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Weekend Coffee Share #CommunityMatters
September 18, 2016
— 2 Comments
painting
fall flora in Tucson
fall flora in Tucson
Although I see some of you around the inter webs I have not taken the time to sit down and share coffee and life events with the group for a long time. I follow with interest your writing projects and day to day issues because although we are scattered around the globe, we have much in common. If you read and write as a primary source of pleasure and value, this coffee share is for you. The diversity of nationality and interests makes this the perfect place to just chat about this and that.
Fall is finally arriving at a snail’s pace in Baja Arizona. I have been writing about a serious crime problem we have had with the city government in Tucson for years. I think after almost a decade we will finally get a little rule of law in the neighborhood where I live. It has been a ridiculous struggle to communicate with all departments of this highly convoluted system. You never know how crazy it all is until you try to make it perform for the benefit of the community. I started writing blog posts about our predicament in 2013, never thinking I was creating an e book about government dysfunction. I thought that as soon as I presented the facts the problem would be solved by our paid public servants. This turned out to be a serious joke. Not only did all the departments refuse to perform in their respective jurisdictions, they refused to respond when citizens petitioned and pleaded for law enforcement services. I was dragged into the vortex of government dysfunction, to my horror. There was no bottom to this high speed waste of public funds and energy.
I wrote a post every few months and sent them all to the officials I hoped to make aware of our dire straights. This practice continues until today because every department has refused to address the crime problems we have reported to them. Without an hero I could never end the book or get any help to end obvious crime in my neighborhood. I searched high and wide for a hero for ages, finally finding one at the police department. This is very fitting since we have been plagued with crime and willful blindness to it courtesy of the inaction and or refusal to respond by the police department. We actually had a fake neighborhood watch to promote crime and willful blindness, funded by taxpayers. The damage done was, and continues to be, significant to property value as well as quality of life. It tuns out that once you set a precedent of non compliance and willful blindness it is very hard to change the direction. It continues to drag the community down until it is reformed.
There were two working titles before I settled on the current, and very apt one. The first few years the book was named after the neighborhood watch cop who supported charity scamming in the fire lane of our condo village. I called the work in progress “Dirty Becky”. Then Tucson elected a mayor who is a lawyer. Neighbors got all excited and petitioned this lawyer mayor to stop the 24 hour donation drop off inviting the general public to drive through our condo village to “donate” or volunteer to handle food for a charity scam. He never responded to us, even after we petitioned two years in a row. He told some cops to just stonewall us, and all the crime continued full speed ahead. Naturally with all this official help the scam stayed in business and completely trashed our hood as well as our respect for law enforcement. The working title changed to “The Emperor’s New Neighborhood Watch” to indicate that the lawyer mayor still had no idea the neighborhood watch was working hard to promote crime in the hood.
I have, after all these years, and all this inability to find a government agency that functions for our benefit, created a third and final title for my e book. It is “Clulusion, The Sinister Fusion of Cluelessness and Colusion in Government.” I do think the title perfectly evokes the spirit of the book I never wanted to write. Now all I need is a denouement. The hero will need to move mountains because changing the government is a gigantic task. When I am able to put this one in the can I think I can write an e book on purpose. Have you ever written an e book, gentle reader?
If you care to join the weekend coffee share party, share your link here.
Pygmalion Revisited
September 16, 2016
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I subscribe to Hulu for a month at a time, then put the subscription on hold for the maximum time, 90 days. This means it is only in the home 4 months out of the year, which is perfect for us. I binge down on different new shows, and by the end of the month I have seen everything I care to watch. This month I have watched a lot of very well produced series. I have focused on comedy, seeing at least 10 stand up comedy specials. I also found many comedy tv series that make me very happy. My favorite, now that the month is coming to a close, is Selfie. This modern day version of Pygmalion is hysterically updated to show characters typical to our times. This social satire hits all the notes.
Eliza Dooley, the same archetype represented in My Fair Lady by Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle, has a modern twist as a self obsessed social media star. The romantic comedy takes a satirical look at workaholics, socialnetworkaholics , and corporate hierarchy. It is set in a children’s pharmaceutical company where Henry Higgins, the British snob, is thinly disguised as Henry Higgins, branding expert. The plot and characters are instantly recognizable, but the story unfolds in ways I could never have imagined. All the parts are extremely well played, but the writers and producers get major credit. This script makes me laugh for every reason, from physical comedy schtick to sophisticated satirical commentary woven into the whole story. Some of the smaller parts are the very best because they have such extreme personalities and dialogue. I will not give away more than that. Just watch it if you can.
The story of Pygmalion comes for the mythology of Greece. It is based on a god who fell in love with one of his own sculptures. In 1748 the story was presented at the prestigious Paris Opera House. This production, written by Jean-Philippe Rameau, was staged as a one act piece. Since that time this story has been told and retold, including the popular musical version with Rex Harrison playing the stuffy and rude Henry. The story has the same punch line every time.
Greek god Pygmalion
What Did You Lose on 9/11/01?
September 9, 2016
— 7 Comments
Ranching
I have a solid memory of the morning of September 11, 2001. My father called me on the phone and told me the Pentagon had just been hit. I said “It’s just a Pentagon.” Then I turned on the TV news, and to my horror, learned about the tragic events that had taken place while I was rocking and rolling around my house, blissfully unaware. Those of us who were alive when JFK was shot all had a spooky feeling that this terror was all connected. The axis of evil had landed on our shores, and nothing would ever be the same. We lost our innocence, and many of us also lost our minds.
The first responders, and their sacrifices, came into focus like never before in modern history. The risks and the losses they take every day started to hit home in the hearts and minds of American citizens. Many folks joined the military because they felt the need to do something to protect our country. We got a Department of Homeland Security and the borders started getting way tighter. I was well aware of the border phenomena because I was working as a wetback gringa in Mexico at the time. Suddenly the Tecate border crossing, which had always been almost a joke border, became very strict. This clogged up the traffic, which would back up for blocks in Tecate, BC, waiting to cross. There were people who would wait in the line for you for a fee, and those people had all the work they wanted. Since I was a guest instructor, spending only a couple of weeks at time down there, the border issue really put a wet blanket on my commute. I had to drive 6 hours from Tucson, which I had accepted. I just could not handle waiting an hour in bumper to bumper traffic while waiting to leave the country. I determined after a couple of years that Mexico, lindo y querido, was no longer fun for me. I have not crossed the border since 2003. I have not seen the border wall, and I may never see it.
Things changed for the worse in Mexico because all kinds of people who had walked to the border from Guatemala, Chiapas, or Nicaragua were stuck. They had few options. The criminal element suddenly had a huge influx of desperate people to employ, a boon to smuggling and anything else they cared to do. They probably started digging new tunnels all over the place with their new source of labor. Our tiny town of TKT (the local way to spell Tecate) went from safe to wildly violent overnight. One of my Mexican colleagues came in to work all freaked out because she had discovered her boyfriend, chopped up in the trunk of a car. We went from zero to chopped up in the trunk of a car in no time. It was no longer safe for me to ride the public bus to Tijuana, use the route taxis to go to to the beach , or generally live it up in borderlandia. The party was over, but it had been very good while it lasted.
Now we mark the date with remembrance of the solemn occasion. I am afraid that the meaning is being lost. People are using it to sell merchandise, which really offends me. We all lost something on that day. I lost a country and a culture that I loved dearly. I mean Mexico when I say that, but in many ways my own country endured a cultural change from which we will not recover. What did you personally lose, gentle reader?
Loss of dignity at the mattress store
Tiger By The Tail
September 1, 2016
— 2 Comments
Dangerous
I was born in the year of the tiger. I did not discover this until I was middle aged. I only knew what I had read on the Chinese restaurant place mats. The problem with those place mats is the use of western years to measure Chinese years. Chinese new year falls any time between January and February, so it does not coincide with our calendar. I thought I was a rabbit based on this misinformation. I never really felt like a rabbit, so when I discovered the error I was somewhat relieved. If your birthday falls in December, January, or February you might want to check your animal sign for accuracy.
The reason it is pertinent is that a very large number of people on earth use this system to make decisions. You might not personally put any stock into Feng Shui or Daoist anything, but since such a large part of the world’s population does, I find it interesting. Big bucks are invested in Feng Shui for commercial buildings in Hong Kong, one of our big financial centers. There is a grand tradition and belief in this system. I don’t really make decisions with it, but do like to study the details. I feel the same way about western astrology. It is more than superstition because it has a long history and a following. I like learning about the way the ancients thought. They thought a lot about the stars, the moon and the sun. Farmers’ Almanac confirms that there is still some thought devoted to the positions of the astral bodies. I take note of special events in the sky, like today’s eclipse, as a matter of curiosity.
Curiosity may have killed some cats, but I feel I still have a few lives left to devote to everything that sets off my curious streak. In western astrology I am an Aquarius, a sign known for being aloof. Tigers are naturally aloof except when we need to kill and eat. Both of these signs are known as free (perhaps rebellious) spirits. Both are territorial and will defend the group that surrounds them. Both can act very swiftly without warning in order to protect the homeland. Both are perfectly happy being solitary, and don’t really care what others think. Both appear calm and reserved while being perfectly capable of pouncing on dishonorable players. Neither is motivated by power or money. Bravery and unpredictability is our stock in trade.
I am a metal tiger, highly conductive and sharp. I am a walking razor. Don’t you watch my size. I am dangerous!!!!!!!!! Don’t pull my tail.
Stairway To Ethical Heaven
August 31, 2016
— 1 Comment
Fraud Triangle
There is an ethical ladder that ascends to the highest moral code. As children we should be taught how to climb that ladder by example. Unfortunately many children are witnesses to adult misbehavior that leads them to cling to a low rung on the ladder. As we go through life we respond to situations according to our ethical code. There is a sliding scale for moral fortitude, depending on the difficulty of the stand, or the popular opposition to the truth. It is obviously easier to go along with the crowd no matter what they do. People who stay down at that level just want to not make waves. They do not consider how they contribute to the morality of the entire world.
At the bottom of the ethical stairway is only one consideration:
- Will I get caught? This is where people in grade school reside.
If we mature we start to realize there could be more:
- How does my behavior effect others? This usually comes as a hard lesson.
As educated adults participating in a community we may start to notice:
- What would the world be like if everyone acted like this?
On which rung do you live most of your life, gentle reader? I encourage you to take the highest ground possible, not just for yourself, but for the entire world.
Compromise Triangle
Full Moon in Aquarius 18 Aug, 2016
August 18, 2016
— 1 Comment
State of the Moon is a semi-regular, bimonthly check in with the universe. This is my first post that focuses on the moon, on astrology, on how what’s happening in the heavens impacts us on earth. I am still learning about astrology, but I process information through writing. I will also include links to blog […]
via State of the Moon: Full Moon in Aquarius — Northern Lights Witch
Pandora, What is in That Box?
August 11, 2016
— 1 Comment
Pandora and box
The myth of Pandora is a Greek creation story. Zeus ordered Hephaestus (blacksmith of the gods) to make the first woman. He did this using water and earth. Her name means all gifted because various gods gifted her with talents. She was married to Epimethius as a major prank. She was designed to punish disobedient humans. She was irresistible. She arrived with a box which was not to be opened. We know the part of the story in which she does open the box and evil and suffering escapes. In fact, evil runs rampant on earth as a result of Pandora’s weakness of curiosity. She has something in common with Eve, the first woman who just had to try the forbidden fruit in the garden.
When Pandora sees that she has released illness and evil on the earth she attempts to close the box quickly. In the original story she came with a jar (pithos). Later translations from the Greek changed the jar to a box. Either way, she managed to close the container with hope trapped inside. I feel this myth is pertinent to our world situation today. The evil, the misery, the illness has been released into our atmosphere. It is swirling all around us everywhere. Hope is often obscured, as if it is enclosed in some secret vessel.
Pandora and box
Hildegard von Bingen, Mystic of the Rhine
August 9, 2016
— 4 Comments
art by Hildegard von Bingen
Hildegard von Bingen
Hildegard von Bingen
“Even in a world that’s being shipwrecked, remain brave and strong.”
Hildegard von Bingen, mystic, visionary, polymath
Hildegard was born in 1098 in Bermersheim vor der Höhe, County Palatine of the Rhine, Holy Roman Empire. She died on17 September 1179 (aged 81) at Bingen am Rhein, County Palatine of the Rhine, Holy Roman Empire. She is venerated in Roman Catholic Church (Order of St. Benedict), Anglican Communion, and Lutheranism. She was canonized 10 May 2012 (equivalent canonization), Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI. Her major shrine is Eibingen Abbey in Germany. Her parents gave her as an oblate to a Benedictine order when she was a child. She had visions before being enclosed in in order on All Saint’s Day, 1112.
She learned to read and write, wrote three books of visionary theology, and preached throughout the Rhineland during her lifetime. She was exceptional for her time, and her work still shines as poetry inspired by divine mysticism. She wrote music, created a written language, and was the author of what might have been the first morality play. Her place in history remains because of her prolific recorded work. She left us 70 poems and 9 books. She wrote music and was an accomplished artist. She recorded medical and pharmaceutical texts that are consulted and studied today. I know of pharmacies in Europe that offer her original formulas today. She wrote letters to popes, bishops and nuns that survive. We are lucky she learned to write, a rare privilege for a woman at that time. Her profound teachings apply to us now more than ever. The world needs mystics and visionaries to lift us out of this material rut in which we find ourselves. We all need to learn to be feathers on the breath of God. We are too dependent on the earth, and have forgotten to look up to the heavens for eternal blessings. What did she say about this?
“Listen: there was once a king sitting on his throne. Around Him stood great and wonderfully beautiful columns ornamented with ivory, bearing the banners of the king with great honor. Then it pleased the king to raise a small feather from the ground, and he commanded it to fly. The feather flew, not because of anything in itself but because the air bore it along. Thus am I, a feather on the breath of God.”
Hildegard von Bingen
baby Hildegard von Bingen
New Moon in Leo August 2, 2016
July 31, 2016
— 2 Comments
The best feature about New Moons is the feeling of starting anew, a fresh start, a new beginning. Although the New Moon data is not as popular as the Full Moon, the dates are sought out by many people who know just how meaningful the New Moon event can be. The August 2 New Moon […]
via New Moon August 02, 2016, Filled With Abundance — Cherokee Billie Spiritual Advisor
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
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