new words and times

 

This week, it occurred to me that a topic I wanted to write about was the word 'woke.' Immediately, I next thought, are you nuts! I mean, this is a hot button topic, very incendiary. I have tried to avoid such... but then regarding some of my other recent topics, maybe I haven't avoided it. Well, either way, I am about to tackle what being woke means-- to one group or another. Also, how i feel about the word.

I started by looking for definitions online... not easy since it has various supposed meanings depending on who is putting them out. There is a racial context evidently originally to be woke, which meant "alert to racial prejudice and discrimination".

Then, there is the current usage of it by the intellectuals or those who consider themselves such-- ''well-informed' or 'aware', especially in a political or cultural sense.' And I assume by those who created the definition in terms of what you are aware of.

Where it comes to how I see the word woke, it basically comes down to those who have used it and what I think about what they've done or said. In general, I dislike the word, though what it should mean is positive as being socially aware and seeing where prejudice (a biased view as to what is true) might be still influencing too much of our culture.

Recently, we've seen where a dean at a university law school attacked a judge, who had been invited to speak, by spending his time tearing him apart as she saw it. The students who were in the audience also blocked listening to him. Very woke since he was the bad guy in their eyes.

Which led me to think of a word (which I also had to look up its meaning when I first began reading it), which I think has shaped at least some of how woke changed. Intersectionality, the theory regarding the overlap of social identities-- race, gender, sexuality, class, and how it contributes to a systemic oppression and discrimination as it's experienced by individuals. Mostly that's what woke and intersectionality seem to be today-- looking for oppression and ways to right wrongs that they see as past but also still ongoing.  

What it seems to me happens when people claim to be woke is they see there is one way to see what is fair-- to not be woke is to be wrong. Woke has often gotten to a point of not only being unwilling to listen to other viewpoints but to block others from hearing them also.

How can you be culturally aware if you only know one side of a cultural issue? To those claiming to be woke, it appears, there is only one side and the other side is bigoted, misogynistic, white supremacist (even if they are of another color), destructive. etc. No wonder they won't listen to the other side, to them it's evil. 

Where it comes to racial wrongs, it is in history and still seen today-- the question being how do you fix it? I thought that affirmative action was intended to address past unfairness, as well as other laws, where it comes to race, but it isn't even discussed today. I think it's still out there, but is it? Now it's about reparations-- first for blacks but maybe soon for many other areas where people there have been mistreated, like to the LGBTQIA (initials keep being added to that one) community. As it is used today, woke goes beyond race to gender identity where some don't like the words woman or man and want to refer to all as they/them/etc.

What I thought made this subject interesting for me, as a writer, is how this wokeism, which seems to be wide across the land, applies to the books we write, which often, when historical, were based in a very different time than our own. How do you stay historically accurate and still satisfy the desire to not offend? 

When I got interested in defining how I see my own writing-- ethically speaking-- and how today's cultural climate might influence me or other writers, I saw it as a separate blog, way too complicated to add onto more length here. Hence, it'll be next Saturday.

In the meantime, if you have definitions for how you see woke, I'd appreciate it being put into comments here-- pro or con.

 

 

 

 

 

losing weight or not

 barrel cactus are not blooming at this time of the year. This is from 2022 and something positive to think about.

Like most ,who are tempted by diet tricks to lose weight whether it's surgical, a pill, a shot, or a new way of eating, I understand the appeal of such schemes. 

While I grew up pretty slender, I saw the family had weight issues. I worried about that for myself. When I got married, I put on some weight with a new way of snacking. I went yuck and used one of the canned drinks to take that weight off. You take that for two meals and one real meal. I lost most of the weight.

Then, along came baby-making years, and although I watched my weight when pregnant, I had gained weight. In my early thirties, I found a diet plan, very like the later Keto, where you minimize carbs for protein and fats. I again lost the weight and felt satisfied with the results. In the following years, I did a few other techniques, which led to weight loss but also gaining it back.They weren't ways of eating I could stick with.

That lasted until my 70s, when I really gained--way more than I'd ever imagined-- and more or less accepted it's old age. I lost again but more for a dietary change than a desire to follow a diet as such. Then I got into this thing about loving jelly bellies, which led to my own jelly belly (sugar is sugar, baby). And it's where I am today, interested in reading about supposedly miracle ways to lose weight but suspicious that if you don't change your way of eating in a healthy way, it won't matter.

I thought about Keto when so many lost weight that way, like what I'd done in my 30s, but felt I'd never stick with it. YoYo dieting is bad for our health. 

Most recently, I came across a friend on what is called the carnivore diet. It basically is protein and fat, which means, eggs, meats, fish, butter, and cheese. While I love eggs, I am not a big meat eater. Plus, it's working for that person but they are the age of my kids. When someone is in the old-old category, I think different rules have to apply for living well. 

My other concern with the carnivore diet, is without vegetables, fruit, beans, nuts, etc., how do you get the vitamins your body needs. Weight loss is nice but scurvy not so much, and generally speaking supplements are not as beneficial as the actual food.

Ozempic is the instant weight loss for the movie stars-- or so I hear, and even one multi billionaire. But now it comes out that it has some potential side effects down the road that could be catastrophic-- like enlarged small intestine.  One of the ones I know uses it, is very happy with the results, but also younger and claimed it would prevent a heart attack. The thing is that person wasn't obese, but just wanted to be slender as she'd been when young. Don't we all lol 

In the past the instant cures for overweight have all proven to have big drawbacks. I will settle for trying to eat healthier-- and keep my blood sugar at a healthy level (I tend to get low blood sugar if not careful with eating often enough). 

That reminds me, among the supposed miracle answers was fasting so many hours a day. Eat at say 9am and then at 3pm; then your body will burn the fat you want gone. I don't know about you but that seems like a good way to end up with low blood sugar (I'd done that but not to diet but because I didn't desire three meals. I don't recall losing weight that way but did definitely end up with blood sugar issues (I take mine every so often at home as one of my ideas for living healthy without having to run to the doctor all the time).

I suppose there are those who will claim all the things I have no faith in have worked for them. Good. Hope it does long term as that's where the problems lie with easy answers. At my age, I am going to try to stick to healthy eating... pretty much. *s*

It was snowing

Living in the desert, there is one certainty-- nothing is certain. Are we in a drought? Is the weather changing or is this how it's always been-- shifting sands, so to speak. 

My experience with desert life began in 1965 and then off and on since then, where we vacationed there with our young children; and finally, in 1999, bought a small home centered on a little over an acre of desert. We didn't live there year round given we still had the livestock and property in Oregon to manage, a life to live up there, but also a place in our hearts in the Southwest. 

We still divide our time between Arizona and Oregon with no clear idea of what will end up for us in our old age... Uh wait, we are in old age, both of us turn 80 later this year. It's not that we don't recognize we are old, it's just we love two places equally but can't keep going between them forever... but we can for now.

That brief history was to establish how often we have been in the desert and seen snow falling. It's not a common thing, but it happens probably more than some imagine. Never as much though, for us, as we saw this week when the snow fell enough to turn our world here white. It's kind of thrilling to get snow when it's rare-- and when we know it won't last long. 

We had heard the predictions. Wednesday night, around 10pm, we saw it was lightly covering the ground. When we got up at 4am, it was coating shrubs and ground. Ranch Boss went out and got a few photos as we weren't sure how much more would come.

When it got light, we saw more than there had been. 3" to be approximate, and it coated everything with a glistening coat of fluffy snow. The branches on trees were bent over. As far as we could see, our world was white. More photos were taken, and now I am going to try to share some to show the details and the landscape. 

Not easy deciding which as to see the cacti with snowy caps is definitely unique. For a while, the world was light and dark. Then the sun returned to turn the sky blue as the clouds began to depart. By around 1pm on Thursday, most of the snow was gone on our property and the plants had regained their shape-- snow was only to be remembered and in photos. 

 

On writing and other thoughts

 

When I began to think about this thing of writing, I saw several ways to break it up. That has expanded a bit as I came across a good article in a Missoula, Montana newspaper, about an author who thinks a lot like me in terms of the writing world from her perspective based on her experiences. I related to a lot of it, though there are also differences. Here's the link to the article.

https://missoulian.com/entertainment/books/as-a-professional-romance-novelist-she-publishes-books-at-a-furious-pace-it-s-never/article_856af382-1abc-5322-9484-cf4a252aa56a.html#tracking-source=home-entertainment

Another article I had recently seen is something we all need to consider-- how much will we let AI, as in ChatGPT, influence our reading, world, and what we do.

 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11775455/FOCUS-ChatGPT-launches-boom-AI-written-e-books-Amazon.html

It turns out that Amazon already has 200 books written by what is basically a bot-- and that's only the number where the author shared how they wrote the book. ChatGPT already has 100 million signed up-- or what it had when I read the article, with probably more by today.

This is a big deal for authors dependent on making an income from their creative work. But even for someone like the author in the first link or me, we want our books to be seen. Selling is how that happens, but the most important part is that others read our work-- and ideally like it. If the system is crowded with bot generated work, how will that influence what is out there.

Those who use something like ChatGPT, can turn out books like hotcakes. Are they as good as those by creative authors? Who knows. Not for my reading taste, but then I am not fond of reading formula writing either and it's been around a long time.

Stephen Hawkins wrote his concern that robots and AI would take over the world. I don't see how it could but maybe it could take over creative writing and what will it do to children as they find they don't have to write their essays-- something many of us learned much by doing whether successfully or otherwise.

More next blog about my own writing life as this time, I hope you will read those links.

We have been reading a new book by Rick Rubin-- "The Creative Act: A Way of Being." Here is one of the many worthy quotes from it.

"The ability to look deeply is the root of creativity. To see past the ordinary and the mundane and get to what might otherwise be invisible."

This is what those people lose out on when they allow a bot to write their books or essays. I wonder though what it does to those who read such works. It would be more fair to readers and writers if it was required that the book was written by a bot. As it stands, there is no such requirement. Unless a reader is familiar with the author, they might have no clue from the blurbs.

who to trust

photo from our Arizona home with unusual morning cloud pattern

 After writing about the State of the Union address, I came across things I had written (years ago but that's the beauty-- or not-- of blogging). What I had written in 2009, makes it sound as though I have changed my mind on my political thinking regarding issues today. I do not believe I have. What has changed is my belief on who can fix what I think is wrong. 

I had planned to make this blog about my writing; but it seems that this is more important. What did I want to see done then versus what I want to see today. I have lost all faith in either party solving things-- and worse, now I distrust most of the agencies on which we depend. That means leadership, not the boots on the ground but those who rose to the top to run things.

My real question now is-- who can we trust? I think this is a worldwide problem and not just for the United States (not so united these days). A recent example regards the recent downing of four unidentified objects, which were balloons or were they? We were told the first, a spy balloon from China, was downed over shallow ocean-- turns out not so much as they didn't have all of it retrieved, when I wrote this blog. First, they said they saw it over Alaska... Now, we learn they followed it from its launch site in China... or did they? See the problem and it grows with the next three that are balloons, or were they? And have they retrieved them? Not any word that I know of. Were they from aliens? They weren't sure, then they were. Most of us figured they were from this world; but they, whoever they are, weren't sure, but now are-- or are they?.

The President said he didn't want to talk about it as it'd lead to panic. Really, he didn't figure people already understood this was an unknown situation. Now I read he might give a speech, but who will write it for him and will it tell us anything more than how great he is?

There is another thing out there, regarding this...Who blew up the Nord Stream pipeline? Russia, unknown, or did the current administration do it? Who can we trust to tell us?

When I wrote in 2009 that I liked the idea of dealing with health care, so people were not bankrupted by unexpected illnesses (insurance or not), I hoped there was a realistic plan to do this. It turned out not so much. People get hit by disastrous health issues, and there is no current answers. Who profited from the 'plan'; so far as I can tell-- big corporations.

I see the problem with a neighbor here where she is trying to treat her husband, who had a stroke, at home where it's wearing her out. What is her choice given what care facilities cost? Prescriptions are pretty well helped by Medicare and supplemental insurance, but what about everybody else where the prices continually escalate. An example is a test for Covid. I could get one free (on Medicare), haven't ever needed one; but our family has to pay $8 per test, which when it's a family and you need at least two each incident-- positive and then negative-- adds up fast.

Who can we trust? That's what I want to know today as it is certainly neither partisan party for me, where each have their own agendas that are not mine. Worse though are all the agencies, where nobody votes these people in, and they control a lot of regulations where we have a Congress that does nothing that isn't suiting their partisan agendas. The ordinary people??? It seems they have decided that we are too stupid for them to care what we want!

That's what has changed for me-- who should I trust? It's sure not most media, where it should be if we had reasonable journalism. Scare talk maybe, but I think it's unfortunately where we are and most countries probably suffer the same problems-- even when they are not totalitarian controlled. I want, at the least, a media that actually researches and tells us what they learn-- not what they want us to believe or what they are told they should say.

Hopefully next blog will be more upbeat. Although since it's on marketing books, maybe not lol

Update: I debated where to put my additional thoughts regarding health care-- in comments or here. You can see which won out and virtually became another blog (but I already wrote the one for Saturday).

There are two ways to approach issues where costs are growing too fast-- like health care. One is you try to bring costs down by looking at why so high. For instance with prescription drugs, is it real cost of new development (claims by corporate interests), or greed with wanting higher returns or making the stock market happy. It could even be all the advertising (didn't used to be legal to do) to get patients to want this or that prescription drug instead of letting doctors make the decisions. That advertising is not cheap and might even have someone asking for a more expensive drug when a cheaper one would have done the job-- or when they didn't actually need that one but it has some side benefit they want (recently with a very popularly advertised drug that also causes weight loss).

Looking at why costs rose in so many areas might give clues as to what could be done-- true in rapidly increasing costs of higher education where we could look at the kinds of buildings they claim to need, which might be not simple, safe structures, but more elaborate ones oriented to make the university look more Ivy League. Is it too many aides, high incomes given to only occasional professors (like one class instead of full work loads) for their name prestige? That's not the approach right now, which is more government loans (given at high rate of interest) to keep the students and no concern for why tuition has been growing faster than the cost of living. 

Same is true with many things-- an unwillingness to look at the reasons but instead find more government the answer. We can agree there is a problem-- easy to see sometimes; but what do we see as the answers-- corporate and even individual responsibility or government being the sugar daddy. This is not true of all things, but it's where we should look

This even applies to the recent train derailments. It's the fault of not enough government regulations according to one group. How about instead it's the fault of corporate interests who declare short term profits more important than wise infrastructure updates? Do we have to be forced to do what is right or should we look to responsibility as a big factor?

SOTU

  

image from Stencil

Where I don't generally do politics here, this seems a good time to discuss the State of the Union. Why do we have such a yearly address, and what is its stated purpose?

The 1790 state of the union address was the first one given to Congress, required by the Constitution to have the President report to Congress what he saw happening at the current time and what he saw needed to be done. That one, not titled state of the union, was delivered by President George Washington.  Not sure about Adams, but in 1801, Thomas Jefferson delivered his address in writing, starting a new tradition, which lasted for 112 years. The thinking is he wasn't a gifted public speaker, and he was nervous in front of large audiences.

In 1913, that changed with Woodrow Wilson, who again delivered his message with a speech to Congress. He might be the first who recognized how it could be used beneficially by a President for what he wanted to see done-- setting the stage for the modern SOTU, which has become partisan and about political rhetoric-- where we are today. 

Two more things were added-- first its name, called that by FDR and officially named it by Harry Truman. The second was when it was broadcast to the people with first radio and then television. At that point, it wasn't just about information to Congress but also the American culture, or sometimes defending a war. Reagan enhanced using it as a tool when he began to invite special guests, which hit on issues the President cared about most.-- or thought would register with the American people.

For those most interested in more about its history, an online search finds many articles. I didn't do that, as frankly, I am turned off on it and have been for some years, when I believe it became solely political and not really about the state of our country. This year was no exception to my dislike for it as I only read about it later, with no desire to see partisan rhetoric given such a broad stage.

Some have said this year's SOTU was the beginning of a campaign speech. Probably not the first, given the time a Speaker of the House tore up the papers she held with the words of the speech. She did it right after that President's speech and in front of the cameras. She wanted to make as strong a political point as she believed the President had just tried to make. 

After the most recent speech, on Wednesday, I figured the left would like it and the right not. Pretty much, how it went. We see what we want to see, which is another reason (besides not believing they tell us the state of the nation), why I don't watch it. Bad enough to read about it later.

For my SOTU, I'll give my take on what I think should have been dealt with as it stands right now. It's not about what was said-- as none of it was; but rather what we need to deal with and understand as people living in the United States-- or sometimes those around the world impacted by us. I am not providing all the problems or answers, as the SOTU didn't necessarily need to do that, but rather what are some of the issues that impact daily lives. These are not in order of importance.

First would be the downing of the spy balloon (there has since been a second but this is about the earlier one). It's not so much what the spying nation got in terms of information that it could not have gotten other ways, but because it could have carried anything with it (think diseases, destruction of cyber systems, or even bombs). Since it was a remotely controlled robot, what else was it capable of doing? Plus, should one nation allow another to cross their whole country that way? We know the answer even if our President, apparently, does not.

It is claimed this one had antennaes, which means it could listen in (potentially) to conversations on the ground. Which discussions? We shouldn't care?

It is also an issue that citizens weren't told about it until a man took a photo from his window in Billings, Montana. When the military said it wasn't an intrusion could they possibly know that it was not preparing the way for a lax attitude and something different coming as a payload?

To me, it's also a big deal that many are being, and have been, sent out from a site that manufactures them and from which they are launched around the world. Are we facing a war, as why else are they used other than preparation? Maybe to find important minerals, but this one didn't go over such sites but rather bases and missile sites.

To go with this, there are currently at least two nations that could want to attack us, have threatened us. Shouldn't we be told the details and our own readiness for such a possibility? Are we in another Cold War or might this become a hot one? This isn't about fear but a realistic attitude for what might be coming. If the President doesn't tell us, what is the point of a state of the union that doesn't reveal possibilities, which could be so important! With grandchildren of the age to be pulled into fighting a war, I have selfish concerns, as well as for our nation as a whole.

Second, impacts some of us to a greater degree than others; but most of us notice it-- inflation in the grocery store and at the gas pump. We are told it's getting better; but when we get to the store, we don't see an improvement. I would guess it is even more of an issue at restaurants (but we almost never eat out; so I don't know for sure). 

Instead of saying inflation is decreasing (rah rah talk) why not talk about the pain it causes and what could really be done with a realistic look at how the dollar is losing value and prices are going up up and have for many years to some degree. I have books I purchased years back for $1.29 on their jackets but today would be $20. It should be a real concern-- also for those who save money and find those dollars decreasing in value by the year. I do have some ideas why this is happening, but not sure what should be done instead-- other than this is disconcerting.

Third, while it was emphasized in the speech about the need for more training for police (or so I read), but what was there, regarding crime, random violent attacks, thefts (such that some insurance companies refuse to insure some brands of cars)? The reason we might find some of our police overly violent could be what they face daily and never know when a domestic violence call is really a trap. Add to that the haranguing they receive, which has led many to leave the job. I am all for more training, weeding out bullies and thugs, who should never have been there, and higher wages to draw the best possible candidates. We have to recognize what is going on in terms of violence as it has increased and like a black swan, randomly could hit any of us.

Rather than blame one party or the other for this anger and violence, ask the question as to why is that happening??? The answer is likely not simple and involves mental health along with many other possibilities. At least, acknowledge this in any state of this nation.

There are many more issues but I want to put two together here; since they are used by both parties in partisan ways. I believe they should have been addressed if someone really wants to talk about the state of this nation. 

One is Social Security and the other abortion. They are used in different ways to inspire fear and anger with different age groups-- old and young. It seems that our leadership should delve into answers for these. I have two ideas. On SS, increase the income level on which the taxes can be levied-- way up-- and lower the percentage for all. It's an easy fix to bring in more money and was regularly done in the past. For some reason, that stopped. It's not as though anybody gets a lot of money for the checks when they reach a certain age, but it'd be a big deal to the nation,all of us, if the program failed. 

The second very partisan one, abortion, could be dealt with in Congress by passing a federal law allowing it up to certain times in the pregnancy-- in all states. As it stands, even the so-called morning after pill could be called murder in some places. Do Americans want abortion returned to back streets and turned criminal for women and doctors? Some do, but the big thing with it, as a partisan issue, is votes-- not concern for women or babies.

Should not our President discuss his ideas for both of these important issues? IF state of the union actually meant what the people in that nation actually need for concerns.

There is more I could say about each of these issues and a ton of other critical ones to evaluate for risks and possible solutions; but this blog is already too long. My main point is the SOTU has become a rallying cry for either party and a campaign speech where Presidents toot their own horns, more than discuss real issues facing the nation. Some are cultural; but this time, one involves war, which could involve attacks on our own country but also sending more of our young off to fight wars. We've been there, and it's a big deal, but no reference to it-- or other major issues impacting the country-- some with obvious fixes and some not so much. If it's not a campaign speech, issues and reality should be at the head of the list, not ignoring or casting blame but looking for real solutions. Currently, they are not while each party rah rahs their own side while the other side groans and Americans suffer.

Update: Turns out the second UFO is not thought to be a balloon, but they are still not saying what they think it was until they can identify what they shot down-- if they ever tell us.

 

pet problems

Well, I have to say one of the big concerns for me is the other beings that share our home-- 5 of us, which means 3 cats. They are varying ages with all being rejected somewhere or feral. That means staying very aware of their health. We have always had cats since we got married. Having pets that many years, we are familiar with loss. We just don't want to hurry it.

Tigger loves finding new places to sleep-- probably a product of his feral years. This was a box that we had no idea would become one of his perches.

Our orange male, also one-time feral after being dropped by a previous owner in the country. Some city folks appear to think country will help their cats survive. Not so. In Tigger's case, he did pretty well for several years (we're not sure how many) before we recognized he needed to be adopted by us. We had him tested, shots given, and neutered. That was five years ago and all went well until recently when he had trouble eating. He had lost 3 lbs. We took him to the vet for major blood work, etc. (i.e. about a thousand dollars overall including meds). He had gingivitis, which is an early indicator of the real problem

That's when we learned he had what is sometimes called feline AIDs (Feline immunodeficiency virus is a Lentivirus). That scared me big time until I researched it. I was angry at first that we'd had him tested for feline leukemia, and it showed negative, but these tests are not the same. Generally they don't test for FIV as it's far more expensive and not as common. It is there most in previously feral cats, who have been in fights as it's spread by biting. I felt reassured that our other cats were not at risk since Tigger is not a biter in our home-- though he'd been in fights previously.

It turns out that cats with FIV can actually live full lives, but it takes being aware of symptoms as secondary infections is what will kill them. It was not good news but knowing he won't infect our other cats (unless he bit them) has been reassuring, as feline leukemia is far more easily spread by saliva, etc. and he doesn't have that.

Now, he has an abscess in his leg after beating the mouth problems. He's been eating well and staying active, but we just need to aware that an immune problem can be a big deal on many things. He'll see the vet Monday morning.

Our oldest female cat began throwing up yesterday-- new worry. It might be a new food she had eaten-- but it's another thing to keep an eye on. Loving pets, family members as they are, requires that.

I thought that this doctor's recommendations for keeping pets healthy was good for dogs or cats. We often don't know all -- though it'd be good if we did.

Recommendations for keeping pets healthy 

 

manipulation

 

Something stirred my interest this week (though, it should not have) and finally I realized I had to write about it or it'd not let me go lol. I tend to be that way with a lot of things. If they are on my mind, I can finally go on, once I do whatever the feeling had me needing to do... even when I had other things to do that 'I' regarded as more important.

This one related to a 'trans' group in Norway that decided Aretha Franklin's song, Natural Woman was offensive to trans and they wanted it taken off Spotify, etc. For reasons beyond my understanding, the media picked up the story from what I gather was a 'new' group. The group doubtless knew that and hence tweaked it. The media is so easy to manipulate. I have no idea what Spotify, etc. did about it, but I know what they should have done-- ignored it.

Whether you are sympathetic to trans causes, are trans, this should have been ignored as it's not about trans at all-- not in its message or its timing (came out in 1968). I think they pushed it to get their group known. Maybe it worked and maybe not but wish it would not and wish our media would be less gullible.

I had to listen to the song again as though I remembered the melody, I'd forgotten the words. If that is your case, here's a link to hear it on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jCFzreP1ng

Listen to those words and do you hear anything about a man becoming a woman? You do not, as back then it was far less a 'cause' than it has been recently. But if a man wants to become a woman, does he not want to be a natural woman? 

What the song speaks to is this woman finding someone who makes her feel all she hadn't felt before. She has found the one who brings out the female in her. Could not a trans-woman also feel that way when they had the 'right' person come along? It's about an emotional reaction to loving the right person and what it did to the writer's heartstrings. 

A feminist might disagree with that message-- feeling we should not need someone else (notice song never said male or female lover) to feel all our own inner strength and being. We should do it for ourselves as most recently Miley Cyrus sang about in her new song-- Flowers. I can do it for myself was her message. It is probably the strongest way to be when we don't need someone else, but when we do, is that bad when it's the right person? When other people bring out the best is us, isn't that a good thing?

What to do? What to do about anything?

 

The following article was on someone's post on Facebook. I spent some time looking for other sources regarding Universe 25 Experiment. They are mostly in scientific journals like Smithsonian. It is food for thought and possibly the mainstream media didn't pick up on it because it's uncertain how it applies to human cultures. Still worth considering what it might mean for us today and into the future.  

The only change I made to the text was to insert paragraphs to make it more readable. I don't necessarily agree with all its interpretations but am still ruminating on it for what I know of the world today where I live. If it does apply to humans, what can or should we do?

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The "Universe 25" experiment is one of the most terrifying experiments in the history of science, which, through the behavior of a colony of mice, is an attempt by scientists to explain human societies. The idea of ​​"Universe 25" Came from the American scientist John Calhoun, who created an "ideal world" in which hundreds of mice would live and reproduce. 

 

More specifically, Calhoun built the so-called "Paradise of Mice", a specially designed space where rodents had Abundance of food and water, as well as a large living space. In the beginning, he placed four pairs of mice that in a short time began to reproduce, resulting in their population growing rapidly. However, after 315 days their reproduction began to decrease significantly. When the number of rodents reached 600, a hierarchy was formed between them and then the so-called "wretches" appeared. The larger rodents began to attack the group, with the result that many males begin to "collapse" psychologically. 

 

As a result, the females did not protect themselves and in turn became aggressive towards their young. As time went on, the females showed more and more aggressive behavior, isolation elements and lack of reproductive mood. There was a low birth rate and, at the same time, an increase in mortality in younger rodents. Then, a new class of male rodents appeared, the so-called "beautiful mice". They refused to mate with the females or to "fight" for their space. All they cared about was food and sleep. At one point, "beautiful males" and "isolated females" made up the majority of the population.

 

According to Calhoun, the death phase consisted of two stages: the "first death" and "second death." The former was characterized by the loss of purpose in life beyond mere existence — no desire to mate, raise young or establish a role within society. As time went on, juvenile mortality reached 100% and reproduction reached zero. Among the endangered mice, homosexuality was observed and, at the same time, cannibalism increased, despite the fact that there was plenty of food. 

 

Two years after the start of the experiment, the last baby of the colony was born. By 1973, he had killed the last mouse in the Universe 25. John Calhoun repeated the same experiment 25 more times, and each time the result was the same.

 

Calhoun's scientific work has been used as a model for interpreting social collapse, and his research serves as a focal point for the study of urban sociology.

We are currently witnessing direct parallels in today’s society..weak, feminized men with little to no skills and no protection instincts, and overly agitated and aggressive females with no maternal instincts.

The thing is, humans do tend to cluster into pods for sustenance, jobs, good location for beauty or water, entertainment, etc.-- hence overcrowding. That might be where we most see this played out. My husband added that it would be good if more studies were done by other species similar to ourselves. Not sure they have been as mice and rats seem most like us for many experiments.

 

Titling a book

 

If you have never written a book, you have no idea how difficult finding titles can be. You want one that suits the book but also alerts its potential readers. It's not easy. The series name is to tell those readers that there is more if they so wish.

We have found some of my books worked for their titles from the start... but some not so much and we changed them. Something Amazon had allowed. Such a change had come when in December of 2021 we felt we needed something different for the Arizona historicals-- something that indicated they were more than romances. Ranch Boss came up with the idea, which led to shortening the titles also to something that didn't define the genre but did give a hint of the theme. We made the change in February of 2022 with no problems.  

What sounded like it should be interesting turned out not so much or readers, who saw nothing in them to convince them to try something maybe different. We stuck with it for a while; but come the end of 2022, we decided to shift back to a more romance oriented title but different than we had previously tried for this series (I know that sounds confusing. It was for me too). That was the beginning of trouble which taught me some new lessons-- none of which related to titles, subtitles or series names...

 First-- read the messages from Amazon when they come in. Neither of us had done that and they stated firmly that it was no longer possible to change titles or subtitles on books already out there. They would follow the guidelines for ISBN-- no changes after publishing. We had made the above change before the new rules. The new ones were now 'the' books. They refused to accept our desired changes-- though, they might've been sympathetic-- to a point!

I won't go into all the frustration that led to for us and them-- all of which could have been avoided if we we had just read that notice. It ended with us finally reading it and learning we had one option. It said, to change titles, pull the books, make changes and submit them to Amazon as new books. Because I made a further mistake, Amazon blocked the first book in the series. Guess they were tired of seeing our questions regarding what they had previously answered.

 Second lesson was something only I had to learn, as Ranch Boss already knew it, pay more attention to the meaning of subtitles. I saw it more connected to the series, but it's to the title-- as it says. A subtitle gives the reader a further clue as to what the book has for a dominant theme. He had done this for other books (after he'd taken some classes),
but I had missed the boat for what I understood. It's an important one.

 

What I have to do, and am in no hurry to do it, is sufficiently edit each of the books. I already came up with a better ending for the first one as one reviewer had earlier said it appeared to end too abruptly. In my writing it, I had thought all issues had been resolved, but it'll be easy to expand that ending in a way that might satisfy such critics who wanted something more.

 

 We can still notify previous buyers, in the blurb, that it's a returning title-- even though it's new.  Editing, for me, is actually fun as I always see how I can find better ways to say things. The books won't qualify as abridged as I don't want to substantially shorten them. So, what is a good word when they are reedited?  Maybe just that, as I've seen it done by other authors. I think the first of these will be out in two months *fingers crossed*, as we are in no hurry and then maybe one a month after that. 

 

The first one does have a new title in our minds-- but that could change. We have some ideas for the series name-- as we try to come up with titles we can live with forever. Lucky I was not working on the new book right now as my calendar is free :)

Is there a lesson beyond the books? I'd say-- pay more attention to rules. This is particularly true when we are bombarded by information, or is it? Also be aware of the meaning of words to use them properly-- again when we are bombarded by words... Everything doesn't have such immediate consequences but they can. All photos are from our Arizona home.

disagreements okay or not

 

 I have mostly kept this blog away from politics or religion for more or less selfish reasons. I don't want the hassle I find when I comment on such topics in places like Facebook where I get slammed. Still, it is selfish and I do have many thoughts I discuss with my husband and friends where we sometimes agree or disagree but can talk about it sanely with a final agree to disagree. Most today seem to want to only hear what they already believe and they stay in such cliques. I get it but it's got its drawbacks. 

Today I read a column by Cal Thomas with an ending paragraph to which I much agree. His complaint was we don't have intellectuals leading either party or even getting elected. He named those in the past who were but couldn't think of one today-- to name anyway. Here's his comment. 

"There’s a proverb that seems to make my point: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). While some theologians say this verse is about human relationships, it might also be applied to intellectual pursuits. Just as playing tennis or golf with someone better than yourself can improve your game, so does keeping company with smarter people — and particularly those with different points of view — make you sharper and better able to vote intelligently and elect people more worthy of holding public office than many who are currently in elective positions or campaigning for them."

Will schools do this, help children and young adults to agree to disagree with intelligent points or is that out of the question for today? 

I personally think this lazy way of thinking also permeates the books most want to read and their entertainment. It has to support their point of view, whatever it is, or many toss them out.

The bobcat was one that visited our Arizona property and watched with concern as it had just killed a bird but was afraid to eat it with being watched. It had a kitten and went back to finish its meal after the paparazzi had left *s*.

From Here to There

 

For the holiday season we often put books on sale that relate to it. I added one this year that introduced some of those characters and explained from where they had come. It will stay on sale longer than the others (until January 3, 2023) as it has a different set of purposes. 

From Here to There is the story of two romances-- one told through an old journal and the other alive at the time. It's also the story of a romance for Montana and ranch living. Today, not many know about ranch living as our culture is so urban oriented. That is logical, but it means many have no idea from where their food even comes-- other than the grocery store.

We redid the cover for the book (for the umpteenth time) as it seemed to never quite catch the zeitgeist of the book. It's not easy to capture a book's deeper purpose when it's a romance and a novel (over 90,000+ words). So if you decide, give it a try for 99¢ for another week. It's not like a novella in that there is a LOT more story to it that depicts what that life is like as well as the relationships. Still, I think for those who enjoy love stories, it will satisfy. For a family, as well as two individuals, it teaches something for the characters and the reader!  

It's a fun read. Although it is tough, I "much love" that life, and have lived it many years.

 From Here to There

Brightening the Season

 

The Christmas season means different things to different people, some of which is cultural. When I was a girl,  for some years my parents had a place to cut trees from some planted years earlier. Not only us but many others drove out and paid. What I remember with our own trees is they always had good and bad sides where you had to place them carefully. I miss that in the trees today.

Those were the years when it was about Santa Claus coming Christmas Eve; then Christmas Day was gathering at one uncle's home for a feast and a few gifts but mostly bringing some kind of gift that went around the room with each taking a pick. Some gifts were useful and some funny (think rubber chicken or chamber pot). A few of those disappeared or reappeared the next year. I still have the chamber pot *s*.

 

When we got married, we began our own traditions for a lot of years, often a dinner at our house and again family and friends gathering round. We became involved in a church where it offered many activities with the season. When the kids grew up, they went to their new families' homes; and we were beginning a new tradition for ourselves as our parents died of old age, and our lives changed in other ways. 

those dried zinnias are a memory of summer this year

For quite a few years, we stopped having a Christmas tree as they always gave us sinus problems . Nobody was coming to see them anyway; so why put out the money? I did have a sizeable collection of Christmas villages, which took work to set up but were satisfying for the small community feel (they're in Oregon and not sure if I will bring them here where we have less room.

 

Once we were in Tucson for Christmas, we bought one of the artificial trees (love it), no allergies, and purchased ornaments of different sorts with one thing in common, inexpensive. We also had an assortment of garland type greens with tiny fairy lights to give the house a nature feeling as well as warmth. It's very different, and I won't say it's not sometimes lonely, but I have the knowledge that I once did it all. Now is time for change. Life is that way in my experience.

 

I know that Christmas is hard for some people , especially those who don't have a religious purpose behind it. Most know Jesus was not born December 25th, that sheep weren't in the fields at that time, but it doesn't matter as it's about more than a date but rather a feeling. For those who have sad memories of earlier Christmases, I think they need to find new ways. What do you do when family and friends are beloved but a long way away? I don't have suggestions. I am still working on that for myself. Not to mention, the difficulty when life deals hard blows and holidays are an especial reminder of them. We can't go back though-- only forward.

 

So, Merry Christmas to you or Happy Holidays whatever works for you. May you find joy in the season whether in old or new ways. 

Solstice 2022

 The shortest day of the year. Bring back the light. 

Satisfaction

We have had some delightful rain, which some areas might not consider delightful, but this is the desert. The first lasted two days and gave us 3/4" of rain-- so welcomed by desert plants. The second didn't last so long, but it poured while it did. The desert relishes it. We do too.

Lately, I've been thinking why I am so satisfied with my life when it's so simple. I don't take great trips (did some in the past), don't desire to buy a lot of things, and am just happy to be here with the cats and all the birds outside-- sometimes javelina and bobcats but more rare than the quail. What I began to wonder is being satisfied not good for ambition. I've never been a really ambitious person but liked the simple things, but that is more true in old age than it was. Should I be more dissatisfied to accomplish more or is it okay to just be and be happy with that.

The above is what I wrote for Facebook. When I posted the initial thoughts, I received some good comments, many that took satisfaction at its simplest level-- happiness. I do not believe it is that simple.  As when we finish a good meal and stop even though we might like more, satisfaction goes beyond enough to a deeper term of even soul connection to what is-- beyond and within us. It may not be times of happiness but also accepting times of what must be.

 

There can be another view of satisfaction that it keeps us where we are if we see it only in terms of happiness. An example is some of the things I have brought from Oregon to Arizona and then left in sacks or boxes for months or even years. I didn't deal with them until I was dissatisfied to see them as they were. Then, I felt even better for taking care of them-- and giving away some I should have years earlier.

 

Dissatisfaction can lead to ambition but again-- watch out. To always be looking for something bigger or better can lead to an unrewarding personal life.

 

One way, I believe to keep a satisfying life is to enjoy the small things as much as bigger ones. They can be so easily missed.

 

 

 

It is also being aware of tragedies around the world, weep for them, but remind ourselves to change what we can and release the rest. Being angry or in constant sorrow will never make for a satisfying life.

 

So, yes, simple that it is, I am satisfied with my life and my relationships, at this point, as an old woman, but I do have to sometimes make changes as my situation changes to keep that basic level of satisfaction.  Old age is a time of change.

 

 

Holiday Sales

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, we once again have put the books I've written, regarding this time of year, on sale for Kindle at 99¢ each. They'd be free except that is not an option when writing for Amazon and not in Kindle Unlimited. Still 99¢ isn't much for fun reads on what the holiday can mean for people in various relationships.

First comes Diana's Journey-- about a woman who gets a life-rewrite when her husband wants a divorce. She sells what she has, shocks her grown children, and takes off in a small Class C RV with her two chihuahuas to explore places she's only read about. What about Christmas though?  She doesn't even want it to come, but it always does She decides to spend it in Utah, far from where she expects memories could ruin her day-- except, what she finds is the meaning of Christmas when it comes to community and friends-- another rewrite for her life.

Second is not about Christmas, but is included because it introduces the characters where it is. From Here to There -- When a wedding doesn't lead to a marriage but instead to a bride leaving her new husband before he can be one, the story moves to Montana ranch country, and two romances-- one in the past as the bride learns more about love from an old journal and when her groom follows her to the ranch to convince her she made a mistake. Ranch living and Montana are key to this story.

The third was written because I began to think-- how'd it work out for these characters and can the holidays heal family rifts or can its expectations make them worse? The story delves again into the reality of ranch living-- holidays or not. A Montana Christmas --  uses the beauty of Montana against the difficulty of family dynamics. New relationships are developed with others deepening-- will some be totally destroyed?

Diana's Journey and A Montana Christmas  are novellas with  From Here To There a full length novel. It is a romance, the other two are about the healing energy of relationships, holidays, love, and the celebration of the earth's regenerating cycles. 

      There used to be an ability to create links here but whenever I click on that, it sends me to another blog. grrrrrr.  So, below are the books and their links. The first two are novellas, with their correct links behind them. You have to copy paste to make them work given what's going on with my ability to create live links. The last one is a full length novel that introduces the characters in A Montana Christmas. At worst, you can look alongside here where the links will take you to the books... I haven't used Blogger for a while for linking, hence, not sure what's going on. The books are fine though...

Diana's Journey -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M5IA26Y

A Montana Christmas -- https://www.amazon.com/Montana-Christmas-Rain-Trueax-ebook/dp/B00AOU0IQ2

From Here to There -- https://www.amazon.com/From-Here-There-Rain-Trueax-ebook/dp/B006PNS7EC

The sale lasts through December 31st.