Living in a Trumped up or rather DOWN world

I am aghast that once more the orange felon is back in control with his band of henchmen behind him. I am still PeaceHugs, but mostly on BlueSky now. I do what I can do and ask that you do similarly. We need a kinder, more compassionate world, despite what Trump and his handlers want.

Donate. Act. Change the World -- positively!

I just donated to IRC as I weep at all the senseless death and destruction. That said we all must do what we can. I wrote a comment on their Facebook request for money:

'Thank you for the work you do and you try to do. I don't like the stories of undelivered food just sitting there. On the other hand people have been killed trying to get the food. God help us. We must keep speaking up and donating and making calls to those who can affect change and demand more action. Peace!"

Call your legislators, whatever party.

Snow Days ~ Over the Years

Who doesn't want to keep a few snowy memories accessible? Here's snow stuff from Queens, New York City, NY as well as some Ohio photos, complete with a tree-view from a condo window. The music iPhone provided, nice beat. Quickly presented and it may have been inadvertently edited. Perhaps there will be a Take 2. 

 YES -- let's try it HERE: https://youtu.be/EZFmDoNr8sU

 

Add on Words #WWF

Add on Words

Found while playing Words with Friends

sadZA (African corn porridge)

colZA (vegetable oil from rapeseed)

ZOOn (biol. individual animal coming from a single egg)

And let's not forget aJAR

SOz - alteration to sorry (1990s)

EvZONE kilted Greek soldier

oVOID - egg shaped

IMPi - a band of Zulu warriors

RioJA - a Spanish wine

FLAMEn - a priest serving a particular diety

CAPiz - a small marine bivalve

smiLAX (a climbing shrub or asparagus)

BUCKo - man

JOCKo (chimpanzee or any monkey)

QUIPu (Incan knot recording method)

oxID (an oxygen compound)

ZAyin (7th Hebrew letter)

ZAyde / ZAide (grampa - Yiddish)

COXa - a hip bone or joint

mZEE (in E Africa an older person, elder)

sQUIT - a small or insignificant person; diarrhea

adJIGo - Australian yam

MOFOngo - Puerto Rican mashed plantain dish

sQUIZ - a look or glance; to look or glance

uMU - a Maori oven

oGIVE - a pointed or Gothic arch

dUNITE / DUNite - a type of igneous rock

JACKy - an aborigine

GOpik - monetary subdivision of the manat (Azerbaijan; alt. qapik)

QIndar / Qintar - Albanian money 1/100 lek

QIviut - underwool of musk ox (or cloth made from it)

Jowar - durra (a sorghum grain)

SorGO / sorGUM - a type of grain

Louie = looie / looey - shortened lieutenant

Sent from my iPhone

Environment: We Seriously Need a Green New Deal

There is environmental action being done this week and it is high time this takes center stage and stays there. Instead we have an executive branch in Washington DC that is trying to roll back what environmental protection / laws we have. If for no other reason (and there ARE lots of others IMHO), we must Dump Trump and his ilk. Complicit Republican legislators must not be forgiven for supporting him. (Burn the GOP lifeboats, per Driftglass and Blue Gal of the Professional Left podcast.)

Genealogy interests too!

Today is a learning day encompassing spirituality and genealogy study, yes genealogy [which I pronounce with a LONG E]. I have been dabbling in genealogy a little more seriously for the last couple of years and am listening to and enjoying #RootsTech's livestream since I am #NotAtRootsTech. Over the last several years I have been listening to @Ancestry's Crista Cowan and a number of good genealogy podcasts and YouTube casts. Time to share some of the info (though I have heard that Blogger may be on its way out). Time to get back to blogging on a number of topics, actually. Watch this [blog] space. But right now I am getting back to RootsTech

Ariana Gillis - Dream Street [Official Music Video]

It has been five years since Ariana Gillis posted this on YouTube -- it still haunts me, still a favorite. My thanks to Chris Johnson at BlueRootsRadio.com for introducing her to me. He's back on Live365 and you should give BlueRootsRadio a try. Stream it for free! (And I wonder if Ariana has lived up to her promise. Must do some Research.)

On Self-care, Healing, and Protesting: a second response

"If you're a Trump voter who is tired of being called a bigot, if you say you voted for him based on gun rights or economic issues, or because you think Hillary really was that awful, and in spite of his rhetoric, rather than because of it, I believe you. If you're in my life, I clearly don't think you're a vile hateful person. But if you're now watching protests across the country and you don't understand why, or think they are just being sore losers, let me break something down for you. These people aren't just angry or sad that someone they didn't support won the election, they're scared. 

They're black Americans who hear talk of law and order and remember a racially charged stop and frisk program, or see an emboldened KKK holding a celebratory parade.  

They're Muslim Americans who worry that spitting in their face is now okay and violations of their rights to assemble and their rights to privacy are about to come. 

They're LGBT Americans who fear not just of the loss of marriage rights or restaurants gaining the right not to serve them, but of an administration that thinks it's more important to research electrocuting the gay out of them than AIDS. 

They're Hispanic and Latino Americans who are scared their children will be bullied in schools, and their families ripped apart while their culture is mocked. 

They're women who are wondering if we've normalized groping, and if their career endeavors will be judged by their face and body, and not their minds

I believe you when you say you didn't vote for any of these things. Most of America wasn't thrilled with the choices we had in this election. But If you didn't know that this is why they're protesting, if you think it's really just about free tuition or more government giveaways, then you, like the elite liberals you love to castigate, have also not been listening. If you're tired of being called a bigot, then you need to use the same voice you used on Tuesday and speak out against these things fully and clearly. It's not enough that you didn't say them yourself. You need to reassure your friends and family members who feel like they no longer have a seat at the table that you still stand with them, even if your priorities were different on Tuesday. If you aren't willing to do that, then you have no right to call for unity." 

- Michael Rex

-- Shared by Liz Lee Effenberger of Tacoma, Washington, on an Occupy Democrats' FB post, "Do not shame....Self-care takes different forms. Help each other heal."

Post Election -- On Self-care, Healing, and Protesting: one response

"I listened as they called my President a Muslim (as if it were a bad thing). I listened as they called him a monkey. I listened as they said he wasn't born here. I watched as they blocked every single path to progress that they could. I saw the pictures of him as Hitler. I listened as they openly said that they will oppose him at every turn. I watched as they did just that. I listened and I watched and I paid attention. Now, I'm being called on to be tolerant. To move forward. To denounce protesters. To "Get over it." To accept this...
I will not. I will do my part to make sure this great American mistake becomes the embarrassing footnote of our history that it deserves to be, as quickly as possible. I will do my part to limit the damage that this man can do to my country. I will vote. I will watch his every move and point out every single mistake and misdeed in a loud and proud voice. Do not call for my tolerance. I've tolerated all I can. Now it's their turn to tolerate ridicule. Be aware, make no mistake about it, every single thing that goes wrong in our country from this day forward is now Trump's fault just as much as they thought it was Obama's. I find it unreasonable for them to expect from me what they were entirely unwilling to give.
They will find no shelter here." - Jeremy Mitchell

-- Shared by Mel Feliz on an Occupy Democrats' FB post, "Do not shame....Self-care takes different forms. Help each other heal."

Trump Protest Thoughts

New York had a relatively peaceful demonstration yesterday. Peaceful assembly is a right in the Constitution. New Yorkers also know that Trump is a con man -- he has a history of it and lost decisively in New York, and he's a former Queen's street boy. We don't see him keeping his populist promises (which he borrowed from Bernie who had huge crowds that went unreported in mainstream corporate media). It is not in Trump's character. He's already reneged on his wall promise -- it is now a strong 2-layered fence at certain places (like Hillary suggested). I think it is early to be out in the streets but I will be there, peacefully and loudly, when he attacks women's rights, the social safety net, the environment, etc., and doesn't deliver on jobs and stopping bad trade deals. The folks out there are being pro-active and should not be condemned for peaceful assembly. Violence is another matter.

Post Election 2016 Thought

Bernie had the energy and the crowds and a solid history of anti-establishment populism. The DNC pushed a flawed candidate with both earned and unearned baggage down our throats. That said, look to Bernie Sanders and the movement he has created, and push forward.

Alan Rickman - Truly Madly Deeply

I miss and am still mourning actor Alan Rickman who died this past January. This is a favorite moment, a song from the movie Truly Madly Deeply, which seems apropos, missing Alan, here performing with Juliet Stevenson. "The sun ain't gonna shine anymore" but there IS some sunshine on YouTube.

The Highwaymen - Highwayman

Watched the PBS American Masters special on The Highwayman and found this on YouTube. Truly a powerful special and THIS song has been a favorite for a long time. Watch the special (currently available from PBS via Roku and elsewhere. I had to watch it TWICE, THAT good.

Lord Of The Dance - Jim McCann

This is one of my favorite Celtic sounding songs sung by the awesome Jim McCann who I just learned died this past March 5, 2015 at the age of 70. He had lost his beautiful voice to throat cancer in 2002 after a remarkable singing career, including a stint with The Dubliners. He lives on in such music. Thanks, Jim, for sharing your gift with the world!

Kiwanis, fried pickles and a Christmas Tree

Love synchronicity! After moving further east in Queens, with Christmas on the horizon, it was high time to retrieve my Christmas tree from my Jewish former neighbors' attic. My friend Dorothy offered to help and before she drove me and my tree to the new neighborhood we stopped at the Dog and Duck pub for a beer and Friday night supper. There were Sunnyside Kiwanis president Will Sadd and secretary Carol Masiello! Their fundraising  mixer was tonight though their email announcing it was not yet read (by me anyway). So dinner became a bit more expensive but it was fun AND I got to try the fried pickles special for half price. NYS Assemblymember Cathy Nolan stopped by and other nice folks too. The free mulled wine was sampled on the way out the door. It was a very festive evening! Tree and I are now safely in my "new" home and Little Christmas Eve is tomorrow! The holiday season has begun with tree, pickles, Kiwanis and friends!! Life is good!

Molasses Cookies

Another childhood recipe, this one is off the Brer Rabbit Molasses bottle, one my awesome mom made every so often. We would make these cookies small because then we could eat more of them. One time Mom and I were having one of our famous mother-daughter talks while drinking tea and eating cookies and looked down to find that we had eaten a couple of dozen!!! Call them molasses cookies or ginger cookies, just make these.

Mix together these ingredients:
3/4 Cup shortening (melted, cooled a bit) /
OR butter, softened
1 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup molasses
1 egg

Sift or whisk together in separate bowl:
2 t baking soda
2 Cups flour
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t ground ginger (or 1 t)
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt

• Add dry ingredients to wet mixture, a bit at a time.
• Chill for an hour or so (metal bowl helps).
• Roll into small balls and roll balls in sugar.
• Bake on greased cookie sheet at 375 degrees 8 to 10 minutes.
• Leave on sheet a minute or so then remove to wire rack to cool.

Made with shortening, the cookies may harden to ginger snaps after a few days but the butter version stays pretty moist unless you bake them longer. Storing in cookie tins works well.

I made these to give to folks stopping at our Kiwanis table at the Richmond Hill Park Fair.

Who is Bernie Sanders? Watch:

This 9:07 minute mini-documentary on Senator Bernie Sanders from YouTube's The Daily Conversation deserves to be given more play and will answer some of the questions of my friends who wonder about his background and why I support him for President of the United States of America in 2016. #FeelTheBern

Wondering

Checking out the Le Pan mini tablet.  Maybe I can type fairly normally, albeit on a tiny keyboard. It is bigger than my phone! Adventure!

Killing People is Wrong

The Boston Bomber will be murdered by the state of Massachusetts. The awesome Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Connie Schultz immediately posted on the issue on Facebook and her many friends and follows responded. My comment was:

Sr. Helen Prejean ("Dead Man Walking" nun) feels Dzhokhar is remorseful. She's met with him 5 times. Further, if it is wrong to kill someone, it is wrong for the state to kill someone. PERIOD. We must practice what we preach. The death penalty must go.

The violence must stop. -- And you ought to be following Connie Schultz on Facebook (and elsewhere, like Twitter). She posts about all sorts of issues as well as photos of her husband Senator Sherrod Brown and their dog Franklin.

Sanders announces, People respond

Great to see Senator Bernie Sanders enter the race of President. Announcing last week, Bernie received $1.5 million from 35,000 donors in the first 24 hours and people ARE responding. He appeared on Maddow Monday evening: