Tag Archives: Blog

SOCS-Light in the Darkness

I could not write about something all light and airy. I did not feel like writing at all. The world has been too heavy and dark this week. I hope there can be light after seeing the images of the continuing humanitarian crisis from the Middle East into Europe. People desperate to escape, with their families, from all the war and terrible oppression. The terrible image of a dead child washed up on a beach in Turkey. Scenes of people trapped in a Hungarian train station blocked from traveling on into Europe. The hope is that maybe now the world will start to work on better solutions. A glimmer of light is that Germany and Austria have opened their boarders. Hungary has allowed the refugees to take the bus out of their country. I don’t get the distinction from taking a train but it is better than the refugees being held in some camp or prison. I noticed that Huffington Post Canada has a list of organizations that people can donate to for the refugees. I looked for a similar list for the US and found one on Today.com . Hillary Clinton, during a recent interview, called this a global crisis and “the entire world now sees doesn’t just affect the Syrian people; it affects all of us.”

It does affect all of us and we can not close our eyes. The Washington Post has several articles on this topic. One is a story about a Syrian family making their way to Austria with the help of smugglers, called The Black Route.

Sometimes I don’t think things can’t get any worse.

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Does It Matter If We Call You Refugee or Migrant You are Human Beings

Like so many others I am heartbroken by the photos of the dead toddler, Alan Kurdi. I am determining which charity I will contribute to that aids refugees. I read a quote in the New York Times, Exodus of Syrians Highlights Political Failure of the West, this morning and I totally agree:

“If they can’t work together to save these children,” Adnan Hadad, an activist from the Syrian city of Aleppo, wrote on Twitter as the image of the boy went viral, “the world leaders better find another planet to rule.”

And from my local newspaper the LA Times calling for a moral policy on refugees:

“These refugees and migrants are mostly innocent victims of political failures, from the war in Syria and the rise of the Islamic State to incessant insurgencies and political oppression in Africa. The world should not compound those failures with a moral one.”

Monterey or Bust

California has many spectacular natural resources. One that is on display right now is the Monterey Bay gathering of whales, sea lions, dolphins, orcas and other marine animals that has been occurring in abundance for the past couple of years. I hope I can get up to Monterey in the next weeks to see this in person. A BBC/PBS production Big Blue Live will give you an idea of what is going on up the beautiful coast of California.

https://youtu.be/xZGyaBQA5R4?t=1s

There is abundance of food for the marine life. One of these is the Pacific Sardine. If you go to Monterey you will see a tourist area called Cannery Row. This is same area written about by John Steinbeck. The area used to be a real thriving cannery for sardines. They were overfished, impacted by ocean temperature changes, and just about wiped out. Now due to conservation measures the sardines are back. Whales and the California Sea Otter were also almost hunted to extinction and since being protected are now thriving. It is amazing to see this bounty of nature alive in Monterey.

CanneryRow by Bility via Wikipedia

Denver Art Museum Announces Major Show of Female Abstract Expressionists | ARTnews

From ART News  Interesting show of women artists to start at Denver Art Museum in the Summer of 2016. Titled “Women of Abstract Expressionism,” the show will feature more than 50 works by 12 artists. Following its run at the DAM, the show will travel to the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Palm Springs Art Museum in California.”

SOCS-Love is Just a Four Letter Word

I am not so pessimistic or cynical  as this title, or the song it is based on, suggests. But reading the news lately about Ashley Madison ( and I hate that name and it does sound like it should be the name of a porn site), almost made me feel that way. Even more disillusioned with the state of humanity. Now I read that most of the women on the site either never used it or were faked. Then I thought some more about it and realized that the men who signed up for it could have done it because of…well I am not sure why they signed up for it…loneliness, sex addiction, pornography? I don’t want to make assumptions. Are they living evidence that confirms that “love is just a four letter word ?”

The angel voice of Joan Baez via CARLSFOLKCLUB:

But I do know that love means more than just a four letter word to many men. The men in my family and the husbands and partners of my friends for a start. So I want to put the other stuff out of my mind. I think I like the lyrics of this song better via countvonferson:

My contribution for: Stream of Consciosness Saturday

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The escape from Boko Haram #bringbackourgirls

The American University of Nigeria is offering full scholarships to some of the girls who escaped from the Boko Haram. This is a very inspiring article from Smithsonian. Margee Ensign is the President of the university and a very courageous woman and native of my state of California. My heart breaks and I am sickened reading about the suffering of these women.  I am in awe of their spirit. We can not forget them.

 

The escape from Boko Haram #bringbackourgirls.

Tribute to Leonard Nimoy: Donate To A Good Cause and You May Be in the Next Star Trek Movie

Spotted this on Yahoo Movies. The cast of Star Trek Beyond is mounting this campaign to raise funds for worthy causes in memory of Leonard Nemoy. This week the donations are to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Nice idea. If you contribute you can be eligible to be in the new Star Trek movie coming out next Summer.

There’s a Conference in the U.K. All About Werewolves Next Month

There’s a Conference in the U.K. All About Werewolves Next Month. This from the Smithsonian on my Facebook page kind of tickled my funny bone. I want to go. It stimulates the imagination too. OK story, mild mannered older woman goes to UK for Werewolf Conference and is really enjoying it when one night when the moon is full she feels “some pricking in her thumbs”……….Or mild mannered older woman attending Werewolf Conference and having a great time by the way and one night when the moon is full she feels a strange urge and looks in the mirror and thinks oh my I need some new moisture cream because look at my skin and I think I need to tweeze out a few hairs here!

UK Conference Website: |Company of Wolves/Open MindsOpenGraves|