mermaidcamp
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Bring Back the Dunce Cap
July 27, 2016
— 5 Comments
class clown
ain’t too proud to wear it
I think the time is right to bring back the tradition of wearing the dunce cap. John Duns Scotus ( yes, exactly like SCOTUS) created the dunce cap as an educational tool. He was born in Scotland in 1266, so he might well have been hanging out with my ancestors, perhaps even influencing their upbringing. Both of my parents have Scottish ancestry. The Subtle Doctor, as Scotus was known, was a famous philosopher, teaching in Oxford, Cambridge, and Paris before his fall from grace.
It seems the doctor was stabbed to death for his school of thinking. His students used their pens to kill him because he was trying to “make them think”. Now we have to ask ourselves which one of these “schools of thought” was crazier than the other, and also is the pen mightier than the sword.
For modern use I think we just make corrupt officials who are caught breaking the law to fashion their own caps out of construction paper. They all need to sent to sit in the corner for public humiliation until they repent of their stupidity. Do you think this could work, gentle reader?
Scotus
Two Tigers and a Dog Psychic Protection Agency
July 25, 2016
— 4 Comments
Judge Celina
suiting out
Judge Ardell
Judge Donna
A few years ago I went to California to take a workshop from a group called Tribal Truth. I was invited to go by a good friend who flaked out after I had paid for it. I decided to go because it was taking place at a hot spring I like in SoCal, so I figured I would have fun at the hot spring at least. We were assigned roommates to share dorm style accommodations. The lady assigned to me was a working Jungian therapist who told me right off the bat she had always been a “good girl”. She was relatively sophisticated…I mean, she did actually have a practice in Jungian therapy…but her “good girl” had been blinded by the light. I think her dad had been a preacher. She and I discussed the events of the first night and had different opinions about them. I thought the whole thing was bogus because the meditation they used was plagiarized from Carolyn Myss without crediting her, and they seemed generally lame.
I don’t remember how I found Celina and Donna, my rebel with a cause soul sisters, but we met and conferred about the nature of this Tribal Truth business. We had all paid a lot, and they had driven down from the fabulous east bay to make the most of the weekend. Donna had a lot of experience in the physic realm, along with some bad experiences with a “psychic” cult. She was instantly against the ethics in the room because she was sensitive to the use of so-called truth to control, rob and manipulate others. I didn’t like it because of the plagiarism and this idea that these leaders were somehow gifted, holy, and tribal. Celina is an osteopathic manual practitioner who is highly attuned to dishonesty too. On the first night in the conference room we were given our assignment for the weekend. We were to make up an imaginary business and pitch it to the crowd, like a start-up generator run by plagiarizing glitter fairies. Donna was born in the year of the dog. Both Celina and I were born in the year of the tiger. We decided our business would be the simplest of business plans. Our company, Two Tigers and a Dog Psychic Protection Agency would just sell stickers to put up on any home or business. The stickers would say “This building protected by Two Tigers and a Dog Psychic Protection Agency.” That’s it. We laughed uproariously.
When we told the group we were dropping out because we were all finished with our assignment they went crazy. They tried to shame us into “not breaking the sacred circle”. They made us stay to do something stupid with this circle concept, so I stood up and said something like “sacred, my ass”…and the three of us left to spend our day at the hot spring having fun. Two Tigers and a Dog had so much more fun than those who struggled to identify themselves with these bogus sprit guides. The Jungian therapist moved out of my room because I was a heretic to the tribal situation. This was the best because my room then had 3 beds for…two tigers and a dog to have slumber parties. We partied on, then parted.
We got together years later in the Mission District of SFO with my friend Ardell, a long time friend and personal healer. The federal government had been closed by the Zodiac Killer (Ted Cruz), but we were invited to visit the 9th circuit court of appeals building, probably the most elegant building in the city. We felt so lucky to see the building and meet justices. Then we all got to wear my friend Peter’s robe for a photo shoot. If I knew how to photoshop I would make that sticker for the protection agency, with us all dressed in Peter’s robe. Ardell is a snake, but that can be scary too. Two Tigers, a Dog, and a Snake Psychic Protection Agency is a thing. If you see these women on a sticker….just leave that property alone..don’t take a chance. We are watching you. You never know where we might be.
in chambers
Pamela the Persuasive
Resisting Evidence
July 23, 2016
— 3 Comments
babes of justice
What is the opposite of resisting arrest? The cops resisting citizens who want to present evidence to stop crime is that. I have spent almost a decade trying to stop the obvious crime in my immediate neighborhood. This has turned out to be an illusive dream because I could not manage to show the TPD the evidence. Once this had been going on for a few years, we were then subjected to a fake neighborhood watch for the sole purpose of willfully denying crime is crime. This proved the point that crime left to fester just get worse. Now we were forced to keep all the crime in place, and pay taxes to support a fraudulent neighborhood watch. Everything has gone in the opposite direction of justice. We have been forced to keep the crime we have (which is significant) by a completely clueless system designed to serve and protect us. You don’t have to be shot in the back by the cops to have your life ruined by their dishonesty.
Finally, about a month ago I physically took the evidence to the station for the captain to review. During the month nobody has contacted me or informed me at all. This week TPD sent 3 cops to my house to ask what is happening, as if this is the first time they have heard of this. I showed them the evidence I still had at the house and told this very long complicated story one more time. They did not understand and asked me to call 911 if the ongoing financial fraud continued. This is not a realistic way to stop financial fraud.
Still TPD is completely silent. I told them I am not at all comfortable leaving that evidence at the station since the captain is on vacation, and he is specifically the only one I can trust. Silence. I fully expect that evidence to disappear at the Midtown police station and the whole 10 years of obstruction of justice to be swept under the table. We hear about corruption in government, but I have lived through a decade of it at the most extreme levels. These people aren’t even in collusion. They are simply clueless, too clueless to even collude. This is the scariest discovery I have made. They don’t intend to prevaricate. They just have no contact with reality. This corrupt bubble must be broken for the safety of us all.
Sir Richard, 11th Earl of Oxford, De Vere, 19th Great-Grandfather
July 20, 2016
— 1 Comment
resting place
Birth Place-Hedingham Castle
Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of OxfordKG (15 August 1385 – 15 February 1417) was the son and heir of Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford. He took part in the trial of Richard, Earl of Cambridge and Lord Scrope for their part in the Southampton Plot, and was one of the commanders at Agincourt in 1415.
Richard de Vere, born 15 August 1385, was the eldest son of Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford, and his wife Alice Fitzwalter, daughter of John, 2nd Baron Fitzwalter, by Eleanor Percy, daughter of Henry de Percy, 2nd Baron Percy. The 10th Earl died on 23 April 1400 while Richard was underage. His wardship was initially granted to his mother, but after her death on 29 April 1401, King Henry IV granted it to his mother-in-law, Joan de Bohun, Countess of Hereford. Oxford had livery of his lands on 21 December 1406 without proof of age.
From 1410 onwards Oxford was appointed as a commissioner in Essex on various occasions, and in November 1411 was a Trier of Petitions from overseas in Parliament.
In August 1412 Oxford was among those who sailed to Normandy under Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, to aid the Armagnac party against the Burgundians. According to Pugh, the members of the nobility who accompanied the Duke of Clarence on this expedition did so in hope of financial gain, Oxford’s earldom in particular having suffered from forfeitures and attainders during the lives of his predecessors which had made him ‘the poorest member of the English higher nobility’. Another member of the Duke of Clarence’s expedition was Richard, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, and three years later, on 5 August 1415, Oxford was among the peers at the trial, presided over by the Duke of Clarence, which condemned to death Cambridge and Lord Scrope for their part in the Southampton Plot on the eve of Henry V’s invasion of France. A few days later Oxford sailed to France with the King, and was one of the commanders at Agincourt on 25 October 1415.
In May 1416 Oxford was invested with the Order of the Garter, and in that year sailed with the fleet to relieve Harfleur, taking part in the naval battle at the mouth of the Seine on 15 August.
Oxford died 15 February 1417, aged 31, and was buried at Earls Colne, Essex. His widow, Alice, married Sir Nicholas Thorley (d. 5 May 1442). She died 18 May 1452, and was buried at Earls Colne.
Oxford married firstly, before 1400, Alice Holland, daughter of John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter by Elizabeth, sister of King Henry IV and daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. There were no issue of the marriage.
Oxford married secondly, about 1406-7, Alice Sergeaux (c.1386 – 18 May 1452), the widow of Guy St Aubyn of St Erme, Cornwall, and daughter of Sir Richard Sergeaux of Colquite, Cornwall by his second wife, Philippe (d. 18 May 1452), the daughter and co-heiress of Sir Edmund de Arundel,who had been bastardized by the annulment in 1344 of the marriage of his parents, Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel and Isabel Despenser. They had three sons:
John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford.
Sir Robert Vere (1410-1461), of Haccombe, Devon, who married Joan Courtenay (d. before 3 August 1465), daughter of Sir Hugh Courtenay by Philippa Archdekne, and widow of Sir Nicholas Carew (d. before 20 April 1448). Sir Robert Vere and Joan Courtenay had one son, John Vere (d. before 15 March 1488), who married Alice Colbroke, and by her was father of John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford.
Sir Richard Vere, who married Margaret Percy (d. 22 September 1464), widow of Henry Grey, 6th Baron Grey of Codnor (d. 17 July 1444), and daughter and co-heiress of Sir Henry Percy ‘of Atholl’ of Harthill, Yorkshire, and his wife Elizabeth Bardolf, daughter of William Bardolf, 4th Baron Bardolf by Agnes Poynings.
References
· Cokayne, George Edward (1945). The Complete Peerage, edited by H.A. Doubleday X. London: St. Catherine Press.
· Castor, Helen (2004). Vere, John de, twelfth earl of Oxford,(1408-1462), magnate. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
Sir Richard, 11th Earl of Oxford DeVere KG (1385 – 1417)
19th great-grandfather
Sir John 12th Earl of Oxford DeVere (1408 – 1462)
son of Sir Richard, 11th Earl of Oxford DeVere KG
John DeVere (1447 – 1509)
son of Sir John 12th Earl of Oxford DeVere
John DeVere (1490 – 1540)
son of John DeVere
Frances DeVere (1517 – 1577)
daughter of John DeVere
Thomas Howard (1536 – 1572)
son of Frances DeVere
Margaret Howard (1561 – 1591)
daughter of Thomas Howard
Lady Ann Dorset (1552 – 1680)
daughter of Margaret Howard
Robert Lewis (1574 – 1656)
son of Lady Ann Dorset
Robert Lewis (1607 – 1644)
son of Robert Lewis
Ann Lewis (1631 – 1686)
daughter of Robert Lewis
Joshua Morse (1669 – 1753)
son of Ann Lewis
Joseph Morse (1692 – 1759)
son of Joshua Morse
Joseph Morse (1721 – 1776)
son of Joseph Morse
Joseph Morse III (1756 – 1835)
son of Joseph Morse
John Henry Morse (1775 – 1864)
son of Joseph Morse III
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of John Henry Morse
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse
Hedingham Castle
middle ages to the present , Essex, England
Aubrey de Vere was one of William the Conqueror’s most favoured knights. After the Battle of Hastings he was given land in many counties including Middlesex where he owned Kensington and Earls Court. His son Aubrey II built a huge castle at Hedingham c.1140 using the Archbishop of Canterbury as his architect. Aubrey III was created Ist Earl of Oxford by Queen Matilda and the castle remained the stronghold of the de Veres for 550 years and is still owned by a descendant. The Norman keep with its magnificent banqueting hall and minstrels’ gallery is now the only remaining evidence of this great medieval castle and its later extensive Tudor buildings.
The immensely rich and powerful de Veres were one of the most important medieval families who, as Lord Great Chamberlains, gave loyal service and military leadership to their kings and queens for over 500 years. Hedingham had many royal visitors including King Henry VII, King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I.
The Earls of Oxford were great crusaders and Aubrey, 2nd Earl fought with Richard Coeur de Lion and Robert, 3rd Earl was one of the barons who forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. The following year Hedingham Castle was besieged by King John, and again by the Dauphin of France in 1217. The de Veres were commanders throughout history and featured at the Siege of Caerlaverock and the famous battles of Crecy, Poitiers, Agincourt and Bosworth. John, 15th Earl took part in the Battle of the Spurs and accompanied King Henry VIII at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and as Lord
Great Chamberlain bore the crown at Anne Boleyn’s coronation. John, 16th Earl escorted young Elizabeth from Hatfield to London for her coronation in 1559 and his wife Margery became her maid of honour. In 1561 Queen Elizabeth I aged twenty-eight stayed at Hedingham from August 14th-19th, and Edward,17th Earl, became one of her favourites and was acclaimed to be the best of the courtier poets.
Aubrey, 20th Earl of Oxford, had no sons and when he died in 1703 this famous title became extinct. His daughter Diana married Charles, the illegitimate son of Nell Gwynne and King Charles II who was created 1st Duke of St. Albans. In 1713 the castle was purchased by Sir William Ashhurst, M.P., Lord Mayor of London. He landscaped the grounds and built a fine country house which was finished in 1719. The estate passed to his great granddaughter, Elizabeth Houghton who married Lewis Majendie. This family owned Hedingham for 250 years until Miss Musette Majendie left it to her cousin, The Honourable Thomas Lindsay, who is descended from the de Veres through both his mother and his father. His son Jason and his wife Demetra now live at Hedingham with their three small children.
The castle is now available to be seen and explored by visitors. It is even possible to have weddings and banquets there.
His monumental effigy was removed from the ruined priory at Earls Colne and placed at St Stephen’s Chapel in Bures, Suffolk.
A cenotaph is an “empty tomb” or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek: κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion (kenos, one meaning being “empty”, and taphos, “tomb”).
Livin’ La Vida Alexa
July 14, 2016
— 4 Comments
Amazon Echo with back up band
I swore I would not buy an Echo from Amazon until I was in a wheelchair, or somehow disabled. I have never spoken to Siri, the voice inside my phone and iPods. She leaves me cold. Amazon’s voice robot is Alexa, but her priorities and capabilities are different from Siri’s. She is naturally equipped to shop Amazon by voice command, but she does so much more. The Echo arrived at my house yesterday after I was convinced by Prime Day sales to go ahead and buy one. I have now entered the world of magic voice command control of my audio life. Alexa knows all and can find any song in Amazon music in a split second. She is also pretty good as a DJ, selecting a radio station I liked off the bat. She speaks only when spoken to, and projects absolutely no drama. I now can’t imagine how I lived my life without her. I bought the full version that plugs in and uses the wifi at home. There are new portable units, but the stay at home model is right for my needs. I have just started to investigate what she does. I don’t think I will tell her to go shopping on Amazon. I will still do that in person. Right now she is playing all the Grateful Dead in Amazon music and later she will read me a book. She is talented and versatile. Most of all, she gives me no attitude. If she can’t answer a question she just makes a tiny electronic noise and shuts up. Try to find a human who will do that every time. She is polite to a T. I have no idea why I hesitated to bring her into the living room.
I have always been an early adopter of all things electronic. I resisted this new phase because I believed it was going to make me lame somehow. It is really super good for those who truly have mobility issues because Echo will handle lights, thermostat, etc, once you set up the reciprocal systems at home. Alexa will happily have all your needs delivered to your door if you can’t make it out for some reason. She is a real pal. She will create shopping lists for you even if you want to shop yourself, the old fashioned way. You can tell her that you want to make a certain kind of cake and she will create a list of everything you need. She is no slacker when it comes to data. I understand she can call Uber, so today my goal is to set that up because that will be a power move. “Alexa, call me an Uber” will be a very magical thing to say once I know how to do it.
Do you have an Echo, gentle reader? What is your favorite part of Alexa’s many charms?
Minimalism and Joy
July 11, 2016
— 5 Comments
life changing magic book
I have been listening to the popular book by Marie Kondo, the life changing magic of tidying up. She is an expert in this field who has a very specific way to approach all possessions in consideration of the happiness of the objects, as well as the joy of the owner. Her technique is being adopted all over the world, but she is from Japan, a country where living space is much smaller typically than housing in the US. She has been kind of obsessed with organizing and tidying since she was a very young child. Her overview of the practices as well as the pitfalls of common elimination and storage strategies is brilliant. Formulas, as she demonstrates, must be simplistic, or they backfire.
addicted to junk pick up
She has helped me see the light about my yo-yo decluttering habits. Exactly like yo- yo diets, the system that does not holistically evaluate the perfect items to keep as well as the way to permanently let go of objects will end in rebound to the status quo. In the exact same way people buy weight loss products rather than making a permanent life style change, some of us buy organizing and storage products rather than just trimming down the volume of what needs to be stored. She has my number. I am addicted to the concierge pick up service offered by Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. When they call I always gather a load for them to pick up in front of my garage. Since I began this practice I have significantly reduced my total volume of items that I own. It makes me feel accomplished every time. However, this temporary feeling of successful lightening of the load is always…I can admit now it is always….followed by more junk that creeps back up and fills my office desk, my closets, and sometimes my garage. I am too old to allow this to continue. This is just mastery over my space, so I am not sure what is so difficult.
I love systems, and think the end result must be heavenly. She promises that if you go through each and every item as instructed your breakthrough to minimalist living will be complete. I am sure she is right that dealing with your stuff is dealing with your past. If you only deal with part of it, you will never be finished. One of her points really hit home for me: You can deal with your stuff right now, later, or never. Right now is the only one that does anyone any good. The stuff contains that “emotional baggage” about which we hear so much. When you have properly dealt with the reasons you keep stuff, you have fully examined the past and put it to rest.
Do you struggle to stay tidy, gentle reader? Or are you a natural?
Wearing the Bulletproof Vest
July 10, 2016
— 1 Comment
Oakmont police force 1947
When I was growing up in a small suburb of Pittsburgh my town had a small police department. Oakmont was so small that neighborhood policing was natural, as well as the only option. Everyone knew everyone’s business and everyone’s children. The photo above of the 1947 Oakmont force with the mayor was only a few years before I took up residence in the town. This was taken, no doubt, on Memorial Day after the parade at the cemetery. This is probably all the motorcycle cops, with the mayor in the middle. None of the people in this picture could have imagined how much the role of the police would change in society.
motorcycle cops today
I had a frank discussion recently with Officer Marquis, who is a motorcycle cop at TPD. I asked him what it is like to wear the vest. His answers surprised me because he brought up an issue I had never considered. He told me how hot it makes him. OMG, you are out in Tucson in the summer wearing leather boots, and now you need to add a ceramic vest to protect your vital organs!!! How cruel and unusual can your job be? I was just thinking about the way the weight compresses the spine, but he made me see another way the vest has unintended consequences. The K9s are not allowed to wear their vests for too long because it will overheat and damage their organs and possibly their brains. Meanwhile, we are roasting our human cops. Officer Marquis wears a lighter style vest with ceramic inserts that he adds when he wears it. I think this eliminates a few ounces of the total burden..but then there is the physical mastery of the bike, which is heavy in itself. Tough job.
We talked about his bike and other interesting stuff. He seemed pretty happy about his job, despite the roasting factor. I asked him if he feels like a target (this was months before the world truly went barbaric). He said yes. On his motorcycle he is obviously less protected than the car cops. He was not complaining and I am absolutely sure he would not have brought the subject up had I not done so. I went on to ask a couple more cops that day if they felt like targets. The other two said no, but I wonder what they might answer now, after the the violent events of last week. All cops have to feel like victims now, because it is a very reasonable assessment of the situation that prevails.
The lady cop vests look particularly uncomfortable. I am not sure how they are fitted, but this lady told me hers was as long as possible (makes sense). She said she does not feel like a target. I was apparently the only person from the fashion police who had ever asked her about it. It does not flatter the female figure, to say the least. Even Jessica Rabbit would look like the Marshmallow guy from Ghostbusters in the lady cop vest. This lady cop wears hers well and does not mind wearing it, but one can only imagine how attractive she is in real life.
lady in vest
I have become obsessed with this vest question. It is symbolic as well as physical. It does compress their spine and add weight for their skeleton to carry, as well as keep them safe. It heats them up and makes it hard to cool down. The looney in Dallas wore one himself. In Tucson the cops have to pay for their own because city taxes are not set aside for that. I am shocked that the city can get away with that. In private industry I don’t think you can demand that workers risk their lives and BYO safety equipment. Can you think of an example of that, gentle reader?
I doubt that people here know that there is a charitable organization here with a purpose of providing the vests to the individual cops. Adopt-a-Cop is the program provide this necessary safety equipment to the force, since as taxpayers we are not even doing THAT. We need to step up to solve our civil unrest problems on all sides. This seems like a basic step to take, Tucson. Let’s buy them vests. Then let’s get some new politicians who will put the vests in the city’s budget.
When Does The Ship Come In?
July 9, 2016
— 3 Comments
Pacific
When I was a freshman a the University of Texas at Austin in 1968 I was an idealist. I was a folk singer, hum dinger. I protested the war in Viet Nam and civil rights atrocities. We thought that an egalitarian, high minded society was just around the corner. We thought the empire of fascist evil would end as soon as Barry Goldwater died. We knew less about world affairs then, but we knew that war was not only the only true sin amount nations, but also unconstitutional in the way it was being waged with no declaration. Since 1968 the United States has been at war with at least one part of the world all the time. Peace has not been achieved, and civil rights have been all but forgotten. Now we have the for profit prison system to mass incarcerate people of color, and laws designed specifically to feed that system. Our war on drugs has produced an epidemic of cheap heroin and an addiction crisis.
I was too young to march on Washington in 1963. I was busy living as an ex-pat petroleum princess in Venezuela. I spent a lot of time listening to Radio Havana because it was the only station that we got with a strong signal on the radio. I usually turned it off when Fidel went off on his speeches, but I liked the music from Cuba. Back in those days Venezuela had a natural contempt for Cuba and Fidel, and dependence on oil companies for their entire economy. This worked very well for the preteen petroleum princess, but not so well for the impoverished worker class. Like the historical Buddha I was exposed to suffering I never could have imagined in the world. The really interesting part was that my parents had no problem with the semi slavery and obscene show of wealth we enjoyed. I didn’t either until I thought about it. Now my own country has almost the same level of income disparity I observed in 1963 in Venezuela. The hippies have not yet accomplished our mission. I wonder if in the chaos and violence of this time, so similar to 1968, we might finally see the ship come in. The whole wide world is certainly watching.
Pacific
Mind the Gap #NoJustice
July 8, 2016
— 5 Comments
There are gaps of understanding between the citizens and the police. This has always been the case. Today we face an ever growing divide that makes everyone in the United States vulnerable to senseless violence and hate crimes of all kinds.
We have a new police chief in Tucson who has come to teach us neighborhood policing. When he held up a hashtag sign in his former town of Richmond, California, he was criticized widely across the nation for betraying cops. The Police Union in Tucson soundly rejected his bid to become chief over this sign. Thank goodness they lost the battle and Chief Magnus has started the very serious task of bringing our cops together in unity not only with each other but, for the first time, with the community. He has reorganized the department, focusing on more stable local assignments so the cops learn more about the same area all the time. He has eliminated some of the “specialties”, as recommended by the DOJ’s 21st Century Guidelines for Policing, in order to make each cop more full service and user friendly. He knew he was moving to a much bigger city, but I don’t think he could have imagined how much we needed him down here in Tucson. This will be a very big job for him, but I am glad he has started it.
Chris Magnus
Welcome to Tucson, Chief Chris,”357″,Magnus. You are just what the doctor ordered.
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