Saturday9

Heartbeat Song

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: Heartbeat Song (2015)

... because Cat recommended it

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Kelly Clarkson is singing an upbeat song about falling in love. Think of your favorite love song. Is it about finding love or losing it?

I like the one about finding love coming down in three part harmony, but, in fact, I have no single favorite.

2) This song was co-written by Kara DioGuardi, who was a judge on American Idol. Kelly was, of course, the first American Idol. Do you watch Idol, The Voice, or America's Got Talent? 

No.  If any of them came on Netflix I probably would.  Commercial television, add that to your survey.  You are the single source of bread and circuses in the last century.

Take that you Asshat Fox News Producers!

3) In this video, Kelly is blonde. Clairol based a famous ad campaign around the assertion that "blondes have more fun." Tell us another commercial catchphrase (it can be for any product at all).

This one really isn't for me, is it.  I don't watch TV and hardly EVER see a commercial.  I hate commercials.

4) As a young girl, Kelly wanted to be a marine biologist. She jokes that she changed her mind after seeing Jaws. Tell us about a movie that really scared you.

Ding ding ding..."Pitch Black" is the winner.   If you want to be scared out of your wits, I recommend it.

5) Kelly is very involved with NASCAR, performing at pre-race concerts and appearing at their Champions' Breakfast. Are you a race fan?

Idon'tthinkso!  That is not to say I don't like speeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed.

6) Kelly is married to Brandon Blackstock, stepson of country superstar Reba McEntire. Are you a country music fan?

I like Country music.  A lot.

7) The Blackstocks have a baby girl, River Rose. In May, the family visited an Australian wildlife preserve and introduced her to koalas and kangaroos. Have you visited the zoo this year?

Imho, the only good thing that Zoos do is that they have a frozen sperm and egg bank for endangered species. So, the answer is, "not in this Decade or the last one, either".  

Oh, and Safari Park, I know all about the piles and piles of native species animal bodies that have been put on the funeral pyre in the back country.  Eye witness accounts, too.  So, bite me! ( The unguilty may avert their eyes.)

8) Upon learning that she was getting criticized on Twitter for being "big," Kelly responded, "Say what you will. It's a free world. It doesn't bother me." How about you? Do you worry what other people think of you?

Well, the answer to that is pretty obviously, "No, I do not".  See answer #7.

9) She bid over $200,000 and won a ring that had once belonged to Jane Austen. (She doesn't have the ring, though; the British government banned its sale because it's a historic artifact and Kelly's money was returned.) She also has a first edition of one of Austen's novels. Who is your all-time favorite writer?

Fiction or Non-Fiction?  I've probably read upwards to 30,000 books in my life time.  I find it hard to settle on an all time favorite, but Mysterious Island made a VERY big impression on tiny, mini me. Life was never the same after that book.

Gosh, this was really fun!  Thanks, Gal!

Friday5: Something's Fishy here.... Very Finny!

Friday 5 for July 31: Fresh Catch

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

What were your feelings the last time you stood on a scale?
Frankly, I was appalled.  I can't put on weight.  After knee surgery it is a big NoNo.  Had to quit fitness because my arms went "south" and I didn't allow for that drop in calorie consumption.    

In what ways are you old school, and in what ways are you new school?
I'm old enough to be traditional- mostly, and that would include bygone social mores, academically (a believer in life long learning) and artistically (If it looks like a pile of junk, it is a pile of junk).  

New School?  Well, I'm very inclusive of other colors of human beings, other cultures, religious beliefs (live and let live), and Clothing styles- aka Dressing.  I love almost all the new fashions even when I can't wear them.  I soooo Love me some Crocs!  Let's see, that isn't fishy, is it?  hehe

What big event is coming down the pike for you?
Getting the side yard planted and a dry stream bed in there.  The torts love the yard just the way it is, but they do NOT rule!  Take that, little bossy monsters.  I have to be careful out there in the back 40 in summer.  The little dinosaurs try to eat my toe nails because of the color, usually pink or red. 

"Strawberries! Yum!  Pile on, Guys!"

From THIS Excellent Blogger
This tort sends out radio signals so she can be tracked

If you follow "The Guzzler" blog, you will be right on top of everything going on, mostly water wise, in the South Western states.

In which social situations do you thrive, and in which do you flounder?
Basically, I am at home in any venue.  Anyone approaching me has, I feel, got to be on common ground if they are human at all.  I'm not intimidated by any sort of human ranking.  Well, maybe some "Uniform" with an M-16 might be able to intimidate me.
 

You don't want to know where this came from

When was the last time a fad hooked you?
Fads, hmmmm?  Polka dots!  The first dress I made in Junior High had nice pink polka dots on a white ground.  But you already know that.  That's truly the last fad that grabbed me.  Heck, I still carry a pocket knife.  They are very handy.  But, that's very Old School.

Thanks for participating, and may your anemones have terrible weekends!
Why thank you, and may your anemones also just leave you in peace!  

Churches launch a worldwide council in support of garment workers.

As reported in August, 2013:

The Council of Churches Worldwide launch a Crusade against abuse of garment workers in Bangladesh.

And a report from Aljazerra America about what's happened, or not, a year later...

What this transformation from slave labor levels will take is less proselytizing - from sites I've read, one can tell it's thick and deep - and more actual growth in areas that are neither political nor religious, but economically revolutionary.  This is specifically by Fair Trading these goods.

These workers deserve nothing less than an all out effort put forth to insure living wages, a fair pay scale, and safe working conditions,and this all organized around the Garment industry just as other producers of products for Western markets have done with raw goods, such as tea, coffee, and chocolate, etc., for world wide markets..

I hope this makes sense to me but especially to you tomorrow; I am so tired.
PS:  Friday5 was not up at the time This was scheduled.  But, I will append it to this post tomorrow if it's been updated.  Good Night and Blessings..

Thankful Thursday... Remembering a time before Fast Fashion, and it's costs on the human beings making it.

First I'd like to say this:

I'm thankful that my daughters have not had to work for less than $3 a day at a sweatshop in order to put food on their tables.  My sister did work for an American company as a presser when she was a teen, and it was hard work, by the piece, but at least it was fair.  And, the working conditions were up to labor standards, and law. 

I remember when the business was moved to Mexico.  I remember when a jobber told the owner of a garment factory there in Mexico, that if he, the owner, couldn't meet the now reduced piece price, that the work was going to China.  And that's exactly what happened.  I remember all these things because I follow trends.

I remember when the not very well disseminated plan in Iraq was to seize the oil fields and then use the revenues to pay ourselves for reparations after we'd accomplished regime change.  This seems to be the way Globalization of jobs works, too.   Make someone else pay for cheap oil.  Someone else pays for all these cheap clothes.

Corporations named in the Documentary (link to follow) have made billions even after a thousand seamstresses died in Bangladesh when the multi storied building they were working in crashed to the ground.

The poor girls and young men who work in Fast Fashion in the "Third World" are not protected, and you will be shocked to learn that even poor, tiny Cambodia has suffered, yet again, from some huge, seemingly unstoppable foreign force that has ruined their economy except for the privileged few.  People have been killed by government forces breaking up their rallies.  I'm so disgusted with fashion now.  I will never buy any clothing from anyone who  is NOT affiliated with groups who are doing Fair Traded Fashion Designs.

Since I am a seamstress and have done alterations, Fashion Design and the clothing industry are something that always gets my attention.  Since high school, having made much of my clothing for myself both because I enjoy sewing, and to save money, I had continued sewing for my DH, and for our daughters, while they were young.

So, you can imagine, this was a Documentary that I wanted to see.  It was shocking to say the least.

 It's available on Netflix.

Want a hard look at the so called Fast Fashion movement?  Have  a look HERE.

Elle magazine calls the whole situation, and I quote: "Gut Wrenching and Alarming"

The message is, and I'm taking it, is to know what you are buying, both clothing and leather goods, and care about the welfare and hopes of the ones who are creating it for you.

Wordless Wednesday: Archangel Haniel

Source page

Thankful Thursday, er Tuesday...Books! This is for the tailless ones.. Google+ Trafficking.

I suppose this could be called a Tailless Tuesday post.

We live in a time of immeasurable wealth, not in the usual sense of the word, the mundane money gatherings, but in a time that is glorious by the fact that we have, at our disposal, the thoughts and speculations about our Universe, and World and their workings from all the great minds of the past, and that we can read these philosophies in our native tongues.

That, to me, is truly a miracle which slowly evolved, but a miracle nonetheless.  People who are intent on limiting knowledge, for the most part, have been denounced and banned.   How lucky we are that when we look back down through the ages from our own vantage points today, we can still read those works and ponder them in our hearts.

This ability to commune with great minds of the past is made possible because we have books some of which are almost as old as the oldest civilizations.  And lucky we are that these books were preserved, and translated by others who came before us; those who wrote treatise after treatise upon these ideas in their books.

You may think of yourselves as very lucky and blessed by this because it is nothing less than miraculous that more and more burning of the Libraries, like that in Alexandria, or the Nazis' book burning, have not occurred.

We are Lucky, Tailless ones; we are so very Lucky.

----------------------------------

And now for something completely different...

I've decided to be a responsible user of Google+.  No one not in my circles gets past the electric fence.  Also, I've removed any third party link from this blog that might be sending you cookies, and I apologize that you've possibly been used in this way.

Additionally, I'm contemplating removing the Google+ tag from my blog.   What I may do is drop any entity from circles which appears to be a commercial site.  If you are in my Friends circle, or Family, or in the Bloggers, you will still see this blog there, because my original intention in using Google+ was because friends, fellow bloggers, and family are there. 
I know there are a lot of very nice people in the world, but there are also people who piggyback in and misuse good intentions for their own commercial selling.  Sad but true.

To whom it may concern:  I do not - now nor ever- desire to see, or to purchase, a Palatial home in Scottsdale. AZ.

Accidental Art- #20 something

An Occasional Series...  actually, it's #28.

Peels and Flowers- Pre compost study?

Music Monday: Van Morrison, "Sail into the Mystic". Janis Joplin: "Ball and Chain", And Pink, "Me and Bobby McGee"

I love to hear him sing this:
Van Morrison



The amazing Janis Jopland, "Ball and Chain".  The real thing.



She was only a couple of weeks younger than I am, and Part of my generation.  She had her sound, and she put it out there, and lived right out on the edge, too.  Rest in Peace Janis.

Mr. Z and I saw her, once, in concert in a smallish venue.  She was the real deal -a hot, gutsy all out blues singer right to the end.  No camp and no crap.

I like Pink, too.

Flying away... Sunday... Stealing away....

July 25, 2015

I’ll spread my wings and I’ll learn how to fly

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we try to credit the blog that we stole it from. We also provide a link to the victim's meme in our "Previous Victims" widget. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") Sometimes we edit the original meme, to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, to select the best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from this new meme or recently asked questions from a previously featured meme.  
Cheers to all of us thieves!!!

I’ll spread my wings and I’ll learn how to fly Meme

Stolen from: Gabs survey

1. Have you ever had a pen pal?
Since I was little, I've had pen pals.  Now, there are three people whom I write to regularly, though it is exclusively Email, nowadays.  I'd be happy to have more but now they all read my blog.  What else an I possibly tell them in a letter?

2. What’s your favorite breed of dog?
I like all dogs regardless of breed.  If we had a big yard we'd have more dogs of all kinds, and even a few VERY BIG dogs.  Except for some pretty specific breeds, like Poodles and Shelties, I love Mutts best!

3. Can money buy happiness?
Money can buy stability in a time of need, it can do a lot of things toward happiness but it can't buy happiness.  Happiness is a state of mind.

4. Do you listen to music when you’re down?
I listen to music all the time.  The main reason I watch/listen to the credits is the music.

5.What is one thing you spend way too much money on?
Yarn and fabric.  I'm fighting off the urge to buy drapery and curtain material since there is a fantastic sale on it at JoAnne's.

6.Can you honestly say you’re okay right now?
I'm sleepy and need to get to bed because I was up all last night, but I really am OK right now.

7.What was the last thing you spent money on?
I bought the book in the side bar, used,like new.  I'm going to start reading it tonight.  I read myself to sleep if it works it's great, if it doesn't then I have to give up and turn off the light.

8.Is your current hair color mostly your natural hair color?
Yes, I have salt and pepper hair, more salt than pepper now but still, when it's wet from the shower it looks a lot more dark than light.  Most every other black haired person probably has this happen, too.
9.Who have you texted in the last 24 hours?
Today, I texted absolutely no one.  

10.Were you in a good mood last night?
I was sick last night, so no.  Today has been fine though.  Yay!  

Let's Dance!

11.Do you have a reason to smile right now?
OH baby, there is almost always a reason to smile. :o)  So yes.

I just want to eat this little baby up! 

12. How often do you hold back what you want to say?
Quite often because I want to hear someone out before I say anything, usually.  I'm more like a Navajo in that respect.  Give the talker some room please!  Unless they start gesticulating really close to my face and then I just have to ask them to back off a bit.

13. Do you think that in the end, everything will fall into place?
In the end, everything will fall into place.  In the end you either get something done, or you don't and find out that something else faces you and you deal with it.  You never know, something the "other thing" turns out better than anything you could have ever planned.

Either thing could happen and who is to say a lot of grief wasn't avoided when you doggedly trudged on to the ice cream store, and they were out of your favorites. Maybe your least favorite relative came by and You. Weren't. There!  And, you've had some good exercise and More Money!  You've also had a nice walk too, with plenty of time to smell the roses along the way.

14.Are you currently looking forward to anything?
I look forward to every single day.  Something good is going to reveal itself, or maybe a challenge but I do believe, you remember I'm a Quaker, that what is going to teach you, delight you, challenge you can happen at any moment.  The only certainty you have is that you will not walk alone through it.
15.Do you have any TV shows on DVD?
The only TV show DVDs we have are Downton Abby.  That Bug really bit me Hard, Mama!

Lord I am so tired that I'm going off to bed right now with my book in tow.  Have a great Sunday!

I know, three in one day! Hang me up by these crooked thumbs! Monarch Tracker Site

Here is it, Harriet!

The proper one...

Journey North, Citizen Scientists!

It's an Annenberg Learner site.  Thank you Annenberg!

Wolfie, asleep and content.  He no longer freaks out at sky shows from the blasted money pits called sports stadiums.

Saturday Komeekz.. Potato song, Life Lessons from a very kind and wise man...and web jigsaws - yay!

I plan to do both of these things- Keep Calm and Carry on, and Keep Calm and Speak up for Animals.
The Crab, I think is cute but not very huggable, but the watchdog, I want to adopt and bring home to an all new life of lots of hugs and kisses!  The funny little crab reminds me that you can be angry, even damned angry!  But, you should calm down so you don't suddenly turn up your toes with a coronary!  So, then you can then carry on.
This is one of my newest stress busters.  They are just Brilliant fun!

Elle gave me a first Gen iPad, and this is my prezzie from DH.
So, I can read books and do puzzles on two little machines.  Yes, I know they aren't mechanical but I love machines so there you go.  Everything that does stuff inside is a machine to me.

This is just crazy fun!




Have a great weekend!  

Saturday9

Ooops!  The darn thing posted!  And, as of a quarter to midnight, it's finally straightened out!

OK, We'll start with some "other" numbers:

And now for Saturday9
All the Way

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: All the Way (1957)

... because The Gal Herself is into Sinatra

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Frank sings, "who knows where the road will lead us?" Which leads Sam to ask, does your vehicle have GPS?  
No, it does not, but we have a handheld GPS from Rockhounding.

2) Sinatra introduced "All the Way" in the movie, The Joker Is Wild. During that film he also sang "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)." A few years later, in the movie Robin and The Seven Hoods, he declared Chicago as his "kind of town." Besides Chicago, can you think of another city Frank immortalized in song?
Yes, or at least I think I do.  He also sang "New York, New York".  I, too, like Frank Sinatra.
  
3) When Frank was 19, he saw a pretty girl sitting on her front porch, giving herself a manicure. He went and got his ukelele and serenaded her. That girl became his first wife, Nancy. Tell us how one of your romances began. 
My "one and only romance" started with a "stunning" premonition, this before DH had even arrived, and then with a dance, and, after that, several more.  

4) Both Frank and Nancy grew up in New Jersey. When you think of NJ, what else comes to mind?
New Jersey used to be called, and may still be called, the Garden State.  It must have been amazing back then.  Almost like an Eden by the sea.

5) Sinatra made Las Vegas as famous for entertainment as for gambling. He was so identified with the Strip, that when he played Caesar's Palace the marquee simply said, "He's Here." Have you ever been to Vegas? 
Several times, and I've just been driving through to get from "here" to "there".  I actually don't like Vegas much at all.  To me it's sort of a sad place.

6) Thin for most of his life, Frank was blessed with a metabolism that allowed him to whatever he wanted without gaining weight. He especially enjoyed clams posillipo. What's your favorite Italian dish?
My favorite is probably Lasagna, but Scampi is lovely, and so is an Antepasto salad.  Yummy!

7) Perhaps because of his hardscrabble childhood, Sinatra was a soft touch for charities devoted to kids. One of his favorites was Variety, which sends disadvantaged children on day trips to museums, zoos and sporting events. Here's your chance to tell us about a cause that's near and dear to your heart.
Right now I want to know what is going on with babies in Vernal, Utah but really, anything to do with children, all the other animals and their environments.  

8) Sinatra was a neat freak who couldn't stand dust or clutter and showered at least twice a day. He got this from his mother Dolly, who was compulsive about housecleaning and hygiene. Can you think of a time when you caught yourself doing something and thought, "I'm just like Mom/Dad!"
I'm a lot like my mother.  So, yes.  My mother was a deeply loving person who had trouble expressing her emotional depth of feeling.  I've learned to be more open over the years.  Now I guess it's still not exactly full throttle, but it's a lot more "Italiano" or maybe it's the Irish??  Hmmm??

9) In 1998, Sinatra was buried with the things he always had in tow: a bottle of Jack Daniels, a pack of Camels, a Zippo lighter and 10 dimes. Why the dimes? According to his daughter, "He never wanted to be caught not able to make a call." Of course, 17 years later cell phones have replaced pay phones. Anyway, tell us what you always carry.
I always carry ID and a cell.  And, of course, my Rod when it's open season on the L.A. freeways. Just kidding!

Tell the EPA to Save Monarch Butterflies

Tell the EPA to Save Monarch Butterflies

I'm starting  my campaign for the rest of the earthlings...

We used to see dozens of Monarchs passing through our garden in a year, now we are lucky to see 3!  I know that something could have been done five years ago, and nothing was.  This is the North American Monarch.  It's our butterfly!  It exists in no other place on earth.  We just might save it but we are up against Monsanto.  They make the crap that's killing this butterfly.

Friday5 Teaching Expectations, and what they can do for students?

Friday 5 for July 24: Expected Student Learning Results

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! 

Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

A trend in education for the past several years has been to identify the central, target outcomes a school sets its sights on for its graduates. They’re kind of a pain sometimes, but the primary aim is admirable, and institutions who use them well can get a lot out of them. I’ve taught at two schools who defined their outcomes this way, so I thought it would be fun to use one set of them here. There were five, you see.

In what way were you a concerned citizen this past week?
I blogged about alerts from environmental groups and try to stir up more action for them.

In what way were you a clear communicator this past week?
See last week's Sunday Stealing for a clue?  Anyway the rest of the week would yield no example of "Clear communication" since there was nothing that would be interesting to relate here.

In what way were you an insightful learner this past week?
I watched the documentary, "The Widow-maker" this past week.  I'm planning to watch it again. This time I'll take copious notes.

It gets you attention when your 43 year old assistant Veterinarian drops dead of a heart attack with no prior indication of trouble; any concerned person wants to know WHY.

It's my opinion that LarMarj and Country Dew are right, and I know as well, that we have a screwed up healthcare system where making money is more important than treating people in order to get them well without unnecessary surgeries and drugs..

In what way were you an effective advocate this past week?
Other than things mentioned already, I have no idea.  I'm not entirely sure what role advocacy plays at this stage of my life.  I'm much more of a private person than I've ever been before.  I would like to remain an advocate for the poor, of children and of animals, though this will have to be carried out via this blog.

In what way were you a responsible risk-taker this past week?
Now, that's a hard one.  I am not taking on risk at any level anymore.  If it finds me, and it hasn't, I'll deal.  Actually, I'm going slightly eccentric and plan to join an Agricultural  commune(CSA)  That's my risk taking for the future.

Thank you for participating, and may you have an educational weekend!

Thankful Thursday: Healing the Heart

Click it to make it bigger.  Then it's readable.  Very inspiring story!

Wordless Wednesday: a gift of lemons, gift of Rain!

Tuesday Tails, Wasps: Corrected and all....

Now it shouldn't have mistakes in it.  Friends, I have just not got a clue.  Hoping for the best!

A blogging friend, CountryDew, just did a post about a wasp nest, with pictures.

This reminded me that we had had Western Yellow Jackets build inside the wall by a  side slider years ago - they found a tiny hole in the stucco and up under the eave.

We let them live there for the season, and when they all cleared out we sealed the hole up.  They were funny.  At night, if we tapped on the wall, they sent out a little crew to Warriors to assess the threat. These brave little fellows lined the whole tiny entry with their heads and antenni all arrayed in a row.
Sort of like this but much more intense! 

A few individuals got lost in the wall and worked their way through the opening of an exposed beam and into our Great Room.  Those we handled very gingerly!  After all, we didn't know what they would "tell" the others, while they lay dying, if we swatted them.  Would they be able to give their "army" detailed instructions of how to find the same pathway in for a "defense of the nest"?

As a child, I was stung several times by bees and by hornets, black bodied and slender, not chubby like the YJs.  It was the price of living on a farm with fruit trees and flowers.   One year mother went to pick peaches from someone's trees; with this produce she brought home a creature that we knew as a Black Jacket.  My first clue that it was there, was when it started biting away at my underarm.  OUCH!

I still think the busy little Yellow Jackets are cute, as they go about their business of eating garden pests and sometimes fallen fruit, but especially when they land on a piece of lunch meat and start cutting perfectly round discs out of it to carry off to the nest.  When they aren't cute is when they land on the hole at the top of your Soda can, peering in.  This is especially BAD when you do not notice your "visitor" and pick up the drink and take a swig.  This encounter can leave you both breathless and speechless for a time.

Think of them this way.  They are important creatures who have a job to do.
Just don't get between them and their food.  That makes them sort of like a lion, only not so deadly.

Music Monday: A Whiter Shade of Pale, Annie Lennox.

This is so just so beautiful.....



Marvin Gay did this, first, and it was nicked.   It's also beautiful.. It's just a gorgeous song.  Enjoy!

A wink goes out to Sandra B.  Love ya!

Sunday Stealing, and yes a rant or two...

Let's Not Be Difficult

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we try to credit the blog that we stole it from. We also provide a link to the victim's meme in our "Previous Victims" widget. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") Sometimes we edit the original meme, to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, to select the best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from this new meme or recently asked questions from a previously featured meme.
Cheers to all of us thieves!!!

Let's Not Be Difficult Meme

Stolen from: Surveysurveysurvey

No, I wrote this before I took my meds.  ;o)
1. Do you like your movies and books to be more lighthearted or serious? 
Remember, you did ask...

Since I watch a lot of documentaries and read mostly non-fiction of heavy duty messes, I like the rest of it to be lighthearted.  So we watch something like, "My Name is Earl". for fun.  The rest is deadly. 

For instance, tonight we are watching, "Kill the Messenger" a film about Gary Webb, a journalist who first revealed the Iran Contra Money trail through East L.A. and the Jungles of Nicaragua.  Mr. Z found it, and said,"This one will make you mad."  And it did, because, frankly, this Walking Horror of a Shadow Government still infests the entire government.  

That particular bit of nastiness, all the wars promulgated in Central America, killed at least 600,000 indigenous people, and a Catholic Priest, namely Father Billy.  No less a nefarious villain than Howard Hunt once said of the events created there, "We Terrorized those people."

Oh, no, I don't forget the victims, not the ones in Central America, nor the ones in East L.A..  To me that would be a mortal sin, if I were a Catholic.  As an American who has these horrors done in my name, I resent like hell that it happened and still does.  I want these people in jail, or even Guitmo.     
I quit singing for a long, long time after these events.  I took a pledge.

Gary Webb was also a victim.  He did not commit suicide.  Read about it, and how the ignominious end game was wafted by, under the radar, while we of the lowly, unwashed American public, were being mesmerized by the Panty Party Clinton had going in the White House.  These CIA guys don't make the big bucks to stand around with their mouths gaping open and looking dumb in front of TV cameras.
 

The Official Fall guy..
I can't believe that some Boneheaded Congressmen are now trying to start a WAR with Iran?

forgotten fact: night of 9/11, Iran: spontaneous candlelight vigil to express sympathy and support for the American People

by JOE KLEIN ,CNN
"On the evening of September 11, 2001, about ten thousand iranian people gathered in Madar Square, on the north side of Tehran, in a spontaneous candlelight vigil to express sympathy and support for the American People"

2. What’s more important, first impressions or lasting impact? 
For me, lasting impact.  First impressions are not very reliable unless you are terribly Psychic.

3. Order these areas of psychological health from what you need the least improvement into what you need the most improvement in: physical, emotional, social, intellectual, environmental, spiritual 
environmental, social, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical.

4. Do you react appropriately to things and control your feelings? 
Yes, I believe I do.  I certainly don't escalate violence.  

5. Do you have stable relationships? 
Yes,

6. Do you need to be in a relationship to feel good about yourself? 
I really have no idea since I've been in a long term relationship, that works well,  for decades.  I'd hate to have to start out with someone new.  In fact, I wouldn't do it. 

7. Which is the clearest and most concise, your thoughts, your speech or your writing? Which is the least clear and concise? 
Since I am constantly thinking, and sharing views, and writing, all of these things are just about equally clear and concise, in so far as a person can judge them for themselves.  

8. Are you always trying to learn new things? 
Yes.  It's best to keep trying to learn, even though now it's more ethereal than in the past.  It's a lot less Life skill, Arts or Crafting oriented now.

9. Do you feel at peace? 
Sometimes, Yes.  Hmmm, I'd say mostly....Of course, I do not like duplicity in office holders, nor do I tolerate politicos at all well.  I want leaders to be smart, honest and possess a sort of filial piety towards those who gave their lives for their country.  I also want leaders to not be criminals.  Then I'd probably be truly at Peace.  

You must remember, I was born during a war, and there hasn't been peace, true peace, since before that time.  I feel this pompous Game Playing very viscerally.  In other words,  I hate it.

10. Do you have strong morals and ethics that you believe in and adhere to? 
Yes

11. Do you think of the needs of all humanity or just the needs of yourself and those you know? 
All Humanity.  We are, to be honest, and if we are being honest, all brothers and sisters.  It's written in the DNA.  There's some science for you.

12. Do you recycle? 
All things possible, yes.

13. Are you active in your community? 
I was.  Now I'm sort of limited.  I'm really a writer for peace now.  We can't get anything else solved unless we stop wars.

14. Are you sensitive to the needs of others? 
I see that as a duty of a person, either through Compassion or through Kindness owed to all creatures.

15. Do you dress up to go out? 
Not really.  I get some clothes on, clean, and look tidy.  But I really don't go dancing anymore nor out to fancy places to eat.  I don't care to.

16. What could make you lose respect for someone? 
Lies, More Lies, and Fictional accounts.

17. If you won $1,000 every week until you die, would you still go to work?
Doesn't apply.  But, really, what a ball I'd have giving as much of it as possible away!  So, maybe you could say I would still go to work giving away money.  Well, first I'd fix the house up the rest of the way, plant the side yard, and give away everything to charity that I don't want anymore.  Heck, I do that already.  But more money to donate would be a very nice addition!

18. What trend has been getting on your nerves lately?
I guess that trend to make "speaks to" actually mean something akin to "relates to".

19. Do you forgive yourself when you make a mistake? 
Actually the first thing to do is to seek forgiveness from the person you've inadvertently hurt.  Then kick yourself in the butt, pick up the pieces of your "dignity", and go on... 

20. Is ignorance really bliss? 
Bliss really has nothing to do with Ignorance.  

Now I get it.  It's a no brainer!

21. What can be described as ‘even better than the real thing’? 
Sorry, I can't quite make out meaning of that question.

22. What’s in your wallet right now? 
I have no idea, probably my health card and a Costco card.  Old receipts, some fuzz, a spot of change, driver's license... that sort of junk.

23. Do you write letters that you never send? 
No.  If I take the time to write it, it gets sent.  

Stay Safe: Don't ever give me your phone number
I text but don't Tweet

24. Do you ever get the feeling people are laughing at you? 
If they are, I don't normally care.  Unless, of course, I owe them an apology, or they start laughing at my kids.  Then I care.

25. Who’s the one person you’d like to drop a house on?
The Wicked Witch of the West?  Oh, you do not want to know the answer to this....  very bad Karma...

Rain!

We are getting so much rain!  The water butts are filling up again, and since so much goes down the storm drains I wish we had a 5,000 gallon storage tank!
This is so wonderful.  I just hope it's not seriously hurting anyone.
The Back Country SO needs this!  

Saturday Nine. All about the Bubbly

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: Bubbly (2007)

... because Jodi suggested Colbie Caillat

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Singer Colbie Caillat says this song was inspired by a trip to "the beach and having a wonderful day with a person you like." Have you been to the beach yet this summer?
Summer is for the turisti

2)  Are you careful about applying sunscreen?
No, because something in it always finds it's way into my eyes and makes them burn.

3) Colbie made her TV debut in a 2009 episode of Saturday Night Live. Are you a big SNL fan?
Once upon a time I did watch a few shows.

4) "Bubbly" is often a synonym for champagne. When's the last time you enjoyed a glass of bubbly?
New Year's Eve, with the kiddos.

5) Colbie sang the National Anthem at the third game of the Red Sox/Cardinals World Series in 2013. How is your favorite baseball team doing so far this season?
Ques es Baisbol?

6) In 2005, Ms. Caillat tried out for Season 4 of American Idol but was eliminated very early in the process, before she could even audition for Simon, Paula and Randy. The winner that year was Carrie Underwood. Are you a Carrie Underwood fan?
Not that I know of.  Let me ask the rest of the gang just who this person is.

7) In 2007, when "Bubbly" was popular, actress Yvonne deCarlo died. She was best known as Lily on The Munsters. If you had to choose (and yes, this Saturday you have to), would you rather hang out with Lily Munster or Morticia Addams? 
I think Lily would have made a pretty good friend, on the whole.  Especially if you shared her "Hobbies".

8) In 2007, MySpace was faced with a serious challenge from Facebook, and it's obvious which social network won. Did you have a MySpace account? If so, do you still post to it?
My Space, which I started the instant it came out, is probably still flying around somewhere.  And, I just don't do Facebook properly, like twice a year?  It has it's purposes which are very compelling but just not for me.  It's nothing I'm willing to put very much time into.    

9) Random question: Which have you had longer, your ironing board or your plunger?
The ironing board.  I actually am getting some space for it in the SR.  Oh Joy!
I go way WAY back with an Iron, Mama...

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

Save Oak Flat From Arizona Copper Mine

Big international corporations are trying this all over the world, but they don't usually get the BIA under their tires.  This should not be happening.  If you live in the Washington D.C. area, I hope this is a good fit with your stand-up-on-your-back-legs and howl schedules.

We took so much away from indigenous peoples in this hemisphere that people all over the world call Europeans/Americans, but not to their faces, the White Savages.


Save Oak Flat From Arizona Copper Mine

The rest of Friday5.. Alaska! Salmon fishing, Chuckwallas and Bears. Oh my...

Friday 5 for July 17: Looking for Alaska

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Pleae copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

1. Alaska’s motto is “North to the future.” Where’s somewhere north you’ll be traveling some time in the future?

Santa Cruz, our once and future home.

2. Alaska is the westernmost of the United States. What’s the farthest west you’ve been in your country?

Actually, I'm as far west as you can get.  More interestingly, I've been as far East as Pennsylvania but not recently.

3. Alaska’s state flower is the forget-me-not. What’s something you really need to remember to take care of before the weekend’s up?

I must make some lemon marmalade.  Thanks for making me commit to writing that on the WWW!

4. Alaska has cities named Chicken, Beaver, Pelican, Eagle, Badger, and Bear Creek. What place names near where you live are named after animals?

One place in the desert, by the Chocolate Mountains, was named after a lizard.  It's called Chuckwalla Valley.  Chuckwallas are a medium sized,gentle, and adorable California lizard.  We used to play with them and even brought some home.  My Bro, Sis and I eventually drove over and gave ours to the University of California Riverside, to a bemused professor of Biology there.    

The navy closed the Chocolate Mountains and started using it for an aerial gunnery.  Chuckwallas are now an endangered species but they are being captive bred.    

Look them up HERE.

5. What’s something interesting you know about Alaska?

That Bears and fisherman can co-exist as long as there is plenty of salmon running, and the humans show respect by leaving if a bear decides they like your spot better than the last one they had.  Some rockhound friends of ours would go fishing up in Alaska every season they could.  

Thanks for participating, and have a cooooool weekend!

Friday5, the first five bonus questions for now. More later if friday5 goes up.

This is a very long running meme, and one that is always interesting and fun to do.  So thank you to the question master!  Thank you for staying in this game so long.  Big Kudos!

Five Bonus questions:

What did you dissect in high school?
Not having to take Biology, I never had to dissect anything.  In fact, since I'd been raised on a farm, I had already had to kill and dissect chickens in probably their dozens. because we had to eat them.  I wouldn't see the sense in dissecting something that wasn't going to be on the dinner plate.  That's even more cruel.

Oh No, Oh Lord no!

In what non-bathroom places have you relieved yourself?
Odd question, but pertinent to a life in the wilds. The places are, in the woods, behind bushes, and out under starry skies.  I've camped out from the time I was a member of the Brownies, though I'm not sure any of these events occurred whilst a Brownie or a Girl Scout.  These events took place during trips to the desert with family members as a preteen through teens.  

If you’re a neat person, what’s something you’re messy about? If you’re a messy person, what’s something you’re neat about?
I was always a neat and orderly sort of person, but crafting just eats up one's life, especially if one did it as a business.   I've never had a neat house since starting that business.  Imagine trying to run a home business that should take all the room in a four car garage but there is only a small three bedroom house in the way on the lot.  It gets very messy.

This one's more messy than mine.  Yay Me!
Source

What did you like best about high school geometry (the subject, not the teacher, classmates, or whatever)?
I know that this has come up before elsewhere, so I'll answer in defense of the subject.  
Geometry is the only Math that EVER made any sense to me.  I was terrified of having to take Geometry because Algebra was, well, total GREEK to me.  I struggled mightily with Algebra.  But, I ended up loving everything SINGLE thing about Geometry.  I loved my Teachers, one was an amazingly cool professor emeritus in his 80's, who came in after our first teacher was promoted to a professorship at the local Uni.  I liked being thought of as smart in a math class, and that my classmates treated me like a Brainiac because I understood the stuff so well.   That just doesn't happen too often unless you are  truly a genius.

What item at a salad bar gets you the most excited?
Cubes of jello.  It's fun to eat because it jiggles, and it comes in such amazing colors.

Thankful Thursday...

I'm so glad for having a camera.   My sister, Mr. Z and I were discussing how cameras that didn't weigh a ton and a half and weren't extremely fragile turned the world on it's ear.  Cameras have changed Human interaction.  And now, the web has gone one step further.  The Web, and YouTube can bring something that happened, good or bad, to the whole World in a matter of minutes after it happens.  Let's all root for the good stuff to vastly outnumber the bad.

With a camera, you can save pictures of everything that is now Gone from your life.  These are just plants, but two of them were heritage plants from my mother.

Wordless Wednesday a little late... Cowles Mountain cloud formation.

Tuesday Tails.... when we were young... Tortoise overload warning!

In the beginning there were four babies.  Milagro, Dusty, Button and Mosquito.  Milagro and Mosquito star in this video..  Button hadn't been found yet in Fall of 2008

Here are three of first found babies chowing down.  Pic is from 2008 at Christmas when the twins came for a visit.

Sadly, Milagro and Dusty have lost their two, tiny sibs along the way.  Poor tiny Button and Mosquito were always a quarter of the size of the other two because our parent tortoises are somehow different breeds.  The vet at Turtle and Tortoise Society meetings said that made the offspring somewhat less vigorous.  So, the Lotto winners in vitality have been Lucky - their green eyed big brother - and Milagro and Dusty.

The stalwart little tortoise buddies remain alive and thriving, and have spent their first summer and winter outside - under our watchful eyes.  They were introduced to all manner of weather, but if it was forecast to go above 90°F or below 50° F overnight, in they came to weather the hot/cold days in their cardboard box haven.

While outside in their enclosure over the Spring and summer months of last year, the baby torts also learned about new foods!   They learned, from their mother,  that snails great for protein and were on the menu!  Yum!  Birds eat then; rodents eat them; heck, even humans eat them.  So they must be tasty.

"Not if I EAT you First, Free Loader!"

 They learned the joys of digging out of the wire cage and making a break for total freedom- however short lived.  This was something that Magic, who was three years younger, tried and succeeded at, after we put her in with her sibs; sadly, it also cost her her life.  So, with an even sturdier cage being employed, M and D have to dig very far down to get out.

Milagro, always willing to eat, gets a bite of broccoli from Sarah
This was also during Christmas Break in January,2009

All lined up for bedtime under the heat lamp 2009

Milagro, dominates from the get go

Music Monday: Lovely Greek Songs, some about love, and a beautiful pictorial Odyssey of the Land. Enjoy!

Go Greece!

Opa!

Fame, who wants it? Sunday Stealing

July 11, 2015
I Want To Be Famous
Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we try to credit the blog that we stole it from. We also provide a link to the victim's meme in our "Previous Victims" widget. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") Sometimes we edit the original meme, to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, to select the best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from this new meme or recently asked questions from a previously featured meme.
Cheers to all of us thieves!!!

I Want To Be Famous Meme

Stolen from: Surveysurveysurvey

fame.....

1. Would you like to be famous? In what way? 
 No.  Not in Modern Society I don't.  I feel that Fame is an incubus that will take my life and eat up anything I might have wanted to do with it, the path of my Life forever altered by an unwanted fate.

2. Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? Why? 
I might lay out papers, and be ready for any argument the party to which I direct the call may point me, but not really rehearse.  I know plenty of words to take me just about anywhere it might lead.  I'm trained in debate.

3. What would constitute a “perfect” day for you? 
Being able to stand up and walk a mile, stopping to eat something really nice at a cafe with Mr.Z, and then walking back home.

4. When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else? 
This morning while reading Saturday9, I sang along with the YouTubes posted.  Last June, I called up my grand niece and sang The Happy Birthday to her.

5. If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want? 
Well, my Love, if I live to be ninety, that is only 28 years.  A 30 year old's body is going to be running an awfully good mind.  Living that long will give the 30 year old brain much to ponder.  Don't you think? 

6. Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die? 
Yes.

7. For what in your life do you feel most grateful? 
My family and having such great friends.  My Hubby and the girls are the loves of my life.

8. If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be? 
My mother would have been allowed to marry the boy she wanted to marry, and God would work out the rest.  Funny story.  He was a nice Italian boy.

9. If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be? 
Sufi levels of Telepathy

10. If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know? 
Is the Age of Aquarius Real and is it still scheduled, and still on the way?

11. What does friendship mean to you? 
That Two hearts are as close as Siblings.  People's hearts do begin to beat in synchronous harmony when they feel that close,and it is a good thing in life; it's one of the best things.

12. What roles do love and affection play in your life? 
Without Love I wouldn't even still be alive.

13. When did you last laugh? 
Today. 

14. Are you a morning person or a night owl? 
I'm really a morning person but slowly evolved into a night owl.

15. Seen anything weird lately?
Not lately. ;-)

Weird like this?

One last word on night owls and early Birds

Queen! Saturday 9!

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: Crazy Little Thing Called Love (1980)

... because Diana suggested Queen

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this video, Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury is wearing a leather jacket. Do you have a leather jacket?
Yes and no.  I think it's still in the closet but it doesn't belong to me.  Mr. Z. bought it from a friend at work who had brought it back from Bulgaria.  It must be made from the ENTIRE hide, not just the top grain layer because that sucker is heavy.  You could make a pair (maybe two pair) of work boots out of it, the kind that lumberjacks wear.  

2) There's a statue of Freddie in Switzerland. There's another statue of him above the Dominion Theater in London. Tell us about a statue or memorial in your town. 
Ok, you know about the one in Balboa Park.  There is a statue of Mark Twain sitting on a bench in Fashion Valley somewhere, if memory serves.   And then, there is this:

3) Mercury said this song was inspired by Elvis Presley. What's your favorite Elvis song?
This is the first one I ever heard.  The paternal unit absolutely forbade  that his kids would listen to either Rock and Roll or to Elvis Presley.  That was about the time that he bought mother a little transistor radio. Big mistake on his part. LOL!  It wasn't long before my brother and I each had our own because we constantly borrowed hers.  She bought them for us and they came with an earplug.  For a failed Catholic the paternal unit was terribly provincial.



4) This song was covered by the animated Alvin and the Chipmunks. Do you still watch cartoons?
Feature length ones, sure; they are an art form.  We just watched  one on Netflix.

5) The members of Queen met while attending Ealing Art College in London. Are you still in touch with the friends you had in your late teens and early 20s?
Just one... Sweet M.

6) During Queen's hey day in the 1980s, Mercury stayed in shape with tennis and swimming. Are you more accomplished on the court or in the pool?
Actually both, back in the day.  But, well, not anymore.  If Mr.Z and I had been rich and had a pool and tennis courts it might have been different.   The Pacific Ocean served for many years.  God knows, and everyone else on the planet that reads this blog knows, I love that ocean.

7) In 1980, when this song was popular, Brooke Shields made a jeans commercial where she said, "Nothing comes between me and Calvins." It actually only aired for a short time because so many viewers called and complained about it. Have you ever called or emailed to protest something you saw on TV?
TV?  Not bloody likely.

8) 1980 is also the year the Post-It note was introduced. What's the last Post-It you wrote?
One on the computer, that has a little post it feature.

9) Random question: Do you blush easily? 

Hardly.  I am SO over blushing.  Unlike this adorable little bird.