mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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#SelfCareSunday Social Media Management
July 16, 2017
— 1 Comment
heard it through the grapevine
heard it through the grapevine
Social media has a way of consuming more time than anticipated. The phone is a silent thief vibrating in your pocket, distracting you from whatever you are doing. There are now special programs at hotels for folks who want to do a detox. The deal is that the front desk will keep your phone locked up for you while you try to go cold turkey. You pay a fee for this service. This example from 2009 is listed as a detox package for just $199 a day ( that is per person) at a fancy place just outside Washington, DC. They were probably pioneers in the growing market, and DC probably does generate a lot of social media anxiety.
The terem social media management is normally used to refer to the marketing of a business using the various platforms. What I mean is personal management and strategy. You don’t need an expert to help you design a strategy. You are the only person who knows how far social media has slipped into every aspect of your day. You are the only one who really can asses your need for “likes” and what that need represents. This is not a relationship with your phone, although it seems to be. This social media presence is a self image, crafted by you.
There are now businesses designing custom social media detox retreats. This is a high growth industry. Just like the opioid crisis, the social media addiction problem can be treated with mindfulness and meditation for a long term cure. Staying “clean” after one of these intentional cleanse periods will require a plan. But why wait until you need an expensive intervention? Now is an excellent time to find balance between life and digital devices.
My own strategy, which works pretty well, is to have no relationship with my phone. I don’t give out my cell phone number, and ignore my phone most of the time. I have a land line to talk to people, and I don’t text. I use the phone for GPS and to make calls when I travel. I sit at my desk (like now) to write or read on the laptop. I limit the desk time just because I am not the type who likes to sit for long periods of time. When I finish my tasks on the computer, which include a couple of platforms, I leave it behind while I move around and do the rest of my day. This keeps my focus on the task at hand, both at the desk (because I want to finish) and on the go. I occasionally get sucked in for short times, but basically this system creates a functional boundary. Have you ever thought about where your digital boundary is….or where you want it to be? Take care of your time, gentle reader…it is a terrible thing to waste.
#WritePhoto Tunnel Vision
June 22, 2017
— 10 Comments
apparition
Crawling on our bellies through the mud, James Bond style, we quietly exited the castle. Our scuba gear was hidden in the brush at the end of the tunnel. We had the documents we needed to prove the identity of the spy we had come to investigate. Her tricky double agent status had fooled us into thinking she was interested in helping us. As we proceeded with some caution we discovered her true intention was theft and subsequent sale of our defense plan. Ever since that covert meeting at the tavern she had turned up in curious ways. We sensed that we were being followed, and took pains to put her off our scent. Finally we discovered the source of her power and wealth. She was fully funded by the Inquisitors, and was expected by her masters to defeat us through espionage.
Our island was infiltrated by the Inquisitors without our knowledge. The slow trickle of foreign settlers all claimed to be loyal to our mission. The last island in the sea that was not ruled by a conglomerate was to be our Eden. We planned to live in harmony with nature, cultivating the plants, the social customs, and the laws that would preserve our tiny paradise. Refugees from all over the world had journeyed to our island to take part in this bold social experiment. Science and politics had failed us when they combined to dominate the world. Our diet had been reduced to just corn, potatoes, and animal fat. We were starving on many levels. The abundance and freedom we once cherished had been sold. Humanity had sold itself for secure employment in a mysterious system that enslaved the populace. Now our survival would depend on our ability to weed out those who intend to destroy our culture.
The justice system had been corrupted, but there was a single official who retained both integrity and power. The Judge Most High still had the ability to rule in favor of morality. He told us that with evidence he could convince the other rulers to allow our culture to survive in freedom. Some of the most powerful rulers had started to think they had gone too far with the total control of agriculture, environment, and religion. They feared creativity had been wiped out forever to feed the factory machine. They feared the automaton nation might eventually become too weak to survive under the strict and repressive circumstances. They wondered if nature was angry at the killing of all her diverse species for the sake of “markets”.
We managed to sneak away, but wondered if we could make it to the Judge Most High without being caught. We saw a hazy figure blocking the end of the tunnel that lead out to the beach. At first we could not distinguish if the figure was man or woman, friend, or foe. We continued in silence with deep anxiety, wishing for the best. Finally we saw that the Judge Most High was waiting for us. Our fate was sealed. Either the Judge Most High was truly an ethical figure, or we were about to turn over evidence to a double agent. There was only one way out of this predicament. It was show time.
#writephoto
This story is written in response to Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo photo prompt this week. Tune in to read, write, and comment here. It is fun to see how many differences there are in the responses.
#WeekendCoffeeShare Ignorance Crisis
May 14, 2017
— 3 Comments
the web woven
sticky business
If we were having coffee this weekend I would serve you a long tall glass of iced tea. I am enjoying dewy cherry, a strong fruit flavored herbal tea with long lasting flavor. It is refreshing and beats the hell out of artificial cherry anything. I switch the flavor of tea daily so we never get tired of any one of them. It is also the time of year when we start of consume a lot of fresh juice. I can offer you watermelon, cucumber, tomato, or a combo of any of these juices. I went to the produce site yesterday where I pick up 60 pounds of produce for $10, and decided to score to boxes for $20. We are once again loaded with honeydew, watermelon, tomatoes, and bell peppers. I am cooking up a storm, and drying tomatoes for the future. This non-profit does not operate in the summer, since most of the Mexican produce they bring is not crossing the border in the heat. It makes a big difference to our budget when we have to go back to paying up at the grocery store for our fresh fruits and vegetables.
If we were visiting today I would tell you about the latest installment of the attempt to complete my non-fiction book. I have written this book over the course of many years and published it here on this blog in real-time, as the story developed. It could have been a short story about justice triumph and community policing. Sadly it is a true story about how the local police department accidentally used their “neighborhood watch” program to promote felony crime (charity scamming by the HOA board using our corporate property, our corporate treasury and our corporate lawyer) in the hood. It does sound like an incredible tale, and I wish it were not true. I have published each part of the book and sent the evidence to the city of Tucson since 2013, but the criminal activity has gone on much longer than that. Each time I reported the crimes I thought it would be the last time I would need to do it because I thought the city would want to stop supporting and promoting the most obvious crime in our neighborhood. Alas, the police do not understand that HOA fraud and charity scamming are against the law. They encouraged the scam, and even promoting cramming the fire lane full of cars in order to run the 24 hour donation drop off for the scam. They thought this was a community service. They thought they were serving us by protecting and promoting felony crime (including postal fraud) in front of everyone here for almost a decade. They thought that by setting up an illegal knock-off of the food bank in the fire lane of a residential condo village they would serve our community. They never understood that their actions were very detrimental to safety, property value, quality of life, and certainly did a lot of damage to respect for law enforcement officials. They flaunted obvious obstruction of justice for years and told us it was community service. They might be that ignorant, but the people in this ‘hood are not.
The national political scene is all a-twitter about a constitutional crisis caused by all the latest developments. There is nothing new happening. With all due respect to anyone who thinks they can fix national politics, I believe the crisis is one of extreme national ignorance. The governed have no idea how government is supposed to work, and neither do the folks who work for the government. If anyone knew how the justice system was intended to operate, it would be something other than a for profit prison system that fails enrich or protect the community. If people knew what the presidency was supposed to do, they would shape that mandate in the voter’s booth. I think our position in the world today is a result of a long era of willful blindness and withdrawal of education to the masses. If they can’t read, write, spell , or do math, they will probably not challenge the powers that be because they don’t even know what and where they might be. Ignorance and willful blindness are the enemies, gentle reader.
And thus I will conclude my political rant against ignorance in the United States. I have advised the city of Tucson that there are laws against charity scamming and HOA fraud, as well as blocking the fire lane with traffic for a decade in front of my house. They have yet to respond, so I can’t have a happy ending to this book. It is about the truth, and the truth is that they still think they have the right to come out here and mislead people in order to promote crime. I will end the book and let you know when they finally respond. They do not have the right to remain silent, but the continue to do so. I rarely go on political rants, in fact I consider this to be an education rant.
Thanks for joining me today while I let off steam. Please read, write or comment on the state of your personal affairs at the weekly party hosted by Nerd in the Brain. Enjoy sipping digital beverages with bloggers from all over the world each weekend. Please pipe up with your own stories.
#WeekendCoffeeShare
#NaPoWriMo Fear of Knowledge
April 26, 2017
— 3 Comments
nature
Gnosiophobia is rampant in society, at epidemic level
People avoid facts with conviction that confounds all logic
Belief is centered in a guru or master, omniscient bossy devil
Who defines the meaning of richeousness, of thoughts good or tragic
Obedience takes a heavy toll on believers both private and civil
Since discernment is no longer valued the truth has become obsolete
Don’t take this time for granted, don’t surrender to ignorance in defeat
nurture
Today’s poem for National Poetry Writing Month was inspired by a post on I didn’t have my glasses on. The science march and politics of late have brought facts and education to my mind. Gnosiophobia does describe the cause of much chaos, in my opinion. It is time we return to the basics….facts and science. Tune in to poetry in April at the #NaPoWriMo site. Find new poets to read and enjoy.
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- #GloPoWriMo
#NaPoWriMo Rewind
April 11, 2017
— 1 Comment
Casa Grande Ruins
There is no rewind button for the story of your life
The plot thickens when you fall asleep, depleting shelf life
There is no knowledge of the the time that remains to spend
It could go on forever, or it could suddenly crash, burn, and end
Nature takes time to produce majesty, power, and wonder
In a flash floodwater, centuries of culture are torn asunder
Watch your past for hints of what will reveal itself in the present
Karma is waiting with situations you will not be able to circumvent
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- #GloPoWriMo
Join poets around the world reading, writing, and reciting poetry in the month of April. Follow the hashtags on social media, and find new poetry here, at the #NaPoWriMo site. Try your hand at writing a poem using one of the many prompts available all month. Enjoy!!
Tradition Scrapped
April 11, 2017
— 2 Comments
Getty Image Easter weekend is fast-approaching, which means the annual White House Easter Egg Roll is just around the corner. Or at least some semblance of the popular, kid-friendly affair will occur, as the Palm Beach Daily News reports that Donald Trump will instead spend the upcoming holiday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. To…
#NaPoWriMo Veracity vs Mendacity
April 9, 2017
— 2 Comments
Cactus in bloom
What happened to our capacity to judge complete dreck from veracity?
How low will we need to go before we recognize the well disguised foe?
Supporting wolves in sheep’s’ clothing will replace our peace with loathing
Pull the wool from over your eyes, look directly at the reasons they lie.
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- #GloPoWriMo
Please join poets from around the world to ride the poetry train in April. Read, write, recite, or compete in one of the many contests. Check out the action here.
Entitled Ignorance #NaPoWriMo
April 3, 2017
— 1 Comment
the fuzz
the enforcer
the fuzz
Power to the heavily armed, confusion for the rest
Our resources have been confiscated to feed the hungry pest
Who dominates our life and times with injustice and pain
It is hard to say how many will survive this corrupt reign
Sitting it out is impossible because it runs right up to your door
Knocking down all that is holy in the name of an eternal war
#NaPoWriMo2017
Please ride the poetry train all month in April to find new poets, or find the poet in you. All are welcome all month.
#GloPoWriMo
The Tedium Trance
March 28, 2017
— 2 Comments
facade
What is the worst band of torture ever known to human kind?
I believe it is tedium, designed to numb the mind.
The orders and the triplicate files of meaningless transactions
Fill the time and suck the life out of the worker bees who serve
The whimsey of the ruling class with the resources and the nerve
To spend without repentance, to waste, to make improvidence
A privilege they perceive is granted to them for outstanding cognizance
hombre
rusty
#WeekendCoffeeShare Fire Rooster Edition
January 29, 2017
— 5 Comments
Smokey Takes A Stand
Welcome to my home on this cold sunny morning in Arizona. Make yourself at home while I put the kettle on. I can serve you coffee, an assortment of teas, and a wonderful combination of grapefruit,orange,and tangerine juice that I am drinking. Citrus season is in full swing here, so we are enjoying our harvest as well as some of our friends’ fruit. I have found a recipe for red grapefruit salsa that sounds really tasty, so I plan to whip that up later today. Please take some citrus back home with you when you go, since we have a super abundance to share with you. Relax and tell me about your life and writing. Did your week turn out as planned?
The year of the Rooster is here to signal a new beginning. Fire rooster is feisty and proud by nature. We have all witnessed the political season and the wild start of the new administration and knew we had crossed some kind of Rubicon. Things have changed radically and quickly in ways nobody really anticipated when the election began. As Hill correctly observed we are more divided that we thought. Although the war with the intelligence agencies was unprecedented, it is nothing in comparison with the National Park Service movement to publish scientific facts. The forms of protest are reinvented and refined daily. The year of the cock is all about reinventing everything. We are seeing that happen, whether we like it or not. Change is here. I did support the women who marched, but I feel very passionate about supporting the scientific community freaking out on behalf of science. I am afraid of dark ages without facts. We can’t afford to wipe out any more knowledge for political expediency. I feel like we all just jumped off a very steep cliff without our flying suits. We need science more than ever.
I wrote another photo prompt piece this week. I went with a free verse. The picture was intriguing, as they always are. That is the point of using the prompt. Maybe this week I will write two pieces of fiction. It is a freeing experience to be able to just make up anything you want from your imagination. My muse will eventually get warmed up to this new way of expressing myself. In the meantime I am retweeting all the @altNationalPark accounts, and joining the army of comedy on twitter.
Baddass Park Employees
War with the Park Service
Thanks for stopping by today to share coffee and some angst. I wish you all a happy and prosperous year of the rooster. May the cock be with us. Join this coffee sharing party each weekend hosted by Diana. Please visit to read, comment, or share your own post with this diverse group of talented writers. Add your two cents here.
