Who I am, what I want, 2014

The year 2013 was problematic and I withered a storm that may have felled many a redwood in one swift breeze.   I literally had to huff and puff to find a home to live in and a way to pay for it.  There was also a very large dragon with gold-plated teeth.   Her drama was a black hole,  where the spirits of men and women alike are sucked into the event horizon.

I set out to find the Milky Way where my consternation and self-doubt may be eased.   The dragon’s flames are less able to conflict with my own ethereal sleep but her raven lurks still at my brother’s house.

HIs situation is a cauldron and everyone there fears the next explosion.   Her  own mother is helpless the kids are held in a force field of malevolence.    I would find it hard to believe if someone told me ab0ut her.   How people can live in darkness,  on purpose and then blame others and the world for their own vices.

She is setting her own children up for many missteps and she doesn’t care.   She turns on the electronic babysitter and sleeps until after noontime.  The kids are left in that whirlpool,  circling around as she snores like a chainsaw and dreams of way to sustain her narcissistic pleasure.

I am free from her vices but I fear for those still there.  Her own mother is afraid of the beast as her fledglings are used as pawns in a kind of blackmail to keep her mother in check.   She is like a female shrek,  oozing about but alas,  I no longer care.   I just wish evil would go away.

There are some things that I cannot control and she is one of them.   I do not have to hear the frantic jousting that can rip that house apart.  If it were not for the kids and my brother and his wife,   they could just self-destruct.

However I do believe the dragon will be slayed this year.  The charred remains will be swept away and I hope she finds some peace because I will not wish bad upon another person.  That is no way to be and I refuse to be a part of that kind of thing.   But chemicals make people do things that they otherwise might not.

With severe anxiety I am getting help with that but much more of that and I would have self-destructed.  Crushed by the tail that lashes with impunity .

The Thing is that there is hope now.  I can go to where my cat is and trust me, she is happy.   No longer caged and wandering expectantly for me to return.   She purrs most of the time and does what cats do very well,  sleep and eat.  lol

The Debate Over Women, Feminism and the archetype.

Hollywood is at fault for much of what plagues women in this country.  In the movie Dazed and Confused,  Matthew McConaughey plays a partying fool who hangs around a pool hall where young teenaged girls hang out.   As he eyeballs a young girl going by he mentions he gets older but the girls don’t.    It is not hard to extrapolate that.

Those two clips make my point but that is not all.   In the movie Fast Times At Ridgement High,    Phoebe Cates breasts were perfect but that is sad,  because is this what she wanted to be known for?    In Porkys we had underage boys chasing prostitutes.   In ‘Valley Girl’  there is Jo Beth Williams pining for a teenager,   while Wiki-leaks mentions how Valley Girls are promiscuous!   And even if this were necessarily true,  what does make these boys????

The girl on the left was doing what Valley Girls and he was just some spoiled rich boy,  getting what he can get.   In White Oleander,  the foster-mother told Astrid that she didn’t trust the girl and a man is going to get what he can or something to that effect.    In this scene,  she was taken advantage of.   The media infer that women ask for it and while I was in Tampa and listening to a talk show about a rape in Miami where a woman wearing see through clothes was asking to be raped!   I couldn’t wait to call that out and got hold of Jay Marvin and told him that,  “there is an inherent sexual bias against women and this kind of rhetoric proves it”.

He said I was the first intelligent caller of the night and they may or may not be true but I loathe hypocrisy.  And that definitely was misogynistic to imply women are whores,  sluts, c**** or any of that.    I have to hold myself back from kicking their collective asses.  After suffering a childhood of abuse to my mother by my dad and what I went through,  I am in no mood to sugar-coat this or win points with anyone.    To see a women cower or being cowed makes a red light go off in my head.

At the same time I do not like those who attempt to paint all men as lecherous fools.   A couple of years ago,  Michelle Malkin’s teenage cousin went missing in the Seattle area.   Well NPR thought it was kind of funny considering Malkin’s politics and they actually made fun of the situation.      It was not so funny to liberals when Kennedy had died and remember Kennedy let a young woman drown.    I do not think either situation was humorous in any way.   Where is Marizela Perez?

http://michellemalkin.com/category/marizela/

My point is that this is sad.  Feminist leaders need to step out and decry this because Perez has been missing for almost three years.  I know if a liberal feminist’s daughter were missing this would be a bigger story.   But we are caring humans (I thought) and what happens to a young girl, especially Asian girl is frightening.     Politics has no place in this but I wanted to show when it does and what it does to women.  Perez’s story is very sad and not ‘just’ a story.  Millions of young women around the world are being abused and while ‘abortion’  is very important but women are suffering in third world countries and they are suffering now.   These are not interesting stories,  these are real.   Little girls sold by their parents!!!  And we whine over BS that is merely superficial.

I imagine if we could,   we would storm into those countries and rescue the girls that need hope,  because poverty and perversion has nailed these ladies to a cross of suffering.     Peace on earth?  Goodwill to men?   How about mankind?  Women-kind included? Right?

So today I am reading a blog and the discussion of feminism.  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/snow-white-doesnt-live-here-anymore/201208/who-are-the-real-feminists

Who Are The Real Feminists?

      You don’t see women as just a man’s way of making more men? You’re a feminist!

Published on August 1, 2012 by Gina Barreca, Ph.D. in Snow White Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

If you’d told me thirty years ago that women would be arguing over who counted as a “real feminist,” my response would have been to point and giggle. Until very recently (roughly three hours ago) the “f” word–“feminist”— was considered something a lady shouldn’t say in public.

I’ve had otherwise sane female students, for example, trip all over themselves to avoid using the term: “I’m getting a doctoral fellowship from NASA after I complete my NEA grant but it’s the work I did for girls in Tanzania during my Peace Corps stint that’ll be my legacy, I hope, but gosh, no, I’m no feminist. I like wearing earrings and I hope to get married one day.” They think feminism is all about wearing your hair in braids and yelling slogans blaming men for stuff.

(There are six women in Berkeley still doing this. They’re great, by the way, and I’m grateful to them for getting the whole brouhaha started.)

But for most people—and I’m one of them—feminism is the belief that women are actually human beings.

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I assume everybody I meet, men and women alike, are feminists; I give people the benefit of the doubt.

You’re using cutlery to eat your food, you don’t wear T-shirts saying “Men: no shirt, no service; Women: no shirt, free drinks!” and you don’t think women are just a man’s way of making more men? Then, honey, you’re a feminist.

My vision of feminism is sort of like a hip nun’s vision of Catholicism—affirming to all and not guided by rule-books or doctrinal declarations.

Women waste a lot of time trying to judge ourselves fairly and evaluate the worth of our own lives.

It’s the moral and ethical version of trying to catch a glimpse of yourself unawares in a storefront window; it hardly ever works. Current cultural cliches would have us believe today’s woman is either trying on filmy negligees while having the nanny deal with our many offspring or else having our bunions shaved from wearing our hard-working shoes, but that’s not how it works for most of us. Our lives are complicated and no, we’re not Meryl Streep, so the complication isn’t wonderfully charming.

The lives of all adult human beings are messy, awkward, and often so fundamentally odd as to be unspeakable except in the privacy of barrooms or the produce aisle of Whole Foods and women are no exception. Yet we keep thinking we should be; we keeping we are not included in “all adult human beings” but must be separated out into increasingly smaller categories.

Let’s stop that, shall we? There’s important stuff to be done, like living life with joy, living it fully, and making sure the lives of those around us are better, healthier, stronger, and that everybody—everybody—has an equal chance for a life well-lived.

That, sweetheart, is the feminist agenda.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/taslima

A lot of valid points and I would strongly suggest reading about Taslima Nasreen and what she is doing to fight misogyny against women,  no matter what religions might suggest.   WE CANNOT wait for political bodies to convene,  because some of those hate women and that sickens me.   It sickens me because somewhere a female is suffering while most of sleep narcissistically oblivious to that pain.   This is not about bashing anyone except real perpetrators.

Phony takes!!!

What is one of the easiest topics to write about?   Racism!   More than any other ‘ism’,   this ‘ism’ can hunt.    And I say that rhetorically because there needs to be a distinction between imagined oppression versus the real thing! What is the real thing?   Oppression of women around the world can be alarming.   But I will get back to that part later.    The link below is a lame attempt to claim ‘victimization’. 

http://thenerdsofcolor.org/2013/12/11/whitewashed-tv-isnt-just-racist-its-boring/

This is sophistry and immaturity taken to new levels on a topic that is pure fabrication at it’s best,  a testimony to a society of narcissistic youth who see themselves as victims.   Rosa Parks,  that was truth,   Jim Crowe Laws,  that stuff really happened.   And while there is real abuse happening on so many levels around the world,  our young adults are transfixed on themselves living in a never-never world of stupidity.

Now I did mention reality awhile in this blog.   That reality centers around a great woman,  who has suffered more at the thoughts of world-wide misogyny than her own safety.   You think I am being overly dramatic?  Read this woman’s story below.   She is more than a hero,  she is a woman who has incurred the wrath of leading Muslim Clerics.

I challenge any woman reading this to not be inspired by her work and then to stop focusing on B.S. and start talking about the pain of women around the world.   Women who have received at best a life of continued abuse and at worst, their own lives.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/taslima/2013/12/05/fatwas-court-cases-now-an-fir-against-me-for-telling-the-truth/

Taslima Nasreen is her name.  And here is her blog.   Feminists,  this is your hero.  Please read.

“LUCKNOW/KOLKATA: An FIR has been lodged against controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen for allegedly hurting religious sentiments following a complaint by a prominent Muslim cleric of Uttar Pradesh, a charge which the author said shocked her.

The case was lodged at Kotwali police station by Hasan Raza Khan Noori Miyan, son of the “sajjadanasheen” of Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat Maulana Subhan Raza Khan Subhani Miyan, who objected to certain tweets by Nasreen against clerics on November 6, police sources said here on Thursday.

In the complaint, it was alleged that with her remarks against clerics on Twitter the writer had hurt the feelings of the Muslim community.

Noori Miyan said a fatwa has been issued in the light of Hadees and Quran. It was demanded that the passport of the writer should be seized and she should be arrested.”   

The point to all of this is perspective.  A casual commentary about liking more people of color is true,  but to depict this young lady as a ‘pale white girl’  makes me want to throw up.   That is blatant bigotry and would make any parent angry.   And another thing in the movie ‘Avatar’ the Spanish-speaking lady was edgy.   I think she was Puerto Rican.   Oh,  so that means all PR ladies are edgy?

Anyway,  take a look at this heroic.   Read her factual stories of abuse to women.   If you want to make a change in the world,  do more than name streets MLK BLVD or other token offers,  because children of the poor need a meal more than rhetoric and hate speech against white people as somehow acceptable fare.

Dreaming in Filipino

Dreaming in Filipino.

 

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Welcome to the Philippines

I want you to know straight-up that I am Pro-Filipino and I am for a variety of reasons and I am here to say that the ‘stereotypes’  are largely wrong.   For you out there who complain about ‘foreigners with accents’,  I want you to know that most Filipino work very hard at perfection their enunciation and grammar.   And those ‘phone center’ jobs do pay a lot more than they can get in the Philippines.    So I do not like that,  when I hear it.    Be patient and they are not taking anyone’s jobs.  They apply for them.

I saw somewhere and hear others saying that we should hire ‘our own people’.   First of all,  who is our own people and how many who make this claim either have their own job or would even work that job?   And who is to blame them when jobs pay poorly and many items they need are expensive there as well? 

    They travel long hours and wait for hours just to get an interview.   It kind of reminds me of being in the military waiting in long lines.   They do not go to the manager and expect him to drop everything because you are you.    In otherwords,  they have bigger fish to fry,  if they can afford them if you know what I mean?

In the Philippines are 7,107 Islands (many are uninhabited) and their official languages are Filipino and English.   In fact,  most classes are taught in English.   But those islands,  they are magical and outside Typhoons they are largely successful.

The climate is pretty nice too,   that is if you like hot and muggy,  but if you have lived in South Florida or the Bahamas you can handle it.    Those typhoons (Hurricanes here) are quite strong but they are not the only thing that causes heavy rains.  You also have the InterTropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ),  Monsoonal Setups and Areas of Low Pressure.   All these can affect the Islands with Torrential Rains.     All this rain accounts to the lush beautiful landscapes across the Islands.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertropical_Convergence_Zone#South_Pacific_convergence_zone

You can get more information on this situation by clicking on that link and as you can see,  it is very noticeable.  The depiction in black and white actually shows Hurricane Bill and is one of the more impressive satellite features.   The Philippines has their own version of the National Weather Service.   It is called PAGASA.    It is an excellent site!!!

http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/wb/wxfcst.html

http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/  

There are some pretty good music stations and many broadcast in English and Tagalog.   Some of the larger more famous cities are Manila,  Cebu City and Dipolog City.  Their major TV station is TFC (The Filipino Channel) and one of their top programs is called, ‘ Eat Bulaga’.    http://www.watchpinoytube.com/gma/eat-bulaga.html

Like here in the USA Christmas is big.   There is one expression Pasko Na,  music about Christmas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasko

That link will describe it better than I can.   Suffice it to say,  it is a very holy time.  From the 16th-Christmas Eve is called Simbang Gabi and Pilipino people will attend Mass everyday quite early.   It is a very nice tradition!

And to everyone who reads this,   Merry Christmas and Pasko Na.  ( I am no expert so please forgive my mistakes.

Whitewashed TV isn’t Just Racist, It’s Boring!

Whitewashed TV isn’t Just Racist, It’s Boring!.

I was kind of miffed at not being able to comment.   Now the first issue I have the kind that go like ‘pasty,  ginger,  lily white, pale,  etc.  That is all bigotry.

You have a voice here just like everyone else.  Here it  is not about race but skills.

 

Put Your Big Boy Pants On, Democrats

Put Your Big Boy Pants On, Democrats.”

 

I hear the thunder in the distance.    It is our Special Forces,

I love the Mighty Ducks

Sometimes I just don’t get people.   With all the talk of Duck Dynasty,  there is more than the ‘gay’ topic.  It is deeper than that.   It is ‘political’.  But instead of having differences and accepting them,  we want to foist our decisions upon one another with punctuations marks.

In Les Miserables class warfare was well represented.  Just as it is today.   Moreover the lack of compassion sizzles in the face of desperation.  Poor Fantine,  poor Javert and poor Valjean.  To the system he was and always would be a number.  We treat each other as numbers every single day.

For the smallest of sins we are ready to skewer everyone but ourselves.   I have committed ignominious transgressions.    I regret any suffering my life has caused and rather than pawn them off on my tormentor.    Why?  Because I could not let it go.   I could not forgive.

I feel kind of close to what Valjean must have.   I also knew the best remedy was to try and do something good for others.    Not as any kind of vindication but as an indictment against man’s cruelty to men,   women and children.  Murderers killing another offender does not make them less guilty of their own murders.   As it does NOT exonerate us for our own foibles.

The larger point is the finality of law and it’s myriad effects on families and generally across our world.  Take prohibition.   We got the idea that we could cure a lot of the nations woes by restricting alcohol use.   But what about the people who were convicted?  Are they now no longer convicts?

It does not benefit society by passing legislation as a symbolic act.   Later on when those consequences catch up to them (offenders).   Now they cannot feed their family and when unemployment runs out and food stamps can’t be had,  they resort to stealing a loaf of bread?

Then they are arrested and the key is thrown away.   Now the situation becomes more dire.   The kids become hungrier, they wear rags and scrounge through dumpsters as a way to survive.

Simple perspective could alleviate a lot of suffering.   But do we cling to myths and do we forget about these sufferings during a movie or football game?   Are we heroic because we cry at injustice on TV while down the road is a family without a blanket?   I am not saying we are uncaring but we can be.   Otherwise we not be fighting over a Reality Show and treating this man’s opinion as being more important than kids with no toys,  no father and no place to live?

We can condemn Valjean because we might have a badge.   We can bust 20 years old for drinking while so many of those officers drank at 18,  whether legal or not?   We are good at passing rules and LEOs are muscling up and treating suspects as if they were already convicted.   This is a true indicator of our society’s altruism.   Not some fake TV anchor talking about a soup kitchen or Benny Hinn and those bodies hitting the floor.

So let’s get this straight.   We are human but sometimes inhumane.   We relegate our caring to a check for some cause and while sometimes,  like in the Philippines that is the best way to go.   The bottom-line is what the grand dad said on that interview matters but only in a small way.   We have bigger Carp to fry.

Hug a neighbor you make not like.  Nurture the broken-hearted,  and listen to their words.   Do not offer rigid advice meant only to make you feel better.    And if you do not like Duck Dynasty,  do not watch.

Virginity Is A Social Construct

Good points and very true. I appreciate when men call themselves whores, but I do not like when a woman is called that. It pisses me off, actually.

The Belle Jar

Jezebel published a piece today with the title “Nearly 1% Of Women Claim They Were Virgins When They Gave Birth,” and, because this is Jezebel we’re talking about here, they used this as an opportunity to shame and belittle the women who say that they became pregnant while still virgins. And just so we all understand what author Erin Gloria Ryan means by virgins, she writes that they are women who,

“… were unpenetrated by the peen of a man when they became pregnant.”

She further explains,

“This doesn’t include women who became pregnant via in vitro fertilization or artificial insemination; these are women who gave birth the old fashioned way and were like *shrug! SERIOUSLY GUYS I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW THIS HAPPENED!”

Then (incorrectly) asserts,

“Getting pregnant without sex is virtually scientifically impossible, yet dozens of women in the study (who were teens when the…

View original post 946 more words

On my way to Grandmother’s House.

Sixth grade seem to be the best time of my life;  I was popular and we had the greatest teacher in the world.   I wonder about Mr. Ader from time to time. He was like ‘To Sir With Love’  for preteens.    We had mock trials to demonstrate the legal system and the defendant was charged and convicted of bullying.  Oh and I was the plaintiff.   Then there was the 1PM milk call and how delicious that was.   I really loved it when he decided we needed a break and we ended up in the gym,  playing Dodge Ball and listening to music.    I was very quick on my feet and did very well.   And those milks cost two cents, chocolate milk was four.

Even our bus trips to and from school were so awesome as we sang songs and I discovered love.   Cheryl Johnson was her name and just the sight of her sent paroxysms of love through my body.  Our actual first time together was at the Fall Festival at North Hanover Elementary School,  not far from Ft. Dix/McGuire,  where my father was training to be an Air Force Recruiter.

For the Fall Festival,  I was slated to be a pumpkin.  My parents and myself formed a pumpkin big enough for me to hide in and supported by hangers as the frame and it was quite sturdy.   When even had a hat/stem made of green machete and at the given moment I would pop up and dance in circles.    Charlie Brown,  I was the Great Pumpkin!!!!    After our plays we changed,  it really was like a mini-prom.   Me in my little suit and the parents of the girls were smitten by me and many said I looked like ‘Opie Taylor’.    But it was all good,  getting pictures taken with all the pretty girls while holding their hands.

Our next stop was upstate NY,  in the southern tier on the PA/NY Border.    When we pulled in our trailer (yes we lived in a trailer) we were pulling onto land that was in our family for about two centuries.  The area was Barton/Ellistown and we lived on Ellistown Road.

We were clearing out brush,  demolishing an old house that was full of bees.   We had quite a few acres of land and the land seem to go on forever.. The greenhouse was old and on the side of the office were the words ‘Brink’s Greenhouse’ and it was full of antiques, an old cash register and all sorts greenhouse paraphernalia .   Just to the north of Ellistown Rd was old Route 17 and it was part of a historic event (outside our family) and that was the migration to Woodstock.  I was 13 at the time and one hippie had asked me for my bike and was offering like 50 dollars.   My brother said I should have taken that offer.  I am sure he would have.

Our little town.

Lots of great memories but perhaps one of the greatest was my Grandma Tribe.  She was a Norman Rockwell creation and although she was eccentric,   her house was full of food,   candy,  potato chips and pop. (soda).    To get to that place was a very long trip and boring!!!    And our hope would always be that our cousins would be there.   My grandfather led an interesting life.  Work in factories but played in the Industrial Leagues.    He used to outrun the police cars on horseback when young.      He tolerated his wife’s eccentric wife but really did love him.     They both loved their kids and grandma waited for the one nephew to come home and after he did,  she passed peacefully.

 

Earl Tribe, 94, formerly of Mansfield, PA, December 9, 2002 at Broad Acres Nursing Home, Wellsboro, PA.  He was born May 22, 1908 in Halsey Valley, NY, the son of Clifford & Mabel Brooks Tribe.  A retired mechanic, Earl had been employed with Keystone, Canyon Construction, & Webb Rice.  He was a member of the Whitneyville United Methodist Church & the Mansfield Grange.  Earl is survived by 3 daughters, Beverly Olson of Mebane, NC, Freda Kwiatkowski of Lakeland, FL, Ronnie Mason of Wellsboro, PA, 14 grandchildren, 36 great grandchildren, 9 great great grandchildren, a sister, Ruby Williams of Bradenton, FL, a brother-in-law, Willis Eddy of Little River, SC, a son-in-law, Lester Crumb of Elmira, NY, 7 nephews, & a niece.  Earl was predeceased by his first wife, Freda Cleveland Tribe, his second wife, H. Louise Brink Tribe, a daughter, Donna Tribe, a grand daughter, Kimberly Crumb, & a son-in-law, Robert Mason.  Friends are invited to call at the Gary Wilston Funeral Home 18 N. Main St. Mansfield, PA, Wednesday 7-9 PM.  Funeral services will be held there Thursday at 11:00 AM, with his grandson, Rev. Dennis Crumb, officiating.  Burial in Roseville Cemetery.  Sympath”e” cards may be sent to Earl’s family at http://www.wilstonfuneralhome.com “OBITUARIES”

The old house we traveled to in Mansfield was along old Route 6,   down a dusty partially paved route.   You could sit on the front porch and listen to the cars and trucks go on the New Route 6.   

 That last part of the trip down the Old 6 was kind of spooky and kind of fun.   A couple miles down the road on the right was where they lived and my mom grew up.   As the obit showed there were  a lot of grandkids.   The house was busy like I said but we kids would go outside and play basketball.    We nailed an old rectangular box to the side of the barn garage and shoot beach balls through the makeshift hope (box).    At our Uncle’s House we would leave the farm and go to town to play Little League and Babe Ruth baseball.   I so loved that.    Grandma’s house was full of antics, especially the parlor.   After her death the family split all of that,  some quite expensive.      I remember sock puppets and Charles Chips.  And who can not forget the old Grandfather clock that was in the living room next to the fire place and close to the front door.   At night we would listen to the clock chime and while sleeping upstairs we would imagine the place to be haunted.

We also used

On the way home down old 6 and near downtown was the Farmer in the Dell.   It is no longer there but serves as a reminder of a time when Dairy/Ice Cream Parlors were popular.   An olden day Baskin n Robbins complete with Whole Milk. When it snowed we used to ride the saucer down the driveway or our sleds but had to be careful because at the end of driveway and across the road was a deep ravine.    One day while in the car waiting of our parents I was in the front seat.   I released the hand brake and the car started rolling backwards and ended up across the road,  hung up in the fence.   Lucky for me.     Grandpa Tribe was the GateKeeper as kids streamed in and out of the door and the familiar comment,  ” either stay in or go out”!!!    Bet everyone has heard that before.

   My grandmother just loved to go to Lancaster, PA and take grand children and great grand children along.  We would also go to the Hershey Plant and while in Lancaster would laugh at the sign of a town that was called ‘Intercourse’.  I bet Beavis and Butthead would have loved that.

And there will always outings with the family and I think my dad resented going to Mansfield and he and my mom would have words,   we were scared of a bad fight but mom kept it in check pretty well.  I also know that her dad did not like him,   though my dad like Grandpa Tribe,    He just disliked Grandma.   But she did for us out of love and we will always to have fun.