tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517815335744304452024-03-19T10:49:57.087-07:00Ms Anthrope OnlineGrim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-81520156590902064312021-07-19T08:24:00.003-07:002021-07-19T08:26:44.000-07:00FACEBOOK APPROVES VIDEOS OF ANIMAL CRUELTY<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1696ci3xOhr57BokYTuyeh14OEWNeT9NuV1OOFG0xxTXiPL6G3jUdNPY0GPnn6u7Vb3V5k4w8cr2egmSTOFsvRQn-W9PuylLyXoRTDapiJDCe_TIGcTQEmR9csjCjIFif5P2nKEujHmQ/s288/Scan_20201206.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1696ci3xOhr57BokYTuyeh14OEWNeT9NuV1OOFG0xxTXiPL6G3jUdNPY0GPnn6u7Vb3V5k4w8cr2egmSTOFsvRQn-W9PuylLyXoRTDapiJDCe_TIGcTQEmR9csjCjIFif5P2nKEujHmQ/s0/Scan_20201206.jpg" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I'm quite broad minded and seldom if ever report posts. But I saw a horrible video yesterday. Someone posted sick people tormenting their pets by cutting up animal cakes in front of them so they could have a good laugh at the poor creatures' reactions as they recoil in horror at what, to them, is utter carnage.</p><p>One labrador was visibly traumatised when a chocolate covered puppy cake was cut in half in front of it. Its terror was very real. So cruel. I reported it but FB says it doesn't go against their community standards. So I reported again - same response. I checked out the comments. Most posters thought it hilarious although a few recognised it for what it was.</p><p>Facebook say their standards are set by the opinions of their users. What is wrong with so many people? How can this be published, no doubt giving other people ideas? If this sort of thing was done to children there would, quite rightly, be an outcry. At least I hope there would. So why is it ok to terrorise dumb animals?</p>Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-10179648598041855192019-11-27T10:44:00.003-08:002019-11-27T10:44:28.491-08:00Parking in Brighton is a PAIN!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVdQw86glUfDZ2LZk4u8eMk_hM5SlITclHnRpqmojwMqCuc3OpzySUEo5VH1d_nYHpu1f0ytrPT5LzWOWNa6gzK2cHNcwHInx9g35iVbWv-6AS-Im_oCyO_sKE5G0xyf0YZHaJ0q9v4Y/s1600/2009+Pride+308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVdQw86glUfDZ2LZk4u8eMk_hM5SlITclHnRpqmojwMqCuc3OpzySUEo5VH1d_nYHpu1f0ytrPT5LzWOWNa6gzK2cHNcwHInx9g35iVbWv-6AS-Im_oCyO_sKE5G0xyf0YZHaJ0q9v4Y/s320/2009+Pride+308.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">On Monday my son parked his car near his house, legally in a recognised
parking bay.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Unknown to him, some men came along on Tuesday and painted a
disabled bay around the car. Then he got a ticket that very afternoon.
On Wednesday, unaware of the problem, he got another ticket. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /> The
council, Brighton & Hove, didn't want to let him off paying his fee,
but he rebelled - as you would in the face of such an injustice. They
said he should have kept an eye on the space - (presumably in case some
men came along and painted a disabled bay around the car.) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then they
said, okay, they'd let him off one of the tickets if he paid the other.
Still, he rebelled and refused.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /> Finally they sent him a note sayiing due to a technical difficulty the tickets were cancelled. <br /> Have you ever heard anything like it?</span>Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-8191242373452534752019-11-23T08:40:00.001-08:002019-11-23T08:41:39.022-08:00The Joy of Crutches!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7qLwQcAhUBMa8vLSSTQGJMuyAhjgyjS_6FqLALZY_Kovdiy-YCTOps9EOEpabrHn5ZOA8YLPMKV9Ss0m0iLBCdtgCztltLZuam17Oy031X8WzOzIctLl554OFP7-VEjes6gA3gm4NtA/s1600/20181228_141445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1600" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7qLwQcAhUBMa8vLSSTQGJMuyAhjgyjS_6FqLALZY_Kovdiy-YCTOps9EOEpabrHn5ZOA8YLPMKV9Ss0m0iLBCdtgCztltLZuam17Oy031X8WzOzIctLl554OFP7-VEjes6gA3gm4NtA/s320/20181228_141445.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's weird. I have such mixed feelings about being on crutches, but
it's taught me a lot about human nature - and my own, maybe, unrealistic
expectations. In spite of welcome progress in the way we view our
fellow humans,I've still felt disgruntled about certain areas of
inequality, at least as far as respect is concerned. Of course, no
decent person can uphold inequalities about religion, gender,
race,sexual orientation, disability and so on. But there are still some
areas <span class="text_exposed_show">where it's "okay" to discriminate, even amounting to mild abuse. One is age. The other is vegetarianism. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
As far as age is concerned, I feel as though I'm not here much of the
time. People walk straight into me as though I'm invisible, force me out
of their way, jostle me. This can be especially dangerous when climbing
stairs and needing to hold the rail and then some burly bloke virtually
eyeballs you into letting go the rail and letting him pass. (I did
because I was afraid he might push me and there were a lot of steps.) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Recently I took a bus just for the ride because I had a bad knee. I just
needed to get out, but couldn't walk far. But because I didn't get off
at the end of the journey the driver shouted at me from his cab along
the lines of "Where the hell do you think you're going?" (I wasn't
fare-dodging as have a bus pass.) He was chastened when I told him the
reason but only after he had given me a piece of his mind!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> As a
veggie I am frequently targeted quite aggressively, as though my life
choice is a dreadful insult to the other person.People will actually
challlenge you into an argument you don't want.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I can't do much
about veggie opposers but I have noticed a considerable difference in
the way I am treated with my crutches. Disability seems to cancel out
age. I get all the concern and consideration I never had before, but
really needed, on occasion, just as much. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's made me realise many
people aren't unkind, they just don't notice. I feel I always see
everything around me and am aware of situations but I guess that's part
of being a a writer and not everyone is that perceptive.</span></div>
Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-5577473803105385862019-06-01T13:23:00.001-07:002019-06-01T13:24:35.724-07:00EIGHTEEN AMAZING WOMEN PHILOSOPHERS you should have learned about in school but probably didn't.This is my misery blog, of course, so in a way, this doesn't belong here. Except it does - if only that it's a crying shame not more is known about women philosophers whose work has had a major impact on all our lives. To address this, here is my book which covers great female philosophers from ancient history to modern day:<br />
<br />
The e-book:<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07R6Z31BX/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i6">EIGHTEEN AMAZING WOMEN PHILOSOPHERS</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0er8ecM2ZSAcDQEXXLS_V5cTad67rr-RwkzusA1oGMALj4_alX6rohLtw1yntglOPzcr9Iblo48DpzibNq6T5tDWMqW_Jc16xTQ6vsTk5ruegW7-Zu5YhjGAl9MpcAdPoyVCV6xrmuY/s1600/41Jfo6VZC%252BL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0er8ecM2ZSAcDQEXXLS_V5cTad67rr-RwkzusA1oGMALj4_alX6rohLtw1yntglOPzcr9Iblo48DpzibNq6T5tDWMqW_Jc16xTQ6vsTk5ruegW7-Zu5YhjGAl9MpcAdPoyVCV6xrmuY/s320/41Jfo6VZC%252BL.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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and the paperback</div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eighteen-Amazing-Women-Philosophers-probably/dp/1096590093/ref=sr_1_1?crid=14KY2EO7IPC9Y&keywords=eighteen+amazing+women+philosophers&qid=1559420410&s=digital-text&sprefix=Eighteen+Amazing+%2Cdigital-text%2C193&sr=1-1-catcorr">EIGHTEEN AMAZING WOMEN PHILOSOPHERS</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCkQ3Df7OXHsy4pgcix0EMOt-1s_pMuJQOD5Ia4j6KErQ8L2r_GRrVhooDz3vSZ83iQCM4vwlVVKlElFnDPSiXrBM5nM8wQE4OarOXnDM63pFqhtYgmZ7b-WYMZY-sHL0lhMA5MLKmDQ/s1600/paperback.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="354" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCkQ3Df7OXHsy4pgcix0EMOt-1s_pMuJQOD5Ia4j6KErQ8L2r_GRrVhooDz3vSZ83iQCM4vwlVVKlElFnDPSiXrBM5nM8wQE4OarOXnDM63pFqhtYgmZ7b-WYMZY-sHL0lhMA5MLKmDQ/s320/paperback.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
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<br />Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-89361037183248904352019-05-08T23:19:00.002-07:002019-05-16T01:20:13.848-07:00My Top Jobsworth Nomination of 2018<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDlbkrGCX9SZGfwQ7zNufEIanNNDybyDc7TcQfApqQ6v50ZG97d-N1J0K4XBehInAmuvYWK3oYxFLRifByuWLUdd30860pk_ijFRud6FicO5l7bCAXRU_QPZy8d8u8qdew_Y0ebgRNQk/s1600/20130729_102900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="835" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDlbkrGCX9SZGfwQ7zNufEIanNNDybyDc7TcQfApqQ6v50ZG97d-N1J0K4XBehInAmuvYWK3oYxFLRifByuWLUdd30860pk_ijFRud6FicO5l7bCAXRU_QPZy8d8u8qdew_Y0ebgRNQk/s320/20130729_102900.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes it's like walking on eggshells! Copyright Janet Cameron</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It happened just a year ago, May 2018. Tidying up my computer I just found the letter I wrote to my local Boots pharmacy. I received an apology from the manager but not from the perpetrator. So on the anniversary of the pharmacist's unwarranted aggression, well, Boots, your<i> Let's Feel Good</i> slogan does nothing for me!<br />
<br />
Here's the letter, which is self-explanatory:<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Hello,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On Friday morning I queued at the Sales
counter with what I thought was a reasonable request for blood pressure tablets
that did not need a prescription, to tide me over until my Doctor’s appointment
on 14 June, the earliest I could get to deal with my BP. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The problem is ongoing from 11 April, but I
know the surgery is under enormous pressure. However, a reading of 180 over 98
at the surgery last week concerned me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">To my surprise instead of helping me to
locate the right product, or simply inform me if you did not have them in
stock, the sales lady rushed off to call the pharmacist. The pharmacist was
annoyed and asked me who had told me I could get blood pressure tablets without
a prescription. I tried to explain that I was “asking” if you had any blood
pressure tablets I could take without a prescription, and that I had seen them
advertised on the internet, and also on Holland and Barrett’s website.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I could not make myself heard or understood.
The pharmacist talked over me and told me what I already knew, that she
couldn’t give me blood pressure tablets without a doctor’s prescription. She
also said that it was nothing to do with Boots (even though the non-prescription
tablets are part of your range!) and I had to take it up with my GP <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(another suggestion that was equally
unhelpful.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I left and went to get the tablets from
Holland and Barrett. I called back just to prove to the pharmacist that I was
not, in fact, asking her to carry out an illegal transaction. As I couldn’t see
her, I spoke to the sales lady who said these tablets weren’t “medicine,”
which, of course, I knew. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The point is </span><b><i>I wasn’t queuing at the pharmacy counter
for medicine. I was queuing at the sales counter for non-prescription blood
pressure tablets</i>,</b> which, as mentioned, are itemized in your own range
of products for sale, see attached sheets.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Crossed wires, of course, but all the same,
there is no excuse for the way I was treated, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it made me feel low for the rest of the
morning. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Janet Cameron</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It's not just about being right. It's about aggression and a poor attitude. I don't mind she made a mistake, but I do mind being shouted at in a shopful of people! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Wouldn't you?</span></div>
<br />Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-23762795119975548972019-04-23T03:13:00.001-07:002019-04-23T03:13:23.267-07:0010 Pet Hates<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZCuoxydMncjiYYTC5X1JnZvPkUMwWNtjV4o1dhfWSFxQvln-aN4T4wZ-znKgkk6SHsqC0D53r4lhX92wNYsWOtCFry8idim7gtqL132S4EBBW3HoOoeP8roJG0dEahvV6Ql-tSA-UNE/s1600/20181214_135342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1600" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZCuoxydMncjiYYTC5X1JnZvPkUMwWNtjV4o1dhfWSFxQvln-aN4T4wZ-znKgkk6SHsqC0D53r4lhX92wNYsWOtCFry8idim7gtqL132S4EBBW3HoOoeP8roJG0dEahvV6Ql-tSA-UNE/s320/20181214_135342.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I hate this artwork (Tenerife) Photo copyright Janet Cameron</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I thought I'd post my 10 pet hates. (IWell, 11 if you count the photo) I'm not including obvious "big" things in this list relating to politics, etc. Just little things that I find very very irritating.)</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">1. OAP Fish 'n Chips - I'm not an acronym never mind one as disrespectful as this. Keep your cheap fish 'n chips.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">2. 2nd one FREE - It's not free if I have to buy something to get it.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">3. Huge Fierce Eyebrows. I'm all for feminism a</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">nd power but - please - these young girls scare the bejesus out of me!</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br />4. Commercials on daytime tv shows -These commercials are relentlessly repetitious. For example, happy old men and women adveritising jolly (and cheap!) funeral plans, Oh how exciting! Hurray! I think I'll get one too. How about you? Let's have a nice cup of coffee and discuss it cos our kids are gonna be so happy and impressed! (Guilt trip implication here.) And all the cringe-making medical ads that I won't go into here. </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br />5. Bus drivers who accelerate suddenly before you've managed to sit down. Shame on you, meanies! You will be old one day.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br />6. Packaging. Everything is so hard to get into. I completely understand and endorse safety aspects to prevent children from accessing dangerous chemicals, but honestly. for many things it's all gone too far. If you need to use it immediately and if you don't have scissors, pliers or some gunpowder to hand, forget it.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br />7. Being Patronised. I'm quite old and sometimes a little deaf and slightly visually impaired, but I am not daft. (Well, not all the time.)</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br />8. Labelling Products. Products should be more clearly labelled to accommodate those of us who can't see 8 point font. What the product is should be in the largest possible letters for its size.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br />9. Very cruel jokes. Stand up is becoming more and more offensive. I don't mind risque, </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">naughty, challenging or mickey-taking, but I hate sick or hurful. </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br />10. Gratuitous moaning. So this is where I check out</span>Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-71709058358572466562019-04-22T03:48:00.000-07:002019-04-22T10:06:31.400-07:00READ (while) NOT DEAD<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNt4jCgOY0LZdWitKD3pDimf-GijubgloCu-o_dFDN472A1vIR0QzqQFQJAWHWdHYXsmGNVP6iJJCJW3DqgPybUIAHNj2McnF005Sx8Vo2yJvF_RSH9qTjQUvHsQ2Ce4cGaNZyLX4BtI/s1600/28.+Mill+Lane+Cemetery+Option+2%252C+Shoreham-by-Sea%252C+Janet+Cameron.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNt4jCgOY0LZdWitKD3pDimf-GijubgloCu-o_dFDN472A1vIR0QzqQFQJAWHWdHYXsmGNVP6iJJCJW3DqgPybUIAHNj2McnF005Sx8Vo2yJvF_RSH9qTjQUvHsQ2Ce4cGaNZyLX4BtI/s320/28.+Mill+Lane+Cemetery+Option+2%252C+Shoreham-by-Sea%252C+Janet+Cameron.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where does Google bury old blogs and the money <br />they earn?</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
I have been running my six blogs for quite some time, but the earliest -janetcameronwriting.blogspot.com - has been going for 13 years. I've had page views and good comments (and a few negative ones too) and I've posted frequently albeit with some gaps when life got in the way.<br />
<br />
I've had ads going too, and shifted them about to try to optimize my "profits." So far I've earned £19.26. Lucky I do it for pleasure and not the money!<br />
<br />
All the same, I will never see that £19.26 or any further profit I make. The sad truth iis, since it took me 13 years to earn £19.26 and Google only pay out when you reach £60, I am not going to live long enough to hit gold, and even if I did, I will be too gaga to know it. (PS: that might be dollars, I'm not sure. Still makes no difference under the circumstances.)<br />
<br />
Fortunately, as I writer, I have had alternative more profitable employment, but I do wonder what Google do with all the money from ads left on the Earnings tab of people who have done their best and sadly popped their clogs.<br />
<br />
It would be nice if it went to charity.<br />
<br />
<br />Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-24172349687002189592018-06-06T04:08:00.003-07:002018-06-06T04:40:01.476-07:00Blimey - What Next?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcyhNh08LrQe2Xy7woD65K9jRBNGXrKachSIaq-MffUA_h5bu9AhKAx34Ci2ZUHHOy_aZpCGdm3WfFXnQzQZh3LMG51sb-yno0-KF6odNBPIl94zB1EwMm0jyBrijcaSxDYHhKRJNiETA/s1600/20180201_135853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1600" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcyhNh08LrQe2Xy7woD65K9jRBNGXrKachSIaq-MffUA_h5bu9AhKAx34Ci2ZUHHOy_aZpCGdm3WfFXnQzQZh3LMG51sb-yno0-KF6odNBPIl94zB1EwMm0jyBrijcaSxDYHhKRJNiETA/s320/20180201_135853.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The park where I was followed.</td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
Hi, doesn't life go up and down? When mine is up, is very up and when it's down I am in despair and ready to throw myself off the pier. (That's not as dramatic as it sounds if you've ever seen Littlehampton Pier!) Anyway, after my trials which I posted recently on FB, another thing happened. I was followed.<br />
<br />
Yes, I know, if an old lady says she's been followed by a bloke everyone says, "Poor old dear, she's fantasizing about her youth." But I'm not and he was, but probably wanted to get a hold on my handbag, my credit cards and my phone.<br />
<br />
I was sitting in the park, by the lake. He passsed me, said "Good evening" then stood on the narrow bridge over the stream that feeds the lake, blocking my way back to my home and started talking to me in incomprehensible slurry language.<br />
<br />
I got up and started walking to the other end of the park. I glanced back, he was walking behind me. I walked faster. So did he. Now any decent man would know that this is frightening for a woman alone in a park and would have slowed down or hung back. He didn't and I was terrified.
There was no one else in the park.<br />
<br />
Then I saw a young man ahead by the cafe at the sea end and I yelled at him to wait for me. I started to run, insofar as I am capable of running! He was pretty surprised and I apologised and asked him to talk to me as if he knew me because I was being harrassed. At that moment the stalker passed by and the young man said, "You are right, he does look weird."<br />
<br />
I said I felt stupid but I was scared so he said, "Would you like a hug?" and spread out his arms. I said, "Yes please," and he gave me a cuddle, bless his heart, which was very sweet and I think very unusual - I am old enough to be his Gran!<br />
<br />
Next day when I took my blood pressure which is under review it was 190 over 100, the second highest it's ever been. My knee hurt like crazy after running the previous night. I managed to get some temporary blood pressure pills from the herbalist while I wait for my doctor's appointment, and now it is stable and much lower, thank heavens.<br />
<br />
Meantime, I'm on an "up." Seven poems now placed and to be published shortly, a dozen or so more submitted, and I'm starting another ebook utilising material from my MA in poetry. Yes, I know I said I wouldn't do any more books. I believed that at the time. <br />
<br />
Also I have become a Great Aunt to a beautiful little baby. And, shallow of me to mention it amidst all the other news, but I have lost 5lbs. Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-34256537723546196772017-07-07T03:40:00.003-07:002017-07-07T03:42:37.008-07:005 Things I HATE about Hairdressers !!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2BNdld8hA-DuDNEhAotbqYKFb8gDOr8T4xMpZCLZwHx8cwLv0hdV2kJvnivSBRL7hWBWvBaVx9JIB-Lc2DU2xpnJNuIVsWxOt40F1SxJJ4YmHv_BYu41mXqkdeoG5W9-K5gj84VP7TJY/s1600/beautiful-girl-red-hair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="615" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2BNdld8hA-DuDNEhAotbqYKFb8gDOr8T4xMpZCLZwHx8cwLv0hdV2kJvnivSBRL7hWBWvBaVx9JIB-Lc2DU2xpnJNuIVsWxOt40F1SxJJ4YmHv_BYu41mXqkdeoG5W9-K5gj84VP7TJY/s320/beautiful-girl-red-hair.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Public Domain Cartoon</td></tr>
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There are any number of reasons why I get the heeby-jeebies about going to the hairdressers.<br />
<br />
Maybe it's me, but it seems I always go off my hairdresser eventually, although I have outlasted one or two who went on to better things in posher, more exxpensive salons.<br />
<br />
I'm not a monster though. I can forgive the occasional mistake, but some things are DEAL BREAKERS!<br />
<br />
1. THE ATTACK<br />
<br />
My current hairdresser is very good, but I'm never going back there again. She does a great job and my hair always looks wonderful, but, boy, does she leave me with a sore head.<br />
<br />
She's so rough, pulling and grimacing as though my hair is a force to be subdued, not crafted into a delightful concoction that will transform my looks until the next high wind or rainy day.<br />
<br />
I suspect - although I may be wrong - that this is deliberate. Surely she must know that her relentless yanking must hurt like hell, especially as I am wincing and squishing my eyes together like a terrified rabbit facing a shotgun.<br />
<br />
Why don't I say something? I'm a wimp about some things. I guess I think she might take it out on me in some other way. The woman with the scissors wields a lot of power. Easier to go somewhere else.<br />
<br />
2. THE CHOP<br />
<br />
Getting my hair cut is the worst thing. I love my hair short but not right up the back of my neck, thank you very much. Once I was driven to drawing in extra little wispy hairs down the back of my neck with an eyebrow pencil. No one, but the youngest, slenderest, prettiest girl looks good with hair cropped right up to the top of her ears.<br />
<br />
3. LEAVING MY COLOUR ON TOO LONG<br />
<br />
This happens when the salon overbooks. There's not time to take out my colour because my hairdresser is in the middle of removing the split ends from a fellow customer with a lot more hair than I have. As a result, my brown has gone black and black hair only suits (yes, you got it!) the youngest, slenderest, prettiest girls.<br />
<br />
4. NOT PROTECTING MY SKIN FROM COLOUR<br />
<br />
This is sheer laziness and ineptitude and no one should ever leave her hairdresser with a product tidemark on the back of her neck. (Always be suspicious if your hairdresser fails to use a mirror to show you the back of your head.)<br />
<br />
5. GETTING NASTY IF I CUT OR COLOUR MYSELF BETWEEN VISITS<br />
<br />
I do try not to do this, but sometimes there's not time to get to the hairdresser and if I can't see under my fringe, I give it a little trim. Usually it looks okay. Once I made a mess because my regular root touch-up was not available and I bought a different product. It looked terrible but, after all...<br />
<br />
IT'S MY HAIR AND I DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN!<br />
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Oh well, onward I go. I do believe there's a salon I haven't tried in Bognor.<br />
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<br />Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-89414036975791942842017-06-22T08:28:00.004-07:002017-06-22T12:38:40.051-07:00PASSIVE and PASSENGER are Equally Contentious Labels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjotK4rofVWPx1wFi1r7BDXLHl1pdUAfnSr0uyvd69_16H3N0Nsd5NGbMWhvc3_BbyLYsYt73R4cLoINAutih0mdcxajVTHe0hts9ImoMdm8bYBYWCgIMl8-Sen4vaJMcpyov3BLo94yTM/s1600/CAR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjotK4rofVWPx1wFi1r7BDXLHl1pdUAfnSr0uyvd69_16H3N0Nsd5NGbMWhvc3_BbyLYsYt73R4cLoINAutih0mdcxajVTHe0hts9ImoMdm8bYBYWCgIMl8-Sen4vaJMcpyov3BLo94yTM/s320/CAR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Everyone tells me I don't need a car. I mean, let's face it, at my age! Why do I need to go out in the evening when the buses only run once an hour? Why do I need transport at my fingertips? Buses are good enough. Fgs, the Government gave me a bus pass, for which I am eminently grateful. Of course, on odd occasions, someone might give me a lift. Sometimes it works out fine, and I appreciate that, I really do.<br />
<br />
<b>EXCEPT...</b><br />
<br />
Something terrible happens to perfectly nice people when they are IN CONTROL of the car and you are a PASSIVE PASSENGER. PASSIVE and PASSENGER are equally contentious labels.<br />
<br />
There are the usual problems which every non-car driver experiences.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>You have to leave when your lift decides to leave. You can't leave early because you are p....d off, or even later because you just met this incredibly dishy man. And that's fair enough. You can't expect your lift to inconvenience themselves, otherwise what's the point of a car?</li>
<li>If you can't get a lift, and the buses finish before you leave your event, then you can't go. That's that.</li>
<li>Whenever you travel by public transport, you arrive windswept and exhausted from whizzing over platform bridges or standing on the station in a wind tunnel. Or being rained on at the bus stop because the bus is running late. And the cold, the biting cold in winter, when the bus is nowhere to be seen and everything around is dark and miserable.</li>
<li>Without wanting to be unkind to the unfortunate, it can be hard when someone very dirty and smelly sits next to you. I do understand this person has problems, but ... I am squeamish about stuff like that.</li>
<li>You have to carry very heavy stuff, or else arrange for it to be delivered or buy online. This means you have a constantly aching back or feet. Or you have to use a shopping trolley which makes you feel 90 years old.</li>
</ol>
<div>
<b>IT'S A LIFESTYLE</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
People tell me I don't need a car because I can get a taxi from time to time when I need one. But it's not a one-off. It's a whole lifestyle that is having to be adjusted to what is available in the area where I live. It was better in when I lived in Brighton as the buses go everywhere and run all night.</div>
<div>
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So taxis are out. If I used taxis every time I needed a car rather than a bus, I would be broke.</div>
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Then there are the occasional TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES a person can have when accepting lifts. It's not just me. Friends in the same position have also encountered similar problems. For example:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>THE WORST PASSIVE PASSENGER EXPERIENCES</b></div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>When I first moved to Rustington, a woman I knew wanted to take me everywhere. I think her heart was in the right place in the beginning, but it became impossible. She was so intense and eager to please that I accepted even though I could, in some cases, easily have gone by bus. Then she would turn up 30 minutes early or even longer, and sit outside my apartment block blasting her horn and I was still in my underwear. <br /><br />To cap it all, I'd believe we were going to the cinema, or maybe for a drink in the pub, but we'd have to spend an hour in the garden centre, or maybe the supermarket, first. There was plenty of time. She'd made sure of that. I hate going to the garden centre or the supermarket and trailing around with a trolley when I think I am going to see a film, and when I definitely don't want any shopping or plants. Generally speaking, I hate shopping. I only go when I run out of marmalade. But in someone else's car, you are done for. I made a big mistake. I got in her car and she was in control, the Boss Lady. It was soooo hard to extricate myself from this situation.</li>
<li>"Don't worry, we will take you ALL THE WAY HOME. No, there's no need to drop you off halfway at a convenient bus stop." Okay, sounds fair enough. But I am in the back of the car. The front windows are wide open, to allow the smoke to drift out. But science is not that kind. The draught thundering through the windows channels that smoke straight back into the car, depriving me (floundering in the back) of oxygen and creating enough toxic fumes in my tiny bit of air space to practically choke me. </li>
<li>When I was offered a lift to a regular event, the male driver in question was gallantry itself, until a couple of people made remarks about us arriving together. Sort of suggesting, by implication, we were an item. He was raging by the time he drove me home and ranted at me, as though it was my fault. Perhaps he thought I'd told people he was my man-friend, who knows? Some men are so arrogant. It's quite scary, having your driver in a state of, well not exactly road-rage, but something close. I told him the fact he had given me a lift did not mean I wanted to have his baby. Eventually, we made it up, and are now civil to each other. But that experience made me wary of accepting lifts from men unless I know them well.</li>
<li>Then there was the intimidating woman-driver who took me to an event. I paid my share of the petrol so it should have been okay. But what an aggressive driver! She gave all the other drivers the finger, accelerated to within half a metre of the car in front, and then slammed on the brakes. At one point a car was trying to edge out of a difficult position onto the main road. She would not give way and missed hitting it by a heartbeat. At one point it passed us in the faster lane, and then she sat so close to its back bumper I was tensing up for the bang. She must have had her two fingers up in front of the windscreen for at least a mile.</li>
</ol>
<div>
<b>INDEPENDENCE AT LAST</b></div>
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So that's why I need a car. It's about freedom, movement and independence. </div>
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I found a super one on the Internet, see photo and I'm going to look at it tomorrow. I've checked out the current values, and the insurance. </div>
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It seems perfect, so only something truly awful will stop me buying it. </div>
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<br />Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-33440626481429976212017-04-12T11:49:00.000-07:002017-04-12T13:53:55.432-07:00I Can't Stand Nosey Parkers. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDoJH07V-9RbyCGKRcvmkGU92qAOK7vFFVycKYy5xmHoxY54IfEcD85hs_okbQvxpCAjslldaxwsbv9_E568IW0N-Pc5weN7a8IiGjAG8DDfNnve5hO7sWn6AK1CtEAR0rSLG6MmNtAEM/s1600/20170412_191430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDoJH07V-9RbyCGKRcvmkGU92qAOK7vFFVycKYy5xmHoxY54IfEcD85hs_okbQvxpCAjslldaxwsbv9_E568IW0N-Pc5weN7a8IiGjAG8DDfNnve5hO7sWn6AK1CtEAR0rSLG6MmNtAEM/s400/20170412_191430.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I can't stand Nosey Parkers. Real, unashamed Nosey Parkers. The sort of Nosey Parker whose nose twitches like an excited squirrel about to unearth his nuts after a long, long hibernation! <br />
<br />
What is so fascinating about what is going on in my living room?<br />
<br />
Okay, so we are all, to some extent, curious. I understand that. We're all interested in other people. At least, most of us are. But now I'm talking about those human-twitchers always on the lookout, always nosing into other people's business, and who don't understand the meaning of the word "privacy."<br />
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Being on the ground floor, people have to walk past my patio window en route to the car park. I don't mind that. I like people. Most don't trot past with their eyes burning anxiously as they try to peer through my window glass. Hoping to see what?<br />
<br />
The case in point is a married couple in my block of flats. They are both irrepressible twitchers of human activity. Rubber-neckers. When I first moved in, before I managed to get my blinds sorted, I felt like a specimen at the zoo. I contemplated putting up a sign. HOMO SAPIEN, (FEMALE) FEEDING TIME 7PM.<br />
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Sometimes I had a sense of humour about it. My friend and I would giggle, watching them as they walked past, not realising that we could see them rubber-necking.<br />
<br />
He has taken Holy Orders, so maybe he hopes to catch me out in some minor sin that he can help me to repent of. But - eventually - the blinds went up, and the curtains went up. Incredibly their necks remained intact and not dislocated.<br />
<br />
Now my blinds and curtains have had to come down again.<br />
<br />
The workmen are here doing my damp proofing and plaster repairs. This evening, though, I wanted some privacy. The bookcase placed on its side in front of the window helped, with cushions and table mats on top, and a chair beside, see my photo above.<br />
<br />
His Holiness comes up the apartment steps, veers left towards my window and peers through the glass patio door, over the two bags on top of the chair I pushed in front of it.<br />
<br />
Infuriating.<br />
<br />
Fortunately they will be moving in May. Let's hope the new neighbours will have a life of their own and won't need to rubber-neck mine!<br />
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<br />Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-79132866708938627462017-04-02T05:24:00.001-07:002017-04-02T05:26:11.942-07:00Giacomo Casanova, The World's Most Famous Womanizer, was Born This Day, 2 April<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlj9llNF9NKY6RALidZ0MIR5uQU-0iyhsy_Ei1zwgvBSTR4fjKH6mLDk7z9kO9t8_QJC-7g8JRML2JjoXAMnjvidCfuJ8-uoOLetqaGb0lI3dXO1TENSg6H9EltDyEVHn3GekxYABsis/s1600/Casanova_ritratto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlj9llNF9NKY6RALidZ0MIR5uQU-0iyhsy_Ei1zwgvBSTR4fjKH6mLDk7z9kO9t8_QJC-7g8JRML2JjoXAMnjvidCfuJ8-uoOLetqaGb0lI3dXO1TENSg6H9EltDyEVHn3GekxYABsis/s320/Casanova_ritratto.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casanova - by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Casanova_ritratto.jpg">Adriano C. Public Domain</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'm not sure why I'm posting this on Msanthropeonline. After all, he LOVED women, and so, he must have been very charming. Maybe I would have fallen for him if I'd lived in the 18th century and met him. Yes, knowing me, I can be taken in by a sparkling wit and and engaging manner.<br />
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But he was ruthless and manipulative and deceitful. And women were his "victims" although possibly that is too strong a word.<br />
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<div>
He was born in Venice on 2 April 1725 and called himself by all manner of uppity titles, Baron, Count, Chevalier, to impress the ladies and other useful contacts. He hobnobbed with the best of society, Voltaire, Goethe and Mozart, and was on familiar terms with royalty.</div>
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His autobiography which he wrote while working as a librarian in Bohemia, was Histoire de ma vie. (Story of my life.) </div>
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The following quote he made about love is courtesy of his page on Wikipedia.</div>
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<i><span id="quoteexpitem_-942649078_7">Real love is the love that sometimes arises after sensual pleasure: if it does, it is immortal; the other kind inevitably goes stale, for it lies in mere fantasy. </span></i></div>
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<div>
So, clearly, this intellectual did have some idea of what real love was; nevertheless he is known for his numerous and brief amorous adventures with women. </div>
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<div>
One particularly bizarre incident occurred in Paris. He managed to convince an aristocratic woman, Marquise d'Urfe, that he could use his knowledge of the occult to turn her into a young man, his goal being some sort of payoff. Of course, as he would have known, his plan didn't work and the lady lost interest in his alleged occult abilities.</div>
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Why was Casanova impelled to pursue and seduce so many women? </div>
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For a start, he was constantly in debt. As a result, he moved around Europe at an alarming rate. Perhaps he was never able to stay anywhere long enough to develop anything concrete.</div>
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There could be another likely cause. At age 9, his mother, a theatre actress who was constantly on tour, packed him off to a boarding house in Padua. (His father had already died when he was eight years old.) The conditions were terrible and he felt angry and abandoned. Maybe this caused him to go off in search of love - and yet not be able to trust anyone sufficiently to commit to a lifetime relationship. (All this is just speculation on my part. No doubt a deeper study of the man might produce further possibilities.)</div>
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If I get around to reading his autobiography I will let you know! </div>
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Casanova died in 1798. </div>
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You can find a short biography with a video about Casanova <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/giovanni-giacomo-casanova-38011">here.</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.biography.com/people/giovanni-giacomo-casanova-38011"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.biography.com/people/giovanni-giacomo-casanova-38011"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.biography.com/people/giovanni-giacomo-casanova-38011"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-65"></sup></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.biography.com/people/giovanni-giacomo-casanova-38011"><br /></a></div>
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Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-13872174935140031752017-03-29T01:59:00.001-07:002017-03-29T01:59:40.083-07:00Girlgate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Six delegates, five men and one woman, are at a business meeting after hours. The refectory is closed and the coffee machine has broken down.<br />
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After a gruelling session one of the men says, "I could murder a coffee."<br />
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"Right," says the man next to him. "I'll get the girl to fix it."<br />
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<br />Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-20368810697189775482017-03-07T02:49:00.000-08:002017-03-07T02:49:35.993-08:00Money, Power and Beauty - Curses or Blessings?<div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 13.8px; min-height: 0px; position: relative;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11.592px; text-align: center;">Jane Austen, Public Domain</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;"><b>Once, a friend said, "I take the view that if I don't go out with the postman, I won't end up falling in love and marrying him." At the time, to the dizzy, Mills & Boon-reading teenager that I was, this seemed unromantic, even calculating. Surely you couldn't choose with whom you fell in love! Yet, she had made an honest attempt at self-analysis about what was best for her. Coming from a fairly wealthy background, love-in-a-garret would not augur well for a future marriage for this particular friend.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Of course, these days women are perfectly capable of earning their own money and setting their own parameters within a relationship. But, just how much have things changed? Do we still look for that extra something that seems to emanate from money and power? What do women really want from men?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Women have been uttering these little sparks of wisdom since the sixth century to the present-day. Here is a selection of some favourite female comments:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.26cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">Reputation and Freedom</span></span></span></span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">For some women, it was always simply a matter of quietly going ahead, doing what you want, and letting life take care of itself. Here are two examples from women of previous centuries:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); letter-spacing: 0.5pt; line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.26cm;">
<span style="color: #3c3c3b;">“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">If women want any rights they had better take them and say nothing about it.” ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;">”<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Until you've lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is.” ~ Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949)</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.26cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">Women Wanting to be Beautiful</span></span></span></span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Fifty years ago, beauty was essential if you wanted to “catch” a husband. If not beauty, then you needed to be, at the very least, a woman of some substance, preferably an heiress. Women considered plain were diminished by their contemporaries, female as well as male.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); letter-spacing: 0.5pt; line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.26cm;">
<span style="color: #3c3c3b;">”<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The Englishwoman is so refined / She has no bosom and no behind.” ~ Stevie Smith, 1937, (1902-1971)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;">”<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">As she had no hope of raising herself to the rank of a beauty, her only chance was bringing others down to her own level.” ~ Emily Eden (1797-1869)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">On the other hand, some attractive women decided to compromise, and learned to use their natural assets to good effect – and were brave enough to say so:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;">“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I had always looked upon my beauty as a curse, because I was regarded as a whore rather than an actress. Now at least I understand that my beauty was a blessing. It was my lack of understanding the way to merchandise it that was the curse.” ~ Louise Brooks (1906-1985)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Others rebelled and decided they were perfectly all right as they were, a lesson many of us are beginning to take on board today as the diet and beauty industries become increasingly under fire for setting standards impossible to attain. At last, such deceptions as air-brushing are deemed unacceptable and many of us demand to be acknowledged for what we are.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); letter-spacing: 0.5pt; line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.26cm;">
<span style="color: #3c3c3b;">“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I'm tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That's deep enough. What do you want - an adorable pancreas?” ~ Jean Kerr The Snake has all the Lines (1958)</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); letter-spacing: 0.5pt; line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.26cm;">
<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">However, there are truisms that work as well today as they did in previous centuries:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); letter-spacing: 0.5pt; line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.26cm;">
<span style="color: #3c3c3b;">“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.” ~ Coco Chanel. (Gabrielle Bonheur, 1883-1971)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;">”<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">A dirty exterior is a great enemy to beauty of all descriptions.” ~ Mary Martha Sherwood (1775-1851)</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.26cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">The Cost and Benefit of Beautiful Clothes</span></span></span></span></strong></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); letter-spacing: 0.5pt; line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.26cm;">
<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Fortunately, today we are more enlightened and we care much more about wildlife than mink or ermine coats unlike Louise Brooks:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); letter-spacing: 0.5pt; line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.26cm;">
<span style="color: #3c3c3b;">”<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I was mad about clothes for a time. You know, ermine coats and those things eat up a lot of money.” ~ Louise Brooks (1906-1985)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;">”<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The sense of being well-dressed gives a feeling of inward tranquility which religion is powerless to bestow.” ~ Miss C.F. Forbes (1817-1911)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">Money Talks</span></span></span></span></strong></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); letter-spacing: 0.5pt; line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.26cm;">
<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Back in the seventeenth century, playwright Aphra Benn (1640-1689) said: “Come away, poverty’s catching.” This does rather echo the postman metaphor in this article’s introduction. Some women have always loved men with the Midas touch, for example:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;">“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I have known many people who turned their gold into smoke, but you are the first to turn smoke into gold.” ~ Elizabeth I (1533-1603) to Sir Walter Raleigh.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Who can fail to sympathise with iconic short story writer, Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) when she said: “I must say I hate money but it's the lack of it I hate most.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); letter-spacing: 0.5pt; line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.26cm;">
<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Even Jane Austen, (1775-1817) gentle romantic that she was, had plenty to say about money: “A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of. It certainly may secure all the myrtle and turkey part of it.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); letter-spacing: 0.5pt; line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.26cm;">
<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The American women’s rights activist and writer, Gertrude Stein, (1874-1946) was actually being rather sneaky when she said: “I want to get rich but I never want to do what there is to do to get rich.” But Stein was already a wealthy woman in her own right, and so, she didn’t have to.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Throughout history, women have had to make many difficult decisions about their multi-faceted lives. What is amazing and often inspirational is their spirited determination to rise above the realities of their lives and the often wicked wit that has surfaced throughout the struggle and the turmoil.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">Sources:</span></span></span></span></strong></span></div>
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<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><div class="western" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.42cm;">
<em><span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">The Wicked Wit of Women,</span></span></span></em><span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5pt;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">Compiled by Dominique Enright, Michael O'Mara Books Ltd. London, 2003.</span></span></span></div>
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<em><span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">3500 Good Quotes for Speakers</span></span></span></em><span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">, Gerald F. Lieberman, Thorsons Publishers Ltd. Northamptonshire, 1984.</span></span></span></div>
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<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><div class="western" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0.72cm; margin-bottom: 0.42cm;">
<em><span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">Pocket Treasury of Great Quotations</span></span></span></em><span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">, Reader's Digest, London, 197</span></span></span><span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">7</span></span></span></div>
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Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-22956216816028865162017-03-05T08:43:00.000-08:002017-03-05T09:12:28.612-08:00Things I Wish People Wouldn't Say<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5B7C3LV7KhlPD6SVlR36UkGkDea6CqUVowNVvgIptH88bDH3FmTTGLFWZgD6_QKZFYAezPwcwLx1MZjv33K9LKwdQ97GZJf0kXLa9X7bMljp_1wXtZ1JKIyg_wzi52Z79jbiQeDY7qU/s1600/70th+birthday.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5B7C3LV7KhlPD6SVlR36UkGkDea6CqUVowNVvgIptH88bDH3FmTTGLFWZgD6_QKZFYAezPwcwLx1MZjv33K9LKwdQ97GZJf0kXLa9X7bMljp_1wXtZ1JKIyg_wzi52Z79jbiQeDY7qU/s320/70th+birthday.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Don't tell me what I'm feeling. I don't like it."</td></tr>
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"I want you to meet my friend, Helen. She's amazing. You'll <i>absolutely luuuuurve her." </i>(No I won't. I can feel myself bristling already!)<br />
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Journalist: "A man was brutally murdered." (Ever heard of a non-brutal murder. Somehow, by definition, murders aren't loving and kind unless it's a mercy-killing.)<br />
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Writers in general: "She sobbed uncontrollably." (Does anyone - ever- sob while in perfect control?)</div>
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<br /></div>
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Stores / Tour Operators, etc: "Get a free <i>xxx000xxx!!!!" </i>(That is a complete misappropriation of the word "free" which means unconditional. If it was free you wouldn't need to buy something to get it.)</div>
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Anything President Trump says.</div>
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Hairdresser: "D'you want product?" Me: "What product exactly?" "Hairdressers; "<i>Product, </i>d'you want <i>product?</i>" Rolls eyes at the ceiling. (OMG, doesn't she know "product" means an item and is not procedure-specific?)</div>
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My bank / doctor's practice worker / dental surgery. "Hi Janet." (Excuse me, but have we actually <i>met?</i>)</div>
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"How lovely to see you." (Okay if it's sincere but if you're looking over your shoulder to see if there is someone more interesting around, then it's a deal-breaker.)</div>
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Anything Nigel Farage says.</div>
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Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-85575412040561372942017-02-26T08:23:00.001-08:002017-02-26T08:24:14.481-08:00No, I Don't Believe in Lizard People, Crystal Children or a Hollow Earth!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipbNLPK801j8LtkVLCU1mCmbPXXX7QxiOwZW-xiVznp1j4b1Dcdnar7jjfSagOAbP7j9m1izOgwD5M2ELxigLmMLLKujrnwRbgZOM_xxSTbpEc9tw2aZ2WzTjwh7p1gGmW6ufk0LdYvAY/s1600/517px-Stresstest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipbNLPK801j8LtkVLCU1mCmbPXXX7QxiOwZW-xiVznp1j4b1Dcdnar7jjfSagOAbP7j9m1izOgwD5M2ELxigLmMLLKujrnwRbgZOM_xxSTbpEc9tw2aZ2WzTjwh7p1gGmW6ufk0LdYvAY/s320/517px-Stresstest.jpg" width="275" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stresstest.jp">Image by Android Cat, Public Domain</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This planet is teeming with great eccentrics, individualistic types who do their own thing and express themselves freely, a wonderful, liberating, non-judgemental society. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That ought to be good.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Except - if I meet another psychic I am going to go crazy. I feel</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> inundated with psychics, new agers, conspiracy theorists, followers of mad, mad theories. Mature, apparently reasonable and articulate people, will tell you, quite matter-of-factly, about vampyres and evil spirits and "lower levels of being" and travelling to the "Fourth Level" (Whatever that is.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That's the worst part of it - that everything seems to veer towards negativity, misery and forthcoming destruction. It's as though life is such crap that some people need something else to fasten onto, or to blame.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Fifteen Foot High Men in the Pale Sunlight!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Conversations take place over breakfast about a hollow earth filled with great cities and fifteen foot high men. And, although one theorist agreed it's unlikely the earth is hollow, he qualified that it was, in fact, a honeycomb. I asked, wearily, how he can base his entire life's purpose around theories that are not only unlikely, but for which there is no evidence whatsoever. Apparently he can. Apparently physics can help to explain this weird phenomenon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />And if you're wondering how a great city thrives inside the earth, it's because sunlight filters through, palely. Good word that, <i>palely!</i> Words are the conspiracy theorists' most important tools, especially ambiguous, loose, non-specific words that are flexible enough to be moulded to the theory.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br />Spare me from the following:</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People whose conversation is peppered with the following terms of reference: healing ~ demonic possession ~ new world order ~ aliens ~ lizard people ~ higher levels ~ lower levels ~ the other side.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People who think it's okay to try to foist their belief systems on me without ever asking me what I think, which is a typical problem with these overtly alternative types. You can become quite good friends with them without them ever knowing what sort of music you like best.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People who believe that superchildren (crystal children) are being born. When we start talking about an elite among little kids, it starts to get really sinister. Preserve us from any of these misguided adults from becoming teachers, nurses or nursery school staff.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Weird Belief Rituals</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I accept that these theories are genuine religion beliefs, and in some ways are no more bizarre than some orthodox religions. What I do observe is that they almost always lead to stress, anxiety, negativity, obsession, compulsion, confrontation among themselves and with society in general. This is just observation, but in my life I have seen more screwed-up people among the "Weird Belief" community than in any other area of life. I'm not sure if this is a chicken and egg situation, since we could ask what came first, the neurosis and then the religion, or the religion and then the neurosis.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Tell me that energy has just flown out of the top of my head indicating my - you choose the word: anger, stress, negativity - and that my soul is fragmented and needs putting together again, then I am defriending you, not just from my Facebook page but from my life. There's enough to contend with of a practical and an emotional nature in this life, and plenty of opportunity for rational, gentle speculation, without resorting to these obsessive, attention-seeking rituals that seem, almost inevitably, to lead to disaster, depression and negativity.</span><br />
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Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-83516850176432792822017-02-20T05:59:00.002-08:002017-02-20T05:59:38.189-08:00Age is just a number ~or is it?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcdLVNQPCELwtEBxRHfl2QHm_9TxVmsTaqzCReIK44CXIxKOlY1nGvs47CvUSpVc4YqYKECPnSYVBqgVtz9Q_fUGZs0YwWSJZXl_MjPx9Naz98QLiRhs07O06LT5M9ZgvFeLXrwvsEJQ/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcdLVNQPCELwtEBxRHfl2QHm_9TxVmsTaqzCReIK44CXIxKOlY1nGvs47CvUSpVc4YqYKECPnSYVBqgVtz9Q_fUGZs0YwWSJZXl_MjPx9Naz98QLiRhs07O06LT5M9ZgvFeLXrwvsEJQ/s320/untitled.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<h1 style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 14.4pt;">
<br /></h1>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 16.8pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #555555; font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">Age is just a number, goes the old platitude. It's true and I don't have
a problem with it. The problem is ~ all the others!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-top: 10.8pt; text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">Of course,
it's great to be fit and attractive, to keep your brain synapses healthy by
seeking knowledge and stretching your mind; your body healthy by doing
sustainable, appealing exercises. I'm not saying "youthful." I don't
want a face devoid of wrinkles as it would make the rest of me look rather
odd. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">But -
sometimes - on a good hair day (and a good skin/slim tum day) people take me for younger, although that may depend, partly, on the
quality of the light and whether they are wearing their specs or not. But if
someone says, "You look good," well, that's better than "You
look good for your age!" If I look good, tell me so and leave it at that,
because actually I'm okay about my age. If others have a problem with it, then
tough!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">When you think
about it, we are probably the luckiest generation, with improved healthcare,
more money, wonderful beauty products and clothes, and all the secret little
processes carried out in high street beauty salons to fix a flaw here and
there. But, sometimes, just sometimes, keeping yourself young and fit can work
against you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13.0pt; letter-spacing: .5pt;">Concessions for Seniors</span></strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">I feel miffed
when I ask for a concession at a local theatre or cinema, and the booking clerk
wants to see identification. Do I look dishonest? Do I look as though I am so
desperate, that I would<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>lie
about my age</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>to save a few
pennies? Seething, I wait while my details are checked, then, suddenly, a
rush of... well, something approaching self-satisfaction. Because - in a way -
it's a compliment. They actually don't believe I'm old enough to be entitled to
a concession.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">The next time, when the person doesn't ask, or I quickly try to
foist some form of confirmation on them, and they say, "Oh, that's all
right, don't bother," I think, "Hmmm, so do I look such an old bag
you're happy to wave me through?" Sometimes people just can't win
and I must stop being oversensitive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13.0pt; letter-spacing: .5pt;">Bus Passes</span></strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">One of the
most unsettling experiences I ever had on the bus was the day I sat in the
front seats, especially designated "Priority Seats for the Disabled, Elderly
and those Less Able to Stand." Usually, I left those seats for those
worse off than me, but that day all seats at the back were taken and I was,
frankly, exhausted. So, as I settled down in the front, a middle-aged woman
leapt on the bus and as she turned to climb the stairs, she shouted at me,
"Those seats are for<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>old</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>people." At the time I was
68! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">I read
recently in the paper that scientists have just done a study and decided that
old age starts at 69. I'd be interested to see how they arrived at such a
specific evaluation, Is it <i>legal </i>to discriminate?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-size: 17.3333px; letter-spacing: 0.666667px;"><b>No, I'm not Workshy!</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">Also, people
who see you around a lot, sometimes ask, rather belligerently, "Why aren't
you working?" as though they think I am a scrounger on benefits so I can
swan around all day, shopping and drinking Brancott with my friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">Then, of
course, occasionally in a pub, a gentleman might want to buy me a drink.
Mention, in passing, a class I am doing at the U3A (University of the Third
Age) and there'll be a stunned silence and then said gentleman beats a hasty
retreat. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">Well, I wasn't interested in him anyway. Prefer them younger,
actually.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #3c3c3b;"><span style="font-size: 17.3333px; letter-spacing: 0.666667px;"><b>If you Speak to Me Slowly and Loudly, I Might Understand</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">One day I went
to a new dentist and she glanced at my records and began to talk to me in a
very slow, measured and loud voice. For a moment it seemed she had a speech
impediment. Poor young lady! I thought. I stared at her in sympathy<i>.</i> Then, as she kept repeating herself, I realised what had happened.
She'd just spotted my age on her chart and she'd assumed... what? Well,
one day I might need someone to talk to me like that, perish the thought, but
at least, for the time being, give me the benefit of the doubt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.4pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3c3c3b; font-size: 13pt; letter-spacing: 0.5pt;">In the end,
you have need to have a sense of humour. But overall, it's great, not only
looking smart and up-to-date, but also believing that age is just a number. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-56615241030709593172017-02-18T02:48:00.000-08:002017-02-19T15:48:46.127-08:00Is Class Snobbery Alive and Well in Britain?<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 30px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis69de5fxMGWWaf-_7A_ms2ZmPQ7gn7A7nJpBJpjFqSniGhp3uRJrf1A3XWWwCnwem4q7rEYtSjFzbgWyqreLDXg9ymkDvm_ENtim9bzutEpEUUqRTQek8hk5VRvrxB5siI3cSj0ngN0w/s1600/SPARE.+Spooky+Hove+at+night%252C+Gareth+Cameron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis69de5fxMGWWaf-_7A_ms2ZmPQ7gn7A7nJpBJpjFqSniGhp3uRJrf1A3XWWwCnwem4q7rEYtSjFzbgWyqreLDXg9ymkDvm_ENtim9bzutEpEUUqRTQek8hk5VRvrxB5siI3cSj0ngN0w/s320/SPARE.+Spooky+Hove+at+night%252C+Gareth+Cameron.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hove, Photo Copyright Gareth Cameron</td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 14.49px;">People are weird.</span></div>
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I began to realise this when I decided to move away from Hove three years ago. Not because it wasn't good enough, it was just too expensive for me to find adequate accommodation spacious enough for all my books and files.</div>
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I'm in West Sussex now, but for a while I considered towns nearer to Hove, in East Sussex.<br />
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I suppose some people might find what happened to me offensive. I didn't. I couldn't let myself care that much, but here it is:<br />
<br />
It appears there are "people" who are really <em>beneath one</em>, and with whom one has nothing in common. Some of these people live in areas a little outside Brighton & Hove.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="margin: 0px; position: relative;">
An invisible line</h3>
Apparently there is a line, where B & H and its more salubrious suburbs, like Rottingdean, end, and then <em>one</em> might venture, at <em>one's </em>peril, into areas where <em>one </em>just wouldn't choose to live. At this point, the people change from being educated, with "nice" manners, into those who need to be avoided at all costs. The word generally used is "common." (shudder...)<br />
<br />
All this because I was thinking of moving to Peacehaven, conveniently situated halfway between Brighton and Eastbourne. <br />
<br />
But it's all right, they said. I would be okay so long as I moved to Shoreham instead. (Personally, I've always found upmarket Shoreham a wee bit unfriendly and Peacehaven more than agreeable. But there you are. I guess, maybe, I'm a bumpkin too and those lower-class Peacehaven people recognise me as one of their own!)<br />
<br />
There was one positive aspect to all this. I was made to understand that, because I managed, at least, to get myself educated, I am not entirely lost as a human being in spite of my "Sarf London" accent.</div>
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Oh, give me a break! I thought. Are you implying I will be the only "educated" person in Peacehaven? Goodness Gracious!</div>
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<b>Not a Wetherspoons - here - please!</b></div>
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Not that class distinctions are absent where I live now. One person mentioned in the presence of another delightful (and unsnobbish couple) that saunas were a great leveller and only when people got dressed could we recognise their "class." I was swift to point out that these days it wasn't okay to judge people that way, but to discern their human qualities of kindness and acceptance.</div>
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But there is nothing much one can do. There is a certain chain of easy going, admittedly slightly shabby pubs, that serve consistently excellent food with plenty of vegetarian options for very little money. The pubs employ friendly respectful staff and have a most comfortable ambience. </div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.49px;">You should have heard the uproar when it was thought we might get a branch of the chain when the old Co-op was closed down in the village. The local forums were positively bristling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.49px;">"Not a Wetherspoons in <i>Rustington</i>. <i>We really don't want that."</i></span></div>
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I am so glad I live inside my own head. How much rich, human experience must be lost to people with snobbish mindsets?<br />
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Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-41452481047685347812017-02-15T09:14:00.000-08:002017-02-15T09:14:22.837-08:00Tesco says "The Fun Starts with your Vouchers" - Not!!!<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: #ffffe5; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 30px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjka85DExI25eascYsnUUOo7Nw07QuAWheeDPt9kcbT0LvqyZdjqEl1lS7Kijyj75KKx9ukQ6bhsZEpR5A0lw40K1HNPpbqkWnMYJewdnxVsKyki3u9rKmnD_TtaXyskz6gcsRArTnmMLI/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="color: #aa0033; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjka85DExI25eascYsnUUOo7Nw07QuAWheeDPt9kcbT0LvqyZdjqEl1lS7Kijyj75KKx9ukQ6bhsZEpR5A0lw40K1HNPpbqkWnMYJewdnxVsKyki3u9rKmnD_TtaXyskz6gcsRArTnmMLI/s1600/012.JPG" style="background: transparent; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11.592px;">Going shopping? You don't need vouchers! Photo: Janet Cameron</td></tr>
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<br /></span>I hate vouchers.<br /><br />These are the things I really hate about vouchers:<br /><br /><ul style="line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">They're fiddly and time-consuming but you feel guilty if you waste them.</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">They're complicated. Some are for money off once, some are for money off on two separate occasions, some are for points, some can be doubled up if you go to Reception or something.</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">You need to know when you're going shopping. I never do. I just think, Oh, I'll think I'll just pop into Tesco's. And, of course, when I do that, I don't have my vouchers.</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">You need to keep an eye on the dates. You might think of buying something that you would normally consider a bit expensive, but a pound off makes all the difference. Then you get to the till and find your voucher expired yesterday.</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">They're long-winded at the till. You have wait, clicking your heels, while the person in front of you expresses alternately happiness or dismay, as to whether their vouchers are the right date or not, and the correct product, or not. It's easy to make a mistake unless you have all day twiddling your thumbs. Then the person behind you waits groaning and tapping their foot while you have your turn. It's worse than waiting for people to buy their lottery tickets in the Co-op.</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Some are "two for one." Or "Buy One Get One Free." I hate "two for one." I'm single, I don't want the same thing every day just to use something up. And I don't to waste stuff. I'd rather just have one at a fair price. Besides, the word "Free" should not be conditional on you buying something.</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">And lastly, you get so fed up with carrying the wretched things around, you might even be tempted to buy something you don't need. Which is exactly what the supermarket wants you to do!</li>
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<br />Of course the straight £2 or £3 off your shopping bill voucher is fine. It's all the rest. Sometimes I just throw them away then I feel guilty when I shop, thinking how much money I'm wasting. Or I go to Iceland where you don't need money off cos it's all so cheap. So why don't I go to Iceland all the time? Well, in spite of all the above, Tesco's is, somehow, more inviting.<br /><br />So from time to time, out of frustration, I give Morrisons, or Asda or Lidl a try. I quite like Morrisons except I've had about three bunches of flowers that haven't managed to open. (Never a problem with Tesco, who must have a superior supplier.)<br /><br />So, a supermarket that's cheap, with no vouchers, beautiful flowers that do what it says on the tin, and friendly staff. Doesn't seem a lot to ask.</div>
Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-47419704147214199222017-02-11T06:28:00.000-08:002017-02-11T06:28:05.657-08:00What I Love and Hate About Poets<h3>
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I like:</h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Poets who invent new, exciting words, just so long as I have some idea of what is meant through the context in which they are used.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I dislike:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pernickety people who say, "There's no such word!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I like:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People who admit they don't know much about poetry, but they have an open mind, and are willing to see if they can get something from it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I dislike:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People who just declare they don't like poetry, even though they've never bothered to try it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can live with:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People who are indifferent but who don't make judgments are okay. That's their choice and they have every right to make that choice. It's just the noisy detractors I cannot stand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I like:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People who are open to trying different forms, and don't make certain kinds of poetry "wrong". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I dislike:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People who insist they hate rhyming poetry or contemporary blank verse, or prose poetry, or humorous verse. There's room for everything, and one kind of voice doesn't prevail over all others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I like:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Poets who are original and who write from their own experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I dislike:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pretend-poets who steal other people's ideas, change a few words around, (just enough to avoid a charge of plagiarism) and present it as their own. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I especially dislike:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two poets who have played that trick on me!</span></div>
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Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-81735700071037012312017-02-06T06:23:00.001-08:002017-02-11T14:40:05.606-08:00It's Not All About Wolfe and Greene!<br />
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A cry from the heart when I was doing my MA:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8uzeXEXjat0zvD3vYINyuGFjVaq6Py80p3m7epogCxXamPxV2B2baSqdYehDexIi6C6C1Jf4i5pJGQrHQmtpqF72wIpPcIhnTnY817eQk5SAQ_lR4YmcNVSb2bXqpW9q2o6t88AvzSI/s1600/20141024_173350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8uzeXEXjat0zvD3vYINyuGFjVaq6Py80p3m7epogCxXamPxV2B2baSqdYehDexIi6C6C1Jf4i5pJGQrHQmtpqF72wIpPcIhnTnY817eQk5SAQ_lR4YmcNVSb2bXqpW9q2o6t88AvzSI/s320/20141024_173350.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">CONFUSED</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">fragmentary</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and highly original</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stream-of-Consciousness writings</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">from Wolfe and Greene</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">get praised</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">incessantly,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">it hurts</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">when my</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">fragmentary</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and highly original </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stream-of-Consciousness essays</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">don't get</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">their</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just Dessert<b>s</b></span><br />
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Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-68384819057367946962017-02-02T01:44:00.000-08:002017-02-03T01:12:44.022-08:00Truth is Variable - Cultural Relativism Part 2<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHPN-FR2WFNtOFCvGzIF3uvEJPLrCXMKVFBzSzA9vMhCVlgYCi8WGRB90e6jgNNEEwTyE4aW563nPoSCuf61k4Ur73RhRwJI4jN_39RrsfMy_35bLWWkyZylTEw06XyC4_evXHQPXP4M/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHPN-FR2WFNtOFCvGzIF3uvEJPLrCXMKVFBzSzA9vMhCVlgYCi8WGRB90e6jgNNEEwTyE4aW563nPoSCuf61k4Ur73RhRwJI4jN_39RrsfMy_35bLWWkyZylTEw06XyC4_evXHQPXP4M/s320/004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going the way that suits our circumstance. Copyright Janet Cameron</td></tr>
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Cultural relativism is just a small step away from cultural ethics. (To see the Intro to this article, pleae go to Why Can't We Agree: <a href="https://msanthropeonline.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/truth-is-variable-cultural-relativism.html">Cultural Relativism Part 1</a></div>
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The cultural relativists believe that truth is variable and cannot be absolute. This belief discredits ethical issues of right or wrong. Everything is - quite simply - as it is! Cultural norms are a matter of opinion, and one culture cannot be less worthy than another - not even if that culture practises human or animal sacrifice.</div>
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"Cultural Relativism" in All About Philosophy mentions an event in January 2002. President Bush described terrorist nations, collectively, as "an axis of evil." This incensed the cultural relativists. The West, they felt, had no right to cast a judgement on Islam. Even suicide bombings could not be described as evil. They were, simply, a result of a human culture.</div>
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Steven Pinker, in "Culture Vultures" in The Blank Slate, says that sometimes we view the development of culture in the wrong way. "The best explanation today... depends on seeing a culture as a product of human desires rather than as a shaper of them."</div>
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There is a good reason for this.</div>
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The geography of the land can influence culture, as people seek what is most useful to them. </div>
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Maps have to Simplify - and All Maps Distort</h3>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
It may be useful to look at our Model as a sort of map. The main point is that the model that we choose to live our lives by, should be the one that is most useful to us. On the other hand, we must accept that sometimes things don't work out as we have planned.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
As Howard Damrstadter points out, "People in different situations with different needs may opt for different, and conflicting, models. We must each settle for those simplifications that suit our particular circumstances, accepting that occasionally the roast will burn, the investment sour, the article be rejected... No one map or model can get it all right."</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
We must be aware that, apart from differences in perception, we also have psychological limits in the way our personal models operate. From time to time, our own models will prove defective. Although these models may prove effective for us in most situation, occasional defective experiences do not affect our overall perspective. But, imagine how much more defective our models might be for a different person in a different situation operating under a different model.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
In a small group or tribe, slight differences may not cause major problems. The disagreement is exacerbated when dealing with models in a global society where others needs conflict strongly with our own.</div>
<h3 style="line-height: 20.2176px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
An Analysis of Cultural Differences</h3>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
It might be helpful to remind ourselves of the background against which philosophy measures the challenging implications of cultural relativism.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
In "Culture Vultures" Pinker includes a quotation from the economist, Thomas Sowell, that informed Sowell's trilogy of works, Race and Culture, Migrations and Cultures and Conquests and Cultures.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
"A culture is not a symbolic pattern, preserved like a butterfly in amber. Its place is not in a museum but in the practical activities of daily life, where it evolves under the stress of competing goals and other competing cultures. Cultures do not exist as simply static 'differences' to be celebrated but compete with one another as better and worse ways of getting things done - better and worse, not from the standpoint of some observer, but from the standpoint of the people themselves, as they cope and aspire amid the gritty realities of life."</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
It is easy to see where difficulties arise, as cultures compete among themselves. Some may do better than others. We may applaud diversity but at the same time, we must acknowledge our discontent if another culture works better than ours by achieving more material success.</div>
<h3 style="line-height: 20.2176px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
No Llamas or Alpacas in Mexico!</h3>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
Sometimes, success is partly due to excellence in science, art or technology, but it can also be assisted by geographical elements. An example cited by Pinker is the huge landmass of Eurasia which stretches in an east-west direction, making it much easier for crops and animals to survive and for trade to prosper because it enjoys a steadier climate along a similar line of latitude.<br />
<br />
Landmasses such as Africa and the Americas, however, run north to south. is the huge landmass of Eurasia which stretches in an east-west direction making it much easier for crops and animals to survive and for trade to prosper because it enjoys a steadier Landmasses such as Africa and the Americas, however, run north to south.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
Pinker says, "...llamas and alpacas domesticated in the Andes never made it northward to Mexico, so the Mayan and Aztec civilizations were left without pack animals."</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
This is why Eurasian countries invaded and conquered so much of the world, not because Eurasians are cleverer or cannier, "but because they could best take advantage of the principle that many heads are better than one," says Pinker.</div>
<h3 style="line-height: 20.2176px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
The Big Problem for Philosophy</h3>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
The big problem is that we cannot always convert other people to our own way of thinking. We cannot persuade them to adopt our model when their wants and needs are so different from our own. "A multi-model understanding tells us that such differences may make conversion unlikely."</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
Howard Darmstadter concludes his article "Why We Can't Agree" on a note of hope. He claims that we must not give up on conversation, that we must keep on trying.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
We can still look for "...mutally beneficial accommodations that are possible even when models differ." Steven Pinker says - almost - the same thing from his own viewpoint, or "model."</div>
<br />
<div align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 17.28px; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>"...our understanding of ourselves and our cultures can only be enriched by the discovery that our minds are composed of intricate neural circuits for thinking, feeling, and learning rather than blank slates, amorphous blobs, or inscrutable ghosts."</div>
Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-7739111862664868452017-02-01T02:11:00.003-08:002017-02-02T01:57:45.688-08:00Why Can't We Agree? - Cultural Relativism Part 1<div class="western" style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWmxadIPddc1bWW8-STWI4QsJAiGVozbcxWKGffpzxTBQW1p2YZQ_AmNwo6XWy4IkxNWqtgKPnDa_kXOjLMtiedseP8uDH974hhJbGEeOQ99cPAN8B2_ZZ7bseJszY0PQqQcIHNt7R5L4/s1600/Cologne+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWmxadIPddc1bWW8-STWI4QsJAiGVozbcxWKGffpzxTBQW1p2YZQ_AmNwo6XWy4IkxNWqtgKPnDa_kXOjLMtiedseP8uDH974hhJbGEeOQ99cPAN8B2_ZZ7bseJszY0PQqQcIHNt7R5L4/s320/Cologne+015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copyright Janet Cameron</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
People
have long considered how different patterns of behaviour and use of
language in human beings suggest that they perceive the world
different ways.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
In
"Perceptions, Cultural Differences," in The Mind, the
author (unnamed) explains a peculiar phenomenon, the theory that
awkward translations prove that the Greeks saw colours differently
from the way we see colours today, and that there might be
differences in perception between those who live in the West, from
people who live in the East.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
The
theory is not just about visual perceptions. It also encompasses the
most fundamental issues about how we perceive and understand what
goes on around us.</div>
<h3 style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
We
See Our World Through Different Models</h3>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
In
his article, "Why We Can't Agree" in Philosophy Now, Howard
Darmstadter uses extreme examples from the animal kingdom to
demonstrate how living things use models to deal with their immediate
environment and survival.</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
"A
wildebeest on the African plain - aware of much in its environment,
unaware of much else. The presence of suitable grasses, the
whereabouts of predators, and the actions of other wildebeest, get
its attention, but wind currents, the flights of birds, and the
doings of small mammals are of no concern."</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
The
eagle, soaring way above the fleeing wildebeest, will, clearly, have
a vastly different model in order to deal with her own survival.
Again, the human hunters on the ground will be looking for signs
indicating edible plants or game, while a geologist's model will
focus on rock formations, overlooking signs of animal prey.</div>
<h3 style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
What
is Cultural Relativism?</h3>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
So,
how can we know whether we are right or wrong? Should historical
figures be judged within the context of their culture at that time?
In other words, should we refuse to make allowances for actions that
we would find morally reprehensible today? Should we disparage other
cultures whose rituals and practices repulse us in present times?</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
The
cultural relativists would say "No, no, no! Definitely not."</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
The
website "All About Philosophy" displays an article
"Cultural Relativism" which defines the term as follows:</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
"Cultural
relativism is the view that all beliefs, customs, and ethics are
relative to the individual within his own social context. In other
words, “right” and “wrong” are culture-specific; what is
considered moral in one society may be considered immoral in another,
and, since no universal standard of morality exists, no one has the
right to judge another society’s customs."</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
The
cultural relativists certainly do believe this, and where our senses
of justice and empathy are not challenged, we, too, might think this
is perfectly acceptable. However, it might take an exceptional
ability to look at the bigger picture without being disturbed by the
underlying detail.<br />
<br />
Can we take this theory on board without a qualm
of conscience?<br />
<br />
Continued: <a href="https://msanthropeonline.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/truth-is-variable-cultural-relativism.html">Truth is Variable, Cultural Relativism Part 2</a></div>
<h3 style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.28cm;">
</h3>
Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-90949993032221391152017-01-31T03:49:00.003-08:002017-01-31T03:49:42.584-08:00Othello's Soliloquy is as Real Today - Tortured Thoughts Seek a Scapegoat<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYq7Z9daalC-QEhd0BKD0Mtk1eoYx3uqQW_2ueDFGFgYHVaqsojrZ-XrLUAdBkb-FRS_jRLyYE-y-lmd_rhptxOD7kQqqM2SqSn0MuUNbWLuCQonujMzVpPftRiLNLgOzc9P8OrE8BywA/s1600/800px-Stanislavski_as_Othello_1896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYq7Z9daalC-QEhd0BKD0Mtk1eoYx3uqQW_2ueDFGFgYHVaqsojrZ-XrLUAdBkb-FRS_jRLyYE-y-lmd_rhptxOD7kQqqM2SqSn0MuUNbWLuCQonujMzVpPftRiLNLgOzc9P8OrE8BywA/s320/800px-Stanislavski_as_Othello_1896.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othello#/media/File:Stanislavski_as_Othello_1896.jpg">Othello, Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br />One of the most graphic expositions of jealousy flowed from Shakeaspeare's pen when he wrote "Othello."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Othello's
struggles for an explanation for the red mist of jealousy that consumes him
leads through confusion, despair and madness to the need for someone or
something to blame. It was written hundreds of years ago, yet is a lesson in modern-day psychology.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Othello's
soliloquy betrays his extreme confusion, so that the reader/audience may
anticipate the conflict to come. We know all too well that such extremes of
passion are explosive and bound to erupt into physical violence. Othello's
plight seems to be primarily one of confusion, indicated by his conception of
Desdemona as the wonderful lady he married, who, in his eyes, turned into a
deceitful wanton. His frustration drives him mad. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">It is clear from the start to the reader
that jealousy is part of that confusion. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">"I had rather be a toad / And
live upon the vapour of a dungeon / Than keep a corner in the thing I love /
For others' uses."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">The speed with
which Othello's thoughts flit from one image to another intensifies the sense of insanity. These shifts in viewpoint, the changing rhythms of speech that
inform those shifts, the alterations in pace and the use of run-on lines, all
contribute to his loss of direction. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">There is the change from
reflection "Haply for I am black..." to abruptness, "She's
gone..." Then he continues, "I am abus'd; and my relief / Must
be to loathe her. O curse of marriage."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 15.0pt;">
<strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Foreshadowing</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">The soliloquy foreshadows the future action in other
specific ways. Of Iago, Othello says: </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
"This fellow's of exeeding
honesty." The phrase has already been used: "Whip me such honest
knaves." The reader is primed to question the value of this word when
expressed by Othello in the first line of the soliloquy. By convention, a
soliloquy reveals the character's true feelings. We know from Othello's
nobility that his belief in Iago is sincere and that Iago's mischief will wreak
havoc upon Othello's state of mind and, therefore, his actions. Iago knows
exactly how to manipulate Othello, but his view of woman's nature is very
limited.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">The soliloquy also expresses Othello's insecurity, which
feeds his confusion and jealousy as he begins to search for explanations: </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">"Haply, for I am black / And have not those soft parts of conversation /
That chamberers have." </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Othello is only too aware that his life as a
soldier has not prepared him for courting a high-born and beautiful woman. He
laments, also, his loss of youth, "...for I am declined / Into the vale of
years." </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">We understand that his nobility and his achievements no
longer give him the confidence that he can hold onto the thing that he most
loves, and so, he feels hopeless. This hopelessness contributes to his
desperate state of mind, fuelling the anger at being, in his own eyes,
betrayed.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Tortured Thoughts Seek a Scapegoat</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Shakespeare's use of animal similes and metaphors add
strength to the language. Desdemona, as Othello's captive hawk, to be released
to fend for herself in revenge for his apparent betrayal, is an image which
shows how his tortured thoughts are turning upon themselves. We know that he
will, in his passion, harm the woman he loves. His conviction that he would
"rather be a toad" shows how far he has sunk in his own estimation
and how repugnant he finds his condition. The reader knows that Othello is not
only insecure, he has also lost his reason, and so insanity must follow.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">In the final few lines, he looks for a scapegoat and
blames his situation on fate.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">"Yes 'tis the plague of great ones; /
Prerogatived are they less than the base / 'Tis destiny unshunnable, like
death:" </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">He has abnegated responsibility for his condition, which is
another consequence of losing his reason. The violence of the language, for
example, such words as "plague", "base", and "destiny
unshunnable" shows the extreme violence of his thoughts. In the next line,
the metaphor "forked plague" serves a similar purpose, revealing the
force of his emotive language. "Even then this forked plague is fated to
us." There may be a biblical allusion here, in the forked tongue of the
evil serpent. The image is made all the more shocking by Othello's conviction
that such a fate begins at conception, "When we do quicken."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">The implication is that he can do nothing about it except
tear himself apart, once again, foreshadowing the inevitability of the bloody
confrontation to come.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Source:</span></strong></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Shakespeare,
William, <em>Othello, the Moor of Venice</em>, 1603.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-351781533574430445.post-9847578491301212402017-01-28T05:38:00.002-08:002017-01-28T05:39:02.802-08:00Don't Hate Other People - They Probably Don't Exist Anyway. Sceptical? - Read On...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h1>
</h1>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Husserl produced a brand new approach to
philosophy that would influence such great thinkers as Heidegger and Sartre.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Born in 1858 in
Prossnitz (now Prostejov, Czech Republic) into an Austrian Jewish family,
Edmund Husserl converted to Roman Catholicism in 1887 at 29 years old. In his
final years, due to his Jewish roots, he was banned by the Nazis from academic
life. He was educated in Leipzig, Berlin and Vienna, and taught at the
Universities of Halle, Gottingen and Freiberg.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Husserl's
Revolutionary Approach to Philosophy</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Husserl agreed in
principle with Descartes that the one thing of which we can be certain is
conscious awareness. While this was his starting point, he had a fresh approach
to philosophy - simply, he claimed that everything is a "phenomenon"
and he justified this by disregarding subject versus object and consciousness
versus the world.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Instead of
favouring the subject/object, says Husserl, we should focus on the phenomenal
qualities of objects as they appear to consciousness.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Jonathan Culler in<em><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">
Literary Theory </span></em>explains: "We can suspend questions about the
ultimate reality of knowability of the world and describe the world as it is
given to consciousness." </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">From this, it appears that a work of literature
is not necessarily objective, or an actuality. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Husserl wrote: "The whole
world, when one is in the phenomenological attitude, is not accepted as actuality
but only as actuality-phenomenon. I exist, and all that is <em><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">not-I
</span></em>is mere phenomenon dissolving into phenomenal connections."</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">It follows for
example, that a work of literature is not objective, but is the experience of
the reader. Readers may do the following:</span></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Analyse by
making connections to produce meaning.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Fill in
any gaps.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Conjecture
and then have their expectations rejected or confirmed.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span lang="EN-GB">In other words,
"things" are appearances rather than "things in
themselves." Whether or not they actually exist should be put aside, and
Husserl has a special word for this putting aside - "bracketing."</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Thus, we should be focusing on pure experience whose premise is that reality
consists of objects and events as perceived in human consciousness, without
existing independently of it. This Husserl describes as "transcendental
idealism"</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Husserl's
Critics Challenge his Theory</span></strong></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Husserl's critics
accused the philosopher of producing a paradox. Jeremy Harwood, in <em><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Philosophy:
100 Great Thinkers,</span></em> describes their objection as follows: "How
could he possibly reconcile his claim that consciousness constitutes the
objects to which it is directed with the fact that the external world has a
reality of its own?"</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Apparently,
Husserl did not respond to this question. However, he became a major influence
on Martin Heidegger and Jean-Paul Sartre and other philosophers adopted some of his
principles. He died in 1938.</span></div>
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<strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Sources:</span></strong></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Culler,
Jonathan, <em>Literary Theory,</em> Oxford University Press, 1997.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Harwood,
Jeremy, <em>Philosophy: 100 Great Thinkers,</em> Quercus, 2010.</span></li>
</ul>
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Grim historieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03237953358571914233noreply@blogger.com0