to get into dark things today. Only to look them in the face and say, “You can’t scare me.”

This post is for Just Jot It January hosted by Linda G Hill.

The Beginning of the End

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It began when I woke up the morning after the recent presidential election, after watching the election returns late into the night with a sense of shock, disbelief, unreality, and increasing premonitions of impending doom, and said something like this to my husband, “This is when it begins, the end of the world.”

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I have gradually calmed down and regained some equilibrium until I read about The Russians hacking into our election and watched the president-elect appoint a man for Secretary of State who was awarded a “Friend of Russia” trophy by Putin.

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The saving grace for me has been reading satire and humor about the whole situation. At least we can have a good laugh while we march off to our destruction. So I want to include a few funny posts for your enjoyment, which would probably be anything by Andy Borowitz of the New Yorker Magazine, Dave Barry, and David Horsey.

Kremlin Names Trump Employee of the Month

Putin to Sing at Trump Inauguration

Putin Agrees to Recieve Intelligence Briefings in Trump’s Place

Dave Barry’s Year in Review: 2016–What the ?

David Horsey Political Cartoons and Commentary in LA Times

A Fake News History of 2016

I consider myself a hopeful, optimistic person most times and I feel I must work hard to remain this way for the sake of my kids and new grandson. So I think it will all come out all right in the end.

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill who said, Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “first/last.” Use one or both words, or find words that mean the same. Bonus points if you start your post with “first/beginning/start” etc. and end with “last/end” etc. Enjoy!

Wishing you a Happy New Year! And hoping 2017 will be a better year for us all.

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Gifs via Giphy.com and Happy New Year image via Pixabay.com

Sex And Marriage With A Robot

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This is disturbing to me because the robots depicted in the short video are very machine like. I could not imagine having one for a mate. How do you feel about this? I just watched an old episode of Star Trek TNG last night, ” The Measure of a Man,” which is about the android, Data, and how we define what is sentience. Data is so “human-like” that it is easy to relate to him as an individual and envisioning friendships and relationships for him. What kind of personalities would these future “robot-mates” have? Would they be so totally compatable with us, be like mirror images, our twins? Would they never chose to disagree about our choice of restaurants, movies, activities….Just kind of wierd.

DigiDame

You may not believe this but it’s just a matter of time that some of our children, or grandchildren, will take a robot as a life partner. In fact, at the recent Love and Sex with Robots conference in London, industry experts predicted that human-robot marriages will become commonplace by 2050.

You can read all about it here.The New York Post just did a story about this. While many of us consider The New York Post to be a rag, they do have unique and bizarre stories that eventually come true.

Make sure you watch the video too.

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The Best Holiday Gifts

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“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”

― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Hannukah and Christmas are coinciding this year. No matter which one we celebrate, or maybe we have a secular approach, this time of year is a time of family and friends gathering. There can be all kinds of anxiety about gifts and holiday menus. But the most important thing is sharing time with people we love. That is the best holiday gift.

I am hoping for a special gift this year. That my baby grandson will keep growing bigger and stronger and will get to go home with his parents in the New Year.

One Liner Wednesday is hosted by Linda G Hill. Featured image via Pixabay.

Moot

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I don’t give a hoot about “moot.” That is our word prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week. And as you can see I am posting on Sunday because I did not get inspired so much by moot yesterday. Moot indicates something has occurred and it is probably not worth it to debate the whys and wherefores. It is not worth it to go look back over the situation and argue about why it happened. It is done. Kind of like the recent presidential election in the US. We can go over and over it, trying to determine the cause(s) for the outcome. But maybe it is not productive to do that and no one will ever be able to prove, without a doubt, all the factors involved in the final result. We just need to focus on where do we go from here, (Even if it’s The Russians).

I love owls. The owl on the right is saying, ” I know it’s The Russians!” This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill.

Column: Places like Ghost Ship, site of the deadly disaster in Oakland, have kept us alive

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There are no words to convey the heartbreak felt by those closest to the Oakland Ghost Ship warehouse fire.

Source: Column: Places like Ghost Ship, site of the deadly disaster in Oakland, have kept us alive

“They don’t understand why we don’t just live in a $3,000/mo. apartment where everything is safe and sterile and clean; why we live in a warehouse, or a garage, or an attic or shed or laundry room; why there is a mattress on the floor with a space heater where there normally would be a Queen size bed with a duvet and a nightstand and central heating.”

Interesting post on the Ghost Ship, young people, and not fitting into a box.

Loving Wishes

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“Goodnight nobody

Goodnight mush

And goodnight to the old lady whispering “hush”

Goodnight stars

Goodnight air

Good night noises everywhere” (from Goodnight Moon)

Little babies can hear even in the womb. And I am learning it is good to read to premature babies. It is good for language development. My little grandson needs a lot of quiet right now but it is also good for him to hear his parents and grandparents voices. So I am thinking about purchasing some children’s books to take to the NICU. I want him to get to know our voices and loving wishes.

Do you have a favorite childhood book?

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. Prompt for today “sh” words. Goodnight Moon book is by Margaret Wise Brown. Featured image from Goodnight Moon via wikipedia.

Pretty Bird

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Thanksgiving Turkey 2013

Thanksgiving Turkey 2016

Is that the same turkey? Same kitchen, different turkey. I have taken so many photos of “The Turkey” over the years that I have often joked I should have a Turkey Album. This year’s version turned out well. I have had years of practice to get the best tasting turkey and stuffing. We were a bit worn out this year because besides all the usual cleaning, which involves my last minute mad dash to dust, vacuum, swiffer, sort through piles, rearrange assorted belongings, move stuff to our overstuffed garage…we had a new grandchild born. He was born early and has to stay in NICU. He is very beautiful and a fighter. So we wanted to spend time with him and his parents. My husband said that next Thanksgiving he, baby Gavin, will be celebrating with us. We will be very, very Thankful for that.

Toby oversees the turkey carving with great interest

Ready for our glass of wine after all the running around

Always love to have my daughter Kate visit and she makes some mean mashed potatoes.

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. Turkey photos by yours truly and other photos by Kate. Prompt for today was “pretty.”

And for Traffic Jam Weekend Linky Party #72 hosted by beingawordsmith.com.

Overdosing On Sci-Fi

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“Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away.” Well not really. There is always something, good and bad. But this past couple of weeks could be high on my list for bad. Made me have a feeling of unreality. How can this be happening?! But I have been through tough things in life before and survived, so far. But as a way of coping this time, with my near depression, I have sought some comfort in bingeing on old Star Trek shows. I had already been watching Voyager episodes but then I started watching more and now I am onto Deep Space Nine. What I love about Star Trek , besides all the great characters, sets, and costumes/make up, is how in each episode there is a big problem but then it is resolved and justice is restored to the galaxy or the Alpha, Delta, and Gamma Quadrants. I think most times the “good guys” win. I read somewhere that that is what drama is supposed to do. There is a problem or crisis and then you have the resolution and catharsis. In Star Trek there is diversity and gender equality. It is very uplifting to see (space) people respecting each other even when they have very different cultures and appearances, and women respected and in leadership roles. I know what you’re thinking, The Borg can be difficult. But I kinda like them too. As long as they don’t try to assimilate me.

My grandson was born Friday (11/18/16) This is something good. I love him very much.

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt was to use “yes.” Featured image of Jeri Ryan, Garret Wang, and Robert Picardo by Sol Ami on Flickr.

Also participating in #Traffic Jam Weekend Linky Party

Let Us Not Be Afraid Of Bullies

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This week I am posting a lot about the recent election and my reaction to what has happened. I decided to check out Huffington Post Women because I suspected the women who post there would be talking about this. That is where I saw the reference to Lena Dunham’s Lenny Letters. She posted a quote from Sojourner Truth, and if you don’t know who Sojourner Truth is look it up.

“I am not going to die, I’m going home like a shooting star.” —Sojourner Truth

Here is an excerpt of her letter to Hillary Clinton:

A lot of people have been talking about how we need to try to understand how this happened and what’s going on in the minds of the people who voted for Donald Trump. Maybe. Maybe. But maybe let’s leave that to the strategists, to the men in offices who need to run the numbers. It should not be the job of women, of people of color, of queer and trans Americans, to understand who does not consider them human and why, just as it’s not the job of the abused to understand their abuser. It’s quite enough work to know about and bear the hatred of so many. It’s quite enough work to go on living…..

Thank you, Hillary, for bravely taking every shot and standing tall, for weathering assaults from every direction, for telling us that no, this wasn’t politics as we know it, and no, you were not going to let a chronic interrupter with a limited vocabulary of catchphrases stop you from speaking coherently about your dreams for this country. Thank you for 30 years of public service. Thank you for showing our daughters something beautiful to aspire to. Thank you for reminding us what we are capable of when we are focused and ferocious. Thank you for 30 years of that. Thank you for not abandoning us now.

So no, the work isn’t done. It is only beginning. We will stun ourselves with what we are capable of. We will laugh with surprise like kids who finally threw a punch back at the schoolyard bully. We will watch our friends in awe as they step forward and demand more, as they recognize and wield their politicized identities. We will not be governed by fear. We will show our children a different way. We will go home like shooting stars.

I’m proud of you,

Lena

I remember when I was a little girl there was a bully on our street and he took pleasure in terrorizing the little kids. One day he and his buddies had surrounded my best girlfriend’s little sister and they were taunting her. She called out to me to help her. I was very scared too but I am proud to say that the little girl who was me went into that circle of bullies and put my arms around my friend’s sister and escorted her out. The bully became very upset that I did that. He hit me as I walked past him. His mother later explained to a group of us that he had problems and asked for our understanding.

It is important to stand up to bullies. I am afraid now too, kind of like when I was little, and hope that I will again have the courage to walk into that circle with the bully and stand up for the things I believe in. To put my arms around his victims and walk them to safety.

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today is “mem.” Featured image of Hillary Clinton speaking at Brown University by Gage Skidmore on Wikipedia.