Blog Archives

Lets Get Political!

6/27/2015

Alright folks, let's get political! Since our elected leaders at both the state and federal level are giving people whatever they want, I figured I'd make a list of my own "want list." So Dear Congress, here's what we need in America:

1. Term limits. Obviously, you're tired if all people have to do is scream loud enough for long enough for you to give them what they want. Enough with career politicians. If term limits are good enough for the President, the Vice-President, and Governors, then it's good enough for Senators, House Representatives, Judges, and appointed officials. 8 years maybe, 10 years tops, then you move on to allow fresh faces and new ideas while you integrate back into the reality you've shaped all these years. Don't be a wuss. Be a real person like the rest of us for most of your life. Trust me, the world looks different when you have to live with the decisions you and your buddies make every day.

2. You got the unrestricted freedom to marry, and I want the unrestricted freedom to carry. Has anybody noticed that all of these mass shootings have happened in places where people aren't allowed to conceal carry? Schools, theaters, churches - nobody shoots up the mall because they don't know who might shoot back! People with a CWP have gone through extensive firearms training, and frankly I don't think anybody but a doctor or an establishment serving or selling alcohol should have the right to tell us that we can't carry. I've had enough of people trying to victimize me, and since I got my CWP, it suddenly quit happening. The reason is simple: it evens the odds in an uncomfortable way for the bad guys. When people creep up close enough to catch sight of the .32 or .380 in your purse, you're a much less tempting target. Suddenly, they don't need the ride, the spare change, or the directions so badly anymore. I had somebody try to shove me in my car and force me to drive them to the boonies once, so you're darn right that I'm a right wing nut about gun rights.

Don't restrict guns. Let those of us trained to use them protect ourselves and others. Trust me, I have a degree in psychology, and I can tell you that the uncertainty of whose packing will be a more powerful deterrent to the next radical that the media or jail will be.

3. Make the penalties for animal abuse the same as they are for doing it to a human being. Studies have proven that most murders started out by harming and killing animals because a $50 fine and a "don't do that again" isn't a powerful punishment. You know those horrible pictures of abused animals on TV and social media aren't effective either, because like shootings in places that don't allow people to conceal carry, the people doing it just don't get it. They're hard headed enough to block it out. On the other hand, I'll bet murders would drop significantly if you could get death row for that dog or cat you abused and killed. Add that to unrestricted freedom to conceal carry, and this country would be a safer place.

4. Get progressive enough to shorten the work week to 4 days. Our State House and Senate only convene for 3 days a week, 6 months out of the year. Excuse me? A 2 day weekend isn't long enough for anybody to get anything meaningful done, and get some rest - and you know this. The people making the rules aren't working 40 hour weeks, so why is everybody else expected to do it? Make 32 hours a week a full time job. Doesn't Denmark do that - and they're rated one of the happiest countries in the world? Yea, there you have it. Forget taking down flags - what we really want is a shorter work week!

5. Do something about radical terrorism already. When these radical extremest say "death to American's," they mean all of us, regardless of race, sex, religion, what flag is on our State House, or who can marry whom. Isn't anybody worried about that? Does anybody care that there's an entire group out there that wants to purge the earth of Western Society? Folks, we need to quit fighting each other and deal with these radicals before they take us to World War III.

So that's my list to scream about. Who's with me? If we make enough noise, we can make it happen, folks. Just take a look around.

That's all today. Take care, and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Bye!

Bound by a Flag

6/24/2015

If you live in South Carolina, you can’t hide from the great debate: should the Confederate Flag fly on the State House grounds, or not? The widespread consensus is to take it down, but you have to realize that supporters of keeping it up believe their reasons are as obvious as the ones to take it down. It is an undeniable part of our history, and symbolically it means something entirely different to them than it does to everybody else. We’re in the south, remember …

People take symbols way too seriously. I saw proof of this last summer when I posted some sigils I found on Pintrest as a reference for my writer friends, and many people I personally knew completely freaked out, because they thought it meant I was practicing witchcraft. I was absolutely shocked at the extreme reaction people had to that posts. Obviously, they’ve never read a word of my writing. But on the plus side, they were on their best behavior around me for a good while after that, and all for a post that wasn’t even meant for them. Hey Cinderella, I didn’t say the shoe was yours, but if you choose to put it on and walk around, then the blisters are your own fault.

It concerns me that people are being equally emotional about a flag. You may just be hearing about this, but the Confederate Flag debate has actually been going on for over a decade, and people are extremely emotional about it. They take it personal, and when pictures of Dylann Roof surfaced with the confederate flag, the focus of this horrible incident shifted from nine lives lost to the rage that symbol created. Indeed, the headlines shifted to the flag a mere two days later, and a week later they're main news, while the people senselessly killed are relegated to the background.

It shouldn’t be this way. Why does a symbol matter more than people? Why are we focused more on something with a shifting interpretation over the facts that a hate crime occurred? I have two bits of news for you, folks:

1. Take down that flag, and you’ll see 100 times more Confederate flags flying in South Carolina; and

2. It’s going to happen again. Taking that flag down won’t stop it, because ideas come from the within, not without. These hate crimes have become part of the world we live in. We have radical terrorism to thank for that in my opinion, because 911 taught people that taking their malcontentment to the streets in big, bloody ways catches attention through headlines, which is exactly what people want when they commit these heinous crimes, domestically or internationally. The only difference taking that flag down will make is that the next time, everybody will say “don’t look at me, I didn’t have that symbol up to invoke this violence!”

Look at that picture. That flag is doing what it's always done. It didn't kill anyone, or tell anybody to kill anyone. All it does is flap in the wind, and these emotional reactions give it a tremendous power that it shouldn’t wield. It worries me that the focus shifted from real people and real lives to a piece of cloth. It’s like a person I once knew from Africa said about voodoo: it can’t hurt you if you don’t believe in it. If you don’t believe what the flag stands for, then you should be spiritually and mentally strong enough to wield the power to strip it’s meaning in your life, and look away. It has no power other than the power you give it, so stop giving it victory and claim that for your own.

Take the flag down if it makes you feel better. People are going to be who they are regardless of a symbol because ideas come from within. But if it changes your world for the better, then go for it. I guess you’ll have to find another symbol to blame next time. Clearly, the people don’t really matter if we care more about the meaning of things that can’t see, hear, or talk over the lives of those who live and breathe in the real world.

That’s all today. Take care, and have a great rest of the week.

Bye!

The Real Blame for the Charleston Shooting Is ...

6/20/2015

Not guns. I have yet to see a gun sprout legs, walk to a destination, and open fire. Somebody has to pull the trigger. At least, all of my guns stay right in the safe until I take them out, take them to the range, and fire them.

Not the Confederate Flag. It's merely a symbol, and as with all symbols, the perception of what it means varies. We as a society take symbols way too seriously. It's almost funny how people freak out over them. But the truth of the matter is that if a flag talks to you, then you're schizophrenic.

Not the education system. Dylann Roof went through the very school district that Rick works in (he might have even attended the middle school where Rick works, but Rick can't recall because that was before iPad wonderland hit them and he had to work with the students on a daily basis). I can assure you that Lexington School District One does not teach, endorse, or condone the beliefs that Dylann Roof have claimed in the wake of his massacre. In fact, it's in direct opposition of everything they teach.

The real blame for the Charleston shooting on Wednesday night is society. Simply stated, the people around Dylann Roof listened to his racist claims since the Travon Martin case TWO YEARS AGO, and didn't do enough to refute them or bring Mr. Roof's beliefs into better balance. Much like radical terrorists, Dylann Roof was somehow exposed to extreme beliefs, and chose to accept them because there was nothing there to bring those beliefs into proper perspective or balance. I'll go so far as to say that all these people that knew him saying "I had no idea!" probably not only listened to these views, BUT PROBABLY AGREED WITH THEM TO HIS FACE. Whether they shared them or not, the simple fact of the matter is that they did nothing to correct erroneous thinking because he graduated from school, was an adult, and had his 'rights.' Translation: he was antisocial, and had a .45, so they were scared to disagree with him.

Herein lies the hypocrisy. When I was 21, people weren't afraid to get in my face and let me know how they thought I should live. I had just graduated college, was engaged to Rick, and was job hunting, and EVERYBODY let me know that they knew more about life than I did. Then again, they didn't have to fear me shooting them for running their mouths. If I had known 18 years ago that a .45 and scowl repelled unwanted advice, I might have have adjusted my approach to adulthood. And unfortunately, others are learning the same: scare people enough, and they won't mess with you.

The problem is that this is incorrect. We need to stop being scared and get a better perspective on when it's appropriate to intervene. People's rights and opinions should be respected, but we need to use some common sense and realize when a person honestly and truly needs correcting. And stop saying you didn't see it coming, because if you open your eyes and drop the denial, then you can because the warning signs are ALWAYS there. We just ignore them because we don't want to be inconvenienced with the problem, not realizing that taking the time to speak up could potentially save a life - or in this case, nine lives. Two years of "oh, that's just how he is" has caused nine people to die that shouldn't have. All the jail, punishment, ranting, raving, and rallies can't give them back the gift of life that Dylann Roof stole from them Wednesday night. You can't go back, and now so many people have to go forward with a hole that shouldn't be there.

It's a shame in so many ways. So stand by Charleston and remember: no matter what the pundits and the media tell you to believe, it boils down to one thing: Dylann Roof was just plain wrong, and there wasn't anybody there to tell him otherwise until it was too late.

That's all today. Take care. Have a Happy Father's Day tomorrow and a wonderful rest of your weekend.

Bye!

Stuff You Don't Need to Know (Maybe)

6/17/2015

The thing about being a writer is that you pick up knowledge that isn’t good for anything, unless something strange happens. Then again, reality can be stranger than fiction, so you never know what might be helpful when life gets weird. So in case dark matter tears open parallel universes, aliens land on earth, your illness is really a demon possession, or a mysterious stranger offers you a favor, let me offer you these tips that I’ve picked up from my writing research to make dealing with the mysteries of life easier. I’ve put the book I was researching in parentheses so you’ll know where and why I stumbled upon these strange tidbits of knowledge:

There are actually three stars in the Alpha Centauri system (The Earthside Trilogy). Most people know that our closest celestial neighbor is a binary system composed of Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B, but there’s a third star not far from them – Proxima Centauri. You can’t credit the scientists with being very creative with their names, and at a distance of over four light years, we aren’t likely to visit there soon. There’s nothing to see there anyway, as there are no habitable planets in that system. So if Earth is destroyed and we have to find another planet to inhabit, we’ll have to look a bit further.

Dark matter is real, it’s everywhere, and we know nothing about it (Splinter). For all its appearances in scifi, it’s still a great mystery to scientists. We know it’s around, but nobody knows what it does, or why. Speculation makes for great stories, though, so here’s hoping they don’t discover anything that makes any of our stories completely wrong or irrelevant!

Medications for emotional disorders are a game of trial and error (Obsidian). I knew this from a few people that have struggles with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, but I didn’t realize how much doctors have to experiment and adjust medications for mood disorders to get the right balance until I was researching Obsidian. It happens with medications for physical ailments, but it’s more of a balancing act with the moods than with anything else, because no two people react the same. That’s why it’s vitally important for people on these medications to be under close watch by their physician. And by the way, antipsychotic drugs should NEVER be given to a person with dementia, because it can accelerate their decline, and even cause death quicker.

A word of warning: while this is good to know, it won't win you friends or influence people in a good way, especially with those in the medical community. For some reason, they get pissy when they find out that you know this tidbit of information.

Some people still believe that illness is a demonic attack (Anywhere But Here). It’s commonly known that people in Biblical times believed this, and that many of the “demons” that Jesus cured were physical or mental ailments that had people in bondage. When you’re sick, it’s certainly tempting to believe it’s demonic in nature, but there are still people in this day and time that believe any kind of sickness is a result of bad living or bad thinking. Science has confirmed that a positive state of mind is helpful in accelerating healing and keeping a balance that helps you resist disease; however, it can’t alter biochemistry, physical injuries and imperfections, or viruses and bacteria that don’t know or care what you think. I guess I could believe in demons making me sick a lot easier if I didn’t have narrow sinus passages prone to problems. I haven’t been able to ‘think’ those nasal passages any wider yet, and must rely on the ‘magic’ of antihistamines and saline rinses to keep them clear of those ‘demons.’

Djinn are to Islam what angels and demons are to Christians (Move). Genies are popular lore from the east for a reason: Islam believes a third race of beings was created made of smokeless fire called djinn. This is where the legends of genies in lamps that grant wishes like you see in Aladdin come from, but alas, they are not cute and fun. In fact, they’re quite dangerous, because they are the angels and demons that Christians believe in, and for better or worse, they believe that djinn on Earth are dangerous and humans should not intervene with them at all. Plus, those favors come at a price, and it’s usually big and painful. It gives new meaning to “be careful what you wish for.” Now when I get a pesky waiter at a restaurant or store that won’t leave me alone, it makes me wonder if they’re a djinn, and I try to get as far away from them as possible.

I’m always stumbling across more random facts, so stay tuned. You never know what I’ll discover next, or how it can come in handy outside the rabbit hole of my writing.

That’s all today. Take care, and have a great rest of your week.

Bye!

Super Motivated!

6/13/2015

There seems to be something in the summer air that has people super motivated to get things done. That's good! I was worried after the massive amounts of distractions that I dubbed "spring break psychosis" around Easter that the heat and humidity of SC summers would create widespread madness once this time arrived. I'm happy that people have regained their focus, found some goals, and are pursuing them with dedication.

Yes, it has people busier. More people doing things means heavier workloads, but we're willing to work it out as long as they work well in advance of deadlines. I think that's the main thing: be mindful of when things are due and how much time you have to work with, and pursue these goals in a balanced, motivated manner. As we saw during spring break, chaos and madness lead only to perpetuate themselves, and lead to confusion and greater mess instead of achievement.

In fact, this "super motivation" in the air has spread to infect even me! I've completed rewrites on two books of The Earthside Trilogy, and hope to get the third book done and have a good, solid second draft by the end of June, and a third, revised draft before my work meeting this fall. Rick and I are also plugging along with our diet and T25 exercise program, and are happy to see results, both through losing weight and feeling better and more energetic. And the house is clean, organized, and well stocked, with chores and errands done and ready for a day of rest tomorrow, and to tackle a brand new week on Monday.

It feels good to have that inner motivation going, doesn't it? There's nothing like it, or the feeling of achievement once you see the fruits of your labor in success and an organized, happy life. Keep it up, everybody! Let's make this a great summer through achievement, success, and progress. Fun isn't just in idleness. You can enjoy your journey to greater things, as well - so take advantage of the time and the season, and let's see how much we can make of it!

That's all today. Take care, and have a wonderful weekend.

Bye!

How to Keep Your Job From Killing You

6/7/2015

It’s official – office work will kill you. I’m not talking about heavy workloads, exploding emails, ceaseless telephone ringing, miles of piles of paperwork (on your desk, or digital), office politics, cliques, parking, or that fowl smell that permeates the restrooms after 2 P.M., either. Discovery News recently identified 8 ways that your office is killing you, and all of the factors have more to do with the effects of a sedentary job than with the actual mental affect that being a cog in the wheel will have on you.

While the report had some merit, I wondered if they weren’t too quick to attribute some things (like loss of sleep, weight gain, and high blood pressure) to office work that, in fact, isn’t unique to this setting. I didn’t see any comparisomes with people who’s jobs required more physical activity. Nor did it mention results from a baseline group that doesn’t work at all (which would mean testing the unemployed). That being said, I also wouldn’t completely discredit the study, because it made points that office workers need to be aware of, and offered some good tips on keeping in balance – eat right, move around more, get out of the office every now and then, get enough sleep, etc. Having been an office worker for nearly 17 years myself, I would add these suggestions to keeping in balance when your job has you on your butt behind a computer all day:

1.       Take some time for yourself before work. Are you one of the many people that get up at the last possible minute to rush about getting ready, and head out to work? If so, you’re missing an opportunity to set the right tone for your day. All of that hustling and bustling to make work the very first thing you do in the day is allowing your job to take over your day. Don’t allow that to happen! Get up a few minutes earlier so you can have time for breakfast, a cup of coffee, catching up on the headlines, etc. I get up 30 minutes earlier than I need to because my husband goes to work an hour earlier than I do, so it gives me time to see him and do my Bible reading and prayer time before I get dressed for work. Don’t let work be the first thing in your day. Give some time to yourself and your family first.

2.       Be mindful of what you listen to on the commute. Years ago when I was seeing a therapist, I was puzzled when she asked me what I listen to on the radio during my commute. When I told her I that I surfed the stations until I heard something I liked, she shook her head vigorously. “No, no, no! What you listen to in the car, even during a short commute, can have a more profound effect on your mood than you realize!” She suggested listening to Christian radio or classical music. I was skeptical, but tried it anyway. What a profound difference! I come into the office more relaxed and in fact, it worked so well that I recently got a radio for my office desk, and I listen to classical music and news on ETV radio during my workday. Sure, you may need some rock music to pick you up and launch you into your day if you’re sluggish (I do every now and then), but make sure that what you listen to is making you feel better, not worse.

Other alternatives are news radio (as long as you aren’t one to pop your top or get scared over the headlines), audio books, or courses on CD. The Great Courses offers many great classes on CD that are split into 30 minutes lessons. I’ve tried a couple of their courses, and they’re good. They cost a bit of money, but if my commute were longer, I’d consider that investment every now and then.

3.       Get away from your desk during lunch at least twice a week. I heard this suggestion at an administrative assistant’s conference over a decade ago. The reason is that you need to physically remove yourself from the stress of your work for at least an hour a day to refresh and restore yourself. The person leading the session actually said to leave your desk every day, but we all know it’s not good to eat out every day (plus it’s not affordable), and if the weather is bad, then you might not want to leave the office. Still, it is worth stepping out on your lunch hour at least a couple of times a week. Meet family or friends for lunch, or go home if you work less than 15 minutes from the office. Take a walk, run errands, go shopping, or just wander to the office kitchen or canteen to see what’s up in the social realm of your work world. But whatever you do, don’t skip lunch at all – you need to eat to keep your blood sugar up – and do get up away from the desk at least a couple of times a week.

4.       Make an exercise program part of your daily routine. I’m surprised the report didn’t recommend this, given the number of times it mentioned obesity and high blood pressure as huge risks of a sedentary office lifestyle. Daily exercise 4-5 times a week is an excellent remedy not only for too much on-the-butt time, but for stress as well. It gives you more physical and mental energy to get through your day, and it’s a great outlet for the stress that bogs you down, consumes your mind, and causes you to spin your wheels. You’re spending the energy anyway. Why not channel it benefit you through improving your mind and body with physical activity, instead of tearing it down with useless worry and anxiety?

One thing that sold me on the T25 program that I’m on with my husband was the ad where Shaun T said “can you give up 25 minutes scrolling on your telephone to take care of your body and feel amazing?” Yes, I can, and so can you. No matter how busy we are, we always seem to find time to check that phone, surf the Internet, or watch TV. Give up just thirty minutes four or five times a week, and consider it an investment in yourself. Believe me, it does make a difference. You’ll be amazed at how much better you feel, and how much you’re able to accomplish with that extra energy as well, despite losing the time it takes to exercise.

5.       Have a hobby. Preferably, something you can do by yourself without having to depend on others to partake in it. Writing, reading, arts and crafts, woodworking, gardening – anything that you do simply for the joy of doing it is good for the soul. You need something of your own that gives you an escape from reality every now and then, and it needs to be something that’s totally your own, and nobody can put their hands on. Hobbies are a great way to claim your authenticity, your individuality, and your joy. Find some “me” time for things that benefit you for at least a few times a day.

No job is perfect, but I don’t think that office work is the doom of modern society, either. Sure, there are things we need to be mindful of in these unique environments, but that’s true of every profession in the world. The trick isn’t really at where the risk is, but in how well you take care of yourself and keep it in balance with the rest of your life.

That’s all today. Take care, and have a great week.

Bye!

Indie Author Summer Feature - Exodus

6/4/2015

The year is 2072, and Earth is going to die. That’s the catalyst for Andreas Christensen’s book titled Exodus, Book 1 of The Exodus Trilogy.

America is a “one party system” (translation: dictatorship) under the leadership of a President who demands absolute conformity to his ideals. What’s worse is that people have handed over their freedom in the wake of a nuclear terrorist attack in Seattle. Science has also drawn inward when the government disbanded NASA after an epic failure colonize Mars. It’s too bad that everybody stopped looking around, and started looking at one self-absorbed moron to lead them by the nose. Otherwise, they might have seen the rogue planet entering our solar system before it collided with Mars, and set on a collision course with Earth with only 8-12 years to prepare. Humanity’s only hope is to scramble to design a spaceship to send a human contingency to another planet orbiting 55 Cancri, which is 40.3 light years away. Technology and science are in a mad scramble to find a way to bring the mission together quickly and quietly, lest it be sabotaged by political terrorists or worse, dissidents to the current U.S. Regime.

What impressed me about Exodus was how well Christensen balanced all of the story elements, from humanity, to politics, to the sciences and social aspects, both amongst the “selected” and those who remained behind. This novel was obviously well planned, well researched, and definitely well plotted. It moved along at a perfect pace to keep me intrigued, and the “downtimes” were well utilized to fill in readers with backstory and knowledge they need to stay up to speed with the characters and world environment of the time.

Overall, Exodus is an excellent novel well worth the 5 star rating that I am happy to celebrate here. I’m intrigued by the new world of Aurora, and look forward to learning more about our brave, spacefaring survivors in Book 2 of The Exodus Trilogy, titled Aurora. Thank you, Mr. Christensen, for sharing your vision of our near future, and I look forward to returning to your world so I can enjoy the rest of this intriguing story!

Exodus is available as a free ebook download.