mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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Talking About Race
August 10, 2013
— 2 Comments
My tribal sister Rayshay has attended a training offered by the Justice department to teach individuals how to have a conversation about race. I admire her courage and conviction in stepping up to the plate on this issue. She lives in Philly, and I live near the Mexican border in Tucson, so we have different perceptions of where we are today. I am also older, and lived in Texas in 1967-70, when civil rights were a really big deal, not in a good way. I would not take up this subject on my own. This is the first time I have responded to a prompt, but I think this discussion is important, so I hope some of my readers will decide to write a piece this week also.
In response to Rayshay’s next question: Where are we now? Where I live the strong elements of denial and us vs them mentality are damaging our quality of life. Racism is unfortunately integrated into politics and business. If you think national politics looks magnetized to the extreme, just take a walk on the wild side down here at the Mexican border of Arizona.
Here in Tucson racism is very likely to be emotionally bound to the border and immigration. The race/language/culture issues we have are about being Mexican and or Native American in a land once exclusively owned by your ancestors. Arizona became a state in 1912, so very different from Pennsylvania, one of the 13 colonies. The border itself is an unnatural place to stop anything or anyone. A long stretch of the Arizona border is on tribal land, which is a sovereign nation belonging to the people who were undoubtably here first, the Tohono O’odam. Arizona was part of Mexico; some land ownership in Arizona is documented by Spanish land grant. Rich mines belonged to the Apache tribes, and there were resources to create a thriving economy. Now we suffer from a water shortage that is unsustainable. Golf, cows, and general waste of our water has left the southwest in a pickle…literally. The salty groundwater leaves minerals in the ground that eventually make plant growth impossible. It is late in the game to decide who took what from whom; the resource of water has been depleted for everyone.
Politics in Arizona are tied to race, language, and Mexico. The school district in Tucson has been ordered to stop teaching a curriculum in ethnic studies. This complex and emotional issue brought out the worst in everyone. Some of the books from the program were apparently banned from all the libraries after the closure. There is bitterness on both sides of this issue. If public education becomes a reason to bicker, all students loose. Where we are in Arizona is nowhere near the place we need to be for a thriving and honest economy that serves the best interest of society.
Revolution in Openness, @JasonSilva
August 7, 2013
— 8 Comments
This is my first introduction to @JasonSilva. I lived in Venezuela in the 1960’s, which was a completely different era. He was born in 1982, when the country was undergoing rapid change and political upheaval. Some of my radical tendencies are a reaction to the petroleum princess lifestyle I enjoyed while living in a petroleum camp in eastern Venezuela. The imperialism of the situation became clear later when I became aware of politics.
His view on evolution is not only revolutionary, but very hopeful. I am glad I found him; I hope the gentle readers agree he is a gem to follow…brilliant in a brand new way:
To Tweet or Not to Tweet
July 29, 2013
— 5 Comments
glass mosaic
That is the question. The ways to use twitter are varied and always in flux. My own use of the stream changes over time. I started tweeting and Klout at about the same time, and quickly grasped the connection between the two. Initially I met people on Klout then followed them on twitter. My twitter stream was full of Klout tweets about K’s I gave and received. At some point I tired of this format and learned how to chat. Again, there are many styles of chat on the blue bird. Using hashtags the chat is found and followed. Here are some chat styles I have enjoyed:
- #Usguys or #Smgirlfriends are examples of full time chats
- #usguyschat or #Dadchat are examples of conversations at a specific time
- live chat any event or show using predetermined hashtags, like #DWTS
- breaking news will develop obvious hashtags, like #election, or #royalbaby
- keyword follow like paddle board yoga will find specific subjects
- Retweet and comment anywhere, any time
All of these styles will introduce you to other tweeps interested in topics you follow. You could think of chats as parties, and they are often promoted as such. I have won wonderful prizes for participating in chats, and met interesting people from all over the world. The best thing about a twitter party is that you can come and go as you please. Protocol requires polite and on topic responses, but there is no required stay.
If you have not tried twitter and wonder why anyone would, think of it as a living reference library. It reports news, connects like minded people, and facilitates discussion. It is used as a distraction and used for nefarious purposes as well, just like all human inventions. You choose the people and the subject. If you choose to share digital #Coffee and #Bacon all day, that is your own business. You are the master of your twitter stream; you can block any user and stalk anyone with a profile. It is as powerful as you want it to be.
Color Wheel Love
July 24, 2013
— 3 Comments
A model exists to measure and quantify your style of love. Known as Color Wheel Model of Love, the theory posits that people with similar love styles form more lasting relationships. All relationships are subject to mixing and morphing of styles; it would be rare to find a single pure style in one person.
The primary styes are:
- Eros-love as romantic ideal
- Ludos-love as a game
- Storge-love as friendship
Secondary styles are:
- Pragma-practical choice
- Agape-spiritual selfless love
- Mania- dramatic ups and downs
color wheel love
Mixing the styles creates a full rainbow. Take this quiz if you are curious about your styes. This idea was published by John Lee in his book, The Colors of Love , available on Amazon. It makes sense to me. Do you identify with one or more of these styles?
Alternatives to Dissapointment
July 21, 2013
— 7 Comments
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune are brutal. If you find yourself in a world you never made looking for ways to avoid reality, you may be heading for the ultimate disappointment, the end of your life. You are heading in that direction with or without your own acknowledgement. One of the important steps to take is facing mortality. Your parents and all our relations have ,or will at some time, die. Typically we never think of ourselves in this group. The dead are like traffic; you consider yourself as separate from the activity even when you are in the middle of it. Of course if you are reading this we think you are alive, but this is not a permanent state. Eventually you will run out of time, no matter how you have spent it. You probably mind your financial accounts. When will you begin to account for your time?
Time and responsibility are needed to create:
- well being
- strength
- flexibility
- humor
- mental agility
- strong constitution
- social balance
- family unity
- community peace
Mentally Ill Cops
July 18, 2013
— 1 Comment
In Tucson our cops represent themselves very badly. A cop in training went to a gas station wearing a bullet proof vest waving his duty weapon at the clerk. He was looking intoxicated, which he has a right to be..in private…but not in public with the vest and weapon we supplied for this loose cannon. The TPD asks the public to excuse this little incident and forget another recent cop drunk driving to work event. Our tax dollars are being spent wisely we are assured. I don’t know anyone who trusts the TPD in my neighborhood. I do not like the way they spend my tax dollars.
If the general public has so much mental illness we need to assume that some of the cop population suffers from similar problems. If we look at evidence we notice that our police in Tucson behave badly. I am not at all pleased to have armed this punk who used his duty weapon to show his alignment with reality. Guns do not kill people…drunk punks dressed in vests certainly might.
Protagoras, the Gods, and You
July 17, 2013
— 2 Comments
Writing twenty-five hundred years ago, the Greek philosopher Protagoras (c. 490-420 BCE) might provide wise counsel to our troubled, conflicted age, and offer some hope: “Concerning the gods,” he wrote, “I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not, nor of what form they are; for there are many obstacles to such knowledge, including the obscurity of the subject and the shortness of human life.”
When a pantheon ruled many dramatic events took place between gods and goddesses, as well as between the immortals and the mortals; life was more exciting. The potential for anything to happen was greater in the collective consciousness before pesky science invaded religious belief. Philosophy turned a corner when Protagoras, a sophist who died when Plato was young, brought forth his teachings. He wrote and taught from 490-420 BC, and is reputed to be the first Greek to make money in higher education. His fees were reputedly very steep. He wrote, but none of his written work survived. He was itinerant, traveling all over Greece to find students. The new ideas he fostered and taught were:
- Relativism- there are two sides to every story
- Orthoepeia- it is possible to convince the majority that the the lesser choice is the better one with rhetoric
- Agnosticism-there is no way to have direct knowledge of any of the gods
This has meaning today as we see those who defend absolute truth of any kind. Modern courts of law have their foundations in these three ideas. Law schools teach orthoepeia as part of trial training. Reasonable doubt is relativism. Before Protagoras all earthly events were explained by relating nature to the gods’ whims. Once there was reasonable doubt of that, the world started to look more controllable. Justice, however, is not served when these valuable teachings are not spread equally and given to all citizens. We still have giant problems with democracy and education. What would Protagoras teach the Congress of the US???
The Catalyst is not Consumed
July 16, 2013
— 3 Comments
The catalyst archetype is rare in human personalities. Intuition plays a key role in the transformative power of this person. Intense scrutiny and focus is the special realm of the human catalyst. Rebels can be catalysts, but there are a few different kinds. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word:
- Chemistry. A substance, usually used in small amounts relative to the reactants, that modifies and increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed in the process.
- One that precipitates a process or event, especially without being involved in or changed by the consequences: “A free press … has remained … a vital catalyst to an informed and responsible electorate” (Robert O’Neal).
To modify or increase rate of reaction without being consumed is no small feat. Most folks who go out intentionally to make big change in the world burn out and are consumed in the process. I am not such a person. I am a true catalyst. My view is basically not in line with the views of those who surround me; often it is diametrically opposed. Infiltration is the key to changing anything. The only time I sincerely burned out and quit as an agent of change was when I infiltrated the VA as a volunteer to improve health care for vets. That was just too much for me. My specialty as a catalyst is as a mendacity meter. People lie all the time, and I am very sensitive to the common practice. I am gifted with a very accurate sensor that detects dishonesty of all kinds. This is neither a blessing nor a curse. It is my unique talent that I am somehow obligated to use for the betterment of mankind. We catalysts have a moral obligation to avoid snark because, tempting as it may be, outing people is not usually beneficial to anyone.
People lie for many reasons. I find that usually they fail to tell the truth because they have no knowledge or training in the truth. If brainwashing works, then the victim believes what has been inculcated. As I review my life I clearly notice a strong tendency to spy/rebel/teach, as a cycle. I love infiltration for no reason:I enjoy the feeling of being a foreign object in a strange culture, incognito…I almost never go for status quo ….and I fill my teaching with subversive messages I hope will be released into the students’ brains as a constant reminder to do due diligence and individuate. I have a mission to tell the truth, but in a helpful way. Not everything that is true needs to be said, but when it does I am ready to say it. This blog is my channel to put this gift to the highest and best use. Thanks to all the gentle readers who give me this opportunity.
Middle Class as History Lesson
July 10, 2013
— 3 Comments
The vanishing middle class in America is the subject of much discussion. In fact, tonight some of the internet’s finest minds will tweet brilliant ideas in a twitter chat on this subject. How the advent of technology has reduced the need for big workforces that manufacturing employed in the past is part of our political history and our new economy. Pros and cons can be weighed, but there is nobody who believes our economic policies have not grown a very wealthy upper class with extrme privilege at the expense of the rest of the population. Our great divide grows larger each minute providing tax breaks, and a dream environment for big business while poverty grips our children and our elderly. The new fat cat is fat indeed. A generation of wealth has been wiped out and shifted to the wealthiest and most powerful of our citizens.
I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Moyers several times when I worked at fancy spas. He was a spa bunny. He is more charming in person than I ever imagined, quickly running to the top of my favorite celebrity list. I learned one time talking with him down in Mexico that his mother was from Texas, like mine. They both had the same first name, Ruby. His mom, however, was named Ruby Jewel. Wow. Last night on Charlie Rose his interview reminded me of all the reasons I love him, but it also taught me that we were both in Austin when he was working for LBJ and I was protesting LBJ. It’s like we’re connected.
Wurst, Weiners, and Weenies
July 3, 2013
— 4 Comments
hot dog
Fast food has been known to the Euros for ages. They demand fast food everywhere all the time, but it is local and superb. They are all about the grilled wurst. It s everywhere, grilled outside and served with a piece of bread, but no hot dog bun. This snack/meal is the basic on the go food for German-speaking peeps, including the Swiss. Everywhere you go with Swiss people they end up with a wurst. It is not what I eat, but there are plenty of street foods that I adore. My favorite dish on earth is vegetarian tandooori schnitzel at Hiltl. The oldest vegetarian restaurant in Europe is in Zurich, in the heart of downtown Switzerland; the schnitzel calls to me in my dreams.
How we fell so far from the wurst grilling street vendors to the Wienerschnitzel chili dog is a sad story of linguistic and culinary decline. A schnizel is a filet of pork sirloin, and not a hot dog in any way. Wiener refers to Vienna, a culinary hub where I assure you nobody would consider eating the chili dog or our famous canned Vienna sausage. They just would not do that to their taste buds and bodies. Beanie Weenies would be scorned as well because food that rides around in a can is simply not fast. The first ingredient in these alleged fast foods is petroleum, since they are shipped great distances in freezing conditions or heavy packaging.
Ironically, on the most important weenie weekend of the year, 4th of July, I probably pay more for my vegetarian apple smoked sausage which I will eat with organic sauerkraut than most people pay for the meat hot dog, corn dog, or burger. It too has traveled far in the so called health food supply chain. I have bought these because I am lazy and have not made my own, which are always better than store bought. At least when I want a chili dog I make the chili. Truly taking care of body earth and soul means saying good bye, or at least see you later to processed foods that cost too much to produce. These well traveled weenies are not good for anyone. To heal the politics of the nation we need to pass on the used Weiners, and get back to basic whole civilization.
