Yours Truly

Yours Truly
Janet Fauble at home

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Africans need help


This is part one which led to my putting the video that CNN presented with Anthony Bourdain in a journey through the former Belgian Congo.  Anthony has a show called Parts Unknown.  I watched this video on the journey which introduces us to many of the people who live in the Congo now, and we are treated to a riverboat trip that leads us to an industrial area which has since been abandoned by the Belgian businessmen who had some industry there.

While I am helpless to actually do anything physically, financially, or legally, I can express my opinions.  So part two is my fantasy type solution to the problem.

Politics

I missed the entire state of the union address. I instead am rereading a book that is helping me to write my novel on Alexander.

Continuation of Africans in Need

I interrupted my previous post to see if the Bourdain video was on Youtube so when I found it I shared it to my blogger. Anyone can sit through it to understand my thoughts about this.

First, I was truly saddened by the plight of the industrial region which had been built by the Belgians but left to decay and negligence.  None of the Africans had been trained or instructed on how to use the buildings which included the library.  Those buildings are just empty now but the library is being kept clean and in some kind of repair   Watch the video to see the situation which is at the end of the journey and end of the film.  But it is sad and pathetic to realize how the white man who created this left it to die its slow death. None of the Belgian people who operated this industry truly cared about the land which their king had mercilessly claimed as his own.

When I say the land, I mean the entire population, animals, environment, everything...They mercilessly used it for their own profit to finally relinquish it so that it now stands as a reminder of the cruelty and wretchedness that these Belgian entrepreneurs heaped upon a continent that they could not bring under control.

The cruelty is the fact that today these inhabitants have no real concept of anything that was being done and certainly have no means to utilize it for their own needs and purposes.  Where is the Peace Corps I am wondering?

At any rate, both Africans and Europeans alike are to be held accountable for the state of its existence today.  Africa is still being exploited by the very rich who mine the diamond fields for their own profit and gain.

Most of inner Africa remains undeveloped, and arguments have long persisted whether mankind should impose its lifestyle upon people who have lived a lifestyle in relative peace and quiet without the interference of outside forces.  It appears that Europeans tried to make claims to rule Africa as they did the American nations in both North, Central, and South America.   However, none of the nations who wanted to rule Africa appear to have been successful except perhaps Britain in South Africa where it did take root.

Supposedly, Qadafi was cut down because he wanted to initiate and impose a banking system upon Africa which would threaten European and American interests. Whether that is true or not is a matter of opinion, but nonetheless, he is no longer alive to persist in making his banking system work in all of Africa.

Egypt, Libya, and many other African nations are kept in constant turmoil probably due to outside agitators as well as internal problems.  In no way will this kind of internal fighting benefit this continent of many nations.

Were I to impose a rule there, I would not only put in generators for electric power, but I would build hospitals, schools, housing developments, and naturally, a highway system to unite the entire continent into one whole United Africa.

There is a group coming to Arizona this week to help develop and bankroll entrepreneurs which is based upon ABC's Shark Tank Show. I would suggest that these sharks begin to look to Africa, send business leaders as well as science and industry leaders to help to develop the nations of Africa. There is real value in the future of Africa as a whole, and nobody who is young, thoughtful, ambitious, and philanthropic can deny it.  However, the Sharks are people who only want to make money.  Money and profit may be an end goal in Africa as well, but a better purpose would be to help bring about change and improvement in a continent that can use as much help as it can get.

Unfortunately, for Africa and the world, the only things of value that seems to interest the profiteers is the tusks of animals, the skins of animals, and thus, Africa has been suffering the loss of much native wildlife.  I am certain that there are many valuable assets in Africa that can be turned into a profit making means for survival other than the poaching of wild beasts.

Do tour with Anthony Bourdain. Do get a sense of how it is that mankind can help this continent to become a powerful and attractive habitat for mankind as well as the wildlife which dwells there.

The challenge is to keep the natural beauty, the pure environment without turning it into the industrialized, over cemented and over apartmentalized American and European world.  Again, the goal is to teach people how to survive by doing it themselves.  But first in order to do that, teachers, leaders, nurses, doctors, and engineers will be needed to lead the way.

Africa needs help.  We should listen to their pleas, and help them.




Congo

Sunday, January 26, 2014

The Grammies as I saw them.

I was watching Food Channel's Sabotage show called Cutthroat and reading tweets at the same time. I  read a tweet that finally made me turn to the see the Grammies after all. I have not watched them in years as I am not really very fond of the music industry any longer.  It ignores really important music for what i consider to be trash or junk music, and I find that to be a failing in an otherwise dead but financially lucrative industry.  People love trash it seems and Americans prove it year after year making billionaires out of the trash peddlers.

But somebody tweeted about Lorde winning an award for her song about Royals, which is actually a song of envy and resignation.  So I decided to watch to see if I could catch that segment since I am in a time zone which is delayed.

Buzzfeed made much of the opening act which featured Beyonce and her spouse JayZ.  The actual scene which Time also provided a video for those who missed it is not nearly as interesting as is the analysis given by the Buzzfeed horny guy.  Feature by feature, Beyonce's act is broken into segments so that we can get a good look at those long legs, that protruding ass, that shaved Venus mound...there is no doubt that headlines from one network stating that the show was too "filthy" for CBS because it was censored and bleeped according to the article.  Married whores on stage is what it should be called if one is honest, as this couple is selling and marketing sex in a soft porn way that is making them super rich...

But the Buzzfeed article is funny. The guy who wrote it admitted that he had a body explosion (climax) at one point in her seduction.  I asked him if he had used a towel...I wonder if he got the point!

I could imagine him rubbing his hands up and down his shaft while drooling over her madly. He was really taken in by this young sex goddess.

It is in sharp contrast to one of the final acts in the show, Same Love, which of course is for the young gay following...And to top it off, Latifah had to be officially marrying 34 couples on stage which is said to have made Keith Urban shed a tear...golly, gee whiz, so much sentiment over watching the strangest marriage performed at a typically exhibitionist, hedonistic award show is mind boggling to me.  Crying...puleeeeeeeze!  It is only a show!  I can't take seriously that s**t ( the bleeped out word for the Beyonce JayZ act)  Can you believe it?  CBS bleeps a word...but lets the foggy stage cover the Here I am act that Beyonce performed as she stretched her legs wide to show her shaven mound...I am shaking my head.

We had a joke called Here Tiz years ago...Her act acted that joke out very well....

Never mind!  That is my reaction to the grammies.  There was music, but nobody cares about that anymore. Only the gyrations on stage, the girl swinging in the air, and the bobbing head job that Taylor Swift did count...Music....It was so loud that nobody could hear it except for the old-timers who performed their gigs: Country musicians headed by really aged Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, and Blake Shelton (young  guy who didn't quite belong in that  oldies but goodies crowd).  And Paul Mc Cartney and Ringo Starr did at least let their vocals be heard loud and clear...otherwise, ti was all  noise!

One final part of the grammies that was good was the Obituary segment...learning all the artists who have passed into tomorrow land was well done and respectful at least.

Classical music....well, it has passed over to Rainbow Bridge it appears...nowhere to be seen!

Romantic songs...gee, didn't hear anything that sounded romantic to me...it too has become invisible or on its last tunes...

The Music Industry needs to take a good long look at itself!  It is truly dull and tepid because of its only being noise and clatter...

The scales of justice is that all music has gone flat!

Remembering an old autograph to me years ago...Don't b sharp, Don't b flat. Just B natural.

Until we meet again...

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Socializing

I attended a gathering today to enjoy  a buffet at a place in Mesa called The Golden Corral.  This restaurant is really very fascinating for one good reason.  The food is better than just good.  It is very good. I was surprised to find a buffet that had really tasty dishes.  It is a large buffet with plenty of variety, and is packed full with customers streaming in and out all day long.  It has a breakfast buffet also.  But our lunch/dinner whichever it was depended upon yourself.  You can have as much food as you want, and as Roger said to me, If you go away hungry, it is your own fault.  So I ate up. I liked my salad choices, and the salad bar was full of everything from regular selections of lettuce, iceberg, spinach, and a variety of veggies to go with it as in all salad bars, radishes, cukes, cheese, bacon bits, croutons, etc.  There was a special Caesar salad which  I chose, some potato salad, cole slaw, and relishes galore.  Deviled eggs were included as well along with broccoli salad, and beets, radishes, etc.etc.etc.  So dang good I could hardly believe it.  They then had choices of Mexican dishes, Asian dishes, steak, meat loaf, fried chicken, rotisserie chicken, and finally desserts of all types, sizes, and shapes. Pies, cakes, cookies, cheesecake, even fresh strawberries, pineapple, apple, and marshmallow that could be dipped in white chocolate, dark chocolate, and caramel sauces flowing from a fountain.  Ice cream, both hard and soft, and even cotton candy spun at your discretion...What a variety of goodies! So much to eat. So reasonable in price.

I had my salad, some asian food, chose spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce, two varieties of chicken and some noodle, and a big piece of southern fried style chicken breast which I hid in my purse to bring home for supper or snack.   Then I had a strawberry with white chocolate, a marshmallow covered in chocolate, and a pineapple with caramel sauce.  The apples did not look appetizing to me cut open. I loved the strawberry as I took the biggest and reddest one...it was fantastic and the white chocolate was good I shared a piece of it with Irene and Joan.  It was that good.

We all introduced ourselves to each other as most everyone there has been going to these gatherings for the past ten years, and this is the first that I came to know of it.  So I went to meet with all the group who are here from my hometown in Ohio.  We discussed school days and the past, and generally it was an enjoyable session as I made a friend who recently just became a widow. Her husband passed away November 10.  She is a very nice lady who lives in Celina.  We have become friends on Facebook now, and I hope to see her again.  She is a nurse.

In my years here in Arizona since i moved back here, I have been slow to make many new friends, and while I contacted one from the past, most that I knew yesterday are dead and buried.  And I have not connected with that old friend since I last talked to her on the telephone years ago when I first moved here.  She lives on the other side of town.


So ended my day!  I went on a tangent again but deleted my rant about Hollywood.  I actually kept my mouth shut about that today.  Sometimes I feel like I am similar to the guy in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner but fortunately today I did not compulsively refer to anything that has t.v. in it.

"Watter, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink."

The difference between Heaven and Hell is a take off on that...

"People, people, everywhere, and not a friend in sight."  You know you are in Hell that way.

Love walks in and you know you are in Heaven.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Philotas

There's an excellent article by Waldemar Heckel, "The Conspiracy Against Philotas" (Phoenix, vol 31, 1977, pp.9ff) that you might wish to consider reading, as we

New Approach to the Alexander Novel

I finally am releasing some of this pent-up story about Alexander in a new and different approach.  I have been  mulling it over in my mind for some time.  Ideas come to me in the night at times and I need to get them on paper as quickly as possible, but until I learned how to use pages or scrivener I was stymied unless I used this blog.  Because the blog is public I decided to try to keep this under my chest as much as possible.

Yet, you might know.  The first thing I want to do is to have someone else read it too to see if it coms across as I want it to.  The reason I am writing right now is that this story is coming from within me, and is taking me over on the computer.   I just write it as it spins itself out.  Am I like a spider spinning a web? I am beginning to wonder.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Ministroke

What a difference an hour can make.  I got up yesterday, was all excited about my veggie drink which was super good, and then went to take a nap around noon time.  I felt tired and wanted to rest. Whenever I get up too early in the morning, I usually have to take a nap later.  When I woke up later, I found I could not move my legs, or my arms. I was dysfunctioning.  I lay there thinking that I would not ever want to be in this state, wondering if it were like MD or MS, and thinking that I would rather be dead.  For some reason at the thought of dead I was able to move my arm so I pulled myself up, willing myself to move, and reached for my cane which is at the end of the bed, and pulled myself up, made my right leg move, and then my left leg, and I pulled myself out of bed. It was the most horrible sensation that I have ever known.

With that said, I think that the worst thing humanity can do to another human being is to let him lie in a coma, unable to move about at all, but only to lie still, knowing that the world is around you, but that you can do nothing at all but lie stationery.

I made contact with people, tried to call my brother first,  then by chance a friend called and she is someone who I trust enough to share my problem so I told her about it, and then later asked my neighbor to come hear me out, and finally I wrote my nephew to notify his brother that I will be trying to contact him this next week.

I am not going to reiterate everything that I said but I am a believer in faith healing, as I believe in the end the patient is who heals himself.  He can have aids, helps, and ingest fluids and medicines to help him, but generally speaking, most health is in the mind, is curable if one thinks the right thoughts. I was sure that I could heal myself and naturally prayed to God for help.  I believe in the power of prayer, but I also believe in the power of mind over matter.

So this morning my brother did call me, and we talked, and I listened to his advice, and I am going to do what I will do as I find the time to do it.

I just saw this movie where the woman who is the Saint says that to take a vow of poverty means to do it.  I believe that about the matters of faith...to believe is to be it and to do it.  So I believe that a kind of miracle happened to me.  I survived it. I learned a lesson from it. I want to live, and I know it.

I also am not afraid of death at all.  It just means the end of this earthly existence, but for some reason my time on earth is to be a long one, and I hope now to make the most of it, to do some of the things I have said I will do, and to accomplish all that I can while I can.

My first thought was about my book.  I had thought maybe I was going to die but now I think I will survive after all, and I can finish my book.  I could  not imagine all the time that I have put into this to just up and leave it all now.

I finally understood why David Letterman, Regis Philbin, and Larry King talked about their heart problems so much.  I know very well that life takes on a different meaning when one truly realizes that one could be on the last breath...It is easy to let go but upon thinking about it, I want to live as long as I can as well as I can.

And on that note, I will explain about why I think that at this age I should do the best for myself as I can even after and especially after seeing the Saint in the movie explain her attitude about poverty.

My sense of logic says that I am the one person who can take care of me as best I can.  I do not have a provider or a man to fall back upon. I have to take care of myself.  I want the best for myself in my senior years since I struggled and worked so hard when young. I was deprived of many things as a child and even as a young adult, not having been privy to the real purpose and plan of a happy marriage.  I took care of myself until I had to help take care of my parents who needed me. I now understand their need now that I have arrived at that place in my life.  So I believe the last years should at least be spent as carefree and as fully sensible and enjoyable as can be.  I think it is time that I spoil myself a bit.  I do not want to miss life's joys and splendors. I want to greet them. So  on that note, I will try to see as much of the world as I can while I can.  Hopefully, I can stay healthy enough to do it. I am trying at least to help myself.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Movie critique of The Great Beauty.

I spent the afternoon with my friend Sandra.  We went to a movie that was not the best movie of all time, but the trailer had made it seem interesting. It is NOT!  It is a tired, old movie about an old journalist who has led a very unsatisfactory life in which he has searched for the great Beauty but has not been able to find it.

But we did get to see photographs of Rome that were beautiful, things that we would never have seen had it not been for this film, but the simple truth most of those things can only be appreciated by a limited number of people.  Fundamentally, it was a love story that went sour.  He had had a love interest early in life who had apparently spurned him for another man who she truly did not love either.  Italian women are pragmatic, and marry for security more than for romance and idealism.  The ideal probably does not exist anyway.

I mean go figure. Sopia Loren and been married to Carlos Ponti for years while she was paired with any number of handsome leading men. Nobody expected that she would ever have a fling with Rock Hudson but perhaps Cary Grant, or any one of the others that she had knocked about with.  I don't think that people ever questioned her reasons for marrying Carlos Ponti, a director who knew how to sell his wife well.

Anyway, the in crowd of Rome is depicted and discussed throughout the movie which naturally has to have a religious angle to it too.  A line in the film jumped out at me on the screen.  It is in subtitles but one was spoken English....took me to ASU years ago.

 The Saint in the movie is a woman 104 years old who appears comatose for the most part most of the time, but has a strange way with birds and is willing to climb on her knees a huge stairway to some picture or statue of Jesus.  It was painfully done, and the idea was to make one think of Sister Theresa I am sure, but it failed that totally.

It is subtlety mocking religious institutions which is probably quite normal in Rome.

The idea is to see the contrast of modern decadent Rome versus the invisible but ever obvious  Vatican and its religious body near by.  A cardinal appears in the story who commands attention but is disrespectful in his attitude towards the journalist when he tries to question him.  He is easily distracted by a more important guest who needs him immediately, so he flies away.  Later, he is seen a ta dinner table bragging on his culinary skills.

At a dinner party, finally the old lady labeled as a Saint gets her chance to speak.  She reminds them like the current pope appears to be doing that Poverty is to be lived, not to be just a spoken vow.  So she subsists on eating only roots of plants, and is also able to talk with the birds who flock to be near her.  She sleeps on the floor.  She is in serious contrast to all the  self indulged spoiled rich who invite her to their table.

Terribly boring movie except for all the clothes, sights and sounds of the decadent rich...the misery of the poor and of tired old princesses who have nothing to do all day but be bored with one another.  Lives full of emptiness needing to find ways to endure the boredom made it a boring movie as well.   Jeb, our journalist, is impeccably dressed all the way through. A successful journalist should always look so good.  Subliminally, many strange ideas took hold during the spinning of this tale.

Finally, I must admit that the great beauty probably refers to a great love that is requited and everlasting. Few ever find it, and those lucky enough to have even bitten into that forbidden apple know how elusive it really is.

Love fulfilled can be the greatest beauty of all, when one is so fortunate as to enjoy it...but love has so many divisions: childhood, puppy love, deep first time love that is unforgettable, comfortable, secure love that takes one for granted, as children feel towards their parents who nourish and protect them, guiding them to a successful adult life, and late love between couples who have endured hardships, trials, and trouble but grew to love one another more deeply than when first joined in marriage...so many kinds of love...the real Great Beauty!


Computers, Laundry, and Novel

I have a strange history at Apple, having taken a lot of classes there to learn the ins and outs of the apple computer.  There are tutorials on youtube and even a free series where you can learn all this stuff as well as just using search engines to find information, but one on one means that you have  a living being sitting across from you trying to impart some knowledge that they know about a subject into your head.  However, I admit that learning a computer is not just simply gaining the information but utilizing it by putting it work immediately or else it is quickly forgotten.  $99 is the cost to take such a program where you engage with so called experts. I will admit that many were very nice and helpful while others were frankly incompetent and clearly did not know a damn thing about that which they were talking.  In surveys,  I would try to respond to questions to give some idea how that session had gone,  but generally speaking there is little that one can say except that young kids need a lot of learning in more than just computer skills.

I am speaking specifically about a young girl who showed me how to do footnotes. I have been an English teacher, have a college education, and had the strictest teacher (professor) on earth about footnotes, so that this girl's idea of what footnotes is was just too dumbfounding for me to  believe. I did ask one of the other tutors eventually about it.  I could not believe what I was hearing.  There is a definite way to make footnotes, and it is not copy and paste which is what she told me to do.

So be it.
*************
So then after the Apple session which was short and sweet, I traveled all over the area to finally go to the econo  wash that I knew was always busy whenever I had passed there on the city bus.  I went to Tempe after checking out a place that a friend had told me about.  I could not even get into the parking lot there so  I gave up on it quickly and sped to the place I knew i could at least find washers. I had earlier checked out the reviews on the laundry where the parking lot is so difficult to find, and learned that a reviewer had been correct...I had been forewarned at least. It does help to write and read reviews believe it or n ot.

We have our own laundry room here at the apartment but the comforter is too large for any of these small washers which take only one load.  The washers at the econo wash take up to 6 loads, and have dryers that can handle 50 lbs even.

Mine went into the 30 lb. but it is only probably less than a pound in weight.  Well, it could be a pound...It is very lightweight, but its size and fluff make it large so that it filled the dryer totally.

*************

So now I have my books out again, and am planning to set up the process by which I will finally write this novel. I am going to delete the information that I have here on my novel because I really do not want anyone to know anything about it until it is done. If I change anything I don't want to have to make explanations.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

The trial of Philotas

I

Sunday afternoon

I tried two joints of marijuana when I was in Florida in the 70's.  The first time I tried it was with a group of men and women who passed the joint around the room. We sat in a circle and each took a drag off the cigarette...it went from one to another around that small circle. I learned then what was meant by the term  mellow as I did inhale it into my lungs, and it did make me mellow.  

I left the room to go back to my own apartment in that hotel area and realized as I was walking poolside that if I fell into the pool that nobody would give a damn, that I could drown for all they cared. They were all too much under the influence of the weed to give a damn about anyone but themselves.

That was my last time trying it until I moved to Clearwater where once again I was given a drag which had the effect of putting me out cold...I realized when I woke up that I could have been robbed of everything that I had as I was too unable to do a thing to defend myself at all.  

As a result, I have never had a drag of it, and have not been around people who would even offer it to me. I would not know where to get it.

I just remember it well, and as a result, I have never wanted to have anything to do with it again.  I do not trust myself or anyone else who uses it to be responsible, competent, or even mildly sane.

I realize that some say that it has medical benefits.  If it does, it should be verified and proved to be an effective medical treatment, and dispensed as such.  But as recreational use, I consider it far more dangerous than any alcoholic substance that I have used.

That is my conclusion and sane judgement.  To each his own, but it is important that decisions be based upon experience, not hearsay.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Things I must ask about at Apple on Pages program

I am going to have one of my last one to one sessions this Tuesday and I made it for Pages.  I need to know the answers to how to maneuver text on a page.  
!. How to move a word from one sentence to another.  How to move it around in the sentence.  How to move paragraphs.  I need to review all this again so that I can do it with confidence and with ease.

The real problem in any learning situation is just getting the stuff introduced but the learning of it means using it repeatedly so that it becomes second nature to you.

I am jotting this here to refresh my memory before I go in on Tuesday.  I will review this page before I go, and if need be, add to it.

Starting a new regime is not easy

Actually, since I have begun this diet program I have not been feeling exactly in tip top condition. I did read a warning about beginning detox programs so that perhaps my system is having to adjust to all this newfound liquid vitamin mixture which I had been trying.  The interesting thing is that while I literally hate yogurt I am trying it now to see if it will be good in smoothies, and one tonight was good. I can eat it that way. Smell is always the first part of eating after sight...if I can't stand the smell, i probably won't be able to eat it.

But i am reading how good yogurt is supposed to be for you. I do not know if it is really true or not or if it is one of those crazy attempts to sell otherwise unwanted foods to you.  I would not eat it at all if it weren't able to be camouflaged with other foods in it.  I can't drink white milk unless I add chocolate so that the recipe I used tonight for a banana smoothie which uses milk, yogurt, frozen banana, and chocolate worked only because of the banana and chocolate.  I was surprised that it did taste good, and that I actually liked it.  So I will drink it again and again and try the same kind of thing with other fruits as well.

It calls for 3/4 cup milk, one cup yogurt, one frozen banana or banana with ice cubes, and chocolate syrup to taste, about a tablespoon was in the recipe.  Put it in blender and mix...It worked out great! I was in shock!

I will say this much. My calorie intake has been so low in the past three days that I am even surprised by how little I have eaten.

I will keep an ongoing progress report.  I figured that if I had 100 shakes at $5.00 a throw at a local juice store it would be the cost of the mixer.  100 shakes in three months would be a lot to drink at a store. I only have ever had one smoothie at a  juice store probably in a years time. In three days time now at home I have had four already.  That is $20 if I went to the restaurant...I will keep tabs of all the expense of this beginning with Vitamixer itself.  It is priced at $499.  It is a professional culinary institute of American   machine. I got $100 off it so it cost me $399.    $400 divided by $5 gives me 80 drinks .  At the rate I drink smoothies in a store it would take me 80 years...Well, anyway, so it goes...

The convenience alone makes it possible for me to drink these as well as soups, and dressings, breads, and heavens knows what else that is possible!  Just cocktails like daiquiris, pina coladas, and other mixed drinks is incredible. I can make my own whiskey sours.  Which does say that most barhopping is for social reasons more than drinking...well, women, anyway!

Men go to the bars for the booze I admit.  They are the ones who are most prone to being alcoholic!

Well, I admit I am trying to justify the expense. One girl did respond by saying that she uses it to make her own flour.  I had not thought of that. One can grind meat with it, and make peanut butter. There are lots of uses for it. I love the idea of grinding beef.  But it will take me some time to even attempt that.  I will watch a video on youtube to see how it is done first.

Well, it is my new toy.  It will be interesting to see how often I use it.  I will keep a progress report.

Child Abuse

Yesterday I got into the discussion of Woody Allen and his alleged child abuse scandal.  Child abuse is something about which I care a lot, as I suffered enough of it myself when young.  I know the problems that children have in such situations. I have an entire long sorry chapter about it, and so am never anything but strict, stern, and relentless in my pursuit of the end of it. I would not marry, and I would not have children because of it. I would never put a child through the hell that I went through as a child, and I cannot emphasize that enough.  So any mention of it brings the hard hearted and seriously mean it aspect of my nature. I would and could kill over it.

I do not like for it to be dismissed, trivialized, or ignored in any way.  I learned how to overcome my own hatred of people associated with it, as life has many hard lessons for us to undergo.  I eventually did make my peace with the perpetrator who had assaulted me so often when just a child, and I have had to relive those experiences each and every time I hear another story of it.  I have a hard shell around me. I am a tough and resilient person, but I do know that sexual and emotional and physical abuse is a serious lot for any child to have to endure.  So don't play games with me about it. I am deadly serious about the need to end it.

While I cannot change the world in its attitude towards it, I can and will stand up to it. I stood up to the individual who did this to me all my life, but I finally learned a possible reason for it too.  I was able finally to communicate this to that individual.  All I can say is that I eventually let hate dissolve to love after all.  May he rest in peace now.  And may I insist that people do not ever dismiss a child's need for protection and loving care.

Children's Accounts of Reincarnation

On Facebook the other evening I sat to watch a video about children who had strange tales to tell.  Two children were selected who had had parents who listened to their comments early in their young lives to be able to make this video possible.  Most parents do not really listen to their children's talk, but it so happened that in this case, these parents were concerned enough about how these children behaved and spoke to listen to them and to try to find explanations for their behavior and statements.  How they found the producer is something that I do not know which of course makes me dubious about the entire video.

I have studied reincarnation ever since my college years when Edgar Cayce was first mentioned to me.  I had heard of reincarnation when a child because a childhood friend asked me if I believed it it. I did not know what she was talking about.  I never thought to ask her more about it or how she knew of it so I still do not know. I do recall asking her once though who she thought she might have been had she been reincarnated, and I pursued that when I last saw her to ask her again.  She just shrugged to say she had said that because she plucked it out of the air.  I do not really believe that, but I accepted it.

These children's accounts are fascinating to see.  I am not sure any parent would be happy to learn that his child is still caught up in a past life.  Both cases were extremely strange but at least were fixed in the time period in which records can be checked to find if there is any truth in these memories that these children exhibit.

This is the link to the video:http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x13kqkz_the-ghost-inside-my-child-s01e02_shortfilms?fb_action_ids=10201542265414629&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

More on reincarnation

Testing

Happy Birthday Edgar Allen Poe, January 19

To celebrate the birth of Edgar Allen Poe, Michael  placed an article about his strange death on Facebook.  I had not given Poe much thought in recent years. He has always been one of my favorite poets and authors. I love the short story, The Cask of Amontillado.  It was in our high school literature book so that I taught it frequently to students.  A poem called Annabel Lee is another of Poe's works that I like a lot.  The Tell-Tale Heart, and of course, another poem, The Raven, are well known.

What I did not know about Poe is the cause of his death or the manner of his death. I was surprised to learn that he had died wearing strange garb and apparently in a state of addiction.  He is often painted melancholy, eccentric, and alcoholic.  Most of his works are morbid.  But he is fascinating and has caught the imagination of many a literary student.

But the right book about him has not yet been published.  The article so fascinated me that I thought what a great book could be written about him.  His eyes perked up when I said that aloud.  I thought, Aha, he liked that idea!  I rather fancy that the right author might find Poe sitting next to him putting thoughts into the author's mind...


Musings on a Saturday Morning

I overindulged the last few years, ate desserts whenever I felt like it, rationalized it away by saying that I am not going to deprive myself, but finally have to admit that all that excess sugar intake has added pounds and bad fat to my body.  So all of a sudden, I decided gee I do not want to look like this, and am now on a health food kick, intending to use a juicing and vegetable diet with some protein to shed all this unwanted fat.   What a jerk!  Yes, indeed!

So last December I had seen Vitamix sold at QVC.  I watched it and listened to it, then decided to read the reviews that were posted there.  Then I checked out Bed, Bath, and Beyond to see what they offered, and with their 20% off coupon I decided that I might buy it there if I liked it.  At least I could take it home to try.  In the end, one cannot say enough for the machine. It works like a dream, has a great warranty, and service policy so I bought it with my coupon.

It is expensive but all the reviews said how much better it is than cheaper models which many had used, so I thought that it would be the smart thing to take a chance and at least try it. So it is on its trial run this week.  I have made one pot of soup and three smoothies with it so far.  I could not do any of this without this machine as I have thought of what would happen if I took it back.  No chance of that now that I have finally learned how quick and easy it is to use, how good the end results are, and hopefully, naturally of how they will help me to get through three long months of reduced calorie diet.

I have only just begun.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Will Return

Trying to do something.

Strange Dreams

I can never figure dreams. I have no idea what they could mean when they are something that makes no sense to me.  Some are recurring dreams.   Some are simply alert dreams it seems.   I had had a dream yesterday which really bothered me as I could see myself walking nude but with a top on so tonight i learned what that dream could mean...American Apparel has made news on Mailonline with its store window mannequins having pubic hair in its window display.  The nipples and the pubic hair show prominently on the mannequins, and it is getting a lot of attention. It turns out that the same company had earlier made some waves with a tee shirt showing a vagina menstruating on the front of it.

I suppose I could cut and paste some of those images here but the purpose of this is to make the connection of my dream to one of the models that was shown for the American Apparel Company I believe. I could see then and understand my dream. I have had many dreams which seemed to be connected to events of the day and this appears to be one of those. I could not talk about this dream until now and only because of the mannequins and model.

If anyone can interpret why one sees one's self in a dream exposing one's self in the nude but having a top on covering the top while the bottom is fully exposed I would appreciate learning what it could mean.

All I could think is that it proves that I am female...how ridiculous.  Anyone can pretty much tell women from men fully clothed.

I do not know what to think about the American Apparel Company for their honesty in the human female form.  Some liked it, some called it feminism, and others called it perverted and some did not like it.

Liking one's body is something that one learns.  Being honest with one's self about the personal areas of one body means that most of us keep our pubic hair instead of shaving it.  While we may shave our legs and our armpits, most women do not do bikini shaves unless one is a showgirl, prostitute, or model, all of which may be the same.

But at least for the time being, I will admit that i saw myself in a frontal nude and then I saw the models for the American Apparel Company and I conclude that that is the meaning of my dream...mannequins in New York baring their unshaven hair!  I remember saying to a friend of mine in California that I get so tired of being a mannequin all the time...so that brought back that memory to me.

Dreams are strange.  This is a link to a story about the American Apparel Company.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/16/american-apparel-pubic-hair-mannequins_n_4610688.html

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Finally! I am decided about how to write my novel

Believe it or not, once one has written a first draft, that is not the end of the novel, but only a very poor beginning.  In case you don't know it and have never tried to write a book, there are more curves, detours, ups and downs in a novel than you can imagine.  Once I began this project I made up my mind to finish it, and it will surely be done.  But if you know anything about me at all, you know that I do not do things to satisfy other people's desires and wishes so much  as I  do a project the way that I think it should be done.  And I admit I have been wrestling with this novel for a very long time.

There is no doubt that every author has his or her own methods. Today I was reading Steve Pressfield's article about writing on the edge.  I read his entire piece as well as the comments that were made by other authors and fans.  So I decided then to read more about Janet Lewis, an author I came to know through my discussion group on Louis XIV. Sandra Gulland, a famous author in her own right, told me about Janet Lewis so I proceeded to read her book on Martin Guerre.  I fell in love with her style of writing.  She is very tight, concise, and chooses her words well.  I loved her storytelling skills.   So I learned a few things that i had not known.  She lived to 99, and she and her husband moved to Palo Alto so that he could work at Stanford University. Irony of Ironies!

Steve Pressfield has written his own books on the topic of Alexander which I have read from cover to cover. I own the Virtues of War.  My favorite book that Steve wrote is about Leonidas and the battle of Thermopylae which is called The Gates of Fire.  He also wrote The Legend of Bagger Vance, a fantasy tale about golfing.

He has a blog in which he encourages writers to keep up with their goals, to pursue them, and how to overcome problems.  A favorite topic of his is about resistance.  There is little doubt that any writer has to face many obstacles in his writing, but at the crux of it all in my opinion is the problem of devising a story that will maintain the interest of the writer himself.

I have to envision the completion of the novel itself before I can even begin it.  I have to see it as a completed whole.  I like to know the final chapter of the novel so that I know my destination.  In the case of historical fiction, it is easy to devise a conclusion to the story for all of this has happened already.  We want the conclusion of our novel to be accurate with the real history of the individual.

So because I realized something while reading both Steve Pressfield's blog and then reading about Janet Lewis's history as a writer, I finally decided how to write my novel.   To think that it has taken me this long to finally decide how to write this novel seems a bit crazy.  But I have wanted this book to be something special...I guess I am on the edge...







Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song

Monday, January 13, 2014

Photos on Previous page

First, there was no video.  So I will have to learn how to edit this page to remove that video block and second, most of the photos I use for my Facebook page.  However, tonight I could not find the two that I had taken this evening until I tried to  put them on this page which did work.  I took one without the smile because I am certain that that is how I am seen by most people most of the time as I very seldom go around smiling as I do for these Facebook photos.

I also was able to delete a bunch of photos that I did not want on my computer.  I am learning slowly how to master these computers but it takes a long time since I do not spend hours at a computer like most people do.

I have to get to bed now.  But I did use this as an experiment as one tutor at apple was helpful to me about this blog site so maybe I will learn what the next tutor will have to say about it.


Experimenting with cameras and photos at apple.

I am going to see if I can get a photo on here from apple.





Thinking Aloud _ Including reaction to Golden Globe awards

It is a quarter after 12 and I just took the shower and shampoo to set my hair so that i will look halfway decent now.  I wear wigs on bad hair days and some are attractive while others are just so/so.

I decided to write my thoughts for this morning on this blog so that I won't forget what I am saying. I was thinking about reincarnation this morning because of not only myself and my beliefs in terms of my real experiences with the subject but also those of others who share their experiences. In a nutshell, it all boils down to my conclusion that hopefully this may be my last incarnation and I was ever so hoping that that might be the reason I finally learned of previous lives to be capped by this one.  Naturally, people who do not believe in the idea that a spiritual entity can live in a variety of lives in various time periods on the face of the earth this will not make any sense to them.

But I was jolly well hoping that maybe learning of these previous lifetimes and realizing their meaning to me that maybe it could be the last time round in the flesh for this spiritual entity that I am to myself...but if not, well, so be it.

I am going to sum up what I believe about the planet and the concept of reincarnation.  I believe everything on the planet is repetitive and constant, that the laws are defined, are set, and are not ever going to change.  An acorn will always become an oak if germinated and able to become fully developed.

My idea of creation is that all seedlings are within the great mind of this creative force that caused itself to unfold so that we emerged somewhere to contemplate it.  This creative power has had to have had the seeds within itself because we are able to perceive and know the results of those seedlings which is all around us, the universe, amongst all the stars and galaxies is tiny planet earth upon which we dwell, and possess for some reasons, five senses to enjoy the marvels of this planet.  Not only do we possess the senses to enjoy the fruits of the planet but we have the intelligence to examine it and to draw conclusions about it.

As I have been doing just that over these many years that I have dwelled here, i have come to abhor the life and death cycle of the planet, the cruelties, the  absurdities, the paradoxes of a planet which  gives us both beauty and ugliness in its inhabitants.  While I have been fortunate enough to have a stable enough mind and emotions to stay free from becoming tainted by the planet's negative sides, I am more aware of them than ever before.

But until I learned of how businesses have actually promoted outrageous mistreatment of animals when taken to slaughter, or even in nurturing and feeding to make financial gain and profit through force-feeding, suffering cramped quarters in which to stand for hours upon end, being mistreated through physical and emotional means, I had no idea how bad mankind has truly been to the lowest of beasts.    The fact that we are supposed to feed upon the suffering of calves, cattle, cows, chickens, pigs, and other animals makes me both physically and emotionally ill.

Without the ability to stop this kind of depravities, businesses will continue to hire ignorant, stupid sods who deliberately mistreat innocent animals just so that they can have a paycheck, knowing nobody will do a thing about it. Fortunately, hidden cameras have produced evidence so that sane human beings can bear down upon these horrible creatures to make changes for the good of  the community.

Many of us grow up and are reared in circumstances that protect us and prevent us from the harsh realities of life.  Eventually, we come to learn that not all life on the planet is so good for each and every place on earth.  The earth itself if taken as a whole has a lot of variety in the lifestyles that are practiced here.

I was saddened to watch a tour into the former Belgian Congo, now a democratic republic.  A nation which clearly proves that without the right leadership that democracy is a very bad joke.  Anthony Bourdain is a television celebrity who has a show on CNN which airs weekly.  This journey took us into the depths of African into what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  It was a study in the futility of imposing one nation's will upon another as the Belgians had done many years ago.

My discussion of that show will require a separate blog but the one thing that makes it work in this discussion of life on the planet is that the nations of Africa have clearly enjoyed a lifestyle unique to themselves and different from those of Europe or of the extension of European nations into the Americas.  While Europe ventured into Africa, it did not truly impose its own lifestyle onto the African natives with any real success.

New topic

Golden Globe awards were very unusual in that finally Hollywood itself through the Foreign Correspondents got themselves out of the rut of always handing the oscars to the same old candidates each and every time.  Between Hollywood actors and actresses, and politicians, nothing proves the truth of that law of repetition which seems like the same old rut too often.  The actors were even pointed int heir remarks about how often some of these actors and actresses had won the prized awards, and this time, the same old actors learned what it is to be overlooked while it goes to some other person sitting their hoping against hope  that this time he or she would walk on the stage.

Very interesting that the show was opened with the acknowledgement that Hollywood kills itself off time and again with its copycat ways, and that Hollywood will stoop to anything to get its way...So Woody Allen received his award which angered the family of Mia Farrow enough for twitters to be tweeted about how dreadful it is that he is acknowledged for his work instead of his private life.

The fact of the matter is that the Hollywood actors and actresses who work with him do so for their own end goals of fame and fortune and clearly demonstrate that they do not care if the man is a child molester or not.

I care. The last film I have seen of his was Annie Hall.  I won't see another. I dislike the truth about his personal life enough not to be willing to put money into his bank account...




Saturday, January 11, 2014

things that Infuriate Me

Tonight I read the most horrible piece of news on Facebook which came from ABC.  Apparently some group in Texas is selling at an auction for $150,000 the right to go to Africa to shoot a black rhino which is on the endangered species list.  How stupid can you get!  I am outraged by that.

These Texas clubs that select animals for hunting in their own backyards practically have annoyed me for years.  What kind of dimwits live in that state?  Do they not know how stupid they appear to those of us who have decency and common sense?

Another thing that infuriates me is that there are so many millionaires in congress and tonight one has the nerve to suggest that to raise the minimum wage might stimulate the economy.  This from some nitwit in Silicon Valley.

Then to top it off, some other nitwits in California are going to try to impact the water supply to the NSA because of their spying abilities...talk about daft!

When the electorate go to the polls, don't they have the right to know if these nitwits who run for office can think logically and sensibly.  It is always too late after they are elected to do anything but wait until the next election and naturally our bright and intelligent electorate has totally forgotten or stopped caring if they are well represented or not.

Will stop now...


Alexander (Eternal) - Vangelis

Michigan Morn

Letting off steam

This has been one heck of a day. I thought I would get out but instead I stayed home to watch some horse races, the final moments of the Seattle SeaHawks/NewOrleans game, and then turned off the t.v. to read some stuff on Pothos.org about Alexander the Great.  I read two interesting posts: one on Halicarnassus, and the other on a book review about Alexander, Man of Ancient Times. I had visited the page yesterday and had read some remarks about the book review I had posted on a book called The Golden Mean, and then read a blurb about Ruth Aki's book which she has been writing for the past ten years.  She is having it published in two editions.  It is a story of the successors to Alexander.

I did not post it anywhere but on my blogspot so I could have ready access to it outside of Pothos.org.

Since I have not read the book in any part except one excerpt which she had shared in her early years of writing it I have no idea what it will be like.

But because I continue to have my own insights into Alexander, I had stopped going to Pothos.org for some time...at one time I had interesting conversations with a guy name of Kenny.  He no longer posts there.  He had been a chef as a I recall.

But the posts that I read were quite interesting to me as I had had a regression to Hallicarnassus so that it was interesting to me to learn that Ptolemy had been a bodyguard and then got killed there. This is not the same Ptolemy who is responsible for Arrian's writings but I was reminded of how these scholars and academics love to quote from the writings of the extant sources.

I am going to pause here to take a break to eat some homemade soup I made for supper.  I made easy potato soup with ham and cheese.  It was good.


That naturally cost me my train of thought and then I began to watch the ladies figure skating.  Some young 15 year old was very impressive.  Beautiful performance.

I was talking about two stories I had read at Pothos, one of which was a book review about Alexander by a David Madsen from Seattle Washington.  An Ancient Life is the title of the book which means I will have to try to find it to read.  What caught my attention was the remarks about a mega soul.  I am sure that he instilled that idea into Alexander's head but I do not know where these men found that.  And the book is criticized for bad footnotes and references.

Oh well, the discussion on two accounts of the battle of Hallicarnassus was a bit tedious as they were more wrapped up in the manner in which the towers  had been transported, by land or sea.  It was interesting to me though to learn about Philotas's role in this battle as I am very interested in him and developing his story in my own book.  There is definitely tension between him and Alexander amounting to jealousy on Philotas's part.

Philotas is an interesting character if all the stories about him are true.  The torture he underwent and the manner in which he met his death is amazing to me.  Louis XIV and Alexander pull couple of the same stunts which I am aware of and it intrigues me to know that it is with Philotas that Alexander pulls his act and with Louis it was with Ninon Enclos as is noted by historians.  Trouble is when you rely solely upon historians, you can never be sure how accurate it is.  That is the argument that is occurring on the battle of Hallicarnassus, whose story is more correct, Arrian or Diodorus?  It would depend upon who their sources were to know how much credence to give to either but the discussion was quite extensive at Pothos.

I often wondered about all that i had experienced when going back in time in Alexnder...I was both in and out of his person many times.  It is like watching a movie or being in the movie when it happens. It is very fascinating, the very act of experiencing these events from the past in which you are in the past.  That means the past is never past at all, but buried somewhere within so that one can revisit.  It is fascinating to me just the art of being able to do it.  I still can recall it and it is a wonder to me, being like some time capsule...computers tend to imitate that a bit in the file system...one presses a button and one can read a post that one wrote months ago and bring it back into life.  Google and blogs know all about that.






News about Ruthaki's book

SHADOW OF THE LION – BOOKS I AND II TITLES ANNOUNCED!

With the fan base of Alexander the Great themed historical book, SHADOW OF THE LION, counting among its numbers the Consul General of Greece in Vancouver, Ilias Kremmydas, best selling author Steven Pressfield (‘The Legend of Bagger Vance’ and ‘Gates of Fire’) and fellow historical novelists, Scott Oden (‘Men of Bronze’) and John Dempsey (‘Ariadne’s Brother’), all eager to read the work by W. Ruth Kozak, MEDIAARIA CDM are pleased to announced that SHADOW OF THE LION is timetabled to be published in two parts.
Extensively researched in Greece with the support of Classical scholars, the Greek Ministry of Culture, the Society of Macedonian Studies (Thessaloniki), the Finnish Institute in Athens, the Norwegian Institute of Athens and with research undertaken in the Gennadius Library and the British Library, SHADOW OF THE LION will comprise of Book I, titled ‘Blood on the Moon’ and Book II, titled ‘The Fields of Hades’.  Mutually agreed by both the author and publisher, it was felt that both these titles possess the quality of conveying (in the words of W. Ruth Kozak) “strong foreshadowing that will draw people into the story.”
Set in the aftermath of the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, and against the backdrop of political intrigue, ruthless ambition, racial prejudice, child abuse and exploitation, SHADOW OF THE LION follows the journey of the newly appointed joint-kings, Alexander’s half-brother Philip Arridaios and his infant son, Iskander (Alexander IV) through Asia Minor to Macedon, until the year 310 BC when tragedy marks the end of Alexander’s dynasty.
To be a part of this literary event and join the ‘Shadow of the Lion’ open social network group on Facebook, click here.
To keep updated with posts from W. Ruth Kozak via the dedicated ‘Shadow of the Lion’ blog, click here.
To read more about the creation of this thrilling novel in a recent interview with the author given to FTP Magazine (the free online magazine from MEDIAARIA CDM) click here.
 SHADOW OF THE LION is the first historical novel by W. Ruth Kozak to be published by MediaAria CDM. Book I ‘Blood on the Moon’ is due for release Summer 2014 and Book II ‘Fields of Hades’ in 2016.
 
This press release has been viewed 65 times on PR Buzz.

Scrivener

Nobody ever explains to young writers the basic necessities for writing a novel in order for it to be published.  Years ago, I did take a correspondence course from the Institute of Children's Literature.  I  received books from them and did write papers for them.  One actually turned into a movie that starred Kevin Bacon who appeared on Jay Leno tonight. I was reminded of the movie that is in part based upon an assignment from that correspondence course.  At least the movie followed the problem of the first writing assignment.  Mine was never finished.  I let the reader hang having to put in his own conclusions...they did not like that of course.

But the entire course took place during a time when I was super sensitive to Hollywood ripoff's and their listening in to every word that was spoken in and around me. I actually developed a deep antipathy towards the people who were either reading my mind, or deliberately eavesdropping in on our conversations. I spent many hours with General Hospital trying to figure out which it actually was, mental telepathy or eavesdropping.  ABC and I together have done a lot to prove that the t.v. is ever with me no matter where, no matter when.

So anyway, I bought into this Scrivener word processing program since taking the time to do a NaNoWriMo stint years ago.  I began with Alexander even though I had considered suicides on Golden Gate Bridge, but decided that suicide was not a subject that I would want to develop with so little information at my fingertips. I had seen a movie that impressed me, but a novel...No, I don't think so.  But suicide is a subject that has interested me for years.  Most teenagers suffer self doubts enough at times to contemplate it, and I had thought that a book might be in order.  But I opted for Alexander instead.

At that time, I was busy writing all the background as I wanted the Iliad to be the backdrop for the story.  I had intended to use excerpts from it in every chapter heading and to show how Alexander had been so influenced by it.  Since then, I have changed my premise a lot.

A story of Alexander as a biography fictional tale is not really interesting when all it does is follow the history books.  What I did as I began to develop my own project was to use the history outline as a guideline to then go into the characters and consider them.  I will probably publish the entire first draft to show how it changes in the rewrite.  In the meantime I am having to learn how to use Scrivener to set up the book so that I can develop it further.  I should make notes and on occasion have done so as I am still getting spiritual insights through what are called spontaneous memories and  each time that lets me see deeper into the truth of this time period as I see it then...My last vision of Alexander so impressed me about his hardships and mental state as to realize that i had to do this right or it would be just another sorry tale of the past that nobody gives a hoot about anyway.

In the book that I had read about him by Arthur Weigall one gets the impression that Alexander has truly gone mad by the end of his life.  Many perceive him to be this way since he does behave in very harsh ways.  The sad truth is that he was a hardened young man at age 18.  But to see him as I had recently done in one of those in your face, face it, looks at him just absolutely convinced me that while he appears to be mad, murderous, and frightening as all hell, he became that way honestly.

I do not dismiss his seeming madness now at all.  I had hated reading about it.  He is a cruel man to his enemies.  He frightened even his own men.  I could and did see why is all that i am saying now...I realized that I have to paint him true...that's all for now...

I hope that Scrivener will be worth the expense and time to make this book finally happen.

Friday, January 10, 2014

The Hand of God and other things.

Tonight on local t.v. the ABC station posted the photo of the dead star that was x-rayed so that the composition looks like a hand.  The media or NASA dubbed it the Hand of God.  It does look like a hand.  The beauty of it is astounding.  Naturally, it appeared on Facebook in which a million and one comments have been posted about it, allowing people to vent on their attitudes about God and even Satan.  Lord knows that it is a dead star.  But it is a beauty!

One to One

One to one sessions are coming to an end.  Apple lets me know how many days I have left. I had planned a session for this coming Tuesday, but have changed it to the following Tuesday now that I am going to the Desert Botanical Gardens on a free day.  Believe it or not, every second Tuesday of the month, the Desert Botanical Gardens offers a freebie to the adults so that they can bring their children to the gardens.  The Chihuli Glass Sculptures are on display and I want to see them. Thanks to my neighbor Barbara who told me about the free day, we are going to take advantage of it this Tuesday so that i had to change my one to one session.  I  actually first learned about them from one of the tutors who had told me all about them.  So it is rather interesting that they are back after some long absence.

It gives me a chance to use my camera as best I can.  This will be fun to see how I do with it.

Fighting a cold

I try to drink enough orange juice and grapefruit juice to ward off colds but today I felt as though I were trying to come down with one so I went to Walmart and bought two boxes of ruby red grapefruit to eat over the next two weeks.  Natural vitamin C is best anyway and it is the season so I am loading up on that for a month. I checked the old grapefruit diet in which I may be able to lose 10 lbs along the way.  That would be nice if I really could.  I will be weighing in to see if there is a loss or not.

A very tough diet in England that allowed only a protein drink, salad, and vegetables also was used to bring insulin down. I learned that the grapefruit diet actually works and may be able to affect insulin as well.  That is very good news.  Maybe that is why I never had a problem with sugar. I ate so much grapefruit.  Unbeknownst to me, it aids in lowering insulin.  I had no idea until I read it today.

Cats

Greta Susteren shared photos of her husband, two cats, and a dog which were fun to see.  Ozzie and Sharon Osbourne had given her the most beautiful siamese cat some years ago which she named Ozzie.  That cat is absolutely one of the most beautiful I have seen.  She had another cat Bill who has a personality that makes me wonder.  He is pretty but not as glamorous and gorgeous as his older brother Ozzie.  The dog photo was funny with the dog sitting in her chair at an angle that was unreal. Greta is a one fun journalist who also only happens to be an attorney at law.

My cat is wonderful but likes to kiss me awake and I have to giggle outrageously when his whiskers tickle me. I do not think he knows why he gets peals of laughter from me but I cannot help it. I am being tickled by my cat whenever he wants to lick my face.

Horses and Money

I am trying hard to achieve my goal of winning the right superfecta or other exotic bet in the game of horse racing but my zest and enthusiasm crashed after I did not do well at the Breeders Cup.  I am trying to pick myself up to get back into the game again.

I have a favorite already for the Kentucky Derby. I won't jeopardize the horse's chances by naming him yet.  But I am hoping this is the winner.  Anyone with a brain would know why I would want this horse to win it but I won't tell on him yet.

Who knows who will be eligible as they are just starting to filter in.  Only a few have acquired any points at all.

Alexander and Macedon
I tried an experiment tonight to see how it will work.  I put a link on the previous post which I picked up from Pothos.  It is called the Latsis-Foundation, and is a book about Macedon. I have  book on Macedon which contains some of the same material.  This has a few more statues, busts, and a lot of data that I did not know until now. It makes for an interesting read.


Christmas present from Pauline at Pothos.org

http://www.latsis-foundation.org/megazine/publish/ebook.php?book=75&preloader=1

Saturday, January 4, 2014

The Woman with Two Vaginas! (Hazel Jones)

Ohio State- Clemson Game and all Bowl games

First of all, I do not  think that Bowl games are anything but a reward to a great year for the teams, but to win one is of course special indeed.  But not the same as the regular season in which you are accumulating wins or losses.

I am writing this post because I emoted on Facebook about my old time philosophy of putting the team before the Coach.  I am one of those persons who naturally shies away from being in the spotlight so that when I was a teacher and sponsor to the cheerleaders, song leaders, and school newspaper I put the emphasis on the people who were performing the duties of cheerleader or editor of newspaper, etc.  I stayed in the background and wanted it that way.  Of course, when I had  to do it, I stepped forward to corral all the groups together, but I did not want the attention or limelight for the work that they were doing.

So whenever coaches get too much attention for team work, I bristle a lot. I know the value of the coach but it is the team who gets on the field, throws the ball, catches the ball, or gets his butt kicked. It is not the Coach.

I do not even know the coach of Clemson's name nor do I want to know it.  I did not know who Urban Meyer was at Ohio State University until recently.  It appears that some consider his team capable of cheating a lot, and one thing that did disturb me at this Orange Bowl was all the deference given to Ohio State during the game and after the game as well. The underdog team did win and whether honestly or not, is a matter of referee opinion and spectator opinion.  The ESPN network that I watched it on did make a point of showing the last interception that cost OSU the game and the guy did drop the ball which was not allowed in a previous bowl game when that happened there too.  So one might question whether OSU did get robbed or not.  I think so but that is because I think that rule should apply in all league games.  But I noticed that so many reversals had happened to Clemson that I guess the refs were tired of always changing the score.

You can rerun that tape all you want to decide that for yourself. I don't really care.

Anyway, I am a bit inconsistent I admit, because I did have to interfere in my journalism class to write an editorial when Robert Kennedy was shot. I used St. Francis of Assissi's prayer in that editorial too. I loved his famous prayer.

In the end I quoted Edgar Cayce actually by saying what we do to another we do to ourselves.  Like the Golden Rule to do just that, we actually do it in all our actions...To cheat another is to cheat yourself, especially to cheat yourself of a good and clear conscience if conscience means anything anymore in this society.

I always had in my classroom another statement....Virtue is its own punishment...

One day finally we all learn the value of virtue and why it is such a prized commodity. To have lived cleanly and purely should be the goal of each and everyone...it is like the person who abstains from drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and other poisonous substances to one's body. One is healthy, clean, and free from remorse or guilt feelings...Try it. You will learn that virtue is the reward of all rewards...to be free is the best pleasure that one can enjoy.


Dana Landing in Mesa and Gilbert

I called Barnes and Noble this morning to see if I could have them save me a copy of Gwen Hernandez's Scrivener for Dummies that she has written. i am debating whether to take a course online from her on how to use Scrivener but for sure I wanted to read her book that she has written. I read a bit of the intro and liked it immediately.

I had just gone to Biltmore Apple to have a one on one with a girl who turns out to be from El Paso and who had been an English major in college  also.  I was trying to relearn hyperlinks and she showed me something new in it so that it came a lot easier.  Turned out that we have a mutual interest in our literary interests as all her favorites are also mine.  But I had read mine much sooner than she did and at her age I am wondering about her now.  I cannot believe that a 28 year old girl could have read all the books that I had done in the 60's.  I am highly suspicious about this even yet.

 But she helped me with the s.d. card and told me not to worry about ruining the s.d. card...she was sensible.  She also helped me to get rid of the Verizon popup that was irritating me.  And she even was able to get a map of Phoenix to Mesa so that I could find my way from the Biltmore to Barnes and Noble.

I learned about the Faulkner/Hemingway feud which I made a note of while relearning hyperlinks on pages. Pages has a new icon, having changed the ink bottle into pencil and paper...I did not even notice it until she showed me. I asked her about the one on one sessions for next year and she helped me to understand that situation too.

So I made my way from Phoenix to Dana Landing to find Barnes and Noble and sure enough, I had little trouble in finding both the place and the book. I bought it with a bit of a tussle with the seller/cashier because I wanted to look through it before purchasing it...I held my own.

Then I went to Pei Wei, an Asian fast food type restaurant, where I had caramel chicken with white rice and vegetables.  It was quite satisfying since I had not had breakfast even and have been hungry all day. It is all that I have eaten this day.  Except for some pieces of delicious ham that I finally put into freezer bags and into the freezer. I ended up with 18 bags of ham that should see me through February or til February 15.

So now finally I may begin tackling this novel at long last as I think I should do now.  I rewrote it again while driving cross town. I do that all the time, and I know that all the ideas that pop into my head I should write down.  But you know the way it is with writing....once started, it is like popcorn or Lay's potato chips...you just can't stop.

I finally turned on my navigation tool in my car to come home. I had realized that I should have turned it on going there but i had already checked it out on the phone map and I was sure that it would not be difficult to find...and I was right about that.  I think my navigation tool is wonderful despite the fact that I did not always listen to instructions.  I would not take the freeway when it is twilight and near dark. I won't drive on it in the dark.   I had had a panic attack while going down 44th street near the airport when it all of a sudden turned into a serpentine road that i could not see more than a few feet ahead of me...made me mad as all get out but luckily I was alone so I could drive at snails speed on it...My first time on it so I was a bit unnerved by it as I have been cussing out these serpentine roads that Arizona engineers have been building...what the heck is the matter with these dimwits?

When I reached Basha's where I had to pay my utility bill I turned the navigation off.  I did not need it but it was interesting to see it in operation.  I will use it much more often from now on. I love this car more and more all the time despite my misgivings about a few things about which I cannot control.

I am always trying to decide how much to develop Alexander's parents when he is a child.  Many authors spend a lot of time on research when writing a novel.  The truth is that all research can reveal is the locations of events but it can never give you the everyday minutiae of routine living.  That will be author's imagination totally even if based upon historical records.  Historians cannot put the words into the character's mouths accurately because all that historians do is copy or paraphrase the stories that were known in that time.  Which means it is all hearsay and really cannot stand up as to anything but an attempt to keep some kind of written record whether true or false of the events of the times.

So now I am going to read this book for dummies to see if I can make this program work for me.  As I have a first draft attempt on a possible way to present the early childhood of Alexander, I must now see if I can improve upon it through this use of Scrivener's word processing tool.


And on that note since it is 2:30 now I am going to bed hopefully to fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.  Good night.


Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Harry Nilsson - Without you

Burt Bacharach / Herb Alpert ~ This Guy's In Love With You

Doris Day Secret Love 1953

Rent the Runway: Chi Omega of Kent State University

Bobby Driscoll's Final Role

Old Town Tortilla Factory

Elvis Presley - Hurt (Live Elvis in Concert 1977)

Wayne Newton Interview About Elvis

Wayne Newton Takes A Strip Off Johnny Carson

Marilyn Monroe - Gladys Baker, Marilyn"s mom ...RARE

Elvis Presley - You'll Never Walk Alone (take 1)

You'll Never Walk Alone - David Thibault (Elvis Presley)