Loosely Speaking

By Ciel - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Everything Else

Saturday, October 8, 2022

Distracted by Mole

Watching another one of those contest shows... The Mole. It's about teams of players trying to solve physical and mental problems to earn money in a pot that one of them will win at the end. Each success adds to the pot. But there is one person, the Mole, whose whole purpose is to sabotage the games, to reduce the size of the pot. Each episode, one player is eliminated. I'm also watching some other contest shows during the week: Survivor, Amazing Race, and the Great British Baking Show. The last... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

And next up: Halloween!

One of my Facebook acquaintances is a young Dutch woman now living and raising a toddler in South Africa, out in a wildlife sanctuary. She was asking for some sort of explanation of Halloween. This is what I wrote: "All Hallows Eve" was the mainly pagan festival before the mainly Christian "All Hallows Day," which is to say, "All Saints Day" so your lad was born on that day when "Good" reclaimed the world from Evil's Night Out. Here in the US it evolved into a trickster's fest which was... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, September 10, 2022

Message to the kids

For kids, life is simple and clear-cut. You aren't responsible for anything but chores and homework. Remember when it was easy to believe that grown-ups had all the answers and to believe what they asserted was true...? And when ideals, as yet untested by confrontation with Real Life were the foundation of your emotional map of the world? Childhood is easy, looking back from adulthood. Adolescence, though, is a rough ride, with so many choices to make, so many things to decide, just when you... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Is it time to say farewells...?

This morning there was a headline from the NYTimes regarding Queen Elizabeth's declining health. Reading that she is now under particular medical care at her home in Balmoral, I wondered, Is this the end of the era of Elizabeth II? and just the though of it brings tears to my eyes. I am not English, she has never been my monarch... Yet, she is. I don't especially love the monarchy of Great Britain, I am not a follower/fan of the Royals. And yet... There are other monarchs in the world, but none... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

What courtesies do you miss?

Remember when it was always the thing to do, to use the paper towel you dried your hands with in a public restroom, to wipe down the sink counter where your hand-washing splattered? Remember when you'd just automatically say who you were when you called someone before asking any questions? And how about saying 'goodbye' before ending a call? Why doesn't live-chatting online deserve this same courtesy? Some courtesies have improved, in my opinion, over time. For example, I, a woman, open the door... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, September 5, 2022

The Sausage Making Machines

An unwritten rule forbids overt actions by the Justice Department that could affect an upcoming election. That is raising a dilemma for the department’s inquiries into Donald Trump. (NYTimes this morning.) Really? With all the piling up of evidence of blatant wrong-doing, of criminal and even traitorous activity, should not the DOJ settle these questons before the man is even allowed to run for any office at all? I still say this man is a test from God sent to see just how far we'll spiral down... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, September 2, 2022

Legends and tales and coat-tails

For the past week, I have been re-watching GAME OF THRONES, as a prelude to the prequel now on offer: HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, set 200 years earlier. I imagine there will be some post pre-shadowing of events to come, so I wanted fresher memories of the later/earlier series. There is a new Tolkien-based show, too, just getting started: THE RINGS OF POWER. I watched the first episode. It claims to be based on the early history of Arda, of which Middle-earth is a part. There were other lands, long... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, August 20, 2022

They keep saying she lost...

In fact, they lost. Wyoming, the GOP lost the integrity of Liz Cheney. Have to wonder if they will ever get it, how much they have traded in to continue the Reign of BS of Trump and his partisans. Now she declares that she will do whatever it takes to prevent him from ever getting back into the Oval Office. I hope this will include promoting the heck out of legislation on the federal level to protect and enlarge voter rights. Seems to me nothing else will make a difference if we don't have... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Speaking primarily...

It looks like Wyoming is about to fire Liz Cheney, one of the last bastions of integrity and good sense still remaining in the Republican Party. The state went 70% for Trump in his last presidential election, so unless they have gotten back their own good sense and moral consciousness, she will be looking for work elsewhere. I daresay she will find it, too. Wyoming, the first state to enfranchise women voters, will be showing whether it has lost its collective mind over the years since. Sarah... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, August 13, 2022

Remembering histories

There is comfort and empowerment in knowing what has happened before, not just history but the patterns of history, the records of how the pendulum has swung, how it still and always swings. Here is a post I was moved to write over on Facebook a year ago: I recently watched a film that showed the bigotry and hostility in America towards Asians. Not just the historic stuff, but that it still is an active influence. For the first time, seeing that only some Americans promoted the violence and... Sign in to see full entry.

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