tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62916891939153006202024-03-05T15:48:32.993-08:00The Daily Rickmy opinions on everything and anythingRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-16284537215562454422020-11-01T23:40:00.000-08:002020-11-01T23:40:09.410-08:00How the HELL did we get HERE???<p> 2020 - it's already November, where did this year go?</p><p>I have been busy campaigning against the right wing on Facebook-I forgot I have a blog...sorry</p><p>With everyone vlogging-actually typing out a post seems like buying a commodore 64 and trying to publish a newspaper with it...also no money in blogging-can't monetize it</p><p>I may blog for awhile again, this next bit of November promises to be history making, scary...</p><p>I still watch too much You Tube but I have new favorites now, Brian Tyler Cohen, The Young Turks, David Pakman, The Damage Report so many young voices that promise brilliance for the future.</p><p>Are the militias really preparing for civil war, sharpening their artisanal guillotines, checking their ammo??</p><p>Will the Trumps be held responsible? ALL of them-I don't want Don Jr. riding his daddies coattails into a future run at the White House.</p><p>I am so disappointed by Ivanka - I thought she was the voice of reason...not so much. </p><p>And she married a Zombie from Planet X,,,what a waste.</p><p>I wonder what Ivana thinks?</p><p>Covid still blazing across the USA and we are #1 in cases and deaths-quarter of a million gone, more will follow...there was a case per second the other day---amazing considering it's a hoax in the minds of some---fake news.</p><p>Sean Connery died on Oct 31...even James Bond himself couldn't handle 2020.</p><p>In Texas my niece took her kids social distanced, mask on trick or treating and made life a little normal for them. She has in-laws that are ardent Trumpsters...how did that happen?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVd4yq011k9msUPZXv0V2Sd2a0yR97TFN6CDANzgFuUQY6QqdAMy2esQoxoclN537k3C6hkoiShqW568Fb2M8fIPP3MSP7DpfgdqRmMV941GfwXObiqM_0AxJVFLU8b55_71UGyS1mB_A/s2048/president-donald-trump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVd4yq011k9msUPZXv0V2Sd2a0yR97TFN6CDANzgFuUQY6QqdAMy2esQoxoclN537k3C6hkoiShqW568Fb2M8fIPP3MSP7DpfgdqRmMV941GfwXObiqM_0AxJVFLU8b55_71UGyS1mB_A/s320/president-donald-trump.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Bully, Homophobe, Xenophobe, Egotist, Fake Christian...I could go on<div><br /></div><div>So now the vigil...I hope we can add LOSER to his many accomplishments-he only won on a technicality...WHY do we still have an Electoral College?</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile think how much that 2nd stimulus check would mean to people with the holidays upon us!</div><div><br /></div><div>I blame Pelosi for that debacle....sort out of pork later, get the checks out to the people...seriously</div><div><br /></div><div>I supported Joe Biden the first time he ran back in 89?</div><div><br /></div><div>He and I are both too old for this BS now---I hope he wins, resigns, puts Kamala in the drivers seat and I hope she brings in Cory Booker and every other forward thinking person with NEW fresh ideas/</div><div><br /></div><div>NEW....FRESH////I am old enough to remember John and Bobby, MLK so many young, forward thinkers...we were excited and involved...time for the new generations to get excited and involved...get off your damn smartphones and social media and actually do something...I am sick of influencers...stop sitting in your living rooms collecting accolades for how you do makeup and get out and actually make something better</div><div><br /></div><div>Thank the powers of the universe we have some younger folks that ARE making a difference and using the net for the powers of good</div><div><br /></div><div>you do know that ANTIFA means ANTI FACISM right? Its a good thing....</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="dc_wt b_clearfix" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; display: flex; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"><div aria-level="2" class="b_focusTextMedium dc_truncate b_clearfix" role="heading" style="color: #111111; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 40px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 48px; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 4px;">fascism</div></div><div class="dc_prn b_primtxt" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; padding-bottom: 16px;"><div class="b_hPanel"><span style="display: inline-block; padding-right: 12px;">[ˈfaSHˌizəm]</span><span style="display: inline-block; padding-right: 12px;"><div aria-label="pronounce" class="dc_aud_wrp" role="button" tabindex="0"><div class="sw_play cipa vat" data-type="audioplay" style="cursor: pointer; 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color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 4px;"><div class="dc_pd" style="padding-bottom: 8px;"><div class="dc_st b_clearfix" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; padding-bottom: 8px;"><div aria-level="3" class="dc_sth" role="heading" style="float: left; padding-right: 8px;">NOUN</div></div><span class="dc_bld dc_si" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.33;"><ol class="b_dList b_indent" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 4px;"><div class="dc_nml" style="font-weight: normal; padding-left: 8px;"><div class="dc_pm" style="padding-bottom: 8px;"><div class="dc_mn b_promtxt" style="color: #111111; padding-bottom: 2px;">an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.</div><div class="b_factrow" style="color: #767676; line-height: 20px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px;"><div class="dc_synb" he="0" ig="1" nl="2" style="display: inline-flex;"><div style="padding-right: 4px;"><span class="cbl b_lower" style="font-style: italic;">synonyms:</span></div><div><a ebates-serp-link="link" h="ID=SERP,5327.1" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+authoritarianism&FORM=DCTRQY" style="color: #660099; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">authoritarianism</a> · <a ebates-serp-link="link" h="ID=SERP,5328.1" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+totalitarianism&FORM=DCTRQY" style="color: #660099; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">totalitarianism</a> · <a ebates-serp-link="link" h="ID=SERP,5329.1" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+dictatorship&FORM=DCTRQY" style="color: #660099; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">dictatorship</a> · <a ebates-serp-link="link" h="ID=SERP,5330.1" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+despotism&FORM=DCTRQY" style="color: #660099; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">despotism</a> · <a ebates-serp-link="link" h="ID=SERP,5331.1" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+autocracy&FORM=DCTRQY" style="color: #660099; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">autocracy</a> · <span title="absolute rule">absolute rule</span> · <a ebates-serp-link="link" h="ID=SERP,5332.1" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+Nazism&FORM=DCTRQY" style="color: #660099; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">Nazism</a> · <a ebates-serp-link="link" h="ID=SERP,5333.1" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+rightism&FORM=DCTRQY" style="color: #660099; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">rightism</a> · <a ebates-serp-link="link" h="ID=SERP,5334.1" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+militarism&FORM=DCTRQY" style="color: #660099; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">militarism</a> · <a ebates-serp-link="link" h="ID=SERP,5335.1" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+nationalism&FORM=DCTRQY" style="color: #660099; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">nationalism</a> · <a ebates-serp-link="link" h="ID=SERP,5336.1" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+xenophobia&FORM=DCTRQY" style="color: #660099; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">xenophobia</a> · <a ebates-serp-link="link" h="ID=SERP,5337.1" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+racism&FORM=DCTRQY" style="color: #660099; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">racism</a> · <a ebates-serp-link="link" h="ID=SERP,5338.1" href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=define+anti-Semitism&FORM=DCTRQY" style="color: #660099; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">anti-Semitism</a> · <span aria-label="More synonyms" class="DictInlineExpansion"><div class="sml inline" data-appns="SERP" data-expl="" data-k="5326.1" id="expitem_-2127770334_2" style="display: inline-block; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 4px; zoom: 1;"><a aria-describedby="expansionAccessibilityTextexpitem_-2127770334_2_hit" aria-expanded="false" class="b_mopexpref" ebates-serp-link="link" id="expitem_-2127770334_2_hit" role="button" style="color: #660099; touch-action: manipulation;">[more]</a></div></span></div></div></div></div><div class="dc_sms"><ul class="b_vList b_divsec b_bullet" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li data-priority="" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px 0px 8px;"><div class="dc_mn b_promtxt" style="color: #111111; padding-bottom: 2px;">(in general use) extreme right-wing, authoritarian, or intolerant views or practice.</div></li></ul></div></div></li></ol></span></div></div><p>Mussolini was a fascist for instance...not a great guy....Hitler, many more</p><p>I'm not for the extreme left either...we need centrists that are for the good of all people we have had enough lopsided insanity</p><p>Come together...right now...and lets see if we can fix this badly broken nation</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiLfLfzcBzO-juoevVQoaM3d1rfHQzY03OaBf4Up5Kn_5j67A0Wl0JEt-C6Qp9Mz8Zp-no7ZOoZDTVNjqI8z8SgvjMdPP-sT81zEBJ6fQkG_VFjOBqjOr298T8wp5kiWYqQU48IL9NyU/s1200/Biden-Harris-Comments-0324-Getty-Images-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiLfLfzcBzO-juoevVQoaM3d1rfHQzY03OaBf4Up5Kn_5j67A0Wl0JEt-C6Qp9Mz8Zp-no7ZOoZDTVNjqI8z8SgvjMdPP-sT81zEBJ6fQkG_VFjOBqjOr298T8wp5kiWYqQU48IL9NyU/s320/Biden-Harris-Comments-0324-Getty-Images-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-37773828739263968942019-06-13T19:53:00.002-07:002020-04-26T17:49:14.703-07:00Tales of my cityArmisted Maupin writes that at some point, though his father held it as gospel, he realized there would never be a woman by his side.<br />
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I, on the other hand, cannot imagine how I would have functioned without the women in my life.<br />
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From early on the teachers, relatives and neighbors not to mention my mother were my cheerleaders and guides thru life whether I wanted it or not.<br />
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A dear friend for many years and one of those women was Mary Hanson who has departed now in her 90s.<br />
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She was the woman who, in many ways, gave me my backbone and confidence, proved to me I could do almost anything if I believed in myself and made my independence possible in many ways.<br />
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I remember Mary saw a photo of me at about 3 the only male (albeit a little boy) surrounded by and in the middle of a large group of women-she said it was the saddest picture she had ever seen.<br />
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If I had been followed by a videographer throughout my life there would be MANY pictures of me surrounded by women because that's where I was happiest and preferred to be.<br />
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If one looks at my drawings, art and design work one can see quickly that I love women, I draw women, I very seldom draw men because I don't think I do it well.<br />
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The hardest part of being "that man" was disappointing the women who couldn't deal with a close friendship but wanted to make it something else that was, for me, impossible.<br />
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I was not repulsed by women-far from it, I always wanted to make them beautiful, goddess like in as few clothes as possible-dripping rhinestones and furs and feathers-dreams walking and I have always loved beautiful breasts-those perfect globular, pouty perky pink tipped breasts found on showgirls in the 1960s on onward.<br />
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Something to be admired but handled carefully and perhaps never touched at all.<br />
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A fabulous woman call Mara played Giulietta in the production of Tales of Hoffman that I always consider my ,masterpiece she tried to push the boundaries-she presented herself stark naked, legs akimbo for me to position myself between those legs and do her makeup-rhinestones, feathers on the eyelids-high fashion Vegas in Opera land.<br />
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She was like some Amazonian Cher-but the fact that her holy of holies was right there by my knee never made my hand shake or distracted me in any way.<br />
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How ungentlemanly for me to even glance in that direction when she trusted me to linger in such a vulnerable moment of her life (and mine).<br />
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I was raised to enshrine women, to glorify them, to respect them, guard their confidences and keep their secrets not paw them...despite their possible desires to the contrary.<br />
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At the same time women are not dolls to me, not vacant mannequins-women are intelligent, graceful and know how to share an in joke or a twist of phrase and will listen when they ask for advice (whether they take the advice or not)<br />
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Its a sacred trust.<br />
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I suppose it's not a mistake that I always had a statuesque beauty who hadn't bloomed yet near me-she would eventually bloom and then she would run away-that's the way its been-once the see themselves as I see them they need to go-not one has ever hung around.<br />
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A friend (female) told me that at a certain age every woman should have a gay, male friend-husbands come to a point where they are pretty much only good for someone to dance with at parties and women mostly can't talk to them about important things like what colour to paint the new guestroom or if the dress they've chose is "too young" or "too matronly"?<br />
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My feeling is that having a friend of the opposite sex is the way we balance the world-you don't have to mate to have a relationship of worth but you do need that mind meld-it's better than sex and less messy.<br />
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My dear departed Cadillac Rose, the sometimes lesbian friend of my younger years told me once that only a woman could explain what a yeast infection felt like and only a man could explain how it felt to catch your tender parts in a zipper-probably profoundly correct itching behind ones navel makes no sense to me.<br />
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We also shared a promise that I will never have to keep since she escaped in the most dramatic way by giving in to the big C: If I would tell her she had too much rouge on she would make sure my fly was always zipped and thusly would we traverse old age.<br />
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I have a lady friend now---she is a dear soul, much too kind and loving for this world-she tapes me up when I start to unravel and holds my head when I weep and all without judgement-so for now I am OK.<br />
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She too is a sometimes lesbian but in all things womanly and without that anger that some lesbians get where men are concerned.<br />
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I have to say I am not a friend of men who marry have kids and then decide that they are gay (after all) and start cheating on their wives.<br />
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I hope the newer generations are less spoiled by their mothers? So many of my generation and even after were spoiled and raised as if they owned the world and a good wife was owed to them-throw in a slightly mesogenistic father of the pregnant and barefoot generation and you have a problem.<br />
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We are in the 2020's and some people still have problems with sexuality-so many gay men have become monogamists which is great but the undecided guys seem to operate on a different generations morals.<br />
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Its not fair to any woman or any partner to wander around exposing them to diseases because you are bored.<br />
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You made a commitment and, in my humble opinion, you stick with it till the children are out on their own.<br />
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If you have a wife and no kids be a man, wash your own underwear, get a small apartment and give her a divorce-then you can do as you chose.<br />
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I don't like open relationships=they work for some people and that is their business not mine.<br />
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It seems like someone gets hurt eventually-I had an open relationship not because I wanted it but because my partner cheated and when I announced that I had met someone and we would need to change arrangements he acted like he was the sad victim.<br />
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I am always horrified at the guys who say they have met THE ONE and then keep looking or grab a little on the side-not cool.<br />
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If anyone wondered-there is that bit of me for you to chew on...all thanks to Armistead Maupin<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-85535440628972336052019-03-25T15:15:00.001-07:002019-03-25T15:15:13.539-07:00Bloody hell-2020Here we are in March (almost April) of 2019 and I suddenly realized that 2020 is almost here.<br />
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Remember when 2000 was just a concept that would happen someday? Now we are TWENTY years on the other side.<br />
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The worst of it is-we are in much worse shape than ever on so many levels/<br />
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There are things that REALLY bother me-one is the vacuous, blind, unicorns and daisies way people offer "SUPPORT" -WHY is it wrong to say good for you for trying now here are a few ideas that you might consider to improve your work?<br />
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I went to school for a long time to learn how to help people improve and move forward with their art and design skills-I sat through MANY critique sessions where my work was blasted and dissected on a badly lit wall in front of a classroom of people who loved the fact that I was under the gun and not them-often at the merciless whims of a teacher who, unable to cope themselves had now turned to blasting others in some misguided retribution for the imagined abuse they had endured while they were in school.<br />
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Critique can sting, especially if you let your ego get in the way but it shouldn't be evisceration or public flagellation for the entertainment of the mob; it should be honest but tempered with kind encouragement and support.<br />
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No one learns or improves from a group of people saying JAW DROPPING or Stunning over a piece of work which is neither.<br />
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These day a LOT of people are colouring pages or projects that require time and patience but no particular talent other than perhaps staying inside the lines and picking colours…<br />
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In our childhoods these sorts of things sometimes were stuck up on the fridge door to encourage us to do more and work harder-or a teacher might have bulletin boarded it-with an adhesive star or two.<br />
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The new fridge door is Facebook (and pinterest) where roving bands of sycophants leave brief, turgid comments like the aforementioned "JAW DROPPING"----this meant to make you feel that you have created something special<br />
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and wonderful-wouldn't it serve a better purpose to say I really like the colours you used and how the have balance-the choice of that muddy brown may have not worked for me but good for you for standing by it and posting what you've done.<br />
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You don't hurt people to make yourself feel better-you honestly and gently say what your feelings are about what you see and maybe offer a suggestion about what might improve the work and why OR why not say "it makes me feel... Happy? Encouraged?<br />
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Those of us who sell our original artwork get blasted everyday sometimes offhandedly sometimes between the eyes.<br />
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Most commonly you post something for sale and it doesn't sell-That is just like saying WHY would I buy that?<br />
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Less common but it often happens-some "do-gooder" messages you to say, "Did you see what so and so said about your artwork?" and then adds a link to the comment to make sure you see it.<br />
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People will find a way to make sure you know how they feel and that's why this rainbow connection school of support is so sad and empty.<br />
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I like the THUMBS UP emoji.<br />
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It's nom-commital but says, good for you, keep yourself out there, way to go...and lets the poster know you have seen their work.<br />
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I would love to see every person that attempts to explore their creativity be a success and I will tell you from experience nothing is more encouraging than a pocket full of money.<br />
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When I was selling my art work as ART-I had a friend who I often traveled with and/or shared booths with who was very willing to tell me exactly what they thought of my work---it always delighted me that a piece they specifically did not like sold first.<br />
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Much better than flipping them off or punching them in the face.<br />
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My opinion is not going to make anyone change whow they comment on facebook posts-but my fans, friends and followers know that when I comment-it's honest (for better or worse)...I do not say I like something unless I dod and I often point out WJY I like a specific thing hopinf that others will benefit from the onservation.<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-14574433299508147962019-03-25T14:25:00.000-07:002019-03-25T14:25:27.029-07:00Thanksgiving is when?I guess Thanksgiving comes on a specific Thursday?<br />
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I've only been doing it for 69 years you would think I would have it down by now.<br />
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Don't.<br />
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Its been a strange November-shootings, fires---someone posted we have had over 300 lone gunman/mass shootings so far in 2018.<br />
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Can that be true?<br />
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What happened to us? I can remember when one was a reason for national horror-I guess we are immune?<br />
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The NRA people just don't want anything like gun control but they want to lower the voting age to 16?<br />
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I had a dream last night that I was sleeping under a pear tree (with pears the size of large melons) the sky had many stars and 2 moons one yellow and a smaller lavender one---so was it a dream or dimensional leakage?<br />
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Apparently most humans and some animals exist in a narrow space between 2 dimensions and for (whatever) reason the membrane between the 2 is getting dangerously thin so we are starting to get leaks.<br />
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This is also how Bigfoot manages to avoid capture-it is able to dimension jump at will.<br />
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YouTube is less crazy than it used to be because if you cross the line too much or use trigger words you get demonetized BUT there is also a new crop of high production value fringe content offered by people who look sane-mostly it covers controversial, conspiracy theory style insanity but in a quiet carefully worded way so it SEEMS like it could be true.<br />
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One thing I heard was that during Obama's years there was a mass killing and the night before in a speech he had said a specific chain of words-apparently before the most recent shooting Trump said the same word chain.<br />
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Obviously this is a trigger phrase for deep government assassins to wake up and start shooting-it was also pointed out in a matter of fact sort of way that the shooters are always calm and usually former Marines.<br />
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The White House fired a few more people today-he has had to set a record by now.<br />
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Even the first lady is getting into the act-one of her targets departed today.<br />
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Canada is boycotting American Milk.<br />
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I don't understand why Canada would need American Milk but then I don't understand why California needs Chilean Avocados while the California Avocados are shipped off to Manhattan and London?<br />
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We are being played with in the most diabolical ways.<br />
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I grew u[<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-28557523176178027052018-11-05T16:56:00.001-08:002018-11-05T16:56:33.734-08:00Elections 2018It seems obvious to me that Americans LOVE a good fight-they live to disagree.<br />
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Our whole comedy style is based on misunderstanding, fighting and making up-watch any episode of I love Lucy.<br />
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The last presidential election horrified me-less for the fact that a person won who had no qualifications for such an important job but more for the divisive nature of the event and how angry people were.<br />
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So many friendships ended over the choice of who to support and who to vote for-its obvious that people lied and said they voted for one and actually voted for the other,<br />
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If we learned anything from that embarrassment its that we need to rid ourselves of the electoral college-Donald Trump did NOT win the popular vote he won the electoral vote count-interesting that this has happened before usually to the benefit of Republicans.<br />
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No one had any sense of just how angry the American voters were and how much certain flash points would carry voters to vote in an atypical way-also they didn't understand how much the women of this country hated Hillary Clinton.<br />
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Regardless, we now have a country that doesn't know what to do-the POTUS is an embarrassing buffoon, the vice president is an extreme right wing religious nut so better to keep the BUFFOON rather than impeach and get the theocracy monger.<br />
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I suspect that if the vote goes in such a way as to have a solid democratic house they will subpoena the Tax Returns which Trump so vehemently does not want seen and that could be the start of a change of leadership.<br />
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Had we had a system where Bernie Sanders could have been elected I am fairly sure he would have taken the election-we need a Libertarian and even a Socialist voting party-what other major company or organization makes decisions with 2 votes? Where is the tie breaker?<br />
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Above all we have come to a critical juncture in the history of this planet-we must have a leader who says ENOUGH-enough fighting and grabbing and competing-we need to join with other major powers and find a sane, logical path towards social, economic and global stability.<br />
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In the next 100 years we will be facing rising water levels, contamination of our groundwater by encroaching Salt water, pollution not only of the air but of the land in general die to pesticides, industrial waste and a glut of trash from stuff we don't need but continue to make.<br />
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The job market will become a bigger issue every year as machines, computers and robotics replace humans in the work place.<br />
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The United States which used to be a major player in the production of goods is now pretty much a service based organization-countries that used to have economies based on minerals, wood or fishing now are changing to tourism-if people don't have jobs how do they afford travel and leisure?<br />
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We still have not settled issues of colour and sexuality-its ridiculous that we can't manage to get along with someone whose skin color or bedroom choices are different - we need to strongly support a separation of church and state-the founders of this country saw that this was an important concept but now we face rising numbers of non Judeo-Christian religious zealots-what do we do with a United States that is 40 or 50 percent Muslim?<br />
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Other countries are already facing the rising tides of alternate voice demanding things like Shariah law and courts.<br />
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If you haven't educated yourself on this you might want to spend some time or one day when the beading starts and hands are being cut off on prime time television that arguments over lethal injections will seem silly .<br />
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People are terrified of one world government-what is the alternate?<br />
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An isolationist United States will not have any more power than we do today-probably less-we need a governing board that addresses the issues that affect all the peoples of the world, food, illness, poverty, housing, climate-it can't be done by one country alone.<br />
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In my lifetime I have watched America and other ally countries change radically-the air looks cleaner but isn't, radiation has become a silent issue that no one wants to talk about-here in California where water is a major issue they keep building more and more houses and apartments.<br />
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Where are the young people? In my glory days we were out demonstrating for better environments and civil rights-the only people I see demonstrating nowadays are immigrants and unions.<br />
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Countries have become more corrupt than ever before-I think if people truly investigated what is going on her in America they would be outraged.<br />
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The billions of dollars that are channeled into Black Ops projects and pork belly financing are a disgrace and who benefits> Certainly not the people.<br />
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Travel across this country and look at the beautiful, state of the art roadways through picturesque landscapes that have effectively killed the small towns and their economies.<br />
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I hate to pick on WalMart especially since *in a way) they are keeping the small town consumer going-but over and over driving across america one travels through quaint small towns that are basically ghost towns and right outside the city limits is a huge Walmart and probably a McDonalds.<br />
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Big Box stores like Living Spaces, Home Goods, Kohls etc have killed the gift shops, craft store and other mom and pop establishments that used to add charm and colour to our main streets and villages.<br />
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What does it say when we go to Italy or Paris and buy souvenirs made in China?<br />
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It's time to rethink what we are willing to put up with and take back some of our power before it's too late.<br />
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I remember when Christmas was magic and the period from Halloween thru Thanksgiving to New Years was the best time of the year-now its about greed and anxiety and spending too much money and political correctness-its ridiculous.<br />
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Let's hope that one day soon we can all come together and make things good again.<br />
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I see the tread to get off this planet and go elsewhere-I would think that was exciting except I know that humans aren't ready to do it correctly and it will become an exercise in greed, corruption and power.<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-36696223813333502642018-10-28T19:27:00.003-07:002018-10-28T19:39:47.643-07:00The Divine FionaFiona Bruce is a well known name in the UK and places where the BBC is common-she is a presenter and host of many programs but my favorites are The Antiques Roadshow UJ and FAKE OR FORTUNE----these shows can be found and watched on YOUTUBE-I will provide a couple links:<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT_gjz2Xrzk">Fake or Fortune</a><br />
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This one made me cry<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XMSO3QjbMY">ANTIQUES ROADSHOW</a><br />
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a random episode of the series<br />
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A<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWJ3ALH_wPQ">T Windsor Castle</a><br />
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Elegant and Charming<br />
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I think Fiona Bruce is the woman Princess Diana could have been had she had the self confidence and maturity.<br />
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Always cool and elegant, Fiona occasionally surprises when she drops her British aplomb and shows the parts of her that are compassionate, warm and witty.<br />
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She speaks French and Italian fluently and (I believe) takes herself and her image very seriously-it seems some of her co-hosts (like art expert Phillip Mould) love to shoot little darts in her direction to see if they can crack the always cool and well polished exterior.<br />
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In some ways she reminds me of Barbara Walters-another international class presenter who is always prepared, well groomed, cool and elegant-she has made a career of it.<br />
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I suspect that Fiona is more approachable-but perhaps not-I have been told by British friends she is not all that she seems to be when away from the cameras.<br />
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Above all I find her easy to understand and follow=I especially like it when she becomes a fully formed woman and displays her deep layers of caring (as she does in the Fake or Fortune episode above).<br />
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Her competence in her field is undoubted since she is the first female news reader on BBC's news.<br />
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Meanwhile she is the married Mother of 2 and has caused minor eyebrow raising with tales of her arranging police escorts to get to work on time and departing from the script on occasion: reading some spicy adult signs over the airways (allegedly).<br />
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I have never seen her disarranged or without perfect hair even on a breezy day outside a castle for the "ROADSHOW" and the idea she might use anything short of lady like language, to me, is unthinkable.<br />
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I wish we had a few "Fionas" of our own here in the states-I hear TV and Radio presenters and "personalities" sink more and more into the knowing wink and overly familiar insinuating tone.<br />
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Radio especially has become a challenge match between men and women to see who can push the boundaries of good taste - not fair of me I suppose-I always expect women to take the higher road and when I have full fleshed proof such as Fiona Bruce and some others on the BBC my standards push higher in the expectations column.<br />
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Dr Lucy Worsley (Curator and presenter-see sample <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrn42rvTlpk">HERE</a>) is another BBC stalwart that I much enjoy but she is no Fiona Bruce.<br />
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I can't imagine Fiona slogging through a muddy yard dressed as a scullery maid and talking about chamber pots as Lucy has been known to do.<br />
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But at the same time, while I find Fiona easy to imagine in shows about the Arts and culture-I also cannot imagine her doing a red carpet for the BAFTAs or a fluff piece in the history of fashion in the UK---even a biopic on Phillip Treacy and his hats to the royals (IMHO) is something that would bore Fiona.<br />
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I like her, I would love to be able to have lunch with her and I imagine a stroll through Harrod's with her would be delightful.<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-40938401319939190672018-08-11T16:11:00.001-07:002018-08-11T16:11:02.846-07:00Food secretsSorry I have been so absent-lots going on in my life and then I got an attack of gout-it was doing better but now seems like it is refusing to go away-I do natural remedies which take longer but I cant find my old standby Goutrin….<br />
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Anyway-Gout makes me think about FOOD and I seem to type the same recipes for people over and over so I am going to share my favorite go to-semi easy crowd pleasers-sorry I don't know metric measures and mostly I do them by eye anyway....<br />
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THAT salad you make:<br />
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Butter lettuce-it takes about one head for 2 people<br />
Avocado-at least one, two is better -cubed<br />
Mandarin Orange segments well drained on paper towels-I can<br />
Gorgonzola cheese crumbles (optional)<br />
Pine Nuts-toasted lightly-I know they are so expensive here-you could use slivered almonds but it ain't the same<br />
Real bacon crumbles-about 2 slices crisp (optional)<br />
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I like Girard's Champagne or Old Venice Italian, Ken's Steak House Vidalia Onion is alos interesting but a little too sweet for me-you want a sophisticated Vinaigrette but NO DIJON<br />
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Combine what you decide to use in a bowl=dress lightly and toss I usually put the nuts on top at the end.<br />
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If you want a more luncheon style salad add poached chicken breast and some green grapes<br />
A friend of mine prefers Shrimp and cucumbers (peeled and diced)<br />
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You Can't Ruin MEATLOAF:<br />
Yes, you can...<br />
<br />
I usually make 3 pounds at a time bu adjust the ingredients by the pound<br />
<br />
3 lbs 80/20 ground beef-don't use sirloin or extra lean it will be dry and flavorless<br />
1 package Jimmy Dean Spicy Sausage ( You can use regular but the sausage makes a huge difference<br />
3 potatoes (medium) grated and drained on paper towels<br />
3 yellow onions grated<br />
1 package Lipton's Onion Soup and dip mix<br />
3 eggs-4 if the eggs are small<br />
1 can evaporated milk (you may also need a little water)<br />
some quaker or steel cut oats maybe a cup or less-panko bread crumbs will also work<br />
season with salt and pepper-you can also add garlic powder, onion powder etc<br />
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Mix in a large bowl start with meat and sausage then add the rest of the ingredients one at a time<br />
Leave the liquid till the end and then add to make a wet mixture use the oats or bread crumbs to get the texture you need for it to hold its shape<br />
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I use a 9 x 13 baking dish-you can also divide the mixture into loaf pans<br />
for the 9 x 13 I literally throw small handfuls into the pan starting at one end and working across till the dish is filled-I then use my fingers and poke holes in the top in a pattern evenly about 2 inches apart-do this on the loaf pan as well<br />
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OPTIONAL- If you want a "glaze" or topping you can do ketchup or a blend of ketchup, yellow mustard and a splash of balsamic about 15 minutes before the loaf is done paint the top liberally and continue baking-I usually take the rest of the "glaze" and heat it and serve it along side<br />
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If you can get SOY VEY Teriyaki with Pineapple marinade-add half the bottle to the meat mixture and heat and serve the rest-more interesting than ketchup and a change from normal meatloaf<br />
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If you like the idea but you want LESS MEAT<br />
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Take a huge can of Sauerkraut (bottled if you can get it)-put it in a bowl (large) grate in 2 or 3 potatoes, a couple onions and peel and grate a couple granny smith apples-mix this all well-add a liberal dose of caraway seeds<br />
<br />
Lightly butter a 9 x 13 baking dish spread the Sauerkraut mixture evenly in the dish<br />
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I like all beef franks (hot dogs) you can use brauts or other sausage-spilt them length wise to make a pocket-fill with your choice of cheese-cheddar or swiss are best IMHO wrap with bacon and lay on top of the kraut-bake at 375F for about 45 minutes-till the bacon is cooked<br />
<br />
The meatloaf should cook for 50 minutes more or less at 350F<br />
<br />
I like real green string beans sautéed in bacon fat and butter (splash of lemon juice) and sprinkled with gorgonzola as a side with the meatloaf -its full of potato's but you may want mashed potato's anyway-so make this recipe:<br />
<br />
Those twice cooked mashed potato casserole things:<br />
<br />
Peel, cube and cook enough potatoes to serve the people you need to-I like to cook them in Chicken stock-drain and coarsely mash-stir in 1/2 pint of sour cream, a small stick of cream cheese and 1/2 stick of Butter-season to taste-I like to add some finely chopped shallots, parsley and a dash of cayenne-you can add finely crumbled crisp bacon of finely chopped ham-Drop by spoonfulls into a baking pan again I use a 9 x 13 and bake with the meatloaf for the last 30 minutes-be sure a dot the top liberally with pats of butter and sprinkle with paprika<br />
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The easiest dessert in the world:<br />
<br />
Buy a good pound cake at the market slice into 1 inch slices on a plate-you need 2 slices per serving<br />
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You need some really good seedless red raspberry preserves (I use Knott's Berry Farm) or you can also use Bon Maman Cherry preserves<br />
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I like a splash (liberal) of Frangelico in the jam and a tiny bit of lemon juice<br />
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Put the Jam in a small saucepan (with the booze and the lemon juice) and heat lovingly till warm but not boiling<br />
<br />
Toast the pound cake in a frying pan using BUTTER-just enough to brown lightly don't burn it and don't use so much butter it goes soggy<br />
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You can use whipped cream I prefer extra rich cool whip-holds us better and less work<br />
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On a dessert plate place one piece of the pound cake-then on the cake a LARGE dollup of the whipped stuff drizzle gently with the warm jam 2nd piece of pound cake making a sandwich of sorts and drizzle the top with more warm jam-sprinkle with something festive toasted almonds, sprinkles-even fresh berries if you must and serve-this is best eaten WARM-someone or two is going to ask for more-be prepared-whatever if leftover you can make a trifle to eat the next day<br />
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A quick Variation of this uses lemon pound cake-store bought lemon curd-crème fresh-a drizzle of lemoncello and a sprinkle of shaved white chocolate<br />
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want more?<br />
<br />
Chocolate pound cake-chocolate mousse-raspberries and top with hot fudge nuts and whipped crème<br />
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The whole idea is a sandwich with toasted cake a yummy filling and served warm-the variations are endless<br />
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If I have done my job here you have a meal-the time before last time my friends the Van Dijks were in from The Netherlands we had a variation of this menu and they seemed to be OK with it-I think I had 7 or 8 for dinner in my tiny place<br />
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Enjoy-if you share please give me credit<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-62526851431577172192018-07-16T20:10:00.000-07:002018-07-16T20:23:49.397-07:00The GHOSTS of DisneylandOK so there are many videos on YouTube and stories and web sites about Disneyland and its various "ghosts" a lot of it is HOOEY-the burn ins on the security cameras and the photo shopped or double exposed snaps-I have yet to see anything that couldn't be explained or waved off as phony.<br />
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However, having been a cast member-let me tell you there is NOTHING creepier than an empty Disney park at3 am.<br />
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When I first started I worked a lot of closing shifts out in Critter Country which is "outside the berm: (the raised earthen wall upon which the train runs-ToonTown is also outside the berm).<br />
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Its very dark and moody out there about a mile or so from the other side of the park where cast members exit at Harbor Pointe.<br />
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Since I was older and slower than most of the Cast Members I would often tell them to go ahead and not wait for me-I had two choices walk the backstage route which is pitch black at night OR walk across the park which is one of those perks of being on the Disney team-you can lieterally have the park almost to yourself and its a strange and wonderful experience.<br />
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I would walk up to the river by Hungry Bear and the view across at night with the Mark Twain docked and often a bit of mist on the water is magical.<br />
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Around the end of Splash Mountain-past the Haunted Mansion and New Orleans Square-I would always go through Adventure land and often I would stop and sit for a few minutes-a couple of the Disney Cats knew me and one in particular must have been new because she had kittens and she would bring them out for me to see.<br />
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Then across the plaza (known as the HUB) and past guest health through the magic wall backstage past the IN BETWEEN (cast food) and behind Space Mountain-then my secret route which emerged at the security check out and on to the cast parking shuttle bus---sometimes I would run into friends waiting for rides and I would once again sit and visit for awhile or I would drag myself onto a bus which took us off site to Cast parking where another short walk got me to my car,<br />
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In all at least a half hour trek-then another 30 minute drive home.<br />
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I believe the latest I ever walked the park was 3:30am and that was an auspicious stroll but more about that later.<br />
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Depending on the season closing up Pooh Corner and the Photo Booth etc would find maybe half a dozen cast and a few managers or leads in the area.<br />
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My first Ghost experience happened in the gift shop portion of the shops-about 6 of us were doing recovery, closing registers etc and one lady said she smelled cigarette smoke-even after hours there are strict rules about where you can smoke and the shop doors were closed and the AC on so unlikely it was coming from outside but one of the Cast who was a anti-smoking fanatic went off looking for the offender and found no one-the smell kept coming and going-I suddenly realized it was inside the store and was moving from one end of the counter to the other-I told everyone to stand still and that they would smell how the phantom cigarette traveled.<br />
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Sure enough it would start near the far end of the counter and travel slowly to the other end then across the shop and through the connecting shop into the candy store at the other end where it would vanish and reappear again at the opposite end of the store and repeat it's trip.<br />
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I only remember that particular night and don't recall it happening again but several Cast have told me it does and if it doesn't do the counter route it sometimes hangs around outside the door to the Candy shop and that area.<br />
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I never noticed any odd events near the mansion where so many people say they have seen and heard things-I actually stood outside the mansion one morning after closing and taklked to the "crying child" who supposedly haunts that area---nothing...<br />
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I did see a girl in a white dress dancing on Main street-as a matter of fact I thought it was a parade dancer practicing.<br />
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Disney probably doesn't want you to know this but when the parade cast comes in most of the girls remove their costumes and wander around backstage in quite modest white camisoles, bloomers and hose, so a dancer from the parade in somewhat period costume dancing on Main Street after hours would not be beyond possibility and often rehearsals are held after the park is closed.<br />
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But not after 2am...the street is pretty much empty-occasionally you will see maintenance or security or gardeners but they turn of special hidden lights for them.<br />
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A couple times when I was sitting in Adventureland I would see shapes flit across the path but I always thought they were phantom cats not people.<br />
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So back to that one BIG adventure.<br />
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We had done a major clean in the Critter Country Shops and all the younger cast had clocked out and gone-my back was killing me-a problem I had for the first several months since I wasn't used to standing and stooping and selling stuff yet (hadn't done that for several years-like 15 or so).<br />
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I was sitting at a picnic table we had in the backstage area for breaks and I noticed there were workmen around but mostly in transit to somewhere else.<br />
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I had intended to walk the backstage route-I had outfitted my key chain with an LED flashlight which made the shorter route behind the attractions onto Mainstreet and on less dangerous in the dark.<br />
<br />
However, I decided since it was a warmish, humid night, I would rather walk across the park by the river and take my time.<br />
<br />
I was very tired and my back hurt so I was moving slowly as I went up the slight incline near the front of Splash Mountain.<br />
<br />
I had a momentary shudder, a creepy feeling-but as I said Disneyland empty at 3:30 is creepy-its like an abandoned cemetery-and I realized a man was walking toward me-all I could make out was a shape<br />
<br />
As he got closer I saw he was wearing a tweedy jacket, a sweater vest, an open necked while dress shirt and had on dark slacks-he was carry an unimpressive smoking pipe and seemed to be looking from side to side at nothing in particular-he even paused for a moment and looked at the splash down hill on the water flume.<br />
<br />
I passed him about 5 feet away on the river side of the walkway going toward the Haunted Mansion, he toward Critter and as I passed I said "good night, I hope you get to go home soon..." and kept walking.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRvwoPO5SeVMdNhwI_zutZE1z9bzocBbIUhwNXnTnMpmDzR3LTzmWvWiLUelxzyxVtJRGifEEpXoaSiGb3LKhhEWCdPUNOzl-WWdwGw8w-DPem7fxVLtNgFzqyqyM0e1FNtTIwJCPUm0/s1600/7918251376_77b7066b38_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRvwoPO5SeVMdNhwI_zutZE1z9bzocBbIUhwNXnTnMpmDzR3LTzmWvWiLUelxzyxVtJRGifEEpXoaSiGb3LKhhEWCdPUNOzl-WWdwGw8w-DPem7fxVLtNgFzqyqyM0e1FNtTIwJCPUm0/s320/7918251376_77b7066b38_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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He didn't acknowledge me-which I thought was a little rude and after maybe 6 steps I stopped and turned to ask him if he was OK?<br />
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No one on the path and U could see quite a distance toward Hungry Bear and the train crossover-there was no where he could have left the path.<br />
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Then I realized the face of the Man was WALT DISNEY.<br />
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When Mr Disney had last walked in life in this area it was still Indian Village and Splash Mountain was yet to be.<br />
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The Mountain opened in 1989 and Walt Disney died in the mid-60s.<br />
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Bear country was redeveloped in the early 70s, the predecessor to Critter Country.<br />
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I never said much to anyone about this event-I had a friend who was a long time CM and was told that Mr Disney is often seen in this area-mostly in the west side of the park and almost never in the East side.<br />
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His original apartment over the fire station would be on the west side of Main Street.<br />
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I believe that ghosts or apparitions are merely nodes of the past that are somehow bound to a place and not really the spirit of the person.<br />
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It seems likely that some aspect of Walt Disney would be attached to a place he held so close to his heart.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyyZCPG-NsJvAF3ZuQ7VG3oMoi43OXegB52TrCfLNV19CsicXyMfAvRpGit9CRJN82phEoihPDPPtsj9x_8nK3igfIzsC1rthyHFjoDOA7f0il-Sa1Fe8qv_NfT-oQHYHhm-VQodljd2g/s1600/DSC_4808-as-Smart-Object-1-copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1091" data-original-width="1600" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyyZCPG-NsJvAF3ZuQ7VG3oMoi43OXegB52TrCfLNV19CsicXyMfAvRpGit9CRJN82phEoihPDPPtsj9x_8nK3igfIzsC1rthyHFjoDOA7f0il-Sa1Fe8qv_NfT-oQHYHhm-VQodljd2g/s320/DSC_4808-as-Smart-Object-1-copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The dancing girl in the white dress is supposedly the daughter of a land owner who lived on the property before Disney developed it in the early 50s and the phantom smoker is a ranch owner working in a spot where his shop had stood in an orchard of orange trees.<br />
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I understand there are others-besides the crying boy who was supposedly scattered in ash form by his parent and is now trapped and alone at Disneyland-I said above I tried to contact him and got nothing.<br />
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It is true that people attempt to scatter loved ones at the park just as they do at MANY amusement parks across the world-seems logical to release them into an atmosphere they loved-<br />
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I really think this is about the living making peace with the passing of family and friends-I am a firm believer that we have lived before and will live again-we just pass through this realm of consciousness on our way to the next one.<br />
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The company has never allowed scattering-I almost wish they would designate an area where family or friends could scatter ashes-its good for the soil and much less cold and impersonal than a box in a hole with a stone or randomly being tossed into the ocean with the other floating garbage we have discarded<br />
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Instead of eternally riding some E ticket attraction, those who are scattered end up being filtered out by water cleaners or vacuumed up by maintenance.<br />
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SO, that is my favorite memory of my time at Disneyland in Anaheim-those late night and early morning strolls, alone for the most part...foggy morning along the river with the sun still thinking about getting out of bed, late dreary midnights with dripping Holiday decorations and shiny rain slick paths.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNhmWaSBoty79pqgVkzucUdiPU1SOv5i3GYOl3IhohcsbLPjSv-uk7vQgvjS4jopqem4XAN5rnZyFjCii2Rko632onoLoKq4K36H9Qtqhf8g3hyHvakthw2LnDrdmErfakB-qTrSS-JzQ/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNhmWaSBoty79pqgVkzucUdiPU1SOv5i3GYOl3IhohcsbLPjSv-uk7vQgvjS4jopqem4XAN5rnZyFjCii2Rko632onoLoKq4K36H9Qtqhf8g3hyHvakthw2LnDrdmErfakB-qTrSS-JzQ/s320/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The magical hours at Disneyland are not all bright and full of Fantasy-to borrow loosely a line from a film-many spirits walk here but those who walk here walk alone...<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #181818; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #181818; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> ―
</span><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13388.Shirley_Jackson" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: &quot; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Shirley Jackson</a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #181818; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">,
</span><span id="quote_book_link_89717" style="background-color: transparent; color: #181818; font-family: "quot"; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 21px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3627" style="color: #333333; font-family: &quot; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none;">The Haunting of Hill House</a></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-3104070790051193792018-06-17T18:48:00.002-07:002018-06-17T18:48:20.821-07:00Fun co = FUNKO - FUNIf you have Netflix or you can find it elsewhere I utge you to watch the documentary about FUNKO (Making FUN: The Story of Funko).<br />
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When I first saw FUNKO products all I could think was: THIS is going to cost me money...<br />
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I did not need one more collection of anything.<br />
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The packaging, contents and aesthetic of this product makes it almost irresistible not to mention they are very affordable and often show up on sale various places.<br />
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Instead of starting another collection I decided that I would use this product as a go to gift when I needed something under 20bucks .<br />
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My pal Alberta and I are both collectors and we don't see each ither that often so when we met to see an "occasion" movie like Malificent it was the perfect time to buy a Funko product as a souvenir of the occasion,<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31hCwByO7wYeWgkK4cSAAaMLv0Cw8L4Mb0Pc6fXW-zmmJs9jbedPd_3HD-_XkSj7ciuxV4GrVekYZiXfqmlTCqjRcXg943QC7RmSCYIEZvcQGMT_CA3x8hyguZqDZc7cxNe3RX0yFMLk/s1600/Funko-POP-Maleficent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31hCwByO7wYeWgkK4cSAAaMLv0Cw8L4Mb0Pc6fXW-zmmJs9jbedPd_3HD-_XkSj7ciuxV4GrVekYZiXfqmlTCqjRcXg943QC7RmSCYIEZvcQGMT_CA3x8hyguZqDZc7cxNe3RX0yFMLk/s320/Funko-POP-Maleficent.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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They have versions for both the animated classic and live action films-I needed the live action so I got the one above...<br />
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They also have this glow in the dark special version:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9uvxWbckApStHUW3nCkadibAlhnXyKBnNYZpqb3jZefVnntD9Fy5R9yNnsGPx0b6Xzmaqnzfr0vGsIjUaCJ6hEw8MJxgrnFxgj3rQWySM00Kz5MRB_dp6us4XeXHUtt6vAQSf9VMJD4/s1600/maleficent-new-pop-vinyl-figure.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1300" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9uvxWbckApStHUW3nCkadibAlhnXyKBnNYZpqb3jZefVnntD9Fy5R9yNnsGPx0b6Xzmaqnzfr0vGsIjUaCJ6hEw8MJxgrnFxgj3rQWySM00Kz5MRB_dp6us4XeXHUtt6vAQSf9VMJD4/s320/maleficent-new-pop-vinyl-figure.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Since the face is green we know its from the animated version.<br />
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Some months later we went to the live action Beauty and the beast for which I decide she could be the beauty and I would give her the beast:<br />
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Again, there are versions for both the animated classic and the live action-look at the wonderful creations below:<br />
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Usually these simple, styalized figures would not be my thing-I like more complicated, detailed items BUT somehow they speak to me in a universal language-I'll bet they do well in Japan the KAWAII capitol of the world.<br />
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They come in various sizes, some are very limited editions.<br />
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Walt Disney World had a special Figment figure-their EPCOT mascit, which is a little purple dragon that pops up everywhere.<br />
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He originally was a Figment of the Imagination and starred in the Imagination Pavillions attraction along with his friend the DreamCatcher.<br />
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They premiered at Walt Disney World at the same time my pal Monique was in Florida and I asked her to try and grab me one-they were an instant sellout...</div>
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I believe they were between 12 and 16 dollars-almnost instantly they were on EBAY for 35.00bucks-I have seen them various places for as much as 150.00usd.</div>
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I'll wait for the excitement to die down and find one at a good price since I want it for myself-I have another figurine from Epcot that I purchased there in 1985 but I actually like the Fink version better.</div>
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I'm not going to try to make this an in ddepth story of the company and the people behind it-the documentary is so good and I'm sure you will be able to find it somewhere if you're interested.</div>
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My intent is to offer an alternative to lining your shelves with Funk figures: They are great meaningful gifts and mementos!!!</div>
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I would say keep it in the box and play with it gently but-need a cake topper????</div>
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This is their classic FREDDY FUNKO in the birthday mode-he is THEIR mascot and shows up in all sorts of costumes.</div>
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Football or sports fans?</div>
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MANY choices....</div>
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Classic Films?</div>
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TV series, horror fans, gamers? Funko has literally something for everyone.</div>
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Have a special conspiracy nut in the family?</div>
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Throw them a BIGfoot or Grey party...and this is only a small fraction of the FUNKO line.</div>
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If you happen to be near Everett, Washington-Funko has their flagship retail store there and I guess it's an experience in itself!</div>
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I never plug anything I don't love and having bought a fair amount of FUNKO I have to say I love it-I'm sorry I missed things like the Family Guy set and some others that are now out of stock and only available on the 2nd market-I like to buy from the company or an authorized representative-when you buy on the grey/2nd market all the money goes into the collectibles sellers pocket and it's usually highly overpriced.</div>
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BTW, I forgot to mention all of this started from BOBBLE HEADS and after watching theDoc I found that I had purchased FUNKO before there were the Funko figures.</div>
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I used to shop at a store on Universal Citywalk and had purchased several bobble heads from them way back in the 80's or 90's.</div>
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I just recently got talked out of my Bob's Bigboy that I think I got at the Bob's location in Toluca Lake.</div>
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From Bobble heads to an empire-Funko still delivers quality of design and product to an adoring customer base of collector's and casual buyers like myself.</div>
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From Disney to Heavy Metal and lots of levels in between-I love FUNKO---great company with good ethics....10 stars and a plus for trying and succeeding!</div>
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Find their official site <a href="https://www.funko.com/">HERE</a><div>
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-13461744310275722552018-05-02T15:37:00.002-07:002018-05-02T15:37:36.450-07:00SPACE XHave I mentioned I have a huge crush on ELON MUSK?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEKq9mrHALmOycvj-h6gv15_gNcqnQN61AIjIlC7gnUK7sjSUh7afmh4lnyWj56hWzLM4ia-gTAbx-E2Vf_ZPAI9JLJYUr-yTTRGe-oS2I0HasHMCX8IFGi3wsG7eUPlPtn_gRYj1LEc/s1600/elon-musk-portrait-e1399572239766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEKq9mrHALmOycvj-h6gv15_gNcqnQN61AIjIlC7gnUK7sjSUh7afmh4lnyWj56hWzLM4ia-gTAbx-E2Vf_ZPAI9JLJYUr-yTTRGe-oS2I0HasHMCX8IFGi3wsG7eUPlPtn_gRYj1LEc/s320/elon-musk-portrait-e1399572239766.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Besides being excessively handsome in an strange, squinty eyed way he is (I think) brilliant and possibly the savior of mankind.<br />
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I'm sure there are many who have already labeled him the Anti-Christ-I don't think he has ever worn a blue turban and especially in PARIS so that at least makes it less likely (Nostradamus).<br />
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YouTube conspiracy trolls have labeled him a liar, swear the space X rockets were CGI and his car with the space man is in a sound stage somewhere near Culver City, CA.<br />
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He needs to be a better public speaker-I have a theory: The halting speech is due to a former speech impediment, it's a lot like the way they teach stutterers to talk to AVOID stammering.<br />
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I think he could be president-I think he could win-he seems very sane and sensible and has some TERRIFIC ideas-he has multi-national citizenship (Canada, USA and South Africa).<br />
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He probably is ineligible-but in a world where Donald Trump can be president anything is possible.<br />
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It could be that just the train of ineffectual presidents and fools in congress has worn me down.<br />
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I want the electoral college gone, I want extreme liberals and conservatives gone, I want professional politicians gone...<br />
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Did anyone notice Anthony Villarigosa is running for governor of California-God help us.<br />
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Perhaps ELON could be GOVENOR first?<br />
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I really want the USA to become a nation of LIBERTARIANS-it's really the only fair thing-they want the states to control their own problems and not have huge federal governments-I am ALL over that concept,<br />
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The IRS and the FED are out of control-the FBI is fighting with the CIA, the two party system makes it impossible for anyone who isn't one or the either kind of fool to win a federal election.<br />
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States are passing terrible, restrictive laws, the rest of the world thinks the USA is losing it, Yellowstone could blow at any moment, California is way over due for a BIG quake...<br />
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If the space aliens attack will they be real or a false flag?<br />
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The Korean Guy says he will dump all the bombs if we promise not to invade-I am almost 100% sure he has been talking to Iran and/or Putin,,,I wish Donald Trump would get off his lazy Mira-Lago loving ass and GO THERE ...<br />
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a huge number of people believe the earth is flat and life is a computer simulation, that at some point they have installed a sun shield and that chemtrails are being sprayed daily---and we NEVER went to the moon<br />
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When I was a lad we only had nuclear war to worry about.<br />
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So Elon....maybe he could have Bill Gates for a VP-they might fight but I don't like Bezos or Zuckerberg...<br />
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Did you know that at one point the former SOVIETS wanted to run the UN with a TROIKA of leaders? One U S, One Soviet and one Chinese? Maybe we could run the USA with a TROIKA> One DEM one Repuglican and ELON?<br />
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Everytime a Brit goes off on the USA and how could we let Trump be president and how we have screwed up half the world I want to ask them if the know WHY they aren't speaking GERMAN today?<br />
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I agree we should keep our noses out of lots of things but really its all about MONEY and GREED it has nothing to do with the fate of the world and everything to do with another billion dollars in someone's bank account<br />
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Maybe Elon would have the balls to force the senate and the house to give back all the social security money they stole.<br />
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<sigh><br />
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I'll bet Elon would move the White House to LA-his offices are out here near the ocean-remember when Regan had his mansion in Pacific Pallisades? I had a friend who lived on the ridge opposite-everyone had a telescope so they could spy on Ron and Nancy...<br />
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My nephew;'s wedding was catered by the same food service that handles the Regan Presidential Library ---best wedding food I ever had.<br />
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I don't know why political uncertainty and Trump make me hungry<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-49273076760976392502018-04-21T14:38:00.001-07:002018-04-21T14:38:39.775-07:00April, the rapture and crazy guys in carsThe shouting has started in earnest especially in YouTubers prophecy channels, the 23rd of April is the rapture and the world ends the 28....<br />
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Or is it the 21st?<br />
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Awhile back I wrote a post about a truck driver that drove around and masturbated who had become a porn star...one thing I neglected to mention was he wore a knitted cap...follow me on this one.<br />
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I have come to find that there are lots of men under 50(ish) who drive around in their cars and do strange stuff while wearing knitted caps.<br />
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A HUGE percentage of them are PROPHETS of some ilk...mostly self labeled truthers who want you to pat close attention to their message...doom gloom and the end of days.<br />
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They tend to talk loud and fast, they all share a similar vacant, rambling style and if you pay attention you will hear the names of YouTube gurus pop up all too often in their diatribes.<br />
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They also have a mocking, bullying edge that if you don't believe you are a part of the sleeping sheep wandering around the earth pretending to understand what's going on by refusing to accept the message.<br />
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Today I watched a bit of one fellow who seriously needs to take his meds and come down from space who carries a communion wafer around in his vest pocket that someone tried to make him eat at his grandmothers funeral-"THEY" tried to force him to eat it and drink the stuff but JESUS is SATAN and the contrails are blocking out the sky to make people unhappy and cold....<br />
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If this makes no sense to you, congratulations, there may be hope left for you...<br />
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This guy has the requisite knit cap and beard-I think its how we are supposed to recognize that he is one of the TRUTHERS and a genuine prophet.<br />
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It seems he has his car set up to whenever he gets a message that needs sending he can click on the camera and go, upload and keep driving---in snowstorms, rain and probably burning hail-just speculating on that one-burning hail usually shows up eventually in apocalypse tales.<br />
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Another fellow-also with car, cap and beard, was enjoying his LAST chicken burrito as he drove and prophesized the rapture for the 23rd or maybe the 21st but the end is the 28th for sure.<br />
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He has a less angry delivery more a sneering, mocking, better than thou quality.<br />
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There are MANY more---the king of the wacky prophets has a ZZ TOP beard and dreadlocks and looks like someone's jewfish grandpa gone Road Warrior...he, however, does not drive...he sits in a chair and pontificates but the message is not far from all the others.<br />
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First you take some old testament hell and brimstone, mix in some Nostradamus (and even Edgar Cayce) add a healthy dose of Astrology especially where you can pick the parts you like and ignore the rest and the quote from a fellow whack job or two ---seems simple.<br />
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Interestingly they often seem to have PATREON or some sort of funding links-I guess just in case the numbers don't pay they can manage to get their burritos and beverages and gas for their studios (cars).<br />
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As always my concern is KIDS who get trapped into this semi-organized drooling-a great many devoted YouTubers seem to be under 20 and looking for a cause.<br />
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Flat Earth, Niburu/ Planet X and end times seem very popular amongst the EMO, GOTH and Gamers gangs.<br />
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The videos themselves would be almost laughable if there weren't so many of them and if it weren't for the hundreds of comments they receive.<br />
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It's fairly easy to dismiss a chubby, bearded guy with a message of doom driving around looking for a purpose but when you see attached a string of comments obviously written by teens and the walking lost an ominous tone creeps in.<br />
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What if this seemingly random band of end time prophets is way more sinister?<br />
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Schools shootings, mall shootings, not much to lose if the world is ending....so much anger....so many conspiracies---dying honey bees, government suppression, chemtrails, the military/industrial complex.<br />
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These things don't get the proper attention and in the current political environment its OK to lable anything you don't agree with as fake.<br />
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Have you noticed how FAKE and DEBUNKED have become everyday parts of conversations.<br />
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It shocks me how easily people share personal information, life tragedies etc on FACEBOOK and YouTube for that matter.<br />
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I was just watching a drama play out of YouTube between two people-one a customer and the other a business owner that included some very hefty use of profanity and also crying, gnashing of teeth, threats...better that real housewives of wherever and so much fresher.<br />
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I started watching YouTube because if the travel videos, how-tos and performing arts clips.<br />
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I started looking up specific references given in videos and pretty soon like any social media they start offering you things they THINK you will enjoy.<br />
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The ravings of madmen (and women) don't affect me much...I have learned rather quickly how to change the channel and how enough can be too much.<br />
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It's only when you start hearing mainstream media, radio hosts etc quoting from the knit cap crazies that one begins to become concerned.<br />
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Just recently I heard a talk show host say that she cannot miss the postings of a woman on YouTube who mostly is convinced that Yellowstone is going to blast the guts out of the USA at any moment.<br />
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She mixes a little Bible and a little prophecy with lots of incorrect information and downright delusions (I should mention here that the YELLOWSTONE end timers are another group of crazies on YouTube).<br />
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So bottom line the Yellowstone lady is getting national advertising for her YouTube channel.<br />
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Should you ever go wandering amongst the seedy back alleys of YouTube be aware you may want to travel very quietly-if you get lured into making a disparaging comment against one of the gurus you will find yourself labeled a troll-not only that but an agent of the CIA, or a government plant....you get the idea.<br />
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A geologist made a comment on one famous Yellowstone channel that there was no science in what had been posted and he wrote several reassuring paragraphs supporting his hypothesis-he was blasted with dozens of vicious comments and anytime he attempted to defend himself or anyone else attempted to defend him they were also blasted, called names, ridiculed and threatened.<br />
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You Tube had promised just recently to add links to "MAIN STREAM" information on any post that was too far off sanity-so far I don't see any of that sort of balancing act happening.<br />
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Its much needed.<br />
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Its also very hard to complain to YouTube about a channel owner lying or twisting the truth.<br />
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I am a huge first amendment supporter but I don't think the right to free speech is supposed to include lies, slander and crowd agitation---the same law that makes shouting fire in a crowded theatre should also cover shouting doomsday in a tense, crowded country.<br />
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In the past 10 years I would say the END has been given at least a hundred dates or time frames-seems like people have been hoping for the end for hundreds of years.<br />
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My fear is that there are people who pray for the RAPTURE and believe that the end of times is a good thing because they are on the right side of religion- George W. Bush, Mike Pence and other 7% Christians are in powerful company to cause an Armageddon.<br />
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To me they are NOT to be trusted.<br />
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Believe what you want and even have conviction in your beliefs but don't force those beliefs on others and especially don't make people feel that YOU are the word and the light and if they don't believe in you they are sleeping sheep .<br />
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We don't think one small person with an agenda can have much effect on the world but the we are forced to remember HITLER the frustrated artist who became for a time the most powerful man on earth.<br />
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How many people died under MAO's persecution of the artists, educated and philosophical<br />
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Look up SAVANAROLA the rabid priest who literally burned the heart out of Europe in the name of GOD.<br />
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Jim Jones, Charles Manson, the list goes on and on.....<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-29633993132942161942018-04-14T14:48:00.002-07:002018-04-14T14:48:25.810-07:00What the hell is going on???I was taught to respect the office of the president of the United States-if not the man the job he stands for.<br />
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I was also taught that one does NOT discuss politics or religion nor malign one's friends for their beliefs no stoop to low slurs and above all to check sources and verify facts before broadcasting one's personal beliefs about the peccadillos in Washington and any state capitol.<br />
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When Jack Kennedy and Richard Nixon for that matter ran for office the low blows became lower-Kennedy was a Catholic and people were terrified about what that would mean for American politics.<br />
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When Barry Goldwater ran many tried to paint him as a Jew passing for Episcopalian, a war monger and crazy if nothing else.<br />
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It seemed like every election, year by year the rhetoric got lower and sleazier, pettier and downright dishonest.<br />
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The 2 party system encourages each side to slander the other based on the platform of the party-Conservatives are crazy war hungry, rifle toting bigots dedicated to making the rich richer.<br />
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Liberals want to give the country away, have no morals, want guns locked up and are heading for a one world government designed by the illuminati.<br />
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There is no chance for anyone running on a third party ticket because of the electoral college system which should have been GONE in the 1960s - its fairly clear that elections have been tampered with since John Kennedy.<br />
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Many believe that incidents like Watergate (republicans), Iran Contra (republicans), Cuba and the Bay of Pigs (democrats), The Cuban Missile Crisis (democrats) and so on are simply smokescreens to keep the population in turmoil and distracted from what is actually going on in this (and other) countries and governments.<br />
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For many years it was about protecting Israel from repercussions for their own actions not they are out of control and care little about American opinions.<br />
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It seems clear since Iran and the shah that the USA meddles far beyond what it should be doing in the politics of other countries and really is no better than many of the powers we protest about like the former Soviet Union and now Russia.<br />
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Most Americans have an opinion about what is going on but with the media so untrustworthy, foreign agencies posting fake news and downright lies from all sides how clear a picture do we have of what has gone on in the last 40 years or so and what is happening now.<br />
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We still do not have solid evidence on who was responsible for the assassination of JFK, did we or did we NOT augment our actual space program with manufactured fake videos?<br />
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What are all these objects people film and photograph? What are the loud booms, light flashes and subsonic vibrations that are happening across this country and elsewhere?<br />
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I am fairly sure at this point that most of not all can be traced back to black operations of our government and other world powers.<br />
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People fear ALIENS and extraterrestrial invasions-I think there is much more to fear from our own governments.<br />
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Since the Bush/Gore election debacle and vote tampering its seems every year the tension is higher, the rhetoric louder and hotter, hate runs high and insanity higher and we as a nation have become more and more polarized.<br />
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Organized religion has become separated into factions ranging from a liberal and accepting group to a hard shelled, ultra conservative minority that is very vocal and has the attention of the media on both sides: This faction is painted as being controlled by militia crazies and gun toting haters, anti feminists who are seeking world war for reasons of bringing on the RAPTURE.<br />
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George W. Bush and his regime were highly suspected by many of belonging to this movement.<br />
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When Trump was elected it was widely discussed that Mike Pence and Paul Ryan were the "Cheneys" of his administration: running things from behind the scenes and trying to manipulate an AMERICAN CHRISTIAN THEOCRACY of a level matching or surpassing Iran's Muslim Model.<br />
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Its no accident that A HANDMAIDS TALE became a sensation with its fictionalized view of an America torn apart by such a governing model.<br />
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Few people know or remember that the same story was released as a feature film with Faye Dunaway and Robert Duval 30 years (approx.) ago...<br />
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We have separation of CHURCH and STATE to protect us from such a tragedy but of late the lines are unclear about how much power a small minority with the magic formula of hate, lies and promises might wield.<br />
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I don't think in my life there has ever been as vicious a campaign as TRUMP/CLINTON - there certainly were vicious, untruthful battles back 100 years and more.<br />
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The world wars seemed to distill American's thoughts and loyalties more to the white house and Washington D C but then Korea, Viet Nam and the middle East divided that loyalty and nationalism into distrust.<br />
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It became "clear" that men like Dick Cheney and others were getting rich and enriching their like-thinking friends on the backs of American wars and interventions.<br />
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"RULING" houses like the Bush family cause more distrust, voter tampering and outright theft (though unproven) of elections widened the gap.<br />
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9-11 has never been solved, explained or healed.<br />
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FAR too many questions.<br />
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That tragedy has its roots in Oklahoma City and the Brach Davidians in Texas and Ruby Ridge and more...<br />
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At some point we need to get the coolest minds in this country together, we need to rationally sift out the rancid cat box that is Washington D C-prosecute the criminals whomever they are on on whatever side of the aisle they come from-adjust our tattered constitution and try to resurrect this country and its reputation back to its real and former glory.<br />
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Knowing that we, for many years, loved in a false dream of what America was and what it offered only makes it more important to wake up and try to find some way to make an even playing field for ALL the people of this country.<br />
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We have so many problems-issues of colour, ethnicity, ideology, economics and equality at the top of the list.<br />
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Slavery was abolished on paper and reinstated based on skin colour in fact.<br />
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How does the government have any rights to make laws that govern a persons body, sexuality and identity?<br />
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Law needs to stay OUT of our bedrooms-the new laws on "SEX TRAFFICING" on the internet have much less to do with prostitution and exploitation than CONTROL: They want the MIND POLICE out looking for thought CRIMES.<br />
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In the America of 2018 they can put you in prison and destroy your life for looking at the wrong pictures-and those are pictures that THEY have decided are wrong: How soon does that set of guidelines change from actions that we all know are wrong to much more middle of the road images that they DECIDE are wrong?<br />
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I used to laugh when they said that George Orwell and Aldous Huxley were too close to the tuth-1984 just had the dates wrong-they were a little too early for the smart minds to fall into the trap of fulfilling prophecy.<br />
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Have you noticed that almost anything that comes into popular culture is now ALSO establishing itself as "TRUTH" in the land of conspiracy?<br />
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The Matrix was a startling vision of dystopian society and mind expanding fiction-now they say it may be true-we may be living in a construct...<br />
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Flat Earth is going away it's expanding with millions of believers.<br />
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I was touched and excited by the new upward thinking and actions of ELON MUSK-I still believe he and men and women like him may be our hope for the children and generations to come: How can he and his fellow utopian thinkers flourish in a climate that labels him FAKE, fraudulent, untrustworthy and deceitful?<br />
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The UGLY battle between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton hasn't ended-it has expanded-it had ended friendships, caused huge rifts in our society...the only reason I feel safe at all is because I live in California-a state that is basically liberal...and trust me those who think LIBERAL is a bad word will be sad if that line of thought ever disappears.<br />
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What is not made clear is that Liberals can want control on guns but also want sovereign borders on our country: freedom of choice for women, equal rights for all people and an equal chance for all children understanding that this country cannot afford to take care of the world.<br />
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The USA can no longer impose it's beliefs on other nations-we all need to learn to live beside each other but not control each other...we are not the police force for this planet we must get our own house in order and solve our own problems before we go preaching to other nations.<br />
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For as long as there are hungry, homeless people on the streets, for as long as drugs make rich men richer be they legal or illegal substances, for as long as all the inequalities and bad deeds continue, until the wealth of the world is NOT controlled by one percent of the population-until all these things are equalized and solved we are in DANGER and we will never have peace.<br />
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We MUST keep our money and our resources at home, put our house in order and see to the welfare of AMERICANS and our neighbors north and south-when that is done and we are strong again we must see that never again in history are the greedy, power hungry minions of our destruction allowed to have any real ability to damage this world and its people and environment.<br />
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We don't need a GOD to do this-God helps those who help themselves-we know what needs to be done we just need to stop yelling at each other and calling each other names and KILLING each other long enough to FIX IT....put it right...calm the waters and soothe the earth....make the skies clear again...and let PEACE reign.<br />
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And to those who would disturb this peace a warning that we, the people of this world, will never again be the slaves of your lies and personal agendas...never again!<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-59801818642954789272018-02-15T19:48:00.000-08:002018-02-15T19:48:37.331-08:00Save me from IDIOTS and SMUG MORONSI am so tired of the Flat Earthers that have ensconced themselves on YouTube-Like many other conspiracy sheep they ardently defend their stance that the earth is flat and we all live in a giant terrarium made by GOD (!) (?).<br />
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What is hysterical you have Flat Earthers that are also Niburu freaks-so although they don't believe in space they do believe that a rogue planet traverses the non-space every few thousand years and is responsible for devastation and visits from the annunakt (which may be giant aliens) who mate with earth women wantonly.<br />
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It's too ridiculous to make it up go look at YouTube and waste a few hours wandering amongst their fantasy constructs.<br />
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As far as FLAT EARTHERS go they believe it because they A) know nothing about science or physics B) Believe the BIBLE is literally history despite the hundreds of years of edits , tweeks and bad translations and they ignore the parts that contradict their beliefs (like worm wood the roving planet).<br />
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In an online debate with one of them-the person finally admitted the following: If we live on a meaningless chunk of rock hurtling through space humans don't mean much BUT (HUGE BUT HERE) if we live in a terrarium created by GOD (which God is unspecified) then we are SPECIAL...sort of like pet ants in an ant farm.<br />
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People are allowed to believe whatever they want-it concerns me that they can spread their beiefs freely without warnings on YouTube where CHILDREN seem to gravitate to the weirdest things-the uneducated and ignorant of all ages also flock to anything like a conspiracy along with the paranoid dellusionists.<br />
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All of the various conspiracy theorists believe that the government is somehow lieing and deceiving the masses-for what reason in the flat earth case eludes me-they also seem to believe that NASA has super powers to steal money and delude the masses.<br />
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NASA has a tiny budget but they ignore that.<br />
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The rest of us accept that the military probably tells lies and hides black ops in their budgets-who would actually pay thousands of dollars for a toilet seat?<br />
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The Flat Earth Morons have achieved critical mass with the SPACE X Heavy launch just recently.<br />
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Within mere minutes they had labled it a HOAX and FAKE and of course the roadster with the spaceman just pushed them over the edge=YES. it did look pretty fake (even Elon Musk said so) but the reasoning behind the slurs is that SPACE X was allowed somehow to change or alter their live feed video against Googles rules-they can't prove it is Fake so they attack on the rules.<br />
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Some of the FE channels just said it couldn't happen because it would have hit the dome-remember we live in a terrarium according to them-and the sun is only a fraction of the size and distance claimed-it roams around over the flat earth opposite the moon...<br />
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We see the sun SET in the evening behind the edge of the planet and if you go up in altitude it sets later than at ground level BUT they will tell you many ludicrous reasons for this-refraction, clouds, atmospheric density amongst them---if (as they claim) the sun roams around above the flat plain it would not set it would DWINDLE.<br />
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It would stay at a height above the plane and it would go out of site without dipping to the edge of the plane-simply put it would fade out of sight not SET (or rise for that matter.<br />
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Start asking questions about whats under the flat plane-they will tell you that over the dome of the firmament is WATER (it says so in the BIBLE).<br />
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OH by the way you can't fly from South Africa to Australia unless you stop in the middle east.<br />
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I have flown from Chile to South Africa non-stop-they say you can't do that either.<br />
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I traveled a great deal in my youth and I have never had to stop in the middle East on any flight even Los Angeles to Libya or Los Angeles to Chile.<br />
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The other LIE they firmly believe in is that ANTARCTICA does not exist as it is shown on a globe it is a huge barrier of ice that encloses the flat plane of the flat earth-some explorer supposedly saw the wall when he was at the south pole...and you can't go there because the world government won't let you.<br />
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I have had several friends who worked at McMurdoh Station-one as recently as 2010/11-I don't know where she was working if not Antarctica and I sent her a package via USPS and she got it addressed to ANTARCTICA -I also hav several friends who have gone on adventure trips to Antarctica so I am fairly sure it is where they say it is-it is a huge continent size slab of ice and earth I think larger than the USA so I can see how someone might have mistaken its lofty in altitude center as an ice wall but come on people...<br />
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The bottom line on why I find all of these conspiracy types so insulting and reprehensible is their smug, superior attitude and absolute refusal to discuss anything that refutes their shaky hypotheses.<br />
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Also they drift over and anything having to do with gun control and the US government is a lie-Sandy Hook, The Las Vegas shootings and this morning the school shootings in Florida-they believe these are all false flag operations that are part of a huge conspiracy to sieze all the guns and enslave the people of the USA.<br />
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They ignore the fact that the constitution protects their right to believe that nonsense and publish videos about it on the internet.<br />
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I think it is very hurtful to the families and friends of the victims of these events to insinuate or downright say outright they are all fake news.<br />
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If I were Elon Musk I would sue the assets off all these morons who choose to go public and call his achievements LIES< FAKES< FRAUDS and worse.<br />
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AS I said above, people have a right to believe what they want BUT when they start accusing people of faking things or Fraudulent actions, when they say that the governments of the world are tools of the illuminati and all in on the lies, and that people who died at the hands of lone gunman are actors in a huge deception a line has been crossed.<br />
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I think a good punishment would be to launch them into earth orbit so they can see the GLOBE for themselves and then after they apologize on camera they get ejected into space-let their GOD save them.<br />
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Not really-I wouldn't waste that much money on their ignorant asses.<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-2255213926120790432018-02-12T15:34:00.000-08:002018-03-08T15:08:46.187-08:00This could literally CHANGE YOUR LIFEOK....seriously....I know you've read those words many places on the web=but I really want to pass on some information that is HUGELY important:<br />
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I am seriously needle phobic--many men are (and ladies as well).<br />
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Some people do not get vital medical attention, lab tests etc because of the needle sticks.<br />
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I get so angry when some medical professional says to me OR especially to a child- "IT'S JUST A LITTLE STICK"....No...it's not....maybe for some people....but<br />
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When you are phobic, people don't understand how the anticipation, anxiety and personal demons team up to make that simple needle stick a huge deal---and when there is a simple solution that takes away the needle stick I think it is CRIMINAL that doctors don't write many more RX's for the solution.<br />
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Lucky for me I had a brilliant doctor named Christine Szeto who totally understood and did the things I needed to get me past the phobia so I can get the medical tests etc I need.<br />
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EMLA is the trade name<br />
Lidocaine 2,5% and Prilocaine 2.5% Cream is the generic<br />
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It comes in a 30 gram tube and is Rx only-there are a couple formulas -ONLY the Lidocaine/Prilocaine compound really works<br />
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You only need the cream NOT the surgery kit: what you will need is some really large bandaids (I use 2 x 3 inch adhesive or a roll of plastic wrap will also work and actually works really well.<br />
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Its a white cream-you apply it liberally to the area where you will have the stick then it must be covered so it stay against your skin for one to 2 hours.<br />
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I had pneumonia in 2003 and had to go into hospital-I went from Dr Szetos office with about 7 huge band aids covering the stick zones (on my arms inside the elbows where they do blood draws, on my forearm where they put in IVs and one the back of my hands where there can also do butterfly and IV sticks.<br />
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I felt NOTHING----I also had a chart instruction from my doctor that clearly said NO needle sticks without the preventive cream.<br />
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I became quite a celebrity in the hospital over the week I was there and did a lot of advertising for the merits of EMLA cream.<br />
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Apparently they use it on babies a lot not-that's a good thing so why not just make it standard for all patients?<br />
<br />
I don't understand why anyone should endure discomfort is they don't need to????<br />
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<br />
The numbing cream works so well they can actually do minor surgeries-imagine how painful it is to have a boil lanced-why not cream it up and reduce that pain way down?<br />
<br />
I accidentally found out about the plastic wrap one day when I panicked when I discovered I was out of large band aids-I calmed myself down and thought of a quick solution-I remembered that I had once been given the surgery kit-it come with a large, impossible to self apply, piece of plastic wrap with an adhesive edge-so I slapped my cream inside my arm and laid on the plastic wrap then wrapped it around my arm a couple times.<br />
<br />
It worked better than the band aids-the nurse said it was because the cream was in much better contact with the skin and the oxygen was blocked from the outside so the cream didn't oxidize-whatever it was really dead and she had to stick me a couple times to find the vein and I DIDN'T CARE!!!!<br />
<br />
When I had my Gall Bladder out I went to the hospital with my collection of band aids including all the just in case locations and several were needed-again-NO PAIN, NO STICKS.<br />
<br />
When my MOM was in hospital I watched while 2 nurses tried to find a vein in her hand and finally I put a stop to it-informed them there were to be no needle sticks without the EMLA cream and told the doctor to make it official and the did-several nurses thanked me privately and shared that THEY didn't understand why its not used more often.<br />
<br />
Obviously it won't help in an emergency-it acts fairly quickly so if you slap it on as you leave for the emergency room it will help.<br />
<br />
TRUST ME on this once you use it the phobia will diminish because you wont have the fear and anxious anticipation that acerbates the "little stick" (you know it really isn't so bad especially if the person doing the stick is adept at their job).<br />
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<br />
<br />
My insurance covers the cream-usually one tube lasts me a year of blood draws and my doctor writes lots of refills so that gives me peace of mind.<br />
<br />
WARNING: I hesitate to write this part because I don't want this product pulled from sale-a few years back this topical anesthetic was almost banned because young people got ahold of it and were using it for piercing various parts of their bodies (nipples, genitals etc).<br />
<br />
Its not a toy and not a way to can get a larger tattoo in o0ne sitting-its a medical tool-it also isn't a gaff so you can numb up your body and stick needles through it to amaze your friends.<br />
<br />
Yes people did those things and more-keep it away from kids and fools that think its their personal path to stardom at the local bar.<br />
<br />
If you use the cream-there will be no stick, no pain-be sure it is applied liberally and in a large patch-you never know where the stick will actually happen.<br />
<br />
ALSO a caveat-some injections hurt because the serum hurts-I have found that this stuff is best for IV sticks-since most injections in the hospital go IV its "2 birds with one rock"-if you have a no stick without the cream order at least the needle part is taken care of and the needle is usually the phobic part.<br />
<br />
I would assume there is a similar product available in Europe and elsewhere so if you read this from a foreign country (outside the USA) I urge you to leave a comment-if I get any comments and am able to substantiate them I will add the info to the body of this post.<br />
<br />
I am writing this today because JUSTIN SCARRED the YouTube Celeb of Randomland and Allie his fiancé visited a sick child in Florida and there was a short exchange about shots and needle sticks-I wished I could climb through the screen to give the little girls MOM this information-sadly I could find a message option on Justin's YouTube page...<br />
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PLEASE share this information or link to this post and save another person-maybe your husband or child, one more painful, anxiety ridden blood test.<br />
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<br />
NDC50383-667-30<br />
High-Tech Pharmical<br />
Lidocaine 2.5%/Prilocaine 2.5% Cream<br />
by prescription ONLY<br />
<br />
ASK YOUR DOCTOR<br />
<br />
On my insurance its a couple dollars-it can be as much as 40.00usd and if the hospital provides it is can be over 100.00 per application so travel with your own TUBE<br />
<br />
ASK YOUR doctor to write a Rx today-if they are unaware of this product refer them to this blog post-many phlebotomists have never heard of it-and INSIST on it-especially for your kids-we have enough to be afraid of when it comes to medical stuff a needle stick should be the least of them especially when the pain can be avoided.<br />
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Would you rather be proactive? or help pick you boyfriend off the floor the next time he faints from the sight of a needle?<br />
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Don't get stuck without it!!!!<br />
(EMLA people if you steal that for a slogan you owe me money)<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-12856999794107557652018-01-12T19:36:00.001-08:002018-01-12T19:41:27.351-08:00MemoriesMy memories are not the misty, watercolour memories Barbra Striesand sings about-well, maybe a few-that magical evening on a terrace high above Laguna Beach at twighlight could only be rendered in Watercolours-thats the pink, blue, lavender, orange, green world created by the ethos of that moment in time.<br />
<br />
I have many memories like slightly overexposed polaroid pictures-the bright colours are too bright-there is subtlety lacking and the faces are a little blurred.<br />
<br />
A beautiful sparkly girl bathed by washes of magenta and midnight blue with white ostrich plumes as the curtain comes down and the music swells---a dark swarthy man with a blazing white smile full of promises and danger on a street in Tunisia where everything is pools of light and swimming shadows.<br />
<br />
The first times of our lives are usually captured in this way-it's amazing how many people's first memory of the Grand Canyon is that Disneyesque vista of incomprehensible majesty usually at some hour near sundown when the surfaces are washed with colours that only the setting sun can paint.<br />
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<br />
As a city boy I was used to a dark sky with a few bright stars or that medium range sky of a nebulous colour as the city lights reflect upward and obscure and subtly of tones and shades-the moon is the best feature of a city sky.<br />
<br />
I once found myself on a dark road not too far from Jackson, California in the Gold Country of the Sierra Nevada foothills at midnight and stepping out of the car I forced myself not to look up until, I took a deep breath and then almost fell to my knees at the view of a sky white with stars, clouds of gas-the slash of the milky way-overwhelming.<br />
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I was probably in my 30s.<br />
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You see pictures but pictures are someone elses vision-have you ever noticed how many photographs people take they label as disappointing?<br />
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Doesn't do it justice...you have to see it in person.<br />
<br />
The Eiffel tower, the view from Sacre Coeur, the Colosseo de Roma in the light of a full moon, the colour of the water in the sea near Corfu, Old Faithful, the first view of the Yosemite Valley-the great plains seen as you descend on Highway 70 (?) from the Ricky Mountains,,,so many more.<br />
<br />
One late afternoon we wander in some ruins near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and the setting sun made them glow red light they were hot embers.<br />
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Driving along the eastern side of the Rockies toward Denver, Colorado I noticed amongst the cattle deer and antelope....playing...against a cerulean blue sky going dark and the moon rose behind the scene.<br />
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Venice at Sunset,<br />
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Mesa Verde at twilight.<br />
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Niagara at dawn or just pre-dawn when the mist from the falls becomes pink, peach and apricot-if there is snow so much the better.<br />
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People I remember differently-maybe because they are so animated-hard to make a flash memory.<br />
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I remember being awed by how beautiful the people on Ipanema Beach in Brazil were-almost ethereal with their cocoa skin, white teeth and green eyes- unflawed and perfect bodies.<br />
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Men in Rome-swarthy breathing imitations of the David statue-their dark curls fall like Botticelli or Leonardo ran a hair salon they have just emerged from.<br />
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The rich fashionistas of Paris and Milan-oblivious of their surroundings unless something in a window catches their eye- Hermes, Boucheron, Cartier---perfectly dressed creatures with all the accessories...stratospherically high needle heels on their impossibly expensive shoes.<br />
<br />
Opening night at Covent Garden watch the gowns and jewels on parade and try to do a flash calculation of what it all cost-better to just enjoy the show and avoid depression.<br />
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I remember standing an a chilly evening watching a European movie star wearing a strapless gown and my friend whispering the 6 digit cost of the diamonds she was wearing and added "Hers, not hired".<br />
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I remember the first time I was in the house when one of my stage productions opened and the audience applauded the set when the curtain rose...<br />
<br />
I have so many memories...<br />
<br />
Petting a Tiger, cuddling a litter of kittens, having a python around my neck. riding a camel (and an elephant) seeing a panda in a zoo and seeing a snow leopard in the wilds of Tibet...<br />
<br />
It's hard to think that all those pictures will go with me when I move on to whatever is next-if the universe really is all a programmed computer someone did a pretty wonderful job for me...<br />
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The visual memories are easy the more esoteric memories escape quickly-I don't remember the first time I drank coffee or the first time I kissed someone I loved or thought I loved or my first orgasm-all those things have escaped from my data banks.<br />
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I think that's why so many of us like art, films, food and photography there are bits of our visceral memories in those things-a sunset can have some of the quiet awe of being quietly in love and the rush of the first drop of a roller coaster is not unlike that little death, breathless moment of sex.<br />
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Strawberries and Figs, Musky melons, honey...all things people connect to love and love-making.<br />
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I have those kinds of feelings when I smell clean towels, fresh from the dryer or the salt spray of a warm ocean...<br />
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Gardenias, Freesias, Tuberose all remind me of Paris-Baking bread and garlic are Rome but Lemon blossoms are Tuscany...Linden Flowers and evergreens: Germany...<br />
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My memories are also more abstract-the night Barak Obama was elected president and I was so afraid someone would shoot at him-my first night working at Disneyland walking across the park in my new Orleans Square costume and greeting the guests, my firs tour on my own at Universal studios and the tour where I had Price Feisal and Jane Fonda on the same tram...My curtain call the first time I sang Sharpless in Madam Butterfly and my curtain call after my solo spot in the Lido Show on the Champs Elysees...selling a drawing at a street show for a price that would pay my rent for 2 months<br />
and being recognized and asked for an autograph at a painting convention.<br />
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My bad memories I try my best to process and file away-unless they had a lesson in them the serve only to give me or someone else pain but I will never forget the feeling of anger and betrayal when I woke to find Donald Trump was president.<br />
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Odd isn't it how someone's joy can be someone else's worst nightmare?<br />
<br />
I watched a great show today on Netflix -the first episode of a new interview show that David Letterman is hosting-his guest was Barrack Obama-so many people hate President Obama I don't understand why especially when we have a maniac running the country now.<br />
<br />
I found it so touching to see how the usually sarcastic, acidic David Letterman was genuinely touched by spending an hour interviewing the ex-president and I realized how much I missed him and Michele-I was always sorry that he came into the White House at a time that was so full of traps and anger and also sorry that he wasn't warmer, his wife certainly tried to shower warmth upon America.<br />
<br />
But my memories of him are good-I didn't (and don't) hold the resentments of so many people...<br />
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In the library of memories he isn't sunrise at Big Sur or a shooting star over Castle Rock he is a quiet memory of a time when I felt safe in my country and had hope that things were getting better.<br />
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Most memories come with attachments and addendums-did you ever notice?<br />
<br />
So few are just how much sundown in Connecticut can look like a Maxfield Parrish Painting or how well the music from Wagner's Ring Cycle goes with a cruise down the Rhine River.<br />
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Even with those simple, uncluttered memories there is someone waiting to remind yo that Parrish is a sentimental painter of Calendar art and Wagner, the Rhine and Germany all equate to the NAZIS and Hitler.<br />
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We live in a time when it is wrong to like what others hate, fear or distrust...<br />
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I am not a great lover of organized religion or the right wing but I made sure I sad MERRY CHRISTMAS a lot and loudly this year-it has nothing to do with some political stance it's about my happy memories of Christmas past and how we celebrated.<br />
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I'm tired of people raining on my parade or anyone else's-the confederate Flag may have horrible memories for people but it is a part of our history-suppressing Nazi memorabilia will not change the outcome of the holocaust those things are etched in our memories.<br />
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I remember back in the 60s there were many "underground" newspapers that held alternate views and often showed REALITY instead of whitewashed middle of the road news.<br />
<br />
One sticks in my mind as a vivid memory-the front page had a photo pf a dead soldier's head with a large hole in his forehead and his brains spilling out.<br />
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Even in black and white it made a memory.<br />
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Hearing a number of how many men died in Vietnam was so abstract and often people compared it to the 2nd world war- The war casualties are somewhere between 55 and 100 THOUSAND soldiers-often MIAs and others are forgotten or overlooked-two hundred thousand Japanese civilians died just in Hiroshima and another 130+thousand in Nagasaki-over 30 thousand American soldiers died in the gulf war...<br />
<br />
The Japanese died on the own soil our men died fighting in foreign lands...<br />
<br />
I'm not sure what the message is but the memory is there...<br />
<br />
I buried at least 26 of my closest friends in the AIDS Plague I know many more people who died-being in the arts it decimated so many people I knew and worked with but also just people from life.<br />
<br />
Despite what our personal feelings are we must honor the dead-people who died for what they believed in or just because they were victims of wars and conflicts.<br />
We must NEVER forget lest we be doomed to repeat the tragedies.<br />
<br />
I feel like we are all in jeopardy and peril today what will our memories be like in the future and moreover what will the memories be of our children and grandchildren?<br />
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I had hoped that future generations would have memories of the American Flag flying against a sunset standing for all good things, peace, justice, equality...<br />
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I don't think that will be the case.Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-4032107217830193302018-01-08T14:07:00.002-08:002018-01-08T14:20:26.676-08:002018-moving at a fast clip...Here we are in January-the Golden Globe Awards are over-mixed reviews.<br />
<br />
It seems like trying to make a statement often exposes more hypocrisy than just wearing the protest ribbon and smiling for the camera.<br />
<br />
IMHO Hollywood is still missing the point-they continue to make it about powerful men vs. exploited women; I know for a fact the issues are much larger than that!<br />
<br />
I think if they mix in too much of the back stage seediness they lose any chance of having an issue that will attract a broad range of supporters(?) and yet...<br />
<br />
Many of the women (of all generations) showed up trailing "plus ones" that represented activist organizations having more to do with immigrant rights than women's rights.<br />
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Sorta like dropping a beef bullion cube in the chicken noodle soup-the whole thing becomes an off note (as if only women from other countries come here for low paying jobs and no men get exploited).<br />
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It seems to me we once again are trying to clean too many houses when we really need to start with our own-get that in order and then expand to other associated issues-maybe they fear what a serious house cleaning will expose?<br />
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James Franco got caught in the Twitter storm but NOT for reasons I thought-apparently HE has a seedy background in the sexual harassment game (!?!)-I would have thought he would have caught major CACA for doing a bad LATINO accent during his acceptance speech and why did the LATINO activists NOT raise holy hell over him playing a Latino part when he isn't a Latino?<br />
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Franco is part of the Hollywood bad boy sub culture-he hangs with a coterie of "INDY CRAZIES"-remember he almost caused an international conflict over HIS venture with Seth Rogan into North Korea Baiting with THE INTERVIEW-I would love to know how much that movie made just being released on the internet?<br />
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Supposedly Franco and Rogan still have a price on their heads courtesy of Kim Jong Krazy but now the women of the world are after another part of his anatomy over past indiscretions re: sex, tweets, etc.<br />
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I would also like to point out that Franco, Rogan and company are all a part of the strange trend to stuff anything they produce full of as much Home-erotic innuendo and downright "outtuendo" as possible.<br />
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_the_End">THIS IS THE END</a> his 2013 apocalypse, end of the world fantasy opus is brimming with his band of guys being sodomized by demons, ending up as leather masters with boy toys and a continuous chain of somewhat offensive gay.bi "jokes".<br />
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I have to say that I found the film marginally amusing but the CONCEPT and some of the visuals absolutely world class and very daring considering that the view of any penis in Hollywood films is rarer than purple diamonds (unless you are Richard Gere).</div>
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This movie has a Godzilla sized demon with a swinging phallus to match.</div>
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Franco's new Golden Globe film is still in theatres-THE DISASTER ARTIST is a "true" story of the making of a film called THE ROOM by Greg Sestero, the author's relationship with an over the top director Tommy Wisseau (James Franco plays Wisseau and his younger brother DAVE plays Sestero).</div>
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I perhaps shouldn't lump Franco, Rogen and their antics in with some of the other Hollywood BROMANCE BOYS like Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill and Vince Vaughn.</div>
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Among other films these guys made <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watch_(2012_film)">THE WATCH</a> another fantasy sci-fi Armageddon averted alien apocalypse film.</div>
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Once again a running string a gags about oral sex, anal intercourse and other homo-erotic fantasies played out by a cast of "married" men who seem to think it's fine to ask if their daughters date intends to perform oral sex on him.<br />
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BTW just so I don't sound like a raving lunatic-Jonah Hill is the person who is sodomized by the demon in the previously mentioned, THIS IS THE END.<br />
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My point to this tirade is that if all of this were not "good natured" grab ass boy play and were instead targeted at women-how much would they get away with?<br />
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It's OK to ask a heterosexual man who is dating your daughter about oral sex but what if it was his son's teenage girl DATE?<br />
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Then the whole business takes a dark and seedy turn.<br />
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Jonah Hill sexed by a demon is "funny"- replaced by a similar Hollywood Starlet-NOT FUNNY-CREEPY-SICK.<br />
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Keep in mind this is a COMEDY/Fantasy film AND it was fairly successful at the box office.<br />
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In any other world the Right Wing Christian picket lines would be the story not how the film's peccadillos were largely ignored, or even embraced, by the Hollywood community.<br />
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I don't have a problem with free speech, quirky-irreverent comedy or even sex with demons-it's the double standard that drives me crazy.<br />
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POWERFUL people take advantage of their power in all areas-men may be the biggest offenders because they had the most power jobs but I would like some sort of unbiased percentage of the number of men in power vs the number of persons they sexually acted against AND the numbers of women vs the number of males-then I would like a similar study of WOMEN in power positions and a similar study of how well they behaved concerning persons in positions below them.<br />
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To me Bill Cosby and his alleged advances and drugging's of various Hollywood females is no more important that the unknown women he might have acted against-he certainly would have been less likely to be caught but also the woman (or man) would be less likely to be believed.<br />
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I may have mentioned this before but my paternal Grandmother was involved with a "child molestation" case in which a teenage boy was supposedly abused by an ADULT male-way back in the 60s.<br />
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I clearly remember her saying the boy must have liked it on some level since he kept going back on his own.<br />
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We will never know if there was some sort of mental blackmail or ?? but at least Grandma was willing to share the blame around a bit.<br />
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Bottom line: It all needs to stop and we need to start with our own houses and clean up our own messes before we go pointing fingers, boiling tar and plucking chickens.<br />
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We live in more educated, enlightened times-but it seems obvious how precious little separates us today from lynch mobs.<br />
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It almost doesn't matter who did what to whom-what matters is that on some level we are lighting torches and chasing the MONSTER into the mill-we are trying the accused in the court of public opinion (twitter, facebook, snap chat etc not to mention the "press").<br />
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The Golden Globes: always a fascinating window into Hollywood-almost everyone wore black as requested to show solidarity-less Trump jokes-a brilliant speech from OPRAH:<br />
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<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/oprah-winfrey-receives-cecil-b-demille-award-golden-globes-2018-1072701">HEAR THE SPEECH</a><br />
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YES, they are pushing her toward a political career-I think she's smarter than that-but we'll see.<br />
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Now we just have to live through the Winter Olympics in KOREA-that was poor planning eh?<br />
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I worry for the athletes.<br />
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Did you know the government (CDC) is giving a preparatory class on surviving a Nuclear Explosion?<br />
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<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/05/health/cdc-nuclear-preparedness-trnd/index.html">HERE</a><br />
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Chew on that one....<br />
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My question? Why is Donald Trump still President?Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-39660741177571077132017-12-30T17:36:00.001-08:002017-12-30T17:51:19.810-08:00Do you have a recipe for...???If I said -do you watch ANDREW REA would you think I meant the Vienesse Violin Guy on PBS?<br />
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What about if I said do you watch BINGING WITH BABISH?<br />
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Andrew Rea is a YouTube star who recreates recipes from TV and Films-like clones them from information given in the shows.<br />
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He even made BOB'S BURGERS hamburgers with fried pickle wheels=just as shown in the animated world of that show.<br />
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He occasionally makes a recipe as directed by TV/FILM history and then fixes it to make it better, easier or less expensive.<br />
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You need to watch this show-generally you only see him from counter to chin-once inawhile a bit more-he has a thick beard, the sexiest arms of any man I've ever seen and a similarly sexy, trim waistline usually clad in a perfectly starched and ironed apron---go look....seriously-I'll wait-go look:<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=basFyoMSjds">VIDEO</a><br />
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He has added another series on YouTube called BAICS WITH BABISH-he will teach you how to cook pasta or a perfect chicken breast-that sort of stuff.<br />
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Andrew is watched by one point five MILLION viewers per episode.<br />
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One wonder how long it will be before he is on FOOD network or HGTV, has a line of cooking stuff from Macy's (Martha is SOOOOO over) and is doing weekend seminars for foodies in hotel convention centers.<br />
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He isn't the most handsome dude to walk on a screen but he may be the most charismatic; he has a wonderful deep, velvety voice with just a hint of snarky sarcasm along the edges-I am totally smitten-AND he does good recipes as well.<br />
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He now has a cookbook EAT WHAT YOU WATCH.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=andrew+rea+eat+what+you+watch+a+cookbook+for+movie+lovers&sprefix=andrew+rea%2Caps%2C221&crid=90OVFRFRWFOP">COOKBOOK HERE</a><br />
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I occasionally have these strange homoerotic fantasies-for instance when I don't feel good I KNOW that if I could cuddle with LIAM NEESON I would feel MUCH better almost at once.<br />
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I know that Ryan Reynolds and I watching Netflix from my couch would be great fun AND<br />
I want to go to Harlem NYK and have Andrew Rea cook me Boeuf Borginon in his home kitchen wearing ONLY the perfectly starched and ironed apron.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DCw_eR_iPA&list=PLopY4n17t8RBPegla4FpKGfKt-bEJX163&index=11">HERE</a><br />
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Sorry, he's fully dressed but the spirit is there.<br />
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After reading this you never have to worry about your various fantasies ever again-we all got em mine are just a little specific and quirky.<br />
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I hope this guy is enormously successful-somehow I feel like he deserves it-I'll bet the reality of Andrew Rea is amazingly annoying and compulsive-I read a blog post about him where the writer says he ironed the damn apron 4 times before it was "right"=in one of his videos he fusses with the damn thing like a girl in a new prom dress BUT at the same time he refuses to do anything without prefect ingredients. the correct tools, perfect lighting etc.<br />
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Compulsive but with HUGE integrity.<br />
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I think it was Dame Judi Dench who commented on Liam Neeson's HUGE integrity? Well, huge something anyway.<br />
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Binging With Babish, on YouTube with Andrew Rea-watch it please, give it a thumb's up and subscribe I'll bet you thank me later.<br />
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Meanwhile I have dibs on the cooking fantasy you get your own OR I'll trade you for Michael Chiarello or Rocco Dispirito cooking anything...<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-67339887247751615992017-12-23T14:00:00.001-08:002017-12-23T14:02:18.343-08:00What colour will 2018 be?A lot of heavy thought and discussion goes into deciding what the colour prediction will be for each year; last year it was a springy green, this year its a deep PURPLE called ULTRA VIOLET according to Pantone.<br />
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This means they are betting on stores full of purple home goods, napkins, table top, towels etc.</div>
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The year of MAUVE in the 1980s (remember that?) we even had Mauve automobiles.</div>
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I actually did my entire apartment in mauve paint, furniture, lamps etc accented with brass, ivory and chocolate: It was VERY ON TREND as they like to say now.</div>
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Overstock.com and Wayfair BOTH had purple occasional chairs and upholstered furniture in their online catalogs and I have noticed purple creeping into bed and bath trends as well.</div>
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PURPLE is one of those colours that people either love or hate-I like it as an accent but ONLY as an accent and this particular purple I find a bit cold and uninteresting.</div>
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I tend to like purples more towards Lavender or Fuchsia-warmer and less likely to be shown in a colour story with some livid green and magenta-that was CHRISTMAS 10 years ago or so-the stores were full of striped and harlequin papers in purple green and magenta!</div>
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When I think or PURPLE I think of PANSY flowers (often Purple and Yellow) Violets (often Purple and yellow) and Grapes (Which is where the green and purple palette comes from): I present that there is far more Purple and yellow in the world and AAMOF; Yellow in the complimentary colour of Purple!</div>
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Look at the range of purples and see if you can figure why they picked the colour that they did?</div>
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I had thought we would see one of two colours this year as colour of the years; either a sunny clear YELLOW or a Cayanne Pepper RED (the fresh pepper not the powdered spice which is more ORANGE).</div>
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I apparently was not the only one thinking in this direction since a famous paint company picked this as their colour of the year:</div>
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Benjamin Moore went with Caliente Red!</div>
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They are showing it as an accent wall, full room, front door and decorating colour-I happen to LOVE red sheets and have several sets and when I am down I usually wear a red shirt-so this colour works for me totally HOWEVER:</div>
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Behr is counting on a soft, Southwestern green and Sherwin Williams on a very avante garde teal both are styling them as BEACHY, Oceanside, casual colours.</div>
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Interesting eh?</div>
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Manufacturers pay big bucks to get in on colour trends early and I do remember a time when purple was king-remember the PURPLE PROWLER?</div>
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This was the dream automobile-the sexy purple roadster that set a trend...</div>
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There was a time back in the 1980's I think when you could find a shoppe in almost any mall that was dedicated to PURPLE things-My niece was VERY into purple back then of course she hadn't even reached her teenage years at that point.</div>
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My fear is that we wont get the HIGH STYLE vision of purple-we'll get the more eccentric versions:</div>
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So what's your take on Ultra Violet? Will you be more likely to trend towards the beachy soft colours or the CALIENTE RED? Or do you see yourself sticking with the status quo and waiting for a more sedate and classic colour palette in the future?</div>
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I don't see a purple patent leather arm chair in my future or even purple towels in my Tiffany Blue bathroom-I used to have a shirt that colour I may still do-if so I may wear it on January 1 just to salute the nice people at Pantone.</div>
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-19242113878458738192017-12-22T03:13:00.000-08:002017-12-22T03:16:14.602-08:00Christmas 2017Its here again-I have been on a lengthy hiatus deciding what to do next and how to change my business plan so I actually make some money.<br />
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I have had some pretty fine times in the last months-saw COCO (Brilliant Dia de los Muertes animatd film from Disney Pixar) had some fine dinners with friends and now will do the family thing in an abbreviated manner on the 25th.<br />
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It's a long drive and I don't like to drive after dark especially alone.<br />
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I hope each and every one of you find something to celebrate-have a safe and sane New Years eve and lets all hope for good health, happiness, PEACE and love in 2018...sanity in the world and Washington D C would be nice...<br />
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Have you caught the YouTube videos of the audio-animatronic TRUMP at the Hall of Presidents in Disney World...its pretty scary.<br />
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They managed to get his hair sort of correct and a suggestion of his arrogance and awkward mannerisms-the speech he gives is actually OK but feels funny because it's carefully canned and edited so it avoids all the jerkiness and idiosyncrasies' normally associated with the TRUMP oration.<br />
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It also lacks his signature mocking, sarcastic arrogant tone so it ends up being as plastic as the figure of him-Disney does patriotic very well-this isn't patriotic-it's like one of those auction off the bachelor events that some groups used to run until someone pointed out they were like slave auctions so I think it's no longer PC.<br />
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I personally would have had wads of money poked into all his pockets since it seems that he is one of the major beneficiaries of the new TAX bill (along with corporations and the very, very rich).<br />
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NASA is making noises like they will actually go to MARS at some point-I think Elon Musk will get there first and will have the McDonalds franchise open by the time NASA actually gets going.<br />
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LUXUARY Airline flights have become a thing especially with middle eastern and Asian airline companies-British air now looks tacky compared to the business class amenities and menus on some flights out of Qutar-first class is like flying hotels with bedrooms, fine dining and wine, high tech electronics and more-check out MANY videos on YouTube.<br />
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I am furious at YouTube who are pulling their content from Amazon;s Fire TV-I will no longer be able to watch hilarious stuff like Jimminy Glick with friends on my 42 inch flat screen-VERY annoying.<br />
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I have watched just about all my various versions of A CHRISTMAS CAROL-Home ALONE 1 and 2, The lighting war pic with Danny De Vito and Matthew Broderick and of course Home for the Holidays-most of the holiday offerings are pretty lame-like lifetime movie holiday themed romances (yuck)-I love hulu because I can watch JUST the Christmas episodes of ALL my favorites like Family Guy, American Dad, Bob's Burgers and South Park.<br />
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I have had egg nog , a cookie or two-I just need a big hit of HAM and Turkey----against all odds we ended up doing my annual dinner at the North Woods in La Mirada for the 5th year (as an event) and many years as a December go to place-so I am actually not too grouchy (surprise!).<br />
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I avoid New Years at all cost-hate it.<br />
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Rose Parade Jan 1-hope its better than it has been-it's lost it's spectacle...<br />
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Wherever you are in the world please be careful and aware if you are in crowds-I think this is a year to avoid large public events especially in cities like Las Vegas, Paris, London, New York and LA...people tell me the terrorists have won if I feel that way but I think they have won if we blithely put ourselves and our loved ones in the line of fire...<br />
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I'll be blogging more in 2018-I would really like to get back to being a daily...<br />
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Cheers!<br />
<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-86812594948100667752017-12-02T13:54:00.003-08:002017-12-02T13:54:42.782-08:00Blogger ProblemsI have been having terrible problems with blogger-I wrote and entire post that I had to finally delete-somehow the HTML was corrupted and I just could not fix it<br />
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I really wanted to share how much I enjoy the film HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS directed by Jodie Foster and starring Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning and Dylan McDermott along with a number of others.<br />
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It's one of those movies that makes you feel better while tugging at your heart strings.<br />
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Steel Magnolias is like that-you can have a good cry followed by a good laugh.<br />
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Holly Hunter is a 30 something single mom who is flying off to have Thanksgiving with her parents leaving her 16 year old daughter home in Chicago-one departure day she loses her job and finds out the daughter has decided to have sex with her boyfriend-she also loses her coat at the airport.<br />
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On board the flight she turns to the only person who seems to understand her various predicaments-her Gay brother played by Robert Downey Jr (in the film he is a liquor/wine salesman with a mid-western sales route).<br />
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She spills her guts and has to leave a message which she later tries to retract.<br />
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She is met at the end of her flight by her parents (Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning) and the holiday weekend is off.<br />
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We will meet an ex-beau of hers, her younger sister and family (the most passive aggressive tribe on earth, crazy Aunt Gladie (Geraldine Chaplin) and more as we make it through the things that happen on Thanksgiving....somewhere you will get that weird familiar feeling that you have been through something like this before.<br />
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If you haven't seen it you should-it's currently part of HULU's holiday film lineup-it's rentable online from Amazon and you can even buy the DVD for a few bucks-like A CHRISTMAS STORY (you'' shoot your eye out) it's one of my holiday season must watch films-and I often see it more than once.<br />
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I also have literally every version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL ever produced and I have watched a couple of those already-I always forget how weird the Disney version with Jim Carey is-I made that a double bill with HOW THE GRINCH STILE CHRISTMAS!<br />
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As I get older it seems I do less and less for Christmas so it's important to hang on to what few Christmas/Holiday traditions I have hung onto.<br />
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I hope you will give Home For the Holidays a try...<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-7937046484525307842017-11-10T18:11:00.002-08:002017-11-22T18:54:11.069-08:00WITCH huntLet me say uncatagorically-ANYONE who preys upon children or even vulnerable young adults in a sexual OR emotional manner is lower than low-PREYS UPON being the salient phrase in this sentence.<br />
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Right now we are in a the midst of a terrible witch hunt where the accused are guilty until proven innocent-and that is so unfair to plain human decency.<br />
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You watch careers just dissolve and vanish based on accusations of "something" that happened years back or decades back in a town so charged by sexual tension that if the tension were harnessed it could light the world forever-but Hollywood and the Hollywood machine is not the only place that people are exploited-New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Francisco...<br />
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I can remember a time when if you wanted a job in San Francisco and you were male-you just expected to be groped, fondled and otherwise made into meat.<br />
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Women don't have the exclusive lock in on being touched, forced or otherwise humiliated where sex is concerned-they have a larger support group in some ways-but men just think they should take it and move on-embarrassed, humiliated or angry/guilty-"WHY didn't you just PUNCH HIM?" well, men are not the only sexual aggressors.<br />
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Sometimes men enjoy any kind of attention that momentarily makes them feel good then they have to face those feelings and if you have no support system where do you put what are actually normal <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">feelings that have been made dirty, ugly and sinful by who else the moral, unblemished Christians or other religions-duh...</span><br />
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Let me say something about CHRISTIAN morality-I was sitting at Choir Practice one night when I was a paid soloist at Temple Baptist Church in downtown L A listening to the tenors and basses giggle and chortle like a pack of 13 year old school girls over the tenor soloists tale os a "light footed" guy at his construction job that they had corned in a men's room and all taken turns using him sexually and then they beat him up and threw him off the job site-that was back in the early 70's-in those days a whole bunch of STRAIGHT guys beating up a "FAG" was considered on a par with raising the flag at Iwo Jima-the AMERICAN way---so what does THAT say for CHRISTIANS?<br />
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How many good Christian Republicans are caught red faced soliciting sex in men's rooms?<br />
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We have GOT to get the whole Gay BAD, Straight GOOD thing put away!<br />
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Sexuality is a wide, liquid range especially for men and more so every day for women-
Most men, left alone, are to some extent bi-sexual-and one can see in modern films and plays that sexual tension and erotic wordplay-BROmance, METROsexual-banter back and forth about oral (and anal) sex...Great apes often will dominate a less aggressive male sexually BUT-if they would tell the truth Dolphins, Apes, Chimps and many other species frequently act out sexually with their "friends" of the same sex.<br />
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Here's the thing: We often forget that its not only adults that are predators.<br />
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When I was 13 or 14 I was actively looking for ADULT sexual contacts-I wasn't alone I had several friends that were doing the same thing and at this point I have talked to hundreds of guys and some women who shared the same history.<br />
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A girl I went to high school with was turning tricks in Hollywood and going to High School during the week.<br />
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We say though that the adults should have known better, they were better equipped to deflect the advances, offer guidance.</div>
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THINK how many women teachers have lost their positions because they were 24 and having sex with a 16 year old male.<br />
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It's stupid-offer a 16 year old boy sex with an attractive adult close to his age-he has only one brain-in his pants-he wasn't tied up and threatened, there was no gun to his head-who is the victim here?</div>
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What is a 16 year old male other than a seething bundle of hormones-most have very adult genitals and libidos and the consequences of sex with an older person is a great (one hopes) orgasm or ten and complete indemnity from any responsibility-this would NOT be true if they acted out with a girl who was younger than they and became pregnant-but as the partner (or VICTIM) of an adult they can weep and become the poor used minor prey of a predator.</div>
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In the case of Bill Cosby-a man who seemingly betrayed an entire country who loved him as a symbol of Fatherhood, FAMILY, morality---allegedly he was drugging his victims-but my question is how many approached HIM looking for an advance in their careers and now are jumping on the witch hunt bandwagon.<br />
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He very well many have been a party to the game, he may have even drugged a few-it's WRONG but how do we now separate the wronged from the opportunist?<br />
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I've been through Hollywood I know how it works.</div>
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All or at least most of Hollywood and the New York Theatre community knew that a well known actor recently accused of molesting a 14 year old boy who was in a play with him-was a gay man-quite closeted in most aspects but GAY none the less.<br />
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My first question is WHY would someone so far into privacy and keeping a low profile as a gay man risk it all by making a pass at a minor-he is a smart man not a sex maniac.</div>
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The guy who is doing the accusing hasn't had a great career-he had a hit in a popular musical-the movie version was less successful and what has he done lately?</div>
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What a great way to get a career boost and some pity jobs than to be first to bring out a big star and accuse him of inappropriate behavior...sick is what it is.</div>
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Ask anyone who really knows the ACCUSED and they will tell you this guy is so far from his TYPE that it is ludicrous and that the actor was not and is not interested in children or minors.<br />
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I can tell you MOST gay men do not want children-they are interested in other men sometimes younger but not kids-That said I can't tell you how many YOUNG men (early 20's) have made advances to me...lots of young guys want DADDY-add sex to that it gives them comfort on several levels.</div>
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There are only TWO people who know what actually happened and one of them has apologized admitting that it was a time of alcohol abuse-BUT why has no one asked the poor vistim if he had a part in the transaction-if he was culpable or even the aggressor.</div>
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In the Rock Hudson case only ONE person made a fuss and that had much more to do with what he was getting money wise than any wrong doing by Rock Hudson.</div>
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I knew of at least TWO men who worked with me at Universal who had slept with male actors at the studio and when the AIDs epidemic hit the headlines-threatened to expose their bed partners if there wasn't some money forthcoming-at least one of them got a couple small parts in TV shows and some cash-they are all dead now so who was the predator, who was the prey and who set the traps?</div>
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There was at least one actor who was being supplied with m1nor males (under 15) by studios and it has never hit the headlines-carefully covered up and suppressed because he had the power of sponsor dollars on his side.</div>
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Rona Barret-an oft maligned Hollywood "gossip" guru frequently was guilty of telling ALMOST the truth about many sexual peccadillos-2 he-man Hollywood star brothers who were cross dressers and into Kinky Sex, a leading man who liked to brutalize women and have sex with boys and more...</div>
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That was the day when the studios had power-in the "golden days" of Hollywood they could cover up MURDER and did-that was the extent of their powers.</div>
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Later it was drug addiction, abortions, pregnancies and much more-usually GAY actors either played the Studio Game or vanished.</div>
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William (Billy) Haines was a top star at Metro and gave it up for the love of one man he spent his life with.</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr11bt6FOOQ">(see Video)</a></div>
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What is happening today could never have happened in those times.</div>
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What is going on today has more to do with Donald Trump and the age of FAKE morality than anything else.</div>
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We have ignore, as a country, for many years sexual slavery in the middle east, Asia and South East Asia; Child prostitution in Vietnam, Thailand, India, Eastern Europe and extremely perverse pornography from some or all of these places.</div>
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America then choses to criminalize those who LOOK at such things but never go after the source-interesting isn't it-same as drugs-the drug user and seller is the criminal but the distributor and growers are beyond the law.</div>
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We all want children and animals to be protected from harm but who protects us from being harmed?</div>
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We need to rethink our laws and how the system works-we don't want to even TALK about such things let alone bring them into the light-but maybe its time to legalize drugs and prostitution and license them-to define when a child becomes an adult according to the reality of today and now our visions-14 and 15 year olds are much more adult and knowledgeable than I was at that age and YET I was out there playing on an adult playground-I didn't end up traumatized and I have never felt victimized or preyed upon.</div>
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This is another case not unlike the Catholics where DEEP POCKETS are calling out to people to enrich themselves based on something they may have willingly participated in or actually orchestrated-NOT ALL, some may truly have been used by people who could manipulate them-but I would love to know the REAL numbers...</div>
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AND, if this many have been thrust into the media spotlight how many have gone unnoticed or are now running scared? I suspect at least a couple that I personally know of...</div>
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-42256566932180194232017-10-25T14:53:00.000-07:002017-10-25T14:55:31.229-07:00What the HELL is going on in the USA????I have come to a conclusion -neither the conservative right nor the liberal left is responsible for much of anything-also the illuminati, the space aliens, the Satanists and all the other nutters from the fringes of the world-all innocent, just crazed...its the 7% Rapture Christians-Endtimers who are causing all our problems.<br />
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Think about it.<br />
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We can't easily identify exactly who they are-they are every bit as dangerous as ISIS and other extremists or fringe zealots.<br />
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They can be anywhere in any position and unless they leak a bit of their insanity we have no clue.<br />
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These are people who WANT the world to end in fire so they can force the non-existent "RATURE" (where they are convinced they will be taken and spared the tribulations of the earth) and Armageddon so they again force the 2nd coming of the Messiah.<br />
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Watch when anything happens who are the first people to speak-who are the front line of conspiracy crazies who yell the loudest-ALT.RIGHT, extreme, religious zealots whose agenda is based on the end time, end time prophecy and Armageddon.<br />
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Don't just believe me-look it up-check You Tube and Facebook and other social media.<br />
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They love to blame whomever is currently in a position of power or whom they perceive is a threat to their agenda-Obama, The Clintons, occasional George W. Bush and many others.<br />
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Mike Pence is a good example of how these extremists get into high places-he has espoused a very fundamentalist, theocracy based belief system, he was selected to be vice-president of the USA and his best pal is Paul Ryan another extreme "believer".<br />
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Both are very charismatic and play to a wide range of the faithful but also to a wide range of the fringe like gun rights advocates, white nationalists and separationists who pick and chose what they like in the "Holy" book and espouse slanted, twisted Christian beliefs.<br />
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When they talk names like Hannity and Alex Jones often come up-there is a string of these "right" wing conservatives that blame everything on the liberals and love to alter historical fact to support their stance.<br />
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Currently it's the recent shooting massacre in Las Vegas but it goes way back to Kennedy's assassination conspiracies, the series of assassination which includes the Kennedy Brothers, Martin Luther King and even Marilyn Monroe's death and then virtually everything after that they could bring to question including 911, Sandy Hook and every lone gunman shooting (now including Las Vegas).<br />
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Usually its a matter of a 1) cover up, 2) collusion between government agencies and the illuminati, 3) intimidation and even murder of uncooperative witnesses that support their positions and $) complicated trails of plots and sub-plots that are a chines menu of selecting bits from here and there, mixing religion, paranormal and mythical players, secret societies and far fetched reasons why ingle minded actors like the recent Vegas shooter are just dupes in a much bigger, global conspiracy.<br />
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There is so much scrutiny now on any event that is really is virtually impossible to have police and other protectors of the population do a proper and thorough investigation without dozens if not hundreds of cel phone videos and eye witnesses with conflicting view points who are iused to stoke the conspiracy fires and launch suspicions of cover ups and lies.<br />
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I have no doubt that the governments of most countries lie to their populations to keep the people fairly calm in the face of panic-if an asteroid were aimed at Earth and we had 24 hours I think the people in power would attempt to suppress that info.<br />
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There is a basis for this kind of action-humans tend to over react in the face of unknown threats.<br />
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Also humans are really good at exaggerating and even augmenting the truth when it comes to scary situations-simply put-people lie.<br />
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I've lived through the days of poisoned over the counter drugs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Civil Riots and most of the events I mentioned above (assassinations etc). I have heard people pass absolutely manufactured garbage as facts from rock solid sources that don't exist.<br />
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What does disturb me in these times of uncertainty and social media: From where do all these people arise who were supposedly eye witnesses, have some expertise in subjects pertinent to the event, are online supporting the conspiracy versions of the event and often point viewers to websites and channels owned and operated by END TIMERS?<br />
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Usually Alex Jones is somewhere in the mix and the blame is on one of the current hot buzz, hot key words or issues: False Flag, One World Order, Illuminati, Aliens, Demonic, CIA, FBI, NASA, etc.<br />
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So the CIA and FBI are involved in covert operations with Homeland Security to either construct and execute events like the Vegas shootings in order to change the 2nd amendment, make illuminati richer and make a one world government seem more attractive-the proof is supposed eye witnesses that just happen to be munitions experts.<br />
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It boggles the mind.<br />
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If you listen long enough they will hit those hot buttons in so many ways that you start to actually believe that there may be truth in what they are saying-even if only a tiny bit.<br />
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A very good example is 911 when the story came out that one of the main perpetrators drivers license was found outside the collapsed buildings in perfect condition.<br />
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So this magical object made it through the fiery collision that vaporized a plane, parts of a sky scraper and miscellaneous people and office furnishings, managed to get out of the perps wallet and pocket and somehow flutter to the ground landing in a place where it was found in dusty but pristine condition?<br />
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Really?<br />
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The driver's License became a passport, then was confused with a passport and wedding ring of a passenger which was further confuse with a wedding ring in a folded note-it went on and on.<br />
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Of course according to the conspiracy people 911 never happened, did not involve planes, had nothing to do with terrorists, had visions of angels AND UFOs involved and was a cover up for the demolition of building 7 in order to hide papers that the government wanted GONE-also the illuminati or others removed the gold before the destruction, the guy who owned the building became rich from insurance-it goes on and on and in my opinion is a major insult to the families of people who died regardless of how it happened.<br />
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Same with Sandy Hook-according to the conspiracy nuts no children were killed, no one was injured it was all crisis actors and a drill that was used for nefarious purposes to get guns regulated and removed from the hands of patriotic citizens---some of their proof is showing videos of people who look like the witnesses at Sandy Hook taken later at the Boston Marathon this proving they were crisis actors.<br />
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Just FYI one of the main conspiracies is this Vegas affair was a Crisis simulation that somehow went bad or got out of hand and is being run by the FBI or CIA-evidence is being hidden, peoples cel phones were erased there were shooters all over Las Vegas and even You Tube videos are being removed for NO REASON...<br />
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And who do they refer you to?<br />
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Alex Jones, Sean Hannity, End Timer channels and lots of witness videos that are based on their personal empirical research and opinions.<br />
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One woman who is a "witness" is the wife of a Marine, daughter of a Police Officer and lived in Detroit she walked away from her Jack pot and food in an uninvolved Casino some distance from the shooting site but she has lots to say about the types of guns used and events that happened where she was that have since been covered up.<br />
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If I had been there I would have been a mess-I would not want to be online telling the story calmly over and over---I would want to be left alone, anonymous and as far away from all that as I could get.<br />
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What started as a love gunman act of insanity has become a small part of an immense Illuminati action to seize guns, change the 2nd amendment, make other illuminati rich, further the Homeland Security agenda of corralling and controlling the citizens of the USA and OBAMA was probably involved AND the Clintons.<br />
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The sad thing is we have that first amendment right to give our opinion so these people just go on and on without any consequences or retaliation.<br />
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You would think in the horrible, oppressive climate they would be afraid to rant and rave about the oppressors and their friends the Satanist Space Aliens.<br />
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Bottom line: where their is controversy and calamity there is usually room for a conspiracy theory and people love something to talk about and as long as You Tube is monetized and there is money to be made it will go on and on.<br />
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And THAT is what the hell is going on in America....and Paris and anywhere else they can make a tragedy a conspiracy.<br />
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<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-48801400398005457192017-10-23T20:21:00.001-07:002017-10-23T20:21:08.125-07:00When I went to Saudi Arabia, Libya and the USSRThere was a period in the 70s when I was well connected and able to accompany friends on some pretty amazing excursions.<br />
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One friend worked for an air cargo company and every plane had at least 4 passenger seats-if no one was in them they could be purchased for a few dollars-no frills, no meals-just transportation but Los Angeles to Stuttgart for about 9.00usd was a real bargain even in the 70s-mostly we took weekend trips to Europe since one could get there in about 8 hours or so.<br />
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Another friend was a government liaison for a private corporation and could occasionally take someone with him-those trips were amazing because the governments of the various countries paid for everything, the accommodations were all first class and frequently there were expensive dinners and tours included in the trip.<br />
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The government of Austria sent us on a Rhine River cruise that is quiet a story-it was on a wooden boat/ship much like the one in DEATH ON THE NILE but very posh and well outfitted-on this cruise there were 4 employees for every one passenger.<br />
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I have some very vivid memories of that trip-the food was extraordinary - for the first time I had Beef Stroganoff made absolutely correctly with Filet Mignon, top vintage champagne and served on handmade fresh noodles-unforgettable....I must have raved a lot about it because frequently when there were things I did not like on the menu (I am very allergic to any seafood and I don't eat offal) I was offered beef stroganoff or a delicious variation made with poached chicken breast.<br />
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In the morning (I still laugh about this) the cabin steward would "tinkle" at the door;<br />
He had a little silver bell that would be gently rung to wake you up-and he would stand there "tinkling" until one acknowledged him and gave him leave to enter...he brought the "light" snack for you to get up on and have the strength to make it to breakfast in the dining room.<br />
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It was always wonderful coffee with cream, some delicious pastry-not too rich-it was on this trip I learned to love PALMIERS and Chocolate croissants and always a silver pot of chocolate which I swear was a top quality milk chocolate bar melted in heavy cream with just a hint of cinnamon.<br />
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When you were finished you would clean up and dress for breakfast and drag your self the 40 or so feet to your table.<br />
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We had the choice of dining alone or being paired with "people of interest" and while I cannot and will not mention names at least one was one of the top classic stars of Hollywood (traveling with a very handsome young male "secretary" and a fabulous couple who were both in the arts-we became quite chummy and often exchanged anecdotes during cocktails on the deck (theirs were wonderful of course-racy and full of gossip) she especially was given to wearing vintage diamonds and she loved to tell the stories of whom they had belonged to or made for.<br />
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This was the first time I saw a canary diamond and I was instantly in love-the lady told me a good canary diamond must be the colour of healthy urine and have few or no inclusions.<br />
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Hers was 7 carats with a scattering of citron and aquamarines in Platinum to help bring out the yellow of the center stone...I do remember telling Liz Taylor about that ring and she mentioned the ladies name and I nodded to which she replied "I think I own that now."<br />
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After breakfast you found you deck chair and watch the magnificent scenery go by-the stewards served beverages and offered little amuse bouche so you wouldn't starve before luncheon-Luncheon was always like brunch in America-poached meats, beautiful vegetable terrines, salads, clever little sandwiches all brought around on carts for you to select.<br />
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Afternoons might be excursions or shopping in a village along the route or an impromptu recital, reading or lecture.<br />
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Cocktails and hors d'ouvre on the deck (weather permitting) and then dinner at either 8 or 9:30-one was formal the other more casual and finally a midnight buffet of deserts and delicacies where one could see liaisons and business deals arranged in a most civilized and elegant manner.<br />
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We went for 9 days and ended up in Vienna others went on to Eastern Europe.<br />
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The other amazing memory was the boat pulled into a small "harbor" where in the square along the river Puccini;s "La Rondine" was presented and we had our seats on the boat (with champagne and munchies of course).<br />
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I never knew exactly how much this adventure cost but I heard it was over one thousand U S Dollars per person per day...the cabin/stateroom we had was quite large-comparable to a small suite in a good hotel and others had larger rooms and had also brought servants.<br />
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Something I will never get to do again and also a kind of travel that has seen it's time-people move so much more quickly these days, have shorter attention spans and I just can't imagine that trip with Kale juice, health food, quinoa and that sort of thing.<br />
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I put this narrative first to offer a comparison to my trek to Libya.<br />
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It was a 19 hour flight from L A via Heathrow and Athens then a Libyan airline-we ended up in the same Hilton where the American press was held hostage by Khadafy-we had already been told that the room and pretty much everything else was bugged so be careful what we said.<br />
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Only Arabic TV and not much else to do and horrible "American" style food so we decided to take a walk-the only movie theatre in town was showing a 4 hour program of propaganda films about the Russian wheat harvest and other such fascinating topics-thankfully we were only there two nights.<br />
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Once while walking down the street a car "backfired" we looked around and found we were the only people standing the rest were face down in the gutters protecting their heads.<br />
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Saudi Arabia was even more repressed-we were greeted with a 45 minute in depth briefing about how to act and what NOT to do-the only time the food was edible was at functions with the Saudi royalty.<br />
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On that trip I was introduced to the Saudi Prince who killed his own brother in order to attain power-a few years later I would have him on a tour at Universal and took great delight in reminding him we had dined together-He and about 200 of his closest sycophants and me.<br />
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Rememebring how the middle east was then and what has happened since I have no desire to ever go there in this life again.<br />
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The Soviet Union was amazing-if that country ever becomes truly free and democratic it will be a number one tourist destination.<br />
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The art, architecture and history is overwhelming.<br />
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Everything SOVIET is oppressively impressive.<br />
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Giant statues and buildings designed to show the power and strength of the country.<br />
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The people were gloomy-it was as if they wanted to smile but feared what would happen if they did.<br />
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Like Saudi Arabia we were assigned an "escort" probably KGB.<br />
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A beautiful woman but cold and militaristic.<br />
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I have seen You Tube videos of North Korea when westerners are tourists it's very much the same-they have no filters about how terrible the USA is, how war like, how aggressive and how lacking in culture.<br />
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We were reminded at least hourly that the USA was barely 200 years old and Russia and the surrounding countries went back to the bronze age and before-in their minds they were practicing government far before the Greeks and Romans.<br />
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In Saint Petersburg we saw the beautiful palaces and the jaw dropping art and found (to our amazement) that virtually every fine artist os any ranking had studied at some point in Russia.<br />
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They also have many private collections (owned and curated by the supreme Soviet supposedly for the benefit of the workers).<br />
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Gold, Silver, Diamonds and other precious stones, fine furniture, sculpture, musical instruments and other art-lots of Faberge (real or recreations).<br />
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Most of this is not available to the masses since it was considered degenerate.<br />
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The schools are very good but responsible for many suicides-you are selected to succeed and given a finite time in which to do so at A plus quality level.<br />
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You could be a ballet or Opera star one day and be directing traffic or taking tickets on their underground the next-complain and you basically disappear-again much like North Korea.<br />
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Another place that I have been and while I would love to go back and see what I missed I wouldn't consider it even in the new deconstructed union.<br />
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One thing I learned in all my travels-Prague has the highest amount of male prostitutes and Munich the best of the female prostitutes...while I will never need this information if it ever came up at cocktails with a woman wearing a huge diamond ring I would have a somewhat educated-if dated-answer.<br />
<br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-58995209108509098642017-10-22T14:43:00.002-07:002017-10-22T14:43:37.817-07:00In ExcelsisI don't really believe in God-at least not the God that most born againers seem to adore=the mean old guy with the white beard envisioned by Michelangelo -sitting on a cloud making everyone guilty and miserable.<br />
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Clearly there are at least 2 GODs in the Bible-the god of the Jews and the New Testament God of Jesus.<br />
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Remembering that Jesus is the son of himself-all very confusing-and the holy spirit 3 in one-I don't think it's the same omnipotent super being.<br />
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Also the God of the new testament is way less of a sadist compared to the other one.<br />
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The Judeo Christian God certainly has the best PR and staying power amongst much of the world's population-I believe there are more than 2 billion Christians in the world about 1/3 of the worlds population-However,<br />
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Islam is growing more rapidly than any other religion in the world, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center that says the religion will nearly equal Christianity by 2050 before eclipsing it around 2070, if current trends continue.<br />
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This is surprising since Muslim is a stricter religion, rules wise.<br />
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I would think that NO religion that requires praying at designated times 5 sessions a day would be so popular.<br />
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People get very angry and loud over religion and perfectly nice folks turn into bullies...why?<br />
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I think mainly it's fear-disagreement with their beliefs which are tested daily makes them feel uneasy and shaky so they combat that with anger.<br />
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My Aunt Mildred was a very Christian woman in almost every way-she was decidedly liberal when it came to some areas like sexuality and co-habitating outside of marriage-but for herself she did unto others and followed the commandments on a pretty strict line.<br />
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I vividly remember the day my Dad dies she said very clearly-"I doubt God, I pray and I pray and he never answers".<br />
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I won't get deeply into my personal feelings about prayer except to say collective consciousness and focused thinking seems to bring positive results...and there are the events that are unexplainable.<br />
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So many people use prayer as a weapon begging GOD to smite someone or punish them for their wrong doings or wrong thinking.<br />
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I actually had a person who was virtually a total stranger and a witnessing Christian tell me ."I pray every day that God will rid the world of Homosexuals and Liberals".<br />
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Interesting because I pray everyday for an end to Bigots and born again Christians (usually synonymous).<br />
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Is anyone as fascinated as I am that the Republican, Christian power mongers are the ones who get caught in all sorts of sleazy peccadillos ?<br />
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Yes, I know-Bill Clinton-so many people were fantasizing about him that they got angry when he was actually exposed as a human.<br />
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It has been proved that MANY people never consider that the President has anything under his suit-like a very complex audio animatronic KEN doll.<br />
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It's also important to understand that todays politicians aren't any more debauched than the founders of our country with their morphine and liquor addictions, mistresses of all varieties, slaves-the list is long and dark-the people tday just suffer from media overexposure-you may remember we got to see Jimmy Carters colonoscopy, George H. W. Bush vomit on a high ranking Japanese dignitary and most of the government LIE to the media every day-right on camera.<br />
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They aren't worse than their predecessors they're just more apt to get caught.<br />
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You can rant on at me forever about the country being founded upon religion and religious freedom-it's more complicated than that but people like things cut and dried-and I agree to an extent that this new world was founded upon a basis of escaping religious persecution-even in 1776 the auto de fe, mass executions of heretics by burning and other unattractive ways to perish in the name of religion were not that far behind-I believe we had a few such murders in Massachusetts and perhaps elsewhere and I frankly don't think religious persecution is over.<br />
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When a woman has to worry about imprisonment for having an abortion because of a religious reason that's just wrong-I have said before it's between that woman and her conscience -not an easy choice but certainly NOT a choice that should be legislated by Old men in Washington D C or any other state capitol.<br />
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They have white washed the issue with fetal rights and pseudo-science-so I put forward that instead of abortion we deliver the unborn child by Caesarian and then have people pray over it-that seems fair or in the case of Father's Rights we find a way to have the man carry the fetus.<br />
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With so many children is terrible conditions just in our country alone bringing more children into this world seems like child abuse.<br />
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People think they want children and then find the reality horrible to del with-12 and 13 year old girls have babies because they want one-again the reality doesn't match the fantasy and often that child's mother or grandmother ends up raising the kid-but some of these girls do it yearly and walk away from the children as easily as changing outfits.<br />
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Where is GOD in all this? You would think an omnipotent super being would know when to flip the switch on unwanted pregnancies...<br />
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We have a separation of church and state for a reason-the religious right doesn't want to accept or talk about that they want a theocracy-one Nation under God (and preferably the Old Testament White Bearded White guy on a cloud with a very twisted sense of good and evil).<br />
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Despite laws to protect people's individual human rights they will persecute and bully based on their beliefs-they will condemn Muslims for their theocracies, laugh at the laws and traditions of Jews, make fun of the Mormon's "magic underwear"...so superior and entitled the 7% born againers, or born from above or born of the blood of Christ-whomever the hell they are-the quicker we are free of their tyranny the better and the same goes for all twisted beliefs based on MAGIC THINKING-done in the name of an invisible deity because someone said it was true.<br />
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WHY is the Bible, Old and New Testament, any more valid a document or any more divinely inspired than say Darwin's Origin of the species?<br />
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GOD hasn't been making any visits lately via burning bushes or pillars of fire-if someone says God is speaking to them and is sufficiently zealous about it we generally send them off for psychiatric care so how do we know they are not the NEW prophets?<br />
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What about the other 100's or Thousands of deities that have come and gone over the centuries? How do we know that they weren't as valid as Jesus or Jehovah or Moses?<br />
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We laugh at people who have religions based on shaky concepts like the Mormon's with the magica plates and the glasses that allowed one ro read them but only one person had that divine experience and the rest had to take him at his word-Mormon is a huge religion and has replaced the Baptists in missionary work and converts.<br />
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And frankly the church that was invented by a KING to get out from under a marriage, escape the clutches of a more powerful religious machine...how valid can that be in the scheme of things?<br />
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I suggest you read "The Handmaid's Tales" by Margaret Atwood if you want to see how easily religion can be twisted to make the powerful even more powerful-and Neil Gaiman's delightful epic "American Gods" that pretty much sums up mankind and how we makeup things to worship and how that all plays out with the God's we have made and forgotten.<br />
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I think it's important to believe in something-at one point we could believe in America as a concept and a goal worth fighting for-at one point...now we have fear, loathing, bigotry worse than almost anytime in history.<br />
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America is being run by mega-maniacal mad men, religious zealots who invite the rapture and Armageddon, militaristic white supremacists who don't want the 2nd amendment tampered with because currently they are better armed than the U S Armed Forces, Street Gangs that make yearly profits like giant corporations (the replacement for the Mafia) and PACs that have only their interests in mind and focus on their agendas with supernatural energy.<br />
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The population is kept agitated by fear, rumor and innuendo augmented by the realities of living in America today as jobs disappear, services are outsourced, food is contaminated, and more.<br />
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In the market I can get Pear's from Chili-why can't I get pears from the USA? Because they are shipped elsewhere so they bring higher profits...why are so many vitamins and supplements made in China? Because that makes the profit's enormous meanwhile our factories crumble and decay.<br />
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Once again I ask you-WHERE is GOD in all this?<br />
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Don't try the punishment for all our sinful ways crap with me-if that were true Washington D C would be SODOM---and why is it that the Bible belt is hit every year by killer storms while the sin cities run wide open?<br />
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It's a rhetorical question...<br />
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PS: I was discussing this God and his thunderbolts dogma of punishment and anger with someone who simply said, "That is the angry OLD God the gentle NEW God sends treatments and cures".<br />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6291689193915300620.post-47858359910443150462017-10-19T17:41:00.001-07:002017-10-19T17:41:09.463-07:00Disneyland Part 21959 Was the year they called E TICKET summer-the monorail, Matterhorn and submarines were added along with E tickets-they also had magic key ticket books which were all E tickets-you bought them separately at the old ticket kiosks from the days when you paid to get in and every ride too a ticket purchased inside.<br />
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In the early sixties you could get the best ticket book for 2 books of green stamps-so I would beg my Mother who was a blue chip saver-my friend Joe and I would take the bus out to the park-took a long time-so we left early and were home late<br />
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For many years the park was closed Monday and Tuesday-we would try to manage to go during the week when the crowds were smaller-nothing like today...<br />
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Eventually I could drive myself-we loved to go to "date Night"-the park used to have big name talent in concerts-lots of live bands and dancing-this was before Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder...<br />
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In 1966 I think-Tomorrowland was completely ripped out and redone-I think it lost some of the charm it had before-also they were finding places for the attractions like It's a Small World and Mr Lincoln that came back for the 1964 World's Fair in New York...<br />
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In Adventureland they had a sit down restaurant sponsored by Lawry's call THE TAHITIIAN TERRACE -it was semi outdoor and featured a large waterfall and "Polynesian " food-they had Chicken Salad in a Pineapple that was the best...<br />
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At dinner time and in the evening the waterfall became a stage and the water would part like a curtain-they would have dancers, knife twirlers and fire (torch) dancers-the show lasted about 39 minutes or so-it was one of their best all time attractions and restaurants.<br />
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The thing about Disney-it was always clean, well kept and one felt "safe"...<br />
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I was waiting in line for the monorail at the hotel once with a friend-the monorail vehicle had some sort of massive malfunction-something between an explosion and a sci-fi movie short circuit-It was the only time I ever felt endangered at Disneyland (and actually it was at the hotel).<br />
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In those days it was only crowded in summer and on weekends-you could go out there and buy a shopping pass at Christmas time-I seem to remember if you showed receipts for purchases within a certain amount of time as you exited they would refund the cost of the entry pass.<br />
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They had wonderful things for sale in those days-there was a fabulous cookware shoppe in New Orleans Square and the One of a kind shoppe-sort of a curio/antique shoppe=jeweler and perfumes-men's and women's clothing.<br />
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I loved to go there later in the day, walk around, have an early dinner-maybe watch the last parade and browse the shoppes on the way out.<br />
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I doubt many remember it was under 10.00usd for a ticket book and entry and food while more expensive than outside the park was affordable (although most of it not wonderful).<br />
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The addition of parks in Florida and later Europe and Asia would change how Disney was operated and especially the merchandising...I have a lot more to say in the next installment.Rickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18201490686818185689noreply@blogger.com0