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 A Journal to impart knowledge and facts |
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July 22, 2015 I'm going to start today to record on a daily basis whatever happens to strike my fancy. So, it is a very cool breezy day. I just posted 5 short book reviews to The Monthly Reading Challenge. I'm suppose to put away some winter wood today from the woodpile outside but I'm playing hookey from work to write so starting this blog will get done. I'm having a daily fight with a flock of English Sparrows that are trying to take over my barn. They are making a terrible mess so they have to go. I have destroyed several nests so far they don't leave but they get out of the barn when I am around. I'm just starting the fight so I guess I don't know how far I have to go to discourage them. I'm trying not to spread myself to thin on WDC because I find so many things that are interesting here and I am trying to work on a new story. I really enjoy sitting at my desk with a cup of tea and reading blogs on WDC. |
| Monday, November 30, 2015 Holiday music...now that we're past Thanksgiving, Christmas music is in full swing all over the place. Does it ever get tiring? Could you listen to it all year long, or are you glad when it's over?    There are so many Christmas carols. Musicians are constantly trying to broadcast their own version of old songs at Christmas. An English folk song called “I Saw Three Ships” has a interesting story. It was created by wandering Musicians of the time. The three ships were allegedly carrying the skulls of the three wise men to a Cathedral in cologne, Germany. I Saw Three Ships I saw three ship come sailing in, on Christmas day on Christmas day. I saw three ship come sailing in, on Christmas Day in the morning. (Full lyrics are on the website, see below) One of my first teachers on Classical Guitar told me most Christmas Carols cannot be played on Guitar. Silent Night was written by a Priest, Fr. Joseph Mohr, in Austria , 1816. He composed the melody with a guitar. This is a long story but the short version is, he wanted the village children to sing it at Midnight on Christmas Eve. When they were learning the song the organ broke down so they had to use guitar music to learn the song. The earliest arrangement for this song still existing is for Guitar, with a date in 1820. The lyrics for this song have changed over the ages as well. Silent Night Silent night, holy night, Bethlehem sleeps, yet what light, Floats around the heavenly pair; Songs of angels fills the air. Strains of heavenly peace. I found these interesting facts about Christmas Carols on www.whyChristmas.comThere is also a good story there about the song “The 12 Days of Christmas” Personally, I love to fill the house with Christmas Carols. It is a major part of the season for me. I have several CD’s that I like to use. I leave the season behind on the first day of each year. My Christmas tree goes up one or two days before Thanksgiving and I take it down on the first day of the year and pack it away. It is a tradition for me. My Christmas music has a wide range of ethnic sounds. I like the new music I have found on Amazon and put it in my kindles and on my computer. Enya has some sounds I like for Christmas Music. Last year I found 20 songs by the Faith Singers and Orchestra. I also added Finally Home for Christmas by the Blue Sky Riders; Into the Silent Night/the EP by For King & Country. I try to add something new each year. This year I am going to insist on a CD copy of what ever I get. I don’t like the thought that without a hard copy I might lose some music. I wonder what I will find for the season this year. I don’t ever get tired of the Christmas music but I save it for the season and don’t listen to it all year long. Christmas Peace to you!! |
| Sunday, November 29, 2015 At what point is too much? This week a man opened fire and barricaded himself inside an abortion clinic . What death is justified? Is any? Cops get shot, babies get murdered; reproductive rights versus gun rights, coming to a head...what's your spin? Don't hold back, bloggers...the 30DBC only has one more day left in November. As far as I can see any of the kinds of violence the USA is experiencing presently represents a failure on the part of someone. According to a news report in Mother Jones, after a series of videos was released in July by the Center for Medical Progress, threats against abortion clinics were extremely raised. Other facts I found said, that abortion clinics were in the decline in the last few years. So, why start the threats now. My opinion, the amount of clinics are not needed as often. Since Roe vs. Wade the public has been accessing better sexual education and better birth control. Geography classes in our nation give out information on rises in populations around the world. When education reaches large segments of the population in a country populations level out, living conditions begin to rise. The slogan “If you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns” will give you a lot of reality to the kind of state you will be living in if you outlaw guns. A gun killed and injured people in the abortion clinic but where were the people who knew the suspect and put the idea’s out there that caused him, to take the law, into his own hands. This news story simply does not fill the reader with enough facts to know what happened. Except a man with an idea in his head entered a clinic and used a gun. Think about it. Outlaw all guns in every country in the world. Then how do you enforce it. Probably with a police force with guns. Then, who enforces the police force to always stay on track and not use their guns to maim, plunder and whatever they choose. Ever here, “One bad apple in the barrel spoils the whole bunch?” Police are not all bad people. Most of the time they do a great job. Like all organizations they can become too introverted, because of the job, they protect their own people. The job is difficult. Read up on some of the ways police help. Some of the things they have to figure out in the course of a days duty. No one likes to tattle. Gang related mentality causes people even in police forces to go after the snitch instead of the perpetrator of a crime against the public. The problem just escalates until someone looks for the real problem and finds a solution. Attitude, attitude, attitude. Think about this as well. If a story is circulated in a community about a person do you think of the story, as fact? Is the subject of the story really like the story says, or is something going on that makes that story appear real even if it is not a fact. What kind of an attitude is behind the story. This is ancient human history. Who are you backing the people who started the story or the subject of the story? People tend to form organizations in order to be effective for the public's good. But, if the wrong attitude surfaces many times it is just shuffled away instead of rooted out and straightened up. That is when violence has a foothold. Remember one terrorist in France took off the vest left it behind and ran. His brain still worked. He figured out what was happening was wrong. If he had someone to support his views, maybe he would not have been involved at all . Maybe he would have turned in the others and the massacre would not have happened. I like the answer to the slogan, “Black lives matter.” People are posting a new slogan, “All Lives Matter.” This does not under cut the Black slogan it draws the Black, White, Hispanic, Asian or other into the human community. Look out for each other! |
Saturday, November 28, 2015 Talk yourself out of the biggest letdown you've ever felt.?  In the Christian environment there are teachings about getting help from Jesus with burdens. Over the last 70 years I have had a lot of let downs. I know that learning how to live inside the Christian experience and learning to listen, to the Lord, helps fight depression, anxiety caused by life’s battles, understand why things happen as they do, and live through the things we do not understand yet. God does not make bad things happen, people do. One of the greatest treasures God shovels into our brain pockets is knowledge and understanding. Sometimes, he just stays our hand until the understanding is incorporated into our lives. Sometimes, he just lets mankind muddle along. If you think I am talking myself into something you’re wrong. I’m in tandem with a teacher who will all ways know more than I can absorb. It is an active relationship. You can not just sleep away your life and expect to gain. Think of the teachings of Yoda. I am reading a book with a copyright of 1879. In one place, the author talks about how long it takes a religion to die. The ones that exclaim one God never really die. They evolve and extemporize, with the learning curve, within the centuries. |
| Friday, November 27, 2015 On this day in 1701, Anders Celsius was born in Sweden (he was the inventor of the Celsius thermometer). Are you a cold weather person, or a warm weather person? What do you do to combat temperatures that aren't to your liking? The following scientific facts were taken from www.livescience.com and from an article there by Kim Ann Zimmermann. Celsius temperature: 0° = freezing point of water 100° = water’s boiling point at the mean sea level Celsius to Fahrenheit: Multiply by 9, divide by 5, add 32 Fahrenheit to Celsius: subtract 32, multiply by 5, divide by 9 Celsius is a temperature scale developed by Andres Celsius in 1742. As his life experience he analyzed changes to the earth’s magnetic field and developed tools to find the brightness of stars. Latitude and atmospheric pressure affect the boiling point of water. The Celsius temperature measurement is considered the most scientific of all types of temperature gauges developed. In the 1970’s countries around the world began to use Celsius as the standard to coordinate the metric measure system. But, not the USA. Although, our scientist do use Celsius the rest of the country remains on Fahrenheit. I have always been a warm weather person. I have a theory (not proven) that it is because I was born in Florida. I did not move to Pennsylvania until I was 2 or 3 years old. My years in Texas I appreciated the warm weather but not the bugs.  Over the years I have adapted. I like the bug kill that happens every year in the Northern states. We spend several months a year below 52° Fahrenheit, which means no active bugs. Except of course, inside the home, that is properly heated. Also, I know when our home is adequately heated going out in the cold with proper clothing does not bother me because I know I can get warm when I return to the inside. I remember making sure the children had ice skates, skis, sleds for the winter play time. My second son, spent time shoveling the pond when it froze so we could all go ice skating.  Once in a while we would get snowed in or snow would close the schools. Sometimes snow still closes the schools but we usually don’t get snowed in any more. I stock up on hot chocolate, soup, and other nourishing, soul feeding warm foods. When my Grandfather owned this property and lived here as a young man, with a family. Granddad started a school bus route with a wagon and a team of horses. He delivered children to the local school at the end of the road. It is a church now. Then It was a one room school house. He told me if the road was too high with snow and it was too difficult a drive for the horses he did not take the children. On those days, only the older children who could do the walk were able to get to school.  I think the snow equipment is more adequate than it use to be, in the olden days.  Last week we had a minor electricity outage for 2 hours, in the evening. I brought the solar lamps inside to light the house. apondia#1781748 |
What aren't you thankful for? If I am warm I stand by the window and think snow in a storm is pretty but really I am never thankful for its cold, cold. Even though I know its environmental benefits for the forests and ground. I have two older boys who never contact the family. I'm not thankful for their absence. I miss them regularly. Pretty much I have a lot to be really thankful for so being not thankful is not much of an option. Happy Thanks-giving.  |
| You're at a party for your work. You don't know many people since you have only been there for a month. Are you the aggressor in trying to meet people, or do you draw people to you? Explain. I live near a small town actually near 3 small towns and a township. Only parties I go to I know everyone. The only scenario that might fit would be when I went to college at the age of 55. In any class there were only one (me) or sometimes 2 adult students. Whatever we were doing most of the students treated me well. Some even looked out for me. Saving me parking spots on test days or helping me find buildings, classes or rooms. I handed out pencils on test days and gloves during snow storms from a catch I kept for emergencies. A lot of young freshman or others are not prepared for winter in our area. Other adult students were also looking out for the ones who needed a helping hand. One mother kept cases of bottled water in the back of her station wagon to hand out to passing students. I was mom to some. One of the jobs I was able to get after college was again working around young people. They always invited me to go to lunch with them and included me in the long line of cars that were commuting from Erie to Corry on late winter nights. Young people are not stupid they could see I was mentally a beginner at working outside of my home and in college. One night in a particularly vicious storm the lead car went off the road deep into a field of snow. Several cars dropped out of the line to help the driver of the car. People in this part of the country are not often mean spirited. This can be a harsh country. Farmers raising families are under paid and overworked. Local factories take advantage by paying as low a wage as they can get away with. Jobs in retailing are usually part time and low paying. But, the people deal with it all and continue to be countable in helping each other. You do find groups sisterhoods and brotherhoods that freeze others out but that isn't the local norm. Happy Thanksgiving to all. gobble, gobble,gobble  |
| How has your fashion sense changed in the last 5, 10, 20 years? What fashion sense?  I grew up on a farm. I wore blue jeans and blouses all my life. Now I wear jeans and t-shirts in the summer and sweat pants, long sleeved t-shirts layered with short sleeved t-shirts, and sweaters to keep warm in the winter. If I go out shopping which is pretty much the only time I go out. I try to wear feminine slacks and dressier blouses and coats that are female and suit the weather. I leave the house to go for walks, do barn work, and sometimes ride bikes, although we did not do any bike riding this summer. Female attire, jewelry, shoes, boots, etc. is my attempt to keep my real identity alive. This summer my granddaughter was here for several weeks. We shopped for fingernail polish and I had a good time painting my nails. I have some long skirts and really nice feminine clothes but they are stored in boxes and I need to know before hand to take them out and make them presentable. I'm overly practical when it comes to attire because I have to take care of myself and protect myself. (weather can be great or harsh) I like my hair long but cannot find a way to keep it properly and still look nice if someone unexpected shows up at my door or I have to go out shopping without preparation etc. Between the age of 60 and 65 I put in hundreds of applications but could not get a job. Fashion takes money which I don't have. Here is a little recent happening. I went to buy new glasses in a Walmart. While sitting in the waiting room an elderly lady with a walker came in and sat in a chair close to me. Her daughter was with her. The daughter went over to the racks and started picking out glasses frames for her mother to try on. The elderly lady and I struck up a conversation. She already had a prescription so all she needed was to pick out some frames. The daughter returned with several frames in her hand and handed one to her mother, "Try these on she said," in a very commanding sort of way. The elderly lady took the frame and looked it over and said, "I don't look good in this type of frame." Her daughter replied, "You're too old to care about how you look, elderly people don't need to worry about how they look, no body cares." The elderly lady looked right into my eyes and shrugged. I laughed and said, "Your daughter doesn't know much about elderly people does she?" A comment which the daughter heard. The elderly lady and I had a good laugh about a couple things after that but the daughter calmed down and started being more solicitous toward her mother. When I left they were picking out frames together. I like being and looking feminine. But, real fashion to me is more a city thing than a country thing. Besides Keith is always in a hurry to get out the door. I'm always the person checking to turn out lights or shut down heaters or lock up cats and dogs. or shut doors etc. Prevention Magazine is more me than Vogue. |
| Write an entry from the perspective of the main character of a song...but in your entry, the opposite happens to them (and be creative...don't just rewrite the song!). Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys Don't let 'em pick guitars and drive them old trucks Make 'em be doctors and lawyers and such Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys They'll never stay home and they're always alone Even with someone they love Cowboys ain't easy to love and they're harder to hold And they'd rather give you a song than diamonds or gold Lone-star belt buckles and old faded Levis And each night begins a new day And if you don't understand him and he don't die young He'll probably just ride away Note: I do not write poetry or song lyrics so just follow the story: Character Perspective: I grew up in the land of Pennsylvania, It was a land of factory mania. Family had some property, I loved boots and ridin horses. Milken cows was a right bunch of work though. I got a job right out of high school in a factory Teacher told mama I wasn’t college material. First thing I did was buy me a truck and a horse, Every night us boys stopped for drinks. Then , The jobs dried up and the girls went to school. Followed rodeo for a while I was ridin buckin broncos. Won a great big buckle, lost all my money drinkin and such. Can’t sing a song, can’t carry a tune. My old horse is dead and my truck’s broke down. Can’t hold a job cause I didn’t learn to type. Computers don’t make sense, if you know what I mean. Got married but my wife left to go to school. Friends say look for a women with land and a good job to Keep me. All the women turn away, cause they say, Cowboys like me with a big buckle and no education, can’t keep a horse proper and don’t know snot. Guess I’ll just lay down, smoke marijuana till I rot. apondia#1781748 |
| Last week a church in Buffalo, NY unintentionally put a pro-homosexuality message on its outdoor sign . The sign read "Jesus had 2 dads, and he turned out just fine". The sign was the church pastor's idea, which he came up with after Googling "funny church signs"...and he claims his intention was to promote a message about fathers and stepdads, and not a pro-homosexuality message. While the Catholic Church looks down mightily on gay marriage, it has also had policies against divorce and remarriage of heterosexuals. What's the bigger sin: two people of the same sex loving each other and committing to a life together, or two people of the opposite sex breaking their vows in the eyes of the church? You know me by now. A good Journalist would do a follow up in a few weeks about what happened to that pastors life because of this little incident? Lets start here; Funk & Wagnall's Dictionary (International Edition): Sin= “A lack of conformity to, or a transgression,especially when deliberate, or a law precept or principle regarded as having Divine authority.” “ Sin in religious teaching is any lack of holiness, any defect of moral purity and truth, whether in heart or life, whether of commission or omission.” This is the short version of a column 4 inches long. It also gives synonyms: depravity, crime, evil, guilt, misdeed, offense and others. The list is 1 inch with about a 9 font. Specific to the Blog: All sin is equal in the mind of the Almighty. Repentance is the solution. To repent is to turn away from the committed act make restitution and move on. Is all homosexuality a sin. This is the 21st century. We know so much more about the physical, social, and psychology of human kind. So, do we deny the advancement of human learning as a gift from God. I suggest, from my own mind that we don’t educate properly or give out information as freely as we should. Now I direct you to another word. Dispensation: Unger’s Bible Dictionary :” A dispensation is an era of time during which man is tested in respect obedience to some definite revelation of God’s will. There are 7 (some only recognize 3 or 4) dispensations. The list is 1. Innocence, 2. Conscience, 3. Human Government, 4. Promise, 5. Law, 6. Grace, 7. The Kingdom We are suppose to be in the period of Grace presently. This period began with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is not necessarily a condemnation of Judaism or of Muslims under the leadership of Muhammad, or gays, lesbians, etc. ( Please always read the entire chapter of a quoted scripture to gain background and extra relevant information, this is my own suggestion and a rule I use when scripture is involved.) Matthew 12: 32 “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but who soever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.” Finally this: From Unger’s Bible Dictionary; “ Lange expresses the convictions of some when he says: “We have here to understand fully conscious and stubborn hatred against God and that which is Divine as it exists in its highest development.” Science does not condemn the Spirit of God. Science draws us closer with every gain in knowledge to conscious understanding. In this dispensation we are learning to accept ourselves and others as they appear to each of us. We as individuals, groups and countries are fighting against the evil, that rises up to overwhelm, the progress of the people of the One True Living God. Who are slowly winning the battle against crime, disease and poverty in what ever form it takes, because God is Love. apondia#1781748 |
Time to make a list! List five things you have planned for the coming week...but of the five, one should be something you definitely don't have planned. Then, visit your fellow competitors' entries for today, and try to guess what the made-up item is on their list. In order to try and give everyone enough time to properly participate, come back to your entry in a day or two and leave a comment with who guessed right and wrong. When I'm judging the entries for today, I'll be awarding bonus points for everyone who guessed right! My Thanksgiving week List: 1. Cook a Turkey  2. Take a short trip to New York to see my daughter  3. Shop for Christmas presents  4. Walk my Dog  5. Put up the Christmas tree  |
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