mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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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.
Death by Side Effect
June 2, 2016
— 1 Comment
skull and crossbones
The death rate in the US has risen in 2015 for some alarming reasons. The new statistics for Alzheimer’s disease, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis show that our population suffers from toxic overload. The liver disease is normally caused by alcohol consumption, and Alzheimer’s is still a mystery. I took care of both of my demented parents until death. My own suspicion about their memory loss issues is that they were primarily caused by alcohol consumption that continued for more than 65 years. My parents were not seriously into drugs like people are today, but they did like to drink. Their diet choices and alcohol consumption worsened as they aged. I often wondered if could have been reversed if they had reformed rather then slipped into worsening habits. We will never know. For myself I am making different choices. I don’t think I have a genetic risk from my parents, as much as I cultural one, from being raised at a cocktail party.
Now the middle aged white population is into opioids. There is an increase in suicide by drug overdose happening in this group. Heroin is often a cheaper option for those who begin their use of opioids with a doctor’s referral. I don’t use any prescription drugs, but I know very few people of any age like me. Almost everyone is on something. The idea of taking meds for everything, real or imagined, has become so common that doctors have basically become drug dealers. Now Americans are killing themselves willfully and accidentally with these dangerous substances. I am concerned about our society. These are not social drugs, but drugs designed to kill pain. Have we no skills to deal with pain? I am afraid of this trend. I watch the evening news that is punctuated with drug commercials that must quickly mention the side effects. Often the side effects mentioned in the commercials include increased possibility of death. In my mind the whole country is on one dangerous drug or another with increased risk of death as a general side effect. I have no solution, gentle reader. I will close with the words of Prince, our recently deceased rock royalty:
You can be the president. I’d rather be the Pope.
You can be the side effect. I’d rather be the dope.
It is assumed that Prince’s death involved a drug overdose of pain killer.
Snitch, Tattle and Tell by @UnMakeaBully
May 31, 2016
— 3 Comments
This excellent production from down under shows how bullying can be contained by communication. I found the twitter account @UnMakeaBully, a brilliant collaboration of students around the world creating anti-bullying content. Their creativity and first hand knowledge of school bullying make the kids own content the ideal catalyst for reform. This piece highlights students’ unwillingness to reveal the truth to authorities. They have a cultural belief that snitching is a betrayal of their other student colleagues. They maintain a stone wall because of peer pressure. By finding the rapport with the kids, the school authorities can change the situation for the better. I am a huge fan of this movement. Let’s stop little bullies from becoming grown up bullies.
The group maintains an instagram account where they showcase the productions and the students who participate in them. I am happily impressed with the very creative solutions these young people are finding and promoting. If there is a starter drug for a lifetime of violent tendencies, it must be school bullying. It is an excellent place to start to reduce needless violence in our society. “Don’t Wait” is the group’s motto. I could not agree more. Please check out this group for more innovative ways to bring bullying (child as well as adult) to heel.
Fire Escape
May 11, 2016
— 1 Comment
structure
The flames swirl around the stairwell growing hotter
Banisters on fire fall, crashing melting decorative copper
Elegant mythology and theories made in the distant past
Have been blown to pieces shattering with a loud balst
Where is the mental door that leads to the blissful truth?
Does the fire escape lead us to the place of nothing to prove?
Willful Blindness and Inertia
May 4, 2016
sundial
As individuals and as groups we all have blind spots. We accept beliefs without knowing all the facts simply because it is impossible to know all the facts. Especially in institutional settings we excuse resistance to change as part of keeping to tradition. If we look back in history we will notice that over time what was at one time considered to be true is now regarded as folly. Tradition is one thing and resistance to reality is quite another matter. Institutions protect dysfunctional operations not out of pride, but out of lack of awareness. The set it and forget it attitude runs strong in institutions and government agencies. It takes some tragic outcome to bring about change in some cases. It is impossible to observe one’s own actions if one is willfully blind. Thus, the blindness begets more blindness, becoming contagious.
What would Sir Isaac Newton think about the conditions that prevail?
- The body at rest is our culture, willfully ignoring our real situation
- The forces at work driving our society to move are all profit motivated
- Every profit has an equal and opposite loss to the environment/humans
No matter who wins the scary American presidential election now taking place, the financial and environmental imbalance will be rampant around the world. Balance can only be restored through awareness and planning. Without a plan we will careen ever closer to entropy. The solution is pre-political. Our awareness needs to cover all the people places and things with which we have contact. This energy drain, or misappropriated energy, is needed for the good of the entire planet in order to restore some kind of equilibrium. Plug the leaks in your own boat today. We are taking on water and listing to port.
door in the darkness
Find Your Bossiness
May 3, 2016
— 4 Comments
The Judge
I was born with ample bossiness, and raised to rebel. I entered professions in which people paid me to tell them what to do. In travel (in the old days) clients planned trips with the advise of agents. I was an outside sales travel agent, meaning I worked for and found my own clients outside the agency. It was a perfect job for me because I have travelled extensively and don’t mind at all sharing my opinions. Agencies were full of very well-travelled agents because the suppliers used to treat us like royalty. If I had not been to a destination I had only to ask around the office to find someone who knew the place. It was a very cosmopolitan place to work. Everyone was very jolly until the airlines cut commission, signaling the end of supplier/agency relationships. It was very good while it lasted, and I am glad I was there for the gravy train.
I taught fitness and swimming in fancy spa settings. This required a different kind of bossiness, which required very little encouragement to bloom. The guests relinquish entirely too much power and responsibility in the spa atmosphere. The real key is not making them mind you in your presence (which they are paying big bucks to do). Success can only be measured after the student has returned to home/work/family and all the habitual triggers that exist there. When they try to integrate what they learned at the spa into real life, if they whip out the hand out you provided and do something (anything) they learned, you have succeeded in the mission. If they mind you back at home, then you are a boss.
I like the current fad to label things done with confidence “like a boss”. I agree that taking charge and speaking one’s own mind can be the difference between success and failure, and even between happiness and depression. Finding ones voice as a boss is valuable and must be done with respect and caution. Do not surprise unsuspecting members of your family or workforce with your newfound authority. Practice safe bossiness with appropriate subservients. Use your head.
- Take control of all the political calls/posts/real life discussions
- Evaluate your use of free time to find more for yourself/eliminate waste
- Polish the rhetoric used to ask for services in daily life/be particular
- Identify the areas in which you do not care to boss/make sure they are covered by a qualified and enthusiastic boss
- Focus your attention and education on the areas you intend to rule
- Explore new areas of conquest with respect to current sovereigns
Remember the fall of Rome when Caesar obviously just took on WAY too much dominance over the Romans. Don’t let things get out of hand with your bossy self. Use discretion as you boss your way around this world.
It Could Be Verse
May 1, 2016
— 3 Comments
NaPoWriMo2016
I am a happy graduate of National Poetry Writing Month, 2016. This, my third time participating, taught me some good lessons. The best part of the month is always reading and discovering other poets. Here are just a few wonderful poems I found written during April:
- Water Nymphs by Lillian the home poet
- to fetishists (to hunters) by poems and doodles
- Delicious Delirium by Musings of a Blueberry
- Sour Grapes by Michele Vecchitto
There are more poets than I can possibly mention that show great talent and unique perspective. I hope you will investigate to find some poetry you like to read in this group or at the library. People take this 30 poems in 30 days challenge for different reasons. I find it stimulates my vocabulary as well as my visual sense because I always use an image with my poem. Sometimes I draw it. Each year I tell myself how therapeutic it is to create poetry and that I will continue the craft on my tumblr, which is linked for #NaPoWriMo with my wordpress for poetry month. This could be the year, gentle readers. The consistent lesson I have learned from these three years of participation is that other people like the poems that are not my own favorites, and vice versa. Later when I read some of my work I am kind of surprised it came from me, but there it is. These are a few of the reasons I urge you to write some verse:
- The process reveals the subconscious
- Words and dream images have powerful connections
- Poems by others stimulate the muse
- Once a poem has a concept the mind works on it in the background
- Poetry clears the soul of repressed feelings and notions
You don’t have to show anyone what you write in order to benefit from trying your hand as a poet. You might be one…and don’t know it. Don’t wait until April 2017 to start. If you start now you will be sufficiently warmed up for the next round.
Sawing Logs
April 30, 2016
— 3 Comments
trees
trees
trees
Just as every tree may eventually become lumber
The daily tasks and stresses will fall into deep slumber
Blindness is blind to the spot that bears its name
It knows no visionary leaders willing to take the blame
Articulation of the truth is followed by group contemplation
Unconscious shared ideas of perfection enter dreams in symbols
Clashing ideas of black and white lead quickly to confrontation
In dreams as in waking life there are many obvious signals
NaPoWriMo2016
This is the last poem in my 30 out of 30 for #NaPoWriMo. I had a very good time this year and the time went quickly. I used a very zen approach this year..less might really be more. Thanks for sharing the experience with my fellow poets around the globe!!
Narrow Vision
April 29, 2016
— 1 Comment
the city
Blind to either side, the galloping force chases the scoundrels with intent
Misses the ongoing story, producing poverty, lowering standards for life
Hunger, insecurity, pessimism, lack of healthy enviornment, to a growing extent
Contribute to a downward spiral for those already sinking in economic strife
Streams and creeks full of excuses mixed with social work are clogged
Water is evaporating above the ground while we sink the drills deeper for the prize
NaPoWriMo2016
Join poets around the world for #NaPoWriMo this April. Find new meaning in words.
Fluid Forrest
April 28, 2016
— 1 Comment
Lazy floating clouds float over the roaring river in the canyon deep and steep
Rushing rapids, fishing birds, pine forrest covers the hillside where strangers sleep
Enveloped in dreamtime full of predictions, curses, spells, natural magic double
Sifting through remnants of vanishing memories found by picking in the rubble
Of abandoned relationships, casues, philosophy, belief, loyalty learned by rote
The current of memory is swift, rocking and shaking the flimsy leaking boat
Carrying karma back to the tributaries, evaporation lifts moisture toward the sky
The cycles are eternal never breaking the contract first to float and then to fly
NaPoWriMo2016
Join the poets of the world at #NaPoWriMo in April to read, write, and indulge in poetry.
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