Word of the Day – Anthropomorphism

I am running a repeat, just cuz, logged into FB to do client work and wouldn’t ya know? Halloween and the feeds are flooded with costumed animals – (Blog Disclaimer, no animals were hurt, injured or even made uncomfortable while being forced to wear a costume and pose for the meme pic….)

The Good, Bad and Ludicrous

an·thro·po·mor·phism  (nthr-p-môrfzm)

noun –  Attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena.

(courtesy The Free Dictionary by Farlex)

This morning I engaged in anthropomorphic  behavior while looking for a picture of a howling wolf – I gave myself a laugh and hope you’ll get one too.

“You Lookin’ At Me?”

“I dunno, what you want to do?”

“If I stand very still, maybe they won’t see me”

“Perhaps we can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement…”

“Does this water hole make my butt look big?”

“Long legs are sexy, my butt”

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Sob… The Return of the Lazy Liker…maybe…

I vowed to take time tonight to get caught up on reading here in WP land – To NOT feel the need to write a short comment letting someone know I actually read their full post, instead of just skipping down through the reader list “Liking” – whether I read it or not – –

I failed miserably –

I had to stop and comment, on way more posts than I managed to show ‘get caught up on reading’ restraint and just “Likey-Like” at the click of a button…

Had to stop, to purchase a cool little Halloween special that was in the ‘doable on budget’ category and showed some love/support from one I have followed/chatted with for some time now (except for the last 4 months or so….have repeatedly confessed my sins, but there ya go, one more admission/confession to add to the pile….)

Stopped to add some items and re-order my list of ‘All I want for Christmas is My 2 front teeth…and this book…this year…yet again….seriously?  You can’t order via a website and use PayPal to protect yourself/your credit card info, when a personage has worked so hard to allow you to buy direct from them?   Really?”

I don’t think I even got to 1/2 of the folks I follow – for even 1, I SAY, ONE! recent post –

 

So there ya go – what happens when you’ve been away for too long – when you’re not culling your reading list to make sure it’s okay to ‘skip’ – when you spent some time on other Social Media for work stuff and, by this late hour, are rather cynical about the whole deal – can’t bear to ignore – can’t bear to like the sentiment, when you see inherent issues with the logic – etc., etc., etc….

I will never get caught up, ever, and not quite ready, just yet to ‘cut my’ reader list by harsh measures – or quit working so I can once again keep updated –

But I wonder – shall all of us, eventually evolve into such perfect posting gurus (here and elsewhere in cyber space…) that everyone just writes/posts and then doesn’t take the time to read?

Cuz lord knows, I’ve been guilty of such, these past few months – quick post “Yup, not dead, but man, so far behind…” and as you know, I still think it’s really important to say, “How will it all turn out if everyone does just what I’ve been doing?  Now, next week, next month…”?

Guess some adjustments are needed – so I may post with impunity and not be charged with being a lazy-liker, liar (no way you read that 2,500 word post 2.5 seconds after I published it, in order to ‘Like” it with informed intent….

LOL

Not going to spell check – edit – fix – or anything else – otherwise, I’ll just have another ‘draft post’ I’ll delete some months from now –

Hitting the “Why you woke up to Likes instead of comments”  OR “Comments when I just  couldn’t let it go…”  OR “If you didn’t, may not be personal – I may have still been wading through the reader and didn’t get to you yet – 🙂

In the News Today….

Fair Warning – I’m on a rant – cuz I just am….

After logging in to Facebook, to establish communication flow & information that may not be available via any other of the ways I prefer, I can’t help myself – while scanning the ‘headlines’ (and I’m not even on Latest tab – I choose “Most Recent” which is a double smoke blind – I think – still trying to troubleshoot and see what’s what….)

Here’s what I would say, if I depended upon my Facebook scanning to give me the news of the world:

• Corpus Christi area receiving massive flooding –
  • Comment – Get used to it in coastal areas, unless you wish to believe global warming and polar ice melt are myths made up by politicians -You may argue all you wish, but Mother Earth has cycles and we humans have managed to populate prolificly enough we might just be adding to the natural cycle of things – 4.5 billion years of nature’s cycles + human clumsy attempts to correctly interrupt age old data + arrogance – I’m hedging my bets and it is all notated here, just in case I am right – Perhaps cyber posts will still be archived/available 500 years from now for review, when realization and data is available – Hopefully, I won’t be under house arrest till I die for refusing to give up on the notion that the Earth revolves around the sun – like some folks endured – but hey!  500 years later, and I, may, too, be forgiven by the powers that be for all the awful things they did when they just couldn’t bear that I might be right and not a hard-arse who must be destroyed cuz my take on reality didn’t mesh with their version – stranger things have happened – 🙂
• USA’s oldest polar bear, Klondike, euthanized at (age) 34 in the Philadelphia Zoo –
  • If only we gave the same kindness to humans – no, not age wise, silly, but the option to choose quality of life over quantity. Alas, insurance companies and laws have found a way to build in their profit margin AND put in fail safes against basic human nature, and all systems still in force – So sadly, for you and me, we are stuck grinding it out to the very end… whether we are productive members of society or not – whether we bring joy to others by simply existing for one more day or not – Or,  at very least, we must hang in there until official sanctioned Hospice workers say it’s okay for us to let ‘the loved one have whatever they want – won’t change anything” – and are assured loving family members won’t go to jail for speeding our journey along by giving us what we really want, but are afraid to ask for,- I figure it’s a safer bet to wait for Bears to read and understand their fate and options, long before human nature and capitalistic systems change for the better, but hey, that’s just me…. I could be wrong…but if you ain’t listed as a beneficiary and you have my comfort/best interests at heart, I give you free leave to let me overdose on painkillers – (I may regret this statement, someday, but I won’t be around to say so….)
• Finding the ‘perfect Christmas Holiday gift” is already on the charts and may be stressing some folks out – –
  • My advice? Gift what that special someone uses regularly, consumes, spends money on all year long – not the fancy, expensive thing they either waited to buy, until they KNEW they really wanted it (unless they say they wanted it 2 days before the holiday and finally made up their minds  – yup, another story, but will have to outlast the mortal life of loved ones to tell you about it….), or KNEW they wanted it and already bought it for themselves back when you were doing your Holiday Shopping lists and waiting for the sales frenzy to begin – I learned this lesson the year Tickle Me Elmo came out – needless to say, ain’t falling for that one again –  Toilet paper, alcohol and soft, new, socks are always safe bets for adults – it will be used, re-gifted or thrown away without remorse – cuz seriously, who gifts undergarments and thinks it a good gift?
  • Kiddos?   Educate them – teach them long before the season rolls around to think about what they really need, what they really want – etc.   By the time they are teen-agers, they’ll be trained and when they don’t know, they’ll say, “Cash in a card always works” and you just saved money in time and pricey, cool, gift wrap expenses – seriously, no one wraps a card to put under the tree – –
• I learned today what Crockey is – and awaiting my cousin’s reply to see if my questions/observations are blasephmous or acceptable as  a laugh,in the whole scheme of things…. may remember to keep you posted on that front… and I may not – haven’t got de-friended yet, but it always a strong possibility and why link to more bad memories that Google will remember long after family members have possibly forgotten what a jerk I was?
• Was reminded of a harrowing day driving home from work, in the 1997 Colorado Blizzard – and wading out 2 days later to help shovel snow that came up to my thighs (I’m around 5’8″ tall) – – and starting over when driveway was open and…. then… road plow promptly blocked it, again, with their own plowing activity left-overs…. Posted my little story, cuz I also remember a blizzard that is still in debate for 1976/1977 – what the heck –
• When I post sappy pics/missives about how much I love my dog, and value her presence in my life, people are responsive (it was late, I was stressed – she was woof-woofing trying to get me to ‘quit’ for the night and rest – I couldn’t resist posting about how wonderful she is, but figured I’d wait 3 days to log in and then delete the post, cuz, after all, I was being sappy – – surprise, surprise – seems one close (in person) friend, who is also on facebook has been waiting for my curmudgeon heart to melt enough to do such a thing and was kind in comment- – New approach, though doggie pictures are not going to wish away my curmudgeon comments on others’ posts…I’m thinking…
• Maureen O’Hara passed away – first knew her from her part in the John Wayne movie, “The Quiet Man” – – sad, sad, sad – will get sappy elsewhere – but sad all the same – and yes, I cried when Princess Di and Liz Taylor left the  stage of life – wondered why we had to lose Heath Ledger so soon – and what happened to Mel Gibson along the way?  Still trying to figure some of those timelines/stories out –
• Okay – I’m rather “Done” – some things interesting, but not earth shattering – some posts that make me itch to type a reply “Have you heard of Snopes.com or similar sites?”  I take my lumps and disagreements when I my posts rile others up – BUT I’m okay with it – –

I have never, ever, posted on my friend’s timeline, “gimme this, in this game, and I, too, can be the proud owner of a unicorn that farts rainbows and diamonds….”

And, after all, isn’t that what it’s really about?

P.S. No judgement involved – sharing my take – you can take it or leave it.

P.S.S. If you send me a game notification, I will block it – I don’t want to freely volunteer to the bureaucracy that I believe in unicorns…

When You See My House…You See Me!

Since I’m trying like heck to squeeze in time to start blogging regularly again AND since a Facebook post from a dear  friend had me trying to blog in a Facebook reply (For Shame!), dutifully logged into WordPress to reply in the proper arena…

(Yes, I had to log in for customer work – yes, I’m catching up on Notification list there – willing to have WP on my smarter-than-me phone, FB?  Not so willing…)

Top Things my Home tells you About Me:

“Bet her kids are happy! Look! they can just drop their stuff where it’s handy!”

“She has an over the door shoe holder, she only has 5 pairs of shoes – why are they scattered throughout the house? Oh…can’t wait to get barefoot quick enough, I guess….”

“Bet her dog is happy! Obviously she’s allowed to play ball in the house – look at the straight track from doggie door, through the kitchen into the living room with room to do a barrel racer turn and shoot like an arrow out the doggie door again! You can tell from the trail of mulch left behind – so obviously, Oakley is allowed to lay in garden beds, too…”

“Does she work all the time or is she just messy? – look at the wall above her desk – – Notes about ideas to promote – string connections for cross-promotion between local business and non-profits – Note to change all passwords tonight.  Look at the stack of client files around her desk and in her priority bin – How does anyone keep track of that many sticky notes and mini-legal pads? See the entire shelf of How-To’s for marketing, promoting, learning software, learning coding….”

Check out the bookshelves – arranged by topic:

Gardening, Plants, Herbs

Cookbooks, Food Preservation

Home improvement, woodwork, solar DIY, Embroidery, Crochet, Quilting, Soapmaking, Weaving, Mother Earth News magazines….

Healing, Nutrition, Herbs, Essential Oils, Meditation, Emotional, Neurological

Fun Factoids, Trivia, History

Widsom of the ages, Abraham Lincoln, Howard Zinn, Robert Fulghum, David R. Hawkins, Shakespeare, Best Loved Poems of the American People, Encyclopedia of Archaeology, 500 Nations…

For Fun – Jean M. Auel, John Grisham, Ellis Peters, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Nora Roberts, Margaret Mitchell, Ayn Rand, Victoria Holt, Lavyrle Spencer….

“Bet her local water board is happy…look at the water-efficient washer, toilet and no dishwasher –  See the drip irrigation supplies on the front porch?  See the roof soffits that deliver water straight to her garden beds? –  see the water bill tacked on the corkboard?  Used less than 1/2 her allotted amount this month…”

“Hmm….electric company and propane company maybe not so much… check out all the energy saving lightbulbs, ye olde wall furnace that heats whole house – induction plate and crockpots – no microwave – energy efficient appliances…recent insulation activities…..”

“Look at all the food stores!  Dehydrated foods order on counter, waiting to be put away – Do-It-Yourself Prep and Store and a 1958 Farm Wife’s Bible on the utility wrack on the far kitchen wall.  Why only 6 of each of: glasses, plates, saucers, bowls?  What’s up with that?  And what’s in the 5 gallon food storage buckets by the wall?”

“Hmm, bathroom strange – not even one electrical outlet?  That explains why her hair is always in a braid or clip – Oh! maybe that’s why the blow dryer was laying on the cabinet in the kitchen next to the washer – only 4 towels, 4 hand towels, 8 washcloths?  Nice quality, but why so few?  guess she washes often…”

“Look at the closet!  Totes of craft supplies, material to make the ultimate window energy shades  and… where’s all her clothes?  This can’t be it!  Can it?….”

What Friends will Tell You About My House:

She may not have vacuumed, dusted or scrubbed her kitchen floor lately, but if you stop by after a horrific day at work, she always has a glass of red wine, a lavender oil infused cloth for your head OR she’ll lightly massage lavender oil on your temples and listen while you work through how to deal with the world you just escaped from the moment you stepped through her door… or she may just crank the tunes and get you to sing and dance off the stress…

She may be a hermit and cancel traveling to your house at the last minute, cuz some work emergency came up, or she got sick, but she’s always happy if you stop by, as long as you give her at least 5 minutes to make sure she doesn’t answer the door in her bunny slippers – –

You might occasionally share your visit with a passel of teens and you’ll get to hear how teens look at the world, cuz she wants to know their viewpoint on the whole thing –

You might have to old that thought when her phone rings and she recognizes a customer’s call – sure, it’s 9:30 at night or 4pm on a Saturday, but she can’t let it go to voice mail… (she’s learned her limits, so instead of going against her nature, she’s just getting better at who to pick for customers! 🙂

You may have to listen to her latest research project, but bet your boots, she’ll manage to also tell you how such-and-such affects your life and why it’s in your self interest to care about it –

In return, she’ll listen to your tale of woe, ask if she needs to go kick some arse or give you ideas about how to accomplish your dream.

She’ll make sure you go home with some bounty, if you accept – tomatoes from the garden, some fresh basil, a recipe for deep bone broth, a jar of snowy white, lovingly crafted lard, some dried apple rings, a few pounds of pasture-fed beef, so you can experience the difference and start buying yours straight from the rancher she does, too….

She always has extra stuff if you’re snowed in and need to find a place to crash – food, jammies, blankets, pillows, books, favorite movies or interesting documentaries –

What Those Who Are Not Friends Will Tell You

She is a miser – she claims she doesn’t keep a lot of dishes, washcloths, linens or cloths on hand, because it forces her to do housework before the ‘pile of dirty’ is too high – but we think she’s just wasting her money on other things.

She is lazy – she has all these supplies but look at her yard?  Sure, once in awhile, she gets an area done, but overall, still a train wreck….

She claims to work all the time – her desk is such a mess, we think she’s just disorganized….

If she really cared about people, she’d make sure her house was clean so they could just drop in whenever they felt like it… and why is not traumatizing her rescue dog more important than I am?

Yes, her son is nice and polite, but I tell you, he will go bad – look, she lets him play video games, he has a pellet gun, his room is a cluttered mess – sure, he jumps in and does whatever she asks, he laughs and jokes and tells her about his day, but mark the words I’ve been saying for years now, he’ll turn out bad….someday….it will happen….Just wait – I’ve been telling her for years how bad of a parent she is…

🙂

Welcome to My Home!

If you have a sense of efficiency, like the idea of putting in fail safes for less-than-optimized tendencies, are interested in an oasis where you can be yourself as long I can be me, where children and animals are protected, allowed to be themselves, all while knowing there are just a few rules that must always be followed and guaranteed someone else has their back against the world – well, then,

C’mon on in, settle down and tell me about your day, dream, passion – I’m all ears…

Heroes, Great and Small

From long ago – still holds true and still love Mr. Zimbardo’s Work.

The Good, Bad and Ludicrous

My recent vow to again ignore the news (gets my blood pressure up) found me in search of other media this morning, during my 2-hour ‘waking up’ tea drinking period.   Oh, yes, I’ve decided to go coffee-free again for awhile – see how my body likes it.

I head on over to Philip Zimbardo‘s website to wake up while reading how to develop our hero abilities.

Unfortunately, I decided to click on a video link that contained graphic pictures of the atrocities committed at Abu Ghraib prison.

Hmmm…. not exactly what I had in mind for ‘gentle waking’.

But, I was intrigued by how he ‘broke down’ and presented his version of the mechanics in play that not only allow, but aide and motivate, good people to do evil things.

**********

First, what is Evil?   Mr. Zimbardo defines it as follows:

• The Exercise of Power to
  Intentionally
  Harm

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