The Sunday Whirl #598- Unforgivable

Unforgivable

The reporting of conspiracy theory scandals was incessant during that world-wide pandemic. The truth had very little to do with anything at a time when a numb public predicably enjoyed many rushes to its own fearful conclusions. After all, our Media whispers layers of gossip in the eager ears of the most vulnerable all of the time in an undeserved tone of ‘moral’ authority. Those who resisted apparent spiral logic became bone-weary from trying to explain evidence that, to most, was just tightly kept secrets made possible by government censorship of free speech. The ruffled feathers of powerful forces directing the raw dishonesty produced scars from weighty consequences they imposed on those ‘non-compliant’ types. It was they who remained undaunted in their pursuit of truthful information that were damaged most while trying to find it. Incremental recent vindication may offer them some small ‘healing‘ but is it all just too late?



https://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/2023/03/26/wordle-598/

The Garden Dawdler 3/26/23 -My Dog Has No Nose Hair

Rory’s asked us quite an assortment of questions.

Is the WHY to everything important?

It’s the most important one IMHO. But it’s the hardest one to answer.
When you consider that as the most frequently asked question by little kids, there’s obviously an innate need for us to ask it.
For people who retain the child’s inquisitive nature, it is THAT question that leads them to a belief in God. There’s a point at which the exhaustive layers associated with “Why?” can’t be answered any other way.

What would you list as your Top Five Fun Things?

Number One is to laugh, and number two, is to make others laugh.
There’s almost always a humorous thread to be found in most topics. It’s not that a topic isn’t serious or sad, it’s that the human element involved is , itself, almost always comical. I took an English class in High School with a unit on comedy. The most profound idea that I came away with was the knowledge of the thin line between comedy and tragedy.
If you are old enough to remember the “Chuckles the Clown” episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Here’s a clip but I’d recommend looking up the whole episode:

As for my number 3,4, and 5 favorite fun things they are;
3. Hanging out with kids.
4. Being around animals.
5. Doing something creative. (gardening, painting, writing, etc.)

Should we care about the dreams of others or only our own?

Our own dreams are the only ones meant for us to interpret but hearing about other people’s dreams is interesting. As an outside observer, we can sometimes help them to interpret them.

How well do you deal with criticism from others?
I do very well. I basically don’t care what others think. I love hearing “why?” others think certain things, though. There’s a lot of knowledge to be gained from that.

Do you say YES or NO more often, and which is it?

I’m notorious for always saying “yes”. Once while I was associated with a childcare center, the group who bought gag gifts for us at Christmas, found a book for me about 1001 ways to say “Yes” because I so rarely refuse anyone who asks for help.

What is nose hair for?

I can’t say for sure other than some kind of a filter for catching impurities BUT this question inspired me to examine my dog’s nose. What the heck? She has no visible nose hair. Ugh! Now I’m bound to explore this question more. Thanks for nothing. This is worse than an earworm. LOL

What is the funniest comment you have ever received?

Well, there are SO many, but my day care kids offered many off them. In order to be brief, here’s a cute one:

I was teasing a 4-year-old about the rivalry between our favorite football teams. I told him one Monday, “Sorry about my Giants kicking your Patriots’ butts on TV yesterday.” and his immediate response was, ” At MY house, on My TV, the Patriots won.”

Novels or Netflix?

I don’t very often (maybe 5 times) watch Netflix. So, I say “novels.” even though I enjoy a good movie now and then on TV or on an old VHS tape.

Do good things come to those who wait?

Yes, most definitely. I could go on and on about the lack of any ability to “delay gratification” in today’s society! It is actually the main ingredient in most of our current troubles, some of which are: debt, drug use, unwanted pregnancies, and jumping from one job to another.
Waiting and working for things gives all people a sense of purpose and satisfaction like no other.
And… if you’re a gardener, you already know that because gardening requires a belief in ‘tomorrow’.

My Vivid Memories: Star Trek

It’s becoming evident to me that I have a vivid memory of many events in my life. Are they accurrate? I don’t know.
They are based upon my feelings and mental pictures associated with certain moments.
I’ve tested those that I could and found that the people and places were real. I also know my feelings about them are strong and unchanging too. So however I interpreted an event, I can often figure out that it actually happened by investigating the time period with other clues like naming the people involved even small things like their pet’s name or describing the buildings.

With that said, I want to describe some of MY moments to document them in my blog. I’m able to trigger other family members to recall some events just by my detailed descriptions on occasion but sometimes they think I’m just making it up. I’ve come to trust my memory more than theirs because their inability to remember things isn’t any kind of conclusive evidence that they never happened.

I saw the following post about a Star Trek episode this morning. I loved the ‘out of this world’ ideas in Star Trek even as a child.
I remember sitting on a neighbor’s couch watching the episode and enjoying it. I was eleven and my parents were friends-as a couple-with the neighbors. Their name was Jensen. The adults were in the kitchen making small talk. The neighbor’s son, Steve, was being distractive and goofy, and I was watching this very episode at his house on his TV. I don’t recall if my siblings were there, but they probably were.
It’s not that the memory is something worth telling, it’s the vivid aspect of it. All of it surrounding, and brought back, by this episode of Star Trek which I was thoroughly involved with when it aired in 1967. I had tuned out my surroundings and focused fully on it. Pun intended, I was transported back to being eleven years old and I can “see” the characters on the TV.
Recalling the event has been a surprising delight. Right down to the butterflies in my stomach over the story which I found ‘fascinating’!
I assumed for years that everyone saw numerically sequenced displays in 3D maps in their heads and around them because I did. But over the course of my life, I couldn’t find others who knew what I was talking about. At 60 years old, I discovered that I have Spatial Sequence Synthesesia. I’ve made other posts on the topic.
Now, I’m trying to figure out if other people have detailed vivid memories like I described because my family gives me the same odd looks when I bring them up as they did when I once talked about ‘seeing’ numbers.
The link to the post that ‘triggered’ my memory is below. It’s not important unless you’re a Star Trek fan. I just wanted to document it for my granddaughters’ sake.
Let me know if you have such vivid memories.
I’ll be starting a new category to document some of my own as part of my blogging journal.
Happy Sunday!

https://powerpop.blog/2023/03/26/star-trek-the-devil-in-the-dark/

Unanswered Question: Am I the only one listening?


Busy, busy, busy! We’re all pretty busy these days.
I mainly like being busy. Busy people feel purposeful.
But ‘tuning out’ isn’t a necessary by-product.

I’ve heard that people learn differently. I believe that. Some need to get their hands dirty, others need to study words, and others need a picture presentation in order to absorb information. I’m a listener. The layers of meaning in spoken language is a fascination to me. What people “say” can IMHO give us a large volume of information. We mustn’t overlook the additional benefit of comprehending “How they say things”, “What may have inspired what they say.”, and “Who they are talking to.”

For the listeners, there’s always a certain amount of conjecture as is with the observers who tend to judge people on their appearances. Both methods can fail miserably on getting a ‘correct’ or whole ‘story’. But a good listener hears ‘something’ and ‘leans in’ hoping to sift out some ‘truth’. A great comment listeners use is, “Tell me more.”

There’s been a large amount of upheaval in our language. Our youngest generations are using their own ‘slang’ as young people have always done but there’s an alarming level of also redefining ordinary speech. Yet, if you listen closely, there are still enough clues available for exchanging ideas. Whenever I feel as though someone and I are not ‘on the same page’, I’ll ask, “What are you using as a definition of “poor”? or “Can you tell me how you define “oppressed”?

By now you’re likely asking, “What’s your point?” LOL
Here goes:
I was driving around doing errands yesterday while listening to the radio. The local news report was on and this is what I heard:
“A college athlete will not be charged with assault and battery for shoving and slapping a fellow teammate last month. Instead, he’ll be mandated to attend a “Corrective Thinking” class within a year.”

(Of course, I don’t know why the “slap” occurred or whether that athlete may have elected for that ‘alternative’ punishment.)
BUT the information I heard DID alert me to the existence of something called a “Corrective Thinking Class”. What in the name of George Orwell is going on?!
When was the imposition of a fine or suspension as a punishment replaced with ‘thought control’? Am I the only one listening?
We’re in deep “doo doo” people.
And I’m reporting this, as an alarmed listener, because so many people who are ‘busy’ may not be aware of where we are headed.


Simply 6-Minutes-3/21/23 Baby Onboard

Today’s photo prompt below:

Greek had taken over the family “baby delivering business” when his dad, Spartan, retired. He was inexperienced and when thrust into the consumer world, he found out immediately that dealing with the public was a mostly thankless experience.
Greek’s business floundered after numerous poor reviews mounted over extremely short delivery delays. His elderly father’s feathers were even more ruffled than his own by the nit-picking level of customer complaints, so he called on an old buddy, Roman, who had been quite the innovator in his day.
Roman found nothing wrong with Greek’s management but thought the company needed better advertising. When an impromptu photoshoot offered an accidental image for their rebranding, they knew they’d found the perfect image and new hook line!
“Even if Trojans let you down, Greek jets you your surprise package.”


https://christinebialczak.com/2023/03/21/simply-6-minutes-welcome-to-the-challenge-03-21-2023/

Unanswered Question: What’s wrong with Spongebob?


I revisit this question now and then. There was a trendy campaign by budding ‘super-moms’, around the time when my first granddaughter was born, to vilify a cartoon character.

In their defense, they imagined themselves having the long sought perfect recipe for ‘creating’ the next Einstein. Little did they realize that Einstein was born, not created. But, however frustrating, newbie Moms have only good intentions.

Having watched many episodes of Spongebob at the time, I was often scratching my head and wondering, “What’s wrong with Spongebob?”

For those who have never had the pleasure of watching, I’ll list Spongebob’s major characteristics:

He’s innocent and a bit naive.
He loves his pet snail and dotes on him.
He’s an eager and trustworthy employee at the “Krusty Krab”.
He’s a loyal friend to Patrick (a bit of a ‘special needs’ character).
He always projected a positive attitude that never quit.

So, what was the cult following of Moms finding fault with? The most often repeated complaint about the cartoon was that it was “mindless”. Here’s a modern-day response I wish I had known…IT’S a CARTOON, KAREN!

But there I was, watching, laughing at, and enjoying Spongebob with my grandchild supposedly doing her great harm? For years, we’ve even quoted that cartoon as its subliminal wisdom came through to anyone who bothered to watch it.

I don’t know whether any of the Moms who were loudest about their Spongebob boycott ever ‘saw the light’ but it seems ominously a silent arena now when it comes to newer cartoons promoting ‘gender fluidity’ and out right intolerance of “non-woke” themes.

It was a startling glimpse into the upside-down future we’re now dealing with for sure.